Category: News

Birthdays are a glorious occasion, but no one celebrates the anniversary of their birth quite like Saweetie. This year, the rapper headed to Las Vegas to enjoy Usher’s My Way residency up close and personal but avoiding Kekegate. However, the Icy Girl’s festivities are far from over. On her new single, “Birthday,” the musician teamed up with upcoming tour mates Tyga and YG for one more blowout extravaganza.

Saweetie can have her cake or, apparently, be one too. In the visual, the musician dripped with jewels embodied the purpose of a birthday candle. Not only is she every guy’s wish (but only her rumored boo YG can have), but Saweetie is a bright flame you can’t take your eyes off. On her special day, the musician is a spoiled brat and doesn’t mind showing it, as she rapped, “It’s my birthday b*tch these my birthday rules / I aint spendin nothing all the drinks on you / I hope that aint your n**** cause he tryna get loose / See me coming through and a b*tch better move.”

For the month of July, it’s Saweetie’s world, and we’re just living in it.

Watch the video for “Birthday” above.

Saweetie is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Ron DeSantis continued to take a wrecking (meat)ball to his campaign on Thursday night as the Florida governor sugar-shamed a small child for sipping on an Icee.

The now-viral moment went down at the Wayne County fairgrounds in Iowa where DeSantis once again demonstrated that he’s awful at mingling with the general public. After spotting the child, DeSantis asked what they were enjoying. When the child said an Icee, DeSantis responded “That’s a lot of sugar, huh?” before robotically saying, “Good to see ya” and walking away.

Here’s a clip from NBC News’ Gabe Gutierrez:

It’s yet another blunder for DeSantis in the key primary state where members of his own party have already hit him with a cease and desist letter for bussing in supporters from other states to mask the lack of enthusiasm for his campaign.

“He is the first presidential candidate that is going out and buying and paying for representation … he’s not building a grassroots organization,” Muscatine GOP Chair Daniel Freeman wrote in the letter. “And it could very well be that he uses Never Back Down because he can’t garner state support from individual residents in Iowa. Therein lies the problem. He is misleading the public of Iowa by sending busloads of people to a parade and they don’t even live in the area and in fact, most of them don’t even live in the state of Iowa.”

Now, DeSantis is out here shaming children for eating frozen treats during a summer plagued by heatwaves. The reactions on social media have been brutal as people can’t believe how terrible DeSantis is at retail politics.

You can see some of the reactions below:

(Via Gabe Gutierrez on Twitter)

Vladimir Putin’s been attempting to rustle up some friends/allies after essentially making himself a global pariah by invading Ukraine. Even within Russia, elites are hesitant to align themselves with the president/autocrat for fear of eventually being accused of war crimes, and perhaps even worse to Putin, his former strongman image has fallen into tatters with word that he just kinda sat there and silently freaked out as the Wagner mutiny unfolded.

Putin wants to present the image of making nice, it seems, which is why he decided to generously offer grain — to which there were no takers — like a “benevolent overlord” for those countries who were in attendance for the recent “Russia-Africa” summit. Mind you, only 17 out of 54 current African nation heads of state even bothered coming to the event.

However, Putin does have a relatively powerful ally in his corner, but it’s not an ally that most countries would covet. Then again, it’s not totally surprising, since Putin was reported to be scooping up rockets from dictator Kim Jong Un, but Putin put a ring on it with a from-afar speech during the North Korean celebration of Victory Day in the North:

North Korea’s “firm support” for Russia’s war in Ukraine emboldens the two countries’ determination to cope with Western nations, Russian President Vladimir Putin said in a speech to North Korean officials on Thursday, according to a report in North Korean state media.

Putin did not go into detail of the nature of Pyongyang’s support in what he called Russia’s “special military operation.” But US officials said last year that North Korea was selling millions of rockets and artillery shells to Russia for use on the battlefield in Ukraine.

Well, the two leaders do share an apparent hatred for the Western world, and the Victory Day event apparently included a parade of intercontinental ballistic missiles, which is quite something. And Putin is probably jealous as well, since his recent Victory Day parades were largely cancelled other than one lonely tank in attendance. Putin recently (and finally) admitted that Russia is making a poor showing in Ukraine, but Putin he also threatened to be shipping ICBMs with nukes to Belarus, and if that’s true, he may have found a willing supplier.

(Via CNN)

On June 24, Madonna developed a bacterial infection that landed her in the intensive care unit. She postponed her Celebration Tour, but only days later she was spotted out with a friend in New York City’s Upper East Side.

The pop star has shared an update on her health Friday (June 28). On Instagram, she posted a clip of her swinging her hips, clad in futuristic shades and a black outfit. “To be able to move my body and dance just a little bit makes me feel like the Luckiest Star in the world!” she wrote in the caption. “Thank you to all of my fans and friends! You must be my lucky stars too! And Happy 40th Birthday to my very. First Album- [star emojis].”

It was reported on June 28 that she had been hospitalized. “On Saturday June 24, Madonna developed a serious bacterial infection which lead to a several day stay in the ICU,” the statement on manager Guy Oseary’s Instagram read. “Her health is improving, however she is still under medical care. A full recovery is expected. At this time we will need to pause all commitments, which includes the tour. We will share more details with you soon as we have them, including a new start date for the tour and for rescheduled shows.”

