Month: July 2021

After years of mixtapes and EPs, Yung Bleu earned his breakout moment at the end of last year when Drake dropped a remix of his 2020 track, “You’re Mines Still.” Within weeks, Yung Bleu became a more recognizable name and the “You’re Mines Still” remix would continue to grow in popularity, as it later reached double-Platinum status. Months later, the Alabama native is still on his grind as he gears up to release a brand new project, but before he does so, Yung Bleu called on Big Sean for his latest single, “Way More Close (Stuck In A Box).”

The track finds both acts detailing the struggles in their respective relationships. While things may be hard, neither desire to call it quits, rather, they hope to break out of the bad cycle and do what needs to be done in order to strengthen and boost their relationships.

“Way More Close (Stuck In A Box)” arrives with news that Yung Bleu’s next album, titled Moon Boy, will arrive on July 23. The effort comes equipped with 15 songs and Yung Bleu’s previously released single “The Baddest” with Chris Brown and 2 Chainz.

You can press play on “Way More Close (Stuck In A Box)” in the video above.

Moon Boy is out 7/23 via Vandross Music Group/Empire. Pre-order it here.

After two long years, South London native Dave is finally back in action. The rapper hadn’t shared much with fans sine the 2019 release of his debut album, Psychodrama, an effort that was highly celebrated in his hometown as it would take home the Album Of The Year crown at the 2020 BRIT Awards, among other awards. Now, Dave is gearing up to drop his sophomore effort, We’re All Alone In This Together, and he prepares its release with its lead single, “Clash” featuring Stormzy.

The collaboration is a brash effort that finds the two rappers talking highly about themselves and their jewelry, watch, and shoe collections, among other things. Dave even takes a moment to shoot his shot with Jordyn Woods, despite her current relationship with Minnesota Timberwolves center Karl-Anthony Towns.

In a recent interview with GQ, Dave shared what listeners can expect on We’re All Alone In This Together. “I feel like Psychodrama was me aged zero to 20,” he said. ” Now, I get to go from zero backwards in time and explore stories from before, stuff that led up to the events of the first album: heritage, history, culture, my family, the countries that we come from, the regressive state of humanity in where we are now. Migration is a massive thing for me – boats, freedom of movement.” He added, “The artwork represents that – the journey – all at the same time, as delivering life from the perspective of someone who has just come off the back of all this… It’s a massive change in character.”

You can listen to Dave and Stormzy’s “Clash” above.

We’re All Alone In This Together is out 7/23 via Dave/Neighbourhood Recordings. Pre-order it here.

Tropical Storm Elsa made its way through the eastern portion of the United States on Thursday, causing chaos and flooding in several regions of the coast. But its impact on New York City went viral after video of some disturbing flooding circulated on Twitter showing several waterlogged stations in the city’s MTA.

Torrential rains are tough for any region to handle, but the subterranean nature of much of New York’s sprawling subway system make it particularly susceptible to storm surges and flooding. Which is why Thursday’s storm and the sight of passengers struggling to walk through murky floodwaters shocked many online.

The 157th Street Subway was particularly rough, with people using garbage bags and other attempts at staying dry to get through the flooded turnstiles and to the still-running trains.

As the New York Daily News reported Thursday, that flooding was short-lived. And the station in question does tend to flood more often than others because of its design.

Station workers later confirmed the water was waist-deep when the Twitter video was shot around 4:30 p.m. A pump quickly got the water out, said a worker, and the entrance leading to southbound trains was cleared by 6:15 p.m.

“This has happened at this station before during heavy rain,” said another worker who at 7 p.m. had just finished sweeping debris left by the flood.

But that was of little help to those who had a train to catch and rely on public transportation to get around the city. It certainly had some people talking about infrastructure on social media to say the least.

And climate change.

Expressways flooded in New York, too, causing traffic nightmares all over the city.

