After serving up her While We Wait album in 2019 and It Was Good Until It Wasn’t LP in 2020, Kehlani is gearing up for yet another release in 2021. The Bay Area singer returned this week to tease her upcoming Blue Water Road release, which she has now previewed with the new love struck single “Altar.”
Directed by Kid Studio, the opulent video leans into the recently popularized cottagecore aesthetic, filled with flowing outfits, colorful flowers, and rustic decor. Kehlani and her crush delicately dance around the small house until nightfall and the room is filled with the warm glow of candlelight.
Speaking about the new single and video in a statement, Kehlai said it’s dedicated to the ones she’s loved loved and lost. “To all those i have lost, all the angels i have gained, all those that walk with me with hands cracking my chest open, this is for you. i love you,” she wrote.
Ahead of the “Altar” visual’s release, Kehlani announced her Blue Water Road album with an eerie trailer. It opened with the singer stranded on a deserted dirt road with an injured leg. A dragonfly lands on her hand and instantly burst into flames. So far, Kehlani hasn’t shared a solid release date for the upcoming album, but she did note that it’s slated for a winter release.
Watch Kehlani’s “Altar” video above.
Kehlani is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
Toronto natives Belly and Nav link up in the video for “Requiem” from Belly’s new album See You Next Wednesday, which dropped in August on Roc Nation and XO. The song is a mellow Trap&B ballad that references the film Requiem For A Dream as the two rappers boast their lavish lifestyles, inviting women to participate therein. While guest rapper Nav takes the back end, bragging about his rapidly filling passport and treating his lady to the finer things, Belly celebrates his sobriety while noting “I made addiction look elegant.”
See You Next Wednesday constitutes something of a comeback for Belly, who spent the years since dropping his last album Immigrant in 2018 operating behind the scenes, helping pen hits for his XO boss The Weeknd and pursuing a lawsuit against Goldenvoice and Coachella for assaulting him after his 2018 performance. He re-emerged this spring with the first two singles from the new album, releasing a smooth cadence of singles throughout the summer including “Zero Love” with Moneybagg Yo, “Better Believe” with The Weeknd and Young Thug, and “Die For It” with Nas and The Weeknd. The rollout culminated in a No. 27 debut on Billboard‘s US Independent Albums chart.
Watch Belly’s “Requiem” video featuring Nav above.
See You Next Wednesday is out now via XO/Roc Nation Records. Get it here.
Nicki Minaj’s vaccine tall tale continued to inspire content as late-night host Stephen Colbert joined in on the fun on his show last night. A few days ago, Nicki tweeted she is unvaccinated because her cousin told her his friend had an unusual adverse reaction to a vaccine that caused his testes to swell up. Despite that horror story being debunked by Dr. Anthony Fauci, who pointed out there’s ‘no mechanistic reason’ for a vaccine to affect one’s sexual organs, Nicki has remained more or less steadfast.
However, the unintentional hilarity of the tweet’s “Caribbean auntie WhatsApp broadcast energy” prompted plenty of equally hilarious meme-ing at Nicki’s expense. Colbert, looking to one-up Twitter’s plethora of pranksters, hijacking Nicki’s one-time biggest hit, “Super Bass,” turn to playfully jab at the likely mythical cousin’s friend’s dilemma with “Super Balls.” The show was cold-opened with the video, to the audience’s delight.
Remixing Nicki’s colorful video with closeups of all kinds of balls (basketballs, beach balls, disco balls, ping pong balls, etc.), the lyrics are revamped to reflect fictional misfortune, referencing King-Kong, the moons of Mars, and James And The Giant Peach. Colbert also roasted Nicki’s narrative in his opening monologue, cracking, “Nicki Minaj is known for her extensive research on what anacondas want… if and when you’ve got buns, hun.” Taking the iffy provenance of her story to task, he snarked, “To be fair to Dr. Minaj, everyone knows there’s no source more reliable than your extended family’s acquaintances in another country. Her report comes straight from the New England Journal of My Cousin’s Friend in Trinidad. Check out this week’s study: ‘I Heard His Girlfriend Got Pregnant From a Hot Tub.’”
