Month: June 2021

Seth Rogen’s no stranger to shaking things up on the big and small screens while engaging in all manner of joyous outrageousness, often of the profane variety. He’s shown himself to be extremely on-point when it comes to what is and what isn’t an actual controversy. Rogen also previously went on record to say that comedians who complain about cancel culture should maybe back up and concede that their jokes have “aged terribly,” and in a new Interview Magazine feature, Rogen touches upon the subject of cancel culture again with another astute observation.

While speaking with fellow funnyperson Quinta Brunson, the pair’s discussion largely related to the subject of writing books (note: here are the many reasons why Rogen’s Yearbook is a must-read installment from him). Brunson laments how she still wants to enjoy some books that are considered controversial, like Catcher in the Rye, and Holes comes up in conversation, which brings Shia LaBeouf to mind for Rogen. That leads the Pineapple Express (yes, I will always love that movie) star down this path:

“It’s funny, I think it shows that people don’t find art to be a useful thing. If something is considered useful, no one questions for one second whether or not the person who made it was a fucking piece of shit. Henry Ford was a Nazi and no one said, “We shouldn’t use assembly lines anymore.”

This is more than a fair point. It’s so fair that it isn’t even funny, which makes it even funnier. And there’s no comeback possible for this point because it’s entirely true. Perhaps this point seems eerily true for automakers, and that might be entirely coincidental, but there’s a certain Tesla CEO who’s tweeted pretty awful things about pronouns and has been accused of “manipulating” the market. And that CEO has even been dubbed “Space Karen,” which says a lot, yet he does not appear to fear being cancelled (although “Anonymous” apparently had something to say on the subject).

Yep, I’ve arguably gone off on a tangent there, but Rogen’s point sure stands firm.

(Via Interview Magazine)

At the young age of 21, Louisville-bred singer Marzz joined the talented cast of R&B singers that are present on the up-and-coming Keep Cool Records roster. Her knack for emotive ballads made her a perfect fit on the label while her teenage-esque heartbreak stories helped her stand out on her own without fading into the background behind her skilled labelmates.

There are many other things that make Marzz stand out. The singer has synesthesia, a neurological condition that gives you the ability to see sounds as color. She also identifies as gay, something that once confined her to a bubble in fear of her parents and families’ reaction. She eventually popped that bubble to enjoy life in her truest form. These are all small pieces to the puzzle that make Marzz who she is, but they certainly don’t define her.

An emphasis on inclusivity and striving to make that a reality in all corners of her life are additional things that make Marzz the promising young singer she is. Fresh off the release of her debut EP, Love Letterz, we caught up with the singer to talk about the new project, her sprawling collection of notebooks, how Kehlani’s SweetSexySavage influenced her, and more.

So your new EP, Love Letterz, is inspired by your special mood notebooks. I’ve read that you keep them everywhere you go and have 29 of them.

Yes, actually, I have like 36 of them just sitting in my backpack right now. I have synesthesia, where I can see colors when I’m creating or just in general from listening to something whether it’s on the TV or I’m hearing somebody talk, I can see their aura. I have these notebooks where if I’m angry, I write in my red notebook. When I was little, I didn’t really express myself verbally, I would always have to write something down and I’d be like, “No, no, this is what I want to tell you.” I’d literally hold up the notebook and show them like, “This is what I want to tell you,” but I’d be holding my red notebook, this is when I’m angry. A yellow notebook, this is when I’m sad. A purple notebook when I’m frustrated. A blue notebook when I’m happy. That’s really how I go about those and whatever I’m feeling, that’s the mood notebook that I write in. It’s the way that I write my songs as well.

When did you first start using or creating these mood notebooks and how has your continued use with them shaped the way you write and convey emotion?

I started writing in my notebooks around like, I ain’t gonna lie, I didn’t have a phone, so literally the only thing I could use was paper and pencil. My mom didn’t give me a phone till seventh grade, I had this little Blackberry Slider, I thought I was doing my thing. When I was little, I believe I was into poetry, I used to watch a lot of Kevin Hart doing stand-up comedies. This is something I’ve never even told anybody: When I really first started getting into writing, I thought I was gonna be a comedian, but I was like nah, I’m funny, but that’s not what I would want to do. So I just started writing down my feelings. I used to listen to Kehlani and her album, SweetSexySavage, a lot because everything that she was talking about just connected with me. I was still trying to figure out who I was and she really helped bring that creativity out of me. I was like, “Well maybe today, I should start songwriting” or “Maybe I should just write a song.”

