Music

Cordae And Young Thug Run A Fight Club In Their Murky ‘Wassup’ Video

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Of all the songs on Cordae’s new EP Just Until, the one that seemed to intrigue fans the most was “Wassup,” which featured Young Thug. Perhaps fans weren’t expecting to see those names paired together on a tracklist but with Cordae collaborating with Roddy Ricch and Young Thug trading bars with J. Cole, it doesn’t seem like that far of a reach, in hindsight.

Today, Cordae and Thug shared the video for their back-and-forth track, adopting a storyline about an underground fight club they run with ruthless efficiency. The two rappers trade belligerent bars as Cordae shows off his pugilistic prowess, knocking out one challenger after another. In the video’s denouement, Thugger counts up their winnings while giving a subtle shout-out to Cordae’s new label endeavor, Hi-Level Productions.

In more expected collaborations from Cordae, the young rapper with an old soul, the former YBN member was tapped to work with his hero Eminem and Jack Harlow on the remix of “Killer.” It seems that even though Cordae was reportedly blocked from appearing on Em’s longtime compeer Royce Da 5’9’s album, turning down a guest spot from the Rap God was too good an opportunity to pass up. With co-signs from both rap icons and contemporary favorites, Cordae certainly has plenty of eyes on his upcoming follow-up to The Lost Boy.

Watch Cordae’s “Wassup” video with Young Thug above.

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

Jon Batiste Proves That Movement Is Medicine In His Euphoric ‘Freedom’ Video

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Academy Award, BAFTA, and Golden Globe-winning musician Jon Batiste released his soulful album We Are last month. The multi-hyphenate musician has shared a handful of triumphant visuals alongside his LP and now, Batiste returns with a jubilant video to his funk-forward track “Freedom.”

The colorful visual is an ode to his New Orleans hometown, community, and Black joy. It opens with the singer exiting a vintage car on a busy neighborhood street. As he begins to dance, his happiness is infectious. Eventually, he’s followed by an entire parade of dancers and band players marching down some of New Orleans’ recognizable streets.

In a statement given to Apple Music about some of the themes he explores on We Are, Batiste said:

“I like to use the inspiration from the past and combine it with the things that are in the present to create the future. We’re finally at a point where we’re starting to untangle the way that my grandparents, and even my parents, experienced America. It feels like the culmination in the coming of age of what many generations have built, fought for, and poured into. As heavy as these themes are, the overall message of the album is love, joy, and community. That, and also the power of social revolution, in the sense of what we have to do in the culture to make room for everybody to be able to fully be who they are.”

Watch Batiste’s “Freedom” video above.

We Are is out now via Verve. Get it here.

Bia Brings Her TikTok Hit ‘Whole Lotta Money’ To A Boisterous ‘UPROXX Sessions’ Performance

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If you’ve been on TikTok at any point in the last two months, the odds are extremely high you’ve heard Bia’s “Whole Lotta Money” at least once — I’d ballpark it at around 96%. The ruthlessly catchy wealth anthem has been a staple of all kinds of content, but today, you get to see the face and the razor-sharp performance behind the jewelry jam on UPROXX Sessions.

Hailing from Medford, Massachusetts, Bia is one of a growing number of rising stars to get her start on a reality show. In her case, it was Oxygen network’s Sisterhood Of Hip Hop, where she spent two seasons after signing to RCA Records. However, when the deal stalled out, she secured her release in 2019 — and started her ascent to stardom in earnest. Her song “Best On Earth” with Russ was highlighted by a Rihanna co-sign and gave Bia her first platinum plaque. Over the course of the next year, a string of releases included “Same Hands” with Lil Durk, a new EP, For Certain, on Epic Records, and yes, the TikTok-favorite single with which she’s taken over viral launching pad TikTok. Keep an eye and an ear out; Bia is built for this and finally getting her due.

Watch Bia’s UPROXX Sessions performance of “Whole Lotta Money” above.

UPROXX Sessions is Uproxx’s performance show featuring the hottest up-and-coming acts you should keep an eye on. Featuring creative direction from LA promotion collective, Ham On Everything, and taking place on our “bathroom” set designed and painted by Julian Gross, UPROXX Sessions is a showcase of some of our favorite performers, who just might soon be yours, too.

T-Pain And Kehlani Deliver A Soaring Performance Of ‘I Like Dat’ On ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live’

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Kehlani’s run of duets over the past couple of years is bordering on legendary. She’s given the Bay Area a new wedding anthem with Rexx Life Raj, shared the tender “At My Worst” with Pink Sweats, and done heart-tugging joints with Russ and Bryson Tiller. She elevates practically everything she touches, and that includes her latest collaboration with T-Pain, the lush “I Like Dat.” The pair appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live! to perform their new hit, giving a swaggering rendition complete with cowboy hats and baggy chaps.

