Beyoncé fans are eagerly awaiting to experience the songs from Renaissance live, especially considering it’s packed with danceable house anthems that would definitely make a crowd move fervently. While the singer hasn’t officially announced a tour, there are promising rumors circulating online, giving fans reasons to get excited.
Page Six has recently reported that Renaissance will finally be taken on the road soon, according to what multiple inside sources told the magazine. One revealed that Beyoncé is booking stadiums around the world for next summer, and another divulged that an announcement will be made in the coming weeks. Nothing is confirmed but there is hope on the horizon at least.
In the meantime, Beyoncé has kept busy in wholesome ways. She recently had a personal gift shipped to Abbott Elementary‘s Sheryl Lee Ralph, in celebration of her recent Emmy win for Best Supporting Actress In A Comedy Series. Ralph became just the second Black woman to win in that category at last week’s Emmy Awards. Along with the bouquet of yellow and white flowers, Beyoncé wrote Ralph a special note, referencing the role of Deena Jones in Dreamgirls that they both played (Ralph in the 1981 Broadway debut, Beyoncé in the 2006 movie).
Even though YG’s latest single from his upcoming album I Got Issues is called “Maniac,” the accompanying video isn’t all that crazy at first glance. Then you see a guy in the back Blood walking in a “Thriller” jacket and you realize, “Oh yeah. Someone must have lost their mind.”
I kid, but YG’s new song and video are pretty typical of the material he’s put out from the new album so far. The Compton rapper subtly details the stressors that have been making his life “krazy” since even before he got famous (see what I did there?), and brashly reveals the effect getting rich and famous has had on them. He also shows off his increasingly polished wordplay skills, a facet of his artistry that has been overlooked and underrated for the past few years. Ever since he started writing his raps down, he’s had a plethora of clever turns of phrases like this one: “I put bands on heads, give you a headband, n****.”
The rollout for I Got Issues hasn’t gone quite as smoothly as YG wanted though. After dropping well-received singles like “Run” and “Toxic,” YG expressed his disappointment in Def Jam after the tracklist for the album — which features surprise features like Nas — was released prematurely.
Despite that snafu, though, anticipation for the album seems about where it should be and it looks like he’s on track for another well-performing project when I Got Issues drops on September 30. Pre-save it here.
After receiving four Latin Grammy nominations earlier this week, Sebastián Yatra has teamed up with Venezuelan singer-songwriter Lasso. The two Latin heartthrobs rock out in the music video for “Ojos Marrones” that was released on Wednesday (September 21).
Lasso is having a breakthrough year with “Ojos Marrones.” He first released the folk-pop love song back in June. Lasso revealed that the one of his references for track’s nostalgic sound was “Dreams” by Fleetwood Mac. It’s become his biggest hit to date with over 103 million streams on Spotify.
Last month, Yatra jumped on a remix version of “Ojos Marrones.” Lasso performed it live for the first time with the Colombian pop star during the LA stop of his Dharma Tour. Now the video for their duet is out and they bring the song’s sexy swagger to life. Lasso strums away on the electric guitar while Yatra sings along with his button-up shirt bearing his chest. Both artists are serenading the brown-eyed woman of their dreams.
Lasso is currently on his Algodón World Tour that visits the US in November and December. Yatra’s Dharma Tour runs through the US until early November. At the 2022 Latin Grammy Awards, Yatra’s four nominations include Album Of The Year for Dharma and Song Of The Year for “Tacones Rojos.”
Originality and popularity aren’t necessarily the determinants of long-term influence in indie rock. Rather, an artist has to achieve a delicate balance between “I can do that” and “how did they do that?” During the first half of the 2010s, Alex Giannascoli came out murmuring from a Philly basement/bedroom, creating an organic buzz on the strength of music that didn’t appear to require much technical skill; self-recorded and self-released while in his teens, albums like Race, Winner and Trick were defined by briskly strummed and muffled open-tuned guitars, rickety drums, charmingly simple rhymes, and the hiss of a microphone plugged straight into a computer. Though some of these albums have been professionally mixed and mastered in the time since, the “graphic design is my passion” cover art has remained.