On this EP, the songs come off as diary entries. First-person, heavy in reflection and questioning life’s events, and expressive in a way that you might not be in person. Were you perhaps hesitant to take these entries of sorts and put them into song for the world to hear?

I’ll say it’s a little bit of both, to be honest. I’m a very open-minded person and I’m very understanding. I’ve come to a point in my life where I really don’t care what people say. I have to do this, I have to put my feelings out because if not, it’s going to eat me up alive. Even if it helps somebody else and even if it’s a different circumstance, they can know that they have somebody they can relate to and I’m always going to be fulfilling them with love, joy, and positivity. They can always come to me and listen to my songs and just be at ease, knowing that everything is about to be okay and it is okay.

My favorite song on Love Letterz is “Done Witcha,” simply for the moment of finally deciding to move on from someone who is no longer best for you. What personally pushed you to say enough is enough?

Really again, going back to my mentality, I was in a really bad headspace. My mom and dad just got through a divorce, we just got situated, and I got introduced to my stepdad, all of this was happening at once. I came out to my family at — I think it was my grandma’s, Christmas or Thanksgiving one of the two, I know it was a lot of food, I don’t remember. All my cousins and stuff were there, I was like, “Y’all, I’m gay.” Everybody was looking at me and chaos just broke loose and I was like, “Oh my God…” That moment was really when I put myself in a state where I was like, “No, I gotta get myself together. I have to get my mind straight,” because I stopped going to school. I stopped posting stuff on Instagram and I was always on Instagram, so everybody was like, “Yo, what’s going on with you?” I didn’t talk to anyone when I went to school. I was just in a really bad headspace and I was like, “No, I can’t let the enemy take me like this, he can’t destroy my joy.” I don’t like hypocrites, so if I say imma do something, I gotta do it. It’s like, alright, I gotta put my big girl pants on and thug it out. You only have one life, you have to make yourself happy.

When you came out to your family about your sexuality, you popped the bubble you were in where you suppressed your true self. How did things change for Marzz after this moment?

My mom, I believe that she always knew that I was going to be who I am today because when I was younger, I was a straight tomboy. I’m more masculine than anything and me coming to her [and] actually telling her my sexuality and what I’m into, it kind of threw her off, but she was like, “Oh, I already knew,” so I was more at ease. Her reaction was calmer than I expected, definitely, because my mom is super spiritual so I was kind of in shock. I was like, well, okay, that kind of makes me go into [coming out to] my family. That reaction, they were baffled, they were like, “Oh, my God, I can’t believe it,” and it was just like, dang, y’all really gonna do me like that? It really took for my mom to explain to them, as far as the difference within religion, I guess Christianity, with how heavy they are in that. She was like, love is love, God would want us to love her regardless of what I choose, we have a choice. She said, if this is what I choose to do, that she supports me strongly and they should too. Some people still don’t [support me] that are in my family. A lot of people are more open-minded to it and they understand it because they know that this is truly what I want. I appreciate them for being open with me. That really put me in a headspace as to how I’m going to express this in my music. I’m gonna take and really push myself out there and even if it’s my family listening to my music, they can understand my headspace. They can understand what’s going on in my mind, what I’m feeling at the moment, and if I experienced anything at the moment, they know why I was feeling that way.

You very much live a life of and in color. Between your vibrant appearance, which gave you the nickname Skittles, and living with synesthesia, your world is vibrant. Has this affected your view of the world in terms of seeing more than just the black and white of things?

I’ve always been taught not to judge a book by its cover. I ain’t gonna lie, it’s hard not judging people, but we can’t do that. You can have an opinion, but it’s not right for you to make an assumption about somebody or perspective about somebody regardless of skin color. With me being a Black female, I ain’t gonna lie, it is kind of scary out here because I feel like I have to always watch my back just because of anything. I’d rather be cautious in making sure that I’m just doing right by people and making sure that I’m right within. You can do what you please, but imma make sure I make peace with any and everybody regardless of the circumstance, whether you’re an ex-enemy or enemy.

As you continue to grow and release more and more music, what do you hope your listeners take away from you as an artist through your work?

