Music

Russ Adds Rising Singer Hailey Knox To His Wistful ‘Remember (Remix)’

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Russ doesn’t often invite other artists to participate in his weekly single releases, but judging from his latest he really should. This week’s release is a remix of last week’s release, “Remember,” adding 22-year-old New York alt-R&B singer Hailey Knox for a crisp second verse that plays off the wistful themes of the original. According to Russ’ Twitter, the “Gucci Prada Balenciaga” singer responded to his open verse challenge and he liked her verse so much, he added it to the song, touting the freedom to do so as another of the benefits of remaining independent.

Knox, who got her start singing acoustic covers of pop hits on social media, grabbed fans’ attention at the end of 2021 with the release of “Gucci Prada Balenciaga,” which flaunted her expensive tastes and became something of a playlist favorite among young fans who scour the internet for up-and-coming talent. A placement on Lyrical Lemonade boosted her profile and with Russ lending her his support, it’s probably only a matter of time until her growing buzz leads to more concrete successes.

While Russ doesn’t often collaborate on his weekly singles, he loves to bounce off other rappers — especially on his recently released album Chomp 2, which expanded the scope of the original EP with appearances by everyone from Big KRIT to Snoop Dogg to Westside Gunn. He also teased a possible duets album with Kehlani, which would be another great outcome for his 2022.

Listen to the “Remember (Remix)” featuring Hailey Knox above.

Gunna Gets Extra Cozy To Perform ‘Empire’ On ‘The Tonight Show’

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Last night, Gunna stuck the landing on the impressive rollout of his new album DS4EVER. The Atlanta trap star gave his Drip Season a fitting sendoff, launching a campaign to make “Pushin P” the latest adult-bewildering slang, trying out new visual formats for his videos like “Life Of Sin,” dropping a deluxe edition with four new songs, and pulling in at No. 1 on the Billboard 200. With all those notches on his belt, he made one last stop at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in New York City to deliver a mellow performance of “Empire” on The Tonight Show.

Appearing on a fog-shrouded stage wearing an all-white ensemble and accompanied only by his guitarist — also dressed in all-white, the supremely laid-back Gunna rapped his verses from a comfy-looking chair flanked by a classy, candle-bearing side table. Completing the cozy look was a pair of bright yellow house slippers for a pop of color. The only things missing were a Snuggie, a cup of hot tea, and a fluffy blanket — who knew Gunna could do lo-fi self-care so well?

Watch Gunna’s Tonight Show performance of “Empire” above.

DS4EVER is out now via 300 and Atlantic. You can stream it here.

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

Kanye West Demands Final Edit Approval Over His Upcoming Netflix Series

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The Netflix documentary series about Kanye West, Jeen-yuhs, has been highly anticipated since it was announced last year after months of rumors and with the recent release of the trailer, that anticipation has reached a fever pitch. Unfortunately, it looks like the one person at the center of the maelstrom is unhappy with the arrangements for its impending premier. In a post to his Instagram, the notoriously fickle Ye demanded more creative control over the project, which he’s apparently worried could paint him in an unflattering light (he knows we all saw the last five years, right?).

“I’m going to say this kindly for the last time,” he wrote. “I must get final edit and approval on this doc before it releases on Netflix. Open the edit room immediately so I can be in charge of my own image. Thank you in advance.”

While such a demand is par for the course for Kanye, it’s not all that unusual for Netflix either. The company recently honored an impassioned public request from Dave Chappelle to remove episodes of his Comedy Central sketch show from the service over a royalty dispute, and it likely extended every courtesy to the subjects of recent shows about athletes Colin Kaepernick and Naomi Osaka. However, with the Jeen-yuhs premiere date less than a month away, Netflix may not have time for Ye’s usual last-minute shenanigans. Certainly, if he gets to edit the film himself, it’ll probably end up being a much more sanitized affair — and let’s face it, with this subject, that would be a loss for fans of cinema, Kanye, and hip-hop history.

Jack Black Personally Called Meat Loaf To Ask Him To Play His Dad In The ‘Tenacious D’ Movie

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New Line Cinema

Meat Loaf is obviously a legendary singer. His operatic vocals were a mainstay in my car as a teenager; you couldn’t go 10 minutes without hearing “Bat Out of Hell,” or “You Took the Words Right Out of My Mouth (Hot Summer Night),” or “Two Out of Three Ain’t Bad,” or “Paradise by the Dashboard Light” (all from the same album!) on the radio. Not that I minded: his high-brow sleaze was a much-needed break from Foreigner and the Eagles.

