Month: August 2023

Lizzo, who is known for her body positivity and optimistic music, is being accused of sexual harassment and creating a hostile work environment by three of her former dancers, according to NBC News. In a lawsuit filed today, one dancer accused Lizzo of calling out her weight gain and firing her for recording a meeting.

Other allegations mentioned in the lawsuit include Lizzo falsely accusing dancers of drinking on the job, leading to an “excruciating” audition, and the singer pressuring them to touch a nude performer in Amsterdam. The plaintiffs also complain that Lizzo’s dance team captain, Shirlene Quigley, made inappropriate sexual comments while chastising members of the team who had premarital sex. They believe that Lizzo was aware of the complaints against Quigley, but did not take action.

In addition to the hostile work environment and sexual harassment claims, the lawsuit also claims religious and racial harassment, false imprisonment, interference with prospective economic advantage, and more, although not every claim applies to every defendant. The defendants are named as Lizzo (Melissa Viviane Jefferson), Quigley, and Lizzo’s production company, Big Grrrl Big Touring, Inc.

Two of the defendants, Arianna Davis and Crystal Williams, joined Lizzo’s dance team after competing on her show Watch Out for the Big Grrrls, while the third, Noelle Rodriguez, was hired after performing in the “Rumors” video. Davis and Williams were fired, while Rodriguez quit earlier this year.

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

Flo Milli has fans incredibly excited this week as she unveiled that her next album, Fine Ho, Stay, is on the way. Led by her colorful recent single, “Fruit Loop,” the track sets the tone for the presumed final installment of the rising star’s trilogy.

In 2020, she dropped Ho, Why Is You Here? and then followed it up with You Still Here, Ho? in 2022 — creating a hilarious bit along the way.

During some recent tweets, Flo Milli opened up a little bit about her intentions with the upcoming record, pointing out that “this project is personal.” She was also loving a lot of the support that her followers were having for the brilliant album title.

As one person wrote, “I LOVE HER CAREER AESTHETIC SO BAD!!” and many others in the replies shared a similar thought process.

While Fine Ho, Stay doesn’t have an official release date, there’s a high possibility that fans will be able to hear it in full by the end of the year. And that alone will be worth the wait — whether it’s in a month or a few.

Until then, check out “Fruit Loop” above. Below, find some more fan reactions to Flo Milli’s creatively-titled new album.

With every stop it makes, Drake’s It’s All A Blur Tour has delivered a memorable moment to get fans talking. Whether the rapper is hinting at his future music plans or sharing a tender moment with his mother onstage, the “Parade On Cleveland” rapper has treated countless ticketholders to several memorable encounters. Unfortunately, those planning to experience it for themselves when the tour stopped in Memphis, Tennesee, are out of luck.

According to Commercial-Appeal, the It’s All A Blur Tour date set for August 6 has been officially canceled. The publication alleges that a member of Drake’s team told a representative for the hosting venue, FedEx Forum, “Due to the magnitude of the production of the Drake concert, it is logistically impossible to bring the show as designed to the FedEx Forum on August 6. Unfortunately, the show is canceled.”

Fans held out hope when the show was initially rescheduled back in June. However, now that the Ticketmaster landing page for the show displays the note, “The event organizer has had to cancel your event,” that ship has sailed. The report says concertgoers will be fully refunded based on Ticketmaster’s refund policy.

Drake has shown the city of Memphis great admiration. This played a part in his being awarded the key to Shelby County, where the city is located.

The United States Women’s National Team has not started the 2023 World Cup off the way we are accustomed to seeing them, as they won their first match against Vietnam 3-0 but have since been able to only pull off a 1-1 come from behind draw against the Netherlands and, early Tuesday morning, played Portugal to a scoreless draw.

That was enough to scrape by into the Round of 16, finishing second in their group behind the Dutch, but for a team that’s been the most dominant in the world for decades, there is a decidedly different feel to this year’s group. There has been ample criticism of the team’s manager, Vlatko Andonovski, for asking them to play a style that seems to run counter to their strengths, but it’s also a team in a transition period with a handful of veterans from World Cups past joining a crop of youngsters trying to figure things out on the global stage for the first time.

The results haven’t been great so far, although they do still have time to turn things around, and it’s not just fans that are frustrated with what’s going on with the team. After Tuesday’s draw with Portugal, the Fox studio crew was rather shocked by the reaction from the team as they were dancing on the field and celebrating moving on, even though they’d done so in unspectacular style. That bothered former USWNT star Carli Lloyd, who ripped the team for celebrating in that manner when, as she said, the player of the match was the post.

