Month: May 2023

Of all the names you’d expect to see in a bidding war over a National Hockey League team, Snoop Dogg and Ryan Reynolds might not be the unlikeliest, but the news is sure to raise at least a few eyebrows. The Athletic reports Snoop has joined an ownership group bidding on the Ottawa Senators opposite Ryan Reynolds’ group, which is reportedly bidding $1 billion for the club and supposedly includes its own musician, The Weeknd. Snoop’s proposed partner in the investment, an indie film producer named Neko Sparks, wants to be the NHL’s first Black owner.

With Snoop as his partner, that goal could be within reach; Snoop’s sweeteners for their deal include his services as an analyst — Chance The Rapper’s recurring SNL character Lazlo Holmes springs to mind here — as well as a rinkside fixture throughout the 2023-2024 season. Certainly, the opportunity to see Snoop in person could boost attendance; likewise, his hilarious sideline commentary at previous hockey games has spawned numerous memes, which could help viewership of televised games.

On Instagram, Snoop reiterated his interest, writing, “Amazing what Neko Sparks is trying to do in Ottawa & I’m looking forward to being a part of that ownership team. I wanna bring hockey to our community.” He already sponsors youth football in his hometown and loves taking part in basketball, boxing, wrestling, and even video gaming events, so if anyone has both the clout and the experience to get Black people watching hockey en masse (again, see Lazlo Holmes), it’s Snoop.

Earlier this year, Elton John’s ongoing Farewell Yellow Brick Road Tour became the highest-grossing concert tour ever. The run wraps up this summer, and while the tour is billed as John’s “farewell,” it appears it will be in one way but may not be in another.

In a recent interview with Deadline, John said that while he doesn’t intend to tour again after this trek concludes, he’s not ruling out future concert performances here and there:

“I’m not going to tour again. There may be the odd show, but I’m not touring. Touring is exhausting for me now, and it takes me away from my family and my children. I finish on July the 8th, and I’m not concentrating on anything else apart from that date. And then I have a little bit of freedom. I can relax. But I would have done 330 shows on this tour by that point.”

He also spoke about his Elton John Live: Farewell From Dodger Stadium streaming concert from 2022, saying, “We wanted to go out with a bang, and we wanted to end in Los Angeles because my career started in America at The Troubadour in 1970. And then we did the the wonderful concert in ’75 at Dodger Stadium. […] I thought it would be a wonderful thing to close the circle to play Dodger Stadium as the last show in Los Angeles.”

A few weeks ago, Padma Lakshmi shared a photo of herself in a bathtub, naked while eating pasta. To me, it looks like she’s living her best life (although I do not advise eating pizza while topless; too much could go wrong), but some pearl clutchers criticized the Taste the Nation host for not thinking of the children, or whatever. Lakshmi addressed those trolls at the TIME 100 Gala.

“I have boobs, I have nipples!” the television personality told Page Six. “So does every woman and man on the planet. I think we should just be a little more grown-up about it, and also just accept that a woman’s body is beautiful and… not totally perfect and stuff and filtered and everything.”

Lakshmi has gone through this song and dance before.

In 2020, during the height of the COVID-19 lockdown, Lakshmi responded to online trolls about going braless while recording a cooking demonstration.

“(I got some comments last time that it was immoral for me to not wear a bra in my own kitchen during the quarantine,” she captioned an Instagram video of herself making lasagna. “So those people should be happy to note that I’m wearing two today ) But seriously, let’s not police women’s bodies in 2020 ok?”

No one tell the trolls about Lakshmi being in Sports Illustrated‘s swimsuit issue.

(Via Page Six)

Following one of Coachella‘s most talked-about performances of the year, Skrillex has shared a new music video. In the video for “Rumble,” Skrillex is joined by frequent collaborators Fred Again.. and Flowdan, as they perform at The Troxy in London.

Earlier this year, Skrillex performed a series of surprise pop-up shows, one of which was at The Troxy. The video contains footage of fans raving in the audience, with Flowdan delivering his bars, and Skrillex and Fred mixing it up on the ones-and-twos.

“Rumble” first went viral last July, during Fred’s Boiler Room DJ set.

In an interview with Attack, Flowdan revealed the impact the song has had on his career.

