Since Trump left office, Tucker Carlson has become the most hated man in conservative media, and for good reason. He’s spread misinformation about vaccines, floated white supremacist theories, even tried to defend the failed MAGA coup of January 6. So consider this latest social media dogpile a lighter side of Tucker nonsense: On Wednesday, a lot of people watched him and a guest try to claim marijuana use is dangerous, and that only led to widespread mockery.
During his daytime show Tucker Carlson Today, Fox News’ most watched and despised host had a chat with former New York Times reporter Alex Berenson about weed. Marijuana use has skyrocketed during the pandemic, and a number of states, including even New York, have recently legalized it. So Carlson and Berenson decided to play killjoys, claiming that, while it’s not chemically addictive like heroin or cocaine, it could totally kill you dead. Maybe.
Alex: Weed might cause you to vomit uncontrollably.
After Carlson admitted that, having grown up in Southern California, he smoked marijuana “as a child,” Berenson brought up what is called “cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome.” What is that? He said it’s basically “uncontrollable vomiting as a result of THC.” Granted, this is real. It’s just, according to Cedars Sinai, rare. But if you catch it, Berenson said, “it can actually kill, you become so dehydrated, you need to get to an emergency room.”
Mind you, this is only among habitual users, and again, it’s rare. But Berenson and Carlson then escalated it even further, comparing weed to benzodiazepines, like anti-anxiety medication or muscle relaxers, which are addictive and are known, in many cases, to cause problems worse than the ones that drew doctors to prescribe them. They’re not comparable.
But by then the two had gone into Reefer Madness territory. Soon Berenson was being paranoid about a fairly common side effect among some, but not all: the paranoia. “If you’re sliding into mental illness, start smoking a lot, you may temporarily muffle that anxiety at the cost of your paranoid syndromes getting worse,” Berenson said.
But some people had simple solutions for such thoughts: Get better stuff.
Researchers at Harvard University have studied the connection between spanking and kids’ brain development for the first time, and their findings echo what studies have indicated for years: Spanking isn’t good for children.
Comments on this article will no doubt be filled with people who a) say they were spanked and “turned out fine” or b) say that the reason kids are [fill in the blank with some societal ill] these days are because they aren’t spanked. However, a growing body of research points to spanking creating more problems than it solves.
“We know that children whose families use corporal punishment are more likely to develop anxiety, depression, behavior problems, and other mental health problems, but many people don’t think about spanking as a form of violence,” said Katie A. McLaughlin, director of the Stress & Development Lab in the Department of Psychology, and the senior researcher on the study which was published Friday in the journal Child Development. “In this study, we wanted to examine whether there was an impact of spanking at a neurobiological level, in terms of how the brain is developing.”
You can read the entire study here, but the gist is that kids’ brain activity was measured using an MRI machine as they reacted to photos of actors displaying “fearful” and “neutral” faces. What researchers found was that kids who had been spanked had similar brain neural responses to fearful faces as kids who had been abused.
“There were no regions of the brain where activation to fearful relative to neutral faces differed between children who were abused and children who were spanked,” the authors wrote in a statement.
“While we might not conceptualize corporal punishment to be a form of violence, in terms of how a child’s brain responds, it’s not all that different than abuse,” said McLaughlin. “It’s more a difference of degree than of type.”
It seems to make sense when you consider that hitting a child on the bottom isn’t fundamentally different from hitting them anywhere else on their body. Open or closed hand, a strike is a strike, and a strike is, by definition, violence.
In full disclosure, I wasn’t spanked as a child. My husband and I have also never spanked our own kids, who are now a tween, a teen, and an adult. (And quite delightful, well-behaved human beings, I might add.) The majority of our close family friends have not spanked their kids, and we’ve also watched those kids grow into delightful, well-behaved human beings.
When you don’t grow up with spanking, the idea honestly seems very strange. I’d no sooner hit my children on the bottom as hit them anywhere else, and I’ve never understood why people think that a slap on the buttocks—an area that feels quite private to me—is somehow less problematic than a slap across the face. I understand that people might see spanking differently if they’re raised with it, but when it isn’t something you grow up with, it’s just weird.
It’s also just not necessary. I’ve seen people argue that there are certain situations where spanking is either necessary or the most effective means of addressing a behavior, usually in situations of safety. I know many parents, for instance, think a quick smack on the bottom is an appropriate response to a small child running into the road. Little kids don’t understand reason, the argument goes. However, there are other ways to instill a desirable fear into a child who doesn’t understand a mortal danger.