As enjoyable as the collaboration has been, it was nearly consigned to an extensive list of partnerships that never happened thanks to T-Pain’s unawareness of Instagram’s UI. The “Bartender” crooner posted a TikTok video toward the end of April, apologizing to all the celebrities and potential collaborators who reached out to him via Instagram’s DMs as he explained that he didn’t realize that verified accounts’ DMs also get filtered into the “requests” folder. Among those he’d overlooked were Diplo, Fergie, and more. But it turned out to be beneficial, as he later held a town hall with Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg about potential improvements for the feature. T-Pain also premiered “I Like Dat” during the stream, promising plenty more to come now that he’s realized people have been trying to get in touch with him.

Watch T-Pain and Kehlani perform “I Like Dat” on Jimmy Kimmel Live! above.

Quavo Went Onto ‘First Take’ And Continued His Beef With Kendrick Perkins

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ESPN

Migos are making the media rounds in anticipation of Culture III, which drops on Friday. One such cameo was Quavo heading onto First Take, which included a pretty fun wrinkle: an interaction between himself and Kendrick Perkins.

Perkins and Quavo have been butting heads ever since the latter dropped Quavo Huncho, which included the line “Get no playin’ time, Kendrick Perkins” on the track “Fuck 12.” Perkins, as you might guess, didn’t particularly enjoy this, and over the years, he’s made this point clear. The latest example of this came over the weekend, when Migos performed at the Floyd Mayweather vs. Logan Paul fight and Perkins tweeted the following…

A few days later, the two had a back-and-forth after Quavo used a picture of Perkins and a fist emoji to promote the new album.

This set up the two going back-and-forth on First Take, and while the show usually relies on debates over random sports things to get people on set riled up, it legitimately seemed like Quavo and Perkins were going at one another over this.

Anyway, if Migos decide to delay Culture III at the last minute, we can all assume it is because there’s going to be a line making fun of Perk on it. Unless, of course, that already exists.

New Orleans’ 2021 Voodoo Festival Has Been Canceled, But It’s Expected To Return In 2022

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As cities across the country remain hopeful for the return of large in-person events starting at the end of the summer, major music festivals have started rolling out their 2021 lineups. But one festival in particular has decided to not return this calendar year. New Orleans’ Voodoo Festival announced that they are canceling their 2021 event, but plan to make an official return in 2022.

Sharing the news on social media, Voodoo festival organizers wrote, “Voodoo Music + Arts Experience will take a pause in 2021 and will return to to City Park for an epic Halloween experience in 2022. As our city reopens with an abundance of events to reconnect with, we look forward to holding our reunion when we can fully embrace the voodoo experience.”

Voodoo Festival did not state their reason for deciding to cancel this year’s event. In a statement to local news site Nola, the mayor’s spokesperson Beau Tidwell said the decision was not made by the city. “There was no communication from the city to Voodoo Fest organizers that they could not proceed,” Tidwell said.

News of the cancellation arrives just days after New Orleans festival Buku unveiled their lineup, which is slated to take place the week before Halloween weekend. The lineup boasts some of the biggest names in music, like Megan Thee Stallion, Playboi Carti, and Machine Gun Kelly. Because festivals typically issue a radius clause, which bars an artist from performing elsewhere for a number of days both before and after their festival time slot, it’s possible that Voodoo had trouble finding musicians who were able to perform their event.

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

Illuminati Hotties Get Wet And Wild In The New ‘Pool Hopping’ Video

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Illuminati Hotties are ringing in Hot Vax Summer with a pop-punk cannonball. “Pool Hopping” is the first track from the just-announced forthcoming album Let Me Do One More, which arrives October 1.

Directed by Katie Neuhof, the bubblegum-bright video features singer/writer/producer Sarah Tudzin chirping about indecision from various doughnut inner tubes. The song emits so many summertime vibes, it’s easy to gloss over Tudzin’s most excellent couplet game, which had me at “Stealth makeout / Breakfast takeout.”

Tudzin said that this record is the culmination of three years of uncertainty in the music business, where she was embroiled in label disputes and unpaid royalties. Let Me Do One More sounds — so far — like a big sigh of relief from all that. As Tudzin said of “Pool Hopping”: “I’m so stoked to have grilled up a splashy new song & music video to soundtrack your wettest & wildest parties to date. This track is for when it’s hot, you’re crushing on someone new, and your adventure senses are tingling. Come on in, the water’s fine!!!”

Illuminati Hotties are on tour supporting Death Cab For Cutie’s west coast dates in September. The day after the album drops, on October 2, the Hotties will headline Zebulon in Los Angeles.

Watch the “Pool Hopping” video above and find the Let Me Do One More art and tracklist below. Also revisit our 2018 interview with Tudzin here.

