Month: April 2024

Philadelphia rapper Lay Bankz has been buzzing around on the independent scene for a couple of years now, but it’s starting to feel like that buzz is about to reach critical mass. At 19 years old, she’s already collected a handful of viral hits, including “Left Cheek (Doo Doo Blick),” “Na Na Na,” and “Ick,” with the latter generating a quarter of a million fan videos in seven months (which translated to nearly 3 million streams on YouTube and over 66 million on Spotify).

With features on Kyle’s Smyle Again (“Woah”) and Lambo4oe’s Self Esteem Pack remix EP this year, Bankz’s fan base is sure to expand and diversify, with her winning humor already appealing to audiences outside of the Philadelphia TikTok bubble. Add in her adept performance at Rolling Loud California in Los Angeles last month, and you’ve got a recipe for an impending glow-up. Her latest single “Tell Ur Girlfriend” is breaking out of the TikTok bubble and invading other platforms at a pace that suggests such a breakout is right around the corner.

You can check out Bankz’s “Na Na Na,” “Ick,” and “Tell Ur Girlfriend” below.

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

Happy Gilmore will forever be one of Adam Sandler‘s funniest movies, but there’s a small black cloud hanging over the comedy that didn’t used to be there.

In the past year, Carl Weathers (“Just easin’ the tension, baby”), Bob Barker (“Now you’ve had enough… bitch”), and Joe Flaherty (“Jackass!”), all of whom appeared in the 1996 film, have died. With Happy Gilmore 2 in development, Sandler has an idea for how the sequel can pay tribute to the original cast.

“I would love [current The Price is Right host] Drew Carey to be in this movie out of respect to Bob,” he said on The Dan Patrick Show on Wednesday, according to Awful Announcing. “When we were writing stuff, Bob was alive. When we were writing stuff, Carl Weathers was alive. When we were writing stuff, Joe Flaherty was alive. It sucks, we love those guys. They were such a big part of the movie and just great people. But we’re going to get them involved somehow. They’ll be involved.”

Sandler also revealed what the bigwigs at Universal Pictures wanted Happy Gilmore to be called: Hole in Fun. This is reason #58,592,487 why art should be made by artists, not guys in suits (unless it’s Paul Feig).

(Via Awful Announcing)

A three-year hiatus may be a big obstacle for some artists to recover from, but not Davido. The afrobeats star returned in 2023 with his fourth album Timeless, a 17-track effort that lived up to its name as it thrust Davido back into the spotlight — a place he’s called home for the better part of a decade. Davido’s legacy as one of afrobeats’ best artists is undoubtedly cemented in stone, but — in true African fashion — it should also be celebrated. That’s exactly what Davido will look to do when he takes over the legendary Madison Square Garden for a show that kicks off another run of Timeless performances.

“No rest!” the afrobeats star exclaims via Zoom call after I note his continued work amid a 12-month run of success. “These opportunities don’t come like that. So when God gives you a platform and gives you his blessings, you can’t take it for granted. [There’s] no time to waste at all, the world is looking at us. This is not the time to relax, I feel like there’ll be a time to relax. For now, we’re going hard — go hard or go home.”

Davido’s newfound focus follows a time where he admits “time was wasted,” but all of that is in the past. The future looks very exciting for the singer who is just as, if not even more excited to fulfill his lifelong dream of performing at Madison Square Garden. Ahead of that show, Uproxx caught up with Davido to hear about his plans for the MSG show, reflect on the Timeless, and dive into what the future looks like once he steps off the MSG stage.

It’s been a year since you released Timeless. What are your thoughts about the album when you look back at everything that’s occurred since its release?

2023 was crazy, man. A little hiatus [and] coming back with Timeless — a lot of people don’t get the opportunity to come back with a bang like that. I was fortunate to have a great team of producers, engineers, and writers who helped me with Timeless. After that, we did a six-arena tour, and sold every city out — it was crazy. [We] did shows around Africa, did a Timeless show in Nigeria, Timeless was nominated for three Grammys, my first time being nominated. It’s been a great year, I debuted for the first time [on] the Billboard Hot 100.

Is there anything in this Timeless era you wish you achieved that you haven’t yet?

