Music

An Older Couple Sitting Courtside Next To Drake Had No Idea Who He Was

by
Drake TOP
YouTube

Drake is a notorious presence courtside at NBA games. While often in Toronto, the part owner of the Raptors often also shows up to big games outside of The Six. But last night, he was slumming it, so to speak, at the Oklahoma City Thunder versus Houston Rockets game in OKC. Folks were understandably perplexed as to why Drizzy would show up to see two cellar-dwellers play early in the season, but he was presumably there to show love to fellow Toronto native Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of the Thunder. SGA heeded the call and the point guard dropped a cool 39 points in front of the rapper, albeit in a loss. But the big story of this game was the cute older couple that was sitting courtside next to Drake and had no idea who he was.

In a hilarious exchange during a break in play, the arena jumbotron cameras seemed to pan over to Drake. When the couple sitting next to him noticed that they were in the outskirts of the frame on the giant video board, hilarity ensued.

The gentleman taps Drake (who was playing it cool for the camera) on the shoulder and says “Hey man!” to get his attention and his wife leans over and jokingly tells Drake to “Smile!” for the camera. The three break out in laughter and the affable Drake tells the man that the cameras were for him. They shared a laugh and then Rumble, the Thunder’s mascot, came over to shake Drake’s hand. Drake later posted a selfie with the couple on his Instagram story with the caption “My new parents.” Ignorance really is bliss sometimes.

Janelle Monae Is Releasing A Sci-Fi Anthology Book Based On Her ‘Dirty Computer’ Album

by
janelle monae
Getty Image

Janelle Monae’s music has always been buttressed by a rich supporting narrative awash in Afrofuturism — androids, time travel, and cyberpunk dystopia loom large within her work and the videos and artwork accompanying it. Next year, the Kansas City-born singer will turn that intriguing backstory into a full-on book inspired by her most recent album, 2018’s Dirty Computer. Set for release in April 2022, The Memory Librarian is an anthology of short stories by some of today’s most prominent Afrofuturist authors, telling tales inspired by the overarching Dirty Computer mythology.

“Sci-fi and Afro-Futurism have always been vehicles I use to drive my art & storytelling (no matter the medium) so it’s a dream to be publishing my first short story collection in these genres!” Monae shared on Instagram alongside a photo of the book’s cover. “Thank you to everyone at Harper’s Voyager for the support and opportunity. It’s been a complete honor to swim in creative waters with other dirty computers in our community. I’m so so thankful for these incredible writers for helping bring these stories to light.”

Among those writers are Alaya Dawn Johnson, known for her Zephyr Hollis and Spirit Binders series, Eve Ewing, who has written for Marvel’s Ironheart and Champions series since 2019, fiction writer Yohanca Delgado, veteran author Sheree Renée Thomas, and Danny Lore of Dynamite Entertainment’s licensed James Bond series.

You can find out more about The Memory Librarian and pre-order it here.

Charlotte Day Wilson Announces Tour Dates And Releases The Deluxe Version of ‘Alpha’

by

After two standout EPs, Toronto’s Charlotte Day Wilson finally released her much-anticipated debut LP, Alpha, this year. The elegant record is a can’t miss collection of tightly-constructed songs about Queer love that easily stands up among this year’s best releases. It features tracks with fellow Canandians Badbadnotgood and Daniel Caesar, as well as Syd on “Take Care Of You.” Day Wilson is as memorable as a singer as she is a producer and her production on “Mountains” was sampled by Drake on his track “Fair Trade” off of Certified Lover Boy.

Today, Day Wilson has shared US tour dates in support of Alpha, as well as a deluxe version of the album. The release features two new tracks in “Even Is The Lie” and a remix version of “Take Care Of You,” this time, featuring guest vocals from King Princess, Amaarae, and Meshell Ndegeocello. It’s a new dimension to the track that pairs Day Wilson with other contemporary like-minded singers.

Listen to the “Take Care Of You” (Remix) above.

Tickets for the Alpha tour go on sale Friday, 12/03 at 10 AM local time. Get them here.

Alpha (Deluxe) is out now via Stone Woman Music. Check out the album art and tracklist below.

Charlotte Day Wilson Alpha
Charlotte Day Wilson

1. “Strangers”
2. “I Can Only Whisper” (feat. BADBADNOTGOOD)
3. “If I Could”
4. “Lovesick Utopia”
5. “Mountains”
6. “Danny’s Interlude”
7. “Changes”
8. “Take Care of You” (feat. Syd)
9. “Keep Moving10. Wish it Was Easy”
11. “Adam Complex”
12. “Even is the Lie”
13. “Take Care of You Remix” (Feat. King Princess, Amaarae & Meshell Ndegeocello)
14. “If I Could” (Music Video)
15. “Keep Moving” (Music Video)
16. “Changes” (Music Video)