But Meat Loaf, who sadly passed away at 74 years old this week, was also a talented actor, appearing in movies as diverse as The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Spice World, Fight Club, and Focus (which he called his best work), but my personal favorite is Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny. It’s a short scene in the 2006 film where he plays young Jack Black’s god-fearing, rock-hating dad during “Kickapoo,” but it rules. He belts out lyrics like, “You’ll become a mindless puppet / Beelzebub will pull the strings,” and it’s not every day you get a song with Meat Loaf and Ronnie James Dio.

In 2006, Meat Loaf told MTV how his role in the Tenacious D movie came together. “For five years, Jack Black has been saying he wanted me to play his father. In every interview he did he always [said], ‘I’m gonna make the movie Tenacious D, and I want to make Meat Loaf play my father.’ Every interview,” he said. “And my daughters, Pearl and Amanda, they kept reading it and [would] call and say, ‘Jack said it again, Jack said it again.’ I said, ‘When he calls me, I’ll tell him I’ll do it.’ He did call. He called me himself.”

Black was the original choice to play the “I’d Do Anything for Love (But I Won’t Do That)” singer in the VH1 made-for-TV movie Meat Loaf: To Hell and Back, but then there was a scheduling conflict and Black got mega-famous. Meat Loaf wasn’t upset, though:

I just saw him in movies that he had done, and I had heard some stuff from Tenacious D. I said, “This is the guy to play me. He’s got the energy, and he understands it.” He was going to [play me], then his career took off and [this] movie got postponed. He tried, and I said, “Well, the guy’s an idiot if he does it.” I said, “Let me see — a studio picture over the Meat Loaf story? Let me think about that for a minute. Gee, I don’t know, that’s a hard decision.”

The movie can still happen: cast Jack Black as Meat Loaf and Kyle Gass as Jim Steinman. I’d run to the theater to see that like a bat out of hell.

You can watch Meat Loaf’s scene in Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny below.

(Via MTV)

Guapdad 4000 Is All About His Cash On The Money-Hungry, Classic Rap-Sampling ‘I Need Bands’

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After making a strong arrival in 2019 with Dior Deposits, Guapdad 4000 brought things to a new level last year with 1176 alongside Illmind. The fourteen songs on the project, which featured contributions from Buddy, P-Lo, and more, showed the Bay Area rapper’s artistic growth. Keeping this in mind, he also makes sure to have some fun with his music and that’s what he does on his latest single, “I Need Bands.”

The track, which marks Guapdad’s first song of the year, captures his tunnel vision approach towards stacking his paper over a sample of LL Cool J’s seminal 1987 hit “I Need Love.” Ironically enough, the video released with the song shows him freely spending his money at strip clubs and high-end luxury stores. The song also proves that Guapdad’s mindset hasn’t changed despite it being a new year as “I Need Bands” arrives just a month after he delivered a music video for “Money.” The track was the first song the rapper released following his 1176 album with Illmind.

Guapdad’s 2021 year also included a remix of “How Many” with Rick Ross, videos for “Chicken Adobo” and “She Wanna” with P-Lo, and great collaboration between him and fellow West Coast rapper Buddy for “PlayStation.” His 2020 year featured two EPs: Platinum Falcon Tape, Vol. 1, and Platinum Falcon Returns.

You can watch the video for “I Need Bands” above.

Guapdad 4000 is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Big KRIT Dishes Out The Lush ‘So Cool’ Shortly After Announcing That His Fifth Album Is Complete

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The start of 2022 marks another year of independence for Big KRIT. The Mississippi-bred rapper returned to the indie route back in 2017 prior to the release of his third album 4eva Is A Mighty Long Time. He followed up that project with 2019’s KRIT Iz Here, and now KRIT is ready to grace the world with his fifth album. The rapper announced that the project, which remains untitled, is complete through posts on social media with a caption that read, “Album Officially Turned In” with the hashtag #DRDD, which could be the abbreviation for the album.

Just days after that announcement, KRIT makes a quick return to drop off his first release of the year with “So Cool.” The track is a lush and laid-back release from KRIT that shows off his soulful side. In the song, he shares how he remains cool at all times thanks to his confident aura and his determination to stay cool, calm, and collected no matter the occasion.

