Music

Ghoulavelii Gives A Haunting ‘UPROXX Sessions’ Performance Of ‘WTFS’

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With Halloween right around the corner, it’s the perfect time for the spooky Seattle grunge rapper Ghoulavelii to stop by the Sessions set to let listeners know he’s “WTFS” — that’s “with the f*ck sh*t” for those not-well-versed in Gen-Z-speak.

The punky, grungey trap rapper has been active for a few years, garnering attention as more of a rock adherent throughout high school. However, as the walls between those darker, more underground scenes and the super popular trap rap scene eroded due to the explosion of SoundCloud rap in 2015 — you know, the Lil Uzi Verts, Trippie Redds, and Playboi Cartis that currently run a sizable chunk of hip-hop — Ghoul also made the switch, seeing his buzz grow to the point of a record deal with Alamo Records.

His most recent body of work was 2020’s #ariesrevenge, released independently and distributed by Create Music Group (best known for publishing Tekashi 69’s debut album Dummy Boy in 2018).

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.

The ‘Kawhi Leonard Presents: Culture Jam Vol. 1’ Tracklist Is Absolutely Loaded

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While Kawhi Leonard won’t be suiting up for the Clippers anytime soon this season following offseason ACL surgery, he’s been keeping busy as a co-executive producer for the Culture Jam Vol. 1 compilation, scheduled to be released tomorrow via Virgin Music. Yesterday, Uproxx reported on the latest video drop from the album for A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie And Capella Gray’s “Bestie.” The track follows the first two releases from the album: Rod Wave and YoungBoy Never Broke Again’s “Everything Different” and “Waves” by Gunna and Polo G.

Now, one day ahead of the release, the full tracklist has been shared and it looks like Kawhi plucked the cream of the crop from All-Star Weekend function. “Gotta Have It” with Ty Dolla Sign, Stefflon Don, and recent Uproxx cover star Wale stands out as one to get hyped on. It should be noted that Leonard indicated that part of the proceeds will benefit the Mamba & Mambacita Sports Foundation. In addition to the album, Leonard is presenting the Culture Jam Sports And Music Festival (CJ21) featuring Cordae, Bluebuckslean, and others, held at the Shrine Auditorium in LA on November 21st.

Check out the tracklist below.

1. NBA Youngboy and Rod Wave — “Everything Different”
2. Gunna and Polo G — “Waves”
3. Lil Uzi Vert — “Thankful”
4. A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie and Capella Grey — “Bestie”
5. Ty Dolla Sign, Stefflon Don, and Wale — “Gotta Have It”
6. Yung Bleu and NLE Choppa — “Everywhere You Go”
7. Bluebucksclan — “No Thank You”

Kawhi Leonard Presents: Culture Jam Vol. 1 is out 10/22 via Virgin Music. Pre-order it here.

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

Drake’s Return To The Raptors’ Arena Reminds Fans Of A ‘Key & Peele’ Sketch

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It has been a while since any basketball has been played at Toronto’s Scotiabank Arena — aka “Jurassic Park,” because “The Toronto Raptors,” naturally — so you’d be forgiven for forgetting that local rap hero Drake actually has a position with the team. Aside from being a courtside fixture and occasionally popping up in the broadcast booth, Drake is also a “Global Ambassador” for the team, which is ostensibly a marketing gig but seems to entail a lot of sideline trolling, such as a little trash talk with Montrezl Harris in last night’s season opener.

Drake’s return to Jurassic Park is also once again generating viral memes after a video of Drake greeting his fellow regulars at the arena posted by the Raptors Twitter and reposted by Sportscenter reminded fans of a classic sketch from Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele Comedy Central show, Key & Peele. If you haven’t already you can watch the sketch above. In it, Jordan Peele impersonates President Barack Obama, lightly satirizing Obama’s habit of “code-switching” on the fly — even at official State functions.

Fans immediately noticed that Drake took a similar tack (for what it’s worth, the parallels between Drake and Obama would make a fascinating feature, someone remind me to pitch that) with fellow fans at Scotiabank Arena, giving some daps and pounds while greeting others with polite handshakes. Some also noticed that the fan who received the handshake appeared to be SpaceX and Tesla founder Elon Musk, wondering whether Drake wasn’t feeling the billionaire. Check out some of the responses below.

Flo Milli Debuts Her Aggressive New Single ‘Ice Baby’ On ‘A COLORS Show’

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Despite its title’s similarity to another hip-hop hit referencing “Ice Baby,” Flo Milli’s new single sounds wildly different from the one most millennials grew up chanting. Instead, it’s an aggressive, boastful track with a thunderous trap beat that aims to establish the Mobile, Alabama native’s growing dominance in the rap game. The song was debuted on the popular performance platform, A COLORS Show, with Flo Milli decked out in a vibrant cyan bodysuit and popping against a magenta background, helping A COLORS Show live up to its name.

