Month: June 2021

At the end of 2020, Halsey teased that 2021 would be “the most ridiculous year” of her career. Now, halfway into the year, it looks like one of the projects to which Halsey alluded is finally coming to light: It seems she has a new album on the way, which she made with Nine Inch Nails members Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross.

Halsey hasn’t made an official announcement yet, but a new billboard features white text on a dark background and reads: “The fourth album by Halsey / If I Can’t Have Love I Want Power / Produced by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross.”

This news has reminded fans that Halsey may have actually covertly teased this collaboration in a June 12 post on Instagram, which includes a photo of Halsey holding a baby-sized Nine Inch Nails t-shirt over her pregnant stomach.

This could mean a number of things for the CMT Award-winner’s next album. Reznor and Ross make both industrial rock with Nine Inch Nails and more cinematic music with their film scores, so either or both of those influences could find their way into Halsey’s new material.

A rock pivot wouldn’t be as drastic of a change for the pop star as it may seem to some, though. She, Yungblud, and Travis Barker collaborated on the alternative rock-leaning “11 Minutes” in 2019. She and Machine Gun Kelly also linked up on the pop-punk single “Forget Me Too” last year. Furthermore, Halsey also guested on a Bring Me The Horizon project in 2019 and reconvened with the group for another new song a couple months later.

Rudy Giuliani had his license to practice law in New York suspended last week for making “demonstrably false and misleading statements” in court, on his podcast, to the hot dog vendor outside his apartment. It’s a shocking fall from “America’s mayor” to “getting dunked on by a landscaping company,” but Rudy still has his supporters.

Bernard Kerik, who served as the NYPD commissioner when Giuliani was mayor (he was later pardoned by Donald Trump after being sentenced to four years in prison), has started the Rudy Giuliani Freedom Fund to raise money for his buddy. “In an attempt to assist ⁦@RudyGiuliani to defend himself from frivolous lawsuits, a weaponized Justice Department, and the New York Bar, we have created the Rudy Giuliani Freedom Fund. This is the official Defense Fund for this American Patriot,” he tweeted, along with a link to the fundraiser. Does the website begin with “The Deep State”? You bet!

The Deep State is on a mission to take down every single one of President Donald J. Trump’s closest allies.

Among their top targets is Rudy Giuliani, who was repeatedly censored for trying to expose the truth about the Biden Family’s corruption ahead of the 2020 presidential election.

But, Rudy’s loyalty to President Trump and the truth has come with a hefty price.

Giuliani “urgently needs YOUR help as he battles for his freedom and justice,” the Freedom Fund claims, even though his net worth is reportedly in the millions. “And don’t forget… if the Deep State can do this to a former president’s confidante who did nothing wrong, then one day, they could do it to you.” It’s unclear how much the campaign has raised, but Rudy’s supporters are welcome to donate online — or mail a check to an address in West Palm Beach, Florida. Nothing shady has ever happened in Florida.

The Freedom Fund isn’t free, but the reactions on Twitter are:

(Via Business Insider)

WARNING: Spoilers for Loki episodes both past, present, and future will be found below and in the video above.

With Loki now halfway through its six episode run, Disney+ has dropped a new mid-season trailer that offer an intriguing glimpse at the final events to come. While the opening half of the trailer recaps the first three episodes of Loki, things progress as it becomes clear that the Time Variance Authority catches up with Loki and Sylvie (Sophia Di Martino), which prompts a humorous exchange where Loki is insulted that Sylvie requires more guards to detain her than him. But more importantly, Mobius (Owen Wilson) is still intent on pushing Loki to embrace his good side, as the words “Every Loki has their time” plays across the trailer.

That could line have multiple meanings. The use of “their” keeps that whole sentence notably gender neutral, which fits into the show’s major, and arguably overdue confirmation, that Loki is both gender-fluid and bisexual. More literally, it puts both Loki and Sylvie in play even though we don’t know if Sylvie is truly a Loki Variant. Judging by the heavy-handed use of Mobius still trying to get through to Loki in the trailer, the Trickster God could finally embrace his heroic side by the season end, or go the complete opposite direction, as there’s a brief glimpse of him ruling Asgard.

Of course, the “Every Loki has their time” line could also be referring to Sylvie and a possible expansion of her role in the MCU, and how this is her time to emerge as a force to be reckoned with. Or most likely, in the most literal use of the word “their,” both Loki and Sylvie will each have defining moments in the back half of the reality-bending Disney+ series.

