Month: August 2024

With his new album On My Way 2 Rexdale coming soon, Canadian producer-rapper Nav taps into a new sound on his latest single. On “6am Thoughts,” Nav taps in with the rising “sexy drill” style along with its creators, New Yorkers Bay Swag and Cash Cobain, as they express their horniest desires over a skittering, drowsy beat. “Know I like when you suck when you slurp it,” they croon on the hook. “When you whine ‘pon the cocky, you so perfect.” Subtle, this song ain’t.

Nav’s new song is just the latest of high-profile co-signs for the rising New York duo, whose collaboration “Fisherrr” put them on the map earlier this year. Cash has since been featured on albums from fellow New York native A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie (on “Body” from Better Off Alone) and Don Toliver (on “Attitude” from Hardstone Psycho). He also received a feature from J. Cole on his single “Grippy” and from Ice Spice on the remix of “Fisherrr.”

The sexy drill movement has been rapidly expanding beyond the confines of the Big Apple, as shown by Nav’s dabbling in it on his new single, and is a dark horse for the sound of 2024.

You can listen to “6am Thoughts” above.

Ice Spice just released her new album Y2K!. Welp, time to start the next one.

When asked in a new Billboard interview if he has started working on a new album, Ice responded, “I am definitely so ready to start another album. So that’s great. I know my label is gonna be really excited to hear that. I don’t wanna start teasing the next album, we in Y2K!.”

Elsewhere during the conversation, she said of working with collaborator RiotUSA on Y2K!, “We wanted to make what we like. I just love drill beats, and his specifically. We just locked in for a whole year and really got to it when we could. We have the busiest schedules, but I think that’s why it’s important to have a close bond with whoever you’re collaborating with. You have to make time when you can.”

She also doesn’t seem to be feeling any pressure over the new album, saying, “I think people try to put that pressure on me just because I have been so successful. I don’t really put too much weight into it. Of course, I appreciate it and I prefer it, but it’s not a make-or-break for me. I’m just happy with the album I made.”

Check out the full conversation here.

Bob Odenkirk was born to be an action star, and yet, he is frequently typecast as the quirky oddball with perfect comedic timing. Or as a Christmas gift to the March family. But in 2021, Hollywood finally took a chance on the budding action star.

John Wick creator Derek Kolstad penned Nobody, an action thriller starring Odenkirk as a former government assassin who retreated to a quiet life as a family man, only to be pulled back into the violent crime world as he is targeted by a mob boss. So it’s John Wick without the murdered puppy.

Nobody became a hit, which made aspiring action star Odenkirk very happy. “I was very surprised by Nobody,” Odenkirk told the crowd at the Venice Film Festival in 2022. Odenkirk then cited Saul Goodman as an inspiration for the character. “I had initiated that project because I had a feeling that the character I was developing in Better Call Saul was the kind of character you see in an action film. He has earnest desires and he was willing to sacrifice himself.”

Thanks to the success of the film, a sequel was quickly ordered, and now details are starting to emerge about the upcoming sequel, tentatively titled Nobody 2, which will be directed by Timo Tjahjanto and written by Kolstad. Unfortunately, there won’t be a John Wick crossover since the movies are from two different studios, but we all know that can change.

Here is everything we know so far about Nobody 2.

Plot

In Nobody, Odenkirk portrays Hutch Mansell, a former government employee who traded in his assassin duties to be a normal office worker and family man. When his home is burglarized, Mansell decides to awaken the hitman inside of him, and subsequently becomes a target of the Russian mafia. It happens. He is forced to protect his family while also revealing his violent past to those closest to him.

Plot details for the sequel are under wraps, but the first movie leaves on a cliffhanger: months after his brush with the Russian mobsters, Hutch receives a mysterious phone call indicating that he isn’t quite done with this life of crime. In a post-credits scene, Hutch’s father and brother are seen loading up the family caravan with guns. So there will definitely be more excessive violence on the way.

Cast

Earlier this year, it was confirmed that Odenkirk would be back as Hutch for the upcoming sequel, which is slated to begin production this fall. Christopher Lloyd will reprise his role as Hutch’s father and retired FBI agent David, while Connie Nielsen will return as Becca, Hutch’s wife.

Sharon Stone was also added to the cast as an unnamed villain in the sequel.

Release Date

Universal Pictures has confirmed an August 15, 2025 release date for Nobody 2, though that could always change during filming. Production was initially supposed to begin last fall, though scheduling conflicts delayed the film. As of right now, it is still slated for next summer.

