Currently (and also for the past half-decade), Rihanna anxiously fans wait for the follow-up to her 2016 album Anti. Therefore, they eat up any sort of update about new music from Rihanna, no matter how minor it may be. Well, the latest Rihanna dispatch is certainly minor but is exciting regardless, as she suggested to a paparazzo recently that new music is quickly forthcoming.
In a video of the encounter, Rihanna emerges from a car and the person behind the camera asks her, “Any new music, anything?” The singer responded as she walked away, “Soon, soon, soon.”
Rihanna responds to paparazzi asking if she has any new music coming:
In September, she said of her upcoming music, “You’re not going to expect what you hear. Just put that in your mind. Whatever you know of Rihanna is not going to be what you hear. I’m really experimenting. Music is like fashion: you should be able to play. I should be able to wear whatever I want, and I treat music the same way. So, I’m having fun and it’s going to be completely different. That’s it.”
A new report from Input Magazine alleges that a former reporter at The New York Times exploited a number of artists for personal gain. Ian Urbina is accused of seeking out artists to give him music that he would put on a soundtrack to accompany the release of his book The Outlaw Ocean: Journeys Across The Last Untamed Frontier, which arrived in August of 2019. Urbina described it as a “passion project” and said that a company, Synesthesia Media, would handle the distribution of the music through streaming services. He also claimed that $50,000 was earmarked for the project and that Spotify, Netflix, and book publishing house Knopf were all building content around the soundtrack.
The deal Urbina worked out with the artists that submitted music to him involved him receiving 50% of the revenue they made from the song(s). In exchange, he promised to use his platform and the interest generated behind the project to promote the artists and their work. He claimed that the artists would receive a bigger boost in their careers through working with him.
But many of the artists claim that the promotion behind the songs was extremely minimal. One, Benn Jordan, who performs under the name The Flashbulb, made a video about Urbina’s project, which he called a “scam,” and shared it on YouTube.
In the end, at least 462 artists partnered with Urbina and more than 2,100 songs in total were submitted to him. Brian Trifon, who works under the alias Trifonic, says he signed on to work with Urbina, but after suspecting something was off with the project, he ended up submitting a single song rather than the EP that was part of their agreement. “I saw that there was a good chance the scope was expanding to more than just a handful of artists,” he said. “97 percent was my materials and sounds and I was no longer thrilled to be giving up 50 percent of it.”
He added, “But there was no Netflix, Spotify, Knopf or NYT special support. It was all 100 percent about his book and even that, not many people seemed to care. I’ve worked in music long enough that I know that sh*t happens and I just moved on, but the whole thing left a bad taste in my mouth.”
Urbina declined to comment about the matter and directed Input to a statement published by Synesthesia. “The video is inaccurate,” it read, adding that the project’s goal was to amplify journalism, highlight issues covered by the reporting, “and if possible, to develop additional funding to support more reporting.” It continues, “We deeply value our artist relationships. We have always wanted our partners to share our vision.” The statement also says that artists no longer interested in signing off a portion of their revenue to Urbina can release themselves from the agreement and that Synesthesia will “direct 100 percent of all such revenues to the artist.”
Danielle Rhoades Ha, a spokesperson for NYT, says the publication is aware of Jordan’s video. “The allegations are troubling,” she says. “We are currently looking into the matter.” Urbina departed the New York Times on May 30, 2019.
You can read the full report from Input Magazinehere and view the video from Jordan above.
Lizzo loves to flirt. The singer took the stage at the Art Basel festival in Miami on Saturday where she delivered a cover of Erykah Badu’s “Tyrone.” The track comes from Badu’s 1997 album Live, and for her performance, Lizzo decided to put her own spin on the track. During her cover, she altered some of the lyrics so she could name-drop both Chris Evans and Drake.
During her cover, Lizzo sang, “Maybe I should call Chis Evans / Maybe Captain America could put another bun up in my.” She followed that up by singing, “Or maybe I should call Drake?”
It’s not the first time that Lizzo has mentioned Chris Evans or Drake in public. In her most recent single, “Rumors” with Cardi B, Lizzo sings, “Readin’ sh*t on the internet / My smoothie cleanse and my diet / No, I ain’t f*ck Drake — yet.” She later explained that mentioning Drake in the song was her way of flipping the script.
As for Evans, Lizzo joked earlier this year that she was pregnant with his child. “This is something that I’ve been really trying to keep personal and private between me and the father of my child,” she said in a TikTok video. “But since we’re airing out all the rumors today, I’ve been sucking in. We’re gonna have a little America!” Evans played along with the joke and later DM’ed Lizzo about their “little bundle of joy.”
