Wizkid and Tems have been riding the success of their hit record “Essence” for more than a year now. The song, which appears on the former’s album Made In Lagos, was released in late 2020 and since then, the duo has pushed the song to heights that few afrobeats records have reached before. In a matter of months, “Essence” became the first Nigerian song to chart on the Billboard Hot 100. It would enter the top ten of the chart thanks to a remix from Justin Bieber, which helped to boost the song’s popularity. Now, the two have brought their talents to late-night TV.
The pair stopped by The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon to dazzle with the latest performance of their breakout song. Per usual, they were excellently dressed for the performance, which took place on a big concert stage draped in blue and purple lighting.
Their latest rendition of the track comes after last week, when Wizkid invited Tems to take the stage with him at London’s O2 arena in front of a massive crowd.
Their The Tonight Show performance comes after Wizkid and Tems signed on to perform at Portugal’s Afronation festival next summer. They’ll be joined by Burna Boy, Megan Thee Stallion, Ckay, Koffee, Rema, Tekno, and more.
You can watch Wizkid and Tems perform “Essence” above.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
Tomorrow night, Ye and Drake will take over the Los Angeles Coliseum for their benefit concert for Larry Hoover, a Chicago gang founder currently serving a 150-200 year sentence for a 1973 murder. The show will be available on Amazon platforms and in IMAX theaters. However, it wouldn’t be happening without the rappers’ decision to set aside their differences, ending the beef they’ve had for the past three years. Rap-A-Lot Records CEO J Prince had a huge hand in helping Ye and Drake patch things up, but in a new interview with Billboard, he sets the record straight on how it went down.
“I painted the bigger picture to Drake,” Prince explained when he was asked why he thinks the two rappers met at Drake’s Toronto mansion late last month. “I let him know that this is a moment and movement that can save lives. I believe by Drake and Kanye being an example, as two of hip-hop’s top artists, that lives would be saved.” He continued, “I believe this is going to be imitated and it’s important to be an example to those that look up to you and that meant something to Drake — just the life-saving event wrapped around putting the spotlight on injustice, prison reform, and my brother Larry Hoover. Everything is icing on the cake after that, because he never envisioned things like that.”
Prince also made sure to note that he did not pressure or “force” Ye into setting aside his differences with Drake for the benefit concert. “It was an interesting conversation, but the furthest thing from the truth regarding any kind of force,” he said. “I heard all kinds of rumors, and that was the furthest thing from the truth To me, that moment was what I called an ‘anointing moment’ — because none of it was planned. It wasn’t planned where we had that meeting in that particular church, but me being a man of God, I couldn’t deny the invitation to actually meet him.”
The concert will kick-off at 11pm EST / 8pm PST on Thursday and stream on Prime Video, the Amazon Music app, and the Amazon Music Twitch channel in addition to IMAX theaters.
You can read J Prince’s full sit-down with Billboardhere.
Today is Nicki Minaj’s birthday, but she’s the one giving the gift to her followers on Instagram, posting photos from a celebratory birthday shoot showing off her NSFW birthday suit. Cheekily captioning her post “Say happy birthday to da bad guy” — a reference to her 2018 hit “Chun-Li” — Nicki shared three photos in which she bares all while holding a prop cake and straddles a massive teddy bear all with her signature cotton candy pink wig immaculately styled like an old-Hollywood glamor model.
Nicki’s 38th year on Earth has certainly been an eventual one. Although she hasn’t released much music, she did drop a few new tunes for her fans, who are always eager to support her. In May, she re-released her breakthrough mixtape, Beam Me Up Scotty, with a brand-new track, “Seeing Green,” that reunited her with her Young Money cohorts Drake and Lil Wayne. She also joined Polo G on his Hall Of Fame track, “For The Love Of New York,” as well as guesting on Little Mix member Jesy Nelson’s solo single “Boyz” and the Elton John collaboration “Always Love You” with Young Thug.
Unfortunately, she got just as much attention for her missteps, sparking a widespread backlash when she shared a vaccine conspiracy theory that got her roasted by seemingly everyone who wasn’t Fox News, where suddenly, she was the best rapper around after years of them criticizing her for her music and image. She and her husband Kenneth also came under fire for harassing a woman who said he raped her over 20 years ago.