Trailer

No trailer just yet, but you can check out the trailer for Nobody below. The movie is streaming on Hulu. When you’re done with that, feel free to watch Better Call Saul on Netflix to get your Odenkirk fix.

In May, one of the best and biggest rap stars from Compton announced his new album. No, not that one. YG, who has been equally beloved in his hometown for just as long, gave a preview of the cover art for his album Just Re’d Up 3 (for reference, the original Just Re’d Up came out on May 2, 2011), following up with the announcement of his Just Re’d Up Tour and a string of upbeat singles, including “Knocka,” “Weird,” and “Shake.”

Today, YG shared the tracklist for the album, which appears to be a double album. It’s also a feature-packed affair, tapping a bunch of fellow West Coast rap favorites including Kalan.Frfr, Larry June, Mozzy, and YG’s girlfriend(?), Saweetie. Ty Dolla Sign also shows up a couple of times, while non-Golden State guests include Detroiters Babyface Ray and Tee Grizzley, Chicagoan G Herbo, and Atlanta’s own Lil Yachty. You can see the full tracklist below, courtesy of Apple Music.

Disc 1:

1. “Go Brazy” w/ Mustard & Baby Stone Gorillas
2. “Jesus Christ”
3. “Right Now”
4. “She Pretty” w/ Saweetie
5. “Only Fans” w/ Jaye Anderson
6. “Put It In My Hands” w/ Larry June
7. “Street Love” w/ Diamond Platnumz
8. “Her Way <3″ w/ Kalan.Frfr
9. “It’s Givin” w/ Ty Dolla Sign
10. “Interlude”

Disc 2

1. “Malibu” w/ Tee Grizzley & G Herbo
2. “Violence”
3. “Rescue Me” w/ Ty Dolla Sign
4. “Kolors” w/ Mozzy & Ackrite
5. “Love Make”
6. “Stupid” w/ Lil Yachty & Babyface Ray
7. “My Favorite” w/ Kalan.Frfr
8. “Knocka”
9. “Pimp My Ride”
10. “I’m In Love”

Just Re’d Up 3 is due in July via 4 Hunnid/EMPIRE. You can find more info here.

Humans are complex creatures, and nothing demonstrates that more than hip-hop culture’s obsession with tension. From Cardi B and Nicki Minaj’s longstanding civil war of women in the game to Kendrick Lamar and Drake’s track-for-track showdown, beef pays well (in streaming revenue, notoriety, and more).

But not everyone wants to get caught up in an avoidable feud. Behind the scenes, it appears Big Sean and Kendrick Lamar were able to dodge a dust up (despite fans wanting the war of words).

Did Kendrick Lamar Apologize For Dissing Big Sean?

Today (August 2), Big Sean sat down with Charlamagne Tha God for his latest series, Out Of Context, to discuss his hot-and-cold working relationship with Kendrick Lamar. When addressing the unreleased version of the Compton native’s song “Element,” Sean revealed that Lamar privately apologized in a text message exchange for his the bars: “Big Sean keep sneak dissin’, I let it slide / I think his false confidence got him inspired / I can’t make them respect you, baby, it’s not my job / You’re finally famous for who you date, not how you rhyme, boy / Cute-ass raps, get your puberty up.”

Sean also opened up about where he believed the issue actually arose. “Joe Budden and made this, there’s a Kendrick and Big Sean beef,” he said. “To the point where I tried to ignore it. But he made that narrative so f*cking real that I think it really did become a thing.”

Watch Sean’s full interview with Charlamagne above.

The last time a Blackpink member starred in an HBO series, it was The Idol. Something tells me the next time will go slightly smoother.

Lisa will make her acting debut in The White Lotus season 3, which takes place in Thailand. There’s no trailer for the upcoming season yet, so the Blackpink rapper is doing her part to promote the show on Instagram. Lisa (who will be credited by her birth name, Lalisa Manobal) posed in a cropped blue-and-white tee that was printed with monkeys swinging from branching and, if you look closely, the words “The White Lotus Thailand” printed on it.

If there’s not an extended plot about a monkey stealing Walton Goggins‘ wallet in season 3, I am going to be so mad. Anyway, you can see the post below.

The White Lotus creator Mike White teased that season 3 will be “a satirical and funny look at death and Eastern religion and spirituality.” The new characters in the “longer, bigger, crazier” season include “a patriarch, a female corporate executive, an actress, a couple of mothers, a country club wife, a misfit, and a yogi.” It’s unclear who Lisa is playing, but she will be joined by Goggins, Carrie Coon, Natasha Rothwell, Leslie Bibb, Jason Isaacs, Michelle Monaghan, Parker Posey, and Scott Glenn, among many others.