03/02/2022 — Detroit, MI
03/03/2022 — Chicago, IL
03/05/2022 — Philadelphia, PA
03/06/2022 — Washington D.C
03/08/2022 — New York City, NY
03/10/2022 — Atlanta, GA
03/12/2022 — Dallas, TX
03/13/2022 — Houston, TX
03/16/2022 — Las Vegas. NV
03/17/2022 — Los Angeles, CA
03/20/2022 — Santa Ana, CA
03/21/2022 — Oakland, CA
03/23/2022 — Portland, OR
03/24/2022 — Seattle, WA

Travis Scott’s Astroworld Lawyer Revealed To Have Trump Connections

by
travis scott
Getty Image

Travis Scott has been in a whole heap of trouble since this year’s Astroworld Festival, where 10 people were killed and 300 injured as the result of a crowd crush. Now, he and Astroworld promoter Live Nation (and Live Nation’s ScoreMore subsidiary) are facing over 100 lawsuits from attendees and the families of victims, with the total damages being demanded topping $3 billion. Among them are the families of a nine-year-old and a 14-year-old who both died due to their injuries, as well as a pair of security guards from the concert who handled what they believed to be dead bodies.

Yesterday, it was reported that Travis and Live Nation had secured representation for the upcoming onslaught of cases (which might be condensed to one, big, more manageable case), but today, it looks like Travis’ choice is already drawing even more negative attention for the embattled Houston rapper. As interested parties look into Daniel Petrocelli, Travis’ lawyer, they’ve come to realize that Petrocelli was the lawyer that Donald Trump called to defend him from fraud lawsuits stemming from his Trump University real estate seminars. Petrocelli was able to negotiate a $25 million settlement.

That may be just the outcome the rapper is looking for; at least one of the lawsuits against him is demanding $750 million among 120 Astroworld attendees, so paying out just a fraction via settlement could very well be the best-case scenario for him.

Guapdad 4000 Flexes His Way Through The City In His Glittering ‘Money’ Video

by

If there’s one thing Oakland rapper Guapdad 4000 loves, it’s money. So it makes sense that’s the title of his new single, “Money,” which he released today along with a glittering music video that finds him wandering the Bay Area adorned in a sparkling collection of necklaces, a brand new grill, and memorabilia from his favorite animated shows, Rick & Morty and Cowboy Bebop. All along he does his signature “I just got the receipt dance” to the funky Drew Banga-produced beat, which samples the instantly recognizable bassline and hooks from The O’Jays’ 1974 hit “For The Love Of Money.”

Whether the new single means another project is on the way remains to be seen, but he’s had a tremendous year nonetheless. “Money” is the self-declared scam boy’s first original single since completing the rollout of his heartfelt album 1176 with producer Illmind. The album, which appears on Uproxx’s Best Albums Of 2021 and Best Hip-Hop Albums Of 2021 lists, also spawned the singles “How Many,” “She Wanna,” and “Chicken Adobo,” as well as a remix of “How Many” featuring Rick Ross. If this is how Guapdad kicks off his 2022 campaign, it’s a fun, catchy way to do so after shaking off his demons on his last album.

You can watch the video for “Money” above.

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

Cozz Takes Stock Of His Life And The Lessons He’s Learned On The Introspective ‘Fortunate’ EP

by

It just might be Dreamville season again. Only two months after North Carolina Dreamville rapper Lute released his long-awaited second studio album, Gold Mouf, another member of the throwback rap-centric crew has returned with his own comeback project. Inglewood native Cozz, who featured on Gold Mouf alongside Lute, has released his own EP, Fortunate, marking the end of a three-year wait for the follow-up to his 2018 debut album, Effected.

The EP consists of seven songs, including the previously released singles “Fortunate” and “Addicted.” It features production by longtime Dreamville beatmaker Elite, frequent crew colalborator T-Minus, and the group’s team captain J. Cole, as well as a guest appearance by fellow West Coast veteran YG, who appears on “Control Problems.”

Unfortunately, the release had a technical hiccup, resulting in the track order getting mixed up on DSPs. Cozz addressed the issue on Twitter, writing, “No lie I’m frustrated cuz I had an idea of how I want people to hear this ep but technical difficulties ddnt allow that to happen. What’s below is the order so if u care enough, listen as is but if not f*ck it the music is the same. This will be fixed by Friday enjoy. In other words the order is completely wrong on every listening platform.”

Fortunate is out now via Dreamville/Interscope Records. You can stream it here.

Tierra Whack Returns With A New Three-Song EP, ‘Rap?’

by

Tierra Whack has had an interesting career trajectory so far. After beginning her career as a battle rapper named Dizzle Dizz, she reverted to her real name in 2017 and dropped her high-concept debut album, Whack World, in 2018. Despite a 15-minute runtime consisting of 15 one-minute songs, Whack World became a critical and commercial hit, earning Whack a placement on the 2019 XXL Freshman Class alongside soon-to-be massive stars like Cordae, DaBaby, Gunna, Megan Thee Stallion, Rico Nasty, and Roddy Ricch.

