J. Cole Is Forced To Postpone Some Of His ‘Off-Season’ Tour Dates Due To Production Delays

J. Cole is finally kicking off his long-awaited The Off-Season tour and he’s already experiencing a few hiccups. The rapper just performed his third show of the year in Greensboro, North Carolina. But after running into several road blocks, Cole made the decision to postpone some of his upcoming concerts.

The rapper shared a video to Instagram to apologize to his fans and explain the reason for the delay. Cole announced he would be postponing the tour’s Philadelphia and Detroit dates because the live show production is so intricate that his crew simply can’t get to the venues in enough time:

“I’m backstage at the Greensboro show. I’ve been here for hours trying to get my voice right. This is the Off-Season tour. I have an announcement for specifically Philly and Detroit. […] When we came out on the Off-Season tour, we wanted to do this sh*t big. I spent days programming the lights, hours and hours the programming the lights. While the show is amazing, we didn’t account for the fact that it takes way longer to load this sh*t into the house, so we’re experiencing delays in opening the doors and getting people in.”

Cole explained that it’s a nine-hour drive from North Carolina to Philadelphia, and that’s not enough time to “get the show up in time.” He added: “I apologize for the inconvenience. I know people done hired babysitters, some people drive in from out of town, I hate this sh*t. Even the fact that people waiting outside right now in Greensboro. That sh*t is A.) embarrassing and B.) I think about people’s time. This is the first time this ever happened to us. So I apologize for this sh*t.”

The Off-Season is out now via Dreamville. Get it here.

D Smoke Brings The Violence Back To Rap On The Triumphant ‘War And Wonders’

When Inglewood rapper D Smoke says that hip-hop isn’t violent enough, I know exactly what he means. See, D Smoke is an old soul — and old enough to remember the times in rap when voices like NWA, Ice Cube, and Tupac Shakur ruled the airwaves. So, he isn’t talking about mainstream rap’s obsession with “opps” and the near-constant threats and menacing in lyrics promising bloody retribution against hazily defined, likely hypothetical enemies.

Instead, his philosophy can best be summed up by his aggressive single “Shame On You,” from his newly released sophomore effort, War & Wonders. “Two times for n****s that ain’t gon’ lose,” he barks on the song’s militant chorus. “Three times for n****s that break wrong rules / One time for n****s that paid those dues / Listen, if you ain’t getting it, then shame on you.” See, D Smoke comes from a different vein of rapper, one more focused on using his influence to do good in the community than on being a billionaire. Think early Cube, “Changes” Tupac, or more recently, Nipsey Hussle.

It was evident from his opening bars on the Netflix series Rhythm + Flow (which helped launch him to the level he’s since reached) that he had a peculiar outlook and wasn’t going to take a typical rap journey. It became even more evident on his soul-washed, family-focused, Grammy-nominated debut album Black Habits. It’s rare to see a new artist nominated so quickly for a prestigious award — yes, the Grammys are still prestigious until further notice — but Smoke, an industry veteran as a producer and songwriter with a musical family that includes TDE crooner SiR, took the changes in stride.

Now, on War & Wonders, he aims to bring that violence back to hip-hop; not the gangbanging, opp-pack-smoking, shootouts-over-drug-money type violence, but the roll-up-your-sleeves, hitch-up-your-pants, defend your turf from encroaching outsiders and internal degradation variety. Over lunch at The Farm of Beverly Hills, D Smoke laid out his world view, including how it’s changed on the album, the work he hopes to see in his hometown as massive developments threaten seismic social upheaval, and whether or not he’s switching teams with the Los Angeles Clippers moving in down the street.

I would love for you to expound on what the title means to you, how you came up with it, and how that relates to the music that’s going to be on the project.

