The pandemic has fundamentally changed the way people around the world live their lives, which is bound to have an emotional impact on people. Foo Fighters leader Dave Grohl is among those, as he has admitted the pandemic made him nervous.
Grohl recently sat down for an interview with The Sun and said:
“It has been really weird because we are the band who actually like each other. It’s true what you hear. A lot of groups, after months on the road, can’t wait to head off in different directions. But we still want to hang out, whether we’re working or not. It’s a miracle after all these years. We’re still really close. We’ve never spent anything like this kind of time apart before.
It might seem rock ‘n’ roll and exciting, but actually, going around the world in a band like ours means being totally organized. Usually we know what is happening months and months in advance. So when everything shut down in March, I was nervous. I can’t relax, I’m always looking for the next thing, I’m a naturally creative person. For the past two decades, I have been completely used to seeing the same guys almost every day — and suddenly we’re apart. If I wasn’t on tour, I was doing something else for the band. So it has kinda freaked me out. I’ve been totally set in my ways and, like I said, these guys are my closest friends. We’re a family. We’ve never been apart before.”
Grohl also spoke about the band’s new album, Medicine At Midnight, saying, “There didn’t seem much point in just doing the same again, that’s not really what we’re about and it isn’t how I want to work. So this record borrows from some new ideas, different inspirations, and has a unique, new vibe about it which I hope will sound fresh and interesting when fans get to hear it. There’s no such thing as normal right now, so I guess for our fans we are trying to create a new one and give people some happiness — let them experience something new. […] I’m proud of what we’ve done. I don’t think people will recognize it straight away — but we love it.”
The best new hip-hop albums coming out this week include projects from 2 Chainz, Aesop Rock, Blac Youngsta, Danileigh, Davido, Father, Fly Anakin, and Octavian.
After what was possibly the most important election in American politics in a century, this week’s releases are a multi-national extravaganza of unorthodox sounds, pushing the boundaries of what hip-hop can and should sound like in the future. From bass-heavy Memphis trap to glitchy UK grime to effervescent Nigerian pop (we don’t believe in “Afrobeats” as nomenclature, it’s too similar to Afrobeat, which Fela Kuti defined and certified), this week is proof that hip-hop is a global language. Future and Lil Uzi Vert are also rumored to have a release coming, but there’s no confirmation yet whether it’s a single or a full project.
After a few delays and an impressive buildup involving the singles “Money Maker” and “Quarantine Thick” and an early preview of five songs on NBA 2K21, 2 Chainz’s sixth studio album arrives with art created by the man himself.
Aesop Rock — Spirit World Field Guide
It’s been a while since we last heard from the backpack hip-hop herald — 2016’s The Impossible Kid, to be exact. I can’t lie, the polish and craftsmanship in the tracks I’ve heard surprised me. Rock, like his late-’90s contemporaries El-P and the rest of the Rhymesayers clique, has always looked for new angles on hip-hop but in recent years, the palette for the genre has expanded in so many ways, Rock suddenly fits in better than he ever has — good thing his quirky, highly visual lyrics will always let him stand out.
Blac Youngsta — F*ck Everybody 3
After dropping Code Red with Moneybagg Yo earlier this year, Blac Youngsta is back on his solo grind with the latest edition of his F*ck Everybody mixtape series. Longtime fans of the Memphis mainstay will know exactly what to expect here: Thunderous beats, gruff rhymes, and a boulder-sized chip on Blac’s shoulder.
Danileigh — Movie
Forgive me for stretching the definition of hip-hop on this one and don’t be surprised to find this one popping up on Cherise’s Best R&B roundup this week as well. That’s just Danileigh’s gift; she smoothly switches lanes between pretty, emotion-baring singing and chin-jutting, swaggering rap. On her latest, she finds a balance that makes it a marked improvement over her 2018 debut The Plan, striking a solid balance between her strengths and adding a smooth layer of confident polish.
