Music

The Weeknd And Ariana Grande Perform ‘Save Your Tears’ For The First Time At The iHeartRadio Music Awards

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More than a year after he shared his celebrated album, After Hours, with the world, The Weeknd teamed up with Ariana Grande to deliver a new remix of “Save Your Tears.” The collaboration marked the third time the duo worked on a song together following 2014’s “Love Me Harder” and last year’s “Off The Table” each from Grande’s My Everything and Positions albums, respectively. The “Save Your Tears” remix arrived at the height of the singers’ stardom but they had yet to perform the song together in what fans hoped would be an epic moment. That changed on Thursday when The Weeknd and Grande brought their talents to the 2021 iHeartRadio Music Awards.

The Weeknd walked onto the award stage to begin his portion of the song. Clearing through his verse as blue and purple neon lighting shined above him, viewers were greeted by the surprise arrival of Ariana Grande who emerged from backstage to begin her own verse. The performance as a whole was solid and it showed the well-established chemistry the two singers held between each other.

The performance comes after The Weeknd took home a whopping ten awards at this year’s Billboard Music Awards. His wins came in categories that included Top Artist, Top Hot 100 Artist, Top R&B Artist, Top Hot 100 Song, and Top R&B Album. He also teased new music from a new era during the award show. As for Grande, she recently got married to her fiance Dalton Gomez in what was a small yet intimate ceremony.

You can watch the performance in the video above.

Nicki Minaj Throws Shade At People Who Post Private DMs Or Text Messages

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Nicki Minaj has reassumed her role as one of hip-hop’s most talked-about artists after she made her return to the music world with the re-release of her 2009 mixtape, Beam Me Up Scotty. The project, which also featured three new songs including “Seeing Green” with Lil Wayne and Drake, would go on to debut at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 which made it the highest-charting re-released mixtape by a rapper and the highest-debuting female rap mixtape in history. It isn’t only new music that has kept Minaj in headlines recently, she’s also been a bit more active on social media, which has resulted in her sometimes sharing a piece of her mind with fans.

The rapper threw some shade at those who post private conversations, writing, “Y’all don’t feel corny when you post a private dm or text someone sent you?” For what it’s worth, Minaj definitely has a point. Sharing these back-and-forth messages that were intended to be kept behind closed doors violates that sense of privacy and confidentiality that existed when the conversation occurred. This is of course with the understanding that nothing offensive or obscene was shared during the exchange.

This isn’t the first it of shade Minaj has thrown, though. Recently, while celebrating the success of Beam Me Up Scotty, she took a shot at those who use TikTok challenges, merch bundles, and similar tricks to boost their sales.

“Beam Me Up Scotty no singles ‘Seeing Green’ is over 5 mins with no hook,” she wrote on Instagram. “No videos (which is always the biggest push for females, myself included). No RADIO, very little play listing due to a surprise release (artists get over 100 playlists for big launches). No TikTok challenges (which has become EXTREMELY helpful to all artists) love the app, btw. No merch to tie into sales AND NO PRE-EXISTING singles out to ADD to my FIRST WEEK SALES.”

J. Cole, Kid Cudi, And Future Will Headline Rolling Loud’s Los Angeles Festival

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J. Cole // Philip Cosores

After music lovers from all over were deprived of live show experiences thanks to the coronavirus pandemic, the industry is back in full swing as many of the big-name festivals have announced the lineups for their respective showcases. The latest concert to debut their cast of performers to fans is Rolling Loud, as they announced the lineup for the Los Angeles iteration of their summer festival series. J. Cole, Kid Cudi, and Future have all signed on to headline the festival, and the trio has plenty of music to perform live in front of a large group of fans for the first time.

Cole and Cudi’s set will most likely feature a heavy selection of songs from their respective new albums, The Off-Season and Man On The Moon III: The Chosen. As for Future, the Atlanta rapper has not one, but two albums to showcase thanks to Pluto X Baby Pluto, his joint album with Lil Uzi Vert, and High Off Life.

As expected, the rest of the lineup for Rolling Loud’s Los Angeles festival includes some of the biggest names in music. Well-established names like Wiz Khalifa, Playboi Carti, Moneybagg Yo, Lil Durk, Polo G, Tyga, Drakeo The Ruler, Rod Wave, Lil Tjay, Jack Harlow, and Ski Mask The Slump God can be found among the cast. In addition to that, up-and-coming acts like Pooh Shiesty, Coi Leray, Blxst, Bino Rideaux, 42 Dugg, Morray, $NOT, and Latto will also perform.

