Music

The Weeknd And Swedish House Mafia Confirm Their Collaboration, ‘Moth To A Flame,’ Is Dropping This Week

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A month ago, The Weeknd and Swedish House Mafia teased that they have some sort of collaboration on the way. The Weeknd’s voice could be heard at the end of Swedish House Mafia’s performance at the VMAs, and after that, both artists shared the same teaser video. Now, we’re getting some more concrete info: The collab, presumably a new song, is called “Moth To A Flame” and it’s coming at some point this week, as both artists confirmed in a new teaser video shared today.

This follows The Weeknd’s recent announcement that he is postponing his upcoming tour dates to 2022, explaining, “Due to constraints of arenas and the demand for more shows I want to do something bigger and special for you which requires stadiums. Current tickets will be refunded automatically and all ticket holders will be given priority to buy tickets for the stadium shows when they go on sale. New dates forthcoming.”

Meanwhile, a couple weeks ago, he offered an update on his upcoming album, saying, “Some exciting features coming out in the fall before the album drops. We’ll slowly be unraveling that info in the next couple months. Some dawn updates: Album is complete. Only thing missing is a couple characters that are key to the narrative. Some people that are near and dear to me, some people that inspired my life as a child, and some that inspire me now. More to come in the following months.”

Megan Thee Stallion And Her Boo Celebrate ‘1 Year Of Fun’ With Some Playful And NSFW Photos

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Megan Thee Stallion may be in a committed relationship, but that doesn’t mean the “Thot Sh*t” rapper couldn’t enjoy Hot Girl Summer. Though Megan went public with her relationship with fellow rapper Pardison Fontaine in February, she and her boo celebrated their one-year anniversary on Monday. They took to social media to commemorate the special date, which they posted about in two very different ways.

Megan marked the date with some cheeky (pun intended) photos of her and Pardi having fun in the sun. Some of the pictures were adorably playful, like them jumping on a trampoline or getting off a private airplane, while others were a little more NSFW.

On the other hand, Pardi opted to show Megan some love on their anniversary in a more romantic way. He edited an adorable video that stitched together various photos and videos of them spending time together. The video featured a spoken word poem about being in love along with John Legend’s tear jerking track “All Of Me.” The tribute included Instagram Live sessions between them, press clippings about their relationship, and some never-before-seen footage of even more adorable moments.

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

A Lawsuit Over A Failed Jay-Z Fragrance Reportedly Prompted Him To Hire A Private Investigator

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Jay-Z’s raps used to play out like scenes from Goodfellas or Casino, but now, his money moves look a lot more like an episode of Succession than The Wire. Now, instead of menacing, mob-related hitmen, he’s hiring retired police officers to bring down business rivals, according to Rolling Stone. A breach of contract lawsuit against the rapper-turned-mogul apparently prompted him to turn to a private investigator to dig up dirt on the plaintiff, who had supposedly been avoiding a trial ever since Jay-Z countersued.

The lawsuit stems from 2016, when fragrance brand Parlux sued Jay, accusing him of failing to promote a branded cologne named after him, despite being paid $2 million in royalties since 2012. The former CEO of Parlux, Donald Loftus, said in a sworn statement that Jay “never once personally appeared” to promote the cologne, didn’t help develop “flankers,” product-line extensions to help sell the main product, and never returned a $20,000 prototype bottle after rejecting the design. Parlux said its overall losses amounted to $18 million.

However, Jay issued a lawsuit of his own, saying that Parlux never provided business plans, accounting reports, royalty payments, or promotional resources promised under its own deal. Loftus, who had requested to testify remotely, claimed health problems and fear of COVID-19 kept him from wanting to testify in person, but Jay-Z’s P.I. photographed him maskless hanging out all over New York, including at a crowded parade, in an indoor restaurant, and at the grocery store, at times taking buses to get around.

Naturally, undermining Loftus’ claims on this is probably key to establishing early on in the case that he’s an untrustworthy witness as the trial finally gets underway.

Young Thug Is Suing An Atlanta Apartment Owner He Blames For Losing Over 200 Songs

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Young Thug is suing his apartment’s owners after losing a bag full of money and unreleased music, according to Digital Music News. According to documents viewed by DMN, Thugger had been leasing an apartment at a high-end Atlanta building called Trace, where he accidentally left a $2,500 Louis Vuitton bag next to his car after returning from Los Angeles late last year. Apparently, the bag was turned into the building’s 24-hour concierge by a helpful neighbor and Thugger was contacted about the bag, which contained around $94,000 worth of jewelry and $40,000 in cash, as well as a hard drive containing around 200 unreleased songs.

