Music

Kendrick Lamar Hints At A Return ‘Very Soon’ During Day N Vegas Performance

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Philip Cosores

For the first time in two years, Kendrick Lamar returned to the stage. On Friday, the rapper delivered a performance at the Day N Vegas festival, which was also the last venue he performed at, back in 2019. His set was a special one, as it found him performing a number of songs from his debut album Section.80 for the first time in nearly a decade. These include “F*ck Your Ethnicity,” “HiiiPoWeR,” “Chapter Ten.” and “Ronald Reagan Era (His Evils).” He also performed songs from Good Kid, M.a.a.d City, To Pimp A Butterfly, and DAMN. He then hinted at a proper, full return “very soon.”

After performing “Family Ties” and “Range Brothers” with Baby Keem, Kendrick shared a promising message with the crowd. “Vegas till next time,” he said. “And when I say next time I mean very soon.” This could mean that the rapper’s highly-anticipated fifth album is on the way, which will most likely be paired with an exciting tour.

Kendrick’s comments come after he gave an update on his upcoming fifth album, revealing it would be his last with Top Dawg Entertainment, a label he’d been signed to since 2005. “As I produce my final TDE album, I feel joy to have been a part of such a cultural imprint after 17 years,” he wrote in a statement. “The Struggles. The Success. And most importantly, the Brotherhood. May the Most High continue to use Top Dawg as a vessel for candid creators. As I continue to pursue my life’s calling.”

You can view clips from Kendrick’s Day N Vegas performance below.

J Balvin And Sech Connect For An Epic Warehouse Party In The ‘Una Nota’ Video

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J Balvin has been on a hot streak for quite some time now, and his latest video does not disappoint. Along with Panamanian artist Sech, he’s debuting a new video off his latest album, JOSE, that’s stuffed to the brim with feel-good reggaeton vibes and plenty of partying. The two connect in a warehouse party that’s full of dancing women and characters who promise a very entertaining evening.

With every new release, though, Balvin just continues to prove that he can’t be boxed in. From last year’s brand collaboration with McDonalds, to his stranglehold on the Latin music charts, to his Tiny Desk concert near the New York’s east river, his range is always on display. And even when he does have a misstep, like his recent “Perra” video which faced criticism for its portrayal of Black women, he immediately apologizes and owns up to his mistakes.

After a powerhouse collaboration with the likes of Skepta and his recent reinvention of Metallica’s “Wherever I May Roam” as a reggaeton song, he’s made it more than clear that he’s just going to keep taking on unexpected ventures and expanding the world’s expectations. Check out the new video with Sech up above and keep your eyes peeled for whatever he may be up to next.

A Certain Oscar-Nominated Actor Is ‘Casually Cruel’ In Taylor Swift’s Stunning ‘All Too Well: The Short Film’

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“All Too Well,” Taylor Swift‘s most beloved (and best) song, is rumored to be about her relationship with Jake Gyllenhaal. “Rumored” as she never names the actor in the Track Five (because nothing rhymes with “Gyllenhaal”?), but come on. There’s a reason he’s public enemy No. 1 among Swifties on the day that Red (Taylor’s Version) came out — “All Too Well: The Short Film” probably isn’t going to win him any fans, either.

The 13-minute video of the 10-minute song premiered on Friday at New York City’s Lincoln Center 13, where Swift also performed the song live for the first time. Now, the short film can be enjoyed by everyone — except Jake and Maggie, presumably — as it’s available on YouTube. The emotional part-music video, part-domestic drama tracks the relationship between Stranger Things standout (and Swift mega-fan) Sadie Sink as Not-Taylor and Dylan O’Brien as Not-Jake; there’s also a surprise cameo at the end.

Swift, who directed the short, told Seth Meyers that if Sink had said no to the role, “I don’t think I would’ve made it. I don’t think I would’ve made the film. I think I would’ve just been like, this is a sign.” You can watch “All Too Well: The Short Film” above.

Saweetie Drops The Full Version Of ‘Get It Girl,’ Which Appears On The New ‘Insecure’ Soundtrack

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When Saweetie’s “Get It Girl” was teased in a Beats By Dre ad earlier this month, many assumed it would be a part of her upcoming album. Well, the full song was shared today and it turns out that it’s actually appearing on the upcoming soundtrack album for the fifth and final season of Issa Rae’s HBO series Insecure.

Rae recently told Billboard of the important role music plays in the show, “From the beginning, music has played an integral part in Insecure. The music itself is a character — it’s a friend, it’s a familiar voice and that’s always been the intention. Music has a way of taking us back to a specific memory or moment in time and I think a lot of people can relate to that when they hear a song on the show. When it came to developing the final soundtrack, I knew [Insecure music supervisor Kier Lehman] and [Rae’s record label Raedio] could capture that feeling and leave our fans with something they can always return to, while also providing a platform for emerging artists to have their voices heard on an international scale.”