This announcement comes after Rolling shared their lineup for their first festival of the year in Miami. There, Travis Scott, ASAP Rocky, and Post Malone will serve as headliners.

You can check out the full lineup in the post above.

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

Diddy Posted A J-Lo Throwback After Rumors Surfaced She’d Reunited With Ben Affleck

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Well, he didn’t change his middle name to “Love” for nothing. Sean Combs — aka Puff Daddy, P. Diddy, Diddy, and Brother Love — has proven himself once again to be a masterful social media troll, keying into the renewed rumors of his ex Jennifer Lopez’s reunion with Ben Affleck to incite a little Joker-esque chaos on an otherwise quiet Thursday.

After the news broke that J. Lo — who’s had a bit of fun with the celebrity gossip industrial complex on social media herself lately — had broken up with Alex Rodriguez, the peanut gallery got a huge chunk of fat to chew as the actress/singer was later seen out with former beau Ben Affleck. Not to be outdone or forgotten, though, Diddy made sure that followers would remember that before there was “Bennifer,” Diddy was the other half of a Lopez power couple — one that had its fair share of memorable moments.

Posting a photo of the two of them together with a #TBT (Throwback Thursday) hashtag, Diddy stirred up a veritable symphony of flabbergasted fan reactions wondering whether he was shooting his shot or just kicking up dust for the fun of it. For what it’s worth, for Puff to still be in the running after all these years, J. Lo would have to have forgiven him for getting her arrested after the infamous 1999 nightclub shooting that sent Shyne to prison for a decade and contributed to the couple’s breakup. Diddy’s a notorious optimist, and it has been twenty years, but if he really is calling his shot, his odds probably aren’t great after this stunt. Check out the responses below.

Flo Milli Fans Are Convinced She Was Snubbed By The BET Awards

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Flo Milli, the breakthrough Alabama artist who put the early half of the quarantine in a chokehold with her fan-favorite mixtape Ho, Why Is You Here?, is nowhere to be found on the list of nominees for the 2021 BET Awards — and now, fans want answers. While the Best Female Hip Hop artist nominees include shoo-ins Cardi B, Coi Leray, Doja Cat, Latto, Megan Thee Stallion, and Saweetie, Flo Milli’s name climbed into Twitter’s top trending topics as many wondered why she wasn’t nominated herself after dropping beloved singles like “Weak” and “Send The Addy” and featuring on Yung Baby Tate’s viral hit “I Am.” She was, however, nominated for Best New Artist.

Some fans complained that Flo Mili’s absence — as well as those of names like Chika, Tierra Whack, and Yung Baby Tate — constituted colorism on BET’s part. “If Flo Milli was yellow, then she’d be on the list,” asserted one fan. Another grouped Chika and Tierra Whack with Flo Milli, asking, “Wtf is going on???”

“Flo Milli didn’t rebrand the entire state of Alabama to get snubbed like this,” one fan said. However, another pointed out the lack of statistical support for claims of the Mobilian’s popularity. “Everyone in the quotes acting confused on why Flo Milli not nominated when y’all don’t even support her offline,” they wrote. “Her mixtape peaked at #78 and none of her singles charted. Y’all need to stop showing fake love because she is talented.”

And while much of the outcry focused on Coi Leray’s two 2021 singles blowing up, they seemed to overlook her 2020 EP Now or Never, which was supported by a number of well-received singles, and the three years of foundation building she’d done with appearances on the Spider-Verse soundtrack and breakout single “Huddy.”

Of course, invested fans can spot a snub for any given award show and this isn’t even the first time that BET has been called out in this particular field. In 2017, Dreezy called out the BET Awards for including multiple women who hadn’t even released projects in the prior year, so while there’s no pleasing everybody, there’s at least been a tremendous amount of progress made in the years since. And hey, there’s always next year.

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

PnB Rock Puts His Life On The Line For Love In His ‘Forever Never’ Video With Pink Sweats And Swae Lee

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On the heels of his emotional track “Need Somebody,” PnB Rock is back for his third preview of his upcoming LP To Be Honest. Tapping Pink Sweats and Swae Lee to lend verses on the song, PnB Rock shares the lovelorn tune “Forever Never” alongside an emotional video.