The music itself was heavily influenced by Kill Rock Stars-era Elliott Smith, whereas Alex G’s taste for warped vocals can be traced to The Knife’s Silent Shout — a groundbreaking record in 2006 that you could emulate after a few minutes of YouTube tutorials by 2010. And as someone with vivid memories of going to multiple record stores just to find a copy of Illinois in 2005, the rise of Bandcamp, Tunecore, and other distribution platforms is still astounding to me — I could technically record a bunch of songs on my phone and they’d be just as easy for my parents to buy as a Bad Bunny album.
Indeed, there have probably been hundreds of “Alex G-type beats” uploaded to Bandcamp in the past month alone. And you won’t hear any of them because, as easy as it to emulate the superficial aspects of the man’s music, there’s been an uncanny quality that has proven impossible to replicate — even the most seemingly straightforward and Genius-analyzed Alex G lyrics rarely match what Alex G says they’re about, if he says anything about them at all. The song structures and melodies take counterintuitive turns that end up making all the sense in the world. If there’s a throughline from 2010’s Race to Alex G’s superlative new album God Save The Animals, it’s that he’s always a half-step ahead of his listeners — enough to beckon them forward without losing them completely.
Alex G’s place in the broader context of indie rock feels just as slippery as his music. Many of the dominant threads of the past decade run through his discography — the rise of Philadelphia as the epicenter of guitar-based indie rock, the shift of tastemaking from prestige publications to non-critical sources on social media, Orchid Tapes, Run For Cover, dad hats, Frank Ocean, Bandcamp. But unlike most of the artists who’ve followed a similar path towards indie’s A-list — Mitski, Japanese Breakfast, Car Seat Headrest, et al. — Alex G has done so without making Alex Giannascoli a load-bearing part of his appeal. His lyrics are quotable, if they’re audible, but rarely the kind that get meme’d on Twitter. I’ve heard from multiple sources that he’s a very hard guy to get a pull quote out of. Surely, “guys who are super into Alex G” did not get wiped out during the pandemic, but he’s never been the type to generate much content between album cycles. His closest brush with viral controversy involved getting confused for Beto O’Rourke.
Leading up to Beach Music, his 2015 debut on Domino, the word on Alex G was “prolific” — that between his proper albums, one-offs, and collaborations, it could be difficult to find a place to start without feeling overwhelmed. In the time since, Alex G’s output has hewed to a more deliberate, traditional pace and yet the numbers still feel daunting — 10 albums over the span of 12 years. To an extent, starting in reverse chronological order might be the best move for the novice strapped for time. But then again, the man is 29 years old — ask someone who has come of age alongside Alex G and the answer might be completely different. Heck, ask me in a few weeks and the answer might be different.
10. Winner, 2011
Winner has taken on an orphaned reputation, disappearing from all non-Bandcamp streaming services and stuck between the historical import of Alex G’s debut and the 2012 double-shot of Rules and Tricks that stoked a newfound national reputation. Heck, even the Rate Your Music and Bandcamp reviews are relatively muted; it’s kinda wild to consider the possibility of those people hearing Winner in 2011 and thinking that Alex G’s best days were possibly behind him. And while there are a couple of gems here, something’s gotta hold down this spot and I swear I’m not trying to be cute just because of the title.
9. Race, 2010
If you’re unfamiliar with Indiecast — new episodes airing every Friday, by the way — one of our favorite pet theories is that the last year of any decade is the “-10.” 1991, 2001, 2011 — that’s when the real ’90s or aughts or 2010s began. And so looking back on Race, a 2010 bedroom-to-Bandcamp archetype from its album cover to its GarageBand production values, it’s fun to imagine it sharing the same airspace as Halcyon Digest, The Monitor, Teen Dream, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy and such, monumental capstones of the decade prior (not to mention even the buzzier, more R&B/chillwave-indebted likes of Twin Shadow or How To Dress Well). What I hear now is a lot of charm, which is to say, a 17-year-old with obvious talents still showing his tracework — there’s obvious nods to Elliott Smith and Conor Oberst, the occasional burst of lo-fi ingenuity and puerile lyricism. To reiterate, Alex G was 17 when it came out and you should compare it to any songs you wrote at that age.
