Month: August 2021

As lyrics videos and sites gain popularity among hip-hop fans looking to learn their favorite artists’ new songs, the disconnect between those artists’ intent and fans’ perceptions has become more starkly highlighted. In the old days, you just debated whether it was “five-two” or “fine too” among your friends. Now, though, fans like to post status updates and captions culled from their current jams, but then they run into problems when the sites they visit to learn the lyrics incorrectly transcribe them. As the problem becomes more common, many artists have begun to speak out.

In January, Doja Cat threatened to withhold her album Planet Her over incorrectly transcribed lyrics from her verse on Saweetie’s “Best Friend,” prompting fans to troll her with pictures of fish. Now, Tyler The Creator is taking matters into his own hands, posting all the lyrics from his new album Call Me If You Get Lost and politely — if loudly — requesting sites like Genius and DSPs like Apple Music to update their databases accordingly with an all caps tweet.

“YO @Genius AND @AppleMusic I POSTED THE LYRICS OF EVERY SINGLE SONG FROM CMIYGL ON TWITTER AND THE WEBSITE,” he wrote. “CAN YOU PLEASE HAVE SOMEONE UPDATE THEM BECAUSE WHOEVER TRANSCRIBED THEM ON YOUR SIDE IS INCORRECT, THANK YOU.”

For what it’s worth, Tyler posted the lyrics some two weeks ago when the album dropped, so there has been plenty of time to get the transcribers on it. Could having the artists post the transcribed lyrics themselves be the solution to the growing problem? Who knows, but you can bet rappers like Doja Cat and Tyler, who spend months making sure their rollouts are absolutely perfect, will probably continue calling out incorrect rhymes until there’s a major change.

Check out some of the lyrics Tyler posted below.

Review-bombing: it happens. Over at Rotten Tomatoes, it’s not possible for it to happen to movies and TV shows before public release (although Kevin Smith recently dealt with the phenomenon from anti-Teela He-Man “fans” on the day of release) since the review-aggregator portion of the site took action on the sexist trolls who bombed Captain Marvel with fake user reviews. The latest instance, allegedly, is happening to James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad — a relaunch of 2016’s completely messy Suicide Squad, as directed by David Ayer — which arrives on HBO Max and in theaters on August 6.

So far, critics (including our own Mike Ryan) are loving the relaunch and calling it a total blast. Just for reference’s sake, here’s the current 96% “fresh” rating from Rotten Tomatoes in screencap form.

As expected, there aren’t audience ratings there yet. However, that might be happening over at IMDb already, and someone asked James Gunn what he thought of claims that “[t]he Suicide Squad is being review-bombed by the Snyder Cut crew.”

Gunn’s response? He’s over it, whether or not it’s actually happening. “I’ll live,” he tweeted. “[S]tuff like this means nothing in the big picture. (And important to point out most the SnyderCut fans have been supportive, it’s only a few who feel it’s worthwhile spending their time doing stuff like this.)”

Of course, Snyder Cut fans may or may not be doing this review-bombing at all. What would be the actual motive here (beyond also boosting the “Release The Ayer Cut” movement)? If they are doing so, then this would be a very vocal minority, who could (for unknown reasons) throw blame at Gunn’s project because the “Snyderverse” isn’t being “restored” by Warner Bros. following Zack Snyder’s cut of Justice League that streamed on HBO Max. In all reality, and as a few Twitter users point out, it sounds like someone (with an assist from bots) who didn’t even bother to spell Zack Snyder’s name correctly, in order to “make Snyder fans look bad.”

Fans of perfect electronic pop can rejoice — Wet is officially back. Though they teased a comeback earlier this year with the atmospheric “On Your Side,” the New York-based trio confirmed a new record today along with another new single. “Larabar” is a continuation of their dreamy, introspective sound and comes alongside a video of found footage that focuses on flying animals and dancing humans. This third album, called Letter Blue is special because it was made with all three of the original founding members of the band, as guitarist Marty Sulkow reunited with vocalist Kelly Zutrau and Joe Valle, who co-produced the album with a little help from the likes of Toro y Moi’s Chaz Bear, Frank Ocean’s go-to keyboardist, Buddy Ross, and Dev Hynes, who features as Blood Orange on the album cut “Found.”

