Month: February 2022

Abel Makkonen Tesfaye, better known to most as The Weeknd, was born on February 16, 1990, making today his 32nd birthday. Late last night, The Weeknd shared was must have been one of the first birthday messages he received, a sweet text from his parents.

The text, sent from his mother’s phone but addressed from both of his parents, reads, “February 16 @ 2:45 pm the Star is born Happy Birthday Abel. Enkuan tewoldek [heart emoji] [folded hands emoji] [cake emoji] [champagne glasses emoji] [champagne bottle emoji]. egzaiber ymesgn [folded hands emojis]. You are our hero God bless you and your work with much Love. Always yours proud parents [heart emojis].”

The Weeknd’s folks aren’t the only ones who took notice of his big day, as he’s currently a trending topic on Twitter as fans wish him a happy birthday.

At the young age of 32, The Weeknd has accomplished a ton in his life. He has three No. 1 albums to his name in the US, while his LPs that didn’t top the chart — Kiss Land and Dawn FM — peaked at No. 2. His 2018 EP My Dear Melancholy also went No. 1. Additionally, he has a handful of chart-topping singles, the latest of them being 2020’s “Save Your Tears.” He also has the most monthly listeners on Spotify, a throne he claimed from Justin Bieber in January. “Blinding Lights” is also the second-most-streamed song in the history of the platform and will likely follow Ed Sheeran’s “Shape Of You” to become the second song to ever hit 3 billion Spotify streams.

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

While sandwiched (onscreen) between two female Newsmax anchors on Tuesday, Rudy Giuliani boasted that he has proof that Hillary Clinton spied on Donald Trump. As for where America’s Mayor is keeping such vital information? His bedroom, of course.

While discussing special counsel John Durham‘s investigation into why the Department of Justice began its probe into Trump’s alleged connection to Russia during the 2016 election, Giuliani latched onto the current MAGA talking point that Clinton’s campaign hired a spy to look into Trump. The embattled Trump attorney claimed he could bolster it, if you just step on into the room where the magic happens. Via Mediaite:

Giuliani then said that while people might be inclined to think that claims Clinton spied on Trump are mere “gobbledygook,” he has receipts.

“But it’s gobbledygook supported by about 1,000 pieces of evidence, none of which have been revealed yet.”

Giuliani concluded, “I happen to have it in my bedroom, or my den, actually. I’ve had it there for years.”

As Giuliani himself admits, most experts have dismissed the spying claims against Clinton. In fact, Durham’s own legal filing doesn’t contain the bombshells MAGA world thinks it does.

“The filing does not specify whether any of the data collection occurred while Trump was in office,” NBC News reports. “It also does not allege that the content of any communications from the Executive Office of the President (EOP) or any parties were compromised or read and there’s no indication data collection went beyond identifying where the internet traffic came from and where it went.”

But, sure, Rudy has the smoking gun. It’s just right over here by the bed…

(Via Mediaite)

It’s a big day for Tomberlin. Not only has the Brooklyn via Louisville singer-songwriter just announced her new album, ‘I Don’t Know Who Needs To Hear This…’ out April 29th, but also a bevy of US and Europe tour dates with a full band, plus dropped a new single, in “Happy Accident.”

Of the album, Sarah Beth Tomberlin says its theme “is to examine, hold space, make an altar for the feelings.” Indeed, the recently released first offering, “idkwntht,” was like a gentle cocoon to make you feel safe and comfortable. Now with the gorgeous “Happy Accident,” Tomberlin is adding to that nest for emotions. Her voice is magnetic and each new offering is just as stellar as the last. Cass McCombs lends his psych-folk guitar riffs to the new track as Tomberlin grapples with the foundation of relationships.

In a statement, she elaborated on the nature of the song:

“‘happy accident’ is a song about relational obscurity. Trying to sort out who you are or who you were to someone. Is this relationship romantic or is it just sex? Do you want to spend time with me or are you just bored? Do I make my own decisions that are good for me or are my decisions predominantly based on what I think you might want or need? I was kind of walking through moments in previous relationships in my life. I wanna know why someone wants to get to know me. Do you want to know me or just your idea of me? Do I want to know you or just my idea of you?”

Listen to “Happy Accident” above and check out the I Don’t Know Who Needs To Hear This… album art and tracklist below. Check out all of Tomberlin’s upcoming tour dates here.

1. “Easy”
2. “Born Again Runner”
3. “Tap”
4. “Memory”
5. “Unsaid”
6. “Sunstruck”
7. “Collect Caller”
8. “Stoned”
9. “Happy Accident”
10. “Possessed”
11. “Idkwntht”

I Don’t Know Who Needs To Hear This… is out 4/29 via Saddle Creek. Pre-order it here.

