This Friday, Meek Mill is set to drop his fifth studio album, Expensive Pain, after a tidy rollout that included both a slick new single with fellow Philadelphian Lil Uzi Vert, “Blue Notes 2,” and some questionable cover art. Today, he’s shared the star-studded tracklist via an Instagram post of the handwritten track titles and features. Scribbled on plain lined paper with multiple differently colored markers, even the tracklist appears to reflect the new “artistic” direction the album appears to be taking.
Along with the aforementioned Uzi Vert, guests on the album include A$AP Ferg, Brent Faiyaz, British rapper Giggs, Kehlani, Lil Baby & Lil Durk (on the previously released “Sharing Locations“), Moneybagg Yo, newcomer Vory, and Young Thug. Also included is the track “Angels,” which appears to be a loving tribute to Meek’s Dreamers artist Lil Snupe and his friend Nipsey Hussle. Meanwhile, it appears “Flamerz Flow” and “War Stories” will not appear on the album — at least not this version. Looking at the trend in releases over the past 18 months, we can likely expect them to pop up on the inevitable deluxe.
Expensive Pain is due 10/1 via Atlantic Records.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
Lil Nas X expressed his wish to work with Frank Ocean after meeting him at the Met Gala this past month. The younger artist looks up to Frank for obvious reasons and was able to let him know how much he means to Nas when they spoke. Nas also told Frank that he wants to collaborate with him, according to an interview the “Industry Baby” rapper gave to Andy Cohen on his SiriusXM radio show.
“I feel like I’ve met so many great people, but definitely Frank Ocean is top of my list,” Nas enthused. “Because for one, he represents a lot to me, and you’d never see Frank Ocean anywhere. He’s one of those people that are not real, you know? Outside of social media that was the first time we met, like, ever… [He was] giving props and congratulations and whatnot. And I was just saying the same thing to him. And just how much his music has shaped my life and [how I’m] hoping to collaborate with him.”
In a prior interview with Apple Music’s Zane Lowe, Nas addressed the impact that performers like Frank Ocean and Tyler The Creator had on him growing up. “I think artists like Frank and Tyler, they made it easier for me to be where I am, comfortably,” he said.
Watch Lil Nas X’s interview with Andy Cohen above.
Giveon recently offered a first taste of his upcoming debut album with his soulful new track “For Tonight.” Now, Giveon gives all the emotion in a performance of the song on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.
The intimate performance kicked off with an introspective Giveon wistfully staring out of a faux window. The crooner then delivers his touching lyrics, singing romantic verses about spending the night with his lover. In a statement about the brand-new track Giveon said his inspiration came from his vices. “This is the story of a taboo vice that I just can’t seem to stop indulging in,” he said.
It’s been just over a year since prolific R&B crooner Giveon burst onto the scene with his 2020 debut EP When It’s All Said And Done — and he’s come a long way since then. After releasing a second EP in 2020 and following up with his hit track “Heartbreak Anniversary,” Giveon was tapped by none other than Justin Bieber to lend a verse on “Peaches” from his 2021 LP Justice. “Peaches” ended up being one of the most popular tracks on the album, earning millions of streams and debuting at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Thanks to his recent success, Giveon was even awarded the opportunity to walk the Met Gala’s red carpet, which he stunned in a teal trench coat.
Watch Giveon’s “For Tonight” performance on Fallon above.
Anybody who thought the vinyl resurgence was just a fad was mistaken: The industry has experienced a legitimate revival. As a result, music fans are interested in physical media in ways they may not have if the decades-old medium hasn’t made a comeback. That doesn’t mean everybody is listening to just their parents’ old music, though. That’s part of it, sure, thanks to rereleases that present classic albums in new ways. A vital part of the renewed vinyl wave, though, is new projects being released as records, of which there are plenty.
Whatever you might be into, each month brings a new slew of vinyl releases that has something for everybody. Some stand out above the rest, naturally, so check out some of our favorite vinyl releases of September below.