The record will be out on October 22 via AWAL, as the band opted to self-release this time, and will also include “On Your Side.” Of today’s new single, “Larabar,” Zutrau said it was a breakthrough moment for the group in the album-making process. “Step into the light for the very first time. ‘Larabar’ was a little breakthrough in the album process, the first song that came together that everything else formed around. It’s about a relationship cycle that becomes a loop — eventually a feedback loop — obsessively repeating, breaking up, getting back together, breaking up again. How memory distorts reality, solitude vs. company, accountability, guiltiness, loving someone who left and what to do when they come back and on and on, etc..”

Check out the new song and video above and the tracklist for the album. The band also announced a short slew of tour dates, find them below.

Letter Blue tracklist:

1. “Over And Over”
2. “On Your Side”
3. “Clementine”
4. “Far Cry”
5. “Blades Of Grass”
6. “Bound” (Feat. Blood Orange)
7. “Only One”
8. “Letter Blue”
9. “Only Water”
10. “Larabar”

Tour dates:
10/16 — Sonoma, CA @ Huichica Music Festival
10/20 — Los Angeles, CA @ Lodge Room
11/02 — Chicago, IL @ Lincoln Hall
11/07 — Boston, MA @ Sinclair
11/11 — Brooklyn, NY @ Elsewhere
11/23 — London, UK @ Scala

T.I. was on vacation in Europe when found himself in a run-in with police officers. His interaction with the authorities was so tame, however, that he immediately took to social media to note the difference between American and European cops — even before getting in touch with his team to post bond.

T.I. was apparently enjoying himself on a bike ride in Amsterdam when he crashed into a police car. It’s not clear who was at fault for the accident, but the police’s mirror was a causality of the accident. After being detained on site and taken to the police station, T.I. whipped out his phone to share his experience with his Instagram followers. The rapper says he was never handcuffed or searched throughout the entire altercation:

“So, I’m locked up now. I’m obviously not supposed to have my phone as I’m biking, and because the policeman ran into me and broke his rear view[mirror], and because I didn’t have my passport on me. I don’t know, it’ll be fine. But he was extremely upset. I myself was having a great time, still. I’m still not upset. I’m having a phenomenal time. They arrested me and they didn’t even put me in handcuffs. They just opened the door and invited me to the backseat — I obliged. Let me see how I can make my bond right quick. They don’t take cash. I got cash in my pocket but they don’t seem to take this. I haven’t gotten handcuffs on me yet, they haven’t searched me, we working on the buddy system out here and I like it.”

This is far from the only legal matter T.I. is involved in as of late. The New York Times published an exposé back in February in which several women accused T.I. and his wife Tiny of sexual assault. The LAPD has now opened an investigation to into the reports, which span between 2005 and 2010. One accuser described being drugged and sexually assaulted in a hotel by the couple after repeatedly refusing their advances.

Back in early June, fans of Miami rap duo City Girls were delighted and bemused when Yung Miami — known affectionately as “Caresha” to her followers — was seen holding hands with 53-year-old rap mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs at Quality Control CEO Pierre “P” Thomas’ elegant birthday party. “Caresha” trended for nearly a full day as fans expressed their excitement and amusement at the potential pairing, pondering whether or not the two were really a couple.

Today, something similar is simmering as online sleuths work to get to the bottom of another post of the two rap stars hanging out — this one even more suggestive. Adding to the intrigue, Miami deleted the photo after just a few minutes, leading to increased speculation that the Miami-born rapper meant to share it exclusively with her “Close Friends” list on Instagram rather than her public Instagram Story.

Meanwhile, Diddy — who recently renamed himself to “Love” — has looked about as happy as a clam in recent months, including in a Vanity Fair cover story where he explained the meaning behind his newest moniker and revealed he’s working on starting an all-R&B label where he’ll split the profits with artists 50-50. As fans question whether there might be another hidden meaning behind the name, you can check out their responses below.

There can always be a bit of concern whenever a series boasts an ensemble cast that some characters won’t get their chance to shine. However, it would seem that in Marvel’s What It..?, the studio made it a priority to celebrate late actor Chadwick Boseman’s final performance as the Black Panther. In an interview with IGN, executive producer Brad Winderbaum shared Boseman will be reprising his role as King T’Challa four times throughout the upcoming series, as well as how excited he was for the opportunity to work on the project.