War & Wonders is my body of work that captures the struggles and the battles that we go through, both literally, like the war in the streets in Inglewood, and also just the internal battles that we fight. And then the wonder is for those of us who are strong, that stick it through, what we experience on the other side of that. The bliss, the joy, the love that we experience. So it’s going to capture the duality of what it means to be D Smoke — the D Smoke that grew up fighting in school, but also the D Smoke that had a 4.0. The D Smoke that went to UCLA but was rapping and handing out mixtapes his freshman year. So it allows me to just be all of who I am, and the music is just, it’s dope. What can I say? I’m in love with this project.

Yes, sir. I love that you spoke about the duality of growing up in the hood and getting out and going back to the hood and taking in the differences. We have so many examples of that. Why do you think that resonates so much with rappers who come from LA?

Man, it’s a lot that people don’t understand about how the hood operates, right? People, they see the gang bang and they see the red and blue. They see Crenshaw and Manchester versus Crenshaw and Slauson. But what they don’t know is that the same ones that’s in the streets will also push the talented few or the talented many, but they’ll push the gifted ones into whatever they’re gifted at.

If you’re a baller in the hood and you pull up with a basketball, asking for a pistol, they’re going to be like, “No, this ain’t yours. The ball is yours.” Right? If you’re a scholar in the hood, they’re not going to let you put a gun in your backpack, they’re going to be like, “No, fill that up with books.”

So part of War & Wonders is painting that all-around picture of what it means to come up in the hood, giving the OGs and the gangsters more love than this one-dimensional depiction of them, that music sometimes gives. Because the gangsters are the mentors too. A lot of times gangsters are more attentive than some of the professionals. The professionals ain’t got time for you. The gangsters are present and they’re not just the mentors to young gangsters. They’re the mentors to the young scholars, too.

And all of us have those who look out for us. So when we’re talking about Inglewood and we’re talking about duality, it’s not just the duality of being D Smoke. It’s the duality of being anybody from the world because nobody is one-dimensional. I know gangsters that’ll make you laugh like they’re Kevin Hart. And then if shit go down, they’ll turn around and be more ready than any soldier. So that’s why I love War & Wonders. It just puts things in perspective in a way that I think music should.

Yes, sir. In terms of growth or… I don’t want to say growth because it’s never growth, right? It’s change. Change is the key. How would you say things have changed for you since Black Habits to now? And how would you say that change has expressed itself on Black Habits versus War & Wonders?

First and foremost, the world has changed. This music is coming from a place and a time where everybody in the world is experiencing an unprecedented degree of new challenges, right? How everything operates is different from how we move through the world. Whether it be the mask-on/mask-off argument or how we approach prioritizing our health. We’re in a completely different world altogether.

So, whereas Black Habits was a family story, War & Wonders is a community story. And I always view myself starting very close to home and slowly expanding. So, War & Wonders has moments where we talk about Inglewood. One song, I’m talking about a youngster that I lost while I’m in the classroom, and then I find out he passed. And I tell that story of me growing up with him and then having to find out that he got lost to the streets. But then, of course, having recently gotten married, there are moments of just love on my project. And even J. Cole, at one point, said, “This is the part that the thugs skip. Young n**** never had love.”

And you know what’s funny? They don’t.

They don’t skip it! They don’t skip it.

That’s the thing they want more than anything.

So War & Wonders is that project where they get bits and pieces of both sides. But we’re in a very different place. We’re in a different world than we were in when Black Habits came out. And so I also think, with the world changing so fast, if we don’t take on an attitude of resistance, or an attitude of strength, or a willingness to fight if things don’t work for us, we will be on the losing end of that.

King Los told me, “Embrace your darkness.” Because showing people that is what will make them accept and embrace your light. They know you have the light to offer. Be all the way honest with them.

Royce da 5’9″ — and I understood exactly what he was saying — was like, “Rap music is not violent enough anymore.” And you think about violence in the broader sense of the word. It’s not just walk up and slap somebody. At its root, it’s the willingness to go against something that’s opposing you. And so War & Wonders has that kind of energy on it.