The White Lotus season 3 premieres in 2025.

Pop culture collectibles company Super7 has teamed up with Madlib and the late MF DOOM‘s estate to release a new toy commemorating the 20th anniversary of the duo’s 2004 collaboration, Madvillainy, and it looks SO. FREAKING. COOL. The new 16-inch vinyl action figure is modeled after the Madvillain character from the album’s “ALL CAPS” video. It’s pretty poseable, with articulation at the neck, shoulders, waist, and ankles, and it’s accompanied by a merch capsule with art from the original “ALL CAPS” artist, James Reitano. The figure and capsule will be on sale from Monday, August 5 at 11 AM ET through Wednesday, August 7 at 11:59 PM ET at Gasdrawls.com. The capsule features new shirts, sweatshirts, caps, stickers, a skate deck and more. Check it out below.

Speaking of collectible Madvillain vinyl, while the 20th anniversary special edition vinyl is officially sold out, you can still get the album on vinyl and discover why it was so beloved at the time and since (there’s a reason we always use ALL CAPS when we spell the man’s name!). MF DOOM’s own Metalface Records has also reissued the rapper’s old group KMD’s controversial record Black Bastards.

Meanwhile, Super7 continues putting out classic hip-hop figures, such as these Outkast action figures, so check out more at their website.

Something rather unexpected happened to past Uproxx cover artists Khruangbin during lockdown. It wasn’t just that their 2020 album Mordechai was well received when it gave people an ideal soundtrack to lounge at home when that’s all any of us could safely do. It’s that it was like…really well received. So much so that as soon as COVID restrictions began to soften and Khruangbin started playing shows again, the Houston-formed, world music-minded trio quickly found themselves playing to the biggest crowds of their career. They were blowing up.

“It felt like going from lifting a 15 pound dumbbell to a 40 pound one,” drummer DJ Johnson says on a Zoom call from Switzerland along with bassist Laura Lee. “If you throw the 2017 version of us in front of the same audiences that we’re playing now, it would’ve been a complete meltdown. It’s the steps you take in between that gives you what you need along the way to be able to do it. We really had to work at it.”

Two hours after our call, Khruangbin would be playing in front of 15,000 people at the Luzern Live Festival. It’s a sizable crowd, on par with some of the venues the band will be playing for on the upcoming dates of the A LA SALA Tour. From August onward, Johnson, Lee, and guitarist Mark Speer are playing multiple night “residency” style stops at giant venues like the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, Forest Hills Stadium in New York, and Colorado’s Red Rocks Amphitheatre. It’s a testament not only to Khruangbin’s surging popularity, but also to how much their live set has grown.

At a 2022 show at Berkeley’s Greek Theatre, I was struck by the evolution of the group’s concert. Five years earlier, a mechanical approach of delivering their music to the audience suited a stony, vibey aura of a chill and relaxed mindset. Then far more enigmatic, Speer and Lee’s wigged heads and bodies swayed while their feet moved sparsely. But at the Greek, there was a palpable kinetic energy from the pair while Johnson paced the beat behind them, emboldening the set and introducing new emotions to the Khruangbin experience. Speer and Lee took turns stepping into an elevated catwalk splitting the audience, coyly dancing to the rhythms of the globe and playing off of each other’s vibrations. It was subtle choreography, but it really made the music come alive and introduced new levels to the artist-fan connection.

Now touring behind their April-released album, A LA SALA, Khruangbin could very well be playing in arenas. But they’ve decided to play multiple night runs at outdoor amphitheaters instead. It’s a conscious choice they made on their own terms for a couple of reasons. First, it’s giving themselves an opportunity to flex their entire four album discography (not counting collaboration releases with Leon Bridges and Vieux Farka Toure.)

“We decided to steer the reins of where we wanted to go,” Lee says. “Because by playing two to three nights in each city, it allows us more freedom to play more of our entire catalog and we want the fans that are going to come every night to have a different experience each time. And we want that too! Because in the Mordecai run, the way the show was programmed hamstrung us a bit in terms of how much freedom we had.”

Lee says the three of them huddle before any meeting they’re going to have with anyone outside of the band to ensure that they’re always on the same page with each other. And while their stature within the live music world essentially had them pegged for arenas as the next natural step, Lee credits advice from Speer that led her on a journey of sorts to understand why an arena is not where Khruangbin will be playing anytime soon.

