Month: June 2021

Sometimes the best new R&B can be hard to find, but there are plenty of great rhythm and blues tunes to get into if you have the time to sift through the hundreds of newly released songs every week. So that R&B heads can focus on listening to what they really love in its true form, we’ll be offering a digest of the best new R&B songs that fans of the genre should hear every Friday.

This past weekend was highlighted by Raheem DeVaughn & Apollo Brown’s new project, Lovesick. Its 12 songs boast features from Westside Boogie, Skyzoo, and more. Up and coming singer Foushee arrives with her debut project, Time Machine while HER continues her recent streak of empowering track with her latest release, “Change.”

Raheem DeVaughn & Apollo Brown — Lovesick

After blessing us with three singles prior to the album’s release, Raheem DeVaughn & Apollo Brown finally arrive with Lovesick. The 12-track effort is mostly composed of DeVaughn’s rich vocals and Apollo Brown’s vintage and carefully constructed production, but there are a few appearances from outsiders. Skyzoo, Becky Cane, Westside Boogie, and 3D Natee all provide their own verses on the album. All in all, Lovesick is a refreshing project that also brings listeners back to R&B’s past sound.

Foushee — Time Machine

Foushee’s initial success on TikTok has brought us to what many artists would define as a milestone moment: the release of her debut project. Time Machine is compromised of a very digestible nine songs with help from Lil Yachty and Steve Lacy. Previously heard singles “Deep End,” which sparked her boost in popularity, and “Enjoy The Silence” hold space on the full-length effort. For those who are late to the party, Time Machine is a great way to experience Foushee’s artistry and all she has to offer through it.

HER — “Change”

This year has brought plenty of good things to HER. She landed another Grammy and earned her first Oscar award, which of course brings her halfway to the coveted EGOT title. A lot of her success can be credited to socially charged tracks that emphasized the messages and requests Black and brown people have shouted for decades. Her latest drop, “Changes,” which appears in the Barack and Michelle Obama-produced Netflix series, We The People, is another example of that as it finds her singing, “One day, I’ll be a leader / Believe in ‘We the people.’”

Roy Woods — “Touch You”

It’s with great joy that I can confirm that all OVO Sound singers have not only been located, but they’ve returned with new music. After Majid Jordan dropped new music earlier this year, Roy Woods is back in action with his latest single, “Touch You.” The uptempo effort finds him reaching back to the production that was present on his debut album, Say Less. He also serenades his partner with compliments and reassurance that they’re the only one who has his attention at the moment.

OG Parker, Chris Brown, & Layton Greene — “Rain Down” Feat. Pnb Rock & Latto

After spending years behind the boards strictly as a producer, OG Parker is stepping out on his own as a lead artist. His first effort arrives with help from Chris Brown, Layton Greene, Pnb Rock, and Latto for “Rain Down.” The mid-tempo track samples SWV’s classic song, “Rain,” while the respective singers on it speak about the bedroom magic they experience with their partners.

Lucky Daye — “Running Blind”

After getting off to an impressive start this year with Table For Two, Lucky Daye keeps his streak alive with his latest single, “Running Blind.” The uplifting track will appear on the upcoming Liberated / Music For The Movement Vol. 3 EP which arrives on June 18. The song itself finds the New Orleans singer on a desperate run towards freedom, one that often finds him “running blind” as he sings on the song.

Tokimonsta & VanJess — “Say Yes”

Evidence of VanJess’ experience with groovy uptempo records can be found on their 2018 debut album, Silk Canvas. Efforts like “Touch The Floor,” “Another Lover,” and “‘Til The Morning” as well as tracks with Kaytranada prove the sibling sisters are more than capable of providing music perfect for the dancefloor. So it should come as no surprise that they teamed up with producer Tokimonsta for “Say Yes,” a passion-filled number that pleads for acceptance from a lover.

Q — The Shave Experiment (Director’s Cut)

Florida singer Q is just the latest up-and-coming act who refuses to confine himself to just one category. The genre-bending act blends pop, funk, and R&B throughout his music, and his 2020 EP, The Shave Experiment, is direct proof of that. Seven months later, Q returns with a Director’s Cut edition of the project which features five new songs written and produced by him.