The storm was the latest instance in recent weeks of severe weather impacting daily life in the United States, coming on the heels of record-breaking temperatures that also caused damage to utilities and public transportation. And another reminder of the impacts of severe weather and the human causes that continue to make those disasters worse.

While he’s appeared as a guest act on a number of tracks within the last couple of years, the music world hasn’t received an original solo track from Post Malone in almost two years. The singer’s last release came in 2019 with his third album, Hollywood’s Bleeding. For those who have been waiting for new music from Posty, the wait has come to an end as he returns with his latest single, “Motley Crew.” The new track finds him leaning towards the hip-hop-ish side of his catalog in the effort that’s paired with a video that places him on a racetrack. The NASCAR-themed effort captures Post riding around a track while partying with the likes of Big Sean, Ty Dolla Sign, French Montana, Tyga, and others.

Posty’s newest single could soon bring us to the arrival of his fourth album, but according to his manager, Dre London, there may be a lot more in store for fans in 2021. “This that smile while on FaceTime with @postmalone agreeing that the world deserves 2 Posty projects out this year!” London wrote in the caption of an April 2021 Instagram post. “Discussing dates to drop the 1st one sooner than u think! I won’t tell u the title name just yet maybe next week.” That title has yet to be revealed, but from the looks of it, supporters of Posty won’t have to wait too long to receive it.

Scroll up to watch the video for “Motley Crew.”

A home team’s starter getting blown out often means a long day of baseball for fans who were hoping for a fun day at the ballpark, but Daniel Camarena put on a show for San Diego fans despite a bad outing from the Padres’ starter.

Thursday’s series finale between the Padres and Washington Nationals started as a disappointing ace showdown between Washington’s Max Scherzer and San Diego’s Yu Darvish, the latter of which was chased from the game after allowing six runs on just three innings of work. But Scherzer himself was struggling as well. Padres superstar Fernando Tatis Jr. hit a home run against Scherzer earlier in the inning, and with more than 80 pitches through 3+ innings of work.

With the bases loaded Camarena, a 28-year-old reliever who had himself given up two runs the prior half-inning, shocked everyone in the park by launching a low 1-2 pitch to right field for an improbable grand slam.

The reaction from in the park was absolutely wild, especially for fans of a team loaded with offensive talent and used to seeing home runs. Everyone basically lost their minds, including this guy who was caught hand jiving on live TV.

Multiple screams of “OH MY GOD” were heard on the Padres broadcast, and people in the crowd were caught saying the same thing, too.

It was quite a scene, capped by a reliever making his second career MLB appearance getting to wear a gigantic, spinning Padres wordmark chain to celebrate the dinger.

Camerena actually helped the Padres come all the way back to win in what was a wild game, as the grand slam was part of a seven-run fourth inning that also saw Scherzer get chased from the game. The Padres then walked off in the bottom of the ninth.

And everyone in the park will remember where they were when Daniel Camarena brought down the house in San Diego.

Lady assassins, a shout-filled comedian, and the return of some beloved monsters. Do you want to know where you’ll find the best bang for your buck among the streaming services? This week, the competition is unusually cut-and-dried with one contender rising above them all, no contest. That would be Disney+, which streams (via Premier Access) the long-awaited (and that’s putting it mildly) Black Widow solo picture that lands simultaneously in theaters. Not only that but the Monsters Inc. franchise receives a revisiting, and Loki keeps on cruising through those nexus events while tweaking the MCU timeline. Nerds are pretty lucky this week, and elsewhere, the streaming services are putting up solid additions.

In particular, Netflix pulls off a strong second place with several worthy selections, including the return of shouter extraordinaire Tim Robinson’s comedy series and more Fear Street. HBO Max unfurls the Gossip Girl revival for a new generation, Apple TV+ has a blockhead and a beagle, and Discovery+ launches this year’s Shark Week. Don’t count out Amazon Prime or Hulu, which also bring new options to the table. Without further delay, here’s everything that you should consider putting in your queues this weekend (and beyond).