It wasn’t all bad news, though; in November, Nicki joined erstwhile rival Cardi B as the only two female rappers to receive a diamond certification from the RIAA. Here’s hoping the last year of her 30s goes a lot better and she finds some time to drop new music, so she has something else to tweet about.
When Cordae released his debut album, The Lost Boy, in 2019, it was as a newcomer who was then best known as a member of the YBN crew. Now, two years and a name change later, we know the release date for the album’s long-awaited follow-up, From A Bird’s Eye View. Preceded by the well-received singles “Super” and “Sinister” featuring Lil Wayne, From A Bird’s Eye View is scheduled for release on January 14, 2022. It’s also available for pre-order here.
On a Zoom listening session for the album ahead of the announcement, Cordae revealed the reasoning behind the album’s title, comparing it to The Lost Boy and pointing out his evolution stylistically since 2019, saying that on his first album, he felt reluctant to leave behind his old life and embrace stardom, while on his new one, he’s taking stock of how fame has affected hiim. He also shared that life changes, such as his first trip to Africa, losing a dear friend, and having to ride out a pandemic all contributed to his growth. The new album will have high expectations; despite being his debut, The Lost Boy was nominated for a Best Rap Album Grammy Award at the 2020 Grammys, as well as a Best Rap Song award for “Bad Idea” with Chance The Rapper.
Cordae
From A Bird’s Eye View is due 1/14/2022 via Art@War and Atlantic. Pre-save it here.
Coming in at No. 68 on the list is Rihanna. According to Forbes, her addition to their roundup is thanks to the success of her cosmetics line Fenty Beauty, which also made her become a recent billionaire. Beyonce followed Rihanna on the list at No. 76. Forbes named her powerful due to the success of her On The Run II tour with Jay-Z, which they said raked in a total of more than $250 million. Swift landed shortly behind Beyonce at No. 78 due to her process of re-recording her albums and earning her 10th No. 1 album.
The three musicians are in good company on Forbes‘ list. Some other names that make an appearance on the list have both political and financial power, like MacKenzie Scott, who was awarded 25 percent of her ex-husband Jeff Bezos’ Amazon stock and donated nearly $8 billion. Kamala Harris also made the list for her historic role as Vice President.
Read Forbes‘ full list of the 100 Most Powerful Women Of 2021 here.
The world of celebrity weed exists independently from the weed world at large. For the most part, these brands, as well as their namesakes, have little to do with cannabis culture or the cannabis they’re selling. Many celeb weed brands (especially those that popped up right after legalization) are little more than exercises in marketing — where flashy campaigns and absurd profit margins eclipse any intention of delivering a good product.
But there’s a catch with the celebrity weed industry that makes it trickier to navigate for the rich and famous than other celeb-branded spaces. Weed is a subculture with a distinct cool factor. Interlopers can be spotted from a mile away. Just because a celebrity puts out a brand, doesn’t mean smokers are going to like it. Even if they’re fans. These days, celeb brands are actually given more scrutiny than normal weed brands.
Why? Partly because there are so many of them now. But also because as cannabis culture is devoured by the mainstream, stoners have grown wary of business Chads and celebrity vultures swooping down to cash in on our magical plant and the subculture it’s created. There’s very much a sense of “where were you when we were getting high?”
If the celebrity in question was not in the trenches, using their platform to advocate for cannabis use with the stoners they’re now trying to sell weed to, the brand has a major problem and is likely going to get ridiculed within the community. It’s also the brands from non-stoner celebrities that tend to have the worst weed.
While great celebrity brands are heavily involved with the cultivation and selection of the strains they implement, others rely on white labeling — where cannabis is bought in bulk then re-branded (you also see this in plenty of celebrity booze brands too). The result is a totally polarizing sub-genre of the cannabis industry with some fire-ass weed, a lot of mids, and a handful of expensive trash.
Here’s a list to help you suss out the good, the bad, and the almost-un-smokeable of celebrity weed brands out there.
