Music

Ludacris Trends On Twitter As Fans Find A Comedian’s Comparison To DaBaby… Ludicrous

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A comedian’s comparison of a pair of rappers on Twitter has fans debating whether he’s right or his suggestion is just… ludicrous. When Lil Duval, best known for his appearances on MTV shows like Guy Code and his 2018 Snoop Dogg-featuring hit “Smile Bitch (Living My Best Life),” asserted that North Carolina rapper DaBaby could be considered analogous to Atlanta rapper Ludacris, his tweet sparked the heated debate that saw some fans arguing about the two MCs’ relative status and whether or not Duval had a point.

As usual, the range of thoughts on the subject led to a spike in people tweeting about Luda, who’s currently on a media tour promoting his appearance in F9, the latest installment of the Fast And Furious film franchise premiering this weekend. He also recently made a bit of a resurgence musically, popping up on Conway The Machine’s single “Scatter Brain” with fellow ATLien JID and on Justin Bieber’s remix of “Peaches” with Snoop Dogg.

Meanwhile, DaBaby is also set to have a big weekend, as he’s nominated for seven 2021 BET Awards at the ceremony airing this Sunday. He was also the subject of another heated exchange with Megan Thee Stallion following a promotional tweet of his song with Tory Lanez, recorded before the infamous shooting incident that left Tory persona non grata with most hip-hop fans.

Fans are always naturally going to feel a way, and of course, many of the responses are split along generational lines. Incidentally, Duval isn’t the first to make the comparison, nor is the comparison as out-of-pocket as some fans tend to believe; consider their comedic videos, witty wordplay, and AK-47 cadences and the comparison doesn’t feel all that wild. No matter the terms of engagement, though, fans are going to project their own feelings on the position being argued, something Duval himself pointed out as the debate trended. You can see more responses below.

Joyner Lucas Grows Up To Be ‘Legend’ With Rick Ross In Their Celebratory Video

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After taking a couple of years longer than expected to release his 2020 debut album, ADHD, Joyner Lucas kept his foot on the gas and closed out the year with another project, Evolution. The Massachusetts native dropped the 12-track effort with features from The Game, Ashanti, Rick Ross, Elijah James, and more. Now, nearly a year after it was released, Lucas reappears with a video for “Legend” with Rick Ross. The new visual captures Lucas’ growth from a young man with hopes of thriving in music to an adult living out his dreams as a prospering rapper. Ross joins him later on in the video as they both enjoy the fruits of their labors.

The new visual, which also boasts cameos from T.I. and his son Domani, comes after was joined by fellow Massachusetts native Mark Wahlberg in the video for “Zim Zimma.” In that effort, which also featured appearances from Diddy and George Lopez, Walhberg crashed the rapper’s car during a high-speed cruise. Prior to that, Lucas connected with Lil Baby to celebrate their rise to fame in the video for “Ramen & OJ.”

As for Rick Ross, the Maybach Music head honcho has been teasing a joint project with Drake for some time now. During an interview with Complex, he gave somewhat of an update on the potential effort. “He’s wrapping up his project and I’m in the same space. So the timing and everything is aligning,” he said. “It’s something that we really want to give to the streets, on some real sh*t.”

You can watch the video for “Legend” above.

Justin Timberlake Voices His Support For The End Of Britney Spears’ Conservatorship

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On Wednesday, Britney Spears appeared at a court hearing on the subject of her conservatorship, which is now in its 13th year. The singer asked a judge to terminate it, deeming it “abusive” as well as restrictive on her desired lifestyle. “I’ve been in denial,” she admitted. “I’ve been in shock. I am traumatized. I just want my life back.” A number of stars from the music world stepped forward to show their support — including her ex-boyfriend Justin Timberlake.

“After what we saw today, we should all be supporting Britney at this time,” he wrote on Twitter. “Regardless of our past, good and bad, and no matter how long ago it was… what’s happening to her is just not right. No woman should ever be restricted from making decisions about her own body.” He added, “No one should EVER be held against their will… or ever have to ask permission to access everything they’ve worked so hard for.”

To conclude, Timberlake added that his wife, Jessica Biel, is also in support of the singer’s freedom from the conservatorship. “Jess and I send our love, and our absolute support to Britney during this time,” he wrote. “We hope the courts, and her family make this right and let her live however she wants to live.”

The Music World Reacts To Britney Spears Calling For The Termination Of Her Conservatorship

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On Wednesday, the music world turned their attention to the latest hearing in Britney Spears’ conservatorship trial, where the pop sensation pled for her freedom, asking a judge to terminate the court-ordered arrangement. “I am traumatized. I’m not happy, I can’t sleep. I’m so angry I’m insane,” she told Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Brenda Penny. “It’s my wish and my dream for this to end.” Britney also detailed how restrictive the conservatorship has become on her life.

