The NBA’s All-Star Weekend in Cleveland, Ohio is right around the corner and while NBA players get the week off from a grueling 82-game season, some of the event’s participants have actually increased their activity in preparation for the festivities — including Cleveland native Machine Gun Kelly, who is apparently taking his selection to the celebrity game’s roster very seriously.
While the famous competitors in past iterations of the game have put previously existing hoop skills on display — Quavo, for instance, was a decorated high school athlete before his rap career took off — MGK has gone a step further, hiring celebrity skills coach Chris Matthews (aka @lethalshooter on Instagram) to help him brush up on his jumper before the game. Matthews, who has also worked with NBA players, WNBA players, and celebrities like
Anthony Davis, Candace Parker, and even Drake, posted a video of MGK running a shooting drill to his Instagram, which includes MGK sinking three (high school) three-pointers in a row and pre-emptively declaring himself MVP of the celebrity game.
Of course, MGK will have to outplay his teammate Quavo for that distinction — a tough sell, considering he’s been the game’s MVP in 2018 — as well as noted hoop aficionado Jack Harlow, who participated with Quavo in last year’s two-on-two event against Lil Baby and 2 Chainz, the WNBA’s Dearica Hambry, and former Harlem Globetrotter Crissa Jackson, among others.
Buddy is back and on his new song “Wait Too Long” he brings West Coast crooner Blxst along for an upbeat overture to a potential romantic partner. However, the woman in question is taking things slowly, and Buddy and Blxst offer plenty of reminders that they’re both in high demand with plenty of options, warning, “Don’t make me wait too long / Five liquor shots, I’m way too on / Time tickin’, I’ma bring my phone.”
The video opens with the aftermath of a party at Buddy’s place, with the Compton rapper taking a dip in the pool as guests sleep off their respective hangovers on the deck. Buddy grabs an old-fashioned phone (did you kids know phones used to have cords?) and uses it to stay in contact with an unseen paramour. Then, the video flashes back to the night in question, where a dinner party grows more debauched as the night continues, but Buddy remains unlucky in wooing any of the female guests.
“Wait Too Long” is the first single from Buddy’s newly announced album Superghetto, which is due March 25 on RCA Records and Buddy’s own Cool Lil Company. Superghetto will be the Compton rapper’s first full-length solo release since his 2018 debut Harlan & Alondra. Since then, he’s been a standout on Dreamville’s Revenge Of The Dreamers III and released the joint mixtape Janktape Vol. 1 with fellow Los Angeles native Kent Jamz.
Watch the video for “Wait Too Long” above.
Superghetto is due 3/25 via RCA Records. You can pre-save it here.
When it comes to streaming hits, Philadelphia singer Pink Sweat$ is something of an expert. His breakout single, “Honesty,” racked up millions of streams across nearly every streaming platform, launching his successful career as a solo star after several years behind-the-scenes as a songwriter. Then, to prove that those numbers were no fluke, he nearly doubled them with his follow-up hit, “At My Worst,” and its remix featuring Bay Area singer Kehlani.
For the release of his Pink Moon EP, Sweat$ graciously agreed to a Zoom interview with Uproxx to reveal the secret to a streaming hit, what made each of his prior hits so special, and which songs from his new EP we should all be betting on to rack up the streams in the future.
We’re here to talk about what makes a hit, how to get a streaming hit. It’s something you should know plenty about what with your growing collection thereof.
Wow. Appreciate y’all having me, number one. To answer, I guess I would say it depends on what kind of hit you want, right?
Yeah.
Because I write and I produce, I try to steer people in the right direction, so it’s different kinds of hits. If you want a playful hit it usually can be tied to some sort of a movement, whether it’s a dance or some form of moving of the body that people can feel. And if you want more of a singer-songwriter hit, I think it’s just about the story and the storytelling ability because we all got a story, right? The way you articulate that story through a song, the effectiveness of it, that’s how you get ahead.
What do you think it was about “Honesty” that connected people? Obviously, you said songwriting, but each song kind of has its own personality. What do you think was the personality of “Honesty” that people were drawn to?
I would say it’s just the vulnerability and the relatability because I feel like the state of music, everything is like fantasy. Whether it’s rollies, chains, all these girls, all this overindulgence. That’s fantasy for a lot of people.
That’s not most people’s every day, but most of us are questioning who we are. Do we deserve this thing called love? Are we capable of loving? And I feel like it’s one of those things that we fill our day in a certain kind of way where we don’t have to think about it. We always got to be busy. Because sometimes when you’re sitting alone by yourself, you start wondering like, “Dang, is this how I want to choose to live my life?”
