Month: September 2022

Ever since she was selected as part of the 2021 XXL Freshman class, Quality Control Music rapper Lakeyah’s profile has been steadily rising. While she’s still yet to put out a full-length album, she capitalized on the increased attention she’s been receiving earlier this year with the EP, No Pressure (Pt. 1). After kicking off the summer with the singles “Mind Yo Business” featuring Latto and “Record Straight,” she’s extending the extended play project with five new songs.

Continuing the thread of sisterhood that has been running throughout hip-hop recently, Lakeyah recruits a pair of her fellow rising stars in Gloss Up, who appears on the previously released “Real B*tch,” and fellow Freshman Flo Milli, who is in the midst of her own breakout and sets off on the Girls Just Wanna Have Fun Tour with Monaleo in October. In addition, Lakeyah flexes alongside one of the more exciting newcomers in the game today, Icewear Vezzo, as well as R&B standard bearer Lucky Daye.

No Pressure (Pt. 2) drops on Friday, September 23, via Quality Control Music.

1. “Maneuver” Feat. Flo Milli
2. “Real B*tch” Feat. Gloss Up
3. “Worth The Wait” Feat. Lucky Daye
4. “Giannis” Feat. Icewear Vezzo
5. “Record Straight”
6. “Mind Yo Business” Feat. Latto
7. “Brand New” Feat. Layton Greene
8. “I Look Good”
9. “Pop Dat”
10. “No Hook”

A few nights ago, at the St. Louis stop of his Twelve Carat Tour, Post Malone had an on-stage mishap: In the middle of walking around and performing “Circles,” Malone stepped into a hole on the stage and took a pretty hard fall, staying on the ground for a short while. He left the stage but returned 15 minutes later to finish the show. He wasn’t completely unharmed, though, as he actually cracked three ribs in the slip.

It’s been a few days since then but Malone isn’t letting it go. In fact, he officially launched some beef with the hole, taking to Instagram to fire shots at the on-stage gap.

Yesterday, he shared a photo of himself on stage, sticking his middle finger up and pointing it squarely at the ground. He captioned the photo, “[middle finger emoji] F U Hole.”

Malone later explained what happened, saying, “Whenever we do the acoustic part of the show, the guitars are on the guitar stand… and there’s this big-ass hole, so I go around there and I turn the corner and bust my ass. [It] winded me pretty good. Got me pretty good. We just got back from the hospital and everything’s good. Everything’s good. They gave me some pain meds and everything so we can keep kicking ass on the tour.”

Confess, Fletch is a fun movie. There’s not a ton to it, really, at least not much beyond “Jon Hamm kind of solves a murder and art theft, sometimes while wearing Hawaiian shirts and/or a baseball cap,” but who cares, you know? There are scenes where he and his former Mad Men co-star John Slattery sit around and trade one-liners for a bit, too, which made me break into an involuntary cheeseball smile as wide as a freeway. I love those guys. It’s a perfect little Friday night movie, one that asks the simple question “What if we put a really cool dude into a series of dicey situations and let him wiggle out of them all by being a really cool dude?” Sometimes that’s all you need from a movie. “Cool Dude Does Cool Stuff” is a legitimate genre of film. We’ll come back to this in a minute.

The fourth and final season of Atlanta premiered last week, too. This is bittersweet because, on one hand, it’s good to have one of the most creative and well-made shows in the history of television back on television again (and back in Atlanta after a brief detour in Europe), but on the other hand, it’s kind of a bummer to see it go. Atlanta is such a good show, profound and weird and serious and occasionally very, very goofy. Go back and watch the Teddy Perkins episode sometime. Even today, years later, with a slew of other shows taking influence from it and trying to reverse engineer the formula, it remains one of the most unique half-hours of television ever made. That’s pretty cool.

One of the plots in the season premiere features Darius (LaKeith Stanfield) trying to return an air fryer to a store that is in the middle of being looted. It does not go well. As he walks out of the store with the air fryer still in his possession, a cranky white lady in a power wheelchair attempts to stop him, thinking he is also one of the looters. Darius wiggles around her and walks off and she spins around and follows after him through the parking lot as he heads to the car.

A few minutes later, as he’s sitting in gridlocked Atlanta traffic…

It all leads to a game of cat and mouse through Atlanta, with the woman following Darius and Darius trying to explain himself and get home with his godforsaken air fryer. It’s really effective in places, with the humming of the chair in the background serving as a kind of twist on the horror movie device of a monster growling offscreen whenever the person being chased thinks they’re safe. None of this is a problem. But here’s where things get tricky.

