Music

Eminem Is Turning His ‘Mom’s Spaghetti’ Pop-Up Concept Into A Permanent Restaurant

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Eminem is going from rapper to restauranteur with next week’s opening of Mom’s Spaghetti, a new eatery based on the pop-up concept inspired by one of his most famous lyrics. The Detroit rapper previously brought the dish based on his famous “Lose Yourself” line to his Revival promotional event, as well as a second pop-up dedicated to the hospital workers of Detroit during last year’s quarantines. He also brought the pop-up to Coachella and Firefly in 2018 when he headlined those festivals. To promote the restaurant, Eminem even shot a tongue-in-cheek commercial that is currently airing on local TV.

In addition to Mom’s Spaghetti — both with and without meatballs — the restaurant will apparently be serving something called a “s’ghetti sandwich,” which sounds like exactly the thing a stressed-out mom living on the outskirts of Detroit’s city center would serve a hyperactive pre-teen. In the commercial, which details these items, Eminem appears to upchuck a takeout container from the restaurant, paying a fitting tribute to the line that inspired the whole thing:

His palms are sweaty
Knees weak, arms are heavy
There’s vomit on his sweater already: Mom’s spaghetti

You can lose yourself in the saucy, noodle-y goodness next Wednesday, September 29 in Detroit.

Azealia Banks Celebrates Grimes’ Breakup With Elon Musk With A Request To ‘Make Those Darn Songs’

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Azealia Banks is one person elated at the news of Elon Musk and Grimes’ breakup. Posting a screenshot of the Page Six tweet announcing the split to her Instagram, the controversial artist crowed in a caption, “Ok girl, can we finally make those darn songs now that apartheid Clyde is out of the way? We were really supposed to eat these bitches up.”

https://twitter.com/bigblackjacobin/status/1441430962928291842/

Back in 2018, when the couple first got together, Grimes invited Banks to Musk’s estate to work on music together but apparently, the weekend didn’t go as planned. Banks eventually went on a tirade against Musk, saying that he avoided her during the visit while scrambling to find investors for Tesla after tweeting about taking the company private. She said that she missed her chance to collaborate with Grimes, who was attending to the stressed-out Musk, calling the whole situation a real-life scene from Get Out. She also says Musk’s staff took her phone.

Musk, meanwhile, denied ever having met Azealia, calling her a compulsive liar (he’s not the first), while earlier this year, Grimes told fans on Discord that her song “100% Tragedy” was about “having to defeat Azealia Banks when she tried to destroy my life.” This prompted Azealia to call Grimes “weird undercover millennial racist” who “doesn’t have the musical capacity i have.”

Something tells me that Grimes isn’t going to be calling Banks to work together again anytime soon.

Westside Boogie Takes A Break From His Problems On The Meditative ‘Float’ Featuring Mamii

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Compton rapper Westside Boogie is over two years removed from his debut album Everythings For Sale, and while fans impatiently await his follow-up album, he’s kept their appetites satisfied with a string of freestyles throughout the year, including the “Joe Exotic Freestyle,” a freestyle over Moneybagg Yo’s “Said Sum,” “Do 4 Love” over Tupac’s Bobby Caldwell-sampling hit, and a freestyle over CJ’s breakout hit “Whoopty.”

However, what fans really wanted in all that time was a single, something that showed the new album might be on the way. Today, Boogie scratched that particular itch with “Float,” a meditative ode to the calming powers of the ocean featuring R&B/soul singer Mamii. Featuring a chill, guitar-driven groove and down-tempo percussion, “Float” finds Boogie considering his myriad problems and the way he can temporarily escape them by taking a little time to himself to drift on the waves. Like many of Boogie’s fan favorites, it’s relatable and illuminating, giving listeners a look at his interior thoughts while reminding them of our universal experiences.

Whether this means Boogie’s new album is ready remains to be seen, but in the meantime, fans will still get plenty of new material from the Compton rapper with his feature on Lute’s upcoming album Gold Mouf.

Listen to Westside Boogie’s meditative new single, “Float” featuring Mamii, above.

