Uproxx Sessions

Paidway T.O Plots A Turnt-Up ‘Kickback’ In A Livewire ‘UPROXX Sessions’ Performance

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UPROXX Sessions repeat performer DDG has become something of a regular around here, dropping by to perform his viral hits like “Moonwalking In Calabasas” and “Hood Melody” while sharing his thoughts for React Like You Know and Behind The Video. Besides hanging out at the Uproxx office in Los Angeles, though, he also runs his own label, Zooted Entertainment, putting out his first artist Paidway T.O.

So, it’s only right that we got Paidway T.O in the studio to perform for UPROXX Sessions, too. He popped by with his 2020 single “Kickback,” an upbeat track about sneaking in the club at 19 years old. And while he doesn’t have to do so now, these days he’s focusing on preparing to release his debut album, for which he’s released a handful of singles including “Better Days” featuring DDG.

Watch Paidway T.O perform “Kickback” for UPROXX Sessions above.

UPROXX Sessions is Uproxx’s performance show featuring the hottest up-and-coming acts you should keep an eye on. Featuring creative direction from LA promotion collective, Ham On Everything, and taking place on our “bathroom” set designed and painted by Julian Gross, UPROXX Sessions is a showcase of some of our favorite performers, who just might soon be yours, too.

Boslen Lets Go Of A Poisonous Paramour With His ‘UPROXX Sessions’ Performance Of ‘Gone’

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Boslen returns to UPROXX Sessions with another performance after showcasing the “Levels” to his flows. This time, he displays his range with a lilting performance of his emo-rock-influenced trap-pop ballad, “Gone.” The inspiration the Vancouver artist gets from Kid Cudi and Travis Scott is even more evident here, as he full-on croons for much of the single, even throwing a little falsetto into the second verse.

“Gone,” like “Levels,” appears on the 24-year-old’s newly released EP Gonzo, which dropped last Friday, June 24 on UMG Recordings. In “Gone,” Boslen contemplates a toxic relationship and how hard it can be to leave, even when you know it’s not good for you. “I don’t wanna wait for you to say you’re sorry,” he tells his poisonous paramour. “I’m not gonna lay here just for anybody / I’m gone, long gone.”

Watch Boslen perform “Gone” for UPROXX Sessions above and check out Gonzo here.

UPROXX Sessions is Uproxx’s performance show featuring the hottest up-and-coming acts you should keep an eye on. Featuring creative direction from LA promotion collective, Ham On Everything, and taking place on our “bathroom” set designed and painted by Julian Gross, UPROXX Sessions is a showcase of some of our favorite performers, who just might soon be yours, too.

Na-Kel Smith Delivers A Gruff Performance Of ‘Prayer’ For ‘UPROXX Sessions’

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Na-Kel Smith may be best known outside hip-hop for his role in Jonah Hill’s 2018 directorial debut Mid90s, but those in the know will recognize him as an accomplished rapper who was closely associated with Tyler The Creator and his Odd Future crew in the early 2010s. Since then, he’s self-released four albums under his A Dream No Longer Deferred Records imprint, making occasional guest appearances throughout the years on projects from underground rap peers like Pink Siifu, Zelooperz, Eyedress, and most notably, Earl Sweatshirt.

Today, he pops up on UPROXX Sessions to perform “Prayer” from his most recent album, Skullface Bonehead. Released in January this year, the project is an anti-establishment Quickstrike of eight tracks that clock in at just 14 minutes. Similar to his compatriot Earl Sweatshirt, he eschews conventional beats, opts for headier subject matter, and highlights displays of deft wordplay over catchy hooks. “Prayer” is a perfect example of these tendencies, as Na-Kel growls, “For the game, put in pain like you own it / You gon’ change even if you don’t wanna / Be it not for the worst, but the better / Never ride, but keep stacking your cheddar.”

Watch Na-Kel Smith’s gruff performance of “Prayer” above.

UPROXX Sessions is Uproxx’s performance show featuring the hottest up-and-coming acts you should keep an eye on. Featuring creative direction from LA promotion collective, Ham On Everything, and taking place on our “bathroom” set designed and painted by Julian Gross, UPROXX Sessions is a showcase of some of our favorite performers, who just might soon be yours, too.

Millyz Performs The Motivational ‘Sometimes’ For ‘UPROXX Sessions’

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Cambridge, Massachusetts rhymer Millyz is a longtime veteran of the rap business, independently releasing albums and mixtapes since 2013. Over the years, he’s worked with other established forces in street rap like Dave East, G Herbo, and Jadakiss, and appeared in the 2016 BET Hip-Hop Awards Cypher. Though he’s in his 30s, he’s still up and coming, gaining new fans and followers all the time.

