Music

Mariah The Scientist Triumphs With Ferocity On The Feisty ‘Ry Ry World’

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RCA / Ralph Ordaz

The RX is Uproxx Music’s stamp of approval for the best albums, songs, and music stories throughout the year. Inclusion in this category is the highest distinction we can bestow and signals the most important music being released throughout the year. The RX is the music you need, right now.

Mariah The Scientist‘s second album Ry Ry World looked to broaden the scope of her content, positioning her in a world that operates under her discretion. While her first effort, 2019’s Master, zoomed in on her love life, the failures of her partners, and her forever-changing outlook on the wide realm of relationships, Ry Ry World zooms out to deliver a panoramic view of Mariah’s mind to illuminate her worldview.

Through ten songs and a pair of guest features from fellow ATLiens Young Thug and Lil Baby, Mariah drops the curtain that stood in front of Ry Ry World. She reveals three major things that keep it on its axis: ferocity, feistiness, and a fearless approach to it all. Mariah is uninterested in the things that occur in her orbit that don’t concern her. Her peaceful and easy-going voice creates a path that traverses the world uninterrupted as it evades obstacles or barrels through them unfazed.

On “Walked In,” one of the more upbeat records on the project featuring Young Thug, Mariah walks with her head held high and the belief that not only what’s meant for her will come to her. “Yes sir, tonight we falling in love / Want none of that cappin’ ’bout booin’ up,” she sings before adding later, “Looked in his eyes and asked him ‘What you tryna do?’” A straightforward approach is the first step towards saving time and energy, especially when the result relies on the actions of another party. Whether through heartwrenching questions to a man about a woman he left Mariah for on “All For Me” or the ravaging thoughts behind heartbreak and her sinister responses to it on “Revenge,” the Atlanta singer has no problem shooting an arrow of havoc into her problems to kill them off for good.

However, the singer is not against a good fight whenever it’s needed. She raises her guard and creates distance between herself and an unfaithful lover on “Aura” through dreamy production and contemplation of the what-ifs and perfect world scenarios. “2 You” and “Maybe” also grapple with the uncertainty that results from failed bouts with love. “​​Maybe we should escape / Maybe I should’ve stayed,” she sings on “Maybe.” “Maybe we should’ve ran away / Maybe I should’ve prayed.” What Mariah must come to terms with is maybe things aren’t meant to be no matter what she could’ve done.

Mariah’s fearless approach to everything in her life is what makes Ry Ry World so unique and captivating. Factor in her ferocity and feistiness and it becomes evident that the singer strives to have her way. She lays her cards on the table with her heart beside it on “Always N Forever” with Lil Baby declaring, “I’ll be your woman always.” Even when it’s time to let go, like it is on “RIP,” Mariah drops the hand of her partner knowing that she fought as hard as she could. “And if I told you, ‘The world is yours’ / You’d just wanna go to Mars,” she admits. “But I cannot sell my soul to prove, it should’ve been ours.”

One can imagine that if Ry Ry World is not a place that Mariah The Scientist traverses by herself, it’s one filled with people who might, or should at least, strive to live more like the singer. The singer proudly wears her heart on her sleeve because it’s big enough to take on whatever damage the world might inflict on it. So even with an arrow in her back and through her heart as the album cover depicts, Mariah The Scientist won’t ever change her ways because Ry Ry World continues to spin as long as she stays true to herself.

Ry Ry World is out now via RCA Records. Get it here.

Megan Thee Stallion Covers The ‘Sports Illustrated’ Swimsuit Issue, Making Her The First Rapper To Do So

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The cover stars for this year’s Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue were unveiled today, and among them is a familiar face to music fans: Megan Thee Stallion, as she, tennis star Naomi Osaka, and actress/model Leyna Bloom all got their own covers.

Sharing the cover on Instagram, Megan wrote, “REAL SPORTS ILLUSTRATED SWIMSUIT EDITION COVER MODEL SH*T!!! Thee first female rapper on the cover of @si_swimsuit [crying emojis] I want to thank all the strong women in my life who inspired me to love my body and live my best hot girl life. It means the world to me to be on this cover DREAM COME TRUE!!”

