Mount Rushmore has become so much more than faces of dead presidents carved into a giant rock: For decades, the US landmark has sparked countless thought exercises, generating debates about which people are at the tops of their respective fields. There’s been some Mount Rushmore talk lately with a viral example highlighting white rappers, but now Lil Wayne is taking a different approach, by crafting his dream football team using only rappers.
This went down on a recent episode of The Travis Hunter Show (above), where Hunter asked Wayne to pick a seven-person team. His first selection was Jay-Z (as XXL notes): “He on the squad. Jay on the squad. I don’t know if he coach or something. We need a veteran.”
Drake’s on the team, too: “We need a proven star, a proven superstar. That would be my man Drizzy, Aubrey Graham, ’cause he could play both sides of the ball now. He could sing and rap, you know what I mean? He can sing.”
Jadakiss was highlighted next, with Wayne saying, “Now we need somebody that can move, so we going with…. Ohh, you say rappers though, right? I’m going with… now this ain’t the mover. This ain’t the guy that can move or nothing like that, but I’m going with ‘Kiss. I’m going with ‘Kiss. I think you see ‘Kiss in that back field and get scared, yeah. I think you be like, ‘I know that ain’t Aubrey and ‘Kiss. What Jay doing back there?,’ you know what I mean?”
His list also included Nicki Minaj, Notorious B.I.G., J. Cole, and Eminem, as quarterback. He also named Missy Elliott as his first player off the bench.
It hasn’t been that long since a new Kid Cudi album, with Insano (Nitro Mega) arriving a bit over a year ago in February 2024. Now, though, he’s starting to roll out a new project.
Yesterday (April 30), Cuditweeted a link to pre-save “Neverland,” which he dubbed the “first single from my new album.” Cudi’s website currently shows a countdown that ends on May 9, a Friday, which is presumably when the song will be released.
Cudi excitedly told fans about the project back in August 2024. On X (formerly Twitter), he wrote, “Im so hype. I got my next album finished and I really cant wait for yall to get a taste. Maybe this Fall?” He added in another tweet, “Im not f*ckin around!! Its been awhile since Ive switched it up and tried something new, and I feel confident u will love the direction.”
He also wrote, “My psychic said 13 was a lucky number for me. And this is my 13th album. I can honestly say ur faces will melt and ur hearts will be filled w happiness.” He added in another tweet, “im not slowin down anytime soon. Im inspired. Turnin 40 flipped a switch in my mind and heart. The focus is crazy. Lets see whatelse I can accomplish w this magic.”
Zombies, citizen detectives, a soap-opera-loving android, and comedy, comedy, comedy. That’s what May has in store for bingewatchers who have already exhausted last month’s supply of undead bounty hunters and revolution seekers. This month, however, a certain apocalypse survivor is reunited with his most cherished friend, so feel free to swan dive into this television abyss.
In no particular order, here are the must-see shows for May 2025.
Murderbot: Season 1 (Apple TV+ series 5/16)
Nobody can deny that Alexander Skarsgård is objectively sexy, but here, he’s portraying an unsexy robot (good luck with that) who would really prefer to bingewatch futuristic soap operas while being taxed with protecting and serving idiotic humans. So far, the fan response (from The Murderbot Diaries readers) is that the above trailer nails the tone and spirit of the source material. And because David Dastmalchian is in every cool project these days (including Dexter: Resurrection), you know he is in this, too. Whew.
Poker Face: Season 2 (Peacock series 5/8)
Natasha Lyonne is doing Columbo-inspired things again while reeling in “a truly gonzo parade of guest stars” this season. They include John Mulaney, Alia Shawkat, Cynthia Erivo, Katie Holmes, Giancarlo Esposito, Haley Joel Osment, Melanie Lynskey, Taylor Schilling, Justin Theroux, and Kumail Nanjiani. If anybody had guessed five years ago that Lyonne would be collaborating with Rian Johnson in such an addictive way, would you have believed? Fortunately, we can thank Russian Doll (and Oatmeal the cat and maybe The Last Jedi) for bearing this mystery-solving fruit.
Sirens: Season 1 (Netflix series 5/22)
Another darkly comedic mystery series is upon us, this time starring Julianne Moore, Kevin Bacon, Meghann Fahy, and Milly Alcock, who portray screwed-up characters on a Labor Day weekend holiday within murkier waters than expected at a luxury island destination. The project will explore class, power, and an attempted intervention when one character cannot seem to get enough of either of those concepts, and if you didn’t already guess from the title, the story will take cues from Greek mythology.
