Eminem, who counts himself an avid collector of items like action figures, baseball cards, comic books, and $600 cassette copies of classic hip-hop albums, recently became the subject of a collection of valuable goods himself — with the caveat that those “goods” only exist digitally. Em released a collection of NFTs to take advantage of the swiftly expanding crypto bubble which included digital copies of the above-mentioned items last weekend, with the resulting sales raking in nearly $2 million. According to CryptoBriefing, the collection raised “just short of $1.8 million” on Nifty Gateway on Sunday.
Other stars, like The Weeknd have also released NFTs that have made over $1 million, but Eminem is arguably the biggest artist to enter the game to date. NFTs — or “non-fungible tokens” — are like a digital certificate of authenticity for a piece of art, keeping a sort of chain of custody within the code that is associated with the item, which may have a physical component. If that seems like a confusing explanation, Saturday Night Live actually repurposed an Eminem song to try to explain NFTs, with Pete Davidson and Jack Harlow employing the beat from “Without Me” to break down how the newfangled wealth laundering devices work. Eminem seemed bemused, but quickly announced his collection, which turned out to be a wise decision for the rap icon.
Anybody who thought the vinyl resurgence was just a fad was mistaken: The industry has experienced a legitimate revival. As a result, music fans are interested in physical media in ways they may not have if the decades-old medium hasn’t made a comeback. That doesn’t mean everybody is listening to just their parents’ old music, though. That’s part of it, sure, thanks to rereleases that present classic albums in new ways. A vital part of the renewed vinyl wave, though, is new projects being released as records, of which there are plenty.
Whatever you might be into, each April brings a new slew of vinyl releases that has something for everybody. Some stand out above the rest, naturally, so check out some of our favorite vinyl releases of April below.
Toro Y Moi — Underneath The Pine (10th Anniversary Reissue)
Carpark Records
Toro y Moi was a defining chillwave act in the early 2010s and 2011’s Underneath The Pine was a pivotal release of the era. The album celebrates its tenth anniversary this year and the occasion has been marked with the first-ever colored vinyl edition of the record. On top of that, some orders also come with a thematically appropriate pine tree seed matchbook.
Spiritualized and Fat Possum Records are embarking on The Spaceman Reissue Program, which will consist of definitive vinyl reissues of the first four Spiritualized albums and which began this month with Lazer Guided Melodies. The band’s Jason Pierce reflected on making the album, saying, “We recorded the tracks in the studio near my flat which was a place where they predominantly recorded advertising jingles and it’s where we made all the Spacemen 3 records, but then the recordings were taken to Battery Studios in London, to explore a more professional way of making music… Once I approached that way of doing things I opened up a whole world and I was astounded that somebody could take those tracks and turn it into the record it became…”
PJ Harvey — Uh Huh Her and Uh Huh Her — Demos (Reissues)
UMe/Island
It’s a good time to be a PJ Harvey fan, as she has spent the past few months busting out a seemingly endless series of vinyl rereleases. The latest is Uh Huh Her, which is accompanied by Uh Huh Her — Demos, a collection of unreleased tracks that is also available on CD and digital formats.
Young Thug — So Much Fun (Vinyl Me, Please Reissue)
Vinyl Me, Please
Young Thug is fresh off the release of a new project, and now there’s also an opportunity to look back with a fresh vinyl rerelease (pressed on gorgeous translucent green vinyl) via Vinyl Me, Please. Beyond Thugger, Vinyl Me, Please has a strong lineup of albums for May, which also features Darkside’s Psychic and Sturgill Simpson’s Metamodern Sounds In Country Music.
John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band — The Ultimate Collection
Capitol/UMe
It didn’t take long after The Beatles broke up for John Lennon to kick off his solo career, as both things happened in the same year. 1970 saw the release of John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band and now the album is being re-shared with a stunning and expansive new box set, which features, aside from new mixes, a whopping 87 previously unheard recordings on CD/DVD (and also available digitally). The vinyl version of this release comes as a 2LP edition that rounds up some of the most notable outtakes with a fresh mix of the classic album.
