Month: February 2022

After the pandemic threw off touring plans for a few years, many big indie bands are making a 2022 comeback with double albums. Big Thief just delivered their 20-track LP and Kurt Vile recently announced a 90-minute magnum opus. But is Beach House’s latest project Once Twice Melody effective as a double album? On this week’s Indiecast, Steven Hyden and Ian Cohen talk Beach House’s new album; reminisce on their most vivid festival memories; and decide it’s not too early to argue about The 1975.

Along with diving into Beach House’s Once Twice Melody, Indiecast walks listeners through recently announced weekend-long festival lineups, which thankfully still exist two years into the pandemic. Hangout Fest 2022 hit the mark with Tame Impala, Megan Thee Stallion, Jack Harlow, and Phoebe Bridgers. Beale Street Music Festival took a more eclectic approach by booking a mix bag of performers like Foo Fighters, Lil Wayne, Smashing Pumpkins, Three 6 Mafia, DaBaby, and Modest Mouse.

In this week’s Recommendation Corner, Ian shouts out Pittsburgh band String Machine, whose album Hallelujah Hell Yeah is set to release next week. Steven hypes up Philly four-piece Caracara, an emo band with ’90s alt-rock influences who are opening for String Machine on tour later this year.

New episodes of Indiecast drop every Friday. Listen to Episode 77 on Spotify below, and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts here. You can submit questions for Steve and Ian at [email protected], and make sure to follow us on Instagram and Twitter for all the latest news. We also recently launched a visualizer for our favorite Indiecast moments. Check those out here.

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

Kanye West has been teasing the release of his eleventh album, Donda 2, for the better part of three weeks. He previously revealed that Future would executive produce it while rumors said Marilyn Manson was working closely with Ye on the project. Additionally, Kanye shockingly announced that Kid Cudi, someone he’s worked closely with for more than a decade, will not appear on the album due to his friendship with Pete Davidson, who is dating Kanye’s ex-wife Kim Kardashian. With just four days until the release of Donda 2, Kanye returned with another announcement about the project.

According to Kanye himself, Donda 2 will only be available on the stem player he released last fall and not on streaming services. That means all of you who hoped to enjoy the album on Apple Music, Spotify, Tidal, and more will have to fork over $200 to hear it on Kanye’s stem player. “Today artists get just 12% of the money the industry makes,” Kanye wrote in an Instagram post that revealed the news. “It’s time to free music from this oppressive system. It’s time to take control and build our own.”

If you’re interested in purchasing the stem player, which is priced at $200, you can head over to its official website to buy it. The device was announced before the arrival of Donda and shipped out to fans two months after the 2021 album was released. It let users control vocals, drums, bass, and samples, isolate certain parts of a song, and add effects. The stem player also supports Bluetooth capabilities and features a headphone jack, volume buttons, speakers, a haptic engine, and 8GB of storage.

You can view Kanye’s announcement in the post above.

It’s been a few years since DDG decided to shift his focus from YouTube to music, and so far, it’s paid off well for the young rapper. He kicked things off in 2018 with Take Me Serious, and by last year, he earned his respect with his third project Die 4 Respect. The 11-track effort delivered appearances from Lil Yachty, Pnb Rock, Coi Leray, 42 Dugg, and more and stood out in the hip-hop world and appeared on Uproxx’s Best Hip-Hop Albums of 2021 list. We’ll have to see what’s next for DDG, but he’s getting the ball rolling with his new single, “Elon Musk” alongside Gunna.

The new track sticks to the melodic formula that the rappers have thrived with, and on it, DGG and Gunna share their aspirations to be as rich as Elon Musk and Kanye West. The new single arrives after DDG ended his 2021 year with “Rucci,” a triumphant effort that celebrated his success in two games. As for Gunna, he’s been off to a great start in 2022 as he kicked off the year with his third album DS4EVER. The project has stood out as a favorite in the music world and it also became his second No. 1 solo album after it beat out The Weeknd’s Dawn FM for the top spot.

DDG and Gunna’s pairing also comes at an interesting time as many have romantically linked them to R&B sister duo Halle and Chloe Bailey respectively.

You can scroll up to the video above to hear DDG and Gunna’s new single.