The Walking Dead: Dead City: Season 2 (AMC/AMC+ series 5/4)
Remember how Maggie screwed Negan over in the most recent season finale? Well, she’s apparently having second thoughts, but Negan has already reacquainted himself with an old friend, so get ready for Crazy Negan to fully come back. In other words, Maggie’s rescue mission doesn’t go as planned because Negan doesn’t seem to need rescuing. He’s got Lucille 2.0 on his side, and his showman self is back in control with his former “eeny meeny miny moe” chant back in menacing action. Kim Coates and Dascha Polanco also join the franchise full of hot walker action.
The Chi: Season 7 (Showtime series 5/18)
Lena Waithe’s no-holds-barred slice at Chicago will soon return for, in the words of Nina L. Diaz, President of Content and Chief Creative Officer, Showtime/MTV Entertainment Studios and Paramount Media Networks, more of the this show’s customary “authentic and unflinching narratives in The Chi resonate deeply, offering a powerful lens into both the complexities of life in Chicago as well as the Black experience in America.”
Nine Perfect Strangers: Season 2 (Hulu series 5/21)
Nicole Kidman found some spare moments to revisit her mysterious guru character, Masha, who is now selling her brand of shady wellness at a fancy resort in the Swiss Alps. David E. Kelley cannot seem to miss, so expect this new cast (including Christine Baranski, Murray Bartlett, Mark Strong, Annie Murphy, and Henry Golding) to be going through it while drugged in the interest of “therapy” while potentially murderous shenanigans go down.
Rick and Morty: Season 8 (Adult Swim series 5/25)
Dan Harmon’s brainchild will be delving deeper into the standalone vs. serialized struggle this year while also adding to canon in significant ways, but don’t worry, those classic adventures will remain top priority. As they should.
Conan O’Brien Must Go: Season 2 (Max series 5/8)
Conan might be the most fitting awards show host of the decade, but he’s now trotting around the earth when he’s not podcasting (via his Needs A Friend show). He’s no Anthony Bourdain, of course, and he never claimed as much, but this show has already been renewed for a third season, so he’ll be taking in local cuisine while surprising fans for the foreseeable future.
The Four Seasons: Season 1 (Netflix series 5/1)
This tried and true “couples trip”-type formula receives a new permutation in this series, which sees a couple divorce and mess up the “quarterly weekend getaways” dynamic of their long-running friendship with two other couples. Tina Fey co-created and stars in this series along with Steve Carrell and Colman Domingo, so at least you know that they filled the show with a stellar cast who will go several extra miles for both “funny” and “heartwarming.” (And if this trailer doesn’t simulate a mini-gut punch in you over how marriages can slowly crumble, consider yourself lucky.)
Love, Death & Robots (Netflix series 5/15)
Deadpool director Tim Miller, Mindhunter executive producer David Fincher, and supervising director Jennifer Yuh Nelson are back with another editing of bleeding-edge animation shorts, this time with stories about “dinosaur gladiators, messianic cats,” and “string-puppet rock stars.” No matter what, you’re sure to find experiences here that will both please and offend, so dive into the abyss, y’all.
Netflix
Dept. Q (Netflix series 5/29)
The Queen’s Gambit won’t receive a second season, but writer and director Scott Frank is here with a followup show about a brilliant, sarcastic cop, Carl, who simply cannot get along with his colleagues. After he is exiled to a different unit, Carl builds his own support gang and takes on cold cases with much more success than expected. And as The Night Agent viewers can attest, basement banishments can really backfire on authority.
Criminal Minds: Evolution: Season 18 (Paramount+ series 5/8)
You might be wondering why this series, especially concerning a double-digits season, appears on this list? Well, Matthew Gray Gubler is finally returning to the franchise as Spencer Reid. Granted, he will only appear in one episode, but that’s plenty enough, and Gubler will also soon be starring in his own series, Einstein, in which he portrays the ultimate academic nepo baby.
It’s been seven years since Cardi B’s debut album, Invasion Of Privacy. But don’t blame her for the delay on a follow-up: it’s her guests’ fault.
“I really need these f*cking features,” Cardi B said on Instagram Live this week, according to Billboard. “And it’s like I’m not really trying to press or go crazy on these artists because I love them down. But it’s like, come on now! I need that! I need that right now! Helloooo! Y’all don’t want to miss this opportunity. I’ll sing this sh*t myself! But I really need y’all and I need y’all to hurry up and I love y’all. I feel like nobody want to miss being on this album.”
The “Put It On Da Floor Again” rapper and You super fan previously teased that “the features on my album are really good,” continuing, “I don’t have a lot of features, but I’m working with artists, some that I have worked with before and some that I haven’t worked with before. And the ones that I have not worked with before, I feel like it’s gonna really, really surprise y’all.”
