Music

Cynthia Erivo’s Soulful New Single Remembers ‘The Good’ In A Dying Relationship

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English actress, singer, and songwriter Cynthia Erivo is getting set to release her debut studio album, Ch. 1 Vs. 1, later this summer, and to set the tone, she’s shared the soulful lead single, “The Good,” along with a heartwrenching music video. The video depicts the ups and downs of a relationship between two women as the potential EGOT winner sings about only wanting to remember the good in the aftermath of a relationship’s dissolution.

In a press release announcing the upcoming album, Erivo explained the title and concept behind the project. “In storytelling, chapter one and verse one is the way you always begin, and because I believe I’m a storyteller, that’s what I wanted to do with my music,” she said. “That’s what this is about, just starting [and revealing] the human parts of me that you don’t often get to see.”

As odd as it may seem to view the upcoming project as a debut, much less one telling a story about someone who’s been a star of stage and film for the last decade (again, she’s only an Oscar away from the EGOT, and to be honest, she’s only like one role away from that), as we’ve only gotten to know her through her roles (which have included Harriet Tubman and Aretha Franklin), there’s a lot to be said for an introductory album as she pursues a music career to rival her acting one.

Watch Cynthia Erivo’s “The Good” video above. Pre-save Ch. 1 Vs. 1, out 9/17 on Verve, here.

Netflix’s ‘Master Of None’ Presents ‘Moments In Love,’ A Concert Inspired By The Series

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Late last month, Netflix’s dramedy series Master Of None returned to the streaming service after a four-year hiatus with a renewed focus on Lena Waithe’s character Denise and her partner, Naomi Ackie’s Alicia. As the series now focuses on the ups and downs of a single relationship rather than Aziz Ansari’s character Dev’s quest romance, the third season bears the subtitle Moments In Love.

The subtitle also applies to a new “live music experience” released today to promote the show, which features up-and-coming Black and queer R&B artists telling their stories of love. Included in the performance are Asiahn, a Los Angeles singer-songwriter who has written for the likes of Dr. Dre and Drake, Avery Wilson, who gained notice as a contestant on The Voice, Durand Bernarr, who’s sung backing vocals for Erykah Badu and The Internet, and Tiffany Gouché, a longtime industry vet whose musical family includes D Smoke and SiR, her cousins.

“Moments In Love” also includes a conversation between Waithe and neo-soul pioneer Maxwell. Shot at Winston House, the performance highlights the same sort of complex, unconventional love depicted in the show, making it a perfect pairing — and a fitting introduction to some of the most unique and talented rising stars in music.

Watch “Moments In Love” in love above and catch season three Master Of None streaming now on Netflix.

Cardi B, Doja Cat, Saweetie, And More Are Kid-Approved In A Cute TikTok Video

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Reversing one of TikTok’s favorite challenges, a newly surfaced video proves the kids just might be alright. While the app has become known as a launching pad for some artists’ careers — artists like Bella Poarch, Foushee, and Lil Nas X — it’s also a place where the generation gap couldn’t be more evident as teens challenged their older relatives to identify stars of today like DaBaby, Lil Baby, and others. However, one parent flipped the trend, showing photos of stars to her toddler, and the wholesome video rapidly accumulated a huge number of views, jumping to other platforms as well.

Seeing photos of Beyonce, Cardi B, Chance The Rapper, DaBaby, Doja Cat, Nicki Minaj, Pop Smoke, and Saweetie, the child correctly identifies most of them, getting extra excited for Cardi B and Doja, although we’ll give points for effort for exclamations of “Baby!” and “Pop Soaps!” However, one of the more inexplicable answers is for Megan Thee Stallion, who for some reason, the baby identifies as “Grandma.”

@adotslayy

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♬ Monkeys Spinning Monkeys – Kevin MacLeod

As these acts all hover in the upper echelons of the Hot 100 whenever they drop new music, it’s no wonder they’re kid-approved — or maybe it’s the other way around. In any case, judging by this toddler’s reactions, Cardi and Doja look to have long careers ahead of them — and Megan Thee Stallion might want to check her mail for that AARP card.

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

Fousheé Has A Whimsical Thug Romance In Her Cheeky ‘My Slime’ Video

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Viral favorite singer Fousheé released her debut album Time Machine this week, along with the cheeky video for “My Slime.” The self-directed video finds Fousheé and the goon of her dreams robbing a bank, going on the run, and forced to split up when he finally gets caught. The incongruity between them — him with his gold grill and ski mask and her with her whimsical schoolgirl look — makes for a lot of comedy as she plays the lovestruck Harley Quinn to her beau’s blinged-out Joker. Even the bank tellers are smitten with their romance — although, Fousheé’s poor trigger discipline makes me want to gnaw off my own fingers.