Believe it or not, I hope that they take the pain that I experienced and turn — even if it’s dealing with their own — that around for the better. I’m gonna keep saying it because I’ve been self-reflecting on myself so much, I’m so tapped in with myself, it’s crazy. This quarantine stuff made me tap into myself in so much, but I feel like it’s very important for people to have a commitment to self-love. I feel like that’s so important because a lot of people don’t genuinely love themselves. They’re out here trying to find love by doing the craziest stuff, just for somebody to love them. Like a sweetheart, you got to love yourself first. I really want them to take the pride that I have in also changing my life around for the better. For me, it’s okay to put yourself first, it’s okay to be selfish. Take that moment that you need, but also, know to get focused and move on, so you can keep growing.

Love Letterz is out now via Keep Cool/RCA Records. Get it here.

When “Best Friend,” Saweetie’s January 2021 single with Doja Cat, leaked early in December of last year, it became apparent that the burgeoning Bay Area star is super particular about her rollout and her sound. That perfectionism has prompted her to push back the release of her long-awaited debut album Pretty B*tch Music after confirming its release date last week on Jimmy Kimmel Live!.

Explaining her reasoning in an interview about the upcoming 2021 BET Awards with Big Tigger for Complex, she said, “Pretty B*tch Music was supposed to come out this month, but I was really living with it. And one of my goals is for people to really feel something with every song, so I had to go back and reconstruct some songs. Just know that I’m a perfectionist and it’s on the way.”

Fans who have been waiting for the album have followed a long trail of breadcrumbs leading up to its release, including the aforementioned “Best Friend,” the Jhene Aiko-featuring “Back To The Streets,” “Fast (Motion),” and the Pretty Summer Playlist, Vol. 1 EP made up of collaborations with artists like Bbyafricka and Drakeo The Ruler. Her perfectionism was also revealed through her attendance to an artist development boot camp to ensure her performances are up to snuff whenever the album finally does drop.

Watch Saweetie’s interview with Big Tigger above.

Saweetie is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Traditionally, Foxing have leaned emo, but as evidenced by recent singles, they’re broadening their genre horizons on their upcoming album, Draw Down The Moon. Following in that philosophy is today’s new song, “If I Believed In Love.” The track is carried by synth hits and a drum machine beat, which start the song out calmly before it explodes into a more exuberant second half.

The band’s Conor Murphy previously said of the album, “It’s about the idea of your cosmic significance. The way you feel like a tiny speck in the grand scheme of the universe, that’s a feeling everybody has. You can get lost thinking about how small you are. Draw Down The Moon explores how our connections to people and places and ideas are what binds us to the universe and reality.”

Listen to “If I Believed In Love” above. The group also announced a couple days ago that they will be supporting Manchester Orchestra on their 2021 and 2022 tour dates, so find those below.

10/05/2021 — Dallas, TX @ Gas Monkey
10/06/2021 — Houston, TX @ White Oak Music Hall
10/08/2021 — Orlando, FL @ House of Blues
10/09/2021 — Fort Lauderdale,FL @ Revolution Live
10/10/2021 — St. Petersburg, FL @ Jannus Live
10/12/2021 — Charlotte, NC @ The Fillmore
10/13/2021 — Richmond, VA @ The National
10/15/2021 — Philadelphia, PA @ The Fillmore
10/16/2021 — Baltimore, MD @ Ram’s Head Live
10/18/2021 — Boston, MA @ House of Blues
10/19/2021 — Portland, ME @ State Theater
10/21/2021 — New York, NY @ The Hammerstein Ballroom
11/16/2021 — Louisville, KY @ Mercury Ballroom
11/17/2021 — Nashville, TN @ Ryman Auditorium
11/18/2021 — Birmingham, AL @ Alabama Theater
11/19/2021 — Atlanta GA @ Manchester Orchestra’s The Stuffing at Fox Theatre
02/16/2022 — St. Louis, MO @ The Pageant
02/17/2022 — Kansas City, MO @ Uptown Theater
02/18/2022 — Denver, CO @ Ogden Theater
02/19/2022 — Salt Lake City, UT @ The Complex
02/21/2022 — Vancouver, BC @ Rickshaw Theater
02/22/2022 — Portland, OR @ Roseland Theater
02/23/2022 — Seattle, WA @ Moore Theater
02/25/2022 — Berkeley, CA @ The UC Theater
02/26/2022 — Los Angeles, CA @ Hollywood Palladium
02/27/2022 — San Diego, CA @ The Observatory North Park
03/01/2022 — Las Vegas, NV @ Brooklyn Bowl
03/02/2022 — Phoenix, AZ @ The Van Buren
03/04/2022 — Austin, TX @ Stubb’s
03/05/2022 — Oklahoma City, OK @ The Criterion
03/06/2022 — Omaha, NE @ The Admiral
03/08/2022 — Minneapolis, MN @ First Avenue
03/09/2022 — Chicago, IL @ The Riviera Theatre
03/11/2022 — Columbus, OH @ Express Live!
03/12/2022 — Detroit, MI @ The Fillmore
03/13/2022 — Buffalo, NY @ Buffalo Riverworks
03/15/2022 — Toronto, ON @ Phoenix Concert Theatre
03/16/2022 — Montréal, QC @ Corona Theatre

Draw Down The Moon is out 8/6 via Grand Paradise. Pre-order it here.