James Vickery & Earthgang — “You Comfort Me”

Earthgang’s soulful palette makes the Atlanta duo perfect for R&B records, or tracks that lean in that direction at least. Proof of this can be found through their own projects, their work on Spillage Village’s 2020 album, Spillagion, as well as collaborations with Sinead Harnett, Samm Henshaw, and more. For their latest effort, Earthgang’s Olu steps forward to stand beside rising British singer James Vickery on his latest track, “You Comfort Me.” The heartwarming single will appear on Vickery’s upcoming debut album, Songs That Made Me Feel.

Young Rog — “Destiny”

LVRN is slowly harvesting a roster of talent that will require the attention from the industry — if it hasn’t already. Led by names like 6lack, Summer Walker, and Westside Boogie, the Atlanta-based collective also houses young acts that look to make some noise in the diverse music landscape. One of those is Young Rog who shared his latest single, “Destiny,” with his growing fanbase. The song details a desirable but out-of-reach love interest and it’s an effort that will appear on his upcoming album, The Boy Next Door, out later this month.

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

After a long hiatus — perhaps longer than they’d originally intended, thanks to the global pandemic locking down the entertainment industry for over a year — Migos are set to finally release their long-awaited return as a group, Culture III. After announcing the release date — this Friday, June 11 — with a press release paying homage to Michael Jordan, Offset spoke with Billboard‘s Carl Lemarre about the new project and what fans can expect.

“We gotta top Culture and Culture II and that’s not even about first-week sales,” Offset said of the expectations on the new album. “A lot of people get lost in that but it’s about the creativity and the records and what they mean when you talk to me.”

When asked if there was a particular song he couldn’t stop playing, Offset pointed to a track called “Rolling Stone.” “N****s is walking on that sh*t,” he boasted. “You gonna see. Just know, you gonna respect n****s musically so much with what we did with that record, the sound especially.”

Offset also revealed that the album will be “light on the features,” saying the group’s members all “took time out to be at every session.”

Culture III is due 6/11 via Quality Control Music/Capitol Records/Motown. Check out the lead single, “Straightenin,” here.

Michelle Zauner has become one of indie’s finest multi-hyphenates over the past few years. In 2018, the Japanese Breakfast artist penned an essay for The New Yorker titled Crying In H Mart, which was so well-received that Zauner ended up expanding it into a book of the same title. Now, her New Yorker essay is evolving once again: According to The Hollywood Reporter, the book is now being adapted into a movie.

Zauner said in a statement, “It is a surreal thrill to have the opportunity to memorialize my mother in film, and I consider it of the highest honor to pursue that task alongside creative luminaries such as Stacey Sher, Jason Kim and Orion Pictures.”

A publisher’s statement about the book (which should largely also apply to the movie) reads:

“In this exquisite story of family, food, grief, and endurance, Michelle Zauner proves herself far more than a dazzling singer, songwriter, and guitarist. With humor and heart, she tells of growing up one of the few Asian American kids at her school in Eugene, Oregon; of struggling with her mother’s particular, high expectations of her; of a painful adolescence; of treasured months spent in her grandmother’s tiny apartment in Seoul, where she and her mother would bond, late at night, over heaping plates of food.

As she grew up, moving to the East Coast for college, finding work in the restaurant industry, and performing gigs with her fledgling band–and meeting the man who would become her husband — her Koreanness began to feel ever more distant, even as she found the life she wanted to live. It was her mother’s diagnosis of terminal cancer, when Michelle was twenty-five, that forced a reckoning with her identity and brought her to reclaim the gifts of taste, language, and history her mother had given her.

Vivacious and plainspoken, lyrical and honest, Zauner’s voice is as radiantly alive on the page as it is onstage. Rich with intimate anecdotes that will resonate widely, and complete with family photos, Crying In H Mart is a book to cherish, share, and reread.”

Since the film is so early in the process, it does not yet have an expected release date.

Revisit our recent interview with Zauner here.

Steven Soderbergh is an inspiration to us all. During the pandemic, he produced the Academy Awards; released Let Them All Talk, one of the most underrated movies of 2020, and his annual watch list; and finished No Sudden Move. That’s after he made Magic Mike, retired from filmmaking, unretired, and made Logan Lucky, Unsane, and High Flying Bird. He only has a single Oscar, but it should be a lot more. If only the Academy had a category for Best Ensemble Cast, because No Sudden Move might win it.

