ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith is well-known for his controversial sports opinions — you could say he’s made his career on them. But perhaps out of habit, he just made a comparison that’ll have a whole new group of fans fighting mad at him.
The outspoken First Take host appeared on the daytime talk show Sherri, where he was asked about Rihanna’s upcoming Super Bowl Halftime Show — it’s technically in his wheelhouse and gives the audience some common footing with him, so not a bad question, all told.
But his “first take” made an age-old comparison that isn’t likely to endear him to the daytime talk crowd, or to fans of the two artists he contrasted. “I don’t wanna say I’m not excited,” he said. “She’s fantastic. That’s not where I’m going with this. Ladies and gentlemen, she’s a lot of things. She’s spectacular, actually. And congratulations on new-momma-hood. There’s one thing she’s not. She ain’t Beyoncé.”
The two singers have been pitted against each other for years but doing so has become something of a sore spot. Unfortunately, Smith’s entire job more or less consists of comparing athletes to each other, so when he was potentially out of his depth (name one Rihanna song, album, or feature without Google, Stephen!) he fell back on what he knows.
Although, in his mind, he apparently had a good reason for doing so. “The only reason I brought up Beyoncé is because Beyoncé recently performed at the Super Bowl, with and without Bruno Mars and Coldplay,” he explained. “Rihanna’s music is fantastic. She’s great. She’s a sister. I love her dearly. I listen to her music. I’m gonna support her until the cows come home. I’m just telling you: for me, there’s Beyoncé and there’s everybody else. Just like there was Michael Jackson and there’s everybody else.”
Hey look, whatever floats your boat. But a word of advice for Smith: Kobe fans may drive to featureless California towns to fight you, but the Navy (and the Hive) never forgets. Turn off your notifications now.
Last year, Amanda Bynes, the Nickelodeon and movie star who later dealt with substance abuse issues, successfully filed to end her decade-long conservatorship. “Besides normalcy as a person and a student, I know that she is looking forward to what her next step is going to be,” her attorney David Esquibias said. Those steps including releasing a trap-heavy rap single and reconnecting with her All That pals.
People reports that Bynes will reunite with Kel Mitchell, Danny Tamberelli, and Lori Beth Denberg at ’90s Con, which takes place at the Connecticut Convention Center from March 17 to 19. Those three (including Tamberelli, who played Little Pete on Nick’s wonderful The Adventures of Pete & Pete) worked with Bynes on All That until she got her own show, The Amanda Show. The dancing lobsters better show up, or else.
“I’m really excited to reunite with my cast mates and meet the fans at ’90s Con,” Bynes told People, while Mitchell added, “What better way to return than with the All That gang… including Amanda Bynes who will be joining Danny, Lori Beth, and me this year.”
Other celebrity guests at ’90s Con include Danica McKellar, Elizabeth Berkley, and Jason Marsden, the voice of Max in A Goofy Movie. Ask him what he thought about the Atlanta episode.
After a brief hiatus, Arlo Parks is finally back with new music. Today, the British singer/songwriter has shared her new single, “Weightless.”
On “Weightless,” Parks reflects on loving someone who is emotionally unavailable. In the song’s accompanying video, Parks makes her way through the city, both on foot and in a car, as these clips are juxtaposed with moments of the person she loves, sharing affections with someone else.”
“Weightless” precedes Parks’ upcoming second album, My Soft Machine, which Parks is set to release later this spring.
Parks said in a statement:
“The world/our view of it is peppered by the biggest things we experience — our traumas, upbringing, vulnerabilities almost like visual snow. This record is life through my lens, through my body — the mid-20s anxiety, the substance abuse of friends around me, the viscera of being in love for the first time, navigating PTSD and grief and self-sabotage and joy, moving through worlds with wonder and sensitivity — what it’s like to be trapped in this particular body. There is a quote from a Joanna Hogg film called The Souvenir, it’s an A24 semi-autobiographical film with Tilda Swinton — it recounts a young film student falling in love with an older, charismatic man then being drawn into his addiction — in an early scene he’s explaining why people watch films — ‘we don’t want to see life as it is played out we want to see life as it is experienced in this soft machine.’ So there we have it… My Soft Machine.”
Also worth noting is the Phoebe Bridgers feature on “Pegasus,” making today a major day for Bridgers news: Earlier today, Boygenius announced a new album and so did The National, and the latter album has two songs featuring Bridgers.
Check out “Weightless” above and the album artwork and tracklist below.