When my wee ones headed toward the road, I grabbed them and scooped them up and showed them my own fear—with some purposeful drama thrown in for good measure—”Oh my gosh, sweetie! Are you okay?! That was SO scary! I was afraid a car was going to SQUASH you! Let me look at you.” Then I checked them over, head to toe, and expressed my relief that they were okay. That did the trick with all three of them.
People often mistake positive parenting for pushover parenting, but it’s not. My kids have boundaries. They are taught to be respectful to everyone, me included, and to behave like civilized humans. But kids can be taught those things through non-violent means. I can’t think of a single thing that spanking would address better than methods that don’t involve slapping a part of someone’s body—especially a part that would be considered sexually inappropriate in any other context.
As more and more research shows that spanking isn’t just unnecessary but potentially harmful, parents may wish to reconsider spanking as a method of discipline, which is the message the study authors hope people take away from this research.
“It’s important to consider that corporal punishment does not impact every child the same way, and children can be resilient if exposed to potential adversities,” said lead study author Jorge Cuartas. “But the important message is that corporal punishment is a risk that can increase potential problems for children’s development, and following a precautionary principle, parents and policymakers should work toward trying to reduce its prevalence.”
Today is the fourth anniversary of Kendrick Lamar’s Pulitzer Prize-winning fourth album, DAMN. which went on to win big at the 2018 Grammys, taking home five awards including Best Rap Album and Best Music Video. However, the anniversary of DAMN. also means it’s been four years since he dropped a solo album. As his fans continue to wait for his next release, TDE’s in-house engineer, MixedByAli, who has worked on all of Lamar’s albums, spoke a little bit about the rapper’s forthcoming project.
“I would say, every album that he has dropped since Good Kid has come with a different feeling so just look forward to Kendrick obviously expressing himself in the most creative way– the most highest of the creative way,” he said during an interview with Complex. “How he works, I’ve never seen it before. The recording process, the thought process of piecing an album together and sequencing it. Things like that is what keeps guys like me great. Watching his work ethic… You would expect someone like Kendrick to be at home and sitting back– nah, he still comes in on time and is punctual.”
MixedByAli was later asked if Lamar’s album would arrive this year, and he replied, “It might, it might, you never know.”
You can watch his conversation, which includes discussion of his work with SZA and Baby Keem, in the video above.
Writing about beer means you taste hundreds of beers every year. At least. Most of them are… fine. A lot more than you’d think are relatively shitty. A fair few shine and a select few really shine. Maybe a handful will actually transcend the job itself and stick with you beyond your initial tasting.
Not many, though. After all, beer writers are creatures of habit and stuck in our ways just like everyone else. It’s tough for a newcomer to crack the rotation.
As someone who’s been writing about beer for more years than I care to count; is an active member of an international beer club with beer writers, judges, and brewers; has a beer-centric podcast with another beer-obsessed writer; and has toured breweries around the globe, I like to think I have a pretty evolved palate. But just like any aficionado, that palate is informed by the life I’ve led and the reference points I have. This is simply to say that the five core beers I go return to again and again are, in a sense, a mix of nature and nurture. Take them for what they are: my picks.
Without further ado, here are the five beers that stayed with me after all these years and thousands of tasting sips from frosty mugs (and little plastic tasting cups). One for each drinking occasion.
Augustiner is Munich’s oldest independent brewery. Hell, you could argue it’s the world’s oldest “craft” brewery, full-stop. Their entry-point beer is a classic lager made from four simple ingredients: water, yeast, malts, and hops. That’s it. Everything is locally grown and put together to highlight the simple yet perfectly executed beauty of a light Bavarian lager.
Tasting Notes:
There’s a bright green grassy note that draws you in with a hint of bready malts. The taste has a well-rounded and slightly caramel sweet maltiness that’s counterpointed by dry straw and a touch of green hops. The carbonation is low, the mouthfeel is silky, and the overall experience is massively refreshing.
Bottom Line:
I’m lucky enough to live in a place where I can get a cold bottle of this beer at every corner shop for $1.75 a bottle. That’s a criminally low price for a beer this well crafted. The fact that I can also get this out of a wooden keg brought up from Munich for $9 per 1-liter glass also seems extraordinary.
