J Balvin Responds After Winning Afro-Latino Artist Of The Year: “I Am Not Afro-Latino”

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J Balvin is facing backlash after winning the award for Afro-Latino Artist of the Year at the African Entertainment Awards. People are outraged on social media, pointing out the fact that J Balvin, a Colombian singer from Medellín, is not even Afro-Latino. On top of that, many believe the award was handed out in poor taste following the backlash from Balvin’s “Perra” music video, in which he walks Black women on leashes, pretending that they’re dogs.

“I don’t know what’s worse, that J Balvin was even put in this category, that he won against actual black people, or that the awards is called AFRICAN ENTERTAINMENT AWARDS, implying that actual black people committed this atrocity of a choice,” commented one fan on Twitter after J Balvin’s win.

After accepting the prize, the “In Da Getto” artist took to his Instagram story to clarify that he is not actually Afro-Latino.

He wrote his post in Spanish, which translates to, “I am not Afro Latino but thank you for giving me a place in the contribution of Afrobeat music and its movement.”

Following the fan outrage, the African Entertainment Awards addressed the backlash and shared a statement, saying, “After listening to the concern of our audience we have decided to maintain the purpose of the award but changed the name to Best Latin Artist Of the year. The Best Latin Artist category is for any artist based in Latin America that is contributing to the African culture especially the Afro-beats sound globally. It is not based on race but more importantly based on pushing the African culture forward on the world stage. This is the first year that we introduced this category to include our Latin brothers and sisters who have embraced Afrobeats music within their platforms. The winner of this category has demonstrated that and is deserving of this award based on the fans votes. Please remember the nominees in this category had no say in their nomination or influence on the award show. Instead of voicing dissatisfaction, let us encourage these artists to continue bridging the gap between Africa and Latin America.”

What do you think of J Balvin’s win, his response, and the statement from the African Entertainment Awards?


Screenshot via @jbalvin on Instagram 

Druski Hosts Hilarious Try Outs For Coulda Been Records

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Over the past few years, Druski has emerged as one of hip-hop and the internet’s funniest creatives. Whether it be his relatable skits or poking fun at his rapper friends, Druski’s humor is elite, and his platform is only growing.

Most recently, Druski has humorously cracked jokes at Drake for his self-care habits, as well as jokingly offering Meek Mill a spot on his Coulda Been Records amid his label dispute.

Coulda Been Records is s satirical label that serves as an Instagram page where Druski goes on Live to welcome aspiring rappers and he has them freestyle for him, as he usually ends up teasing them.

On the latest episode, he picked out two volunteers whose teeth were the butt of the jokes. His first Coulda Benn “signee” visibly had several missing teeth, and after Druski pointed that out the rapper mentioned his gold grills, to which Druski responded that they must have been on top of his gums instead of teeth: “They (gold grills) were sittin’ on gums though.”

His next attendee of his Live had a large gap between her two front teeth, which Druski could not help but fixate on. At the start of the session, he requested she put her tongue through the gap: “Put that tongue through that hole girl.” 

As she began rapping, her bar about “f**cking on her bros” was misheard by Druski because of her lisp, to which he thought she said “thuck.”

Both sessions with the rappers were hilarious, as Druski is a master at having people laugh at themselves. Check out the clips from the most recent Coulda Been Records Instagram Live below.

WFT’s Jon Allen Throws Punch At Teammate Daron Payne: Watch

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Last night’s NFL matchup was between two NFC East rivals in the Washington Football Team and the Dallas Cowboys. In the end, it was the Cowboys who won by a 56-14 blow out. It was a pretty embarrassing defeat for the WFT, although for the Cowboys, it was yet another indication of just how good this team is. The Cowboys are showing tremendous strength with just two weeks left in the season, and fans are excited to see what this team is going to be able to do, moving forward.

As for the Washington Football Team, they will not be making it to the postseason. With a record of 6-9, the team simply is not good enough, and during last night’s horrific loss, tempers began to flare on the sidelines, specifically between Jon Allen and Daron Payne of the defensive line.

