Month: July 2022

Ivana Trump, Donald Trump‘s first wife and the mother of Donald Jr., Ivanka, and Eric, died in her home in New York City on Thursday. She was 73 years old. “Mom was brilliant, charming, passionate, and wickedly funny. She modeled strength, tenacity, and determination in her every action. She lived life to the fullest,” Ivanka wrote on Instagram, while Eric called her “an incredible woman” who “taught her children about grit and toughness, compassion and determination. She will be dearly missed by her mother, her three children, and ten grandchildren.”

Meanwhile, Donald Trump paid tribute to Ivana by trying to raise money for himself.

When news broke of Ivana’s death, Donald wrote on Truth Social: “I am very saddened to inform all of those that loved her, of which there are many, that Ivana Trump has passed away at her home in New York City. She was a wonderful, beautiful, and amazing woman, who led a great and inspirational life. Her pride and joy were her three children, Donald Jr., Ivanka, and Eric. She was so proud of them, as we were all so proud of her. Rest In Peace, Ivana!” He attached a screenshot of the post in an email to his followers, which includes a “DONATE TO SAVE AMERICA” button.

It did not go unnoticed.

Lauren Boebert won her Colorado primary, meaning that she’ll probably be around in political circles for some time to come. And while gearing up for the November election, she’s releasing her book My American Life, a release that’s been overshadowed by news of her restaurant, Shooters Grill, closing, thereby ending a rootin’ tootin’ tootin era. Along the way to this book’s release, Boebert’s plagued herself with fart jokes and Magic Mike references, but she’s also threatened “exiting things to come,” one of which might be this book?

She’s doing the incremental excerpt release thing, and that’s led to her recounting of her two arrests prior to running for Congress. Unsurprisingly, she’s talking about her arrests and painting them in as positive a light as humanly possible. The first one included talk of searching for a missing employee during a Shooters Grill catering event at the “Country Jam,” where the young woman was being cited for unruly behavior. In response, Boebert got unruly. Via The Independent:

“She was pointing and explaining that her mother was nearby. It seemed odd that the deputy wasn’t allowing the gal to leave. I mean, she’d already been given a citation. The longer the deputy left her there, the more upset the young woman got,” she wrote. The woman went to stand up, and a deputy “aggressively grabbed her and sat her back down.”

“I couldn’t believe what I was seeing,” she wrote. “Without hesitation, I started yelling from fifteen yards away and quickly made my way over. I was fired up. It bothered me seeing this young gal being treated so harshly.”

When contacted by The Independent, “The deputies told a slightly different version of events.” That included Boebert allegedly telling everyone in the tent full of drunken, underage detainees that they should all leave because “they hadn’t been read their Miranda Rights.”

The second arrest involves Boebert admitting that she simply didn’t pay driving citations after troopers weren’t impressed when she slid into a ditch while driving after a long day working at Shooters Grill. She admitted in the book that she was arrested in front of her kids, and “This was not a proud mom moment.” While reflecting upon the incident, she seemed to regret not respecting law enforcement more at the time, but once a rooter, always a tooter.

(Via The Independent)

The senatorial race in Pennsylvania is going to be one of the most watched political showdowns come November as tatted-up badass and current lieutenant governor John Fetterman takes on noted TV quack and pretend Pennsylvanian Dr. Mehmet Oz. But if a winner had to be called today, it would be a surprise contender no one saw coming: Jersey Shore star Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi.

On any given day, Fetterman’s Twitter is a treasure trove of pretty hilarious digs at Oz, with constant reminders that the man Jimmy Kimmel once referred to as a “serial testicle fondler” isn’t even from Pennsylvania, and that he only set up residence here recently with the specific goal of running for office in the Keystone State. (He’s so much not a resident that he actually misspelled the name of the town where he supposedly lives.) But on Thursday, Fetterman shared a Cameo video of Snooki—one of Jersey’s finest—mockingly wishing Oz the best of luck in his bid for senator.

Introducing herself as “a hot mess on a reality show,” Snooki proceeded to wish Dr. Oz the best of luck in his search for “a new job.” And noted how it must be hard for him: “I know you’re away from home and you’re in a new place. But Jersey will not forget you.” She also told him not to worry, “because you’ll be back home in Jersey soon.”

Newsweek reached out to Oz’s team for comment. Unsurprisingly, they did not receive one. What can one say in response?