The people who are more critics than listeners might be like, “What’s D Smoke doing?” But the people who listen for the intent and follow through here in the project, they going to respect the fact that we took that stance and made that approach to this project because the world needs it. People don’t need to shrink. This ain’t a time to shrink. It’s time to grow and get big in the midst of everything we’re experiencing in the world. Because when these things happen, everybody needs an advocate, and you’re your first advocate.

I got a sense of that on one of the recent singles, “Shame On You.”

“Shame on You” got that energy.

What are some of the things that maybe you wouldn’t have expected or that other people wouldn’t have expected to have changed since Rhythm+Flow?

I don’t think that people expected my success on the show to automatically amount to a successful career in music. And that’s because there hasn’t been evidence of that with the exception of American Idol.

Show’s been on the air for 20 years.

Exactly. Exactly. And we could probably name five that we still know. Clay, Fantasia, Kelly, Ruben, and that’s where my list stops.

My mom loves Fantasia!

But from The Voice or Making the Band, we know funny moments.

We know cheesecake.

Right. Exactly. So Dylan, Dylan, Dylan.

Dylan, Dylan.

So one thing that people didn’t expect is that amounting to what we had. I always knew that it was the work, the plan, and the vision that would result in that. And nobody had to tell me that, it’s just me being older and having had really big looks and moments of success, and then having gone back to being like, “Okay, I’m back in the classroom teaching again, because I got to call somebody and ask them to put a song I produced on an album,” versus me stepping outside and being like, “I’m going to plan another tour.”

So all of those experiences led to me choosing to be my own artist. And that’s how we got here. Some of the unexpected things that I experienced personally, I’m grateful for the amount of attention that comes. That’s cool. That’s what young artists aspire to experience. It’s just little stuff: like sometimes people don’t know how to have respectful boundaries of a human being. So getting physically grabbed. I don’t respond well to that. And it’s not big dudes that will do it, it’s older women who be like, “Boy, ain’t you…” Like they your auntie. But grab you physically.

They’ll be excited.

And you’re like, “Ma’am, God bless you, but please don’t grab me, because…”

Where I’m from, I react different.

It’s like you got to relearn how to live. You live differently, you move differently. And that’s the part that you don’t see, people making those adjustments, even within their family. I’ve had to teach family members how I prefer us as a family unit to behave on social networking. We no longer post vibes. We no longer say, “We’re over here right now.” Because people follow my family members.

There’s lots of talk about Inglewood in the news lately because of certain developments coming from organizations like the Clippers. How do you feel about some of the stuff they’re doing, as someone from Inglewood?

The thing is, I wish they connected with me a little more on those things. I have some ideas, and I hope… I can’t wait to get with Ballmer about this community. If there’s a stadium being built, then there needs to be a center being built. Every stadium should have a center for the youth. Within three miles, two miles of it.

Close enough to walk.

Close enough. Because there’s so much money and it’s just a small fraction of what it takes to operate that, to build something like a YMCA, or like a Boys and Girls Club, that’s also run by somebody from that community. And so that’s a conversation that I’ll continue with me and David Gross, having the boxing gym close. It’s not far, it’s outside of Inglewood, but it’s within the vicinity, to kind of initiate. So it’s just socially and culturally responsible to put something there for the youth. And that’s a conversation I’m going to push for. But I’m open to being informed on what they are doing in the community.

Which LA team do you root for the most? Because you’ve performed for one, but I need to know.

I’m a Laker fan, a Laker fan. But put it this way: I grew up a Laker fan, and I’m still a Laker fan. But I’m an all-teams LA fan, all-LA teams fan for basketball. I happened to be in the stadium the night that the Clippers beat the Heat. They came back from like 25 points at half-time. I performed that night and I witnessed one of the greatest comebacks I’ve ever seen live in person. When I performed, I didn’t know that that was going to happen. I’m performing at half-time at a time where the score is so bad some people are leaving at half-time.