The USWNT will wait to find out their Round of 16 opponent and will have five days to try and figure some things out as they won’t play that match until Sunday. In the meantime, there will be plenty of folks breaking down what has gone wrong to this point to lead them to back-to-back lackluster showings, and at least one former star of the team is among those who will be demanding to see a bit more pride in their performance going forward.

As Ron DeSantis struggles to gain momentum in the polls even with Donald Trump facing a series of damaging indictments, his top donors have been calling out the Florida governor’s bumbling campaign.

In addition being a disaster in public and sparking intra-party fights with his inflammatory stance on slavery, DeSantis has been routinely criticized for being “too online.” That criticism reached a fever pitch after a Semafor report implicated a now-fired campaign staffer for tweeting out a pro-DeSantis video loaded with Nazi imagery. Turns out, the DeSantis team is reportedly dropping considerable amounts of money on memes, and his donors are pissed.

Via Rolling Stone:

Following publication of the Semafor report, one major GOP donor who contributed to Team DeSantis tells Rolling Stone: “If they keep blowing money on f*cking memes, I’m out… [He] better deliver the greatest debate performance in the world [in August] or… I can promise you, a lot of people won’t be giving Ron another nickel.”

Another DeSantis ally told Rolling Stone that they heard rumors of the “meme factory,” but hoped it wasn’t real. Meanwhile, a top GOP donor who has backed DeSantis had a much more blunt response: “For f*ck’s sake.”

The backlash to DeSantis’ online messaging has grown at a steady rate all through July. The Florida governor was dragged by his own party after an anti-LGBTQ video that essentially criticized Trump for not being homophobic enough. Since then, the message from donors to the embattled candidate has been very clear: Stop doing “stupid stuff.”

(Via Rolling Stone)

Indie music has grown to include so much. It’s not just music that is released on independent labels but speaks to an aesthetic that deviates from the norm and follows its own weirdo heart. It can come in the form of rock music, pop, or folk. In a sense, it says as much about the people that are drawn to it as it does about the people that make it.

Every week, Uproxx is rounding up the best new indie music from the past seven days. This week we got new music from Slow Pulp, Jeff Rosenstock, Mitski, Field Medic, and more.

While we’re at it, sign up for our newsletter to get the best new indie music delivered directly to your inbox, every Monday.

Be Your Own Pet — “Big Trouble”

As the artwork of a shoulders-up leather-clad person against floral wallpaper may suggest, “Big Trouble” by Be Your Own Pet is a sick song. The track is taken from Mommy, their first album in over 15 years and it’s a punk anthem that confronts “the daily injustices are all connected to the overarching societal issues of living in a patriarchy,” bandleader Jemina Pearl said in a press release.

Hotline TNT — “Protocol”

Hotline TNT is known for reverb-drenched, free-flowing songs that focus on ambiance first and foremost. “Protocol” is a shoegaze earworm that keeps building and building, the guitars mesmeric and catchy. The lyrics are structureless and brief, but Will Anderson uses the words like instruments, “After the fall / I pretend that it’s all / My fault.”

Slow Pulp — “Doubt”

From the raucous “Cramps” to the more downtempo “Slugs,” Slow Pulp’s Yard singles have bewitched in different ways. The newest one, “Doubt,” has a more pop texture with a perky atmosphere and infectious melodies helped by Emily Massey’s singing: “I just wanted your do do do do do do do do do do doubt.”

Mitski — “Bug Like An Angel”

Mitski has announced her new album The Land Is Inhospitable And So Are We coming in September. “Bug Like An Angel” has a holy feeling as a choir sporadically joins her intimate voice against careful guitar strumming. The words are vulnerable: “As I got older / I learned I’m a drinker / Sometimes a drink feels like family,” she sings.

Field Medic — “iwantthis2last!”

Field Medic’s insightful, delicate Grow Your Hair Long if You’re Wanting to See Something That You Can Change was a highlight of 2022. The California musician is back with the more jangly but still lyrically fragile “iwantthis2last!” The song captures the transient nature of feelings as he desperately repeats, “I want this to last.”

Cafuné — “Demise”

Cafuné have been keeping the attention on them since their viral TikTok hit “Tek It.” “Demise” proves that they’re worth more than just background music for a video; for almost three minutes, the track sprawls with a hypnotic aura as Sedona Schat mesmerizes with her stunning voice.