Paquita La Del Barrio, the regional Mexican music queen of the kiss-off anthem, has offered some words of advice to Shakira. After Shakira’s fiery “BZRP Music Sessions #53” was compared to Paquita La Del Barrio’s classics, the Mexican icon reached out to her through Instagram on Monday (January 16).
Last week, Shakira roasted her ex Gerard Piqué and his current girlfriend Clara Chía Marti with “BZRP Music Sessions #53,” her collaboration with Bizarrap. While singing that Piqué needed to “work out” his brain as much as his time spent in the gym, she implied that his relationship with Marti was a downgrade. Shakira compared herself to a Ferrari while saying that Piqué settled for a Twingo car.
“I heard that you had a problem with your family,” Paquita La Del Barrio said. “I am with you because I am a woman, and if anyone in life knows about these things, it is your friend. What can I tell you? That you give it your best shot. The important thing is that you have your children, you have someone to live for, and you have your whole life, mija, so don’t worry.”
In the video, Paquita La Del Barrio sang a piece of another one of her kiss-off anthems, “Las Rodillas.” She also offered her support to Shakira.
“Don’t be down,” Paquita La Del Barrio added. “Give it a go, as I told you. You have someone to live for, just like me. That’s what keeps us standing: Our family, children. Give it your all. I am in Mexico. If you need anything from me, with pleasure, know that I’m here to help. Sending you a big hug, and may God bless you.”
Throughout her career, Paquita La Del Barrio released songs where she lyrically cut down men who did her wrong. One of her classics is called “Rata De Dos Patas,” or “Rat With Two Feet,” where she compared her cheating partner to the rodent. Becky G and Karol G referenced the song in their breakup anthem “Mamiii” last year. Many memes were created that likened Shakira’s diss track to Paquita La Del Barrio’s song. Paquita La Del Barrio sent sweet words to Shakira in a video on Instagram.
It’s finally happening: Boygenius (the supergroup consisting of Phoebe Bridgers, Lucy Dacus, and Julien Baker) is reuniting to release their first full-length album, The Record. The trio shared the news today, along with fascinating tales about how some of the album’s songs came to be. One track, for example, started with Dacus and Bridgers on drugs, lying in bed and holding each other’s faces as Dacus cried and sang.
In a press release about the album, an excerpt about “We’re In Love” reads:
“Lucy first sang ‘We’re In Love’ a cappella to Phoebe, in Phoebe’s bed, on New Years Day in 2022. They were holding each other’s faces: a function of totally legal drugs. Lucy was weeping and did not blink. Later, in the studio, Julien thought the song was too… long. In retrospect, Julien hadn’t been ready to engage. When the truth sank in, the truth of a love song, she went away for six hours. (Julien: ‘It’s still a learning process to know the difference between being scrutinized and being seen.’) Then she came back. She was ready.”
The release also notes, “The Record is about recapturing joy — about the wasteful detour that turns out not to be the most important thing.” That’s in reference to the story behind a song called “Leonard Cohen”: “Once, when boygenius was on a road trip in Northern California, Phoebe asked Julien and Lucy to listen to a very important song, and pushed play, and got on the freeway headed in the wrong direction. The song was ‘Trapeze Swinger’ by Iron & Wine — about a dead person telling the living how he wants to be remembered. It was impossible to interrupt this ten-minute-long song. Because of how the exits were spaced, ‘Trapeze Swinger’ added an hour to their travel time. Phoebe felt like an idiot. Lucy turned that drive into the song ‘Leonard Cohen.’”
The Record is out 3/31 via Interscope. Pre-order it here.
Sometimes the best new R&B can be hard to find, but there are plenty of great rhythm-and-blues tunes to get into if you have the time to sift through the hundreds of newly released songs every week. So that R&B heads can focus on listening to what they really love in its true form, we’ll be offering a digest of the best new R&B songs that fans of the genre should hear every Friday.
While the industry is still working its way out of the holiday season, there’s still a good amount of new R&B music, news, and more to enjoy so far in 2023. SZA shared her long-awaited video for “Kill Bill” and PARTYNEXTDOOR made his return with “Her Old Friends.” The Weeknd also got on the video wave with one for “Is There Someone Else?” and Kaash Paige shared her video for “All Girls Cry.”
Here’s more about the new releases that are worth your time and worth the listen:
PARTYNEXTDOOR — “Her Old Friends”
The last we heard from PARTYNEXTDOOR was at the end of 2022 when he guest appeared on Diddy’s “Sex In The Porsche” single. However, prior to that, PARTYNEXTDOOR’s musical releases were sporadic at best, especially after the release of his third album PARTYMOBILE. Lucky for us, the Toronto native is back in action with “Her Old Friends,” a record PND uses to air his frustrations about the friends of a past lover who interfered with and eventually ruined the relationship they had.
