Tyler The Creator has shared songs with the likes of rapper-turned-hustler Pusha T now, he can confidently say they share something in common: They’re both Coke rappers.
[Ducks thrown tomato.]
Okay, okay, sorry. I know that was bad. But if you’re still reading, Tyler The Creator really has added Coca-Cola to his impressive list of brand partnerships. His new song, “Tell Me How,” soundtracked a new television commercial for the world’s favorite soft drink last month, and today, he’s released the full version of the song.
When the commercial first rolled out, Tyler naturally shared a few tweets to offer fans some background on the collaboration.
“That’s me playing the flute at the beginning,” he revealed. He also thanked the brand for the opportunity, saying that after getting over some initial skepticism, he realized he could elevate the form. “Thanks coca cola for reallll,” he wrote. “big love for the opportunity i was like ehh idk but then i fucking ran with it. commercials need sounds like this, thanksssss.”
mannnn thanks coca cola for reallll big love for the opportunity i was like ehh idk but then i fucking ran with it. commercials need sounds like this, thanksssss
The commercial represents a huge milestone for Tyler, who has completely transformed from the artist he was at the beginning of his career. Back then, brands would have been terrified to work with him and Odd Future; even Questlove was nervous they’d get The Tonight Show canceled (like, TV canceled. We weren’t doing Twitter cancels yet). Ten years later, Tyler is working with one of the biggest brands in the world — and very nearly becoming one himself.
Watch the Coca-Cola commercial up top and the song below.
This morning, Cardi B stopped by Today to make a big announcement: She is releasing her own doll and dolls for other artists could be coming soon, too.
She explained her motivation behind the project, saying:
“I have a 2-year-old, right? And I buy dolls every time I go to Target and they expensive. Somebody came with this idea to me and I’m like, ‘That is great because I would love my daughter to play with a doll that looks like me.’ I mean, all these other dolls look like me, I might as well make one for myself. But then I also came up with a plan, because these dolls are supposed to represent different women. So I feel like after mine drops, I want to drop a doll of different artists. Then I also want to do fun things on Instagram and I want women that have different careers than me to tell me a little bit about their life and everything, and I want to pick them and I don’t know, maybe I have a doll and she’s a doctor, she’s a nurse, you know what I’m saying? Just different types of women and I want to display them and I want them to look beautiful just like me.”
She continued, “Growing up, I ain’t never seen a doll that looks like me, you know what I’m saying? I ain’t never seen a doll that really represents me. You go to the doll aisles when you’re my age, it’s either like there’s a real white one, there’s a real dark one, and there’s like barely one that’s in the middle. None of them have my style, none of them have my flavor. I want a doll that represents me.”
.@iamcardib joins us this morning with an exclusive announcement: she is launching a doll! Cardi B talks to us about the inspiration behind the project and why it was important for her to help design a doll that looks like her and is diverse. pic.twitter.com/44vwQjMZVB
Cardi went on to note that to get the doll, customers can get on a waiting list on the Real Women Are website and that the doll will be available in July. The site indicates the doll will sell for $35 and shows off some product images of it. The site also notes, “This exclusive limited-edition drop is only available for 72 hours, and will never be available again.”
When we first met Jazmine Sullivan, she was just a young woman figuring life out. Now years later, she arrives with a fresh perspective on her first project in over five years, Heaux Tales.
The thing that was missing back then from now, as Jazmine simply puts it, is grace. Grace is such a wonderful thing because it allows one to stop, breathe, think, and experience emotions that otherwise could never be bothered to be dealt with. Thoughts and feelings that are “swept under the rug” so to speak, because who has time for…feelings? (LOL) Heaux Tales unapologetically unveils what every woman goes through when that pause is taken and an honest conversation is had with the self about sex and the reality of relationships — and there’s power in that.
The stories Jazmine sings are inspired by close friends and family within her circle. She beautifully narrates the kind of freedom to be had on the other side of self-love and self-care, such as “Lost One” or everything Ari Lennox discloses on “Ari’s Tale.”
In a conversation with Uproxx, Jazmine further divulges on the meaning of Heaux Tales, shares the women in her life who inspire her the most, and also tells us what it was like performing at the Super Bowl with H.E.R.
Jazmine, we missed you and you dropped Heaux Tales during a pandemic after years of silence. Was there any hesitation about releasing this project considering everything?
