Music

Joyce Wrice And Kaytranada Want Kick Back And Sip ‘Ice Tea’ On Their Groovy New Single

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In 2021, singer Joyce Wrice had one of the best R&B albums with her debut Overgrown. It’s a project that arrived after she released a collection of singles, and as for the album itself, it came with features from Lucky Daye, Freddie Gibbs, Masego, Westside Gunn, Kaytranada, Devin Morrison, and UMI. Overgrown brought Wrice plenty of well-deserved attention as she earned a slot at this year’s Broccoli City Festival and was enlisted to sing the theme song for The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder, a reboot of the mid-2000s Disney series.

Nearly a year after Wrice released Overgrown, she’s back with new music and it features one of her past collaborators. She and Kaytranada unite for the groovy “Ice Tea.” On the new track, Wrice is nothing short of carefree as she flaunts her style and good looks while comparing their sweetness to that of cocoa and iced tea.

Wrice’s new song comes as she prepares to head out on tour with Lucky Daye for his Candydrip Tour. The string of shows kicks off on March 18 in Portland, Oregon, and continues for five weeks before coming to an end in New York City on April 25. As for Kaytranada, he’s fresh off the release of his Intimidated EP which presented three songs and features from HER, Thundercat, and Mach Hommy.

You can listen to the duo’s new track in the video above.

Vince Staples Criticizes Record Labels For Seeking ‘Money In The Violence’ Against Rappers

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Vince Staples has never been afraid to speak his mind, and even through his hilarious tweets that his fans enjoy, there’s always a hit of truth in them. An example of his honest thoughts came last summer when he said the music industry “monetizes people’s struggles” during a sit-down with The Independent. “We’ve seen people market and distribute death and destruction within our communities for decades; they do these things because it gets attention,” he said. Vince took a deeper dive into this topic during a recent interview with HOT 97’s Peter Rosenberg.

About an hour into the conversation, Vince slammed record labels for capitalizing on the deaths of rappers and finding “money in the violence” when that wasn’t always the case. “I feel like it was more protected,” he said while reflecting on hip-hop’s past. “When you hear N.O.R.E. and all those other people talk about the role that their A&R’s and executives had in their life, moving them out and doing certain things for them, like when Snoop talks about Master P moving him out to New Orleans. I don’t think anyone’s doing that anymore. I think they see the money in the violence. Back then, the violence ruined the money.”

He continued, “It’s money in it and they gonna keep selling it and we gonna keep perpetuating it and we gon’ be hurt when somebody die. I don’t necessarily know if they care. If they did, man the album ready in four weeks once you die. You get more press on the album after you die.” He concluded his message by directly addressing record labels.

“When it comes to these systems, they look at you like, ‘Oh, you’re dead, now we got something to move with,’” he said. “To the people that’s running music, just treat these people with humanity. You’re worth something before you die.”

You can view the full interview in the video above.

Cardi B Surprises Some By Showing Love To My Chemical Romance: ‘They Don’t Make Music Like This Anymore’

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Cardi B has never been afraid to show love to another artist. Whether it be through a social media post or does so through an official collaboration, we’ve seen Cardi B do it time and time again. Examples include Lizzo, Lil Kim, Taylor Swift, BTS, Robert Pattinson, Penn Badgley from Netflix’s You, and many more. There’s now a new name to that list and who they are may come as a surprise to some people.

In a recent tweet, Cardi B showed love to My Chemical Romance by resharing one of their old videos. “They don’t make music like this anymore,” she wrote with a clip from the band’s 2004 video “I’m Not Okay (I Promise).” The video portrays the bands as outcasts at a fictional high school, and eventually, they face off against the popular kids who are strapped with croquet mallets. The song was the lead single from the band’s 2004 album Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge, which was certified Platinum less than a year after its release.

While My Chemical Romance has yet to respond to her post, Cardi’s fans did give some light-hearted responses to her tweet. “Cardi are you about to be in your emo era?” one fan asked while another wrote, “Remember when you used to release music? We miss that.”

You can view Cardi B’s tweet about My Chemical Romance above.