Price aside, this is the perfect beer for crushing on a sunny day while sitting under a chestnut tree without a care in the world. It’s also the beer to have as an end-of-the-day sipper to take that edge off. It’s just damn near perfect, affordable, and suits any type of beer session.
This aged Trappist Ale is a highwater mark for Belgian ales. The brew marries Belgium craft with German beer-making ingenuity and English dry-hopping. The beer is fermented with proprietary and wild yeasts and then fermented again in the bottle, giving it real depth. The end result is a complex yet approachable ale.
Tasting Notes:
There’s a nice sense of a flaky buttermilk biscuit with almost bitter blackberry preserves next to a bit of spicy stewed plums. A note of dry hay arrives with slight yeasty funk and plenty of apricot and pear. The bitterness returns late but is more like grapefruit pith, while a mild floral note kicks in on the fizzy and dry end.
Bottom Line:
This paired with a spicy meal is fantastic. The fruitiness, dryness, and light-ish fizzy body really acts as a nice counterpoint to the buzz of a chili-forward meal (think a Vindaloo or anything a la Diabla). While I like to pair this with a meal, it also works wonders as an everyday sipper when you’re looking for something a little more complex than a lager, especially in the winter.
Guinness is one of the biggest beers in the world for a reason. The black stuff from Dublin is a well-defined beer that always delivers, thanks to deeply roasted barley malts, unique yeast, great Irish water, and quality hops. The dark red stout (trust me, it’s actually red not black … just hold it up to a light) is also very light and low in ABVs (4.2 percent), making it a highly sessionable beer.
Tasting Notes:
You’re met with a light note of dark cacao and almost burnt caramel with a touch of nuttiness. There’s a sense of dark prunes, nuts, and dark spices that almost lean into a holiday cake vibe but not quite. The malty and chocolate-driven flavors remain bitter yet silky and the beer goes down almost too easily.
Bottom Line:
This is one of the most quaffable beers on the list. Sure, I’m biased. I’ve been to the Guinness Brewery a lot over the years. I’ve drunk barrels worth in Ireland and at home. And to this day, it’s a beer that I keep stocked in my fridge at all times. For me, it’s a reminder of all those great times in pubs around the Emerald Isle, all the friends I made along the way, and how much this beer was the center of it all — the perfect way to end the week!
Alaskan Brewing’s Smoked Porter is a special beer. It has somehow survived decades of craft waves. The beer is made with smoked malts, giving the final product its signature smokiness. The brew is released once a year, in November as a vintage, and can be aged for years and years in a cellar, if you want.
Tasting Notes:
Generally speaking, you’re going to be greeted with a well-used backyard smoker that’s part fatty smoked brisket, part smoked salmon fat, and a part smoked brown sugars. The bitterness leans more towards coffee beans with a hint of vanilla lurking in the background and maybe a touch of eggnog spice. The maltiness is light, while the body of the beer is somewhat hefty but never overpowering.
Bottom Line:
If you’re smoking something in the backyard, this is the perfect beer to break out for the smoke session and for the meal. It’s an old-school craft brew with some serious history. You can age the stuff to see how it grows and changes each year. That last factor is why I love this pick so much.
Tons of craft is made for a brief moment and then it’s gone. This beer lasts, ages with you, and always delivers.
This Belgian Lambic is a bit like champagne by way of a hoppy and funky ale. The beer is a mix of two-year-old sour lambics that are dry-hopped for three weeks in oak casks, allowing the hops to impart their essence into the already solid beer.
Tasting Notes:
You’re drawn into this one with a dry sense of apple peels, dry grass, sun-dried wildflowers, ginger snaps, and a savory fruitiness. The taste leans into the savory to the point of almost a squash, as notes of lemon zest and cloves bounce through your senses. There’s a bit of a sweet cedar on the dry and effervescent end that leads back to orchard fruit, yeasty funk, and mild florals.
Bottom Line:
Again, think great dry champagne mixed with a tart, floral, and slightly spicy hopped ale. It’s really hard not to love, makes for a great sipper or pairing beer, and is special enough (and expensive enough) to keep around until you have something to toast.
After the trade deadline came and went, the buyout market quickly took shape and the biggest prizes quickly made decisions on their new homes. LaMarcus Aldridge headed to Brooklyn to join fellow buyout star Blake Griffin and the Nets Big 3, while Andre Drummond headed to L.A. to join the Lakers in a move that came as little surprise to anyone who had followed the reporting ever since Drummond was removed from the rotation in Cleveland.
