TV

Janelle Monáe Unveils A Stirring New Song, ‘Stronger,’ From The Netflix Show ‘We The People’

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Janelle Monáe has released a brand-new song titled “Stronger,” taken from the soundtrack to the forthcoming Netflix show We The People.

Executive produced by Barack and Michelle Obama, the 10-part series features a number of big musical names, such as Monáe, HER, Lin-Manuel Miranda, and Adam Lambert, who teach viewers about civil rights movements. Meanwhile, Monáe’s “Stronger” rolls out with an up-stroked reggae rhythm, as the Dirty Computer singer waxes poetic about seeking solidarity in the face of adversity. “Some of the friends taught me how to dream / Some of the friends taught me how to fight,” Monáe sings. “Even those times when we don’t agree / We know we all tryna save the same day / We don’t want the life without the liberty.”

Monáe has woven civil rights issues into her music over the last few years, such as when she released “Turntables,” for the 2020 documentary about Stacey Abrams, All In: The Fight For Democracy. Of writing music to inspire change, Monáe told Rolling Stone: “What is a revolution without a song? I started thinking about all the people on the front line. What could be my gift to them? It was this song to remind them that the tables are turning. We’re seeing that progress is being made, even in the midst of dealing with such traumatic events. We have figured out a way to be the solution. I wanted this to be my gift because revolutionaries need love too. They need inspiration, and they need an anthem. This is my stab at that.”

Listen to “Stronger” above, and check out We The People when it hits Netflix on July 4. Ahead of them, watch a trailer below.

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.”

Killer Mike Is Making A Cameo In The Fourth Season Of ‘Ozark’

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According to a new feature on Billboard, Atlanta rapper Killer Mike has been cast in a cameo role in the fourth-and-final season of Netflix’s award-winning crime drama Ozark. Mike has apparently been a fan of the show for some time, remarking, “I went from waiting to find out what happens next to being part of it … I’m excited.” Although details about the role are sparse, according to Billboard, Mike’s character will meet teen criminal Ruth Langmore “at her lowest point.”

Emmy Award winner Julia Garner, who portrays Ruth, recently joked that she wanted to tell off anti-maskers at the real-life Lake of the Ozarks in-character on social media. The show recently wrapped up a production that was hampered by COVID-19 safety protocols which changed the way the show was shot, so her reaction is understandable. Co-star Jason Bateman remarked that it broke his heart to break the tradition of directing an episode or two himself, but he was willing to make the sacrifice to get the supersized season completed on-scheduled.

Meanwhile, Killer Mike had to make some similar tough business decisions regarding his barbershop, which he didn’t reopen during Georgia’s first wave of attempts to get back to normal last spring. Now that live entertainment is slowly coming back, though, he’ll be on tour with Run The Jewels and Rage Against The Machine next year.

Trevor Noah Dove Deep Into How Spotify Treats Non-Major Artists On ‘The Daily Show’

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For years now, streaming services like Spotify have faced criticism about how much they pay the artists whose music they depend on. It’s a nuanced situation, so on The Daily Show last night, Trevor Noah broke it down and spoke about how hard it is on make money on Spotify as a non-major artist.

After sharing a compilation of news clips that charted the music industry’s shift from CDs to digital downloads to streaming, Noah got into it, starting by calling streaming “the best thing to happen to the music industry since the government created LSD.” He then noted, though, that while streaming services have “arguably saved music,” they’re “not exactly sharing the wealth.”

Noah shared more video clips, ones illustrating how little artists get paid when their songs get streamed. Then, Noah got into Spotify specifically, giving them credit for providing smaller artists with valuable exposure. He went on to point out, though, that regardless of who subscribers listen to, a hefty portion of their money still goes to major artists. As Noah put it, “Even if you are way too cool to listen to the top ten artists on Spotify, they still get most of your money. And the bands that you do listen to get almost none of it.”

Noah concluded by noting, “For now, maybe the most important things for artists to do is get the word out to their fans.” Then, he introduced Aloe Blacc, who has been vocal about issues with streaming music since he earned just $4,000 from streaming for Avicii’s international hit “Wake Me Up,” which he co-wrote. For The Daily Show, Blacc wrote and performed a new version of his “I Need A Dollar,” with lyrics modified to directly address Spotify and streaming problems.

Watch the whole segment above or find just Blacc’s performance below.

A Longtime ‘Curb Your Enthusiasm’ And ‘Seinfeld’ Collaborator Says Lil Dicky Reminds Him Of Larry David

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Getting compared to Larry David is a great thing if you’re working in comedy, and perhaps not as great a thing if it’s in reference to your social skills. But for Lil Dicky, that kind of comparison is exactly what he’s been going for all along.

