Month: June 2020

On Saturday, Chase Rice, who has had No. 1 songs and albums on the US country charts in recent years, performed at Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary, a Petros, Tennessee event center that used to be a prison. That normally wouldn’t be big news, but of course, the show took place during the pandemic, without substantial social distancing measures being implemented.

Rice posted (and later deleted) a video of his audience, members of which were packed tightly together and not wearing face masks. Rice wrote in the post, “We back.” The venue told TMZ they took “numerous precautions” for the show, including reducing the allowed capacity from 10,000 people down to 4,000. They said fewer than 1,000 people were in attendance.

Regardless of the precautions taken, Rice’s peers in the community were not pleased with what happened in Tennessee over the weekend. Fellow country musician Kelsea Ballerini was upset, writing on Twitter, “Imagine being selfish enough to put thousands of people’s health at risk, not to mention the potential ripple effect, and play a NORMAL country concert right now. @ChaseRiceMusic, We all want (and need) to tour. We just care about our fans and their families enough to wait.”

Finneas also wrote of the news, “A year ago, imagine all these people being asked ‘are you willing to die to see Chase Rice.’”

Find some more reactions from others in the music world below.

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

In 2019, it appeared Quality Control Music rapper Lil Baby was poised to become a breakout star. This year, he fulfilled that promise by hitting No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart the debut week of his sophomore album, My Turn. However, he’s gone further than almost anyone could have imagined, returning to the top of the chart just months later — and stayed there for the next three weeks, including this one. Billboard reports that on its chart date June 27, Lil Baby once again reigns for an impressive third week in a row — his fourth overall.

The success of My Turn was powered by a professional and long-lasting rollout that began last summer and included the singles “Out The Mud,” “Woah,” “Sum 2 Prove,” “Heatin’ Up,” “Forever,” “Grace,” and album standout “Emotionally Scarred.” Each received a video which helped propel streams on YouTube, while appearances from top rappers like Future, Lil Wayne, Moneybagg Yo, and Young Thug, as well as Baby’s fellow rising stars Gunna, Lil Uzi Vert, Rylo Rodriguez, and 42 Dugg helped expand the album’s reach.

Lil Baby’s accomplishment is made all the more impressive by some stiff competition in the top ten. No. 2 went to Bob Dylan and Rough and Rowdy Ways, while A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie’s Artist 2.0 locked in at the third spot. Blame It On Baby is No. 4, Hollywood’s Bleeding is No. 5, Chromatica is No. 6, Dark Lane Demo Tapes is No. 7, Teyana Taylor’s The Album is No. 8, Eternal Atake is No. 9, and Polo G’s The GOAT is No. 10.

Check out the full chart here.

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

Keeping up with new music can be exhausting, even impossible. From the weekly album releases to standalone singles dropping on a daily basis, the amount of music is so vast it’s easy for something to slip through the cracks. Even following along with the Uproxx recommendations on a daily basis can be a lot to ask, so every Monday we’re offering up this rundown of the best new music this week.

This week saw Megan Thee Stallion mark the start of this year’s hot girl summer and Doja Cat continuing to dominate. Yeah, it was a great week for new music. Check out the highlights below.

Megan Thee Stallion — “Girls In The Hood”

Megan Thee Stallion is coming off the most important moment of her young career so far, as “Savage” recently became her first No. 1 song. Now she has celebrated by giving her fans even more new material to love. This time, it’s “Girls In The Hood,” another bouncy and rhythmic banger that is among the best new music this week.

Jack Harlow — “What’s Poppin (Remix)” Feat. DaBaby, Lil Wayne, and Tory Lanez

Jack Harlow is a newcomer (in terms of mainstream relevance) who broke out this year with “What’s Poppin,” but based on the company he keeps, you’d think he’s a seasoned veteran. He just dropped a new remix of his hit single, and it features fresh contributions from DaBaby, Lil Wayne, and Tory Lanez.

Blackpink — “How You Like That”

Blackpink has been away for over a year, and their fans were beyond excited for “How You Like That,” their first single since last April. The numbers prove it: The song’s video broke a major YouTube record.

