When most people go to McDonald’s, the end result is usually the customer ending up with some food to eat. If you’re Ye, though, that happens, but also your visit gets turned into a national ad campaign.
Two days ago (October 18), the artist previously known as Kanye West visited a McDonald’s location in Sweden and had himself a meal. Those who oversee the restaurant in the country saw an opportunity, as they went ahead and used Ye’s order as promotional material. The very next day, the chain shared images on social media of Ye’s order — chicken sandwich, chicken wings, fries, chocolate milkshake, frappé, and dipping sauces — and included the slogan “Treat Yeself.”
The McDonalds in Sweden has now made an advertising campaign based on Ye’s recent order and they’re using the slogan “Treat Yeself” pic.twitter.com/NO1h7CgCcz
Attentive music fans might at this point be wondering where the love for Adele is: The singer recently declared that she absolutely stans McDonald’s, saying, “My ideal meal, my death row meal, my last meal would be a chicken nugget with a Big Mac and then fries. That’s my three-course. I eat it at least once a week.”
Of course, McDonald’s has enjoyed a healthy relationship with the music world lately, as they have had promotional campaigns with Saweetie, Travis Scott, BTS, and others.
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Leave it to Thugger to continue to push the boundaries of what we should expect from him. After the success of his debut album So Much Fun, you’d think he’d lean further into the simple trap aesthetics that worked so well there, but instead, he takes a drastic stylistic departure akin to his “country” experiment Beautiful Thugger Girls on his latest album, Punk. However, despite its name, Punk is surprisingly low on power chords and rushed drumming, focusing instead on atmospheric, mellow production that sounds almost folksy.
It’s always been Thug’s way to make a left when everyone else expects him to make a right. Consider the mush-mouthed, yet irresistible chorus from 2014’s “Lifestyle” or the sartorially challenging cover from 2016’s Jeffery — both prime examples of Thug’s tendency to zig instead of zag while still adhering to a core of solid trap-rap fundamentals. Punk finds him again experimenting with sound and style but remaining as true as ever to his core aesthetic. In fact, it’s arguably the truest he’s ever been to himself — or at least, the most honest.
Starting with the very first song on the album, “Die Slow,” Thug is more revelatory here than he’s ever been. Over soft, poetry-house guitar strumming, Thug reveals childhood traumas, a prescient political outlook, and almost militant defiance toward being categorized, demeaned, or held back by societal expectations. Elsewhere on the album, the contrarian production leans tender, like some of the most emotive R&B ballads of the last ten years or so. “Insure My Wrist” is the most romantic ode to jewelry that hip-hop has produced in at least that span, which would be borderline surprising if Young Thug didn’t have a well-established history of being Young Thug.
“Love You More” also surprises, with its Nate Ruess and Jeff Bhasker appearances — but then again, it doesn’t, because Thug once sampled Elton John’s “Rocket Man,” sparking a years-long friendship that led to glowing assessments of Thugger’s talent from the knighted one himself. It’s also a gracious rumination on a relationship mostly bereft of Thugger’s usual cartoonish depictions of sex (although there is one line that reads as more considerate than jokey). Again, eyebrow-raising were it not from the same gentlemen whose catalog of hits includes “Best Friend,” a deceptively encouraging self-love anthem.
That isn’t to say he doesn’t go at least a little hardcore. While “Rich N**** Shit” with Juice WRLD is relatively far from Dead Kennedys — they’re philosophically opposite, on top of the sonic differences — the two rappers go for broke over a thumping, bass-turned-to-eleven beat with some good, old-fashion chest-thumping braggadocio. Meanwhile, the moody “Day Before” brings things full-circle with another confessional, ukulele-strumming introspective jam featuring Mac Miller. The punk promise here comes from the revelation that the song was literally recorded just one day before Mac’s tragic passing.
Thug brings out the best of his other guests on Punk, as well — particularly J. Cole, who stops just shy of a Thug impression on “Stressed,” a rejuvenated ASAP Rocky on “Livin It Up,” and Doja Cat on “Icy Hot.” While the tracklist feels excessive at times, the runtime comes across smooth, even with the bloat. As to why it’s called Punk, I think it boils down to Thug’s very personality. He’s always been anti-establishment, even as he slowly but surely became the establishment.
This album is his way of shaking himself loose from the tendency to stagnate and calcify as complacency sets in. He isn’t completely successful — perhaps a few more sonic cues from the rock world could have woken up some of the sleepier melodic songs — but the record is unapologetic, one-hundred-percent Thug. What’s more punk than being yourself? Maybe it’s just being willing to redefine exactly what that means, even if it’s just a little bit at a time.