Madonna is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

The less we know about the personal lives of politicians, the better — especially when it comes to sex. GOP Representative Nancy Mace broke this unwritten rule on Thursday when she confessed that she turned down sex with her partner to make it to a prayer breakfast on time.

“When I woke up this morning at 7, I was getting picked up at 7:45. Patrick, my fiancé, tried to pull me by my waist over this morning in bed and I was like, ‘No, baby, we don’t got time for that this morning. I got to get to the prayer breakfast and I got to be on time,’” she said, adding that it may have “been a little TMI, but he can wait, he’s got — I’ll see him later tonight.”

Following her viral remarks, the South Carolina lawmaker appeared on Hannity, where host Sean Hannity broke up her “TMI” confession in the most awkward way possible. “Much later tonight, because she’s on this show,” Hannity said as an introduction. “Anyway, Congresswoman Mace joins us. Uh, congresswoman, great to have you.” He later added, “Uh, I guess you’ll get home some time around midnight tonight, so, um, I thought it was pretty funny at a prayer breakfast. Good for you for having a great sense of humor.”

It was the funniest joke at a prayer breakfast since the time Mitt Romney said “I’ll have what she’s having” when he saw someone eating a hot dog at 8 a.m.:

At the end of the interview, Hannity made yet another reference to the incident, concluding, “Congresswoman, we appreciate you coming to this show instead of going home to your fiancé. We really appreciate it.”

You can watch the uncomfortable interaction here.

(Via Mediaite)

As AI makes daily headlines (and robots take over), I’ve been thinking more about the future of human work and the value of craftsmanship. Craftsmanship, the human trait that enables us to care for and love the work we produce, especially in the built environment.

Even as we make advancements and increase efficiencies in technology, the built world desperately needs more people who care about craft and want to work with their hands.

In construction specifically, the demand for housing—especially affordable housing—and safer roads and bridges is only increasing. And over 40% of skilled workers will retire in the next 10 years. We need new craftspeople more than ever. And, fast.
That’s why we started MT Copeland: to capture the craftsmanship seen in the built world around us (our homes, our workplaces, our cities), and help anyone learn directly from experienced professionals. We help craftspeople teach the skills they use on the job every day, and inspire others to make a career move into skilled careers. Carpenters, entrepreneurs building homes, painters, and even first-time homeowners can now use methods from generations past to make projects better.

The attention to detail in drywall, painting, or cabinet making requires a unique combination of technical prowess, problem-solving abilities, and an artistic eye. It’s the kind of work made only possible by human touch. Just when it starts to feel like everything’s destined to be automated, remember: some things simply must be made by human hands.

For a long time in America, the cultural perception of skilled workers has been that they’re working “worse jobs” than people in offices. But, the average plumber makes over $60,000 a year. Experienced plumbers double that. And if you want to own your own plumbing company, the sky’s the limit.

A skill like plumbing can be taught (and without an advanced degree! Or college debt!) but we need to pass down both the knowledge, and the spirit of excellence. That’s what we’re excited to be working on at MT Copeland: helping our next generation continue to build something real.

To try MT Copeland, visit www.mtcopeland.com.

Forget the song of the summer (which is “Hero” by Chad Kroeger ft. Josey Scott from the Spider-Man soundtrack for the 21st year in a row). The show of the summer is Suits. Nielsen reports that the USA Network series, which recently made its Netflix streaming debut (it’s also on Peacock), set a record for “streaming’s most viewed acquired title for a single week ever” with 3.14 billion minutes viewed for the week of June 26-July 2, 2023.

The previous record was 2.49 billion minutes for Manifest.

Nielsen also predicts that several more weeks of success are on the horizon for Suits, since 75 percent of the viewing total during this week was generated by only the first three seasons of the series. There are nine seasons total of the legal dramedy.

Suits, as you might have heard, starred Meghan Markle, who every British person either hates or loves, depending on who you talk to. Her husband, Prince Harry, was probably not part of the 3.14 billion minutes (it’s mostly Piers). In his memoir, Spare, he wrote that he made “the mistake of Googling and watching some of her love scenes online” when he began dating Markle. “I’d witnessed her and a castmate mauling each other in some sort of office or conference room. I didn’t need to see such things live.”

Suitscore is the new Barbiecore.

(Via Deadline)

The big Britney Spears news of the moment (aside from her recent collaboration with will.i.am) is that her long-awaited memoir, The Woman In Me, is on the way. Fans may remember, though, that at one point, Spears was also working on a poetry book. Well, it looks like that project may still be alive, as Spears just shared a new poem and indicated it’s part of a larger forthcoming project.

She captioned her Instagram post from last night (July 27), “A tease [smiling devil emoji] for a little project on the way !!!!!! Whose readyyyyyyyyyyyyyy !!! Had to do the yyyyyyyy because for some reason my sister does that on her gram !!!!!! Love [hearts emoji] y’all !!!”