“It totally opened up a whole new audience because of the mainstream power that someone like Skrillex brings wherever he goes,” said Flowdan. “The Fred today wasn’t where Fred was when we actually made this song. His list of credits was definitely strong as he had certain points on Headie One’s album and tracks with Ed Sheeran, Stefflon Don and Burna Boy but outside on the streets, no one knew who Fred was.”

You can check out the video for “Rumble” above.

Skrillex and Fred Again.. are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

The Golden State Warriors beat the Sacramento Kings on Sunday afternoon in Game 7 of their thrilling first round series to advance to the second round, where they’ll face a familiar foe in LeBron James and the Lakers, while sending the Kings into the offseason.

There’s plenty of reason for optimism in Sacramento, particularly with how De’Aaron Fox showed he is a star built for the postseason in his performance, even while battling through a fractured finger in the last two games. Domantas Sabonis also had his moments, albeit not quite as consistent a performer as Fox, and Malik Monk proved himself as a massive presence off the bench. There are questions, for sure, for the Kings, particularly as it relates to their shooters who fell short of expectations in the postseason, taking some of the bite out of their high-powered offense. Still, it was a terrific season and while it was a series loss, their performance against the Warriors did nothing to fully dissuade Kings fans from believing in a very bright future around their young core.

The series wasn’t without controversy, though, as Draymond Green’s Game 2 stomp of Sabonis led to his suspension in Game 3, and after the series ended, Green had some thoughts on Sabonis’ handling of the loss. On the latest episode of The Draymond Green Show, Green took issue with the Kings All-Star big man leaving the court without the traditional handshakes after a series ends.

“Lost a lot of respect for Sabonis. You don’t shake guys’ hands after you lose? I don’t respect that,” Green said. “I once left the court when we lost in Game 7 to the Cleveland Cavaliers. I went to my locker room and I sat down and I said, ‘this don’t feel right.’ And I walked back out on the court and I showed everybody love. You lost. Deal with it. Pay your respect. I — That was wack to me. That’s wack. But, I wouldn’t necessarily even say I lost respect, like — I don’t respect that.”

While most of the Kings stayed on the floor and shared handshakes and words with the Warriors, Sabonis left for the locker room. He’s far from the first player to do so, but it’s also not surprising that Green would be irked by it all. It’s all a matter of your feelings towards “the code” and the unwritten rules of sportsmanship, but I’m sure the feeling is mutual and Sabonis likewise isn’t a big fan of Green’s after the stomp.

The Cure and Robert Smith have become heroes of the people in recent months, as the singer has been vocal regarding his distaste of high concert ticket prices and Ticketmaster fees. However, Michael Rapino, the CEO of Ticketmaster parent company Live Nation, seems to think Smith’s idea of seeing The Cure in a major venue for $20 is idealistic.

During a recent appearance on The Bob Lefsetz Podcast (as Consequence notes), Rapino was asked if it’s “reasonable to expect to see The Cure for $20 in an arena” (like Smith wanted) and he responded, “No. I think the pricing of concerts in general… there’s this fine line between, yes, we want it accessible, and it’s a fine art and there’s a price to it.”

Later, he discussed high-price platinum tickets for artists like Harry Styles, Bruce Springsteen, and Adele, saying:

“It’s a magic moment, maybe twice a year — way cheaper than Disneyland, or the Super Bowl, or the NFL or the NBA playoffs, or an expensive night out. So it’s really cheap overall, considering. This is a great, great product that people will buy, as they’re gonna buy the Gucci bag. They’re gonna buy moments in life where they will step up, and spoil themselves — the big screen TV and or whatever it may be. This is a business where we can charge a bit more. I’m not saying excessively, but it’s a great two-hour performance of a lifetime, that happens once every three, four years in that market. You don’t have to under-price yourself: low- to middle-income [people] will make their way to that arena for that special night.”

He also spoke about Ticketmaster giving partial refunds on The Cure tickets, saying, “We were proud of Ticketmaster’s side. We did a ton of work with Robert, making sure [tickets] were non-transferable, that it would be a face value [ticket] exchange and verified, doing all we could to put all the roadblocks to deliver his ticket prices to the fans. There was a screenshot of a venue, which wasn’t even a Live Nation venue… that showed a ticket service fee of $20 on $20. It doesn’t matter whether we justify the service fee is a good idea or not, we have an industry where we have to build some credibly back. I couldn’t defend in any version that we were going to add a $20 service fee to a $20 ticket. We made a decision that we would spend some money, give back the $10, and get it to a reasonable place for those fans. […] It was a fast decision, we thought it was worth the million dollars or so to send the right message.”