You can watch a clip of her performance above.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
Every year Variety compiles a list of the teams behind songs they think were the most impactful of the year, dubbing those honored as “Hitmakers.” During the magazine’s annual brunch, musicians involved with songs that were honored come together to give speeches and receive awards for their work. But what might’ve just been another boring industry brunch was ramped up to eleven by 2021’s class of young artists, who know how to use TikTok to turn pretty much anything into content. And with a powerhouse cast of stars like Olivia Rodrigo, Chloe Bailey, Jack Harlow and Normani in the house, what choice did Lil Nas X have, really, but to turn in a hilarious parody video that quickly started going viral on multiple platforms.
Hopping on the rather infamous one minute TikTok interviews that @SidetalkNYC has been doing with colorful New Yorkers, each musician took a different viral snippet to lip sync, and spliced all together the parody clip was a brand new bit of content that anyone who has enjoyed the “bing bong” videos would obviously enjoy. And this video just goes to prove, once again, that nobody — nobody — understands TikTok like Lil Nas X. Take a look at the celebrity-filled parody clip below, along with a few of the original SidetalkNYC videos for context if you haven’t seen them.
Houston rapper Monaleo is among the freshman rappers to keep an eye on for 2022. The 20-year-old independent musician has caught the eye of many thanks to the success of her debut single “Beating Down Yo Block,” which boasts a sample of Yungstar’s “Knocking Pictures Off Da Wall” plus her sharp confidence as she relays her anger about a past lover who did her wrong. Monaleo concludes her strong year with the new single “We Not Humping.”
The track features Monaelo’s trademark energy and hard-hitting bars, which she uses to shut down a man’s request to get intimate. She gets straight to the point with lines like “Put a bag on your head ’cause it’s in my budget / All I gotta do is push a button” and “He don’t like my ways but I’m not changing / I don’t text him back ’cause that sh*t draining.”
The new song comes after Monaleo teamed up with fellow Houston native Maxo Kream for “Cece” off his latest album, Weight Of The World. Prior to that, she dropped a strong follow-up to “Beating Down Yo Block” with “Suck It Up,” which took aim at the women who have an issue with her confidence, success, and ability to attract the attention of men.
Kyle’s last album, See You When I Am Famous!!!!!!!!!!!!, arriv ed in the summer of 2020, with features from Rich The Kid, K Camp, Bryson Tiller, Trippie Redd, Tyga, and more. The rapper originally considered delayed it due to the pandemic but he changed his mind. A year and a half later, Kyle is ready to deliver another work, this time with a twist: He announced his fifth project, It’s Not So Bad, on social media and explained how it will be a little bit different.
IT’S NOT SO BAD – MY FIFTH PROJECT – JAN 28th
Instead of splitting the royalties with the label, I’ll be selling this project as an NFT to give an opportunity for my fans to own this project with me. We’re in this together. Forever & Ever. @opulousapp@joinrepublicpic.twitter.com/nl3tA1hRlw
“IT’S NOT SO BAD – MY FIFTH PROJECT – JAN 28th,” he tweeted. “Instead of splitting the royalties with the label, I’ll be selling this project as an NFT to give an opportunity for my fans to own this project with me. We’re in this together. Forever & Ever. [two hearts emoji].”
This year Kyle released a bunch of singles that will presumably appear on the project, including “Love Me Like You Say You Love Me,” “Optimistic” with Dougie F, and “Sunday.”
As for It’s Not So Bad, it remains to be seen what guest features Kyle will include on the project. Thankfully, we’ll learn about that within the next few weeks, as it’s less than two months until It’s Not So Bad becomes available.
Juicy J and Wiz Khalifa’s friendship goes back more than a decade, when Juicy appeared on a remix of Wiz’s 2010 breakout hit “Black & Yellow.” Wiz returned the favor by appearing on “Stoners Night (Part II),” from Juicy’s mixtape Blue Dream & Lean. Since then, the duo has worked together time and time again, and nearly 12 years later, they’re getting ready to deliver a joint album. The currently untitled project is set to arrive in early 2022, according to Complex, and while the two remain tight-lipped about details surrounding the project, they have dropped one of its singles.
The song is called “Pop The Trunk,” a sinister track that’s paired with a music video, which follows the pair as they somehow convince strangers to give them their souls.
