Music

Wale Announces The Cross-Country Under A Blue Moon Tour For 2022

by
wale-tf-uproxx.jpg
Paul L. Carter

2021 has been kind to Wale and deservedly so. The Uproxx cover star dropped his seventh studio album, Folarin II, last month and even declared himself as “one of the greatest of all time.” Ego-stroking aside, the DMV icon has stayed firmly in the limelight, headlining Afropunk festival in Atlanta in September and then bringing out the elusive Q-Tip at Rolling Loud in New York to perform “Poke It Out.”

Now Wale, who has been very vocal about how much he cares about performing live, has announced his full Under A Blue Moon Tour. The tour gets going next January in Nashville and continues on through March.

Check out the full tour dates below and tickets are on sale now. Get them here.

01/12/2022 — Nashville, TN @ Marathon Music Works
01/13/2022 — Chattanooga, TN @ The Signal
01/15/2022 — Huntsville, AL @ Mars Music Hall
01/16/2022 — Birmingham, AL @ Iron City
01/17/2022 — Atlanta, GA @ The Eastern
01/18/2022 — Raleigh, NC @ The Ritz
01/20/2022 — Silver Spring, MD @ The Fillmore
01/21/2022 — Baltimore, MD @ Ram’s Head Live
01/23/2022 — Philadelphia, PA @ The Fillmore
01/24/2022 — New York, NY @ Webster Hall
01/25/2022 — Boston, MA @ House of Blues
01/28/2022 — Cincinnati, OH @ Bogart’s
01/29/2022 — Detroit, MI @ Majestic Theatre
01/30/2022 — Indianapolis, IN @ Egyptian Room @ Old National
01/31/2022 — Chicago, IL @ House of Blues
02/02/2022 — Kansas City, MO @ Uptown Theater
02/03/2022 — St Louis, MO @ The Pageant
02/06/2022 — Denver, CO @ Ogden Theatre
02/08/2022 — Seattle, WA @ Showbox Market
02/10/2022 — Oakland, CA @ Fox Theatre
02/15/2022 — Los Angeles, CA @ The Novo
02/16/2022 — San Diego, CA @ Observatory North Park
02/17/2022 — Phoenix, AZ @ Van Buren
02/19/2022 — San Antonio, TX @ Aztec Theater
02/21/2022 — Dallas, TX @ HOB Dallas
02/24/2022 — New Orleans, LA @ The Fillmore
02/25/2022 — Mobile, AL @ Soul Kitchen
02/26/2022 — Jackson, MS @ Hal & Mal’s
03/01/2022 — Little Rock, AR @ Little Rock Hall
03/02/2022 — Memphis, TN @ Cannon Center

Folarin II is out now via MMG/Warner Records.

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

Kaytranada’s New ‘Intimidated’ EP Features HER, Thundercat, And Mach-Hommy

by

Kaytranada has been steady grinding all year. The Canadian producer has dropped a collaboration track Mick Jenkins, the Black History Month-focused “Caution,” and has announced festival headlining slots at both Phoneix’s non-profit M3F Fest and California’s lakeside Lightning In A Bottle. But he’s saved his 2021 piece de resistance for last…

Released today, the Intimidated EP is just three tracks long, but they’re each equally brilliant and you’re going to want to press repeat again and again on these cuts. “Intimidated” featuring HER taps into the same magic that garnered Kaytra his Grammy Award for 10% with Kali Uchis. “Be Careful” features Thundercat and stands tall just as much on the producer’s signature drums as it does on ‘cat’s silky vocals. Finally, “$payforhaiti” sees Griselda rapper Mach-Hommy rapping in Creole on a track whose message of Haitian freedom is illustrated on the album cover. It’s all pure heat from Kaytranada; of course.

Listen to the title track featuring HER above. Check out the album artwork and track list below, along with Kaytranada’s upcoming tour and festival dates.

Kaytranada Intimidated
Kaytranada

1. “Intimidated” (feat. H.E.R.)
2. “Be Careful” (feat. Thundercat)
3. “$payforhaiti” (feat. Mach-Hommy)

12/03/21 – Austin, TX @ Stubb’s Wallercreek Amphitheater
12/04/21 – Austin, TX @ Stubb’s Wallercreek Amphitheater
12/08/21 – Boston, MA @ House of Blues
12/09/21 – Boston, MA @ House of Blues
12/29/21 – Toronto, ON @ History
12/30/21 – Toronto, ON @ History
12/31/21 – Chicago, IL @ Byline Bank Aragon Ballroom
03/04/21 – 3/5/21 – Phoenix, AZ @ M3F Music Festival
03/18/21 – 3/20/21 – Buenos Aires, Argentina @ Lollapalooza Argentina
03/25/21 – 3/27/21 – Sao Paulo, SP @ Lollapalooza Brasil
05/19/21 – Montreal, QC @ Piknic Electronik
05/20/21 – Montreal, QC @ Piknic Electronik
05/25/21 – 5/30/21 – Bakersfield, CA @ Lightning In A Bottle
05/27/21 – 5/30/21 – New Orleans, LA @ Noir Fever

Intimidated is out now via RCA Records.

