Month: September 2020

Aside from its salacious content and lewd imagery, one of the more exciting aspects of Cardi B’s “WAP” video with Megan Thee Stallion was the way she highlighted fellow female performers with cameos at the end. These cameos included appearances from Mulatto, Normani, Rosalía, Rubi Rose, and Sukihana but as it turns out, there was one more name Cardi wanted to add to the list, but couldn’t.

In a new interview with Hot97 discussing the momentous impact of her new video, Cardi revealed that she also wanted the boundary-breaking Lizzo to appear in the video. However, she missed out on Lizzo’s famed twerking in her video because the “Juice” star was too busy twerking at a vacation rental home in the tropics.

“I was like, ‘Oh my gosh,’ because I had a whole vision about how I want to see Lizzo and everything,” Cardi said. “It was so important to me to include different women that are different races and come from different backgrounds, but are so powerful and influential.” To that end, she reached out to Lizzo but was disappointed to learn she was unavailable for the shoot dates.

“I’m cool with Lizzo and everything,” she recalled. “We’ve been sending DMs to each other and all that. But she was on vacation and she wasn’t in town.”

Even without the “Truth Hurts” singer, Cardi’s song topped the charts and became one of the most-viewed YouTube videos ever, drawing both praise and criticism for its sexplicit subject matter. Cardi doesn’t mind the naysayers, though; she recently said they were the ones propelling her straight to the bank, laughing all the way.

Watch Cardi’s interview with Hot 97 above.

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

In a wild (even by his standards) Fox News interview that aired on Monday, Donald Trump compared “bad apple” cops who kill people to golfers who miss short putts and pushed a conspiracy theory that a plane “almost completely loaded with thugs” were sent to “damage” last week’s Republican National Convention. There’s extremely “sir, this is an Arby’s” energy coming from this baseless, no-other-evidence-offered claim.

The president told host Laura Ingraham that “we had somebody get on a plane from a certain city this weekend, and in the plane, it was almost completely loaded with thugs, wearing these dark uniforms, black uniforms, with gear and this and that.” Trump brought it up again on Tuesday, informing reporters, “A person was on a plane, said there were about six people like that person, more or less, and what happened is the entire plane filled up with the looters, the anarchists, rioters, people looking for trouble. The person felt very uncomfortable on the plane.” He said this “person” might “speak to [the press], maybe they won’t,” but they probably won’t, because they’re a character from Con Air.

As many on Twitter have noted, Trump’s “plane loaded with thugs” sounds awfully similar to the plot of the peak-Jerry Bruckheimer 1997 action movie starring a wild-haired Nicolas Cage, John Cusack, Steve Buscemi (who plays the character most likely to snitch to Trump), John Malkovich, and a poor stuffed bunny rabbit. It’s great.

But was there any money on this plane?

(Via New York Times)

Antebellum is the first movie of this era – whatever you might want to call this era that started in March – that feels like a surprise. Going in to the movie, it’s a rare occurrence where I knew absolutely nothing about it – the equivalent of having a couple hours to kill and just showing up to the theater and seeing whatever movie happens to fit into your schedule. (The difference being, in this case, a publicist from Lionsgate asked if I wanted a digital screener and I said, “Yes.”) Anyway, it’s a nice thing having no expectations – which is more and more difficult to achieve in “normal times.”

While 2020 has been a hellscape for many, Antebellum presents a hellscape of its own, in a clever and horrifying story both written and directed by Gerard Bush and Christopher Renz. (Though, the fact a movie called Antebellum is being released in 2020 without having to change its name to A or Movie A did tip me off beforehand that it wouldn’t be some whimsical, glossed-over look at southern culture.) The tricky part about writing about a movie like this, in which its enjoyment, I suspect, will derive from a viewer knowing very little about the actual story. But I can’t write nothing about the plot. And not too many people are going to pay money to watch a movie on demand (that was originally scheduled for theaters) that they know nothing about. So I have to give just enough plot, without spoiling any reveals or plot twists, which is what makes this movie interesting. So, ahead, I will try that, but I promise what will happen is it will make the movie sound either fairly straightforward, or lead you to believe you have it figured out when I promise you most likely don’t. I really had no idea what was actually going on until the last scene of the movie.

The opening act finds Janelle Monáe playing a slave on a southern plantation. The plantation is operated by the Confederate army, led by Captain Jasper (Jack Huston) and owned by Elizabeth (Jena alone), and it is unsurprisingly brutal. Bush and Renz do a nice job here of weaving in imagery that looks sadly familiar these days as Confederate soldiers march through the night chanting about blood and soil while holding torches.