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

Baby Tate, who previously went by Yung Baby Tate, had her moment in the spotlight with 2020’s After The Rain. Months later, she dropped a deluxe reissue that added six songs to the original seven that appear on the project, which delivered collaborations with Flo Milli and fellow Atlanta native 6lack. After keeping things cool in 2021, Baby Tate, complete with a new name, is back in action with her latest single, “S.L.O. (Slut Him Out).” The track is quite the dismissive effort as she shuts down the idea of true romance and instead opts for a brief moment of freaky fun.

The new single comes after Baby Tate and 21 Savage appeared alongside JID on his most recent single, “Surround Sound.” The track closed with a verse from Baby Tate that was cut off after a few verses. This prompted fans to request the full version, something she delivered at the end of last month. Its release came in the form of a video posted to Twitter that captured twerking in the mirror. Prior to that, she released her “Pedi” single and dropped “Dungarees” for the soundtrack to Halle Berry’s film Brusied.

You can listen to “S.L.O. (Slut Him Out)” in the video above.

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

At the end of 2021, Lucky Daye announced that his sophomore album Candy Drip would arrive at some point during the spring of 2022. He shared the news by releasing its enticing title track. The project will follow up his 2019 debut album Painted, which received a Grammy nomination at the 2020 award show. In Lucky’s latest step towards his upcoming second album, he recruits Lil Durk for their new single “NWA.” The track sees both acts in a very confident state as they flex their ability to attain women and keep them happy while also discussing their smoking habits.

Lucky’s new song comes after he announced that he’d be hitting the road in support of his Candy Drip album. The string of shows will begin next month with a stop in Portland, Oregon, and continue through April before coming to an end in New York. Lucky Daye will also bring singer Joyce Wrice with him as an opener for the tour.

Aside from the upcoming tour, Lucky has been fairly active on the music side of things. After releasing his Table For Two EP last year, he delivered a handful of collaborations that saw him work with Nao, VanJess, BJ The Chicago Kid, Khalid, and more.

Scroll up to the video above to hear Lucky Daye and Lil Durk’s new song.

While 2020 turned out to be much different than many of us expected, for some like Jack Harlow, they saw their dreams come true over the course of that year. The Louisville native saw his career rise to new heights thanks to his breakout single “What’s Poppin” which peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100. Later that year, Harlow released his official debut album That’s What They All Say which delivered 15 tracks and contributions from Adam Levine, Big Sean, Lil Baby, Bryson Tiller, EST Gee, and more. After spending 2021 enjoying his newfound success, Harlow seems set on starting the latest chapter in his career.

Harlow returns with “Nail Tech,” his first single of 2022. The track is a classy and flashy effort that finds the rapper bragging about all things in his life. He flaunts the trust he has with his nail tech, his wealth, the woman he finds himself with, the talent in his hometown, and much more. The track’s accompanying video also features an appearance from Yung Miami. It comes after he released a promotional video for the track that captured him in the middle of a meeting with a therapist as he admits to his struggle to select a new single for his next album. Well, at long last, it’s here and it features a verse from Yung Miami.

The song arrives after Jack Harlow concluded his Crème De La Crème California Tour which saw him perform in multiple cities in the Golden State.

You can watch the video for “Nail Tech” above.

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

Next month, designer and producer Nigo will release his first album in nearly two decades with I Know Nigo. The project was announced at the end of last year and it is being handled by Steven Victor, who manages Pusha T and Pop Smoke. So far, fans have heard one single from I Know Nigo, “Ayra” with ASAP Rocky. Now, they can enjoy a second release as Nigo teams up with Kid Cudi for “Want It Bad.” The track is a hazy release that seems Cudi glide on production that becomes more and more energetic and chaotic as he progresses through the song.

The new song concludes quite the up-and-down week for Kid Cudi. It began when Kanye West declared that Cudi would not appear on Donda 2 because of Cudi’s friendship with Pete Davidson, who is currently dating West’s ex-wife Kim Kardashian. Afterward, Cudi launched his new live music app Encore after securing $9 million in funding. “My number one priority has always been inspiring others and providing them the space to tell their own stories in an authentic and meaningful way,” Cudi said about the move in a statement.

