Month: July 2024

Steven and Ian begin today’s episode by reflecting on what they were doing when you-know-what happened last weekend. Then they get down to what is truly the biggest news of the week: The release of EA College Football 25, which is about to become Ian’s obsession. After Video Game-cast, they pivot to a discussion about Tenacious D and their implosion over Kyle Gass’ Trump comments in Australia. They also yay-or-nay the comedy-rock trio, from the perspective of another comedy-rock trio.

From there, they tackle the return of Japandroids, who will release their first album in seven years, Fate And Alcohol, in October. But can they ever top Celebration Rock? Steven also fills Ian on some jam band beef this week between Trey Anastasio and Dead & Company. In the mailbag, they answer a listener question about whether ’90s-style “weird for weirdness’ sake” music is still being made, with a tangent about the legacy of Tom Waits.

In Recommendation Corner, Ian talks up the British emo band Los Campesinos! while Steven stumps for the rising country artist Zach Top.

New episodes of Indiecast drop every Friday. Listen to Episode 198 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 X (formerly Twitter) for all the latest news. We also recently launched a visualizer for our favorite Indiecast moments. Check those out here.

Tinashe’s new song “Nasty” is a runaway hit — the kind that has her former record label, RCA, “gagging” after dropping the ball on supporting the genreless singer’s career. However, now that Tinashe is in full control of her creative direction, she isn’t letting a single opportunity slip by.

Enter the “Nasty” remix, featuring none other than fellow ostensible pop-R&B star Chlöe, who teased the song a few days ago while introducing her social media followers to her Carnival costumes for this year’s festivities. On “Nasty,” Tinashe wonders, “Is somebody gonna match my freak?” On the remix, Chlöe answers in the affirmative, applying the same unreserved energy she exhibited on songs like “Have Mercy” and “Treat Me” to the subject at hand. Chlöe affects a skittering delivery just short of straight up rapping as she sings, “Hey, big daddy, is it big enough, deep enough? / Freak enough, can I get a little, little piece of ya?” Listen to it below:

The remix is part of a collection of remixes Tinashe released tonight as an EP, Match My Freak, including remixes by Kaytranada, OG Ron C & DJ Candlestick, and more. Another remix features a verse from Tyga, which you can also listen to below.

Meanwhile, Tinashe’s album, Quantum Baby, is out 8/16 via Nice Life. Find more information here.

Earlier this year, Lil Yachty launched his record label, Concrete Rekordz, and signed his first act: The raucous, Atlanta-based crew Concrete Boys, which includes a collection of proteges Yachty believes can get hip-hop out of the “terrible state” he fretted over last year. To that end, he’s been releasing a slew of off-the-wall, free verse-style singles, including “A Cold Sunday,” “Something Ether,” and now, “Let’s Get On Dey Ass,” an electrifying track in the vein of fellow ATLien Playboi Carti’s amorphous, video gamey sound.

In the colorful video for the song, Yachty and the Boys (and Karrahbooo — I guess it’s like a “Storm from the X-Men” situation) vibe out and parade through a series of sparse tableaux sporting matching gear to show off their team spirit. They also demonstrate an astonishing array of complex high-fives, careen through the Georgia woods in a luxury SUV, and peruse racks of vacuum sealed fashion pieces. The vibe just screams good times and camaraderie, and suggests more boisterous and defiant hits to come.

Yachty isn’t just trying to save hip-hop, though; last month, he also teamed up with UK producer James Blake for an experimental collaborative album called Bad Cameo.

Watch Lil Yachty’s “Let’s Get On Dey Ass” video above.

Back in May, Cardi B disappointed fans waiting for the highly anticipated follow-up to her debut album Invasion Of Privacy when she tweeted, “NO album this year I don’t care I’m relaxing this year.. Dropping these features I already committed to and traveling and enjoying my summer.”

Part of her reasoning was due to fans overstepping boundaries when inquiring about it — or outright criticizing her for not putting it out already. Then there were the haters, who predicted failure. All combined to leave Cardi in a state of anxiety about not living up to expectations and wanting to keep her music to herself.

