Month: October 2021

ABC hasn’t had much luck with its hip-hop-themed programming, though not for lack of quality (RIP The Mayor, gone too soon. You were cut down in your prime). That hasn’t stopped the network from trying, though. Its latest effort is Queens, an hour-long drama series about a 1990s rap girl band reuniting in their 40s to try to mount a comeback and recapture the magic. Fortunately, the cast has the chops to pull it off: Brandy (check out her BET Hip-Hop Awards Cypher verse), Eve (veteran of both rap and television), Nadine Velazquez (the only non-musician), and Naturi Naughton (who played Lil Kim in Notorious) star and rap in the show, giving fans a preview in the video for “Nasty Girl.”

Presented as a Hype Williams-esque mega-production from 1999 (and directed by Tim Story, of all people), the “Nasty Girl” video pays homage to the elaborate, big-budget clips favored by the likes of Diddy and Bad Boy Records, with yachts, helicopters, champagne, and pyrotechnics providing all the nostalgic eye candy you could want.

Oddly, though, the song itself is decidedly much more modern sounding, with a chopped-and-screwed loop on the beat evoking memories of Bangladesh’s heyday, which was like a decade later. However, all four women acquit themselves well on the mic, especially Brandy, who for some reason the show has rapping like Kobe on “3x Dope,” and the song’s kind of an anachronistic banger. It’s enough to spark real curiosity for Queens, which premieres Tuesday, October 19 at 10 ET on ABC, as well as streaming on Hulu.

Watch the “Nasty Girl” video/show promo above.

While the world still might be a ways away from “back to normal,” things are definitely looking up for the film industry and hey, it’s a start, right? According to The Wrap, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings — the latest entry in Disney’s ever-expanding Marvel Cinematic Universe — has officially set the record as the highest-grossing pandemic-era movie after raking in $200 million at the domestic box office.

Prior to Shang-Chi‘s success, the last film to surpass the $200 million mark was February 2020’s Bad Boys For Life, which released just one month before theaters were mandated to close their doors due to rising COVID-19 cases. Since then, only one another Marvel movie — the Scarlett Johansson led Black Widow — has managed to get close to the $200 million mark, bringing in $183.5 million domestically during its simultaneous box office and Disney+ release.

Disney also announced that Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings performed pretty impressively in a number of other ways as well. According to the studio, the film hit the $200 million mark as it entered its fifth weekend in theaters and after taking the number one spot on the box office charts every weekend in September. The film also completely shattered the previous Labor Day weekend box-office record with a four-day opening of $94.6 million, more than triple the $30.5 million earned by Rob Zombie’s Halloween back in 2007.

While many were concerned that Disney’s choice to give Shang-Chi a strictly theatrical release would ultimately lead to a poor reception and fiscal performance for the first Asian superhero film from Marvel, turns out keeping the film’s exclusive release might have helped it out in the long run — though the choice is still pretty questionable from a health and safety standpoint. Ultimately, the film’s success, as well as the stellar performance of 20th Century Studios’ Ryan Reynold’s led movie Free Guy, has led Disney to announce all of its remaining films this year will be released exclusively in theaters, including the next MCU movie, Eternals, which hits theaters November 5.

Back when the balance of the 2020 election seemed to hinge solely on whether or not the state of Georgia would go to Biden and elect two Democractic senators, Jason Isbell made a promise to that great state. If they went blue, he’d release an album of covers devoted to the state. Well, we all know, now, that they came through, and now Isbell is too. He’s gearing up to release the aptly-titled Georgia Blue with his band The 400 Unit in just a few weeks, on October 15, so the slow trickle of singles promoting the record are beginning to see the light of day.

He’s already shared an Isbell version of R.E.M.’s “Driver 8,” but today the stakes are a bit higher: He enlisted a few other indie legends in the making to tackle “Midnight Train To Georgia.” Back in the early ’70s Gladys Knight & The Pips went all the way to No. 1 with this classic, and obviously Isbell wasn’t about to tackle Gladys’ part on his own. Instead, he graciously passed the baton to powerhouse vocalist in her own right, Brittney Spencer, and also got John Paul White (formerly of The Civil Wars fame) to round out the sound. Check out the cover above.