Baby Keem is weird, but that’s not a bad thing at all. Many of today’s rappers are, and this often triggering adjective for some is not meant to be disrespectful to the 20-year-old Vegas rapper or any of his contemporaries. Keem is part of a generation of hip-hop that prides itself on going against the grain. “Rules” were broken, torn up, and disregarded, and rightfully so. Abiding by them for too long hinders the chance for evolution and change as a whole to occur. Kid Cudi, who Keem has cited as an inspiration on multiple occasions, Young Thug, Travis Scott, Playboi Carti, and many more, are clear-cut examples. With that being said, while the openness to all that is “weird” is clear nowadays, there are also limits to how funky, unique, and unorthodox things can get.
That’s something that Baby Keem’s major-label debut album The Melodic Blue understands. Comprised of 16 songs with help from stars like Kendrick Lamar, Don Toliver, and Travis Scott, the Vegas rapper dulls the loud colors and sonics just enough to deliver his version of a mellow atmosphere without sounding monotone or robotic. It’s a sharp contrast compared to his 2019 breakout project, Die For My B*tch — an erratic and chaotic release inspired by a failed relationship. That body of work promotes screaming and mosh-pitting your anger out as opposed to healthier and less-fun habits like meditation or therapy.
The Melodic Blue is Baby Keem’s attempt to balance his individuality with a reduced dose of his trademarked chaotic energy, something he tries to harness on the project. “Trademark USA” is a sucker punch to start the album that would also invite Gen-Zers all over the world to the mosh pit at the risk of their once-clean sneakers. Kendrick Lamar contributes to the raucousness of “Family Ties” and “Vent.” The former is by far the rowdiest track on the album thanks to Lamar’s proclamation of “smoking on your top five” rappers, while the latter invites aggression from all corners with the knowledge that Keem and Lamar can handle it all. The remaining majority of The Melodic Blue is occupied by records that show a more tender and reserved side of Keem.
An early example arrives on “Issues,” a spacious track that lays life’s most harrowing conflicts down like a deck of cards. Airy production uplifted by climatic drums adds to the whirlwind of unsolved issues in Keem’s life. It’s a song that the rapper says “means a lot to him” and with lyrics like, “I knew since we first got evicted out our roof / My new since rehab, I was six, tryna see you,” the weight of the track becomes clear. “Scars” is similar in the sense that Keem dips into the same pain-driven lyrics with conquering production. Even trap-leaning tracks like “First Order Of Business” and skeletal efforts like “Scapegoats” are superior for the things Keem says rather than for their sounds. It’s clear that Keem had a lot to get off his chest on The Melodic Blue, and in addition to crafting the appropriate lyrics to get that done, the rapper also placed himself in a sonic landscape that would accentuate the impact of his words. The best songs on the project, however, come when the rapper doesn’t sacrifice too much production to accomplish his goals for the album.
“Gorgeous” is a personal favorite from The Melodic Blue as it showcases the rapper’s unwavering love for his pattern with the help of heavy synths, ratting piano keys, and drawn out bass kicks. “Lost Souls” supplies the same airy production of “Issues” and “Scars,” but the addition of drums and a steady hi-hat bring it closer to a more familiar home for Keem. Even the banger that is “Durag Activity” with Travis Scott is laced with a verse from an extremely timid and near-mumbling Baby Keem. Along with additional examples like “Booman,” it becomes more and more obvious that residing as close to the middle on the spectrum of calm to chaotic was Keem’s goal for this project.
Personally, the toughest aspect of The Melodic Blue is letting go of prior expectations for the project to properly accept and digest the work Baby Keem offered to the world. Preference lies with the chaotic energy of Die For My B*tch, but truthfully speaking, that project is at the very most a strong collection of songs. The Melodic Blue aims to craft a cohesive album, and for what it’s worth, Keem succeeds at that. The rapper delivers just enough to accomplish that, but there are moments where a bit more could’ve been done to make this achievement undeniable. Whether it be extending “Scapegoats” into a full song or slashing the excessive and unnecessary second half of “Range Brothers,” The Melodic Blueundoubtedly has its rough edges. However, the album’s rawness elsewhere is also what makes it enjoyable, and in total, Baby Keem gets it done with his major-label debut album.
The Melodic Blue is out now via PgLang/Columbia. Get it here.
On Certified Lover Boy‘s“In The Bible” Drake put pretty simply, “Think I’m Tiger Woods.” A couple weeks later and we have this — NOCTA’s new line of golf apparel.