She added, “It’s such a vibe. I’m 100-percent confident with this album. I just don’t think what I got is out there.”
The news Lorde fans have been waiting for finally arrived yesterday (April 30), when the singer announced Virgin, her new album. Lorde has since spoken about it a bit more, revealing that Charli XCX’sBrat influenced her mindset while making it.
As NME notes, in an interview with BBC Radio 1’s Jack Saunders, Lorde said:
“Brat coming out really gave me a kick in a lot of ways. It forced me to further define what I was doing because Charli had so masterfully defined everything about Brat and I knew that what I was doing was very distinct to that. When a peer throws the gauntlet down like that, you’re like ‘OK, yeah, we’ve gotta pick it up,’ I’ve spoken to a lot of peers who’ve all had the same feelings. It’s very sick and I’m so grateful to her.”
Speaking more directly about the “Girl, So Confusing” remix she appeared on, she added, “Brat came out and she was doing that from the other side of the coin almost and doing the remix together and meeting her in that place of rugged vulnerability and cracking open the thing. People responded really well to that. I was like, ‘OK, cool, this is a good thing to be doing.’”
Virgin is out 6/27 via Republic Records. Find more information here.
Not long before he died, Kurt Cobain gave an interview to Rolling Stone in which he lamented, among other things, that Nevermind was packed with too many great songs. “What I’ve realized is that you only need a couple of catchy songs on an album, and the rest can be bullshit Bad Company rip-offs, and it doesn’t matter,” he said. “If I was smart, I would have saved most of the songs off Nevermind and spread them out over a 15-year period.”
I think about that quote a lot, especially when I’m listening to an album by an artist or band that is several albums’ deep into a career. For Cobain, there was no choice — his favorite records delivered one top-tier track after another, and he was determined to give Nirvana fans the same level of quality. But there is something to the idea that a songwriter might only have so many great songs in him, and therefore it might be wise to be judicious with those tunes over the long haul.
Will Toledo definitely did not think that way as a young artist. Between 2010 and 2014, he put out 11 albums on Bandcamp under the name Car Seat Headrest, when he was barely out of high school. Those releases charted his rapid growth in real time, tracing his ascent from talented novice to budding virtuoso. By the time he signed with Matador in 2015, he was already an online cult hero. The following year, Car Seat Headrest released their best album and commercial breakthrough, Teens Of Denial. By then, not only was Toledo prolific in terms of albums, but he also had a habit of tucking three or four good song ideas inside a single composition, turning each number into a mini suite of melodic genius.
Since Teens Of Denial, Car Seat Headrest’s output has slowed. Work on 2020’s Making A Door Less Open was interrupted by Toledo’s decision to re-record (and, in some instances, rework) the most beloved of the Bandcamp era albums, 2011’s Twin Fantasy. And then five more years passed before this week’s release of The Scholars, a delay caused in part by Toledo’s bout with Long COVID.
Those health issues aren’t Toledo’s fault, obviously. But there is a broader sense that Car Seat Headrest’s recent work pales next to the earlier albums. The songs aren’t as grabby, and the melodies flow at a slower pace. At the same time, perhaps to compensate for this creative stagnation, Car Seat Headrest albums have gotten a lot more elaborate. Making A Door Less Open — which ranks as one of the more fascinating artifacts of the COVID lockdown era, at least from the indie-rock world — was both an attempt to make a “bigger”-sounding Car Seat Headrest record, and also a stab at post-modern “anti-celebrity” commentary. In one infamous interview, Toledo donned a mask and presented himself as an alter-ego named Trait. As for the album, it was released in three slightly different versions for vinyl, CD, and digital formats. With their alternate mixes and rejiggered tracklists, these competing iterations felt more like the product of indecision than a thoughtful artistic choice.
The Scholars has been marketed as a return to form. But while it takes a decidedly different path than Making A Door Less Open, it ends up in a similar place. For all its conceptual wonkiness — and the semi-disastrous decision to lead with the worst Car Seat Headrest ever as a single —Making A Door Less Open had some worthwhile songs that expanded the band’s record-collector rock palate with hooky electronic pop. And The Scholars, a rock opera with an impenetrable plot, packs several perfectly enjoyable rock tunes in the first half hour. The problem is the next 40 minutes, which also happen to be the heart of this often-frustrating record.