A few smaller moves also got made in buyout land, with Jeff Teague signing with the Bucks to reunite with Mike Budenholzer and provide a bit of point guard depth. The biggest name that didn’t sign quickly was Austin Rivers, who was dealt in the George Hill trade from New York to OKC and promptly waived. Rivers had a solid start to the season for the Knicks but fell out of the rotation as he dealt with an ankle injury and Derrick Rose arrived in Manhattan.
On Wednesday, Rivers appeared to find a fairly snug fit for a new team, as Shams Charania reported he and the Denver Nuggets were in “serious talks” to bring in the veteran guard after learning of Jamal Murray’s torn ACL.
Free agent guard Austin Rivers and the Denver Nuggets are in serious talks toward a deal, pending health and safety protocols, sources tell @TheAthletic@Stadium.
Rivers, obviously, isn’t a replacement for Murray’s production, but he is a capable scorer and can help lift the Denver bench unit as they look to shuffle their rotation now that they know they’ll be going through the rest of the season without their star guard. That Rivers was still out there was fairly fortunate for the Nuggets, as he’s a solid scoring guard, capable spot up shooter, and gives them another ball-handler who has recent playoff experience in Houston. It’s not going to change the Nuggets back into title contenders in the eyes of anyone, but with a sudden need to fill backcourt minutes, they could do an awful lot worse than bringing Rivers on board.
It’s been about four months since Conway The Machine released a new project (the deluxe version of From King To A God), so it’s just about exactly the right time for him to drop a new one, semi-unannounced. It’s called La Maquina, it’s packed with production from some of hip-hop’s heaviest hitters (Bangladesh, Cardiak, Don Cannon, and The Alchemist all appear on the tracklist), and loaded with unexpected features like the guests “Scatter Brain,” the single Conway shared just moments ago ahead of the full album’s Friday release.
“Scatter Brain,” which is produced by Don Cannon, features skittering, lightspeed verses from ATLiens JID and Ludacris for a cross-generational cipher-style linkup that lets all three lyrical technicians put their full skillsets on display. The beat features blasting 808s, a ghostly chant, and rainfall snares, providing a different sort of backdrop from those longtime Griselda followers may be used to hearing from Conway, but which he rides with ease and grace. Next up, JID weaves a spider web of a verse with interlocking syllables stacking like a waterfall in reverse.
After a reprise from Conway in which he boasts that he “still get a paycheck from Shady” despite rumors he departed the label last year, Ludacris swoops in to bat cleanup, sounding every bit as athletic as he did in his prime over 10 years ago. As a taste teaser of the upcoming full project, it’s beyond an appetizer — it’s the first hit of a highly addictive substance, leaving fans itching for the full course. Fortunately, they won’t have long to wait; La Maquina is due 4/16 via Griselda.
St. Ides, makers of one of the most iconic malt beverages in hip-hop history, has just returned to the scene with an all-new premium cannabis line of smokeables and beverages, in an attempt to connect with a brand new audience. The malt beverage and its distinct squiggly logo — the famously shouted out “crooked I” — was as much of a staple of ’90s hip-hop as fuzzy Kangol caps. Now, St. Ides has linked up with fellow ’90s legend Weldon Angelos (who produced hits for Snoop, Tupac, and others) and his Project Mission Green, in an effort to bring awareness to and help combat unjust nonviolent cannabis convictions, and, in the process, give us a great product to smoke.
Vacating cannabis convictions is a cause that’s front and center for Angelos, who was sentenced to fifty-five years in prison back in 2003 for selling $900 of marijuana to a police informant. He was released in 2016, after a nationwide campaign that featured celebrities, politicians, and even the judge who sentenced him. Now a free man, Angelos is spending less time in the producer’s chair and more time advocating on behalf of other non-violent drug offenders impacted by the “war on drugs” via Project Mission Green.
For the collaboration, St. Ides and Project Mission Green have developed a powerful two-gram blunt and a merch line to help raise awareness and money. The merch line consists of hoodies, crewnecks, t-shirts and other streetwear staples, but our favorite part of the collection is definitely the two-gram hand-rolled blunt — which is dusted with THCa crystals for a powerful blunt, packing over 30% THC.