Taylor Swift is famously in the process of re-recording her old albums, which presents a unique set of challenges. While Swift’s albums aren’t defined by their featured artists, she does have a handful of collaborations sprinkled throughout her discography. So, in order for her “Taylor’s Version” albums to be faithful to the originals, she needs to get those people back on board.

She did so on Fearless (Taylor’s Version), as Colbie Caillat once again featured on “Breathe.” Red is the next album to be re-recorded, and that one features collaborations with Ed Sheeran (on “Everything Has Changed”) and Snow Patrol’s Gary Lightbody (on “The Last Time”). There doesn’t seem to be any word on if Lightbody is returning to Red (Taylor’s Version), but Sheeran has confirmed that he is contributing to the new Red.

In an interview with the Official Big Top 40 radio show (as NME reports), Sheeran was asked when he’ll be recording his “Everything Has Changed” vocals, and he declared, “I’ve already done it, I’ve already recorded it.” He also noted, “Taylor’s got a few surprises in store for you.”

When Swift announced Red (Taylor’s Version), she wrote, “I’ve always said that the world is a different place for the heartbroken. It moves on a different axis, at a different speed. Time skips backwards and forwards fleetingly. The heartbroken might go through thousands of micro-emotions a day trying to figure out how to get through it without picking up the phone to hear that old familiar voice. In the land of heartbreak, moments of strength, independence, and devil-may-care rebellion are intricately woven together with grief, paralyzing vulnerability and hopelessness. Imagining your future might always take you on a detour back to the past. And this is all to say, that the next album I’ll be releasing is my version of Red.”

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

Rappers and beef go together like burgers at barbecues, but there’s one recurring foe that rappers have been unable to defeat despite repeated attempts: Walmart’s website. Specifically, third-party sellers on Walmart’s website, who love knocking off rapper’s signature products and trademarks to take advantage of fans who don’t want to pay full price to support their favorite artists’ dreams. Rappers who have had to complain about fakes include 21 Savage, whose Jason Voorhees mask and “Savage” chain designs appeared on the site, and Lil Baby, who went off on the retailer for selling fake 4PF chains, last year.

This time around, it’s Kanye West who has a grievance against Walmart, per TMZ, and instead of chains of dubious quality and origin, it’s Kanye’s infamous footwear line being disputed. Kanye and his brand, Yeezy, filed a lawsuit against Walmart for carrying the “Daeful Mens Womens Kids Summer Beach Shoes” — which were really just fake Yeezy Foam Runners — for $25. The third-party listing was taken down by Walmart, but that hasn’t stopped plenty of other bootleggers from selling their fakes elsewhere, as TMZ notes.

And hey, not to victim blame here or anything, but they’re not exactly the hardest design to copy, and if the market says they aren’t worth the $75 retail price then that might be something Kanye wants to take note of. Why anyone would want them is beyond me (if you’re paying retail for these, you must really value comfort over style), but ironically, Yeezy is facing a lawsuit from Walmart as well, as Walmart claims his new Yeezy logo infringes on theirs due to a very similar look.

Anticipation for Showtime’s Dexter revival is running high. That’s a testament to fan devotion, really, and also a nod towards everyone who hopes that the upcoming limited series can erase that less-than-satisfying series finale (Dexter Morgan sailed into a freaking hurricane, survived but faked his own death, and then settled into a quiet Oregon lumberjack life). For the most part, the eight-season series was solid enough that people really want to see this ending remedied and a new one written in its place, albeit a decade later. And hopefully, the revival will be an exception and succeed, much like the infuriatingly good Cobra Kai, although it appears that 10 further episodes will be as far as Dexter takes us into his future (if he even has a future, that is).

Well, star Michael C. Hall has spoken out about the original ending with Times Radio (via NME), and he totally understands why people felt let down by what transpired. Hall has revealed that he’s found it “gratifying” to continue Dexter’s story in the limited series. He added, “I think the show ended in a way that was pretty mystifying at best if not infuriating for people, but that at least set the stage for us to return and answer more definitively what the hell happened to this guy.” Hall continued while explaining that Dexter’s “choice” was something that he had been alright with, but “as far as the execution goes, we were all running on vapour at that point, so I get it.”

As far as the “choice” is concerned, one can assume that Dexter wished to break the cycle and spare his son, Harrison, a serial-killer life like his own. Yet Showtime has suggested in a teaser that the father-son relationship might be important in this revival, so will we see Harrison visit dear old dad in his relaxed, upstate New York digs? Fans would likely love to see a confrontation, given that Dexter chose not to regroup with Hannah and Harrison in Argentina. Ten years have supposedly passed between the original finale and the revival, so the timing could be right for a showdown.