The throwback heist movie stars Don Cheadle, Benicio del Toro, David Harbour, Ray Liotta, Jon Hamm, Brendan Fraser, Kieran Culkin, Amy Seimetz, and Uncut Gems breakout Julia Fox. If the movie is even half as good as the trailer, it will be one of the must-see movies of the summer.

Here’s the official plot summary:

In 1955 Detroit, a group of small-time criminals are hired to steal emerging car technology. When their plan goes horribly wrong, their search for who hired them – and for what ultimate purpose – weaves them through all echelons of the race-torn, rapidly changing city.

No Sudden Move premieres at the Tribeca Film Festival on June 18 before an HBO Max debut on July 1.

Time to get some wubba lubba dub dubs in Fortnite season 7, when Adult Swim’s Rick and Morty enters the fray. Earlier today, the official Fortnite twitter account shared a tweet teasing the upcoming season of Fornite that featured a familiar face for Rick and Morty fans — the Butter Robot.

Catalog Entry #476-122

Results of transportation bot test:
-Transporting various weaponry – Failed
-Transporting documents & schematics – Failed
-Transporting bone modification liquid – Satisfactory
No further testing required.

Full data upload- 6.8.2021 https://t.co/bpVJhq5Ngr pic.twitter.com/BCKAyaEilh

— Fortnite (@FortniteGame) June 7, 2021

Created by the mad-scientist-turned-grandfather Rick Sanchez, the Butter Robot is an incredibly minor character — featured only in one episode of the four-season series — that made a huge impact with fans. According to the official Butter Robot website (yes, it has its own website), the “Butter Robot is a nearly-sentient machine, originally created for the sole purpose of passing butter. With life-like movements and trademark voice, Butter Robot’s complex “emotion engine” creates unique interactions and personality as it struggles to find a purpose.” While Rick might have intended for the lil’ guy to be a mere margarine machine, turns out its purpose might just be taking Tomato Town.

As of right now, there’s no additional information on just how deep this collaboration runs, though fans on Twitter are already speculating on what skins might be included in the crossover event. Luckily, we won’t be waiting long for a confirmation, as the story trailer for the second chapter of season 7 hits the official Fortnite YouTube channel on June 7 at 11 PM PT.

With the Mavericks exiting the first round in a loss to the Clippers for the second year in a row, there are ample questions about how they will approach this offseason to put a roster around Luka Doncic that can compete with the best teams in the West. Doncic was sensational in the series, as he was a year ago, but the Mavs were almost entirely reliant on the others hitting threes to win games. That’s part of life in the NBA in 2021, but the lack of secondary creation or a real pick-and-roll partner for Doncic reared its ugly head late in the series as the Clippers adjusted and went small against the Mavs.

The player getting the brunt of the frustration from Mavs fans is Kristaps Porzingis, who averaged a rather pedestrian 13.1 points and 5.4 rebounds per game in the series, often looking lost and disengaged offensively. For the player who is the only max player on the roster and the supposed second star, it simply wasn’t good enough and the questions about his fit with Doncic are now reaching a loud crescendo. ESPN’s Tim MacMahon dove into that relationship, one that is not particularly good on or off the court, and how Dallas is going to approach this offseason.

Among the nuggets of info MacMahon offers is the unsurprising report that many around the NBA view Porzingis’ contract as an “albatross,” one that isn’t likely to fetch much on the trade market.

Those injuries — and the resulting diminished mobility — made him a defensive liability, and they are among the reasons it would be difficult for Dallas to get value for Porzingis in a trade. He is owed $101.5 million over the next three seasons, a contract that executives and scouts around the league view as an albatross.

An albatross is not an untradeable contract, because we’ve learned in recent years no such thing exists — see: Westbrook-Wall. However, what it does mean is you aren’t going to be able to deal Porzingis for much in the way of an upgrade, and the best bet for Dallas is to find a team with a fellow disgruntled former star who’s hit a rough patch on a big contract that they think just needs a fresh start somewhere new. It’s not an impossible task, but it will be a difficult one for the Mavs front office as it seems clear that they need to shuffle the deck around Doncic.