Davido — A Better Time
The Nigerian pop star has spent the better part of the last few months away from social media as he involved himself in his nation’s ongoing protests to end the Special Anti-Robbery Squad which has brutalized young men since its inception in 2017. While some of his contemporaries like Burna Boy have addressed the unrest head-on, Davido’s gone in the other way on his new album, projecting good vibes and positivity for those weary of the struggle.
Father — Come Outside, We Not Gone Jump You
Awful Records’ leader has returned after a two-year hiatus (broken up by the 2019 EP Hu$Band) to continue upending rap conventions. His off-kilter sense of humor has remained intact on social media, so it’s pretty much a given that his anime-influenced tracks (there’s one here named after Fist Of The North Star, which has become a sudden favorite within the last few years despite being 30 years old) will continue to reflect his mischievous energy.
Fly Anakin & Pink Siifu — Flysiifu
If you spend a lot of time bumping “lo-fi” playlists on YouTube (and you don’t even want to know how old typing that phrase makes me feel) but wishing that someone would rap on those downtempo, dusty-sounding beats, have I got the perfect project for you. A potent blend of ’90s-era boom-bap and diamond-sharp lyricism, Flysiifu is an aural palate cleanser from the busier-sounding hip-hop currently dominating the mainstream.
Octavian — Alpha
Octavian is part of an exciting new wave of grime artists from the UK underground, receiving co-signs from the likes of Drake, Gorillaz, ASAP Ferg, and more. Unfortunately for Octavian, he’s also being accused of abuse by his ex-girlfriend, which could put a damper on his release.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
Just hours before the release of his debut album Alpha, British rapper Octavian is being accused of physical and verbal abuse by his ex-girlfriend. A fellow musician who records under the name Emo Baby, the woman posted her account to Instagram describing being “kicked, punched, strangled, and dragged out of the house” during a drug-fueled episode earlier this year. She accompanied the post with photos of bruises and cuts in various places on her body, saying, “This is just a fraction of what I have experienced and what I have to say.”
Octavian himself denied the accusations via his Instagram Story according to NME, which reported he wrote that “he will deal with the situation ‘legally and properly,’ and that ‘the truth is coming.’” He’s also reported calling the claims “the biggest defamation of character in history” and says Emo Baby accused him because he broke up with her. “I will not speak without evidence,” he said. “What u are witnessing is real-life abuse. Good will win.”
However, when The Fader reached out to the rapper’s publicists, Pattern Publicity, the company told The Fader they were no longer working with the rapper as a direct result of the accusations. A representative said, “After these allegations have come to light, we have stopped all work with Octavian as we cannot condone, nor support abusive behavior.”
Many of us were watching live when the Philadelphia Eagles broke their franchise curse and beat the heavily-favored Patriots in the Super Bowl back in 2018. So when Kyle Thrash’s new documentary, Maybe Next Year (available for purchase on VOD this week), began with portraits of hard-luck Eagles fans and their decades of misery, I figured I already knew the story.
Yet I watched the next 82 minutes, riveted. Pennsylvania, as this past week’s election madness made clear (who could forget John Fetterman?), is just a special place. The rabid Eagles fans depicted in Maybe Next Year are a breed apart, fascinating to watch even when you already know, to some extent, their future. As it turns out, what actually happened in the big game is only a small fraction of the story. The real drama played out on talk radio, where “Eagles Shirley” shrieked herself hoarse, and between the walls of 72-year-old Barry’s 1,600 square foot man cave.
Philadelphians, who famously pelted Santa Claus with snowballs and have a jail beneath their stadium, are simply built differently. They’re scruffier, rowdier, more vocal, and Philly-born Kyle Thrash is brilliant at finding the most compelling characters among them. Think about it: 2018 is probably the only time ever that the Super Bowl victory celebrations were more entertaining than the game itself, and the 2018 Super Bowl was one of the greatest Super Bowls of all time.
Every character in Maybe Next Year is even more of a lovable underdog than the Eagles themselves. My favorites might be the two stoner/urchins who come through the parking lot after tailgates scavenging anything of value and collecting undrunk beers. Maybe Next Year is like if Roger & Me was a sports movie, and had a happy ending. It’s more evidence that Philly has more characters per capita than anywhere else. I spoke to director Kyle Thrash this week about how he chose the best.