The revered status of Hitmaka has been two decades in the making. Turn on the radio today at any given moment and surely there will be a song playing that the multi-platinum selling producer has touched in some form. In 2008, radio was dominated by his massive hits “Sexy Can I” and “The Business,” both off his debut album Look What You Made Me under his former moniker Yung Berg.

Lately, Berg’s talent lies in sampling sounds from the same era that he used to make music in and beyond. As a result, the Chicago native is curating this current generation’s era of sounds by working with essentially everyone from the late King Von to industry legends like Nicki Minaj.

Gifted with an ear for melody and feel-good vibes, combined with a knack for picking out a talented music-making team, it’s no wonder he has been able to continue to create songs that consistently land on the Billboard charts or become certified platinum by the RIAA. Atlantic Records tapped him to be the Vice President of A&R with great results and now he’s serving as Empire’s VP of A&R, where he’s expected to dominate the music industry even more. And that’s the goal.

Speaking with Berg about the bevy of upcoming projects he’s working on, including his latest release “Quickie” featuring Queen Naija and Ty Dolla Sign, I dug into the mind of Hitmaka to find out his hit-making process and key to his success.

What have you learned from the beginning of your career to now?

Consistency and work ethic is the key for me. A lot of people don’t really put that foot forward and wait for somebody else to do something for them. Whether it’s the team they’re provided, or just putting responsibilities on other people instead of using themselves as the vessel. Myself, I’m so driven and such a workaholic.

Have you always been this self-motivated?

I got my first record deal when I was in ninth grade. I never really had any other experience besides music. Everybody says, “Don’t put your eggs in one basket,” but I did the opposite way and put every egg in one basket. It left me with my back against the wall. Not to where it’s like, “If this doesn’t work out, maybe I could pivot and do this.” It was more so like, “This has to work out,” and that’s what it’s been my whole life.

I feel like you’ve lasted a really long time and it hasn’t been without criticism. How have you dealt with that?

You’ve just got to be built of Teflon. I feel like I’m a very resilient person. At first, I didn’t understand it when I was going through a lot of things early in my career. I looked at it as a negative. At this point where I’m at now, on the other side of my career, and not having peaked and still on my way up, I was able to go through those things and it made me tougher. It was a gift to me because it prepared me for what you could endure on any level. I went through it at a young age. I feel like it doesn’t even reach my radar. It doesn’t really penetrate anything that I have going on in my own world. It comes with the territory.

Most know you as Yung Berg but now you’re Hitmaka. Why the name change?

A few different things happened. One, when I was still deep into my Yung Berg bag and putting out mixtapes, Rico Love was the hottest producer and writer at the time. I was on Twitter one day and I reached out to Rico and he allowed me to link up with him. I went to the London Hotel and he was having breakfast on some real baller shit, sitting by the pool and just talking to me. I was telling him my journey. He was like, “Yo, I think you should change your name.”

Then, I went to Miami, because I was working on Last Train To Paris, Diddy’s album, and Rico was too. Rico would be introducing me to people as my government name. Like, “Hey, this is Christian.” And it’d be like Fat Joe and Fat Joe would be like, “No, that’s Yung Berg. What are you talking about?” He’s like, “Nah, it’s Christian.” I didn’t really like it because when I first met Joe, I was like, damn, he didn’t embrace it and it felt a little weird. But one day when I was in the studio I just said, “Hitmaka,” at the beginning of a song and I decided that I’m going to continue with it. It was a pretty bold statement. I’ve just been working hard to live up to it and it’s been working out.

That’s interesting you say it’s a bold statement. You didn’t think it was fitting?

I didn’t know what the fuck was going on. I was just creating records. I was in a different space. I knew people were feeling me as an artist. On my first album, I wrote all the features and I had a lot of features. I thought, “I’m pretty good at this. Let me continue doing it.”

Do you ever get bored of producing?

No, not at all. I love producing and writing. That’s what my background is. I don’t ever get bored. This is the evolution of my career. At the end of this, I’m going to be one of the big guys at the head of a company, like a CEO. I’m really a music man. Shout out to L.A. Reid and other people I’m in business with. I look at myself like that.

You’re really good at flipping throwback hits. What is your process for choosing which songs to sample?

