The hip-hop power couple apparently had a kick-ass meal at NYC’s Brooklyn Chop House. They left a massive $1,400 tip on a sizable $3,000 tab, which is generous, awesome, and exemplary to say the least.
Despite its name, the restaurant is in Lower Manhattan, in between the Financial District and Chinatown. Cardi and Offset treated their team to a dinner out which according to gossip site Page Six, included dumplings and dessert. A Black-owned establishment, the couple took a photo with owner Robert “Don Pooh” Cummins, who posted it on the restaurant’s Instagram account with the clever caption “Chopping it up with @iamcardib and @offsetyrn tonight at @brooklynchophouse thank you.” Wonder how many times he uses that same pun?
Big shouts to Cardi B and Offset. Supporting the hard-working industry is nothing short of cool and this is the way to do it.
Brent Faiyaz’s last album, F*ck The World, came out in 2020, but that hasn’t stopped the Baltimore-raised R&B singer from continuing to support it with the new video for “Let Me Know.” Contrary to the reputation he’s developed as the purveyor of toxic anthems, a la Future (or Brent’s own songs “Wasting Time” and “Mercedes“), “Let Me Know” is a more socially-minded effort and its animated video fits the theme with a haunting visual metaphor reflecting Faiyaz’s message.
“Who can I love when they tell me I can’t love myself?” he wonders in the song. Meanwhile, in the video, animated Brent leaves his home to wander the streets but is confronted by people wearing ghostly masks (they look a lot like Oogie Boogie from Nightmare Before Christmas, as well as a certain domestic terrorist organization with a bone to pick with… uhhh… darker-skinned Americans). Nearly everyone he passes bears the spectral affectation until he meets a pair of police officers who stop him with guns drawn.
In a panic, he escapes back to his home, where he opens his closet to reveal his own mask. He dons it, walking outside as the gathered crowd cackles in triumph. Then, in a moment of rebellion, he removes his mask, which gives the bystanders license to do so themselves. The ending isn’t really a surprise, but it is a powerful message of self-acceptance in a world that still doesn’t give everyone a fair shake.
Kim Kardashian wants to divorce Kanye West, but Kanye West doesn’t want to divorce Kim Kardashian. That’s the power struggle at the center of their current frustrations in the ongoing case. With a hearing scheduled tomorrow, Kanye is making one last bid to preserve at least their married status, if not their relationship, by trying to exploit a loophole in California law regarding the couple’s prenuptial agreement. TMZ reports that Kanye’s lawyers have filed documents claiming that such agreements signed after 2002 are invalid.
However, according to TMZ, the loophole Kanye’s lawyers want to use only applies if one of the signed parties challenges it, which Kanye has never done. To do so, he would need to prove that it was either “unconscionable” or that he agreed to it involuntarily — and neither course would seem to be viable, as Kanye and Kim’s assets have remained separate throughout their marriage and both would retain their own fortunes if they returned to single status. Of course, Kanye and his lawyers may not be seeing eye-to-eye, since Kim revealed in the course of their back-and-forth that the rapper has changed lawyers three times, while refusing to come to the table to negotiate.
Kanye apparently still believes that there’s a chance to make it work, despite Kim’s multiple statements to the contrary and his own actions, which have seemed to push her away more than anything else. After Wednesday, though, it could very well be over, although the two will still co-parent their four children, with the couple living in the same neighborhood.
We’re positively hyped for our March round-up of artists to watch. This column looks at artists from across the cultural spectrum that are rising in unique ways. And this month, we’re jumping from indie pop to electro soul, to Chicago R&B and a rapper on the tip of The Weeknd’s tongue. Check it out.
Deb Never
You might’ve already heard the commanding Korean-American vocalist on “Push” from Slowthai’s album Tyron, or perhaps you peeped last year’s sneaky excellent Where Have All The Flowers Gone? EP. Now Deb Never just dropped her first new tune of the year, “Crutches,” a hopeful, happy-go-lucky indie-electro pop jam about embracing your individuality and channeling your inner-drive. “No matter what they say ya, better hold your head up. No way out,” the now LA-based Never sings on the anthemic track over a shower of effects, strings and thunderous drum and bass that invite you to express yourself.