Afterward, Cudi shared a concerning message on Instagram, which sought support from his fans from all over. “God… please watch over me and keep my mind sane,” he wrote. “I could use it right now. To anyone who feels alone, I’m with you and I love you.” Many of his supporters sent him love, including Kanye, who reshared his message on Instagram and wrote, “Love you family.”

You can listen to “Want It Bad” in the video above.

The Trump family’s penchant for skirting the law and behaving as if no rules at all apply to them might be finally catching up with them. Maybe… On Thursday, New York State Judge Arthur F. Engoron ordered Donald Trump and two of his spawn, Donald Jr. and Ivanka, to appear in front of investigators and answer questions.

A two-hour hearing turned into what onlookers might have called the Trump Circus when the former president’s lawyer dragged every tool out of his legal toolbox in order to prevent his client and his kids from having to recount their various possible shady dealings. As The Daily Beast wrote:

Trump, Don Jr., and Ivanka must now “appear for a deposition within 21 days” and “comply in full” by turning over documents, Engoron wrote in his order. He found the Trumps’ legal arguments “unavailing,” and affirmed the New York AG’s ability to continue investigating “copious evidence of possible financial fraud.”

But just because the judge issued his order (which you can read here) doesn’t mean that the Trumps won’t continue fighting it. According to The Daily Beast, Ronald P. Fischetti—Trump’s lawyer—has already signaled that he will appealing Engoron’s decision. In the meantime, this is just one of many cases against Trump and his family.

“The former president and his family are fighting an increasingly fierce legal maelstrom,” The Daily Beast writes. “Local prosecutors in Atlanta, the District of Columbia, and Manhattan are investigating abuse of power and shady business deals. All of the cases are heating up.”

The courtroom histrionics are apparently all at the behest of Trump. “Trump has said he wants bombast [from his attorneys] as they’re defending him against this New York ‘witch hunt,’” a source who has spoken with Trump about the New York City probes shared with The Daily Beast. “This is something he usually expects from his higher-profile lawyers and the ones who don’t deliver on that usually don’t stick around that long.”

Which might explain why The Daily Beast reported that Fischetti was “later seen squeezing a stress ball at his desk.” Does that count as a write-off?

(Via The Daily Beast)

Once again, Chris Brown finds himself in potential trouble with the law. According to Miami’s NBC 6, the singer is being investigated for allegations of battery by two women for separate incidents that occurred more than a year ago in Miami. The investigation comes after the first woman sued Brown for $20 million for allegedly drugging and raping her on a yacht. He also has a copyright infringement case on his lap for “No Guidance,” his 2019 collaboration with Drake.

The first woman, who is a choreographer, dancer, model, and recording artist, claims the drugging and rape took place on December 30, 2020, and that it occurred during a party on a yacht that was docked near Diddy’s home. The second woman says she was uncomfortable on the yacht and decided to leave the party. However, two days later, the second woman and her friend were invited to meet Brown at his Miami Beach hotel suite.

According to the police report, during her time there, the second woman says that he approached her and shoved two of his fingers into her mouth. She alleges that his fingers had a white powdery substance on them and that she blacked out for several hours and woke up in the suite without her friends or her cell phone. She later filed a report with Miami Beach Police after learning about the lawsuit that the first woman filed against Brown.

Miami Beach Police confirmed to NBC 6 that both incidents are under investigation and that once it is complete, it will be up to prosecutors to decide whether or not to file charges.

On Wednesday night, the Lakers saw star big man Anthony Davis exit in the first half with a nasty-looking ankle injury that caused him to be carried to the locker room as he could not put any weight on his left leg.

The initial diagnosis was an ankle sprain, with an MRI set for Thursday after X-rays returned negative, and the Lakers and their fans were holding their breath hoping that the injury wasn’t as severe as it seemed. On Thursday night, the team announced that Davis would unfortunately miss at least four weeks with a “mid-foot sprain,” meaning Davis won’t be back until mid-March at the earliest.

That the timetable given is only for when his next re-evaluation will be suggests he could miss more time beyond that four-week window, which is obviously concerning for the Lakers who are currently ninth in the West at 27-31, six games behind the Nuggets for the final guaranteed playoff spot as the 6-seed. What was already going to be a significant task to turn this season around now becomes all the more difficult, as Davis goes back on the injured list just 10 games after returning from his sprained MCL that cost him more than a month earlier this season.