Morray Celebrates Overcoming Some ‘Bad Situations’ On His Triumphant New Single

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As Morray gears up to head out on tour with J. Cole, the Fayetteville native (Morray, not Cole) releases a triumphant new single celebrating his year of success. “Bad Situations” may have a haunting title, but in its lyrics, Morray marks his overcoming bad situations, coming from the “Trenches” to getting money. Over a soulful beat, Morray trains his church-honed vocals on telling his rags-to-riches story and expressing his gratitude for the positive changes in his life.

Morray, who broke out in the spring of 2020 with the viral video for “Quicksand,” has seen a whirlwind rise to stardom after “Quicksand” received co-signs from fellow Carolina natives DaBaby and J. Cole. In April of this year, Morray announced he’d signed to Interscope Records, releasing his debut mixtape Street Sermons that same month. Debuting at No. 41 on the US Billboard 200, the tape received further attention when Morray was featured on “My Life” from J. Cole’s long-awaited album, The Off-Season. “My Life” reached No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100, further solidifying his burgeoning stardom.

All of that was enough to secure Morray a spot on the 2021 XXL Freshman Class, which he commemorated with a remix of “Trenches” featuring Polo G. And while not everyone is happy about Morray’s ascent, he’s in position to earn himself a spot in the upper echelon of rap stardom.

Listen to Morray’s new single “Bad Situations” above.

21 Savage Surrendered To Police On Drug And Weapons Charges Connected To His 2019 ICE Arrest

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Few updates have emerged in 21 Savage’s ICE immigration case after he was arrested in 2019 and held for nearly a month while he battled against the agency’s attempts to have him deported under questionable circumstances. However, today, Buzzfeed reported that the rapper recently found out about a warrant stemming from that arrest that was only issued earlier this month. He surrendered to Atlanta police Thursday and was released on bond the same evening.

According to Buzzfeed, the warrant, issued by a local magistrate after being filed on September 7, alleges felony drug possession and weapons possession during the ICE arrest in January of 2019, saying that he threw out a bottle of codeine when he was stopped and also had a handgun in the car. Savage’s attorney, Charles Kuck, told Buzzfeed he believes that the warrant was requested by ICE, which has refused to drop the rapper’s deportation case, to cover its own mistakes.

In a statement, Kuck said, “The warrant appears to have been sought at the behest of ICE, as the warrant was issued in the eve of an Immigration Court hearing in Mr. Joseph’s deportation proceeding, and is based upon events that transpired on the evening that ICE arrested Mr. Joseph over 2 and one-half years ago. There can be no doubt that ICE is seeking to cover its own errors in detaining Mr. Jospeh by pushing trumped-up charges against him and seeks to stop him from obtaining lawful permanent residence in the United States.”

ICE’s deportation case was initially based on felony drug charges which were vacated, on the grounds that 21 overstayed his visa as a child. The Atlanta-based rapper originally immigrated to the US at seven years old with his mother, with the visa expiring when he was 12 or 13. He has since pursued a U visa for his cooperation in a shooting involving a relative and in more recent months, applied for a green card. He has three children who are US citizens.

Adding insult to injury, Savage is scheduled to join J. Cole on his Off-Season tour tonight in Miami, but would have remained close at hand for a hearing over his immigration status on November 1.

Remble And Lil Yachty Trade Hilarious, Punchline-Packed Verses On The Irreverent ‘Rocc Climbing’

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Among the hilarious bars dispensed on Remble’s new single “Rocc Climbing” with Lil Yachty, the two rappers issue side-splitting witticisms such as, “I’m a known home wrecker, like Jerry Springer” and “A lot these Instagram hoes look just like aunties.” Look, none of this stuff is very PC, but it is undoubtedly funny, if only for its audacity and not the eye-popping contrast between the two artists’ unusual deliveries.

On one side, Lil Yachty is in full Michigan Boy Boat mode, deploying the marble-mouthed, overstuffed rhyme schemes of his collaborators on that mixtape with his usual, un-enunciated, lethargically mellow flow. On the other, Remble pronounces every phoneme of every word in every bar, which sounds a little like if one of the guys from Big Bang Theory grew up in South Central gangbanging. Drakeo The Ruler‘s influence hovers over the whole thing — and if you’ve never noticed the affinity between the off-kilter cadences of both LA’s emerging underground and Michigan’s, you will never un-hear the similarities now.

