Month: June 2023

Los Angeles Lakers guard Austin Reaves is thriving right now. While his team is no longer in NBA Playoffs contention this year, he had a strong postseason that could lead to a substantial payday. On top of that, there’s also a rumor that he went on a date with Taylor Swift, after her supposed relationship with The 1975’s Matty Healy reportedly came to an end. Did Swift and Reaves really meet up, though?

No. More than likely, the answer is no.

An explanation: On June 5, a Lakers-supporting Twitter account named The Refrigerator tweeted, “Following her breakup, Taylor Swift was reportedly seen in an Arkansas Bar this weekend with star Laker basketball player Austin Reaves.” Hours later, the same exact tweet from a different account generated even more attention.

Swift was busy this past weekend with a run of The Eras Tour concerts at Soldier Field in Chicago, so she probably didn’t make time to link up with Reaves at a bar 600 miles away in Arkansas. Furthermore, Reaves has a girlfriend. Regardless, some online publications ran with the story (like this one and this one).

Neither Swift nor Reaves have responded to the rumors, but Reaves’ brother Spencer did, quote-tweeting the original Refrigerator post and adding some crying-laughing emojis. In another tweet, Spencer added, “Austin going to the bar is the most unrealistic part of this whole thing.” He noted elsewhere, “People believe everything huh [crying-laughing emojis].”

In conclusion, the whole thing is a joke that some people believed (or wanted to believe), to the point where it has caused some genuine confusion. But no, Swift and Reaves probably did not meet up at an Arkansas bar this weekend.

Pink Floyd’s Roger Waters found himself in some hot water recently after controversial moves he made during a concert in Berlin. Now, the Biden administration has gotten involved, pointing out that it not only was antisemitic but also not surprising for the musician.

During the show, he reportedly showed up in a Nazi-reminiscent costume and appeared to fire a fake machine gun. Berlin police have since opened an investigation into Waters, according to Billboard, but now it has garnered global reactions.

Yesterday, the State Department pointed out that Waters has “a long track record of using antisemitic tropes,” as a response to a press briefing question about their thoughts of criticism of the musician from the US special envoy to combat antisemitism, Deborah Lipstadt.

“I wholeheartedly concur with @EUAntisemitism’s condemnation of Roger Waters and his despicable Holocaust distortion,” Lipstadt previously shared on Twitter.

“The concert in question, which took place in Berlin, contained imagery that is deeply offensive to Jewish people and minimized the Holocaust,” the department wrote. “The artist in question has a long track record of using antisemitic tropes to denigrate Jewish people.”

Specifically, they noted that it “contained imagery that is deeply offensive to Jewish people and minimized the Holocaust.”

As for Waters’ response, he has stood by the show, pointing out in a social media statement that “the elements of my performance that have been questioned are quite clearly a statement in opposition to fascism, injustice, and bigotry in all its forms.”

Marco Rubio took a break from quoting Bible verses and mocking the military to set the record straight on his 2016 presidential campaign. Rubio, of course, did not win that election, although boy, the world would be a different place if he had done so. Let’s not waste time on what didn’t happen, though.

Instead, we’re talking about how the GOP senator is not pleased because, as a result of disgraced former New Jersey governor Chris Christie announcing his 2024 bid, people are now remembering their messiest debate clash. And although Rubio could let the noise die down and let Christie take himself down and subsequently make another “hostage face” behind an opponent, Rubio is pushing back.

To refresh, Aaron Rupar recently posted a video clip of CNN reminding people of the time “when Chris Christie murdered Marco Rubio during a debate.” This was not an unfounded description, and Christie was (to be fair) in rare “on fire” mode while trouncing his opponent’s “canned” rhetoric on display during the debate. In response, Rubio sputtered and responded, very robotically, with the very “canned” language being criticized.

Rubio, however, would like to revisit the moment, too, by tweeting, “Any political reporter/commentator claiming Christie ‘ended’ my campaign in 2016 is lazy or dumb.” The “debate sucked,” he explained, because he wasn’t “hitting back when attacked like I wanted to” and refusing the “punching down” routine. Still, this “didn’t end my campaign.”

Rubio continued to insist that he performed well in his campaign, and one wonders why he’s bothering to go there. Instead, as mentioned, he could simply let Christie receive credit for that one-time “decapitation” because surely, a governor with a stunningly low approval rating will inevitably stumble again at some point soon. Let’s revisit after a few debates, shall we?