The poem is then presented as a text slideshow video, and it addresses her conservatorship and family. Some lines address conservatorship complains Spears has voiced before, like this excerpt: “We want to see your face / We want to see your face / I want attention at my pace / And have a car, and leave this place / I never cried not one time / I worked 10 hours a day / 4 months a slave / No days off, and no you can’t play / No door for a room and watched me / changed, watched me shower / But each week I got flowers / from a grocery store / To show color adored to feel young again / and maybe more.”

Read the full poem below.

“In the middle or did you get ’em?
The thieves are little,
They serve like skittles
The pain no walk, we say when you talk
The pain no walk, we say when you talk
My feet, Jesus tell me why
You know I move when I’m alive
They took my feet, demoralized
Emphasized my face, they wanted my mind
We want to see your face
We want to see your face
I want attention at my pace
And have a car, and leave this place
I never cried not one time
I worked 10 hours a day
4 months a slave
No days off, and no you can’t play
No door for a room and watched me
changed, watched me shower
But each week I got flowers
from a grocery store
To show color adored to feel young again
and maybe more
Is this even legal?
Where’s a needle, is this a joke?
No days off
And my family knows so low
so low
so low
My family says so
Watched me bathe, sit down behave
We ask the questions
We’re here to save you
Save me from what?
Save me from what…
Edge of reason to feel alive,
Insanity steals most hearts
Most cry
I should have died I’m not gone lie
How I made it. ******* surprise
Insanity reveals realest eyes
Born I won’t even try
My feet look down I wanted to run
Spirit out of body, the pain I was done in
Elevate elevate, it came out of body
It touch the ceiling, it wasn’t a haunting
It was pain, looked up
God for sure
He knew I knew, so I flew
It didn’t feel normal, but what is normal
I say it again, what the **** is normal
They broke my face
Jesus, my right hand
If I could back in time
I’d find my right hand
I’d ******* kill’em
Because I took a stand
Show them where I’m from
Do you think they’d smile again?
And be so comfortable with me and grin
I’m so kind, I’m for free
Think again my friends
Think again
I’d murder
Put a smile on my face
To save my grace I’d kill’em
Where are you from ???
Where are you from ???
Things make you go
‘HMMMMMMMM …’
Is it a name? Is it in
my blood?
The illusion of money
and fame is a flood
Hahaha I will make sure I do the
right thing
Sit down and humble,
Sit down and stay humble
Bumble B is me !!!
Like a wasp I sting
Do you want me to sting?
Do you want me to sting?
The ring higher please
Ring higher
My lighter it’s lit
It’s lit
I serve now with just spit
Significance in just spit
Or just swallow, go hollow
And follow the word.”

At long last, Travis Scott’s highly anticipated album Utopia is out. Since its midnight release, fans have been listening and evaluating, and a common conclusion many have come to is that Utopia is super reminiscent of Kanye West’s beloved 2013 album Yeezus. In fact, the Kanye album was actually a trending topic on Twitter this morning (July 28) due to the volume of Utopia comparisons.

One popular tweet reads, “Kanye dropped Yeezus in 2013 and we all praised for sounding futuristic… 10 years later, we’re seeing it’s influence loud and clear [goat emojis].” Another says, “The Yeezus influence on Utopia is insane,” and another user noted, “this lowkey like trav’s Yeezus.” Somebody else tweeted, “This post is starting to make sense ‘Yetopia’ Utopia is literally a sister album to YEEZUS the Kanye influence is ridiculous you would think Kanye produced the whole album Travis is really a Kanye Protégés.”

There are those who see Utopia as essentially Yeezus taken in a different direction. One Twitter user wrote, “Travis Scott took Yeezus and said ‘what if this was maximalist?’” Another said, “Utopia is Travis Scott doing experimental/vibes in the same sonic space as Yeezus.”

As some have noted, West did have some involvement with this album: He’s a producer and writer on “Thank God” and also co-wrote “God’s Country,” for example.

Check out some more reactions below.

Utopia is out now via Epic Records. Find more information here.

Travis Scott‘s new album Utopia has everyone talking. Utopia marks his fourth album, and his first in five years. As Scott is wont to do, he initially withheld the features upon revealing the tracklist, however, upon first listen, fans were quick to identify a frequent collaborator of Scott’s — none other than Drake.

Drake is featured on “Meltdown,” which contains not only a hypnotic beat switch, but perhaps some cryptic bars.

Upon streaming “Meltdown,” fans believed that Drake may have subliminally dissed Pusha T.

“I melt down the chains that I bought from your boss, give a f*ck about all of that heritage sh*t / Since V not around the members done hung up the Louis they not even wearing that sh*t”

It’s not unlikely that Drake is referring to the fact that he purchased a 14K three-tone N.E.R.D pendant chain ($2,184,000), a white gold brain pendant chain ($725,000), and a skateboard pendant chain ($103,750) — which he revealed in the video for the Her Loss cut “Jumbotron Sh*t Poppin’, with 21 Savage.

As many of us know, Drake and Pusha T have been beefing since 2018, when the two exchanged a series of diss tracks aimed at each other.

You can listen to “Meltdown” above.

Utopia is out now via Epic Records and Cactus Jack. Find more information here.