Meanwhile, Rob Lowe recently revealed that his dear (late) friend, Bill Paxton, had (wrongly) attributed Hall’s Globes win (for the fourth season) to “the cancer card.” Let’s hope that the Dexter revival (and Hall’s return performance) is so fantastic that no one can attempt to make that type of claim again.

(Via Times Radio & NME)

Yesterday’s BET Awards ceremony was full of memorable moments, but Lil Nas X delivered one of the most notable with his performance of “Montero (Call Me By Your Name).” He ended the performance by kissing one of his male backing dancers, and while the response to the moment was largely positive, there was still inevitable backlash, at which the rapper promptly clapped back.

One Twitter user referenced the performance’s aesthetic theme and wrote, “DONT USE AFRICAN CULTURE FOR SH*TS LIKE THIS!!!!!!! RESPECT OUR ANCESTORS.” Nas replied, “y’all really like to pretend homosexuality didn’t exist in african culture.”

Indeed, a 2015 column from The Guardian cites numerous examples of homosexuality in African culture, from relevant words in local languages to Mwanga II, the king of Buganda from 1884 to 1888 who “was openly gay and faced no hate from his subjects until white men brought the Christian church and its condemnation.”

Elsewhere, another tweeter shared some criticism of the rapper’s red carpet dress, writing, “I’m sure he was paid a million dollars to wear this nonsense. This will cause other little boys that admire him to dress this way for free and I hate seeing men emasculated.” An unbothered Nas responded, “we causing the emasculation of men all 2021.”

Check out Nas’ performance here.

TV shows overstaying their welcome is more of a Showtime thing, but it can happen on HBO too. I have six words for you: “I’m a fairy? How f*cking lame.” This will not be an issue with Succession, however. In an interview with the Times, writer and executive producer Georgia Pritchett discussed the difficulty of writing a part-drama, part-comedy about spoiled billionaires and revealed how long the Emmy-winning series will last.

“Succession isn’t a comedy, but every line has the attention to detail a comedy would have,” she said, adding that the challenge is to take “reprehensible but incredibly powerful people” and “dig deep and find their humanity.” Considering I would literally die for Cousin Greg, creator Jesse Armstrong and the writers are doing a bang-up job.

As for the show’s end game, Pritchett, who also wrote for Veep, said:

“I think the maximum would be five seasons, but possibly more like four. We’re at the end of filming season three, so at this point Jesse is saying only one more. But that happens every time. We’ve got a good end in sight.”

“It’s time for us to… f*ck off” — Logan Roy after four, maybe five seasons.

Succession is expected to return to HBO for season three in the “fourth quarter of 2021.” New cast members include Adrien Brody (as “a billionaire activist investor who becomes pivotal in the battle for the ownership of Waystar”), Alexander Skarsgård (“a confrontational CEO and tech founder”), Sanaa Lathan (“a high profile well-connected New York lawyer”), Linda Emond (“a senior White House aide”), and Korean music star Jihae (“a leading Public Relations consultant”).

(Via the Times)

Of all the QAnon conspiracy theories out there, this one might be the least harmful one but also the funniest one. Over the past few years, it seems, there’s been a running false claim that John F. Kennedy Jr. didn’t actually die in 1999 due to a plane crash with his wife, Carolyn Bessette, by his side. People who believe this falsity also think he faked his own death. And it gets weirder, because they also have believed that JFK Jr. is a rabid follower of Trump and is, in fact, the mysterious “Q” who scribbled 4chan posts and runs QAnon while holding tight for the day when he can rule the country with Trump, like.. in 2024? Tomorrow? None of this makes sense.

Things got particularly amusing on the subject in 2019 when QAnon followers spread the (fake) word that JFK Jr. had been quietly biding his time for two decades in Pennsylvania while preparing to emerge on Independence Day. Well, it’s all coming to a head because cult members now believe that a man named Vincent Fusca is actually JFK Jr., and they’re flocking to take selfies with him. TMZ posted details of Fusca’s attendance at an over-the-weekend Trump rally. According to TMZ, Fusca is very much a proud Trump supporter, and he’s also happy to pose with people who believe he’s the real JFK Jr. deal. The QAnon cult members are eating this up, and Fusca doesn’t seem to mind.

RawStory has posted a superimposed image of Fusca and JFK, and it’s pretty damn clear that these two really don’t look alike at all when one compares facial features. Yet some people want to believe anything and everything, and as the above tweets indicate, they’re thrilled to post these selfies on Parler.