Despite the concierge employee on-duty at the time leaving a clear note to contact her before releasing the bag to anyone else, another employee gave the bag to an unidentified third party, who unsurprisingly has yet to return any of the missing items. Thug’s lawsuit accuses the building’s ownership group of being “unreasonable and stubbornly litigious” and blames the group for “negligent supervision and failure to train” its concierge team members.

Meanwhile, despite losing the hard drive and the expensive items — which he says amounts to around $1 million — Thug’s not having all that bad of a year. His newly released album Punk is trending toward a top-three Billboard debut, according to Hits Daily Double, and has received positive chatter on social media.

Lil Nas X And Jack Harlow Are Pumped About ‘Industry Baby’ Finally Reaching No. 1 On The Hot 100 Chart

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Lil Nas X released his Jack Harlow-featuring single “Industry Baby” back in July 23, but it was held back from having a No. 1 debut on the Billboard Hot 100 chart: It made its first chart appearance at No. 2 on the August 7 tally, the same week that BTS’ “Butter” became the longest-running No. 1 song of the year. Now, well over a month after its chart debut, “Industry Baby” is finally on top, as it’s No. 1 on the new Hot 100 dated October 23.

The song is Nas’ third chart-topper, after “Old Town Road” and “Montero (Call Me By Your Name).” Meanwhile, it’s Harlow’s first No. 1, as his previous peak was at No. 2 with “Whats Poppin” and pre-No. 1 “Industry Baby.”

Both rappers were over the moon about the achievement. Nas wrote on Twitter, “IT TOOK A FEW MONTHS BUT WE HERE! THANK U EVERYBODY! INDUSTRY BABY IS THE NUMBER 1 SONG IN THE WORLD! LESSSSSGOOOOOO!” Harlow also wrote, “My first number one… I’d be lying if I said I didn’t see this coming while I was writing my verse. This song is something I’m gonna be proud to be a part of for the rest of my life. Thank you for having me @LilNasX.”

This song is also a big one for Ye (the artist known until recently as Kanye West), as it’s his fifth No. 1 song as a producer. It was a good week for Ed Sheeran, too, as “Bad Habits” (No. 4) and “Shivers” (No. 10) are both in the top 10. This is the second time he has had two tracks simultaneously in the top 10, the previous time coming in January 2017 when “Shape Of You” and “Castle On The Hill” charted at Nos. 1 and 6, respectively.

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

Majid Jordan Flex Their Range On The Beautiful, Acoustic New Single, ‘Forget About The Party’

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Two weeks ago, Toronto-based electro R&B/synth wave duo Majid Jordan announced their third full length album and first in four years, Wildest Dreams, out later this month. Comprised of singer Majid Al Maskati and producer Jordan Ullman, the pair have already dropped a few stellar singles off of the album in the sleek 80’s dance floor floor inflected “Summer Rain,” the upbeat electro soul banger “Waves of Blue,” and one hell of a shoulder to cry in in “Been Through That.”

But now with the acoustic “Forget About The Party,” they’re really flashing a distinct versatility. Singing over a handsome guitar melody, Al Maskati paints the nightlife of The Six into the hook while he pleas with the object of his affection to drop what she’s doing and come be by his side: “The city’s got you blinded by the life, forget about the party, come to mine / I’ll give myself to you like its a habit, everything you wanted, you can have it.” He transitions from a gentle delivery into a high-pitch falsetto, showing palpable range that matches the diverse early offerings that Wildest Dreams has already yielded.

Listen to and watch the visualizer for “Forget About The Party” above and check out their upcoming tour stops below.

Wildest Dreams is due 10/22 via OVO Sound.

11/11 – San Francisco
11/19 – Los Angeles
11/20 – Los Angeles
11/27 – Chicago
11/20 – Brooklyn
12/1 – Brooklyn
12/2 – Toronto

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

Yung Baby Tate Has Updated Her Rap Name — She’s Just Baby Tate Now

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For young rap stars, sometimes learning how to change and grow is the most important part of evolving into the artist they want to become. And for Uproxx cover star Yung Baby Tate, that evolution means a name change: She will now be going by just Baby Tate. She’s not the only rising female rapper to recently undergo a nomenclature shift — Latto is the second artist name that Alyssa Stephens has used since breaking out in the hip-hop world. While Tate’s shift isn’t due to backlash from fans like Latto’s was, it still represents a brand new era for the young artist.

Along with her name change, she let fans know that she’s now signed to a new label, Warner Records, and that new music is coming very soon. After initially signing a deal with Issa Rae’s record label Raedio, Tate has now made the jump over to Warner.

“New name, new label, new song drops 10/29,” she wrote in an Instagram post.