St. Ides
Each blunt is stored in a sealed glass container, which helps to keep this premium blunt at peak freshness. Proceeds from the merch collection as well as the blunt will go directly to Project Mission Green. Check out the full merch collection below and hit up the St. Ides webstore to pick up your blunts and merch in support of Project Mission Green.
Prior to the 2021 Masters, which saw Hideki Matsuyama become Japan’s first men’s major champion, Mercedes-Benz invited a number of media members to get a virtual golf lesson from their ambassadors, Jon Rahm and Ian Poulter, who were also there to speak about Mercedes inviting a number of healthcare workers to Augusta as a thank you. Rahm was unable to make it after the birth of his son on Saturday, but Poulter happily hopped on to watch the swings of a dozen or so media folks and gently pick them apart.
The swings were, as one would expect, all over the place, as some were picking up a club for the first time in a long time for this exercise while others, like myself, were longtime golfers hoping to get some more nuanced tips. What was rather incredible is how quickly Poulter recognized flaws and could give simple fixes to just about everyone after one look at a fairly grainy cell phone video, while also recognizing even via Zoom who could take a little more ribbing and critique and who would be better served with a little confidence builder and tip to see some improvement. (Here he is, pointing out someone’s mistake.)
Mercedes
When it got around to me, he joked about my low angle trying to go for a cinematic look, when in actuality I just didn’t have anyone to film my swing on a Tuesday afternoon, and the immediately pointed out two things I did wrong and a third tweak I could make if I wanted after one viewing.
First, my feet were aimed right of the target, forcing me to come over the top and creating my patented “pull cut” that to go straight started left and then worked to the right. I have long had that and never really realized what caused it, and it took him one look to call it out. The other was my lack of balance, as I rock back on the backswing and then have a lot of upper body movement pulling through, causing me to fall back as I complete my followthrough, which, likely, is the root of my inconsistency with finding the clubface square every swing. Poulter also said I could strengthen my grip some, as my right hand was very much on top of the club — a longtime fix I’ve used to combat an overly strong grip I once had from my baseball days.
These were my first swings in about seven months, so I was mostly out there knocking off rust, but it also was a great time to make some changes because I needed to create a new rhythm anyways. Later that week, I popped back out to the range, this time with my fiancee in tow to take some video, to see if I could put Poulter’s fixes into play and how they’d work. In a shocking turn of events, the Ryder Cup legend and elite golfer seems to know what he’s talking about.
With a new focus on stability and balance, as well as just getting my feet aligned, I suddenly was able to work the ball either direction. I still lean on a fade, but it’s one that starts where I want and peels gently off to the right rather than a much stronger cut since my feet are no longer closed to the ball. My balance is massively improved, which in a range session and a quick round walking resulted in much more consistency in ball-striking and distance.
All told, Poulter did more for my swing in two minutes via Zoom before going out and posting a T26 at the Masters than I’ve been able to do for it in a few years since I’ve been sort of stuck in this same action. I’m a pretty good golfer, living in the 5-8 handicap range for most of my adult life after having it as low as 2 while playing in high school. I have always worked on my game by myself, partially because I enjoy the solitude of golfing alone and also because for a long time I didn’t have disposable income to take any lessons. However, at some point, getting an outside opinion helps, and there’s a much greater weight to what someone says when they are a top 50 caliber player in the world.
Rather than trial and error and searching for what I needed to do, having just a few, simple things to focus on with foot alignment and balance allows the rest of the swing to sort of fall in line. It’s still not a perfect swing — a bit to vertical, a bit too long — but that’s part of the lifelong journey of golf. It’s a quest that never really has a finish line and leaves you always chasing those moments where you feel it all come together, which Poulter got me a touch closer to this week.
With climate change continuing to grow in importance as one of the most urgent issues facing society today, non-profit booster Propeller and the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) are launching a new awareness initiative called the “NOW: Climate Action Campaign” to raise public consciousness of the looming dangers of climate change.
Beginning Earth Day (April 22) and continuing throughout the year, NOW will leverage the platforms of musicians and festivals to promote climate awareness. To encourage fans to take action — signing petitions, making donations, planting trees, and signing up for education courses — artists and festival partners will offer prizes like custom bikes and more.
Among the artists participating are Lil Dicky, who is offering a trip to an exotic location impacted by climate change so fans can see its effects firsthand, Julien Baker, A-Trak, and The National, while BUKU Music + Arts Festival, Deep Tropics Festival, and Sub Pop Records are all billed as participants as well.