In case this needs to be said: I am a fan of rock operas. And I am a fan of contemporary rock bands making rock operas. I was excited when I heard Car Seat Headrest was launching one. Especially since it’s clear that Toledo and his bandmates — who share songwriting credit on The Scholars, significant development in not wholly positive ways — had a lot of fun with the project. The concept is outlined in knowingly silly detail in the liner notes, starting with the supposed basis being “an unfinished and unpublished poem written by my great-great-great-great-grandfather, the Archbishop Guillermo Guadalupe del Toledo.” The lyrics double as dialogue for a large cast of characters, including Deveraux — “the son of a backwater religious conservative” who “struggles with his sexuality and sets off to seek his own fortunes at the nearby Clown College” — featured on one of the album’s best and punchiest songs.
The key to any successful rock opera is the ability to convey what’s potentially good about a rock opera (self-aware grandiosity and genuine dramatic thrills) without getting bogged down in what’s potentially bad (caring too much about the dumb story you’ve created). Above all, the focus needs to be on the songs — they should make sense as a unified piece without needing to make sense of a unified piece (if that makes sense).
On the first five songs, Car Seat Headrest pulls that off, I think. The opening track, “CCF (I’m Gonna Stay With You)” is the platonic ideal of a CSH tune: Pete Townshend power chords, Ric Ocasek pop smarts, Beach Boys harmonies, a Will Toledo vocal that manages to feel uplifting without remaining completely deadpan. “The Catastrophe (Good Luck With That, Man)” is another success, bouncing along with a start-stop guitar riff that quickly transitions to a giddy acoustic strum. And “Equals” demonstrates that the radio-pleasing pop discipline of Making A Door Less Open has been further honed.
Where things take a turn are the next three tracks, which take up the bulk of the record, including the first single, the 11-minute “Gethsemane.” Not that song length is necessarily the issue here. Long songs are not unusual for a Car Seat Headrest record — one of the very best CSH tracks, “Beach-Life-In-Death,” is more than 12 minutes on the original Twin Fantasy. (And it’s one minute longer on the 2018 version.) But “Beach-Life-In-Death” needs to be that long. It has the epic drama — and the volume of high quality, pieced-together song fragments — to justify it.
“Gethsemane” starts promisingly, with pounding drums and stirring organ fills building to what promises to be an overwhelming, face-melting crescendo. But after about eight minutes, a feeling of restlessness sets in, like when you’re two hours and 12 CGI fights scenes into a three-hour Marvel movie. The two other long songs — “Reality” (11:14) and “Planet Desperation” (18:53) — prompt the same “how much of this left anyway?” feeling. Toledo and his bandmates apparently shaped the songs on The Scholars out of jams, and you feel it on these extended tracks, which sound like rough drafts that need a few rounds of rigorous editing. There are good bits scattered throughout — the fiery conclusion to “Reality,” the piano ballad section of “Planet Desperation” — but also long stretches where nothing much exciting is happening.
The problem, in other words, is that those songs don’t enough “song” in them. And that issue is not going to be solved by extra conceptual baggage. I can appreciate the theatrical flair of doing an interview in a “Darth Vaderish” mask. And I love a good rock opera. But you know what’s better than either of those things? An album that is loaded, top to bottom, with quality tunes. And that, unfortunately, hasn’t been the project of Car Seat Headrest for almost a decade now.
The Scholars is out 5/2 via Matador. Find more information here.
Welcome to SNX DLX, your weekly roundup of the best sneakers to hit the internet. This week we’re coming at you with eight selections — that’s right, eight! After months of scarce drops, we almost couldn’t believe it either. This year has been an odd one for sneakers, we’re getting less output, and sometimes that results in quality over quantity, but not always, and that sucks if you’re a hardcore sneakerhead.
But it’s not just the amount of notable releases this week that has us excited, we’re also psyched on what we’re getting. New Kobes, the latest Travis Scott signature, an Andrew Reynolds branded New Balance, collabs we appreciate but no one asked for (like a Justin Timberlake signature Nike), and brand new colorways on some of the greatest silhouettes of all time. It’s like Christmas in April!
Here are the best sneakers dropping this week and where to find them.
Legendary pro skater Andrew Reynolds has linked up with New Balance for a new signature shoe, dubbed the 933. For this signature sneaker, Reynolds did various wear tests before giving his co-sign, putting the sneaker through the abuse that his street skating style unleashes on a pair of sneakers.
The 933 features premium cushioning via an ABZROB Midsole, which is designed with impact and compression resistance in mind, offering a sneaker that is designed to keep you comfortable and safe, no matter how aggressive your skate style is. And for the non-skaters, the sneaker also just looks great thanks to its 99X-inspired running design. The sneaker drops in two colorways, a brown and gray version, and our favorite, a forest and black makeup.