We wanted to be sensitive obviously with everything that was going on so we did have talks about when to put the project out when was the best time to release music. We decided on the beginning of this year and I’m happy. I’m happy with the time that we came out. I feel like it was a good time. I feel like people were home and they kind of want it. They were able to listen in a way, because of the pandemic that maybe if we were all out and about, people may not have had the attention span to do so. I felt like it was good for that reason.
Considering Heaux Tales and everything that you learned from the relationship you went through during the second album at 24, what would you tell your 24-year-old self now?
I would tell my 24-year-old self to love yourself enough to let go of any situation that’s not making you better. And also, not to take it so hard on yourself that you don’t know everything. I think when you’re younger, you kind of beat yourself up. You think that you’re supposed to know things and honestly, you don’t really know until you grow and go through it. Now that I’m older, I definitely have a lot more grace for myself. The things that I don’t know where I mess up at, I have grace.
Do you remember the first time you gave yourself grace and allowed yourself to breathe for a second.
It’s really been during the process of Heaux Tales because it’s hard not to beat yourself up. Especially as a woman, because we feel like we have to do everything perfectly and just be perfect. We have the world on our shoulders normally anyway so we feel like we have to live up to a certain standard and, as a woman growing up, I always felt that way. This process and making the project helped me to do that by listening to the tales of other women, my girlfriends, and older women. And, just knowing that we’re human and we don’t have to be perfect and just allow ourselves to figure things out.
Do you think that men and women can be more honest about their relationships and what they want nowadays?
I think men have been honest and could be honest about everything in their lives because society doesn’t judge men the way that they do women. But I do feel like now there’s a movement with women where we are not being ashamed of our experiences and in fact, proud of them. Because now we’re realizing that without those experiences, we wouldn’t be who we are today. I feel like women are kind of taking up space and being bold about who they are and what they’ve done and what they’ve learned and come through. I just wanted to add to that movement by adding these stories.
Who are some of the women that inspire you?
Definitely my mother, she’s amazing. She is perfect… darn near at everything. She’s so creative and she’s the reason that I sing. I watched her battle cancer and go through chemo so gracefully. She’s just amazing to see. Also, my girlfriends, watching them grow from when we was 14 and 15 to now in our early thirties has been a pleasure and an honor, and they’ve taught me so much as far as being a woman. Mothers and partners and stuff like that. So I definitely just look up to them as well.
I’ve noticed you and Drake don’t have any songs together, but I feel like…
You noticed that.
Yes! And I was just thinking, back when you came out, I feel like you and Drake were out around the same time. I remember I was in college and I think it was just a really big moment in music.
I’ve never met Drake. I love Drake. I love his music and I definitely would do something if he wanted to. I actually haven’t even thought about a particular song, but I think that would be dope.
I feel like “Lost One,” just lives in the same energy as…
Him or maybe Frank Ocean. Either one.
Speaking of Frank, you were on his Endless project. Tell me about your relationship with Frank.
Oh, I love him. I’m such a super fan. When he calls me, I’m always down to go work with him. I really just want to go and listen to his music before it comes out. I will literally be like, okay, what you going to play me to hear? But he’s amazing and he’s a freaking genius. We enjoy working together. I would love to actually do a full collaboration one day because most of the time I’m just singing background vocals and stuff like that. I would love to do an actual song with him.
The streets need it! I also want to talk about your relationship with Issa Rae, because you sang “Insecure” with Bryson Tiller for the Insecure soundtrack. I also saw that tweet where you said you wanted to work with her on something for Heaux Tales. Is there an update on that?
We have been in communication through texts. I believe she’s working on some things now. She’s definitely busy doing so many projects. I think it’s just about schedules and trying to see if we can actually get together to come up with the body of what we want to do. We both love each other and respect each other and what each other does. Hopefully, we get the time to actually create it.
We’re still thinking about that. I definitely would love it to be visual. I want to bring the characters to life. I think that people actually seeing these women talk about their tales and talk about their lives would just enhance Heaux Tales and what it means to women to see themselves. So maybe a short film, maybe episodes of the women.
Let’s talk about Super Bowl because I thought that that was so dope. I’ve been waiting for people to just recognize you. I feel like Super Bowl was that moment like, yes, that’s Jazmine Sullivan. Tell us about you getting that call to go do Super Bowl and the feelings that you were feeling when you were performing.