Rick Carlisle has a new job one week after he stepped away from his role as the head coach of the Dallas Mavericks. According to Tim MacMahon and Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, Carlisle will head back to one of his old stomping grounds and become the next head coach of the Indiana Pacers.

Carlisle has a lengthy history with the organization. While he never suited up for them during his playing career, he served as an assistant coach from 1997-2000 and, following his stint as the head coach of the Detroit Pistons, returned to Nap Town as head coach from 2003-07. He went 181-147 during his tenure at the helm of the Pacers, including a 61-win campaign in his first season, but was fired after going 35-47 during his final year.

Eventually, Carlisle took over the Mavericks, where he served as the head coach for the last 13 season. He coached the team to its only championship in franchise history in 2011. For his career, Carlisle has accrued an 836-689 record, and away from the court, he serves as the president of the National Basketball Coaches Association.

The Pacers’ job came open for the second time in two years following the franchise’s decision to fire head coach Nate Bjorkgren after one season. Last year, Indiana went 34-38 and failed to parlay an appearance in the play-in tournament into a playoff berth.

Blink-182‘s vocalist Mark Hoppus publicly revealed Wednesday that he’s currently battling cancer. Fans immediately flooded the musician with messages of sympathy and support, and Hoppus’ Blink-182 bandmates are doing the same.

Hoppus made the original announcement in a statement on social media, revealing that his diagnosis came three months earlier. “For the past three months I’ve been undergoing chemotherapy for cancer,” he wrote. “It sucks and I’m scared, and at the same time I’m blessed with incredible doctors and family and friends to get me through this.”

Per a report from NME, drummer Travis Barker and former member Tom DeLonge followed Hoppus’ unfortunate announcement by showing him love. In a statement given to E! News, Barker wished for Hoppus’ speedy recovery. “Mark is my brother and I love and support him,” Barker said. “I will be with him every step of the way on stage and off and can’t wait for us to play together again soon.”

DeLonge issued his support in a statement on social media, referring to Hoppus as “a super-human.” “I too, have been aware of @markhoppus’s cancer diagnosis for awhile now. And to add to his own words that he used today, I would also like to say that he is strong, and a super-human who is pushing through this difficult obstacle with a wide-open heart. #WeHaveHisBack”

WARNING: Spoilers for Loki will be found below.

*****
*****
*****
*****
*****

With the first three episodes of Loki now available on Disney+, Marvel is being a little less guarded about teasing what’s to come for the time-bending series. Case in point, after slowly building towards the reveal of the show’s “main villain,” played by Sophia Di Martino, Marvel has released a new featurette that leans heavily into Di Martino’s role in the series, officially calls her Sylvie, and promises more to come. But if you think you’re getting answers to her true identity, guess again.

In a seeming effort to keep the audience on its toes, the teaser featuring Di Martino, Tom Hiddleston, and director Kate Herron provides two contradictory statements on who Sylvie is. While Di Martino refers to her character as “another version of Loki,” Herron is shown immediately after saying, “She’s Sylvie. She’s not Loki,” so it’s anybody’s guess right now. However, Di Martino teases there will be answers coming.

“The audience will be intrigued by Sylvie’s arc, and the backstory,” Di Martino says as the featurette shows brief glimpses of episodes to come including a noticeable shot of Sylvie as a child. During Episode 3, Loki shared his family memories while Sylvie only revealed that she knew she was adopted at a very young age, which suggests their backstories may mirror each other in some ways, or not at all.

As Hiddleston says to wrap up the latest teaser, “Expect the unexpected.”

A comedian’s comparison of a pair of rappers on Twitter has fans debating whether he’s right or his suggestion is just… ludicrous. When Lil Duval, best known for his appearances on MTV shows like Guy Code and his 2018 Snoop Dogg-featuring hit “Smile Bitch (Living My Best Life),” asserted that North Carolina rapper DaBaby could be considered analogous to Atlanta rapper Ludacris, his tweet sparked the heated debate that saw some fans arguing about the two MCs’ relative status and whether or not Duval had a point.