Chuck D Writes An Open Letter Defending Travis Scott And Blaming Live Nation For The Astroworld Tragedy

by
travis scott
Getty Image

In the wake of the Astroworld Festival accident which left more than 300 people injured and at least ten dead so far, the face of the festival, Travis Scott, has become the target of most of the criticism for the fest’s ill-preparedness and received a slew of lawsuits from those affected, ranging from the reasonable to the utterly frivolous.

However, the Houston rapper has at least one supporter in his corner: Public Enemy founder and hip-hop pioneer Chuck D, who writes in an open letter published today in Rolling Stone that the blame should rest squarely on the event’s promoter Live Nation (which has since launched a fund for injured festival attendees). “I’m tired of these corporations shucking their most crucial responsibility,” he writes, These folks simply say Rest in Peace and move on. This negligence can’t continue. Folks want answers. I’m not buying the Young Black Man did it.”

Instead, he calls on Live Nation CEO Michael Rapino and Live Nation partner ScoreMore to not only accept responsibility for the disaster at the recent concert but also for hooking up with Travis in the first place, despite his history of inciting irresponsible behavior at his shows. In Chuck’s view, “Concert promoters have all the power to make the changes to keep everyone safe and alive.” And you have to admit… he has a point.

You can read the full letter below.

I cannot believe we’re at the point where !gotta say this out loud: Travis Scott is a performer, an act, not a concert promoter. He doesn’t run the sound or venues or festivals or their staff. He doesn’t build stages or coordinate logistics, he’s not an expert in crowd control or security or emergency medical services. But he does trust Live Nation and all the other concert promoters who are supposed to do all of this. And yet here we are, 10 deaths and counting. 10 broken families.

The world is mourning.

I’m tired of these corporations shucking their most crucial responsibility. These folks simply say Rest In Peace and move on. This negligence can’t continue. Folks want answers. I’m not buying “the young Black Man did it.” He’s being blamed for a crime while the old white men running the corps that Travis and his fans trusted with their lives stay quiet in the shadows, counting their money and watching their stock prices go up and up. The excuse of Scott’s irresponsible actions don’t wash – if his act had a history of that behavior why promote him to bigger venues, why partner with him in the first place and let him headline a bigger audience? Live Nation controlled this show. They control almost all of the concert venues. Artists ain’t speaking out because these same cats are already bought by these corporations. No one can say a word against them unless they want to be Blacklisted and hurt their careers.

So I am calling on Michael Rapino’s entire team at Live Nation and a consortium of all the major concert promoters out there to do the right thing. To step up and step out of the shadows to fix these situations and save lives. To stop letting one Young Black Man take the blame, the hate, the fall. We don’t know everything that happened or exactly what failed. But concert promoters have all the power to make the changes to keep everyone safe and alive.

Live Nation, your stock is up. The White Corporate Music Biz keeps cashing in on Black Pain, Trauma, and Death. This has to stop yesterday. You’re part of the problem. Grow the f*ck up, fix this and let us all LIVE in PEACE.

Hit-Boy Teases A New Cordae Song He Produced Featuring Lil Wayne

by
cordae
Getty Image

It looks like Lil Wayne has made good on his promise to feature on Cordae‘s upcoming sophomore album, according to a teaser of the music video posted by Hit-Boy, who produced the track. Hit teased the new song with a tweet featuring a clip taken during the video’s shoot from just off-camera, in which Cordae and Wayne wear matching peacoats and rap to the camera surrounded by a crew of men in outfits nodding to the Black Nationalist movements of the 1970s.

Lil Wayne first expressed interest in appearing on Cordae’s new album back in May of 2020, when Cordae appeared as a guest on Wayne’s Young Money Radio podcast. Wayne told Cordae, “All you gotta do is text me the song, I’ll murder it and send you the finger so you know it’s dead.” At the time, Cordae was just working on songs for the project, saying, “I’m like 50 songs in. I’m just trying to cut it down.”