I was super shocked. First, to get the call, I had never even thought that my career would take me to the Super Bowl. I thought it was cool to blend the two sounds with Eric Church, being a country singer, and me being a soul R&B artist. I had never heard him before we actually did the song, but I definitely thought, he was a good country artist and I thought it’ll be nice to blend our sounds together. I actually wasn’t nervous until I started singing. I didn’t realize how huge the impact was until I opened my mouth to sing. Then I was like, “Oh my God, it’s millions of people watching me right now.” It hit me right at that moment and then I got super nervous. So, it was amazing. It was a once-in-a-lifetime accomplishment. I was just so happy that my parents were there to see me do that. They put so much energy and effort into me being a singer and the fact that we all got to share that moment meant everything.
What did your mom and dad say when you told them, “I’m about to perform at the Super Bowl.”
Oh, everybody screamed. My dad doesn’t scream, but he screamed on the inside. Everybody was super excited because I just put my project out maybe two weeks before I got that call. I wasn’t thinking about that at all. I just wanted people to enjoy my work. Then I got such an overwhelming, great response for the project and then that opportunity came. It was blessing after blessing. We were all just super grateful.
H.E.R. was also there performing at the Super Bowl too and y’all collab a lot. Tell me about your relationship with H.E.R. and how it felt to do Super Bowl with her.
We’re, first of all, are just fans of each other first and foremost. When I was on my hiatus, I was just watching H.E.R. dominate and was just amazed, like everybody else, at just how gifted she was. All the instruments she plays and how well she sings. When I was making my songs, she was the first person that kind of came to my head to do the collaboration. I called her. She loved the song and finished it so quickly. Our relationship just grew from there. We’re always just trying to text each other and just encourage her and let her know, just how amazing she is.
It was definitely a moment to do that with her because we’re two Black women. She’s in her early twenties and I’m in my early thirties. We just out here representing for women in general and Brown women and doing our thing and try to bring, real talent, vocals, with her instruments. You’re trying to bring that to the forefront. I love so much that she did “America The Beautiful” first and then I did the “Star-Spangled Banner.” It was a moment for us.
I love that for you guys. The song “Girl Like Me” you two have, I feel like a lot of women feel that way. Is that something that you guys have sat down and talked about with each other?
I had started writing a song, some time ago. I wrote maybe the verse and the hook and the bridge, and I was like, it needs something. I just thought about it real quick and H.E.R. just kind of popped up in my head. I was nervous to actually send it to her because I knew I had been away from the industry for a minute. I just didn’t know if anybody would even care to work with me. When she responded so quickly, I was so happy that she did. She added her part and it just elevated the song so much.
It basically highlights her relationship with the media and fans. As a kid, I didn’t realize how awful the media treated her and just women period. For you, when you started and you entered the business what can you say about the pressure of being in the industry back thing? I feel like today, there seems to be a little bit more empathy and an emphasis on mental health. It was just very, very misogynistic. I didn’t realize it back then.
I have to look at the documentary. I would say that I was sheltered from a lot that was going on in the industry because my mom was so protective of me and my energy and everything that happened around me. She protected me from really knowing exactly what was going on, but definitely, there’s a different pressure with women than there has been with men historically. I can definitely imagine that for a pop artist, especially as big as she was, that there was so much pressure for her to be and act and look a certain way. It takes a toll on you as a person. I just pray for her. I know that the pressure, especially at her level was, it was too much. That’s why I’m an advocate for taking breaks. My breaks are a bit excessive.
But I’m an advocate for taking a break when you need it for your mental health because the world and the industry could be so cruel to people and they just don’t care. If you giving them something, they feel like they can make money off of it or exploit you in any way and they will and not care about you as a person. And so sometimes you have to take a second away from whatever it is that’s doing that to you. It could be a relationship. It could be your job. It could be social media sometimes. You need to take a break when you need to.
Absolutely. It’s hard. Especially if you’re a workaholic. It’s hard. Sometimes I feel guilty for taking breaks.
It’s a catch 22. It’s hard. It’s hard being a woman, man. You just feel like you got to work extra hard to be seen, but then at the same time, you have to, sometimes you know you need to take a break for yourself, but then you don’t feel like you can. So you’re just stuck in the middle of that cycle. So it’s hard.
Megan Thee Stallion sampled your song for her song “Circles” and she’s around the same age you were when you came out. She’s kind of going through her own thing that we’re all witnessing.
I know that it’s hard for her to do what she’s doing, but she’s doing amazing. Just stay focused, don’t let anybody come to take you off of the path that you’re on. Definitely keep God first.
Missy Elliott gave you a shout-out recently and told us a story about Whitney Houston that whenever you were 15, she was like, she didn’t believe that that was you singing.
