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Azealia Banks Calls Out Beyoncé For ‘Stealing’ From Robin S On ‘Break My Soul’

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Azealia Banks Beyonce
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It’s hard to understand how Azealia Banks’ brain works sometimes. Last week, the rapper and noted provocateur vehemently asked people to stop making mash-ups of her music with Beyoncé’s latest single “Break My Soul.” “Please for the love of God,” she posted on her Instagram Story. “They are horrible.” And look, we’ll give her that. She didn’t ask for her music to be thrust alongside Bey’s. But as we try to make sense of how Banks’ mind works, she was clearly perturbed my these mash-ups for a reason. Today, back on her Instagram story soap box, she went on a tirade accusing Beyoncé of “stealing” from Robin S, and then some.

For posterity, her actual words claimed that Bey, “…is out here pretending to support Black divas with bouquets of wilted flowers after stealing their art, arrogantly assuming they don’t have money for legal counsel… and muscling them into making stock PR statements to cover up this messy album roll out..”

Ok, let’s backtrack for a second. Beyoncé sampled Robin S’ 90s house hit “Show Me Love” on “Break My Soul,” and fully credited her as a songwriter. While Robin S said that she was not contacted ahead of time, she did post a video thanking Beyoncé and her team (including Jay-Z) profusely, saying, “Thank you so much for giving me my flowers while I’m still alive.”

It’s safe to say that Robin S stands to make a dandy sum from royalty checks off of “Break My Soul,” but Banks, who has noted beefs with everyone from Cardi B to Elon Musk, thinks she sees right through Beyoncé’s intent. She suggests that the best way for Beyoncé to repent for this sin of “stealing,” is to provide an, “update on Koi Knowles,” the alleged sister and daughter of Bey’s father, Mathew Knowles. Or as Banks calls her, “…your little sister you think we forgot about?” Here’s Banks’ full post from her Instagram Story:

Azealia Banks Instagram
Azealia Banks/Instagram

It’s hard to understand how the two issues are analogous, but it makes sense to Azealia Banks? An hour after calling out Beyoncé, Banks posted a video of her song, “I Rule The World,” on her Instagram, which has been out since February. Just another day for Ms. Banks…

Musicians React To The Supreme Court Officially Overturning Roe V. Wade

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US Supreme Court Roe v Wade Protestors 2022
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It’s official: The Supreme Court has overturned Roe v. Wade today, following the leak of a draft of a majority opinion back in early May. People all over the country, and world, are deeply upset about the decision, including some prominent figures in the music community, who are taking to social media today to share their thoughts on the situation.

Taylor Swift shared Michelle Obama’s letter about the decision and added, “I’m absolutely terrified that this is where we are – that after so many decades of people fighting for women’s rights to their own bodies, today’s decision has stripped us of that.”

In a statement shared on social media, Pearl Jam wrote, “No one, not the government, not politicians, not the Supreme Court should prevent access to abortion, birth control, and contraceptives. People should have the FREEDOM to choose. Today’s decision impacts everyone and it will particularly affect poor women who can’t afford to travel to access health care. We will stay active, we will not back down and we will never give up.”

Jason Isbell tweeted, “If you’re gonna talk about how divided we are as a nation, you’ll want to mention SCOTUS decisions like this one, handing power to state reps in crazy-ass gerrymandered districts and completely ignoring the will of the majority of US citizens. This is not what the people want.” He later added, “Eggs ain’t chicken. Something has to be born before it can be murdered. That’s about as simple as it gets.”

Others offered more concise messages, like Maggie Rogers, who wrote, “abortion is healthcare. bodily autonomy is a human right.” Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon also said, “No. Not gonna last. This country is not the country we are supposedly promised. This is not for all, it’s for some.” Finneas added, “I don’t even know what to say other than absolutely f*ck this.”

Check out some more reactions below, from Cat Power, Tyler The Creator, Tegan And Sara, and others.