Yeat
When The Weeknd was celebrating his birthday in Vegas earlier this month, a clip surfaced of him singing along to Yeat’s “Get Busy.” The track, with its syrup-soaked video game beat, features the now-viral lyric “This song already was turnt but here’s a bell,” followed by clanging church bells. Portland-raised and now LA-based, Yeat’s career was born from SoundCloud, and then blew up on TikTok with tracks like “Sorry Bout That” and “Money Twërk.” His latest album, 2 Alivë, came out on February 18th and features appearances from Young Thug (on the melodic drums and bells of “Öutside”) and Gunna (on the woozy keys-driven “Rackz Got Më.) Unsurprisingly, the album’s LA listening party prompted a shutdown for crowd control issues illustrating that the hype is real. Now signed to Field Trip/Geffen, all the elements for a continued breakout are here.
On both Classical Notions of Happiness and Something To Say To You, Jordana’s first two releases, we were introduced to a witty songwriter, with an intrinsic knack for cynical, tongue-in-cheek indie pop. Now the 21-year-old has announced her proper debut studio album, Face The Wall, (out May 20th on Grand Jury) and she’s armed with an even sharper pop music knife. “Catch My Drift” is a catchy, glitzy jam with buoyant vocals that she says is “about going back and forth with your feelings for someone when they make you question whether they are even reciprocated.”
Khazali
When we highlighted Khazali’s track “Passion Controller” last month, we called it “a good fit for both the dance floor and the afterparty.” And the deeper I dive into the UK electro-soul singer’s catalog, the more he feels like a worthy star student of Sampha and Sbtrkt’s breed of vocal productions. But there’s a far more rhythmic step from Khazali and his second EP, The Rush, is made up of pieces of his dream journals expressed in the sonic universe of the romantically-woven characters he’s created. His latest jam, “Dance In The Rain,” is a liquid groove that further builds the anticipation for the release of The Rush, out March 11th via Kitsuné Musique.
Kaina
A Chicago native of Guatemalan and Venezuelan descent, Kaina’s take on R&B celebrates love, lineage, and heritage. The silky-voiced singer recently signed with City Slang and her latest two singles, “Casita” and “Apple,” were both co-written and co-produced with fellow Chicagoan Sen Morimoto. “Casita” is a bi-lingual ode to being with family and friends in simpler times, with Kaina singing “I’ve always dreamt about a place, big enough for us all to stay, so that we could be together.” While “Apple,” with a video that links it to a linear story that begins to unfold on “Casita” — has an upbeat swing over Morimoto’s guitar and Kaina’s layered vocals. She’ll be joining Helado Negro on tour in May and we’ll be keeping tabs on more heat from Kaina no doubt.
The world of rapper-owned weed brands features more smoke and mirrors than a Miami megaclub. While there are some bangers in the genre, most of these “brands” aren’t really brands at all. It’s far more common for a rapper to work with a preexisting company and drop a limited line of products or bag up some janky shit in mylar through a white-label grow operation, than it is for them to launch an autonomous cultivation project of their own. Half the time when you search for brands owned by rappers, the websites are defunct, the Instagrams don’t exist, and the products aren’t available. It’s as if, aside from the press release, a handful of blogs, and a lone lavish launch party, the brand ceases to exist at all.
Why?
Most rappers launch weed “brands” for clout rather than wanting to actually enter the cannabis space. And who could blame them? The weed industry is an expensive headache for entrepreneurs. It is ironic, though, because rappers are the celebrities most likely to be accepted by the discerning consumers of the cannabis community. Not only were they some of the earliest vocal proponents of cannabis in mainstream culture, but some famously sold weed prior to fame (and have served time for it).
If any genre of celebrity deserves to be in the weed space, it’s rappers. Period.
So today, we’re checking out some rapper-owned brands that actually exist and don’t totally suck (I don’t like them all, but none are fully trash). From the many rapper-weed collabs, we’ve chosen five strains to smoke, rank, and rant about from the floor of my living room. Sound fun? Let’s get stoned!
Uproxx
5. China White Preroll from Saucey Extracts by Jim Jones
Uproxx
I attended the launch party for Saucey Extracts a few years ago. It was insane. At a Beverly Hills mansion, giant glass candy jars full of nugs dotted sprawling gardens to the pool. The weed literally overfloweth. I ran around with a celebrity stoner’s daughter stuffing branded tote bags to the brim with nugs. Jim Jones made an appearance. It was everything the launch party of a rapper weed brand should be. Wish I could say the same about the weed itself.