So, I went into this figuring that I already knew the ending and thinking I wasn’t going to be into it, and then I ended up riveted for the whole thing. What do you think it is about Philadelphia that produces such compelling characters?
I think it’s because there’s so much history. I think it’s because South Philly has a lot of great character and there’s a blue collar work ethic and grit. I think a lot of people have chips on their shoulders and I think that breeds people that want to express themselves in different ways. Obviously, Philly has amazing musicians and artists and… I mean, you just saw it with the election. I saw people dressed as dancing mailboxes. It’s an amazing group of people and they love their sports and they care about their sports and they know their history and they know their players. They just care more, really.
Why do you think that is?
I feel like if I had to put an exact finger on it, I would say that I guess it’s because we don’t have as much as other cities. We’re not the capital of the country, we’re not New York, with the theater and the banking. I think we use our teams as a representation for the city and for ourselves. I think a lot of people see themselves out on that field.
I assume you grew up there yourself.
Yeah. I was born in Philly and then raised in the Lehigh Valley.
Can you tell me about your principal characters in this one?
There are four characters that represent different sides of fandom. You have Shirley, who is a lady who calls into this Philly sports-talk radio station, usually on Mondays, screaming, going nuts… She’s kind of the mouthpiece for fans. I feel like she represents passion. Then you have Bryant, who I feel like represents anger, who makes these insane YouTube rant videos. You have someone like Barry, who I feel represents obsession. Instead of retiring down in Florida, at the age of 72, he decided to build the number-one-voted-mancave in America on the side of his house. 1600 square feet, 35-foot bar… it’s gigantic. And then, you have someone like Jesse, who represents legacy, which is really big in sports. His dad passed on his love for football. There’s a scene in the movie where Jesse says, “I used to think football was called ‘Get that motherf*cker’ because that’s all I heard my dad yell at the screen. ‘Get that motherf*cker, get that motherf*cker’.” So, he represents legacy and passing on his love for sport to his son who has special needs.
Who all comes to Barry’s mancave every week?
It’s a mix of people from the community. It’s invite-only but there are people who come each week that people don’t know. So, it’s kind of like people invite other people and you ask Barry. It’s like, “Hey, I’m going to bring these people.” So, you get a pass, it’s like a locker room pass. And usually people bring food and he provides the drinks. So, it’s a huge community filled with a lot of love, come game day. He lives in Redding, Pennsylvania, which is about 45 minutes outside the city.
Do they still gather on on Eagles bye weeks?
I don’t think they gather on bye weeks, I think that’s the one week out of the season where Barry gets to sleep in and his wife gets a little bit of break from having to put up with Barry putting on shoulder pads at five-in-the-morning. Unfortunately, because of COVID this year, and his age and his health issues which you see in the film, he’s taking the season off this year and just watching the games alone in the locker room.
With the election coming down to Pennsylvania, did that feel like really good timing for the movie?
Ah man, I felt it was a better time for the country. I don’t think I’m narcissistic enough to be even thinking about the movie at that point. I was just thinking about everything… there’s a million reasons why I was happy. But I was happy to see Philadelphia show its true colors and come together in that moment and help push the count over where it needed to be. So yeah, I was very proud to be from the city on that day.
Wavelength Productions
How early on did you decide you wanted to focus on these people specifically? Were there other people in the running that you had to lose?
Yeah, there were a couple of characters… everyone that donated their time and their energy, and told their stories to us, all could’ve been in this movie. Unfortunately, some characters didn’t make it. We chose the four, like I said, because I felt like they represented different sides of fandom. Some of the characters just had some overlap, no matter how good they were. There’s a character like Tatman, who has the most tattoos in the NFL. He has the most Eagles tattoos, and the most NFL tattoos of anyone. He was an amazing character, and his name’s Chuck and I love him and I love his family, and he was nice enough to let us into his house, but he just wasn’t able to make it in the film.
How did the radio station discover Shirley? She just started calling in and they eventually made her a regular?