Cookies by Berner
Cookies Instagram
The Brand:
While it seems almost redundant to write anything about Cookies as they’re possibly the most visible brand in the weed world, it’s easy to forget that not only is Cookies a celebrity brand, it’s the most successful one of all time. Founded by Bay-area rapper Berner in 2012, Cookies has ballooned into its own empire– complete with a hype-beast subculture of avid fans.
Bottom Line:
With over 30 retail outlets in eight states and two countries, Cookies maintains their reign with proprietary genetics like their eponymous Girl Scout Cookies strain, as well as working with some of the best farms and growers in the world, like their recent collaboration with the Humboldt legacy brand Ridgeline Farms.
Insane by B-Real
Insane Instagram
The Brand:
Insane by Cypress Hill artist B-Real is a perfect example of a celeb weed brand that checks all the boxes. Great weed? Check. Bonafide stoner owner? Check. Insane in the membrane? You betcha.
Bottom Line:
B-Real is one of the most legit businessmen in legal weed today. He’s the owner of the Dr. Greenthumb dispensary chain and now the cannabis company Insane. Each carefully curated and extremely potent strain is a reflection of B Real’s lifelong commitment to loving, smoking, and creating great cannabis.
Mind Your Head by Mickey Heart
Mind Your Head Website
The Brand:
Mind Your Head is a magical preroll brand from the legendary Mickey Hart, drummer for the most stoned band of all time, The Grateful Dead. With two offerings, Magic Minis (mini prerolls) and Space Tickets (blunt-like prerolls infused with ice-water hash), this brand from a true OG is sure to steal your face.
Bottom Line:
Though it’s not clear where the weed comes from for these prerolls, Mickey Hart can do no wrong in the eyes of the stoner community. That passes the vibe check with kaleidoscopic colors.
Forbidden Flowers by Bella Thorne and Glass House Farms
Forbidden Flowers Instagram
The Brand:
Forbidden Flowers is an example of a different type of celeb weed brand, the collab. It’s often that celebrities (with little connection to the cannabis industry) will team up with an already existing brand to put out their line. In my opinion, this is a more reputable route to take than the straight corporate white label. At least the celeb is coordinating with people who care/know about weed in some capacity.
Bottom Line:
While Bella Thorne definitely smokes weed, this is a brand that feels more branded in her likeness than something she has a ton to do with. Glass House is a good weed brand, though, so at least the flower is worth smoking. And I like the glittery packaging.
Houseplant by Seth Rogen
Houseplant Instagram
The Brand:
Now for one of the most polarizing brands in celebrity cannabis today, Seth Rogen’s Houseplant. A bit of an enigma, Houseplant has garnered significant criticism for a brand coming from such a well-liked and extremely stoned celebrity. I think this is in part due to the fact that the cannabis community expected much more from one of our own.
The Bottom Line:
Houseplant flower is beautifully branded, totally expensive, and grown by THC Design, a popular Los Angeles cannabis brand known for high THC indoor flower with insane bud structure. Unlike Forbidden Flowers, whose Glass House collab is front and center in their marketing, Houseplant tried to keep their THC Design connection a secret, which didn’t particularly sit well when it came out. For example, Houseplant’s Pancake Ice strain is basically just rebranded Crescendo by THC Design, the #1 selling flower in California last year. Come on, Seth. You can do better than that.
Tyson Ranch by Mike Tyson
Mike Tyson Instagram
The Brand:
Now for one of the most confusing brands in the celeb weed world, Tyson Ranch. When Mike Tyson launched Tyson Holistic Holdings in 2016, he had big plans. Aside from cannabis and edibles, the brand would include the first cannabis resort of sorts, a 418-acre ranch in the desert that would include a festival venue and the world’s longest lazy river, among other things.
The Bottom Line:
Despite countless feature articles that claim to take you “Inside Mike Tyson’s Cannabis Ranch,” the photos are all drawings, and everything exists as a hypothetical. The reality is that, five years later, there is no ranch — only mediocre weed and subpar gummies. I love Mike Tyson and hope he realizes this bat shit idea as only he could. But so far, no dice.