Those are the long-time Clipper fans.

Exactly.

We’re still traumatized.

It’s like, “I don’t want to witness it today. I’m trying to spare myself.” But I said, “How many of y’all know this game ain’t over yet?” And then, the song was “No Commas.” I said, “Ain’t a dollar sign tag on some peace of mind, jack / We could take a loss, we gon’ get it right back.” And they went on to win the game. But just to experience that upfront personally, you just got to have respect for that degree of heart that goes into it, and feeling like I contributed something to that game.

Oh, they definitely took something out of that.

So, I have to root for them.

Where do you see D Smoke being next year, a year from now? Are you looking at another Grammy nomination? Are you looking at a world tour? What’s the ultimate goal? Where do you find yourself?

Gosh, the Grammy nomination is outside of my hands. We are submitting ourselves for consideration. So we’re confident that the project is beautiful. If they respond to it, cool. If for some reason they see a different group of people that are qualified, or they connect with different bodies of work, that’s cool too. Because I know fans are going to feel about this project. I know it’s something that they’re going to want to experience in person and we will get back outdoors, both in the States and abroad. We’re excited about that. And that’s within our control. So if it happens, that’s dope, super dope. It was dope when it happened this time. But I feel like this project competes with anything that I’ve heard and anything that I’m going to hear, for the year to come.

War & Wonders is out now via Woodworks and EMPIRE. Get it here/

G-Eazy And Demi Lovato Confront Their Reflections For A Haunting Peformance Of ‘Breakdown’

G-Eazy’s got a new album, These Things Happen Too, out and to mark the release, the Bay Area star hit the Tonight Show stage with pop singer Demi Lovato to perform the haunting “Breakdown” from the new project. The performance, which takes place on a two-sided stage adorned with mirrors, finds the duo confronting their controversies as images of the various headlines written about them flash on the screens behind them.

Between them, the two have accumulated enough headlines to wallpaper a museum wing. Most recently, G-Eazy was in the news for a fight outside a hotel bar and filing a restraining order against an alleged stalker. Meanwhile, Demi Lovato recently came out as non-binary, drawing criticism from conservative corners of the internet.

However, both stars also have their fair share of good news, as well. G-Eazy recently started a wellness brand, FlowerShop, giving an interview to Uproxx’s Dane Rivera about the new brand, and has strung together an impressive list of features in 2021, including on EST Gee’s “At Will.” Meanwhile, Lovato recently helped to honor queer icon Elton John at the 2021 iHeartRadio Music Awards, so both seem to be doing alright, even despite their respective mishaps.

Watch G-Eazy’s Tonight Show performance of “Breakdown” with Demi Lovato above.

G-Eazy And Demi Lovato Confront Their Reflections For A Haunting Peformance Of ‘Breakdown’

G-Eazy’s got a new album, These Things Happen Too, out and to mark the release, the Bay Area star hit the Tonight Show stage with pop singer Demi Lovato to perform the haunting “Breakdown” from the new project. The performance, which takes place on a two-sided stage adorned with mirrors, finds the duo confronting their controversies as images of the various headlines written about them flash on the screens behind them.

Between them, the two have accumulated enough headlines to wallpaper a museum wing. Most recently, G-Eazy was in the news for a fight outside a hotel bar and filing a restraining order against an alleged stalker. Meanwhile, Demi Lovato recently came out as non-binary, drawing criticism from conservative corners of the internet.

However, both stars also have their fair share of good news, as well. G-Eazy recently started a wellness brand, FlowerShop, giving an interview to Uproxx’s Dane Rivera about the new brand, and has strung together an impressive list of features in 2021, including on EST Gee’s “At Will.” Meanwhile, Lovato recently helped to honor queer icon Elton John at the 2021 iHeartRadio Music Awards, so both seem to be doing alright, even despite their respective mishaps.

Watch G-Eazy’s Tonight Show performance of “Breakdown” with Demi Lovato above.

