Music

Maroon 5 And Megan Thee Stallion’s Psychedelic ‘Beautiful Mistakes’ Video Is A Technicolor Fantasy

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Just a week after releasing the charming “Beautiful Mistakes,” Maroon 5 and Megan Thee Stallion take a technicolor tour of LA in the song’s video, which they released today. The video revolves around M5 lead singer Adam Levine driving a pink convertible through a drab CGI cityscape modeled on the streets of Los Angeles. Slowly, the saturation of his surroundings turns up as he cruises, until he finds his car flying over an eye-popping candy-colored coastline, passing historical landmarks like Griffith Observatory and the Theme Building at LAX.

Eventually, Megan flies by in her own floating car to deliver the first half of her verse to the camera before jumping from her convertible into Adam’s to share the rest of their relaxing flight/drive over Randy’s Donuts as the sky fills with multicolored donuts.

The same day as Maroon 5 released “Beautiful Mistakes,” Levine drew attention online for a quote from his interview with Apple Music’s Zane Lowe in which he remarked that he feels like “there aren’t any bands anymore.” Although he quickly acknowledged that “there still are plenty of bands,” he expressed his wish that they got more attention.

That being said, Adam and his band seem to have a pretty good handle on the direction music has taken, collaborating with pop-rap stars who are in the limelight like Megan and Cardi B, with whom the band collaborated on “Girls Like You.”

Watch the “Beautiful Mistakes” video above.

Justin Bieber Shares A Tracklist For ‘Justice’ And Fans Are Intrigued By One Song In Particular

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Justin Bieber’s tracklist for Justice, which he shared on Instagram last night, has fans buzzing with excitement. In part, it’s because the album is just a week and some change away from its March 19 release date, but many fans took note of some of the notable guests, who include R&B singers Daniel Caesar, Giveon, and Khalid, as well as Chance The Rapper. Juice WRLD protege The Kid Laroi appeared on Justin’s corkboard as well, inviting some pretty apt comparisons between the two artists despite their generation gap.

While fans had previously deciphered some of Justin’s collaborators via the synopsis on the Walmart pre-order page for the album, this is the first glimpse we’ve had at who all’s on which tracks — and seeing Daniel Caesar and Giveon’s smooth baritones grouped together on “Peaches” has prompted its share of enthusiastic reactions. Both Caesar and Giveon’s names trended on Twitter as fans expressed their anticipation to hear that particular melange of voices together for the first time.

One fan, however, was skeptical of Caesar’s placement, demanding an “apology” before they’ll grudgingly give the song a listen. Caesar was the subject of some controversy a couple of years ago after he dared fans to “cancel” him for defending influencer YesJulz from accusations of cultural appropriation. However, others seemed sanguine, pointing out his continued popularity in the years since.

One thing is for sure, though: Fans are ready to hear Justice when it releases 3/19 on Def Jam.

Instead Of Retiring, Cardi B Thinks Selena Gomez Should Enter ‘A Bad B*tch Era’

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A new Vogue cover story about Selena Gomez features a disheartening quote from Gomez, in which she suggests that she’s thinking about retiring from music due to a lack of respect. Gomez said, “It’s hard to keep doing music when people don’t necessarily take you seriously. […] I think there are a lot of people who enjoy my music, and for that I’m so thankful, for that I keep going, but I think the next time I do an album it’ll be different. I want to give it one last try before I maybe retire music.”

Given that Gomez has been one of the most successful pop stars of the past decade, there are plenty of people who’d rather she stay in the music game. One of those folks is Cardi B, with whom Gomez collaborated on DJ Snake’s “Taki Taki.” Instead of retiring, Cardi thinks that Gomez should try entering “a bad b*tch era.”

Last night, Cardi tweeted, “I don’t think Selena should retire .She makes good music & her fans love her .I think she needs one more Era. A edgy one that no one ever seen her as .I would love to give her some ideas.” She continued, “I like Selena tho .I defend her cause she is such a sweetheart in person.Us celebs get picked apart all the time but she is just to sweet to go thru that.If she wants to leave ,leave cause you want too not cause of these f*ckers.” Cardi then concluded, “A bad b*tch era is needed tho ‘A b*tch I’m nice sweet girl but I’m a rich bad b*tch too.’”

