Music

Chloe Bailey Is Not Dating Future And She’s Not In The Illuminati

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Chloe Bailey was recently hit with not one but two bizarre rumors. Mere days after she released “Have Mercy” and impressed at the 2021 MTV VMAs, someone claimed that the singer had recently began dating rapper Future. She denied this during an Instagram Live. “I don’t know where that rumor came from,” she said. “He’s a wonderful fella, love his music, I’ve never spoken to him a day in my life.”

But there was more. The second rumor claimed that Bailey is a member of the Illuminati, a rumored modern-day secret society that some believe is filled with Black celebrities from different corners of the entertainment world, all of whom sold their souls to be involved in it. Jay-Z, Kanye West, and Rihanna are just some of the names that have been tied to these rumors. And Chloe went out of her way to make it clear she is not a part of this (probably) fictitious group.

“One moment you all say that I talk about God too much and the next you say I’m selling my soul. Which is it, my loves?” she said during the livestream. “I love God so much and I love music, and I just have a lot of passion. That’s it.” She added, “I didn’t sell my soul, no,”

Scarface Is ‘Thriving’ After Receiving A New Kidney From His Son

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The hip-hop community can rest assured knowing one of its greats will be back in good health soon. Houston native and Geto Boys rapper Scarface successfully underwent a kidney transplant after nearly a year of waiting. The gracious donor happened to be the rapper’s son, Christopher Jordan, who shared an image of himself and his father on Instagram. “What a journey it’s been,” he wrote in the caption. “Surgery went well my dad is thriving kidney is working great!!!! Thank you all for the prayers. @brothermob love you family.”

The news comes nearly a year after Scarface put out a plea for a new kidney after a bout with coronavirus. “COVID attacked my lungs first, and then it attacked my kidneys and knocked them out,” he told FOX 26 Houston. “I got full lung recovery, but my kidneys never came back.” Seven months later, he was publicly searching for new kidney on Twitter, specifically asking for anyone with a B+ blood type. T.I. and Fat Joe boosted Scarface’s plea while offering financial help for any donor willing to step up.

Earlier this summer, Christopher Jordan announced that he would donate a kidney to his father after learning he was a match. Today he revealed the transplant was a success. After hearing the news, T.I. took to Twitter to celebrate. “My mentor @brothermob Got a new kidney.” he wrote. “From his son no less…#GodIsGood.”

Nicki Minaj Shares A Tucker Carlson Video About Her Anti-Vaccine Tweets

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As Nicki Minaj fields criticism over her anti-vaccine tweet from a few days ago from a variety of observers such as Stephen Colbert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, Trinidad’s Health Minister, and even Tucker Carlson, she’s also found an unlikely defender in the form of … Tucker Carlson. The Fox News host, whose opinions shift with the wind depending on what point he’s trying to make at the time, switched positions on ridiculing the star when he apparently realized he could use the reaction to Nicki’s tweet to once again needle liberals, progressives, and Democrats.

In a clip from his show on Nicki’s tweet and the resulting backlash, Carlson attributed the backlash to Democrats “bullying” Nicki over sharing anti-vaccine views, likening it to the religious persecution Fox News peddles to its viewers. Nicki herself reposted the clip on her Twitter with a dartboard emoji, implying she believes Carlson is on-target with his assessment.

Unfortunately for Nicki, her post only resulted in even more backlash from followers appalled that she’d side with Carlson, who has, among other things, promoted wild conspiracy theories, parroted reprehensible, xenophobic rhetoric, and defended the QAnon-inspired January 6 insurrectionists. One pointed out, “You know he’s a white nationalist right?” However, Nicki was undaunted, interpreting tweets trying to reason with her as attacks on her character and doing her best “Kanye West circa 2018” impression as fans expressed dismay and disappointment.

Check out Nicki’s ongoing rant below.

Octavia Spencer Has Apologized To Britney Spears After That Prenup Joke About Her Engagement

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Britney Spears has been through a lot. But things for her seem to finally be back on the up-and-up. Her lengthy conservatorship battle, which saw her trying to wrestle free from the legal clutches of her father, seems to be coming to an end. And she’s now engaged, having said yes to Sam Asghari, her boyfriend of four years. Fans are so protective of her, so adamant that she be happy again, that when Octavia Spencer made a joke in her Instagram feed, it did not go well.

When Spears broke the news of her engagement on Instgram, the Oscar-winning actress did like many: She left a comment. But she didn’t just congratulate her. She winkingly advised her, “Make him sign a prenup.” Spears’ base came for Spencer. And now Spencer had left a big apology for what she said.

“Y’all, a few days ago Sam and Britney announced their engagement and me being me I made a joke,” she wrote in her own Instagram post. “My intention was to make them laugh not cause pain. I’ve reached out to this lovely couple privately to apologize and now want to restore just a smidge of happiness they were robbed of. Britney’s fans have seen her through a lot of pain and she’s found happiness. We’re thrilled for her. So let’s show them love.”