However, it now sounds like either she’s rediscovered her confidence or someone on her team checked her, because as she and Rob49 prepared to release their upcoming collaboration “On Dat Money,” she logged in again to walk back her prior statement. “I wanna say this to Bardi gang or anybody who’s just a fan of my music or even my craziness,” she wrote. “I have my good days and my bad days but you know what, whether it’s good or bad I couldn’t be happier with the obvious anticipation for my album..Sometimes I get a little aggressive because yall know I don’t like to be told what to do but I promise you it’s coming THIS YEAR. Thank you for the love and anticipation and always holding me down I love yall”

With two well received singles already released this year — “Enough (Miami)” and “Like What” — and a slew of features, of which “On Dat Money” is just the latest, it looks like Cardi is officially on the clock. Six months and counting.

With the release of his highly anticipated third album Sincere just weeks away, Khalid follows up its singles “Please Don’t Fall In Love With Me” and “Adore U” with another introspective, dreamy track, “Ground (Cotton Candy Skies).”

Ahead of the song’s release, Khalid shared some of the background behind its creation, crediting it partly to psychedelics.

Ground is finally getting released tonight. Years ago, through moments of uncertainty, I really began to question what my purpose was as an artist. I started my own personal journey through psychedelics in 2021 and I’ll never forget the moment this song came to my mind. Just like the random mountain I climbed in Arizona, life is an uphill battle. As beautiful as the top may seem, I’m so happy to embrace the ground that I walk on. My 3rd album is only 2 weeks away (finally!) and this all feels like the biggest reset for me. I feel so reminiscent to how I did when I first started my career 8 years ago. I can’t wait for all of you to experience the album, so until then… hopefully this holds you over.

You can listen to “Ground (Cotton Candy Skies)” above.

Sincere is out 8/2 via Right Hand Music Group/RCA Records. Find more information here.

Last week, Cardi B teased an upcoming collaboration with New Orleans rising star Rob49, warning her fans not to expect another pop-friendly single. “I wanna let some of y’all also know that I cannot always do glittery, fun, female stuff all the time,” she said. “I’m a whole hood n****.”

Today, the song arrived, living up to her prior promise. “On Dat Money” is an assertive trap banger that finds Rob and Cardi trading demanding verses in which they vow to do the deed atop piles of cash. The video, which accompanied the release, finds the duo taking over a well-appointed mansion and filling it with strippers and cash as they perform their verses.

2023 turned out to be Rob49’s breakout year, resulting in his receiving huge co-signs from the likes of Lil Durk and Travis Scott (here he is talking about his Scott collaboration, “Topia Twins,” in an interview about his deluxe mixtape, 4GODII), and appearing in last year’s XXL Freshman Class. This year, he hit the road with Detroit rising star Skilla Baby for their joint Vultures Eat The Most tour. Meanwhile, Card B has been working on her second album, although she did tell fans that it might not be out until next year.

Watch to Rob49’s “On Dat Money” video featuring Cardi B above.

Three of African music’s hottest rising stars team up on “One Call,” the new single from Nigerian producer/DJ Spinall (pronounced spin-all), featuring Nigerian singer Omah Lay and South African breakout Tyla. Featuring a mellow and hypnotic Afrobeats instrumental, the song finds Omah and Tyla lyrically pining for a potential fling, telling them that they’ll only be “one call” away. With its reassuring chorus and cool blend of African sounds, it’s a slick party starter for a laid-back summer vibe.

“One Call” continues Tyla’s US takeover, which began last year with the arrival of her inescapable bop, “Water,” and rolled right into 2024 with the release of her self-titled debut album. In the months since, Tyla graced the Met Gala, signed on for special shows at Lollapalooza, and released her inner tiger at the 2024 BET Awards. And although she had to cancel her upcoming tour for medical reasons, moments like her Gap campaign with new song “Linen Moves,” Becky G collaboration “On My Body,” “Jump” video with Gunna and Skillibeng, and now, “One Call,” will likely keep her in the spotlight and building momentum until she recovers.