Haim — Women In Music Pt. III

In a world where albums can drop at a moment’s notice, Haim started rolling out their new record nearly a year ago, when they released “Summer Girl” last July. The wait was worth it, though, as the album has met universal acclaim.

6lack — 6pc Hot

Closer to the opposite end of the spectrum, 6lack revealed earlier this month he would celebrate his birthday with a new EP, and now it’s here. As if new music wasn’t enough, the release also comes with its own hot sauce.

Khruangbin — Mordechai

Khruangbin’s Laura Lee told Uproxx’s Steven Hyden about Houston’s impact on the new album, “We regularly talk about the international influence from Houston, which is a huge part of it. […] It was very common for anybody from Houston to have friends from Pakistan or from Russia or from wherever because their parents were doctors or oil and gas people. Therefore, you’re hanging out with them, hearing what their parents play when you’re at their homes.”

Doja Cat — “Unisex”

Doja Cat is one of the world’s hottest artists at the moment, but she’s not letting any sort of polished popstar-dom stop her from dropping a loosie on SoundCloud. Last week, she shared “Unisex,” on which she celebrates how anybody can have an interested in her, regardless of sex.

Guapdad 4000 — “Lil Scammer That Could” Feat. Denzel Curry

Guapdad 4000 and Denzel Curry have become friends in music, and they’ve linked up once again on “Lil Scammer That Could.” More so than any other video from last week, the surreal clip for the single has big Thomas The Tank Engine energy.

Blimes And Gab — Talk About It

“Shellys (It’s Chill)” is one of the most fun tracks of the year, and there’s plenty more where that game from on Blimes And Gab’s new album, Talk About It. The record is mostly the two showing off their seamless chemistry, although they also fold guests like Method Man, Iamsu!, Bahamadia, and Jay Park into the mix.

Gordi — Our Two Skins

Ahead of her 2021 tour with Bon Iver, Gordi has a new album out. The process of making the record serves as proof that inspiration can come from anywhere, whether it’s the shower or a strobe light-lit room at her parents’ house.

IDK — IDK & Friends 2

IDK once insisted he would not release another IDK & Friends installment, but thank goodness he was wrong and another one came out last week. IDK & Friends 2 features ASAP Ferg, Wale, Juicy J, Denzel Curry, Maxo Kream, PnB Rock, Xanman, Rico Nasty, Big Flock, Yung Manny, Big Jam, Weensey (BYB), Alex Vaughn, and Ronny J.

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

Christine And The Queens has made herself one of the most active presences in the livestream performance space during the pandemic. She started a run of nightly virtual shows back in March, and she have offered some creative performances since then. The musician has covered Neil Young and The Weeknd, as well as performed from atypical and visually appealing locales. She did the latter again over the weekend, as part of Global Citizen’s Global Goal: Unite For Our Future digital benefit concert.

Her contribution to the event was a performance of “La Vita Nuova,” filmed inside the empty Grand Palais in Paris. The space is architecturally gorgeous and has plenty of space, giving Christine an abundance of room to move around in her puffy, puffy sleeves and dance as she sang.

The song is the title track of the surprise EP Christine And The Queens released earlier this year. The 13-minute release was accompanied by a short film, in which Christine dances and tries to shake the devil that she can’t seem to get away.

Watch Christine And The Queens perform “La Vita Nuova” above.

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

Mike Henry, a white actor, has voiced Cleveland Brown, a black character, for 18 seasons of Family Guy and four seasons of The Cleveland Show, but no longer.

“It’s been an honor to play Cleveland on Family Guy for 20 years. I love this character, but persons of color should play characters of color. Therefore, I will be stepping down from the role,” he recently tweeted, following Kristen Bell and Jenny Slate stepping away from their roles on Central Park and Big Mouth, respectively. (The Simpsons will also “no longer have white actors voice non-white characters,” including Dr. Hibbert, Carl, and Pedro Chespirito, a.k.a. Bumblebee Man.) Family Guy didn’t announce who will replace Henry as the voice of Cleveland, but one The Wire star hopes he gets the part.

