Month: June 2023

The 2023 BET Awards went down this weekend, and there was plenty to love on stage. There was a star-studded performance in honor of hip-hop’s 50th anniversary, Latto went ahead and “Put It On Da Floor,” Offset and Quavo teamed up to honor Takeoff, and Busta Rhymes had an emotional moment. What might be the biggest drama of the night, though, happened off stage.

As Lil Uzi Vert and JT sat in the audience together, JT appeared quite upset and said to Uzi, “F*cking groupie, I’m done with you,” videos show. She then threw her phone at at him and called him a “b*tch.” She then headed towards the exit and Uzi followed her out.

So that’s what happened, but why did it happen?

Neither rapper has publicly spoken about what happened, so at the moment, all we have are rumors. What we do know for sure, though, is that the interaction happened after Uzi shouted out Ice Spice on an unreleased song he performed, in which he says, “I got a nice wife. […] Wig came off twice. She got a little afro, she looks like Ice Spice.” As for the rumors, some are speculating the blow-up was caused by a mix of that and Uzi supposedly flirting (or at least talking) with Ice Spice.

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

John Collins has been in trade rumors for three years now, but despite having his name come up every deadline and offseason, he remained a member of the Atlanta Hawks through the 2022-23 season.

Finally, the Hawks have found a trade for Collins, sending him to a Utah team flush with cap room and looking to continue upgrading their roster after a surprisingly competitive year. Atlanta won’t be getting much in return for Collins, as they will bring back Rudy Gay and a second round pick for their starting power forward, per Adrian Wojnarowski and Jake Fischer, but as he notes this move is mostly to clear their books for the future.

Despite reports of a mandate to stay under the tax in Atlanta, Woj reports they can continue to make moves and go into the tax to improve the team, but given how the Hawks have operated financially under Tony Ressler, many won’t believe that until they see it.

From a basketball perspective it’s interesting for both parties, as the Hawks get worse by losing one of their better defenders and connectors, but gain some clarity in terms of roles. Collins had steadily been shuffled to the background in Atlanta after posting career-best marks in the 2019-20 season (21.6 points/10.1 rebounds per game), and last year with the addition of Dejountey Murray he really struggled to make the same impact as he just had less opportunity (13.1 points/6.5 rebounds). His shooting drop-off last year to 29.2 percent from deep, after having become a strong three-point threat, was particularly problematic in a lesser role. Without him, the Hawks can look to bolster their rotation with players entering a more defined role as a tertiary scorer, as opposed to trying to wedge Collins into that role.

In Utah, Collins will slot between Lauri Markkanen and Walker Kessler in an interesting frontcourt trio that will have to learn how to find their spaces. If Collins can regain his three-point form of years past, he and Markkanen could form a formidable 3/4 offensive combo (that could play some small-ball 4/5), and Collins will give Utah an athletic rim threat they otherwise didn’t have.

Jack Black had the biggest hit of his career with “Peaches,” Bower’s yearning ballad for Princess Peach from The Super Mario Bros. Movie (coincidentally, the biggest movie of 2023). Over the weekend, at the Game Awards’ 10–Year Concert, the Tenacious D member performed the song live for the first time.

Black was accompanied by a full orchestra, but no Toad on the maracas. A real missed opportunity there. Still, you can watch it below.

Black was initially hesitant to sing in The Super Mario Bros. Movie, which is maybe the first time he’s ever be hesitant to break into a tasty jam.

“We had already had a few sessions; I think we were a year in when [directors Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic] first sprung it on me,” he told IGN. “They were like, ‘How would you feel about Bowser singing a song?’ And I was like, ‘Ooh, I don’t know.’ I’m very protective about my singing career with my band, Tenacious D.” But once he heard “Peaches,” Black “couldn’t deny that it was funny. I was like, I get it. I see why you want Bowser to do this, tickling the ivories and singing a love song to Peaches. It was undeniable.”

Also undeniable: “Peaches” deserving an Oscar nomination. Tenacious D was robbed once before; don’t make it twice.

(Via Nintendo Life)

Playboi Carti collaborated with Madonna and The Weeknd on “Popular” for The Idol, and the events after Carti’s headlining Lyrical Lemonade’s 2023 Summer Smash sounds like a plot line extracted from the controversial HBO series.

Summer Smash was held over the weekend at SeatGeek Stadium in Bridgeview, Illinois. Kid Cudi headlined on Friday night, June 23, while Future handled headliner duties on Saturday, June 24, and Carti brought the Cole Bennett-led event home on Sunday night, June 25. The final night was actually punctuated by Chicago’s very own Lil Durk, but some fans wanted more Playboi Carti.