Peaches by Justin Bieber
Palms Premium Instagram
The Brand:
As we near the end of this list, things are only getting worse. Next up in Dante’s descent into the inferno of celebrity mids is Peaches by Justin Bieber. Everything about this brand is annoying to me as a lifelong stoner. One, Justin Bieber has one of the largest platforms in the world and has never once used his voice to advocate for cannabis use. Suddenly entering the arena now that it’s socially acceptable seems like a cash grab from a dude who has plenty of cash.
Bottom Line:
The weed sucks. Grown by Palms Premium, it will get you high, but it doesn’t taste like anything or particularly smell like anything either, two major signs that the weed isn’t good, and clearly grown in some kind of industrial juggernaut that harvests 20 times a week and douses everything with chemicals.
Even if you get your peaches out in Georgia, I suggest you get your weed elsewhere.
Monogram by Jay-Z
Monogram Instagram
The Brand:
Monogram by Jay-Z is far and away my least favorite celebrity cannabis brand. While the packaging is gorgeous and the celebrity founder has extensive cannabis chops, the flower is terrible and absurdly expensive. Like…. $60 for a “hand-rolled” joint expensive. Even for the highest quality flower infused with kief or live resin, $60 would still be very expensive for a blunt. Instead of top-shelf flower, this joint is filled with shwaggy dried-out weed that honestly just makes you feel weird because it’s been so juiced for THC.
And that’s their flagship product.
The Bottom Line:
Their version of an eighth (four grams) is $70. This price point is usually reserved for some of the best weed on the market, not total mids from who knows where. The fact that the founder is a literal billionaire who came from nothing makes it all the ickier. He should know better and does.
This totally exploitive pricing system on shitty weed is nothing short of a bummer.
There’s no doubt that Jack Harlow has had a stellar year thus far. The rapper earned his first No. 1 single for his Lil Nas X collaboration “Industry Baby” and was nominated for two Grammys. He’s also finishing up a sold-out tour in his Kentucky home state, but he doesn’t want to make the rest of the country feel left out. That’s why he’s just announced an eight-show run in California early next year.
Taking to social media to announce his Crème De La Crème California tour set for early January, Harlow wrote, “California… I never meant to make you feel left out. Please forgive me. Let’s run this Creme De La Creme Tour one last time.”
California…
I never meant to make you feel left out. Please forgive me. Let’s run this Creme De La Creme Tour one last time.
Check out Harlow’s Crème De La Crème California tour dates below.
01/07/2022 — Los Angeles, CA @ The Novo
01/09/2022 — Pomona, CA @ The Fox Theater
01/10/2022 — San Diego, CA @ The Observatory North Park
01/11/2022 — San Luis Obispo, CA @ Alex B. Madonna Events Center
01/13/2022 — San Jose, CA @ San Jose Civic Center Auditorium
01/14/2022 — Oakland, CA @ Fox Theater
01/15/2022 — San Francisco, CA @ The Masonic
01/16/2022 — Sacramento, CA @ Ace Of Spades
Tickets to Harlow’s Crème De La Crème California tour go on sale 12/10 at 10 a.m. PT. Get them here.
Jack Harlow is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
When Grand Theft Auto V was first released back in 2013, it set records as one of the best-selling media franchises ever. That said, nobody expected the game to last as long as it has. GTA V is just as popular now as it was back in 2013 and a huge reason for that is the game’s online mode, GTA Online. The concept was pretty simple: give players the opportunity to explore the fictional city of Los Santos in a sandbox environment while having a few missions they can play every once in a while.
The results of that simple idea turned GTA V into the most profitable piece of media ever made and GTA Online has people still logging on to play it all these years later. So it’s no surprise to see that the developers over at Rockstar are still finding new ways to support the game. Their latest update sees GTA Online bring back a GTA V favorite, Franklin, in a new set of story missions. Not only that, but these new missions are going to feature Dr. Dre as himself in the game. Rockstar is also telling us that this story will feature new exclusive music from Dre himself in the game. Via Rockstar Newswire:
“Get ready for a wild and hilarious ride through Los Santos, from the mean streets of Franklin’s old neighborhood to the hottest parties in the city, from debaucherous mansions to the offices of the FIB and everywhere in between as you join Franklin, expert hacker Imani, Chop the Dog, and crew to secure Dr. Dre’s precious tracks and return them to their rightful owner.