Benoni Tagoe, Raedio president and Rae’s longtime business partner, also noted, “Insecure and the Insecure soundtrack acts as a tool to break artists or at least introduce people to artists. [Rae has] told me there’s times when she may have picked a song, and she feels like if she watches a cut of Insecure and the song doesn’t fit, it really ruins it for her.”

Meanwhile, Saweetie is getting ready for a major step in career, as she’s set to make her first appearance as a Saturday Night Live musical guest on November 20.

Listen to “Get It Girl” above.

Insecure: Music From The HBO Original Series, Season 5 is out 12/3 via Raedio/Atlantic Records/HBO.

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

Silk Sonic Connects With Thundercat And Bootsy Collins On The Chill And Funky ‘After Last Night’

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At last, Bruno Mars and Anderson. Paak’s new Silk Sonic album, An Evening With Silk Sonic, is finally out. With Mars and .Paak at the helm, there’s not much need for featured guests, but they packed a couple into one track: Bootsy Collins (who also serves as the album’s narrator) and Thundercat join the fun on the smooth and funky “After Last Night.”

Mars told Apple Music of the song, “That one got a lot of Bootsy on it. And my boy Thundercat came in and blessed us. It’s just one of them songs — everything was built to be played live, so that song is one of those we can keep going for 10 minutes.”

In an interview from March, Mars said of working with Collins, “He represents what a superstar is, from the whole package, everything. From the silhouette, the glasses, and we grew up listening to that. He’s got that iconic voice, so when me and Andy put this project together, I said, ‘It’d be cool to have Bootsy narrate this thing and thread all these songs together.’” .Paak added, “We put the setlist of doom together, you know, and we needed somebody, a real OG, to host it and guide everything along.

Meanwhile, Thundercat has been doing some tweeting about the album. Late last night, he shared a photo of himself with .Paak and Mars, and this morning, he revealed he apparently got a gift from Collins, as he posted a photo of a pair of flashy glasses and wrote, “Thank you uncle @Bootsy_Collins you have made me who I am & I love you so much. Blastin off into some good vibrations!!!”

Listen to “After Last Night” above.

An Evening With Silk Sonic is out now via Atlantic Records. Get it here.

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

After Ye’s Infamous Taylor Swift VMAs Moment, He Did An ‘Exile’ To Japan Because ‘America Hated’ Him

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It goes without saying, but Ye (formerly Kanye West) and Taylor Swift have had a famously contentious relationship since the infamous stage-crashing incident at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards. Now, Ye has revealed that the situation really impacted him, so much so that during the aftermath, he fled to Japan.

The second part of Ye’s recent Drink Champs interview is out now, and in it, he revealed (as Pitchfork notes) that after the VMAs, he “did a personal exile” with Virgil Abloh in Japan because “all of America hated” him. He also said, “Everyone was like, ‘You wrong for this one, you won’t win this,’ by telling me, ‘You shouldn’t have ran on stage, you were rude,’ God forbid.”

He also addressed the VMAs in the previously released first part of the interview, saying, “I was actually talked in to going to the awards show. At that time, it was [my manager] Don C.’s job to talk me into stuff. They find new people whose job would be to talk me into doing something that I don’t want to do — influencers, people around you. So that night, I said, ‘Man, I’m not going to this awards show. I’m not sitting through this no more.’ And the very first award, they sit me in the front row. You got [Beyoncé’s] ‘Single Ladies’ video… this is one of the best videos in history. So it’s not that it’s just for her when the artist does something that’s that compelling and incredible. We got to respect it.”

Watch the new Drink Champs episode below.

Rick Ross, Jazmine Sullivan, And 21 Savage Are Luxurious ‘Outlawz’ On Their New Collab

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When it comes to Rick Ross, it’s guaranteed that listeners will receive a heavy dose of braggadocious and luxury raps from the Florida rapper. It’s an expectation that Ross has fulfilled from the start of his career with 2006’s Port Of Miami which he released a sequel for in 2019. Through the years, Ross has delivered quality project after quality project and he’s prepared to offer another one to the world with his upcoming album, Richer Than I Ever Been. The project is already locked in for a release next month, and now Ross begins its campaign with a beautiful new single.

Ross kicks things off for Richer Than I Ever Been with “Outlawz” featuring Jazmine Sullivan and 21 Savage. The song is carried by soulful production supplied by producer AraabMuzik. Hard-hitting drums and soaring vocals sit under Ross and 21 Savage slick raps and Sullivans show-stealing hook. It’s a strong single that promises something great with Ross’ Richer Than I Ever Been.

