Month: March 2024

Once every generation, there is one star who shines brighter than others. And that’s not just because of their expensive veneers. Timothee Chalamet is quickly becoming the next big star thanks to his ability to appeal to both young women and Martin Scorsese.

In the last few months, Chalamet has starred in both the family-friendly pic Wonka and the sandy-friendly epic Dune Part 2. With those two films, he has led the top two domestic-grossing films over the last eight months (not counting a superhero ensemble-type cast, which would likely bring Chris Pratt to the top of the list). This is pretty rare!

This week, Dune became the second film to pass $200 million at the box office since July, a feat that Wonka hit in March. As pointed out by IndieWire, this type of stuff doesn’t happen to a single star very often. The site claimed that last time a lead in a live-action film reached the same achievement was John Travolta with Grease and Saturday Night Fever. Remember when people actually liked musicals?

Iconic action stars like Harrison Ford and Tom Cruise have had similar success, but none of them can hold a note quite like Timmy.

Meanwhile, Chalamet couldn’t care less! The man has been galavanting around town cosplaying as Bob Dylan and filling dads across the country with rage.

(Via IndieWire)

Earlier this year, The Shade Room reported that Saweetie and YG had ended their relationship after dating since at least May of last year.

And this is why you don’t listen to The Shade Room, or any of those Instagram gossip accounts, really. I have harped on the subject of reliable sources for months and months and stuff like this is why.

During YG and Tyga’s set at Rolling Loud California this past weekend, YG brought Saweetie onstage, where they got cozy and exchanged declarations of love.

The two West Coast rappers were rumored to be dating after collaborating together on multiple songs. Then, in May 2023, they were spotted taking a romantic vacation in Cabo. Since then, they’ve been seemingly inseparable, teaming up with Tyga for the Str8 To The Club tour last autumn and collaborating again on Saweetie’s summer single “Birthday” (again with Tyga).

Saweetie has been more actively promoting her solo music this year, releasing the single “Richtivities” and collaborating with fellow Bay Area native P-Lo for the 49ers playoff anthem “Do It For The Bay.” It certainly sounds like she’s rebooting her album rollout, which could mean that her long-awaited debut project is on the way.

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

Kai Cenat may be the favorite streamer of many of rap’s biggest names like Drake, Nicki Minaj, and Killer Mike, but one hip-hop star is apparently less fond of the 22-year-old YouTuber.

Kanye West lashed out at Cenat after sending the streamer a pair of his YZY brand pants in the wrong size. Cenat demonstrated their poor fit during one of his streams, which incensed the multihyphenate musician-designer. Kanye shared a DM exchange via Instagram in which Ye told the younger entertainer, “Don’t make jokes about my clothes. When you ain’t saying nothing about what Adidas is doing. When “Vultures” song came out you ain’t play my verse. You controlled. Don’t play with me.”

As a quick reminder: What “Adidas is doing” is continuing to release its massive backstock of Yeezy apparel and footwear after Kanye’s antisemitic comments forced the company to end their endorsement deal prematurely, as is the company’s right (of all the things I’m angry at Kanye about, forcing me to defend a multibillion dollar athletics conglomerate is close to the top of the list). Oh, and they’re suing him for pretty much stealing the marketing budget for other Yeezy endeavors after terrorizing employees with his own sex tapes.

After this exchange, though, Kanye’s longtime manager John Monopoly threatened Kai, writing, “We good… But if we ever need to link up for a face to face I’ll meet him in HIS hood. Just me plus one.” Which seems like a really mature and professional way to do business, but this is the outfit that publicly announced firing an influencer of questionable utility while employing a known racist troll in a high-level position.

I am once again requesting a year-long moratorium on these people’s collective internet access, at least until we can confirm that children can read and write again and democracy is not going to topple off a cliff into a boiling sea. Panem et circenses, indeed.