Looking around the NBA, it’s hard to imagine a playoff contender jumping at the opportunity to add Porzingis to the mix, but if there were one it’s probably Boston, who might be looking to move Kemba Walker for frontcourt help and neither player has a particularly robust trade value at the moment due to their injury histories. It’s the kind of trade I’m not sure either fan base would be thrilled about, but sometimes that’s the only option in these situations.

If that’s not there, the Mavs will likely need to look at rebuilding teams for trade partners. Kevin Love in Cleveland and Al Horford in OKC each have two years remaining on big deals in situations where they are clearly not on the timeline of the rest of the team, and while it moves Porzingis to a non-winning situation, it also could be a chance for him to rehabilitate his value as a scorer and more leading offensive option compared to in Dallas where he finds himself lost as a secondary piece. Both the Thunder and Cavs would surely want some draft compensation, but Love and Horford, while likely overpaid at this point, would provide some of what the Mavs want without the belief they should be centerpieces with Doncic as seems to be an issue with Porzingis.

One of the most popular genres of fiction is the murder mystery. Movies, books, and, yes, even video games all love to enter the world of capturing a killer, but what if the roles were reversed? That is what Overboard! does for the player. It takes them and puts them in that classic murder situation, but instead of a scenario where you need to capture the killer you’re instead trying to get away with it.

The game opens with a simple enough premise. You have just thrown your husband overboard and now you need to make it through the rest of the day without being caught. From this point on it’s up to the player how they want to approach the situation. They can choose to play dumb and act like they have no idea where their husband is, or they can tell everyone they never came back to the room the night before. By 5 p.m. in game time a meeting will be called where everything will be brought to life. Depending on how you performed you may get away with it, but if you play your cards wrong, you could be on the way to jail.

https://twitter.com/ChrisBarnewall/status/1400501882154479616/photo/1

How the player gets through the day is through dialogue choices. They’re given a list of actions, words to say, and responses. They can travel the ship, talk to other passengers, and do whatever they can to make sure that they aren’t the one leaving in handcuffs. Where Overboard! shines brightest is the writing. It’s smart, intriguing, and best of all really funny. Each character has a personality that is believable but also absurd, and fans of Agatha Christie stories will find references or nods throughout their playthrough of the game. In fact if the player is able to successfully sneak into one room in particular they’ll be able to find some of Christie’s novels on the bookshelf.

While the story itself might sound fairly shallow, there’s a ton of depth in Overboard! beyond the premise. There are dozens of scenarios the player can go through to reach the different endings. Some of them comedic, others more in line with what the game intends, and a few that are just absurd. Want to go on a murderous rampage so nobody can rat you out? While not recommended, it’s certainly an option! Frame other passengers by any means necessary. Blackmail. Murder. Deceit. Lying. Anything the player can do to make sure they’re walking away free, but there is a catch.

It turns out that getting away with murder is actually one of the more simple aspects of the game. So the game adds extra goals to keep the player on their toes. For example, if you manage to convince everyone that your husband jumped off the boat themselves then you can walk away free, but the main character didn’t manage to collect on the life insurance. So much for living the lavish single life. Every playthrough, the game will give the player a checklist of scenarios they may want to try: Break into someone’s room, trick a passenger into helping you, find out another character’s deep dark secret. The game will not tell you what to do directly, but it will give you hints as to what you can do next. This increases replay value and creates more fun for trying out different scenarios.

Overboard! can also be quite challenging! The player will think they’re on the path they want, only to have another character do something they never saw coming and suddenly they’re on the defensive. This is where the challenge and thrill of being a murderer trying to escape comes from. Luckily there aren’t any Hercule Poirot’s on board so tricking these fellow passengers isn’t impossible, but it’s not as easy as just saying the right thing. Everyone has their own motivations as well and that’s why gathering as much information as possible is essential to success.

This game is great. Developer Inkle really out did themselves with this one and what’s most impressive is that it was apparently made in about five months time. According to Jon Ingold developer it was born January 6, 2021 and was just a game everyone wanted to make for fun. It turned into what is honestly an early game of the year contender. Any fan of visual novels, murder mysteries, detective shows, or just enjoyers of goofy humor should play this game. It is well worth their time.