Chiiild — “Good For Now” Feat. Lucky Daye
In less than two months, Chiiild will release his third album Better Luck In The Next Life. The 12-track effort gets previewed with its latest single, “Good For Now” featuring Lucky Daye. “This song is a reminder that whatever happens, we should be present in the moment because we don’t know what tomorrow brings,” Chiiild says about the new record. Better Luck In The Next Life will also feature Alina Baraz, Caitlyn Scarlett, and Charlotte Cardin.
VEDO — Mood Swings
For the fifth consecutive year, VEDO is back in action with a new project. The singer returns with his sixth album Mood Swings and it touches down with 13 songs and guest appearances from Chris Brown and Tink. “The music speaks for itself, and we just want to you feel,” VEDO says about the album, “whatever the emotion or mood is.”
Kelz — “Good 2 Me”
New York Kelz caught some eyes in 2022 with the release of his “Sinner” and “Why” singles. He received co-signs from Pharrell, Drake, Jack Harlow, Jorja Smith, Brent Faiyaz, and more last year, and for 2023, he’s wasting no time getting to work. Kelz returns with “Good 2 Me,” a song he describes as an “ode to East NY.” “I wanted to give an uptempo meaning to the block,” he added. “My mission is to create a sound out of NY no one has heard before.”
Stormzy — “Hide & Seek (Remix)” Feat. FLO
Stormzy concluded his 2022 year with the release of his long-awaited third album This Is What I Mean. The highlight from that project is “Hide & Seek,” the album’s lead single, and months after its release it gets updated with a remix featuring FLO. The fellow London-based trio adds a tender and elevated experience to the song as FLO dazzles with their vocals to bring the song to a new level.
Savannah Ré — “Closer (Remix)” Feat. Nonso Amadi
The Toronto R&B music scene is in good hands and Savannah Ré is one example of why that is. In the fall of 2022, she released her second ep No Weapons, and to kick off the new year, she returns with a remix of one of the project’s most vibrant songs. “Closure” gets updated with a verse from Nonso Amandi who provides a male perspective to Savannah’s requests for one last moment of reciprocation within a relationship.
RealestK — “Wish You Well”
While some may take some time off after the release of a project, Toronto singer RealestK is getting right back to work. He’s back with “Wish You Well,” a somber record that captures the moments he says goodbye to a lover who did him wrong and hurt him in more ways than he could imagine. The track follows the release of his Dreams 2 Reality mixtape.
Ledisi — “I Need To Know”
It’s been three years since Grammy-winning singer Ledisi released an original new album, but all of that is going to change this year. She kicks things off with the luscious “I Need To Know,” a stirring single that finds Ledisi frustrated with a partner who refuses to communicate their issues to her. The song is off her upcoming tenth solo album which is out in late spring.
Dende — Before We Crash
Of all the rising R&B artists making their steps upward in the genre, Dende is certainly one to keep an eye on. The Texas native started the new year with his fifth project Before We Crash. The EP is riddled with passionate and raw records that impressively showcase Dende’s thoughts and emotions in their most unapologetic form. Through its six songs, Before We Crash presents features from Deante’ Hitchcock and Erykah Officer.
Derrick Milano — Remember What You Said
Towards the end of 2021, Derrick Milano set out to establish his solo career following success as a songwriter. A little over a year later, he’s back with Remember What You Said, his first project project since 2020. It arrives with nine songs and a lone feature from Dazzy.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
The first, “$20,” opens on a high note with an electric guitar-forward instrumental and the group harmonizing with Baker’s lead vocals. It also ends with Bridgers screaming — a callback to her popular solo song, “I Know The End.”
“Emily I’m Sorry” slows down the pacing to emphasize on the lyricism. “Take me back to Montreal / I’ll get a real job,” Bridgers sings.
As for Dacus, she carries the newly released “True Blue,” where she drops the attention-grabbing line, “You f*ck around and find out.”
Baker shared more about the album’s creation process in a press statement, noting that they spent ten-hour days throughout January 2022 recording the record. “We are all at least one type of the same psycho. The Venn diagrams overlap in ‘Every day for a month,’” she said.
Continue scrolling for The Record‘s complete album art and tracklist.