I’m grateful so far for what God has done. I’m in my creative space right now. I definitely want to just keep dropping. I felt like, in the past, a lot of time was wasted, but now I’m focused. Timeless gave me that ginger and vim. It would have been amazing to have more time to do more with the Timeless album because it’s such a great body of work. I picked 17 songs from 80 songs. I’ve recorded at least another 40 [songs] now. I can’t just have all this music sitting. This is my Bitcoin, this is my cash. So yes, I wish I had more time. I’m doing better now, but I wish I had more money [laughs].

With your arena run last year, what was your favorite part of it that might’ve been new to you?

One show that was special to me was the Atlanta show. As a kid, my big brother used to take me to Hawks games all the time. Just walking in that building like, “Damn, I used to drive past this arena almost every weekend.” I used to go to school outside of Atlanta, close to Alabama. I’d come to Atlanta on the weekends, that’s where I was born. Atlanta is my family’s base outside of Nigeria. So I think that show was special [and] dope to me. One of the first shows where my whole family was in town. My dad, my aunties, it was just great to see people that saw me grow up in Atlanta look like, “Damn, that boy really did it.”

You’re the latest afrobeats artist to take the MSG stage. What are some things you plan to do differently to make this show the true Davido experience?

First of all, every artist has fans who like their music. So this is an opportunity for my fans to finally see me in The Garden. I want it to be on a very emotional night. I want us to party, I want us to cry, I want us to dance, I want us to talk [and] reason, and just celebrate the culture as a whole. I’m trying to see people in their African clothes. I don’t want to see the Dior, I want to see people come to celebrate Africa. I’m even trying to talk to the venue to get some African food — some jollof rice, some puff puff, some akara — just to give fans the whole African experience apart from the music.

Can we expect any special guests at the show? Any that you can reveal?

I got a lot of guests coming out. We have so much planned. The production… I’m damn near spending a ticket ($1 million) on the production just to make us look good. If you go all over the world, you have Nigerian doctors doing amazing things. You look to your right, you have Africans in sports doing crazy things. So [on] the music side, we have to hold it down. We’re trying to give the best production. It’s gonna be a night to remember, for sure.

Why has it always been a dream for you to perform at MSG? What about this venue specifically has been so special to you?

New York [and] the East Coast were one of the first places [in the US] to get hip to afrobeats, since time, even before it became mainstream. I remember doing a show in New York, about 9-10 years ago, and it was crazy. The fire marshall had to come, which just shows you that African music has been loved, since time. We just never got the opportunity to be in the big buildings [and] be in the big rooms, but good things last over time. I always knew the narrative would change. I remember walking by Madison Square Garden about seven years ago, and I was like, “Yo, man, I want to sell out this place.” The Garden is just different. I’ve sold out arenas all over the world, but The Garden is one for the books.

The relationship between the United States and Africa continues to grow strongly, especially when it comes to music. What do you think needs to happen or keep happening in order to preserve this relationship and even take it further?

First of all, I think ownership. We need to own our own. In Atlanta, I started this thing called Away Fest because I was like, “Why don’t we have our own Coachella? Why do we have to wait to get booked for these things when we can do it ourselves?” It took somebody one day to wake up and book an arena and sell out a show. It starts with a thought. We have so many amazing things back home. I’m talking about shooting more videos back home, showing the beauty of Africa.

The most important thing is not forgetting where you’re coming from and not being too thirsty for Western recognition. Africa is a whole continent, don’t forget that. If you’re supported by a whole continent, whatever support comes from outside is just a plus. So yes, we should appreciate the love we’re being shown overseas, but the most important thing is we should not forget where we come from.

After achieving a dream moment like performing at MSG, what comes next for you in your career?

I think we’re gonna add five more arena dates. My new album is almost done, so it’s about to be another ride. We’re about to shoot [the] “Kante” video with Fave and drop that. I have a documentary we’re working on. I want to invest in movies, I want to executive produce movies — there’s a lot of stuff that we’re planning. I’m building a new home, my dream home. [I] just [want to] keep pushing the culture and whatever God brings to our front we will receive it and be glad in it.