Disney+

Black Widow (Marvel Studios film on Disney+) — Scarlett Johansson’s Natasha Romanoff finally gets her due and a proper send-off in this actioner that aims to go back-to-basics but succeeds more on a personal level. The film fills in plenty of blanks following the events of Captain America: Civil War, but more importantly, we receive butt-kicking ladies in well-choreographed fight scenes and an emotionally resonant story that introduces us to the inner Natasha, as witnessed by Florence Pugh’s Yelena Belova. She’s perhaps the only person in the world who’s allowed to tease Natasha, and their dynamic (and the chemistry between Scarlett and Florence) rules. The film also allows David Harbour to perform grunt-filled face work with a wild accent while the ladies swirl around him in hand-to-hand combat. It’s a winner.

Loki: Episode 5 (Disney+ series, releasing in the wee hours of Wednesday morning) — Tom Hiddleston has an absolute blast playing the mercurial trickster of the MCU, and we shall reap the benefits while he helps (or hinders) the Time Variance Authority during the process of cleaning up the timeline. This week, the Easter eggs exploded with so many Marvel Comics references and surprises that fans nearly couldn’t handle it all.

Monsters at Work: Season 1 premiere (Disney+ series) — Twenty freaking years ago when Monsters Inc. came out in theaters, Pixar films’ very existence still felt like a revelation, given that adults could straight-up dig these kid-geared movies, too. These days, that’s no longer a novel concept, but this franchise has persisted with a prequel and a few shorts, and now, John Goodman and Billy Crystal return as James P. “Sulley” Sullivan and Mike Wazowski. They have both been promoted, and a new crop of monsters (voiced by Mindy Kaling, Henry Winkler, Ben Feldman, and Alana Ubach) are doing the harvesting. The twist here, of course, is that although the franchise is going back to basics, the franchise is trading scares for laughter after realizing that — surprise — laughter generates so much more energy for Monstropolis than screams.

Netflix

I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson: Season 2 (Netflix series) — Get ready for more insanely absurdist (and almost therapeutically refreshing) sketch comedy from creator and writer Tim Robinson. He’s back with partner Zach Kanin for more of turning the most mundane and bizarre life moments into shouty hilarity, and guest stars this season include Bob Odenkirk, Sam Richardson, Paul Walter Hauser, Tim Heidecker, and many more. If you haven’t had the pleasure of digging into Robinson’s work, and you love Adam Sandler and Chris Farley’s exaggerated humor, yet crowned with an especially self-aware twist, you must plop this show into your queue.

Fear Street Part 2: 1978 (Netflix film) — One week after Part 1’s release, the franchise goes back to Shadyside, where summer vacation’s on tap, which means summer camp and someone who wishes to commit murder. In short, a group of campers discover that their town’s horrifying happenings might be connected to what they’re going through now, and they need to shut down the impending perpetrator, fast.

Fear Street Part 1: 1994 (Netflix film) — Author RL Stine’s works find new terrifying life in this first trilogy installment about a group of teenagers who inadvertently stumble upon a source of ancient evil. Before long, they’re wrapped up in a 300-year-old nightmare that’s messed with their Shadyside community, and expect more where this came from when Fear Street Part 2: 1978 and Fear Street Part 3: 1666 eventually arrive.

Biohackers: Season 2 (Netflix series) — An abducted women awakens with no memory of what transpired, but she does discover a note-to-self that proves to be quite useful in informing her that, well, she needs to figure out what the heck happened because she’s in imminent danger. She must then team up with someone that she doesn’t trust at all.

Dogs: Season 2 (Netflix series) — The best friend of man everyone (who knows what’s good for them) is here to stake a claim on you. In this four-episode season, four lucky humans — an astronaut, a priest, a military contractor, and a university mascot handler — tell stories of these remarkable creatures and how they’re truly family.