Videos aggregated on Instagram and Twitter by Our Generation Music show an SUV carrying Carti speeding off from the venue, only to be chased by people on foot as it approached the highway. (Maybe they wanted to demand answers in person as to when his follow-up to Whole Lotta Red is coming.) Carti appeared to love the overflowing love, appearing with a smile from the sunroof.

According to setlist.fm, Carti’s 12-song Summer Smash set included a cover of Lil Yachty’s “Flex Up” and of Kanye West’s “Off The Grid” — Carti was a featured artist on both — before a three-song encore of “Teen X,” “New N3on,” and “Vamp Anthem.”

See clips from Summer Smash below.

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

Olivia Rodrigo’s “Vampire” will arrive this Friday, June 30, and up until this morning, fans weren’t totally clued in on the single’s place in Rodrigo’s highly anticipated sophomore album. (Although, there was some funny Twilight crossover.)

“my sophomore album GUTS comes out september 8th,” Rodrigo captioned an Instagram post on Monday, June 26, and it should be noted that the accompanying cover art plays in a purple color scheme that feels like an extension of Sour. “i am so proud of this record and I can’t wait to share it with you all! u can presave it now! xoxoxoxo [red heart emoji, purple heart emoji, envelope emoji, black heart emoji].”

Taylor Swift is synonymous with Easter eggs in modern pop music, and Rodrigo is taking the baton. Shortly after Rodrigo’s Guts announcement, About Music pointed out that Rodrigo hid the word within her 2021 “Brutal” video.

At the 1-minute mark, Rodrigo is performing on Instagram Live, and someone comments, “i love your guts!!!” Ten seconds later in the scrolling comments section, a user’s handle is “Guts49.” Even more subtly, at 1:24, a promotional poster for some sort of fictional beverage appears to feature the title.

Rodrigo instantly dominated the pop sphere with her record-breaking debut single, “Drivers License,” and equally unprecedented May 2021 debut album, Sour.

“I’m definitely not as sad as I was when I wrote Sour,” the three-time Grammy winner told Elle in March 2022. “I’m so excited to make my next record and explore more colors and textures and feelings and grow as a human being even more. I’m really stoked for that.”

By August 2022, Rodrigo teased that she was back in the studio with producer Dan Nigro, and she promised that 2023 would bring “new music” in a pre-recorded video for her top 2022 Spotify Wrapped listeners.

Olivia Rodrigo season is just about here. As fans await the new single “Vampire,” there are still questions about Rodrigo’s second album. Well, she’s now answered a couple of them: It’s called Guts, and it’s set for release on September 8, she announced on social media today (June 26).

In a press statement, Rodrigo said of the project, “For me, this album is about growing pains and trying to figure out who I am at this point in my life. I feel like I grew 10 years between the ages of 18 and 20 — it was such an intense period of awkwardness and change. I think that’s all just a natural part of growth, and hopefully the album reflects that.”

For the album, Rodrigo once again teamed up with Sour collaborator Dan Nigro. The album is currently available for pre-order in CD, cassette, vinyl, and box set editions.

There’s no announced tracklist for the album yet, but after some social media sleuthing, some fans suspect that Lana Del Rey will have a collaboration on the project. Meanwhile, a countdown clock on Rodrigo’s website is still ticking, so when it reaches 0 this Friday, there will presumably be more Rodrigo news (the release of “Vampire,” perhaps).

Check out the Guts cover art below.

Guts is out 9/8 via Geffen Records. Find more information here.

Earlier this year, Noah Schnapp, who plays Will on Netflix’s mega-hit series Stranger Things, came out as gay. “When I finally told my friends and family I was gay after being scared in the closet for 18 years and all they said was ‘we know,’” he wrote in a TikTok video. In a caption, the Doja Cat fan added, “I guess I’m more similar to Will than I thought,” referring to his Stranger Things character being in love with his friend Mike.

To celebrate his coming out, Schnapp attended the NYC Pride March over the weekend where he walked the streets of Manhattan with his family, friends, and a rainbow “Straight Outta the Closet” shirt.

Will is maybe the saddest character on Stranger Things, so it’s nice to see Schnapp happy in photos that he shared on Instagram.

“It’s pretty clear this season that Will has feelings for Mike. They’ve been intentionally pulling that out over the past few seasons. Even in season one, they hinted at that and slowly, slowly grew that storyline,” Schnapp told Variety about Will’s journey. “I think for season four, it was just me playing this character who loves his best friend but struggles with knowing if he’ll be accepted or not, and feeling like a mistake and like he doesn’t belong. Will has always felt like that.” He added, “Will has never really found anywhere to fit in. I think that’s why so many people come up to me and tell me that they love Will and they resonate with him so much, because it’s such a real character.”

Stranger Things will return for its final season in 2024 or 2025.