You’ve done a lot of collaborations since releasing Timeless (i.e. Chris Brown & Kizz Daniel), what are some others you’d like to make happen in the future?

I’m collaborating with a lot of people right now for the album, but I can’t spill that now. But people that I would love to collaborate with are Drake, for sure, Rihanna [too]. I’ve been listening to Jelly Roll, he’s really dope. But we got some people on the album. I don’t want to say too much. Africa-wise, I love amapiano so [I’m] definitely gonna do some more collaborations. Me and Musa keys did “Unavailable,” that went crazy. I got music coming with a lot of South African artists as well, so watch out for that.

Davido’s Timeless North American Tour kicks off on April 17. Find out more information here.

It’s been almost a decade since Hannah Waddingham starred in Game of Thrones as Septa Unella, a devout follower of the Faith of the Seven that had taken control of King’s Landing in season five. Her character put Lena Headey’s Cersei Lannister through a series of public and private humiliations before Unella found herself on the receiving end. That punishment involved an intense waterboarding scene that still haunts Waddingham to this day.

“Thrones gave me something I wasn’t expecting from it, which was chronic claustrophobia,” Waddingham told Stephen Colbert, via Variety. “It was horrific. Ten hours of being actually waterboarded. Like actually. I’m strapped to a table with all these leather straps. I couldn’t lift up my head because I said that would be too obvious that it’s loose.”

However, while Waddingham has previously described the experience as the “worst day of her life” and a close second to childbirth, she told Colbert that torturing yourself for the hit HBO series was not uncommon:

“I’m on my way back [from set] with grape juice all in my hair so it went purple, I couldn’t speak because the Mountain had his hand over my mouth while I was screaming and I had strap marks everywhere like I had been attacked,” she continued. “One of the other guys who had been shooting something else was like, ‘You’re lucky, I’ve just been crawling through shit on my elbow for four days.’ It kind of doesn’t matter when you’re in Thrones. You just want to give the best.”

You can watch Waddingham talk Game of Thrones and The Fall Guy below:

(Via Variety)

For the second year in a row, Made In America festival will not return to Philadelphia this summer.

Last year’s Made In America festival, during which, SZA and Lizzo were set to headline, was canceled as a result of “severe circumstances outside of production control.” Once again, Made In America announced the news today (April 3) via social media and the festival’s official website that it would not return for 2024.

The announcement came before a 2024 lineup or iteration was even announced. Though the reasoning was rather vague, Made In America says that festival will make a return at some point in the future.

“As purveyors of change, the Made In America executive production team is reimagining a live music experience that affirms our love and dedication to music and the work we do,” read the statement.

You can read the full statement below.

“Made In America will not take place in 2024.

Since its inception, this groundbreaking festival has celebrated music & community – from creating a space for fans to connect, to uplifting local small businesses & shining a light on important causes. It has strived for accessibility, eliminating barriers through affordable tickets and location.

As purveyors of change, the Made In America executive production team is reimagining a live music experience that affirms our love and dedication to music and the work we do.

We promise an exciting return to the festival.”

Kanye West and Ty Dolla Sign plan to release their Vulture series in a trilogy, with Vultures 2 being the next upcoming release. Last month, West revealed the cover art for the album — building fans’ excitement for the project.

However, West’s spokesperson recently told Billboard that there would no longer be listening parties for Vultures 2, despite this being initially announced.

Here’s what fans should know about the Vultures 2 new release date.

Is There A New Kanye West and Ty Dolla Sign Vultures 2 Release Date?

Although it was supposed to drop on March 8, as of right now, there is not an updated release date for Vultures 2. The duo plans to sell the album for $20, according to West, as it will be available on the Yeezy website instead of any streaming platform. A few days later, short previews of the songs were available on Instagram and TikTok — so a release could very well be on the horizon.

“We regret to report that due to the time constraints for Ye and Ty Dolla Sign to curate production and meet logistic requirements, the upcoming dates for the VULTURES 1&2 listening experience will need to be revisited at a later date,” Tampa’s Amelie Arena, which was one of the listening locations, shared.

Vultures 1 had been delayed, too, but arrived eventually — meaning it should be the same for the trilogy’s second drop.

