Month: May 2024

Unlike much of the online hip-hop community, Questlove was less than impressed with the rap beef between Drake and Kendrick Lamar. Over the weekend, the two rappers exchanged a slew of acidic diss tracks — “6:16 In LA,” “Family Matters,” “Meet The Grahams,” “Not Like Us,” and “The Heart Part 6” — that did little to promote either rapper as the vanguard of a generation in favor of simply airing out each other’s dirty laundry.

Questlove, a 30-plus-year veteran of the rap business, who heard “Rapper’s Delight” on the radio and has written at least two books about the history of hip-hop as pop culture, deplored the contest on his Instagram, where he wrote, “Nobody won the war.”

This wasn’t about skill. This was a wrestling match level mudslinging and takedown by any means necessary — women & children (& actual facts) be damned. Same audience wanting blood will soon put up ‘rip’ posts like they weren’t part of the problem. Hip Hop truly is dead.

As one of hip-hop’s foremost historians, Quest’s opinion holds a lot of weight. He also sees and remembers more than most. His ominous pronouncement isn’t just doomsaying, it’s a remembrance; interviews with prominent hip-hop journalists from the ’90s expressing regret over the coverage of the interpersonal feud between Tupac and The Notorious B.I.G. aren’t hard to find.

And no, it doesn’t seem like either Drake or Kendrick would do some dummy sh*t and escalate the conflict to violence, but that doesn’t mean those around them won’t — or even unrelated superfans taking their jabs to heart. If nothing else, the pair never seemed to consider the effects of the battle on those they care about. Kendrick directly addressed Drake’s mother and son on “Meet The Grahams,” while Drake insinuated Kendrick’s manager was schtupping his fiancée on “Family Matters.”

Those are things you can’t take back and, honestly, probably would warrant violence in a face-to-face confrontation — I’ve seen folks punched in the face at rap battles for less (maybe they should take up Shawn Michaels on his WWE invitation and put on a shoot match for the ages). The battle wasn’t exactly “good for hip-hop” in the way many — who really just wanted to see a couple of really good rappers RAP — might see it. There were always plenty of raps, but many underground stars just looking to climb their way into public notice had rollouts ruined, opportunities overlooked, and releases swept to the side in the rush to hear these two guys air their personal grievances. Quest’s pronouncement that “hip-hop is truly dead” might be dramatic, but the spirit of friendly competition seems to have gotten lost in the modern climate of ad hominem and frankly outrageous accusations.

What has Ryan Reynolds been up to lately? Quite literally everything and anything you can think of! Not only is he leading this summer’s kiddie blockbuster IF, but he’s also suiting up as Deadpool once again this summer. Yet somehow he finds time to film those repetitive Mint Mobile ads.

But for the sports fans out there, Reynolds also hosts Welcome To Wrexham, the inspirational football docuseries that has brought the love of the game to Americans (who call it “soccer”).

Season three of the hit series, also featuring Rob McElhenney, premiered earlier this month, and a lot of riding on the team and its owners for a successful season.

Episode three, titled “Notts Again,” will air Thursday, May 9 at 10 EDT on FX. Afterwards, it lands on Hulu and Disney+ the next day, normally by 3 am EST on Friday.

Episode three shifts the focus to the Wrexham Women’s Team, who had a groundbreaking 2023 season. The men are also gearing up to face their toughest team yet. Here is the episode three synopsis, “The Wrexham Women’s Team adapt to life in the top Welsh league as the men prepare to face Notts County, their fiercest rivals from the National League.”

You can stream Welcome To Wrexham seasons one and two now on Hulu and Disney+.

Shoegaze is very much having a moment right now. That much is apparent from the proliferation of new, young shoegaze acts like Wisp and Sign Crushes Motorist picking up steam on social media to the resurgence in popularity as evidenced by progenitors like Slowdive and My Bloody Valentine. Even archival label The Numero Group is recovering lost classics like Majesty Crush’s Butterflies Don’t Go Away for a reissue, giving it another chance in the limelight. Although they don’t hail from the subgenre’s ‘90s prime, it feels like an auspicious moment for Blushing.