Matt Grubb
1. “Without You Without Them”
2. “$20”
3. “Emily I’m Sorry”
4. “True Blue”
5. “Cool About It”
6. “Not Strong Enough”
7. “Revolution 0”
8. “Leonard Cohen”
9. “Satanist”
10. “We’re In Love”
11. “Anti-Curse”
12. “Letter To An Old Poet”
The Record is out 3/28 via Interscope. Pre-order it here.
The rumor mill in the NBA with less than a month to go before the trade deadline hasn’t featured a ton of big names. For months, though, one name that has popped up every now and then is Jakob Poeltl, the veteran center who is slated to become an unrestricted free agent this summer and doesn’t quite fit on the timeline of a team that is taking a long-term approach.
Earlier this week, Shams Charania of The Athletic reported that while the Spurs have an offer on the table for a Poeltl extension, the former first-round pick wants to “compete on the highest levels.” Charania went on to say that the Boston Celtics and Toronto Raptors have plenty of interest in Poeltl, but “the Spurs will hold a high price threshold for any deal.”
That price, according to Jared Weiss of The Athletic, is indeed quite high, as the Spurs want a similar return to what they got when they traded Derrick White to the Celtics last year.
The sticking point has been, as always, price. San Antonio has made it known to interested parties throughout the league the Spurs want two first-round picks for Poeltl, according to team and league sources, which was the same stance they took on Derrick White last season.
Considered one of the best defensive centers in basketball, Poeltl has averaged 12.3 points, 9.3 rebounds, and 1.3 blocks in 26.4 minutes per game this season while connecting on 63.4 percent of his attempts from the field.
Although the NBA has really embraced hip-hop in the past decade or so (especially compared to its earlier regard to the culture), few of the league’s franchises are as closely entwined with their city’s rap culture as the Golden State Warriors. Bay Area rap legends like E-40 and Too Short and rising stars like P-Lo aren’t just regulars on the courtside seats, they are an integral part of the team’s operations, often partnering for events in the area meant to strengthen the Dubs’ community ties and participating in the recent championship parade.
In fact, they are so much a part of the team that they were even invited to join the Warriors for their White House visit earlier this week. E-40, Too Short, and Mistah FAB, as well as Bay radio mainstay Sway Calloway, posted photos from the event, posing with Vice President Kamala Harris, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and of course, the portrait of President Barack Obama.
E-40 and Too Short recently teamed up with fellow California rap pioneers Ice Cube and Snoop Dogg to form Mount Westmore, releasing two albums in 2022. However, the Northern California half of the group currently appears to have the upper half in their intrastate basketball rivalry. While both the Warriors and Snoop and Cube’s beloved Lakers are both absolutely struggling in the Western Conference compared to recent seasons, the Lakers are currently 11 games out of playoff contention at the moment, while the Warriors sit in the 6th seed, ahead of the Clippers and Mavericks.
Award season is in full swing. Although the Grammy Awards aren’t until February 5, some of the biggest musical acts have found their works nominated at other industry ceremonies including the Golden Globes. However, for entertainer Common there’s only one event that has his focus and that’s the Tony Awards.
The rapper, actor, and producer is well on his way to becoming a member of the coveted EGOT club (having a Emmy Award, Grammy Award, Oscars, and Tony Award) and currently only needs a Tony Award to seal the deal. During his visit to Late Night With Seth Meyers yesterday (January 17), Common talked about his EGOT journey and his role in the Broadway production Between Riverside And Crazy.
The Chicago native remained humble, saying, “I’m very grateful for just being on Broadway, man. And to be a part of the theater community itself, that was a dream of mine at some point. The fact that I’m actually doing theater now — I’m just in the spirit of that. I’m trying to give my best every night.”
When asked if he deserves to become a EGOT member, he jokingly gave the host a look of certainty before saying, “For me, also it’s like, every [award] you just named, which I’m super grateful to have those awards you just mentioned, but everything, whether I was doing music or whether I was acting in a film or creating a song for a film, I just went in it with my heart and soul, put my spirit into it, and gave my best. Whatever results happen, that’s icing on the cake.”
He then closed with, “To be recognized by people in theater would be an amazing feat, but I’m just happy right now that I’m on that stage with Stephen McKinley Henderson and this incredible cast doing Stephen Adly Guirgis’ play. This is stuff I dreamed of and I didn’t know I would be able to do it with this group of people and at this level.”
Last year, singer Jennifer Hudson joined after taking home a Tony Award and prior to that musician John Legend become the youngest person and first Black man to earn that highly-respected title.
Watch Common’s interview above and below.
This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Cookie settingsACCEPT
Privacy & Cookies Policy
Privacy Overview
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
(@uglyprimo) 
