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Here’s What Conan Gray And Gracie Abrams Did The First Time Taylor Swift Posted His Music

If there’s anything the next generation of pop stars have down pat, it’s social media. That goes double for Conan Gray, who was practically born and raised on the internet, and even built up his own digital following at a young age with Youtube videos and plenty of #content before his powerhouse ballads and anthems took over pop. From the anthemic joyride bangers like “Overdrive” and the softer, quieter songs like “Astronomy,” or “People Watching,” Gray is quickly becoming a standout voice in the ever-expanding world of Gen Z stars.

Though he’s already released a brand new song in 2022, “Jigsaw,” for a recent #BehindTheTweets, Gray — and fellow rising star Gracie Abrams — looked back into the past. Tagging Gray in her post, Gracie tweeted “I teared up when Taylor posted @ConanGray, I’m not even joking real tears.” After making sure to note that he loves Gracie, Conan reflected on his own reaction to what is a pretty seminal moment in any young pop star’s career, let alone one who is so clearly influenced by the Swiftian songwriting complex.

“I also teared up,” Conan admitted. “It was a unanimous tear up.” Check out his reading of the tweet and more reflections about Taylor in the video above. And, as always, keep an ear out for more new music from Conan coming soon.

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All The New Albums Coming Out In February 2022

Keeping track of all the new albums coming out in a given month is a big job, but we’re up for it: Below is a comprehensive list of the major releases you can look forward to in February. If you’re not trying to potentially miss out on anything, it might be a good idea to keep reading.

Friday, February 4

  • 2 Chainz — Dope Don’t Sell Itself (Def Jam)
  • A Place To Bury Strangers — See Through You (Dedstrange)
  • Adekunle Gold — Catch Me If You Can (Afro Urban Records)
  • Alai K — Kila Mara (On The Corner Records)
  • Animal Collective — Time Skiffs (Domino)
  • As It Is — I Went To Hell And Back (Fearless Records)
  • Azar Lawrence — New Sky (Trazar Records)
  • B.J. Thomas — In Remembrance: Love Songs & Lost Treasures (Real Gone Music)
  • Bastille — Give Me The Future (Virgin Records)
  • Black Country, New Road — Ants From Up There (Ninja Tune)
  • Carlie Hanson — Tough Boy (Warner Records)
  • Cate Le Bon — Pompeii (Mexican Summer)
  • The Districts — Great American Painting (Fat Possum)
  • Dylan Dunlap — Stranger In My Head EP (Nettwerk)
  • Eric Krasno — Always (Provogue)
  • Erin Rae — Lighten Up (Good Memory/Thirty Tigers)
  • Gracie Gray — anna (Hand In Hive)
  • Great Lakes — Contenders (HHBTM Records)
  • Hembree — It’s A Dream! (Thirty Tigers)
  • The High Water Marks — Proclaimer Of Things (Minty Fresh)
  • Hippo Campus — LP3 (Grand Jury)
  • Hollis Brown — In The Aftermath (Mascot Label Group/Cool Green Recordings)
  • Jolly Joker — Loud & Proud (Dark Rails Records)
  • Josienne Clarke — I Promised You Light EP (Corduroy Punk Records)
  • Korn — Requiem (Loma Vista)
  • Kristine Leschper — The Opening, Or Closing Of A Door (Anti)
  • Mac Gollehon — The End Is The Beginning EP (Nefarious Industries)
  • Marissa Nadler — The Wrath Of The Clouds EP (Sacred Bones/Bella Union)
  • Mason Jennings — Real Heart (Loosegroove Records)
  • Mikayla McVey — Time Turns Everything (The Long Road Society)
  • Mitski — Laurel Hell (Dead Oceans)
  • Nate Scheible — Fairfax (ACR)
  • Native Sun — Joy Theft EP (Radio Silence)
  • The Reds, Pinks & Purples — Summer At Land’s End (Slumberland)
  • Saba — Few Good Things (Pivot Gang)
  • Sam Weber — Get Free (Sonic Unyon Records)
  • The Slow Show — Still Life (Velveteen Records)
  • Sweat — Gotta Give It Up (Pirates Press Records)
  • Wild Rivers — Sidelines (Nettwerk)
  • WizTheMC — Where Silence Feels Good EP (10k Projects/Homemade Projects)
  • yeule — Glitch Princess (Bayonet Records)