Yeah. I think one of her friends was like, “You should call a radio, you have so much passion.” And she’d call in and, of course, the radio station was smart enough to realize how talented and charismatic and fun she is to be on the radio. She was on the radio this morning, on WIP. She’s a great person and filled with so much energy.
Does she get paid for it at all?
No, no, she just calls in and it’s… none of these people got paid for anything. You know? If anything, they’re giving their own money and time. I mean, you look at Barry’s mancave, he has the most memorabilia I’ve ever seen of any NFL, or really any sports fan. To dedicate all of your own personal money, your hard-earned savings, into something that, I think it shows that these people don’t need any sort of financial motivation to do what they’re doing.
Bryant, the guy who does the YouTube videos, he has over 100,000 subscribers or something, didn’t he?
He’s got a lot more than that. I think he’s over a million. He might be over two million at this point. He’s big.
He hasn’t monetized his channel? Is he making anything off that?
Well, he keeps getting banned. Sponsors don’t want to have someone that’s going to be speaking… freely the way that he speaks. But again, he’s been doing that for ten years. For him, it’s like a diary. That’s what I tried to show is it’s a person that was working at Walmart and his first video was talking about how he got fired from Walmart. Then he just was videotaping himself watching a game and he’s just ranting about how the team should be doing better and it gets shared, and then… He’s been on Tosh.0, he’s been on other media outlets-type stuff, I think he’s been on Jimmy Kimmel. But I always look at it as like, he would be doing it if no one was watching. He doesn’t have a huge social life, as I also try to explore in the movie, so for him it is an outlet to get his feelings out there.
So what are the historical events that cemented Philadelphia’s reputation as having the meanest sports fans?
People want to point at the throwing the snowballs at Santa Claus, some people mention batteries at players, some people talking about booing one player when they were hurt. And then, a lot of people will bring up the jail. For me, I think booing and all that stuff, Santa Claus… I don’t find it as interesting as I find the fact that they had to put a jail in The Vet, the only jail ever in a stadium with a judge. And we spoke to the judge, Seamus McCaffrey, who had insane stories of people bringing kegs into the games — literally ropes. Their buddies outside the stadium, tying a rope around the keg and pulling it up [to the balcony] so they could all drink at the 700 level… stealing toilet seats, blaming their kids for things…. I mean, the day that they decided to put a jail in there, after the game people lit off flares, like flare guns, inside the stadium. There were so many fights, there were so many disorderly conducts… that’s why they put in the jail. I feel like that’s probably something that I feel a lot of Philadelphia fans are probably proud of, whether that’s a good thing or not.
There’s that shot of Barry when he’s installing a light bulb on a ladder and then… was he installing the light bulb and then he took the ladder off and it knocked the light bulb out right at the very end?
Yeah. I mean, you spend time enough time with Barry and things like that happen, and we were just lucky to be rolling at that moment. He’s kind of a klutz. And again, what I was trying to show is that this 72-year-old man is taking care of this gigantic mancave, doing all the lawn work and doing all those things, despite him having a heart attack, despite his doctor saying, “You need to be careful with your heart,” he’s running around, he’s up on ladders. He would rather have the perfect viewing experience for his community even if he’s taking the chance of getting hurt.
I mean that was like a silent movie bit that he just did accidentally.
Yeah.
How are these people doing now that The Eagles are not doing so great this year?
Not great. You know? We are in first place but I think no one’s happy with it. I think we’re happy, despite everything, to have football right now, given the current state of the country. I think we’ll take what we can get. But also, to be honest, they’ve been so excited about this movie coming out.
Did you guys get to have a premiere or do anything where you could actually see it together?
We had a premiere at The Philadelphia Film Festival last year. And we got to walk the red carpet and take photos and watch the movie together and have a Q & A. And then, a big after-party that Wavelength Productions threw for us. That was a lot of fun. You asked me before about people that didn’t make it [into the movie]… To have everyone in the same room and watch the movie together, to say that that premiere was a rowdy bunch and extremely loud would be an understatement. I mean, people were talking the whole time, people were yelling — it was just an insane environment to watch a movie in, to say the least.