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

Billie Eilish, Lizzo, Ed Sheeran, And Joe Biden Will Appear On Upcoming ‘Corden’ Episodes From London

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Corden Biden Eilish Lizzo
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With James Corden announcing in April that he will be leaving The Late Late Show in 2023, the talk show host is pulling out all the stops in his final season. For a slate of episodes filmed in the UK that will air next week, guests on the show include Billie Eilish, Lizzo, Ed Sheeran, and President Joe Biden (as Variety notes). The shows will be broadcast from London’s Freemason’s Hall and these aren’t just your typical “sit down and chat” type of appearances for the illustrious guests.

For his “Take A Break” segment, Corden is going to fill in as an assistant of sorts to Biden, Lizzo is set to do a new “Carpool Karaoke” segment, and hilarity will surely ensue. Other guests on the upcoming slate of episodes include Star Wars actor John Boyega, singers Sam Smith and Alanis Morissette, Thor’s Tessa Thompson, David Harbour from Stranger Things, and Vin freakin’ Diesel.

It’s all set to air from Tuesday, June 28th to Friday, July 1st in its normal 12:37 a.m. timeslot on CBS (or on the Sky Comedy channel if you find yourself in the UK).

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

An Emotional Robin S. Thanks Beyoncé Profusely For Being Sampled On ‘Break My Soul’

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Robin S
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“Show Me Love” by Robin S. isn’t just a banger: It’s one of the ultimate 90s house bangers. The diva house classic dominated top-40 radio when it came out in 1990 and has maintained its pizzazz in the 30-plus years since. The remixes and then the remixes of the remixes are still dancefloor staples at clubs around the world because Robin S. brought pure heat to the thunderous groove. And now as we begin to reckon with hip-hop’s inevitable shift towards dance music production thanks to Drake’s surprise dance music album, Honestly, Nevermind, and Beyoncé’s surprise single, “Break My Soul,” it’s time to give credit to innovators like Robin S. when it’s due.

This is exactly what Beyoncé did on “Break My Soul.” The “Crazy In Love” star’s new track uses the infectious stem from “Show Me Love” throughout her new single and it’s just the greatest hat tip imaginable to Robin S. In a recent video that surfaced of Robin S., she’s over the moon at the inclusion of her hit on what’s sure to be one of this summer’s biggest pop music hits.

“This is Robin S. and this message goes out to the Queen Bey herself, Beyoncé,” the emotional singer said in the clip. “To Jay-Z, to the entire team… Thank you so much for giving me my flowers while I’m still alive. I am honored and I am excited to see what else can happen.”

Robin S. said her son called her to say that she was “trending all over the place,” and that even though she was not contacted ahead of time before “Show Me Love” was sampled in “Break My Soul,” she added, “Maybe we can do a collab together. That’s always a dream.”

Watch a clip of Robin S.’s video message above and watch the original video for “Show Me Love” below.

Big Freedia Is Pumped About Beyoncé Sampling Her On ‘Break My Soul’

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Big Freedia Mardi Gras 2022 Krewe of Freret parade
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We are truly in the midst of surprise release season. First Drake came through with Honestly, Nevermind and now Beyoncé arrives with “Break My Soul,” which, like the Drake album, is also a fresh dose of dance music. Beyoncé got some help on this one, as the track samples Big Freedia’s “Explode,” about which Freedia is pleased.

Freedia wrote on Instagram last night, “It feels surreal to be on the track with the Queen Beyonce once again I’m so honored to be apart of this special moment I’m forever grateful lord. someone please catch me. [Blaqnmild] my brother and I been working along time congratulations fam. [Beyonce] love you so much.” Freedia also added in an Instagram Story, “Overwhelmed with tears of joy. my God is so real the things he can do in your life. only if y’all know where I come from and how hard this journey has been I’m forever grateful thanks so much for loving me for who l am. this for all of y’all.”

Big Freedia Instagram
@bigfreedia/Instagram

The release of “Break My Soul” has parallels to that of Beyoncé’s “Formation,” which was also a surprise release back in 2016 and also features Freedia, who provides ad libs on the track.