I put a flag in the sand and I yelled, “I’m going to flip all my songs and I’m going to be the Puff Daddy of this generation. I’m going to make it very clear what’s going on.” From there, I would just link with a guy named Paul who I met via Ayo & Keyz while making Wiz Khalifa’s “Something New,” and I’m just reliving my life. All the records that I love from the 106 and Park era, I just go back in. I know what I like. Honestly, I’m just making records to music that I personally like and throwing it out there. It’s just a blessing that the world is sharing the same taste level as me.

What are some songs that you are proud of?

I’m super proud of being able to work with King Von and doing that record for him and Lil Durk, “Still Trappin.” That record went platinum and was some of Von’s last work that we did. We did those records together in a studio and I was able to work as a co-writer on it. A lot of people don’t know, but we actually wrote the hook to that record. Even though Von came in and made his own little changes to it, he had never worked like that before to where the hook was already built into the song. He never worked like that before. It was his first time and we caught a platinum plaque. Rest in peace, Von, and shout out to Lil Durk.

I feel like you’re always on the verge of also tapping in with up-and-coming talent. What is your process for that? Do you have people telling you or are you out there, listening to the streets?

I’m scouting and I’m always looking. I have people telling me different artists to work with. Maybe someone on my team will set me up with somebody to work with, like Tink. I never worked with Tink before and we’re both from Chicago. When we met, we hit it off immediately. We were able to make her new album that’s out now, Heat Of The Moment. I think she’s on the cusp of being something very, very incredible.

I know you have your team and go-to’s but whenever you invite other people into that, how do you pick? You could really put anybody on with your name so what is that one thing you look for?

It’s just the talent. Once I hear it, and your demo is something that somebody plays me is amazing, I already know that I can take this shit to the next level. There’s a lot of people that I work with, Goldie, Rocky, Crishan, Ivory Scott is a new guy that I’m working with that’s from Chicago that’s done amazing things. We just did Yung Bleu’s record, “The Baddest” with Chris Brown and 2 Chainz together. He’s on Fat Joe’s new album that’s about to come out as a featured artist. We just did Trippie Redd’s new single that’s about to drop with Polo G and Lil Durk. If you dope, you somehow make your way to me, and you come highly recommended, then I’m going to work with you. It’s the same way I met Goldie. I didn’t know Goldie for a long time, but I have known her for, now, almost 10 years. I met her at a session and they paired us up to work together. Our relationship has continued from there.

Whenever you go number one or you get a platinum plaque, does it ever get old to you?

To be honest, I don’t even buy plaques. I have two plaques in my house. I have a plaque from Teyana Taylor and King Combs, “How You Want It,” that a co-producer, my mentor, bought for me. I don’t really go around and cop that because the work’s not done yet. I feel accomplished and I know where I’ve come from and I know what it took me to get here, but I’m still so far from what the end goal is. I’m already a pretty confident guy. I don’t need that.

You seem still hungry like you came in here three months ago. You’re still trying to go after it. So what is the end goal for you?

I’m not going to stop. I’m going to make music forever. The end goal is just to be a huge business. I’m going to be a combination of Lucian Grainge, L. A. Reid, and Mike Caren, and hopefully bigger than them. I’ve been around and have had the pleasure to be around a lot of great CEOs. The end goal is to be a titan in this game and a force to be reckoned with and legendary.

Speaking of Mike Caren at APG, you were on that label. Is Mike one of those mentors to you?

Funny thing you say that, when I hang up this phone, I’m going to meet with Mike right now. Me and Mike, we’re still in business. He shares information with me, and I’m appreciative because that’s the most we can really ask for. People want money and free this, and access, but information is key for me so I can know how to do this shit myself and put my own spin on it.

What kind of advice do you have for up-and-coming producers?

Just be ready when your number is finally called. A lot of people don’t understand that and they’re just caught up in the, “When is it going to be my time? And I’m sick of doing this. And I should’ve been on.” When your number’s called, being ready is actually the most key thing you can actually be involved in. I know a lot of people that might have got a super No. 1 hit, but wasn’t ready for the workflow that followed. I think that’s one of the biggest keys in my success and my company’s success. We work every day. Just stay ready. Don’t chase the bread. Chase the work. Once you chase the work, the money is going to catch up to you.

