Music

Nas Enjoys ‘Brunch On Sundays’ With LeBron James, Russell Westbrook, Swizz Beatz, And More In A New Video

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It’s been just over a month since the release of Nas’ fourteenth album, King’s Disease II. The sequel to the rapper’s 2020 album that gifted him his long-awaited first Grammy award. King’s Disease II is executive produced by Hit-Boy and arrived with features from Eminem, Lauryn Hill, A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie, Charlie Wilson, and more. Today Nas unveils a new star-studded visual for “Brunch On Sundays.” In it, the rapper enjoys a mid-day mealwith LeBron James, Russell Westbrook, Swizz Beatz, Blxst, Hit-Boy, Cordae, and Lil Rel.

The video is the second we’ve received for King’s Disease II, the first being “Rare.” The 2021 album has received a similar, if not better, response when compared to its predecessor, with people commending he and Hit-Boy’s chemistry and asking for the possibility of third installment in the series.

“He’s like my Quincy [Jones], you know what I mean?” Nas said during an interview with Apple Music’s Ebro Darden last month. “So I feel like the next thing I do, if I was to work with Hit-Boy on the next thing I do, I think that we might do something that is going to be magical.” He added, “I think what we have is magic. I think if we do another one, I’m excited about that idea, but you know, we’re celebrating this one now.”

You can watch the video for “Brunch On Sundays” above.

King’s Disease II is out now via Mass Appeal. Get it here.

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

D Smoke Announces His Second Album ‘War & Wonders’ And Reveals Its Release Date And Artwork

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It was just seven months ago that D Smoke released the deluxe edition of his debut album, Black Habits. The reissue added four songs and features from Snow Tha Product and E-40 to the already stellar project that showcased appearances from Ari Lennox, Snoop Dogg, Sir, Jill Scott, Davion Farris, Jackie Grouche, and Iguocho. Since then the Inglewood rapper has remained fairly active on the music scene by releasing a string of singles and it turns out that some of these outputs could appear on the rapper’s upcoming sophomore album which he announced on Tuesday.

D Smoke took to his Instagram to officially announce his upcoming album, War & Wonders. The rapper revealed the project would arrive on September 24 and even unveiled its artwork, a painting of D Smoke himself standing tall while a number of people are piled on top of each other around him. D Smoke’s most recent single that we can expect to appear on the project arrived last month with “Shame On You.” The track showed love to the rebels fighting for a righteous cause.

Elsewhere in 2021, D Smoke delivered a tribute track to Sade and remixed “Gasper Yanga” with Snoop Dogg after dropping “Basketball” for Last Chance U.

You can view the post from D Smoke above.

War & Wonders is out 9/24 via Woodworks Records/EMPIRE.

Tucker Carlson Wants To Talk To Nicki Minaj’s Cousin’s Friend

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FOX News

Monday evening saw the return of the Met Gala, which had to be cancelled last year due to the pandemic. There was a lot of talk about attendees’ outfits. But one person who wasn’t even there may have outshone them all. Nicki Minaj wound up stealing the spotlight thanks to a string of tweets that voiced her concern about the COVID-19 vaccine. One of her tweets concerned her cousin’s friend, who allegedly his fiancée call off their wedding his “testicles became swollen” following his COVID vaccination. (Of course, there could have been other things to cause that.) Rightwing commentators rushed to Minaj’s side, among them Fox News host Tucker Carlson, who had a special request for a recent news broadcast.

“We haven’t been able to figure whether this show is broadcast in Trinidad,” Carlson said on his show Tuesday, having already discussed the matter the night before. “But if Nicki Minaj’s cousin’s friend is watching, or his former fiancée is watching, we want to hear your story. We’ll come to Port Of Spain to see you.”

For the record, when asked if evidence exists for reproductive issues as a result of the Modera, Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson vaccines, Dr. Anthony Fauci has replied with “a resounding no.” But Carlson is never one to listen to experts.

Amid all this, Minaj’s vaccine tweets also sparked a beef with Piers Morgan. This saga is most likely far from over, so we’ll be back to report on the next chapter whenever that arrives. Until then, please get vaccinated.

Britney Spears Confirms That She Deleted Her Instagram Account And Explains Why

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FX Networks

Earlier on Tuesday, fans of Brintey Spears noticed that her Instagram was no longer active. The account was a place where the singer could freely speak about her personal life, especially the events surrounding her conservatorship. When her supporters noticed it was no longer active, concern began to grow for Spears. However, the singer took to her Twitter account to reassure them that everything was okay. “Don’t worry folks … just taking a little break from social media to celebrate my engagement !!!!” she wrote, adding, “I’ll be back soon.”