The depiction of people with disabilities kind of stinks throughout Hollywood and has for a while. I am admittedly biased on this because I have a disability (spinal cord injury, power wheelchair, etc.), but that doesn’t make the first thing I typed less true. Disabled characters are often portrayed as miserable sadsacks or inspirational angels with very little exploration of the area between those two extremes. Sometimes they get to be, like, employees of a laboratory who look through a microscope or sit at a computer and give important information to the main character. Sometimes they get to be billionaires or science geniuses or both, in a way that almost offsets their disability from a practical standpoint. You know, like this guy.

I hope this doesn’t come off like I’m picking on Atlanta too much. I meant what I said about it being a really good show, still, today, which is almost a miracle for a show that takes the kind of big swings it does. None of what happened in the episode was, like, offensive to me. The point of the whole thing was to drive home what an obnoxious Karen this woman was and how another historically disadvantaged group of people does not often get the benefit of the doubt from society. Again, the stuff with the humming chair offscreen was an effective piece of business. People in wheelchairs can be assholes, too. Lord knows I have my moments.

This brings us back to Fletch, though, and it gets me to what I think is a reasonable request in the grand scheme of things: Let’s make a movie or a television show that’s about a cool dude in a wheelchair. That’s all. No superpowers or billions of dollars. No moping or misery, or at least not more than we need to get back to the thing where the dude in the wheelchair is cool. Have him solve an art theft, or commit an art theft, or commit and solve an art theft. There are lots of options here. It is very doable. There doesn’t even need to be an art theft, I guess. The main thing is the part about being a cool dude, kind of like if The Dude in The Big Lebowski were the one in the wheelchair instead of the other rich and angry Lebowski. I would really appreciate if someone stole some art at some point, though, if only because I love a good art theft movie.

(Quick note that is probably important: I am using terms to describe a male character here only because I wanted to use “dude” in the headline. It can absolutely be a lady in a wheelchair, too. And there should be a word that describes a cool woman as effectively as “dude” describes a cool man. Let’s work on this one, too.)

Three notes, in conclusion:

• This is not just an issue for characters with disabilities, by any means, as Hollywood has a long history of “minority character as criminal or thinly-drawn prop to tell the main character’s story” as its fallback for inclusion
• We can and should tell lots of stories about lots of people, good and bad, because that’s a cool thing to do (and something we are making progress on, in general, I think), but this is just the one I want to highlight to today because I watched both Confess, Fletch and Atlanta in the last week and I’ve been thinking about them a lot
• If someone out there is going to do this, the thing about the cool dude in the wheelchair, please cast an actual actor in a wheelchair to play the cool dude, just so I don’t have to pitch and write a second article like this about how you messed up my idea

This was a pretty good conversation. I’m glad we are getting it all out there. Let’s circle back to it all in maybe a year to see how things are working out.

Just weeks away from their fifth album studio album, Being Funny In A Foreign Language, The 1975 has shared the fourth single from the album, “All I Need To Hear.” In the black and which visual for the song, the band is seen performing the downtempo ballad in a studio.

While “All I Need To Hear” is one of the more romantic ballads on The 1975’s upcoming Jack Antonoff-produced album, lead vocalist Matty Healy revealed to Pitchfork that he took a more humorous approach when writing Being Funny In A Foreign Language.

“I’m projecting something there,” he said. “I’m conditioned to know that I’m gonna f*ck something up, so I go into anything that makes me feel truly vulnerable with an acknowledgment that it may be temporary, or I may be limited in my ability to fulfill this really big thing that doesn’t require me to be sharp or witty or dexterous. It requires me to be f*cking naive and simple and nice and reliable. I worry about it, because I’m better at: make a joke and leave.”

Check out the video for “All I Need To Hear” above.

Being Funny In A Foreign Language is out 10/14 via Dirty Hit. Pre-order it here.

There’s no denying that Rihanna is a global superstar and any words of advice from her are sure to juice up any artist on the rise. Tems, the Nigerian singer most notable for her vocals on Wizkid’s “Essence,” is a bit more than just an emerging act, though. “Essence” has propelled Tems to a path that could lead to massive Rihanna-like heights. She was featured on Beyoncé’s Renaissance alongside Grace Jones and Bey on “Move,” and was recognized as the Best International Act at the 2022 BET Awards. But none of this seems to go to her head; she’s chill AF. In fact, a new feature in GQ UK bears the headline “Tems Is Way Too Chill.” But Rihanna is here to help her with rising to the occasion.