Directed by Lily Thrall, the visual depicts PnB Rock risking it all for love. He rides a motorcycle through the city in hopes of catching the eye of his crush. PnB Rock manages to get her attention, but not before severely injuring himself in a crash.

While the “Forever Never” video shows PnB Rock getting into a motorcycle wreck, the scene isn’t too far off from an accident the rapper was involved in earlier this year. PnB Rock had reportedly been participating in a Burbank, California street race in January when he swerved and totaled his car. The rapper was seated in a white BMW and topped 100 MPH during the race. He eventually lost control of the car and crashed into three parked vehicles. Thankfully, PnB Rock and his passenger sustained only minor injuries, but he was later arrested and charged with reckless driving and served a DUI.

Watch PnB Rock’s “Forever Never” video above.

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

Nicki Minaj Reacts To A Theoretical Mount Rushmore Of 2010s Rap That She’s Not On: ‘Wow’

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“The Mount Rushmore of [blank]” has become a common framework people like to use to establish who are the best or most important figures of a certain field. For example, The Rock once shared his list of people who would be on his personal Mount Rushmore of wrestling. Now there’s a Mount Rushmore of 2010s rap making the rounds, and Nicki Minaj (who was not included on it) has some thoughts… or rather, one concise but open-ended one.

This afternoon, the Twitter account for Spotify’s popular RapCaviar playlist shared a rendering of a 2010s rap Mount Rushmore, and the graphic features Drake, Kendrick Lamar, J. Cole, and one blank spot. The tweet asks, “Who takes the fourth spot on the Mount Rushmore of the 2010s?” Minaj saw that list and had a simple response, replying on Twitter, “Wow.”

Of course, “wow” could mean a lot of things. Perhaps Minaj is upset that she wasn’t one of the initial three rappers chosen. Aside from her own exclusion, maybe she doesn’t agree with RapCaviar’s picks. Or, maybe seeing Drake, Lamar, and Cole all together gave her perspective on how great hip-hop was in the 2010s and she was responding to that with awe. Whatever the case, the image certainly got a reaction out of Minaj.

It’s not hard to make a case for Minaj to appear on this Mount Rushmore. Her four studio albums (all released in the 2010s) have all been certified Platinum at least once, her first two topped the Billboard 200 chart, and her most recent two achieved chart peaks at No. 2. During the decade, between her own songs and featured appearances, she had 16 top-10 singles, including top-3 highlights like “Super Bass” and “Anaconda.” She also racked up ten Grammy nominations during the 2010s and has been dubbed by many as the “queen of rap.”

Tech N9ne Says Machine Gun Kelly Nearly Got Them Banned From Venues For Starting Food Fights

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Whether he’s dying his tongue black or carrying around a vial of his girlfriend Megan Fox’s blood, Machine Gun Kelly never seems to run out of antics. According to Tech N9ne, he’s always been that way. Machine Gun Kelly supported Tech N9ne on a record-breaking 2012 tour where his rowdy behavior nearly got them banned from venues.

Tech N9ne recently sat down for an interview with HipHopDX to talk about his experience working with Machine Gun Kelly. The two had embarked an an exhausting 104-day tour in 2012 where they played 99 shows, earning them a spot in the Guinness World Records book. Tech N9ne recalled his fellow musician breaking “every rule” like starting food fights and climbing up on stage equipment:

“MGK broke every rule. Wild boy, he’s a wild boy. We almost didn’t get to come back to venues because of MGK. […] I’m talking about food fights in the lunch room during the day, you know what I’m saying? Everything man, climbing up, breaking sh*t. That was the year I went to his 21st birthday, and then the next year I went to his 22nd birthday party. I think they were both in Vegas too, so I was with him early on.”

Elsewhere in the interview, Tech N9ne said his crazy tour schedule was purposefully planned to set a world record, but it was so exhausting that he’ll never it do it again. “I’m telling you, the last couple of days we were so delirious, we were forgetting the words,” he said. “My people who do the booking, they know we gotta have a break, especially how we do shows. We don’t just stand on stage grabbing our crotch. I’m sizzling, we really out there cardio life. All that 99 shows in 104 days, we did it, me and MGK, never again. We proved it, we can do it.”