Asghari responded to Spencer’s post, telling her there’s no ill will. “You are very kind to clarify but I have had no hard feelings whatsoever,” he wrote. “Jokes and misconceptions come with the territory.” As for his fiancée, well, she happily deleted her Instagram account the other day, though she says she’s just on a break.

(Via Variety)

Nigerian Singer Tems Details Her Rise To Stardom In A New Documentary

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Lagos-born singer Tems has seen a meteoric rise over the past year in the wake of the release of her September EP, For Broken Ears. Since then, she’s received co-signs from one of her home country’s biggest stars, Wizkid, appearing on his summer-of-2021 single “Essence” and its remix with Justin Bieber, and of perennially precognitive talent scout Drake, landing a feature on “Fountains” from his new album Certified Lover Boy.

Now, she’s been selected as Apple Music’s latest Up Next artist, just in time to commemorate the release of her newest EP If Orange Was A Place, released Tuesday via Since ’93 and RCA Records. The five-song release includes the song “Found” with American R&B counterpart Brent Faiyaz (a rising star in his own right) and showcases her unique vocals, songwriting, and production style. She relates the album to “the feeling of sunset and the sweetness of an orange” in its description on Apple Music and delves into the impact her oncoming stardom has had on her in both the documentary and an insightful interview with Apple Music’s Nadeska, which you can watch below.

Watch the trailer for Tems’ Apple Music Up Next documentary up top and catch the full video (and listen to the new EP) here.

Meek Mill Announces His ‘Expensive Pain’ Album By Unveiling Its Cover Art

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It’s been nearly three years since Meek Mill released his last album, Championships. But that’s all about to change as the rapper has officially unveiled details about his upcoming LP, Expensive Pain.

Mill returned Wednesday to announce Expensive Pain is slated for an October 1 release. It’s set to feature the rapper’s recent singles “Sharing Locations” with Lil Baby and Lil Durk and his track “Blue Notes 2,” a collaboration with Lil Uzi Vert.

Mill’s Expensive Pain artwork is a commissioned collage piece by New York-based artist Nina Chanel Abney, an abstract artist known for exploring the intersection of race, gender, pop culture, homophobia, and politics in her work. The cover art is a collage of the finer things in life, including yachts, money, nice cars, and several women, all centered around a representation of Mill shedding a tear.

The announcement of Expensive Pain arrives shortly after Mill was given the Nelson Mandela Changemaker Award for his social justice work with his REFORM alliance. It marked the first time a rapper has received the award, and Mill celebrated the achievement with a freestyle.

See a behind-the-scenes video of the making of Mill’s Expensive Pain album artwork above.

Expensive Pain is out 10/1 via Maybach Music/Atlantic. Pre-order it here.

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

A Conservative Commentator Posits That Barack Obama Destroyed Rock And Roll Music

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It may seem like everybody loves Barack Obama, but the former president certainly has his share of detractors; When he left the White House in 2017, his approval rating was 57 percent. So, a bit over half the country gave Obama a thumbs-up, while the rest of the nation didn’t share that enthusiasm. Obama’s detractors often try to blame shortcomings of American and global life on things he did before, during, and even after his presidency, and there’s at least one political commentator who thinks the former POTUS is responsible for the decline of rock music.

During the September 14 episode of Daily Wire Backstage, a roundtable discussion program from conservative news outlet The Daily Wire, Jeremy Boreing declared, “Rock ‘n roll’s over. You’re still talking about rock ‘n roll as if Barack Obama didn’t happen. Honestly – it’s for another day – Barack Obama destroyed rock ‘n roll.”

Michael Knowles chimed in in agreement before Boreing continued, “There was rock ‘n roll, then there was Barack Obama, now there’s no rock ‘n roll. Because rock ‘n roll was about white male angst, white male teenage angst.”

Ben Shapiro then interjected to acknowledge rock’s history of appropriation, saying, “And stealing a lot of its tropes from better Black music.” Boreing continued, “Barack Obama came along and said young white men aren’t allowed to have angst. They’re not allowed to, basically, express their dissatisfaction because they’re so toxic. And so, truly, rock ‘n roll just stopped.”

It may be worth noting that Obama has long given props to rock music and shown himself to be a fan. In just the summer playlist he shared in July, for example, he included songs by George Harrison, The Rolling Stones, Chicago, Joni Mitchell, Bob Dylan, Wye Oak, and Brandi Carlile. Obama also co-hosts a podcast with Bruce Springsteen, and the pair is even publishing a book together.

Lizzo Missed The VMAs For An Extremely NSFW Reason

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At this year’s VMAs, Lizzo and Cardi B’s “Rumors” was up for Song Of The Summer, a title that ultimately went to BTS’ “Butter.” Lizzo did end the evening with one award, though, as she and Yayayayummy won Best Artist x Creator Collab for the “mustard watermelon” TikTok trend they launched. Lizzo wasn’t at the ceremony, though, because she was keeping busy with… something else.