“Now that Mike Henry has consciously given up the role of Cleveland, I am publicly starting a campaign to voice the role myself on The Cleveland Show,” Wendell Pierce, who played Bunk on the HBO series and recently appeared in Spike Lee’s Da 5 Bloods, tweeted. (The Cleveland Show ended in 2013, so let’s assume he meant Family Guy.) He added the hashtag #WendellIsCleveland. The campaign is catching on.

Considering Family Guy‘s love of jokes that stretch on forever, I can imagine an episode that’s Cleveland saying “sheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee-it” for 22 minutes. (It’s hard finding new ideas after 18 seasons.) Make it happen, Seth MacFarlane.

The Russo Brothers adore Tom Holland (they’ve even made a highly-anticipated, non-MCU film, Cherry, with him that will come out.. eventually), and the Spider-Man star is nothing if not candid. That’s a recipe for him admitting to the Russos that he’d never seen the original Star Wars trilogy upon entering the MCU, so they “busted his chops,” presumably for a few reasons. For one thing, watching this trilogy is a rite of passage for movie fans (and nerds) of any age, and even though Tom once admitted to wetting his pants as a four-year-old boy while watching The Phantom Menace, there’s no skipping the original. For another thing, Captain America: Civil War actually references The Empire Strikes Back (more on that in a minute), so naturally, the Russos urged him to fix this giant hole in his pop cultural realm of knowledge.

While speaking with Fox 5 DC to promote Pizza Film School (the Russo Bros’ Instagram Live series), Joe and Anthony revealed that they were “stunned” when Tom made his admission. Joe said that the pair instructed Tom to “invest some of his time” catching up with classic movies, and they have “since busted his chops enough” that he must have watched the original trilogy by now. Anthony, for his part, was actually thrilled to hear something so unexpected from Tom. He actually sounds maybe too thrilled:

“I actually got really excited when he said he hadn’t seen it because the idea was so novel to me and unexpected. I was like, ‘This is fantastic.’ Tom Holland is a guy whose sensibilities we really admire and value, and it’s like, ‘Oh my God, we get to tap into his sensibilities and they’re unaffected by Star Wars.’ I’m like, ‘What is that? What does that mean?’ I was very excited about that.”

It’s hard to believe that Holland came to the MCU while being so “unaffected” by important nerd films, but Tom can’t help but speak the truth, even when it gets him into some trouble. As noted above, it’s especially important for him to know some particulars about Empire Strikes Back because fans of both films have spent a lot of time drawing parallels (whether they’re a stretch or not) between the the two movies. One Easter egg is a big one though, when Peter Parker (who is obviously Team Iron Man) comes up with a strategy similar to when “they’re on that snowy planet with the walking thingies” to take down Ant-Man in his blown-up form. He’s, of course, talking about the AT-AT Walkers on the planet Hoth, where the Rogue Squadron tripped up the Walkers’ legs. Parker called Empire (from 1980) “a really old movie” (sobering!), but he combined his film-nerdery and ingenuity to topple Ant-Man.

Good on the Russos for pushing Tom to watch more “really old” movies. The filmmaking duo is hosting new episodes of Pizza Film School every Friday.

(Via Fox 5 DC)

I’ve never spoken with anyone who has been in more projects than Stephen Root. I’m almost sure of that. Not gonna verify it. Gonna go with my gut. As you can imagine, the man has stories (some of which you’ll read below). That’s enough of a reason to talk with someone who counts himself a regular member of Kevin Smith, Mike Judge, and The Coen Bros’ on-screen troupes (something he’s quite proud of and happy to be a part of). But this current moment of slowdown opens up another interesting question: what does one of entertainment’s busiest actors do when he can’t be on a set? For Root, it’s a complex question because it’s allowed for a moment of breath, but you can tell he’s eager to get back at it. Especially when he talks about Barry, one of his regular gigs.

