Month: March 2021

These days, it’s only on rare occasion that Jorja Smith drops new music. Following the success of her 2018 debut album Lost & Found, fans have been anxiously awaiting any word of new projects from the singer — and they finally got it on Wednesday. Smith returned to debut her song “Addicted,” the first solo single she’s released since the 2020 protest anthem “By Any Means.”

Directed by Savanah Leaf and Smith herself, the “Addicted” video sees the singer reflecting on her love life within the confines of her home. The grainy visual mirrors the slow-burning nature of the song, which sees Smith reeling from the aftermath of a toxic relationship. Smith sings her cathartic lyrics to her computer screen while moving through various rooms in her home. “The hardest thing / I’m too selfless to leave / You’re the only thing that I need / You should be addicted to me,” she croons.

While “Addicted” marks the first single Smith has released in 2021, the singer shared a handful of tracks in 2020. Along with her empowering song “By Any Means,” Smith took on a cover of the jazz classic “Rose Rouge” for a compilation record organized by legendary label Blue Note Records. Smith also teamed up with Popcaan to lend her vocals on the upbeat collaboration “Come Over.”

Watch Smith’s “Addicted” video above.

Conservative actor James Woods was crowned by Family Guy as a “political troll and maniac on Twitter,” and he seems to do everything possible to hold onto that title. Word on the metaphorical street is that Woods ditched Democratic party when Bill Clinton got impeached, although he’s remained a loyal MAGA throughout both Trump impeachments. So, it comes as no surprise that Woods is very upset about the biggest subject to get under right-wing skins this year (just ask Don Jr.), which would be the “cancellation” of characters, and cartoons seem to hit them especially hard.

Woods couldn’t sit back and let his unearthed Rudy Giuliani performance be his biggest pop culture moment this year, so he weighed in on his love of Pepe. The skunk has been excised from the most controversial movie of the year, Space Jam 2, after Dave Chappelle tried to warn us all about Pepe’s rape-culture-embodying manner two decades ago (“Good god, what kind of f*cking rapist is this guy? Take it easy, Pepe!’”), but Woods is here for the skunk fans. Here’s his seemingly sincere, black-and-white tribute (complete with an #RIPPepeLePew) to Pepe’s 1945-2021 pop-culture lifespan.

The “loverboy” spin is really something, right? It’s hard to have too many words in response to this because it’s so darn ridiculous to be upset about Warner Bros. retiring the skunk who refused to accept that “no means no” from a lady, but as one user aptly observed, “The only way we can fix America is by canceling one cartoon a week. They won’t have the energy to focus on anything else.”

Queen & Slim creator Lena Waithe is making the jump from film and TV into music, announcing the creation of a new label with Def Jam, Hillman Grad Records (named for Waithe’s production company, which itself is named for the fictional HBCU in A Different World). Waithe will be joined by Tebs Maqubela and Albert Cooke to “identify and develop underrepresented artists in hopes of priming them for long-term success,” according to a press release. Maquebela previously helped develop Brockhampton, while Cooke worked in Artist Development at Island Def Jam and Artist Relations at SoundCloud.

Waithe detailed the importance of storytelling in music in a statement, saying, “Music and storytelling have always gone hand in hand. And I think that’s because musicians are the storytellers we love the most. They can take complex emotions and simplify it in four minutes, the same artist can sing about the revolution and falling in love. Music is a part of us. It’s so often connected to our fondest and sometimes our darkest memories. Musicians tell our story. At Hillman Grad Productions we believe in identifying and amplifying new talent, and we want to continue to do that in the music industry. Jeff Harleston and his phenomenal team at Def Jam have given us their trust and their resources to help develop artists that not only have potential but staying power. We look forward to the journey ahead.” Interestingly enough, Waithe isn’t the only film talent getting into the music business.

In 2020, Atlantic Records partnered with television and film creator Issa Rae for Raedio, a new record label that has since been the launching pad for a number of successful emerging artists like Pink Sweats, Teamarr, and Yung Baby Tate, as well as the Insecure soundtrack. If this sort of thing really does become a trend, it’ll go a long way toward reversing a dire lack of Black and female executives in the recording industry, bringing new voices to the fore, which we’re all the way here for. Someone get Quinta Brunson on the phone.

We all miss Title Fight, there is no denying that. But on the latest Glitterer album, Ned Russin gives us a taste of what a new album from the legendary post-hardcore group might sound like in 2021. Though not as aggressive as his previous musical effort, Glitterer still takes inspiration from the same place, and Life Is Not A Lesson is full of fuzzed-out instrumentals and chugging guitars, but with enough melody to keep you coming back for more.

To celebrate the new album, Russin sat down to talk Shawshank Redemption, The Beatles, and his last show before lockdown in the latest Indie Mixtape 20 Q&A.

What are four words you would use to describe your music?

Short and bass driven.

It’s 2050 and the world hasn’t ended and people are still listening to your music. How would you like it to be remembered?

As non-nostalgic music.

What’s your favorite city in the world to perform?

Wilkes-Barre, PA.

Who’s the person who has most inspired your work, and why?

My older brother Alex because he introduced me to hardcore and made me want me to play music.

