Music

The Mac Miller Fund Announces Plans To Award $1,000 Grants For Pennsylvanian Artists Of Color

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The Pittsburgh Foundation’s Mac Miller Fund is planning to help out a sizeable group of artists thanks to a special round of grants. The fund, which was established in 2018 by the family of the late rapper, will award 75 artists who are Black, Indigenous, or people of color with $1,000 grants. Applications are open now through July 23 through the foundation’s website and are available to Pennsylvanian artists who live in the Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Butler, Fayette, Greene, Indiana, Mercer, Lawrence, Somerset, Venango, Washington, and Westmoreland counties. The grants will also be practice-based, allowing the recipients to use the awards on whatever they chose.

“The BIPOC Artist Micro-Grant program is a way for the foundation to carry forward Mac Miller’s creative and artistic legacy and his family’s vision for helping artists, particularly younger artists, recognize their full potential,” Kelly Uranker, vice president of the Pittsburgh Foundation’s Center for Philanthropy, said in a statement.

The announcement comes more than two years after the Mac Miller Fund awarded its first two recipients with $50,000 grants. The winners were from the Hope Academy of Music And The Arts, an after-school arts education outreach program at East Liberty Presbyterian Church, and MusiCares, a California-based charity of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences.

You can read more about the grants on the Pittsburgh Foundation’s website here.

Mac Miller is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Lil Yachty Breaks From His Confident Raps For ‘Love Music’ On His Pensive New Single

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Lil Yachty tightened up his raps and artistry to kick off 2020 and it earned him an impressive run that’s continued through today. From the release of his Lil Boat 3 project and its deluxe reissue to the arrival of his Michigan Boy Boat mixtape, the Atlantan rapper has been firing on all cylinders as of late. Yachty continues his streak of releases, but not without switching things up a bit. For his latest single, “Love Music,” the rapper ditches the hard-hitting raps and confident bars for a pensive effort that finds him focused on love and looking within for the feelings that reside in his heart.

The rapper’s new single comes after he dropped the Michigan Boy Boa mixtape back in April. The project was created to spotlight rappers from Michigan’s Detroit and Flint areas which include Sada Baby, Tee Grizzley, YN Jay, Babyface Ray, Louie Ray, and Icewear Vezzo who all appeared throughout the project’s 14 songs. He later teamed up with Icewear Vezzo and Rio Da Yung OG in a greyscale video for “Plastic.”

Elsewhere, Yachty is set to appear in the second season of Lil Dicky’s FX show, Dave, which kicked off earlier this month. He and Bhad Bhabie also invested in the new dating app, Lox Club, that was created for Jewish people with “ridiculously high standards.”

You can listen to “Love Music” in the video above.

Sada Baby is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Madonna Reacts To Lil Nas X’s Onstage Kiss At The BET Awards: ‘Did It First’

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There were a number of big performances at this year’s BET Awards, some of which proved to be among the biggest moments from the show. One of them included Lil Nas X’s steamy performance of “Montero (Call Me By Your Name),” in which the singer concluded his set by kissing one of his male backup dancers in a moment that became far more controversial than it should have.

Screenshot From Madonna

The kiss received a number of reactions, the latest coming from Madonna, who took to her Instagram Story to briefly share her thoughts. She posted an image of Lil Nas’ onstage kiss above another picture of her own famous kiss with Christina Aguilera at the 2003 MTV VMAs. She captioned it: “#diditfirst.” It’s fairly obvious that Lil Nas was influenced by that 2003 moment, so hopefully Madonna’s intent behind the post was not slight on the singer.

Madonna’s post comes after Lil Nas shared his own reaction to those who were not too happy with Sunday night’s kiss. “Since y’all still doing all this over a kiss imma just f*ck the n**** on stage next time,” he tweeted on Tuesday.

You can view a screenshot of Madonna’s post to her Instagram Story above.

The Weeknd Will Star In The Upcoming HBO Series, ‘The Idol,’ Co-Created By The Mind Behind ‘Euphoria’

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After an impressive year run that concluded with his sixth album, After Hours, The Weeknd will now bring his talents to the small screen. According to Variety, the singer will star in the upcoming HBO series The Idol, which is about a female pop singer who falls in love with an L.A. club owner who also leads a secret cult. The singer will also co-write and a co-executive produce the series alongside Reza Fahim and Sam Levinson, with all the three being labeled as co-creators.

Joseph Epstein will also write and executive produce on the show in addition to acting as showrunner. Levinson is also responsible for HBO’s hit series Euphoria, which landed a number of Emmy nominations, one of which was given to Zendaya for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series.