It seems like everyone has been trying their hand at the pulp western lately, from Clint Eastwood with the uncharacteristically dull Cry Macho to Kevin Costner and Diane Lane in Let Him Go to all manner of handsome also-rans (Frank Grillo I’m sorry but I cannot take you seriously with that hair). Who would’ve guessed that a modestly successful one would finally come from a director named “Potsy Ponciroli?”

I’m not sure if having a writer/director named Ponciroli means that Old Henry counts as a spaghetti western, but Tim Blake Nelson is undeniably the best thing about it. From Delmar in O Brother Where Art Thou to Buster Scruggs in The Ballad Of Buster Scruggs, the Oklahoma-born Blake Nelson has long been Hollywood’s go-to guy whenever they need someone who looks and sounds authentically redneck (the fact that he’s a Jewish guy who studied at Brown and Juilliard notwithstanding).

Old Henry, set on an isolated homestead in the Oklahoma Territory in 1906, finally gives Nelson top billing, as a hardbitten, probably flea-bitten old son of a bitch, complete with droopy eye and pronounced limp, trying to raise a son alone on an unforgiving dirt farm. His son, Wyatt, played by Gavin Lewis, dreams of a more exciting existence, while Henry does his best to persuade Wyatt that hard work and the simple life are the keys to happiness — with methods of persuasion that include being verbally cruel and unrelentingly emotionally distant, with frequent corporal punishment. Imagine a cross between Will Ferrell’s “Gus Chiggins” meets Peter Stormare’s character in Fargo and you basically have Henry.

One day out in the scrub, Henry comes across a wounded man and a satchel full of cash, which he just knows are going to bring him nothing but trouble — mostly in the form of a verbose lawman played by Stephen Dorff, growling his many lines through a shark-toothed grin like he’s trying to sell us a poisoned e-cig (“wouldst thou like to vape deliciously?”). There’s a nice contrast between the authentically bleak setting and Tim Blake Nelson squinting and limping with a thousand percent commitment, and the naturally pulpy qualities of the story. Which is at its heart a schlocky shoot em up, albeit one with an admirable commitment to not revealing its secrets too early.

Delayed gratification can be so satisfying, can’t it? In that way Old Henry reminded me of Tom Hardy’s underseen pit bull adoption revenge movie, The Drop (a far superior dog-based revenge movie to John Wick, in my opinion) which similarly saved all its Hollywood magic for the final act, after meticulously building a sense of arthouse realism for the first two-thirds of the movie.

We know Old Henry has been keeping a big secret the entire movie and when he finally lays his cards on the table, it’s such a big swing narratively that I couldn’t help but be delighted. The realism sort of goes out the window and Old Henry is more a bubblegum action movie in western garb than the authentically dour western it masquerades as for two acts, but few actors could manage that transition from grounded realism to aspirational schlock better than Tim Blake Nelson. It’s like watching a flower bloom. A limping, squinting, flower with an accent that sounds like Gomer Pyle got kicked in the teeth by a mule. Old Henry probably won’t change your life, but it’s nice to see someone finally make the reasonably enjoyable lower-budget western than so many other filmmakers have attempted and failed.

‘Old Henry’ opens in select theaters October 1. Vince Mancini is on Twitter. You can access his archive of reviews here.

It’s hard to think of anyone whose personal aesthetic suited The Nightmare Before Christmas better, so it’s no real shock that Billie Eilish is going to be a special guest at Danny Elfman’s live-to-film concert experience of the movie this month. Elfman shared the news of her cameo as Sally for the event on Twitter this morning. “It’s my pleasure to announce that special guest star @billieeilish will be joining the nightmare gang to sing Sally for our upcoming “Nightmare Before Christmas” shows at the Banc of California Stadium,” he wrote. Of course, Elfman will be reprising his role as the film’s main character, Jack Skellington.

For those who haven’t been paying attention to the schedule for this auspicious event, read on. Though it’s been on hiatus for three years — though last year’s hold was due to COVID-19 and pandemic precautions — the Halloween event will be back on October 29th at the Banc of California Stadium. An earlier family-friendly show is also slated for October 31st, and Billie will be performing “Sally’s Song” during both sets. “I’m absolutely thrilled to have Billie joining up with the nightmare crew!” Elfman said in a statement to Rolling Stone. “This will be a real treat (not a trick)!”