As usual, the range of thoughts on the subject led to a spike in people tweeting about Luda, who’s currently on a media tour promoting his appearance in F9, the latest installment of the Fast And Furious film franchise premiering this weekend. He also recently made a bit of a resurgence musically, popping up on Conway The Machine’s single “Scatter Brain” with fellow ATLien JID and on Justin Bieber’s remix of “Peaches” with Snoop Dogg.

Meanwhile, DaBaby is also set to have a big weekend, as he’s nominated for seven 2021 BET Awards at the ceremony airing this Sunday. He was also the subject of another heated exchange with Megan Thee Stallion following a promotional tweet of his song with Tory Lanez, recorded before the infamous shooting incident that left Tory persona non grata with most hip-hop fans.

Fans are always naturally going to feel a way, and of course, many of the responses are split along generational lines. Incidentally, Duval isn’t the first to make the comparison, nor is the comparison as out-of-pocket as some fans tend to believe; consider their comedic videos, witty wordplay, and AK-47 cadences and the comparison doesn’t feel all that wild. No matter the terms of engagement, though, fans are going to project their own feelings on the position being argued, something Duval himself pointed out as the debate trended. You can see more responses below.

Mumford & Sons has had the same four-member lineup since the group formed in 2007. That changes today, though, as Winston Marshall has announced that he has left the band. This comes after Marshall found himself in hot water earlier this year, when he showed support for Unmasked, a book from controversial right-wing journalist Andy Ngo. After the backlash, Marshall took a leave of absence from the group, but now he has decided to leave for good.

He made the announcement in a Medium post today. In the post, he begins be reminiscing about his time in the band and summarizing the Ngo situation. As he put it, “I failed to foresee that my commenting on a book critical of the Far-Left could be interpreted as approval of the equally abhorrent Far-Right.” He later continued, “The truth is that reporting on extremism at the great risk of endangering oneself is unquestionably brave. I also feel that my previous apology in a small way participates in the lie that such extremism does not exist, or worse, is a force for good.”

He then concluded the post by summarizing his reasons for leaving Mumford & Sons:

“For me to speak about what I’ve learnt to be such a controversial issue will inevitably bring my bandmates more trouble. My love, loyalty and accountability to them cannot permit that. I could remain and continue to self-censor but it will erode my sense of integrity. Gnaw my conscience. I’ve already felt that beginning.

The only way forward for me is to leave the band. I hope in distancing myself from them I am able to speak my mind without them suffering the consequences. I leave with love in my heart and I wish those three boys nothing but the best. I have no doubt that their stars will shine long into the future. I will continue my work with Hong Kong Link Up and I look forward to new creative projects as well as speaking and writing on a variety of issues, challenging as they may be.”

The band offered a reaction to the news on social media, sharing an old photo of the group and writing, “We wish you all the best for the future, Win, and we love you man. M, B & T.”

Read Marshall’s full post here.

The final days of any long-running talk show are always an A-list affair (unless we’re talking about The Chevy Chase Show), as Conan O’Brien’s recent lineup of guests has proved. On Wednesday night, he got a last-minute and rather unexpected visit from the always-entertaining Nick Offerman, who apparently contacted Conan’s producers himself to ask if he could come and say goodbye to the host in person. Of course, they obliged.

After telling Conan that he “would like to sincerely congratulate you on an amazing 28 years,” Offerman—in true Offerman style—spent the next several minutes delivering what essentially amounted to a piece of fabulous performance art.

A totally stone-faced Offerman delivered several moments of awkward silences and long, unblinking glances directly into the camera. But the stoicism of his appearance stood in direct contrast to the words he said, as he apologized for losing his “composure.”

“I’m sorry, gentleman, that you have to see me like this. This lack of physical control and hysterical display is nothing short of an embarrassment… I’ll be honest, I thought I’d be able to hold back these tears, but instead what you see before you is a quivering puddle of a man. A duckling torn from the feathery bosom of its mother duck. I stand here naked and ashamed. A bald discredit to the Offerman name… Clips of this blubbering spectacle will surely go viral and haunt me, Michael Jordan-like, on the world wide web forever.”

You can watch the full clip of Offerman’s “high-pitched caterwauling and decadent simpering” that will bring the Parks and Recreation star “nothing but infinite shame” below.