Uproxx’s Martin Rickman wrote of the expansive new box set from The Mars Volta, “It’s a fitting monument to a band that never purported itself to be boring or accessible. Just looking at a The Mars Volta album cover, or even just peering at a tracklisting or their song lengths, gives that away. One album is based on a cursed Ouija board that is now allegedly broken and buried. Bixler-Zavala often switches between languages, and creates his own words mid-song. Rodríguez-López presents a challenging production style to both listeners and his own musicians (who sometimes don’t know which project they’re recording their isolated tracks for). One song (in five parts) off Frances The Mute clocks in at over 32 minutes. ”
Shakey Graves (real name Alejandro Rose-Garcia) is a real DIY success story: His self-released debut album Roll The Bones picked up steam on Bandcamp, where it was exclusively released. Now the 2011 album has gotten a rerelease titled Roll The Bones X, and on top of the base album, there’s also a 15-track LP titled Odds + Ends, which features, well, odds and ends from the era.
Eve was a hip-hop pioneer of the late ’90s and early ’00s, and now her landmark sophomore album Scorpion is getting a shiny new rerelease, pressed on lovely red and black vinyl. Eve says of the reissue, “It’s crazy it’s been 20 years since Scorpion dropped! I remember the whole process of putting that album together, so many great moments and working with amazing artists and producers and of course winning a Grammy! And tracks that have lasted the test of time musically… Perfect time for a re-release.”
Scottish group Travis has some clout with American music fans (maybe you remember the music videos they made with Ben Stiller and Demetri Martin), but across the pond, they were a defining Britpop group of the ’90s and ’00s. They got off to a hot start with their 1997 debut album Good Feeling, and this vinyl reissue is an accurate re-creation of the original release, featuring the classic sleeve and a faithful replication of the original packaging.
This box set is a wonderful way to start a journey into Joni Mitchell vinyl, as it includes her first four albums: Song To A Seagull (originally released in 1968), Clouds (1969), Ladies Of The Canyon (1970), and Blue (1971). Even the cover art of this reissue is special, as it features a previously unseen self-portrait Mitchell painted around the time these albums came out.
Vinyl Me, Please have now offered an Essential Record Of The Month for 100 months, with prompted the vinyl subscription platform’s “VMP 100” series of reissues. They have a strong roster of releases coming as part of the series: Gorillaz’s Demon Days; Phoenix’s Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix; Outkast’s Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik; Queens Of The Stone Age’s Songs For The Deaf; Queen’s A Night At The Opera; Outkast’s Stankonia; Spiritualized’s Ladies And Gentlemen, We Are Floating In Space; Saba’s Care For Me; Al Green’s Call Me; and Miles Davis & John Coltrane’s The Final Tour: Paris, March 21, 1960.
Toronto rapper Smiley takes on the challenge of fitness training in the video for his new single “In My Zone.” Playing the role of a personal trainer, he teaches a class, giving a motivational speech at his whiteboard before hitting the stationary bikes for a sweat-centric back half of the video. The emphasis on exercise follows an early scene in which Smiley and his friends take over a 1950s style diner.
Smiley — also known as Smiley_61st — caught a huge break in 2018, despite being unsigned, when Drake posted lyrics from his song “Intro” on Instagram. In 2020, Smiley followed up with YYZ – LAX, a seven-song EP led by the singles “90210” and “YYZ-LAX.” “In My Zone” is Smiley’s first song of 2021, implying that he might be working on a full-length body of work to finally capitalize on the attention he received from Drake’s co-sign.
Fans who checked out Smiley’s music thanks to Drake’s Instagram video (which has since been deleted) discovered an artist who raps in a lethargic, slurred tone about life in the streets of Toronto. His hazy flow is paired with an enthusiastic charm — which pops out at the end of the “In My Zone” video via a handful of outtakes — that draws in listeners as much as his lyrics and unique flow.
Watch Smiley’s “In My Zone” video above.