Punk is out now via Atlantic Records and YSL. Get it here.
Young Thug is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
After being convicted of sex trafficking and racketeering in a New York court last month, R. Kelly’s local trial in Chicago has been set for August of 2022 according to Billboard. In that case, the singer stands accused of charges related to child pornography and obstruction of justice for alleged witness tampering and intimidation. Set to begin on August 1, the new trial is expected to last three to four weeks. R. Kelly will be defended in his second trial by his original attorneys Steve Greenberg and Michael Leonard after they abandoned the New York case before it went to trial.
Greenberg also noted during today’s scheduling hearing that the singer had been placed on suicide watch after being found guilty in New York, but was since cleared. Kelly’s sentencing case in that trial is set for May 4, 2022, and the singer faces up to life in prison. Statements made by Greenberg during the scheduling suggested that he would be “revamping” his legal team for an appeal once sentencing was complete. Kelly was present at the scheduling hearing via video call but Billboard notes that he was “unable to unmute himself to answer when asked by the judge to confirm the status of his legal team.”
A process server tried to serve Dr. Dre divorce papers at the worst imaginable time — at his grandmother’s funeral — according to a report from TMZ. TMZ’s sources say that Dre was at the cemetery in Los Angeles when he was approached, although sources differ on exactly when it happened. Dre’s people say the producer was standing next to the casket at the burial site, while Nicole Young’s say Dre was served in the parking lot after the funeral — which is decidedly less tacky, but still pretty tacky.
Dre reportedly wouldn’t take the documents by hand as a result, prompting the server to either leave them at the gravesite or in the parking lot, depending on which source you ask. According to TMZ, the papers contained the judge’s final orders regarding the payment for Nicole’s lawyer fees. The two parties had apparently disagreed on just how much Dre owed, with Dre’s side saying the $325,433 he paid already should have paid the balance in full. However, the judge apparently agreed with Nicole’s side — that Dre owed $1,550,000.
To kick off season two of the popular TV show Dave, a wonderful, tongue-in-cheek series that explores the life of David Burd, aka white rapper Lil Dicky, his crew heads to Korea to make a song with one of the country’s biggest stars — CL. After meeting the pop star during an award show appearance, Dave and his crew are a bit starstruck: “She looks like a Korean Beyonce,” exclaims GaTa, one of his closest collaborators. And although the overall tone of the series tends toward silly, GaTa’s estimation of CL is right on.
When it comes to K-pop, CL is one of the genre’s original icons, stepping into the spotlight at age 17 as the frontwoman for the girl-group 2NE1, and leading the collective to become one of the best selling girl-groups in the world with 66.5 million records sold. 2NE1 was part of the “second generation of K-pop stars,” following up the trailblazers in the ’90s, as today’s artists represent a new, third wave. As she gears up to release her official solo debut album, Alpha, this week, her longevity makes CL something of a bridge between the two eras.
2NE1 was a global force from 2009–2014, but after a two year hiatus, they officially broke up in 2016. During that time, CL began to establish her solo career, releasing the iconic debut “Hello Bitches” in 2015, and following it up in 2016 with the Wu Tang-sampling, reggae-tinged “Lifted” (complete with a cameo from Method Man himself in the Dave Meyers-directed video). Shortly after that, 2NE1 officially disbanded, but CL’s momentum was only building; “Lifted” made her the first solo female Korean artist to ever chart on the Billboard Hot 100, and only the third Korean artist ever to make an American chart appearance.
Obviously, in 2021, things are quite different with BTS racking up a No. 1 placement every time they drop a single. But CL was paving the way for the success of BTS, and back in 2016, seemed destined for the kind of commercial success the boy band and their army have accomplished. Instead, a long delay after her solo breakout had fans angrily tweeting #JusticeForCL at one point, angered over perceived label fumbling of the genre’s biggest female star. Things seemed to come to a head in 2019, three years after her momentum from “Lifted” had abated. CL unexpectedly announced she was leaving her long-time label, YG, and almost immediately released a left-field EP called In The Name Of Love as an independent artist.
