Music

2 Chainz Shows Off New Dimensions Of Delivery With An ‘LA Leakers’ Freestyle Over A Pharcyde Classic

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2 Chainz gave more glimpses of his future musical direction in a new freestyle for the LA Leakers, a show that has been on an absolute tear when it comes to showcasing the most impressive lyricists in hip-hop. While dropping by the Power 106 studio has always been something of a rite of passage for rappers looking to promote new projects or introduce themselves to the world at large, the past year has seen rappers of greater and greater stature drop by, from rising stars like Cordae and Latto to established industry leaders like Big Sean and J. Cole.

Unsurprisingly, this was far from 2 Chainz’s first appearance. Back in 2017, he stepped all over Kendrick Lamar’s then-new single “DNA.” as he showed off his ability to adjust his flow to sound more like the Compton rapper’s. On his new freestyle, though, he went the other way, forcing a classic hip-hop single to mold to his own flow — although, it’s clear he’s been working on adding more dimension to his delivery as well. Busting raps over Pharcyde’s 1993 classic “Passin’ Me By,” Chainz references the meme-launching Mystikal rhyme about fighting a bear, turning the lyrical grizzly into a silverback gorilla. The result is the same, though: If you see Chainz engaged in fisticuffs with this wild animal, the one needing assistance won’t be the 6’5″ rapper from Atlanta.

Chainz’s song selection is right in line with his recent declaration to move on from trap rap and his recent output incorporating more classic hip-hop boom-bap sounds into his arsenal as he ages into elder-statesman territory looking to follow in the footsteps of other veterans like his ColleGrove 2 partner in rhyme Lil Wayne. Judging from his LA Leakers freestyle, that’ll be a good look on him, but first, he’s finishing his trap career strong with Dope Don’t Sell Itself, due sometime this quarter.

Who Is Eligible For Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame Induction?

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Every year, the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame (Rock Hall, for short) inducts artists with distinguished careers that have stood the test of time. Being enshrined into the Rock Hall is an honor bestowed upon artists who have demonstrated a body of work across many decades that once in the Rock Hall, can help engage fans with music history and the 2022 class nominees were announced today.

Who Is Eligible For Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame Induction?

The nomination process considers artists whose first commercial recording was released a minimum of 25 years before the year of their nomination, so you won’t see Billie Eilish or Harry Styles nominated anytime soon. With this year’s new crop of 17 nominees for the 2022 Rock And Roll Hall of Fame class, Eminem leads the way as the only nominee who is in their first year of eligibility. A Tribe Called Quest, Beck, Carly Simon, Dolly Parton, Duran Duran, and Lionel Richie are all nominated for the first time despite having been eligible in the past. The other nominees include Devo, Dionne Warwick, Eurythmics, Fela Kuti, Judas Priest, Kate Bush, MC5, New York Dolls, Pat Benatar, and Rage Against The Machine.

From here, fan voting to help determine who will enter the 2022 class is now open now via the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame website. The inductees are scheduled to be announced in May, with a ceremony later in the fall.

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

Kamasi Washington Releases ‘The Garden Path’ And Will Finally Make His Late Night TV Debut

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Would you believe that one of the trailblazing jazz musicians who have been leading the charge in getting hip-hop and indie listeners reconnected with jazz music in recent years, Kamasi Washington, has somehow never performed on a late-night TV show? At a time when seemingly every artist who’s gotten a fair Pitchfork review or been blogged about by East Coast music media gets tabbed to play for Fallon or Colbert or whatever, it’s a head-scratcher that Washington hasn’t gotten the call yet.

Not only does he have a decorated discography of some of the most accessible modern jazz albums since 2015, but he’s also been a go-to sax man appearing on albums by Kendrick Lamar, Thundercat, Flying Lotus, and St. Vincent. He also even scored Michelle Obama’s documentary, no small task.