Sports Illustrated Swimsuit editor-in-chief MJ Day said of Meg, “Megan Thee Stallion doesn’t stay in one lane. In fact, she encourages everyone to be in multiple, and this is what we love about her. She captured the world’s attention with her music and style, but what caught our attention was her unfiltered approach to the way she makes you think. She uses her platform to push boundaries, dissect societal norms, and encourage humans to think about the backward way our society continues to operate. Megan is a vessel for change, and we are honored to have her on our 2021 cover.”

Megan is the first rapper to cover the swimsuit issue, but not the first musician, as Beyonce graced the cover back in 2007.

Check out Megan’s Sports Illustrated photo gallery here.

Megan Thee Stallion is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Dame Dash Labels Jay-Z & Roc-A-Fella Records’ Lawsuit Against Him As ‘Corny’ And ‘Embarrassing’

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Last month, Dame Dash was hit with a lawsuit from Roc-A-Fella Records after he attempted to sell an NFT of Jay-Z’s Reasonable Doubt as well as his stake in Roc-A-Fella Records. Dash owns one-third of the company along with Jay-Z and Kareem “Biggs” Burke, which brings some confusion for the lawsuit.

So far, a judge has blocked the NFT of Reasonable Doubt Dash tried to sell and shut down an attempt from him to stop a meeting between Jay-Z and Biggs. While the matter is far from solved, Dash spoke with HipHopDX to share his thoughts on the lawsuit.

“From my perspective, it feels like this was all done to devalue this asset,” Dash said to HipHopDX’s Kyle Eustice. “I just don’t understand why. What’s odd is that they knew I was only trying to sell one-third, but they’re trying to say I tried to sell the whole thing. But we all know that that’s not the case, so why do they keep saying it? The question is, why is it such a big deal? Why is everyone so scared for me to sell my one-third?”

Dash then addressed Biggs and Jay directly. “Honestly, I think this is corny,” he added. “If there’s an issue, just call me. Why do I have to hear it? Why do I have to get sued? Biggs, Jay, call me and tell me what the play is but if you swing on me, I’m going to have to swing back. And when I say that, I’m saying now that I’m looking under the hood, it looks crazy, but I just do believe that I don’t need all of this.”

He then spoke about an issue he recently discovered with Reasonable Doubt.

“And then insult to injury, just very oddly, we look at Spotify and we see that it says ‘Copyright owned by S. Carter,’” Dash says. “And we’re like, ‘The copyright is owned by Roc-A-Fella, Inc.’ I’m looking at the ledgers and they’re not showing anything that reflects income from any streaming service. So where does that go? I just want to know who authorized that. That’s all I want to know.”

He then revealed that he was offered $1.5 million from the co-founders for his stake in Roc-A-Fella before adding:

When they offered me the 1.5, I was like, “Let me see the books. Let me see how much it’s making.” When I looked at the ledgers, I was like, “Yo, I don’t see any income coming from streaming services.” And then I look on the streaming services and it’s on the streaming service. I don’t remember authorizing any of that. So we’re sitting here thinking, “What’s the long game here? Why f*ck with me?” If I want to sell my third, then you don’t have to be my partner. What’s the problem? You’re making shit up. Why not call me?

You can read the full interview between Dash and HipHopDX here.

Kid Cudi Slams Those Who Have Taken An Issue With Him Painting His Nails

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Kid Cudi is someone who has oftentimes taken an unorthodox approach to things. His music and his style have always been his own and he’s rarely conformed to what society expected from him. So it came as no surprise when he took the Saturday Night Live stage earlier this to perform “Sad People” while wearing a dress custom-made by Virgil Abloh and designed to emulate the one Kurt Cobain once famously wore. While Cudi has no problem with standing out in a crowd, the rapper is certainly putting his foot down to those who try to criticize him for it as recently he did on Twitter.

After sharing a picture of himself wearing a Mandalorian helmet and throwing up the peace sign with painted nails on Instagram, Cudi was forced to turn off the ability to add comments on the post after some were displeased with the colorful addition to his hands. He then took to Twitter to share a piece of his mind with critics.

“Turned my comments off on Instagram,” Cudi wrote. “Seems people really have a problem w me painting my nails. I got tired of blockin so many accounts. I really need u to understand, if u dont like me doin this or anything I do, please dont buy my albums, dont come to my shows. F*ck all the way off.”