Daron Payne

Patrick Smith/Getty Images

As you can see, Payne stuck his finger in Allen’s face during an argument. That’s when Allen swatted the finger away and threw a punch at Payne. Washington Football Team players immediately stepped in to diffuse the situation, however, it’s clear that the damage had already been done. The team was never able to regain composure, and now, their season is pretty well over.

If you’re a WFT fan, then Sunday night was definitely one to forget. If you’re a Cowboys fan, however, you probably have a big smile on your face today.

Roddy Ricch Grows A Lot In A Short Span On The Introspective ‘Live Life Fast’

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Atlantic

The RX is Uproxx Music’s stamp of approval for the best albums, songs, and music stories throughout the year. Inclusion in this category is the highest distinction we can bestow, and signals the most important music being released throughout the year. The RX is the music you need, right now.

If there was any knock against Roddy Ricch on his debut album Please Excuse Me For Being Antisocial, it’s that so much of it sounded like somebody else. He wasn’t shy about wearing his influences on his sleeve. Whether he sounded like Young Thug or he sounded like Lil Wayne, much of Antisocial was the sound of an artist who’d arrived at the highest echelon of rap stardom — thanks in large part to the dominant single “The Box” and his affiliation with Nipsey Hussle on “Racks In The Middle” — still figuring out who he wanted to be.

On his new album, Live Life Fast, not only is he a year removed from his debut and the furor surrounding it but he has also had, like many of us, a year away from the routines of life. He’s had time to contemplate himself, his newfound fame, his role in the world, the effects of the traumas he spent most of that album describing. That sort of self-reflection is rarely afforded to artists of Roddy’s standing and trajectory, and the results are, if nothing else, intriguing to hear.

Admittedly, without having any record as immediately explosive as “The Box” on Live Life Fast, the new project is likely to be a much slower-burning sort of hit, one driven by its multi-layered songwriting and production inspiring repeat listens rather than the massive success of one or two singles that strangle radio and playlists for months on end. He still alternates between that yowling, yelping, strained vocal delivery and the clipped, terse rhythmic one throughout the new album, but he’s got some new things to say.

Time and adversity have a way of shifting your perspective but usually, in hip-hop, we don’t get so much of it all at once. The end result is a more introspective version of Roddy on tracks like “Crash The Party,” on which he rhymes, “The tour life got me in light so I can see / I ain’t never choose this shit, it came to me.” When the song ends on a contemplative recollection of a low point in his life walking through some of the most dangerous hoods in Compton (if you know, you know), he truly conveys the sense of how far he’s come — and how bewildering it can be for someone who once defined his world’s borders by a quartet of freeways.

Here also, rather than aping his influences, he salutes them while striving to distinguish himself as his own unique artist. There are nods to Kanye West’s productions on album intro “LLF” which borrows the hook from Rick Ross’ “Live Fast, Die Young” and the prelude to “Slow It Down,” which brings in Jamie Foxx to reprise his monologue on Kanye’s “Slow Jamz.” Instead of adopting Fivio Foreign’s flow on the New York drill swing “Murda One,” he wrangles the track to his own will, resulting in a better drill track than most New Yorkers have managed in the past two years.

The production here has an expansive, eclectic quality; check out the jazz riffing on “Moved to Miami” with Lil Baby, which lends the gritty content a luxurious sheen. However, Roddy still proves to be adept at coming up with catchy hooks over bouncy, trap-forward stuff as well. On “Don’t I” with frequent collaborator and fellow Thugger student Gunna, Roddy raps some of his cleverest lines, boasting, “Had to put some privacy trees around the villa ’cause I know the nеighbors too nosey,” and dissing “Chatty Patties” on the internet.

All of this growth, of course, bears with it the risk of throwing off fans who perhaps expected more epic production in the vein of “The Box” or Antisocial closer “War Baby,” or lyrics that reflected the itchy, paranoid vibe of the prior album. Instead, they’ll hear Roddy’s thoughts on growing in a relationship, becoming a father, and experiencing real wealth without the penitentiary chances that defined his early output. To those fans, I’d say: Give Roddy’s latest a chance, and it might change your mind as much as its process has apparently changed Roddy.