The above rant comes with a big exhale tonight, though, when Washington will perform his brand new single, “The Garden Path” on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon. In typical Kamasi Washington fashion, “The Garden Path” showcases his dexterousness as not only a star on the saxophone but as a composer and bandleader who empowers the talent around him. Breakneck drum beats, with big basslines and dizzying keys to boot, lay the groundwork for a collective explosion of sounds.

Washington only allows himself to shine once he’s given his players room to set the tone; he’s a selfless prodigy. He explained in a statement that the song’s furious rhythm is a function of our collective mind state: “The world feels turned upside down. There’s so much push and pull in every direction, from everyone you meet—no one knows what to think, who to believe, or how to approach life right now. No matter how smart you are, it’s hard not to feel blind.”

Listen to “The Garden Path” above and check out Kamasi Washington’s performance on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon tonight on NBC at 11:35 pm local time.

Black Thought And Questlove’s Disney Animated Series Premieres This Week On Disney+

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Disney Press

If you had told me 20 years ago that the two main members of The Roots would be executive producers on a Disney animated series, I’m not totally sure I would have believed you. But here we are in 2022, with Black Thought and Questlove working on “Rise Up, Sing Out,” a musical series looking to inspire and empower children with uplifting messages and cultural affirmations. Variety reports the series will be streaming starting today on Disney Plus with the first episode also airing on Disney Channel and Disney Junior.

Not only do Quest and Thought produce the series and the music in it (naturally), but they will also appear in it in adorable animated form offering themes of “diversity, inclusion, kindness, and self-expression.” Disney produced the show to address a growing demand for children’s entertainment that would help parents teach kids respect for each others’ differences in an increasingly diverse world. In a statement, The Roots’ frontmen tackled those issues head-on:

The ‘Rise Up, Sing Out’ shorts touch on a lot of real-world issues, especially for young Black kids, that just weren’t talked about when we were growing up. The beautiful thing about these shorts is that not only are they going to provide young kids the proper language to talk to their friends and family about some of the things that might be bothering them, but it’s also going to give parents the tools on how to respond.

We feel this is the perfect moment and the perfect time for us to put this project out into the world to plant a seed about kindness that will hopefully have a lasting impact for generations to come.

In addition, on Friday, February 4, Walt Disney Records will release the music from the series to streaming. It looks like the future is in good hands — who would’ve thought those hands would belong to The Roots?

Slowthai Will Play A Handful Of 2022 North American Concerts On His ‘Antisocial Roadshow’ Tour

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Slowthai had one of the defining moments of his career so far (at least in the eyes of American TV viewers) when he joined Mura Masa on The Tonight Show in February 2020 to perform “Deal Wiv It.” During the performance, Slowthai took advantage of the whole set and even stood on Jimmy Fallon’s desk, making for some memorable television. Now, for fans who haven’t been able to forget that appearance, they’ll get the chance to see Slowthai live, as he just announced a handful of April concert dates in North America for the “Antisocial Roadshow” tour.

Performing live certainly isn’t Slowthai’s least favorite part of his job, as he revealed last February that he’s actually not too keen on recording, saying, “I hate getting in the booth. I love writing, and I love doing it over and over again. But then when it comes to the time to laying it down, I’m like, ‘Laugh.’ Yeah, I don’t know. I’m not hitting it the way… Because in my head, we all have that thing where we see it and hear it one way, and then you’re not delivering it, but then you’re self-critical, so you’re being extra critical. And then everyone would be like, ‘That’s the hardest thing ever!’ And you’re like, ‘I can do it better.’ So it will be like every song is a thousand takes.”

Check out the full list of dates below.

04/08 — New York, New York @ Webster Hall
04/09 — Chicago, IL @ Metro
04/10 — Denver, CO @ Cervantes Masterpiece Ballroom
04/14 — Vancouver, BC @ Commodore Ballroom
04/15 — Indio, CA @ Coachella
04/21 — San Francisco, CA @ The Regency Ballroom
04/22 — Indio, CA @ Coachella
04/27 — Toronto, ON @ The Danforth Music Hall
04/30 — Boston, MA @ Royale

Col3trane Is Giving Away A Brandon Blackwood Bag In Celebration Of His New Single “Bag” With Lucky Daye

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Last week, Col3trane dropped off his luxurious vibe and first single of the year, “Bag” featuring Lucky Daye, and he partnered with Brandon Blackwood to do it. To help celebrate, the UK R&B star and Uproxx are giving one lucky fan the opportunity to score one of Brandon Blackwood’s most coveted and popular handbags.