Cat People: Season 1 (Netflix series) — Well, some people side with the felines, rather than the canines, in the battle for human hearts. This show will explore exactly why “cat people” are so devoted even in the face of negative stereotypes while also revealing their powerful bonds with these somewhat stuffy and frustratingly independent creatures.

Resident Evil: Infinite Darkness: Season 1 (Netflix series) — Based upon the survival horror video games (and surely, you’ve seen at least a few of the films) comes this Netflix original anime series that follows up on 2017’s Resident Evil: Vendetta CGI film with more franchise entries apparently on the way.

HBO Max

Gossip Girl: Season 1 premiere (HBO Max series) — The original CW series helped to launch the careers of Blake Lively, Leighton Meester, Sebastian Stan, and Penn Badgley (and the latter is now portraying an amped-up version of the same character on Netflix’s You). HBO Max is now ready to welcome another crop of mostly unknown faces playing wealthy, privileged teens who find themselves socially surveilled and at the mercy of the “Gossip Girl” narrator, who’s still voiced by Kristen Bell. Showrunner Josh Safran has promised that this reboot series will be much more socially conscious than the original, and that the teens will “take Ubers, not limos.” If you’re wondering how well this premise will update for 2021, that’s one of the reasons why this show’s worth a whirl. XOXO?

No Sudden Move (Warner Bros. film on HBO Max) — Right at home in the comfort of your own living room, you can enjoy the newest Steven Soderbergh-directed picture that’s set in 1954 Detroit. The cast includes half of Hollywood, it seems, including Don Cheadle, Benicio Del Toro, David Harbour, Jon Hamm, Amy Seimetz, Kieran Culkin, Ray Liotta, and Brendan Fraser. The name of the game is a botched plan by a gathering of small-potatoes criminals, who must hunt down who hired them and find out what’s actually going on in the rapidly morphing city.

Betty: (HBO series on HBO Max) — The skateboarders are back. It’s what we really need to heal our pandemic-addled minds, and somehow, director Crystal Moselle managed to gather the Skate Kitchen crew back up for a second season and film on the streets of New York City. The main players are all back — Rachelle Vinberg as Camille, Ajani Russell as Indigo, Dede Lovelace as Janay, Moonbear as Honeybear, and Nina Moran as Kirt — and they’re still making the act of soaring through the streets look like the coolest thing on Earth.

Discovery+

Shark Week 2021 (Discovery+ event) — Before Eli Roth’s Fin documentary arrives next week, the annual shark-related festivities begin with Shark Academy and Song of the Shark. With the former selection, several contestants compete for a spot on a massive shark-diving expedition. Of course, these enthusiasts don’t exactly possess traditional backgrounds before immersing themselves for six weeks at the behest of the great Dr. Riley Elliott. In the latter selection, YouTube Dan Mace edits and scores fresh shark footage from around the globe to give viewers a never-before-seen glimpse of these fearsome and enigmatic animals.

Martha Gets Down and Dirty: Season 1 (Discovery+ series) — The frequent onscreen and business partner of Snoop Dogg goes solo while traveling home to her 150-acre farm where, as the title suggests, she gets her hands seriously dirty. Martha Stewart might be 79 years young and a total perfectionist, but she’s entirely engaged in prepping her farm for summertime, and that means some serious digging in the dirt alongside her gardener, Ryan McCallister. That’s only part of the dirty work on this show, and Stewart duly promised, “I’m going to take you behind-the-scenes as I get my hands dirty around my property, as well as help my celebrity friends and surprise some unsuspecting callers.” So… Snoop? C’mon, Martha.

Roswell: The Final Verdict (Discovery+ limited series) — The recently declassified UFO reports from the Pentagon didn’t exactly satisfy curious minds, so there’s no time like the present for revisiting the 1937 Roswell, New Mexico incident, in which a rancher claims to have witnessed strange debris gathering, which led to decades of denials by the U.S. government and endless conspiracy theories. This series will revisit eyewitness accounts in an attempt to uncover the whole truth.

