Month: July 2023

The City Girls are actively out in the rap streets. Recently, the duo released singles “Piñata” and “I Need A Thug” to hold fans over until a complete project hit streaming platforms. However, member JT stepped out to drop a song of her very own to address criticism over her lyrical ability and the time she spent in Florida’s prison system.

Previously shared as a freestyle snippet, the rapper’s “No Bars” is finally here for fans to sink their teeth into. The song produced by BrizzyOnDaBeat & Noc is a cocky entendre where the Miami native tots the line of her City Girl persona and the vulnerable Jatavia only known to those closest to her as she spits the stanza, “Hood b*tch, dressed like a weirdo / Run away, now I’m steppin’ in some runway / B*tch, you can’t f*ck with my on yo’ birthday / Free my real b*tches, Corrlink and J-Pay / You gon’ be home, f*ck what the judge say.”

Even if for a second you think “No Bars” is a hint that the pair is breaking up, JT shuts that idea down as she rapped, “It’s City Girl sh*t / Even when you think it ain’t City Girl sh*t / I’m a City Girl, b*tch.”

In the spirit of the record’s message, the entertainer launched the No Bars Reform initiative to aid women who have been formerly incarcerated. On the movement’s official website, the mission is described, “After spending almost two years in a Florida Prison before being released in 2020, JT has vowed to use her voice and platform to help other incarcerated women rehabilitate into society by assisting with resources such as therapy, job placement, social services, and housing.”

Listen to “No Bars” above.

Last week, Steven briefly forgot how to work his podcast equipment, and the result was the first, instantly iconic “lost” Indiecast episode. Fortunately, Steven Googled “how to work podcast equipment” and he was able to match his vocals to Ian’s for this week’s episode.

The guys begin with a discussion of a weird new trend in live music: People throwing things at artists’ faces. Not only is this stupid and dangerous, it also makes no sense. But what is causing it? Also: Is it really that new? Steven shares the story about David Bowie getting hit in the face with a lollipop in the early aughts, as well as the strange history of yahoos bringing firecrackers to concerts in the 1970s.

From there, Steven and Ian launch into a discussion about the new Anohni album, My Back Was A Bridge For You To Cross, as well as the outlook for potential Album Of The Year candidates in the second half of 2023. The guys also discuss the latest effort from PJ Harvey, I Inside The Old Year Dying, and give her overall career the “yay or nay” treatment. Finally, they make time to address the new Wham! documentary on Netflix, directed by Chris Smith.

In the mailbag, a reader talks about a recent concert by the band Wednesday and asks whether Steven and Ian appreciate between-song banter. Then, in Recommendation Corner, Ian talks up the emo band Magazine Beach while Steven raves about the alt-rock-inspired band Palehound.

New episodes of Indiecast drop every Friday. Listen to Episode 146 here and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. You can submit questions for Steve and Ian at [email protected], and make sure to follow us on Instagram and Twitter for all the latest news. We also recently launched a visualizer for our favorite Indiecast moments. Check those out here.

PinkPantheress is no stranger to the art of collaboration. Her “Boy’s A Liar Pt. 2” with Ice Spice was one of the ubiquitous hits of the year; more recently, she teamed up with Willow for “Where You Are.”

Now, the versatile singer has joined forces with Destroy Lonely, who released their new album If Looks Could Kill earlier this year. The song is called “Turn Your Phone Off,” an ironic sentiment from an artist who’s benefited exponentially from apps like TikTok.

Of course, though, “Turn Your Phone Off” is a love song, just slanted by Gen Z’s technology-saturated upbringing: “I turned my phone off but your calls still came through / I reply when they do ’cause I want to chat to you,” she sings, against her typical skittish, otherworldly sound. It’s fewer than three minutes, but the two artists prove their music chemistry.

“After years of having this song in the vault, I’m so happy I can release ‘Turn Your Phone Off’ with someone who has spearheaded his own sound and incorporates beautifully into mine,” she said about the track in a statement.

Listen to “Turn Your Phone Off” above.