“My Slime” isn’t the first time the singer — who really only wants to “Sing About Love” — has toyed with the dichotomy between the soft, cotton-candy vibes of her dreamy R&B and the aggressive, boastful projections of rugged rap aesthetics. In her video for “Gold Fronts,” the stripped-down, drumless backing track allows an off-kilter but engaging backdrop for Lil Wayne to flex his lyrics while Fousheé sings about wanting a pair of gold fronts — a historically atypical topic for the sort of soulful music she creates. By playing with expectations, she puts her own unique twist on all the songs on Time Machine, which is out now via RCA Records. Get it here.

Watch the video for “My Slime” above.

Lucky Daye Desperately Desires Freedom On His Empowering Track, ‘Running Blind’

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When looking at the past half-decade in R&B, there’s no doubt that Lucky Daye had one of the more eye-catching breakouts amongst the newcomers in the genre. The New Orleans singer certainly didn’t have the chart-topping song or album, but the well-crafted and music and undeniable talent were there. Daye dropped his debut album, Painted in the spring of 2019 and it would land him four Grammy nominations at the following year’s award show. The rest of the year would be quiet for the singer, but he would make a big return in 2021.

Daye kicked off the year with his Table For Two EP and while that would’ve been enough in a year’s work for some artists, it looks like the singer is far from done. The “Roll Some Mo” act returns with a brand new single, titled, “Running Blind.” The new track will appear on the upcoming Liberated / Music For The Movement Vol. 3 EP, an effort put together by The Undefeated and Hollywood Records with the goal of celebrating Black beauty, self-love, Afrofuturism, and Black empowerment through music. The EP is a five-track project that will also see appearances from Chloe Bailey, Yara Shahidi, saxophonist Kamasi Washington, and more.

The new song arrives on the backend of a string of collaborations from Daye. The entire Table For Two EP was built with duets alongside female singers like Ari Lennox, Yebba, Joyce Wrice, and more. He also worked with Leon Bridges on “All About You” and Buddy on “Faces.”

You can listen to “Running Blind” in the video above.

HER Shares ‘Change’ From Netflix’s Obama-Produced ‘We The People’

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Netflix’s animated series We The People drops in exactly one month, and today, one of the stars set to be highlighted in the series, HER, has shared her musical contribution to its soundtrack, “Change.” Opening with a mean bass riff, the song describes parts of the political process and advocates for education and participation, acclaiming the power of one person to make a difference. “One day, I’ll be a leader,” she sings. “Believe in ‘We the people.’”

The singer has been lauded in recent months for the string of socially conscious hits she’s released in the past year, which includes the Golden Globe-nominated “Fight For You” from the Judas And The Black Messiah soundtrack and the Grammy-winning “I Can’t Breathe,” released in response to the murder of George Floyd by police officer Derek Chauvin.

We The People, streaming July 4, is produced by Barack and Michelle Obama and Black-ish creator Kenya Barris and aims to inspire viewers to become more engaged with their community and government. A description from Netflix reads:

Combining music and animation to educate a new generation of young Americans about the power of the people, We the People is a series of 10 animated music videos that covers a range of basic U.S. civics lessons in not-so-basic ways. Set to original songs performed by artists such as H.E.R., Janelle Monáe, Brandi Carlile, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Adam Lambert, Cordae, Bebe Rexha, KYLE, Andra Day, and poet Amanda Gorman, with a groundbreaking mix of animated styles — each episode of We the People is an exuberant call to action for everyone to rethink civics as a living, breathing thing and to reframe their understanding of what government and citizenship mean in a modern world.

Listen to “Change” above. We The People starts streaming 7/4 on Netflix.

De La Soul’s Catalog Could Be Coming To Streaming Services After All

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Streaming has rapidly become the dominant way many people consume music over the course of the past half-decade but one of the most storied catalogs in all of hip-hop has been absent from DSPs as a result of a decades-long copyright battle. However, that may be changing soon as a result of the recent sale of Tommy Boy Music to music rights company Reservoir for $100 million, which prompted the question of what would happen to the music of De La Soul. Variety reports that Reservoir has already reached out to the iconic rap trio to “bring the catalog and the music back to the fans.”

The status of De La Soul’s catalog on DSPs has been uncertain since 2019, when Questlove led a call to boycott Tommy Boy’s proposed streaming plan over the unfavorable splits the band would have received. After Jay-Z and Tidal made the decision not to host the catalog, Tommy Boy’s streaming plan fell through, once again leaving the future of the catalog in limbo. To date, the only two De La albums available to stream are 2004’s The Grind Date, released under Sanctuary Records, and their crowdfunded 2016 album And The Anonymous Nobody. That leaves six albums, including their groundbreaking debut 3 Feet High And Rising, out of rotation.

For younger fans who might not know the impact the band has had on rap culture, this is kind of a travesty. However, as a testament to De La’s profound importance to the pop culture landscape — and a possible introduction to them for those younger fans — the band was recently featured in an episode of Teen Titans Go! on Cartoon Network, using their musical powers to defeat an animated monster octopus. Maybe one day soon, those Teen Titans fans will be able to check out “Me Myself & I” and “Stakes Is High” on Spotify.