The rapper and brain behind the surprise hit Dave is known for a lot of things, all of them sort of referencing parts of his own life and the musical persona that first made him famous. His success with Dave only tightens the connections between his persona, his real life and the show’s plot points loosely including all of the above. And if that sounds a bit like David’s work on Seinfeld and Curb Your Enthusiasm, well, you’re not alone in thinking that.

In a GQ profile of Dicky, the Larry David connections are front and center in a very flattering way. Early in the piece his mother quite literally says “You’re no Jerry Seinfeld. But you’re funny” when describing Dicky (real name Dave Burd) and his big ambitions. Apparently he used to straight-up ask his parents if he was a comedic genius, though he didn’t like the answer he got:

His friend Benny, the producer and hitmaking songwriter Benny Blanco, remembers this too. “Oh my God,” he says. “He’d be like, ‘Mom, Dad, am I a genius?’ And they’d be like, ‘Eh.’”

With two seasons of Dave now under his belt, though, the comparison isn’t nearly as absurd. And one longtime David collaborator is willing to broach the subject. The piece discusses Burd’s creative process and OCD tendencies at length, exploring how he first learned he could make people laugh and the stress that introduced into his life. The juxtaposition between attempted genius and the mental strain of actually realizing that makes him a difficult person to work with at times:

At work, the neurosis has a name: The No Stone Unturned Method. This means he must try out every single possible version of something, whether it’s a lyric or a joke, before he’s satisfied. “He’s the worst person I’ve ever been in the studio with,” Benny Blanco tells me. “But also the best person.”

The flipside of his neurosis is stratospheric confidence. The co-creator of Dave, Jeff Schaffer, remembers the first time he met Burd: “He’s talking to me, a stranger, about how he’s going to be so huge. He’s telling me he’s going to be the biggest entertainer in the history of entertaining. And I’m like, Oh, he’s delusional. This is great. I love this.” Schaffer, who’s also worked on Seinfeld and Curb Your Enthusiasm, adds that he sees “a lot of Larry” (that would be David) in Burd.

That’s high praise for a guy many know from funny rap songs, though the perception of Burd is certainly changing with Dave. The show is funny, and very successful, and as we see more of Burd’s work, it makes all of his talk about a wildly successful career not just more reasonable, but an actual reality.

(Via GQ)

Migos Get Suited Up For A Smooth ‘Avalanche’ Performance On ‘The Tonight Show’

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With Migos’ long-awaited Culture III dropping this week, the North Atlanta trio turned up on The Tonight Show to preview one of the album’s standout songs, “Avalanche,” with a smooth performance marked by their matching three-piece suits and jazzy backup from a live band. Built on a sample of The Temptations’ “Papa Was A Rolling Stone,” the three rappers deliver verses in their signature head-nodding cadence with no chorus and lyrics highlighted by big-money boasts and demands for respect.

Culture III, which was originally planned for a 2020 release before being delayed by the coronavirus pandemic, is led by the single “Straightenin,” which the group released last month, and will feature appearances from longtime collaborators like Cardi B, Drake, and Future, as well as features from rising stars Polo G and Youngboy Never Broke Again. It also contains a pair of posthumous appearances; both Juice WRLD and Pop Smoke were working with the band before their deaths, and those efforts are represented here.

In addition to dropping the album this week, Migos will hold a festival in Las Vegas this autumn to celebrate/promote its release.

Watch Migos perform “Avalanche” above.

Culture III is out 6/11 via Quality Control Music, Motown, and Capitol Records.

Trevor Noah Had An Amazing Response To Learning That Jay Z And Beyonce Actually Know Who He Is

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Comedy Central

Celebrities, they’re just like us! They, too, get excited when they learn that two of the most famous and brilliant people in the world actually know who they are. That’s what happened to Trevor Noah the other night when he went to Barclays Center to see the playoff game between the Brooklyn Nets and Milwaukee Bucks. The Daily Show host and sporadic Ted Cruz sparring partner was casually sitting courtside when who should show up but former Barclays stake holder Jay Z and his wife, Beyonce, who is also very popular.

A Getty photojournalist just happened to snap the meeting of the minds, catching Noah and Beyonce mid-fist-bump. Noah made sure to post that pic to his Instagram feed, complete with a gushing, fanboyish, pinch-me-is-this-real? caption:

“I’ve thought of every possible caption for this picture but really what can I write? You’re at the @brooklynnets game, the King of Brooklyn walks in with his wife @beyonce and then they both fist bump you. You try to act cool but then later you see a picture of the moment and you realise that this life is insane!!! What a privilege and magical moment to experience in life. And even though magic happens to me every day, I hope the little South African boy inside of me never stops reminding me that I’m living a dream.”