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

After a thorough investigation of watching Scarface and listening to David Bowie’s Station to Station, the Secret Service has concluded that the cocaine found at the White House belonged to… ¯_(ツ)_/¯. “Without physical evidence, the investigation will not be able to single out a person of interest from the hundreds of individuals who passed through the vestibule where the cocaine was discovered. At this time, the Secret Service’s investigation is closed due to a lack of physical evidence,” a statement read, according to CNN.

Detective Donald Trump thinks he knows who left the bag of nose candy, however (no, it’s not his son.)

“What do you say when you see ‘cocaine in the White House’? Can you even believe that’s possible?” Real America’s Voice quack Wayne Allyn Root asked the former president — who once invited Kid Rock to the White House — on Thursday. Trump replied, “In my opinion, it’s Hunter and probably Joe. Because you watch Joe at the beginning of a speech and he’s got a little life — not much — but by the end of the speech, he’s a disaster. He can’t find his way off the stage. So, there’s something going on there, and I wouldn’t be surprised if it was for both of them. I think it’s for both of them. But that’s my opinion.”

Trump added, “I think they bump him up,” emphasis on the word “bump.” He doesn’t want “a president on cocaine who’s dealing with nuclear weapons and everything else.” The only thing Trump gets high on is life… and aspartame.

Here’s the clip:

(Via CNN and Mediaite)

As Olivia Rodrigo has become a pop superstar over the past few years, she has heard a ton of interview questions. A recent query, though, really stood out for her. During an interview with UK radio station Capital, Rodrigo fielded a question from a young fan, who said, “I think you’re very, very pretty, and you’re an amazing singer, but do you have a beauty hack that makes you look so pretty?”

At the first instance of being called pretty, Rodrigo made the kind of face that results from watching a video of an unlikely animal friendship or something cute like that. At the end of the question, Rodrigo made a similar face and said, “Aww… that’s the best compliment anyone’s ever given me, oh my god.”

As for her beauty hacks, Rodrigo replied, “I always wear sunscreen, I try to do that, that’s important. And I drink a lot of water — that’s so boring. I feel bad giving such a boring answer to such a sweet, interesting girl, but I can’t think of anything else.”

Meanwhile, Rodrigo is enjoying the success of her new single “Vampire,” which just became her third song to reach No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

Succession‘s Logan Roy himself, Brian Cox, portrayed a media mogul who had plenty in common with Rupert Murdoch. Yet as it turns out, Cox isn’t a fan of Fox News, and he wouldn’t even entertain a “f*ck off” for them. Rather, he declared that they are “the devil.”

There’s not much room there for misinterpretation, but The Five‘s hosts didn’t immediately recall this slight. Greg Gutfeld and Dana Perino then slowly remembered the situation, but this didn’t happen until after much fawning took place over Cox’s recent declaration that “woke culture is truly awful.” Cox made this observation to Piers Morgan, and he added that he was disgusted with the “arbiters of this shaming,” which he attributed to “usually a bunch of millennials.” And that was music to The Five‘s ears, until the aforementioned awkward realization.

The Daily Beast’s Justin Baragona tweeted this clip:

Gutfeld also admitted that he originally took “the devil” remark “as a compliment,” which says a lot, but Perino added, “I think that Greg might be right… I think if you were to google, he might not be as conservative as I think he might be. I’m remembering something…” So awkward.

It’s too bad that Geraldo Rivera left them. He likely could have saved them this embarrassment.

(Via The Daily Beast)

Last month, a Swedish economist claimed that Beyoncé’s Renaissance tour had an impact on the country’s inflation. Now, a similar financial claim is being made about Taylor Swift’s ongoing The Eras Tour: NBC News reports that one Federal Reserve office credits Swift’s tour for a significant rise in hotel revenues.

Officials from the Philadelphia Federal Reserve wrote, “Despite the slowing recovery in tourism in the region overall, one contact highlighted that May was the strongest month for hotel revenue in Philadelphia since the onset of the pandemic, in large part due to an influx of guests for the Taylor Swift concerts in the city.”