“Unfortunately, he never was able to see the finished product, but he was very excited about taking part in it. He actually appears in four episodes of the series, playing different versions of the character, and each time, he was just so enthusiastic about finding a new spin on the character.”

As of right now, we know the plot of only one of the episodes Boseman is confirmed to take part in. In that episode, Marvel explores what would have happened if Guardians of the Galaxy‘s Yondu had abducted T’Challa rather than Peter Quill. In a separate IGN interview with What If..? director Bryan Andrews, the director revealed Boseman “loved” this take and playing “a version of T’Challa that didn’t have the mantle of the king, where he could be a little bit lighter, a little bit funny, crack jokes, flirt a little bit with the on-again, off-again love interest.”

In another episode, we see the Iron Man himself, Tony Stark, rescued by Erik Killmonger prior to the events of Iron Man. It feels pretty safe to say that we’ll see T’Challa make an appearance in this episode as well, seeing as Erik is the King of Wakanda’s primary antagonist in Black Panther.

While it still feels far too many decades early to even think about a final performance from Boseman, it sounds like the one we have celebrates the actor’s versatility and allowed him to have a bit of fun with the role — and we can’t wait to see it. Marvel’s What If..? premieres August 11 exclusively on Disney+.

Atlanta indie-pop outfit Lunar Vacation are gearing up to release their debut album Inside Every Fig Is A Dead Wasp, opening a door to a unique sonic universe that is both welcoming and intriguing. The album announcement came alongside a new video for the track “Mold,” a vibrant and psychedelic visual that beautifully compliments the memorable tune.

To celebrate the forthcoming new album, vocalist Grace Repasky sat down to talk The Strokes, performing in a jumpsuit, and Alex Turner in the latest Indie Mixtape 20 Q&A.

What are four words you would use to describe your music?

You dance or leave.

It’s 2050 and the world hasn’t ended and people are still listening to your music. How would you like it to be remembered?

High frequency chillers who laugh a lot.

What’s your favorite city in the world to perform?

Probably Arizona or Atlanta. They always go pretty hard.

Who’s the person who has most inspired your work, and why?

Alex Turner. He was the first one to make me interested in songwriting.

Where did you eat the best meal of your life?

In Maggie’s home. Her dad makes the best ancient grain bowls.

What album do you know every word to?

Room on Fire – The Strokes.

What was the best concert you’ve ever attended?

Mac DeMarco at Variety Playhouse in 2015.

What is the best outfit for performing and why?

I like playing in a jumpsuit because I can jump and if it gets crazy, crowdsurf and not have to worry about flashing anyone. And it just looks so sick.

Who’s your favorite person to follow on Twitter and/or Instagram?

Isabella Cotier on Instagram.

What’s your most frequently played song in the van on tour?

Hmmm.. We haven’t been on the road in a minute but it was probably something by Her’s.

What’s the last thing you Googled?

“Whats a good humidity level”

What album makes for the perfect gift?

RAM by Paul McCartney DUH

Where’s the weirdest place you’ve ever crashed while on tour?

An adobe in New Mexico that was in the middle of nowhere with no cell service. It was weird in a good way. The “I-never-want-to-return-to-the-city” type vibe.

What’s the story behind your first or favorite tattoo?

My first tattoo was one I got when I just turned 18. My friend stick-and-poked “SLUFF” on my leg after the Naked Giants record.

What artists keep you from flipping the channel on the radio?

Wallows.. :p

What’s the nicest thing anyone has ever done for you?

When I got Covid in January, my whole family was out of town and I was alone in my childhood house for like a month. Maggie and her family dropped off some fun food, a card, and an embroidered sweatshirt (by Maggie) to make me feel better. I felt the love 6 feet apart.

What’s one piece of advice you’d go back in time to give to your 18-year-old self?

Stop stressing about choosing between school and music because the cards will play out the way they are supposed to and eventually you will be thankful you did both because now you are graduating early and still making music. Also you are NOT in love girl LOL!!

What’s the last show you went to?

Katy Kirby on a NYC rooftop last month.

What movie can you not resist watching when it’s on TV?