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

Cardi B Came To Mac Miller’s Defense After Her 2019 Best Rap Album Grammy Was Criticized

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The 2021 Grammys are just a few days away, and as with every year, conversations about the show are alive on social media. In a now-deleted tweet, one person looked back at the 2019 ceremony, calling out the Recording Academy for inviting Mac Miller’s family to the award show, where his Swimming album was nominated in the Best Rap Album category, only to give the trophy to Cardi B’s Invasion Of Privacy. Cardi caught wind of the comment and questioned their inconsistent defense of the rapper, particularly after his DUI car crash.

“His family didn’t have no mean energy so why you?” she replied. “I hate when ya make hate tweets like this go viral but where was the love when ya bullied him for months on this app & he was crying out for help? Making fun of him when he crash his car?” She posted the tweet with a screenshot of a US Magazine article about the late rapper’s family “rooting for Cardi B” ahead of the 2019 show and added, “Ya don’t care till somebody is gone.”

In another tweet, Cardi wrote, “This is why I express myself whether is on live, twitter or curse people out cause some artist got soo much hurt inside from bullyin on these apps & they afraid to speak & turn to other thing to numb the pain.” She added, “Ya forgot real quick how when he drop the album ya was like ‘flop”NBC.’”

She also discussed how cyberbullying gives artists mental health issues, such as depression. Cardi then shared a video of her honoring Mac after her Best Rap Album, where she said, “I’m sharing this Grammy with you motherf*cker. Rest in peace.”

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

Fat Joe Says He Worked With The Notorious B.I.G. On An Album Filled With Tupac Diss Tracks

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Fat Joe’s time in hip-hop goes back to the early 1990s, and over the decades the Bronx native has worked with a number of notable names, including Diddy, Busta Rhymes, Lil Wayne, and many more. Alas, he narrowly missed being on an album by Notorious B.I.G. During a conversation with Verzuz founders Swizz Beatz and Timbaland, Fat Joe revealed that he and the late rapper had begun recording an album before his tragic death.

“We cut about five songs together,’ he said. “He was like, ‘You the Latino don, I’m the Black don.’ And we was in that studio going crazy. It’s verified by Puff Daddy and everybody. I’ma keep it real – at the time, we were dissing Tupac a lot and all that and so that should have never seen the light of day. Which is respectfully so, because you know they both passed on. But yeah, I worked with the B.I.G. for real.”

The discussion came a little over a week after Biggie: I Got A Story To Tell, a documentary that reflected on the late rapper’s life, was released on Netflix. Prior to that, Swizz and Timbaland shared plans to do a Biggie vs. Tupac Verzuz battle.

You can listen to a clip from the interview above.

Cardi B Comes To Mac Miller’s Defense After Her 2019 Best Rap Album Grammy Was Criticized

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The 2021 Grammys are just a few days away, and as with every year, conversations about the show are alive on social media. In a now-deleted tweet, one person looked back at the 2019 ceremony, calling out the Recording Academy for inviting Mac Miller’s family to the award show, where his Swimming album was nominated in the Best Rap Album category, only to give the trophy to Cardi B’s Invasion Of Privacy. Cardi caught wind of the comment and questioned their inconsistent defense of the rapper, particularly after his DUI car crash.

“His family didn’t have no mean energy so why you?” she replied. “I hate when ya make hate tweets like this go viral but where was the love when ya bullied him for months on this app & he was crying out for help? Making fun of him when he crash his car?” She posted the tweet with a screenshot of a US Magazine article about the late rapper’s family “rooting for Cardi B” ahead of the 2019 show and added, “Ya don’t care till somebody is gone.”

In another tweet, Cardi wrote, “This is why I express myself whether is on live, twitter or curse people out cause some artist got soo much hurt inside from bullyin on these apps & they afraid to speak & turn to other thing to numb the pain.” She added, “Ya forgot real quick how when he drop the album ya was like ‘flop”NBC.’”

She also discussed how cyberbullying gives artists mental health issues, such as depression. Cardi then shared a video of her honoring Mac after her Best Rap Album, where she said, “I’m sharing this Grammy with you motherf*cker. Rest in peace.”

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

Playboi Carti Details MF DOOM’s Unique Influence On Him, Even If Their Sounds Are Completely Different

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It’s been nearly two and a half months since the world learned about the death of MF DOOM. The legendary rapper passed away on Halloween last year, but the news was withheld by his family until New Year’s Eve. The rapper’s legacy became quickly clear, as a number of artists took a moment to share their condolences and thank him for his work. In a recent interview with Inked Magazine, Playboi Carti shared what DOOM’s unique influence on him was, after he referenced him on “Stop Breathing” from his album Whole Lotta Red.