Earlier this month, Cincinnati officials also credited Swift for boosting a number of local industries. Julie Calvert, president and CEO of the tourism group Visit Cincy, said in a statement, “Taylor Swift is a force to be reckoned with. The economic impact Swift creates is staggering, as fans travel from far and wide to attend her concerts, filling hotels, restaurants, and local attractions. Swift’s influence on tourism is a testament to her ability to captivate audiences and drive economic growth.”

In June, Choose Chicago, Chicago’s tourism and marketing organization, declared that thanks in part to Swift, the city had set a new all-time record for total hotel rooms occupied.

Although it is difficult to tell if there is a trend of Americans moving out of the country, rough estimates show that around 8 million currently live in other countries—double the 4.1 million living abroad in 1999.

The most popular countries for Americans to move to are Mexico, Canada and the United Kingdom, in that order.

A big reason why some are leaving the U.S. is that an increasing number of employers allow people to work abroad. Others are choosing to leave because of cost of living increases and “golden visa” programs. Golden visas offer the chance to get a foreign residency permit by purchasing a house or making a significant investment or donation.

A couple is going viral on TikTok because they’ve decided to leave America and move to Spain. Luna Ashley Santel had wanted to move for a long time, but her husband wasn’t on board with the change until he had a lightbulb moment while visiting a Spanish café. The couple are parents of a 4-year-old daughter, and a big reason for their decision to leave is her safety.

@lunagoestospain

Here’s what shifted for him. I’m sure this’ll piss the right people off. No pun intended. #movingabroad #spaindigitalnomadvisa #movingabroadwithpets #movingtospainwithkids

While spending time in Spain, the couple went to a crowded café, which would have made them uncomfortable back home in St. Louis, Missouri.

“There’s a ton of people walking around. Being from St. Louis, that’s not a very comfortable place for me to be in,” the husband said. “And you turn to me and say, ‘Have you seen all these people?’” he recounted his wife saying.

“And you’re like, ‘None of them have guns,’” he continued.

At this moment, he realized that living in America caused him to be on alert whenever he was out in public. A feeling he never got in Spain. “And I realized this weight that I had been carrying around my whole life wasn’t necessary. Like what we think is normal is not normal,” he said.

When it comes to firearm policy, Spain and Missouri couldn’t be more different. In Spain, owning a handgun for self-defense is allowed when you are in verifiable danger. In Missouri, there is no permit requirement to carry a firearm, whether it’s concealed or carried openly.

In Spain, the gun death rate per 100,000 people in 2019 was 0.64. Whereas, in Missouri, the chance of being killed by a gun is more than 36 times greater, with 23.2 people per every 100,000 dying by gun in 2021.

The video resonated with many Americans who feel uncomfortable living in a country that has become accustomed to mass shootings.

“There’s so much mental energy we dedicate to simply existing in the U.S.,” Mintmage wrote.

“As a father of two young boys, your husband’s explanation has me shook because I cannot disagree,” Astrolo-G added.

“That is literally my main motivator for leaving the country. I am terrified for my son,” Doula Faye wrote.

Luna’s husband isn’t the only one in the family concerned about school safety in the U.S. Luna, a former teacher of 7 years, believes that sending her daughter to a school where they have “terrifying” intruder drills is unacceptable.

“It’s nothing that I want my 5-year-old child to have to accept or learn as normal,” she says in another TikTok post.

@lunagoestospain

Replying to @CholeraMeBadd a huge reason we are getting out. #gettingoutoftheusa #movingabroad #alicedrill #alicedrills #iquitteaching #ididntsignupforthishit #movingtospainwithkids

If you didn’t know Damar Hamlin this past year, chances are you know who he is now. While playing football with the Buffalo Bills in the 2022-2023 NFL season against the Cincinnati Bengals, Hamlin’s heart stopped after a hit, and he collapsed on the field on national television. The quick action from the Bills’ training staff saved his life and allowed Hamlin to have a better chance at recovering fully.

For days, it seemed as if all of America was focused on Hamlin’s recovery, collectively holding their breath to find out if he would ever open his eyes again after being placed in a medically induced coma. To everyone’s relief, not only did he open his eyes, but he fully recovered and has since been cleared to play football again.

While he was in the hospital, the doctors caring for him continually acknowledged the large role the Bills’ training staff had in saving the NFL safety. And at the ESPY Awards, Hamlin got the chance to present the training staff with the Pat Tillman Award for Service through tears.