In a TikTok video yesterday, Lizzo hinted at what she was doing the night of the VMAs, with the clip’s text overlay reading, “I really won a VMA while I was getting my back blown out last night… I’ll be there next year promise.” In the video, “Rumors” plays in the background, and the lyrics heard in the clip are fitting: “All the rumors are true, yeah / I f*cked him and you, yeah.”

She also captioned her post, “WE WON THE FIRST @mtv VMA FOR A TIKTOK BESTIES!!! WE DID IT— WHERE MY MOONMAN AT?”

@lizzo

WE WON THE FIRST @MTV VMA FOR A TIKTOK BESTIES!!! WE DID IT— WHERE MY MOONMAN AT? 😤

♬ Rumors (feat. Cardi B) – Lizzo

Naturally, a lot of the comments on the post reference Chris Evans, as Lizzo and the actor have had some flirtatious social media interactions in recent months. Lizzo didn’t indicate who she spent time with that evening, though.

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

Even Trinidad’s Health Minister Is Skeptical About Nicki Minaj’s ‘Swollen Balls’ Vaccine Horror Story

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While it was easy enough to tell that Nicki Minaj’s tweet featuring a cousin’s vaccine horror story probably wasn’t true based on its junior high urban myth-level sourcing, a new report cast even more aspersions on the likely tall tale by citing one important missing factor. When even Tucker Carlson doesn’t believe you, it might be time to issue a retraction.

Nicki’s story cited her cousin in Trinidad, who told her that his friend’s wedding was canceled by his adverse reaction to a COVID vaccine — swollen testicles and impotence. However, the Health Minister of Trinidad & Tobago, Dr. Terrence Deyalsingh, refuted the claim at a press conference, explaining that, “We could not respond in real-time yesterday to Ms. Minaj [because] we had to check and make sure that what she was claiming was either true or false. We did, and unfortunately, we wasted so much time yesterday running down this false claim. As far as we know, at this point in time, there has been no such reported side effect or adverse event.”

He further lamented the cost of the investigation in both time and effort, which could have gone to shoring up real COVID defenses that would actually help people. His comments echoed those of Dr. Anthony Fauci, who also had to debunk the AOL chain letter rumor-quality anecdote in an interview with Jake Tapper. Meanwhile, CNC3 Television in Port of Spain, Trinidad also had some thoughts on the tweet, directly admonishing Nicki for misusing her platform. Props for calling it a “Bacchanal story.”

Seriously, though, Nicki’s cousin’s friend — if he even exists — should probably seek treatment for what sounds like a sexually transmitted disease… and then get the damn vaccine. I have no advice on repairing his relationship; next time, wear a condom or something. As for Nicki, a good prescription would be another social media hiatus… and getting the damn vaccine.

50 Cent Trolls Murder Inc After Verzuz Commenters Evoke His Beef With Ja Rule

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Even though last night’s Verzuz battle at New York’s Madison Square Garden featured Ja Rule and Fat Joe, fans in the stream’s comments couldn’t stop bringing up 50 Cent. The Queens rapper had a highly public feud with Ja Rule throughout the 2000s as he rose to prominence and Ja declined in popularity — a decline he and his fans have always attributed to the beef, despite it likely being due more to the federal investigation into Ja’s label Murder Inc. and changing tastes in hip-hop overall.

However, the comments still irked Murder Inc. founder Irv Gotti, who exploded in the comments section. “All y’all talking about that 50 shit,” he railed. “All good. He got beat up stabbed up. Shot up. And sued us. That’s all I’m gonna say. Your hero ain’t what you think he is. Period. And facts.”

50 himself quickly caught wind of the commentary (does this guy have Google Alerts set for his rivals or what?) and popped up on Instagram to mock Gotti and Murder Inc. with a pair of posts crowing about his lopsided mid-2000s “victory.” “Wtf am i trending for, I said I ain’t doing whatever that shit is they doing,” he captioned the first. In its follow-up, he crowed, “I put they whole label out of business, f*ck with me if you want to. I would stay out of my way if i wasn’t me. LOL.” Naturally, both captions were filled with promotions for his various business ventures, including Branson Cognac and Bottle Rover, which is apparently an alcohol delivery service.

Later, on Atlanta radio’s Big Tigger Morning Show, Ja insisted that 50 would have been “nothing without that f*cking white boy,” obviously attributing his rival’s success to his association with Eminem, then one of the biggest names in hip-hop, and his attendant fanbase. Incidentally, most in either rappers’ camps and in hip-hop at large would rather have seen Ja go toe-to-toe with 50 on Verzuz, but 50 already put paid to that dream last year.

Ja can rest assured that, at least as far as Rap Twitter is concerned, he came out of last night’s competition the clear winner, decisively controlling the hits battle as Fat Joe spent far too many rounds emphasizing his “real hip-hop” clout and not enough playing his actual hits.