Ty Dolla Sign is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Doja Cat is gearing up to release the deluxe edition of her album Scarlet soon, but some, it would seem, have already gotten ahold of it via leaks. While some artists get upset about leaks, it looks like Doja doesn’t care even a little bit.

In response to one fan asking Doja to “do something” about the leak, Doja responded, “idk why you guys care so much about leaks.” She added in another tweet, “what does it mean when someone leaks an album why do people get upset?”

Somebody responded, “cuz you lose streams,” and Doja replied, “but i dont care????” Somebody else said, “the album will still be a hit ikdr muva,” and Doja answered, “why does that matter either though?”

One fan, surprised by Doja’s response to this news, tweeted, “Thought you would be cussing out people having a breakdown or sum.” Doja replied, “LMAO nah [crying emoji].” Another user wrote, “I mean it’s lowkey disrespectful if you set a date and people are dropping it early w/o permission.” Doja responded, “No its definitely messed up cuz i wanted to put it out myself but theres nothing i can do about it!! thats just how its gonna be but at least i can just keep being creative and look forward to the awesome things i have coming up!!”

Find all of Doja’s tweets on the matter here.

The RX is Uproxx Music’s stamp of approval for the best albums, songs, and music stories throughout the year. Inclusion in this category is the highest distinction we can bestow, and signals the most important music being released throughout the year. The RX is the music you need, right now.

For all the various permutations hip-hop artists can display, rarely has one demonstrated such tongue-in-cheek self-awareness as Buddy does on “Buddy A Fool,” the fifth track from his newly released third studio album, Don’t Forget To Breathe. Over an airy but propulsive beat by Axl Folie and Royce Millennium, Buddy lists off a variety of the quirky behaviors that make Buddy, Buddy. “That n**** Buddy is nice / I seen him out the other night / He asked if he could borrow a light / That ni**** Buddy be high / I texted but he didn’t reply / I heard he got a DUI.” (I can’t speak to all of it, but a great deal is one-hundred percent accurate, as I learned while working on this piece.)

Buddy has always been unusual among rappers. Unlike many, he’s been performing since before he was a teen thanks to his attendance of Amazing Grace Conservatory. When he was just 15, he was signed to Pharrell Williams’ now-defunct I Am Other label. When that fell through, he landed at RCA, where he dropped a string of spacey, jazz-inflected meditations on his unusual upbringing including the collaborative EPs Ocean & Montana and Magnolia before dropping his official debut Harlan & Alondra nearly 10 years after his first record deal.

Although it’s now considered an absolute classic in some circles, the album’s lukewarm commercial performance curtailed RCA’s support for its 2022 follow-up Superghetto, and Buddy left the label, opting to remain independent and release Don’t Forget To Breathe through the Bay Area-based independent label EMPIRE. As it turns out, this was the best decision he could have made. For the first time, Buddy is allowed to just be Buddy on one of his albums, without the pressure to concede to commercial demands or industry expectations. Pardon me, I’m about to get expansive.

The recording industry, like the world around it, tends to look to categorize artists based on their circumstances and its preconceived notions of people from those circumstances. TL;DR: The music business doesn’t know what to do with Black folks who don’t fit the stereotype. Buddy, a rapper from Compton, doesn’t rap much about gangbanging and selling drugs, ergo, he doesn’t fit in with the expectations of a rapper from Compton. Even Kendrick Lamar, our erstwhile neighbor, digresses into tales of the trauma wrought by the effects of white flight and decades of divestment in the once flourishing community.

And while Buddy, like many of us, is scarred by his experiences, he unpacks his hangups in a more relaxed atmosphere, under a haze of THC-laced smoke — it’s more dream therapy than Kenny’s scream therapy. On “Free My Mind,” the album’s disarmingly mellow intro, Buddy details some of the bruises he’s collected since his last dispatch. “I was super ghetto at first / Redefined myself, left the label, bettered my worth / I could sign myself / Still go through real life shit / My daddy almost died, house exploded right before that Portugal trip.” His discursive musings range from the surreal (“How’d I lose that Rolex Presidential?) to the mundane malaise of everyday life (“Still stuck, only difference is I ain’t on Central”).

