Music

Ariana Grande And Ty Dolla Sign Hype ‘Safety Net’ With A Live Performance Video

by

Last fall, Ariana Grande released her third album in as many years with Positions. The project grew to be one of the most popular pop releases from the year and it’s an effort the singer continues to promote as she returns with a new video for “Safety Net,” her collaboration with Ty Dolla Sign. The video released for the track is a live performance in which Ariana performs on a grass-covered stage under a futuristic-looking lighting fixture.

The track joins “34+35,” “POV,” and “Positions” as the only other songs from Positions to receive the visual treatment. “Safety Net” is also a song that was included in Uproxx’s ranking of the best songs in Grande’s career as it came in at No. 45. Aside from her own work, Grande’s most recent work has come in the form of collaborations.

Prior to the new video, she teamed up with Doja Cat for “I Don’t Do Drugs” from the rapper’s third album, Planet Her. She also contributed a verse for a remix of The Weeknd’s “Save Your Tears.” It’s a song that topped the Billboard singles chart for two consecutive weeks and one that they performed together at the iHeartRadio Music Awards earlier this year.

You can watch the “Safety Net” video above.

Ty Dolla Sign is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Drake Hints At A Possible Nicki Minaj Collaboration And Fans Are Losing It

by
Getty Image

Drake and Nicki Minaj have a storied history together. It all started when Drake shouted out the rapper on his debut album, saying he wanted to marry her. Despite a few feuds in the past, the two have been very close ever since and they finally cemented their working relationship on Minaj’s recent Beam Me Up Scotty track “Seeing Green.” It now looks like the two rappers are cooking up another project, much to the delight of their fans.

Drake is currently continuing to drum up excitement about his upcoming album Certified Lover Boy. The LP has been pushed back a few times and it still remains without a solid release date. However, the rapper took to his Instagram Story on Tuesday to hint that he was posted up at Minaj’s studio. The photo instantly began to spark rumors of another possible collaboration between Drake and Minaj.

News of Drake in Minaj’s studio arrives just ahead of a big announcement from Minaj. On Tuesday, the rapper took to social media to tell her fans to mark their calendars for this Thursday at 10:30 pm ET. “There’s something I URGENTLY need to share w you guys,” she tweeted. “No, I won’t be late. In fact, I’ll be early. This is VERY VERY VERY IMPORTANT.”

Though Minaj didn’t drop any more hints, fans are desperately hoping that her announcement, coupled with Drake in her studio, means another collaboration with the two is in the works. Fans shared their excitement on Twitter, trying to manifest another joint project between the two icons.

Ludacris Calls The Potential ‘Jurassic World/Fast & Furious’ Crossover Idea ‘The Most Ridiculous Thing’

by

The Fast & Furious franchise has gone to some pretty fantastic lengths to set itself apart from the pack over the years, but one fan idea that has been floating around the internet since the release of F9 is beyond the pale, according to the films’ star Ludacris. Known in the series for playing hacker Tej Parker, Luda has been with the series since the relatively more grounded 2 Fast 2 Furious and has watched it grown to its present proportions from within, so he’s about as close to being an authority as it gets.

Appearing on Jimmy Kimmel Live! last night, Luda told guest host Wanda Sykes that a possible crossover with the Jurassic World franchise is “the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard in my entire life.” Although he admitted that his own series has gotten close to flying off the rails in the past, he just can’t see how they’d make such a mashup work. “I’m just going to be honest with you,” he promised. “They surprised me in this franchise with a lot of things of how we continue to top ourselves. But nowhere in my right mind do I see Jurassic World and Fast & Furious coming together. Maybe they gotta convince me but I just don’t see it. That’s ludicrous. Pun intended, for sure.”

Certainly, if such a thing were to be in the works, Luda would be the one to confirm (or outright spoil) it. When asked about previous fan theories that the Fast series would go to space, he told The Hollywood Reporter, “I will say that you are very intuitive, because you said something right, but I’m not going to give it away.”

Watch Ludacris’ interview with Wanda Sykes above.

Tone Stith Shows Why It’s His Time With ‘FWM’

by
Getty Image/Paul Rosales

When it comes to making music, rising R&B singer Tone Stith is the type of artist who likes to take his time. He sings, knows how to write a Billboard chart-topping hit, plays multiple instruments, and can be seen in various Instagram clips showing off his vocal ability, including in 2017 when he covered Drake’s “Madiba Riddim” off More Life.

