Music

Cupcakke Claims Her ‘Deepthroat’ Track Influenced Today’s Female Rappers And Some Fans Strongly Disagree

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Cupcakke is not someone who’s unfamiliar with a viral moment or two. If fact, the rapper caught the attention of the music world when she released her remix of 50 Cent’s “How To Rob” at the end of last year. The updated take detailed the varying ways she would rob a number of popular rappers. Fast-forward a few months and Cupcakke once again ruffled some feathers on social media, but it wasn’t so much in her favor.

She took to Twitter to share her opinions on one of her most popular songs. “‘Deepthroat’ paved the way for you hoes to talk how y’all talk,” she said about the 2015 song from her Cum Cake project. “Y’all hoes use to be scared to even say y’all sucked dick before Deepthroat came out . To this day it’s the blue print & is god creation to mankind’ now.”

She added, “Stop tryna play me like I ain’t open doors for the girls.” In a second now-deleted tweet Cupcakke added, “& yes lil Kim talked about sex … but she Never done it to the level I took it to , she talked bout sex & was reserved with it . I Violated this sh*t to a whole other degreee and that came out LIL KIM Mouth . She said it with her own tongue I’m the nastiest with this sh*t .”

The claim did not land too well with some fans as many of them reminded her of the female rappers that arrived before her including Nicki Minaj, Lil Kim, and Trina. One Twitter user wrote, “Trina wasn’t rapping about f*cking 5 or 6 best friends, taking *ck in the ass, choking on d*ck and licking p*ssy to be disrespected by Cupcakke.”

You can read Cupcakke’s initial comments above and more responses from fans below.

DMX’s Death Had Gamers Reminiscing About His Legendary Role In ‘Def Jam Vendetta’

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The death of rapper DMX at age 50 on Friday was a sad day for music fans who loved his work. As musicians and fans mourned his loss and the legacy he leaves behind, many fans pointed to one of the more unique parts of his work outside of the recording studio. Namely, his legendary role in 2003 video game Def Jam Vendetta.

The game, an EA Sports BIG classic, was gratuitous and absurd — a wrestling/fighting game hybrid that used street fighting as a vehicle for Def Jam artists to get their own video game. But the voiceovers from the actual artists, and the very violent gameplay, made it a fan favorite among fighting game enthusiasts. It even spawned a sequel the next year: Def Jam: Fight For NY.

His special move — an absurd combination of flips, kicks and using his feet to snap an opponent’s neck — was a favorite among players. Which is why many shared clips of the fighting game along with well wishes and sad nostalgia for his work on social media.

In the wake of his death, many shared the video of him actually breaking down the move in real life, too.

There was also mention of his post-victory catch phrase, which is hilariously fitting as well.

Others simply got nostalgic about their childhoods, many of which both included DMX’s music and his presence in a PlayStation 2 and Gamecube classic.

J Balvin And Khalid Walk Though An Eerie Smoke-Filled Forest In Their ‘Otra Noche Sin Ti’ Visual

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J Balvin will hopefully grace the world with his sixth album at some point this year. The Latin star has seemingly been in high gear with its rollout the past few months and it continues with his latest release. Balvin teamed up with Khalid for their new single, “Otra Noche Sin Ti,” which arrives with a chilling new video.

The song itself finds both artists reflecting on the women from their past that unfortunately walked out of their lives. With smoke flowing around their ankles and the eerie atmosphere of a dimly-lit forest surrounding them, the pains of the duo’s losses are highlighted to a high extent.

The track is presumably the third single from Balvin’s upcoming album. He began its rollout with “Ma G” and continued it with “Tu Veneno.” The former was supported by a video that followed his return home to a barrio in Medellin while the latter came attached with a focused visual that saw the singer standing tall beside a group of supporters. In addition to the two singles, he also appeared on Pokemon 25: The Album and contributed to a multilingual remix of Ty Dolla Sign’s “Spicy” with Post Malone, Tyga, and YG.

As for Khalid, fans have also been waiting for his third album, one he gave an update on last year. “I’ll say early next year to be realistic lol,” Khalid said in response to a fan’s question on Twitter. With the first quarter of 2021 already in the books, Khalid’s next body of work should also be on the horizon.

Watch the video for “Otra Noche Sin Ti” above.

Ty Dolla Sign is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Wizkid And Tems Value The ‘Essence’ Of Intimacy In Their Vibrant New Video

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Last fall, Wizkid released his fourth album, Made In Lagos and it quickly grew to be a favorite out of the projects released during the 2020 portion of the pandemic. Unfortunately, the global circumstances may have prevented its enjoyment to the fullest, as a good listen in the summer sun would’ve made the experience even better. However, with the summer just around the corner again, Made In Lagos could finally receive that moment and the Nigerian afro-fusion star reminds fans of the album’s beauty with a vibrant visual for “Essence.”

Backed by an excellent contribution from Nigerian singer Tems, the two head over to the motherland for the new video. The singers flaunt the brightest of colors as they sing about the intimacy and close connection they seek between themselves and their partners. Wizkid rides around the neighborhood with a pair of women beside, both who seem infatuated with the singer, while Tems takes to the comfort of her home to sing her captivating verse.

