Month: May 2022

Over the years, Harry Styles has been a regular presence on James Corden’s The Late Late Show, so it’s only fitting that he pops up at least one more time before Corden leaves the program next year. Styles dropped by the show last night for a segment in which he and Corden shot a video for Harry’s House highlight “Daylight” on strict budget and time constraints.

In the introduction of the segment, Corden explained the situation: He and Styles had three hours and $300 (not factoring in the cost of the Late Late Show camera crew following them around and the editors who cut the final video together, it would seem) to make a video in Brooklyn. They didn’t have any locations or ideas set up beforehand. First, they tried to get into somebody’s home to film, which was surprisingly a challenge for those two famous faces: The first person they tried asking was heading out the door, while the second just flat-out refused.

They eventually found four women (one of whom happened to have a bunch of Styles- and One Direction-emblazoned items in their room) who offered their shared home for the cause. Throughout production, Styles offered some disparaging quips, like, “I was in a Christopher Nolan movie,” and, “Should we just scrap it and just do, like, just a ‘Carpool Karaoke?’” Despite that, though, Corden, Styles, and the folks who they recruited to help actually pulled through with a totally passable and fun music video.

Watch the “Daylight” video and the making-of segment above.

A day after his emotional monologue about the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, that left 21 people dead, including 19 kids, Jimmy Kimmel focused his anger on Ted Cruz.

“He’s such an interesting character,” the late-night host said during the monologue of Thursday’s episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live. “I mean, his need for attention is so powerful, he’s been everywhere this week, doing interviews, pontificating in that little ‘I care’ voice that he puts on defending this disturbing allegiance these guys have to semi-automatic weapons, which Ted says aren’t the problem. The problem, according to Ted Cruz, is that schools need to be more like prisons.” The GOP is desperately trying to frame what happened in Uvalde (and Buffalo, and Newtown, and…) as not a gun problem, but “a door problem,” Kimmel said. “Get rid of the doors. Makes total sense.”

He continued, “Maybe we should only have an exit door on schools, so no one can come in. They’ll see the sign, they’ll turn right around. There will be no problems at all. And Ted knows a lot about doors. You know, doors are what he leaves his dog to look out of when it gets cold and he sneaks off to Cancun like Cruz-ella de Vil.” (Poor Snowflake.)

Kimmel called Cruz’s solution to America’s gun epidemic a “stupid fake idea. Listen, Ted, I know you’d rather spend your days doing impressions of The Simpsons and googling stepmom porn, but at some point you might have to get down to it and do your job, and doors ain’t it.” You can watch the Jimmy Kimmel Live monologue above.

Here’s the thing with Brazilian bossa nova standards: They were pretty much written with the idea in mind that other artists should be encouraged to put their own spin on them. Take the ubiquitous “The Girl From Ipanema,” a song that’s been re-interpreted time and time again by countless artists, and it still sounds lovely more than 50 years later, no matter who’s singing it. “Desafinado” is another classic that also appeared on Stan Getz and João Gilberto’s timeless 1964 album Getz/Gilberto, and it still beams with the soul of the Brazilian shores in 2022. It’s precisely that tune which Colombian-American Latinx R&B songstress Kali Uchis has just taken on for a cover and it sounds sublime.

Uchis sings the Portuguese original song in English, over a built-in seaside sway and groovy saxophone. Close your eyes and it might as well feel like you’re on a Rio De Janeiro beach, with Kali Uchis serenading you as you sip on caipirinhas. The tune is taken from the soundtrack to Minions: The Rise Of Gru, which comes out on July 1st (the same day as the film) and was produced and curated by Jack Antonoff. Also appearing on the fairly loaded soundtrack, are St. Vincent, Thundercat, Tierra Whack, Brittany Howard and uh… Diana Ross featuring Tame Impala? Facts only.

Listen to Uchis’ cover of “Desafinado” above.

Minions: The Rise Of Gru (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) is out 7/1 via Decca Records. Pre-order it here.