This is far from the first time that The Weeknd has found himself on television . In 2020, he appeared as himself in an American Dad episode, titled “A Starboy is Born,” that we also co-wrote. He also played himself on the big screen, in the 2019 film, Uncut Gems.

On the music side of things, The Weeknd recently joined Doja Cat in a video for their first-ever collaboration “You Right.”

Pooh Shiesty’s Instagram Helped Federal Agents Indict Him On Robbery And Gun Charges

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The legal troubles are mounting for Pooh Shiesty. The Memphis native, who was previously arrested for aggravated battery after a shooting at a Miami club, received another indictment for a separate incident that also occurred in the same town. On Tuesday, Shiesty was hit with charges in connection to an armed robbery, according to the Miami Herald. In October 2020, he and two friends, Bobby Brown and Jayden Darosa, were set to purchase marijuana and high-end sneakers in Bay Harbor Islands, Florida. Things went left and Shiesty and Brown allegedly shot two men in the butt and hip.

During the investigation, federal agents were able to connect the rapper to the crime thanks to a photo he posted on Instagram. A Louis Vuitton bag filled with $40,912 dollars that fell out of a Lamborghini McLaren that Shiesty was driving was discovered by investigators. They were able to confirm it was the rapper’s after the agents matched the serial number on the bills to the same wad of cash that Shiesty flaunted in the photo.

In addition to that, after a search of Darosa’s Instagram, investigators found him brandishing the same Draco that was used in the robbery. In the end, Shiesty was charged with discharging a firearm during a violent crime, conspiracy, and robbery under a law regulating commerce.

The new indictment comes after a judge denied his bond for the Miami club shooting despite the alleged victim’s decision to recant their prior statement.

Pooh Shiesty is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Ariana Grande Will Give Away $1 Million Worth Of Therapy To Fans In Partnership With Better Help

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A number of artists have advocated for mental health awareness. Ariana Grande is among them. Back in May in an Instagram post about Mental Health Awareness Month, the singer shared her goal of “ending the stigma around mental health and normalizing asking for help.” Now she’s taking the steps to help with a brand new partnership.

Grande is teaming up with the mental health organization, Better Help, to give away $1 million in therapy. The partnership will pair people seeking therapy with a licensed therapist. Those who sign up will receive one month of free therapy with the option to renew it with a discount of 15 percent for the second month.

“Thrilled to be working with @betterhelp to give away $1,000,000 of free therapy,” Grande wrote in an Instagram post. “While acknowledging that therapy should not be for a privileged few but something everyone has access to, and acknowledging that this doesn’t fix that issue in the long run, i really wanted to do this anyway in hopes of inspiring you to dip a toe in, to feel okay asking for help, and to hopefully rid your minds of any sort of self judgement in doing so!”

She added that her hope is that the offer becomes a “helpful starting point” that allows people to “build space for this in your lives and continue.”

Lil Baby And Lil Durk Hit The Club In Their Debauched ‘Man Of My Word’ Video

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Lil Baby and Lil Durk’s joint album https://qualitycontrol.lnk.to/TheVoiceoftheHeroes” target=”_blank” title=””>The Voice Of The Heroes debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 Albums chart, and the dynamic duo is keeping that momentum going into the upcoming autumn touring season with their Back Outside Tour kicking off this September. In addition to that announcement, they’ve opted to share another music video from the album to keep anticipation (and streaming numbers) high, taking over the club in their video for “Man Of My Word.”

The video features all of the two rappers’ favorite things: Fast cars, gigantic stacks of money, and women — this time in the form of the dancers at the gentleman’s club in which the video is set as they make it rain. Meanwhile, the debauchery is intercut with scenes of CGI cars racing through the nighttime streets.

Even as Baby and Durk continue to promote their joint album, they’ve both kept busy on the solo end, as well. Durk recently featured on Polo G’s “No Return” from the young Chicagoan’s third album Hall Of Fame and on the F9 soundtrack single “Fast Lane” with Don Toliver and Latto, while Baby popped up on a soundtrack of his own, offering the Space Jam sequel “We Win” with Kirk Franklin. Among the things he’s won: ASCAP’s 2021 Songwriter Of The Year.

Watch Lil Baby and Lil Durk’s “Man Of My Word” video.

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

The Kids In Tyler The Creator’s Unhinged ‘Corso’ Video Really Don’t Appreciate The Free Show He Gave Them

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The adventures of Tyler Baudelaire continue in the latest video from Tyler The Creator’s new album, Call Me If You Get Lost. This time, the bawdy, braggadocious alter ego Tyler The Creator is using this album cycle, winds up taking over a child’s birthday party with a loose-limbed live performance backed by DJ Drama in “Corso.”