He’s made great progress since then and it’s evident on his new EP FWM. The project is an R&B purists’ dream filled with nine songs and features from the likes of Kiana Lede, Lonr, and frequent collaborator HER for the song “When You Love Someone.” FWM is a sonic display of Stith’s ever-evolving talent from his pen game to the way his voice warmly wraps around each soulful word he sings. If Tone Stith wasn’t on your radar before, there’s a good chance FWM is convincing enough to turn anyone into a believer.

Speaking with Uproxx, Tone dives into the making of FWM, what it’s like working with HER, his relationship with Drake, and what the future looks like.

This is the EP that you’re coming out with, stands for F*ck With Me. Why should people with fuck with Tone Stith?

I’ve been in the industry for a minute. A lot of people know me from being in a group. Some people know me from writing a lot of songs for Chris Brown and then putting out my solo stuff shortly afterwards. But the thing is now, I feel like that I’m 25 and I really got a good taste of life and got to go through a lot of ups and downs. This new music is like, “Hey, y’all know who I am.” Now, I’m going to really make you say y’all got to fuck with me. I’m here and I can do everything that everybody thinks I can do. Now is the time for the world to fuck with me.

What’s the one song on FWM that everybody needs to listen to?

I cannot lie to you, my favorite song is “FWM.” There’s a special place in my heart for that song. I just feel like when we made that, that night, it was just like, something. I feel like it put everything else into perspective as far as the project goes, but that was the one that really kicked it off.

You have a song with HER, “When You Love Someone,” and you also went on tour with HER before the pandemic. What was it like touring with her? She’s such an amazing artist and musician.

It was nothing but amazing. She’s just so humble, so down to earth, so real. On top of that, just being incredibly talented on stage. It was a great experience. I got to learn so much as far as about artistry, about touring, about connecting with the crowd, about putting on a good show.

Was there something specific that you learned while on tour with her that was a learning experience for you?

She would bring me out on her set because we did a remix of “Could’ve Been” and she put me on the remix. She would bring me out every night and just singing with her and going back and forth. It made me realize, more so when performing, to get to that stage where you let go. You’re not really thinking about anything. It’s just you’re up there. You’re living in that moment and you’re just having fun and you’re connecting with people that you’re singing to. It really made me grow in that aspect.

How was the making of “When You Love Someone”?

Me and HER, we were working at the same studio for a month and a half. She was telling Jeff one day she was like, “Look, I got this song for Tone.” She had already written it. She was like, “I just want to play it for you. Tell me if you like it, if you want to cut it or whatever.” She played it for me, and it was a no-brainer. I was like, “Yo, let’s do it.” So the next day we got in session and she was vocal producing me. I just want to let y’all know, you’ve heard the song before, but it was probably the most difficult song I had to record. Everything had to be perfect. I’m a perfectionist myself but she’s a perfectionist on another level. So, but it was fun and it made me a better artist too.

How is HER as a vocal producer?

Oh, she don’t take no mess as a vocal producer. She don’t take no mess, no slacking.

I know you have a relationship with Drake. I saw you went to help celebrate him being awarded Artist of the Decade for Billboard at his party. How was that?

If you know Drake, you got to know Jas Prince. Jas has been in my corner for years, but he’s the one who connected us and it’s awesome because a lot of people wish they had that outlet to go out and reach out and be like, “Hey, what do you think of this?” And get feedback and stuff like that. It’s just been a blessing because every time I’ll hit him for feedback or just advice he’ll hit me back and give me a real response like, “Yo, this is what you got to do. This is who you got to be if you want to get to this point.” He always keeps it real. It’s a good relationship.

Can we expect to hear you on Certified Lover Boy?

I don’t even know. It could be one of those things. Well, here’s a fun fact. The Bryson and Drake song, they actually sample me doing a Snoh Aalegra cover. So that’s actually me in the background. I don’t know, it could happen. Something like that.

I also just want to talk about your creative process. When you’re in the studio, what is the vibe that you’re setting?

So the vibe, I mean, every day is definitely going to be different. What I like to do before I start while heading to the studio if I’m in the car, wherever, I love to play music. I love to just adventure into different genres, different artists and see what really resonates with me that day. Every day could be different. Some days I’ll be bumping Tame Impala the whole way to the studio. I’m like, “Yo, let’s get it. We in that Tame Impala bag.” Or I’ll be bumping off Michael Jackson, Prince, or just throwback Rick James. Then I’ll suggest, “Yo, we need to tap into this sonic.” Where they were at when they made this? Just playing music and appreciating other music that came before me and even music that’s out right now. It’s just what do I want to tap into? Where do we want to go? Where do we want to take it? Then making it relate to my life.