In recent times, artificial intelligence technologies have become more accessible as a consumer-level product. Consequently, a number of interesting projects are starting to emerge, especially in music. One of the most notable comes from the band Breezer, who used AI to replace their singer’s vocals with those of Liam Gallagher to produce The Lost Tapes, an original Oasis-style album cleverly credited to AISIS.

Now, Noel Gallagher has shared his thoughts and it sounds like he’s not a fan.

In a recent interview with NME, he said, “These f*cking idiots have got clearly too much time on their hands and too much money that they can afford the technology to f*cking piss around doing that for a laugh. You know, I’m saving up for the technology myself, and then I’m just gonna f*cking dial it in to some computer and f*cking churn it out when I’m 73. I’ll have 140 albums to go after I’m dead, keep my kids in f*cking choc ices and f*cking weed.”

He continued, “Oasis: The Lost Tapes, they’re claiming it as like… really? Is that what you think it’d sound like? F*cking hell. You can AI the singer’s voice and his tambourine playing… I’m afraid you can’t AI what I do. And soon as you f*cking can, I’m finished, I’m done, I’m retiring. I’ll just stick it into a f*cking algorithm.”

Meanwhile, Liam seems to be a fan, as he tweeted about the project, “Mad as f*ck I sound mega,” and, “heard a tune it’s better than all the other snizzle out there.”

The music industry hasn’t gotten off to the hot start that many people might have expected so far in 2023. In fact, compared to other years at the halfway mark, it’s been fairly quiet. This is more of an observation of the industry’s superstars, and because of that, it’s given other artists room to step into the spotlight and deliver a body of work that an audience hungry for new offerings could indulge in. Through the first six months of 2023, artists that you’re familiar with updated their catalogs with a new body of work while new names took the opportunity to deliver something worth remembering.

Artists like Daniel Caesar, SZA, and 6lack made long-awaited returns with new albums. Caesar grapples with the idea of perfection of Never Enough, SZA survives troubled waters on SOS, and 6lack relishes in the benefits of perfect love with Since I Have A Lover. Elsewhere, Chlöe finally delivered her debut album In Pieces and Kali Uchis reached a new level in her artistry with Red Moon In Venus — and that’s just the half of it.

So, without further ado, here are the best R&B projects of 2023 so far in alphabetical order.

6lack — Since I Have A Lover

It’s always beautiful to see musicians continuously find new ways to bring their artistry to life with each project they release. That’s undoubtedly been the case for 6lack who finally delivered his third album Since I Have A Lover. Unlike his previous two albums, 6lack combines pop references with his trademark alternative R&B for a body of work that is both freeing and diverse. Through success in love, 6lack finds himself to be a new man with a new outlook on life, all of which is detailed through records that display his loyalty (“Fatal Attraction”), patience (“B4L”), commitment (“Temporary”), and more. Whether he’s rapping or singing, 6lack gets his message across in an effortless and impressive manner. – Wongo Okon

Baby Rose — Through And Through

It’d been a little while since Baby Rose released a full-length project, but that period finally came to an end with her sophomore album Through And Through. The project is a refreshing addition to the musical landscape and Rose’s savory croons and heavy, soulful spirit guide the album that details the various fires she escaped her life. We meet a determined Baby Rose on Through And Through who isn’t afraid to put her hand out for a new foray into love (“Dance With Me” & “Love Bomb”), overcome heartbreak (“Stop The Bleeding”), and show that there are more sides to her than a hopeless romantic (“I Won’t Tell”). Through its 11 songs, Baby Rose offers an elegant and enchanting showcase of her undeniable talents with Though And Through. – W.O.

Chlöe — In Pieces

There are many impressive aspects of Chlöe’s debut album In Pieces. First, is the fact that the singer even arrived at a point in her career to release. Her solo career was criticized for more reasons than it wasn’t, but none of that seemed to hinder the body of work that is In Pieces. In fact, it only strengthened it. The critiques and doubts became the backbone of the album which also detailed her recovery from heartbreak. Between the uptempo and bouncy “Body Do” and the captivating “Make It Look Easy,” Chlöe showcased her versatility, her writing, and her evolving vision on her debut album. Though the sky is the limit for her, Chlöe is well on her way to reaching it. – W.O.