The second act opens with Monáe’s Veronica Hensley waking up in the present alongside her husband and young daughter. She’s a businesswoman who is speaking at a conference that day about Black women in the workplace. There is no hint about what we saw in the first act of the film as Veronica goes about her day and hangs out with her friends at dinner (Gabourey Sidibe and Lily Cowles).

The first two acts of this film are almost presented as completely separate stories, offering relatively few clues about how Monáe’s character from the first act fits in at all with what we are seeing with her in the present world (well, “the present world” as in whatever things looked like before March because I barely remember at this point) with seemingly no memories or cares about the horrors of what we just saw.

I requested to talk to both Bush and Renz because I found what happens in the third act so fascinating. I mention this because I do think this movie does a slight cheat to get its desired effect and I’m curious if there’s more to it than just the obvious answer of, “we had to do that so you couldn’t figure out the movie until the end.” Regardless, even if it is a cheat, I’m pretty okay with its use because I don’t know if the movie works as well without it. At least, there wouldn’t be the big, “Oh, wow, okay,” moment at the end that’s so satisfying when everything comes full circle.

Antebellum was supposed to be released in theaters back in April and was part of the first wave of films that had its release date wiped out. It was kind of lost in the headlines as bigger movies like the new James Bond and the new Fast and Furious were moved. So it got lost in the shuffle to the point I didn’t even realize it was coming out soon. Again, with no expectations, this turned out to be a pretty good horror movie (that has themes that do seem to fit the moment) with a twist I didn’t see coming. (But, see, if you’ve read this far now you will have expectations.)

You can contact Mike Ryan directly on Twitter.

Joe Rogan’s made a few changes over the past few weeks: (1) The Joe Rogan Experience podcast has moved over to Spotify in a reported $100 million deal; (2) Rogan’s now living where things are “bigger and better” in Texas, cowboy hat and all. Prior to his September 1 Spotify launch, he grew emotional over Chadwick Boseman’s death, and then he fired away on a five-hour (yes, five) episode with stand-up comedian/podcast host Duncan Trussell as guest. The man enjoys going long.

That episode was filmed in California, so we haven’t yet caught a good look at Rogan’s new studio set up (though he’s working on the decor), but controversy is rearing its head. Some fans have pored through the Spotify archives and are complaining that they’re coming up short of Rogan’s former far-right guests. That is, multiple episodes featuring controversial guests [a list here claims that all Alex Jones episodes, as well as ones featuring Milo Yiannopoulos and Charles C. Johnson (and Chris D’Elia, probably for reasons other than politics)] apparently weren’t invited to the party.

Far-right activist/personality Mike Cernovich noticed, and other Twitter users are posting screencaps to show that Jones is missing from the library.

The fuss is likely amplified by people who wondered if Jones (who is also in Austin, Texas) would be one of Rogan’s first Texas-hosted guests. Maybe that’s not in the cards after all? Beyond that, it’s difficult to guess how Rogan’s show will differ in the Lone Star State. Will he fly guests in to speak with him? Whatever he does, it’s sure to not be boring, given that Rogan can easily go viral, simply by labeling a photo filter as “Satanic” and having his remarks pop up in a Texas Tech lecture. We look forward to seeing how Texas treats Rogan, and vice versa.

Chef’s Table is back. The latest season of the now-iconic Netflix series is a departure from the previous iterations. First, it’s much shorter, clocking in at only four 45-minutes episodes. Second, the show has a laser focus on a single genre of the culinary world: BBQ. Though, a few people — who probably like to call themselves “purists” — will argue if all the food depicted in the series four episodes is “barbecue.”

The new episodes feel like a reset of sorts for the series. The shortened format really allows the episodes to have a complete feel, even an overall arc. Episode one highlights Texas Hill Country’s Snow’s BBQ before veering into the very high-end world of chef Lennox Hastie in Sydney. The show then returns for some Carolina whole hog BBQ with one of America’s biggest BBQ stars right now, Rodney Scott. Finally, the series ends on the Yucatan Peninsula with Indigenous chef and icon Rosalia Chay Chuc. She takes us back to the origins of barbecue in a way that’s rarely been seen on American television with an uncompromising Indigenous POV that shuns the colonial lens.

That last episode is why this season is worth the watch. Finally, we’re starting to see and learn about food from the people we stole a lot of our foodways from. It’s both refreshing and amazingly edifying. Yes, there are two classic episodes of mouth-watering modern BBQ experiences in Texas and South Carolina that entice the soul. But what David Gelb (the showrunner) and his international and diverse crew have done is take the time to ask the hard questions about where this food comes from and how it got to where it is today.