Billboard also confirms that the singer willingly chose to delete the account.

It was just two days ago that Spears announced her engagement to Sam Asghari. The two have been dating for four years and they met back in 2016 during the video shoot for the singer’s “Slumber” track. The couple shared the news about their engagement with posts on their respective Instagram pages.

Asghari’s manager, Brandon Cohen, said that he’s “proud to celebrate and confirm the engagement,” in a statement to People. He added, “The couple made their long-standing relationship official today and are deeply touched by the support, dedication, and love expressed to them.”

Other recent good news for Spears includes her father opting to file a petition to end the singer’s 13-year conservatorship.

Rick Ross Bought His Son A Wingstop Franchise For His 16th Birthday

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Most 16-year-olds want a car or maybe the latest iPhone for their birthday. But not everyone is Rick Ross’ son. The rapper purchased a Wingstop franchise for his son’s 16th birthday, as he revealed in a recent Instagram post. “Everyone wish my son @mmgbigbank HAPPY 16th BIRTHDAY!!!” the rapper wrote in the post’s caption. “Today, he became the owner of his 1st @wingstop franchise. [You’re] now officially a BOSS!!! Keep Going.”

Ross himself is the owner of 25 Wingstop franchises locations. He recently helped them launch Thighstop, which helped the company cope with the recent shortage of chicken wings. The rapper also spoke about his support and growth with the company during an interview with Complex.

“Well, first and foremost, my personal passion for it hasn’t wavered any, over all the years I’ve loved Wingstop,” he said. “You see, I’m still repping it like it’s the first time I had it. And when I eat Wingstop, it’s still like the first time I had it. And on a business side, when I went and sat down with the CEO, Charlie Morrison, he knew I had no experience being a franchisee.”

He added, “He knew I didn’t have the time sitting in a franchise, but he saw my vision and my passion. He opened the doors for me. He didn’t just let me follow my dreams. He let me go to that next level.”

Pop Smoke’s Mother Speaks Out After The Late Rapper’s Gravesite Was Vandalized

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It’s been over a year since Pop Smoke’s tragic death, and the rapper was shot and killed during a home invasion, and his passing still haunts the music community. It’s not surprising how any form of disrespect towards him may cause turmoil. An example came recently, when Audrey Jackson, the late rapper’s mother, shared on her Instagram page that her son’s gravesite was vandalized.

On Monday, Jackson posted a string of Instagram videos that captured the damage that was done to her son’s gravesite. “So, chips leftover from either them trying to break in or from it being fixed to at least have it covered,” she says in the video. “But this was unnecessary, whoever you are.” She also shared her frustration at the damage in the post’s caption, writing, “Whoever you are, you have my attention. Now what!?.”

In a separate post, Jackson showed Pop Smoke’s father cleaning up the damage. The vandalism was initially reported by TMZ on September 11, which showed that someone pried it open. The publication also reported his casket may have been pulled out, as scrape marks on the floor suggest, but this was not confirmed by Pop Smoke’s family.

You can take a look a Pop Smoke’s mother’s Instagram posts above.

Britney Spears’ Instagram Account Appears To Be No Longer Active

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For the better part of the last two years, Britney Spears has used her Instagram account to complain about her longstanding conservatorship and the ways it has restricted her lifestyle. She criticized those close to her who failed to when they were needed needed. She also slammed the paparazzi and apologized to her fanbase for misleading them about her well-being. But it recently vanished, for reasons currently unknown.

Spears’ Instagram page was either suspended or deleted on Tuesday, leaving many to question what happened to cause its removal. The news comes just two days after she used her Instagram account to confirm her engagement to Sam Asghari, her boyfriend of four years. In a post to her page, an image shows her standing beside Asghari, showing how much she likes the ring he got for her. To the proposal, she happily replies, “Yes!”

The turn of events also comes after her father filed a petition with the Los Angeles Superior Court to end her 13-year conservatorship. Jamie Spears said his daughter is “entitled to have this Court now seriously consider whether this conservatorship is no longer required.” He added that, “grounds for establishment of a conservatorship may no longer exist.”

Dr. Anthony Fauci Refuted Nicki Minaj’s Vaccine Side Effect Claims On CNN

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Nicki Minaj’s recent claims about a vaccine’s side effects on her cousin’s friend already brought her into conflict with conservative English pundit Piers Morgan and now, they’ve got her at odds with no less an authority than Dr. Anthony Fauci, the US authority on the COVID-19 virus and the government’s response strategy.

