Back in 2022, it was announced that Flying Lotus had signed a deal to direct and produce multiple movies. One of those projects is Ash, about which he said, “I’ve a strong desire to innovate in the sci-fi space and I really want to show the world something they’ve never seen before.”

The movie, which stars Eiza González and Aaron Paul, is set to hit theaters this year, and now, Flying Lotus has announced the soundtrack album, which he helmed. He also shared the song “Oxygene.”

FlyLo says of the score:

“Working on the score was both inspiring and challenging. I spent most of the time writing it during the final postproduction and color grading when I was in New Zealand, running back and forth to different rooms to check on progress and going into my lil cave there and working with just my laptop and controller. I drew inspiration from composers who primarily just used synths to create soundtracks, like John Carpenter, Akira Yamaoka, Angelo Badalamenti, and Vangelis. It was a great time trying to find a distinctive sound for the movie that also felt fresh and unique for me to explore.”

A press release also notes of the film, “On the mysterious planet of Ash, Riya (González) awakens to find her crew slaughtered. When a man named Brion (Paul) arrives to rescue her, an ordeal of psychological and physical terror ensues while Riya and Brion must decide if they can trust one another to survive.”

Listen to “Oxygene” above and find the Ash (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) cover art and tracklist below.

Flying Lotus’ Ash (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) Album Cover Artwork

Flying Lotus’ Ash (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) Tracklist

1. “Oxygene”
2. “Surface”
3. “Intrigue And Window”
4. “Horizon”
5. “Immovable Objects”
6. “Questionable Sandstorm”
7. “In The Walls”
8. “Safe Room”
9. “Something In Her Voice”
10. “A Teebs Dream (Earth Version)”
11. “A Curious Mind”
12. “Hole”
13. “Confronted” (Flying Lotus and Little Snake)
14. “Greebles”
15. “Mouth Blood”
16. “It’s Out There”
17. “Sonatine”
18. “Your Candelabra”
19. “13 Hours”
20. “Rebirth”
21. “Unusual Activity”
22. “Immediate Danger”
23. “Stray”
24. “I’ll Never Let You Leave”
25. “Surface::Leaving”
26. “What’s Wrong Peach?” (Kuedo Feat. Flying Lotus and Miguel Atwood-Ferguson)
27. “Obey” (Flying Lotus and Niki Randa)

Ash (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) is out 3/19 via Milan Records. Find more information here.

Here’s a fun trivia question for you: what was the most recent live-action movie to star Beyoncé? It’s not The Lion King and Mufasa: The Lion King; those are animated, and only feature her voice. Same with 2013’s Epic.

Give up? The answer is Obsessed, the campy psychological thriller with Idris Elba and Ali Larter that came out in 2009. Since then, Beyoncé has focused on her music career — that’s working out pretty well for her. But is there a chance the “Texas Hold ‘Em” singer could return to the big screen? Unless Carmen: A Hip Hopera gets an IMAX re-release, which it should, probably not.

That’s according to Beyoncé’s mom, Tina Knowles, who shared a video on Instagram about her daughter donating her salary for 2008’s Golden Globes-nominated Cadillac Records to drug treatment centers. “This is still one of my favorite movies and it makes me miss the fact that my child decided not to continue with movies,” she wrote. “She killed it in this movie, and she so unselfishly donated her salary to the Phoenix house.”

It’s as simple as Beyoncé didn’t want to continue making movies. That makes sense: once you’ve starred in Austin Powers In Goldmember, you’ve reached the peak of cinema excellence. There’s nowhere left to go but down.

As of yesterday (March 10), this week was set to be significant for Lil Nas X’s upcoming project, Dreamboy. Yesterday, he shared a surprise song, “Dreamboy,” to precede this Friday’s single “Hotbox.” It turns out he’s packing even more in, as today brings another surprise track: “Big Dummy.”

It’s a two-minute tune that’s ready for a party as Lil Nas X raps, “In the club, in the cut, cuttin’ up / Gettin’ drunk while I’m pickin’ out my pick-me / All my opps and my simps gettin’ low / ‘Cause they want, but they know they can’t get me / Oh / Yes, it’s true.”

