Music

Vince Staples’ New ‘Are You With That?’ Video Illuminates The Unsettling Nature Of Surveillance

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Vince Staples has been back lately in a big way, even though he never left. The Long Beach-raised rapper is brutally honest enough to talk about the way the music industry monetizes people’s struggles, and on the heels of releasing his latest full-length album, Vince Staples, he’s shared another new video for “Are You With That?” The video follows up earlier singles like “Law Of Averages,” oh and an explosive LA Leakers freestyle, giving fans more of what they were hoping for in the lead up to the new project.

In the first half of the clip, Vince is portrayed under glaring spotlight in a number of mundane situations, doubling down on the unsettling nature of surveillance, and the way Black people are scrutinized in a specific way, especially those who grew up in neighborhoods like Vince did. In the second half, Vince portrays the process of burying and holding vigils for his friends in an even more explicit way, showing himself deeper and deeper in a grave each scene. Vince Staples came out last Friday, but it’s only one of several projects Vince is working on lately. He’s also previewed his graphic novel Limbo Beach and teased yet another new musical project, Ramona Park Broke My Heart to follow up this record. Check out the new video above and stream his new record here.

Cardi B And Offset Got Kulture A Six-Figure Watch For Her Third Birthday

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By the time they hit three years old, most children are still learning numbers, let alone how to read a clock. That didn’t stop Cardi B and Offset from giving their child one of the most extravagant birthday presents anyone could receive, whether they were a little kid or senior citizen.

You may be aware of the Swiss luxury watch company Richard Mille, which was founded in 2001 and has since been name-checked in about 200 rap songs as one of the pinnacles of wealth in hip-hop — particularly by Jay-Z and Meek Mill. They can run upward of $1.5 million as a result of both their super high-end craftsmanship and rarity, with only five of the above-mentioned, $1.5 million RM 056 chronograph tourbillons produced.

While the Richard Mille timepiece given to Kulture at her fairytale-themed third birthday party by her parents Cardi B and Offset doesn’t quite reach that price range, the lowest end of the range would set you back over $150,000. For her part, Kulture accepts the present like a typical kid — she looks way more interested in the box. Of course, Offset and Cardi are hardly the first parents in the hip-hop world to overshoot the mark; in 2019, Future was subject to a deluge of jokes for giving his five-year-old a Rolex. Heck, this isn’t even the first time Cardi and Offset splurged on Kulture’s birthday; in 2019, they spent over $400,000 on her birthday, and last year, they bought Kulture a Hermes Birkin bag, presumably to keep stuff like her Fisher-Price figures in.

Check out videos from the extravagant party below.

Cardi B is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Tinashe Unveils Fall 2021 Tour Dates, Which Come Capped Off With A Virtual ‘Worldwide’ Set

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After having to postpone last year’s “Tour For You” due to the pandemic, Tinashe has announced “The 333 Tour,” kicking off this September. Rei Ami will join the R&B star as an opener on all dates. The experience also be available to watch for those not in attendance; wrapping up the dates will be a “worldwide digital experience,” aka “a full-length creative production specially crafted for at-home fans around the world, in partnership with Moment House.”

Last week, Tinashe released “Pasadena” featuring Buddy, the duo’s second collaboration following last August’s “Glitch.” In the press release for the video, Tinashe said she “felt a very strong calling to release music that feels like joy, excitement, and freedom” after the past year “to contribute positive energy to the universe.” “I wrote and recorded the song Pasadena in my home in Los Angeles with a bold, bouncing tempo that makes me want to dance,” she recalled. “The song is about growth, family, and the feelings I get when I visit the area I grew up in — energetic and nostalgic, but hopeful.”

Tickets to ‘The 333 Tour’ go on sale starting 7/16, and pre-sale tickets & VIP packages go on sale 7/13. Get tickets here and find the full list of dates below.

09/16 — Houston, TX @ House of Blues
09/18 — Austin, TX @ Emo’s
09/19 — Dallas, TX @ House of Blues
09/21 — Minneapolis, MN @ First Avenue
09/22 — Milwaukee, WI @ The Rave
09/24 — Chicago, IL @ House of Blues
09/27 — Royal Oak, MI @ Royal Oak Music Theatre
09/28 — Pittsburgh, PA @ Roxian Theatre
09/29 — Boston, MA @ Big Night Live
09/30 — New York, NY @ Terminal 5
10/03 — Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club
10/06 — Atlanta, GA @ Buckhead Theatre
10/07 — St. Louis, MO @ The Pageant
10/09 — Denver, CO @ Summit
10/10 — Salt Lake City, UT @ The Depot
10/12 — Sacramento, CA @ Ace of Spades
10/14 — Phoenix, AZ @ The Van Buren
10/15 — San Diego, CA @ The Observatory
10/16 — Santa Ana, CA @ The Observatory
10/17 — Los Angeles, CA @ The Novo
10/19 — San Francisco, CA @ The Warfield
10/21 — Seattle, WA @ Showbox SODO
10/24 — worldwide @ Moment House