Friday, February 11

  • Adam Miller — Gateway (Inner Magic)
  • alt-J — The Dream (Canvasback Music)
  • Amos Lee — Dreamland (Dualtone Records)
  • Anika — Change: The Remixes (Sacred Bones Records)
  • Big Thief — Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe In You (4AD)
  • The Cactus Blossoms — One Day (Walkie Talkie Records)
  • Dan Andriano & The Bygones — Dear Darkness (Epitaph)
  • Dead Tree Seeds — Back To The Seeds EP (Music Records)
  • The Delines — The Sea Drift (Jealous Butcher Records)
  • Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio — Cold As Weiss (Colemine Records)
  • Donna Missal — in The mirror, In The night EP (Harvest Records)
  • Dream Fiend — Outland (Heavy Machinery Records)
  • Eddie Vedder — Earthling (Sony)
  • Emilie Zoé — Hello Future Me (Hummus Records)
  • Ethan Iverson — Every Note Is True (Blue Note)
  • Foxes — The Kick (PIAS Recordings)
  • Frank Turner — FTHC (Polydor)
  • Holo — In Limbo EP (Anjunadeep)
  • Home Counties — In A Middle English Town EP (Alcopop! Records)
  • Jason Mraz — Lalalalovesongs (ACG/Atlantic)
  • Jazmine Sullivan — Heaux Tales, Mo’ Tales: The Deluxe (RCA Records)
  • Joywave — Cleanse (Blood Records)
  • Jura — Formality Jerne-Site (Anyines)
  • Kenny Muney — Time Is Muney (Paper Route Empire)
  • La Armada — Anti-Colonial Vol. 2 (Mal De Ojo Records)
  • Lotte Kestner — Lost Songs (Saint-Loup Records)
  • Lynda Randle — Pilgrim Journey (Spring House)
  • Mary J. Blige — Good Morning Gorgeous (WEA)
  • Massive Ego — The New Normal EP (Out Of Line)
  • Mild Orange — Looking For Space (AWAL)
  • Night Palace — Diving Rings (Park The Van)
  • Night Shop — Forever Night (Dangerbird)
  • Once Human — Scar Weaver (earMUSIC)
  • Raveena — Asha’s Awakening (Warner)
  • Rob Burger — Marching with Feathers (Western Vinyl)
  • Sea Change — Mutual Dreaming (Shapes Recordings)
  • Sea Power — Everything Was Forever (Golden Chariot Records)
  • Shamir — Heterosexuality (self-released)
  • Slash Ft. Myles Kennedy And The Conspirators — 4 (Gibson Records)
  • Sofiane Pamart — Letter (Pias America)
  • Spoon — Lucifer On The Sofa (Matador Records)
  • Studio Electrophonique — Happier Things EP (Violette Records)
  • Weatherstate — Never Better (Rude Records)
  • William Ryan Key — Everything Except Desire EP (Equal Vision/Rude Records)

Friday, February 18

  • A Will Away — Stew (Rude Records)
  • Anna Laura Quinn — Open The Door (Next Level)
  • Arjen Anthony Lucassen — Revel In Time (InsideOutMusic)
  • Beach House — Once Twice Melody (Sub Pop)
  • Bob Stroger And The Headcutters — That’s My Name (Delmark Records)
  • The Body And OAA — Enemy Of Love (Thrill Jockey)
  • Broods — Space Island (Universal)
  • Carlie Hanson — Tough Boy (Warner Records)
  • Dawnrider — The Fourth Dawn (Alma Mater Records)
  • Debit — The Long Count (Modern Love)
  • Elephant Stone — Le voyage de M. Lonely dans la lune (Elephants On Parade)
  • Ellah A. Thaun — Arcane Majeur Deux (XVIII records)
  • Hurray For The Riff Raff — Life On Earth (Nonesuch Records)
  • The Infamous Stringdusters — Toward The Fray (Regime Music)
  • Jarguna — Neogene (Projekt)
  • Jonas Lindberg And The Other Side — Miles From Nowhere (Inside Out Music)
  • JP Cooper — She (Island Records)
  • Katie Tupper — Towards The End EP (Arts & Crafts)
  • Kendra Morris — Nine Lives (Karma Chief Records)
  • Khruangbin & Leon Bridges — Texas Moon EP (Dead Oceans)
  • Lavender Country — Blackberry Rose (Don Giovanni Records)
  • MAITA — I Just Want To Be Wild For You (Kill Rock Stars)
  • Manic Sinners — King Of The Badlands (Frontiers)
  • Methyl Ethel — Are You Haunted? (Future Classic)
  • Metronomy — Small World (Because Music)
  • Michael Lane — Take It Slow (Greywood Records)
  • Oliver Future — A Year At Home (Peak Dumb Recordings)
  • Oliver Tree — Cowboy Tears (Atlantic R&S)
  • Sally Shapiro — Sad Cities (Italians Do It Better)
  • Shout Out Louds — House (Bud Fox Recordings/Integral)
  • Star One — Revel In Time (InsideOutMusic)
  • Steve Poltz — Stardust & Satellites (Compass Records)
  • The Thing With Feathers — Sundays In The South EP (Fat Pipe Recordings/Kartel Music Group)
  • Uèle Lamore — Loom (XXIM Records/Sony)
  • Various Artists — Ocean Child: Songs Of Yoko Ono (Atlantic Records)
  • White Lies — As I Try Not To Fall Apart (Pias America)
  • Wynona Bleach — Moonsoake (Fierce Panda Records)
  • Youth Sector — Adult Contemporary EP (Family Values)