Where did you eat the best meal of your life?

Angelo’s Pizza in Wilkes-Barre, PA.

What album do you know every word to?

Cold World – Ice Grillz

What was the best concert you’ve ever attended?

Free Spirit, Pegasus, Step Forward, Bloodkrow Butcher, and a few more at the Democracy Center in Boston, MA.

What is the best outfit for performing and why?

A t-shirt and jeans because that’s what I wear anyway.

Who’s your favorite person to follow on Twitter and/or Instagram?

I don’t follow anyone on social media.

What’s your most frequently played song in the van on tour?

“In The Van Again” by Shelter is a classic.

What’s the last thing you Googled?

I was googling Bucky’s Auto Limited, Inc. to write about them for work today.

What album makes for the perfect gift?

The red Beatles record.

Where’s the weirdest place you’ve ever crashed while on tour?

I stayed with two hippies in Colorado who replaced all their doors with beads.

What’s the story behind your first or favorite tattoo?

I don’t have any tattoos.

What artists keep you from flipping the channel on the radio?

Ira Glass.

What’s the nicest thing anyone has ever done for you?

Shared information with me.

What’s one piece of advice you’d go back in time to give to your 18-year-old self?

There are no binaries.

What’s the last show you went to?

I played a show with Turnstile, Gag, and One Step Closer on March 13, 2020 before flying home into lockdown.

What movie can you not resist watching when it’s on TV?

I haven’t watched cable in a long time, but I’d like to watch the last half of Shawshank Redemption.

What would you cook if Obama were coming to your house for dinner?

Pasta.

Life Is Not A Lesson is out now on ANTI- Records. Listen here.

Mortal Kombat is one of the most violent game franchises ever, so it’s never made much sense that the Mortal Kombat movies are both rated PG-13. 1995’s Mortal Kombat contains “non-stop martial arts action and some violence, while 1997’s Mortal Kombat: Annihilation also has “non-stop martial arts violence,” but nothing about the violence. “Some violence” and no violence is not enough violence when you’re making a movie based on this. The new Mortal Kombat movie will not make the same mistake.

The Motion Picture Association of America gave Mortal Kombat, the one coming to HBO Max, an R-rating for “strong bloody violence and language throughout, and some crude references.” The rating isn’t a surprise, considering how bloody the age-restricted trailer is and that there were “drums of blood” around the set, but it’s nice to know that director Simon McQuoid wasn’t joking when he called the movie “unapologetically brutal”:

“Some fights are big, some are small, but my main goal was to make the fights mean something. I wanted the fights to look and feel like they didn’t just sort of pop out of the story and then come back in. I didn’t want anything generic. I didn’t want anything that you could see in any action movie. The stunt team on this were just amazing, and they designed some pretty f*cking incredible things.”

McQuoid also said that “we spent a lot of time talking about blood and what it looks like,” as one does. Mortal Kombat premieres on HBO Max on April 16.

(Via Bloody Disgusting)

Before releasing their debut album Jinx in 2019, indie psych group Crumb, who formed while attending Tufts University in Boston, gained a cult following with two playlist-frequenting EPs. Crumb, still unsigned, has managed to occupy a specific niche in indie music while being completely independent — no label, no manager, no booking agent, just Crumb. Now armed with millions of streams and a sizeable following, Crumb have begun teasing a new era of music.

The band returned Wednesday to share “Trophy,” the first new music released since their 2019 debut LP. The song continues to expand on the sound Crumb has laid out in their past projects. It opens with lulling synths before their drummer picks up the past with a swift, shuffling beat. Vocalist Lila Ramani offers her muffled musings, adding dimension to the song’s washed-out atmosphere. True to much of Crumb’s discography, the song breaks into an instrumental fever dream of distorted tones in the bridge before tightening up and moving onto the next verse.

“Trophy” debuted alongside an accompanying video, which was directed by frequent collaborator Haoyan of America with original animations by Truba Animation. The visual plays off the song’s distorted sound, taking viewers on a surreal journey from an eerie awards show to a dystopian racing track.

Watch Crumb’s “Trophy” video above.

When The Falcon and the Winter Soldier hits Disney+ later this month, it promises to bring back the brutal close quarter combat, political intrigue, and all-around badass-ness that started in Captain America: The Winter Soldier. As part of the series’ commitment to capturing the feel of the fan-favorite film, MMA fighter turned actor Georges St-Pierre has returned as Marvel villain Batroc the Leaper, who will no doubt give Anthony Mackie’s Falcon and Sebastian Stan’s Winter Soldier one heck of a fight. The character famously went toe-to-toe with Chris Evans’ Captain America in The Winter Soldier film, and Batroc is presumably itching for a rematch with whoever’s wielding the shield when the show kicks off.

To promote his upcoming role in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, St-Pierre sat down with Complex’s Load Management podcast where he shared his belief that the new series could easily rival WandaVision when it comes to sparking fan theories.

Via Complex:

“It could be even bigger,” said about the online sleuthing that might occur once the show debuts “It’s huge. They put so much budget into this thing it’s incredible.”