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

ASAP Rocky’s AWGE Unveils A New Partnership With Mercedes-Benz

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ASAP Rocky’s AWGE creative agency/label is shrouded in mystique by design. The “About” page of its website only has two “rules” listed: “#1 Never reveal what AWGE Means” and “#2 When in doubt always refer to rule #1.” Most of their rare product drops in the past have included trucker hats collaborations with brands like Rolling Loud and Mercedes-Benz (the latter, is currently going on eBay for $500.) Now, as ASAP Rocky prepares to welcome his baby with Rihanna into the world, he has also announced a new collaboration series with Mercedes-Benz and this one features much more than just a trucker hat.

Just before noon today, ASAP Rocky posted a short video teaser to his Instagram page along with photos of the drop. The photos were quickly purged, but the internet has done its thing and image captures are everywhere. There’s an orange hoodie with a Mercedes-Benz logo on the back and an AWGE logo across the black hood, a muted salmon bomber jacket, sleek pants, and what looks like a belt buckle shaped like the Mercedes-Benz logo.

ASAP Rocky has been building with Mercedes-Benz for quite some time. In 2017, he was featured in the German car company’s “Grow up. Get a job” commercial campaign:

Meanwhile, he’s was just announced as a headliner for Canada’s Osheaga Festival and will appear at the UK’s Wireless Festival. He’ll also be in LA at the end of April to headline the Smoker’s Club Festival.

Young Dolph’s Autopsy Results Show That He Was Shot 22 Times

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As the rap world continues to reel after the tragic shooting of Memphis rapper Young Dolph this past November, an autopsy report was just released and indicated that Dolph was shot 22 times.

According to the autopsy report obtained by Fox 13 Memphis report, Young Dolph was shot in the “forehead, temple, face, right back, center back, left-back, right arm, left arm, left chest, left abdomen, right chin, right neck, right wrist, and right shoulder.” The report from the West Tennessee Regional Forensic Center indicated that the deadly wounds were, “to the head, neck, and torso.”

These details just add to the grim and senseless incident that took Young Dolph’s life in his hometown. On November 17, the rapper walked into a favorite local haunt, Makeda’s Cookies. Shortly after making his purchase, a Mercedes with alleged shooters Justin Johnson and Cornelius “Straight Dropp” Smith pulled up and unloaded on the rapper using a Draco AK-47 assault-style machine pistol.

Both Smith and Johnson are in custody, while a warrant for Shundale Barnett is out for his involvement in the murder. Two other men, Devin Burns and Joshua Taylor are considered persons of interest in the case.

Meanwhile, Young Dolph’s label, Paper Route Empire, release the Long Live Dolph tribute album in January, featuring appearances from Key Glock, Big Moochie Grape, Kenny Muney, Snupe Bandz, and others. A memorial in front of the Makeda’s was taken down last week when the business shuttered and the building went back up for lease.

Lorde, Jack Harlow, And Migos Will Headline The 2022 Life Is Beautiful Festival

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The Life Is Beautiful festival is set to return to downtown Las Vegas this September. Headlining the positivity-focused fest, which goes down from September 16 to 18, are Lorde, Jack Harlow, Migos, Arctic Monkeys, Gorillaz, and more. Also set to appear are Rico Nasty, Sylvan Esso, Charli XCX, and Big Boi. Elsewhere in the EDM-heavy line-up of hitmakers are Calvin Harris and Kygo. More acts are expected to be added, and an official schedule of performances will be revealed soon.

“Every year we learn a little bit more from our audiences,” said Craig Asher Nyman, head of Music & Live Performances at Life Is Beautiful, in a statement. “What are they inspired by? What do they crave? And every year we have an opportunity to create something better and impact our community in a truly positive way.”

In addition to an eclectic musical line-up, Life Is Beautiful promises comedy performances and “world-renowned culinary offerings.” The
festival’s IDEAS Series will feature lectures by prominent speakers, previous line-ups having included RuPaul Charles, Deepak Chopra, and Bill Nye.

General on-sale begins Friday, March 18.

Check out the full line-up below.