The last time we received a project from Dallas native Kaash Paige was back in 2020 with Teenage Fever. The 13-track project delivered collaborations from Don Toliver, Ssgkobe, 42 Dugg, K Camp, and Isaiah Rashad for what amounted to a strong debut from the young singer. After Teenage Fever, Paige laid low for a bit as her 2021 year was a quiet one. However, after Uproxx caught up with her at New York’s Rolling Loud festival, she hinted at a pretty eventful 2022 year. “It’s my time and everybody’s gonna know Kaash Paige,” she said at the time. “It’ll be a lot of crazy music that’s dropping [at the] top of the year.”

The music that Paige spoke of is slowly rolling in with her latest release being a collaboration with Lil Tjay. “24 Hrs” strikes as a sultry and slow tempo record that warns their respective lovers of a night of steaming intimacy after they’ve returned to town. The track arrives with an accompanying music video that captures Paige and Tjay in an abandoned and dimly-lit facility as they’re entertained by the very women they plan to end the night with.

“24 Hrs” drops after Paige kicked off her 2022 year with “Girlfriend” while recently teamed up with French Montana in the video for their “Bag Season” collaboration.

You can watch the video for “24 Hrs” above.

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

Last weekend, Dominic Fike stopped by Northwestern University in Illinois to hold a concert in front of college students there. The show was most likely an exciting one for students as Fike is coming off a career-boosting appearance in season two of Euphoria. However, during the night, things took an odd turn as he made quite the odd confession about actress Amber Heard, who is currently embroiled in a multi-million dollar defamation lawsuit with actor and ex-boyfriend Johnny Depp.

On stage, Fike said, “So, I’m just going to come straight out and say it, I’m gonna be real with y’all. I actually think Amber Heard is hot.” He continued, “I don’t know, I know. I know it’s not a popular opinion and it’s not the focus at the moment, dude. But I’ve been having these visions of her [where] she’s beating me up. I think it’s hot.”

Many of the students in attendance were a bit disturbed by Fike’s comments, including Ashlee Mitchell, who took to TikTok to share her thoughts as noted by Pop Crush. “First off, it had nothing to do with his performance, so I’m like, ‘Why even say this?’” Mitchell said. She added that Fike said during the show that he wanted to see how much he could possibly “get away with.”

Another student, named Fatima, hopped on Twitter to share their thoughts. “I wasn’t really looking forward to Dominic Fike anyhow but hearing him say ‘I think amber heard is hot, I want her to hit me’ turned me tf off,” they wrote. “That’s disgusting no matter how you view the trial and a weird thing to say about a potential abuser/victim.”

You can hear Fike’s words about Amber Heard in the videos above.

Since his release from prison early last year, Bobby Shmurda struggled to find his groove with music in the industry. For what it’s worth, that kind of thing is expected as he spent seven years behind bars. Prior to last month, Bobby had only released four records when many hoped they would’ve received a project from him by now. Seeing that a change was needed, Bobby demanded to be released from his longtime label, Epic Records, and when that wish was eventually granted, he sought to do things his way for the foreseeable future. He kicked off his journey as an independent artist with “They Don’t Know” and now he’s back with “Get ‘Em Back.”

Bobby’s new record is as energetic and high-spirited as he’s been in the public eye since his release from prison. In the video that accompanies the track, Bobby is all smiles as he turns up with a group of women on an outdoor basketball court. He also heads to the artic to keep things going in the video. The track itself is quite a vengeful one as it presents Bobby in retaliation mode. “N****s be waitin’ to tap in / I just be waitin’ to clap it,” he raps. “N****s be waitin’ and askin’ / I just be wavin’ the mag.’”

The new track arrives after Bobby voiced his support for New York’s Rap On Trial bill after it passed the Senate.

You can watch the video for “Get ‘Em Back” above.

Last year was a great one for Moneybagg Yo. The Memphis native released his fourth album A Gangsta’s Pain, the followed up to 2020’s Time Served. Both projects helped to elevate Moneybagg’s status, but the 2021 effort gave him his first chart-topping album. A Gangsta’s Pain was also one of only a handful of albums to spend multiple weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard 200. Nowadays, it appears that Moneybagg Yo will release his fifth album, and eighth project overall, in four years. While a title or release date has yet to be shared for the upcoming release, Moneybagg returns with his second single of the year.