Relationship troubles? Just like anyone, Buddy would rather leave those later, pleading with his lady on “Talk About It” to save it for the morning when he’s in a better mood. When he feels like showboating, he calls up rising Long Beach native Huey Briss to trade boastful verse on “Got Me Started.” And his aspirations shine on “All The Way,” where he recounts the grind and vows to make it worth it for his mom. The honesty and vulnerability that Buddy displays here have always hummed through the vibey tunes he released in the past, but here, Buddy’s looser, more relaxed, unconstrained by any remits to recoup.

Accordingly, the music is also 100 percent reflective of his eclectic, soulful tastes. Chunky bass lines buzz under warm piano chords, jazzy drum rolls, and alluring brass. As much as Don’t Forget To Breathe sounds like a weed-enhanced therapy session, its instrumentation sounds like a jazz troupe’s late-night jam session, a laid-back, anything-goes musical conversation between players who like each other as much as they like showing off for each other. Meanwhile, the final song is the most upbeat; “You 2 Thank” adopts an of-the-moment afrobeats rhythm, giving Buddy a celebratory canvas to delight in stepping into his next phase, lighter, freer, more grounded than ever. The pressure is gone and he’s breathing free.

Don’t Forget To Breathe is out now via EMPIRE. Get more info here.

In Civil War, the new movie from Alex Garland based on a modern-day conflict in America, Nick Offerman plays a United States president who appears to be on his third term. The prevailing theory is that Offerman’s character is a tyrant, which sparks the unlikely alliance between California and Texas.

Considering America just witnessed Donald Trump attempt to overturn the results of a presidential election with the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, it’s a reasonable question to ask if Offerman’s character is based on America’s biggest sore loser. While plot details have been scant for Civil War, Offerman did provide a definitive answer on the inspiration for his POTUS chaaracter.

Is Nick Offerman’s ‘Civil War’ Character Based On Trump?

During a red carpet interview with Deadline, Offerman made it clear that his presidential character in Civil War is not based on any certain former POTUS with a penchant for coups:

“Honestly, no. When you see the movie, it’s so unattached to anything in modern politics, not only in our country but any country. It’s like doing a play where I’m playing a baseball player, and people say, ‘Did you ever think of your favorite team, the Cubs?’ And I say, ‘No, it’s a brilliant piece of fiction.’”

“From the get-go, it clearly wasn’t based on anything in reality,” the Parks and Recreation star added. “And so, that’s a distraction, and my job is to immediately say, ‘Who is this guy? And how can I best serve Alex [Garland’s] vision.’”

You can watch Offerman’s remarks below:

Civil War breaks out in theaters on April 12.

(Via Deadline)

Gen V star Chance Perdomo’s sudden death at age 27 occurred practically on the eve of the Amazon’s first second-season table read. The cast was soon left reeling while paying tribute to their friend, who portrayed the metal-manipulating Supe Andre Anderson, a powerful force within The Boys spin off series.

Previously, the rising actor also appeared in four seasons of Netflix’s Chilling Adventures of Sabrina starring Kiernan Shipka as the title character from the Archie comics. Chance’s performance as Ambrose Spellman was a standout among many oddball portrayals in the deliciously rendered series, and Shipka has now come forward to tell the world what a brilliant friend that “Chancey Pants” has been to her for years:

Oh man this hurts.

He was a one of a kind soul. Just the most fiery, creative, loving, connected, and caring force you could possibly imagine…

As playful as he was kind. As loving as he was hilarious. He never failed to make me laugh and he never failed to keep me on my toes (or off of them if he was giving me a piggyback ride to my trailer which he often did. Thanks Chance.)

His humanity was a generous gift to me and to so many people. Really hard to picture this world without him in it.

I loved him with my whole heart. I always will.

Shipka also posted photos of Chance and a video of those piggyback rides.

Gen V filming has been now been put on hold “indefinitely” following Chance’s deadly motorcycle accident while he was on his way to meet his fellow cast members in Toronto. Those who have recently visited his Instagram page have noted an eerie photo that he posted of a motorcycle only a few weeks ago.