The forthcoming album won’t be their first joint effort. Back in 2016, they teamed up with producer TM88 as the TGOD Mafia collective for TGOD Mafia: Rude Awakening, which boasted 16 songs, plus a lone feature from Project Pat. “Pop The Trunk” arrives after Juicy was involved in a fight during Three 6 Mafia’s Verzuz battle against Bone Thugs-N-Harmony. As for Wiz, he recently dropped the single “Million Dollar Moment” earlier this year.
You can listen to “Pop The Trunk” in the video above.
Next week will mark one month since the tragedy that occurred at Travis Scott’sAstroworld Festival. The incident left ten dead and hundreds injured. It also left the rapper with hundreds of lawsuits, with those affected aiming to receive compensation for their injuries and loss. According to Rap-Up, 275 cases have been filed against Scott as well as organizers and promoters behind Astrowrold, but a much simpler process seems to be in the works for the mounting lawsuits. According to Billboard, all of the cases against Scott and Astroworld organizers could be consolidated into one giant case.
The attorneys for both the victims and the festival filed a joint petition on December 3 that would combine the 275 cases into a multi-district litigation that would be handled by one judge. They both agreed that consolidating the cases would be the best and simplest way to handle the lawsuits, which include over 1,250 plaintiffs. The petition is pending approval from a judge, but if it gets the green light, a new judge would then be selected to oversee the overall case.
“This type of litigation is exactly what the Texas MDL process is designed to address,” they wrote in their petition. It was filed after nearly half of the families of victims’ from Astroworld turned down Scott’s offer to pay for the funerals of those who died at the festival. A lawyer representing one of the victims’ families said, “Of all the things this case is about, that’s the least of any concern.” They added, “This family is set on making change and ensuring this never happens at a concert again.”
What was supposed to be a regular trip to Amsterdam took a turn for the worst when Ari Lennox was arrested after an incident at the city’s Schiphol Airport. The singer claimed she was detained “for reacting to a woman racially profiling me” and she shared more details about the matter as it unfolded in a string of posts on Twitter. According to Reuters, Dutch military police accused Lennox of public intoxication and being aggressive to a KLM Royal Dutch Airlines official. “Our unit found a woman full of emotions, that wouldn’t calm down,” a spokesperson said. “That’s why she had to be taken into custody.”
My only regret is my reaction to the racism and discrimination I experienced. I would like to explain what happened to me but KLM has made it clear that they never cared to hear it from jump. It’s painful being silenced like this. It’s painful what I went through. I’m not ok.
A few days after the incident, Lennox returned to Twitter with an update. “Hey loves I’m safe,” she wrote in a tweet. “Thank you so much for your prayers and love.” Today she shared additional thoughts on her arrest, which were not as comforting. “My only regret is my reaction to the racism and discrimination I experienced,” she wrote in a tweet. “I would like to explain what happened to me but KLM has made it clear that they never cared to hear it from jump. It’s painful being silenced like this. It’s painful what I went through. I’m not ok.”
This comes after she and Smino joined Khalid for their new collaboration, “Scenic Drive.”
The highlight of Thursday night’s Verzuz battle between Bone Thugs-N-Harmony and Three 6 Mafia, unfortunately, had nothing to do with the music that was played. Bone Thugs-N-Harmony’s Bizzy Bone and Three 6 Mafia’s Juicy J got into an argument on stage that nearly led to a brawl. After one of Bone Thugs-N-Harmony’s performances, Bizzy Bone said to his opponents, “You ugly motherf*ckers ain’t finna be mockin’ me while I’m on stage.” Juicy J told him to “shut the f*ck up,” which caused Bizzy to throw a water bottle at Juicy.
Now, nearly two days after the incident, Bizzy Bone spoke out about the fight and he was fairly chill about the whole scrape. “I just think, you know, it’s pretty self-explanatory how it went down,” he said during an interview with TMZ. “I can’t even say it on TMZ, you know, they’d have to bleep it out.” He continued, “Yeah, it ain’t really about bothering me. It’s just about class, it’s just about being a grown man and being in the heat of the moment and sh*t like that. Everybody pretty much understood what it was. From what everybody was telling me, they was like, ‘You really ain’t do no wrong.’ But, you know, it is what it is man, it’s hip-hop, people fight.”
Bizzy also said that Swizz Beatz, who co-founded Verzuz along with Timbaland, was not upset with him. “Swizz was like ‘it’s hip-hop, I ain’t tripping,’ and everybody was acting like he was saying something, he wasn’t talking about us,” he said. “We do our own prayers, we ain’t have no problem with no money, we ain’t ask for no special cups or none of that, we street dudes. He wasn’t talking about us, but of course, he’s being politically correct and I dig that and I appreciate that about him.”
You can watch Bizzy Bone’s interview with TMZ here.
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