Friday, February 25

  • Avril Lavigne — Love Sux (DTA Records)
  • Bambara — Love On My Mind (Wharf Cat)
  • Basia Bulat — The Garden (Secret City Records)
  • Beth Hart — A Tribute To Led Zeppelin (Provogue/Mascot Label Group)
  • Binker & Moses — Feeding The Machine (Gearbox)
  • Blue Lab Beats — Motherland Journey (Blue Note)
  • Buzzard Buzzard Buzzard — Backhand Deals (Communion)
  • Carmen Villain — Only Love From Now On (Smalltown Supersound)
  • Caroline Loveglow — Strawberry (100% Electronica)
  • Carson McHone — Still Life (Merge)
  • CMAT — If My Wife New I’d Be Dead (AWAL Recordings)
  • Coyle Girelli — Funland (Honey Lemon Records)
  • Dan Patlansky — Shelter Of Bones (Virgin)
  • Dashboard Confessional — All The Truth That I Can Tell (Hidden Note Records)
  • Daytime TV — Nothing’s On But Everybody’s Watching (Allotment)
  • Deserta — Every Moment, Everything You Need (Felte)
  • DJ Hank — The City Stars EP (Hyperdub Records)
  • Early Eyes — Look Alive (Epitaph Records)
  • Filligar — Future Self (Decade Records)
  • Gang Of Youths — Angel In Realtime (Warner Records)
  • Graphic Nature — New Skin EP (Rude Records)
  • Huerco S. — Plonk (Incienso)
  • Jamie McDell — Jamie McDell (ABC Music)
  • Johnny Marr — Fever Dreams Pts 1-4 (BMG)
  • Judy Collins — Spellbound (Cleopatra)
  • Keeley Forsyth — Limbs (The Leaf Label)
  • King Hannah — I’m Not Sorry, I Was Just Being Me (City Slang)
  • Kyle Morgan — Younger At Most Everything (Team Love Records)
  • Lo Moon — A Modern Life (Strngr Recordings/Thirty Tigers)
  • Nick D’Virgilio, Neal Morse & Ross Jennings — Troika (Radiant Records)
  • OSKA — My World, My Love, Paris (Nettwerk)
  • Pierce Turner — Terrible Good (Storysound Records)
  • Pintandwefall — Seventh Baby (GAEA)
  • Pixies — Live In Brixton (Demon)
  • Richard Clayderman — Forever Love (WEA)
  • Robert Glasper — Black Radio III (Loma Vista)
  • Sasami — Squeeze (Domino)
  • Sevdaliza — Raving Dahlia EP (Twisted Elegance)
  • Scorpions — Rock Believer (Vertigo Berlin)
  • Shiva Burlesque — Mercury Blues (+Skulduggery) (Darla Records)
  • Soft Cell — *Happiness Not Included (BMG)
  • Spencer Hoffman — A Flower From Behind EP (Park the Van Records)
  • Spiritualized — Everything Was Beautiful (Bella Union)
  • String Machine — Hallelujah Hell Yeah (Know Hope Records)
  • Superchunk — Wild Loneliness (Merge)
  • Swamp Dogg — I Need A Job… So I Can Buy More Autotune (Don Giovanni)
  • Tangerine Dream — Raum (Kscope/Eastgate Music)
  • Tears For Fears — The Tipping Point (Concord)
  • Under The Rug — Dear Adeline (Anabl)
  • Various Artists — Euphoria Season 2 (An HBO Original Series Soundtrack) (Interscope)
  • VHS Collection — Night Drive (Tiger Tone)
  • Your Planet Is Next — Mr. Music (Studio Barnhus)

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

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Joe Rogan Reportedly Shared A Debunked Article On Ivermectin After Apologizing For Spreading Covid Misinformation

After dropping an apology video on Monday morning and addressing the controversy that led music legends Neil Young and Joni Mitchell to pull their music from Spotify, Joe Rogan shared more misinformation within hours. Despite a promise to do better and balance things out by bringing more experts with “differing opinions” onto his podcast, Rogan reportedly tweeted (and deleted) a Reuters report that claimed a new study proved ivermectin is effective against COVID. There’s just one small problem: The report was wrong.