Daniel Caesar — Never Enough

If there was any doubt that Daniel Caesar could replicate the glory days of his past, the Toronto singer put them all to rest with his euphoric third album Never Enough. It’s with this album that he took on a bigger producer role as he placed himself in a small town that’s hours outside of Toronto to make the beats that became the landscape of Never Enough. He grapples with wanting love (“Do You Like Me?”) and seeing that it’s run its course (“Let Me Go”) while finding time to shade those who believed they moved on from him to better (“Homiesexual”). Never Enough excellently captures the rollercoaster ride of love and the constant search for perfection, if that even exists. – W.O.

Davido — Timeless

Davido’s absence from the afrobeats world over the past couple of years, though it was respected, was surely felt by fans. So with the arrival of his fourth album Timeless, the expectation was that he would fit right into the genre’s newly-mainstream landscape while showing why he’s on the Mount Rushmore of the genre. To the surprise of no one, that’s exactly what happened. Timeless arrived as Davido’s best album to date and it’s thanks to the singer’s theme of conquering all things in his way on the album. Whether it be those who want to bring him down or unfortunate events in his life, Davdio stands tall “over dem” on Timeless. – W.O.

Kali Uchis — Red Moon In Venus

Kali Uchis’ third album Red Moon In Venus is without question her best album to date. Maybe it’s because she’s more in touch with herself than ever or maybe it’s because she’s more at peace than ever. The result of either, or maybe both of those observations, is a 15-track body of work that captures Uchis majestically and graceful float through elements of R&B and pop, while also tapping into her Spanish roots, to make what sounds like Uchis’ idea of paradise. Whether it’s “Fantasy” with Don Toliver, “Deserve Me” with Summer Walker, or solo efforts like “All Mine” and “Moonlight,” Kali Uchis’ Red Moon In Venus has plenty of music to get lost in and find your own paradise. – W.O.

Khamari — A Brief Nirvana

The lone newcomer on this list is singer Khamari, who delivered his debut project A Brief Nirvana to kick off the unofficial start to summer. The 11-track project is a sweet combination of nostalgia and a fresh breath from a new artist to the game, and his sampling of Al Green’s “Love And Happiness” on “On My Way” for an honest tale about loneliness is a perfect example of that. Even when through completely original compositions like “Doctor, My Eyes,” Khamari’s artistry shines through vivid lyricism that’s aided by emotive production. The Boston-born singer has earned comparisons to Frank Ocean and his A Brief Nirvana debut is a great start to hopefully one day reaching the status of the celebrated singer. – W.O.

Madison McFerrin — I Hope You Can Forgive You

There are nepo babies. Then there are people that have music flowing through their genetic makeup. Born to a family filled with creative professionals Madison McFerrin is the latter of the two. On the singer’s debut album, I Hope You Can Forgive Me, that lifelong exposure to the arts permeates across the project. Largely produced and written by McFerrin, the body of work is an ethereal sound bath of jazz, R&B, folk, and rock elements tactically incorporating each sound sets. Her musical IQ sets McFerrin apart from her independent counterparts. Her viral 2021 track “Guilty” served as her formal induction to the larger music audience. However, the album’s breakout track, “Utah,” will keep listeners tuned in. I Hope You Can Forgive Me is the culmination of Madison McFerrin’s exploration as an artist, and it paid off exponentially. – Flisadam Pointer

Masego — Masego

Masego’s magnum opus arrived more than a decade into his career and it’s fitting that it’s for his self-titled sophomore album. The project’s 14 songs are a masterful combination of the elements that make Masego an artist we’ve come to love. The tropical side of his discography comes alive through “Say You Want Me” while his jazz and funk roots are wrapped around records like “You Never Visit Me.” With Masego, the singer proves that the music will never be a concern for himself. Since day one, he’s impressed fans repeatedly with his talents, and now with his second album, Masego perfectly combined those talents for a body of work that couldn’t be more representative of himself. – W.O.

SZA — SOS

Yes, this album came out in 2022, but with most of its success taking place in 2023 and the fact that it came after our 2022 lists, it’s only right that SZA’s SOS makes the cut here. Five years removed from her debut album, SZA returns to a world riddled with troubled waters that people from all over hoped to survive and swim out of. Through the album’s expansive 23 songs, SZA guides us on a journey of surviving life’s elements, the lessons learned along the way, and what it looks like to make it to shore. The ups and downs of life, growing pains, and artistic struggles are all present on this album, and it’s even more impressive that she made its 23 songs not feel like an absolute drag. It was a long time coming for SZA, but boy did she arrive. – W.O.