When speaking about the grandeur of being on “Move” alongside to icons in Beyoncé and Jones, Tems comes across as humble and grateful. But then professes that while, “Of course it means something to me,” she explains that, “I just have this chill thing going on,” which keeps her grounded. But when she met Rihanna at the “We Found Love” singer’s Savage x Fenty show in Los Angeles last year, Rihanna was direct with Tems about embracing her soaring stardom, saying, “‘You need to be that b*tch you know you are.”

How does one even manage to process that coming from Rihanna? Something tells us that Tems, who has since notched a song on the Wakanda Forever soundtrack and put out the track “Wait For U” with Drake and Future earlier this year, is already taking the advice in stride.

In Meet Cute, Kaley Cuoco is a time traveler who keeps having the same first date with a dude named Gary (really? Gary?), played by Pete Davidson. That Groundhog Day-like premise is still a less-weird set of circumstances than the star’s real-life first encounter.

“He was attached to this film way before I was. And so when I actually attached, obviously everyone was like, ‘You guys need to meet. We hope that there’s chemistry.’ So, we get in contact, and he was in L.A. for a few days, and I was like, OK, maybe we should meet up for a coffee,” the Harley Quinn star said on Tuesday’s episode of The Tonight Show (you can watch the interview above).

Instead of getting a coffee or tacos, like a normal person, Davidson suggested meeting at an escape room. “You know what, Pete? Not everyone has to end up on TMZ,” Cuoco replied. “I’m like, ‘Why can’t anything be normal?’” Meeting someone for the first time in a room where they can’t leave — what’s not normal about that? But she and director Alex Lehmann went through with his idea, which proved to be a good choice. “You really can learn a lot about someone in an escape room,” she said. How ominous.

Here’s more on Meet Cute:

When Sheila and Gary meet, it’s love at first sight – until we realize their magical date wasn’t fate at all. Sheila’s got a time machine, and they’ve been falling in love over and over again. But when the perfect night is never quite enough, Sheila travels to Gary’s past to change him into the perfect man.

Meet Cute is out on Peacock now.

Earlier this month, Russians began to flee the country in a mass exodus amid Vladimir Putin’s dismal war in Ukraine. And seven months ago, he drop-shipped his first batch of troops without telling them why they were fighting, and Ukraine’s pushback has been immense (and successful) in recent weeks. All the while, Russian soldiers have been resisting while threatening to blow up a commander and doing anything, including grievously injuring themselves and hiding out in disguise, to escape the conflict.

Putin recruited from prisons for awhile, but now, he’s growing truly desperate. As The Atlantic points out, his Wednesday morning Kremlin speech shows off how the leader has grown erratic and is making harsh moves. He made noises about using nukes, and Putin decided to call up 300,00 reservists to fight in Ukraine. That’s a lot of bodies, even when one considers that (in 2020) Russia’s population stood at 144 million. Now, Russians are fearful for solid reason, and they’re attempting to flee on one-way flights.

As Reuters reports, the price of these flights skyrocketed upon Putin’s speech, and they’re nearly sold out because no one knows whether males who are considered to be of “fighting age” will have another chance to leave. That’s particularly scary since half of Putin’s army lost their lives by late July in Ukraine. Via Reuters, there’s Putin-fueled chaos now running amuck:

“Reports of panic spreading among Russians soon flooded social networks. Anti-war groups said the limited airplane tickets out of Russia reached enormous prices due to high demand and swiftly became unavailable.

Some postings alleged people already had been turned back from Russia’s land border with Georgia and that the website of the state Russian railway company collapsed because too many people were checking for ways out of the country.

Social networks in Russian also surged with advice on how to avoid the mobilization or leave the country.”

It’s hard to imagine what life must be like over there, long after the war’s early days saw trivial stories about McDonald’s alternatives being a concern. These days, Russians must feel like their very lives are on the line and not of much value to a leader who’s chasing silly imperialistic dreams to build a legacy. Unfortunately, that legacy was already a mess due to world leaders laughing at Putin’s shirtless horseback photos and an endless Botox supply. Now, Putin’s regime is one of death, and Russians are largely having none of it.

(Via Reuters)

Lizzo is kicking off The Special Tour this week! She will be touring across North America starting September 23, with Latto appearing as a special guest opener for the shows. In support of her recent album Special, fans can expect to hear Lizzo’s anthem “About Damn Time” and other songs from the record.