“Rocc Climbing” is Remble’s first new single since releasing his debut mixtape It’s Remble this summer. The release considerably raised the San Pedro rapper’s profile, and his association with the never-not-working Drakeo’s Stinc Team more or less ensures that more music is on the way.

Watch Remble’s “Rocc Climbing” video featuring Lil Yachty above.

Lakeyah’s ‘Reason’ Video Details The Creation Of Her Gangsta Grillz Mixtape, ‘My Time’

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In 2020, Milwaukee-born, new Quality Control Music product Lakeyah said Time’s Up. Then, this spring, she promised In Due Time. Today, she’s back with another full-length project, declaring it My Time and bringing along DJ Drama to make it a Gangsta Grillz affair (thank you, Tyler, for reminding us about these mixtapes and giving Drama a reason to start doing them again). After kicking off the tape’s promotion with “313-414” featuring Detroit rapper Tee Grizzley, she keeps the ball rolling with a video for “Reason,” showing the grind she’s been on for the past year in stark black and white.

In addition to making a name for herself over the past year with standout appearances in City Girls’ “Female Goat” video and her own catchy single “Young & Ratchet,” Lakeyah’s profile skyrocketed when she was selected for the 2021 XXL Freshman Class. And while fans may not have realized the body of work behind her upon the initial announcement, her impressive cypher verse ensured their ears perked up and they were paying attention. Now, with the QC cosign and a whole Gangsta Grillz mixtape under her belt, it’s only a matter of time until she’s being mentioned among the top names in hip-hop.

Watch Lakeyah’s “Reason” video above.

My Time (Gangsta Grillz: Special Edition) is out now via Quality Control Music. Get it here.

Lil Wayne And ASAP Ferg Offer A Lyrical Assist To Logic On The Trunk-Thumping ‘Perfect’ Remix

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All of Logic’s time hanging around with Juicy J is clearly rubbing off on him if the beat from his newly released “Perfect” remix is any indication. Featuring a trunk-thumping, throwback Memphis beat, the percussion-forward production wouldn’t have been out-of-place in the Birthplace of Rock ‘n’ Roll during the cassette tape era. Naturally, that makes ASAP Ferg, a fellow adherent of the OG crunk sound, a perfect feature along with Lil Wayne, who can and will rap over anything and everything (check out his verse on Run The Jewels’ “Ooh La La” remix, as well).

The track is part of Logic’s unexpected but not entirely surprising comeback, which arguably started in January with the Doctor Destruction project. Logic’s “new artist” fooled absolutely no one with the voice-changing tech the project employed to disguise Bobby Bullet’s distinctive, dulcet tones, and sneaking an MF DOOM poster onto the cover art was probably a dead giveaway, as well (DOOM was well-known for his vast array of alter egos). Logic followed that up with a duo release alongside longtime DOOM collaborator Madlib as MadGic (kinda catchy, right?), then straight-up dropped a Michael Jordan homage to announce what everybody already knew.

And although he helped proved that rappers are really bad at retiring, he did use the downtime productively, finishing up his memoir, which details the effects of fame on his mental health.

Listen to Logic’s “Perfect” remix with Lil Wayne and ASAP Ferg above.

Blxst’s ‘No Love Lost’ Tour Sets The Example For Artists Hitting The Road Again

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I previously wrote about the return of touring for Uproxx’s fall preview of the most anticipated tours in hip-hop. But talking ain’t doing, and I had to get back out there myself after a year away. What I discovered in doing so? We are all a little rusty — artists and fans, both.

But, if you’re going to be a little rusty, Blxst has the blueprint for blowing past those first awkward speed bumps and putting on one hell of a show. Wednesday night at The Observatory in Santa Ana, the local rising star provided a pitch-perfect example for how to return from hiatus, even if you never really got a chance to tour in the first place.

That informed part of my reasoning for choosing Blxst as my own return show. Uproxx was high on the guy since even before the release of his fan-favorite EP, No Love Lost (which is also the title of his current tour — check out his UPROXX Sessions performance). Then, he was chosen as one of XXL‘s 2021 Freshman Class, causing his hype to skyrocket. Yet, even after all that, none of us has ever gotten to see him in tour context because his entire breakthrough happened during a global pandemic that basically shut down the industry.