Moneybagg slides through with the authoritative “See Wat I’m Sayin.” It watches the Memphis rapper stick to his guns while he warns of the plans he has for his opposition in the future. The track follows “Rocky Road” which he released with Kodak Black earlier this month.

Prior to “Rocky Road” and “See Wat I’m Sayin,” Moneybagg Yo connected with J. Cole for “Scared Money” which also featured YG. He also collaborated with 2 Chainz, French Montana, NLE Choppa, and Polo G on records so far this year.

You can listen to “See What I’m Sayin” in the video above.

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

The Golden State Warriors took care of business on Thursday evening, toppling the Dallas Mavericks at home in Game 5 to win the Western Conference and clinch a berth in the 2022 NBA Finals. Shortly after the contest ended and Stephen Curry was named as the first-ever Magic Johnson Western Conference Finals MVP, TNT’s Inside The NBA panel was stationed outside Chase Center in San Francisco and discussing what transpired in the series. With Warriors fans spilling out into the courtyard, it was a raucous atmosphere to say the least, and things escalated involving Charles Barkley and flying objects.

Fans threw shirts at Barkley, who has been critical of Warriors fans and San Francisco throughout the series. Barkley did not appear to be thrilled with what happened, getting up and gesturing toward the assembled masses while Ernie Johnson and Kenny Smith attempted to slow him down.

Fortunately, this did not escalate further, though it was clear from the television broadcast that it was uncomfortable given Ernie and Kenny’s reactions were definitely not of those who thought Chuck was joking. It goes without saying, but there is a gap between trash talk and throwing objects in this kind of setting, and that is a line that was crossed by the assembled fans. Within moments, all seemed to be well, with Barkley joking and celebrating the arrival of his upcoming vacation, but there seems to be no love lost between Barkley and this particular fan base.

Blackbear and Machine Gun Kelly have three words for their exes — “go f*ck yourself.” That’s what Blackbear says in the chorus of their new collaboration, cryptically titled “GFY.” Rife with rock-influenced guitars and drums, “GFY” features Blackbear kissing off an ex as she tried “to f*ck all [his] friends.”

On the bridge of the Travis Barker-produced track, Kelly pleads to be taken “out this episode of Euphoria,” and “back to the Waldorf-Astoria,” ready to enjoy a debauched night after leaving a toxic relationship. The song precedes Blackbear’s upcoming sixth studio album, In Loving Memory, which is planned for release this summer.

“Although ‘GFY’ is the first single from the album, fans will soon see it’s actually a fun intermission in an otherwise vulnerable project,” said Blackbear in a statement. “Also, I just like making music with my friends.”

In the song’s music video, directed by Blackbear himself, along with John Tashiro and Tyler Serebreni, Blackbear plays a suburban dad who becomes invested in a murder investigation. At the center of the investigation is none other than Kelly. Fans may see some familiar faces making cameos in the video, including Mike Posner as a cop, Benny Blanco as a TV anchor, plus Aisha Mian, and August Maturo.

Check out “GFY” above.

The Funk Wav Bounces Vol. 2 era is officially upon us. Right on time for summer, Calvin Harris has dropped a new heater with Dua Lipa and Young Thug. On the funkified “Potion,” Lipa enjoys a summer night with a new flame by her side, while Thug enjoys wild sexcapades.

The song’s seductive chorus features Lipa singing about “Late night conversations, electric emotions, sprinkled with a little bit of sex,” over a beachy, ’70s-influenced instrumental. It fits in with the disco and synth-pop sounds of Lipa’s Future Nostalgia era and is edgy enough to serve as a bridge to her next. Thug later swoops in with a verse, sharing that he’s spending the summer with “15 main h*es, ’cause I’m undecided / I’m kickin’ sh*t, karate.”

This isn’t the first time Harris has collaborated with Thug or Lipa. On Harris’ 2017 album, Funk Wav Bounces Vol. 1, Harris collaborated with Thug, Ariana Grande, and Pharrell Williams on the song “Heatstroke.” Harris collaborated with Lipa in 2018 on their single, “One Kiss.”

When speaking of Harris in a 2018 interview with the Recording Academy, Lipa said, “It was such a fun experience, and he’s so lovely and down to earth.”

Check out “Potion” above.

Dua Lipa and Young Thug are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.