Music

DaBaby’s New Video For ‘Giving What It’s Supposed To Give’ Draws Fire In The Wake Of His Rolling Loud Controversy

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The controversy surrounding DaBaby’s homophobic and misinformed comments from his Miami Rolling Loud set just wouldn’t be complete without the release of some new music, would it? The Charlotte rapper doesn’t disappoint, releasing the new video for his song, “Giving What It’s Supposed To Give.” Apparently filmed the day before the controversial set, the video is already drawing attention and criticism for making references to AIDS and oral sex, the two topics for which he’s been under fire for the last three days.

The video is a wild, abstract jumble of vignettes playing off of his raunchy lyrics and is obviously meant to be played for humorous effect, but honestly, I’m not entirely sure that it wouldn’t have gotten a chilly reception from some of the imagery even without the Rolling Loud controversy. With it, the scene in question, which features DaBaby holding up a sign that says “AIDS” before shooting two arguing men as he raps “we like AIDS, I’m on your ass,” seems grotesque and in poor taste.

He couldn’t be happier, gleefully sharing the link to the video on Instagram with the caption: “It never seizes to amaze me the way God puts me in situations I’m already equipped to handle. Enjoy.” Skating over the part where the correct phrase should be “it never ceases to amaze me,” it does seem as if the seriousness of his offense is lost on him. It looks like he really thinks he’s just teasing, it’s all in good fun, and people are being wet blankets for pointing out the real-life harm that has come to people over comments like his — often by people espousing the same rhetoric. (Someone should also probably point out how “giving what it’s supposed to give” as slang was hijacked wholesale from drag culture, but it won’t be me).

That hasn’t stopped fans from pointing out the discrepancy between his words and actions on Twitter, criticizing him for deciding to double down instead of re-shooting/recording the video/song.

Watch DaBaby’s “Giving What’s Supposed To Give” video above.

Lil Nas X Said He Can’t Reveal How He Got Kanye To Produce His New Single ‘Industry Baby’

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In a new interview with Youtuber Kerwin Frost, Lil Nas X does what he does best — creates hype. Though we already knew that Kanye had been involved with Nas X’s latest single, “Industry Baby,” as a producer on the record, we don’t know how the two got involved. And when Frost tries to ask the young rapper about how the connection went down, he refuses to reveal it! Of course, only making everyone that much more curious.

“How did that happen? I actually can’t tell you,” Nas begins (around 25:10 if you want to follow along in the interview). “I can’t, not yet at least. It’s just like a thing, you want to protect connections. We talked, he’s a pretty cool guy, super down to earth. He’s super talented. He showed me some stuff. He’s working on some great music. It’s nice to work with somebody who’s done that for so long, so much longevity and still going. And like constantly evolving. Not even just evolving, but completely changing into something else… he’s also doing something different and new. Over and over and over again recreating himself.”

Well, that does keep it pretty cryptic, but maybe what Nas can’t reveal yet is that he has more new music coming with Kanye. Or maybe a third party introduced them and and song with all three artists is coming soon. Either way, working with Kanye is another feather in Lil Nas X cap, and while he’s readying his debut album, odds are there will be plenty more dramatic moments along the way.

Check out the full interview above.

Silk Sonic Invited Fans To A Cryptic ‘Summertime Jam’ This Friday

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While fans have been waiting for a follow-up to Silk Sonic’s debut single, “Leave The Door Open,” the superstar duo have been tight lipped on when the follow-up will actually drop. After performing the song at the BET Awards, they hinted that a new song was on the way, but it was a bait and switch, and no new music came.

Now, that might all be changing though, as a new tweet shared by both Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak is inviting fans to something happening this Friday. “You’ve been invited to Silk Sonic’s Summertime Jam this Friday,” the poster reads. While that doesn’t shed a whole lot of light on what will go down at the event, it is promising that new music will be involved, in some capacity.

After all, what is there left to do when it comes to promoting “Leave The Door Open”? The song already went No. 1 a couple times, and they performed it live not just at the BET Awards but also at The Grammys. If Friday doesn’t include some more new music from this supergroup duo — or at least an update on when new songs will drop — the fan reaction is already evident from responses to the tweet announcement:

Fingers crossed!

Post Malone’s Posty Fest Is Set To Return To Arlington, Texas In 2021

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As the coronavirus pandemic shut down live entertainment in 2020, Post Malone was among the artists who were forced to cancel his fan-oriented festival. However, there’s some good news for those fans who missed out last year: Dates have been set for Posty Fest‘s return. The third annual event will take place October 30-31, 2021, at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX, and it marks the first time the festival will take place over a full weekend. Pre-sale begins July 29 at 10 am local time while general sale opens up on Friday, July 30. You can get more information here.