First of all, I always feel a little wary when an extracts brand launches flower, because that usually means they didn’t grow it themselves. White labeling is a huge issue in the cannabis community, a super common practice because the overhead of cultivation itself is so massive. Most brands, especially the big ones, don’t grow their own flower. That’s why they’re rich. It’s way cheaper not to. However, what you gain monetarily, you lose in quality.
For this test, I popped open the Supreme-esque plastic packaging of the China White pre-roll pack. Four joints of mechanically trimmed flower burst forth, smelling like hay. I took a dry hit, which is when you take a hit of an unlit joint to experience the flavor of the flower, known as the terpene profile. It was pretty mild, fruity, a little citrusy. Not mad at it, but it could have been more flavorful for sure.
I lit up. The flavor wasn’t bad. Delicate, citrusy, fruity, but overall pretty mids. I immediately felt upbeat, and definitely wanted to give them props for the integrity of the joint structure. These burned cleanly and evenly, not too tight or loose.
The high was upbeat, spacey, and a little trippy. I felt cerebrally invigorated while my body relaxed. Definitely a good daytime work weed, which is not usually the kind of flower that rapper brands deliver. A welcome change.
Bottom Line:
This weed is not bad, but it’s not great either. I think the price is a little high, but we love Jim Jones and will blindly support anything Dipset does.
Monogram is Jay Z’s weed brand. I’m not a huge fan of their sleekly packaged, overpriced mids. But some people seem to like them, so let’s check out their #3 strain.
The first red flag here is that this flower is 35% THC. Not only is that physically improbable, but it’s also just plain silly. No one needs that much THC, and when you get a number that high you are totally destroying the natural balance of the chemicals within the plant. I’ve always felt that this brand has a weird air of being out of touch due to the fact that Jay Z has never been part of the cannabis community. He doesn’t publicly smoke weed or advocate for its use prior to entering the legal space in the most corporate way possible. Maybe if he had, he’d know better than to jack his THC up that high.
Anyways, the flower looks pretty good. Chunky, green, orange with little violet leaves. It doesn’t really have much of a smell and seemed a little dried out, but often you can’t really blame the cultivator if the weed shows up a little dry — it’s often a distro issue.
Based on the THC percentage, I was afraid to smoke this at all and be rendered useless for the rest of the afternoon. But I took a bong rip anyway. For journalism!
The flavor wasn’t strong, but it wasn’t bad either. Fruity, a little floral, grape forward. Immediately my head became swimmy as I felt a wave of far too much THC sneak into my mind and crash over my eyes from behind. Relaxed, euphoric, the colors seemed brighter. It’s definitely very potent, but not a particularly nuanced high. That’s the problem with these absurdly high THC cultivars. They make you feel high on THC, but that’s about it.
Then, the stupor hit. Staring into the horizon beyond the window, limp, my mind moved slowly. Even in writing this single sentence, I drifted into a world unknown for about four minutes. Some people may like this kind of high, but it’s not for me, a high functioning, all-day stoner.
Bottom Line:
It’s not terrible, just overpriced and way too juiced up with THC.
I like Wiz Khalifa because he’s a fucking stoner. He’s so in the mix that it’s not uncommon to see him at weed parties around LA. Also, he has BDE, minds his business, and gets high on stage. Vibes.
Unlike most rapper weed I get sent, I was actually looking forward to trying Khalifa Kush because you can tell this man truly cares about flower. I imagined it would be good. And it was!
The dry hit was so impressive! Super mango diesel flavor, it had that kind of syrupy dry hit quality where you can taste that the terps and chemical compounds are alive on the plant matter. I lit it. There was a fantastic smell-to-flavor translation, which is another sign of good weed. It kind of had a fruity sage flavor that I was super into. Smooth smoke, great joint overall.
I was thinking there was not a lot of head change, and then BOOM BITCH that shit hit. And it hit hard. I got suuuuuuuper languid and dreamy feeling, and it made this difficult to write (again). This is high quality dreamy daytime weed — euphoric without being sleepy.
Bottom Line:
Perfect for taking the day off work to smoke weed in public like Wiz Khalifa.
Plane Jane is a strain collab by Fiore and rapper Roy Woods. Fiore was started by the owners and head cultivators at Cookies (rapper Berner’s megabrand) and is the only Cookies micro-business. So this is actually a rapper weed squared strain collab. And a perfectly executed one at that.