The first line of a song is “She said, ‘Baby, I’m afraid to fall in love.’” I feel like right there, you got people. It’s like, “Oh this is about to be a story. Like, where is this going?” Who’s not afraid to fall in love? Who’s not afraid to be vulnerable? Most of us are. It’s very few people that are just always jumping right in, and we always judge those people like, “Man, you love too easy.”
Absolutely. Now, “Honesty” was of course a smash, but then, you had to knock it completely out of the parking lot with “At My Worst.” What was it that drew people to “At My Worst?” And what kind of an effect did you see when you added Kehlani to the remix and that exploded even more? I always say that song is going to be our friends’ kids’ wedding song. They’re going to dance to that at their weddings.
Well that song, honestly, it was just me. I was tapping into what I know people wanted from me, and then I just elevated it. I wanted to give a perspective that was super vulnerable, but while the lyrics are vulnerable, but at the same time, the music is happy. It takes your guard down with the music. But then the words are seeping into you where it’s like, “Whoa!”
You know, I’m in a position in my life where things are well, I’m able to take care of myself, I’m able to help people, things like that. But at the same time…Someone can see me and be like, “Yo man, he living,” but you don’t really know the things that I deal with, because money can’t solve everything. But my partner does. And it’s like, I always wanted somebody to love me, despite my problems, my internal issues, the things that I struggle with mentally.
So it’s her not judging me, and I feel like, for a lot of people, we want that. We want to be loved at our worst, because it’s easy to say, “Yo, you’re up, you’re doing your thing. He got his mind on right. He got his bread right. He got a car. He got his own place.” It’s easy to do all of that. I feel like, especially for me, being a Black man, we’re always taught to go out and chase things and accomplish something, and then the world would be yours, but that’s the win and the downfall. Because of that pressure of, “Hey, well what if I can’t keep it all together all the time? Is somebody going to still love me?” So that’s what I wanted to get across, but I didn’t want it to be as heavy as me just saying it just now.
So you got your Pink Moon EP coming out. If you could pick two of the songs to blow up from this EP, that you think are going to be the ones, which ones would they be? And would you be surprised if it were a different one?
That’s a great question. I would say “Real Thing,” since that’s the first song I made for the project. Me and Tori Kelly on that, and then another one is called “Better,” me and one of my favorite artists, her name is Kirby. Those are the two that I really, really, really love. And I got another one. I know you didn’t ask me three, but the third one is the Blxst song. It’s called “For Me.” That’s just because it’s like a manifestation song and also a letting-everything-go song. I feel like when I wrote that song, I was in a place of stress where it’s like, having conversations with my label, having conversations with my peers, trying to understand the climate of music, because it’s always changing. I was just stressing myself out and it was like, “I never do this, why am I tripping? What’s for me is for me.”
Blxst is on a roll. Everything he’s on is just like, it knocks to the high heavens. Yeah, man. I’m really looking forward to seeing what this thing does.
I want to get a gospel award for that song, because technically, that’s an inspirational song. I’m putting that out in the atmosphere for sure.
Of course, “Nothing Feels Better” seems to have taken off. Again, what do you think that one says that people are tapping into, and how do you intend to take that momentum forward into the next one? Do you go left or do you stay the course?
I feel like that’s like an adoration song. I’m just showing mad love to my partner, where it’s like all the things in the world that can go right, they don’t really feel the same as just knowing that at the end of the night, I got somebody to turn to. All the things that I deal with throughout the day, just having somebody to go through all those ups and downs with, that’s like a euphoric feeling. We might argue one day, then in the same day we’d be laughing about, “What was we even… It wasn’t that deep. Nothing feels better than this.” The certainty of love.
I feel like it’s not really a lot of songs that popularize adoring people and telling them how great they are. It’s always about tearing somebody down or doing some drugs or something. To each their own, but I just feel like I want to just mix it up. I’m not trying to say “get rid of this” or “get rid of that.” I’m just saying we need some more of this too. It’s like putting all the salt in food, but maybe put some pepper in there. Maybe use a little honey. I don’t know, but we need more than just salt as an ingredient. We need to mix it up.
Pink Sweat$ is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Kid Cudi launched Encore in October 2020. The mobile app’s vision is to help artists share music, interact with fans, and host live shows. This week, Encore launched the Encore Studio App after getting $9 million in seed funding.
This is the second mobile application under the Encore umbrella, the first being Encore’s Interactive Live Music app for the fans, and now, the Encore Studio: Live Music AR app, which will allow artists to perform for fans by way of augmented reality through mobile devices.