The visual arrives after Wizkid earned his first-every Grammy Award as a result of he is contribution to Beyonce’s “Brown Skin Girl” track, an effort that also gave Saint John and Blue Ivy their first Grammy wins. The “Essence” video is also the fourth from the Made In Lagos, with “Smile,” “No Stress,” and “Ginger” being the other videos to receive the visual treatment.

Watch the “Essence” in the video above.

Erica Banks Reveals Some ‘Behind The Video’ Details About ‘Buss It’ In Uproxx’s Newest Show

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In the first episode of Uproxx’s newest show, Behind The Video, breakout Dallas star Erica Banks breaks down the making of the video for her viral hit, “Buss It.” Right off the bat, she debunks the belief that shooting a music video is a simple, straightforward process, then, she gets into some of the details, including the fact that she styled herself for the shoot, and even responds to a famous admirer’s YouTube comment while watching the video.

She also says that there was another “Buss It” video, but she refuses to let anyone else see it. When asked about the shorts she wears in the video, she reveals that the shorts are coming soon to her official merch site and asks fans to stay tuned.

During Banks’ visit to Uproxx Studios, she also delivered an electric live performance of “Buss It” for UPROXX Sessions. She also recently revealed that before signing to Warner Records, she was offered a deal with DaBaby’s label Billion Dollar Baby Entertainment, but turned it down to consider her options.

Watch Erica Banks break down her “Buss It” video above.

Erica Banks is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

DMX Showed The World The Soul Of A Man Through His Vulnerable, Triumphant Music

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Earl Simmons, the man known to the world as Dark Man X, has passed away at the age of 50. DMX, who was best known for hits like “Party Up” and “X Gon’ Give It To Ya” and film roles in Belly and Romeo Must Die, died after an apparent relapse, overdose, and heart attack on April 2 that sent him to the hospital and prompted a wave of supportive posts on social media. After a battery of tests to determine his brain function, his family made the decision to remove him from life support.

It may sound like a cliche, but it’s true; DMX shocked the world when he first arrived on the scene in 1995, appearing with Ja Rule, Jay-Z, and Mic Geronimo on the posse cut “Time To Build” and then utterly destroying his standout verse on LL Cool J’s “4, 3, 2, 1” with Canibus, Method Man, and Redman in 1997. By the time he released his debut major-label album, It’s Dark And Hell Is Hot, anticipation was just as high as the temperature in The Bad Place, leading to a No. 1 debut on the Billboard 200. When he followed up later that year with Flesh of My Flesh, Blood of My Blood, he became the first rapper to debut at No. 1 back-to-back in the same year.

From there, he had a string of successive hit albums and singles, including … And Then There Was X, The Great Depression, and Grand Champ. Songs like “Party Up,” “What These B*tches Want,” “Who We Be,” “Where Tha Hood At,” and “X Gon’ Give It to Ya” became pop culture fixtures and have remained popular to this day, with many forming the foundation of memes and samples used in hip-hop by top rappers like ASAP Rocky and Drake.

Unfortunately, a lifelong addiction to cocaine, which started at just 14 years old after he was given a laced blunt by an acquaintance, derailed his career multiple times. Legal issues led to multiple stints in prison, including a 2017 conviction for tax fraud prompting his most recent one. After his release in 2019, he seemed to be on the road to a comeback after completing rehab, plotting out a new album featuring Griselda Records and Pop Smoke, and appearing on Verzuz alongside Snoop Dogg.

X was open about his struggles, often making them the center of dark, sometimes menacing, sometimes vulnerable rhymes on his projects. However, no matter how sinister the subject matter, he always came back to his faith; his penchant for adding prayers to his albums and live shows is well-noted. Meanwhile, his vocal pyrotechnics, ranging from a threatening growl to the explosive barks he used as ad-libs (and reportedly trained one of his actual dogs to add to his live freestyles), were made all the more impressive by his lifelong struggle with asthma — which never stopped him from performing without a hype man, pacing the stage like a caged tiger.

He often stole the show; on posse cuts like Mase’s “24 Hours To Live,” he regularly out-rapped, outboasted, or out-performed his collaborators. For a time, he had a reasonable claim to the coveted “King of New York” title in the wake of Biggie’s death, alongside Ja Rule and Jay-Z, with whom he had an alternately friendly and contentious relationship. Although they came into the game at the same time and even plotted on a group project titled “Murder Inc.,” divisions between led to the dissolution of this idea, while fans pitted them against one another in top rapper debates.

Just check out the freestyle snippet from the Def Jam tour documentary, Backstage, where you can see DMX and Jay-Z trading bars during what was likely one of mania impromptu ciphers during their 1999 Hard Knock Life Tour. Jay-Z is cool, collected, and measured as always, but DMX is downright magnetic, speeding and slowing his cadence, one moment just as disaffected as his friend/rival, the next, agitated, belligerent, showing his teeth — just like one of his beloved pets might when a stranger gets a little too close.