8. Rules, 2012
In some crucial ways, Rules is the first exemplar of what an “Alex G album” would be going forward — curveball opening track, artwork courtesy of his sister Rachel, plus the bonus track “Sandy” that would end up becoming far more consequential than anyone could’ve ever expected in 2012. But it also stands apart amidst Alex G’s pre-Domino output as the most rawk thing he’s ever done, as “Candy,” “Message” and “Master” truly sound like the work of a garage band recording on GarageBand. It’s not his best look — the piano-laced “Mis” and hushed “Come Back” were more indicative of what would come later that year on Trick, an album whose shadow looms over Rules to this day.
7. We’re All Going To The World’s Fair (Original Soundtrack), 2022
Even if he wasn’t responsible for the original score, We’re All Going To The World’s Fair probably doesn’t exist without Alex Giannascoli. Jane Schoenbrun reportedly went heavy on the Alex G catalog while writing the script, part body horror, part mumblecore, part suburban picaresque, all very online. While the mundane ASMR-like sounds of the online experience carry much of the sonic weight of the film — tapping keyboards camera timers and such — Alex G was tasked with serving as a liaison between the physical and digital realms of We’re All Going To The World’s Fair, as well as between the eerie beauty and gory repulsion of its visuals. Given carte blanche by a superfan, he gets indulgent here, a handful of more traditional vocal performances overshadowed by experiments in frosted synth instrumentals and “Casey’s Walk,” seven minutes of haunted house ambient. If not an essential addition to the Alex G discography, it’s an important one nonetheless, proof of a distinct, highly in-demand sonic signature that requires going straight to the source.
6. Trick, 2012
Trick is Alex G’s most successful album on Spotify and it’s not particularly close. This is largely thanks to “Mary,” “Sarah” and “Advice,” all of which have at least 32 million streams apiece — about three times more than their closest competitor (House Of Sugar’s “Gretel”) and more than Beach Music and DSU in their entirety. I can’t really ascribe this to Trick having some kind of rarefied status in the Alex G universe, nor the commercial boost provided by its 2015 reissue. But my theory is that Trick is the Alex G album most suited to spawn fluky Spotify hits (though it doesn’t contain his “Harness Your Hopes,” that would be 2011 single “Treehouse,” a duet with Emily Yacina). Up to that point, Alex G songs were loose, off-the-cuff things but the albums themselves were fairly tight; Trick was downright indulgent at 37 minutes, 16 songs and some of which were clearly larks or, dare I say, filler. And then there’s “Mary” and “Sarah,” the ones probably best suited to playlist-making for people who fail to dig deeper than their titles — “Mary” is perhaps the creepiest women-as-weed metaphor ever put to tape, while “Sarah” is the kind of love song deeply emotional and unhappy young people share with each other as a kind of aspirational model. But then again, it’s usually the hits that distinguish the superfan from the casual listener, i.e., the kind that had yet to learn not to take everything Alex G says at face value.
5. Rocket, 2017
Like most prominent indie rock artists from Philly, Alex G started leaning more towards country music in 2017. With their twangy cowboy chords and high lonesome harmonies, “Bobby,” “Proud” and “Powerful Man” reframe Alex G’s ’90s reference as that of a long-lost descendant of the No Depression movement rather than a Kill Rock Stars signing. But if Rocket indeed is his “country” album, what to make then of the Califone-esque, pots-and-pans percussion of “Horse” and “Poison Root,” or the psychedelic loops of “Alina” or… “Brick,” which sounds like a Show Me The Body track that accidentally got smuggled into Rocket as a plant pressing error. Perhaps the better word for Rocket is that it’s Alex G’s “roots” album, so long as one can accept that alt-country, hardcore, and cocktail jazz are equally foundational forms of American music.