“Music artists are the original creators and they have been forgotten by the creator economy and overrun by memes and algorithms on social media,” Jonathan Gray, CEO of Encore, said in a statement. “Our live AR technology empowers any artist to create personalized content and host experiences for their fans without a production budget or crew and make real cash with 100’s of engaged fans.”
The $9 million dollar funding comes from Battery Ventures, along with 468 Capital, Parade Ventures, Nomade Ventures, Moving Capital, Kayak Ventures, and Gaingels. During its beta stage, artists like Too Short, Kyle, and DC The Don performed shows via Encore. Fans were able to support the artists through microtransactions in the form of a 10-cent “clap.”
“My number one priority has always been inspiring others and providing them the space to tell their own stories in an authentic and meaningful way,” said Cudi in a statement. “We created Encore as a space for artists to share their art, build community, while also being able to pay their rent.”
Although the early days of Cardi B and Offset’s marriage were pretty rocky, the couple has seemingly settled into their married life and appears to be flourishing — at least in the “extravagant holiday gifts” department. This week’s Valentine’s Day was no different, with Offset pulling out all the stops to shower his wife with gifts, which included not just one but six Chanel bags and an Audemars Piguet watch that retails for $375,000. Offset sent Cardi on a scavenger hunt to find the bags, then presented her the watch at dinner.
Cardi posted about the gifts on her social media just days after the latest episode of her Facebook Watch show Cardi Tries depicted the couple giving each other matching tattoos to commemorate their wedding day. Initially, the episode was to focus on Cardi giving the tattoo to Offset (with the guidance of a trained and licensed professional) but when Offset suggested giving one to her as well, she was all-in.
This was a far cry from 18 months ago, when the two were preparing to get divorced. Instead, they reconciled and have appeared to be stronger as a couple than ever, with Cardi defending Offset from accusations of infidelity as the two trade more and more expensive gifts with each major milestone.
In less than a week, Kanye West’s eleventh solo album Donda 2 will be available for people to enjoy. That is if Kanye sticks to its previously announced release date of February 22. The project is the follow-up to 2021’s Donda which presented features from Jay-Z, DaBaby, Roddy Ricch, Young Thug, Lil Durk, Vory, Kid Cudi, and many more. As for Donda 2, we’ve yet to receive its official artwork of tracklist, but there are some things we know about the upcoming album.
What’s Everything We Know About ‘Donda 2’ So Far?
As previously mentioned, Donda 2 is set to arrive on February 22. Kanye seemingly explained that he chose that release date because it coincides with a first-ever occurrence in astrology. On February 22, the United States will experience its first Pluto’s Return which is defined as when the “heavenly body returns to the same position in a birth chart where it was when the chart began.” Together with announcing the project’s release date, Kanye also revealed that Future — who has often referred to himself as “Pluto” — will executive produce the album. As for what the project might sound like, producer Digital Nas, who is working with Ye on Donda 2, said that if a song cannot be played at a “funeral, childbirth, graduation, [or] a wedding,” then it will not appear on the album.
Additionally, Marilyn Manson has been rumored to be involved with Donda 2 to an unknown extent. Moneybagg Yo may also lend his voice to the album, but Kid Cudi will not appear on the album due to his friendship with Pete Davidson who is currently dating Kanye’s ex-wife Kim Kardashian. Kanye will also hold a live performance of Donda 2 at Miami’s Loandepot Park Stadium.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
Fans haven’t heard new music from Kendrick Lamar for nearly five years but according to an Instagram post from Italy’s Milano Summer Festival, that could change soon. The post includes an announcement for Kendrick’s show during the festival taking place at Ippodromo SNAI San Siro in Milan on June 23, where he will apparently be performing new tracks.
The post appears in Italian but translated, reads, “Kendrick Lamar returns to Italy with a super anticipated show which, produced and distributed by Vivo Concerti, will see him perform – after 8 years from his first performance in Italy, in 2014 – at the Milan Summer Festival (Ippodromo Snai) [on] Thursday 23 June 2022.” It also promised that Kendrick “will play the pieces of the new album, long-awaited by the fans.”
There’s been plenty of speculation about Kendrick’s new music with fans convinced he’d debut an all-new song during his Super Bowl halftime performance with Dr. Dre, Eminem, Mary J Blige, and Snoop Dogg. While that didn’t happen (Kendrick instead performed an edited version of his To Pimp A Butterfly single “Alright”), he’s been working on other projects in the meantime, including a movie with the creators of South Park and a new podcast breaking down the creation of his Grammy-winning album To Pimp A Butterfly.