(Via TMZ & Raw Story)

Keeping up with the best new music can be exhausting, even impossible. From the weekly album releases to standalone singles dropping on a daily basis, the amount of music is so vast it’s easy for something to slip through the cracks. Even following along with the Uproxx recommendations on a daily basis can be a lot to ask, so every Monday we’re offering up this rundown of the best new music this week.

This week saw the return of Tyler The Creator and Doja Cat further cement herself as a leader in both rap and pop. Yeah, it was a great week for the best new music. Check out the highlights below.

For more music recommendations, check out our Listen To This section, as well as our Indie Mixtape and Pop Life newsletters.

Tyler The Creator — “Juggernaut” Feat. Lil Uzi Vert and Pharrell

On-stage yeller Tyler The Creator is fresh off performing “Juggernaut” at the BET Awards, and it’s easy to see why he chose this track for the big show. Even when the guests who appear on the studio version of the track — Lil Uzi Vert and Pharrell — aren’t involved, it’s still an energetic banger. Perhaps the most impressive part of the album version, though, is that Tyler packed two features into a song that’s barely longer than 90 seconds.

Doja Cat and The Weeknd — “You Right”

Now’s not a bad time to GTFO of Earth, and thankfully, Doja offers an escape on Planet Her. One of the new album’s highlights is “You Right,” on which she reunites with her “In Your Eyes” remix partner The Weeknd. As Uproxx’s Bianca Gracie notes, the song is the strongest example of Doja growing “even more comfortable in her skin” and displaying the album’s “integral theme” of “embracing sexuality.”

Ed Sheeran — “Bad Habits”

After a vampiric promotional lead-up, Ed Sheeran dropped his first single in four years, “Bad Habits.” Teasers for the track just showed off the opening guitar line, so the thumping dance-ready hook was a welcomed surprise when the full song was finally released. The song is good enough for Taylor Swift, anyway.

DaBaby — “Red Light Green Light”

DaBaby has dropped three albums since 2019 and the signs seem to indicate his fourth is on the way soon. He’s been dropping singles lately, and last week brought another, “Red Light Green Light.” It’s a breezy tune anchored by a hard-hitting beat, which plays well with DaBaby’s lyrics boasting about his roster of automobiles.

Faye Webster — “A Dream With A Baseball Player”

Webster’s final pre-I Know I’m Funny Haha single is a bedroom R&B jam about having a crush on Ronald Acuna Jr. Ahead of the album’s release, she told Uproxx of her songwriting, “I just feel like in general, I truly mastered being extremely comfortable in songwriting and just saying whatever I feel like I want to say, and not, like, changing words because it makes me feel weird.”

Lucy Dacus — “Partner In Crime”

Lucy Dacus is as good a storyteller as music has these days, and her new album, Home Video, is full of songs like “Partner In Crime” that show that off. As Uproxx’s Steven Hyden notes in his review of the album, “It’s the stories on Home Video that ultimately stick the most with you. As the narrator, Dacus doesn’t play these songs for cheap melodrama or gooey sentimentality. She honors the original emotional intensity that these stories had at their source, while imbuing them with the perspective of a person who has moved well beyond them toward something resembling wisdom.”

Petey — “Lean Into Life”

After a string of EPs and singles, indie oddball and TikTok star Petey finally has a full-on album forthcoming, Lean Into Life. The title track, which accompanied last week’s announcement, is a propulsive electronic number with Petey’s signature howl. He says the song “is about recognizing that things aren’t working, but instead of trying to take on everything at once, just making little changes that can start to point you in the right direction.”

Coi Leray and Kodak Black — “At The Top”

It may be lonely “At The Top,” as Coi Leray declares on her new single, but she actually has company, as Kodak Black and Mustard are involved with the track. On the tune, she shows off her rap skills, as Uproxx’s Aaron Williams notes, “She uses a variety of flows from the lilting melody of the hook to a Playboi Carti-esque, clipped cadence at the beginning of her verse.”

Willow — “Lipstick”

Willow has found immediate success in her pop-punk pivot with her single “Transparent Soul,” and now she’s riding that momentum into a new album, Lately I Feel Everything. That comes out next month, but in the meantime, she shared “Lipstick,” a more patient but still-pounding number that’s more of a vocal showcase for the talented singer.

Foxing — “If I Believed In Love”

Foxing have made it clear that their upcoming album, Draw Down The Moon, will not be as emo-indebted as their previous efforts. “Where The Lightning Strikes Twice” was akin to The Killers and “Go Down Together” is downright pop, and “If I Believed In Love” is another pivot away from the more hardcore elements of their sound. This one is carried by synths and a patient drum machine beat before exploding into a rocking conclusion.

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