Since K-pop artists are usually backed by rich, all-powerful label machines that help their music pop, this decision was a signal to everyone that CL was going to do things her way. The culmination of those efforts is Alpha, and though it was originally slated for release in the fall of 2020, the album was quickly pushed back to allow further fine-tuning, and likely to recalibrate live shows in light of pandemic-related delays. A few early tracks were released toward the end of 2020, the fashion-heavy, rap-sung “Post Up” that completely bricked, an insanely catchy haters rebuff, “HWA,” and the loved-up “5-Star.” Luckily, that first single doesn’t make the final cut for inclusion on Alpha , a wise choice.
Even as momentum was shifting back in the right direction for her debut album, CL was dealt another tough hand. At the top of the year she lost her mother to a heart attack, just before her own 30th birthday, and chose to mark the loss with a reflective, sad homage, “Wish You Were Here” released in February 2021. Taking a few months off after the song came out, instead, CL seemed to hit her stride this summer with the release of “Spicy,” a fiercely rapped Minaj-era banger that swaps speedy Korean verses for an English chorus: “She got the sauce and it’s spicy / You looking at the most fly Asians.” With frenetic EDM production and even an approximation of a drop, the song hit more of a mark than her late 2020 singles did.
Sharing a similar track in September, “Lover Like Me,” the swaggering tone for Alpha had officially been set — loud, brash, bold, and electric. “2020 was the beginning of my rebirth and rewriting my own story,” CL told Billboard earlier this year. “I can freely share different sides of me.” The album backs up this assertion with an eclectic mix of different styles and moods, even if it does tend more toward the bombastic style that defines those two 2021 singles. The range is there, though — album cut “Chuck” goes bouncier and more throwback, while another standout, “Paradise,” is an eerie trap song full of psychedelic flexes and slurred vocal effects reminiscent of Travis Scott. It might be the most modern rap track CL has ever done, and she sounds right at home in the post-Astroworld sound.
Alpha isn’t strictly big rap hooks, either; “5 Star” is joined by another slower track, “Xai,” an exploration of tropical house that shares DNA with the best of Major Lazer production. The piano-driven “Let It” is nostalgic of early 2000s pop, like if Vanessa Carlton learned how to jam a rap interlude into one of her catchiest tunes, and “Tie A Cherry” reminds me of the Selena Gomez and Gucci Mane collaboration, “Fetish” in the best way. Of course, unlike Selena, CL doesn’t need a rapper to guest — she handles both sections by herself. Despite the many high points, at times, the record drags. CL might be part of the bedrock for modern K-pop success, but her sound can feel stuck in the past. “My Way” hovers around the same BPM and siren-flecked sound as “Spicy,” but without any of the playfulness, and “Siren” is tepid R&B that could’ve been done by any number of mid-level artists playing in the shallow end of that genre’s pool.
Interestingly enough, one of the strongest songs from her new era is when she went lo-fi and vulnerable in remembrance of her mom. “Wish You Were Here” didn’t make the album, but it belongs alongside these tracks anyway, offering a welcome balance. Without the unrelenting insistence on domination, CL’s strengths were on full display — her absolutely beautiful singing voice, unexpected details like a shared family love for Stevie Wonder, and a canny ability to find new angles on done-to-death subjects like grief and love. The follow-ups to Alpha should focus on honing in on CL’s voice as an artist now, instead of endlessly emphasizing her well-established stature. Sometimes the best thing a successful artist can do is get quieter. Even alphas have a sensitive side.
New York’s A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie and Capella Grey link up to offer some encouraging words in their new video for “Bestie,” the latest single released from the upcoming Culture Jam project curated by NBA star Kawhi Leonard. The video pretty prominently features basketball as well, focusing on its lead’s efforts to improve on-court, then following her as Capella picks her up from the park for a ride home and as she invites A Boogie over for a romantic date by the piano.
The first volume of the project, Culture Jam Vol. 1, is due this Friday, October 22, after months of hype from Kawhi and his Culture Jam crew. The NBA player described his effort to combine his two loves, music and basketball, as “something that could uplift our community.” To that end he told reporters during a May presser, “A portion of each stream is gonna go to the Mamba & Mambacita [Sports] Foundation.”
Kawhi is working on a music project with NBA Youngboy and Rod Wave
He says part of the proceeds will go to the Mamba and Mambacita Foundation
Kawhi previously shared a pair of tracks from the project: “Everything Different” by Rod Wave and YoungBoy Never Broke Again and “Waves” by Gunna and Polo G. In addition the project will feature other standouts like Lil Uzi Vert, NLE Choppa, Ty Dolla Sign, Wale, and Yung Bleu. The inaugural Culture Jam Sports And Music Festival is planned for November 21 at The Shrine in Los Angles featuring performances from Bluebucksclan, Cordae, and others. It will also stream live on Amazon Music’s Twitch channel.