Metallica — Metallica (Remastered) and The Metallica Blacklist
Blackened Recordings
Over the past 40 years, Metallica earned themselves a legion of fans and proved that their appeal spans genres: Their self-titled 1991 album is perhaps their least thrash metal-influenced effort and is their most commercially successful. To celebrate the album’s anniversary, not only did the group release a remastered edition of it, but they also got dozens upon dozens of artists to cover its songs for the massive Metallica Blacklist project.
Get Metallica (Remastered)here. Get The Metallica Blacklisthere.
Cold Cave — Cherish The Light Years
Matador
Cold Cave’s sophomore effort has been out of print for years now, and finally, new physical editions of it are available once again. The occasion is the record’s tenth anniversary. This edition comes with the previously unreleased track “Believe In My Blood” and is pressed in a variety of bright monochrome-colored vinyl, making for a bold complement to the black-and-white cover art.
Buena Vista Social Club — Buena Vista Social Club (25th Anniversary Edition)
World Circuit Records
Buena Vista Social Club’s self-titled (and only) studio album is a landmark release in Cuban music, and for the 25th anniversary of the 1997 album’s recording, we’ve been treated to an expansive reissue. There’s a lot here for fans to sink into, like previously unheard tracks from the 1996 session tapes, new liner notes, art prints, and more.
Vince Guaraldi — It’s The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown
Craft Recordings
While Charlie Brown having football-related difficulties and Snoopy sleeping on his doghouse are iconic Peanuts elements, of similarly lauded value is the music in the Peanuts TV specials. Just in time for spooky season, the It’s The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown soundtrack has been pressed on orange, pumpkin-shaped vinyl, which will be an aesthetic highlight in any collector’s vinyl library.
As good as My Morning Jacket’s albums are, the band is especially potent as a live force, which makes their new MMJ Live vinyl series all the more appealing. The series begins with Live 2015, which collects 16 previously unreleased recordings from the band’s 2015 tour in support of The Waterfall, all pressed on crisp-looking white vinyl.
Pixies ended their original run with 1991’s Trompe Le Monde, and now that the album is 30 years old, the group is celebrating the record with a gorgeous limited marbled green vinyl reissue. While the band eventually reunited, Trompe Le Monde represents the end of an era, and this new edition of it is one of the best ways to celebrate its legacy.
The Milk Carton Kids — Prologue (10th Anniversary Box Set)
Milk Carton Kids
The Milk Carton Kids earned a Grammy nomination in 2013 for their album The Ash & Clay, but its predecessor, Prologue, set the stage. Prologue celebrates its tenth anniversary this year and the band is marking the occasion with a fancy new rerelease. The 3-LP box set includes the remastered album as well as early demos and live performances. There’s also a fan-pleasing disc that traces the evolution of “Michigan” and “New York,” two of the group’s most beloved tracks.
Elvis Costello’s 1978 album This Year’s Model has gone down as a classic, and now he has taken an interesting approach to celebrating it. Instead of a traditional rerelease, he got a host of Latin pop and rock artists (like Juanes and Luis Donsi) to sing over the original instrumentals for Spanish Model. All in all, it’s a clever way to appreciate and breathe new life into an iconic 40-year-old album. We even chatted with him about it.
Three 6 Mafia — When The Smoke Clears: Sixty 6, Sixty 1
Vinyl Me, Please
Vinyl Me, Please recently announced their slate of monthly vinyl reissues for the rest of 2021, and the October hip-hop release is a great one: Three 6 Mafia’s When The Smoke Clears: Sixty 6, Sixty 1. This 2-LP orange-and-black edition is the first wide vinyl release of the album and it comes freshly remastered, making this an audiophile-preferred way to enjoy the record.