How do you come up with your ideas?

So I can’t even lie to you, it is definitely like life sometimes. There’s times where I would just think, I’ll hear music while making music, I’ll think of one-word concepts. I like one-word concepts a lot, for instance, “Devotion.” Then there’s times where it’s like, I can be looking around the room, I could be reading something on a bottle. I could be in my phone. I’ll be on Twitter just looking like, “Yo, what are people talking about? What is going on?” I’ll just pull from stuff like that. There’s really no limit to how creative you can be.

Where’s the most unique place you’ve drawn inspiration from to create music?

I got the opportunity when I was, I think I was 23, 22. I got the opportunity to go to Drake’s tour in Europe for a few days. I was just living in the moment like, “Oh, this is crazy. I’m in Paris for the first time. I’m in London for the first time.” And now that I’m older, I have a bunch of songs from all the things that have happened in that little small timeframe. I think that’s probably the craziest place that I’ve pulled from, because it was just so different. The experience was just totally different. I wasn’t in a place then to really make it come to life.

Have you released any of those songs?

Nope. Not yet.

Maybe we’ll get the Paris tapes in the future.

Yeah. Absolutely.

FWM is out now via RCA. Get it here.

NLE Choppa Vows To Retire From Rap To Become A ‘Full-Time Herbalist’

by
Getty Image

NLE Choppa has made quite a splash as an entertainer over the last handful of years since exploding onto the scene with his January 2019 single “Shotta Flow.” Since then, he’s become a Hot 100 mainstay and XXL Freshman, reached No. 10 on the Billboard 200 chart with his debut album Top Shotta, and worked with some of the industry’s heaviest hitters, including 50 Cent and hometown hero Juicy J. However, it looks like he might be ready to walk away from it all in favor of a new career: Herbalism, aka herbal medicine.

In a tweet, he vowed to “buy out my contract and become full time herbalist,” citing his wish to “help my people” as the reason behind his decision to “forget the music stuff.”

The decision wasn’t a sudden one; over the past year, Choppa has gradually embraced a mindset of personal and spiritual growth, encouraging meditation and plant-based diets. He even went so far as to challenge fellow Memphian Moneybagg Yo to give up lean for chlorophyll as a response to the elder rapper’s fascination with the purple stuff, as documented in his hit song “Wokesha.”

Unfortunately, NLE Choppa’s beliefs have also led him to share some dangerous misinformation as well. He previously tweeted vaccine conspiracy theories, which he’s adamantly held to ever since.

You can see his retirement promise above.

NLE Choppa is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Tyler The Creator Admits That One Of His New Songs ‘Does Not Hit Live At All’

by
Getty Image

A couple weeks ago, Tyler The Creator took the stage at the BET Awards to perform “Lumberjack,” a standout from his new album Call Me If You Get Lost. There’s one song from the album, though, that we may never see Tyler perform on TV, and that’s “Juggernaut,” as Tyler thinks the Lil Uzi Vert- and Pharrell-featuring song “does not hit live at all.”

This morning, Tyler patted himself on the back on Twitter, writing of a highlight from his new album, “massa is really good.” He then continued, though, by noting that while he believes that song works well in a live setting, “Juggernaut” does not. Tyler tweeted, “massa live is great too. intense, intimate. audience can just absorb. no jumping or yelling. im able to vent. its nice. juggernaut on the other hand does not hit live at all. was shocking as hell but the more i thought about it the more it made sense.”

Meanwhile, in response to the first tweet, a fan bought up the “Massa” lyric in which Tyler notes Pharrell’s (aka Skateboard P) impact on him: “My boy Skateboard P gave me that speech in Italy session / Thankfully, by hour three that detour perspective / Thoughts change so rapid, turn into a butterfly, Flower Boy happened.” Tyler responded by elaborating, “thats when the switch happened. that talk he had with me man. sheeesh.”

Read our review of Call Me If You Get Lost here.

Juvenile’s ‘Vax That Thang Up’ Turns His Biggest Hit Into A Pro-Vaccine PSA

by

Who would have thought that 20 years after Cash Money Records took over for the 99 and the 2000, Juvenile’s raunchy introductory hit would form the basis for a wholesome (bit still playfully racy) public health PSA? The New Orleans rapper resurrected his biggest song, “Back That Thang Up,” turning it into “Vax That Thang Up” to encourage horny young singles to get their shots before returning to the dating scene, recruiting longtime collaborators Mannie Fresh and Mia X to reprise and remix the track’s most iconic moments.