The two defining episodes of the new series are about extraordinary women. The season opener is an unexpected tear-jerker that’s about BBQ legend Tootsie Tomanetz, a pitmaster who’s still shoveling coals in the wee hours of the morning at 85-years-old. If you’re even tangentially aware of Texas BBQ, you’ll have heard of Tootsie and Snow’s BBQ. It’s the sort of place that locals go to while the tourists line up Franklin’s (though Snow’s gets plenty of wayfarers these days too).

The beauty of this episode is that it takes the time to let Tomanetz tell her story, her failures, her triumphs in her own way. At the same time, she’s shoveling those hot coals, mixing up beans, poking at chicken and pork, and working hard. This episode feels like Gelb and Co. have taken all the criticism they’ve received from the never-woke-enough world of food critics and said, “We get it. We care about representation in food too.” Then they break your heart with Tomanetz’s story of loss and endless hard work all to make the perfect plate of BBQ for her neighbors and friends. Yes, I cried more than once during this episode. And yes, I feel rather daft saying that a goddamn food show made me cry but here we are (again).

The show truly shines as a beacon for something new and, dare we say, revolutionary during the final episode with Rosalia Chay Chuc. Rosalia is Mayan. She’s the steward of Mayan Yucatan cuisine that reaches back millennia and has been perverted and contorted through colonialization by the Spanish primarily, but also the French, English, and Germans over the centuries.

This point is made painfully clear early in the episode when Rosalia recalls that when she was a child her father made her learn to speak Spanish even though she only wanted to speak Yucatecan Mayan. She remembers her father telling her that if she wants to survive in the world, she needs to speak the language of her colonizers, Spanish. Yup, I teared up again. As someone who’s barred by history from learning the language of my father (Twana), this moment hit me like a ton of bricks.

That ethos, reminder even that Mexico is not a monolith but a colonial power that subjugates its Indigenous population to this day is sobering. Then, the episode builds out the massive impact Mayan cuisine has had on the world from corn to chocolate to avocadoes to chili to hominy to tamales, and yes to barbecue too. The word itself is derived from the Arawak word the Taíno people of the Caribbean used for pit roasting meat, a culinary process popular across the whole of the pre-colonial Americas.

We also have to call out the Rodney Scott episode as being something else we’ve rarely seen on Chef’s Table, a Black chef. Scott is the second Black American chef to be featured on the show after last season’s chef Mashama Bailey of The Grey. It’s a beautiful episode that shows the struggle people endure for the simple act of serving folks food.

Finally, Lennox Hastie’s episode felt the most like what the show used to be more than what it’s become. Even Anthony Bourdain makes an appearance, which now feels like a nostalgic peek into a world that no longer exists. Still, Hastie’s episode isn’t without it’s cutting charm. One of the best moments is when Hastie recalls getting to Europe and landing a dream job at a three-starred Michelin restaurant only to be disappointed by the chefs sacrificing the soul of the food and replacing it with overwrought technique. It’s a refreshing take on the ridiculousness of the high-end, overly fussy food that we’ve all spent way too much time thinking was the only thing that mattered.

And that sums up the season overall, Chef’s Table takes the time to ask you “what matters in food now?” It asks you to care about the origins of the food you think you know. It puts the blood, sweat, and tears front-and-center and never blinks from the harshness of life over the fire. It’s a painfully hard endeavor that so many cooks and pitmasters and chefs go through all so we can eat delicious BBQ and forget our own worries for a moment or two.

You can watch all four episodes of “Chef’s Table: BBQ” on Netflix starting September 2nd.

As seemingly happens every week during the pandemic, misinformation has been floating around about some statistics the CDC shared on its website. This time, it stems from a now-removed tweet that President Trump retweeted from a QAnon follower (yup), which claims that the CDC “quietly” added some data to their website to clarify that only 6% of COVID-19 deaths were a result of COVID alone, whereas 94% of them included other “serious illnesses” as causes of death.

The tweet used this statistic to make it seem that COVID had really only killed around 9,000 people. That’s not at all what it means.

First of all here’s what the CDC website actually states: “For 6% of the deaths, COVID-19 was the only cause mentioned. For deaths with conditions or causes in addition to COVID-19, on average, there were 2.6 additional conditions or causes per death.”

Many experts have weighed in on the confusion to set the record straight.

Dr. Zubin Damania is a hospitalist (a dedicated in-patient physician who works exclusively in a hospital) who also has his own show where he discusses all things medical. One of his hallmarks is trying to separate politics from medical fact, which theoretically should make him a refreshing source no matter where you land on the political spectrum.