Any Harry Potter or Pirates Of The Caribbean.

What would you cook if Obama were coming to your house for dinner?

Spicy shrimp and veggie chickpea pasta with arugula. He would literally freak. Then next time I would be invited over to his place.

Inside Every Fig Is A Dead Wasp is out October 29 via Keeled Scales. Pre-order it here.

Matt Amodio is on quite a hot streak on Jeopardy! even if he’s irking some fans with his dominant play. The PhD student has crushed the most competitive trivia game show on TV in recent weeks, putting up James Holzhauer-like numbers with some risky and dominant play.

His run started with a $40,400 victory, and as of Tuesday’s show he’s on a 10-game winning streak worth more than $360,000. Amodio bets big, even if it costs him. Which it did during one Final Jeopardy where he lost $15,000 but still finished with a win and a fairly large payday.

But what’s caught the attention of fans is the way he answers questions on the show. Rather than say the more traditional “who is” when the answer is a person, or “what is” when the correct response is a thing, he simply says “what’s” for nearly every response. Twitter in recent days has been filled with fans slightly irked by the habit, which is faster but has made the grammar freaks upset, to say the least.

The show’s official Twitter account actually asked “what’s up” with this guy earlier in the week, clarifying on its website that while his answering style may be uncharacteristic, it’s actually not against the rules.

The rules state, “…all contestant responses to an answer must be phrased in the form of a question.” It’s that simple. Jeopardy! doesn’t require that the response is grammatically correct. Further, the three-letter name of a British Invasion rock band can be a correct response all by itself (“The Who?”), and even “Is it…?” has been accepted. So, Matt Amodio’s no-frills approach is unique but well with guidelines.

Amodio is far from the first very good Jeopardy! player to irk fans with his style. You may recall players like James Holzhauer getting flack for aggressively searching for Daily Doubles rather than play the more traditional top-down style of working through individual categories. And while the viewing experience may not be ideal for some, Amodio seems to be fairly engaging on social media as well.

More importantly: he’s getting some extremely impressive results.

The RX is Uproxx Music’s stamp of approval for the best albums, songs, and music stories throughout the year. Inclusion in this category is the highest distinction we can bestow, and signals the most important music being released throughout the year. The RX is the music you need, right now.

Phabo can’t fail at anything. That’s what the San Diego-born singer will tell you when you ask about his career, and it’s far from an egotistic or overly confident statement when you think about it. Failure is derived from expectations and in a world where anything can happen at any given moment, these hopes and beliefs can alter your progress, or the lack thereof at a given moment, to appear as if success lies further away than the horizons that stand in front of you. Luckily for the neo-soul-inspired singer, he learned to let go and let God when it came to his future.

“I’ve worked hard, God has allowed me to get to this point, so I know God wouldn’t allow me to get up there and fail for real, it’s not really a thing,” he says to me during a Zoom call. “I’m embracing the moment. Like I said, palms up. I’m embracing it for whatever it is, it’s fail-proof, I can’t fail.”

Our conversation comes shortly after Phabo released his debut album, Soulquarius. The new project is dipped in neo-soul gold — a genre that the singer holds near and dear to his heart — through 16 songs and features from Alex Vaughn, Destin Conrad, Mntra, and Rexx Life Raj. During a conversation with Uproxx, Phabo spoke about Soulquarius, his relationship with music and driving, and what he seeks the most for his career.

In your own words, because Soulquarius isn’t a new word (shoutout the Soulquarians), what does a Soulquarius mean to you?

Obviously, the end part is derived from Aquarius, with me being an Aquarius. I tie that in with my love for neo-soul music, the Soulquarians. I knew people would get that part, but deeper than that, it ties into everything that I stand for as well. It ties into astrology in terms of Polaris meaning my brand and stuff. It ties into following your North Star at all times. It’s a deeper meaning than “what’s your sign?” or whatnot, it’s not even like that or like me trying to do a carbon copy because I wasn’t trying to sound like it. I wasn’t trying to sound like that, I wanted to create my own sound but I still wanted that essence and that raw feeling to still be as if I recorded it at Electric Lady Studios in New York.

It’s clear that you’re very much affected and inspired by the neo-soul genre as a whole. From D’Angelo to Erykah Badu and everyone else that contributed to it, what pulled you into it the most?