Based in Austin, the double married-couple quartet, composed of Christina and Noe Carmona plus Michelle and Jacob Soto, adds a jolt of adrenalized volume to their hook-heavy strain of dream-pop. Sugarcoat, their new album, overflows with enveloping, luxurious guitar tones and translucent atmospherics with production that feels nonetheless defined, thanks to the mixing, engineering, and mastering from Ride’s Mark Gardener and Ringo Deathstarr’s Elliott Frazier. From start to finish, Sugarcoat makes a strong case for Blushing as one of the best new shoegaze bands around.

Following the record’s release this Friday, Christina and Michelle sat down with Uproxx to talk about skipping school to see Nine Inch Nails, staying in a place on tour where the walls were lined with copies of Shrek, and collecting Korok seeds in The Legend Of Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom in our latest Indie Mixtape 20 Q&A.

What are four words you would use to describe your music?

Christina – fuzzy, sunny, colorful, hooks.

It’s 2050 and the world hasn’t ended and people are still listening to your music. How would you like it to be remembered?

Christina – I think I’d like to be remembered as a band that wrote music with a lot of sonic variety.

Who’s the person who has most inspired your work, and why?

Christina – Probably my parents (sorry if that’s cheesy!). They are musicians that were able to continue performing and making music while providing for my brother and me, which is really inspiring to me.

Where did you eat the best meal of your life and what was it?

Michelle – Best Quality Daughter in San Antonio, I got the Panang curry dan dan noodles.

Christina – Sushi is my favorite but I have a particularly fond memory of an okonomiyaki spot we found in Harajuku.

Tell us about the best concert you’ve ever attended.

Christina – Nine Inch Nails at Stubb’s BBQ in 2005. They were my favorite band, so I skipped school and had the best time.

Michelle – Fischerspooner at Stubb’s BBQ in 2003. Not sure if it was the best concert but it was the most entertaining.

What song never fails to make you emotional?

Michelle – “Love Ridden” by Fiona Apple.

Christina – “Sleep” by Eric Whitacre.

What’s the last thing you Googled?

Michelle – “How long do hard boiled eggs last”

Christina – TOTK korok seed locations

Where’s the weirdest place you’ve ever crashed while on tour?

Michelle – The walls were lined with stacks and stacks of VHS tapes, but for the most part it was all the same movie, Shrek. Tons of copies of Shrek. The next morning when we were packing up to leave we found a man’s wallet on the floor. It looked like Noe’s wallet so we opened it to make sure it was his and inside in the plastic frame where a loved one’s picture would go was a photo of Fiona and Shrek kissing. It was not Noe’s wallet. We put the wallet on the coffee table and got out of there. It was so nice of them to let us crash but I gotta say that was a weird one, to each their own. I mean we all might as well be walking on the sun!

Christina – While on tour with Ringo Deathstarr, we stayed with our friends The Stargazer Lilies at their beautiful home- essentially a mid-century treehouse in the woods with almost 360 windows. It was snowing outside, the fireplace was cozy, Kim made the best pasta, and we drank red wine all night. However, it was dark and isolated, and there were howling coyotes outside (I think), which was all a bit eerie. It felt like a David Lynch movie! It’s by far one of my favorite tour memories.

What’s your favorite city in the world to perform and what’s the city you hope to perform in for the first time?

Michelle – Fukuoka was my favorite. I hope we can play in Mexico City one day.

What’s one piece of advice you’d go back in time to give to your 18-year-old self?

Michelle – Very sadly it wouldn’t matter. My 18-year-old self wouldn’t take advice from anyone.

Christina – Have more fun and say “yes” more.

What’s one of your hidden talents?

Michelle – I have so few talents that I don’t keep any of them hidden!

Christina – I have a good Ash Ketchum impression (or any 10-year-old boy anime character). I would love to do voice acting. Please hire me!

If you had a million dollars to donate to charity, what cause would you support and why?

Michelle – It would be so hard to choose just one, I would have to split between World Central Kitchen, The Ocean Cleanup, and ASPCA.