Live Life Fast is out now via Atlantic. Listen to it here.

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

Latto Shuts Down A Cleveland Rapper’s Accusations Of Plagiarism

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A new song Atlanta rapper Latto recently shared drew negative attention from another female rapper who had a similar concept, prompting her to address accusations of plagiarism from the other rapper. On December 22, Latto shared a clip of the new song on TikTok, along with a video of herself posing for photos in bejeweled lingerie while holding a goat on a leash (get it, GOAT?). Over the sparse beat, Latto can be heard rapping, “It’s giving boss bitch.”

That was the key phrase that set off Cleveland rapper Big Indo, who posted to her Instagram comparing Latto’s new song to her own track, “Givin’ Me.” She also noted similarities in the skeletal production, saying, “NOT THE BEAT TOO just higher tempo.” Along with her song, she also posted a few slides of photos in a similar bikini.

However, when the story was picked up by gossip blogs, the “Big Energy” rapper responded on her Instagram story, shooting down the comparison. “It’s givin… nobody,” she wrote. “Y’all really think I’m 1 of the 14 ppl that listened to her before??? Lmao I cannot make thi shit up. I’m over here frustrated af cause IVE NEVER HEARD OF OR SEEN SHAWTY EVER IN MY LIFE!!!! DON’T FLATTER YOURSELF! Never heard of this bitch, seen her, listened to … NOTHING! Y’all be giving y’all self too much credit. Everybody says “it’s giving” I just so happened to make a song using the REGULAR ASS BASIC ASS term.”

Polo G Paid Insane Amount For Lakers/Nets Tickets

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For many of us, this would be an irresponsible, reckless way of spending money but for Chicago rapper Polo G, this was just another Saturday. Spending time in Los Angeles over the holidays, the “Martin & Gina” artist felt like catching a Christmas Day game at the newly-renamed Crypto.com Arena. He didn’t want to watch from the nosebleeds either, opting for courtside seats to get the best view of the action, and, as you can likely imagine, he spent a pretty penny to watch LeBron & Co. take on the Brooklyn Nets.


Jason Kempin/Getty Images

The final price for Polo G’s ticket was over $75,000 to Saturday night’s game, which sounds absolutely ridiculous to spend on any event, considering you can get a luxury car for that price. Polo already has a filled garage, and he’s spoiled his family a lot over the years, so he can comfortably drop $75,000 on a basketball game that lasts only three hours. Unfortunately though, Polo did not get to watch Kyrie Irving, Anthony Davis, or Kevin Durant in action. All three players were out and the Lakers ended up losing after making two late-game comeback efforts, extending their losing streak.

The rapper does say the price of admission was “worth it” though so at least he was entertained.

Would you ever pay this much to watch an NBA game?

Skip Bayless’ Worst Twitter Takes

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Skip Bayless has put his foot in his mouth a lot over the past couple of decades. Whether he is talking about Tim Tebow, LeBron James, or even Kevin Durant, Bayless always seems to find himself at the center of controversy. There has been much debate about Skip’s authenticity and whether or not he actually means what he says– his hot takes verge on too-shocking-to-believe at times. Regardless, Bayless is still going strong with his awful takes, and he seems to make people laugh, even if for the wrong reasons.

Lately, Bayless has been in the news thanks to his Twitter spat with Kevin Durant, and given this virality, we figured it would be a great time to present some of Skip’s worst tweets of all time. From hot takes to classless puns, Skip has never shied away from being the bad guy on social media. So without further ado, here are some of his worst moments on the bird app.

