R&B

SZA Says She’s Tired Of Being Labeled An R&B Artist

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SZA says she’s tired of being described as an “R&B artist,” explaining that she feels the label is “super disrespectful.” The SOS singer discussed her reasoning during a new cover story for Consequence.

“I’m so tired of being pegged as [an] R&B artist,” SZA admitted. “I feel like that’s super disrespectful, because people are just like, ‘Oh, ’cause you’re Black, this is what you have to be’ — like, put in a box. And I hate that. With songs on this album, it’s supposed to help round out the picture and the story.”

LOS ANGELES, CA – JUNE 22: SZA performs at 2018 BET Experience Staples Center Concert, sponsored by COCA-COLA, at L.A. Live on June 22, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Ser Baffo/Getty Images for BET)

She continued: “It’s very lazy to just throw me in the box of R&B. I love making Black music, period. Something that is just full of energy. Black music doesn’t have to just be R&B. We started rock ‘n’ roll. Why can’t we just be expansive and not reductive?”

SZA isn’t the only artist to complain about the categorization of R&B music as of late. Lizzo also recently labeled the existence of genres as being “racist inherently.”

“Genre’s racist inherently,” she told Entertainment Weekly. “I think if people did any research they would see that there was race music and then there was pop music. And race music was their way of segregating Black artists from being mainstream, because they didn’t want their kids listening to music created by Black and brown people because they said it was demonic and yada, yada, yada. So then there were these genres created almost like code words: R&B, and then of course eventually hip-hop and rap was born from that. I think when you think about pop, you think about MTV in the ’80s talking about ‘We can’t play rap music’ or ‘We can’t put this person on our platform because we’re thinking about what people in the middle of America think’ — and we all know what that’s code for.”

SZA’s comments come after the release of her highly-anticipated second studio album, SOS. Elsewhere in the chat with Consequence, SZA reflected on the anxiety she suffered during the build-up to the new album. She also spoke about the music industry more broadly and her desire to “disappear” from it.

Check out SZA’s cover story for Consequence below.

[Via]

SZA Confirms Plastic Surgery Rumors On “SOS”

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SZA’s long-awaited sophomore studio album, SOS, has finally arrived. The sprawling new release is SZA’s first new project in five years, so fans are really taking it all in and refamiliarizing themselves with one of R&B’s most reclusive stars. 

Early standouts from the album, like “Kill Bill,” have already fueled feverish discourse on Twitter. Furthermore, the album’s features — from Travis Scott to the late Ol’ Dirty Bastard — have also been major topics of conversation. Above all, however, fans appear to be most moved by the quality of the music itself. TDE’s leaving lady has long been known for being candid in her music, and SOS appears to be no different.

ACCRA, GHANA – SEPTEMBER 24: Sza performs on stage during Global Citizen Festival 2022: Accra on September 24, 2022 in Accra, Ghana. (Photo by Jemal Countess/Getty Images for Global Citizen)

SZA addresses BBL and plastic surgery rumors on “SOS” and “Conceited.”

In the five-year time span since the release of Ctrl in 2017, SZA’s physique has changed significantly. The highly revered singer has become noticeably more curvaceous, and fans have been loving it. However, SZA’s body changes have also led to rumors about her getting a BBL and other forms of plastic surgery.

That being said, the TDE artist was not afraid to address those rumors on her latest LP. According to Uproxx, SZA confronts those rumors head-on on multiple tracks from SOS, including its titular track and “Concieted.”

On the album opener “SOS,” SZA confidently raps, “So classic, that ass so fat, it look natural, it’s not.” Several tracks later, SZA starts “Conceited” with a verse about her dislike for people and their unsolicited opinions. “I just got my body done, ain’t got no guilt about it,” she admits in the song’s opening moments. “I just heard your opinion and could’ve did without it.”

You can listen to both of the mentioned songs below. She confirms her plastic surgery at the 0:58 mark of “SOS” and the 0:10 mark on “Conceited.”

While SZA’s confirmation of her long-rumored plastic surgery may be shocking to some, her stance on body positivity is well-documented. In 2017, she defended Kendrick Lamar’s “HUMBLE.” lyrics about stretch marks. “How is that misogyny if he’s supporting positive body image? I think that’s so weird, and it’s reaching,” SZA said. “If you want to support women, you should support all shapes of women. I used to be 200 pounds, and I have stretch marks all over my body. I find more comfort and solace with Kendrick reinforcing that I’m beautiful.”

Let us know in the comments what you think about SZA’s plastic surgery confirmations on SOS. Also, be sure to check out the album here.

[via]

dvsn Connects With Jagged Edge For Latest Single, “What’s Up”

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As we make our way into R&B season, Canadian R&B duo dvsn has returned with a song that may just have you contemplating sending a text to your ex, called “What’s Up” featuring Jagged Edge.

If you tuned into the artist’s last single, “If I Get Caught Cheating,” this new arrival is a continuation of that, with the accompanying music video revealing the dire and often heartbreaking consequences that come along with infidelity.