4. DSU, 2014
If we’re allowing the Elliott Smith comparison, this is his Either/Or — the last record he’d make as a strictly cult artist and also the one I feel most self-conscious about ranking because I believe his best work came with a bigger budget (I don’t know what the “Say Yes” is in this scenario, Alex G doesn’t really write those kind of songs). I won’t begrudge anyone’s personal attachment to DSU and it’s certainly a significant step up in an already impressive catalog. Critics playing catch up understandably used 2014-appropriate weirdo-pop touchstones (Ariel Pink! Mac DeMarco! Jackson Scott!), but Alex G’s forays into off-kilter funk (“Promise”), Scotchgard-huffing slowcore (“Icehead”) and shaggy guitar heroism (“Serpent is Lord”) felt borne of confidence and curiosity, like someone who was only beginning to realize the extent of their talents and their ambitions. From DSU forward, it was impossible to engage with indie rock and not hear artists trying to sound like Alex G.
3. House Of Sugar, 2019
When I first conceived this list, I felt pretty sure House Of Sugar was going to be No. 1 — it had the best singles of any Alex G album that actually had pre-release singles, I’ve been conditioned over the past 25 or so years to believe any indie artist’s dive into electronic music is inherently greater than their guitar-based work and it also got the best overall reviews. Upon revisitation, a lot of that holds true — both “Southern Sky” and “Gretel” are No. 1 seeds if there’s ever an Alex G tourney pool-style bracket, while “In My Arms” and “Cow” accounted for his strongest Side B run to date. And yet, while the largely abstract and discordant electronic midsection felt beguiling and progressive throughout 2019, nowadays I find myself impatiently waiting through “Near” and “Project 2”; interesting stuff and certainly unexpected from someone whose transitory tracks in the past had still leaned more towards analog, strings-and-wood instruments. But while I appreciate the artistic risk, House Of Sugar spends a bit too much time working against Alex G’s strengths, at least when the “singer-songwriter” and “electronic” modes are divided so blatantly. Of course, this is only something I realized three years later as he reconciled those sides on God Save The Animals.
2. Beach Music, 2015
It being 2015 and not 1995, I don’t recall many people having hang-ups about Alex G becoming labelmates with Arctic Monkeys and Franz Ferdinand. Getting signed to Domino felt like a validation for Bandcampers, proof of a path forward for the countless, solo bedroom artists taking advantage of the unprecedented accessibility of home recording technology and the grim realities of trying to start out as a band in the mid-2010s (indeed, Car Seat Headrest and Mitski would soon find themselves stepping up to Matador and Dead Oceans in the next year). It’s not like a beefier recording and/or promotion budget made Beach Music any more slick or pandering; in fact, Alex G’s de facto “major label” debut took the experimentation of DSU towards even stranger places, developing a taste for corrupting pre-rock pop music and all but eliminating the fuzzier indie stylings of Rules and Trick. But am I wrong in remembering Beach Music being viewed as… kind of a disappointment? Or at least, the source of befuddlement to people just catching wind of Alex G and wondering, this is the new Elliott Smith? Certainly, Beach Music makes for a curious starting point, and lead single “Bug” ended with some of his most abrasive pitch-shifted vocals. The most popular song, “Brite Boy,” is a playground duet that could pass for a chipper Ween, but the vibe is otherwise generally somber and subdued, the guitar heroics of “Snot” and “Kicker” bashful as they are beautiful. But whereas the more acclaimed Domino albums that would come later largely adhered to a Microcastle-style track sequencing — singles at the front, experimental middle, reconvene for a more accessible but somewhat more subdued Side B — Beach Music strikes me now as the most coherent Alex G album, darting every which way on a track-by-track basis but maintaining a consistent, bittersweet mood that never fails when any of the four seasons start to change.
1. God Save The Animals, 2022
Had it not been made clear already, this, like all Best Albums lists, is the result of inherently subjective dark arts. Had someone else made this pitch to Uproxx HQ before myself, you would’ve read about how Trick is actually Alex G’s greatest work or why House Of Sugar can’t possibly top Rocket because the latter came out when the author was a freshman in college. Or vice versa. While there have been plenty of superlatives granted to God Save The Animals thus far — his most refined work, his most pop, surely more to come — I feel comfortable giving into recency bias here because it undeniably feels like a culmination of everything he’s done up to this point. Folky Alex G, abstract Alex G, slowcore Alex G, rawk Alex G, it’s all here, but God Save The Animals manages to circle back to his origins placing the vocals higher than they’d ever been since Race or Rules. And this time around, it seems like Alex G wants you to pay attention to what he has to say, largely forgoing his more oblique lyrical style to express his thoughts about art, about God, about his career, about drugs, about eternity — or at least, what seems like Alex G doing a straight-up “singer-songwriter” bit. By this point, we should know better — God Save The Animals holds true not to convention but to Alex G.