As Fuches, Root plays Bill Hader’s toxic father figure/handler in a relationship that couldn’t be more sour as we wait to see what happens in season 3 of the Emmy winning show. Root identifies Barry as one of the tentpoles of his career, right up there with the great NewsRadio. “I feel like NewsRadio is magic and Barry is magic,” he says before we discuss whether Jimmy James would be as warmly received now as he was in the late ’90s. If you’re a NewsRadio fan, there are other interesting bits here as well. Same if you’re a fan of Idiocracy, which Root reflects on. But the reason for the chat is his role in the all-new Perry Mason on HBO (airing Sundays at 9PM) where he plays a two-faced DA who Root identifies in his familiar manner of speaking as “a peacock.”

I appreciate you doing this. I’ve been an admirer of your work for a long time.

Oh, I’m happy to work.

Speaking of which, you are obviously a very busy individual. How are you dealing with not being able to work for an extended period of time here?

It’s a blessing and a curse. It’s a blessing in terms of I had been working so much, I didn’t mind the break for a couple or three weeks for the first part of this. It’s also a blessing in terms of we have some old dogs that we’re taking care of, and it gives us more time to take care of them. But in terms of work, I think I’m lucky that I’ve got a couple of good jobs that I know are coming up whenever they happen to happen. And I think in between that, I’ll be able to do some voice work, which I do a lot of as well. So I’m in a pretty lucky position as opposed to other people.

You’ve worked with so many different people in so many different types of roles. That’s a skill unto itself, obviously, and not just what you’re doing on screen, but also just blending in.

I think it’s through theater training and being in service to the product, whether it’s theater, film, or TV. In service to what you’re doing. And in a play, you’re in service to the author. In a movie, you’re in service to the screenwriter, and it’s your job to pick good projects to be in service to. So I think I’ve done a good job of that over the last 20 years or so, of being able to financially. But I think going back, the real reason is probably that I was like an army brat. I moved around a lot. My dad was in construction. He did steam power plants. So I was always going into a new place. And I think that in some sense, familiarized me with what I was going to be doing.

I think it creates a sort of all-weather persona. I speak as someone who moved like 20 times before I was 20 years old. I was a retail brat. You kind of learn to kind of go with the punches and fit in a little bit more easily.

Well, you’re always the new kid. You’re always the new kid, so whether you’re comfortable with that or not, you still have to put on the face and go into it. So I think a nomadic early life helped me be one later in life, which is kind of what an actor is. You’re never not looking for a job. If you have a job, you’re looking for the next one.

Do you have a personal affection for noir or the Perry Mason character?

Well, I’ve always been a mystery reader, Elmore Leonard and Robert Parker and all those guys. So I’ve always loved that about the literature itself. And just to be able to do a period piece is always vastly fun. When we did Boardwalk Empire, it was eight to 10 years earlier than this, but it was still steeped in… I haven’t lived in this world. I’d love to live in this world and see what it’s like. So doing any kind of a period piece is a blast for a character actor, for sure.
And what kind of man is this character, Mr. Barnes?

Well, he’s a peacock is what I would describe him as.

That’s a good way to put it. I was going to say carnival barker.

Yeah. That’s it too. But yeah, he’s a peacock in public life, and he’s not a good person. He’s a bad person in real life. When he gets to talk to people that he wants to be in control of. So, to me, he puffs up his chest and goes, “I can do this and this and this for you.” And then backstage he’s, “I’ll fucking kill you if you don’t do it.” [Laughs] So that’s how I’ve always thought of him. When I first read the script, I said, “Oh, this guy’s a peacock.”

I mean, you’ve played characters that are not exactly the same, but characters that have two faces, essentially. Why have you kind of gravitated to that and why do think people gravitate towards putting you in that role?

I think I’ve had a couple of them lately. I gravitate towards a role because it’s well-written and you’re standing there with your mouth open without something to say. So I always gravitate towards the script. These last two — Barry and this — happen to be guys that are not particularly nice. Because I’ve tried very hard at this, I think people know that I can do both. I can do comedy, I can do drama. I started out in Shakespeare, in theater. So I think that was the best training. And I think I learned to be versatile through theater. As for why people cast me in this stuff…

The track record, obviously.

Yeah. But I think they can see that even as bad as the person I play is, I try to make them grounded in humanity of some sort. [With this character] it’s there. He tries. He doesn’t succeed necessarily, but I think there’s a humanity in the bad part of the people that I play and that that’s why I get cast in that stuff.