It’d be one thing if Rogan tweeted the article before it was corrected, but unfortunately for the podcast host, that’s not what happened. Rogan shared the article hours after Reuters had issued a very large and prominent correction, which Rogan would’ve seen if he had actually read the link before tweeting it. Via Mediaite:

“The original Reuters story misstated that ivermectin was ‘effective’ against Omicron in Phase III clinical trials, which are conducted in humans,” a Reuters spokesperson told Mediaite. “We corrected this to clarify it had an ‘antiviral effect’ against Omicron and it was shown in joint non-clinical research. After being made aware of the error, we corrected our story immediately.”

Hours after that correction was made, Rogan tweeted out the incorrect headline to his 8.1 million followers. Ben Shapiro retweeted the incorrect headline to his 3.7 million followers.

In Rogan’s quasi-defense, he eventually deleted the tweet. However, it was up for at least an hour, which was plenty of time for the misinformation to bounce around right-wing and anti-vaxxer accounts like wildfire.

(Via Mediaite)

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Where The Bengals And Rams Have Advantages In Super Bowl LVI

The Super Bowl LVI matchup is set between the Cincinnati Bengals and the Los Angeles Rams, who will be the second team in NFL history (and second team in a row) to get to play a Super Bowl in their home stadium in two weeks.

It is far from the matchup most predicted when the NFL Playoffs began, as both the Rams and Bengals entered the postseason as the 4-seed in their respective conference. Los Angeles’ path to the Super Bowl took them through a pair of divisional rivals, starting with the Cardinals and ending with the 49ers, but the highlight of their playoff run thus far was a thriller in Tampa Bay where they unseated the defending champs on a last-second field goal. For Cincinnati, they’ve gotten through three nail-biters against the Raiders, Titans, and most impressively the Chiefs, coming back from 18 down to match the 2006 Indianapolis Colts for the biggest conference championship game comeback in NFL history.

For the next two weeks, these two teams will be trying to come up with the best game plan of the year that highlights their strengths and takes advantage of the other’s weaknesses in order to best position themselves to hoist the Lombardi Trophy. Here, we’re going to look at the statistical matchup for these two offenses and defenses, as well as their special teams units to see where the advantages lie for each and where we can expect them to focus their attacks on both sides of the ball come Super Bowl Sunday.

Rams offense vs. Bengals defense

Below you can find each team’s offensive and defensive ranks in some key categories, but here we’ll highlight the biggest advantages for L.A.’s offense and Cincinnati’s defense. The Rams lean heavily on the right arm of Matthew Stafford, for better and worse, and his ability to create big plays in the passing game is going to be critical for L.A. They are third in the NFL in yards per attempt through the air, third in 20+ yard pass plays, and first in 40+ yard pass plays, and you can expect them to look to pop the top off of a Cincinnati defense that has been susceptible to that (they allowed the third most 20+ yard pass plays on defense in the NFL this regular season).

For the Bengals, it’ll be bucking that trend as they did in the second half against the Chiefs in the AFC title game (after a dreadful first half). If they can keep a lid on Cooper Kupp and Odell Beckham Jr. — and they typically play coverage with the seventh-lowest blitz percentage in the NFL — they are one of the best (7th) in the NFL at keeping teams off of the scoreboard, as just 33.9 percent of opposing drives result in points. The other area they’ll look to exploit is Stafford’s propensity to throw interceptions, as the Rams tossed 18 picks this year, tied for the fifth-most in the NFL. It’s not a surprise given how much they throw the ball, but Cincinnati’s ability to get pressure with their front four and play coverage behind is going to give them a chance at stealing a possession.

Bengals offense vs. Rams defense

One of the only offenses that can match the Rams aerial onslaught is Cincinnati, which boasts the league’s best passing yards per attempt at 8.7 and is right behind the Rams in 20+ yard plays at 63. Jalen Ramsey figures to be tailing Ja’Marr Chase for most of the day, which will be a fascinating matchup to watch, but despite the presence of the All-Pro DB, L.A. gave up 53 pass plays of 20+ yards this season and Joe Burrow will look to apply some pressure to that secondary.

The most talked about part of this game, almost assuredly, will be the apparent mismatch of the Rams defensive line against the Bengals offensive line. Cincy’s woes up front are well documented, rearing their head in the game in Tennessee when Burrow was sacked nine times in the win. Aaron Donald, Von Miller, and the Rams front will be expected to wreak havoc on the Bengals, who have been particularly soft in the middle of the line. If L.A. can dominate up front as they’re expected, it will make it much more difficult for Burrow to stand in and find those chunk plays down the field. On the flip side, Burrow’s ability to break the pocket, break a tackle, and pick up yards on the ground, as he did a few times in key moments against the Chiefs may be the difference in Cincinnati extending drives and giving themselves more opportunities for those big plays they’ll need.