Propeller, a digital marketing company that works to connect non-profit social causes with celebrity endorsers to, well, propel these movements beyond what they might be capable of otherwise, highlighted the importance of the NOW campaign in a press statement from founder Brandon Deroche. “Climate change is only going to be solved with sustained attention and pressure from all of us, and we see this campaign as a way to help energize the movement,” he said.
Lil Dicky, who previously recorded the celebrity charity song “Earth” in 2019 and donated the profits to environmental causes, echoed Deroche’s sentiment. “Climate change is an incredibly important cause for me,” he said. “I’m excited to get fans that may be new to the cause activated through the NOW Climate Action Campaign, and give them the chance to see the impact of climate change first hand.”
More information will be forthcoming but for now, you can learn more at propeller.la and nrdc.org.
The RX is Uproxx Music’s stamp of approval for the best albums, songs, and music stories throughout the year. Inclusion in this category is the highest distinction we can bestow, and signals the most important music being released throughout the year. The RX is the music you need, right now.
All artists must have a certain degree of self-belief, but very few have as much as Lakeyah. It’s one thing to record your innermost thoughts over a beat and put them out, knowing that someone, somewhere in the world will want to hear them and relate, but it’s another thing entirely to convince your mom to pay for art school in Atlanta for the sole purpose to pursuing a label deal with Quality Control Music.
That’s exactly what the Milwaukee-bred 20-year-old did, though, enrolling in the Art Institute of Atlanta in order to have a pretext for relocating to Coach and P’s hometown, only to drop out just two months into the semester to chase her rap dreams full time. The leap of faith had a soft landing; not only did Lakeyah, who’d first gained a semblance of notoriety with a series of freestyle videos from her car (a la Saweetie, to whom she’s sometimes compared), ultimately ink the deal just a few months later, she’s now two projects into her career and receiving the full-fledged support of the “family-oriented” label.
Her latest release, In Due Time, arrives just months after her debut Time’s Up. While both records are glitzy affairs, Lakeyah is also committed to a much more lyrics-focused approach than some of the artists she gets compared to, owing to her early fascination with the songwriting of Drake, Nicki Minaj, and Wale. Displaying her love for witty wordplay on “Easy,” and the Gucci Mane-featuring “Poppin,” she also layers in a newly refined sense of storytelling, fleshing out the emotional corners of tracks like “Dirty World” and “From The Bottom.”
Over the phone with Uproxx, Lakeyah relayed the challenges of starting a career during a global music shutdown, reflected on the support she’s received from her label home, explained the thematic importance of “time” to her first two releases, and agreed that pursuing a dream often means being your own superhero.
How has your last year been? I know it’s not the most ideal situation to start your career in the middle of a global, once-a-century pandemic. How have you been handling it? What have you been doing with the time that you would have been touring or whatever?
It’s kind of sad but at the same time, I’m kind of blessed to have been signed during a pandemic, it’s preparing me for when the world opens up. I’ve been doing a lot of Zoom interviews and I stay in the studio. I’m shooting videos a lot and I’m always getting content ready for Instagram. That’s what it’s about right now, while there’s nothing going on.
“Time” is a theme in your album titles. Why is that so important for you to highlight that theme?
I feel like success — slow success — builds character. I was just talking to P about this. Everything is going to happen at the perfect time for me. The next tape is going to be called Perfect Timing. I just feel like everything is going to fall into place. I’m just working my ass off right now being super consistent. It’s all about timing. You don’t want to burn yourself out, out here.
Right. And you’re 19, you’re young. You have time. Jay-Z didn’t put out Reasonable Doubt until he was 26. With that being said, what are some of the things that you’ve learned from being around older fellows like Coach and P, as opposed to being around your own peers?
To stay out of drama. To be focused on the job. I’m around a lot of people that have a lot of money and they ain’t making money being in bullsh*t. Focusing on work and putting everything I have into my career, my artistry: that’s what I’ve been learning.
I had to hit Google a little bit and look for Milwaukee rappers because I don’t know any rappers who are from Milwaukee except for K Camp. Do you have rappers from your city that you look up to? If not, who have you been looking up to?