“Girl, you look good, why don’t you vax that thang up?” Juvie joshes on the new, cheeky chorus. “You a handsome young brother, why don’t you vax that thang up?” Mannie, meanwhile, cleverly flips his anchor verse: “I know you can’t stand it / No holding hands, chick,” he smirks, turning his opening couplet into something a bit more friendly for radio. And that iconic Lil Wayne bridge? Well, it seemed unlikely they’d be able to hook the original into participating, considering some of his prior reactions to current events, so Mia X graciously steps it up to turn “drop it like it’s hot” into “go get the shot.”

Naturally, fans on Twitter have thoughts, but respect for these legends of the game — who have mostly stayed out of trouble and kept their legacies untarnished — has the jokes trending about as wholesome as the song itself. You love to see it.

Watch the “Vax That Thang Up” video above.

Lil Nas X Says Ripping His Pants On ‘SNL’ Wasn’t Even The Worst Thing That Happened To Him That Day

by
YouTube

Lil Nas X had one of the most memorable music moments of Saturday Night Live‘s most recent season when he accidentally tore his pants during his “Montero (Call Me By Your Name)” performance. While having that sort of gaffe on live national television might be embarrassing, as is noted in a new New York Times profile on Nas, his torn trousers “weren’t even the worst thing to happen to him that night.”

After the performance, Nas was feeling good, so while at the show’s after-party, he shot his shot with somebody he had been chatting with online. The rapper’s advances were shot down, though, as the person said they were flattered but had a boyfriend.

“I was like, ‘Damn, you’re that loyal,’” Nas said. “I love it. You forget sometimes that people are, like, really loyal, and it’s like, I want to do that.” The rejection was still hard to stomach though, but Nas reminded himself that “no matter what I do or accomplish in this life or whatever, I’m never going to get everything I want.”

Nas left the party to return to his hotel room and get a hold of himself. Once he got there, he gave himself a pep talk in the mirror and then fell asleep on the toilet.

Read the full feature here.

Nicki Minaj Rallies Her Fans To Prepare For A ‘Very Very Very Important’ Announcement

by
Getty Image

Nicki Minaj has a big surprise for fans and she’s asking them all to meet her on an Instagram Livestream later this week. It’s the latest in what’s been a comeback year of sorts for the famed rapper. Her last album came in 2018 with Queen while, prior to May at least, her last solo single arrived in 2020 with “Yikes.” After a lengthy wait, Nicki returned with three new songs — one of them being “Seeing Green” with Lil Wayne and Drake — that came attached to a reuploaded version of her beloved mixtape, Beam Me Up Scotty. Now it appears Nicki has more on the way for fans.

“There’s something I URGENTLY need to share w you guys,” Nicki tweeted with a slew of siren emojis. “I’ll go LIVE on IG THURSDAY @ 10:30PM EST No, I won’t be late. In fact, I’ll be early. This is VERY VERY VERY IMPORTANT. Love you guys so much.”

The vague announcement left fans guessing what the “very very very important” news could. There’s a chance it’s regarding a new album from the rapper which would end her drought of three years without one. Other guesses have been that the livestream might be an update on her upcoming HBO Max docuseries. Nicki previously confirmed that the series will be made up of six half-hour episodes that dive into her professional and personal world while giving fans unique access to her life.

You can read the announcement from Nicki above.

South London Rapper Dave Announces His Second Album, ‘We’re All Alone In This Together’

by
Getty Image

The last time South London rapper Dave released an album was back in 2019 with his debut effort, Psychodrama. The project won lots of awards in its native England. Finally he’s rearing his follow-up, We’re All Alone In This Together, which is set to arrive on July 23. He shared the news during an interview with Ciaran Thapar for GQ, which he described like this:

I feel like Psychodrama was me aged zero to 20. Now, I get to go from zero backwards in time and explore stories from before, stuff that led up to the events of the first album: heritage, history, culture, my family, the countries that we come from, the regressive state of humanity in where we are now. Migration is a massive thing for me – boats, freedom of movement. The artwork represents that – the journey – all at the same time, as delivering life from the perspective of someone who has just come off the back of all this… It’s a massive change in character.

The album’s first tentative single is “Clash,” featuring Stormzy. As for what else to expect, fans will just have to wait a couple of weeks to see.

We’re All Alone In This Together is out 7/23 via Dave/Neighbourhood Recordings. Pre-order it here.