During a recent appearance on CNN covering Nicki’s tweet that she’s not vaccinated because she doesn’t trust any of the available vaccines, Fauci said that her anecdote about a friend who experienced some “sexual discomfort” after receiving a vaccine seems less than likely. As host Jake Tapper ticked off Nicki’s bonafides — nearly 180 million combined followers across social media platforms and an intensely loyal (and susceptible) fanbase — he pointed out how vaccinations opponents have already weaponized Nicki’s tweet.

“Is there any evidence that the Pfizer, Moderna, or the [Johnson & Johnson] vaccines cause any reproductive issues, in men or women?” he asked. Fauci didn’t hesitate. “The answer to that, Jake, is a resounding no,” he asserted. “There’s no evidence that it happens, nor is there any mechanistic reason to imagine that it would happen.” Then, in response to Tapper’s follow-up wondering how authorities can combat misinformation from powerful stars such as Nicki Minaj, Fauci replied, “It’s very difficult. There is a lot of misinformation, mostly on social media. The only way we know to counter mis- and disinformation is to provide a lot of correct information… These claims may be innocent on her part — I’m not blaming her for anything — but she should be thinking twice about propagating information that really has no basis except a one-off anecdote. That’s not what science is all about.”

Nicki Minaj Now Has Beef With Piers Morgan Because Of Her Vaccine Tweets

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Ladies and gentlemen, we are through the looking glass. That’s just the only way to describe the topsy-turvy state of existence in which we find ourselves, once again watching a female rapper verbally jousting with a conservative commentator, and yet somehow agreeing with the latter more than the former. I am flabbergasted, befuddled, aghast, and agog at this turn of events.

Yesterday, Nicki Minaj dismayed a good-sized portion of her fanbase, both Barbz and casuals, when she seemingly discouraged fans from getting vaccinated against COVID-19, just minutes after revealing that she’d recently pulled out of major performances after contracting it during a video shoot. She then shared a slightly unbelievable personal account from a cousin in Trinidad who was forced to cancel his wedding due to adverse side effects from the vaccine, which sounded a lot more like an aversion to the central tenets of marriage to many observers.

This led to a mention of Mrs. Petty on British news, where UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson replied to a question about the rapper’s comments by pointing out that he’s “not as familiar with the works of Nicki Minaj as I probably should be,” but extolling the benefits of vaccination. Nicki, alerted to the clip by one of her fans, replied with a tongue-in-cheek voice note, sharing it on Twitter where it garnered Morgan’s attention. The political pundit offered his own opinion, and things escalated from there.

“Professor Whitty beefing with the ghastly @NICKIMINAJ (one of the rudest little madams I’ve ever met) is not the breaking news that I expected today – but it’s most welcome,” he wrote. “She’s peddling lies that will cost lives.” Minaj shot back, accusing Morgan of believing all Black women look alike (which, to be fair…) and called him a clown as their tit-for-tat degenerated into accusations that Nicki declined to greet Morgan’s kids during a television appearance. Nicki refuted the accusation while wondering at a discrepancy in his account. Nicki then tagged the wrong @pierce while inviting Morgan to go Live on Instagram to continue their “friendly chat.”

Yikes, indeed.

Look, journalistic objectivity aside, you have to agree with Piers on one thing: Nicki’s seemingly anti-vax tweet was very similar to many other scare tactics being used by various groups to discourage people from getting vaccinated — and those unfounded accounts are certainly killing people. As far as everything else… well… enjoy the drama, I guess. Just go get the shot first. Check out the fun below.

G-Eazy Is Under Investigation After A Hotel Bar Fight In New York

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TMZ reports that Bay Area rapper G-Eazy is being investigated by the NYPD after apparently getting into a fight outside The New York City Standard Hotel’s club Boom Boom Room Friday night. The altercation reportedly happened around 1 am when witnesses told police that G-Eazy’s entourage got into a physical disagreement with another group outside the club. G-Eazy allegedly punched one of the other men while a member of his group hit another in the head with a glass bottle, sending him to the hospital for treatment. No one has been arrested as yet.

If the fight sounds out of character for the pretty laid-back seeming G-Eazy, it’s likely because he’s better known for making upbeat party rap with Jack Harlow and promoting his wellness brand, FlowerShop, about which he gave an interview to Uproxx’s own Dane Rivera. However, Complex noted in its report about the brawl that G-Eazy was arrested in 2018 for assault and cocaine possession while on tour in Sweden. He later commented on the incident when ASAP Rocky was also arrested in Stockholm on similar charges a year later but was held for nearly a month, pointing out a prime example of “white privilege” and the double standard in treatment between people, even in other countries.