The New Balance NB Numeric Andrew Reynolds 933 is out now for a retail price of $129.99. Pick up a pair at New Balance.
We’re big fans of the return of the 180 silhouette here, so anytime this shoe gets a new colorway, we’re on board! That becomes especially easy when the colorway looks as good as this week’s Light Khaki and Psychic Blue.
The 180 sports a suede upper with textile accents and the shoe’s signature 180 degrees of visible air cushioning. Our favorite detail is the way the bright psychic blue colors contrast against the earthy khaki tones.
The Nike Air 180 Light Khaki and Psychic Blue is out now for a retail price of $150. Pick up a pair via the Nike SNKRS app.
The Los Angeles-based running and wellness collective, District Vision, has teamed up with New Balance for a new runner that takes inspiration from one of NB’s heritage designs and infuses it with a modern lightweight build.
The annoyingly named MT 10O features a design inspired by the Minimus Trail 10 hiking shoe and has been outfitted with a synthetic suede and mesh vamp upper, co-branded woven tongue labels, rubber overlays, and exposed stitching. The sneaker is available in two monochromatic colorways.
The District Vision x New Balance MT 10O is out now for a retail price of $174.99. Pick up a pair via New Balance.
Travis Scott’s CJ1 T-Rexx returns with a new psychedelic colorway that looks tailor-made for this year’s summer festival fits. The sneaker features a Muslin leather and canvas upper, with the signature Cactus Jack backwards swoosh, and a mid-foot strap for a locked-in feel.
We love the way the electric green tones contras against the earthy sail panels and black accents.
The Travis Scott Nike CJ1 T-Rexx Bright Cactus is out now for a retail price of $200. Pick up a pair via the Nike SNKRS app.
The Air Max 95 is having a bit of a moment — that’s a weird thing to say about one of the greatest sneaker silhouettes of all time, but Nike has been paying special attention to this sneaker for its 30th birthday, dropping new colorways and re-ups of coveted classics. This week we’re getting the Pink Foam complete with big bubble construction.
The Pink Foam is a women’s exclusive and features a synthetic leather and mesh upper with a black to pink gradient, enhanced cushioning and embroidered details. It looks great, our only complaint is the limited size run. Our message to Nike: people with big feet can rock pink too.
The Nike Women’s Air Max 95 Pink Foam is set to drop on May 1st at 7:00 AM PST for a retail price of $180. Pick up a pair via the Nike SNKRS app.
Inspired by Gianna Gigi Bryant, the Mambacita is one of the most legendary Protro colorways to ever hit the IX. The sneaker features a lightweight mesh upper, an altered “Mamabacita” logo, a heart-shaped hang tag, and “Gigi” branding on the left heel, along with Gigi’s jersey number.
It’s a loving and bittersweet tribute and stands as one of the best Protro releases of all time.
The Kobe IX Low Protro EM Mambacita is set to drop on May 1st at 7:00 AM PST for a retail price of $180. Pick up a pair via the Nike SNKRS app.
Sure, nobody asked for a high-end Montebelluna, Italy-crafted take on the Victory Tour 4 golf shoe designed by Justin Timberlake, but just look at this thing! It is objectively a great design, especially if you like your sneakers elevated and well-crafted.
The sneaker features a tumbled leather and suede upper, a Nike Flyplate carbon plate, allowing for maximum flexibility and support during your club swing, with a two-pod outsole and nine-spike traction grip. It’s a rich guy sneaker for rich people, but props to Justin for taking a big swing at a niche market.
The Justin Timberlake x Nike Victory Tour 4 Coffee is set to drop on May 1st at 7:00 AM PST for a retail price of $500. Pick up a pair via the Nike SNKRS app.
A beautiful, squeaky clean and fresh take on the Jordan 4 for spring? Sign us up! The Aluminun AJ-4 is a women’s exclusive Jordan with a premium white leather upper, molded accents, with a removable chenille flower lace shroud (not pictured) for ultimate spring vibes! Again, Nike, people with big feet love flowers too, can we please get a full-size run of this gem?
The Nike Women’s Air Jordan 4 Aluminum is set to drop on May 3rd at 7:00 AM PST for a retail price of $215. Pick up a pair via the Nike SNKRS app.
Disclaimer: While all of the products recommended here were chosen independently by our editorial staff, Uproxx may receive payment to direct readers to certain retail vendors who are offering these products for purchase.
Anybody who thought the vinyl resurgence was just a fad was mistaken: The industry has experienced a legitimate revival. As a result, music fans are interested in physical media in ways they may not have if the decades-old medium hasn’t made a comeback. That doesn’t mean everybody is listening to just their parents’ old music, though. That’s part of it, sure, thanks to rereleases that present classic albums in new ways. A vital part of the renewed vinyl wave, though, is new projects being released as records, of which there are plenty.