I don’t have any from my city because, to be honest, I was young. I wasn’t shooting music videos like everybody else, I was just doing freestyles in a car. So I didn’t get really a lot of recognition when I was in the city. I had dreams of being global and not local. So growing up I definitely always listened to Nicki Minaj, Drake. I love Rick Ross and Wale. I like people who really care about the bars, the lyrics, make you feel like a boss.
I’m surprised, but not surprised, to hear you say “Wale.”
I love him.
I remember when he came out, like early on. We’re the same age. So hearing someone talk about someone who I came out with, someone the same age as me, that’s crazy.
He’s super poetic but it’s still that music you want to listen to. Sometimes people are so talented that they can’t make a song, but Wale makes songs, hits actually. I love him. I’m a big fan.
Why do you focus so much on lyrics and how do you find that balance between being a good rapper and being a good songwriter?
Well, like I was just saying, people be so good that they can’t make a song. Me and P even had this discussion. I come from freestyling, where you got to take that element and really put it into the music. You want people to still feel your music, but not get bored with you. I have a huge vocabulary. I read a lot of books. I don’t want people to be like, “What she say?” But I still want people to think. I got to make sure everything is like, “It’s a bop,” but it’s still like, “She’s saying some real sh*t. It’s a balance I’m still learning.
One of the bars that actually did crack me up listening to your album was on “Easy.” You say you’re 19 and you’re making more money than your father. When your father heard that line, what did he say to you?
He got a rich daughter. He like, my daughter got money, I can get a house.
Your mom may have had a slightly different reaction. Correct me if I’m wrong, but you convinced her to send you down south for school, and then you just decided that you were going to drop out and pursue rap. What did she say when you got signed? What is she thinking now? Has there been any change over the past year?
Yes. A huge change. When I first told myself, “I’m not doing college no more,” at first I’m like, “I’m not telling nobody.” I don’t know what my plan was because I knew I was going to have to tell somebody, but I wasn’t telling nobody. I was skipping classes. But I’m not promoting that sh*t. Education is key.
So when I told her, she was yelling, she was cussing me out. She was like, “I put all my money… I moved you out here.” I had to go through that. And then a couple of months later, I got signed. So she was proud. She probably thinking she wanted to see her daughter graduate college, but she’s super proud.
You have Gucci Mane on “Poppin.” To me, my generation, that is impressive. Like, “Okay, who is this kid to be getting a Gucci Mane feature?” How does you feel about having this veteran of the trap scene come through and bestow the blessing upon you?
It’s so, so, so lit. Growing up in Milwaukee, that’s one of the people we listened to. So, it’s a blessing beyond measure. And he really killed the track, I was super surprised. I remember I got in the studio with Hitmaka and we made the song, they must’ve sent it to P, and P sent it back to me a week later with a feature on it, and it’s Gucci. I’m like, “You’re kidding me right now, is that my song?” So it was super exciting. The video was fun to shoot, and both P and Gucci are super humble people. And they really support these artists out here trying to make it.
I know that this is sort of an old man, uncool thing to ask anybody under 20, but do you have anything even remotely resembling a five-year plan for your career in hip-hop?
Honestly, I really, really plan to be the biggest artist — not “female rapper,” not “female R&B”… but the biggest artist in the world. Whatever steps it takes to get there, that’s part of the five-year plan. I’m only 20 like I said. I got so much time and sometimes I get caught up judging my success off of what’s going on with other artists. But, I heard somebody say a week ago, it takes 10 years to become an overnight success.
Being a new artist, you probably do a ton of interviews and get asked a lot of the same questions. Do you have anything that you would love to talk about that you just wish somebody would ask you about, but they just haven’t?
A lot of people don’t know the type of stuff I like, like superheroes and sh*t. I like Marvel and DC movies. I’m a super big fan of Avengers movies and all that. And vampire, supernatural movies too. I do not want to watch f*cking rom-coms or nothing like that. I want to see people flying in the air.
Who is your favorite Avenger?
Oh my God. I cried when Iron Man died. I was sick about it.
You know what? I think we all cried when Iron Man died. If you got a superpower, what would your superpower be? And what would your superhero name?
I think I would teleport, but I want to read minds, too.
So you want to be a telepathic teleporter?
I don’t know what my name would be.
Why not “Lakeyah?” A rap name is a superhero name. You are your own superhero, right?
Exactly.
In Due Time is out now on Quality Control Music. Get it here.
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(@ScottWamplerBMD) April 14, 2021
(@bad_takes) April 14, 2021