I have never heard that story, first of all. So Missy probably got a thousand stories of people that we don’t even know about.
She has to write a memoir at some point.
Yes.
I read that you actually — I don’t know if it was a text message or was it a phone call — that you actually got a chance to speak with Whitney?
I was at dinner with Kim Burrell and somehow Whitney came up. She was like, have you ever talked to her? I was like, no. She’s just like, Oh, let me call her. I’ll get her on the phone. I was like, huh? So she got on the phone and we spoke for literally a second, but it just made my night to hear from her. Everybody knows what Whitney means to music and it was amazing to be able to hear from her and actually speak to her.
Do you remember what you guys talked about for that brief moment?
I don’t. I think she may have said that she heard me sing or something like that. My mouth probably dropped and I probably stopped listening. I probably was in shock, to be honest.
I would probably react the same exact way. What song can’t you wait to perform live with an audience when we open up?
I think “Bodies” will be cool to perform live and see people sing the lyrics to. Probably “On It” because I’m seeing so many people who love “On It.” It definitely would be different for me because I don’t really do a lot of sexy songs. I think it’ll be fun to do that live.
Let’s talk about that song. You said you don’t do a lot of sexy songs, but what made you switch it up for this with Ari Lennox? I think we’ve all been waiting for that one to drop!
The project was about women being free, especially around their sexuality and not feeling the shame. That was definitely a song where there was no shame attached to it. Ari is a fellow Aries sister, she might be a little spicier than me, but it naturally fit in with her tale and what she was talking about with her tale. I just thought I needed that moment of being super sensual and sexual and doing it confidently.
Anderson .Paak was one of the supporting acts on Bruno Mars’ world tour in support of his album 24K Magic, and it turns out that’s where the seed of pair’s new band, Silk Sonic, was planted. The way Mars tells it, though, things really got started with .Paak getting drunk on his 25th birthday and joining Mars in the studio.
Mars and .Paak chatted about the project and their new song “Leave The Door Open” with Apple Music’s Zane Lowe. Mars explained, “There’s a song on the album that we started in 2017, that was on tour. And it was just a little phrase that we had that we were joking around going back and forth about. When we got to the studio, I actually called him on his birthday and I said, ‘I think I figured out that little hook we had. Come to the studio.’ He’s like, ‘It’s my birthday.’ So he came drunk. After every take, he was on fire.”
.Paak then chimed in, “My 25th birthday, bro, what was I going to do?”
Mars continued:
“That’s what it was. It snowballed. And it was like, well, want to come back tomorrow? And we kept coming up with music. It felt like why you fall in love with music in the first place. And jamming with your buddy… There’s no plan, just working out the parts and trying to excite each other. That’s why this wouldn’t happen if it didn’t make sense and it didn’t feel natural and organic. This was a series of events that led us to, ‘Man, why don’t we just do it?’ Starting with the tour, us creating a friendship and a bond and talking to each other and sharing the same love for music, getting into the studio, quarantine, all of these things. it was the equation to get this album and it’s… that’s God.”
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
Dr. Dre’s Detox, previously described by producer Dem Jointz as a “mythical creature,” is easily one of hip-hop’s most intriguing projects. Given that it has seen a variety of different iterations, having been announced as far back as the early millennium, it’s no surprise that many studio tales have surfaced about the elusive Dre album. As it happens, Too $hort recently shared a few such tales with HipHopDX, opening up about his own experience in the studio with the Good Doctor, whose meticulous nature as a perfectionist was on full display.
Chelsea Lauren/Getty Images
During the interview, $hort reveals that the pair worked on an unreleased track called “Man’s Best Friend,” one of over two-hundred songs currently lining Dre’s Detox vault. Citing the track as having been recorded around 2012, $hort clearly looks back on the session fondly. “I did an eight-hour session to record the verse, then I did an eight-hour session to touch up the verse,” explains $hort. “Then he called me back for four hours just to say ‘the pussy.’ For four hours. And when he played it back, I had no regrets.”
“I never sounded like that in my life, and I only heard it a few times,” he continues. “I never got to hear it that much anymore. Other people told me about it, but it’s just one of those things, man. It’s in the universe somewhere. It was for Detox, but he also made 200 plus other songs for Detox.”