He explains in a video how death certificates are filled out and why “additional conditions or causes” doesn’t in any way negate a death from COVID-19. Basically, this data doesn’t tell us anything we didn’t already know, but the political spin to make it sound like this information is some kind of bombshell is simply not sound science.

As Dr. Damania points out, you can make all the arguments against lockdowns or express your opinion that the economic sacrifices don’t outweigh the cost in lives or whatever without misrepresenting the science and the facts.

That CDC 6% COVID Death Rate, Explained

www.youtube.com

If you prefer to read a news article about why the 6% statistic doesn’t mean what some people are saying it means, here’s a thorough article that explains the whole thing.

If you prefer the brevity of a TikTok, here you go:

Here’s a Facebook post from an epidemiologist:

And how about a Twitter thread from an oncologist and editor of a cancer journal, who surely knows a thing or two about death statistics? He summed it up perhaps more succinctly than anyone.

“600,000 die of cancer each year. 95% likely have comorbidities. Doesn’t mean cancer was not the cause of their death.”

Bottom line, COVID-19 has killed more than 180,000 Americans. Just like with every other death from disease, other comorbidities are listed on death certificates. You can look at the WHO instructions for how to list causes of death with COVID-19 here. (Scroll down to page 3 to see a death certificate filled out correctly, in which COVID-19 led to acute respiratory distress and pneumonia, and how all three are listed.) Nothing about these stats is new or shocking information.

Wear your mask, keep your distance, wash your hands, and carry on.

The coronavirus pandemic has deeply affected the music industry, and that has included how fans experience and buy it. Over the weekend, Discogs released their mid-year report, and the data reveals that during the pandemic, people have been buying a lot more physical music.

Numbers across the board were up from 2019 even before the pandemic, as the report shows that more items were sold across the site in the first three months of 2020 than were in the same period during 2019. After March, when businesses started closing and stay-at-home orders were put in place, is when sales started to really rise. Growth in physical sales on the Discogs Marketplace is up 29.69 percent over the least year. Vinyl specifically is up 33.72 percent, with over 5.8 million records sold between January and June. Overall, about 7.6 million pieces of physical music were sold on the site during that period.

The best-selling releases of the year on Discogs lean indie: Tame Impala’s The Slow Rush is No. 1 while The Strokes’ The New Abnormal comes in second. Pop makes an appearance in the top ten, though, thanks to Dua Lipa’s Future Nostalgia ranking at No. 5. The best-selling hip-hop album is a bit of a throwback, as Kendrick Lamar’s Good Kid M.A.A.D. City takes the crown.

The mid-year report features informative visuals and even more sales numbers and rankings, so check that out here.

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

On Friday, news of Chadwick Boseman’s death was shocking. The actor’s family confirmed he had passed away at 43 following a private battle with colon cancer, which he had been diagnosed with several years prior. Boseman is remembered for his roles as Jackie Robinson in 42, James Brown in Get On Up, and, of course, T’Challa in Black Panther. It seems as though fans are commemorating Boseman by revisiting the Black Panther soundtrack, as its streams have increased over 100 percent in the wake of the actor’s death.

The Black Panther soundtrack was written by Kendrick Lamar and features an array of features from the likes of SZA, Travis Scott, and The Weeknd. According to a report from Billboard, the 14-song soundtrack garnered 3.5 million streams over the course of two days following Boseman’s death. The increase marks an impressive 103.5 percent surge compared to the previous two days, which clocked in at 1.7 million streams.

The report notes the streaming increase could possibly cause the soundtrack to re-enter the Billboard 200 charts next week. The record originally appeared on the Billboard 200 chart in June and remained there for 69 weeks. The soundtrack peaked a No. 1, where it stayed for three weeks.

While music fans remembered the actor through the Black Panther soundtrack, many members of the music community mourned the actor on social media. Following reports of his death, artists like Drake, SZA, The Weeknd, Chance The Rapper, and more shared heartfelt tributes to Boseman.

This week in pop music saw some high-profile collaborations. Groundbreaking K-pop group Blackpink joined forces with Selena Gomez for a sweet tune, Calvin Harris tapped The Weeknd to lend his ascending vocals on a track, and Dua Lipa shared a revved-up album of remixes featuring some big-name musicians.

Each week, Uproxx rounds up the best new pop music. Listen up.

Blackpink — “Ice Cream” Feat Selena Gomez

With one of today’s biggest K-pop groups teaming up with a pop star, it’s sure to make Uproxx’s best new pop list. After weeks of teasing the collaboration, Blackpink and Selena Gomez’s sugary-sweet single “Ice Cream” debuted. The singers consistently switched off verses, half-singing and half-rapping lyrics that implore their sweethearts to indulge in their goodies.