A year — and a name change — later and Cordae seems to be gearing up for the eventual release, dropping a freestyle to Drake’s “Way 2 Sexy” telling fans they are “not ready” for it, dropping a new single, “Super,” showing off his sharpened pen game, and appearing on Desus & Mero to kick off his press promotion. Judging from the snippet shared by Hit-Boy, it’s going to build on the blueprint laid down by his debut The Lost Boy, with a renewed focus on both bars and smooth production from some of the most notable names in the game.

Lil Nas X Jokes That He’s Playing Miles Morales In The Upcoming ‘Spider-Man’ Movie

by
lil nas x
Getty Image

Lil Nas X has basically taken over pop culture at this point. He’s got inescapable music, he’s in commercials, he’s on billboards, he even took over an entire episode of Maury to extend the pregnancy gag from the rollout of his excellent debut album Montero. His cultural ubiquity is beginning to rival even that of the vaunted Marvel Cinematic Universe — so naturally, he wants a piece of that too, in one of the most iconic roles yet to be cast.

Replying to a fan account’s post with a photo of current and prior motion picture Peter Parkers Tom Holland and Andrew Garfield, Nas joked, “the rumors are true i will be playing miles morales.” Morales is, of course, another Spider-Man from an alternate universe who was recently transplanted into the mainstream Marvel universe (comics are weird, y’all). Considering the plot of the upcoming Spider-Man film, No Way Home, in which a magic spell gone wrong brings visitors from multiple alternate universes to the modern MCU we all know and love (yes, even you haters, stop pretending, man, no one is impressed), it’s well within the realm of possibility that Miles could be one of those visitors. This gives Nas’ “announcement” a non-zero chance of being true.

Look. I know that Lil Nas X is an incorrigible prankster with a wild sense of supremely unserious, internet-bred humor and that very little he says can ever be taken seriously. But, to borrow a phrase from the late, great Stan Lee himself — what if?

Either way, we’ll find out when Spider-Man: No Way Home hits theaters on December 17.

Big Sean And Hit-Boy Deliver An Elegant Performance Of ‘What A Life’ On ‘Fallon’

by

Big Sean and Hit-Boy brought their What You Expect EP single “What A Life” to the Tonight Show stage on Thursday with a thrilling, elegant performance. Decked out in matching tailored suits and enjoying a luxurious meal in a stately lounge, the dynamic duo is presented with a mic for Sean and a beat machine atop a grand piano for Hit-Boy. While the performance begins while they’re still seated, they smoothly slide from their well-appointed booth to a makeshift stage in the center of the room, where Sean goes for broke and Hit shows off his finger drumming skills.

The new project, which finds the two frequent collaborators paired up for a full five tracks that demonstrate the breadth and depth of their chemistry, is also the first of Big Sean’s new label venture independent of his past association with Kanye West’s GOOD Music. The timing of its release turned out to be opportune as well, as Ye’s appearance on the Drink Champs podcast just days later found Sean’s onetime mentor throwing him under the bus by saying that signing Sean to GOOD was the “worst thing” he ever did. Sean laughed off his old boss’ digs, although he did point out that Ye still owes him millions from their initial deal.

Instead, Sean and Hit focused on the positive, following up with more videos from the EP, including “The One” and “Chaos,” showing that they’ll both be just fine without help from the mercurial Mr. West.

Watch Big Sean and Hit-Boy’s late-night performance of “What A Life” above.

Earl Sweatshirt’s Introspective ‘2010’ Video Recalls His Troubled Teen Years

by

In 2010, Earl Sweatshirt was just another member of the upstart LA skate-rat rap crew Odd Future, who were all still about a year away from their explosive leap to mainstream notoriety. Their punk-inspired, DIY ethos was only just beginning to ruffle feathers at the tastemaking blogs who just didn’t get what their whole thing was about, and Earl had yet to be shipped off to boarding school, which is what prompted the “Free Earl” movement among their fans and made him one of the group’s standouts alongside Tyler The Creator and Syd Tha Kid.

On “2010,” Earl’s new single and video, he reminisces about those days before fame, when he was just a depressed teen butting heads with his professor mom. The Ryosuke Tanzawa-directed video captures Earl with soft focus and muted lighting as he roams his house, smoking, and thinking back on a time when things weren’t quite so simple but were perhaps just complicated in a different way.