The video opens with a pair of youngsters stuck outside a restaurant, experiencing bike trouble. Ty’s wicked sense of humor is fully on display here, as these two have very little to do with the goings-on inside, where a children’s birthday party is looking mighty glum. One of the parents begs Tyler to perform a song — thus making his child the “coolest kid in the whole school” — prompting the rapper, bedecked in his suit, shades, and furry hat (fun fact: those are called “Ushanka” hats) to take over the DJ’s table (where Drama is spinning but appreciative), and proceed to deliver an energetic performance, standing on tables and giving his all.

Unfortunately, the kids don’t seem to appreciate it much, watching stone-faced as he expends all his energy, winding up slumped on the floor. Eventually, he gets up, receives profuse thanks from the dad who initially asked him to perform, and the video closes where it began, with the two boys still stuck outside. I don’t know if there’s an overarching narrative to videos like this one, “Lumberjack,” “Juggernaut,” or “Wusyaname,” to say nothing of sketches like “Side Street” and “Brown Sugar Salmon,” but this rollout has offered some fascinating-looking visual components, and the chance to hear T just plain rap again.

Watch Tyler The Creator’s ‘Corso’ video above.

Call Me If You Get Lost is out now via Columbia Records. Get it here.

Jay-Z Touts His Playlist Curation Prowess: ‘I Challenge Anyone Out There’

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Although Jay-Z isn’t making much new music these days (aside from some obvious exceptions), he still remains heavily involved in the curation of playlists for the Tidal music platform — even as he sells his majority ownership stake to Square and Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey. In a recent Twitter spaces town hall about the upcoming deal, he boasted about his playlist prowess, challenging listeners to assemble a better compilation than he can.

“I found so many songs, my playlist game is A++,” he bragged. “I challenge anyone out there. I’m definitely in the top tier of playlist creators.”

Over the past several years, he’s made an effort to prove it, most recently putting together a list celebrating his onetime rival Nas — the only rapper with whom he’s worked in the past year — a 2020 year-end list highlighting the bar-heavy favorites that sustained him in a year of COVID, and the protest-themed “Songs For Survival 2,” which tapped into the rebellious energy of the summer 2020 uprisings against police brutality.

Elsewhere during their chat, Jack and Jay discussed the overlaps in music and Square, and how related tools like CashApp can help artists (as well as being name-checked by them in a rapidly increasing number of songs). “The things that Square and Cash App were doing is pretty much aligned with what one does with their own brand,” Jay noted. “You create a business, take out a small loan, get the things you need to help you be successful and build it out from there. So our conversations just naturally aligned.”

Doja Cat Jokes That She’s Been Canceled ‘Maybe 350 Times’

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Doja Cat recently flexed her multifaceted talent on her album Planet Her. But just over a year ago, people on the internet were calling for her to quit music entirely. Fans on Twitter were rushing to cancel the singer after old, insensitive videos of her surfaced in chatrooms with reported members of the alt-right/incel community. The singer apologized, but wasn’t fazed by the controversy as she’s apparently used to getting canceled.

Doja Cat recently sat down for an interview with Big Boy, where she discussed her album, a recent mishap at the dentist, and her celebrity crush (Reggie Watts.) But when Big Boy asked how many times she thinks she’s been canceled on the internet, the singer joked that it’s happened “maybe 350 times:”

“Starting from age 6 to age 25, maybe 350 times. My mom cancels me, my brother cancels me, my schoolmates canceled me — everybody cancels me. I cancel me, my boyfriends have canceled me. Not in a way where it’s like a huge political down power of something crazy that I did. It’s just, canceling is a fight on the internet, and that’s how I see it. It’s a fight for something and I’ve been in pressure where I feel like I’ve had to fight. And I’ve done that my whole life, so anything that happens, I come right out the other side just okay.”

Elsewhere in the interview, Doja sang The Weeknd’s praise over their “You Right” collaboration, saying he was the “sweetest” artist she’s ever worked with. “He’s a good friend of mine. He’s like part of my family, I feel like,” she said about the singer. “We met maybe two or three years ago. But he’s the sweetest artist I ever collaborated with—no shade to anybody else. But he is top notch, the sweetest person, and brilliant, very talented.”

Watch Doja Cat’s full interview with Big Boy above.

Planet Her is out now via Kemosabe/RCA. Get it here.