“All I want is to own my money … and for this to end … and for my boyfriend to be able to fucking drive me in his car,” she added. “And honestly … I want to be able to sue my family … I have an IUD in my body right now that won’t let me have a baby and my conservators won’t let me go to the doctor to take it out. I wanna be able to get married and have a baby.”

After hearing the singer speak, a number of acts from the music world hopped on Twitter to express their support for Britney. In a pair of tweets, Halsey wrote, “I admire her courage speaking up for herself today.” Mariah Carey chimed in with her own words of encouragement, writing, “We love you Britney!!! Stay strong [heart emojis].”

You can read more tweets in support of Britney from the music world below.

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

Britney Spears Says She Can’t Have A Baby Because Of An IUD Her Conservators Won’t Let Her Remove

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On Wednesday, and for the first time in her 13-year conservatorship, Britney Spears directly addressed a judge in court. In her message, she asked that the court arrangement, which she claims has restricted her freedom, be terminated. This comes after months of court battles from the singer and her legal team as well as added attention to the case thanks to the documentary Framing Brintey Spears, plus the second wave of the #FreeBritney movement. Spears was very vocal during the hearing and gave several reasons as to why the conservatorship should come to an end. One example came when the singer revealed her conservators would not allow her to have a baby.

“All I want is to own my money … and for this to end … and for my boyfriend to be able to f*cking drive me in his car,” she said, according to the Rolling Stone. “And honestly … I want to be able to sue my family … I have an IUD in my body right now that won’t let me have a baby and my conservators won’t let me go to the doctor to take it out. I wanna be able to get married and have a baby.”

In regards to the overall conservatorship, Brintey said, “I’ve been in denial. I’ve been in shock. I am traumatized. I just want my life back.” She also requested to have the conservatorship end “without having to be evaluated.”

J Balvin Partners With UPS For A Campaign In Support Of Latinx Small Businesses

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Thousands of small businesses all over the country suffered a huge blow as a result of the pandemic. Some made it through; others were forced to close their doors. Now that the world is inching closer and closer to normal, J Balvin is doing what he can to lend a helping hand to Latinx-owned small businesses, thanks to a new campaign with UPS.

The Latin singer and the shipping company joined forces for the Proudly Unstoppable campaign. The announcement came with the release of “Juntos Imparables,” a new song the singer shared with the hopes of inspiring “people to work together and support their local businesses,” as he told Billboard. As for the new campaign, the singer said, “My early days in music felt very comparable to getting a small business off the ground, so I know what it means to start from scratch and chase your dreams.”

He added, “UPS is doing so much to help small businesses handle their logistics and grow. As individuals, we can only do so much but if we work together with our people, we’re unstoppable.”

In addition to the new song, UPS debuted a bilingual limited edition box series named “Challenges Are Our Fire,” designed by Mexican graphic designer and illustrator Luis Pinto. The series comes with 650,000 UPS medium-sized Express boxes and envelopes. UPS will also donate $150,000 to the United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (USHCC) in order to give small businesses that were affected by the pandemic the financial support they need.

You can listen to J Balvin’s new song in the video above.

Megan Thee Stallion’s ‘Thot Sh*t’ Is At The Center Of A TikTok Strike By Black Creators

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Usually, when a universally beloved rapper like Megan Thee Stallion releases a seismic new single such as “Thot Sh*t,” her most recent effort that already has conservatives shaking their proverbial fists, creators on TikTok have a field day inventing viral dance challenges that then become emblematic of a song’s success. It’s worked for Cardi B, with both her songs “WAP” (which also features Meg) and “Up,” and it’s worked for Doja Cat, whose “Say So” and “Streets” were subjects of inescapable dance crazes (and sultry backlit boudoir shoots).

However, there has been no skyrocketing trend for “Thot Sh*t,” which by most accounts is already every bit as popular as any of Megan’s other hits. According to Mashable, that’s because Black TikTokers are now refusing to create one, citing the tendency of non-Black users to co-opt and water down their efforts, which tends to lead to the aforementioned trends. With Black TikTokers — the originators of many of the most popular dances — “striking,” none the videos under the “Thot Sh*t” sound have taken off as in the past.