NOCTA, a collaborative project between Drake and Nike, has been churning out apparel since first debuting winter gear at the end of 2020 and today’s announcement, that golf apparel is on the way, is exciting for both Drake and Nike. Originally designed for hustlers and people on the go “who want functional, comfortable fits that are adaptable from one environment to the next,” NOCTA is pivoting a little bit here, focusing on one sport and one environment for the moment.
Either way, it will be interesting to see what this Drake x Nike NOCTA golf collection looks like. Drake said he thinks he’s Tiger Woods and for the entirety of his career has rapped about and even lamented the fact that he is not an athlete but with every NOCTA drop he gets a little closer to becoming the staple in the apparel world it’s clear he wants to be.
So what are your thoughts? Are you going to be checking for this NOCTA golf line when it comes out on the SNKRS app, NOCTA website and at select retailers later this month? Or are you leaving it on the shelves? Let us know in the comments.
Blueface found himself in some trouble over the weekend following a trip to a lounge in San Fernando Valley. A club bouncer filed a battery report accusing Blueface and two members of his entourage of serious assault that resulted in the need for medical attention. The battery report claimed that Blueface was not carrying ID on him, and pulled up a Google image instead of in an attempt to gain entry. The bouncer didn’t budge and Blueface and co. allegedly started to attack him.
Rich Fury/Getty Images
The rapper has seemingly responded to the allegations on an Instagram post, though indirectly. “You need people like me to point the finger at an[d] say that’s the bad guy –Scarface,” the caption read, along with a photo of himself in front of a group of people.
Photos of the injury did surface after the reports were made public. The victim’s face and head were severely bruised and cut. The police are currently investigating the matter but as of yet, the rapper nor any other suspect has been charged. Judging by Blueface’s recent post, it doesn’t seem like he’s entirely too concerned, either.
We’ll keep you posted on any more updates regarding Blueface and the case. Check out his post below.
Rap star Big Latto is taking a step back. Following her epic 2021 MTV Video Music Awards show performance, she went online to reflect on her looks during the event. Latto is never one to shy away from flexing her looks as she knows she’s bad, and this is no different. Here’s ten shots of Mulatto […]
Hip-hop fans really want Ashanti and Nelly to give things another try following Tuesday night’s Verzuz between Fat Joe and Ja Rule. The two former lovebirds were both on stage during the performance and, at one point, Nelly walked past all of the performers to seemingly ask his ex-girlfriend for a hug.
People are commenting on one moment during the Verzuz battle last night when Nelly seemingly parted the seas to get a hug from Ashanti. Ja Rule was in the midst of an intense performance, and Fat Joe was hyping up the crowd, but Nelly made sure to respectfully walk across the stage, angling his way around both of them on his way to Ashanti, who he hugged.
Rick Diamond/Getty Images
“Man walked through a whole performance to get that hug,” said one fan about the viral embrace. “He want that old thing back,” said another. “Mans traveled for that hug,” joked a third fan.
While the cameraman didn’t show much of their connection, a different angle shows Nelly before the hug, seemingly telling somebody that he was thinking of going to greet Ashanti after her performance of “What’s Luv.”
Riding the momentum of an impressive interlude on Drake’s Certified Lover Boy, Tems has come through to deliver her new EP If Orange Was A Place. Though short enough to be enjoyed in one cohesive sitting, “Replay” feels like an early standout, an uptempo melodic vibe that highlights her confident vocal presence and playful, intimate lyricism.
“Even on days, when they tried to arrest me, but if you live a lie, there’s no way you could get me,” she sings, her vocals blending beautifully with the lush production — even more so when she slides effortlessly into a lovely falsetto. “Pissed em off, they locked up in a celly / Then shock dem when they see me on the telly.” It’s certainly worth checking out, and if you like what you’re hearing, be sure to show Tems some love by checking out her brand new EP right here.
Quotable Lyrics
Even on days, when they tried to arrest me, But if you live a lie, there’s no way you could get me Pissed em off, they locked up in a celly Then shock dem when they see me on the telly
Louisiana rapper Lil Wayne is not slowing down on the buildup of his Young Money Entertainment empire. He and business partner Mack Maine – president of the label – just blessed up Tunechi’s newest signee with some wild ice. Lil Wayne Blesses Up Newest Young Money Signee Tunechi welcomed Mellow Rackz onto their squad with […]