Calvin Harris — “Over Now” Feat. The Weeknd

The Weeknd has had a an immensely busy year thus far. The singer released his simmering album After Hours back in March and was just awarded a VMA this Sunday where he gave a passionate speech about police brutality. This week, the singer also linked up with major DJ Calvin Harris for the revved-up track “Over Now,” which boasts funk-forward production under The Weeknd’s soaring vocals.

Dua Lipa — “Physical (Mark Ronson Remix)” Feat. Gwen Stefani

While Dua Lipa’s sophomore record Future Nostalgia debuted only a few months ago, the singer decided to offer fans the perfect soundtrack of remixes to accompany living room dance parties. Tapping The Blessed Madonna, Mark Ronson, and the iconic Gwen Stefani, the musicians breathed new life into Lipa’s hit track “Physical” as part of the remix record Club Future Nostalgia.

Disclosure — “Birthday” Feat. Kehlani and Syd

Disclosure signaled a new era of music earlier this year after the UK duo dropped a new song every day for five days in a row. Finally, Disclosure’s anticipated full-length third album Energy is here, and with it arrived the slow-burning Kehlani collaboration “Birthday.” Over a sparkling beat, Kehlani wonders if she’s crossing the line with an ex-lover on the buoyant single.

Katy Perry — “Cry About It Later”

This week was a big one for Katy Perry. Not only did the singer drop her new album Smile, but she also welcomed a baby girl with Orlando Bloom. While much of the album saw Perry moving towards empowering ballads, “Cry About It Later” artfully combined thoughtful lyrics with a thumping beat.

Chloe Lilac — “Miss You” Feat. Kota The Friend

Brooklyn-based singer Chloe Lilac shared her sophomore EP Douchebag this week after previewing the effort with a handful of strong singles. Teaming up with Kota The Friend, Lilac shared the kiss-off track “Miss You” on her EP, melting together her husky vocal delivery and wavering, earworm instrumentals. “These songs on my EP are about empowering myself and my listeners to give them strength to manifest confidence,” she said in a statement.

PVRIS — “Use Me” Feat. 070 Shake

This week, PVRIS released their anticipated third record Use Me. The project arrived with the fluttering title track, a brand-new collaboration with buzzing artist 070 Shake. With the album’s debut, PVRIS vocalist Lynn Gunn said she “fulfilled my own vision of what a role model should be.”

JoJo — “Lonely Hearts” Feat. Demi Lovato

JoJo’s Good To Know deluxe album dropped this week and though the singer removed Tory Lanez from the project following the Megan Thee Stallion shooting, Demi Lovato’s “Lonely Hearts” feature still shines bright. Over a sultry beat, the two singers harmonize their soaring voices while reflecting on life as single women.

Lana Condor — “For Real”

Lana Condor is most known for her breakout lead role in Netflix’s To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before but Condor is now pivoting her focus to music. “For Real” arrives as Condor’s debut solo single. Over a lulling beat, Condor croons about returning home to the one she loves.

Aluna — “The Recipe” Feat. Kaytranada and Rema

One half of duo electronic AlunaGeorge, Aluna has pivoted to solo music with her recently-released record Renaissance. With “The Recipe,” Aluna flexes her expert songwriting, skillfully serving up a hit and marking an exciting new chapter for the musician.

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

Public Enemy has revealed the tracklist for their upcoming Def Jam comeback album, What You Gonna Do When The Grid Goes Down?, and it’s an old-school hip-hop head’s dream come true. Not only does it feature Black Thought, Nas, Rapsody, and YG on the group’s “Fight The Power: Remix 2020,” but it also features appearances from rarely-heard rap pioneers like Beastie Boys’ Ad-Rock and Mike D, Cypress Hill, Ice-T, and Run-DMC, as well as two appearances from funk icon George Clinton.

While the group prepares to release its first new album in three years — their last was Nothing Is Quick In The Desert in 2017, released independently to the group’s Bandcamp — they are also celebrating the 30th anniversary of one of their biggest hits, Fear Of A Black Planet, this month with an art show in Colorado featuring work from Obey logo creator Shepard Fairey and Public Enemy founder Chuck D himself.

Starting off the year with the announcement that the band had “fired” founder and member Flavor Flav, Public Enemy has seen a turnaround of historic proportions. While Chuck D admitted that the firing was more of a wake-up call to draw attention back to the group, they’ve since capitalized on the renewed interest, releasing a quick blitz of new music and striking while the iron is still hot with the announcement of their return to Def Jam for their new album.

What You Gonna Do When The Grid Goes Down? is due 9/25 via Def Jam Recordings. Pre-save it here.