In addition to bringing back his personal festival, the Dallas native has been scheduled to play a number of big-name festivals throughout the year. This past weekend, he took the stage at Rolling Loud Miami‘s comeback show and this weekend, he’s billed as one of the headliners of Lollapalooza in Chicago. In September, you can catch him at Governor’s Ball in New York City.

Meanwhile, he’s been promoting a new song, which could potentially be the lead single to one of two albums he’s rumored to have planned this year. “Motley Crew” finds Post returning to a rap-centric sound after experimenting with country and rock styles on his last album, Beerbongs & Bentleys, and featured a NASCAR-themed music video and a limited-edition merch collection with Siberia Hills.

EST Gee Continues His Breakout Run With The Opulent ‘Riata Dada’ Video

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Louisville rapper EST Gee has been full steam ahead promoting his new project, Bigger Than Life Or Death, putting out a string of videos for the mixtape’s songs, including the self-titled lead single, “Capitol 1,” and “Price Tag.” His latest addition to the growing videography is “Riata Dada,” a bass-heavy, clamoring banger featuring his favorite things: Fast cars, chunky jewelry, stacks of cash, and scantily-clad women.

Built atop a cacophonous beat by Akachi, Southside, TM88, and TooDope (the number one producers perhaps explains the cascading, competing synth sounds), “Riata Dada” is a chorus-less, one-verse statement from EST Gee. Throughout the verse, he explains everything from why he signed with Yo Gotti over some other higher-profile labels (“If I wasn’t this, then I probably been done signed with DJ Drama/ But I’m thuggin’ and I’m shinin’, f*ck with coke, I roll with Gotti”) to whether or not he really even considers himself a rapper (“Did I really leave the streets alone to rap? I ain’t decided”).

EST Gee signing with Yo Gotti has given the CMG label a strong, stacked roster that has been racking up wins all year, including Moneybagg Yo’s No. 1, 42 Dugg’s XXL Freshman selection, and a label deal with Universal.

Watch EST Gee’s “Riata Dada” video above.

Bigger Than Life Or Death is out now via CMG/4PF. You can get it here.

Isaiah Rashad’s ‘Runnin’ Video Schoolboy Q Reflects On His Whirlwind Career

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Isaiah Rashad fans have been waiting for quite a while for the Chattanooga rapper’s follow-up to his debut album The Sun’s Tirade and this Friday, they’ll finally get their fill when The House Is Burning drops on TDE and Warner Records. With the release just days away, Isaiah releases one last video, “Runnin’” featuring Schoolboy Q, to give fans a preview of what to expect.

The video is more of a nostalgic look back through the archives of Rashad’s career so far, featuring behind-the-scenes footage from his prior tours and recording sessions (there are even some glimpses from back when he had ‘locs!). Naturally, during Q’s verse, the perspective shifts to follow the exploits of the South LA native. Kenny Beats and Dom Maker provide murky but smooth instrumentation for their lyrics to glide over, giving the song an improvisational but polished sound.

Prior to the release of the upcoming album, Rashad also shared videos for comeback single “Lay Wit Ya” featuring Memphis crunk revivalist Duke Deuce, “Headshots (4r Da Locals),” and “Wat U Sed” featuring TikTok-favorite Tampa rapper Doechii and Kal Banx.

Watch Isaiah Rashad’s “Runnin’” video featuring Schoolboy Q above.

The House Is Burning is due 7/30 on TDE and Warner Records. Pre-save it here.

IDK Announces His ‘USee4Yourself’ Tour Dates And Shares The ‘Dogs Don’t Lie’ Video

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IDK is flying high after the release of his second album USee4Yourself, sharing the tour dates for his tour supporting the project along with the new video for its standout song, “Dogs Don’t Die.”

In the video, IDK shows off his fashion sense and newly attained level of wealth, rocking a black suit/white tee shirt/Jordan IV combination (along with his ever-present durag) in the back of a Maybach while cruising through the California desert with a lady friend.

In addition to dropping the new album, IDK recently launched a music business program at Harvard and signed a deal with Nike, resulting in him having a few excess pairs to give out in his neighborhood. The album, which is both his most commercially appealing and musically adventurous project yet, contains features with Young Thug and MF DOOM.

Watch the “Dogs Don’t Lie” video above and see the USee4Yourself tour dates below. USee4Yourself is out now via Warner. Get it here.