Rams Special Teams vs. Bengals Special Teams

This figures to be one of the cleanest Super Bowls from a special teams perspective, as both of these units are very good. Evan McPherson, the Bengals rookie kicker, has become a star in these playoffs and has a leg that, in the climate controlled conditions at SoFi Stadium, could put the Bengals in field goal range whenever they cross the Rams 45. Matt Gay is an All-Pro this year, making over 94 percent of his kicks and missing just one XP, but has a couple misses in the last two weeks, including the stunning miss short on a 47 yarder in Tampa. He’s good, but the kicking advantage right now feels like it leans Cincy just a touch.

These are two good punters too, but Johnny Hekker exists on a different plane of existence this season. He doesn’t get a ton of action (51 punts are tied for the third fewest in the league this year), but he allows almost no chances to break a return as opponents have just nine returns for 60 yards all season. Kevin Huber’s no slouch, with 65 punts and just 28 returns for 235 yards, but the punting advantage is certainly in the Rams favor.

Rams Offensive Ranks:

Passing Yards/Att: 8.1 (3rd in the NFL)
Rushing Yards/Att: 4.0 (T23)
Yards Per Play: 6.0 (T3)
Scoring Percentage (drives that end in points): 45.9% (3)
Red Zone TD Percentage: 60.0% (T14)
Third Down Percentage: 43.9% (7)
Passing Plays 20+ Yards: 65 (3)
Passing Plays 40+ Yards: 18 (1)
Rushing Plays 20+ Yards: 3 (31)
Sacks Allowed: 31 (T6)
Interceptions: 18 (T27)
Fumbles Lost: 5 (T3)
Turnover Percentage: 12.2% (16)
Team Penalties: 76 (T3)
Team Penalty Yards: 637 (2)

Rams Defensive Ranks:

Passing Yards/Att: 7.2 (T21st in the NFL)
Rushing Yards/Att: 4.0 (T5)
Yards Per Play: 5.2 (T7)
Scoring Percentage (drives that end in points): 35.9% (13)
Red Zone TD Percentage: 51.8% (8)
Third Down Percentage: 41.3% (21)
Passing Plays Allowed 20+ Yards: 53 (T18)
Passing Plays Allowed 40+ Yards: 10 (T18)
Rushing Plays Allowed 20+ Yards: 4 (2)
Sacks: 50 (3)
Interceptions: 19 (T3)
Fumbles Recovered: 6 (T26)
Turnover Percentage: 13.3% (9)

Bengals Offensive Ranks:

Passing Yards/Att: 8.7 (1st in the NFL)
Rushing Yards/Att: 4.0 (T23)
Yards Per Play: 5.9 (T5)
Scoring Percentage (drives that end in points): 42.6% (12)
Red Zone TD Percentage: 59.6% (16)
Third Down Percentage: 39.6% (16)
Passing Plays 20+ Yards: 63 (T4)
Passing Plays 40+ Yards: 16 (2)
Rushing Plays 20+ Yards: 8 (T22)
Sacks Allowed: 55 (29)
Interceptions: 14 (T14)
Fumbles Lost: 7 (T20)
Turnover Percentage: 10.0% (12)
Team Penalties: 72 (2)
Team Penalty Yards: 620 (1)

Bengals Defensive Ranks:

Passing Yards/Att: 7.2 (T21st in the NFL)
Rushing Yards/Att: 4.3 (T13)
Yards Per Play: 5.5 (T19)
Scoring Percentage (drives that end in points): 33.9% (7)
Red Zone TD Percentage: 60.4% (19)
Third Down Percentage: 41.6% (22)
Passing Plays Allowed 20+ Yards: 65 (29)
Passing Plays Allowed 40+ Yards: 8 (T14)
Rushing Plays Allowed 20+ Yards: 8 (T6)
Sacks: 42 (T11)
Interceptions: 13 (T15)
Fumbles Recovered: 8 (T11)
Turnover Percentage: 11.1% (17)

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The Artists To Watch For February 2022

In this new monthly column, we’re taking a look at five artists who are steadily rising and positively need to be on your radar this month. Our February picks are from across the musical spectrum, touching on hip-hop, pop, soul, jazz and R&B from all across the globe. These are artists who made their presence felt in January, have more in store in February, and genuinely merit your attention.