Sinai Vessel — “Tangled”

Sinai Vessel make thoughtful, moving ballads. “Tangled” is a beautiful examination of mental health struggles such as anxiety. “The mind is a tricky machine / Protecting the body by learning / But what when the lesson’s wrong?” Caleb Cordes sings earnestly. “We are at the mercy of a tangled web of wires / Snaring one another / Strung up by our words.”

Jeff Rosenstock — “Healmode”

Hellmode by Jeff Rosenstock comes at the beginning of September, and “Healmode” is casually apocalyptic: “The street outside is flashing / Underneath infrequent bursts of glaring headlights / Moving like a glacier,” he sings, weaving together the personal with the political often in this complex ballad that prioritizes love over existential dread.

Open City — “Return Your Stolen Property Is Theft”

Open City is a hardcore supergroup with members from Ceremony, Lifetime, and Titus Andronicus. Their 2017 self-titled debut was a ruthless celebration, and they’re finally following that up with Hands In The Honey Jar, arriving in October. “Return Your Stolen Property Is Theft” is a wonderfully clamorous return with piercing guitars and vicious vocals.

Dabda — “Flower Tail”

Seoul-based Dabda have announced their new EP Yonder and the lead single “Flower Tail” is an alluring taste. With mathy guitars and a shoegaze ambiance, the song is a whirlwind of effervescent sound. It’s a journey at nearly six minutes, but every second is immersive and enlightening.

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

On my deathbed, in however many years, I won’t remember the name of the first girl I kissed or where I put my dang keys. But I will remember these four words: “Baby Billy’s Bible Bonkers.”

That may sound grim, but few things in life have brought me more joy recently than saying or thinking about Baby Billy’s Bible Bonkers. It’s impossible to not read the title of the game show in Walton Goggins’ sticky Southern drawl, and see his bleached teeth, too.

Baby Billy’s Bible Bonkers (I’m going to type that collection of words as many times as possible) was my favorite thing about season three of HBO’s The Righteous Gemstones. But it was followed closely by Uncle Baby Billy’s entrances. The host of Baby Billy’s Bible Bonkers appeared in six of the nine episodes this season, and he made an impression during his first scene in all of them. Judy might think Baby Billy’s sh*t sucks, but we don’t. Let’s rank his entrances, from great to greatest.

6. Episode 4, “I Have Not Come to Bring Peace, But a Sword”

How did Walton Goggins react when The Righteous Gemstones star and co-creator Danny McBride asked him to play a 70-year-old man of god? “I started laughing, because I didn’t think he was serious,” he said. McBride added, “It was amazing to watch him transform into this old man. Walton just disappears in every role that he’s in, I think he’s one of the most talented actors I’ve ever been around.” (We agree.) Goggins really leaned into Uncle Baby Billy’s physicality this season, whether he was pushing a stroller with the force of someone shoveling snow during a blizzard (we’ll get there) or hiding in the bushes before threatening to turn his nephew’s fat ass red.

5. Episode 8, “I Will Take You by the Hand and Keep You”

Uncle Baby Billy doesn’t have much to do in the penultimate episode of the season. He speaks as Jesse’s “spiritual mentor” during a meeting with Eli, who he scolds for not paying a $15 million ransom. Baby Billy’s exit is more memorable than his entrance; he leaves the room doing a half-hearted moonwalk while wearing a flashy suit that looks like pajamas. We also learn that he believes in reincarnation, so that’s something to explore in season four.

4. Episode 6, “For Out of the Heart Comes Evil Thoughts”

This episode might have ranked higher if it included the hologram of Aimee-Leigh glitching into a digital DMX performing “Party Up (Up In Here),” but that comes later on, and therefore isn’t eligible. Besides, this episode belonged to Tim Baltz’s BJ. If Uncle Baby Billy was season three’s biggest scene stealer, BJ was the MVP (it could also go to Edi Patterson’s Judy, but she would win every year). His balls-tugging tussle should be taught in self-defense classes.

3. Episode 7, “Burn for Burn, Wound for Wound, Stripe for Stripe”

Let’s go straight to the clip.

This is better than any Kramer entrance. Also, Baby Billy and the delightful Tiff are one of my favorite couples on television. All they need is each other… and some roadside ass… and a stack of waffles… and a syndicated game show that definitely isn’t a religious rip-off of Family Feud. We should all be so lucky.

2. Episode 3, “For Their Nakedness Is Your Own Nakedness”

Should Uncle Baby Billy’s first appearance of the season, when he sings “Pay Day” while wearing a decadent giant clam shell by the pool of a religious-themed resort, be number one? Maybe! It’s a sublime sequence, and I’m tickled by Goggins being sent the song while he was “working in Namibia.”