Life Is Beautiful 2022 Line Up
Courtesy of Life Is Beautiful

Some of the artists mentioned are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Phife Dawg’s Estate Reveals The Tracklist For His Posthumous Album, ‘Forever’

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It feels a little unbelievable, but just one week from today will mark the sixth anniversary of Phife Dawg’s death. It’s a sobering sentiment, but the load is lightened by an announcement by the late rapper’s estate last year: March 22 will also mark the release of his long-awaited posthumous album, Forever. Today, his co-producer on the album, DJ Rasta Root, shared the album’s cover art and tracklist, which features a who’s-who of longtime collaborators and friends, including Angel Winbush, De La Soul, Dwele, Little Brother, Lyric Jones, Rapsody, and, of course, his A Tribe Called Quest brother in rhyme, Q-Tip.

Production on the album will be handled by 9th Wonder, J Dilla, Khrysis, Nottz, Potatohead People, and more. So far, only two singles from the album have been released: the Busta Rhymes and Redman-featuring “Nutshell Part 2” and “French Kiss Deux,” which features the late J Dilla’s younger brother Illa J. Both revealed an aesthetic similar to latter-day Tribe production, with stripped-down, funk-driven beats custom-made to show off Phife’s easygoing flow.

The road to the album’s release has been kind of a bumpy one; though initially announced almost five years ago, it has certainly taken a while to prepare, with the album getting pushed back to 2021, then pushed back again to 2022. But, the wait is almost over now, and from the looks of things, the project will be well worth it.

Forever is due 3/22 via Smokin’ Needles Records.

Lil Durk Splits Time Between His Family And Touring In The Jet-Setting ‘Barbarian’ Video

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Lil Durk’s new album 7220 is out and running up its streaming numbers. The ever-busy Chicago rapper supported the project prior to its release with videos for “Ahhh Ha” and “Golden Child,” and now he continues the rollout with his video for “Barbarian.” The video is a documentary-style glimpse at Durk’s tour life as he hops from city to city performing in sold-out arenas, raps to the camera while sitting on the tarmac in front of a private jet, and takes his kids on shopping sprees.

7220 is Durk’s first solo release since 2020’s The Voice, but in the meantime, his profile leaped considerably behind collaborations with Drake (“Laugh Now Cry Later“) and Lil Baby (Voice Of The Heroes) — so much so that he boasted that his label, Alamo Records (a Sony subsidiary), gave him a 40 million dollar deal. Although he didn’t reveal any details of the contract, DJBooth’s Brian Zisook noted that he could have licensed several albums over a set period of time, with the publishing rights to return in full after that period.

In the meantime, Durk is set to begin his 7220 tour in April, setting out from Phoenix on April 8 through May 2, when he returns to his hometown for closing night.

Watch the “Barbarian” video above.

7220 is out now via Alamo and Only The Family. Get it here.

The Complicated Documentary ‘Look At Me: XXXTENTACION’ Will Arrive This Summer On Hulu

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It’s no secret that the death of XXXTentacion was a complicated tragedy. It left social media in a state of moral quandary, reckoning with the inherent devastation of a young person dying too soon while also knowing that he committed a great deal of harm against women. This is why the news, via The Fader, that the documentary Look At Me: XXXTENTACION is coming this summer might not thrill everyone; it is opening that can of worms once again. It was originally announced in 2019 and it’s premiering today at SXSW in Austin, but it won’t be available to stream on Hulu until June 10.

The documentary was produced by FADER Films, and directed by Sabaah Folayan who directed 2017’s Whose Streets? about the Ferguson Uprising. Folayan claims that this XXXTentacion documentary will not ignore the complexity of the rapper’s death and will address those issues head-on. “I decided to tell this story because while violence is inexcusable, it is not unintelligible,” Folayan said in a press release. “It has interpersonal roots and generational pathways for both abusers and survivors. I am hopeful that with care from the collective, cycles of violence can be interrupted. Movements like #MeToo have spotlighted the need for improvement in the way masculinity is performed in society. But when, where, and how can this positive change take place? There is no certain solution but what is clear is that the criminal justice and deportation systems are doing more harm than good.”

Look At Me: XXXTENTACION streams 6/10 on Hulu.