Whatever you might be into, each month brings a new slew of vinyl releases that has something for everybody. Some stand out above the rest, naturally, so check out some of our favorite vinyl releases of April below.
The Cure — The Head On The Door (Reissue)
Rhino
Rhino went big for Record Store Day this year, pumping out 47 different limited-edition releases for the special weekend. Among them was The Cure’s classic The Head On The Door, for a picture disc reissue that’s limited to 8,850 copies worldwide.
Also part of Rhino’s RSD slate is a big one for The Doors fans: After 58 years, rough mixes from early Strange Days recording sessions have been unearthed, so here they are on translucent blue vinyl.
Nickel Boys was one of 2024’s best movies, and the score from Alex Somers and Scott Alario was a significant contributing factor. It recently got a great vinyl release pressed on “metallic gold” vinyl with a full color insert.
Justin Vernon wasn’t successful in his Inside Llewyn Davis audition, but he’s done just fine with Bon Iver. He just released a new album, which Uproxx’s Steven Hyden thinks is “one of their best.”
The Panchiko story is a wild one: A group of UK dads had a band in the ’90s. It was fun, but it didn’t end up going much of anywhere and they moved on with their lives. Decades later, one of their demos was discovered in a thrift store, and it got enough attention online to prompt the band to reunite for a new album that’s out now.
Years ago, Julien Baker and Torres kicked around the idea of making a country album together. Finally, they made it, and the project sees them using traditional country storytelling in compelling new ways.
It’s all coming together for Joe Keery: Acting is going great and music is going even better on his new Djo album, The Crux. Given the classic influences found across the album, it only makes sense that it’d be available on vinyl.
d4vd didn’t quite land that backflip, but he did stick the landing on his new album Withered. He has a particularly neat vinyl edition of it, too, featuring an alternative anime-style cover.
Yusuf/Cat Stevens — Saturnight: Live From Tokyo (Reissue)
Cat-O-Log Records/UMe
In the ’70s, if you didn’t live in Japan, you probably didn’t hear the live album, which was only released in the island nation. Now, though, it has been remastered for a new release, which comes with a 16-page booklet that includes thoughts on the performance from people who were there for it.
On Friday, June 27, Brad Pitt and Damson Idris will put pedal to the metal in F1, a sports drama film set in the world of Formula One racing. The film will follow Pitt’s veteran racer as he mentors teammate Idris and pursues his final shot at racing glory.
On the same day, the film’s soundtrack, F1 The Album, drops via Atlantic Records, featuring a slew of the label’s lofty roster picks including Don Toliver. Today, Don Toliver released the soundtrack’s lead single, “Lose My Mind” featuring Doja Cat, alongside a high-speed, high-concept music video incorporating racing imagery.
While the song employs a groovy, synthwave backdrop, Toliver croons and Doja spits a muscular 16. Meanwhile, the two stars pose and flex amid high-end racing labs, as Toliver performs atop a tower constructed of racing helmets while Doja tries on some tire-based couture and lounges in a pool of motor oil.
The track marks Doja’s second high-profile collaboration of the year, following her prior link-up with Jack Harlow for “Just Us.” Both Doja and Don Toliver have albums coming soon.
Watch Don Toliver and Doja Cat’s “Lose My Mind” video above.
F1® The Movie and F1® The Album both release on 6/27 via Warner Bros. Pictures and Atlantic Records, respectively. You can find more info here.
For fans of DESTIN CONRAD, especially those who’ve been around since his Colorway era, the road to his debut album has been long but eventful. Four EPs — Colorway, Satin, Submissive, and Submissive2 — arrived over three years, and though fans like myself desired a longer body of work from the Florida-bred and New York-based singer, each release was essential in giving CONRAD the tools to successfully craft and release a strong debut album that meets the moment and expectations. Love On Digital is just that.
Across 15 songs, CONRAD delivers what is his most expansive and complete vision yet with Love On Digital. Elements of his past projects are present, but the growth is undeniable. Inspired by 2000s R&B, CONRAD guides listeners through a tale of falling in love in the digital age and the realizations that emerge through a romance mostly felt through a screen. Desires for PDA (“Kissing In Public“), daring thoughts shared over FaceTime (“Delusional“), moments of vulnerability (“Soft Side”), and finding love on the dancefloor (“Party Wit U”) are all a part of the DNA of Love On Digital, elements that make the album so enjoyable.
In the days leading up to the release of Love On Digital, Uproxx caught up with DESTIN CONRAD to talk about his debut album, the long journey that led to its arrival, and his position as a member of R&B’s bright future.