(Via BuzzFeed)

The 2023 edition of Glastonbury generated headlines as soon as the lineup was announced in March. The festival promptly addressed its all-male headliners as a “pipeline” issue and set the expectation for female headliners in 2024.

Regardless, women made their presence known from June 21 to 25 in Worthy Farm, Pilton Somerset, England.

Lizzo left The Telegraph wondering why she wasn’t a headliner. Rina Sawayama used her set to seemingly call out The 1975’s Matty Healy, “a white man that watches Ghetto Gaggers and mocks Asian people on a podcast.” Meanwhile, Lana Del Rey left fans literally wanting more. She released Did You Know That There’s A Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd in March, and the album’s title is just about longer than her time spent at Glastonbury.

According to several reports from the likes of Billboard and The Guardian, Del Rey’s set on Saturday night, June 24, was abbreviated because she started 30 minutes past her scheduled 10:30 p.m. local time. (Per Glastonbury’s official website, Del Rey was slotted from 10:30 p.m. to 11:45 p.m. on the Other Stage.)

“I was so f*cking late that I’m about to rush this set today,” Del Rey told the crowd once on stage, as captured in a fan video. “If they cut power, I’m super f*cking sorry. My hair takes so long to do. I love you to death. Let’s keep on running the set as it’s supposed to go.”

“Del Rey’s microphone was cut off at midnight while she was performing her 2012 track ‘Video Games,’ forcing her to sing it a cappella alongside festival-goers,” Billboard relayed. “She then walked around the stage for a brief time before being gently escorted away by what appeared to be security and stagehands.”

Muse’s Matt Bellamy would have stayed up all night to experience Del Rey’s full set as intended.

“Can’t believe they cut Lana Del Rey sound @glastonbury before finishing set, best Glasto performance I’ve seen for years. Insanity,” Bellamy tweeted.

See more footage from Del Rey at Glastonbury below.

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

For a brief moment, it seemed like Ron DeSantis was set for a “breakthrough” in New Hampshire, but then his campaign made yet another blunder, which could hand the state to Donald Trump.

At issue is a DeSantis event scheduled for Tuesday June 27, the same day that Trump is scheduled to appear in the state. While it’s not uncommon for candidates to have competing events, the move by DeSantis’ campaign angered the New Hampshire Republican Federation of Women who had personally invited Trump to the event, which by the way, is their annual fundraising lunch. It’s a pretty big deal.

“It has always been a New Hampshire hallmark to be considerate when scheduling events,” the group said in a statement. “To have a candidate come in and distract from the most special event [the women’s group] holds in the year is unprecedented.”

The screw-up by DeSantis’ campaign is already being blasted by political movers in the state. Via Politico:

“If there’s one thing you don’t do in New Hampshire, it’s piss off the grassroots women,” said an adviser to a rival candidate granted anonymity to speak freely. “Don’t mess with them, they remember everything. Rookie move.”

However, Politico reports that at least two members of the women’s group have quit in protest of the statement. One of the resigning members, Kate Day, went on the record and accused the Republican Federation of breaking its “neutrality” by attacking DeSantis.

(Via Politico)

The Phoenix Suns made the first blockbuster trade of the summer, adding Bradley Beal to their roster for Chris Paul, Landry Shamet, four pick swaps, and (not joking) every second round pick they were legally allowed to trade.

With Beal joining Devin Booker and Kevin Durant, Phoenix is trying to bring back superteams, but as many teams have found out, the hardest part is filling out the rest of the roster. After exploring Deandre Ayton trade options and not finding the market they hoped, the expectation is now for him to be back next year, as they hope he can be the needed frontcourt presence and rim protector their star trio needs as an anchor. If he’s not being moved for multiple players, Phoenix has an awful lot of roster spots to fill.

As of this moment, they have seven players under contract — Beal, Booker, Durant, Ayton, Cam Payne, Jordan Goodwin, and Isaiah Todd — and can pick up a team option on Ish Wainwright to make it eight. That still leaves seven roster spots and a pair of two-ways open, meaning Phoenix is going to have to get creative and really do their work on the veteran minimum market since they are already well into the tax.

On Monday, we got a report offering an example of just how wide a net they will cast to try and fill out the roster, as Chris Haynes says they’ll bring Jabari Parker and Stanley Johnson in for workouts this week.

Parker did not play in the NBA last season, most recently suiting up for 12 games in Boston during the 2021-22 season — in total he’s played in 63 games since the start of the 2019-20 season. Johnson played in 30 games for the Spurs last year, and is two years removed from a solid stint with the Lakers in a similar situation to what Phoenix finds itself in now.

We will see exactly how this summer shakes out for the Suns, but expect to hear some names you might not have thought about for awhile as they look to cobble together a roster around their stars.