Today, he brings his new single “Sometimes” to the UPROXX Sessions stage. The song is both reflective and motivational, seeing him look back at how far he’s come to find the drive to go even further. “I had to make it out the dark, I always knew I would shine,” he croons in the chorus, summing up the spirit of his everlasting hustle. “Sometimes” appears on his newly released project Blanco 5, which features appearances from Fivio Foreign, Mozzy, Styles P, and more.

Watch Millyz perform “Sometimes” for UPROXX Sessions above.

UPROXX Sessions is Uproxx’s performance show featuring the hottest up-and-coming acts you should keep an eye on. Featuring creative direction from LA promotion collective, Ham On Everything, and taking place on our “bathroom” set designed and painted by Julian Gross, UPROXX Sessions is a showcase of some of our favorite performers, who just might soon be yours, too.

Boslen Showcases The ‘Levels’ To His Flow For ‘UPROXX Sessions’

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The Kanye West musical family tree just keeps growing and adding branches, doesn’t it? Hate him or love him, a huge number of today’s artists owe at least a percentage of their styles to the artists he helped inspire, whether it’s Drake or Kid Cudi. Today’s UPROXX Sessions performer Boslen takes after the latter, incorporating Cudi’s signature hums and moans. If Travis Scott is Baby Cudi, Boslen might be Cousin Cudi, coming through with less distortion than Travis but more precise rapping than Kid Cudi himself on “Levels” from Boslen’s 2022 project Gonzo.

Hailing from Vancouver, British Columbia in Canada, Boslen describes himself in his bio as a “23-year-old hip-hop experimenter” who mixes “trap, pop, punk, and rock melodies” with an underdog mentality that drives him to put his seemingly far-flung hometown on hip-hop’s map. Pursuing rap after back-to-back ACL tears derailed his rugby scholarship at the University of Victoria, he proudly wears his Cudi and Kanye influence on his sleeve. With Gonzo dropping on June 24, the Columbia Records rapper will have the chance to make his own mark on hip-hop, perhaps even inspiring another branch on that ever-growing tree.

Watch Boslen’s UPROXX Sessions performance of “Levels” above.

UPROXX Sessions is Uproxx’s performance show featuring the hottest up-and-coming acts you should keep an eye on. Featuring creative direction from LA promotion collective, Ham On Everything, and taking place on our “bathroom” set designed and painted by Julian Gross, UPROXX Sessions is a showcase of some of our favorite performers, who just might soon be yours, too.

Kyle Banks Delivers A Laid-Back Performance Of ‘Bogus’ For ‘UPROXX Sessions’

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For yesterday’s edition of UPROXX Sessions, I wrote about how much I love it when artists bring their own props. Truly, not enough of them do this and it’s always entertaining whether it’s something simple like a red cup, or something much more dramatic. Remember when Dana Dentata brought a whole fake murder scene? Good times.

But what I love even more than those are the ones where artists bring musicians with them, because it heightens the actual music as well as the performance. There’s just something about cramming extra people into the set along with their instruments that just livens things up. Kyle Banks apparently got the memo, bringing a keyboardist to his performance of “Bogus,” a groovy, laid-back rap&B cut that sounds perfect for two-stepping on an LA summer night. It fits because Banks is an LA-based artist who has worked with some of the city’s finest, including fellow Sessions alums Bino Rideaux, BlueBucksClan, and Kalan.FrFr.

Watch Kyle Banks’s UPROXX Sessions performance of “Bogus” above.

UPROXX Sessions is Uproxx’s performance show featuring the hottest up-and-coming acts you should keep an eye on. Featuring creative direction from LA promotion collective, Ham On Everything, and taking place on our “bathroom” set designed and painted by Julian Gross, UPROXX Sessions is a showcase of some of our favorite performers, who just might soon be yours, too.

Smiley Sets His Sights High With His ‘Grammy’ Performance For ‘UPROXX Sessions’

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I love it when artists show up to do UPROXX Sessions with props — even when they’re something as small and basic as a red plastic cup. It just signifies a different level of confidence and charisma. Those are two things that OVO Sound rapper Smiley has in abundance, which is even evidenced by the title of his song, “Grammy.” He knows how high to aim; all that remains is to get there.

He’s off to a decent start. It helps being signed to Drake’s label, for sure, but as we’ve seen, that’s no guarantee of the sort of commercial success and notoriety that awards show voters and fans look for in their favorite artists. Smiley certainly has an interesting look and a wise outlook. “I’m not just an artist, I’m a product — sell me,” he raps on the song. The worst salesman in the world could make that one move.

Watch Smiley’s UPROXX Sessions performance of “Grammy “above.

