Month: June 2023

Jim Jones has responded to Pusha T‘s alleged diss track aimed at him. The two have been thought to have been feuding since April, when Jones questioned Push’s position on Billboard and VIBE‘s 50 Greatest Rappers Of All Time list. Today (June 24) a clip of the Dipset founding member surfaced online, featuring him laying down vengeful bars in a booth.

In the clip, he makes clear allusions to Push and The Clipse, and even accuses Push of offering crack cocaine to his brother and fellow Clipse member, No Malice.

“That last sh*t you dropped, that sh*t was garbage, take that sh*t back / Plus you got your brother up, what you tryna bring The Clipse back? / Talking about your brother, what happened to that boy? / It’s looking like you were selling crack to that boy,” Jones raps.

This no-bars-held snippet comes days after Pusha T previewed an alleged Jones diss track by The Clipse at Pharrell Williams’ first Louis Vuitton show as creative director in Paris. On the track, Push accuses Jones of trying to be friendly with Drake in order to get a guest verse from him.

“Beware of my name, that there’s delegate / You know I know where you’re delicate / Crush you to pieces, I’ll hum a breath of it / I will close your heaven for the hell of it / You think it’d be valor amongst veterans / I’m watching your fame escape relevance / We all in a room but here’s the elephant / You chasing a feature out of your element,” raps Push.

You can listen to the snippet above.

The search for a new James Bond is still under way, though it’s clear no one’s in a rush: After all, Daniel Craig wrapped his last day as 007 nearly four years ago. Could it be Aaron Taylor-Johnson, or will he be too busy playing Kraven the Hunter? (Whatever happens, sorry, it won’t be Idris Elba.) But what if Craig never got the gig? What if it went to the guy who went on to play Superman for a spell? Turns out that could have happened.

In an interview with The Daily Express (as caught by Deadline), director Martin Campbell, who helmed the game-changing reboot Casino Royale (as well as another Bond revivial, Goldeneye), said that one of the better candidates to replace Pierce Brosnan was no less than Henry Cavill.

“And look, if Daniel didn’t exist, Henry would have made an excellent Bond,” Campbell said. “He looked terrific, he was in great physical shape…very handsome, very chiseled. He just looked a little young at that time back then.”

Indeed, Cavill at the time was a very green 22. Craig, meanwhile, was 38.

Campbell explained that age really is a factor when it comes to taking on England’s most famous fictional spy. Oddly, Craig, he argued, was a bit too old when he got the gig.

“By the time Daniel got to [No Time To Die], really he was at an age where one more would have been too old for him,” Campbell explained. I know with Pierce, he had to sign on to three when we did him. So that’s going to take, what, six years of your life maybe? I suspect Daniel [had] the same deal. And the next guy’s going to have to do that.”

Campbell also said that Cavill, who’s now 40, is definitely too old for the role “Henry’s 40, so by the time he’s done the third one he’s going to be 50 and anything beyond that’s two, three years per Bond,” Campbell said. “He’s in good shape Henry, he’s a good guy. He did very well in the audition, but ironically he was too young.”

At least Cavill got to play a dashing spy later on: Napoleon Solo, one of the heroes of Guy Ritchie’s delightful film version of The Man from U.N.C.L.E.

(Via The Daily Express and Deadline)

Zach Bryan is currently on his Burn, Burn, Burn Tour — and his anti-Ticketmaster stance is making it easier for fans to purchase passes to his shows.

The “Something In The Orange” hitmaker kicked off his tour back in May at the John Paul Jones Arena in Charlottesville, VA. With several songs to his credit, especially as his American Heartbreak album boasts 34 songs, fans are wondering which songs of Bryan’s they’ll get to hear live.

Thankfully, fans who have been in attendance at some of the shows have shared the setlist via Setlist.fm.

You can see the full setlist and the remaining tour dates below. Tickets are available for purchase here.

1. “Open the Gate”
2. “God Speed”
3. “Fifth Of May”
4. “Highway Boys”
5. “Quittin’ Time”
6. “Tishomingo”
7. “Dawns”
8. “Condemned”
9. “Sweet DeAnn”
10. “Sun To Me”
11. “Oklahoma Smokeshow”
12. “Something In The Orange”
13. “Heavy Eyes”
14. “Snow”
15. “Motorcycle Drive By”
16. “’68 Fastback”
17. “Heading South”
18. “Burn, Burn, Burn”
19. “Revival” with Trampled By Turtles