Kodak Black Was Ordered To Attend Rehab After Failing A Drug Test

Kodak Black is headed to rehab, according to TMZ. The Pompano Beach, Florida rapper reportedly violated the terms of his supervised release by failing a drug test and was consequently ordered to attend a 90-day residential treatment program. Kodak was serving a 46-month sentence for lying on an application to buy a gun but was pardoned by Donald Trump early this year along with Lil Wayne, who was facing gun charges of his own. TMZ also reports that Kodak is already checked into the program. Here’s hoping he gets the help he needs.

Unfortunately, Koday Black doesn’t have the greatest record with treatment. Back in 2017, it was reported that he burped his way out of anger management sessions. His counselor at the time found him to be disturbing group therapy and asked him to leave, eventually resorting to threats to call 911.

Although Kodak did receive a pardon on his gun charges, he pled guilty to sexually assaulting a minor from an alleged 2016 incident involving a teenaged fan at Comfort Inn in South Carolina. He was sentenced to probation for 18 months against a suspended 10-year sentence, as well as agreeing to undergo counseling.

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

CL’s Swaggering New Single ‘Lover Like Me’ Closes The Door On A Past Relationship

CL is one of the most OG artists in the K-Pop sphere, racking up attention and accolades as a global force long before BTS hit the scene. Born Lee Chae-rin, the South Korean rapper and pop star is finally back and gearing up to release her debut studio album, Alpha. After a lengthy hiatus, she returned earlier this year, first with a touching recollection of her late mother for the sweet tribute “Wish You Were Here,” and then with the ferocious new single “Spicy.”

That single introduced her album, Alpha, which was originally slated for release last but was pushed to this year, and it’s a return to form her CL recalling her past work like “Hello Bitches” and “The Baddest Female.” Tonight, she’s shared another new cut off Alpha, which falls somewhere between sweet and spicy. “Lover Like Me” has the braggadocio of “Spicy” but it’s undercut with some of the softness of her pop sound. That softness doesn’t stop her from going into full-on rap mode for a Nicki-level verse toward the end of the track, though. Check out the new song above and look for more updates on the quickly-approaching Alpha — it’s shaping up to be one of the year’s most important releases.

Lil Peep’s Mother Claims Her Late Son’s Record Label Owes Her $4 Million

Lil Peep’s mother, Liza Womack, and her late son’s record label have long been entwined in a legal battle, and while it’s yet to have been resolved, Womack delivered another accusation against them. According to Rolling Stone the late rapper’s mother says First Access Entertainment owes $4 million to Peep’s estate and claims their failure to give her the money is a “transparent” attempt to derail the wrongful death and business lawsuit that was filed against the FAE and its boss. FAE denied the allegations at a court hearing on Tuesday and claimed Peep’s mother was to blame for the delay.

“FAE is trying to choke off her funds by denying her her royalty revenue that they know she’s owed,” Womack’s lawyer Paul A. Matiasic said during Tuesday’s court hearing. Matiasic adds that the $4 million owed to his client is royalty payments from Peep’s music that FAE allegedly “admitted” it owes to his estate. He also labeled the relationship between his client and FAE as “dysfunctional” and requested a court’s intervention in the matter.

“It’s not true that it’s dysfunctional,” FAE’s lawyer John W. Amberg said in court. “It also is not true that FAE owes the estate over $4 million. That’s simply not true. That’s just an argument used to gain someone’s sympathy here.”

The accusation against FAE comes four months after Womack revealed she suffered two strokes since the tragic death of her son at the end of 2017. “I am not going to die until I take care of this matter,” she said at the time in regards to wrongful death lawsuit. “I’m going to live. I have a mission.”

Ashanti Celebrates The Opportunity To Re-Record Her Self-Titled Debut Album: ‘It’s So Surreal’

Soon, Ashanti will find herself joining a list of artists that includes Taylor Swift and JoJo. The Grammy-winning singer recently announced plans to re-record her self-titled album ahead of its upcoming 20th anniversary. She revealed the news during an appearance on the Tamron Hall Show, where she also shared that she now owns the masters to the 2002 album.