Smiley is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
While 2019 was a quiet year for him, 21 Savage arrived in 2020 to make plenty of noise in the music world and deliver music his fans waited so long for, that being his Savage Mode II joint album with Metro Boomin. The sequel to their 2016 mixtape quickly became a year-end favorite among their supporters. It also help bring 21 Savage back into the spotlight, a trend that continues with his latest single, “Spiral.” The track arrives as a part of the upcoming Saw spinoff, Spiral: From The Book Of Saw, and was recently used for the film’s trailer which was released at the end of March.
After the trailer for the movie arrived, Variety reported that 21 Savage was enlisted to executive produce the soundtrack for Spiral: From The Book Of Saw. The film, which arrives on May 14, is produced by and stars Chris Rock who stands beside Samuel L. Jackson as a father-son duo who must face a Jigsaw copycat killer. The horror film is a perfect body of work for 21 Savage to provide music for. The Atlanta rapper has made a name for himself through spooky and menacing tracks that often err into the gruesome side of life and detail the nighttime dealing he experienced at various points in his life.
In recent months, it appears that many hip-hop artists have circled back around to a tried-and-true promotion tactic while live touring is still mostly shut down: Remixing other artist’s hits. We’ve seen several artists take on SpotemGottem’s viral hit “BeatBox” and Coi Leray’s “No More Parties.” Now, it looks like we can add Mooski’s “Track Star” to the list of coveted tracks for bigger stars to cover, as A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie puts his own spin on the TikTok favorite.
The Woodpecker-produced, dancehall-influenced beat remains unchanged, and A Boogie lets the now-familiar hook play out before coming in with his revamped verse, flexing his way through a melodic rap with a number of vocal effects applied throughout.
A Boogie’s had a relatively quiet year so far, although this weekend has seemingly cracked the seal on new music from the Bronx native. In addition to dropping his remix of “Track Star,” he also appears on DJ Khaled’s new album, Khaled Khaled, rhyming alongside Big Sean, Puff Daddy, and Rick Ross on “This Is My Year.”
Listen to A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie’s take on Mooski’s viral hit “Track Star” above.
A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
DJ Khaled released his new album Khaled Khaled today, but just yesterday, he changed the tracklist by adding a new Cardi B-featuring song, “Big Paper.” It turns out the song truly was a last-minute affair, as Cardi says she wrote and recorded her contributions to the track in just two days.
In a recent Instagram Live broadcast, Cardi said, “Literally, I didn’t [think] I was going to make the record, to be honest with you. I didn’t [think] I was going to make it. I got the beat before yesterday… and yes, I wrote the record. And I was just like brainstorming, brainstorming […]. One thing I’ve been really insecure about is my accent — I have a really big accent — and my pronunciation. So I was making sure that everything was mixed right. Literally, I think Khaled got the song today […] at 7 a.m. my time. […] I hope you guys like it. It’s just a little something-something to hold y’all up until I release my next project.”
Cardi stated on live that she WROTE & recorded “BIG PAPER” in less than 2 days for Dj Khaled’s album!
Following the broadcast, Cardi had doubters who didn’t believe that she actually made the song as quickly as she says she did. Cardi responded by sharing a video from Khaled (which she has since deleted), which he filmed on Wednesday and in which he says he’s still waiting for Cardi’s vocals.
Khaled Khaled is out now via Epic Records. Get it here.
Cardi B is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
Coi Leray may have blown up this year with the TikTok favorite “No More Parties,” but the 23-year-old New Jersey rapper is no greenhorn. While her appearance on The Tonight Show to perform the breakout hit on Thursday constituted her television debut, the performance itself was more polished and professional than many, with an off-camera band performing a dazzling arrangement, engaging staging that played into the theme, and the sort of swaggering confidence that comes with putting in the work to be a star.
The charisma exuded by the second-generation rap star (her dad is Benzino, the Boston rapper who famously battled with Eminem in the early 2000s) is what prompted her inclusion in Uproxx’s “Rappers To Watch Out For In 2021,” bolstered by her slick performances on mixtapes Everythingcoz and EC2.