I forgot to bring up the two guys who were like… tailgate scavengers. Who were those guys? What was their story?
Yeah, we call them The Vultures. The one guy works at the stadium, so he’s always down there. And then he calls his other buddy and they basically go around and pick up the leftover beer, leftover food, leftover lawn chairs, and they just gather all this stuff and put it in their car. You can tell they’re two party-type dudes. They just drive around and picking up more beer so they can take it back to their place to continue drinking.
They reminded me of Mad Max or Waterworld or something, where there’s a whole scavenger economy.
It’s like Mad Max but also like Bill & Ted at the same time. A little stoner dude’s like, “Oh shit, there’s free beer down at the lake? Let’s go.”
Cyberpunk 2077 has been a long time coming. News about the game’s soundtrack was revealed in December, back when the game was scheduled for an April release. Cyberpunk has been delayed multiple times since then, and as it stands now, it’s on track to come out on December 10. Ahead of then, some of that soundtrack has made its way into the world, as Run The Jewels have shared their contribution, “No Save Point.”
The track is a hard-hitting tune in the RTJ tradition, with futuristic lyrics that mirror the themes of the game. A video for the song, directed by Mike Puma, is set to premiere during this weekend’s Adult Swim festival, on November 13 at 8:25 p.m. PT.
In a promo video from December, the duo spoke some about the game and their song for it, with El-P saying, “Even in the dystopian future, hard rap lives on.” Killer Mike added, “We want to provide you with the soundtrack for f*cking sh*t up.”
Aside from Run The Jewels, the Cyberpunk soundtrack will also feature contributions from Grimes, ASAP Rocky, Refused, Gazelle Twin, Ilan Rubin, Richard Devine, Nina Kraviz, Deadly Hunta, Rat Boy, and Tina Guo.
What was the moment that made Donald Trump want to run for president? Was it when Barack Obama zinged his eventual-successor at the White House Correspondents Dinner? Or was it the first time that Trump’s daddy didn’t hug him? We may never know, but we do know the moment that he decided to start his own digital media company.
Fox News was the first outlet to call Arizona for president-elect Joe Biden in the election, which “enraged Trump, and gave him something tangible to use in his attacks on the network,” according to Axios. He has since been telling “friends [that] he wants to start a digital media company to clobber Fox News and undermine the conservative-friendly network.” (I assume “friends” means “Melania wearing noise-canceling headphones.”)
Getting carried on cable systems would be expensive and time-consuming. Instead, Trump is considering a digital media channel that would stream online, which would be cheaper and quicker to start. Trump’s digital offering would likely charge a monthly fee to MAGA fans. Many are Fox News viewers, and he’d aim to replace the network — and the $5.99-a-month Fox Nation streaming service, which has an 85% conversion rate from free trials to paid subscribers — as their top destination.
Tomi Lahren is checking her email every three seconds.
Trump wants to “wreck” Fox News (he plans to hammer the channel during vote-count rallies), but Fox Corp. CEO Lachlan Murdoch welcomes the competition. “We have always thrived with competition,” he said earlier this month. “The only difference today versus some years ago is as our audience has grown and our reach has grown, we see our competition as no longer only cable news providers but also as the traditional broadcast networks.” But the Trump Network has at least eight subscribers already!
One show for Diamond and ANOTHER for Silk. The ratings will very very very big… bigger than a lot of people ever thought possible… and it’s a really incredible thing you’re going to see…
One of the biggest annual events in country music, the Country Music Association Awards (CMAs), went down last night, and there was some real pop energy there as well. Justin Bieber made his debut at the annual event, joining Dan + Shay to perform their collaborative single “10,000 Hours.”
The ceremony took place at the Nashville Music Center, but the trio instead performed the song on the stage of the empty Hollywood Bowl. They even kept their distance on stage, as everybody was several feet apart.
“10,000 Hours” was nominated for Single Of The Year, Musical Event Of The Year, and Music Video Of The Year, but the track went 0 for 3 in those categories. Dan + Shay picked up a win, though, for Vocal Duo Of The Year.