“This song was made by us alongside Jermaine Dupri and Bryan-Michael Cox at a time when we were looking for the perfect way to describe the moments and emotions leading up to that late night text you know you shouldn’t send to someone,” dvsn shared in a statement.

“Please don’t mix this song with alcohol and pre-block anyone you know you shouldn’t be talking to. You have 30 mins,” they teased on Twitter ahead of the track’s debut at midnight.

Stream “What’s Up” on Spotify below, and tap back in with HNHH later for more music updates.

Quotable Lyrics:

Who told you it’s okay to not call me by now?
Who told you you should be at these parties right now?
I know you’re only actin’ happy publicly
You could’ve called me if you needed company

Col3trane Is Giving Away A Brandon Blackwood Bag In Celebration Of His New Single “Bag” With Lucky Daye

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Last week, Col3trane dropped off his luxurious vibe and first single of the year, “Bag” featuring Lucky Daye, and he partnered with Brandon Blackwood to do it. To help celebrate, the UK R&B star and Uproxx are giving one lucky fan the opportunity to score one of Brandon Blackwood’s most coveted and popular handbags.

All you have to do is follow Uproxx on TikTok, follow Col3trane on TikTok and tell us in the comments how you’ll be in your bag all 2022. The contest will run until February 10, 2022 and the winner will be reached out to via direct message on TikTok.

@uproxx

r u in ur bag for 2022⁉🔥👝follow @Col3trane + #Uproxx & let us know to score a #brandonblackwood bag. ends 2/9. #fyp #bag #fashiontok #rnbvibes

♬ original sound – UPROXX Music

“Bag” is the follow-up to Col3trane’s 2021 track “Californication.” Both songs are expected to live on his debut album Lush Life.

“‘Bag’ is about giving everything you can to someone,” the rising singer unveiled. “Material and emotional, and it still is not enough. I wrote this song with Lucky and Camper on Lucky’s birthday around October 2020. I sat on it for a while, made a lot of different versions and ended up going back in on it with Camper about a year later. He laid all the keys and bells pads in about 3 hours, solos and all. Bridge included. Watching him do that was crazy.”

Check out the official rules for the giveaway here.

OG Parker Details How ‘No Fuss,’ PartyNextDoor’s First Solo Single In Two Years, Came To Life

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partynextdoor og parker no fuss interview
Getty Image/Ralph Ordaz

PartyNextDoor releases are rare — unless you’re the gifted and ingenious producer known as OG Parker, of course.

OG Parker and Party in the studio, creating music? Regular. They are good friends, after all. In the music business, however, just because a producer records a song with an artist, doesn’t mean that the song will actually see the light of day. With that understanding, somehow the award-winning hitmaker was miraculously able to get a solo record from the elusive crooner, and it’s a seductive poetic vibe titled “No Fuss.”

Ready and made for Party, “No Fuss” sees the OVO Sound singer gently opting to be a lover, not a fighter. “Don’t wanna feel pain / Don’t want no fuss or fight,” he insists throughout the song. According to Parker, “No Fuss” was originally a track created from a pool of beats that he had shared. While on a Costa Rica trip, Party played “No Fuss” for Parker for the first time. After hearing it, the beatmaker instantly hinted that he wanted the song for his upcoming EP, Moments. Without hesitation, Party apparently replied, “I got you.”

“He’s literally like my brother so it’s a little different,” Parker explained of the ease it took to obtain such a sonic rarity over a Zoom call. “He’s a very secretive person, he keeps to himself and he only f*cks with people he feels like are family.”

“No Fuss” is the second single to be released from Moments and is the follow-up to 2021’s “Rain” featuring Chris Brown, Layton Greene, Latto, and PnB Rock.

“It’s about 70% to 80% done, I would say, and we’re looking for it to come out a little bit after summer,” he revealed to me in an interview last year. He also mentioned in the same interview that Party (among others) would possibly be on it and here we are with a brand new single less than a year later.

I know fans want to know what this means as far as a new PartyNextDoor project, so I definitely asked. The truth is, we may never know and neither does Parker.

“Nah, I honestly don’t,” Parker told me with a pause and grin when I asked if there’s more PND on the way. “I don’t even like talking about that.”

He quickly assured me that Party is always in the studio and they have a lot of “crazy” music together, though. Whether or not a follow-up to 2020’s Partymobile will arrive in 2022 is a mystery in itself but for now, let’s thank OG Parker for this rare PND audible treat after starving for two, long, years.

Press play on OG Parker and PartyNextDoor’s “No Fuss” up top.

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

Jason Derulo + Jena Frumes Are Expecting A Baby Boy

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R&B singer Jason Derulo and Jena Frumes have a prince on the way. The couple have announced they’re expecting their first child to be a boy when the birth goes down. Jason Derulo + Jena Frumes Expecting Baby Boy Both Jason and Jena went to their Instagram pages to break the massive news to the […]

The post Jason Derulo + Jena Frumes Are Expecting A Baby Boy appeared first on SOHH.com.