THEY. — Nü Moon

THEY. — the duo comprised of singer Drew Love and producer Dante Jones — entered a new era with the release of their third album Nü Moon. The project is the duo’s first independent album, and the freedom to create as one pleases that comes with this independence is hard to ignore through the project’s 14 songs. With Nü Moon, Drew and Dante give us another take of their trademark alternative R&B style and it’s one that seems to live under the night sky. With records like “In The Mood,” “Riptide,” and “Wait On Me” which features the incomparable Kacey Musgraves, THEY. present no sign of sunlight while proving that even in the darkest moments, love can still exist. Searching for it, having it, and losing it; it’s the theme of THEY’s Nü Moon which strikes as their best and most complete body of work to date. – W.O.

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

In terms of public knowledge, Taylor Swift and Matty Healy’s supposed relationship is something that only reportedly existed, as neither party explicitly confirmed they were an item. Whatever the case, it was reported earlier this week that the two are no longer seeing each other. Since then, Healy addressed the audience at a The 1975 concert and seemingly spoke about the situation.

It went down at the band’s show in Austria on June 5. Referring to a fan in the audience, Healy spoke about his current state, saying in a fan-captured video, “My friend had some very, very beautiful signs that said, ‘You are loved.’ That was very, very kind of you. I’m sure that it’s alluding to… as you’re aware, I’m not very online at the moment, and I’m sure people have just been calling me a c*nt relentlessly. I’ve not been online, but what I have been with is with my boys, and honestly, as much as I appreciate that — it’s so beautiful, and I thank you — but I don’t need it, because I’ve got them.”

Healy hasn’t officially said anything publicly about Swift, although he seemed to at another recent concert, saying, “Is it all a bit? Is it sincere? Will he ever address it? All of these questions and more will be ignored in the next hour. Ladies and gentlemen, this is The 1975.”

Neon Indian‘s Alan Palomo is stepping out on his own to release his first solo material under his own name. The Texas-based musician, who’s known for chillwave, has announced his new album World Of Hassle Tuesday, June 6, arriving in September. The lead single “Stay-At-Home DJ” is out now.

“This is the song that started the whole conversation,” Palomo said about the song in a statement. “My brother and I wrote it back in 2019 and performed it on the last Neon Indian tour. It signaled a change in direction I’d been looking for but had yet to really know what to do with. When things slowed down during the pandemic I dusted it off and from its uncontrollable outgrowth came World Of Hassle.”

The press release explains that World Of Hassle begun as a Neon Indian album. “It’s parody,” it reads, “sure—of rock star ego trips, the mall-ification of America, and our own self-obsession, even on the brink of apocalypse—but it’s also dead serious, the sound of history repeating itself as the Doomsday Clock clicks past its Reagan-era maximum and nuclear anxiety comes back into style along with digital synthesizers and sax solos.”

Listen to “Stay-At-Home DJ” above.

World Of Hassle is out 9/15 on Mom+Pop Records. Find more information here.

Sexyy Red has been breaking through into the hip-hop scene after her videos for “Born By The River” featuring Sukihana and “Pound Town” went viral. A Nicki Minaj and Tay Keith feature on “Pound Town 2” sure helped, too. Now she’s keeping the momentum going.

The St. Louis native just announced her new album Hood Hottest Princess, which will contain both “Pound Town 2” and “Born By The River.” It will also have a feature from Juicy J for a track called “Strictly For The Strippers.” It arrives this Friday, June 9.

Sexyy Red’s flexes are plentiful. She made a cameo in GloRilla’s “Lick Or Sum” music video alongside Yung Miami. She also collaborated with Summer Walker for “Sense Dat God Gave You,” and the pair used the music video as an opportunity to dance in a convenience store and twerk in the parking lot. Hood Hottest Princess is sure to have many shenanigans.

Check out the tracklist below.