All you have to do is follow Uproxx on TikTok, follow Col3trane on TikTok and tell us in the comments how you’ll be in your bag all 2022. The contest will run until February 10, 2022 and the winner will be reached out to via direct message on TikTok.

@uproxx

r u in ur bag for 2022⁉🔥👝follow @Col3trane + #Uproxx & let us know to score a #brandonblackwood bag. ends 2/9. #fyp #bag #fashiontok #rnbvibes

♬ original sound – UPROXX Music

“Bag” is the follow-up to Col3trane’s 2021 track “Californication.” Both songs are expected to live on his debut album Lush Life.

“‘Bag’ is about giving everything you can to someone,” the rising singer unveiled. “Material and emotional, and it still is not enough. I wrote this song with Lucky and Camper on Lucky’s birthday around October 2020. I sat on it for a while, made a lot of different versions and ended up going back in on it with Camper about a year later. He laid all the keys and bells pads in about 3 hours, solos and all. Bridge included. Watching him do that was crazy.”

Check out the official rules for the giveaway here.

Christian Label Reach Records Drops Rapper Gawvi For Sending Unsolicited Dick Pics To Multiple Women

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gawvi.com

It’s not every day a recording artist gets dropped from a label for lewd behavior — in fact, it’s (mostly) encouraged, with many artists using sex appeal to sell records (with some exceptions). However, when the artist in question is a Christian rapper signed to a label whose stated goals are more in line with “saving souls” than “making money,” it’s unsurprising that swift action was taken when the rapper’s scandalous actions were… ahem.. exposed.

Christian rapper Gawvi, formerly known as G-Styles, and signed to Reach Records in 2016, was accused by multiple women including his ex-wife of sending unsolicited photos of his genitals. A graphic artist on Twitter first opened the floodgates, writing, “Years ago I made album artwork for
@gawvi. For my next project I’m going to make a collage of all the unasked for dick pics he sent to women while he was still married.” It wasn’t long until others chimed in, stating they’d also received such photos.

According to Rapzilla, the rapper’s ex-wife — with whom he separated in 2020 — also made comments referencing his infidelity on TikTok, although the account is private. Meanwhile, a Christian rap subreddit also picked up the story, with the graphic artist explaining more about why she posted her initial tweet. “It wasn’t a knee-jerk thoughtless reaction,” she wrote. “I have known about his actions for at least a year, maybe more… I want to defend all my friends because I KNOW they tried and tried. When someone refuses accountability and is a textbook narcissist, there is no ‘addressing it privately.’”

Shortly thereafter, Reach Records posted that it had parted ways with Gawvi on Instagram. “Due to behavior that is inconsistent with our core values, we have ended our professional relationship with GAWVI,” the statement reads. “This was a tough decision for us because of the level of complexity and because we invest in our artists not just for their talent, but also as brothers and sisters in Christ. This is something we have been processing for over a year and have wrestled with what would be the right way forward. New details that were provided made us realize today’s decision was necessary.”

Nicki Minaj Explains Why She Won’t Collaborate With One Female Rap Group In Particular

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Nicki Minaj has come a long way since I wrote about her need to collaborate with the generation of young female rappers she helped inspire. Although she had her issues with the then-emerging Cardi B and recently complained that younger female rappers “can’t take criticism,” spurring some fans to remind her to check her mirror once in a while, she did collaborate with rising star Doja Cat on the latter’s hit single “Say So,” leading to Nicki’s first-ever No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.