There were other crossover moments sprinkled throughout the event as well. Charlie Puth linked up with Gabby Barrett to perform their “I Hope” remix, which hit a new peak at No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart this week. The evening also saw performances from Chris Stapleton and Maren Morris.
Watch Bieber and Dan + Shay’s performance above and check out some other highlights below.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
There are a lot of concerns about the possibility of extraterrestrial life, both scientific and fun. One people like to ask, for example, is what pieces of culture we would choose to share with alien beings. When it comes to music, Chance The Rapper has declared his answer. On Twitter last night, he shared “the list of songs I will play for the aliens to get them to understand music and humanity,” and every track is by Michael Jackson (or The Jackson 5).
Chance tweeted out each song title individually, and the list includes “Human Nature,” “You Are Not Alone,” “Remember The Time,” “Dear Michael,” “Never Can Say Goodbye,” “Got To Be There,” “She’s Out Of My Life,” “Will You Be There,” “Stranger In Moscow,” “Man In The Mirror,” “Heal The World,” “Blame It On The Boogie,” “Heaven Can Wait,” “I’ll Be There,” “I Can’t Help It,” “Cry,” “Keep The Faith,” “Lady In My Life,” “Another Part Of Me,” “Earth Song,” and “Music & Me.”
In 2019, Chance cited Jackson as his philanthropic role model, telling Forbes, “The greatest of all time […] most philanthropic musician is Michael Joseph Jackson. I think he donated over $600 million to charities and more afterwards… The only person I can really think of off the top when I think of charity that’s a musician is Michael Jackson. That’s how I’ve always thought about it cause most of the people that I grew up listening to were hip-hop artists and I don’t really remember there being a lot of… ‘Ye gave back to the people, but it was in a very different way. It was always through his music. I can’t really think of anybody else.”
The MAC was one of the last college football conferences to return to the field last week, as the internet’s favorite conference came back to bring midweek football to the masses. The second week of MACtion brought about one of the wildest finishes of the college football season as Western Michigan hosted Toledo and trailed 38-28 with under a minute to play.
The Broncos would score a touchdown with 45 seconds left, but missed the extra point meaning they still trailed by four points. That meant they needed an onside kick and a touchdown, not just a field goal to tie. The first step in that was, unbelievably, achieved by a dribbling onside that got past a Toledo defender and was pretty spectacularly recovered by one of Western Michigan’s kickers.
On the ensuing drive, the Broncos would march down the field and inside the 10 with 20 seconds to play and rush to the line to set up for a spike — or so it seemed. Western Michigan then executed an incredible fake spike, as Toledo left the wide receiver on the left side of the field uncovered for a walk-in touchdown.
THE FAKE SPIKE WORKS TO PERFECTION!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1
Toledo scrambling to get set on defense left the receiver wide open and the Broncos were ready to capitalize on it. It’s a rarity to see a fake spike, much less one that succeeds this well, but it was a tremendous way to end the night of football provided you weren’t a Rockets fan.
Young Dolph made his return to the hip-hop world earlier this year with his Rich Slave release. The project was the Memphis native’s first full-length release since his 2019 joint album, Dum and Dummer, with Key Glock. Looking to breathe new life into the album before the year ends, Dolph taps his fellow Memphis brethren to join him for a video for their “No Sense” collaboration. In the visual, the two rappers are at their flashiest thanks to the cars, high-end designer outfits, and overall lavish lifestyles that they portray in the video. However, through it all, Dolph and Glock are watched by undercover agents in unmarked vehicles who take pictures of the rappers as they go about their days.
The Paper Route rapper’s album arrived after he briefly retired earlier this year. Dolph told his followers on Instagram that he was “highly considering quitting music because I really wanna be with my kids 24/7.” Complex confirmed that rapper’s intention was to step away from the game to be more of a family man. However, the retirement was short-lived and he returned with the Rich Slave album, which was released with features from Megan Thee Stallion and G Herbo in addition to Key Glock.
Check out our review of Young Dolph’s Rich Slave album here.
You can watch the “No Sense” video above.
Megan Thee Stallion is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
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