Month: August 2024

Gunna has partnered with the Black Music Action Coalition to launch the Gunna x BMAC 30349 Guaranteed Income Program. The program will give a monthly stipend of $1,000 to over two dozen families in Fulton County, Georgia (the Atlanta suburb Gunna hails from) for one year, totaling $500,000 worth of donations.

It’s just the latest example of Gunna’s commitment to giving back to his hometown; Gunna was even honored with a Gunna Day in Fulton for his philanthropic efforts, which included projects like Gunna’s Drip Closet and Goodr Grocery Store, which donated clothes and groceries to area families. Gunna and YSL labelmate/mentor Young Thug also paid 30 Fulton County inmates’ bonds in 2021 (which turned out to be ironic, when they were both denied bond multiple times as they awaited trial on racketeering charges). Upon his release from jail after pleading guilty to one charge of racketeering (a so-called “Alford Plea,” which meant he would not have to testify against his co-defendants), Gunna gave away $100,000 in grocery gift cards.

Of the Guaranteed Income Program, Gunna said in a statement, “When I launched Gunna’s Great Giveaway, my goal was to uplift my hometown by providing resources that could make a tangible difference in at least one household. Partnering with BMAC to introduce the Guaranteed Income program in South Fulton is a significant step toward enhancing these communities and transforming the economic landscape of the city.”

There’s plenty of evidence that Billie Eilish is one of the biggest artists in the world. Now, we have another bullet point to add to the resume: Yesterday (August 19), Spotify announced that Eilish is the platform’s new global leader for the most monthly listeners, as Billboard notes.

On Instagram today (August 20), Eilish shared a screenshot that shows off her No. 1 status and wrote, “number 1 in the world on spotify i really can’t even believe this. i love you all so much this is the craziest thing ever.”

Eilish took the record from The Weekend, who was actually in Eilish’s corner even before the achievement. On August 15, he shared a tweet that noted Eilish was approaching the top spot, and he wrote, “Let’s go !,” with a folded hands emoji, heart emoji, rising graph emojis, and a green circle emoji.

The accomplishment comes months after the release of Eilish’s latest album, Hit Me Hard And Soft, in April.

Of Eilish’s 82 songs on Spotify, eight of them have surpassed a billion streams: “Lovely” with Khalid (2.8 billion plays), “Bad Guy” (2.5 billion), “When The Party’s Over” (1.8 billion), “Everything I Wanted” (1.6 billion), “Ocean Eyes” (1.4 billion), “Happier Than Ever” (1.3 billion), “Idontwannabeyouanymore” (1.09 billion), and “Bury A Friend” (1.01 billion).

For his follow-up to Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul, two of the greatest dramas in TV history, Vince Gilligan is making… something. There’s a lot we don’t know about his mysterious project for Apple TV+ starring the great Rhea Seehorn, including the title. Officially, at least: a Better Call Saul star may have accidentally given it away during a local news interview.

While appearing on Los Angeles-based KTLA 5 a few weeks ago, actor Patrick Fabian, who played Howard Hamlin, was asked if he still communicates with his old co-stars. He mentioned texting with Bob Odenkirk, then added, “Rhea and I keep in touch. She’s back in Albuquerque working with Vince Gilligan on the brand-new series Wycaro, which is going to keep out sometime next year.”

It’s possible that Wycaro (pronounced “why-care-o”) is the working title and Apple TV+ is waiting to share the actual title for a future announcement. But Fabian sounds pretty confident here, and the show coming out in 2025 would be a nice surprise. You can watch the clip here.

Wycaro or whatever the show ends up being called (it’s currently listed on IMDb as Untitled Vince Gilligan Apple TV+ Series) will have a “sci-fi element” to it, according to Gilligan. He added that it’s “going to be fun and different. I have no prediction as to how folks to react to it — whether they’ll love it or hate it, or somewhere in the vast in-between. But I know it’s a story that interests me.” Gilligan also teased that “the world changes very abruptly in the first episode, and then it is quite different. And the consequences that that reaps hopefully provide drama for many, many episodes after that.”

Wycaro? More like why isn’t it here now-o.

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 Wishy, Charly Bliss, Wild Pink, 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.

Wishy – Triple Seven

What if Jimmy Eat World made Siamese Dream? What if Cocteau Twins opted for much punchier production? What if the drums were mixed louder on Loveless? Wishy poses and answers these hypothetical questions on their debut album, Triple Seven, an immediate standout in a plethora of indie rock records drawing from shoegaze, dream-pop, and ‘90s emo. Led by the core songwriting duo of Nina Pitchkites and Kevin Krauter, the Indiana-bred five-piece cements themselves as one of the best new bands around.