1. “I’m The Sh*t”
2. “Skeeyee”
3. “Hellcats Srts”
4. “Pound Town 2” Ft. Nicki Minaj & Tay Keith
5. “Looking For The Hoes (Ain’t My Fault)”
6. “Sexyy Walk”
7. “Strictly For The Strippers” Ft. Juicy J
8. “Nachos”
9. “Mad At Me”
10. “Born By The River” Ft. Sukihana
11. Female Gucci Mane

Hood Hottest Princess is out 6/9. Find more information here.

Drew Barrymore may be doing pretty well these days, what with her hosting a daytime show that’s both delightfully her and, sometimes, gobsmackingly surreal. Her childhood is another story. Indeed, she barely had one. She was in rehab by 13, having stumbled upon drinks and drugs at way too young an age. Her problems with her parents were such that she convinced a judge to declare her legally emancipated at 15. One of the only bright spots? Making E.T. with Steven Spielberg.

Vulture has a new, wide-ranging profile of Barrymore, which includes her reflecting on the movie that first made her name: E.T. the Extra Terrestrial. She was seven years old when it became the highest grosser of 1982, and though it put her on the path to the most poisonous parts of stardom, the set itself was filled with people who cared about her. It gave her a makeshift family away from her parents, from whom she would legally emancipate herself at 15.

As such, Spielberg became, as Barrymore put it, “the only person in my life to this day that ever was a parental figure.” Barrymore has already spoken about how she thought E.T. was real, which prompted Spielberg to have a few crew members constantly operate him, should she suddenly show up and learn he’s a fake. The two often lunched together, Barrymore telling him her secrets.

So one day she asked him to be her dad. He said no, but he did agree to be her godfather. She wound up staying with him on weekends. He gave her a cat. They’d go to Disneyland and Knott’s Berry Farms.

But soon things took a dark turn:

When she walked into the office wearing red lipstick, he told her to wipe it off. “She was staying up way past her bedtime, going to places she should have only been hearing about, and living a life at a very tender age that I think robbed her of her childhood,” he once said. “Yet I felt very helpless because I wasn’t her dad. I could only kind of be a consigliere to her.”

Barrymore suffered, but she got to the other side and reinvented herself, repeatedly. As a late teen she rebranded as a sex object. Then she shed that and became a rom-com star. She’s been an action star, a producer, a film director, and now a daytime TV host who out-weirds Aubrey Plaza. And she and Spielberg remain close to this day.

(Via Vulture and Entertainment Weekly)

Orcas may sometimes be called “killer whales,” but it’s not because they’re particularly murderous. Their scientific Latin name is Orcinus orca. “Orcinus” is sometimes translated as “killer,” but the word really means “belonging to the kingdom of the dead.” That said, for the last few years orcas have really had it out for humans — or at least for their boats. Numerous instances of orcas attacking and/or sinking aquatic vessels in the Mediterranean and vicinity have been reported over the years. Now here’s another.

As per Insider, a pod of five orcas teamed up to attack a yacht in the strait of Gibraltar. A British sailor, now marooned in the British territory, said that while sailing 20 miles west off the coast, he noticed a fin close to his boat. Soon there were a series of ominous and increasingly jerky bumps.

“There was a very large whale pushing along the back of the boat, trying to bite the rudder,” one Iain Hamilton told BBC Radio 4’s program Today. That was followed by four smaller orca repeatedly bumping against the boat.

They managed to take out one rudder. That was “quite concerning,” said Hamilton. Then they do the same to the second. “We had no mechanism for steering the boat,” Hamilton explained, adding that the orcas “pushed us around like a rag doll.”

That being said, Hamilton described the orcas’ actions as “almost playful,” their movement “choreographed, almost, like synchronized swimming.” He also pointed out that, had they wished to destroy his yacht, they could have.

It’s not yet clear how the incident ended, nor how the yacht managed to get back to shore.

According to the Atlantic Orca Working Group’, there have been at least 20 orca attacks on boats in the region in the last month alone.

But what is causing such a violent uptick in orca-on-boat violence? One report claims that it’s mere “natural curiosity.” But another, more dramatic argument is that a female orca suffered a “critical moment of agony” involving a boat, causing her to not only start attacking vessels but teach others, including her children, to do likewise. If that sounds like a bad Jaws sequel, then know that orcas are unusually intelligent and can teach others certain behaviors.

In the meantime, the 1977 Jaws ripoff Orca, starring Richard Harris, Charlotte Rampling, Will Sampson, and Bo Derek, streams on Showtime.

(Via Insider)