Abel Makkonen Tesfaye, better known to most as The Weeknd, was born on February 16, 1990, making today his 32nd birthday. Late last night, The Weeknd shared was must have been one of the first birthday messages he received, a sweet text from his parents.
The text, sent from his mother’s phone but addressed from both of his parents, reads, “February 16 @ 2:45 pm the Star is born Happy Birthday Abel. Enkuan tewoldek [heart emoji] [folded hands emoji] [cake emoji] [champagne glasses emoji] [champagne bottle emoji]. egzaiber ymesgn [folded hands emojis]. You are our hero God bless you and your work with much Love. Always yours proud parents [heart emojis].”
The Weeknd’s folks aren’t the only ones who took notice of his big day, as he’s currently a trending topic on Twitter as fans wish him a happy birthday.
At the young age of 32, The Weeknd has accomplished a ton in his life. He has three No. 1 albums to his name in the US, while his LPs that didn’t top the chart — Kiss Land and Dawn FM — peaked at No. 2. His 2018 EP My Dear Melancholy also went No. 1. Additionally, he has a handful of chart-topping singles, the latest of them being 2020’s “Save Your Tears.” He also has the most monthly listeners on Spotify, a throne he claimed from Justin Bieber in January. “Blinding Lights” is also the second-most-streamed song in the history of the platform and will likely follow Ed Sheeran’s “Shape Of You” to become the second song to ever hit 3 billion Spotify streams.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
“Let’s get right to Eminem taking a knee: Why doesn’t he go to another country? I mean, go take a knee someplace else. You know how many cops were defending him and protecting him at that game yesterday? I mean, crime is way out of control in Los Angeles. He thinks that all happened because everybody loves Eminem? The simple reality is the NFL has made a mockery out of law enforcement, particularly with its support for the cop-killing Black Lives Matter.”
If that entire diatribe is confusing to you, you are not alone. The main point to be gathered from it is that Giuliani—much like Donald Trump—either really, truly does not understand that taking a knee has become a quiet and peaceful way for individuals to protest racism and police brutality. Or he’s just playing dumb, and if it’s the latter it’s a role he has perfected.
But the Detroit rapper wasn’t the only performer Rudy took issue with. He also went off on Snoop Dogg—or, as Giuliani calls him, “Snoop ‘Kill Police’ Doggie Dogg”—saying that he doesn’t understand what he’s saying, then gave an impromptu performance of what Snoop’s music sounds like to him, which sounded more like two bears mating. In other words: Come for the Eminem banter, stay for the Snoop talk. You can watch the full clip below.
77 WABC’s @RudyGiuliani provides his input on Eminem’s decision to take a kneel during the halftime show last night.
A few days ago, Julia Fox confirmed she and Kanye West (aka Ye) had broken up with a social media post. Since then, Azealia Banks has launched a feud with Fox, disputing her version of events.
After Fox’s statement, Banks shared it on her Instagram Story and wrote (as HotNewHipHop notes), “We already know the tea foolia! u came to miami looking for sex work, same lawyer was in contact with ye and it was a weak pr stunt from jump. What did u hustle him for? A bag and some Lucien’s? You absolutely did not come up because if this is how women who ‘always date billionaires’ behave when sh*t goes south, – threatening tell all books…. You can kiss your days as a low rate escort goodbye sis.”
Later, on her Instagram Story, Fox responded, “I’m open about my issues with addiction because I want to destigmatize it! Not al addicts are ‘junkies’. That is so horrible to say. It’s a real f*cking disease. And I’ve also been open about my recovery journey!!! But nobody wants to mention that right….. If this troll says one more thing about my parenting or my son……….. I was too nice to her cuz I felt sorry for her but now I realize there’s a reason why she spends all the holidays alone. Nobody wants that energy sis!!!”
Banks shared screenshots of an apparent text conversation between her and Fox, as well as a photo that appears to be of Fox taking drugs intravenously. Fox shared alleged text messages of Banks asking her for help buying molly and percocet, which Banks said were not for her.
Azealia Banks shares her text argument with Kanye West’s ex Julia Fox on Instagram. pic.twitter.com/F4g9XOWAqW
This morning, in a video on her Instagram Story, Banks addressed the molly and percocet (“MNP,” as she called it), saying she has a friend with medical issues who takes pain medication and sometimes runs out. Banks says she wanted to have sex with him without pain, so she claims that’s why she asked Fox for the drugs.