Skip Says Tim Tebow Is Better Than Cam Newton

Skip Bayless

Image via Twitter

Skip Bayless absolutely loves Tim Tebow so it should come as no surprise that the former quarterback makes up a large part of this list. Coming out of Florida, Skip thought Tebow would be the future of the NFL thanks to his leadership and ability to win games late. As a result, Skip went through a phase of claiming that Tebow was better than a vast majority of the NFL talents we praise today. Included in that list was none other than Cam Newton. While Newton has certainly had his struggles as of late, there is no denying that he has had a much better career than Tebow, thus making this hot take one for the garbage bin.

Skip Bayless Says Johnny Manziel Will Have A Better Career Than LeBron James

Skip Bayless

Image via Twitter

This could easily be Skip’s most unhinged take in his career. He has always hated LeBron James, and when Johnny Manziel got drafted by the Cleveland Browns, Bayless found a way to offer up perhaps the craziest take one could ever imagine. Skip effectively said that Manziel will one day surpass LeBron’s stardom in Cleveland, which was a dumbfounding statement if we’ve ever heard one. Manziel ended up being one of the biggest busts in NFL history, and these days, he is playing football on Twitch. As for LeBron, he brought Cleveland a championship and even has his own school in Akron, Ohio. Needless to say, Skip took a massive L on this one. 

Skip Takes Derek Fisher Over Steve Kerr

Skip Bayless

Image via Twitter

All you have to look at here is the fact that Steve Kerr has three NBA titles as a head coach, while Derek Fisher has zero. Fisher isn’t even coaching in the NBA anymore, which just goes to show how wrong Skip was on this. Bayless always seemed to be skeptical of Kerr, and at the time, this probably wasn’t the worst take imaginable. In hindsight, however, it’s hard not to laugh.

Skip Once Again Disrespects Cam Newton, Chooses Josh Freeman Over Him

Skip Bayless

Image via Twitter

Here is an exercise for you. Go on Google, and type Josh Freeman Pro Football Reference. There, you will find everything you need to know about whether or not the former Buccaneers quarterback had a better career than Cam Newton. Freeman has not played in the NFL since 2015, and he was only a starter for about three seasons. In those three seasons, he had one solid year, but it was never enough to really get him anywhere. Cam, on the other hand, is a former MVP who even led his team to a Super Bowl game. Sure, they lost, but he at least did something. Given this information, it’s comical just how flat Skip fell here.

Skip Calls Jay-Z Overrated, Declares Nelly Better

Skip Bayless

Image via Twitter

For the purposes of this list, we decided to go off the sports script and include something music-related. As you can see, Skip decided to call Jay-Z overrated, while dubbing Nelly as a better songwriter and hitmaker. If you’re a hip-hop head, this was a truly blasphemous tweet, but coming from Skip, you can’t expect anything less. After all, the guy is 70 years old, so there is no point arguing with him about this. Sometimes you just have to let someone be wrong.

Skip Offers Up A Ridiculously Ill-Timed Chris Brown Pun

Skip Bayless

Image via Twitter

This one isn’t a hot take but it falls under the umbrella of cringe-worthy. Quite frankly, it doesn’t even really deserve an explanation. It’s just kind of rancid, and yet another reminder of just how much Twitter was the Wild West back in 2009.

Skip Takes RG3 Over Andrew Luck

Skip Bayless

Image via Twitter

Neither of these two quarterbacks really accomplished much throughout their careers. Much of this was due to injuries, and now, they are both out of the game. However, it has become obvious to everyone at this point that Luck was the better quarterback and by a significant margin. RG3’s style of play was perfect for the college game, but it just didn’t suit the pros all that well. It was flashy and fun to watch, but it didn’t lead to any longevity. As for Luck, he attempted multiple playoff runs, and almost took the Colts to a Super Bowl. Simply put, Luck won was easily the better of the two.

Skip Calls Von Miller Overrated

Skip Bayless

Image via Twitter

Skip loves to call people overrated, and back in 2011, he was using that designation on Von Miller who now plays for the Los Angeles Rams. Throughout his career as a Bronco, Miller was one of the best linebackers in the entire NFL, and he even won Super Bowl MVP in a year where Peyton Manning was the quarterback for the Broncos. Miller was the most important player on a championship roster, and it ultimately made Skip’s tweet one of his worst. Say what you will about Miller now, but when he was in his prime, Miller was easily the scariest man on the field.