Employing a laid-back rapid-fire flow, Milli brags about her newfound success, comparing herself to her detractors and determining that she’s just too big to belong in their conversations. Although she’s not as animated as some prior guests, her chilly demeanor actually works to the song’s advantage, giving the air of someone who remains rock-solid no matter how boisterous the boasts happen to get.

Fans have been looking forward to the Alabama rapper’s return ever since she appeared on this year’s XXL Freshman Class courtesy of the success of her breakout debut mixtape, Ho, Why Is You Here? in 2020. While she followed that up with a strong feature on GoldLink’s “Raindrops,” her overall absence from the spotlight suggested she was focused on finishing a project, which she recently promised would be “versatile.” With the release of a new single, perhaps those fans’ wait will be over in due time.

Watch Flo Milli perform “Ice Baby” on A COLORS Show above.

Montrezl Harrell Clarified That He Did Not Get A Technical Foul For Arguing With Drake

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Montrezl Harrell’s first game as a member of the Washington Wizards ended with a 98-83 win over the Toronto Raptors and one technical foul in his back pocket. That tech ended up getting a whole lot of attention, because it looked like it came because the Wizards’ big man was jawing with noted Raptors fan Drake during the game.

The video makes it look like Harrell, who has never been shy about wearing his heart on his sleeve during games, was getting wound up while having a conversation with Drake, who appeared to find whatever was going on pretty funny.

That was not exactly what happened, though. After the game, Harrell made clear that the technical foul did not come because of anything he was doing with Drake. Instead, he got T’d up for a conversation with a Raptors coach, while he and Drake went back-and-forth in a far more cordial manner.

“I need my money back first, NBA,” Harrell said. “I definitely need my money back, because that definitely shouldn’t have been no tech. If so, you’ve got to give to me and the coach. Me and Drake was laughing. There was no problems there, me and Drake cool, we even talked after the game. It was a cool conversation, but it turned left when the coach started chiming in behind the bench, thinking that barking is something that’s gonna shake me.

“I don’t need all of Toronto on my bumper now,” Harrell continued. “I don’t need Toronto on my bumper now. Don’t start DMing me on Instagram now. Me and Drake cool.”

Let it go in the record books: Montrezl Harrell did not get a technical foul for getting into an argument with Drake. This, of course, does not mean an NBA player somewhere down the line won’t get one for chirping at Drake during a Raptors game.

HER Brings Her Soaring Heartbreak Ballad ‘For Anyone’ To An Intimate Performance On ‘Colbert’

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It’s been a few months since Academy Award and multi-Grammy-winning artist HER released her swooning album Back Of My Mind. She’s currently on tour across the country supporting the album’s release, but she managed to stop by The Late Show With Stephen Colbert to share an intimate rendition of her emotive track “For Anyone.”

The performance opened with HER seated at a bedazzled piano and sporting her signature round glasses. Though she was joined by some backup singers and accompanying musicians, her room-filling vocals alone were enough to mesmerize as she sang of closing herself off to love after a particularly painful heartbreak.

Ahead of her performance on The Late Show, HER gave an interview with Vulture where she talked about how many people perceive her as an “industry plant,” a word that’s meant to call out nepotism, but is oftentimes used to discredit the hard work a woman has put in to get where she is in the music industry. “With social media, people think they know everything about success. People see my success now, and they don’t understand the sacrifices, the 15-hour days in the studio, the pressure from my parents to go to college,” she said.

HER went on to explain the work she put in to reach her level of credibility: “For me, I grinded it out kinda like a rapper: I dropped a mixtape, nobody knew who I was, it was a very slow build, and here we are now. The awards shows and all that stuff, that was surprising to me. But I realized, Oh my gosh, I’ve arrived, and in a different way. You don’t need some No. 1 radio single — even though I got that!”

Watch HER perform “For Anyone” on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert above.

Back Of My Mind is out now via RCA Records. Get it here.

Lil Baby Forgot To Send Young Thug HIs Verse For ‘Bubbly’ From ‘Punk’

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Lil Baby is beginning to develop a habit of not turning in his verses for people’s albums. Last year, he admitted that he was supposed to be featured on Drake’s viral dance hit “Toosie Slide” but didn’t send his verse, missing out on another momentous opportunity. Now, a year later, it looks like he still hasn’t learned his lesson. This time, he missed out on inclusion in Young THug’s new album Punk, where he was originally slated to appear on “Bubbly” — which, incidentally, also features Drake, as well as Travis Scott.