God Save The Animals is out now via Domino. Get it here.
Yesterday (September 22), Kanye West appeared on Good Morning America for an exclusive interview with Linsey Davis. According to an early Twitter teaser of their conversation this week, West would touch on everything, including “Kim Kardashian, fatherhood, social media, fashion, politics, and the Donda Academy.”
After the conversation aired, West did indeed touch on all of those things, with some… interesting responses. When it comes to politics, West notoriously launched a failed attempt to run for president in 2020. When asked if he would consider doing it again, he said “absolutely” but didn’t specify a timeline on when his next campaign would be. “That time wasn’t in God’s time,” West said about his first Presidential attempt.
The rapper also spoke about his “radical” beliefs during the interview.
“When you remove the love and fear of God, you open up the love and fear of everything else,” he said. “And it’s easier to have sheep when people don’t have God. It’s easier to control the people if people are not controlled by God. Because then they can be controlled by how many likes they have or whatever’s happening on their TikTok or how much money or the perception that people have. But we only have one audience here and that audience is God. And He’s watching us at all times. He’s got my back.”
West also noted his “new respect” for his ex-wife Kim Kardashian in the Good Morning America. After frequently targeting Kardashian’s then-boyfriend Pete Davidson via social media after the divorce, the posts were emotionally affecting her and the children as well.
West apologized, saying, “I need this person to be less stressed and of the best, sound mind and as calm as possible to be able to raise those children at the end of the day.”
Still, tensions between Kardashian and West didn’t stop with Davidson. West had been frequently critical about her decision to share and let their children use TikTok and other social media platforms. He seems to still be adamant on that part of how they should be raised. “As a dad and as a Christian. And I have a right to have a voice on what my kids are wearing, what they’re watching, what they’re eating,” he said.
“I have a platform where I get to say what so many dads can’t say out loud,” West continued. “I’m their dad. It has to be co-parenting. It’s not up to only the woman. Like, men have a choice also. Men’s voices matter.”
This also led to the topic of West recently opening the Donda Academy school. Originally named the Yeezy Christian Academy (but eventually renamed to honor West’s late mother), the Simi Valley school’s website lists their mission is to “learn fundamentals, grow in their faith, and experience two enrichment classes.”
West notes the Donda Academy is in its third year of classes. However, earlier this month, Rolling Stonepublished a deeper dive into how the school operates, including $15,000 for tuition and required NDA’s for parents.
Read more excerpts from West’s Good Morning America interview here. The full interview is also available to watch on Hulu, here.
After years of multiple Marvel and Star Wars-inspired stories, it’s time for another franchise to get an origin story. Sure, we all love learning about Baby Yoda and Groot’s silly little adventures, but what about some good, old-fashioned royalty drama that is not based on real life? The good news is that Netflix agrees, and so, dear reader, the beloved Bridgerton universe is expanding!
After being announced last spring, Netflix has finally unveiled the first look at Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story which will focus on the titular Queen’s rise to power in the Bridgerton universe.
Golda Rosheuvel (Queen Charlotte), Adjoa Andoh (Lady Agatha Danbury), and Ruth Gemmell (Lady Violet Bridgerton) will each reprise their roles from the initial series, with India Amarteifio stepping in as a young Charlotte. The streamer unveiled the first picture of Amarteifio in all her royal glory.