But there are two reasons why I have it as the runner-up. The first: As much as I enjoy seeing Uncle Baby Billy sing to sunburnt Christians about how the lord promised them a payday that day, it’s still the show’s second-best musical number after the iconic “Misbehavin’” from season one. I haven’t run around the house with a pickle in my mouth since. As for the second reason, well…

1. Episode 9, “Wonders That Cannot Be Fathomed, Miracles That Cannot Be Counted”

As soon as I saw Uncle Baby Billy tell his nephews about the time he and race car driver Dusty Daniels, played by the great Shea Whigham, went to a Y2K Party where they may or may not have met Gene Hackman and may or may not have had sex with each other at an orgy, I got the idea for this post and started writing. I eventually watched the rest of the episode and enjoyed the heck out of it (still waiting on that Baby Billy’s Bible Bonkers spinoff series), but the cold open was the best part. It’s like an album peaking with track one. And this is the “Smells Like Teen Spirit” of Uncle Baby Billy’s entrances.

In the wake of Angus Cloud’s death earlier this week, tributes to the late actor have poured in from across the hip-hop world. The actor, who was 25 and best-known for his role as Fez on Euphoria, was apparently beloved in the hip-hop community and counted a number of rappers among both his fans and friends. While luminaries like Drake and Questlove likely loved Cloud from afar as fans of his work, others, like 03 Greedo and Guapdad 4000, apparently shared closer connections.

Quest, for instance, shared his thoughts on Instagram, writing, “Fez was the spiritual center of Euphoria and definitely my fav character on the show. Love to his entire family and to those who knew him.” Drake simply shared a photo of the actor captioned “good soul.”

However, Bay Area natives like Guapdad 4000 and Mistah F.A.B. had more personal observations, sharing memories of their encounters with Angus. “It’s weird posting when my friends from oakland die..it happens so much i cant keep up,” wrote Guap. “its weirder posting when my ‘famous’ friends die . So this one is double weird . It’s hard to find someone from the same place doing what you do and being where u at. Bay Area Icon.”

F.A.B., meanwhile, remembered Cloud’s visits to his store Dope Era in Oakland, recalling that the actor would “come in and drop bands.” “I’m saddened to see the news of him passing because he was such a humble human,” he reflected. Another California rapper, 03 Greedo, remembered how Cloud would DM him to keep his spirits up while he was incarcerated in Texas on drug charges.

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

Wilco unveiled the plans for their next album, Cousin, as they shared the new single, “Evicted.” Produced by Cate Le Bon, lead singer Jeff Tweedy described the record in a press release as a “feeling of being in it and out of it at the same time.”

“I guess I was trying to write from the point of view of someone struggling to make an argument for themself in the face of overwhelming evidence that they deserve to be locked out of someone’s heart,” he added. “Self-inflicted wounds still hurt and in my experience they’re almost impossible to fully recover from.”

Ahead of dropping the full album this fall, the band will be touring across the world starting in August. Fans can expect to catch Wilco at a number of shows across Europe, the US, and Mexico throughout the rest of the year. A complete list of dates and more information on tickets can be found via the band’s website.

Check out “Evicted” above. Below, find the cover art and tracklist for Cousin.

1. “Infinite”
2. “Ten Dead”
3. “Levee”
4. “Evicted”
5. “Sunlight Ends”
6. “A Bowl And A Pudding”
7. “Cousin”
8. “Pittsburgh”
9. “Solider Child”
10. “Meant To Be”

Cousin is out 9/29 via dBpm Records. Find more information here.

Hayley Williams doesn’t mind putting a fan in their place when they overstep her boundaries, even if she later comes to regret it. One fan on social media learned this the hard way: Last week, Paramore announced their decision to postpone several shows at the last minute, which didn’t sit well with a few fans.

Although the band hinted at the reason — writing in their note on social media, “In the interest of our health and the ability to put on a show you all deserve” — a few fans continued to push back.

One individual questioned why the group couldn’t manage to push through when other acts — such as Metallica and Iron Maiden, who dealt with medical strain — did. In screenshots gathered by Stereogum, Williams responded to the asinine remarks by writing, “Neither James [Hetfield] nor Bruce [Dickinson] are gonna suck your d*ck for this, love.”

Things really heated up when the fans called Williams “whiney,” to which she clapped back by saying, “I have a lung infection, you soft sh*t! Not a broken limb. One you can sing with for two hours, another you can’t.”

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