Somewhere along the line, decades after Hollywood adapted S.E. Hinton’s The Outsiders, Tulsa, Oklahoma fell from onscreen grace as far as story locations go. Chandler Bing took a job in Tulsa during Friends (and his pals were not impressed); terminally hatable Gary from Justified surfaced in a Tulsa airport-hotel convention room as a salesman; Marilyn Manson came to town to play a “Native American” hitman (it didn’t go over well). Tulsa was not a place where exciting things happen in stories, but the tide is turning. Damon Lindelof’s Watchmen made Tulsa ground central for where Doctor Manhattan settled, with squid rain on the scene and everything. Reservation Dogs shot nearby in Muskogee, less than an hour away, and will migrate to some Tulsa locations for Season 2. Now, Sylvester Stallone is starring in Tulsa King.

Yes, you heard that right. This is one of a whole slew of new Paramount+ series for ViacomCBS, which appears to have formally rebranded as Paramount Global. It’s all a little bit confusing, that name game. More to the point, though, here’s how Stallone described his leading role in a clip posted to the Yellowstone Instagram page:

“He’s a lifetime gangster. He took the fall for the bosses and went to prison for 25 years, kept his mouth shut, and now he comes out. Next thing you know, he’s in Tulsa. He has to now start a new life, create a gang. They want him to be an earner. That’s when the fun begins.”

Hey, even non-Yellowstone junkies might be interested in checking out the series, all while Sheridan keeps expanding his Sheridan-verse. He’s got multiple other shows in the works for the streaming service, including another Yellowstone spinoff (in addition to 1883 and the forthcoming 6666) called 1932. Meanwhile, Zoe Saldana will star in Lioness as a badass CIA trainer, and Billy Bob Thornton will pick up the ball with Land Man as a 1980s, Texas-set oil-company man.

According to Wall Street Journal, Stallone’s participation in the Sheridan-verse sprung forth from their first meeting at a Burbank, California equestrian center, where they met while engaging in leisure, not work. So, this is all down to the horses, it seems; and the plan is to do what happened with 1883 by offering a few episodes on cable and then pushing viewers to stream the rest on Paramount+. It seems to be working so far.

(Via Wall Street Journal, Deadline & Yellowstone on Instagram)

When Rudy Giuliani isn’t shooting Cameo videos, making incoherent speeches, or making a fool of himself on The Masked Singer in order to try and make a dent in his ever-mounting legal bills, he hosts his own radio program—the cleverly titled Rudy Giuliani Show. Earlier this week, as Newsweek reports, he did the Disgraced MAGA Stooge version of Monday morning quarterbacking when he decided to rage against Eminem’s decision to take a knee during the Super Bowl Halftime Show. And he didn’t mince words:

“Let’s get right to Eminem taking a knee: Why doesn’t he go to another country? I mean, go take a knee someplace else. You know how many cops were defending him and protecting him at that game yesterday? I mean, crime is way out of control in Los Angeles. He thinks that all happened because everybody loves Eminem? The simple reality is the NFL has made a mockery out of law enforcement, particularly with its support for the cop-killing Black Lives Matter.”

If that entire diatribe is confusing to you, you are not alone. The main point to be gathered from it is that Giuliani—much like Donald Trump—either really, truly does not understand that taking a knee has become a quiet and peaceful way for individuals to protest racism and police brutality. Or he’s just playing dumb, and if it’s the latter it’s a role he has perfected.

But the Detroit rapper wasn’t the only performer Rudy took issue with. He also went off on Snoop Dogg—or, as Giuliani calls him, “Snoop ‘Kill Police’ Doggie Dogg”—saying that he doesn’t understand what he’s saying, then gave an impromptu performance of what Snoop’s music sounds like to him, which sounded more like two bears mating. In other words: Come for the Eminem banter, stay for the Snoop talk. You can watch the full clip below.

(Via Newsweek)

A few days ago, Julia Fox confirmed she and Kanye West (aka Ye) had broken up with a social media post. Since then, Azealia Banks has launched a feud with Fox, disputing her version of events.

After Fox’s statement, Banks shared it on her Instagram Story and wrote (as HotNewHipHop notes), “We already know the tea foolia! u came to miami looking for sex work, same lawyer was in contact with ye and it was a weak pr stunt from jump. What did u hustle him for? A bag and some Lucien’s? You absolutely did not come up because if this is how women who ‘always date billionaires’ behave when sh*t goes south, – threatening tell all books…. You can kiss your days as a low rate escort goodbye sis.”

Banks also addressed Fox’s history of drug abuse (which Fox herself has discussed) and called her “a liability” to West.

Later, on her Instagram Story, Fox responded, “I’m open about my issues with addiction because I want to destigmatize it! Not al addicts are ‘junkies’. That is so horrible to say. It’s a real f*cking disease. And I’ve also been open about my recovery journey!!! But nobody wants to mention that right….. If this troll says one more thing about my parenting or my son……….. I was too nice to her cuz I felt sorry for her but now I realize there’s a reason why she spends all the holidays alone. Nobody wants that energy sis!!!”

Banks shared screenshots of an apparent text conversation between her and Fox, as well as a photo that appears to be of Fox taking drugs intravenously. Fox shared alleged text messages of Banks asking her for help buying molly and percocet, which Banks said were not for her.

This morning, in a video on her Instagram Story, Banks addressed the molly and percocet (“MNP,” as she called it), saying she has a friend with medical issues who takes pain medication and sometimes runs out. Banks says she wanted to have sex with him without pain, so she claims that’s why she asked Fox for the drugs.