Dearest readers, rejoice in a formal introduction to royalty herself, India Amarteifio, who along with the incomparable duo of Golda Rosheuvel and Adjoa Andoh will reveal the origins of Your Majesty. Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story is on the way, indeed. pic.twitter.com/mE7OcH5gRu
Queen Charlotte is known for her fancy updos, extravagant dresses, and, most importantly, her love of gossip, so this should be a good spinoff for any Bridgerton fan. According to the press release, the limited series is expected to follow the rise of Queen Charlotte, and how the young Queen’s marriage to King George inspired both “a great love story and a societal shift, creating the world of the Ton inherited by the characters in Bridgerton.”
The news was revealed in a new clip featuring the show’s actresses ahead of Netflix’s Tudum event this weekend, which is expected to show off more from the upcoming series, along with various Netflix news and first looks.
No release date has been set for the series, but you can stream all episodes of Bridgerton on Netflix. Season three of Bridgerton is expected to hit the streamer sometime next year.
Girls are bombarded with messages from a very young age telling them that they can’t, that is too big, this is too heavy, those are too much.
Unless someone takes the time to show them otherwise, they will grow up believing those limitations are true—and never reach their full potential. Girls at Work, Inc., a nonprofit based in Manchester, NH, wants to change that by showing girls that they CAN.
Elaine Hamel founded Girls at Work, Inc. in 2000 because to her, empowerment isn’t just a buzzword but a way of life. Their mission is to challenge traditional norms and normalize girl power, focusing specifically on uplifting and supporting inner city girls between the ages of 8 and 18, who need stability, safety, and confidence.
The girls attending summer camps or after-school programs work in groups and learn how to problem solve, communicate, and use tools to build something practical. Hamel believes that learning how to use power tools shows the girls that they can do anything they put their minds to, better preparing them for a bright future.
Photo courtesy of TD Bank
Elaine’s forward-thinking, positive leadership, and passion for the community is exactly why TD Bank chose to honor her for the 2022 #TDThanksYou campaign, a North American campaign demonstrating the bank’s gratitude and commitment to their customers by celebrating, recognizing, and thanking unsung heroes in exciting and meaningful ways. Hamel is one of six honorees recognized this year and was presented with power tools and gift certificates to purchase additional items needed to enhance the program.
Hamel understands what it feels like to hear the word “can’t.” Growing up, she struggled to find her place in a world that seemed to be built by, and for, men. As a kid she loved to “create or fix things” and always found something to tinker with. Before long, she discovered not only did she enjoy building and repairing things, but she was very good at it.
She spent the next several decades breaking down the multitude of barriers that a woman pursuing a career as a general contractor faced in the 1980s and 1990s.
“It was really brutal when I first started out in construction,” Hamel said. “The men were so cruel. But I grew up with five brothers and I was used to it. I told myself I’d be the boss one day…and now I am.”
Photo courtesy of TD Bank
The process of learning how to become stronger and more confident in her natural abilities sent her career soaring, and drives her life’s work—empowering girls to take up space and take control of their own lives.
“These are kids who grapple with neglect, food insecurity, and extreme poverty,” said Hamel. “They’re not soaring in school because they’re in survival mode. They’re hungry and unable to focus and learn.” Hamel’s solution is a fully stocked food pantry, where the girls can shop for groceries before heading home. Girls at Work, Inc. also has a “kindness closet,” stocked with clothing, shoes, outerwear and other items.
After addressing their immediate needs, the girls are ready to get to work. “There are many programs out there devoted to teaching trades and skills to girls,” said Hamel, “But this is about learning how to think critically and problem solve. Pushing through that is what actually empowers them.”
The nonprofit is a vital part of the community, relying heavily on donations and volunteers to keep it going. For example, a club of retired men volunteer their time to pre-cut the lumber for Girls at Work, Inc.’s projects. The girls use that lumber to create things—like picnic tables, benches, and birdhouses—which in turn are donated to local organizations.
Hamel says she’s built with over 20,000 girls so far, and her goal is to hit one million. Her dream is to secure funding to open up new locations to serve even more communities and says that watching these girls’ step into their power and believe in themselves is what keeps her moving forward. The world needs more heroes like her.
Freddie Gibbs proved his versatility this week. On Tuesday (September 20), the Gary, Indiana-bred rapper visited Funk Flex on Hot 97 and performed a freestyle, taking shots at disgraced R&B figure R. Kelly and rival Benny Butcher. Today (September 23), Gibbs shows his vulnerable side with the introspective new single “Dark Hearted.”