Previously, Lil Nas X said of his career mindset, “I just want to f*ckin’ have fun with this sh*t. I don’t even give a f*ck about all the other sh*t. Of course I want to, like, be No. 1 all the time, I want every song to go up, and I want you to go crazy. But it’s like, at the same time, I want to f*ckin’ have fun. I want to go and live life, I just want to make music. I don’t want to have to do crazy sh*t all the time. I want to make music, I want to f*ckin’ have fun, I want to live.”

Listen to “Big Dummy” above.

Humility isn’t one of Uproxx cover artist Russ’ strongest traits. The “Put You On Game” musician does not mind publicly tooting his own horn. Whether it’s about his album sales, sold out tour dates, or accomplishments like supposedly being the first rapper to perform at the pyramids in Egypt, Russ continuously shouts it from the rooftops.

But yesterday (March 10), Russ locked in another a career first–being added to Pop Crave‘s coveted “stuns” community of conventionally attractive celebrities. Over on X (formerly Twitter), the news aggregator reposted new promotional images from praising Russ’ appearance with their favorite (some would say overused) descriptor, ‘stuns.’

“Russ stuns in new photos ahead of his upcoming era,” wrote the page.

Immediately after the post was live, Russ took to his page to acknowledge the hilarious achievement. “It’s an honor to finally stun on Pop Crave,” he wrote.

Supporters of Russ joined in on his silly celebratory moment.

“Took y’all long enough to give this man his flowers,” joked one user.

Others followed up with compliments of their own. Some pushed the boundaries with thirsty responses.

“A beautiful man,” penned one user.

“My legs opened so quick,” wrote another.

In the Saturday Night Live sketch, No More Slay, Lady Gaga and Bowen Yang petitioned to retire several slang terms unfortunately “stuns” didn’t make the cut.

Tool is a band with tough skin and even rougher personalities. With a frontman Maynard James Keenan occasionally hitting the stage in full drag and prosthetic boobs, there’s not much you can say to hurt their feelings. However, fans of the “Opiate” musicians are certainly trying.

Over the weekend, Tool held their inaugural destination music festival in Punta Cuna, Dominican Republic. While this should be a celebratory moment, it has turned into an unavoidable online troll festival. In a now viral video (viewable here), during Tool In The Sand Festival attendees fiercely booed Tool as they played their set.

According to the Reddit user responsible for posting the clip, Tool’s first night (March 7). However, the following day’s performance (March 8) did not meet fans expectation. The individual claimed that Tool promised patrons “two unique sets” but instead delivered mirroring performance.

“They started the second evening with a repeat of the night before,” wrote the fan. “Everyone disappointed about the repeat from the night before.”

They continued: “Then Maynard asked who wasn’t here last night. No hands went up. They played a new song (Aenema) and then played repeat after repeat from the night before. We watched huge fans next to us walk out of the show.”

Now users online are trolling Tool by loading their social media pages’ comment sections with questions about the moment.

“How did it feel getting booed and heckled at your festival,” wrote one user on Instagram.

“How did the booing start? Was it when you heard the first repeat song, subsided with different song from night 1, then amplified when repeat songs 2,3 & 4 kicked in? Or at the end of the show? Asking for a friend,” penned another.

In the past Tool has curated festivals with great success. But it appears organizing one is another ball game entirely.

Tool has not responded to the pushback. Still, fans are not letting up.

The force that is Doechii cannot be stopped. On the heels of her record-setting 2025 Grammy Award win, Doechii earned the very rare co-sign of hip-hop legend Miss Lauryn Hill.

Following a glamorous time at Paris Fashion Week 2025, Doechii returned to the US with a campaign of her own. Today (March 10), Nike shared its latest ad starring Doechii. In the video (viewable here), the “Anxiety” rapper shut down all industry plant accusations with one extra long receipt of her professional accomplishments.

As she reflects on what’s managed to achieve, Doechii notes that her Best Rap Album win at the 2025 Grammys is one she holds near and dear. During the ceremony, Doechii became the third woman to ever win in that category since its inception–following Lauryn Hill and Cardi B.

In the upload’s caption, Nike echoed Doechii cocky response. “Too official to ever need validating, but we printed Doechii’s receipt to remind you anyway,” read the post.

Last month, Doechii first addressed the dismissive narrative during an interview with The Cut.

“When people aren’t familiar with the history of an artist these days, they get suspicious,” she said. “I’m pretty detached emotionally from it because I understand where it’s coming from. And to be honest, once you get any conspiracies around your career, that’s just confirmation that I’m going somewhere, and I’m doing something right.”