Apple TV+

The Snoopy Show: Season 1 premiere (Apple TV+ series) — Don’t be a blockhead, Charlie Brown. Instead, tuck into this new animated series for all ages, as long as you’re into the almost universally beloved beagle, Snoopy (duh), and his best friend for life, Woodshock. Not only is Snoopy actually Joe Cool, but he’s also Masked Marvel and a World War I flying ace, and yes, do not try to resist this delight of a revisiting that’s based upon Charles M. Schultz’s “Peanuts” comic strip.

Amazon Prime

Luxe Listings Sydney: Season 1 (Amazon Prime series) — Take a journey inside some of the most ridiculously extravagant real estate that the world has to offer, and it all happens to reside (along with its occupants) down under. Sydney’s ground central here for ruthless competition as viewers sling their money and egos to buy and sell the highest dollar-luxury properties that one can imagine. In the middle of it all? Cutthroat real estate agents, giving it everything they’ve got.

The Tomorrow War (Amazon Prime film) — A summer blockbuster movie lands in your living room at no extra cost to Amazon Prime subscribers, so how lucky are you feeling right about now? The film stars Chris Pratt (alongside J.K. Simmons, Yvonne Strahovski, Betty Gilpin, Sam Richardson, and more) in a world where time travelers from 2051 arrive to warn mankind that a global war against an alien species is coming. The only way possible for this to turn out well for humans is if soldiers and civilians join the future fight by time traveling, and this film comes from the mind of director Chris McKay (The Lego Batman Movie), so we’re in good hands all around. Go get your microwave popcorn and enjoy the explosive action goodness.

Hulu

This Way Up: Season 2 (Hulu series) — Everything’s in flux for the return of the BAFTA award-winning series with Aine and Shona attempting to make sense after the eventful Season 1 finale. This time around, Aine’s beginning to separate herself from her rehab life, little by little, while Richard circles, which might not bring the best outcome with the whole employer-employee thing going on. Meanwhile, Shona’s got some wedding jitters, so get ready for drama.

Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised) (Hulu film) — Questlove’s stepping into the director’s seat for the first time for this cinematic historical record that celebrates Black history over the course of six weeks. The culmination, of course, turns out to be the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival, and this film brings you never-before-seen footage of performances from Stevie Wonder, Nina Simone, B.B. King, Gladys Knight and the Pips, and many more.

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It’s been quite a while since J. Cole was not the lone lead act on a song he delivered to the world. To be more specific, the North Carolina native’s last feature came back at the beginning of 2019 when he lent a hand to Gang Starr’s “Family And Loyalty,” an effort Cole used to close out his memorable feature run that began in 2018. However, more than two years later, Cole is back as a supporting act on “The Jackie,” a track that finds him standing beside Bas and Lil Tjay for what arrives as an extremely confident track from the trio.

The T-Minus-produced record is a mostly melodic effort from the three rappers with Bas and J. Cole taking brief moments to let their bars shine. While the song is Lil Tjay’s first record with either Bas or J. Cole, “The Jackie” adds to a long list of efforts between the Dreamville rappers. Their most recent connection came on Cole’s The Off-Season where they joined forces for “100 Mill,” “Let Go My Hand,” and “Hunger On Hillside.”

“The Jackie” arrives after J. Cole announced The Off-Season tour with Morray and 21 Savage. Bas has been rather quiet recently, with his last album, Milky Way, arriving in 2018. However, “The Jackie” could be the first of many songs to arrive from the Dreamville rapper. As for Lil Tjay, 2021 has been productive for him as he’s just a few months removed from his second album, Destined 2 Win.

You can hear Cole, Bas, and Lil Tjay’s “The Jackie” in the video above.