Conductor John Mauceri is going to be on hand to lead the orchestra, who will play along while artists sing the parts of the characters on screen. Along with Billie, “Weird Al” Yankovic will also be playing the role of Lock. And for this first-ever performance at Banc of California Stadium, other activities like a costume contest and trick-or-treating will precede the show.

Tickets to the performances are available right here, so grab a seat before the big spooky holiday.

Cardi B recently gave birth to her second child — a son — and fans have been marveling at her post-pregnancy body after she posted a string of photos from Paris Fashion Week. Some, however, have speculated that her “snapback” was due to liposuction or a tummy tuck. Cardi posted an Instagram Story addressing the rumors and explaining why her body transformation wasn’t due to plastic surgery.

“I think it’s because, right now, I got some amazing hips due to my gorgeous son, because he was sitting so low,” she explained of her shape. “You know, when your baby is low, your hips spread, but everybody’s just like, ‘Cardi, you so snatched. What did you do? You did lipo? You had a tummy tuck?’ You cannot do surgery after you give birth.”

She also elaborated on the gory details of her own second birthing experience, which would have prevented her from getting surgery even if it weren’t already so dangerous. “I lost so much blood, guys,” she revealed. “One day, I’m going to tell you guys about my crazy ass delivery.”

Cardi also admitted that “my skin is a little loose and I still got a little pouchy pouch” but insisted on keeping it real with her followers while explaining that she’s been using angles to hide the spots she’s insecure about. “Take y’all f*cking time,” she advised fans about their own health and shape journeys. She seems to be doing just that, although she did press hard on a flurry of collaborations ahead of the birth, including on Lizzo’s “Rumors” and Normani’s “Wild Side.”

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

Starting with his campaign and continuing through his presidency, Donald Trump repeatedly boasted about his brain, his very large brain, and how special and smart it is. While the obsession with his big brain seemed like one of his random public speaking tics, former White House communications director Stephanie Grisham’s new book, I’ll Take Your Questions Now, reveals that Trump was allegedly concerned with his noggin even behind closed doors.

In an excerpt published by Politico on Friday, Grisham shares an anecdote about Trump refusing to accept a charity challenge from a child because it might damage his unparalleled thinking power, throwing the nation into chaos:

On another occasion around the new year, a young boy started publicly challenging Trump to go vegan in TV ads and on highway billboards. If the president agreed, the boy said, the charity he represented would donate $1 million to veterans. I was communications director at the time and I playfully asked the president if he would ever consider doing that, since the challenge would raise a lot of money for a good cause. I knew he loved his steaks and cheeseburgers, but one month didn’t seem that long.

Trump’s response was swift, and his tone was suddenly very serious.

“No, no. It messes with your body chemistry, your brain,” he said, offering his views on vegetarian diets. “And if I lose even one brain cell, we’re f*cked.”

Of course, it should be noted that in the same book, Trump frantically called Grisham personally to assure her that his penis was not small or shaped like a toadstool, and he reportedly required a dedicated “Music Man” (Grisham’s ex-boyfriend) to play “Memories” from the Broadway musical Cats whenever Trump was on the “brink of rage.” In short, those are definitely the signs of a bold and beautiful mind that should be protected from veggie burgers at all cost. Tofu dogs? Don’t even think about it. We’ll all be dead by morning.

(Via Politico)

Netflix ushers in the spookiest month of the year with a lineup of films that have some bite to them. Literally.

There’s a horror flick about party-hopping vampires in L.A. and a slasher film that takes on cancel culture. For less genre fare, Jake Gyllenhaal’s crime drama and the Zack Snyder-produced heist adventure Army of Thieves should do the trick. Here are the best movies coming to Netflix this October.

(For the best new shows coming to Netflix this month, head here.)

The Guilty (streaming 10/1)

Antione Fuqua and Jake Gyllenhaal team up again, this time for a crime drama with a storytelling twist. Gyllenhaal plays Joe Baylor, a police officer facing suspension after an on-duty incident. He’s relegated to the police dispatch center where he fields fairly mundane calls all morning long until a caller named Emily (Riley Keough in voice only) dials in claiming to be in grave danger. While Joe tries to save her over the phone, he comes in contact with people from his past and events he thought he’d forgotten. It’s an intense, emotionally-gripping cat-and-mouse game that puts Gyllenhaal square in the center of the action at all times — even if he never does leave his desk.