However, since then, her output has been somewhat… let’s just say “sporadic.” After releasing a string of intriguing singles in 2019, she’s restricted new releases mainly to feature verses on other artists’ songs (Willow and Janelle Monae‘s) and singles released as part of brand partnerships like “76” with the NBA’s Philadelphia 76ers (her hometown team), “8” from the Madden NFL 22 soundtrack, and “Link” as part of Lego’s Rebuild The World Campaign, as well as a handful of impressive freestyles over past hits like Ludacris’ “Stand Up,” Onyx’s “Last Dayz,” and CJ’s “Whoopty.”

Earlier this week, however, she teased a new EP titled Rap? alluding to the eclectic mashup of styles she’s used on previous releases. The EP, which is apparently meant to commemorate the release of her new Vans collection, dropped today as promised, featuring three tracks: “Meagan Good,” “Millions,” and “Stand Up.” And yes, all three tracks are most certainly fantastic examples of the genre, giving Whack plenty of opportunities to showcase her rap talent.

Watch the video for “Stand Up” above, and check out the other two songs below.

Hulu Takes Down A TV Special Titled ‘Astroworld: Concert From Hell’ After Backlash

by
travis-scott.jpg
Getty Image

Tragedy struck last month during Travis Scott’s performance at his annual Astroworld festival. A massive crowd surge of 50,000 people left hundreds injured and ten people dead, including a nine-year-old boy. Seeing as families and friends of victims are still coping with the insurmountable loss, many thought Hulu’s decision to host a TV special titled Astroworld: Concert From Hell on their site was highly insensitive.

The 50-minute Astroworld: Concert From Hell program recapped the events that went down at the Houston festival. The description of the documentary special says it gives a “minute-by-minute look at what happened” that night: “Travis Scott’s Astroworld Festival was supposed to be the concert of a lifetime. But it turned into a tragic nightmare. A minute-by-minute look at what happened in the crowd, the young victims who were killed, and what happens next.”

People on social media caught eventually caught wind of the documentary special and condemned Hulu, with one user saying it was in “poor taste.” Eventually, Hulu opted to remove it from their website completely. A spokesperson for Hulu told Variety: “This was an investigative local news special from ABC13/KTRK-TV in Houston that originally aired on November 20th. This was not a Hulu documentary and has since been removed to avoid confusion.”

Read Variety‘s full report of the TV special here.

RayFace Needs ‘No Middle Man’ For A Boastful ‘UPROXX Sessions’ Performance

by

After highlighting Houston rappers like Erica Banks and KenTheMan, UPROXX Sessions once again plays host to a Space City spitter in RayFace, who stops through for a boastful performance of his 2020 single, “No Middle Man.”

An adherent of Houston’s long-held tradition of independently released music, RayFace founded his own record label, Self Made Music, while also running other businesses on the side. His self-released mixtapes include Underrated and Trapademic, from which he’s released a slew of self-funded music videos, including “Out The Trap” “Got To Have It” and “Tell Me Why,” the latter containing a feature from fellow self-made Houstonite Slim Thug.

Although he’s still a relative newcomer without the resources of a major-label artist, two of the videos he’s released this year have garnered over a million views on YouTube and his polished presentation suggests that he’s got all the tools he needs to build an even bigger buzz in the future.

Watch RayFace’s UPROXX Sessions performance of ‘No Middle Man’ above.

UPROXX Sessions is Uproxx’s performance show featuring the hottest up-and-coming acts you should keep an eye on. Featuring creative direction from LA promotion collective, Ham On Everything, and taking place on our “bathroom” set designed and painted by Julian Gross, UPROXX Sessions is a showcase of some of our favorite performers, who just might soon be yours, too.

Mad Cool Adds Jack White, London Grammar, Stormzy, And More To Complete An Insane Lineup

by
Jack White TOP
Getty Image

Coming into its fifth anniversary, Madrid’s Mad Cool Festival is already one of the biggest music festivals in Europe, bringing nearly 200,000 revelers to the sprawling Valdebebas urban open space venue. The initial 2022 lineup was announced in June and was heavy on the rock and roll acts with Metallica, Muse, The Killers, Imagine Dragons, Pixies, Faith No More, Twenty One Pilots, and Placebo leading the way.

They took it a step further in October adding a fifth day to the summer fest and artists like Haim, Florence + The Machine, and Nathy Peluso. Now they’ve beefed the lineup up one final time adding Jack White as the fifth day headliner and infusing the lineup with more big name acts like Stormzy, London Grammar, Modest Mouse, Two Door Cinema Club, Local Natives, and Mura Masa.

It brings the grand total to 144 artists playing across the festival’s five nights. Other artists playing on this comprehensive bill include St. Vincent, The War On Drugs, Beabadoobee, Arlo Parks, Phoebe Bridgers, Leon Bridges, Animal Collective, Tinashe, Glass Animals, Carly Rae Jepsen, Chvrches, Wolf Alice, and loads more.

Mad Cool Festival festival goes down from July 6 to 10, 2022. Tickets are on-sale here.

Mad Cool Festival Poster
Mad Cool

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