Christina – ASPCA or HAAM. HAAM (Health Alliance For Austin Musicians) provides health care and health services for musicians in Austin. I’ve been a recipient of HAAM and I hope to be able to give back one day.

What are your thoughts about AI and the future of music?

Michelle – A year ago I asked AI to write a song about a pug just for fun. It was scary how good it was. But now I am seeing AI generating nonsensical crab Jesus photos so I am not sure if AI will be taking over our creative industries – just yet.

You are throwing a music festival. Give us the dream lineup of 5 artists that will perform with you and the location it would be held.

Michelle – The Sundays, The Dead Milkmen, The Sugarcubes, My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult and Veruca Salt at Pappy and Harriets.

Who’s your favorite person to follow on social media?

Christina – The algorithm put menswear writer Derek Guy in my view. He writes long threads about tailoring, fabrics, textures, putting pieces together, etc. I love it.

What’s the story behind your first or favorite tattoo?

Michelle – I got my first tattoo when I was 16 using a fake ID at a shop down the street from my house. My mom found out about it and went down to the shop and yelled at the tattoo artist for tattooing a 16-year-old. He then showed her the photocopy of the fake ID I used and so that made things so much worse. To this day I feel awful for some of the sh*t I put my mom through as a teen. Luckily we can laugh about it now.

What is your pre-show ritual?

Michelle – Tequila + soda + lime

Christina – Look for food near the venue.

Who was your first celebrity crush?

Michelle – Scut Farkus from A Christmas Story.

Christina – David Bowie. Labyrinth had a profound impact on me!

You have a month off and the resources to take a dream vacation. Where are you going and who is coming with you?

Michelle – Japan with Jake and our pug Gizmo. I’d love for my son Slade to join us but he prefers to travel solo.

What is your biggest fear?

Christina – stepping on a snail while barefoot…again 🙁

Sugarcoat is out now via Kanine Records. Find more information here.

In the latest installment of our “Facebook? More Like Fakenews” series, there’s a viral post going around claiming that Netflix is making Mindhunter season 3. “MINDHUNTER SEASON 3!!!” it reads. “This October, delve deeper into the dark corridors of the human mind with Season 3 of Netflix’s Mindhunter. Join the original cast as they venture further into the chilling psyches of notorious serial killers, unraveling mysteries more enthralling than ever. Brace yourself for an electrifying journey as Mindhunter returns, more gripping and intense — guaranteed to keep you on the edge of your seat.”

The post has over 8,000 shares and 14,000 comments, and every one of those people should know: it’s fake. The “source” comes from YODA BBY ABY, the same trolls behind the Breaking Bad movie that doesn’t exist. There’s even a disclaimer that reads, “For entertainment purposes only. Not real. But it should be… David Fincher!! People clearly want this. Make it happen, Cap’N!”

Mindhunter was a good show, and it could — and maybe should! — have continued for more seasons. But, as executive producer David “Da Finchman” Fincher explained, not enough people watched it.

“Listen, for the viewership that it had, it was an expensive show,” he told Vulture in 2020. “We talked about ‘Finish Mank and then see how you feel,’ but I honestly don’t think we’re going to be able to do it for less than I did season 2… You have to be realistic about dollars have to equal eyeballs.”

So, quit asking him about it — and quit falling for fake Facebook posts.

(Via Snopes)

Five months in, 2024 appears very much to be hip-hop’s year of discontent. The malice is almost palpable in exchanges between Megan Thee Stallion and Nicki Minaj, and was downright inescapable in the all-out war between Drake and Kendrick Lamar.

Now, it appears even more rappers are fixing to enter the non-stop battle royale. Fans are convinced that Atlanta trap rap stalwarts Future and Gunna are about to go head-to-head after the former appeared to announce the imminent release of a new mixtape on the same day as the latter is preparing to release his new album, One Of Wun.

So, do Future and Gunna really have beef?

Well, if nothing else, they’ve got some competitive fire. Future didn’t just warn fans on Twitter (which I’m never calling “X”) of the return of “mixtape Pluto” (a nickname stemming from his early career) on May 10, but also jibed, “F*ck yo album Sh*t ain’t slappin like my MIXTAPE.” Given the two rappers’ shared history and release date, fans quickly put two and two together, deducing that he must mean his “Pushin P” collaborator Gunna.