One of the nice things about being famous and rich (although not as rich as you might think) is that you can hire someone to manage your social media for you. I’m not saying Sydney Sweeney doesn’t personally check her notifications on X or her DMs on Instagram, but if she did, she might lose her faith in humanity. Ever since she hosted Saturday Night Live, people have been acting extra weird about Sweeney, particulary her boobs.

“There’s so many people out there who are like, oh, she’s famous because she showed her boobs,” the Anyone But You star, who joked on SNL about her “show boobs” backup plan if the whole acting thing didn’t work out, told GQ UK. Sweeney added that she’s “learn[ed] the system. You can try and fight it but they just fight back. Even if you stand up for yourself, people are going to attack you for standing up for yourself.”

Later in the interview, Sweeney discussed her well-reviewed horror movie Immaculate, where she plays a nun named Cecilia. “There’s so many raw, guttural moments that I felt as Cecilia, and the pain and the agony and the fear and the sadness that she was going through,” she said. “I just let her come out in a very deep and emotional way.”

Immaculate opens in theaters on March 22nd.

(Via GQ UK)

The dispute between Kanye West and former contracter Julieanna Goddard — aka YesJulz — is apparently escalating, as the producer shared the text of an alleged lawsuit on Sunday (March 17) on his Instagram Story. According to XXL, which captured a screenshot of the Story post before Kanye deleted it, the text of the suit reads:

Julianne Goddard has repeatedly, intentionally and grossly violated the terms of her Non-Disclosure Agreement with complainants including publicly disclosing corporate sales figures, social media strategies, text messages with Ye and management, release plans for the Vultures album and product designs before release. To say Goddard suffers from a lack of impulse control would be to excuse her from responsibility for behavior that is hurtful, hateful, and destructive.

I….

Well, I am just gobsmacked. It certainly sounds like someone we all know. I wonder if Kanye’s house has ANY mirrors in it, at all.

West seeks restitution “in excess of $8,000,000” which… somehow… it seems unlikely he’s ever going to see. Goddard did dare West and his “chief of staff” Milo Yiannopoulos to sue her in her response to being fired from the Yeezy brand, but considering Ye’s established pattern of grand announcements and haphazard follow-through (see: the aforementioned Vultures rollout, Ye’s 2020 presidential campaign), Goddard probably isn’t in very much danger of having to pay a dime.

For what it’s worth, Kanye only posted this text to his Instagram Story with no comment, so it’s possible he hasn’t even filed the suit yet (after all, court’s closed on Sunday). Uproxx was unable to independently confirm that any such document was submitted through LA Superior Court systems, but considering it can often take a while to get docs digitized, that’s no evidence that it wasn’t filed. We’ll just have to wait and see if Julz responds — and how.

Pop culture was all over this year’s Super Bowl: Taylor Swift was in attendance to cheer on Travis Kelce and his Kansas City Chiefs, while Reba McEntire was one of the musicians on hand to deliver a pre-game performance, singing the national anthem. Some pot-stirrer tried to pit McEntire and Swift against each other by spreading fake news online, so McEntire put her foot down and set the record straight.

This past weekend, McEntire shared a screenshot of a post from an account called America Loves Liberty. The post (which spelled McEntire’s name incorrectly, by the way) claims, “Reba McIntire talks about how disappointed she was to look up at the big screen while performing The National Anthem, only to see Taylor Swift laughing and drinking and making a mockery of the event. ‘I let her have it afterward. She’s an entitled little brat.’”

McEntire wrote, “Please don’t believe everything you see on the Internet. I did not say this. Taylor is a wonderful artist, strong role model and has done so much good for so many people and the music industry.”

It turns out McEntire has been a bit of a misinformation target lately. In February, she tweeted, “Please do not click on any articles that say I am leaving The Voice. This is not true. These are fake websites to lure people in with clickbait where they claim I have a company to sell weight loss gummy products. This is false. I do not sell or promote any type of gummy product.”