Skip Claims Peyton Manning Will Regret Going To The Broncos

Skip Bayless

Image via Twitter

Manning went to a Super Bowl with the Broncos in 2014 and two years later he won the Super Bowl with the very same team. Meanwhile, the Titans and 49ers struggled in those ensuing years, which ultimately demonstrated that Manning made the right decision. As for Tebow, he jumped from team to team and never found success as a QB, ever again. In fact, he went on to become a failed baseball prospect and a failed tight end for the Jacksonville Jaguars. At this point, it’s almost like Skip is putting a curse on the people he likes.

Skip Balls Brandon Weeden A Future Star

Skip Bayless

Image via Twitter

This one is self-explanatory really. Brandon Weeden was terrible with the Cleveland Browns and he never did anything starter worthy. Sure, he wasn’t the Browns’ worst QB in the last decade, but that’s not exactly a difficult thing to accomplish. This was simply another case of Skip falling flat on his face, and it’s fun to look back on the take and make fun of it for just how shortsighted it really was.

Let us know your favorite Skip Bayless moments, in the comments below.

Lil Dicky Drops “We Good” With GaTa From “Dave” Finale On Streaming Platforms

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Spoiler Alert: Lil Dicky’s FXX comedy series Dave, which wrapped up its second season in August, has captivated an audience of hip-hop lovers and comedy enthusiasts. As he perfectly blends drama and hilarity, Dicky’s season 2 finale closed off an epic journey for the main character Dave, inspired by Dicky, and his hype man GaTa, who is Dicky’s hype man in real life.

The episode ends with the duo performing their collaborative song “We Good” together in an emotional reunion. While the song works best in the confines and context of the show, fans loved it so much that Dicky decided to reward their passion by dropping it on streaming platforms on Christmas Eve, even though he is Jewish.

In the finale, we only get to hear GaTa and Dicky’s back-and-forth opening verse, the first rendition of the hook and half of the second verse. But, on the official version, they include the end of the second verse, which sandwiches an additional rendition of the chorus along with a third verse.

As the song goes on, the Dicky and GaTa establish more chemistry, and comedic tones from the show start to show more and more. Fans will surely appreciate this Christmas gift from Lil Dicky, as it brings back the rush of tearful joy that the last scene of Dave did.

Check out “We Good” by Lil Dicky and GaTa below.

Quotable Lyrics
Whatchu’ do today? (Hm-hm) I ate in several ways
Oh, you was eatin’ good?
The pussy was gush
And the bitches all bad?
Wait a minute, GaTa, this song is about our friendship
My bad

Fans Are Going To Miss The Music Of ‘Insecure’ As Much As The Show Itself

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One of the highlights of Issa Rae’s hit HBO show Insecure was always the soundtrack, curated by Issa herself and featuring some of hip-hop and R&B’s rising stars. Fans reveled in both hearing longtime faves and getting put onto newcomers with every episode, with the show’s team sharing each episode’s tracklist as part of a growing playlist on streaming services. On Sunday night, the series finale aired, bringing the show to a close that fans are still discussing and debating on Twitter.

And while the touching finale may have sparked diverging opinions on the resolution of its lead character’s complicated love life, one thing many fans seem to agree on is that the music helped make the show. Scrolling through the “Insecure” trending topic on Twitter, you’re just as likely to see messages praising the show’s musical curation as you are ones debating various plot points throughout its five-season run.

Many of the artists featured on the soundtrack also chimed in with both praise and thanks for Issa Rae’s fan-favorite series, which many say helped introduce them to new audiences — a sentiment that fans echoed wholeheartedly. Issa herself, who always live-tweets the show right along with fans, offering background information from the writer’s room and her inspirations for the show’s setting, plot, and its plethora of jokes, even noted how some of the finale’s songs found their way into touching pivotal scenes.