“It’s so surreal,” Ashanti said while celebrating the news. “I have an amazing legal team, and I got my first record deal when I was 14 years old, so understanding and seeing how things have changed so much from then to now and conceptually understanding what you’re signing is so imperative, it’s so important nowadays. The fact that I’ll be able to re-record my first album, and put everything together.”

She continued, “It’s so humbling. It is such an honor. I’m so grateful. It’s such a blessing, you know, the fact that we are still here, we’re living through a pandemic, and these blessings are still coming in, it just makes me so happy again, so humbled and such a believer.” Ashanti concluded, “It’s such a blessing, you know, the fact that we are still here, we’re living through a pandemic, and these blessings are still coming in, it just makes me so happy again, so humbled and such a believer.”

The news comes after she made a surprise appearance during Fat Joe and Ja Rule’s Verzuz battle earlier this month. It marked the second time she was on the series, having previously gone up against Keyshia Cole earlier this year.

Yo Gotti Is Now A Co-Owner Of The MLS’ D.C. United Team

Yo Gotti has already impressed as a business owner thanks to the Collective Music Group (CMG), the label he founded back in 2013. Now the rapper is bringing his business talents to the sports world: He just became a co-owner of the Major League Soccer’s D.C. United team. While financial details were not shared, the move, as originally reported by The Washington Post, gives Gotti and his group — which includes Adam Gerry, Joe Mamo, and Jake Silverstein — between five and six percent ownership of the team. In a press release, the rapper shared his excitement for his new involvement with the soccer team.

“I was introduced to the game by my son and watched how quickly it has grown in our country, so I’m honored to join the D.C. United ownership group,” Yo Gotti said in a statement. “I’ve long admired Jason Levien and Steve Kaplan’s ambition and entrepreneurship and look forward to collaborating with them — and the entire ownership group — to further elevate D.C. United’s commitment to connecting soccer, entertainment, community, and culture.” He added, “Together, we’re going to enhance fan experience and bring new and exciting events to Audi Field.”

D.C. United’s chairmen Jason Levien and Steve Kaplan also spoke about Yo Gotti’s ownership group joining the team. “As D.C. United continues to grow, it was important for us to add a diverse blend of experience and expertise to our ownership group to further elevate our business,” they said. “We are really excited about the knowledge and know-how that this group of investors brings to our club. As we continue to evolve, we are confident the expanded ownership group will help us to further engage our fanbase — both existing and new, create additional forms of entertainment and ultimately deliver a pathway for success for our club both on the pitch and in the community.”

You can view Gotti’s Instagram post celebrating the move above.

Common, Black Thought, And Seun Kuti Catch A Groove To A Warm Rhythm In Their Video For ‘When We Move’

Towards the end of last year, Common dropped A Beautiful Revolution, Pt. 1, which sported nine songs and guest appearances from Stevie Wonder, Lenny Kravitz, PJ, and more. Less than a year later, the rapper returned with A Beautiful Revolution, Pt. 2, with 11 songs and features from Brittany Howard, PJ, Marcus King, and more. Now he returns with a new video for “When We Move.”

It finds Common, as well as Black Thought and Seun Kuti, both who appear on the song, on a dance floor, dancing the night away as the groovy track plays in the background. “I’m a just give black power its flowers / Whether in the projects or in the palace,” Common raps as images of pivotal moments in Black history play. “Even when the pale horse tried to gallop / And stir it up, stir it up we kept the balance.”

The new video comes after he, Black Thought, and Seun Kuti performed the song on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. He also shared a video for “Imagine,” which captured his optimistic vision for the future.

You can watch Common’s video for “When We Move” above.

A Beautiful Revolution, Pt. 2 is out now via Loma Vista Recordings. Get it here.