Gunna himself also seemingly came to a similar conclusion, as his next two tweets were more pugnacious than usual. “Turn this sh*t bac up Notch……!” he wrote. “F*c What These boys talkin bout.” The two rappers might not be engaged in open hostilities (yet), but it seems pretty clear that they view their shared release date as a point of contention.

Max’s Hacks has brought back Jean Smart and Hannah Einbinder in an even spicier incarnation than previously, and the season premiere took comedy to truly uncharted territory: the coveted Tom Cruise Christmas cake. Get ready for more no-holds-barred jokes when the next episode allows everyone to throw their juiciest tomatoes at the legendary Deborah Vance with a roast.

Let’s hope that Deborah will handle this evening better than Tom Brady did. Actually, scratch that sentiment. We want the controversy instead — let Deborah throw the Cruise cake at everyone in attendance. That might be even more fitting than tossing the remnants in the trash.

The official Episode 3 description is as follows: “After learning there’s a Late Night vacancy, Deborah makes sure everything – and everyone – is operating at its finest for her roast.”

When Does ‘Hacks’ Season 3, Episode 3 Come Out?

Max will unleash the episode on Thursday, May 10 at 3:00am EST/12:00am PST.

As previously mentioned, the show returned its setting to Las Vegas with Paul W. Downs and Megan Stalter as series regulars. Carl Clemons-Hopkins will still be mopping up Deborah’s various messes, and Kaitlin Olsen will continue contributing to the drama. By the way, her character, who is Deborah’s daughter, will definitely be on the scene for the roast. Are any “boos” on the way? You gotta tune in to find out.

As Netflix has been experimenting with live programming, there are some downsides: not everything on live TV can be fit for streaming, so some edits have to be made. Some very out-of-pocket things happen on Live TV.

But in this instance, it seems like the streamer might be rewriting history in order to make it look like Kim Kardashian wasn’t roasted while trying to roast Tom Brady.

Netflix has reportedly uploaded an edited version of The Roast Of Tom Brady, which was broadcast live on the streamer over the weekend and featured a bunch of rich and famous people dunking on a richer and more famous person, Brady.

On the live broadcast, Kardashian was met with a hefty round of boos while at the podium. So much so, that Kevin Hart had to step in and cut them off.

But, when the Roast hit Netflix, the booing was seemingly cut out, and Kardashian goes straight into her (mediocre) jokes.

While neither Netflix nor the Kardashian crew have commented, your parents were right, and the internet is forever, at least when it comes to celebs. Page Six uploaded the unedited bit on YouTube, where it will live forever. Maybe!

(Via EW)

It looks like Future is going “beast mode” again in 2024. Despite releasing two projects with Metro Boomin already this year, Future has promised yet another imminent release with beef-starting potential. In a series of unexpected tweets, Future apparently teased that on May 10 (this Friday), he’ll be releasing a mixtape that is better than someone else’s album.

“F*ck yo album Sh*t ain’t slappin like my MIXTAPE,” he wrote, following up with the date and a promise of the return of “mixtape Pluto,” a play on his early nickname.

Some fans immediately clocked that May 10 is an important date for Gunna, one of Future’s fellow Atlanta trap mainstays, who has been on the outs with the street rap scene in his hometown since his release from jail in late 2022. His new album One Of Wun is also due on May 10. They say hit dogs holler, and Gunna also returned to Twitter (never calling it “X”) with a pair of his own challenging thoughts. “F*c What These boys talkin bout,” he shrugged.

If Future is indeed baiting Gunna into a separate war of words, it’ll be like the fifty-leventh rap beef this year, after Megan Thee Stallion and Nicki Minaj exchanged words, Ice Spice and Latto dug into each other, and Drake and Kendrick Lamar set Rap Twitter on fire with an incredibly explosive tête-à-tête whose reverberations are still being felt days after the final exchange.