Your path toward this debut album has been a patient one with you releasing four EPs over three years. I feel like most artists would’ve released their debut earlier with the attention you got over the years. How or why were you able to stay patient and not rush the moment that you’re now experiencing?
I wish I had some really eloquent, poetic answer for that. Honestly, it was just figuring out the right place to go with getting more money for it. I feel like that’s one of the main things that separates Love On Digital from my other projects. I see a lot of comments like, “Oh, this is your debut album, but you’ve been making music for four years??” Like… yes it is, because I actually didn’t just put my money and my manager’s money into it. Everything else had been really just me and David Ali putting our funds together and being like, “Okay, let’s do this,” and also having to constantly think about how we’re going to pay for things and having to limit ideas a little bit because we can’t afford certain things. I feel like this is the first time I was able — in the creative aspect, at least — to express myself a little more without limit, which was more fun and freeing.
I think your Submissive EPs are such important bodies of work as a setup for Love On Digital. Do you think Love On Digital exists without the Submissive EPs, and what did they give you in order to make this album?
I feel like I was being a little louder, if that makes sense, with the Submissive projects. It was just my first loud form of self-expression and being unapologetic. Colorway and Satin were a little more reserved stylistically, writing-wise. The context of it was a little more like, “Hi, I make my own music,” and I was just a little shyer in my approach. Submissive was very like, “Hey y’all, this is me.” This album is an even better expression of me — not even better, I can’t say even better, just a more current expression, which is always going to change. I feel like that’s the fun part about making music, I change with it. It gave me the tools to be able to make this album, and this album is going to give me the tools to be able to make the next one, and so on and so forth.
What are some of the projects, both albums, films, and other pieces of art, that shaped this album? With it being a love story, I also see a cinematic influence here.
I called it Love On Digital because it’s my ode to the digital era of R&B when R&B shifted into a very software-heavy, digital instrument-produced style. I feel like we probably just got some crazy-ass software update on Logic or one of those and everybody just started using a lot of the same sounds, but it sounded so new and refreshing. That was my ode to that. A lot of the music I listened to during the making of Love On Digital was hella-early 2000s R&B, Justified by Justin Timberlake was a big inspiration. Timbaland and his production, Pharrell, The Neptunes, Full Moon by Brandy… a lot of beeps and boops and robotic sounds, I was super inspired by that. I feel like people will hear that.
I did listen to a lot of Usher’s Confessions, but that’s always. I was inspired by hella electronic music. I went to London and I heard a lot of garage and that also influenced some of the sounds on it. It was more so the music I was hearing at the time and not necessarily specific albums. I would just be like, “Damn, I love this song. Let’s make something in this world.” Just some random sh*t that I never heard before that I heard in like a bar in London like, “What the f*ck is this?” And all my British friends were like, “You’ve never heard this?!?” Like, no… the f*ck? But yeah, I was inspired by so much.
A lot of the songs take place on the dance floor, at a party, at a club, with you finding love there or having an intimate moment that brings the feeling of wanting to end the night with the man in question on the song. What do the dance floor and parties mean to you in the realm of love?
This album is called Love On Digital and the first song is called “Kissing In Public.” When people hear Love On Digital, they think of cyber relationships, which also took on a life of its own and it became that because I was in a long-term romantic thing with this guy. He lived so far away, I didn’t know how to navigate it. We would sit on FaceTime all the f*cking time, and I would think about my album title that I already had, so it kind of became that, too, which was funny. But yeah, I feel like it made me realize that I can’t do long-distance relationships and I’m a creature of physical attention. I need somebody to be there with me so, PDA was obviously just a very large inspiration.
I also go out and party and that’s how I meet people, too. It’s actually who I am and I feel like it would be weird if I was like a super-crazy homebody — which I can be — and didn’t go out at all and I made videos and songs about partying, but it’s like something I actually really do. I love going out and meeting people, talking to people, hearing people’s stories, getting drunk, and doing sh*t. That’s what it feels like, and I’m 24, this is where I am with it. I love partying and I think it’s definitely something that keeps me inspired writing-wise.
How do you cope with the realization that a certain love situation can’t exist in the way that it does in the current moment? For this album, it’s the case of a virtual love that you realize needs to exist in real life, but even through dating, we have these realizations. What makes you continue and try again?
I’m still learning that. I’m still learning how to cope with it. I still talk to the n**** like we’re still… [laughs], we’re still cool. I’m still learning how to cope with it. I think he’s learning how to cope with it, too. As I said, I’m 24: I’m still f*cking figuring it out. That’s something I can’t really answer because I’m still learning myself. I’ll get back to you on that [laughs].
