Dr. Dre‘s son Curtis Young has reportedly landed a role in the new film Charge It To The Game. He’ll apparently also be composing original music for the film.
According to TMZ, who spoke to Young, Charge It To The Game is a coming-of-age story about four best friends with Young playing “Kong,” one of the friend’s older brothers. And, making it a veritable who’s-who of famous rappers’ offspring, Snoop Dogg‘s son Julian Broadus is also in the movie, playing Kong’s younger brother, and Swiss Beatz‘s son is reportedly making his acting debut as one of the four friends (plus scoring the film with Young).
“This is my first movie and I wanted to get into acting… I always loved the art,” Young told TMZ. “It’s just an art form I’ve always loved. I’m playing a role, Kong, which is a gentleman named Hardtime — it’s Julian Broadus, which is Snoop’s son — I’m playing his older brother. So, I’ve been reading the script, just preparing, getting motivated, behind it and getting engaged with it.”
Talking about scoring the film, Young said, “I was asked and I’m honored to score the film and I believe they just yesterday announced that note. Swizz Beatz’s son is gonna be scoring it with me, so I’m just honored to have this opportunity.”
Young also offered an update on Dre’s health since his father suffered a brain aneurysm earlier this year. “My pops is healing,” he said. “He appreciates me for what I’m doing and doing on my own… It’s been a while since I had an opportunity like this to really step out of that shadow, but at the same time show respect and understand that people came before me.”
The way things have gone with recent Kanye West albums is that ahead of their release, West goes from completely off the radar to drumming up unreal amounts of hype. Well, the latter step seems to be taking place now. He apparently hosted a listening event for Donda over the weekend, and an associate declared the album is dropping this week. Now, another listening event is on the way, and it’s a big one.
Some West associates, including Pusha T, shared a minimalist flyer for the event, which is scheduled for July 22 at 8 p.m. at Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium, a 75,000-capacity venue where the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons play their home games.
The reported cover art for the album has also surfaced, and it’s an abstract painting that looks like a woman, painted in red on a gray background. The art was made by the late French-American artist Louise Bourgeois (and not West’s daughter North, as some have speculated), who died at 98 in 2010.
A couple days ago, what may be the tracklist for the album also leaked. Furthermore, a post on the Kanye West subreddit r/WestDayEver collects information from users who were supposedly at the first listening party. The thread indicates that the album will feature appearances from Lil Baby, Post Malone, Griselda, KayCyy, Travis Scott, and Baby Keem.
Kanye West’s ‘Donda’ tracklist has been spotted in the studio where he was recordingpic.twitter.com/rHdozTf3Y4
Of course, West has famously not released albums on their expected street dates — he previously saidDonda was coming in 2020 — so only time will tell if this week actually brings new music from West.
EDM supergroup Swedish House Mafia returned earlier this year with a new single, “It Gets Better,” and the announcement that they’d be releasing their debut studio album Paradise Again in late 2021 — their first project since 2012 compilation Until Now. Today, they released the latest single from the upcoming project, “Lifetime,” which features R&B futurists Ty Dolla Sign and 070 Shake reflecting on once-in-a-lifetime lovers over a pulsating production from the Stockholm-based trio.
Debuting the song on Apple Music 1, the trio told Zane Lowe: “This was the time where we sat down and we were just throwing ideas at each other of what kind of music we like, and this is boiling everything down to like, ‘What did we feel?’”
070 Shake, who sings the song’s electrifying chorus, returns after a year of near radio silence in the wake of her debut album Modus Vivendi. SHM member Steve Angello said of working with her, “We’ve never experienced an artist like her. She’s so far away from formula, but she’s right at the center of youth and we just love her, the energy, the vibe she has, the artistic integrity — everything about her is so unique… we would put her on every single record we did. She’s incredible.”
Of Ty Dolla Sign, Sebastian Ingrosso said, “We love Ty Dolla Sign. We loved him from the very, very beginning. We actually talked to him kind of 10 years ago doing something because he did a remix of ‘One’ that came out on YouTube, I think, something like that. So we always had Ty Dolla Sign in mind.”
You can check out the new song above.
Ty Dolla Sign is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
Lil Nas X continues to be one of music’s most creatively hilarious trolls as he prepares to go to trial in Nike’s copyright infringement case against him. After tweeting a string of sarcastic jokes about going to jail, he shared a “livestream” of the proceedings to social media… which actually turned out to be a clever courtroom comedy sketch in which he plays a variety of characters, including a sugar daddy judge, a talkative juror, his own forgetful defense attorney, and a ruthless prosecutor.