Richer Than I Ever Been may not be the only project Ross has in store for the future. He and Drake have teased a joint album, one Ross spoke about back in June. “We may have spoken within the last 48 hours,” he said at the time. “But it’s only so much I can say other than: this is the closest or the realest he’s ever been. He’s wrapping up his project and I’m in the same space. So the timing and everything is aligning.” With Certified Lover Boy out now and Richer Than I Ever Been on the way, it seems like this joint album could become a reality.

Listen to “Outlawz” above.

Richer Than I Ever Been is out 12/10 via Maybach/Epic.

Polo G Is Up To No Good On His Michael Jackson-Sampling Single, ‘Bad Man (Smooth Criminal)’

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Polo G earned his first No. 1 album earlier this year with Hall Of Fame. The 20-track project saw him swing for the fences thanks to contributions from Nicki Minaj, Lil Durk, The Kid Laroi, Roddy Rich, Young Thug, DaBaby, and more. The project was a heavily promoted one that also saw a No. 1 single thanks to “Rapstar” as well as numerous videos. While some might have thought the rapper would close the chapter on Hall Of Fame, he’s not ready to do so yet as he recently announced a deluxe reissue for it would arrive next month. Polo G begins the rollout for Hall Of Fame 2.0 with his brand new single, “Bad Man (Smooth Criminal).”

The track samples Michael Jackson’s hit song for what proves to be a mischievous effort from the Chicago rapper. The song was first previewed in a trailer for Hall Of Fame 2.0 that Polo G released earlier this week. “Hall Of Fame…That was me beating my chest, really coming into my own as an artist and showing I’m gonna stay,” he says at the beginning of the video. “But before I just close out this chapter, I feel like we should turn up this one more time.”

Hall Of Fame 2.0 is out on 12/03 via Columbia. Pre-order it here.

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

Juice WRLD’s ‘Already Dead’ Is An Eerie Launch Towards The Release Of His Next Posthumous Album

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Fans of Juice WRLD are in for a new treat next month. The late rapper’s team announced that his second posthumous album, Fighting Demons, is set to arrive on December 10. It’s seemingly the first of a trilogy of projects that his estate said his supporters would receive in the future. At the time of the announcement, it was revealed that a project called The Party Never Ends would be the first release out of the three, but the estate’s plans may have changed. Nonetheless, new music is on the way and it started with “Already Dead.”

The new track is an eerie beginning to the rollout of Fighting Demons, Juice’s first posthumous album since 2020’s Legends Never Die. “There was nothing Jarad “Juice WRLD” Higgins enjoyed more than delivering new music to his millions of fans around the world,” the late rapper’s mother Ms. Carmela Wallace said in a statement about the upcoming posthumous release. “He left behind an astonishingly deep catalog of music that will ensure his fans will have new songs to listen to for years to come. Jarad was always searingly honest about his struggles and through his musical genius he articulated what was on his heart and mind vividly through his art.”

She added, “We encourage all of you who struggle with addiction and mental health to never give up the fight. We continue to extend free support to you via LiveFree999.org created in his honor.” LiveFree999.org is the organization that was created to honor the late rapper and help those struggling with addiction.

Fighting Demons is out 12/10 via Interscope. Pre-order it here.

Beyonce Strives To Overcome Tough Battles On The Spirited And Riotous ‘Be Alive’

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The Beyhive have endured a grueling last few years in the music department has Beyonce’s releases have been scarce since she shared her beloved sixth album, Lemonade. Besides Everything Is Love, her joint album with husband Jay-Z, Beyonce’s releases have mainly come in the form of singles and guest features. Now she’s back with her first song in over a year thanks to “Be Alive.” The new track is a spirited and riotous track that appears in King Richard, the biopic that follows tennis stars Serena and Venus Williams’ rise to stardom.

The new song was first teased in a trailer for the new film that was shared last month. Listeners got a good preview at the motivating single thanks to lyrics like “Can’t nobody knock it if they try / Do you know how much we have pride? / How hard we have to try?” As for the movie itself, Will Smith plays the tennis stars’ father in King Richard while Saniyya Sidney and Demi Singleton play Venus and Serena respectively. King Richard is available in both theaters and on HBO Max starting on November 19.

The new song arrives as Beyonce’s new Ivy Park collaboration with Peloton was released. The entire collection featured 29 pieces including T-shirts, bike shorts, tights, sports bras, shorts, windbreaks, and cropped hoodies.

You can listen to “Be Alive” in the video above.