While she hasn’t shared any other previews of what the song might sound like, a tagline on the song’s artwork offers a hint: “I might be crazy but at least I’m authentic.” Keep an ear out for that new song dropping later this month, and lots more updates from the newly-minted Baby Tate.

Don Toliver Shares A New Merch Line With Cactus Jack And A Bathing Ape

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Don Toliver is currently one of the hottest names in rap, with his new album Life Of A Don debuting at No. 2 on the Billboard albums chart. It’s no surprise, though, as he’s signed to Travis Scott’s Cactus Jack label, sharing with his mentor a certain level of cool-kid clout — enough to warrant a look from perennial streetwear favorite A Bathing Ape, which teamed up with Toliver to release a new line of exclusive co-branded merch. In addition, Toliver’s listening party for Life Of A Don was held at BAPE’s New York store and captured for posterity in the video above.

The merch line consists of four T-shirts combining the streetwear brand’s trademark logos with Don’s name and the album title. The shirts are all $129 and can be purchased either at A Bathing Ape’s website or on Don Toliver’s online shop with album bundles.

Seeing Don Toliver teaming up with A Bathing Ape makes perfect sense when you consider Travis Scott’s propensity for licensing his likeness to practically any brand looking to raise its profile among young spenders: Travis counts Sony, McDonald’s, and more among his partnerships, even as he insists he’s not looking to be a “brand” of his own. Don’s following in his footsteps and well on his way, although he’s making sure to balance savvy money moves with fan-favorite singles like “Flocky Flocky” and “Drugs N Hella Melodies.”

Life Of A Don is out now via Cactus Jack and Atlantic.

Drake’s Reluctant Portrayal Of A Paralyzed Student Receives Praise From The Nonprofit Wheelchairs 4 Kids

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After Drake’s reluctance to allow his Degrassi character Jimmy to be paralyzed after an episode about a school shooting became public, his portrayal is now being praised by the leader of an organization dedicated to kids with mobility issues for helping normalize wheelchairs. Madeline Robinson, executive director of Wheelchair 4 Kids, told TMZ that Drake’s role — however reticent he initially was to play it — gave kids in wheelchairs confidence. “When was the last time you went to a mall and saw a kid in a wheelchair hanging out with other kids?” she wondered, saying it’s rare.

“It is great when we see our kids being represented,” Robinson asserted. That was the logic that the show’s producers used to get Drake on board with the character development when the actor threatened to quit after seeing the script, worried that it would have a negative effect on his then-nascent rap career. In AV Club’s oral history of Degrassi: The Next Generation, writer James Hurst recalled telling Drake, “Aubrey, there’s some kid somewhere in a wheelchair, who’s completely ignored, who’s never on television, never gets represented. I need you to represent this person. You’re the coolest kid on the show, and you can say there’s nothing wrong with being in a wheelchair.”

Drake is now arguably the biggest star in hip-hop, so it’s clear he’s surmounted his worries, however well-founded they may have been.

Nicki Minaj Has Filed For A Motion To Dismiss The Harassment Case Against Her

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Nicki Minaj’s attorney has filed a motion to dismiss the complaint against her and her husband Kenneth Petty for failing to respond to the harassment case against them, according to Complex. Court documents filed last week address the motion filed by attorney Tyrone Blackburn on behalf of Jennifer Hough requesting a $20 million default judgment in Hough’s witness intimidation case against the couple. Hough sued the couple in August, saying they have been hounding her to recant her initial account of her alleged 1994 rape by Petty, for which he served a decade in prison.

Hough says that ever since Nicki Minaj and Kenneth Petty were married in 2019, the couple and their representatives have intimidated, bribed, and cajoled her to change her testimony in the hopes of getting Petty removed from the sex offenders registry. As he did not update his address and file as a sex offender when the couple moved to California in 2019, he faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a lifetime of supervised release. Last week, The Daily Beast reported that Blackburn filed the request for a default judgment after the deadline to respond to the lawsuit passed.

Now, however, Minaj and Petty’s lawyer, Judd Burstein, has filed a motion to dismiss the new complaint, saying that the delay in responding was “not willful.” Instead, the defendants maintain, it was the result of an innocent mistake after a Zoom conversation on September 22 ended with the impression that Burstein had been retained. However, Nicki says she learned on October 15 that her manager “had not understood” that she approved the lawyer, prompting her to contact him and ensure his services.

“My failure to respond to the complaint was the product of an innocent mistake, and I ask the court to excuse the delay so that I can defend what I believe to be an entirely frivolous case which plaintiff’s counsel has brought against me in an effort to use my name to generate publicity for himself,” the new documents read. The docs also assert that Nicki was never served the initial lawsuit, claiming that the person the process server handed the documents to was never at the residence.