I first caught on the wave with her 2018 video for “Huddy,” a hard-hitting thumper that showcased Coi’s quirky personality and a real gift for penning blunt witticisms. While “No More Parties” is something of a departure from the more straightforward bars and rhymes on “Huddy,” the seeming disparity between the singles actually highlights her versatility as an artist. That’s why she’s suddenly in such high demand, with features on Yung Bleu’s “Thieves In Atlanta,” DDG’s “Impatient,” and TruCarr’s “Beat It Up,” as well as a cameo in Mooski’s “Track Star” video — her star power is shining through the TikTok trending, revealing an artist who is destined to be more than just a one-hit wonder.
Watch Coi Leray’s television debut with “No More Parties” on The Tonight Show above.
Cardi spends a lot of time on Twitter addressing her haters and she does more of that on this song’s hook, rapping, “I get big paper, so I deal with big haters.” She goes on to address how her detractors constantly discussing her is actually good for business: “Cardi this, Cardi that, make me more famous.”
Meanwhile, at the end of her first verse, Cardi gets braggadocios and lets people know that she’s prosperous even outside of music, rapping, “Platinum plaques hang on every wall in my palace / Clips still push, to anybody speakin’ malice / Fashion icon, couple million for my stylist / Five number ones, you got five number nones / Sleepin’ on Cardi, all that nappin’ sh*t done / Off with your hat, all that cappin’ sh*t done / And I got Hollywood waitin’ when this rappin’ sh*t done.”
Cardi became a trending topic on Twitter after the album dropped, so she offered up thanks for her fans, tweeting, “Thank you guys on the support for BIG PAPER .Make sure ya check out @djkhaled album.I just finish listening and I love all the good vibes on the album .Different type of songs with different type of moods.”
Thank you guys on the support for BIG PAPER .Make sure ya check out @djkhaled album.I just finish listening and I love all the good vibes on the album .Different type of songs with different type of moods.
Lil Baby has a whole lot on his plate at the moment. The Atlanta rap star is currently working on his The Voice And The Hero joint album with Lil Durk and his Lamborghini Boys tape which only features rappers that own the luxury vehicle, but when it comes to Lil Baby, the constant activity is something to expect from him.
In the midst of both projects, he teams up with Joyner Lucas for ‘Ramen & OJ.” The track is a tunnel vision effort that sees both rappers looking back on the difficult days of their lives, times that were financially dry and forced them to enjoy a meal of ramen noodles and orange juice more times than they would’ve liked.
Lucas and Baby also deliver a video for the collaboration which sees them going back and forth between their past actions and struggles and their current success and how the former can oftentimes catch up to the latter. The track is lil Baby’s third this week as he recently shared a remix of “On Me” with Megan Thee Stallion ,with a video that saw the southern rappers lead an icy kingdom. Shortly after that he teamed with YSL acts Young Thug, Gunna, and YTB Trench in the “Paid The Fine” video, an effort that captured the aftermath of the rappers’ good deed of freeing 30 inmates from Georgia’s Fulton County jail.
Press play on “Ramen & OJ” in the video above.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
After a lengthy list of delays that pushed the album back nearly 12 months, Miley Cyrus finally released her seventh album, Plastic Hearts to conclude 2020. Its release brought forth a number of performances from the singer, but any signs of new music that fans may have hoped for did not arrive until now. Cyrus joined The Kid Laroi for a remix of the 17-year-old’s track, “Without You.” The song lives on Laroi’s 2020 album Savage Love and details the aftermath of a broken love and how the pain of separation cuts so deeper than they might have expected. Miley’s addition also provides a back-and-forth conversation to help Laroi bring the songs’ theme to life.
For listeners who enjoy the song, it also comes with a video that finds the duo consoling each other through their respective heartbreaks. In addition to that, they’ll be able to watch the duo perform it on an upcoming episode of Saturday Night Live. Cyrus was revealed as the musical guest for the show and shortly after she revealed her set would also feature the young Australian singer. “Live from New York with little bro,” she wrote in a post to Twitter that featured an image of the duo.
The song arrives after she covered Queen, Stevie Nicks, and Blondie during her NCAA Men’s Final Four set. She also celebrated the 15th anniversary of Hannah Montana with a lengthy letter to fans and flowers which she sent to Migos for their 2013 track of the same title.
(@BardiGangUpdate)