Doechii’s new ad with Nike is out now. Click here to watch.

With a budding family and a chart-topping career, on the outside Luke Combs’ life looks perfect. However, the “Fast Car” singer’s has been quietly dealing with a challenging mental health condition.

During a recent appearance on 60 Minutes Australia, Luke Combs opened up about his decade over two decade long battle with purely obsessional obsessive-compulsive disorder (also known as Pure O)–a rare condition that impacts one’s inner thoughts.

“It’s thoughts, essentially, that you don’t want to have,” he told anchor Adam Hegarty. “Then they cause you stress, and then you’re stressed out, and then the stress causes you to have more of the thoughts, and then you don’t understand why you’re having them, and you’re trying to get rid of them, but trying to get rid of them makes you have more of them.”

Combs revealed that he was diagnosis back when he was just 12 years old. Although he knows “how to get out of it” or the flares, he acknowledges he still has tough moments.

“When it hits, man, it can be all-consuming,” he said. “[Sometimes] a really bad flare-up can last 45 seconds of every minute for weeks. […] The way to get out of it is, like, it doesn’t matter what the thoughts even are. You’re giving any credence to what the thoughts are is, like, irrelevant and only fuels you having more of them.”

He closed by discussing how he copes with the condition, saying: “It’s learning to just go, ‘It doesn’t even matter what the thoughts are.’ Like, I just have to accept that they’re happening and then just go, ‘Whatever, dude. It’s happening. It’s whatever.’ It’s weird, sucks, hate it, drives me crazy. But […] the less that you worry about why you’re having the thoughts, eventually they go away.”

Watch Luke Combs full interview with 60 Minutes Australia here.

Between Drake’s brutal rap beef with Kendrick Lamar, the last minute Anita Max Win Tour show cancellations, and his ongoing legal battle with UMG, a break seems overdue. Apparently, the “Gimme A Hug” rapper agrees.

Today (March 10), Drake took to his official Instagram page to tease a hiatus could be on the horizon. In the post’s caption (viewable here) he let supporters know when he does resurface he will have “answers” to their frequently asked question.

“U know I grew up non-confrontational and always treated this game as a sport where my pen won gold,” he wrote. “But my these days the podium has been hard for all of us to ignore. I understand that this next chapter may leave you feeling uneasy, but I hope you see my honesty as clarity not charity that answers some questions especially about the unanswered texts you’ve been sending me. ”

While many took the upload to be a teaser for an upcoming solo show, the images shared in the slideshow paint another picture. One of the photos featured in his post appears to be of a Zofran pill.

According to the National Center Of Biotechnology Information, Zofran or ondansetron is a typically used to prevents nausea–in most cases as a result of chemotherapy, radiation or surgery. Some believe it is Drake’s way of suggesting that he is sick to his stomach over the tension with Lamar being all that users online talk about.

Another graphic was a still from 2017’s Phantom Thread starring Reynolds Woodcock, where the actor infamously says: “I cannot begin my day with a confrontation, please. I simply donʼt have time for confrontations.”

One final image that raised the eyebrow of Drake’s followers was a photo of OVO merch with the phrase “Free The Man Dem.” Typically, this would likely refer to incarcerated friends. But without context fans are lost as to who Drake could be talking about.

The remaining images were moments in Drake’s happier moments spent alongside friends. If a Drake break is on the horizon, it will be short-lived. In July, Drake will headline all three days of Wireless Festival 2025.

The Best New Hip-Hop This Week includes albums, videos, and songs from Doechii, Gelo, and Gunna.

Although Doechii’s re-released fan favorite, “Anxiety,” isn’t technically a new song, I think it’s still pretty fair to share. It’s emblematic of the music scene as a whole, where an old SoundCloud track can be re-released to widespread fanfare — and hopefully put those pesky “industry plant” rumors to rest, once and for all.

Meanwhile, the strict lines between hip-hop and other genres — indeed, between parallel yet separate career paths — have blurred more than ever, as seen with Gelo’s new follow-up to the viral “Tweaker,” the GloRilla-featuring “Can You Please?”

Another big change? A guy like Gunna can shrug off snitch speculation and drop a potential hit with a longtime collaborator in Turbo with “Classy Girl.”

And even the barriers between regions — whether those are disparate segments of the United States or completely different countries — are coming down, thanks to artists like Hanumankind. He reps both Texas and India on “Run It Up,” combining sounds into a rebellious anthem that makes this writer want to run through a wall.