Fievel Is Glauque – “As Above So Below”

Listening to a Fievel Is Glauque song is like exploring a dungeon in a roguelike video game. You never know what type of room you’re about to enter or the enemies and power-ups within it; everything is a complete surprise, no matter how familiar you are with the game itself. But even if you are familiar with Fievel Is Glauque’s game, their unpredictable blend of jazz fusion, math rock, and post-punk never fails to surprise. Such is the case with “As Above So Below,” the lead single of Rong Weicknes, their second album. Vocalist Ma Clément and keyboardist/bandleader Zach Phillips navigate their way through a heady concoction of labyrinthine woodwinds, virtuosic bass playing, and a dizzying guitar solo on their new tune. It’s a stirring glimpse of what is likely to be another confounding yet riveting record.

Horse Jumper Of Love – Disaster Trick

Did you know shoegaze is kinda a big thing right now? There are a lot of bands currently mining its fuzzy bliss to revivify their work. Whereas some groups may buy a bunch of luxe effects pedals to emulate the ‘90s crop of progenitors, it can occasionally feel like a shallow facsimile of MBV or Drop Nineteens. Horse Jumper Of Love, a slowcore trio from Boston, inject these stylizations organically into their core sound on Disaster Trick. It doesn’t feel like pastiche for even a second. It’s also their best album to date.

Drug Church – “Chow”

Drug Church rips. It’s a simple fact that we’re all aware of, but that doesn’t make anything they release any less thrilling. Rather, it’s a constant that we can all depend on; single after single and album after album, the post-hardcore group invariably delivers. That’s the case with “Chow,” the new track from their forthcoming fifth LP, Prude. Chunky guitars, gravelly vocals, and aggressive drums are Drug Church’s lingua franca, and “Chow” is yet another showcase of their fluency.

Japandroids – “D&T”

According to Brian King, the vocalist and guitarist of indie-punk duo Japandroids, the band’s latest song is about “drinkin’ johnnies and cokey joes,” as he recounts in press materials. “D&T,” another preview of the fourth and final Japandroids album, chronicles the typical down-and-out narrative that so often trails through their music. It’s got all the key signifiers, too: David Prowse’s pummeling drums, King’s fiery guitars, and an undeniable chemistry that will be sorely missed upon this group’s imminent departure.

Fidlar – “Sad Kids”

Fidlar have always been a rambunctious band, one predicated on loud songs meant to rev up a simmering mosh pit. But they’ve mellowed out a bit since their 2013 self-titled debut, so much so that they now reflect on their rowdiest days as a former scapegoat for working out the issues in their lives. “Sad kids like to party,” Zac Carper sings on their latest single. Like much of Fidlar’s music, the sentiment isn’t anything particularly profound, yet it’s one that resonates nonetheless. It’s cliche for a SoCal punk band to “mature” a few albums into their catalog, so Fidlar have gone about it their own way. They ruminate on the difficulties life throws at them while remaining as impudent as ever.

Midwife – “Vanessa”

Only Madeline Johnston could make a song about an old minivan sound this disarmingly beautiful. Taken from her forthcoming fourth album, No Depression In Heaven, “Vanessa” is a travelogue dedicated to life as a touring artist and the memories that arise from the constant change of scenery. As the song slowly unfolds over six-and-a-half minutes, you can sense Johnston’s longtime touring van screeching to a halt as it eventually but inevitably gives out. What may scan at first as a simple song about a van is actually a moving elegy about ephemerality.

Nilüfer Yanya – “Mutations”

In a press release about her latest single, “Mutations,” Nilüfer Yanya says that it’s a tune about “the subtle change that happens constantly as millions of tiny decisions and actions shape your being.” Everything is gradual, and that idea is expressed as much through the music itself. Syncopated drums push and pull; mesmerizing synth pads blossom like flowers in new spring; Yanya gracefully shifts into her higher register as the chorus hits. “Mutations” resembles the evolution that inspired its creation.

Wild Pink – “Sprinter Brain”

John Ross is a sprinter. As Wild Pink, the New York songwriter has an incredible run of records to his name in a relatively short amount of time. He’s keeping that streak with the forthcoming Dulling The Horns. “Sprinter Brain,” the latest song from it, is easily among Wild Pink’s best. With its piano melody and driving electric guitars, it sounds like Bruce Springsteen if he had a Big Muff Pi phase. Still, with Ross’ conversational delivery, it sounds fit for both an intimate club show and an epic stadium production.