Considering WandaVision continues to be an absolute juggernaut at producing fan theories, even after the series has ended, that’s a pretty tall order. However, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier was supposed to be the first MCU show to premiere on Disney+, so who knows what surprises Marvel has packed inside of it.

You can watch St-Pierre share his excitement for returning to the MCU below:

(Via Complex)

Just a day after Chika’s Grammy-week Spotify Singles release found her covering Billie Eilish, Chika’s fellow Best New Artist nominee D Smoke drops his own Spotify Singles package, including a remix of his Snoop Dogg-featuring “Gaspar Yanga” and new song “Sade.” “Sade” is an ode to the music of the British singer, but it’s also an homage to the healing power of music overall, as he addresses the hardships of his upbringing in Inglewood, California, and how music helps to ease his mind.

Meanwhile, on the more aggressive “Gaspar Yanga,” D Smoke does a little chest-beating, boasting of his success and strength. The remix is a rarity in 2021, as it’s an actual “remix” of the beat, utilizing a different sample after the original took its leading looping from the Koutev Bulgarian National Ensemble’s 1991 rendition of “Bre, Petrunko.”

D Smoke discussed his Grammy nominations — he’s also up for Best Rap Album — with Ebro Darden on Apple Music, explaining what the nominations meant for him just a year after his breakout in the wake of winning the first season of Netflix’s Rhythm + Flow. “I appreciate that because a lot of people think popularity is the determinant factor,” he said. “A lot of people determine their success by the numbers. When you got artists on their own dime and their own time that make something happen, that’s worth recognizing. It’s artists that stream more than me. It’s artists that have more radio play than me. But if we’re talking about what I put out and the company that I’m amongst, I’m proud to see that list.”

Listen to D Smoke’s Spotify Singles, “Gaspar Yanga (Remix)” and “Sade,” below.

Is Piers Morgan simply petty, or is he the pettiest? If anyone thought he would decide to quietly meditate for a day after leaving Good Morning Britain, well… no one believed that would happen. Taking a breather from talking isn’t in Piers’ nature, and he woke up on his first day as a free agent to thank his haters while doubling down on the venom that he’s aimed at Meghan Markle. His ride-or-die stance for the British Monarchy has been accentuated with his dismissal of racially-charged remarks from unidentified members of the Royal Family, and he’s repeatedly expressed disbelief over Meghan feeling suicidal. As it turns out, people are now remembering that not only did Piers briefly hang out with Meghan over five years ago (which suggests an extra-petty spin on his beef), but he also publicly complained about her not wanting to see him anymore.

This is a particularly rich detail, given that Good Morning Britain co-host Alex Beresford prompted Piers to storm off set while asking, “Has she said anything about you since she cut you off? I don’t think she has, and yet you continue to trash her.” Yep, Piers never heard from Meghan again after they visited a pub together in 2016, and that seems very telling when one considers his attitude. Is there video of him admitting that she “ghosted” him? You’d better believe it, and the video clip is now back in circulation. As Piers revealed on the Late Late Show (in Ireland in 2018), the two met for drinks, apparently on the same 2016 night when she also met Prince Harry. As Piers freely admitted on-air, Meghan “ghosted” him, so it seems that the two never spoke again?

Now, Piers is being called out for throwing a years-long tantrum and publicly trashing Meghan for years over his booty-hurt feelings.

Fast forward to today, and Piers is being tailed by the paparazzi and seemingly loving it. Sky News caught up with him while he complained even more about Meghan. “I don’t believe almost anything that comes out of her mouth,” he insisted. “And I think the damage she’s done to the British monarchy and to the Queen at a time when Prince Philip is lying in hospital is enormous and frankly contemptible.” Piers then tried to paint himself as a defender of free speech while declaring, “If I have to fall on my sword for expressing an honestly-held opinion about Meghan Markle and that diatribe of bilge that she came out with in that interview, so be it… I think it’s fair to say, although the woke crowd will think that they’ve cancelled me, I think they will be rather disappointed when I re-emerge.” Watch the video below.

BTS may have been the best-selling band of 2020, but they’re also in the top 25 most-followed accounts on TikTok. That’s why fans were concerned Tuesday when a mysterious video was uploaded to the group’s page, which has nearly 30 million followers. Upon learning that they had been hacked, fans began immediately calling for BTS’ label to take action.

Hackers were somehow able to gain access to BTS’ massive TikTok account, where they decided to make a few minor changes. Apparently, BTS’ account went from following no one, to following two users that looked as though they might be bots.

The hacker then posted a handful of videos, most of which were deleted, that included a clip of a bunch of cartoon characters dancing together. The caption essentially outed the hacker, directing viewers to go to their main account, @o2m.

Fans were obviously not happy to see that their fave’s account had been compromised. Many began calling on BTS’ label, Bit Hit Entertainment, to launch an official investigation and sue whoever was responsible.

However, other fans weren’t as concerned because it appeared as though the hacker’s video was generally harmless.

It was only a matter of time before BTS’ team was able to regain access to their account and get everything back to normal. Both BTS and Big Hit Entertainment have yet to address the hacking, and it’s unclear if the label is seeking legal action.