So, of course, I had to make sure he’s the real deal. But also, going to shows can be overwhelming from the other side too. The Observatory has been pretty trusty for me over the years thanks to its out-of-the-way location (no Hollywood hustle and bustle), relatively cozy floor arrangement (I know my spots to get a good view without getting stepped on), and cheap drinks. I thought it’d be relatively easier to slip back into a groove somewhere I’ve been catching shows since even before it was my job.

That rust, though. For the first time, I actually had anxiety about getting to the venue late (I hate standing in line, so my tendency is to arrive right before the show starts in earnest), what I was going to wear (resolved by my old man tendency to just wear sweats to everything but weddings), and the whole entry rigamarole. I forgot my earplugs. I remembered to bring cash for parking. I give myself a cautious 7/10.

Blxst, meanwhile, saw some room for improvement right at the start of his set, as fans were treated to the sight of a roadie’s desktop while they struggled to switch backdrops from the opener’s simple static graphic to Blxst’s animated reel. However, the mishap may have illustrated Blxst’s greatest strength. While all this was going on behind him, he was actually performing his first song. I don’t think a whole bunch of people noticed the backdrop because the performer himself is so magnetic.

One thing that helped his stellar performance was the fact that No Love Lost is chock full of absolute slappers. “Overrated” got a huge pop, as did “Be Alone,” “Gang Slide,” and “Just Say’n.” He also peppered in joints from his and Bino Rideaux’s joint project Sixtape 2, and some of his more popular features with local acts like 1TakeJay and Kalan.FrFr, both of whom popped out to perform along with him. However, the crowd absolutely roared when Sacramento spitter Mozzy and LA summertime sovereign Dom Kennedy showed up to perform their songs with Blxst (Bino is on his own tour, and more than once I overheard a fellow attendee wish aloud for him to make an appearance).

Another tip for artists preparing to pop out: it helps to launch your tour with a rowdy local show. The young crowd — think early-20s, college-age kids, although The Observatory is an all-ages crowd (always get the mid-week show if you can) — was in his pocket from the jump. We’ve all spent months hearing his music at house parties, on our work/study playlists, and at local mainstays like the Drew League. On some songs, it almost seemed the crowd was doing all the singing for Blxst, although he and his talented backup singer were very impressive.

It’s clear that Blxst has spent time honing his live show, even if he couldn’t actually perform it for anyone yet. And that might be the biggest takeaway from his blueprint: use the time you have to perfect the craft of performing. While it seems a lot of artists throw together a setlist and head out, the long hiatus has, I believe, left fans hungry for more. Honestly, they deserve more. Before the pandemic, my last concert was an absolute yawner simply because it didn’t seem like the artists themselves felt like performing for fans was special. They’d taken it for granted. Blxst, who never got the chance to sing for an appreciative crowd, never did. He made it feel special for all of us — the artist and fans, both.

Tory Lanez Is In ‘Meaningful Discussions’ About A Plea Deal In His Megan Thee Stallion Case

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Rolling Stone reports Toronto rapper Tory Lanez’s defense is in “meaningful discussions” with prosecutors in the Megan Thee Stallion shooting case to work out a plea deal and avoid trial. Kathy Ta, a Los Angeles County Deputy District Attorney, told the judge at a hearing for the case Thursday and reiterated to Rolling Stone after, “We’re in possible settlement discussions.” However, she said that if no deal is reached by November 3, then there will be a preliminary hearing in December, and witnesses will start being called.

Lanez’s defense attorney, Shawn Holley, told Rolling Stone in a statement, “As in every case, the lawyers for the parties discuss the possibility of resolving the case. This case is no different. That said, our position as to what did and did not happen in this matter remains unchanged, and [Tory Lanez]’s plea of not guilty stands.”

Tory Lanez is accused of shooting Megan Thee Stallion in the feet as she walked away from him following an argument after a party in Hollywood last summer. Megan was reportedly walking away from Tory’s vehicle when the Toronto rapper opened fire. He was charged in October with felony assault with a semiautomatic firearm and carrying a loaded, unregistered firearm in a vehicle. If convicted, he could be sentenced to up to 22 years and eight months in prison. Some Megan Thee Stallion fans thought he suffered a major setback in his defense after he cryptically tweeted, “It’s been real,” but it turned out to be his way of getting attention as he began promoting his next album.