However, Nicki still has high expectations from the younger generation and drew a line in the sand on potentially collaborating with one up-and-coming group specifically in a recent interview. Appearing on The Morning Hustle, a syndicated, urban news-and-talk radio show this week, Nicki shot down the possibility of any future collaborations with Miami scam rap duo City Girls. Using the example of a dinner invite, she says that after some shady comments by City Girls, she wouldn’t sit down to dinner with someone who didn’t like her. “It’s let go,” she asserted, “But why would I work with someone who doesn’t like me?”

A few fans confused by Nicki’s assertion wondered about what City Girls could have said to give her that impression, but screenshots are forever, and judging from the saved tweets that appeared in the replies on the above video, it doesn’t look like JT minced words one bit. “I just don’t like Nicki,” she tweeted back in 2017. “She feel she really run sh*t. Hoe, please, I want Cardi to take completely over. Push that bitch to the back.” For what it’s worth, that’s more or less what happened; since that tweet, Cardi did go on to become the first female rapper with multiple No. 1 records to her name. While Nicki has sort of caught up, these days, she makes more headlines for her scandals than her music. Hopefully, that changes Friday with the release of her new single featuring Lil Baby. And hey, there’s always the potential for her to do that Verzuz battle and remind people of her legacy.

Summer Walker Debuted A Radical New Hairdo And Fans Have Thoughts

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Atlanta R&B singer Summer Walker ended 2021 on a high note, releasing her second studio album Still Over It and watching it debut at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, becoming the first album from a female R&B singer to do so in five years. In 2022, it looks like she wants to get a fresh start, which she did by following the time-honored tradition of acquiring a radical new hairstyle. Naturally, once she debuted it on social media, fans had thoughts, jokes, memes, and expressions of both horror and praise.

As you can see, the singer went for a high queue, shaving the majority of her hair off and leaving enough for a ponytail of braids. Declaring that she “legit wanted this hairstyle my whole life,” she popped several photos from different angles on her Instagram, opening the floodgates for fans’ comments. One of the more positive reactions on Twitter read, “One thing about Summer Walker… shawty gone do whatever the hell she want to. Hate it or love it, I gotta respect it. I love seeing black folks with agency. Even when we make think it’s ridiculous, as long as no one is harmed, do your thing.”

However, others found some comedic value in the unusual cut, comparing her to pop culture figures who’ve worn the style over the years including the sub-boss Goro from the Mortal Kombat video game franchise and the disgraced prince Zuko from the animated series, Avatar: The Last Airbender. It seems that whether fans approve or not, Summer Walker will keep giving them reasons to talk in 2022. She also has more room for tattoos now, so don’t be surprised if she pops up with some new ones in the available space. Check out more fan reactions below.

Drake’s Sourpuss Expression At A Raptors Game Generates His Latest Meme

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For better or worse, Drake is a walking, talking meme — and he knows it, which means he often leans in, enjoying the chaos that results from his every facial expression or finicky habit. And because he’s such a huge hoops head, many of his finest moments are generated during NBA games while he’s supporting his precious Toronto Raptors or giving their rivals a friendly haranguing during games.

His latest is no exception. During last night’s game against the Miami Heat, Drake was caught by the TV broadcast’s cameras scrolling through his phone with a sourpuss expression on his face — which, of course, offered the perfect opportunity for speculation on what he was staring at that made him so grumpy. The timing — just a day after Rihanna announced her pregnancy with ASAP Rocky — was especially delicious for Twitter’s jokesters.

Drake notoriously had a huge crush on Rihanna and even dated her for a bit, but unfortunately for him, it seemed the burgeoning mogul preferred a “Rude Boy” after all. After dating Saudi billionaire Hassan Jameel for three years, Rihanna appears to have settled into a life of domestic bliss with “Fashion Killa” collaborator ASAP Rocky. The couple announced their baby blessing earlier this week with photos revealing Rihanna’s expanding bump, prompting many fans to tweet, “Someone check on Drake.”

In doing so, fans have found that the results are just about as funny as could be imagined — although plenty of the Drake jokes revolved around other potentially disappointing scenarios, as well. You can check out more Drake memes below.