I popped open the bag, and was punched in the face by gas, pine, and tropical fruit. Though I’m not usually the biggest fan of indoor flower, Fiore fucking crushes it everytime. Unbelievably pungent, soft nugs were easy to break apart, unlike those mechanically trimmed balls of THC everyone seems to be hawking these days. This flower was beautiful in every way… so I smoked it!
The flavor was as pungent as the smell, but less gassy, with more notes of pine and fruit. Immediately I felt focused, dreamy and upbeat. This is the kind of weed you can smoke to calm down and beat depression or anxiety when you still need to get shit done. It’s actually really nuanced and vibey. It has a holistic healing effect, tingly in the body and the spirit, and the mind.
Bottom Line:
Elevating and exciting, it’s not the kind of indoor that gets you dumb for 30 minutes then tired. This weed is vibrant and alive, and really, really good. Definitely worth a cop!
And now, the love letter begins. I have been a massive fan of Insane by Cypress Hill’s B-Real since I first tried their flower a year or two ago. This dude has been in the weed game forever and facilitated a lot of what we know as modern cannabis culture prior to entering the industry. He was on Hits from the Bong, bro! Idk if there is a higher stoner accolade than that.
I think this Insane OG strain is some of the best and strongest weed on the market. When I say strong, I don’t just mean high in THC. This is a fully immersive stoner experience. You feel so much with this flower. It’s full-body, full mind.
The bag opens to a rush of powerful terpene smell waves. Diesel, pine, and lemon. Deep pine forest energy. The nugs are crunchy and sparkle with trichomes. Frosted and cute, I felt as if the nugs were staring back at me.
I took a large hit of the bong, as instructed. A rainbow burst of forest flavors overcame my palate and I felt filled with joy immediately. The high is cerebral and fun. The body high is euphoric and relaxing. Together it’s a balanced high that leaves you feeling floaty, elated, and ready for anything.
Bottom Line:
This weed is simply a must-have. It’s perfect in every way, and there is no one more qualified to sell it to you than B-Real.
Benzino has been going after Eminem for almost 20 years now. It starts with the former co-owner of The Source magazine giving the Detroit rapper’s 2000 album, The Marshall Mathers LP, a rating of 2 out of 5 mics. This beef was revived in late 2020 when Benzino took to Twitter to say, “Face it stans y’all will always be hip hop goofiest most out of touch fan base.” Collaborator and friend of Eminem Royce Da 5’9″ stepped in to defend him with a series of posts on social media.
Now, the saga continues. According to XXL, Money Man made a since-deleted tweet that said, “I ain’t never listened to no Eminem.” Benzino replied, “Nobody in my hood did.” As fans took to Twitter to get involved, Benzino viewed it as an opportunity to continue dissing Eminem. One fan wrote, “Say it to @Eminem face I bet you won’t your a poor excuse for a father and human being,” to which Benzino replied: “I’ll say it to his face but he’s scared coward p*ssy like his fan base.”
I’ll say it to his face but he’s scared coward pussy like his fan base
Per Complex, he also made some since-deleted tweets saying he “been left this sh*t alone but since the coward ass stans wanna talk sh*t and hide then it’s still f*ck Eminem and if you got a problem with me do something about it,” and threatened that he knows “how to fight and I got big sticks so pull up.”
While a pair of rare sneakers might seem to be a strange thing to go to war over, for Wale, they represent the difference between authenticity and appropriation. That’s the theme of his Folarin II track “Tiffany Nikes,” which turns the Diamond Supply Co. collaboration with Nike into a metaphor for the sort of cultural touchstones that get hijacked by outsiders looking to profit from hip-hop without putting in the time or appreciation to earn their spot within it.
Fittingly, the video is shot inside the Diamond Supply Co. store on Fairfax Ave. in Los Angeles, where Wale, a massive sneakerhead from the days before apps and blogs, shows off the titular Tiffany Dunks. However, he’s also willing to change with the times; the video also doubles as a promotion for the NTWRK app, a “mobile-first video shopping platform” that blends webshows (like the ones on Snapchat and Instagram) with advertising and a marketplace similar to StockX. In addition, Wale and NTWRK are giving away a pair of Tiffany Nikes for $1 to encourage fans to sign up for the app for a chance to win.