In predictable fashion, Elon Musk has been lashing out at Don Lemon. The former CNN journalist revealed that Musk had abruptly ended a multi-million dollar publishing deal for The Don Lemon Show after a testy interview where Musk was asked about his ketamine use and failure to moderate hate speech on Twitter.

Somehow, The New York Post got a list of alleged demands that Lemon submitted to Musk as they hashed out plans for Lemon to host his show on X/Twitter similar to Tucker Carlson:

The ex-CNN anchor sent over an astronomical wish list to Elon Musk during contract talks to host a show on the billionaire’s social media platform X – including a free Tesla Cybertruck, a $5 million upfront payment on top of an $8 million salary, an equity stake in the multibillion-dollar company, and the right to approve any changes in X policy as it relates to news content, according to a document reviewed by The Post.

Most eyebrow raising is Lemon’s alleged requests for a Cybertruck and equity in X/Twitter, two things that don’t really have much value considering the former is the subject of daily embarrassing videos and the latter is worth only 30 percent of what Musk paid for it.

Lemon’s agent has forcefully denied the claims published in the Post.

“This is absolute, complete utter nonsense without an iota of truth to it,” Jay Sures told The Hollywood Reporter in a brief, but to-the-point statement.

(Via New York Post, The Hollywood Reporter)

Keeping up with new music can be exhausting, even impossible. From the weekly album releases to standalone singles dropping on a daily basis, the amount of music is so vast it’s easy for something to slip through the cracks. Even following along with the Uproxx recommendations on a daily basis can be a lot to ask, so every Monday we’re offering up this rundown of the best new music this week.

This week saw Justin Timberlake return years after his last album and Musgraves launch a comeback after a less lengthy wait. Yeah, it was a great week for new music. Check out the highlights below.

For more music recommendations, check out our Listen To This section, as well as our Indie Mixtape and Pop Life newsletters.

Kacey Musgraves — “Cardinal”

Musgraves continues her stylistic evolution with a bit of return to base, delving into soft country folk on her new album, Deeper Well. “Cardinal” is a strong example of that, as it manages to be tender and gentle but with a kinetic force behind it.

Justin Timberlake — “No Angels”

Timberlake’s plate is perpetually full to the point of overflowing, but he has finally found time to release Everything I Thought It Was, his first new album since 2018’s Man Of The Woods. There’s some fun to be had here, too, like on the funky single “No Angels” that shows Timberlake still knows how to craft and perform a pop bop.

Cardi B — “Enough (Miami)”

Is a new Cardi album finally on the way? Maybe! At least, she’s been busy lately: She came through with “Like What (Freestyle)” a couple weeks ago, and now she’s back once again with the in-your-face “Enough (Miami).”

Flo Milli — “Never Lose Me” Feat. SZA and Cardi B

“Enough (Miami)” wasn’t all Cardi did last week: She (along with SZA) hopped on a remix of Flo Milli’s viral hit “Never Lose Me.” The song was great as it was and certainly didn’t need to assist, but that doesn’t mean SZA and Cardi’s fresh contributions aren’t welcome, as they work out well on the new version.

Gunna — “Prada Dem” Feat. Offset

Gunna and Offset are back to flexing on their boastful new collab, “Prada Dem.” Gunna also takes a minute to address his recent legal situation: “I set the trend, I’m a trendsetter / I’m not a rat, still gettin’ cheddar.”

Sexyy Red — “Get It Sexyy”

Sexyy Red just had her first baby not all that long ago, but even that isn’t gonna keep her away from dropping new music. She unveiled “Get It Sexyy” last week, and it’s a celebratory tune that’s all about self-esteem and good times.

Halle — “In Your Hands”

Halle Bailey has been crushing it recently, following up a starring stint in the Little Mermaid remake with a new solo single, “In Your Hands.” It’s an emotional ballad that puts her smooth vocals at the forefront as she sings about being valued in a relationship.