Mike Coppola/Getty Images
Prior to stepping in for the session, $hort made sure to reach out to those familiar with Dre’s process, as to be more effectively prepared. “People kept saying, ‘It’s hard to work with Dre. It’s hard to work with Dre,'” he remembers. “Then I talked to Snoop, and he said, ‘Most motherfuckers can’t hang with Dr. Dre in the studio. He’ll break you down to your least compound and just shrivel you up, and you just walk out of there with your tail tucked between your fucking legs.’ It’s not going to make sense, some of the shit he tells you. Just do it. Whatever he says do, just do it.’”
“So when he had me saying ‘the pussy’ for four hours, I was just like, ‘All right. We going to do this shit, Dre,” says $hort. “Whatever the fuck,’ because I’m like, ‘I’m not leaving with my tail between my legs, bro.” Lo and behold, $hort stepped up to the task, and though we’ll probably never see the finished product, at least the legendary rapper walked out with a memory for the ages. At the very least, we’ll be seeing Dr. Dre and Too $hort reunite on the latter’s upcoming album with Snoop Dogg, E-40, and Ice Cube.
“First and foremost I want to send some positivity and blessings out to everybody. I hope you’re staying physically strong, mentally strong, and making the most of what we’ve been dealt,” he said during the launch. “I’m excited to announce this new platform and this new opportunity that we have with SiriusXM, a 24-hour, round-the-clock curated music station bringing the people that have trusted in us for years the same thing that we’ve always delivered.”
Memphis rap has been booming this year but two of the city’s toughest steppers are officially headed to Aspen, Colorado for some fun in the snow. Young Dolph and Key Glock have always formed a strong duo, collaborating handfuls of times and managing to bring the best out of each other. We witnessed that first-hand with the release of their collaborative album Dum & Dummer. The duo of Memphis rappers has strong chemistry out of Paper Route EMPIRE and, for their latest display, they’re announcing the follow-up project with their new single “Aspen”.
Operating at an even higher level of craftsmanship on the new collaboration, Dolph and Glock invite fans back into their world for the latest single to arrive from the upcoming Dum & Dummer 2. The two stars are blood cousins, so it makes sense that they have so much chemistry in the studio. The icy new single “Aspen” features production from BandPlay. The music video will be out later today.
Listen to “Aspen” below and stay tuned for more information about the upcoming release of Dum & Dummer 2.
Quotable Lyrics:
Stay out my way, I’ll pop you like an Aspirin (Watch out) Trap n***a on the way to Aspen (Aspen) Smoke the best weed and spent millions on fashion (Stylin’) I cash the chicken, went ballin’ in Aspen (Colorado) Grew up f*cked up, now I’m havin’ (Yeah, yeah) Don’t make me book you for a closed casket (Yeah, yeah) Drop a bag on ya ass and go to Aspen (Aspen) I just dropped off sixty bags in the Aston (Martin)
After being named a 2020 XXL Freshman, Baby Keem seems set to have a huge breakout year in 2021. The West Coast rapper and producer has garnered widespread attention for his projects DIE FOR MY BITCH and The Sound of Bad Habits, and lately, fans have been clamoring for a new album from the pgLang artist. Luckily, the drought is over, as Baby Keem has officially shared his first single of the year, which he started teasing on his Instagram a couple of weeks ago.
Co-produced by Baby Keem and Jahaan Sweet (who’s known for working with artists such as Drake and Jay-Z), “no sense” is a mellow, slow-burning single that finds Baby Keem exploring the fake energy and nonsense around him, from immature relationships to people trying to ride his wave of success. The pensive track is pulled from Keem’s highly anticipated upcoming album, and it gives fans a broadened taste of the pgLang artist’s ever-developing sound.
Does “no sense” have you excited for a new full-length from Baby Keem?
Quotable Lyrics
Are you mad at me? Are you irritated? I let you duck me, then you celebrated Are you showin’ off because you with your friends, dawg? Don’t be showin’ out when you with your friends, dawg Makes no sense, no, no, no These n*ggas tryna ride the wave, ride the wave, yeah
“Dam They Got Me Off Beat Af On This Melly Song SMH,” said Kodak in a since-deleted tweet. “We Gone Have To Revisit This One Later..” Fans were quick to react to the tweet, telling Kodak that the song was still fire and that it should be kept the way it was. YNW Melly even responded (from behind bars, no less) and told the superstar rapper that his team was figuring it out. “We getting dat bih rite it’s melvin n yak stop playing with our top engenier [sic],” said the incarcerated artist.
The new song, titled “Thugged Out”, is among one of the more exciting releases from last night’s slate of new music. It marks the latest collaboration between Kodak Black and YNW Melly, who have been mutually supportive throughout their equally troubling legal situations.