Stay tuned to the Rockstar Newswire in the coming days for more info on The Contract, arriving December 15 to GTA Online — including details of an eclectic new radio station from some very special guest hosts, huge first-of-their-kind updates to existing radio stations including a ton of new and unreleased exclusive tracks from Dr. Dre and a heavy-hitting line-up of artists, plus additional opportunities for agency work including choice hits for players willing to get their hands dirty, plus new weapons, vehicles, and much more.”
A while back, Snoop Dogg revealed that Dre was working on new music for Grand Theft Auto. While he didn’t clarify what GTA game that was, it seems more than likely that he was referring to this upcoming GTA Online update.
This is all really exciting news. GTA fans have to be excited to see Franklin back in the fold after going so long without seeing him and we get new music from Dr. Dre on top of that. For anyone that’s big into GTA Online, this is going to be a must play update.
Of all of the hits in Snoop Dogg‘s massive catalog, the biggest is his 2004 Rhythm & Gangsta single “Drop It Like It’s Hot” featuring Pharrell. It became Snoop’s first Hot 100 No. 1, a position it held for three weeks in 2004, and it was nominated at the 2005 Grammy Awards for Best Rap Song and Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group, ending the decade named the most popular rap song of the decade by Billboard.
In fact, many of Snoop’s collaborations with Pharrell have been wildly successful. “Beautiful” also hit the top 10, while “Signs,” with Justin Timberlake, was also a huge hit in its own right, landing at No. 1 or in the top 10 on numerous global charts. However, Snoop does have one major regret about his time working with Pharrell as a producer, which he revealed in a recent interview with GQ.
“What I didn’t get from him that I always wanted was a song with me and Jay-Z together on a Pharrell beat,” Snoop admitted. “Because I felt like [Jay and I] heard his beats the best, you know what I’m saying? We did his beats the most justice.” This opinion stemmed from a bit of friendly competition between the two rap vets. “Because that’s our producer; he’s our guy,” he said. “I’m like, ‘Man, that sh*t you gave Jay-Z was hot. Now you think I can get one better than that?’ You think Jay’s saying, ‘How the f*ck do you get this n**** ‘Drop It Like It’s Hot?’ I’ve been hanging out with you, and you’re going to give him that?’”
Elsewhere in the interview, Snoop talks about letting DMX record his final album at Snoop’s own compound for free, which became a key point in his negotiations to become the Def Jam’s creative consultant.. “[Def Jam] owed me [for DMX’s studio time], and I wasn’t sending no invoices because I did that for X and then X passed away. Charge to the game. He gave me that.”
Salut, mon ami! Tyler The Creator’s Golf Le Fleur line has been bubbling up for years now. What began in 2017 as a limited edition set of Converse Chuck Taylors in colors like Jolly Green, Solar Power, and Vanilla in the first wave, and Greener Pastures, Limoges, and Rhubarb in the second wave, the vision was to tie together different subcultures. “I wanted to put them in one place, that was important to me,” Tyler said in a release earlier this year. Now the collection has been developing into something deeper beyond just kicks.
Today, Tyler and Golf Le Fleur have announced the first fragrance in the collection, dubbed “French Waltz.” It’s described as a “rose-musk fragrance for everyone,” and is crafted by CPL Aromas, the largest fragrance-only fragrance house in the world. A look under the hood of French Waltz shows that it boasts an incredibly layered scent. It has a musk and sandalwood base, with top notes of mandarin, nashi pear, lychee, and magnolia, and mimosa, jasmine, rose and muguet as its the heart. It slots well with Golf Le Fleur’s mission of creating “a whimsical world that reflects the ideas of curiosity, color harmony, and opulence……le FLEUR* is by and for the sun seekers.”
French Waltz is a limited release in 100mL and 50mL sizes, starting December 13 at 11 a.m. ET here. Watch the vert artsy launch film above and check out pictures of the bottle and the display box below.