The new song and video come after KRIT spent most of 2021 reuploading his past mixtapes to streaming services. These project were 2010’s KRIT Wuz Here, 2011’s Return Of 4eva, 2012’s 4eva In A Day, 2013’s King Remembered In Time, and 2015’s It’s Better This Way — which can all be enjoyed to the fullest extent thanks to their presence on platforms like Apple Music and Spotify. He also continued his “Sub” series in 2019 with its fifth installment, “Ballad Of The Bass (My Suv V).”

You can press play on “So Cool” in the video above.

2 Chainz, Moneybagg Yo, And Beatking’s ‘Pop Music’ Video Looks Like Something From The Freaknik Archives

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In just a few weeks, 2 Chainz will drop his Dope Don’t Sell Itself album, his first full-length release in almost two years. He began the rollout for the project, which may be his “last trap album,” by releasing “Million Dollars Worth Of Game” with 42 Dugg. Just a couple of weeks later, 2 Chainz is back with a second single for his listeners to enjoy. “Pop Music” finds the Atlanta rap star standing beside Moneybagg Yo and Beatking for a fun and energetic single.

The track is an ideal release for the strip club, with the three artists encouraging the women around them to shake what their mommas gave them. 2 Chainz leads the way with a lighthearted verse before Moneybagg Yo comes in to handle business on the second verse. Beatking holds it all together with a simple but effective hook on the track. The trio also released a music video for the song and it’s a risque visual, obviously inspired by the infamous Freaknik festival, that’s filled with plenty of women who have no issue with twerking their lives away.

Prior to “Pop Music” and “Million Dollars Worth Of Game,” 2 Chainz united with DJ Premier to show off their tunnel vision spirits on “Mortgage Free.” As for Moneybagg Yo, he recently teamed up with French Montana for a video for their “FWMGAB” remix.

2 Chainz 'Dope Don't Sell Itself' artwork
Def Jam

You can watch the video for “Pop Music” and check out the artwork for Dope Don’t Sell Itself above.

Dope Don’t Sell Itself is due 2/4 via Def Jam.

Dope Don’t Sell Itself is out 2/4 via Def Jam. Pre-order it here.

Shenseea And Megan Thee Stallion’s Eye-Popping, WAP-Esque ‘Lick’ Video Offers One Sweet Deal

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Shenseea has made quite the name for herself in the dancehall lane. She’s just a few months removed from landing two guest appearances on Kanye West’s tenth album Donda where she’s featured on “Ok Ok Pt. 2” and “Pure Souls.” Shenseea has also worked with artists like Tyga, Masego, Swae Lee, and more, but today, she returns with what will surely go down as one of her biggest collaborations. Shenseea and Megan Thee Stallion team up for the new song “Lick,” which comes with quite the music video that will certainly earn itself plenty of attention.

Through the song (and its raunchy music video) Shenseea and Megan Thee Stallion look to offer proper instructions on just how to lick. Context clues from the song should help clarify what is being licked, and if that’s not enough, the track’s accompanying music video should do the job. Shenseea and Megan strut their stuff in Candyland throughout the visual which features lollipops, ice cream, and other tasty treats.

The song arrives after Megan released a teaser ad with Cheetos that saw the rapper gearing up to meet some exotic animals. Prior to that, she signed a first-look production deal with Netflix.

You can watch the video for “Lick” above.

Megan Thee Stallion is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

21 Savage Declares That It’s Time For A New Album

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The music world hasn’t gone too long with an album from 21 Savage. He ended his 2021 year with two singles, “No Debate” and “Big Smoke,” songs that arrived after a period filled with guest features alongside names like Drake, Rick Ross, Roddy Ricch, Nardo Wick, Young Nudy, and more. In 2020, he teamed up with Metro Boomin for Savage Mode II which gave both him and Metro the second No. 1 albums of their careers. Despite all of this, it’s been a little over three years since 21 Savage dropped a solo album, which was 2018’s I Am > I Was, and he’s looking to change that soon.

The Atlanta rapper teased the project in a tweet from the Billboard Charts Twitter account which said that he was tied for fifth place with the most entries on the singles chart this year. “No album in a year and a half tho…it’s time,” 21 Savage. That tweet references Savage Mode II with Metro Boomin but it’s been even longer without a solo album from him, a streak that will hopefully end in the coming months.

The tweet from 21 Savage comes after he and Baby Tate joined JID for their “Surround Sound” collaboration. Prior to that, he teamed up with Gunna on “Thought I Was Playing,” where he insisted that Kanye West broke up with Kim Kardashian and not the other way around as we all know it.

You can view 21 Savage’s tweet above.

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