One of the highlights of Jeen-Yuhs, the new Netflix documentary about Kanye West, is seeing West’s tender relationship with his mother, Professor Donda West. It’s no secret that Kanye considered Donda one of his major anchor points — he named his last album and his non-profit foundation after her — but to watch them share quiet moments together before his ascent to stardom gives viewers a better understanding of just how close they were.

The moment that perhaps best highlights their bond in the first part of the three-part docuseries sees Donda reminiscing about a rap Kanye wrote in high school. Almost instantly, Ye begins to recite it for her, and it doesn’t take long for her to join in, rapping along with the verse as though it were one of Kanye’s hits like “Through The Wire,” “Gold Digger,” “Stronger,” or “Power.” The glimpse into their private world exemplifies how much Donda believed in Kanye’s art — and perhaps reveals part of why Kanye believed in himself so much, even when the recording industry establishment didn’t.

Ye also shows off a truly impressive and hilarious impression of his “big brother” Jay-Z in the episode, which follows him from his humble beginnings as an aspiring rapper and producer for Chicago’s underground hip-hop scene to his eventual signing to Roc-A-Fella Records. You can watch the full episode on Netflix, with parts two and three coming next week and the week after.

As Kanye West tries to work out his marital issues in the public eye, Netflix offers a more pleasant view of the mercurial star as a young, hungry artist in the first episode of the three-part documentary series, Jeen-Yuhs. Shot by longtime Kanye collaborators Coodie + Chike and following the earliest part of his career when he was just a producer on Roc-A-Fella’s payroll being strung along by Dame Dash, Jeen-Yuhs gives a rare glimpse at who Kanye was before the fame, looking up to “big brother” Jay-Z and looking forward to signing his first major-label recording contract.

Before that, though, the documentary gives much-needed background into Kanye’s upbringing, including his close relationship with his mother Donda West, and the underground Chicago hip-hop scene that incubated the rapper’s nascent talents. It follows his invasion of the Roc-A-Fella offices in New York to play his music for anyone and everyone who’ll listen in the hopes of getting Dash’s attention. And it catches Kanye showing off a hilariously accurate impression of Jay-Z before the two rappers ever joined forces to make rap fans Watch The Throne.

Mostly, though, the first episode sets the stage for Kanye’s precipitous rise, reminding us that even the biggest stars often have to start from humble beginnings.

Episode one of Jeen-Yuhs is now streaming on Netflix.

Episode six of the second season of The Righteous Gemstones, entitled “Never Avenge Yourselves, But Leave it to the Wrath,” ended on a doozy: Was Eli Gemstone (John Goodman) really shot to death? The patriarch of the evangelical powerhouse family was beset upon by a group dubbed by Danny McBride’s Jesse Gemstone as the “Cycle Ninjas” — mysterious black-clad assailants on motorcycles who, alas, use uzis, not blades. Eli was shot while driving alone at night along an otherwise deserted road. He could have been left for dead.

So is Eli Gemstone really dead?

The answer, as revealed on episode seven, “And Infants Shall Rule Above Them,” is: Nope. He miraculously made it. The episode opens with Eli safe in a hospital, in a wing his three sometime-screw-up children rented out entirely for him. Eli is comatose and when the episode begins, there’s much anxiety over whether or not he’ll pull through. There’s so much anxiety, in fact, that Jesse, his wife Amber (Cassidy Freeman), his sister Judy (Edi Patterson), and her fiancé BJ (Tim Baltz) wind up in an epic puke-a-thon before the opening credits roll.

Then again, who are the “Cycle Ninjas”? So far it’s unclear. They first appeared in episode four, “As to How they Might Destroy Him,” attempting (but failing) to kill Jesse and Amber. Jesse seems to suspect Junior, but it seems unlikely. With two more episodes left, we’re bound to find a surprising answer as to who would want to wipe out the Gemstone family. Or maybe they’ll save that one for the recently greenlit third season.

Snoop Dogg has been a busy man. On Friday, he released his 19th album, BODR (Bacc On Death Row), and on Sunday, he joined Dr. Dre, Eminem, Kendrick Lamar, 50 Cent, Mary J. Blige, and Anderson .Paak at the Super Bowl LVI Halftime Show. Prior to those events, Snoop revealed that he acquired Death Row Records from MNRK Music Group and the private equity fund that owned it managed by Blackstone investment firm. Days after the acquisition, Snoop revealed his plans to make Death Row an NFT record label.

Snoop shared the news after making a surprise appearance in a devoted Clubhouse room on Monday. “Death Row will be an NFT label,” Snoop said. “We will be putting out artists through the metaverse. Just like we broke the industry when we was the first independent [label] to be major, I want to be the first major [label] in the metaverse.”

Snoop Dogg is also facing some legal problems after he was sued for an incident of sexual assault from 2013. The unnamed woman claims that the incident occurred after she attended one of Snoop’s shows in Anaheim, California.

You can hear Snoop Dogg talk about making Death Row an NFT label in the video above.

BODR is out now via Death Row/Create. Get it here.