A review code for the Nintendo Switch version of the game was supplied to UPROXX and played for this review.

Space Jam: A New Legacy has strangely become the most controversial movie of the year — and that was before we heard Lola Bunny speak.

On Sunday, ESPN released a Space Jam-inspired parody of its 30 For 30 series, “The Bunny & The GOAT,” featuring LeBron James, Bugs Bunny, and the rest of the Toon Squad, including Lola. Bugs’ “female merchandising counterpart” has a revised look in the sequel because she was “very sexualized” in the original film, according to director Malcolm D. Lee. He wanted to make her more “politically correct… This is a kids’ movie, why is she in a crop top? It just felt unnecessary, but at the same time there’s a long history of that in cartoons.” Surprisingly, the discussion around the “The Bunny & The GOAT” video has nothing to do with Lola’s appearance. It’s about the way she sounds.

This is emblematic of a larger discussion about animated movies shifting away from experienced voice actors in favor of big-name celebrities ever since Robin Williams played Genie in Aladdin; it was later solidified with Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, and Cameron Diaz in Shrek. They all did a great job, and Zendaya, who rules, might kill it too, even if she’s no Kath Soucie. It’s unfair to make a judgement based on a six-minute YouTube video (there’s a tinniness to her VO that hopefully won’t be in the movie).

The Emmy-winning Euphoria star already has her defenders:

But what I find fascinating is how much of a hot button issue the freaking Space Jam sequel has become. First, it was about something something cancel culture; now it’s strangers getting mad at each other because a cartoon bunny doesn’t sound the way they think a cartoon bunny should sound. Maybe it’s good A New Legacy is being released on HBO Max — think of all the in-theater fights that will be prevented.

Space Jam: A New Legacy comes out on July 16.

After excoriating the Grammys for leaving him locked out this year, The Weeknd got some measure of redemption over the… ahem… weekend at his home country’s analogue awards ceremony, the Juno Awards. Sunday night, he was awarded two wins, Album and Artist Of The Year, after taking home awards for Contemporary R&B Recording Of The Year for After Hours, Single Of The Year for “Blinding Lights,” and Songwriter Of The Year. All told, he took five awards out of the six for which he was nominated, only missing out on the Juno Fan Choice Award, which Shawn Mendes won.

The Weeknd lashed out at the Grammys committee after the nominees were announced last year, revealing that he wasn’t nominated for any awards, astonishing fans who assumed he’d be a shoo-in with one of the biggest records of both the year and his career. The Weeknd himself accused the committee of corruption, a claim which the Recording Academy denied. However, that didn’t stop him from boycotting the show, proclaiming he’d no longer submit for consideration — even after the Academy worked to address some of the issues that caused him to be snubbed.

Meanwhile, he also led the nominations for the 2021 Billboard Music Awards, taking home ten, and has been teasing a new era, putting the controversy — for the most part — in the rear view.

In the middle of a media blitz around her new memoir, Rememberings, Sinead O’Connor announced her retirement in a series of tweets. “I’ve gotten older and I’m tired,” the eminently quotable singer wrote. “So it’s time for me to hang up my nipple tassels, having truly given my all.”

She added, “Apologies if any upset caused to booking agents or promoters or managers due to my tweeting about my retirement. I guess the book made me realise I’m my own boss. I didn’t wanna wait for permission from the men, as to when I could announce it. Also, I’d had a few whiskeys : ).”

O’Connor said that her forthcoming album, No Veteran Dies Alone, will be her last. She will perform the remainder of her rescheduled tour dates but said there won’t be any events to promote the next album. “It’s not sad news. It’s staggeringly beautiful news,” O’Connor continued. “A wise warrior knows when he or she should retreat … It’s been a forty-year journey. Time to put the feet up and make other dreams come true ; ).”

As O’Connor prepares to exit the industry, her musical contributions and legacy are getting a well-deserved reckoning. After releasing two landmark albums in the 1980s — plus the iconic, tear-strew “Nothing Compares 2 U” music video — O’Connor had a defining pop culture moment when she tore a picture of Pope John Paul II during her Saturday Night Live performance in 1992. The singer said it was an act of protest against the sexual abuse of children in the Catholic Church.