You can check out Cudi’s original Instagram post and his tweet above.

Cardi B Wishes She Could Do A ‘Lit Ass’ Pole Dance Routine To ‘Wild Side’

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Keep Cool/RCA

After two years of waiting, Normani finally gave fans a new single with “Wild Side,” an effort that will hopefully bring us closer to the release of her debut album. While the new song was certainly a surprise for her supporters, another unexpected aspect of it was the guest verse from Cardi B. While it marks the first time the two collaborated on a song together, though Normani did appear in the video for Cardi and Megan Thee Stallion’s “WAP.” As fans continue to enjoy the new song, Cardi took to Twitter to share one way she wished to promote the song.

“If I wasn’t pregnant I would of done a lit ass pole video to wildside,” she wrote. “But I am so imma just have to do a video rolling on the floor like peppa pig.”

Whether or not the rapper actually goes through with the video remains to be seen, but if she does, it will surely be an entertaining sight.

Cardi’s tweet comes after she revealed that her verse on “Wild Side” was not the original one she wrote. She previously shared a gif of a mischievously grinning Wendy Williams to Twitter and wrote, “Sooo I did a verse and Normani team said they wanted nastier. Sooo I was like alright …. Your wish is my command.”

You can read Cardi’s tweet above.

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

One Of Diplo’s Sexual Assault Accusers Has Dropped Their Lawsuit Against Him

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Earlier this month, a second woman stepped forward to accuse Diplo of sexual assault in a new lawsuit. The alleged victim claims the incident occurred after one of the producer’s concerts at the Wynn Hotel back in 2019. After being brought to Diplo’s private room after the show, the woman says that he would not let her leave the room until she performed oral sex on him, an act she reluctantly did after seeing no way to exit the situation. She also claims he recorded the encounter without her permission. Less than two weeks after it was filed, however, the woman decided to drop the suit against Diplo.

According to court documents that TMZ has obtained, the woman withdrew the lawsuit and shared a statement with the publication. “In light of the evidence and after consultation with my attorneys, I have decided to withdraw my lawsuit,” she said, adding, “No payment was offered or requested. I regret filing the lawsuit.”

Diplo’s attorney also shared a statement after receiving word that the lawsuit was dropped. Bryan Freedman told TMZ that he and his client are happy the lawsuit was dropped and after hearing what the alleged victim had to say, they “will not be pursuing charges of malicious prosecution against them at this time.”

He added, “There was absolutely irrefutable evidence that proved that the allegations it contained were false. As soon as we shared that plethora of evidence with the plaintiff’s lawyers, they recognized that they needed to withdraw their suit immediately.”

Diplo still faces a lawsuit for sexual battery, assault, defamation, infliction of emotional distress, and fraud from his ex-girlfriend Shelley Auguste.

Kanye West And Tyler The Creator Are Apparently Working On ‘Donda’ Together

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Kanye West has been in the news for a lot of things in the better part of the last year, but not always for his music. Last summer, the rapper announced he would release his tenth album, Donda. He even went as far as sharing a release date, that being July 24, a cover art, and the tracklist for the effort, but the day came and went without the album.

In addition to that, 2020 concluded without the arrival of Donda, but now it looks like it could dropping sooner than later.

Rapper Consequence uploaded a muted video of Kanye and Tyler The Creator working on music together in a studio. Tyler stands eagerly behind Kanye, who is wearing a mask that fully covers his face, as the two listen to music. Consequence captioned the post, “ConsTV Exclusive. Ye x Tyler. Epic Level. Summer 21′.” While he did not reveal what the two were working on, a whiteboard near Kanye and Tyler listed nine songs from the former’s upcoming Donda album.

Back in March, frequent Kanye collaborator Cyhi The Prynce revealed that the rapper had gotten back to work on Donda after a short break. “I think [West] started working on it late last year,” he said. “Once November, December, January comes around, he kind of takes a hiatus, a little vacation break, get with the family. We’re back working, that’s why I’m out here, too.”

You can view the video from Consequence above and check out the tentative tracklist to Donda below.