Listen to the full podcast episode here.

The future of tech is dark, as AI continues to shake up the landscape. Many artists have voiced their disdain for artificial intelligence, including Drake and Tyler The Creator. However, one Canadian artist seems to approve of the technology and is even encouraging fans to replicate her sound.

This past weekend, during the International Music Summit in Ibiza, Grimes launched Elf.Tech: GrimesAI-1 Voiceprint, which allows fans to upload acapella vocals, and recreate them in her voice using AI technology.

“I feel strongly that there’s way too much gatekeeping in music,” said Grimes at the keynote (per Mixmag). “Copyright sucks. Art is a conversation with everyone that’s come before us. Intertwining it with the ego is a modern concept. The music industry has been defined by lawyers, and that strangles creativity.

Fans who upload recordings will be able to split the royalties with Grimes 50/50, provided that the recordings prove successful. GrimesAI-1 will also not claim ownership of the recordings unless the vocalist records a cover of a song originally performed by Grimes.

Also during her keynote speech, she also revealed that she wouldn’t mind if people continued to replicate her vocal stylings after she died, and put the recordings out as posthumous releases.

“If I was dead I’d really like people to do it,” she said. “But I’m not sure everyone would agree. I feel like maybe Prince would’ve been up for it. If it was one of his friends doing it maybe. It’s a tricky one.”

Kentucky native Jack Harlow shows off his Louisville stomping grounds in the appreciative video for “They Don’t Love It” from his new album, Jackman. As Jack raps about balancing his ambitions and staying down-to-earth, he revisits some of the personal landmarks from his life, some of which are included in the song.

From his old high school to a local bookshop, everywhere Jack goes in the documentary-style video, he’s greeted with the enthusiasm and warmth fitting of a hometown hero’s triumphant return. Meanwhile, Jack and his friends engage in some typical Midwestern mischief, setting off fireworks in a field and playing indoor soccer — which he seems to be pretty good at, scoring a goal as he mugs the camera.

Jackman dropped on Friday after a short wind-up that included the announcement and the release all in the same week. While fans had a few days to appreciate and debate the album’s cover, Jack kept the 10-track project under wraps until its release, which surprised fans with its return to Jack’s more introspective sensibilities after the more party-centric Come Home The Kids Miss You. It remains to be seen whether he’ll announce a tour for the album, but we’ll be seeing more of him this month when White Men Can’t Jump comes to Hulu.

Watch Jack Harlow’s ‘They Don’t Love It’ video above.

Jackman is out now via Generation Now/Atlantic. Get it here.

The RX is Uproxx Music’s stamp of approval for the best albums, songs, and music stories throughout the year. Inclusion in this category is the highest distinction we can bestow and signals the most important music being released throughout the year. The RX is the music you need, right now.

Maybe it was the lukewarm reception to his last album, Come Home The Kids Miss You, or maybe it was the backlash to his casting in a remake of White Men Can’t Jump, but Jack Harlow seems fed up. On his newest album, Jackman, he goes back to the old Jack, only this time, with a chip on his shoulder and more to say than ever. Oddly enough, this more combative stance suits him, positioning him perfectly to address some of his recent controversies and distance himself from one of the most common complaints about him.

In a recent trailer for the FX show Dave, the show’s protagonist Lil Dicky engages in a tense (but comedic) confrontation with fellow white rapper Jack Harlow. While the episode itself hasn’t aired yet, it’s the origin of their on-screen beef is, like most things in the show, inspired by real life. The two men, both white rappers with oodles of curly hair and off-kilter senses of humor, are often compared, and Harlow especially seems to bristle at such connections.

That’s probably because, unlike Dicky, Jack has taken rap seriously from the beginning. At least, at the outset of Dicky’s career, it seemed that the elder rapper treated hip-hop — and his presence in it — as something of a joke. And while Dicky captured the public’s hearts with his obviously dedicated flow and sharp wit, Harlow never approached hip-hop as though he were an outsider. But the two entertainers have ended up at a similar place, albeit from disparate paths.

Rap fans seem to regard both with an equal measure of curiosity and skepticism. Although he’d been independently releasing mixtapes for several years before “What’s Poppin” took over the charts in 2020, most fans were introduced to him by that song. And, as so often happens in the post-blog rap era, many of those fans apparently regard him as an interloping, overnight success. In short, they sort of see him as Lil Dicky 2.0, just using rap to get over until he can move on to bigger, “better” things.