With Barry and the transition into this next season coming up, what are you most looking forward to playing as you kind of get to be a little bit more unleashed?

Well, it’ll be interesting this year, because we know at the end of last year, Barry was completely out to kill Fuches, and Fuches was able to escape. So this year, I think will be a year of being with different people, with being on the wrong side, as it were, and getting in with people that he wanted to kill the year before. So I think it’s a year of very much change for the Fuches character, but it’s also, you’ve got to understand that this guy keeps going back to the basic rule, “I want money.” And that’s his motivation. So however that can be helped, whether it’s through Barry or through other people in that universe. It doesn’t matter much to him as long as the end result is money.

Obviously, the main motivation is money, but there was definitely, I think, a level of hurt with the whole situation.

Oh, very much so.

I’m curious to see how that kind of plays into things. The sort of father/son thing that they have is so fascinating.

Brilliant. Yeah, and they write to that and that’s what’s so great. And it’s always on the undercurrent of what’s going on. And you have to understand that Barry is also an extremely damaged person and can go either way. And so, that’s the great part about that series and the writing in that series is it can turn left at any point, and that’s exciting to play.

You’ve had a career where you’ve worked with a lot of talented people, but specifically like Bill, Phil Hartman, Dave Foley — really talented sketch comedy, and improv icons. I’m curious what the common thread is between those three that you’ve kind of observed?

Well, Dave came from improv, not from theater. And so did Phil, though he had theater in his resume. And Hader came from that as well. So, for them, the written word in their early training was not God like it was for me. I mean, when you’re doing a play, for me, in the ’70s and ’80s, you had to say those lines in those order and dah, dah, dah. But that’s not how they came up. And so, that’s a freedom that I wasn’t brought up with in terms of my work ethic. So it was harder for me actually to let go of a script sometimes

How tightly constructed was NewsRadio and those scripts?

With Dave, that was the first place I experienced that, because I hadn’t done any improv, hadn’t had any exposure to it, whereas that’s all Dave was doing right before that [with Kids In the Hall]. Even though, of course, they had written all their sketches and all that stuff, but Dave was a great improviser and so was Phil. So we would write. What was great about Paul Simms, the creator of the show, is he would let us write for each other on the stage. So we’d have a script on Monday, but then it would be not the same script by Friday because Joe [Rogan] would write for Andy [Dick]. Andy would write for Andy, but Phil and Dave would write for everybody, and say, “Why don’t you … if you did this and then I can do this.” And then we’d go on from there. So it was very free. I mean, a phone page could throw in something, and we’d go, “That’s fucking funny, Let’s use that.”

I’m curious if you think the Jimmy James character would resonate right now?

Yeah.

To find that lovability in someone who is kind of a rich guy, kind of doesn’t see people equally, you feel like that would resonate now in society?

I think it would definitely resonate because he is a Trump-like character without being an asshole. He does have a lovable side, but he is a “billionaire” who wants to do what he wants to do, but he was a sweetheart inside. And I think that would resonate with people. They would like to see somebody with a sweet side who was a corporate magnet instead of what we’re seeing today.

I think that the charm of the character and a lot of the charm of the show, was the sort of, you see people come into a work environment and then they kind of become a part of the Borg, a part of the work environment. I think that’s what the charm is for that character and the Dave character also, where they become just a part of this thing.

Well, Dave had the greatest arc. To me, Dave had the greatest arc on that show as an actor. I mean, he came in as the bright young thing and left as defeated, rung out, feeling being that he was in the last season. So he had a great acting arc in terms of that show. And I think he’s an underappreciated actor.

Idiocracy is a movie that fascinates me. When you read that, do you have any idea how… I mean, it’s practically a prophecy at this point.

It is prophecy. Yeah.

Did you have any sense of that when you’re reading and exposing yourself to it the first time?

I think no more so than when we did Office Space. When we were doing Office Space, we considered it to be a really fun B comedy that you got to do with your friends. And Idiocracy was that in that sense as well. But it was, again, such a left turn that you wanted to be involved in it. And I wanted to be involved in anything Mike [Judge] wanted to do anyway. But did I feel like it was going to be prophetic? No. I thought it was a completely outrageous science fiction fun, and then it became reality. And it was shocking.