Doja Cat Asks For Fans To Roast Her After She Falls On Stage During A Show And They Did Not Disappoint

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During a show in Miami over the weekend, an enthusiastic Doja Cat headbanged a little too hard to her song “Tia Tamera” and wound up falling on the stage. She took the fall in stride, continuing to dance from her new position on the floor, and seemed uninjured, but she wasn’t about to let an opportunity to mine for comedy gold slip by. Asking her fans to provide a video of the slip, she knew exactly what would happen and seemed delighted at the prospect of another fan roast session like the one that resulted from a transcription error on her lyrics from Saweetie’s “Best Friend.”

Her fans did not disappoint, coming through with not only videos but also some colorful descriptions of her fall. One fan joked that she fell “like a pencil,” which tickled Doja’s funny bone.

Another said she could make a beat of the sound, prompting a retweet from Doja. Others just posted videos of other legendary falls to compare. And still others just shared their unique views of the off-beat moment.

Fisher-Price Releases An Adorable Line Of Collectors Edition Run-DMC Little People Figures

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Fisher-Price

Once upon a time, hip-hop was largely considered to be “for the children,” to paraphrase ODB. Then those kids grew up and had children of their own. Fortunately, some of them got really cool jobs like being toy designers at Fisher-Price, so they could transfer the simple joy of early hip-hop to their kids and ensure that the above-mentioned axiom remains true for another generation.

The children’s toy company is set to release a new collector’s line of its Little People figures featuring rap pioneers Run-DMC. The figures will be available for purchase at Amazon today, with the price set at $14.99. In addition to featuring all three members, the toys break Little People tradition with DMC’s figure eschewing the line’s usual “give me a hug” pose for his signature crossed arms stance.

These are pretty cool for any longtime fan who wants to share their interest with their toddlers and get them hooked on hip-hop culture early — or, you know, just for sticking on a shelf for display. You can find more information on Fisher-Price.com. And speaking of collector’s items, Run-DMC may be one of the most collectible groups in hip-hop history, with a ton of fun things from comics to limited-edition vinyl to their name.

A Snoop Dogg Lookalike Has Captured People’s Hearts After Posing With A Fan’s Oblivious Mom

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A fan’s photo of his mom posing with a Snoop Dogg lookalike has gone viral on Twitter as users crack wise about the man’s resemblance to the rapper and the mom’s apparent obliviousness. @matchu_chutrain posted the photo with a caption that read, “I’ve been in LA for a year and haven’t seen a single celebrity. My mom comes for a weekend and meets Snoop Dogg.” Unfortunately, it appears he’s neglected to let her know that the person she thinks is Snoop is actually not the rapper — but he looks close enough to prompt a double-take. To be fair, Snoop is a mom-approved favorite.

As fans shared the photo (currently upwards of 215,000 likes and only 500 retweets away from 10,000), the reactions built on each other as people found parallels between the Snoop lookalike situation and the plot of Marvel’s Disney Plus series Loki, joking that the man in the photo must be a “variant” or alternate version of the rapper. The original poster joked that he wanted everyone to stop pointing out that it wasn’t the rapper because “My mom’s gonna be heartbroken the next time she logs onto Twitter.” One person even posted the lookalike posing with Snoop, offering up a photo that might make your eyes cross.

Check out more responses below. Meanwhile, you can catch the real Snoop Dogg — and maybe the imposter too? — at his Once Upon A Time In LA Festival this autumn.

BIA’s Claims On Nicki Minaj’s Livestream Prompt Burna Boy To Issue A Correction

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Burna Boy is calling “cap” on BIA’s claims from her recent appearance on Nicki Minaj’s live stream to debut the “Whole Lotta Money” remix. During the live stream, Nicki asked BIA about Nigerian hitmakers Burna Boy, Davido, and Wizkid, only for BIA to admit that she doesn’t know what any of them look like. Over the weekend, Burna addressed the comment, tweeting that BIA must have been exaggerating because she’s been in his DMs since 2018.