So I was brought up around like a bunch of eclectic music. My dad wasn’t somebody who limited himself in terms of musicality because he was a songwriter too. My dad had a tape of affirmations and he had a tape of affirmative songs and it’d be the same five songs that would play every morning. Those five songs would be like Eric Benet’s “True To Myself,” Bobby McFerrin’s “Friends” was on there, and so on and so forth. Being able to read the lyrics, and I’m learning them at like six and seven, and just the different parts that go into that, it’s always been a feeling. I was able to understand spiritually what that meant and what that was and why I was tickling my gut right here when I listened to it, the chords when they do something. I can’t really explain it, I can’t put it in no other words other than you just know what it feels like when you hear it.

In a previous interview, you mentioned that you were ready to release Soulquarius years ago, but after an engineer took the masters with them on tour, you couldn’t drop it so we got your 2016 EP Free instead. Since then, how has Soulquarius and the story you aimed to tell grown, changed, or even stayed the same?

To be transparent, the only songs that remained from that project that was supposed to drop were “Beam,” “How’s My Driving?” [and] “Slippery.” Everything else was recorded after I thought that that project was done. It’s kind of crazy cause even in those moments where I was close to giving up, something would happen where God’s like, “Alright, he’s not getting it? We’re just here n****, chill.” The project changed a lot, but the integrity remained the same. Me and bro, that’s my brother, mind you, like I said, he did those three songs that I just named. We produced those, except for “Slippery,” but “How’s My Driving?” and “Beam” were with bro. He’s responsible for that noise that comes out right on “Beam,” he did all that. Nothing happens by chance and I’m grateful that we’re able to get to this point and I was grateful for all the changes that took place and the sound of it from then to now. If I listened to the original, what it was to be, as opposed to where we’re at now, it just sounds a little bit dated, so I’m grateful for it all.

I can assume this moment and all the frustrations that came with it were probably the hardest example of following your North Star right?

Yes, a million percent. Yeah, relinquishing all control to just the powers that be, like hands up, palms up. You’ll really take yourself through it, beating yourself up trying to force things to go a certain way at a certain time. I rushed that project to drop and then it’s like it’s just, yeah, no. I look back at how things could have been and I followed my North Star for sure, or the North Star led me. Like I said, I couldn’t even f*ck up if I wanted to, it wasn’t even happening. So I start getting to the point where I’m just talking to God every morning — moving with a different type of divine power. Even when I was f*cking it up, it wouldn’t [work]. Went to upload the joint, the joint bounced back, you know what I’m saying? Yeah, it’s divine bro.

There are a lot of songs and scenes that take place in a car on Soulquarius. There’s “LNF,” “S550,” and “How’s My Driving.” The sounds of an engine starting appear at the beginning of “Slippery.” What’s the relationship between music, cars, and driving for you?

Before it was Soulquarius, it was How’s My Driving?, that was the title of the project with “How’s My Driving” being the lead single on that project. I was born in San Diego, California, I moved to St. Petersburg, Florida when I was eight years old, then relocated to Long Beach when I was 16. I spent half of my junior year and senior year in Orange County completing high school, [then I] moved back to the heart of LA. I’m learning the culture out there, the backstreets to take, what not to say, all that stuff. All that is just like me maneuvering, working a full-time job, and I’m putting miles on my car just trying to make things happen. The way I made a name for myself on the writing side of things is me being available and dependable, and that comes with a lot of driving. All my ideas are coming to me on the road, I remember I used to write in between lights. I’d write at each stoplight on the way to the studio. I was on the road that much, I wasn’t at the crib, I would write like at a stoplight. LA, you could sit for a minute, so by the time I get to the studio, I got a song and it’s fresh because I just did it on the way here. The different routes that I took in life painted that picture for me.

You’ve done a lot of songwriting for artists like Kehlani, Kyle Doin & Jahkoy. What are some of the things you learned in this process that helped you grow as an artist as you were working on your own music?