There’s Someone Inside Your House (streaming 10/6)

Netflix is doing its best to bring back the beloved 80s slasher flick — see its impressive Fear Street trilogy for proof — and this latest entry finds a way to marry the past with the present in surprisingly bloody ways. The film follows a young Hawaiian girl named Makani who moves to a small town in Nebraska just as a high-school student goes on a murderous rampage. Who the killer is and why they seem to be targeting peers deemed “cancelable” we still don’t know, but Makani and her friends work to find out before their own muddied pasts come back to, well, kill them.

Convergence: Courage in a Crisis (streaming 10/12)

This new doc for the Academy Award-winning filmmakers behind The White Helmets takes a look at how the COVID-19 pandemic inspired everyday people from around the world to commit acts of true bravery. From hospital volunteers in Wuhan to healthcare providers in Los Angeles, the film attempts to show how we can use this crisis to build better societal systems and adopt a less selfish worldview.

Night Teeth (streaming 10/20)

Yes, this is the Megan Fox vampire movie. Yes, it follows an unlucky Uber driver, who gets stuck ferrying two blood-sucking party girls around L.A. as they try to hit every worthwhile bash before the sun comes up. And yes, it’s a ridiculously fun as its premise sounds. The key here is Jorge Lendeborg, Jr. who plays Benny, a quirky college kid just trying to earn some extra cash as a chauffeur. Through him, we’re introduced to an underground world of undead criminals, including two young women (Debby Ryan and Lucy Fry having a deliciously good time) who have their own nefarious plans for him. It’s the kind of campy horror watch we need right now.

Army of Thieves (streaming 10/29)

Zack Snyder realized the best character in his Army of the Dead flick deserved his own origin story so he’s delivered that with this prequel which follows bank-robbing German-stud Dieter (Matthias Schweighöfer, also directing this time) on an all-together different heist. When a mysterious woman named Gwendoline (Game of Thrones star Nathalie Emmanuel) recruits a still-green Dieter for a job that tasks him with cracking a series of legendary safes across Europe, he’s thrust into an even more dangerous world of criminals.

It’s been a year since Sylvan Esso released their third album, Free Love, and to celebrate the date they’ve decided to share some new music with fans while supporting a good cause. The new EP is called Soundtrack for MASS MoCA and is available for streaming and purchase on Bandcamp. It was originally recorded as part of MASS MoCA’s Auditory After Hours series. All proceeds from any sales of the release will go to Imagine Water Works, “a New Orleans organization with a focus based in areas of climate justice, water management, and disaster readiness and response.”

Amelia Meath and Nick Sanborn have been artistic partners for nine years and a married couple for five, so they’re more than familiar with commitment. But like any good relationship or creative process, the experience with creating Soundtrack for MASS MoCA helped them grow and shaped a new approach. Check out Nick’s statement on the EP and stream it below.

“Comprised mainly of four long form improvisations (with track breaks added at what felt like natural points) recorded in the fall of 2020 using and reprocessing sounds from “What Now” and “Free Love” – notably a pitched down and reimagined version of latter’s centerpiece song “Free,” a piano piece improvised and recorded backstage at the museum itself, as well as many collaged voice memos, field recordings, and stray bits of stuff – Soundtrack for MASS MoCA now feels like a real snapshot of that time in our band to me. Stuck inside and searching for a way to connect to our own work without the (what I had finally come to realize as) essential finalizing process of playing in front of other people, I was feeling both frozen in conventions of my own making and the need to redefine the way I experienced the act of making something in the first place.

So with MASS MoCA’s (very generous) deadline on the horizon, over the course of about six weeks I would regularly put together a small system of instruments and sounds that felt right in the moment, and just start recording without too much forethought. It freed me up to find a new way of playing, refining ideas I had been trying out during occasional solo sets and combining them with things Amelia and I had been doing together as Sylvan Esso. These sessions eventually led to a complete redesign of our live touring rig (something we hadn’t done since the beginning of the band) incorporating all the freedom and wildness I found here within the more inherently structured SE show patch, rethinking ways to make the show more flexible and immediate. Listening back now, it feels like the beginning of this whole new chapter. As always, thank you for listening.”