Charly Bliss – Forever

Charly Bliss are leaning into the “pop” of power-pop. Across their oeuvre, the Brooklyn outfit has melded sticky-sweet vocal hooks with ferocious guitar riffs. On their third album, Forever, the quartet distills their penchant for bright, maximalist choruses into a more synth-driven record (or at least guitars that sound like synths). It tactfully elevates their pop-minded songwriting without completely sacrificing the crunchy guitars they built their name on. As this record shows, Charly Bliss aren’t complacent; they’re here to stick around forever.

(WARNING: Spoilers for the Love Island USA season six reunion episode will be found below.)

Love Island USA tied the bow on its epic and extremely successful sixth season with a reunion episode that aired on Monday night. The recap briefly celebrated the relationship statuses of the top-three couples — Kordell & Serena, Miguel & Leah, and Kenny & JaNa — before diving into more dramatic points with other islanders. We got an update on Nicole and Kendall’s relationship, as well as Aaron and Kaylor, both of which aren’t in the best shape. Andrea’s comments about her fellow islanders were brought up and addressed as was the cyber bullying that islanders endured throughout the season and afterward. There was even a fake pregnancy announcement courtesy of JaNa, something that nearly (and hilariously) sent Kenny into a panic.

The Love Island USA season six reunion episode was an entertaining one, to say the least, and while there were some “winners” on the night, we had some “losers” as well. Let’s recap the reunion with the biggest winners and losers from the episode.

WINNER: JaNa (And Her Receipts)

Despite finishing third with her now-boyfriend Kenny, JaNa was just as much of a fan-favorite on Love Island USA season six as her fellow PPG girls Leah and Serena were, and this season’s reunion episode showed why that was the case. JaNa had the top viral moment from the night after she brought four pages of “receipts” to confront islanders about ill comments they made in and outside the villa over the last few months. It’s the type of drama that’s perfect for a reunion episode, and JaNa shined thanks to doing homework and coming prepared.

LOSER: Nicole & Kendall

There’s drama that’s good for TV, and then there’s drama that’s better kept away from the cameras. Nicole and Kendall’s portion of the reunion episode would be the latter. Things have clearly been dicey for the couple since the Love Island USA season six finale. Shortly after the top-four was finalized, a nude video of Kendall leaked onto social media. The couple discussed the incident during the reunion, where it was also revealed that Kendall lied to Nicole about the details of the video. Kendall claimed it the video was taken years ago, when it was actually taken during a hotel stay shortly before the start of Love Island USA season six.

A lie is a lie, and there’s certainly no excuse or good reason for it, especially since the video came before his relationship with Nicole. However, Nicole seemed to gloss over how traumatizing the situation was for Kendall, and instead played victim in a situation where Kendall was clearly more affected. Kendall’s lie, though wrong, was rooted in panic and trauma, but Nicole seems to believe his lie was rooted in deceit. At the end of the day, the reunion wasn’t the best place for Kendall and Nicole to have this conversation. Nicole leaves looking like the villain for not being as understanding as some might have expected, Kendall leaves traumatized and riddled with guilt, and their relationships leave with uncertainty on how it survives going forward.

WINNER: Kaylor

After a full season of constant crying mixed with “f*ckkkkk” groans, Kaylor finally put the tears aside to make sure she was heard by her boyfriend Aaron in the reunion episode. After being dumped from the villa with Aaron prior to the finale, Kaylor went home and watched the Casa Amor episodes herself and learned that Aaron was not completely truthful to her about his time with Daniela. As if that wasn’t enough, Aaron dropped a bomb on Kaylor during the reunion and revealed that he put his hand up Daniela’s dress during the Casa Amor days. A reasonably angry Kaylor slammed Aaron for withholding that information from her until the reunion. She stood up for herself, made sure Aaron heard her loud and clear, and did it all without a tear shed. There’s no telling if their relationship survives, but Kaylor did what she needed to for herself.

LOSER: Aaron

In the words of Rob, Aaron is an idiot. There’s no way he thought waiting until the reunion to tell Kaylor that he put his hand up Daniela’s dress during the Casa Amor would play well for him. There’s no way he thought that connecting his grandad’s death to his decision to not tell Kaylor would work. Aaron spent ten days in the villa with Kaylor after Casa Amor before they were both dumped and the reunion episode was filmed about a month after the finale aired. He had all this time to come clean to Kaylor about a sensitive topic, but instead, waited until they were in front of cameras to share the details. You made your bed Aaron, it’s time to lay in it.