A year and a half ago, IDK seemingly shot out of a cannon and landed on a new rap tier thanks to the release of his 2019 major-label debut, Is He Real?. The project was quickly met with acclaim and left both new and old fans excited for what the DMV native would next have in store for fans. Nineteen months later, IDK returns with his sophomore album, an effort that answers the question posed in the title of his debut album. USee4Yourself checks in at 17 songs including one that finds the rapper standing beside a trio of respected lyricists.

USee4Yourself sees IDK standing beside MF DOOM, Westside Gunn, and Jay Electronica on “Red.” It’s is a heavy banger supported by verses from IDK, Westside Gunn, and Jay Electronica while MF DOOM makes brief appearances throughout the song. The song could grow to be one of the favorites from the album alongside “Shoot My Shot” and “Pradadabang.”

As for the rest of the album, USee4Yourself presents features from Young Thug, Offset, Lucky Daye, Sir, T-Pain, Rico Nasty, Swae Lee, Slick Rick, and Sevyn Streeter.

Press play on the video above to hear “Red.”

USee4Yourself is out 7/9 via Clue No Clue/Warner Records. Pre-order it here.

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

The Kid Laroi and Justin Bieber debuted their first collaboration earlier this year as the former appeared on Bieber’s sixth album, Justice, for their “Unstable” track. Three months later, the duo is back in action with their latest effort, “Stay.” This time around, The Kid Laroi is in the driver’s seat as he sets up a story about a troubled relationship that seems to be faulty on his account. In the video, Laroi journeys through a city while begging his partner to stay by his side as he hopefully gets his act together for the sake of their relationship. Bieber delivers a verse that echos a similar sentiment proving that both singers are simply aiming to be the best versions of themselves.

“Stay” is the latest in a string of collaborations involving The Kid Laroi. He recently teamed up with Polo G and Lil Durk in a video for their “No Return” collaboration. He also joined Miley Cyrus on Saturday Night Live to perform a remix of his “Without You” track which he shared just days prior to the late-night appearance. Lastly, at the top of the year, Laroi delivered his “Reminds Me Of You” single which featured a posthumous verse from the late Juice WRLD.

As for Bieber, he recently shared a remix of “Peaches” that featured Snoop Dogg, Usher, and Ludacris before joining Migos on their Culture III album.

Press play on The Kid Laroi and Bieber’s “Stay” in the video above.

Back in April, Billie Eilish revealed the name and release date for her highly-anticipated sophomore album. Happier Than Ever is slated for a release on July 30 and it’s a project that the singer described as her “favorite thing i’ve ever created,” adding, “i am so excited and nervous and EAGER for you to hear it. i can’t even tell you. i’ve never felt so much love for a project than i do for this one. hope you feel what i feel.” At the time, the July 30 date seemed like a long distance away, but now, the album is just three weeks from arriving. As the wait continues, Eilish returns with the project’s fifth single, “NDA.”

One the new track, Eilish makes it clear that her preferred lifestyle is one of secrecy, so much so that when she invites a man over to her house, she ensures they don’t leave without signing an NDA. The singer also briefly touches on her struggles with fame and how she often desires to run away from the public eye. The track also arrives with an eerie video that begins with her walking down the middle of a two-lane highway as cars swerve out of the way to avoid hitting her. Towards the end, Eilish’s emotions on the song reach a new level as the cars start to approach her in a more erratic fashion.

“NDA” joins “My Future,” Lost Cause,” “Your Power,” and “Therefore I Am” as the other singles from her forthcoming album. In a recent interview with Rolling Stone, Eilish explained how creating her sophomore album differed from making her debut, When We All Fall Asleep Where Do We Go?. “I hated writing. I hated recording. I literally hated it. I would’ve done anything else,” she said about her debut. As for her Happier Than Ever, “No one has a say anymore,” she explained. “It’s literally me and Finneas and no one else.”

You can press play on the video above to hear “NDA.”

Happier Than Ever is out 7/30 via Interscope. Pre-order it here.