Various Artists — VMP Anthology: The Story Of Philadelphia International Records
Vinyl Me, Please
Speaking of Vinyl Me, Please, aside from their monthly releases, they also bust out larger projects, the latest being a tribute to the influential soul record label Philadelphia International Records. The Story Of Philadelphia International Records is a fantastic historical document, as it features eight premier album’s from the label’s heyday in the ’70s, by artists like The O’Jays and Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes. The goodies included here go beyond the physical, as there’s also a four-episode podcast series that serves as a guide to the albums.
Not too long ago, deadmau5 announced that he would be partnering with the community around the video game Core to create his next music video. This was a really unique and cool opportunity for fans and deadmau5 to do something unique. It was also yet another example of someone in the music space embracing video games.
On Thursday, the music video that deadmau5 and the Core community created was released. It’s a pretty neat video considering how it was made and the efforts that went into it. The music video does a cool job of not only showing what Core is capable of but representing the community aspect that this video is about. We get to see deadmau5 taken across many different landscapes and scenarios and since all of this was made inside the game it feels like the community of Core is showing deadmau5 around so they can see everything they’ve made for him.
“I’ve been experimenting with the confluence of music and tech for a long time, and now with games, I’m able to take it to a whole other level,” said deadmau5. “Typically it takes months and hundreds of thousands, or even millions, of dollars to make a music video. In this case, we were able to pull together a video with stunning 3D worlds in just a couple of months by crowdsourcing the creation to the Core community and deadmau5 fans. The quality of the interactive experiences and the speed with which they were made was unbelievable and demonstrates why more artists are seeking out unique opportunities inside of games to extend new experiences to their audiences.”
It’s incredible that deadmau5 gave everyone from Core an opportunity to contribute to his music video like this. The results of it were even better than expected and maybe this will spark other people in music to do the same. We’ve already seen artists embrace games like Fortnite to host virtual concerts. Maybe now we’ll see a trend of gaming music videos. The potential for creativity has no limit in video games like Core.
Two years ago, R. Kelly and Azriel Clary, one of the women allegedly part of his “sex cult,” appeared on CBS for an interview with Gayle King to defend Kelly from the renewed accusations against him that had arisen in the wake of the Surviving R. Kelly docuseries. Today, Clary returned for another sitdown with King, this time after testifying against Kelly in his New York sex trafficking and racketeering case.
Kelly was found guilty on all charges and awaits sentencing, meanwhile, in her new interview, Clary calls her previous appearance a “mistake” and admits that the singer told her what to say. “Before that interview, he had us practicing every single day,” she says. “Answering questions. And if he didn’t like our answers, he would tell us exactly what to say and how to say it, so any time you mentioned anything about sexual preference, we already know to say, ‘I’m not here to talk about that,’ because that’s what he told us to say every single time.”
However, she calls that 2019 interview “a blessing” because “For five years, since I was 17, I didn’t have any relationship with any other woman except for the women that [Kelly] had been intimate with. And so when I did that interview with you, I instantly regretted immediately how I reacted.” She says that seeing King remain poised, even in the face of a violent outburst from Kelly (that also went viral), Clary wondered to herself, “I used to be that poised, I used to be that calm, what happened to that girl?”
Matthew Hughes, the man who broke into Eminem’s home last year after stalking him for nearly a year before that, was sentenced to five years probation and time served after pleading “no contest” to the charge of second-degree home invasion, according to the Associated Press. Hughes was originally charged with first-degree home invasion, malicious destruction of property, and assault of a jail employee.
Those charges were dismissed with his plea of “no contest,” which is treated as a guilty plea except in civil cases, meaning Eminem wouldn’t be able to use his plea in a potential lawsuit. It doesn’t seem like one would be forthcoming, however, as AP notes that Eminem was satisfied with the outcome. Hughes “said little at the hearing” and reportedly wasn’t completely coherent during his presentencing statement, according to his lawyer.
Eminem caught Hughes breaking into his house in Macomb County in the middle of the night last year when Hughes broke a kitchen window while security guards slept. The rapper discovered the intruder in his living room, where he told the 28-year-old to leave and called security, who held Hughes until police arrived. According to testimony, Hughes allegedly told Eminem he was in the house to kill him, but fortunately, didn’t follow through on the threat. It was later revealed that he’d tried to find Eminem’s home before, trying two properties previously owned by the rapper before finally finding the right place.