WINNER: Pizza Hut

Love Island USA turned into a national phenomenon this season as it broke series records for viewership and was even the most-watched streaming original series in the US during the week of July 5-11, thanks to 919.1 million minutes watched according to Luminate. There isn’t much space for product placement during a Love Island series (unless you’re an avocado), but the reunion provided the perfect opportunity for that, and Pizza Hut took full advantage of it. During breaks between filming of the reunion, the islanders retreated to their respective break rooms, where they enjoyed slices of Pizza Hut pies. I’m curious to see how their sales improve, if at all, in the days after the season six reunion episode airing. All in all, it was a nice win for Pizza Hut.

LOSER: Andrea

Since the days following her dramatic, villa-splitting exit from Love Island USA, Andrea spent a lot of her time speaking about her fellow islanders, specifically Rob and Leah. Despite spending just four days together, Andrea felt confident that their relationship would continue once he left the villa, but that was not the case. Heading into the reunion, we knew that Andrea would at least be called out for comments, and that’s exactly what happened.

Thanks to her pages of receipts, JaNa confronted Andrea for her criticism of Leah — calling her “two-faced” for example — and for pushing the theory that Leah intentionally pushed to have Andrea dumped from the villa to pursue her then-on-again-off-again relationship with Rob. Andrea was also criticized for comments made toward Leah and Hannah in the villa, though the latter said she wasn’t offended by her comments. In the end, it was a bit of ambush on Andrea on all fronts, and she certainly didn’t have the best time on the reunion, but some would say that she had it coming.

WINNER: Leah & Her Backseat

A talking point for much of the season was Leah’s alleged involvement in the vote to dump Andrea from the villa on day 11. Leah always claimed that she took a backseat in the decision to dump Andrea while other islanders claimed that Leah advocated for Andrea’s exit. During the reunion, the producers decided to air the raw, uncut footage of the girls’ conversation as they decided who to dump between Nicole, Andrea, or JaNa from the villa. As Leah said multiple times, she did not advocate for Andrea to be dumped. Rather, much of Leah’s comments during the deliberation focused on Nicole and giving her a chance to explore a connection as she entered the villa just a few days prior. Leah’s support for Nicole is not to be mistaken for a possible hidden agenda with Andrea.

LOSER: Love

A good reunion episode has a good balance of drama and a general recap of the season, and while the Love Island USA season six reunion episode succeeded at the former, it severely lacked the latter. Little time was spent on the top-three couples aside from briefly checking in on their relationship statuses. Kordell, Serena, Miguel, Leah, Kenny, and JaNa provided some of the biggest and most-talked about moments from the season, and furthermore, viewers both new and old tuned into the show to watch them, cheer them on, and vote for them when given the opportunity. Too much of the reunion was spent on broken and past relationships when there was an ample amount of good relationships to highlight and celebrate. I mean, it is Love Island right?

WINNER: The Production Crew

The most unproductive part of the season six reunion was the ten minutes the episode spent running footage of Leah, JaNa, Serena, and Kaylor deliberating at the fire pit as they were tasked with dumping Nicole, Andrea, or JaNa from the villa. The footage was aired to show whether Leah pushed for Andrea’s eventual exit in order to possibly resume her relationship with Rob, and in the end, it showed that Leah did not advocate for Andrea’s exit. The ten minutes of footage proved that (1) The production and crew did a great job in breaking down this long and boring conversation that nearly put me to sleep and (2) It didn’t do much to change the stances of fans who are pro- and anti-Leah as it didn’t add much to what appeared in the released episode. It was time wasted that could’ve been spent talking about the journey of the winning and running-up couples.

LOSER: Love Island USA Season 7

Love Island USA put forth its best-performing season in season six. Love Island USA records were broken and its audience expanded to levels that certified the success of a USA spin-off of Love Island. The truth of the matter is that many fans tuned into the show because of mainy for the drama-filled clips that circulated on social media and not so much for the true Love Island experience that is both sweet and sour. When Love Island USA was the most-watched streaming original series in the US, it came during the week of Casa Amor where the Kordell, Miguel, and Kenny — who finished in the top-three — risked their relationships and came back from Casa Amor with new women. The drama from this drew fans into the show, but who knows if the same would’ve happened if things played out differently.