“Mark was always dead set on not playing arenas specifically for sonics and connections. He told me that, ‘You play melodic bass lines and they won’t work in an arena. It’s better to just have one note bass lines where you hammer it home because that’s how the room takes it, that’s what the room wants — and the room is not going to take the intricacies of some of what we do and really sing.’ So I spent quite a bit of time the last couple of years going to arena shows, specifically to see what works and what doesn’t work. What I liked and didn’t like. So I got on board with the “not going there” piece not out of fear, but that it’s just not what suits us right now. Maybe there’ll be a record where it really works, but not for what we’re doing at this moment.”

It’s a refreshing take in an era where the corporate live music promoter model is to keep growing a band from the small capacity space into a mid-sized venue and so on down the line until eventually landing an arena tour; that’s where the big money is. Who knows what a Khruangbin arena show would look like? Would they add more members to the band to make the sound bigger and bolder? That’s not something the trio is into finding out anytime soon. Because what makes this unit so phenomenal, is that it’s still the same three people making all of the sounds that so many fans have grown to love.

“We take it as a challenge,” Johnson says. “That whatever we put down is something that can be recreated on stage with just three people, without having to rely on backing tracks or bringing another entity on board. It’s like being a minimalist and a maximalist at the same time.”

Over the past couple of months, if you were online at all, there’s a strong likelihood you heard “Not My Problem,” the catchy breakout single from New York rising star Laila! (yes, the punctuation is part of her name). If you did any research on the 18-year-old artist, you might have learned a surprising tidbit: Laila! was rumored for the past year to be the daughter of a hip-hop icon, Yasiin Bey (formerly known as Mos Def of Black Star).

However, since she is such a new artist, it was hard to confirm this fact, as she’d done almost no interviews and only released a handful of well-received singles. So…

Is Laila! Really Mos Def’s Daughter?

As it turns out… yes! She confirmed her parentage in an interview with Complex‘s Jordan Rose. While the interview hasn’t been published yet as of this writing, Complex shared a clip on social media. While she said he didn’t give her any specific special sauce to help her on her way, he was supportive of her artistic journey. “I have just always been my own artist in a way,” she said. “That’s the cool thing, because I feel like as a kid, whenever we would just jam sesh and vibe out, me and him, I always had my own style. I always had my own thing going on. And he’s always just been like, ‘Okay kid, I see you.’”

An interview that was published was with established hip-hop media personality Angela Yee, in which she addressed her dad again. “They’ve always been so supportive of everything that I’ve wanted to do,” she said. “They never question what I want to do. My mom, my dad, you guys have always just been like, ‘Okay, that’s what she’s gonna do. That’s Laila!’ And I feel like that’s always made me feel like I can take on the world, or I can show the world who I am because I’ve always had that in my life.”

You can check out the full interview below.

One of the main themes throughout The Last Dance was that everyone on the Chicago Bulls really did not like Jerry Krause all that much. Krause, who passed away in 2017, was the franchise’s general manager as it won six NBA championships during the Michael Jordan era, and received criticism from just about everyone on the team.

It was not always fair how much hate Krause got, and it led to a really tense moment where he was booed by Bulls fans at a Ring of Honor. And in a recent interview with Pablo Torre, the doc’s director, Jason Hehir, explained that there was one moment that the NBA pushed back on during the creation of the doc, and it involved Scottie Pippen’s disdain for Krause.

“The one thing that the NBA pushed back on, in the entirety of this, process was a clip where Scottie, in the locker room — they were joking around, saying what they were gonna do when they won the title,” Hehir explained. “And Scottie, I’m paraphrasing here, basically said, ‘I’m gonna stick a cattle prod up Jerry Krause’s butt and give that a guy a heart attack,’ or something like that. And everybody laughed. But it wasn’t, like, ‘Oh my god, keep the cattle prods away from Scottie,’ he said it in the heat of the moment.

“So, I included that in our rough cuts because I wanted people to see what this guy was going through day in and day out,” he continued. “And that’s the one thing that they made me take out in three or four years of doing this. It wasn’t, like, Michael calling people a b*tch or anything, it wasn’t that, it was that comment from Scottie to Jerry Krause.”

Hehir explained that he hoped the team’s open disdain for Krause would end up making him a more empathetic figure with people who watched the doc, but that backfired, and the public believed that the filmmakers had it out for Krause, which he stressed was “not the intent.”