Observers have noted the discrepancy in attention since the app’s explosion in popularity a couple of years ago. While influencers like Addison Rae, Charlie D’Amelio, and others receive mainstream exposure and opportunities for essentially copying the already popular dances, the originators tend to go overlooked. See: The NBA’s 2020 All-Star Weekend, where the “Renegade” challenge to K Camp’s “Lottery” was in evidence throughout the broadcast, but Jalaiah Harmon, the 14-year-old who choreographed it in the first place, was nowhere to be found.

Of course, Twitter users took note of the dearth of content, and the results… well… you can see them below. What’s the solution? Ultimately, that will have to be left to the content creators themselves, but for one thing, it would seem all the record deals, television appearances, and paid performances should ultimately be going to the folks who form the engine that drives TikTok and turns hits into ubiquitous pop cultural phenomenons.

Broccoli City’s Comeback 2021 Festival Will Be Led By Lil Baby And Moneybagg Yo

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Organizers of the Washington DC-based Broccoli City festival were forced to cancel their 2020 event, depriving them of the chance to follow their 2019 show that was led by Childish Gambino and Lil Wayne. They’re ready to return for 2021, though, as it was announced today that this year’s edition will take place on October 2 at the newly redeveloped RFK Stadium Campus.

The lineup for the one-day festival features Lil Baby, Snoh Aalegra, Moneybagg Yo, Lucky Daye, Rubi Rose, Justine Skye, Soulection, 3ohBlack, Moechella, DJ Domo, Malcolm Xavier, Everything Nice, AdoboDMV, and “special guests.”

In a statement, Broccoli City Festival founders Brandon McEachern and Marcus Allen said, “2020 was tough on everyone. From the disproportionate number of Black lives lost as a result of COVID-19 to the tragic murders of Breonna Taylor, George Floyd and countless others, it goes without saying that the Black community was hit the hardest. Coming off of such a pivotal year where everyone is trying to capitalize on Black culture, it’s more important now than ever before for us to protect these sacred spaces created by Black people to authentically celebrate black culture. We’re happy to be back and look forward to Broccoli City Festival 2021 being the most authentic celebration of black culture, arts, and music the industry has seen.”

Tickets are set to go on sale on June 25 at 10 a.m. ET, so learn more about this year’s event on the festival website.

Cardi B Vehemently Disagreed With A Viral Post About Motherhood

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Of all the things that Cardi B has accomplished — her seemingly endless stream of No. 1 hit singles (which now includes “Up,” her burgeoning film career (which will extend to the next few Fast and Furious films), and her many, many business partnerships — the one she seems the proudest of is being a mother to the soon-to-be three-year-old Kulture.

Motherhood is also one area in which she’s very outspoken and quick to clap back when criticized, whether it’s over her “raunchy” tweets or not letting her daughter listen to her music (the kid is, again, a toddler). However, Cardi was the person doing the criticizing a day ago, when she popped up in the comments of an Instagram post that aggregated a viral tweet.

The tweet in question read, “My daughter does not come before my husband,” a sentiment to which Cardi took issue. In the comments, she wrote, “And these be the b***** that god forbid they daughters get molested by their ‘husband’ ‘boyfriend’ they won’t believe them their kids, take their words and will hate their daughters cause of the truth and the men be knowing that and take advantage.” Another post highlighting Cardi’s response on gossip account @hollywoodunlocked received nearly 85,000 likes, with many of the commenters agreeing with Cardi. You can see that post below

Cardi B is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Mick Jenkins Relives A Suburban Nightmare In His Time-Looping ‘Truffles’ Video

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The 1993 high-concept Bill Murrary comedy vehicle Groundhog Day continues to inspire a generation of artists, even thirty years after its release. While time-looping films had a big year — see: The excellent Palm Springs on Hulu and the horrific, Oscar-winning Two Distant Strangers on Netflix, among others — the originator’s influence resonates and gets a Disturbia– related twist in the video for Mick Jenkins’ new single “Truffles.”

The video, which also takes inspiration from Friday and Get Out sees Mick living out a suburban nightmare — and reliving it, over and over again, as he wakes up each day, heads outside to water the lawn, and is confronted with the contorted faces of his not-so-friendly neighbors. The eerie video is accompanied by Mick’s armor-piercing rhymes, delivered in his signature laid-back deadpan as he reflects on the negative perception of Black people in America — especially in unofficially segregated suburban areas like the one depicted in the video.

“Truffles” is the second single Jenkins has released this year after he collaborated with Kaytranada on the boastful “Designer Frames.” Whether that means the Chicago-bred rapper is gearing up for a larger release remains to be seen, but since it has been over a year since his EP Circus, and even longer since he released his critically hailed Pieces Of A Man, it’d be fair to say that he’s about due.

Watch Mick Jenkins’ “Truffles” video above.