Lil Baby revealed as much in a video he posted on TikTok. In the video, Baby gets edged up by his barber while playing a snippet of the now-unused verse with a voiceover reading the caption: “When Young Thug send you a song for his album and you forget to send it back.”

@lilbaby

♬ original sound – Lil Baby

For what it’s worth, he has been a bit busy of late. Not only is he finally touring for his breakout 2020 album My Turn, that tour also doubles as a showcase for songs from his summer 2021 joint album with Lil Durk, The Voice Of The Heroes. Not to mention, he’s already done countless other features this year, becoming one of hip-hop’s most ubiquitous acts. Still, though, he may want to start setting himself reminders or hire an assistant to remind him to send those verses off.

Fans Speculate New Kendrick Lamar Music Is Coming Soon After A Spotify Update

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Over the past few months, there have been rumors about potential new Kendrick Lamar music coming soon. Now, fans are picking up on yet another clue and getting excited about possible fresh material from the rapper: Lamar stans noticed that the rapper’s profile picture on Spotify just changed for the first time since 2017. Some also noted that tomorrow (October 22) marks the ninth anniversary of Lamar’s 2012 album Good Kid, M.A.A.D City.

Online updates don’t always mean new material is coming, though. Fans got a taste of that disappointment this summer, when the imagery on Destiny’s Child social media pages was updated and had followers thinking the group was reuniting. However, Matthew Knowles, Beyonce’s father and the group’s manager, insisted the changes were just some routine maintenance done by the group’s record label and that no new music was imminent. So, it’s possible something like this is the case with Lamar, too.

In August, Lamar shared an update about his next album, saying it’s his last with Top Dawg Entertainment and noting, “As I produce my final TDE album, I feel joy to have been a part of such a cultural imprint after 17 years. 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. There’s beauty in completion. And always faith in the unknown. Thank you for keeping me in your thoughts. I’ve prayed for you all. See you soon enough.”

Lil Nas X Returned Home To Atlanta To Celebrate ‘Montero’ And Was Given His Own Day In The City

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Lil Nas X has had quite the year so far in 2021. Between his music, performances, awards, moments on social media, and more, the singer has remained one of music’s most popular names. One of biggest moment came last month when he finally released his long-awaited debut album, Montero. The fifteen-track release was highlighted by No. 1 singles “Montero (Call Me By Your Name)” and “Industry Baby” as well as appearances from Miley Cyrus, Megan Thee Stallion, Jack Harlow, Elton John, and Doja Cat. A month after sharing the album, Lil Nas X returned home to Atlanta where he was greeted by a ceremony to celebrate the album.

According to a press release about the ceremony, the event was hosted by legendary producer Dallas Austin and Gilead Compass Initiative, an organization that strives to help reduce HIV/AIDS-related disparities in the Southern United States. Guest appearances were made by Chloe Bailey, Kandi Burruss, Shanti Das, Miss Lawerence, BMI’s Vice President of Creative Catherine Brewton, and Native Son’s founder Emil Wilbekin. It was here that Lil Nas X was presented with a proclamation from Atlanta Councilman Antonio Brown that declared October 20th as Lil Nas X Day.

Elsewhere, Mardequs Harris of The Southern AIDS Coalition, a non-partisan coalition that brings together government, community advocates, business leaders, and people living with HIV to end the HIV epidemic in the Southern United States, put together a choir to sing select songs from Montero. The entire choir was made up of members of the LGBTQ community, allies, and faith leaders, with each member wearing purple in honor of GLAAD’s #SpiritDay on October 21.

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

HER Gets Lost In The Soothing Sounds Of Her Studio In Her ‘For Anyone’ Video

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Nearly fives years after she made her debut with her first EP, H.E.R. Volume 1, HER finally released her first full-length album, Back Of My Mind, back in June, with features from Lil Baby, Chris Brown, Yung Bleu, Cordae, YG, Ty Dolla Sign, DJ Khaled, and Bryson Tiller. Now four months later, she’s dropped the video for one of its stand-out tracks, “For Anyone.” It’s a simple one, finding the singer getting comfortable in her studio while she gets lost in the soothing and warm sounds of the record.

The video arrives as HER is currently in the middle of her Back Of My Mind Tour. The shows feature Tone Stith as her opening act for a string of performances that lasts just under three weeks. So far she’s held performances in Tennessee, Texas, and Massachusetts, with stops in Pennsylvania, Washington D.C., Illinois, and Michigan remaining. Next year, HER will join Coldplay on their Music Of The Spheres World Tour, which runs from March to September 2022

Elsewhere, HER recently joined Kane Brown for their collaboration “Blessed & Fire” and recruited Lil Durk to remix her “Find A Way” track with Lil Baby.

You can watch the video above.

Back Of My Mind is out now via RCA Records. Get it here.

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