Raveena

A welcome Indian-American voice in R&B and pop, Raveena recently announced her major label debut, Asha’s Awakening, out February 11th. Whereas 2019’s Lucid, saw her sweet voice shining over shimmering, sugary bedroom R&B, she’s exploring new artistic horizons in pop on the new release. She further embraces her roots on “Rush,” a cinematic Bollywood-inspired song that came to her on a psychedelic acid trip through a museum. On the sexy “Secret,” she’s joined by Vince Staples for a provocative turn, on a tabla and sitar-soaked beat. And all her accompanying visuals have been can’t miss as well.

Bakar

Chances are you’ve likely heard Bakar’s hit “Hell N Back,” with it’s jazzy upbeat soul swing that’s tailor-made for the happy-go-lucky moments of the Euphoria generation. The Camden native said he’s “always wanted to be an alternative for the Black kids who don’t fit in,” and his approachable and uniquely energetic tunes have cross-cultural appeal no doubt. Speaking of Euphoria, Dominic Fike even collaborated with Bakar on the wistful “Stop Selling Her Drugs,” but it’s his latest output that hint at the bright road ahead for him. There’s the anthemic, “The Mission,” the reflective “Build Me A Way,” and the hopeful latest offering, “NW3,” that show the promise of his upcoming debut album, Nobody’s Home, out February 25th.

Lady Wray

Atlanta’s Nicole Wray is living a new life. In the late ’90s she was discovered by Missy Elliott (as “Nicole”) and scored a modest hit with the Elliott-featured sumptuous R&B jam “Make It Hot.” But life is anything but linear, especially in the music industry, and she is now re-born as Lady Wray. On her latest album, Piece Of Me, Lady Wray is a muse of sorts for the dynamic canvases laid down by retro soul producer Leon Michels (El Michels Affair, The Carters) and it’s one of the coolest, purest expressions of soul music you’ll hear this year. “Through It All” is uplifting soul nostalgia perfection and “Come On In” is tinged with gospel a lean that lets Wray’s booming voice soar. She performed the latter on Colbert last week and it sure as hell felt like the full circle moment she’s worked towards for over 20 years.

Central Cee

Central Cee is poised to be the next big UK rapper in the shape of Dave and AJ Tracey. This past November, the West Londoner got a major look, hopping on FKA Twigs’ “Measure Of A Man,” for the film The King’s Man. His breakthrough track, “A Day In The Life,” got a shout out from Big Sean when it first dropped in 2020 and now he’s high up on the newly announced lineup of the Parklife festival. His style has morphed from grime to drill as he spells out his rise in the ranks. “Take that risk and go independent, I just turned down six figures /
On the phone you was loud, now we’re in real life and you’re soundin’ timid,” he spits over drill bass and East Asian strings on “Pinging (6 Figures).” He’s been building a steady catalog, including 2021’s excellent Wild West mixtape as he continues to drop tracks from the upcoming 23 tape, out February 25th.

Moonchild

LA jazz and R&B trio Moonchild make distinctly warm and embracing tunes, led by Amber Navran’s angelic voice. They’ve been able to break through artsy jazz circles through collaborations with Robert Glasper and Rapsody in the past, and now have a stacked slate of guests on their upcoming album, Starfruit, out February 11th. On “Tell Him,” Navran and Lalah Hathaway dazzle on a beat awash with breezy bass, keys, and synths. Theirs is music to fall in love with, fall in love to, and make love alongside. Beyond Hathaway, the new album features Alex Isley, Tank & The Bangas, Rapsody, Ill Camille, and more.

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

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‘The Worst Person In The World’ Is Inspiring, Devastating, And Beautiful

Not quite knowing your own story is one of the most relatable stories in the world. And yet it’s one we don’t see on film that often, probably because it doesn’t make for the easiest pitch. “Okay, so there’s this girl, and she doesn’t quite know what she wants to do with her life, and she has a series of relationships while she figures it out.”

“Hmm, and you want money to make this?”

This pitch describes the basic framework of The Worst Person In The World, from director Joachim Trier and writer Eskil Vogt, but, like Boyhood or any novelistic take on one person’s life, the elevator pitch doesn’t begin to do it justice. Trier and Vogt’s take on one overachieving but aimless Oslo girl (Osloan? Oslian? Osloite?) is by turns earnest, sardonic, heartbreaking, and as a whole, weirdly thrilling.

In a year of two and a half-hour movies about superheroes and car chases that felt roughly seven hours long (looking at you, James Bond) The Worst Person In The World is 127-minutes of flirting, fighting, and intense conversations that had me hooked, basically from opening credits to closing. I still don’t know how that gets pitched or greenlit, but God bless the Norwegians for figuring it out.