X contained all of these emotions and more; his music was an expression of all things hip-hop, from the streetwise braggadocio typical of the biggest hits to the exposed, bloody trauma that he was never quite able to escape from. By putting it all into his music, he expanded the bounds of what rap could be capable of; he was fallible on “Slippin’,” fiery on “Who We Be,” triumphant on “Where The Hood At,” cautioning on “Stop Being Greedy,” and even played the lothario on “What These B*tches Want.” He could be a comedian, a horror film director, an action star, a drug kingpin, a stick-up kid, and a wounded child in need of comfort.

His albums created space and precedent for future rappers like Kanye West and Kid Cudi to address their own struggles with anxiety and depression. And even though X once professed to hate everything Drake stood for, he later softened his stance, understanding that Drake’s outlook was an extension of his own, with different traumas and worries, but the same vulnerability. Kendrick Lamar credits DMX as his favorite rapper for that quality, and he’s likely not the only one who does, as we’ll likely find out in the coming weeks.

DMX’s story could be tragic, but he never let the tragedies of his life solely define him. After all, this was a man who took the internet’s fascination with his gravelly rendition of “Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer” and ran with it, releasing a studio version that showed his lighthearted side. He was someone who knew just how hot hell could be, but at the height of his success, got close enough to glimpse heaven. The rap world won’t be the same without him, but it already changed so much because of him. He showed us the soul of a man and hopefully, that soul is finally at peace.

LeBron James, Bradley Beal And Many More NBA Players Paid Tribute To DMX After His Passing

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The music world suffered a gigantic loss on Friday morning. After spending several days in the hospital in critical condition, Earl Simmons, known to millions as DMX, died at age 50. DMX suffered a heart attack as a result of an apparent drug overdose on April 2, and a few days later, his manager said that he was in a comatose state and on life support, with his team of doctors performing a series of tests in an attempt to determine what would be best.

As is oftentimes the case when someone as revered as DMX passes away, the news led to plenty of people on social media — including many from the world of music — issuing up prayers and tributes. This also included a number of NBA players, including LeBron James and Bradley Beal, some of whom made it a point to look back on his life and legacy.

Eric Paschall of the Golden State Warriors posted a famous video of DMX at Woodstock ’99, where he performed “Ruff Ryders Anthem” in front of a packed, energetic crowd.

Charlotte Hornets youngster Miles Bridges made it a point to say that “this one hurt” and proclaimed that DMX is one of his favorite rappers.

Doja Cat ‘Cried Like A Baby’ After Her 2021 Grammys Performance

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Doja Cat provided one of the highlights of this year’s Grammys ceremony with her futuristic performance of “Say So.” It turns out that was a special moment for her, since she “cried like a baby” (in a good way) after she left the stage.

She spoke about it with Apple Music’s Zane Lowe, describing the post-performance scene:

“So I performed, it was the first time that I’d ever performed and then cried like a baby after. And I don’t do that, I don’t cry. I just get off stage and I’m like, ‘Yeah, we did it, yeah.’ But for this, literally the director for the whole thing, he came up to me and I was walking off stage and he was like, ‘Thank you so much. You were amazing.’ And I’m like, ‘[sobbing] Thank you.’ And we were rushing out and I couldn’t talk to him. And I was just dying. […] [It was] ugly, ugly. Everybody was holding each other’s shoulders and looking at each other. It was really, really corny, but it was the sweetest, greatest, most intimate moment I’ve ever had.”

She also talked about preparing for the performance, saying:

“I feel like when you think of a Grammy performance, it’s like, three months of rehearsal and like it’s a huge deal, blah, blah, blah. And it is, but we had two weeks to put this together. So we had the two weeks of rehearsal for choreography, but I think that the concept was definitely something that we had for two months, three months. So visually, all that was kind of locked in by the time we started dancing. So I rehearsed for two weeks and then it was really, really difficult at first. Look: we tried different prototypes. I did the boots at the end, but we were trying to do heels. Heels were like… it was scary, but I really wanted to try. It looked so good, it had such a good silhouette.”

Watch Doja speak about her Grammys performance (and her new song with SZA) above.

The Music World Reacts To DMX’s Death

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For the past few days, there have been reports about the status of DMX’s health, and none of them were promising. Now, sadly, the tragic day that fans were hoping to avoid has arrived: It was announced today that the legendary rapper has died at 50 years old. The news was confirmed in a statement from DMX’s family, which noted that he died while surrounded by loved ones in the hospital.

People in the music world had been sharing some tributes to DMX recently as news about his health was revealed, and now that his death is official, more tributes to the rapper are pouring in.

Biz Markie wrote, “RIP DMX. No one radiated more agony, pain, and atomic energy. The Cerberus from Yonkers, who suffered for all of our sins and his own. Maybe the rawest rapper of all-time, no pretense or frills, just pure adrenaline, lawless genius, and reckless abandon. The struggle incarnate.”

Missy Elliott also wrote, “Even though you had battles you TOUCHED so many through your MUSIC and when you would PRAY so many people FELT THAT! This is heavy for the HipHop family but your LEGACY LIVES ON & your SPIRIT. Continued Prayers for X family & friends for STRENGTH/HEALING.”

Check out some more reactions below.