Fans have been eagerly awaiting Earl’s next album, with frequent teasers in interviews from Vince Staples and The Alchemist only stirring the pot, but until it’s ready for release, the LA native has been featuring with impressive regularity on tracks from other cerebral spitters like Armand Hammer, Boldy James, MIKE, Navy Blue, and Wiki. When the follow-up to 2019’s Feet Of Clay is finished, it’ll have more than enough support from hungry underground rap fans to end up being one of the biggest releases of any given year.

Watch Earl Sweatshirt’s reflective “2010” video above.

Willow Brings Kid Cudi Into The Fold For A New ‘Transparent Soul’ Remix

by

Willow took a risk in pivoting to a more pop-punk sound, but she quickly proved she knows how to excel in the space with singles like “Transparent Soul.” She got Travis Barker to join her on the track, and now she’s added another collaborator to is, as Kid Cudi hops on a new remix that was shared today.

On the track, Cudi gets his own verse, which mirrors the themes of the original lyrics: “”I know you’re not my enemy / In my world, there’s moments seeing through the different lies / It’s all of diminishing / But come on, you know that I’mma try to make it right.”

Willow says of the remix, “I am so grateful for this song because it was created during such an introspective time during quarantine. The solitude allowed me to introspect and really let go of the insecurities I had about making a project in this genre. I am humbled and grateful that Kid Cudi is now able to bring his magic to this remix.”

She previously told Rolling Stone the song was inspired by a quote from Hindu guru Radhanath Swami: “It is said that a saintly person is so pure that he or she acts like a spotless mirror. When we come in the presence of such a mirror-like soul, we can see both the beauty and ugliness of our inner life.” She added, “I read that quote, and it really spoke to me, and that’s kind of how the idea of this song came to be.”

Listen to the “Transparent Soul” remix above.

Young Dolph’s Partner Mia Jaye Mourns His Death In A Touching Post

by
young dolph
Getty Image

In the wake of Young Dolph’s murder on Wednesday this week, expressions of mourning and condolences have poured in on social media from both Dolph’s peers and his biggest fans. On Thursday night, his partner Mia Jaye posted a response on Instagram thanking supporters and expressing her own grief at his sudden loss.

“Thank you to everyone for all of your prayers, love, support, calls, messages,” she wrote on an Instagram Story. “I may not see them all but when my eyes are not full of tears, I catch a few. Nonetheless, all the genuine positive vibes, energy and prayers are welcome… because Lord knows I need them.”

In another post, she wondered, “How am I going to tell my babies that daddy is never coming home?” The question accompanied a video of Dolph helping the couple’s daughter — one of two children — do situps, showing how much of a family man he really was, even though longtime fans already knew. Previously, he’d suggested the reason behind his planned (and oft-delayed) retirement was to stay home and play with his kids all day.

Dolph was killed Wednesday in a shooting at a local bakery he frequented. Two men drove up and opened fire — one with an automatic weapon — killing him at the scene. Memphis police continue to investigate, and despite shutting down rival rapper Yo Gotti’s restaurant as a precaution, have yet to announce suspects or arrests. Meanwhile, a man was shot near a vigil being held for the hometown hero, leading to a separate arrest.

Snoop Dogg And Blxst Handle Their Business With A Retro, Action-Packed Video For ‘Go To War’

by

Earlier this year, Snoop Dogg joined Def Jam as an Executive Consultant, but that hasn’t stopped him from releasing new music to his fans. The Long Beach rapper adds to his lengthy catalog with his new compilation album, The Algorithm. The project is 25 tracks deep and features multiple songs with Snoop as the lead artist and others that give the spotlight to other names. To celebrate the new release, Snoop Dogg and rising West coast rapper Blxst join forces for their “Go To War” video.

In the visual, Snoop and Blxst handle their business through a retro, action-packed homage to the Blaxploitation movies Snoop has used as inspiration for years. It’s filled with over-the-top afros, fake fights, even faker gunshots, and over-the-top drama. All in all, it’s a pretty enjoyable video for a good song from the project.

Elsewhere on The Algorithm, appearances from Usher, Eric Bellinger, Fabolous, Eric Bellinger, YK Osiris, Ty Dolla Sign, Bino Rideaux, Larry June, D Smoke, Wiz Khalifa, and more can be found. The album arrives as Snoop prepares to perform at the 2022 Super Bowl Halftime Show in February. He’ll be accompanied by Eminem, Kendrick Lamar, Dr. Dre, and Mary J. Blige at the performance. As for Blxst, he recently stopped by The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon to perform “Chosen” with Ty Dolla Sign and Tyga.

You can watch the “Go To War” video above.

The Algorithm is out now via Def Jam. Get it here.