Yesterday it was reported that Grimes and notorious whistleblower Chelsea Manning broke up, and today Grimes is starring in a new video for a song by the TikTok-famous Bella Poarch. The song is called “Dolls,” and the video is directed by Andrew Donoho, and also features Valkyrae, Chloe Cherry, Ludwig, Mizkif, Hasanabi, Sykkuno, Larray, Miyoung, Bretman Rock, and Madison Beer.

“Dolls” is a fluttering anthem full of volatile sass in a “Toxic” by Britney Spears kind of way. Grimes’s role in the video is no small one; she and Poarch share an intense fight scene that looks straight out of a movie.

In a statement, Poarch said, “‘Dolls’ is all about self-empowerment and confidence. It’s a follow up to my song ‘Build A B*tch’ but it stands out on its own as well by being gentle but fierce, beautiful but deadly. The importance of helping one another while also not letting anyone make you feel weak or worthless.”

This track comes from Poarch’s EP of the same title, arriving next month. Last year, the singer went viral for “Build A B*tch,” and she kept up the momentum by releasing a collaboration with Sub Urban titled “Inferno.”

Check out the “Dolls” video above.

Dolls arrives 8/12 via Warner Records. Pre-order it here.

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

When you’re writing music (or creating anything, really), inspiration can come from anywhere. When it comes to “I Love You B*tch” from Lizzo’s new album Special, it came directly from a Cardi B tweet.

Lizzo explained to Apple Music:

“‘I Love You B*tch’ came from a tweet, and it’s not the same as ‘Truth Hurts,’ so don’t come at me for royalties, Twitter. Shortly after ‘Rumors’ with Cardi B dropped, Cardi tweeted that she wanted to hear a love song from me next. And I was like, ‘OK, if Lizzo did a love song, what would it be? ‘I love you, b*tch?” It was one of those rare times where I had the title before the song. I got in the studio with Omer Fedi and Blake Slatkin and told them about my idea. Omer started playing the guitar, and I started freestyling to it. I’m from Houston, and there’s this Houston rapper named Z-Ro who has a song called ‘I Hate U B*tch.’ Suddenly I was like, hold up, what if I sang the ‘I Hate U B*tch’ melody but said ‘I love you, b*tch’ instead? It just came out, and it might be the greatest thing we’ve ever done. As I was writing the lyrics, I realized that I wanted to write a universal love song — one you could sing to the person you’re f*cking and your best friend, to your family or to someone you just met at a bar.”

As for the tweet Lizzo’s talking about, it’s as she described it: On October 19, 2021, Cardi tweeted, “I want a love song from Lizzo next.”

Listen to “I Love You B*tch” above.

Special is out now via Atlantic Records/Nice Life. Get it here.

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

It’s common knowledge (at least among those with an appreciation of corny ’90s sitcoms) that Alanis Morrissette wrote “You Oughta Know” about her ex-boyfriend, Full House star Dave Coulier. Allegedly. She’s never confirmed that the “you” is Joey Gladstone, but Coulier knew it immediately the first time he heard the song.

“I’m driving in Detroit and I’ve got my radio on, and I hear the hook for ‘You Oughta Know’ come on the radio. And I’m like, wow, this is a really cool hook,” he said on a recent episode of SiriusXM’s Faction Talk. “And then I start hearing the voice. I’m like, wow, this girl can sing. And I had no idea, you know, that this was the record. And then I was listening to the lyrics going, ‘Ooh, oh no! Oh, I can’t be this guy.’”

Coulier bought Jagged Little Pill (so did 33 million others), and turned into the Leo pointing meme. “I went and I parked on a street and I listened to the whole record,” he said. “And there was a lot of familiar stuff in there that her and I had talked about. Like [in ‘Right Through You’] ‘your shake is like a fish.’ I’d go, ‘Hey, dead fish me,’ and we’d do this dead fish handshake. And so I started listening to it and I thought, ‘Oh, I think I may have really hurt this woman.’ And that was my first thought.”

Actually, his first thought was, “I wish Alanis would cut. it. out.” Then came the guilt.

(Via Yahoo!)

At the moment, Drake is in Sweden, but if you believed what you read on the internet last night, he wasn’t having a great time there. HotNewHipHop notes an Instagram user sparked rumors that Drake had been arrested after being found with marijuana. After the “news” was revealed, “Free Drake” apparently became a trending topic on Twitter.

It would seem, though, that this is all unfounded, as Drake’s team has now denied the rapper was ever arrested.

Huffington Post editor Philip Lewis tweeted last night, “FYI: I talked to Swedish police and they told me Drake is not currently in their custody. (That was the only info they would give).” He added in another tweet, “From Drake’s team: ‘Drake is at his hotel and has not been arrested.’”