Who among us hasn’t been sitting courtside at an NBA playoff game and traded fistbumps with Jay Z and Beyonce? Many were quick to congratulate Noah on the honor, though in the comments, Daily Show colleague Jordan Klepper took some jokey umbrage with one detail of his caption: him referring to Jay Z as “the King of Brooklyn.”

Instagram / @TrevorNoah

“To be clear, I live in Brooklyn,” Klepper wrote. “Is the Jay Z is King a totally settled thing?”

Anyway, it’s great to know one of the world’s most powerful power couples watches The Daily Show.

Charli XCX And Beyonce’s Mom Will Appear On The New Season Of ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars’

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For the upcoming sixth season of RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars, the show will have a new home on the Paramount Plus streaming platform. The season is set to premiere on June 24, and ahead of then, Paramount Plus has shared a new trailer. Aside from teasing the upcoming season, the clip also offers a brief look at some of the upcoming guests on the show, including Charli XCX and Tina Knowles, aka Beyonce’s mother.

Towards the end of the trailer, we see Knowles talking to a contestant off-camera, saying, “It was right on point.” The video then cuts to a similar shot of Charli, who says, “I am obsessed with your outfit.”

Charli’s love for both RuPaul and the Drag Race franchise runs deep. Way back in 2013, she tweeted, “Current mood = RuPaul.” Then, in 2017, Charli solicited Netflix viewing recommendations from her fans, and in response to the suggestion that she watch Drag Race, she replied, “i want to be a judgeeeee!!!!!!!” In a 2019 interview, she revisited that tweet and was asked if she has gotten involved in the show yet, to which she responded, “I haven’t! But RuPaul: hit me up. I would love to be a part of it.” She also offered her recommendation for the song of hers that the show’s contestants should “Lip Sync For Your Lives” to: “I have a song called ‘Vroom Vroom,’ which I think would be really amazing for anyone to lip sync to.”

Check out the trailer above.

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

Yung Baby Tate Joins The Cast Of ‘Love & Hip-Hop: Atlanta’ For Its 10th Season

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After releasing the deluxe version of her acclaimed EP After The Rain and becoming a viral star with the video for her breakout hit “I Am,” Yung Baby Tate is now aiming to take over America’s televisions. The rising Atlanta star is joining the cast of the VH1 reality series Love & Hip Hop for its 10th season, making the announcement with a tweet bearing a teaser featuring “I Am” and revealing the new season’s air date: Monday, June 5.

Tate, whose tales of romantic entanglements have formed the foundation of some of her standout projects like Boys and After The Rain, will join a cast that has included longtime mainstays Rasheeda, Karlie Redd, and Mimi Faust, as well as Atlanta rap veterans such as Lil Scrappy and Yung Joc. The New York iteration of the show previously helped turn Cardi B into a household name; perhaps Tate hopes that the added exposure will help do the same for her.

Yung Baby Tate is already thoroughly established in the entertainment world thanks to her links to Insecure creator Issa Rae — whose label Raedio put out After The Rain — and her string of well-received albums, mixtapes, and EPs, as well as her appearance on Dreamville’s “Don’t Hit Me Right Now.”

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

Netflix’s ‘Master Of None’ Presents ‘Moments In Love,’ A Concert Inspired By The Series

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Late last month, Netflix’s dramedy series Master Of None returned to the streaming service after a four-year hiatus with a renewed focus on Lena Waithe’s character Denise and her partner, Naomi Ackie’s Alicia. As the series now focuses on the ups and downs of a single relationship rather than Aziz Ansari’s character Dev’s quest romance, the third season bears the subtitle Moments In Love.

The subtitle also applies to a new “live music experience” released today to promote the show, which features up-and-coming Black and queer R&B artists telling their stories of love. Included in the performance are Asiahn, a Los Angeles singer-songwriter who has written for the likes of Dr. Dre and Drake, Avery Wilson, who gained notice as a contestant on The Voice, Durand Bernarr, who’s sung backing vocals for Erykah Badu and The Internet, and Tiffany Gouché, a longtime industry vet whose musical family includes D Smoke and SiR, her cousins.

“Moments In Love” also includes a conversation between Waithe and neo-soul pioneer Maxwell. Shot at Winston House, the performance highlights the same sort of complex, unconventional love depicted in the show, making it a perfect pairing — and a fitting introduction to some of the most unique and talented rising stars in music.

Watch “Moments In Love” in love above and catch season three Master Of None streaming now on Netflix.