Jack’s resentment of this assessment is no clearer than in “It Can’t Be,” which tackles those accusations head-on. “It can’t be that I simply make ear candy,” he muses. “Especially when the industry could just plant me / Especially when I didn’t grow up on Brandy” — a nod to the non-controversy last year in which it was revealed he didn’t know R&B singers Brandy and Ray J were siblings, another mark against him in the eyes of fans who view him more as a cultural tourist than a hip-hop purist.

Likewise, Jack employs his observational gifts to highlight and subtly satirize the sizable and growing portion of the fan base that actually is engaging in the tourism, appropriation, and exploitation of hip-hop in the album’s intro, “Common Ground.” While the song stops short of outright judgment, it is lightly antagonistic, the way a good journalist should be when interrogating a subject (Jack has plenty to say on that count here). While this isn’t his first time addressing this disconnect, it’s done more bluntly — and more deftly — here.

Unlike Dicky, these were always tools that Harlow had in his bag. But, to tease — or torture — the metaphor a little, there was one other element that Jack needed to put these tools to good use. Any carpenter who wants to acquire their license must first complete an apprenticeship and put in their hours as a journeyman. In short, what Jack Harlow needed was experience and time to make full use of his technical skills, to hone them to the point that a Jackman would be possible.

“Gang Gang Gang” highlights this. A concept track which the rapper poses as a series of conversations catching up with friends back home, he’s horrified to learn that some of his closest friends have turned out to be bad eggs. It’s effective because he doesn’t pull back to make any larger political points, he keeps the focus on the discomfort and disbelief he feels and his internal struggle to reconcile the kids he knew with the monsters they grew up to be — and how to let them go. It’s a conversation more of us should be having with ourselves if we’re honest.

The glitzy, Neptunes-inspired production of Come Home — which was timely in its own right, but rubbed day-one fans and newbies the wrong way — is gone, replaced by the earthy, soul-looped backpack rap of Harlow’s youth. (An interesting catch-22 is that, had this been his second album after the success of That’s What They All Say, he’d have been undoubtedly written off as a self-serious, one-note backpacker. He had to release the glossy, celebratory Come Home in order to be taken seriously). Instead of R&B hooks and flashy features, Jackman is just 10 two-minute songs, each digging deeper into subjects he’s always touched on but with more maturity and insight than we’ve previously seen.

The funny thing is, he’s always had this in him. Jackman is, after all, his full first name. Little has changed but the circumstances. Harlow is now just a little more weathered. He’s grown into himself more as a man (it’s easy to forget, he’s just 25 years old; his brain is literally still not finished cooking from a biological standpoint). Jackman, the album, is Jackman, the person, completing his journeymanship. He knows what he’s doing now and maybe now, we’ll trust that. He may not ever shake the Lil Dicky comparisons, but now even those listeners who only scratch the surface will know he’s no joke.

Jackman is out now on Generation Now/Atlantic. Get it here.

Even though we literally just said goodbye to Pete Davidson less than a year ago, it’s never too soon to head back to NBC. It’s sort of like when you graduate high school but go visit your favorite teachers during Thanksgiving break to show everyone you are still a functioning human being. Only in this case, high school is Saturday Night Live, and your favorite teacher is Kenan Thompson.

Davidson will return to the late-night show as host this weekend, though it seems like it is more of a family reunion than a typical episode.

“It’s like a week off for us because they know how to do the show,” Thompson told People of return hosts and former castmembers. “We don’t have to hand-walk them through every single part of it. Usually, they come with ideas too, so a quarter of the show is already done. It’s just a fun, easy week for us.”

Despite Davidson’s various headline-grabbing celebrity shenanigans, the cast is happy to see him back on stage. Thompson added, “He’s a good kid. He’s done a lot of work in a short amount of time at a very high level, so we’re just all proud of him and want to support him.”

The Bupkis star has his fair share of classic characters, which Thompson is the most excited about. “I’m a classics fan. I’d fill the show up with all of his old characters or whatever, but it’s also fun to explore the new.” Does this mean we will finally see the return of Chad, the strangely irresistible dude? Probably! But we likely won’t see the return of Davidson as Aladdin. And that’s okay.

(Via People)