06/26 — Denver, CO @ Red Rocks Amphitheatre
06/27 — Denver, CO @ Red Rocks Amphitheatre
07/07 — Milwaukee, WI @ Summerfest
07/13 — Chicago, IL @ Windy City Smokeout
07/14-16 — Whitefish, MT @ Under The Big Sky Festival
07/20-22 — Cullman, AL @ Rock The South
08/05 — St. Charles, IA @ Hinterland Music Festival
08/07 — Grand Rapids, MI @ Van Andel Arena
08/09 — Minneapolis, MN @ Target Center
08/11 — Tulsa, OK @ BOK Center
08/14 — Sioux Falls, SD @ Denny Sanford Premier Center
08/17 — Nampa, ID @ Ford Idaho Center
08/19 — Las Vegas, NV @ T-Mobile Arena
08/20 — Bakersfield, CA @ Mechanics Bank Arena
08/21 — Oakland, CA @ Oakland Arena
08/23 — Los Angeles, CA @ Crypto.com Arena
08/25 — Glendale, AZ @ Desert Diamond Arena
08/27 — Wichita, KS @ INTRUST Bank Arena
08/29 — Lincoln, NE @ Pinnacle Bank Arena
08/30 — Kansas City, MO @ T-Mobile Center

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

Russia doesn’t have a lot of friends right now, all because they decided to invade Ukraine early last year. But they have some. Certain prominent figures in the U.S., including the likely GOP nominee for 2024 and Fox News’ former reigning star, have been pro-Vladimir Putin. Then there’s Steven Seagal. The actor was a Russian ally before practically anyone else, and he’s even vowed to train its soldiers in martial arts. So what is he making of the possible military rebellion?

On Friday, Yevgeny Prigozhin, a criminal-turned-chef-turned-leader of the mercenary group Wagner, announced he’d had enough of the Ukrainian invasion. As such, he and his 25,000 soldiers were mounting a civil war, claiming they took over a Southern city with Moscow on its agenda. It’s so serious that Putin allegedly went into hiding.

People on social media have been torching Putin’s American fans. That went extra for Seagal, who has been prone to spouting Russian State TV propaganda talking points. As reports of Prigozhin’s warpath— as well as details of his and his soldiers’ brutality — spread, people wondered if the 71-year-old actor who’s long been on his side couldn’t help out.

There were also Tucker jokes.

And someone used the occasion to tell a fun Seagal story.

On Friday, almost a year and a half after it began, the Ukrainian invasion took a turn. Yevgeny Prigozhin, a criminal-turned-chef who became leader of the brutal mercenary group Wagner, called for an armed rebellion to stop the war. Prigozhin claims to command some 25,000 soldiers in Ukraine, and his forces declared they had taken control of the city Rostov-on-Don, with Moscow next on their agenda. President Vladimir Putin vowed to crush the rebellion, but it’s not looking good for him. And it’s got some people thinking his defenders in the U.S. maybe weren’t on the money.

For weeks, Prigozhin has been publicly mocking Russia’s military leadership, who he’s accused of being lazy and incompetent. In his announcement Friday, he challenged the official state narrative about the invasion, blaming Putin, military leaders, and their oligarch pals for launching an unprovoked assault that has killed tens of thousands of civilians.

Prigozhin averred that the “evil brought by the military leadership of the country must be stopped.” He laid out his plan in stark terms. “Everyone who will try to resist, we will consider them a danger and destroy them immediately, including any checkpoints on our way. And any aviation we see above our heads.”

Were 25,000 Russian soldiers really going to come for Putin and gang? Apparently. Unconfirmed reports say that Putin has even gone into hiding.

Russia’s invasion has been roundly condemned by the world. Even McDonald’s pulled their stores from the nation. But Putin and team have had some local support. Tucker Carlson has always been on their side. MAGA types like Marjorie Taylor Greene have condemned America’s continued support of Ukraine. Donald Trump once called Putin’s move “genius” and “savvy” and called him “strong” as opposed to America’s “weak” military leaders.”

As the possible coup got under way, people on social media remembered who took the wrong side on this issue.

Some wondered what Tucker would say about all this.

Others made jokes.

Of course, Putin isn’t the only one whose empire is crumbling.

Kelly Clarkson is speaking her truth. Her latest album, Chemistry largely touches on her divorce from her ex-husband Brandon Blackstock. But in a recent interview with The Howard Stern Radio Show, she revealed a surprising truth about her second album, Breakaway.

As many fans know, Breakaway‘s title track was originally written by Avril Lavigne, then was later given to Clarkson circa 2004. Clarkson revealed to Stern that while she likes the song, she wasn’t exactly excited to include it on her second album, which would later be named after this song.

“I liked the song, I’m going to lead with that, but I’m going to be honest with you … it doesn’t sound [like the rest of the album] … My label was like look, if you do this, we’ll give you this, like with songs on the record. I just didn’t think it fit in,” said Clarkson.

She compared the song to some of the album’s several hits, including “Walk Away,” “Behind These Hazel Eyes,” “Because Of You,” and of course, the iconic “Since U Been Gone.”

Clarkson noted that her label was “really pushing for it.”

“I was like, ‘Man, if y’all really believe in it, then alright.’ And then we ended up naming [the album] Breakaway,” she said.

You can see a clip from the interview above.

Chemistry is out now via Atlantic. Find more information here.