Snake Shack Tracks

1. “Pool Hopping”
2. “MMMOOOAAAAAYAYA”
3. “Knead”
4. “Threatening Each Other re: Capitalism”
5. “u v v p” Feat. Buck Meek
6. “Protector”
7. “Joni: LA’s No 1 Health Goth”
8. “Kickflip”
9. “Toasting” Feat. Alex Menne
10. “The Sway”
11. “Cheap Shoes”
12. “Growth”

Let Me Do One More is out 10/1 via Snake Shack Tracks. Pre-order it here.

Death Cab For Cutie is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Quavo Recalls Migos’ Origins Before Tapping Out During His ‘Hot Ones’ Interview

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With Migos‘ new album Culture III dropping in less than 12 hours, the trio’s most visible members, Quavo and Offset, have been busy doing press all week to drum up buzz for the long-awaited, twice-delayed release. While Offset went the print route, giving some choice quotes to Billboard on Monday, Quavo decided to take on the Hot Ones challenge today… and paid the price, ultimately tapping out after the eighth week, topped with the infamous Da Bomb sauce (“It’s got a nuclear weapon?” has to be a top ten response to the sauce’s label).

Before he threw in the towel, though, he gave some pretty insightful answers to questions about how his collaborators set the vibe in the studio, a photo on Instagram featuring Quavo hanging out with Elon Musk, Kanye West, and Travis Scott, Quavo’s upcoming feature film debut alongside Robert DeNiro, and the early days of Migos before they were a trio. When host Sean Evans brings up the song “Boost It Up” and the group’s high school origins, Quavo details how Takeoff earned his name (by getting all of his verses recorded in one take), why fellow students teased them about their early music, and how Offset was eventually added to the crew to form the trio as we know it.

Watch Quavo’s Hot Ones interview above.

Culture III is out 6/11 on Quality Control, Capitol, and Motown Records.

HER Reveals The Release Date For ‘Back Of My Mind’ With An Insightful Trailer

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After being nominated for Golden Globes, winning Oscars and Grammys for her songs from soundtracks and protests, and working with some of the biggest names in music, HER is finally set to release her debut album, Back Of My Mind, on June 18. The singer revealed the release date with an insightful, black-and-white trailer she posted to social media. A voiceover reveals the creative process behind the album’s concept and title cards echo HER’s words as she explains herself.

“People always ask me, ‘What’s the message? Where does this come from? Is it personal experience?’” she says. “And it’s always the thoughts that sit in the back of my mind. It’s always things that I’ve been through, things that I go through, or what I feel, and all those thoughts that I’m afraid to say sometimes… Things that feel too honest or too vulnerable or too emotional or too aggressive… It’s all of those things that have been in the back of my mind for the past few years since my first project. It’s like a peek into my soul.”

It could be odd to think that the singer has so many projects out yet is only just releasing her debut album, but prior efforts H.E.R. and I Used to Know Her were both compilations of EP tracks she’d released as she slowly revealed her identity and shed the shadowy air of mystery she cultivated early in her career. Now, she’s performing alongside Chris Stapleton at the CMT Music Awards — a sure sign of her crossover appeal — and working with perennial pitchman DJ Khaled. Now, it seems she is finally ready to deliver the album that she’s spent a lifetime working toward.

Back Of Mind is due 6/18 via RCA.

Lil Uzi Vert Explains Why He’s ‘Not Gonna Act Gangster’ When He Meets Fans

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The well-known aphorism “never meet your heroes” often holds true, but one artist who’s always seemed to defeat that stereotype is Lil Uzi Vert. Throughout the years, the Philly native has become a fan favorite not just for his string of hits, but also for his entertaining interactions with his biggest supporters. Whether freestyling with fans in gas station parking lots or amusingly answering fans’ release date questions, Uzi’s joyful personality on record regularly carries over to his real-life personality. He explained why in a tweet:

“Im a happy person and I vibe with my fans,” he wrote. “If you see me I’m not gonna act gangster because that not what I am or who I am …. it’s okay 2 smile 😃🤓 I’m myself.”

He hasn’t had much opportunity for these kinds of interactions over the past year, but as live entertainment slowly awakens from its year-long pandemic slumber, it’s likely he’ll get many more chances at one of the many festivals at which he’s booked, which include Rolling Loud New York and Lyrical Lemonade’s Summer Smash in Chicago. Given he’s also teasing new music nearly constantly, telling fans in March that a new album is “coming soon,” a tour announcement can’t be too far off in the future.

In the meantime, you can hear Uzi’s guest verse on Pi’erre Bourne’s “Sossboy 2” and on Juice WRLD’s posthumous “Lucid Dreams” remix

Lil Uzi Vert is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.