Kim Kardashian Tearfully Discusses Her Kanye West Marriage: ‘I Feel Like A F*cking Failure’

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In a March teaser for the final season of Keeping Up With The Kardashians, there was a clip of Kim Kardashian crying and saying, “I feel like a f*cking loser.” There wasn’t much context for the tearful moment, but regardless, it led to speculation that Kardashian was talking about her dissolving marriage with Kanye West. (It should be noted that neither Kardashian nor West have publicly confirmed or discussed their reported divorce.) It turns out that speculation was correct, though, as last night’s episode shows more from that vulnerable moment.

In a video recapping the episode, Kim and her sisters have a dispute about some cookies, which leads to a talking head shot of Khloé, who attributes Kim’s frustration with the situation to her struggling relationship with West. She also notes that Kim and West had a big fight before before a trip to Lake Tahoe. Then, in a flashback shot, Kim tearfully says:

“I think he deserves someone that can go support his every move, and go follow him all over the place, and move to Wyoming. I can’t do that. He should have a wife that supports his every move and travels with him and does everything, and I can’t. I feel like a f*cking failure, that it’s like, a third f*cking marriage. Yeah, I feel like a f*cking loser. But I can’t even think about that. Like, I want to be happy.”

BuzzFeed News notes that in the full flashback clip from the episode, before the segment that’s featured in the teaser video, Kim says, “I honestly can’t do this anymore. I’m still in this place where I’ve been stuck for years. He goes and moves to a different state every year, and I have to be together so I can raise the kids. He’s an amazing dad, and he’s done an amazing job.”

Ahead of the flashback clip, Khloé asked Kim how things are with her and West and she responded, “There’s no fighting. Like, now, it’s like all calm. So I just… I just roll with it, you know?”

The series finale airs on June 10 and it looks like it may reveal more about Kim and West’s marriage: A TV Guide summary of the episode reads, “The family buries a time capsule to commemorate their years on Keeping Up. Kim updates the family on her future, Khloé must decide whether to move to Boston to be with Tristan, and Kourtney finally gives Scott some clarity about their romantic future.”

Watch the clip above.

Jasiah Details The ‘Art Of War’ With Rico Nasty And Denzel Curry On Their Raucous New Song

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At the beginning of 2021, all signs pointed to the new year being an exciting one for Ohio native Jasiah. The prospering act has grown thanks to pushing his limits in a number of genres and seemingly staying focused on remaining true to himself and refusing to conform at any extent. Jasiah’s latest song, “Art Of War,” finds him side by side with a pair of energetic and sharp-cutting rappers: Denzel Curry and Rico Nasty. The trio combines their high-octane energies for an absolute head-banging track, one that should be perfect for the mosh pits that are set to return at festivals later this year.

The track arrives after Jasian dropped War back in April. The 7-track effort came equipped with features from Rico Nasty, Nascar Aloe, and Pouya. However, it’s not only Jasiah that’s been busy lately. Curry reunited with Kenny Beats to drop Unlocked 1.5 earlier this year, a collaborative edition of their Unlocked project, which this time came with contributions from Arlo Parks, Benny The Butcher, Charlie Heat, Kenny Mason, Jay Versace, Sango, and more.

Rico Nasty, on the other hand, is preparing a project to release this summer, or so it seems. She recently shared an image of two prescription bottles with the caption “Rx . This summer 🎀🧚🏾.” Perhaps this means the DMV rapper will grace us with new tunes in the coming months.

You can rock out to the trio’s new song in the video above.

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

Lil Baby, Lil Durk, And Travis Scott Salute Anyone Keeping It Real On ‘Hats Off’

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For the past few months, hip-hop fans have been patiently waiting for the arrival of Lil Baby and Lil Durk’s joint project, Voice Of The Heroes. It’s an effort that the duo began teasing back in February and now, nearly four months later, the album is finally in the hands of listeners. Its 18 songs are currently being enjoyed by supporters all over the world, and from the looks of it, the duo’s collaboration with Travis Scott is getting the most votes for an early favorite from the album.

The motivational track sees Durk and Baby tipping their hats to those who kept it real and stayed loyal around them. Travis takes the anchor position and closes out the track with vague anecdotes about those in his past who never did him wrong. Lil Baby also offers a brief explanation for the album’s title on the track, rapping, “Durk the voice ’cause he know just what to say / I’m the hero, I come through, save the day.”

Along with Travis, listeners can expect appearances from Meek Mill, Young Thug, and Rod Wave on the Voice Of The Heroes. The project was initially set to arrive on May 28, but Durk and Baby opted to push it back a week out of respect for DMX as his posthumous album, Exodus arrived on that day.

You can listen to “Hats Off” here.

Voice Of The Heroes is out now via Quality Control Music/Wolfpack Global Music/Motown Records/Alamo Records. Get it here.

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