As Lil Nas X takes the stand against himself, the prosecutor declares that “this is about much more than shoes” before asking, “Lil Nas X, are you gay?” “What does that have to do with the shoes?” Nas shoots back. “Let me rephrase the question,” he says as the prosecutor. “Do your mama know you’re gay?” Nas has no choice but to answer, “Yes.” For this “crime,” the “judge” sentences Nas to “five years in Montero Prison.” This by itself would be a hilarious lampoon of several of the debates surrounding Nas since his arrival with “Old Town Road,” but being Lil Nas X, he uses the opportunity to flip the script one last time.
The whole sketch turns out to be the trailer for his next single, “Industry Baby” featuring Jack Harlow and produced by Kanye West and Take A Daytrip. A snippet of the song plays over the credits, which wonders, “Damn, how many roles do this n**** got?” Considering his ability to transform from a cowboy to a demented Santa to the devil, I would say: “All of them.”
Watch Lil Nas X’s “Industry Baby” trailer above. Pre-save the song, dropping July 29, here.
Jack Harlow is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
Baby Keem hasn’t put out a lot of music since rumbling the earth with his breakout single “Orange Soda” in 2019, but each of his subsequent single releases has increased the anticipation for more new music from the 20-year-old mystery man. With his latest appearance, that anticipation is reaching a fever pitch, and the song featuring that appearance isn’t even out yet.
How big is Baby Keem with The Youths ? Dude’s gotten cosigns from Drake, Kendrick, Kanye, Travis Scott and maybe I’m out the loop but it doesn’t feel like he’s really taken off yet. Die For My Bitch is a really really good album too. https://t.co/xJnPZME7BA
The co-sign from Kanye is unsurprising for those fans who’d been following Keem’s rise. He’s already got songwriting credits on the Black Panther soundtrack and Beyonce’s companion album for Disney’s The Lion King remake, with connections to Kendrick Lamar and Dave Free’s pgLang offering a possible explanation. In addition, he’s called Kid Cudi a major influence and featured Travis Scott on his most recent single “Durag Activity.” Both artists were mentored by West and signed to his label GOOD Music at points, and Kanye collaborated with Kid Cudi on 2019’s Kids See Ghosts. However, some fans still expressed confusion at the young rapper’s inclusion due to his apparently short time in the spotlight.
bro someone gon have to explain how keem got a scott feature n now on kanye album with only 1 song that’s blown. now i love baby keem as much as the next guy but it’s still pretty wild https://t.co/TumLPs4gch
— Tomisin, the internet nigga (@tomiboxers) July 19, 2021
I just wanna know how baby keem back this poppin lol first Kendrick and now kanye https://t.co/4JZi1FTxzN
Baby Keem is everything that old people think young people like, but whenever I show people Keem they’ve never heard of him. Idk why there’s such a disconnect https://t.co/YtTdLIY69U
Meanwhile, Keem has slowly built up his repertoire since appearing on the 2020 XXL Freshman cover, releasing videos for “Hooligan” and “No Sense” in addition to “Durag Activity.”
Nike filed a lawsuit against Lil Nas X and MSCHF over their “Satan Shoes,” but it was reported that the parties had settled the lawsuit. However, they’re still heading to court today, and ahead of that, Lil Nas X, as he tends to do, has had jokes.
He’s been cracking jokes for the past few days, joking about potential outfits he’s going to wear to court, getting more muscular so he can look good in jail, “dropping the soap,” and other related things. Consequently, #FreeLilNasX became a trending topic on Twitter today, and shortly before the trial, the rapper tweeted, “all jokes aside i can’t believe i might be going to jail. who’s going to make mildly funny tweets about being gay while i’m away.”
trying really hard to decide what i should wear to court on monday for the satan shoes case pic.twitter.com/VAGuz1JgZD
He also took to TikTok yesterday to share a joke about the trial, sharing a hilarious video he captioned, “the judge tomorrow when i try to flirt with him to avoid going to jail.”
Nas wasn’t the only one getting in on the fun, as his fans shared hilarious tweets about them showing up to defend the rapper in court, what’s happening in the courtroom, and more. Check out some of the #FreeLilNasX tweets below.
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.
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.”
Last month, Dame Dash was hit with a lawsuit from Roc-A-Fella Records after he attempted to sell an NFT of Jay-Z’sReasonable 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 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. 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. Fuck way off.
“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.
? Dude’s gotten cosigns from Drake, Kendrick, Kanye, Travis Scott and maybe I’m out the loop but it doesn’t feel like he’s really taken off yet. Die For My Bitch is a really really good album too. 
(@soflogemstone) 
(@LilNasX) 
(@Engelgeist) 
ceo of being annoying (@wowmoxi) 