1. “Remote”
2. “Daylight”
3. “Jonah”
4. “Hurricane”
5. “No Chior Left Open”
6. “New Again”
7. “I Know God Breathed On This”
8. “24 / You’re Gonna Be OK
9. “Come To Life”

2 Chainz Declares His Next Project Will Be His ‘Last Trap Album’

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2 Chainz is undoubtedly one of the most talented and popular artists on today’s hip-hop scene. His time as a musician dates back to the late 90s when we went by T*ty Boi, but he truly found success back in 2011 when he changed his name to 2 Chainz and released his official solo debut album, Based On A T.R.U. Story.

Since then, the rapper has continuously shared strong releases that were centered in the trap genre, dropping at least one project every year for fans since 2011. Now, after a decade’s worth of music as a solo act, it appears that the rapper wants to change things up.

In a tweet he shared with fans on Saturday, 2 Chainz said, “This [gon’] be my last trap album, enjoy.” The rapper will most likely continue to make music after the upcoming album, but listeners will probably see a change of direction sonically.

2 Chainz last released an album at end of 2020 with So Help Me God. The fifteen-track project sports guest appearance from Ty Dolla Sign, Kanye West, Brent Faiyaz, Latto, Lil Uzi Vert, Rick Ross, Lil Wayne, and more. Last year, the rapper also teased the release of Collegrove 2 with Lil Wayne, the sequel to their 2016 project. It’s unknown if this will be 2 Chainz’s final trap album or if it’s still a project slated for a future release.

You can check out 2 Chainz’s tweet above.

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

Soulja Boy Was Hit With A Three-Year Restraining Order In A Lawsuit Against His Former Assistant

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Earlier this year, Soulja Boy was sued for sexual battery, sexual assault, and false imprisonment by his former assistant who filed the lawsuit under the name Jane Doe. She claims to have started working with the rapper at the end of 2018 where things quickly turned for the worst after she began he position. While the two would escalate their relationship to a romantic one, which resulted in her moving in with him, a string of alleged assaults would occur afterward. The woman claims she was pushed out of a moving vehicle by the rapper in January 2019 and physically assaulted just a month later. Now the rapper must stay away from her thanks to a new order.

According to legal documents obtained by TMZ, Soulja Boy must stay away from his former assistant for the next three years thanks to a restraining order that a judge signed off on. The order was filed back in January, and while the lawsuit is still pending, the rapper agreed to the domestic violence restraining order, which expires on July 16, 2024.

Four months after the lawsuit from Soulja Boy’s former assistant was filed, the rapper’s ex-girlfriend filed a separate lawsuit against him while lodging sexual battery and domestic abuse allegations against him. She claims that she met the rapper in 2007 and was involved in a serious relationship with him from 2014 to 2019. She states the abuse dates back to 2015 and worsened to the point that she ended the relationship with him because she could “no longer stand the abuse.”

Pop Smoke’s Mother Admits ‘It’s Easier’ To Listen To Her Son On His Posthumous New Album, ‘Faith’

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This past Friday, Pop Smoke’s team released the late rapper’s second posthumous album, Faith. It arrived a little over a year since his first effort, Shoot For The Stars, Aim For The Moon, was released for fans. Altogether, Faith presents 20 songs with a boatload of guest acts, those being Pusha T, Kanye West, Rick Ross, The-Dream, 42 Dugg, 21 Savage, Rah Swish, Travi, Beam, Bizzy Banks, Takeoff, Lil Tjay, Swae Lee, Future, Chris Brown, Dua Lipa, Pharrell, Kid Cudi, Quavo, and Kodak Black.

The project also sees an appearance from the late rapper’s mother, Audrey Jackson, who shared some words on the project’s intro track, “Good News.”

During a recent interview with Power 105.1 radio host Angie Martinez, Jackson admitted that “it’s easier” to hear her son on Faith. “He does sound different on this, his sound, his style, it’s different,” she said. Jackson also confessed that she has not listened to Shoot For The Stars, Aim For The Moon yet. She later expressed that she’s “grateful” law enforcement arrested the individuals responsible for her son’s death.

“They’re off the streets, they’ve been caught,” she said. “They need to serve some time. Throwing them under the jail isn’t going to bring him back, taking their lives isn’t going to bring him back but as long as there’s a real consequence.”

The rapper’s brother, Obasi Jackson, also shared his gratitude for the arrests.

“I feel like they didn’t have to do what they did,” he said. “Now, you deserve the ultimate penalty.”

You can watch the full interview above.

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