Kelly Clarkson and Avril Lavigne are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

By now, Drake fans are used to the “Spin Bout U” rapper dropping projects with little to no promotion. His most recent solo album Honestly, Nevermind arrived over a year ago with less than 24 hours notice. But today (June 24), Drizzy isn’t dropping an album, a mixtape, an EP, or even a single. His latest project comes in the form of a poetry book.

Drake has teamed up with songwriter Kenza Samir, who has co-writing credits on some of Drizzy’s songs to create a book called Titles Ruin Everything: A Stream Of Consciousness By Kenza Samir & Aubrey Graham.

The book, which was announced yesterday, will be available for purchase today at 1 p.m. EST at Drake’s official online merchandiser, drakerelated.

Not a lot is known about the book at the time of writing, however, Drake’s cryptic teasers has fans abuzz.

“I don’t know if I have ever wanted people to buy or support something more in my life,” he said.

While the project seems to be arriving on short notice, Drake first teased the book during his Table For One radio show on SiriusXM last year.

“Me and Kenza have a book coming out this year,” he said, “we have a book coming out this year, a poetry book.”

Though, the book is finally arriving over a year after the initial announcement.

You can get a sneak peek at the cover art above.

The Portland Trail Blazers decided to take the No. 3 overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft on G League Ignite guard Scoot Henderson, and depending on what you believe, this might mean that Damian Lillard is going to seriously weigh asking out. Of course, there’s no guarantee this is going to happen, and Lillard has even said he expects to start next year in Portland.

Regardless, there is a line of thought that Lillard has no interest in a youth movement and wants to compete, which has led to speculation that his time with the Blazers may be running out. One team that is reportedly preparing for that to happen is the Miami Heat, which are constantly star-hunting and view Lillard as a potential fit. That’s nothing more than rumors at this point, but in a pretty unfortunate twist for Lillard, an Instagram Live broadcast on Friday made headlines because of the song playing in the background: “Miami” by Will Smith.

According to Sam Amick of The Athletic, Lillard is currently in Paris and this song came on at a club. Amick spoke to Lillard’s agent, Aaron Goodwin, who explained that this was quite the unintended turn of fate.

“The music was just a coincidence,” Goodwin said. “Damian’s not disrespectful. He’s not an instigator, so he’s not going to do anything out of character. There would be no reason for him to do that. That’s why he laughed (in the video). It’s a funny coincidence that a DJ would put that on.”

There have been a whole lot of weird twists and turns with Lillard’s future this offseason, but I will confidently say this is, so far, the weirdest.

Celine Dion is seeing a significant boost in streams for none other than her Titanic soundtrack contribution, “My Heart Will Go On,” following the news of the Titan submersible accident involving those who went down trying to see the ship’s wreckage.

Dion, according to TMZ, has seen a jump of over 500,000 listens to the song in just a few days.

Unfortunately, those aboard the Titan submarine were reported to have passed away after the US Navy found acoustic data that was “consistent with an implosion or explosion in the general vicinity of where the Titan submersible was operating when communications were lost,” according to the Associated Press.

Debris from the Titan was also eventually found to confirm their fates.

After the spread of the initial disappearance broke last Sunday, James Cameron, the director of Titanic, has since shared his thoughts about the similarities between both incidents.

“I’m struck by the similarity of the Titanic disaster itself — where the captain was repeatedly warned about ice ahead of his ship, and yet he steamed at full speed into an ice field on a moonless night, and many people died as a result,” Cameron said to ABC News, as he has traveled to the Titanic site over 30 times.

Dion herself has not commented on the song since it made headlines.

As part of her Juneteenth giveback series, Lizzo announced a special new Sasha Be Flooting scholarship, complete with a $50,000 donation, in order to give back to Black music students attending the University of Houston — which is her alma mater.

“Today is very close to my heart, near and dear to home and a milestone for me,” Lizzo shared in an Instagram video. “It is for any young Black student from Houston, Texas who has applied to go to University of Houston to study at the Moores School of Music. That was me just a couple years ago, a young Black flute player who just needed a scholarship and someone to believe in them. Now I get to pay it forward.”

“We’ll be announcing who is the winner of that prize very, very soon,” she added.

Ahead of her scholarship announcement, Lizzo also teased it with a separate throwback Instagram post of herself playing flute during her Houston college days.

Fans in the replies of Lizzo’s post were admiring her dedication to giving back to where she came from. “As a former flute player you have no idea how much I admire you and look up to you,” one fan wrote. “I got accepted to the University of Houston (not studying music) and I love that you went there as well!”

“I wish more artists would do this,” another added. “Because it would make college so much more accessible.”

In addition to donating to the school, Lizzo has also given $50,000 to “Black-led grass roots businesses and organizations,” including the Sphinx Organization, Black Girls Smile, and the Marsha P. Johnson Institute so far in the series.

Check out Lizzo’s Juneteenth donations and the new scholarship posts above.

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