This isn’t to say that fans didn’t enjoy watching the good moments in the relationships of Kordell & Serena, Miguel & Leah, Kenny & JaNa, Kendall & Nicole, and others. The genuine love put on display in the relationships on Love Island USA season six also made it a must-watch. The point is, this season had a unique combination of islanders, personalities, and more that simply won’t be replicated in another season of the show. Love Island USA will return for its seventh season next summer, but matching the beauty and success of season six will be an uphill battle. We’ll just have to wait and see how it plays out.

‘Love Island USA’ season six is now streaming in its entirety on Peacock.

With just a few weeks before the start of the football season, ESPN made a pair of surprising moves when they fired Samantha Ponder and Robert Griffin III. Both were making seven figures annually, and ESPN opted to let them go given they were only filling one role at this point in their careers.

Ponder has been the host of Sunday NFL Countdown since 2017 — before that she had been a lead sideline reporter and host on ESPN’s college football coverage — but that was her only role with the network. Griffin III had been a rising star as both a game analyst on college football and in studio for NFL, but after being replaced by Jason Kelce on Monday NFL Countdown, he was considered too costly as just a game analyst for college football.

The biggest question following those two being let go was who would replace Ponder on Sunday NFL Countdown, with two names quickly being floated as possibilities. One was Laura Rutledge, who hosts NFL Live and SEC Nation, while also doing sideline work on ESPN’s NFL doubleheaders. The other was Mike Greenberg, the longtime personality who seemingly is on a quest to host every show ESPN has to offer.

ESPN has opted to go with Greenberg, who will move to the Sunday desk alongside Randy Moss, Tedy Bruschi, Rex Ryan, Alex Smith, and Adam Schefter, while still maintaining his Monday-Friday gig hosting Get Up!. Greeny is a pro and moving to a new show on short notice won’t be a particularly difficult endeavor for him, and he already has most of the Countdown crew as recurring guests on Get Up!, so there should be plenty of familiarity with the panel. Greenberg previously hosted ESPN’s NBA Countdown while also hosting Get Up!, but this seems to be a better fit, particularly for his schedule.

Anthony Edwards is one of the most earnest characters in sports today. Where most stars are media trained and polished to give nice answers that rarely have much depth, Edwards has maintained his personality even as he’s rocketed into superstardom in the NBA.

That comes with bumps in the road, but Edwards’ blunt honesty when answering questions makes him a delightful quote and one of the most engaging personalities in the NBA. A recent Q&A with the Wall Street Journal illustrated that fact, as he very matter-of-factly answered a wide array of rapid fire questions about his offseason, the Olympics, and his life off the court.

At one point, he was asked about how the game today differs from past generations, and decided to take a shot at former players who love to talk about how much tougher the game was by saying players didn’t used to have skill.

How do you think your generation of basketball is different from older generations?

I didn’t watch it back in the day so I can’t speak on it. They say it was tougher back then than it is now, but I don’t think anybody had skill back then. [Michael Jordan] was the only one that really had skill, you know what I mean? So that’s why when they saw Kobe [Bryant], they were like, “Oh, my God.” But now everybody has skill.

There’s some truth in the last sentence, as the league certainly has more skilled players top to bottom than in the past — that’s just how sports work, as generations build on the foundation paid by the past. However, the “I don’t think anybody had skill back then” part unsurprisingly caused a stir, with fans listing off players for Edwards to watch to see how skilled they were. Usually we don’t get current players ripping on the past, as it’s typically going the other way around, so perhaps Ant was just taking an opportunity to give them a little taste of their own medicine.

It is objectively funny to start the answer with “I didn’t watch so I can’t speak on it” and then immediately fire off a heater about how no one other than MJ had skill. If nothing else, Ant has given the First Takes of the world some mid-August content to yell about.

Cocaine Bear director Elizabeth Banks stars in a currently running true-crime thriller, Skincare, from IFC Films, and the story sounds — as many real stories are — too absurd to be true. However, the film is (as is also often the case) only loosely based upon real-life experiences related to the plight of Dawn DaLuise, a celebrity facialist who was brought to trial on allegations of a murder-for-hire scheme. DaLuise was found not guilty by a jury, but the notoriety of her saga (she was imprisoned during the trial) brought director Austin Peters and Banks together for a film that is eliciting much chatter.

As Banks recently told Entertainment Weekly, she actually wasn’t initially aware that the script was based on true events. Instead, she “was just all in on Hope Goldman and this character and the sort of milieu of LA.” She did, however, get caught up in the story, although the film does contain notable differences from what actually transpired, which was indeed dark stuff.