What were your intentions with the features — Kehlani, Serpentwithfeet, Lil Nas X, and Teezo Touchdown — on this album and the specific songs you have them on?
These are all people that I personally know and have pretty close relationships with and admire also as artists, writers, and the way that they present themselves to the world. That was something I was really heavy about, especially with it being my debut album. I’m not opposed to working with people that I don’t know. If I like their music? I’m not gonna sit here and be like, “I only work with people I’m friends with,” but that’s something I definitely wanted to try to do for this album: Intentionally be like, “These are people that inspire me and this is all about inspiration.” It’s the first thing my mind goes to when I think about what this album makes me feel and the music that I’ve already created for it. I love everybody that’s on this project and they’re actually my friends. I think it’s really tight that I got to have that experience this first full album cycle.
You’re a part of an R&B community of artists that I believe best represents not only the future, but some of the best minds and visionaries. When I say community, I mean yourself, Phabo, Ambre, kwn, Jean Deaux, Jvck James, Alex Vaughn, Mack Keane, Joyce Price, Leon Thomas, and more. You’ve made music with the people on this list and, as an outsider, seem to have great rapport with them. How has that being a part of that community and being around those minds helped your journey?
All those names that you named, those are all people I know and am inspired by that as well. I love R&B. Like, I really do love R&B. All those names, the thing that they all share — not to put myself in that — but I feel like it’s all tasteful, they all have a story that’s interesting, and I actually care about what they’re all saying. I feel like some artists, I’m not going to say that the music is terrible, but I just don’t feel like I resonate or want to know what they’re necessarily talking about. But there are some artists that I’m just drawn to.
That’s why I can’t get mad when somebody is like, “Oh, this isn’t for me,” or they don’t like my music. That’s okay, there are a lot of people’s music that I’m not really fond of or stories I’m not necessarily interested in hearing. It’s like you’re not gonna want to read every book. I think it’s tight that there are so many people in R&B that people can gravitate towards and actually resonate with their stories. There are people that you don’t necessarily resonate with, but you can appreciate their music, too. There are so many amazing R&B artists, I think it’s super tight that I get to be a part of it.
It’s been a long road for you leading up to this album Love On Digital, when you look back on your journey, what are most proud of in regards to having this body of work be your official debut album?
I’m most proud of probably the creative I got to do behind it and the music videos. I did like four or five rehearsals for “Kissing In Public” and I sat down with directors and went in a little more visually. I had to throw in the towel a lot in my early visuals because I couldn’t afford it. It was literally just me funding it and my manager coming in where I couldn’t. The money I got from Colorway, I put it into Satin. The money I got from Satin, I put it into Submissive, it was just that. It’s been really nice to be able to express myself creatively with a little less limitation, that’s something I’m really proud of.
I’m really proud that I got to get all those features of people that I really wanted. Those were people that I wanted from the jump. I had a longer list, but I checked off the majority of the list, which was so cool. Even people that didn’t make the album, I still got to work with, which was so cool and just a testament to manifestation. At the beginning of this, I was like, “These are the people I want to work with. These are people I want to write with,” and the majority of them I worked with. It didn’t all come out, but it’s tight that I could do that.
I’m glad I actually got to a space where I felt like it was completed. That was really nice, I’m like “Okay, this is done.” I won’t feel like it’s fully, fully done until it’s out. That’s just how my brain works. I think it’s the ADHD: I can’t fully move on from something until it’s completely done. Even if it’s done to me, it’s not done to the world and not mine anymore. I’m proud that I got it to a place where I feel like I could put it out into the world because I was really in my head a lot. There were points towards the end where I was just like, “Is this it?” Then I had to keep reminding myself that I can make more music. Even if I completely regret this album in a year, and I’m like, “Why the f*ck did I put this out?” I can put out another one that I feel resonates with me at the time.
What’s a message you have for listeners who have their own digital love stories? What’s a lesson or a takeaway that you want to share with them?
Talk on the phone, but also be present in your life and don’t just sit on the phone all day because that’s probably not the healthiest… but also when you can, sit on the phone. Not to contradict myself, but I feel like you do have to constantly affirm that person in ways that you can’t do physically. So, it’s easier to just have a little moment on the phone. But also be present because you don’t want to regret spending your whole life on FaceTime. That’s my only advice, but as I said, I’m still figuring it out so if anybody’s got some advice for me, tweet me, DM me, ’cause I don’t know anymore.
Love On Digital is out now via Above Ground Ent/Destin Conrad/Empire. Find more information here.
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