Presented as “a story in 12 parts, with prologue and epilogue,” Renate Reinsve plays Julie, an Oslo overachiever on the cusp of adulthood who doesn’t seem to have a solid plan for her life. She studies first medicine then psychology then photography and then journalism, all while having a series of relationships — most notably with an older, bad boy cartoonist named Aksel (Anders Danielsen Lie). The morning after their first hook up, Aksel delivers an articulate, almost practiced-sounding shpiel about how this relationship could never work, because they’re both at such different stages in life and it’s probably better to just go their separate ways now and avoid the inevitable heartbreak. It’s at this point, Julie’s voiceover informs us, that she decides that she’s madly in love with this otherwise unremarkable man.

The “too real” relationship between them that ensues quickly becomes an emotional roller coaster. His career, as the Robert Crumb/Ralph Steadman-esque creator of a popular punk cartoon about a vulgar, horny bobcat, seems to thrive. There’s a transcendent moment during which Aksel, played by Lie with impeccable deadpan poise, explains earnestly why Bobcat needs to have his original drawn-on butthole, and why having it excised (Cats-style) for a treacly Christmas movie would be a crime against art.

While Aksel blossoms, Julie merely treads water, working at an indie bookstore while waiting for some bolt of divine inspiration about what she should do with her life. The two of them have, in many ways, the precise difficulties Aksel predicted to begin with, and also the same conflicts as in virtually every monogamous heterosexual relationship. She resents his independence, he resents her indecision, and there’s the constant tension that results from a partner with an established career at the stage of life when he could be starting a family trying to share a life with someone who’s still experimenting, figuring out who she wants to be, and sowing wild oats. The conflict seems to come to a head during a weekend away, sharing a house with Aksel’s children-having friends.

That all sounds like pretty standard fare on paper, but in practice The Worst Person In The World always has a remarkable specificity. Trier and Vogt’s wit, combined with Reinsve and Lie’s deft performances transcend everyday situations. Just as Richard Linklater can build brilliant scenes from dumbass characters (I like to think of him as “The Dumbass Whisperer”), Joachim Trier builds an oddly thrilling world out of slightly dull intellectuals, producing in me a reaction that shifted uncomfortably between derision and self-recognition from scene to scene.

The Worst Person In The World turns into a bit of a tearjerker in the final few chapters, thanks to a plot development that might’ve seemed manipulative or unearned in a different movie. Instead, I was fully invested by then, hanging on every word and feeling like I too had had the rug pulled out from under me. I find myself at a bit of a loss when trying to explain exactly what about it had me so engaged, probably for the same reasons Julie can’t seem to decide on a career. The Worst Person In The World feels like life. And how do you sum up a life?

The biggest outstanding question seems to be why it’s called “The Worst Person In The World.” Julie is clearly the main character, and she doesn’t seem like a great candidate for world’s worst. She’s occasionally a little naive or careless, maybe, but always far more relatable than despicable. Is it because Julie thinks of herself as the worst person in the world? This seems more plausible, but the justification for it still seems thin.

In any case, The Worst Person In The World is captivating, inspired storytelling, and you should definitely watch it. If you figure out which character in it is the worst person in the world, tell me, and next time I watch when they come on the screen I’ll make sure to nudge my date and whisper “Psst, that’s the worst person in the world.”

‘The Worst Person In The World’ is available in theaters February 4th. Vince Mancini is on Twitter. You can access his archive of reviews here.

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Gunna Floats On Air In His Moody ‘Die Alone’ Performance On ‘The Late Late Show’

Give Gunna credit for his ongoing DS4EVER rollout and the smooth way he’s been able to integrate his vision into his live performances. After delivering a pillowy performance of “Empire” on The Tonight Show, the Atlanta rapper employed a similar aesthetic for his appearance on The Late Late Show with James Cordon to perform the moody “Die Alone.”

This time, he hits the fog-covered stage standing up with an overhead mic and a massive fur coat, letting the stripped-down set highlight the somber sensibilities of the track itself. The cloud-shaped cutout in the wall behind him reveals a cloudy sunset, contributing to the overall reflective vibe and subtly suggesting that there’s always more going on beneath surface.

In addition to his live performances, Gunna has drawn considerable attention to his album with his campaign of littering social media with P emojis in conjunction with the single “Pushin P.” The new slang term has apparently caught on in a big way, filtering out to corporate accounts like IHOP, all to Gunna’s apparent approval — and no wonder, with the related streams driving his album all the way to No. 1 on the Billboard albums chart.

Watch Gunna’s Late Late Show performance of “Die Alone” above.

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

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Nicki Minaj Takes Down Powerful Criminals In A Trailer For Her Lil Baby Collab ‘Do We Have A Problem?’