Watch A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie and Capella Grey’s “Bestie” video above.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
The rap supergroup is a concept that could really stand to be further explored. We can point to Jay-Z and Kanye West’sWatch The Throne album, Killer Mike and El-P’s ongoing parade around the sun with Run The Jewels, and Mos Def, Talib Kweli and DJ Hi-Tek’s independent hip-hop triumph in Blackstar as creme de la creme examples. But is it ever really enough? The answer is no.
And if you were tuned E-40 and Too Short’s Verzuz battle last December, you’d have seen the delightfully sauced Bay Area rappers hyping that they were forming a West Coast rap supergroup with Ice Cube and Snoop Dogg. Then in April, at Triller’s Fight Club main event between Jake Paul and Ben Askren, we indeed saw the four rappers of the newly minted Mount Westmore play a new song at the end of their set. But that was it. No further announcements, no song title, no nothing. Just legit heat on the mic.
Finally today, the tireless West Coast titans have delivered as only they can, with a video for their first single, “Big Subwoofer,” of the four of them riding in a spaceship, smoking weed, and getting down with alien honeys. The video has it all, an alien in flannel crip walking on Mars while flanked by back-up dancers that look like they’re right out of the Avatar set, Snoop smoking a joint as he steers a spaceship and ray guns.
But when you clear through the space dust, there’s a banger of a single under the hood. Propped up on a familiar West Coast bass thump, the track rides on both hyphy and G-Funk production leans. Each rapper takes a turn spitting their verse with Ice Cube proclaiming that “You know me I’m up in it like a booger // then I tried the b**** like some dice and I shook her,” and E-40 stealing the show from the get go with, “She got her legs open like a field goal post // booty softer than a King Hawaiian roll.”
It might seem like there’s a comedy rap element here, but it’s obvious that the four are having a lot of fun on this track. And let’s face it, they’ve paid their dues.
Despite being in the midst of a promotional run for his newly-released sophomore album, Punk, Young Thug has still found time to tend to Slime City. That’s what the rapper named the 100-acre plot of land he received for his 30th birthday from his manager, 300 Entertainment A&R Geoff Ogunlesi, and realtor Trey Williams. Thug wants to make the area solar-powered, and to accomplish this, he asked for help from Elon Musk over Twitter.
I wanna make Slime City solar powered wya @elonmusk
After sharing Slime City with his client, Williams revealed in an interview with TMZ that Thug hopes to build high-quality homes, a waterpark, a camping site, and much more. He also wants to bring his annual Slime Fest there and include a dirt bike trail for folks around the area to use and enjoy. At the time, Williams said that he’d already spoken to architects and engineers and that work on the land would begin as soon as they received a few permits that they’re waiting on.
Thug’s request comes days after he released his latest album, Punk, which features guest appearances from Drake, Future, Mac Miller, Juice WRLD, Gunna, Travis Scott, J. Cole, and more. He also stopped by Saturday Night Live to perform “Tick Tock” and “Love You More.”
Punk is out now via 300 Entertainment/Atlantic Records. Get it here.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
Meek Mill kept his fans waiting almost three years for a new album, but now he’s returned with his fifth album, Expensive Pain. Now there’s a menacing new video for the brash track “Northside Southside,” which features a verse from British rapper Giggs.
In addition to Giggs, Expensive Pain also features appearances from Lil Baby, Lil Durk, Kehlani, ASAP Ferg, Moneybagg Yo, Giggs, Young Thug, Vory, Lil Uzi Vert, and Brent Faiyaz. Meek has also been very busy keeping his fans filled with videos from his latest release. In addition to “Northside Southside,” he’s also made ones for “Angels (RIP Lil Snupe),” “Expensive Pain,” “On My Soul,” “Intro (Hate On Me),” “Blue Notes 2,” “Sharing Locations,” and “Flamerz Flow.”
In other news, Meek recently made a comparison between poverty conditions and the popular Netflix show Squid Game “[P]ay attention how fast people switch and kill each other to survive,” he wrote on Twitter. “Now think about the ‘hood’ poverty …it’s the exact same thing.” He added that improving the living conditions in both areas would translate to a reduction in crime and violence. However, people on social media made it clear that they did not agree with his take.
Expensive Pain is out now video Maybach Music Group/Atlantic Records. Get it here.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
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