UPROXX Sessions is Uproxx’s performance show featuring the hottest up-and-coming acts you should keep an eye on. Featuring creative direction from LA promotion collective, Ham On Everything, and taking place on our “bathroom” set designed and painted by Julian Gross, UPROXX Sessions is a showcase of some of our favorite performers, who just might soon be yours, too.

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

Masked Wolf Gives An Intense ‘Astronaut In The Ocean’ Performance On ‘UPROXX Sessions’

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Three years ago today (June 7), Australian rapper Masked Wolf posted his breakout single “Astronaut In The Ocean” to SoundCloud, kicking off the song’s ascent to chart dominance and near-ubiquity thanks to its popularity on TikTok. Naturally, we couldn’t let Wolf hang out at Uproxx Studios without securing a performance of the track for UPROXX Sessions — and what better time to release it than on the song’s third anniversary?

Showing some love to Los Angeles with a designer Dodgers hat and a black-on-black Essentials hoodie, Masked Wolf raps the anxiety-laden lyrics directly to the camera, displaying all the charismatic intensity that has made him a star and that turned “Astronaut” into a sleeper hit.

Since its original release in 2019, “Astronaut In The Ocean” was re-released by Elektra Records on its second anniversary, climbing to No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100, and received numerous awards nominations in Masked Wolf’s homeland, including Song of the Year, Best Hip Hop Release and Breakthrough Artist at the 2021 ARIA Music Awards.

Watch Masked Wolf’s UPROXX Sessions performance of “Astronaut In The Ocean” above.

UPROXX Sessions is Uproxx’s performance show featuring the hottest up-and-coming acts you should keep an eye on. Featuring creative direction from LA promotion collective, Ham On Everything, and taking place on our “bathroom” set designed and painted by Julian Gross, UPROXX Sessions is a showcase of some of our favorite performers, who just might soon be yours, too.

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

The Cool Kids’ Chuck Inglish Delivers A Laid-Back Performance Of ‘Driver’ For ‘UPROXX Sessions’

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Rap fans of a certain age will certainly appreciate this week’s UPROXX Sessions guest. Back during the blog rap era, when XXL was just kicking off its tradition of finding an annual class of freshman rappers to promote as the future of hip-hop, The Cool Kids, (Chuck Inglish and Sir Michael Rocks) were considered among the exemplars of this group of future-minded, nostalgia-influenced, internet-raised trailblazers. Since then, we’ve seen both members take on solo projects, expand their sounds, reunite, and experience a resurgence of sorts, but they never truly went away and they remain near and dear to our hearts.

Chuck Inglish dropped by Uproxx Studios to remind us of that fact with a coolly confident performance of “Driver” from the duo’s March album, Baby Oil Staircase/Chillout. Initially released in 2020 featuring Ye Ali, the single was repurposed for the group’s triple-disc comeback album, which consisted of Before Shit Got Weird and Baby Oil Staircase/Chillout. Before Shit Got Weird featured both performing as a group for the first time since 2017, while the latter split release consisted of two solo projects from Chuck and Mike, a la Outkast’s Speakerboxxx/The Love Below in 2003.

Watch Chuck Inglish’s performance of “Driver” above.

UPROXX Sessions is Uproxx’s performance show featuring the hottest up-and-coming acts you should keep an eye on. Featuring creative direction from LA promotion collective, Ham On Everything, and taking place on our “bathroom” set designed and painted by Julian Gross, UPROXX Sessions is a showcase of some of our favorite performers, who just might soon be yours, too.

Kidd Kenn Serves Face And ‘Body’ In His ‘UPROXX Sessions’ Performance

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You may not have heard of Kidd Kenn before, but thanks to the doors opened by openly queer artists like Lil Nas X and Tyler The Creator, you’re likely to hear a whole lot more from him soon enough. Hailing from Chicago, the 19-year-old rapper makes his UPROXX Sessions debut with “Body,” his self-praising new single. It’s a song he says he made “so people could feel confident about their body, any color, any shape, any size.”

Signed to Island Records at just 16 years old, Kidd Kenn has been buzzing on social media ever since, releasing a string of fan-favorite EPs and collaborating with stars like Rico Nasty and Cupcakke. He’s also received co-signs from Cardi B, Latto, and Nicki Minaj, and became the first openly gay rapper to appear in the BET Hip Hop Awards Cypher. Along with Saucy Santana, he’s helping pave the way to a more inclusive future in hip-hop music.

Watch Kidd Kenn perform “Body” for UPROXX Sessions above.

UPROXX Sessions is Uproxx’s performance show featuring the hottest up-and-coming acts you should keep an eye on. Featuring creative direction from LA promotion collective, Ham On Everything, and taking place on our “bathroom” set designed and painted by Julian Gross, UPROXX Sessions is a showcase of some of our favorite performers, who just might soon be yours, too.