Watch Wale’s “Tiffany Nikes” video above and catch Wale live as he wraps up his Under A Blue Moon Tour this week.
Folarin II is out now via Warner Records. Get it here.
Wale is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
Chance The Rapper fans haven’t heard much from the Chicago MC in the last few years as he’s concentrated most of his energy on being a dad and the living embodiment of the wife guy meme, but that may soon change. After being featured on Supa Bwe’s “ACAB” posse cut last month, today, Chance shared a teaser of a new song with fans via social media. Doubling the excitement, the song appears to be another reunion with his longtime friend and collaborator Vic Mensa, with whom he reconciled after a few years of tension on last year’s “Shelter.”
“Felt cute might delete later,” Chance wrote in the caption of the video containing the snippet. Over a lush, soulful beat, the two rappers discuss the ills of the world, with Chance recounting an apocryphal theory about President George Washington’s death from a possible throat infection due to antiquated, unhygienic treatments that were used at the time. The fiery verse also appears to include references to various uprisings of Black people against oppression and cuts off just before Chance gives former FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover a piece of his mind.
The presentation of the new song appears in line with the rollout for “Shelter” and another (relatively) recent Chance single, “The Heart & The Tongue.” Although Chance hasn’t yet announced a follow-up to his 2019 “debut” album The Big Day, Chance’s increased activity — and a mysterious video posted by DJ Khaled on Instagram a few weeks ago — suggest that one could very well be in the works. Check out the snippet above.
Over the course of his nearly-20-year career, Compton rapper The Game has been renowned, respected, and ridiculed for his charismatic storytelling, which can range from introspection on intimate moments between himself and his rap game associates to wild, borderline unbelievable tales of late-night shootouts with compatriots such as 50 Cent. Even more of the same is undoubtedly on the way when he appears on NORE’s Drink Champs podcast this week, which the cast’s Instagram page announced along with a teaser of one of the more outrageous moments to come.
In the teaser clip, Game asserts that Kanye West, with whom he recently collaborated on the song “Eazy,” famous for featuring Kanye’s line about beating up his ex’s new man, has done more for Game than Dr. Dre did in the Compton rapper’s whole career. This is, of course, after he spends at least part of the interview with a black balaclava and winter coat before overheating and removing both.
That said, the wild claim has Twitter buzzing, because even accounting for recency bias, there’s no way Game can truly believe that — his sophomore album is called Doctor’s Advocate, for crying out loud (even if it was released on Geffen after Game left Aftermath over his falling out with 50 Cent). Some have attributed the comment to Game’s supposed bitterness over being left off Dre’s recent Super Bowl halftime show performance, but he shot down that supposition early, saying, “I don’t feel no way about not being included.” Then again, Drink Champs has kind of become the go-to podcast for making over-the-top claims to promote new work — even for Game’s benefactor Kanye.
You can check out the clip, as well as some of the reactions to it, below.
The Game said Kanye did more for him in the last 2 weeks than Dre did for his entire career.
Shit like that is why Game wasn’t a special guest at the Super Bowl. He can be mad at Dre, but everyone knows what Dre did for him outweighs what Kanye is doing for him currently. pic.twitter.com/aX79ginVHj
— Ruben || Check the Rhyme (@checktherhyme1_) March 1, 2022
The Game is going viral for down playing Dr. Dre’s role in his career compared to his recent interactions with Kanye.
There’s no loyalty within the music industry. It’s really disgusting at the end of the day.
The Game said Kanye has done more for him in the Last two weeks than Dr Dre did for him his entire career. This motherfucka herrrh! Your whole career you mention Dre in 99% of yo songs and just because he didn’t put you in the super bowl line up you salty. Bruh what da Fwck!
I now understand why 50 kicked the Game out of G Unit as he comes always across as ungrateful and bipolar. Game is so salty that Dre never asked him to perform at the Super Bowl and him saying that Kanye did more in his career than Dre ever did is bullshit. He’s such a clown. https://t.co/Dk5NDCZpwz
Name dropping Dre has nothing to do with Dr. Dre actually helping him or mentoring him. Kanye from day 1 has been all over Game’s albums and still is, can’t say that about Dr.Dre https://t.co/U1qaMwta81
(@JUDAHontheBEATS) 
(@SimmieGee)