Tierra Whack — “Ms Behave”

When naming Whack’s World Wide Whack one of this spring’s most-anticipated albums, Uproxx’s Aaron Williams noted, “Her 2018 EP Whack World introduced listeners to a fantastical approach toward genre and subject matter that established Whack as one of the most intriguing names in hip-hop, and her debut album — which she announced this January — will give her the opportunity to expand on that foundation.”

Don Toliver — “Deep In The Water”

Toliver’s new album Hardstone is on the way and he offered another look at it last week with “Deep In The Water.” More notably, though, the song’s video offers a first look at his and Kali Uchis’ newborn son.

Vampire Weekend — “Classical”

Vampire Weekend started the rollout of their upcoming album Only God Was Above Us by boasting a relatively raw sound. That remains the case on “Classical,” although the orchestral backing instrumentation adds a certain level of polish.

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

Tyla crushed it in 2023 with the success of her breakthrough single, “Water,” which was a viral hit and managed a top-10 peak on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Momentum is on her side as she heads into the release of her self-titled debut album, which is set for release this week, on March 22.

Now, we have a better idea of what the project will look like: Over the weekend, Tyla unveiled the Tyla tracklist.

Who Is Featured On Tyla’s Album Tyla?

As the tracklist (below) reveals, the album features Kelvin Momo, Tems, Gunna, Skillibeng, Becky G, and Travis Scott.

Tyla’s Tyla Tracklist

1. “Intro” Feat. Kelvin Momo
2. “Safer”
3. “Water”
4. “Truth or Dare”
5. “No. 1” Feat. Tems
6. “Breathe Me”
7. “Butterflies”
8. “On & On”
9. “Jump” Feat. Gunna and Skillibeng
10. “Art”
11. “On My Body” Feat. Becky G
12. “Priorities”
13. “To Last”
14. “Water (Remix)” Feat. Travis Scott

Tyla was originally set to tour in support of the album. Unfortunately, though, she had to cancel all dates. She announced that earlier this month and explained, “For the past year I’ve been silently suffering with an injury that has tragically worsened. I’ve seen doctors and specialists with high hopes, but the pain has only become more agonizing as has the severity of the situation. I am absolutely heartbroken to have to say this but as of right now I won’t be able to proceed with the tour. In consulting with medical professionals, it’s become increasingly clear that continuing any festival or tour dates would jeopardize my long-term health and safety.”

Tyla is out 3/22 via FAX/Epic Records. Find more information here.

If Joe Biden loses the election to Donald Trump this November, it won’t be because of his terrible campaign slogan. But it’s not helping. In 2020, Team Biden went with “Build Back Better.” Not bad, not great. But it’s a masterpiece compared to the administration’s 2024 slogan: “Let’s Finish the Job.” Shrug.

Meanwhile, Trump introduced his new slogan in the final sentence of a Truth Social post on Monday. “OUR ONCE GREAT COUNTRY IS GOING DOWN THE DRAIN. WE ARE A NATION IN DECLINE! VOTE FOR TRUMP, WHAT THE HELL DO YOU HAVE TO LOSE?” he wrote. Are you inspired yet?

This is something an unstable person yells in the Burger King drive-thru line when the car in front of them is taking too long to order, not a rallying cry to become the next president. “VOTE FOR TRUMP, WHAT THE HELL DO YOU HAVE TO LOSE?” reeks of “don’t blame me, I voted for Kodos.” Maybe Trump should stick to Make America Great Again.

Those four words helped propel Trump to the White House in 2016. “I said, ‘That is so good.’ I wrote it down,” Trump once told the Washington Post. “I went to my lawyers. I have a lot of lawyers in-house. We have many lawyers. I have got guys that handle this stuff.” He asked them to trademark MAGA — less than a week later, Trump “signed an application with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.” Even if he basically stole it from Ronald Reagan.