“That babe wey nor know our face don dey my dms since 2018,” he wrote. However, BIA later responded to a fan’s tweet about the comments that she does know what Wizkid looks like, noting that she doesn’t need to know what any of the three Nigerian stars look like to know and appreciate their music.

Then, when the conversation was picked up by Instagram gossip pages, BIA was sure to reply to at least one, explaining that the “DM” Burna referred to was her tagging his song. “Burna, love your music,” she wrote. “Don’t be hurt I said Ion know what U look like. Your girl is beautiful anyway you shouldn’t care. Now, don’t make it seem like I slid on U in 2018 bc I tagged your song.”

She signed off by once again plugging her Nicki Minaj collaboration: “Now back to what’s important. Stream #WholeLottaMoneyRemix.”

Pop Smoke’s Upcoming Posthumous Album Receives A New Title

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It’s been almost a year since the release of Pop Smoke’s first posthumous album, Shoot For The Stars, Aim For The Moon, and there’s more en route. The late rapper’s management recently revealed that a second such release is arriving on July 16, news that was broken in a new trailer that captured Pop Smoke sharing some motivational words with listeners. “Never let anybody get in between you and your creations,” he says in the video. “Why you just trying to be cool? You gotta make history.” With just a few days left until its arrival, Pop Smoke’s manager, Steven Victor, provided a new update.

On Twitter, Victor revealed that the late rapper’s second posthumous album is called Faith. This is not what some fans presumed it would be titled. Thanks to the pre-save page on Apple Music for the project, many believed the album would be titled Pop Smoke, as that was the name that appeared in the album title location.

The news comes after Smoke’s team shared the outro from the upcoming album. It clocks in at a brief 31 seconds and features some inspirational words from the late rapper himself. While Faith won’t be here for another five days, fans in New York and Los Angeles can preview the album’s songs thanks to QR codes on posters promoting the upcoming release.

Pop Smoke is out 7/16 via Victor Victor Worldwide/Republic. Pre-order it here.

Khalid Debuts His New Single, ‘New Normal,’ At Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic Space Flight Launch

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For some time after he released his sophomore album Free Spirit, Khalid kept things rather quiet on the music side of things. The singer shared a few singles in the two years that followed, but things have been picking up as of late for the Texas-bred singer. With his third album hopefully on the way, Khalid is back with new music and his latest is an effort titled, “New Normal.” As of right now, the track has not been officially released but the singer debuted it during a performance at Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic space flight launch on Sunday.

Prior to its release, Khalid shared with Rolling Stone that the song served as his “personal therapy” last year during the COVID-19 pandemic. “Around this time last year, I was super fascinated and gravitated toward space,” he added, tying in the song with the space flight launch. “I was watching this comet by the name of Neowise last year, and space travel is something that I’ve always been interested in as well. And I’ve been going through the motions of understanding this new, postmodern future that’s coming together, especially when it comes down to technology — it’s something that really excites me.”

Prior to debuting the new song, Khalid teamed with Tate McRae for their collaboration, “Working.” Khalid also connected with J Balvin for “Otra Noche Sin Ti.”

Watch the performance at the 60:20:12 mark in the video above.

Pop Smoke’s Unreleased Songs Can Be Heard Through QR Codes In New York City And Los Angeles

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Earlier this month marked one year since the world received Pop Smoke’s first posthumous album, Shoot For The Stars, Aim For The Moon. It also came five months after the rapper was tragically shot and killed during an attempted robbery that took place in a Hollywood mansion he rented. By the end of the year, the project was one of the most popular releases of 2020 as it became a mainstay on the Billboard 200. Since its arrival, the late rapper’s team has promised a second posthumous effort from the Brooklyn native, something they confirmed last month with the announcement of Pop Smoke.

At this point the music world is just days away from receiving the new project, but for folks in a pair of cities there’s an early opportunity to listen to records from the upcoming album thanks to a unique promotional tactic. Pop Smoke fans can preview songs from the upcoming album thanks to QR codes located on flyers throughout New York City and Los Angeles. The specific location of these flyers is unknown, but some have been discovered and shared on social media by excited fans.

The flyers were posted days after the late rapper’s team released the “Outro” for the upcoming album. In it, he delivers a motivational message that lines up with the thoughts he shared in a trailer for the upcoming album. “Never let anybody get in between you and your creations,” the late rapper says in the video. “Why you just trying to be cool? You gotta make history.”

You check out videos of the flyers with the QR codes above.

Pop Smoke is out 7/16 via Victor Victor Worldwide/Republic. Pre-order it here.