Mars Today, he’s the homie, he’s a dope everything, I don’t even want to limit bro to anything he’s a creative, artist, producer, he got all that sh*t going. I remember early on, the first two artists I was writing for were Jahkoy and Kyle Dion. Before this, I kind of knew the structure of songs just based on what I was hearing on the radio and whatnot. When I went to write, that’s when I learned what each section was called. This the post, this the pre, we need this and we need that. Double that so it comes through [like this]. Everything has just happened to work hand-in-hand, there’s been nothing that’s been further along than anything. I feel like I was building on my artistry and my writing at the same time, always. I definitely learned more about the business from the writing side as well. How things work in terms of placing and whatnot. So in the future, when I do decide to work with other writers, I know how it works and how the business goes. I learned more of the business from the writer’s side than I did from the artist’s side for sure. On the artist side, there are still things that I’m learning.

Going off the point of you being a fairly new artist yourself, I wanted to ask: What are some artists that you’ve worked with, or that you’ve seen or interacted with, that you feel deserve more attention?

Destin Conrad, Ambré, let’s see, Jean Deaux [too]. It’s really like people that I rock with tough. I feel like Rexx Life Raj is another n**** that gets it. He understands life on a molecular level. It’s coming to him already, he’s already manifested it, but he’s one for sure. Really, AJ Saudin from Degrassi. He’s like — that’s scary because he can act and he’s in his R&B bag. We’re building that camaraderie to be able to get sh*t going. That’s a n**** I believe in 100% for sure. Lyfe Harris and Alex Vaughn [too].

We spoke earlier about just following your North Star. Wherever it leads you, you’re confident that it’s bringing you to a good place and somewhere that you can handle. However, if I could give you control for one moment, if there’s one thing that comes as a result of Soulquarius, what do you hope it is?

Longevity. I live by this principle that everybody gets like one earthquake in this game and everything after that is just maintaining the aftershocks. For me, I was kind of on the fence cause everybody wants to hold off this whole “album” word because it’s a game to [guess]. “Was it an album? Was that the one?” Nobody wants to bet on themselves and the labels don’t feel like these artists are ready to even say that yet. Following my North Star, I just went with whatever was coming naturally and what it felt like. It did not feel like an EP, it did not feel like a project. It felt like something that would set me up for the next 10-20 years. It felt like my Nostalgia, Ultra, it felt like my So Far Gone. I’ve seen some sh*t out here trying to finish this project, just trying to get this sh*t out. I know that shows and I know n****s feel that. I know the work that I put into this shows and I truly feel like this is the one, even with the next project’s success and the project after that’s success. This is gonna be the one that sets me up for the next 20 [years] to really run the game.

Soulquarius is out now via Soulection. Get it here.

Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson is realizing he might’ve jumped the gun by passing a law that banned mask mandates earlier this year.

Despite rising case numbers and vaccine hesitancy throughout the state, Hutchinson and the GOP-led state legislature voted yes on a bill in April of this year that prohibits state and local officials and entities from ordering a face mask mandate. According to Hutchinson, the bill made sense at the time as the state’s cases were “at a low point.” The problem now, however, is that Coronavirus cases among people under the age of 18 have seen a 517% increase between April and July, just as families prepare to send their kids back to school. The ban on mask mandates extends to public schools, and because children under the age of 12 aren’t eligible to receive the vaccine in Arkansas just yet, there’s a real concern that this new Delta variant could devastate the state’s youngest, most vulnerable population.

“Everything has changed now,” Hutchinson told reporters when questioned about the law. “In hindsight, I wish that it had not become law.”

Hindsight might be 20/20, but when you’re in the middle of a pandemic and an entire subgroup of people in your state doesn’t have access to a vaccine, you don’t have to be clairvoyant to know that banning mask mandates is a bad call. Unfortunately, the only way Hutchinson can now reverse his decision is by taking it back to the GOP-led legislature to amend it, or bringing it to the courts for them to judge whether it’s constitutional or not. Either road means a long, drawn-out process, especially as some parents are opposed to reversing the ban. Currently, Arkansas has one of the lowest vaccination rates in the country among its adult population, and with evidence suggesting new variants may impact teens and children more than the first COVID wave, Hutchinson’s decision could prove catastrophic for the state’s school system.

“Local school districts should make the call and they should have more options to make sure that their school is a safe environment during a very challenging time for education,” Hutchinson said.

His newly pro-science tune would have been much more helpful months ago.

(Via Chicago Tribune & The Recount)