11/28 -– Boston, MA @ Paradise Rock Club
11/2 — Portland, OR @ Hawthorne
11/3 — Seattle, WA @ Crocodile – Second Stage
11/5 — San Francisco, CA @ August Hal
11/6 — Los Angeles, CA @ Belasco
11/9 — Atlanta, GA @ Masquerade-Purgatory Stage
11/11 — Chicago, IL @ Bottom Lounge
11/15 — New York, NY @ Webster Hall
11/16 — Philadelphia, PA @ Foundry
11/26 — Silver Spring, MD @ Fillmore

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

Watch Lil Baby And Kirk Franklin Take To The Court For Their Celebratory ‘Space Jam’ Track, ‘We Win’

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Let me begin by encouraging you not to believe the bad press about Space Jam: A New Legacy — I saw the film in theaters this past weekend and it more than held up to the original. LeBron isn’t quite as great as he was in Trainwreck, but it’s close! And there’s a heartwarming family angle that was missing in the original. If you like watching toons play basketball and be silly, then you’ll love the film. And if you do go watch it, keep your ears peeled for a soundtrack that’s stuffed to the brim with rappers and musical legends, partially due to LeBron’s avid love for hip-hop I’m sure.

One such soundtrack cut is Lil Baby and Kirk Franklin collaborating on the celebratory gospel track, “We Win,” and now the pair have dropped a video for it, too. Sure, there are some moments of footage from the film, but the visual also includes Lil Baby rapping from the court, Kirk playing piano courtside, and even cute clips of younger players getting their hoop on. It’s the kind of song that a move about overcoming struggle definitely needs for that joyful, final moment, and slates along other songs of the summer remarkably well. Check out the clip above.

Lil Nas X Drops An ‘Uncensored’ Version Of His ‘Industry Baby’ Video And It’s A Masterful Troll

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The content of Lil Nas X’s recent “Industry Baby” video is often explicit, although it was understandably cleaned up and blurred out when necessary for YouTube. Now, though, the rapper is offering an “uncensored” version of the clip, although it’s more of a hilarious tease than an actual X-rated clip.

In the first half-minute of both the original and “uncensored” videos, Nas gets acclimated to life behind bars. Then, we see an establishing shot of a running shower head. In the original video, that leads to a scene of Nas and other inmates dancing naked (but with their parts pixellated). The “uncensored” video is actually less revealing than that: Right when the viewer thinks they’re going to see some body parts, the video freezes on a still frame of the shower head as a simulated loading icon spins to make it look like the video playback isn’t working properly. That goes on for the rest of the video.

The rapper retweeted some reactions from fans who played along with the bit. One wrote, “MY MOM WALKED IN WHILE I WAS WATCHING THIS… HOW DO I EXPLAIN THIS TO HER???” Another said, “OMG their dicks were actually OUT-” A different user wrote, “Look I changed my router, called my internet provider, and bought a new computer but the video isn’t loading properly can you PLEASE reupload the right way this time.”

Check out the video above.

Elton John Was ‘Shocked’ By DaBaby’s HIV Comments, Saying Misinformation Fuels Stigma

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DaBaby’s comments during his controversial Rolling Loud set in Miami this weekend continue to draw reactions from every corner of the entertainment industry. After Dua Lipa, his collaborator on the hit song “Levitating,” said she was “surprised and horrified” by his words, queer rights icon and living legend Elton John has chimed in to address the harm DaBaby’s statements could cause, whether intentional or not.

John’s official Twitter account, which doubles as the account for his Elton John AIDS Foundation, pointed out how statements like DaBaby’s can “fuel stigma and discrimination,” calling them “the opposite of what our world needs to fight the AIDS epidemic.” You can read the full statement below.

We’ve been shocked to read about the HIV misinformation and homophobic statements made at a recent DaBaby show. This fuels stigma and discrimination and is the opposite of what our world needs to fight the AIDS epidemic.

The facts are:

HIV has affected over 70 million people globally: men, women, children, and the most vulnerable people in our communities.

In America, a gay black man has a 50% lifetime chance of contracting HIV. Stigma and shame around HIV and homosexuality is a huge driver of this vulnerability. We need to break down the myths and judgments and not fuel these.

You can live a long and healthy life with HIV. Treatment is so advanced that with one pill a day, HIV can become undetectable in your body so you can’t pass it onto other people.

Homophobic and HIV mistruths have no place in our society and industry and as musicians, we must spread compassion and love for the most marginalized people in our communities.

A musician’s job is to bring people together.

DaBaby responded to the backlash a few times, noting that it wasn’t his intent to insult anyone, but unfortunately, he seems to have missed the possible unintended harm that resulted from his comments. In addition, online retailer Boohooman ended its partnership with him, while him bringing Tory Lanez onstage could have legal repercussions for the Canadian rapper. All in all, not DaBaby’s best week — although he seems to be taking it all in stride.