The James Blake-produced track opens with an ethereal beat and Gibbs proclaiming, “I hope the chopper never jam on me.” He chronicles his struggles while entrenched in “murder land,” reminiscing on being in a crowded apartment where they pushed molly and powder, and prays for God’s protection. He acknowledges, “I know I took a risk with this sh*t when I put my hands on it” and laments that “this game got me dark-hearted,” but his most brutally honest admission comes when he expresses fear that “police might shoot and kill me over my dark skin.”
“Dark Hearted” comes after “Too Much” featuring Moneybagg Yo, Gibbs’ first release of the year, arrived earlier this month. The singles are generating momentum for Soul Sold Separately, his major-label debut studio album due next Friday (September 30) via Warner Records. Gibbs unveiled the full tracklist earlier this week.
Gibbs told Funk Flex on Tuesday that he’s “coming for album of the year” with his new one, “like I did last year.” His first Grammy nomination was earned for Alfredo, his May 2020 collaborative album with Alchemist, under the Best Rap Album category at the most recent ceremony.
Soul Sold Separately is out 9/30 via Warner Records. Pre-order it here.
Freddie Gibbs is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
Ana de Armas and director Andrew Dominik will bring Blonde to Netflix on September 28. As you’re undoubtedly aware, the film’s not a standard biopic but an adaptation of Joyce Carol Oates’ expansive novel about a somewhat fictionalized version of Marilyn Monroe. The film’s gathered up mixed reviews with a hefty dose of praise for de Armas, and it’s worth noting that even Chris Evans was bowled over by the star’s transformation and couldn’t tell subject from actor apart by looking at a photo.
The film also received an NC-17 rating with Dominik reacting by calling this an unwarranted case of “Eisenhower morality” in an age where Cardi B’s “WAP” ruled the charts. Still, Dominik declared that the film contains something “to offend everyone,” and Ana De Armas is now here (in a new Varietycover feature) to talk about her trepidation for what scenes will go viral once the film streams. As Variety indicates, she brought up the subject on her own, and it involves nude scenes. She’s upset about what will happen but told herself that she cannot control the situation, which… oh boy:
“I know what’s going to go viral,” she says, “and it’s disgusting. It’s upsetting just to think about it. I can’t control it; you can’t really control what they do and how they take things out of context. I don’t think it gave me second thoughts; it just gave me a bad taste to think about the future of those clips.”
De Armas continued, saying that she filmed scenes for this movie that she never would have otherwise done, and “I did it for her, and I did it for Andrew.” The film earned a 14-minute standing ovation at the recent Venice Film Festival, and hopefully, audiences will handle the situation maturely when they see Ana’s transformation for themselves on September 28.
In light of the George Floyd protests in Spring of 2020, Paramount made the decision to cancel COPS, the long-running reality TV series that followed police officers around on patrol. The show had already been weathering concerns about its exploitative content, and with the nation grappling with the topic of police brutality, Paramount pulled the plug as other shows like Live PD followed suit.
However, conservatives have long been critical of the Black Lives Matter protests, so in a not exactly surprising development, Fox Nation has resurrected COPS. The right-leaning streaming service will have new episodes next week, and according to a statement from Fox Nation president Jason Klarman, whoever the heck subscribes to Fox Nation is pumped to see minorities and poverty-stricken communities get shoved into police cruisers. It’s their favorite.
“It has been nearly one year since we greenlit COPS and the reaction has been positively overwhelming,” Klarman said in a statement via Mediaite. “Our subscribers continue to flock to the series and we’re excited to provide our engaged audience with more of the exclusive content they have come to rely on from FOX Nation.”
The move to Fox Nation also corroborates reports that COPSnever stopped filming. Following its cancellation by Paramount, Langely Productions, the maker of COPS, “quietly” continued to film new episodes in Spokane, Washington well into November 2020. Those episodes were reportedly filmed to fulfill oversea commitments, but it appears the show was able to find a new home with an audience who did not lose sleep over the death of George Floyd, or countless others.
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