First, a few facts: DaLuise (who, according to CNN, could count Sarah Michelle Gellar and Jennifer Aniston as clients at her Skin Refinery clinic) had been accused of calling for the murder of a rival aesthetician, Gabriel Suarez, who she believed was responsible for a string of harassing and threatening behavior against her. Suarez had opened a nearby clinic called Smooth Cheeks, and he was *not* responsible for what DaLuise was experiencing, although justice came in a roundabout and twisted way.

Back in 2014, DaLuise had been “venting” (in her words after the fact) about “[finding] someone who is going to take Gabriel out.” She sent this as a text to a “friend” named Edward Feinstein, who had a greater role in this story than it initially seemed. After DaLuise was arrested over the text, she spent 10 months behind bars before being freed after trial, which featured testimony from ex-NFL player Chris Geile, “[t]he man she was accused of approaching about the hit,” who revealed that the two had never spoken, and no murder-for-hire plot actually existed.

Police then began looking more closely at informant Feinstein due to their suspicion that “his friend (and one of DaLuise’s clients) Nick Prugo, a member of the infamous ‘Bling Ring’ thieving gang that had targeted high-profile celebrities’ homes, were behind the nefarious acts, not Suarez.” Oh boy:

In 2016, Los Angeles County Superior Court sentenced Feinstein and Prugo to 350 hours of community service and three years of probation each on stalking misdemeanor charges. The pair were ordered to stay away from DaLuise and her two daughters, and to cease contact with one another for 10 years.

Feinstein and Prugo were also accused of posting an online ad soliciting men to visit DaLuise’s home to rape her, though the judge dismissed that felony charge, saying there was insufficient evidence.

As Banks has declared, she based her character, Hope Goldman, upon a different real-life facialist, “Matty,” who had a range of celebrity clientele and had been referred to Banks by her agent. From the IFC synopsis of Skincare:

Beauty is a cutthroat business. Elizabeth Banks stars in a smart, funny thriller about famed aesthetician Hope Goldman (Banks), who’s on the cups of taking her career to the next level by launching her very own skincare line. But Hope’s personal and work lives are challenged when a rival facialist Angel Vergara (Luis Gerardo Méndez) opens a new boutique directly across from her store. She starts to suspect that someone is trying to sabotage her reputation and business, and together with her friend Jordan (Lewis Pullman) she embarks on a mission to unravel the mystery of who is trying to destroy her life.

Skincare is currently in limited release in the U.S.

After Killer Mike won the Rap Album Of The Year Grammy, some Travis Scott fans declared war on the Atlanta rap vet — but he’s okay with that. In a new interview with Complex, the “Scientists & Engineers” rapper addressed the backlash against him for overshadowing the Gen Z favorite.

“As an artist, I deeply have reverence for Travis Scott, he’s amazing,” he said. “[But] I’m never going to think anybody deserves anything in front of me, especially when I put in my best. A lot of his fans, they don’t like Mike now. And I have to accept that, that’s fine.”

He continued, “There’s going to come a time in their life when their mother dies. There’s going to come a time in their life when someone that they cared for deeply dies. And the question is, what song you going to pivot to? I happen to have a record called ‘Motherless‘ that acknowledges that. A lot of those fans are young men, and they’re trying to find their way. I listen to Travis and I jam, but man, does the record hit you like shedding tears when she won’t let you see your child? When child support on your black ass for the mistakes you’ve made? That’s what my music does. It’s there for you. It’s the blues, baby.”

Futurist hip-hop pioneer Will.I.Am has long harbored an interest in the applications of cutting-edge tech for the music world, and his latest endeavor blends generative AI with radio. RAiDiO.FYI is the new music service Will launched on his FYI app which not only curates a personalized playlist for its users but also allows users to converse with digital DJs about “anything,” from the music being played to the weather. Consider it an upgrade on Will’s SiriusXM show Will.i.am Presents The FYI Show, which was already co-hosted by an AI DJ, Qd.pi.

Will told Billboard he was inspired to create the service after appearing on a radio show and realizing, “The request line has always been always been awesome for radio with when the callers get to call in and talk to the DJ or talk to the guests, but they’re limited to one person at a time. And then after the broadcast, you couldn’t talk to the host.” In the case of RAiDiO.FYI, the host will be individualized to the listener, so that wouldn’t be a problem.

You can get access RAiDiO.FYI through the FYI app, which is available on both Android and iOS.

Disclaimer: Will.I.Am is a partner in Uproxx Studios.