Here is the best of hip-hop this week ending March 7, 2025.

Albums/EPs/Mixtapes

6ix — Homebody

Speaking of artists who push boundaries, 6ix — best known as Logic’s go-to producer — makes his solo debut, along with a slew of MCs from across hip-hop. Seemingly everybody you’d think of when you say “indie rap’s finest” is represented here, from 6ix’s fellow DMVers Adé and Logic to California mainstays like Blu, Buddy, and Guapdad 4000 to Toronto standouts ToBi and Jazz Cartier.

Fredo Bang & TEC — 8 Legged Gorilla

First of all, that artwork is [chef’s kiss]. Fredo’s long been one of my go-to “pain rap” purveyors. Teaming up with fellow Louisiana native TEC, Fredo sounds reenergized, the two rappers feeding on each other’s energy for 12 breezy tracks awash in skittering 808s and bayou drawl. It’s a statewide affair, as well; guests include B.G., Jaydayoungan, Kevin Gates, and Rob49.

Icewear Vezzo — Undefeated

Just when Rio da Young OG’s recent release from jail had me wondering where his longtime partner-in-rhyme Icewear Vezzo had been hiding, the Motor City motivator pops out with an eight-song EP to follow-up his 2024 album Live From The 6.

KenTheMan — Kinda Famous

That Houston water produces some of the music business’s slickest women in rap. While Megan Thee Stallion racks up headlines and Monaleo looks poised to blow up soon, you can’t overlook KenTheMan, who returns with her first full-length since 2021’s What’s My Name, following up 2023 EP Back To 304’n. Kinda Famous marks a reset for the rapper, who is newly independent and determined to capitalize on the goodwill she built up with her prior projects the old-school Texas way.

Singles/Videos

21 Lil Harold — “The Realest”

21 Lil Harold takes a step back from the Savage-inspired street threats that have defined much of his output to date, opting for a more soulful, introspective angle on the “The Realest” sh*t he ever wrote. Nothing but facts.

Lady London — “Is You Krazy?”

Hitmaka’s quest for a “pretty female rapper that’s strictly about bars” from a few years ago brought him together with Lady London, who has since paid off his patience with a string of releases that prove she’s just as adept as anybody with the pen. “Is You Krazy?” is a bouncy, hypnotic “shake off the haters” anthem, full of brass — both in London’s witty boasts and Hitmaka’s snazzy beat.

Samara Cyn — “Pop N Olive” Feat. Sherwyn

If you’ve been reading the column for a while, you might know that Samara Cyn is one of my favorite up-and-coming artists at the moment. I fully expect a big breakout in the very near future for the Murfreesboro, Tennessee native. In the meantime, she’s stretching her creative wings, trying something different from the murky raps of her breakout project The Drive Home, but eminently listenable.

Swank & King Draft — “Wait A Minute”

Shout-out to 9th Wonder for putting me on. The Jamla Records signees are just starting out, but this freestyle over Ray J’s 2001 Neptunes-produced hit is one hell of an introduction. Consider me intrigued.

At this point, it’s not surprising to see Snoop Dogg pop up just about anywhere. This past summer, he was all over the Olympics, and a few months later, he was on ESPN. Well, folks in Nashville were in for yet another Snoop surprise this weekend.

As Billboard notes, on March 9, Snoop made a surprise appearance at Losers Bar & Grill, a 500-capacity venue in the Tennessee city. Naturally, Snoop performed “Gin And Juice.”

The venue shared a clip from the performance on Instagram and wrote, “You never know who might hop up on stage. This Life Ain’t For Everybody!” Country singer-songwriter Ernest was also there, and he shared some photos and videos of Snoop on Instagram.

Meanwhile, T-Pain recently credited Snoop for making Auto-Tune “cool” in mainstream music, saying, “It was only resistance, until somebody cool did it. Who did that? Who made it cool? Snoop. Snoop did it, and it was totally fine. Everybody was like, you know, ‘OK, I guess we can listen to it’ [laughs].”

In other news regarding things Snoop likes, he named is dream blunt rotation in a recent interview, saying, “I really want to smoke with and do a record with Sade. I think we would have a nice time smoking and then going right into a session that Dr. Dre produced.” He also added Muhammad Ali and Michael Jordan to the list.