This echoes a report from The Hollywood Reporter, which notes, “Internet speculation suggested Drake had been arrested by local police at a Stockholm nightclub. His team categorically tells THR that the Grammy winner was in his hotel in the Swedish capital and had not been arrested.”

The publication also notes Drake landed at Sweden’s Arlanda airport around mid-day, taking his personal Boeing 767 (known as “Air Drake”). After arriving, he apparently visited the Ostermalm district of Stockholm and ate at Ciccio’s restaurant, according to local media reports.

Ellie Goulding is kicking off her new era with a hot new Big Sean collaboration. On her new single, “Easy Lover,” she delivers her signature whispery vocals over synthy, dance-pop track, as she sings about remaining infatuated by someone she knows is no good for her.

“Easy, lover / Keep it cool on me / Don’t bе cruel to me / ‘Cause I know you’ve done it before,” she sings on the song’s chorus.

Sean later comes in with a verse rife with his clever wordplay, notable bars being “I’m hung up on the pictures that you send me / made a gallery / The captions be about me / but no at-ing me.”

As of now, Goulding is married and the mother of a one-year-old child, and Sean is currently expecting a child with his longtime girlfriend, Jhene Aiko. In a recent interview with The Mirror, Goulding revealed that much of her new music will consist more of stories she’s written about situations that don’t necessarily pertain to her, as opposed to songs about motherhood and her marriage.

“I haven’t quite hit that point yet,” Goulding said, “where I’m wanting to talk about this thing I have with my child, and this insane bond and connection, and with my husband.”

Check out “Easy Lover” above.

DJ Premier is always a welcome addition to any new music Friday, especially when behind the boards. This week, listeners are blessed to see him assume the forefront of sorts as he taps Nas for “Beat Breaks,” which they teased last week via Twitter. Preemo opens the track telling Nas he wants to “take it back” to the breakbeat days. The Illmatic rapper follows suit, putting on a lyrical clinic of the legend’s immersive production.

Despite being veterans in the game who originated from a different era, they make this record sound so fresh. This collaboration comes after longtime clamors by fans for Nas to release a project fully produced by Preemo, and while it may not be exactly what they asked for, it is still a linkup for the ages.

“Beat Breaks” arrives as part of DJ Premier’s latest EP Hip Hop 50: Volume 1, celebrating 50 years since hip hop’s inception, which also features Lil Wayne, Joey Badass, Rapsody, Slick Rick, Remy Ma, and Run The Jewels. The 56-year-old had this to say about the project: “It’s an honor to kick off this iconic Hip Hop 50 music program. Hip Hop continues to inspire fans across the globe and it’s incredible to think of what the next 50 years will bring.” DJ Premier intends to bring a lot more, as future iterations of Hip Hop 50: The Soundtrack will include production from Hit-Boy, Mike Will Made-It, Swizz Beats, Mustard and more.

Preemo’s last release came in 2018 with PRhyme 2, the follow-up to his and Royce Da 5’9″‘s eponymous 2014 debut album as a duo.

Check out DJ Premier and Nas’ latest record “Beat Breaks.”

Hip Hop 50: Volume 1 is available now via Mass Appeal. Listen to it here.

Calvin Harris is back with another heater. For “Stay With Me,” the latest from his much-anticipated new album, Funk Wav Bounces Vol. 2, he has recruited Halsey, Justin Timberlake, and Pharrell Williams.

A little more fast-paced than the Dua Lipa and Young Thug collaboration, “Potion,” and the 21 Savage-assisted “New Money,” “Stay With Me” contains a psychedelic guitar instrumental ideal for cruising along the oceanside with after a debauched night, or for skating around a roller rink in true nostalgic fashion.

Throughout the song, Williams delivers a pre-chorus in signature high-tinged vocals, singing “The energy is flowing, it keeps us glowing / So we don’t need no lights, why is it on? / I’m talking to you, girl, it’s a new world”

On the song’s chorus, Halsey rap-sings, “Hey! it’s a mess out there / They can leave, but we don’t care, we’ll stay / I’m good right here /I’ve been waiting for you all year.” They duet with JT on a post-chorus, singing “All night / Come on and stay with me / Let’s stay tight / Come on, let’s stay, baby.”

Albeit a unique combination of artists, their musical chemistry is impeccable, thus making “Stay With Me” a late contender for song of the summer.

Check out “Stay With Me” above.

Funk Wav Bounces Vol. 2 is out 8/5 via Columbia Records. Pre-save it here.