Before Hamlin started to speak, he was already wiping away tears and the crowd quickly stood on its feet and cheered at the sight of him.

“Please welcome this year’s recipient of the Pat Tillman Award for Service, the training staff of the Buffalo Bills,” Hamlin said.

After his very quick introduction, the staff came out and embraced Hamlin in an extended huddle of hugs as he cried. The emotion was overflowing, not only for Hamlin and the recipients but for people in the audience.

“It was a massive army of specialists who came together on and off the field to do their jobs that night,” Nate Breske, athletic trainer for the Bills said while accepting the award. “That team includes the Bills and Bengals athletic training and medical staffs, equipment managers, player engagement personnel, mental health clinicians, chaplains, security, on-field first responders, the paramedics and the entire medical staff at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center.”

Breske went on to thank the owners of the Bills and Bengals for their guidance and Hamlin for staying alive. Watching how much love the staff and Hamlin have for each other after such a terrifying moment elicits tears of joy. You can see the emotional moment below.

From the gal pals in “Sex & the City,” to besties Romy and Michelle, to even a casual scroll through #bffsforever on social media, we are inundated with images of female friendships brimming over with glamor, intimacy, laughter, connection…sort of like the grown-up version of sugar, spice and everything nice.

And while it’s lovely to see examples of women lifting each other up rather than putting each other down, it can feel painfully isolating for the many women who simply don’t have those types of friendships.

Loneliness is something that nearly every person deals with in some capacity due to our increasingly technology-driven, post-COVID world, but it’s the particular juxtaposition of girl squads constantly showing up in pop culture against the very different reality of many, if not most, women that is its own unique type of suffering. Friendships, friendships everywhere, but not a drop to drink lattes with.

This is why so many women are resonating with a TikTok NYC-based Via Li made after seeing two girlfriends chatting at a cafe and feeling intense longing for that type of platonic relationship.

“I just got to this cafe and I saw these two girls just sitting next to each other. You know, they had their laptops out and they were just smiling with each other,” Li says as her eyes well up with tears.

“Why am I crying? This is so embarrassing, oh my god!” she exclaims. It’s okay Li, we’ve been there.

She continues by describing how the two girls seem so comfortable around each other, giving her the inkling that they probably even live together. “I think it’s just so great to have this best friend that you can do everything with…It just seems so happy, you know?”

Meanwhile, Li is sitting there by herself and “literally about to have a mental breakdown.”

She then explains that seeing those two friends together is a “different kind of pain” than seeing a couple together. “When I see couples, I don’t even get jealous,” she says. “But when I see two girl best friends…I literally look at them and I just feel like I’m gonna start crying.”

@via..li

why tf am i so emotional today oh my god

♬ original sound – Via

Though Li felt alone while filming the clip, she is certainly not alone in her sentiment. Shortly after posting, several other women flooded the comments with similar feelings of this specific kind of loneliness, whether they once had a friend group and lost it or never seemed to belong to one.

“Same it’s hard to find someone who matches your energy, humor and morals,” one person shared.

Another added, “I miss having girl best friends. Everything was so easy omg this makes me sad.”

“I know exactly how you feel. I crave it so badly and never experienced the full thing” wrote another.

Feeling envy is part of being human. It’s a way of remembering that we truly care about something. Friendship envy is no different. And the good news is this thing we care about can be achieved with some effort and attention (though it still may never look like a well-crafted sitcom).

Psychologist and Forbes contributor Mark Travers suggests being proactive by initiating conversation with neighbors, organizing a movie night, starting your own book club, etc., and committing to creating your own community that way. He also emphasizes the power of being honest about your personal life with others in order to form connections. Even those who are more introverted can “start off small,” he writes.

Considering tons of viewers reached out to offer Li friendship after she was so vulnerable, perhaps there is something to this strategy. Regardless, her story is one that nearly all of us can relate to. You never really grow out of that desire to have a sleepover, paint your nails and share your feelings with a chosen tribe that feels like family.

Looking for more friend-finding tips? We actually have some here.