It’s a great idea though, to revisit that movie. I haven’t seen it in about 10 years. I should probably revisit it. I’m really hoping that Mike will get it together and start doing a couple of films again, because I think we need his voice right now as well.

I really enjoyed Silicon Valley and what he did there.

Yeah, a film is different. I mean, films last. TV things don’t. I don’t think that’s true anymore because they do. They’re in the universe now, but a film is still more prescient in the minds of people. When they think of something or somebody, it’s a film, not as much a TV show. So I hope he goes back to that.

I mean, it has the benefit of being able to make a declarative statement in one gulp, as opposed to something that’s spread out. I think that’s a big difference.

Yeah. Exactly. It is. It’s concentrated, and I hope he does it.

‘Perry Mason’ airs Sundays at 9 PM ET

During this extended period of self-quarantine, James Blake has become a regular provider of cover songs. He started even before the pandemic, actually: He began 2020 by declaring his intention to play more piano and sharing a Frank Ocean cover. As the pandemic rolls on, so too does Blake’s constant drip of reinterpreted songs (he might even release a covers album at some point). For his latest, he took on one of Nirvana’s classics: “Come As You Are.”

Blake’s intimate piano crooning might not seem like the most natural vessel for the often-raucous grunge of Nirvana, but like just about everything else Blake does, this totally works. It’s proof that truly superlative songwriting can shine in just about any form, even one as radically different as was originally intended.

The performance came as part of an hourlong “piano improv concert,” which he livestreamed on Instagram last night (June 28). The show was performed in support of The Loveland Foundation, which “is committed to showing up for communities of color in unique and powerful ways, with a particular focus on Black women and girls.” Blake raised $6400, an amount he said he will match himself.

Watch Blake cover “Come As You Are” above, and check out the full performance below.

With Tenet and Mulan pushed back until August, the only wide-release movies that are still scheduled to come out in July are The Broken Hearts Gallery (July 17) and Unhinged (July 31), a road-rage thriller starring Russell Crowe. I don’t know about you, but not even the prospect of watching Crowe “in a dangerous game of cat and mouse that proves you never know just how close you are to someone who is about to become… unhinged” could get me into a theater. Solstice Studios should just release the movie on digital this weekend and make approximately $500 million, although one woman nearly experienced an Unhinged in real life, but with a happier ending.

On Sunday, Twitter user @teriskies tweeted, “I literally cut off a truck on accident earlier, expected him to flip me off but instead he takes his glasses off and smiles… and its JON BERNTHAL.” That’s not what you’d expect from The Walking Dead and The Punisher actor, who’s known for playing quick-to-anger characters. But not only did he avoid turning into this, he smiled and replied, “Much love girl. Tell your man I say what’s up.”

It’s fun to imagine how that conversation played out. “Hey, remember that guy I cut off while we were driving this morning? Well, he’s actually a famous actor — he was in The Accountant, the only good movie — and he says what up.” Russell Crowe would never.

Kanye West’s life is coming full circle. Years and years ago, Kanye West used to work at a Gap store. Now, his Yeezy brand is teaming up with the clothing retailer for a new line, Yeezy Gap. Now that Kanye is officially involved with the brand, a giant mural featuring a handwritten message from the rapper has popped up.

The art is on a newly renovated Gap store in Kanye’s Chicago hometown. In the brief message, Kanye touches on his history with the brand, the level of dedication he is putting into Yeezy Gap, and even Tron:

“Thank God. Hi Chicago, it’s Ye. This is the Gap store I used to shop at when I would drive my Nissan from the Southside. So Blessed. I thank God and I am so humbled at the opportunity to serve. I put my heart into the color palette and every detail.”

I love Tron the original.

Do you like stuff? I don’t know what to do with my hands. Love, YZY Yeezy.”

This past weekend was a huge one for Kanye. Aside from the Gap news, he and Kid Cudi shared a teaser for their animated Kids See Ghosts show, and Kanye opened the vault to share a once-shelved “Spaceships” video.

Check out the mural below.