Produced by Live Nation, Lizzo’s tour will run through the fall, as she visits a number of arenas across the country – from Madison Square Garden to Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena. With releasing and now touring the album, Lizzo has had a busy year. She also shared the stage with Harry Styles at his Coachella set in April.

“I’m so excited because I’ve been a fan of Latto for a long time and now I’m so excited to go on with her!” Lizzo told LA’s 104.3 MYfm following the April announcement.

Continue scrolling for a complete list of Lizzo’s The Special Tour dates.

09/23 — Sunrise, FL @ FLA Live Arena
09/24 — Tampa, FL @ Amalie Arena
09/27 — Washington, DC @ Capital One Arena
09/29 — Philadelphia, PA @ Wells Fargo Center
09/30 — Boston, MA @ TD Garden
10/02 — New York, NY @ Madison Square Garden
10/06 — Detroit, MI @ Little Caesars Arena
10/07 — Toronto, ON @ Scotiabank Arena
10/11 — St. Paul, MN @ Xcel Energy Center
10/14 — Kansas City, MO @ T-Mobile Center
10/16 — Chicago, IL @ United Center
10/18 — Indianapolis, IN @ Gainbridge Fieldhouse
10/20 — Charlotte, NC @ Spectrum Center
10/22 — Atlanta, GA @ State Farm Arena
10/23 — Nashville, TN @ Bridgestone Arena
10/25 — Austin, TX @ Moody Center
10/26 — Houston, TX @ Toyota Center
10/28 — Dallas, TX @ American Airlines Center
10/31 — Denver, CO @ Ball Arena
11/02 — Salt Lake City, UT @ Vivint Arena
11/04 — Portland, OR @ Moda Center
11/07 — Vancouver, BC @ Rogers Arena
11/09 — Seattle, WA @ Climate Pledge Arena
11/12 — San Francisco, CA @ Chase Center
11/18 — Los Angeles, CA @ Kia Forum

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

Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has suffered a Grade 2 MCL sprain and will miss the beginning of the team’s training camp, according to the team. The Thunder are slated to begin training camp on Sept. 27. They kick off their preseason schedule on the road Oct. 3 against the Denver Nuggets. Their regular-season opener is Oct. 19 against the Minnesota Timberwolves.

This marks another unfortunate setback for Gilgeous-Alexander, who’s endured a tumultuous 2.5 years of injuries. He’s missed a combined 63 games since the start of 2020-21. Despite those afflictions, the talented 24-year-old has averaged 24.2 points, 5.9 rebounds, 4.9 assists and 1.1 steals on 58 percent true shooting the past two seasons.

Earlier this summer, the Thunder lost No. 2 overall pick Chet Holmgren for the season, due to a Lisfranc injury in his right foot. Hopefully, Gilgeous-Alexander makes a speedy recovery and avoids missing any regular-season outings.

Oklahoma City is set to embark on year three of its rebuild and Gilgeous-Alexander sits at the heart of its youthful core. He’ll look to find improved health this season and notch his first career All-Star appearance. Back in 2020-21, prior to his plantar fascia tear, he garnered legitimate All-Star buzz, thanks to his blend of elite self-creation and budding passing chops. The outline of an All-Star guard exist. Ideally, he can easily shrug off this minor setback and return to those ways.

Donald Trump and his “three adult children” have been hit with a $250 million lawsuit for alleged fraud. The suit was filed by New York Attorney General Letitia James who has been conducting an exhaustive investigation into the Trump Organization’s finances. Along with seeking damages, James aims to permanently bar Trump, Don Jr., Eric, and Ivanka from serving as a director of business in the state of New York.

According to the lawsuit, Trump and his children allegedly deceived lenders and insurance companies with fraudulent financial records for a wide variety of properties including golf courses. Via CNN:

“This conduct cannot be brushed aside and dismissed as some sort of good-faith mistake,” James said at a news conference in New York.

“The statements of financial condition were greatly exaggerated, grossly inflated, objectively false, and therefore fraudulent and illegal,” she added. “And as a result of that we are seeking relief, and Mr. Trump, the Trump Organization, his family — they should all be held accountable.”

Predictably, Trump has lashed out at the lawsuit on Truth Social and accused James of being “racist.” (It should be noted that James is a Black woman and Trump is a white guy, albeit an extremely orange one.)

As news of the lawsuit bounced around social media, people couldn’t help but notice that Tiffany Trump was not accused of business fraud. In fact, she’s not even mentioned at all. Granted, that’s par for the course for Tiffany, but this time around, being the forgotten one really paid off.

You can see Twitter having a field day over Tiffany below:

(Via CNN)