Music

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

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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

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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

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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’

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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

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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’

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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.

21 Savage Explains Why Some People In Atlanta Might Believe Future Is A Bigger Rapper Than Drake

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Over the past few years, 21 Savage has grown from an underground act to a star. But he has some perspective. The rapper sat down on DJ Akademiks’ Off The Record podcast and explained that, while he has the utmost respect for Drake, people in his hometown may not consider him to be the town’s biggest rapper. That title, he says, could be given to someone like Future.

“If I wasn’t a rapper, I don’t feel like I still would listen to Drake, forreal,” Savage said during the podcast. “It’s just, I’m a rapper so I understand the work he put in and how hard he goes. Like, when you ain’t no rapper, all those statistics don’t mean sh*t. A regular street n**** don’t give a f*ck how many times you went No.1, how many white people listen to your sh*t, because the farthest they think is the club.”

He added, “In Atlanta, there’s a lot of n****s who you really can’t tell them that Future ain’t bigger than Drake. I used to think that… Drake ain’t really no big mixtape artist out there.”

In short, what Savage seems to be saying is big sales doesn’t always mean you have a big cultural impact.

You can watch the full interview above.

Eminem’s Next Release Is Reportedly Not An Album, But Rather A Track With Polo G, Mozzy, And Skylar Grey

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Last week, rumors arose about new music from Eminem. Some believed it would be a new project. Some guessed The Marshall Mathers LP 3 was en route. Others believed it was just a song that involved the rapper’s frequent collaborator Skylar Grey. For those who went with the latter, there’s great news for you: you’re partially correct. As confirmed by those who saw an advance screening of the upcoming film Venom 2: Let There Be Carnage, Eminem and Skylar Grey have a song on the soundtrack, and it’s also features rappers Polo G and Mozzy.

The untitled song can reportedly be heard during the end credits of the film. One fan took to Twitter to share their thoughts on the upcoming collaboration, writing, “Dawg. That Polo g, Mozzy, Eminem, Skylar Grey song on the venom sound track [three fire emojis].”

Rumors about the upcoming track first began earlier this month, when Mozzy’s manager teased a collaboration with Eminem. Polo G followed suit and told people to keep an eye out for something coming in October. Meanwhile Skylar Grey had a similar message of her own. “This month has been hellish,” she tweeted. “But I see the light at the end… can’t wait for October 1st… mark your calendar.”

Check Out These Photos Of Life Is Beautiful’s Return To Las Vegas

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Paul L. Carter

I don’t know about you, but I really, really missed music festivals. And after a year and a half without them, music festivals returned big time this summer, and are now in full swing. Some favorites, like Lollapalooza, Rolling Loud, and Pitchfork Music Festival, all already welcomed fans back to their grounds (and you can look at what’s still to come in our handy hub that we built for you). But there is no festival quite like Life Is Beautiful in Las Vegas.

Taking over Downtown Vegas for the weekend, LiB shows visitors a different side of the desert oasis. It’s not held on the more popular strip area, but in what is commonly referred to as Old Vegas, featuring some of the classic area casinos and hotels as a backdrop and abundant street art on the side of nearly every building. In a city that already feels like a playground, Life Is Beautiful ups the anti, imparting fans with stunning views, top-tier cuisine, educational seminars, and, of course, music. This year saw an impressive slate, including Tame Impala, Green Day, Glass Animals, St. Vincent, Young Thug, ASAP Rocky, and many more. Check out some of the highlights, shot by our own Paul L. Carter, below.

Glass Animals // Paul L. Carter
Glass Animals // Paul L. Carter
Ashnikko // Paul L. Carter
Tame Impala // Paul L. Carter
Tame Impala // Paul L. Carter
ASAP Rocky // Paul L. Carter
ASAP Rocky // Paul L. Carter
ASAP Rocky // Paul L. Carter
Green Day // Paul L. Carter
Green Day // Paul L. Carter
Haim // Paul L. Carter
Haim // Paul L. Carter
Haim // Paul L. Carter
Ludacris // Paul L. Carter
St. Vincent // Paul L. Carter
Young Thug // Paul L. Carter
Young Thug // Paul L. Carter

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

Lauryn Hill Initiated The Fugees Reunion, According To Pras

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The Fugees reunion is off to a great start, with a well-received comeback show at New York’s Pier 17 as part of the Global Citizen Live concert series and a tour planned to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the trio’s classic 1996 album The Score. Now, thanks to the sometimes overlooked group member Pras, fans know who to thank for the return of Fugees: Ms. Lauryn Hill, who apparently was the one who reached out to her former bandmates during the COVID-19 lockdowns.

In an interview about the reunion with Billboard‘s Nadine Graham, Pras said, “It was kinda initiated by Ms. Hill, but the idea was floating around since last year. But you know last year with the pandemic, nobody really knew which way the world was going. It happened organically. She reached out to Wyclef and they reached out to me. I said, ‘Listen, if it feels right, let’s see what happens.’ I think the culture really needed it, wanted it, so we’re just giving them what they want.”

However, with regard to whether the crew would be turning their reunion tour into a comeback album, he was a little more cagey. “I’ma say it like this to you,” he replied. “Last night, it really felt good.”

You can watch Fugees’ reunion performance of “Ready Or Not” above.