“I had to tell my boy, my best friend, my engineer. He’s the person recording the song, and he didn’t know who MF DOOM was,” he said. “I’m like, you don’t know MF DOOM? You don’t know who this dude is? I had to play songs for him, because he didn’t know who he inspired. The mask! I’m anonymous myself, but he’s king of that.”

Carti added that while their respective sounds are completely different, their refusal to conform to society’s standards was fairly similar. “I don’t have to sound like MF DOOM to be inspired by him,” Carti said. “Nobody can keep a leash on him. Nobody can keep a leash on me. That’s definitely his impact. Even if I didn’t know that at first, I had to look up and think about this sh*t right here—it had already been done.”

You can read the full sit-down with Carti here.

Post Malone Is Giving Fans A Chance To Play Beer Pong With Him Through A New NFT Experience

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Over the past month or so, NFTs — aka, non-fungible tokens — have been all the rave across the art and tech worlds. Grimes and Twitter’s Jack Dorsey are just some of the big names that have taken it up, and it looks like Post Malone will join them. The Hollywood’s Bleeding singer is teaming up with cryptocurrency group, Fyooz, to launch a new NFT experience that will allow select fans to compete with him in a game of beer pong.

The announcement is part of a larger experience from Fyooz that aims to allow token holders to get up close and personal with their favorite celebrities. The experience will allow for a direct and personal interaction that can be “one-off, multiple interactions, or indeed a ticket for ongoing events with the artists,” according to a press release. The beer pong with Post Malone is their maiden effort.

In case you’re new to the whole NFT thing, it’s essentially a one-of-a-kind digital collectible that’s created using blockchain technology. Jack Dorsey recently minted an NFT of the first tweet ever sent on Twitter. According to CNN, the CEO of Bridge Oracle, Sina Estavi, offered $2.5 million for said tweet. Elsewhere, Grimes made $6 million by selling her art collection WarNymph Collection Vol 1 as an NFT. Each digital art piece was accompanied by exclusive audio that could only be obtained by purchasing an NFT.

You can check out more about the Fyooz NFTs here.

Key Glock And Young Dolph Hit The Slopes In Their Icy ‘Aspen’ Video

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After delaying the release of their icy “Aspen” video last Friday, Key Glock and Young Dolph are finally ready to hit the slopes. Taking over a cabin on a snowy mountainside, the two Memphis rappers canoodle with some models, have a snowball fight, and tote snowboards to the ski lift (although, in typical rapper fashion, we never do get to see those snowboards get used — call it a liability issue). The video is the first from the duo’s upcoming joint album Dum And Dummer 2, which doesn’t have a release date as yet.

Despite being the first official single from Dum And Dummer 2, “Aspen” was far from Dolph and his protege’s first collaboration of 2021. In February, they teamed up for the video to “Green Light” from the deluxe version of Dolph’s album Rich Slave. Later on in February, they released “Case Closed,” a new crossover unattached to any official releases, but which will likely land on the upcoming joint album.

Meanwhile, Key started off the year with a pair of solo tracks, “Off The Porch” and “I’m The Type,” portending a big year for the 23-year-old rapper. His mentor and label boss, Young Dolph, dropped solo videos for “Large Amounts” and “To Be Honest” before shifting gears to their joint venture.

Watch “Aspen” above. Dum And Dummer 2 is due this year on Paper Route EMPIRE.

Rod Wave Hits The Road In His Reflective ‘Street Runner’ Video

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St. Petersburg, Florida trap crooner Rod Wave is rolling out his third album, SoulFly, and in preparation for the project’s March 26 release, he shares the reflective video for “Street Runner.” Sampling Canadian artist Ruth B’s song “Mixed Signals,” Wave lays out the travails of his life since fame found him as he jet sets around the US on tour, taking in the host of new experiences while missing the main lady in his life.

Rod Wave shared the tracklist and release date for SoulFly earlier this week after previously threatening to withhold the album over a money dispute with his label in early February. Whatever the issue was, it apparently got resolved a week later, leaving Rod a month to sort out the final tracklist and release date.

Wave received a burst of attention in 2019 when his single “Heart On Ice” became a TikTok favorite, climbing to No. 25 on the Billboard Hot 100. The resulting popularity prompted his inclusion in XXL‘s 2020 Freshman Class following the release of well-received albums Ghetto Gospel and Pray 4 Love, which peaked at No. 10 and No. 2 on the Billboard 200, respectively. Judging by the social media buzz around SoulFly, his third album can likely be expected to make a similar showing come March 26.

Watch Rod Wave’s “Street Runner” video above.