Meanwhile, Omah Lay continues to payoff the prediction made by Uproxx’s Wongo Okon in 2022, contributing to Afrobeats’ expansion in the US public eye.

Listen to Spinall’s “One Call” with Tyla and Omah Lay above.

You might not know it considering all that’s happened in the last few months, but Big Sean has a new album coming out. It’s called Better Me Than You and he announced its title and release date today with a trippy, psychedelic trailer after dropping the singles “Clarity” and “Precision” in March. However, it would have been easy to miss those, because almost as soon as they’d dropped, they were overshadowed by the tidal wave of Kendrick Lamar Drake disses that have entranced the hip-hop audience right up until last week, when “Not Like Us” hit No. 1 on the Hot 100 again.

Practically everything Sean’s done since has been compared to that, including his recent On The Radar freestyle, which so incensed some fans for allegedly dissing Kanye West, that they straight up leaked Better Me Than You online. However, Sean, who has made it a point to take things in stride and promote mental wellness, turned the added attention into an opportunity to promote a song with The Alchemist. He also released a new song, “Yes,” which you can check out below.

In the meantime, Sean’s big more active as a feature artist, as well, appearing on singles from both Jessie Reyez and Eminem.

Watch Big Sean’s album trailer for Better Me Than You below.

Better Me Than You is out August 9 via FF to Def Entertainment. You can pre-save it here.

Much has been made of the fact that the NBA is about to wrap up negotiations on a new, gigantic media rights deal that is not slated to include Turner. A longtime league television partner, Turner appears slated to be on the outside looking in, as ESPN, Amazon, and NBC have the inside track on being the NBA’s three TV partners.

There are two potential paths forward for Turner, assuming it wants to keep its relationship with the league going. One is to cut a late deal for a fourth rights package, although it is unclear what that looks like. The other involves their reported right to match one of the packages, and according to Michael McCarthy of Front Office Sports, we have an idea of when that will happen.

TNT got the contracts Wednesday night, say my sources. So it will have approximately five days, until next Monday, to “match” either Amazon Prime Video’s $1.8 billion–per-year offer or NBC’s $2.5 billion–per-year bid. (Disney’s ABC/ESPN is expected to retain the NBA’s TV “A” package, including the NBA Finals, at a price of $2.8 billion per year.)

McCarthy went on to report that, if Turner matched, the more likely option would be that it matched Prime’s package. While that would be an easier lift financially, there has been reporting that the NBA could argue that Turner has to be able to match more than just the money that Amazon or NBC would throw their way. Regardless, it sounds like there should be some clarity on what’s coming next sooner rather than later.

The NBA spent the 2021-22 season celebrating its 75th anniversary, which included an incredible ceremony at the All-Star Game in Cleveland where most of the living members of its 75th anniversary team came together. As someone in attendance, I can tell you that it was one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen, and every person I know who was there echoes that sentiment.

While all of us who went had a great time, it sure sounds like the players selected to the team had considerably more fun. Dwyane Wade appeared on the 7PM in Brooklyn podcast, which is hosted by Carmelo Anthony and The Kid Mero. Both Wade and Anthony made the team, and Wade admitted that “I didn’t even know how that moment really was gonna hit, even when we got named to the team.”

“But the moment when we walked in the room, when you actually saw Kareem, you actually saw Jerry West, and Magic, you’re like, ‘Oh, I’m on this team,’” Wade recalled.

Both guys discussed the amount of junk that everyone in the room talked to one another, with Wade saying that “everything changed” in one particular moment: When Michael Jordan entered the room. And apparently, Jordan immediately stated to size up the rest of the room and made clear that he was the alpha dog.

“You saw the clip with him and Magic that went viral, right?” Wade said. “That was right away. I was just sitting there, and I’m like, ‘I’m listening to Jordan and Magic talk sh*t.’”

“Really talk sh*t, though,” Anthony intervened.

I swear, I would pay $10,000 for a full video of just the conversations that happened before the ceremony took place.