After sharing a few new tracks in 2021 with her re-released project Beam Me Up Scotty, Nicki Minaj is gearing up for her first new music of 2022. Last week, the rapper began teasing a joint track with Lil Baby and ahead of its official release Friday, Minaj dropped a cinematic trailer for the upcoming collab, “Do We Have A Problem?”

The trailer parodies a big-budget film and presents Minaj as a special agent tasked with interrogating someone who claims to be a “high-powered hitter.” He ominously informs Minaj that “the heads of the world’s top criminal organizations will meet” the following night, saying it’s possible to “acquire rare items that money can’t even buy.” After the trailer shows clips of Minaj’s fellow agents infiltrating an opulent building, the man leaves Minaj with one last message: “So you take out the target, you become the f*ckin’ target.” While Lil Baby doesn’t appear in the trailer, his verse is briefly previewed in the last few seconds of the clip.

Apparently, the trailer isn’t the only way Minaj is getting her stans to hype up the new single. She also set up a hotline where her fans can call in with problems they need Minaj’s help solving. “Did you guys leave a message on the hotline?” the rapper asked her fans on Twitter. “Tmrw when I go on live I’ll be responding to some of your voicemails & giving you advise about whatever the ‘problem’ is.”

Watch Minaj and Lil Baby’s “Do We Have A Problem?” trailer above.

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Kevin Smith Thinks That Boba Fett Should Keep His ‘Charlie Brown’ Head Covered Like ‘The Mandalorian’

WARNING: Spoilers for The Book of Boba Fett below.

After The Book of Boba Fett Episode 5 saw the return of Din Djarin a.k.a Mando, Star Wars fans went nuts for what was essentially the Season 3 premiere of The Mandalorian. However, while the epic Darksaber-wielding episode was an absolute blast, it also noticeably had nothing to do with The Book of Boba Fett, which only highlighted growing criticisms that the spinoff is falling way short of matching what makes The Mandalorian so great. And, now, Kevin Smith has entered the fray.

During a recent episode of his Fatman Beyond podcast, Smith shared his biggest problem with The Book of Boba Fett: you see way too much of the dude’s face. As Smith elaborates, Mando showing up in Episode 5 only exacerbated the problem that Boba Fett just doesn’t have the same mystique anymore. Via Comic Book:

“One of the things I loved about Boba Fett through most of my life is that we never took his helmet off,” Smith explains. “And in Boba Fett now, Episode 4 or whatever [Chapter 5, actually], we are accustomed to Boba Fett just going au natural Charlie Brown style and stuff. And it don’t matter; I understand storywise he’s not a Mandalorian and so forth and such – like I’m not dumb. I’m just saying this episode, seeing Din Djarin… seeing this guy never take his helmet off just makes every scene cooler. Where you’re just like ‘I don’t know what he’s f*cking thinking.’”

With only two episodes left in The Book of Boba Fett, the series could make moves to draw Boba Fett more firmly into Mandalorian culture addressing Smith’s concerns. Or the show could simply content itself with Boba Fett riding a Rancor, and then it’s back to The Mandalorian where the real action is. And by real action, we mean Baby Yoda. Always assume it’s Baby Yoda.

The Book of Boba Fett is currently streaming on Disney+.

(Via Comic Book)

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Graham Nash, Neil Young’s Former Bandmate, Is Taking His Music Off Of Spotify, Too

Spotify is in a tough spot right now. The Joe Rogan Experience is a tremendously popular podcast, but the titular host has prompted Neil Young to actively protest the platform and take his music off of it. Other artists, like Joni Mitchell, have joined Young in removing their work from Spotify, and now Graham Nash — Young’s former bandmate in Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young — also wants his music taken off.

Nash wrote in a statement shared this morning:

“Having heard the Covid disinformation spread by Joe Rogan on Spotify, I completely agree with and support my friend, Neil Young and I am requesting that my solo recordings be removed from the service.

There is a difference between being open to varying viewpoints on a matter and knowingly spreading false information which some 270 medical professionals have derided as not only false but dangerous. Likewise, there is a difference between misinformation, in which one is unaware that what is being said is false, versus disinformation which is knowingly false and intended to mislead and sway public opinion. The opinions publicized by Rogan are so dishonest and unsupported by solid facts that Spotify becomes an enabler in a way that costs people their lives.”

He posted a similar statement on Instagram as well, in which also notes, “It should also be acknowledged that many younger musicians, and many musicians of all ages, rely on platforms like this to gain exposure to a wider audience and share their music with the world. Not everyone is able to take steps like this which is all the more reason that platforms like Spotify must be more responsible and accountable for the content they are obligated to moderate for the good of the public at large.”

Nash’s most popular song on Spotify is “Better Days,” a highlight from his 1971 debut solo album Songs For Beginners. It has racked up about 22.6 million streams.

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