In her Saturday Night Live monologue, host and double-duty musical guest Dua Lipa joked about her jet-setting social media presence. “There’s people online who say Dua Lipa is always on vacation, which is totally wrong,” she said. “I’m British and we call it a holiday.” But even eternal vacations, sorry, eternal holidays have their perils.

An impossibly glamorous Dua Lipa appears on the cover of Radical Optimism, her new album and first since 2020’s Grammy-winning blockbuster Future Nostalgia. In the image, she’s floating in idyllic water — save for the shark a few feet away from her. The how-to-remain-calm-in-shark-infested-waters visual metaphor isn’t exactly subtle, but Dua Lipa doesn’t do subtle. She’s one of the best at making universally understood pop music about the joys (the water) and danger (the shark) of romance.

The message might not be radical, but the finished product is. In an era of quantity-over-quality albums with bloated tracklists to manipulate the streaming charts, there is something radical about 11 breezy songs in under 40 minutes.

Forget the song of the summer — Radical Optimism sounds like summer.

Radical Optimism begins with a “1, 2, 3” countdown before a group of voices cheer with the enthusiasm of a surprise party when the birthday boy or girl walks through the door. “What’s it about a kiss that makes me feel like this? / Makes me an optimist, I guess,” Lipa sings. That’s a common theme of the album, this attempt at finding her romantic bliss. In “Training Season,” she asks a partner if they’re someone who’s worth her love, or “just the poison that I’m drawn to?” Lipa isn’t reinventing the wheel lyrically (or even reinventing her dance-pop sound, despite earlier comments about the album being a “psychedelic-pop-infused tribute to U.K. rave culture”), but she’s inhabiting her songs so fully that you’re too busy dancing to notice.

First single “Houdini” sparkles and slinks with the best of her chart-toppers; “Happy For You” shows her range as an expressive vocalist; and during album highlight “Falling Forever,” she howls like a werewolf at the moon over rolling drums. The production from high-profile names like Danny L Harle (who previously worked with Caroline Polachek) and Tame Impala’s Kevin Parker, is precise, but never suffocating. The songs sound light, carefree even.

But that’s the goal, and anyone who sees that as a negative is missing the point. “I think there’s just this massive stigma around pop music overall,” Lipa told CBC. “If you’re just making songs that feel good — that have the aim to make you feel positive, make you feel good — [people assume] they don’t have depth.” She added, “I’m manifesting these words and I’m going to be saying them to a lot of people who are going to be singing them back to me. Let’s put some good sh*t out into the world.”

Radical Optimism is some good sh*t. It’s supremely crafted and refreshingly free of nods to her personal life. Dua Lipa is extremely online, but there remains a mystery to her. She’s never truly knowable, and she’s not trying to be, either. But that lack of reliability (see: the vacation photos) is one of the things that makes her so captivating. I don’t want pop stars to be my friend; I need them to believe in the healing power of pop music. Dua Lipa is a believer.

Out there [points in the general direction of the world], things are bleak. But in the club playing the new Dua Lipa album, everything’s going to be okay.

Radical Optimism is out now via Warner Records. You can order it here.

At this point, the ongoing beef between Kendrick Lamar and Drake has permeated essentially the entirety of culture. Need proof? Joe Biden’s team is capitalizing on the situation to go after Donald Trump.

A video shared on social media by Joe Biden and Kamala Harris’ campaign team on May 6 is set to the part of Kendrick Lamar’s “Euphoria” that goes, “It’s always been about love and hate, now let me say I’m the biggest hater / I hate the way that you walk, the way that you talk, I hate the way that you dress / I hate the way that you sneak diss, if I catch flight, it’s gon’ be direct.”

That scores a gallery of Trump photos and text subtitles showing off alternate lyrics, which read, “It’s always been about love and hate, now let me say I’m the biggest hater. I hate the way that you walk over women’s rights, the way that you talk about immigrants. I hate the way that you dress, I hate the way that you sneak diss on Truth Social.”

Meanwhile, Seth Rogen just joked about the beef at his Seth Smokes The Bowl event last night, saying in part, “Could you imagine going to a club and seeing a room full of people dancing to a song about you being a pedophile?”