Earlier this week, R. Kelly was officially convicted of sex crimes after years of accusations. Multiple people came forward to testify against the disgraced R&B singer in court and Kelly was found guilty of racketeering and eight violations of an anti-sex trafficking law. Immediately following the guilty verdict, Kelly is now apparently an unwelcome face in certain parts of Louisiana.
After being found guilty of sex crimes, R. Kelly’s honorary “key to the city” in Baton Rouge has been revoked, according to a recent report from TMZ. Apparently, the same official who granted the singer the honor back in 2013, Baton Rouge Metro Council member Denise Marcelle, is rescinding the key and “regrets” even awarding R. Kelly with it in the first place. Though there had allegations against the singer when he was given the key, Marcelle told TMZ she didn’t do much research about the case and only knew he had been acquitted in 2008.
The Baton Rouge “key to the city” is actually a $250 plaque. Per TMZ’s report, the plaque won’t be physically taken from the singer’s possession, but all of its honor will be stripped. Of course, it’s not likely that R. Kelly will even be able to travel to Baton Rouge any time soon, seeing as he faces a mandatory minimum sentence of ten years and could even be sentenced to life in prison.
After a couple of weeks worth of speculation, the music world has finally received the anticipated collaboration between Skylar Grey, Eminem, Polo G, and Mozzy. “Last One Standing” is a victorious track that finds the four artists celebrating their ability to overcome life’s obstacles. It was teased for multiple weeks with some believing that it would be Eminem’s return to music and even a sign that he had a new album on the way. However, that’s not the case as the new song finds Grey in the driver seat with the three rappers providing support for her message. The track will also appear on the upcoming soundtrack for Venom: Let There Be Carnage, a film that debuts in theaters on Friday, October 1.
Anticipation behind the track first began when Mozzy’s manager teased a collaboration with Eminem. Later on, in a pair of now-deleted tweets, Polo G informed his fans to stay tuned for something arriving on October 1. Skylar Grey tied it all together with a tease of her own on Twitter. “This month has been hellish,” she wrote. “But I see the light at the end… can’t wait for October 1st… mark your calendar.” Luckily for their fans, “Last One Standing” arrived a couple of days early.
This month has been hellish… but I see the light at the end… can’t wait for October 1st… mark your calendar. pic.twitter.com/gfH8AdzKvt
While “Last One Standing” marks Grey’s first collaboration with Mozzy and Polo G, the track appears on the lengthy list of songs she and Eminem have done together. It includes “Black Magic,” “C’mon Let Me Ride,” “Kill For You,” “Asshole,” “Leaving Heaven,” and more.
You can press play on “Last One Standing” in the video above.
Megan Thee Stallion has given the world a few guest verses in recent months, and the latest finds the Houston native joining up with Spanish singer Maluma and Rock Mafia for the vibrant track “Crazy Family.” The song will appear in the upcoming film The Addams Family 2, which arrives in theaters on October 1 and features Oscar Isaac, Charlize Theron, Chloë Grace Moretz, Nick Kroll, Javon Walton, Snoop Dogg, Bette Midler, and more.
“Crazy Family” comes after Megan joined Lil Nas X for “Dolla Sign Slime,” which the latter said he hoped would also include an appearance from Drake. Prior to that, Megan went international with BTS thanks to a remix of the band’s hit song “Butter.” She has also shined on the solo side of things with songs like “Thot Sh*t” and freestyles that include “Out Of Town” and “Tuned In.”
As for what’s next, fans can catch Megan at Post Malone‘s curated festival, Posty Fest, during the weekend of October 30-31. She will also join Dua Lipa for a trio of shows during the singer’s Future Nostalgia Tour in 2022.
You can listen to “Crazy Family” in the video above.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
