Category: News

Jaboukie is back on his rap sh*t. Following his debut single, the queer empowering “BBC,” the comedian, actor, writer, and now rapper has dropped a grating new track called “Rockwhyler.”

On the song, Jaboukie spits scorching rap bars over a bass-heavy, rock-influenced beat.

“Rottweiler, Givenchy / Beat got bite / Beat got teeth / Think that ho want a ring / F*ck that ho, I beat my meat.

Upon the song’s release, Jaboukie explained why he named the song “Rockwhyler.”

“Growing up I had two rottweilers, Juno and Athena,” said Jaboukie in a statement. “When my family walked them, we’d always get stopped by awestruck strangers asking, ‘Is that a ‘rockwhyler’?’ The pronunciation ‘rock-why-ler’ feels like home to me.”

When producing the song’s instrumental, Jaboukie intended to subvert the hypermasculinity within the hip-hop, punk rock, and dancehall sounds that influenced his music.

“My songwriting and song production processes usually occur in tandem,” he said of the song’s creation. “the distortion effect I used on the bass created a delay that sounded like a snarling dog, so I built everything else around that.”

In the song’s accompanying video, viewers can see distorted, kaleidoscopic visions of Jaboukie around on a basketball court, boarding a train, and running through a trail.

Check out the video for “Rockwhyler” above.

What is Tom Hanks’ most enduring character? Is it Forrest Gump? Woody from the Toy Story saga? The thieving Southern professor from the Coen brothers’ take on The Ladykillers? Or is it actually David S. Pumpkins, a one-joke (albeit a bizarre one-joke) bit from a 2016 episode of SNL? Hanks didn’t host this most recent episode of the show, but he did make a couple appearances — and since Halloween was near, one of them was that character.

The premise was the same as it was six years ago: A group of ordinary folks (including, this time, host Jack Harlow), wanting only to be scared silly, board a haunted elevator ride. They got some familiar faces: this time it’s Freddy Krueger, Pennywise, Annabelle, etc. They also get David S. Pumpkins, a mugging, ever-grinning gentleman in a Jack-O-Lantern-festooned jacket, dancing alongside two men in skeleton get-ups to an annoying techno song. It was so like Pumpkins’ maiden voyage that they even brought back alum Bobby Moynihan, as one of the dancing skeletons.

The one major change-up this time? The guide, played by Kenan Thompson, does a bit of explaining why the ride is so David S. Pumpkins-heavy: It’s because they blew most of their money on the rights to major characters, leaving little for others. So they double, triple down on David S. Pumpkins.

This isn’t the first time Hanks has exhumed the character. The following spring after his debut, Pumpkins made a brief cameo in a rap video parody.

You can watch the return of David S. Pumpkins in the video above.

What was the biggest news of last week? Was it the continued fall of Kanye West? Was it one of the hot mess midterm debates, such as the one between Dr. Oz and John Fetterman? What about Elon Musk finally buying Twitter (and instantly unleashing the racist hounds)? For their most recent Weekend Update, SNL covered it all, but started with the latter.

“This week, Elon Musk officially bought Twitter for $44 billion, beating out the next highest offer of zero dollars,” co-host Colin Jost cracked. “Musk sent an open letter to advertisers saying that he doesn’t want Twitter to become a ‘free-for-all hellscape,’ because that’s his plan for Mars.”

Michael Che then took on arguably the GOP’s most chaotic candidate. “Herschel Walker denied allegations from a second woman that he pushed her to have an abortion, saying, ‘I’m done with this foolishness’ — which is also what Walker says when he takes off the condom,” he joked.

Jost skewered another key race: the one in Pennsylvania between Oz and Fetterman. He joked about the latter’s underwhelming performance, where he tried to wrestle with his medical maladies. He also pointed out that Oz really had a pyrrhic victory, saying he did “slightly better than a recent stroke victim.”

Then there was Ye, whose pivot into a fount of anti-Semitic comments has led to him being dropped by untold companies, even losing a key wax figure. “Things are definitely getting way out of hand in this country,” Che said, “because when I heard a guy barged into a house with a hammer looking for Nancy Pelosi, my first thought was, ‘Oh no, was it Kanye?’”

You can watch the segment in the video above.

Lizzo might still be on the road for her Special tour, but that doesn’t mean she’s skipping out on Halloween festivities. This past weekend, the “About Damn Time” singer has been slaying the Halloween game with some incredible costumes.

On Friday (October 28), Lizzo dressed as singer, rapper, and influencer Chrisean Rock, wearing her hair in a long braid, and rocking a chain and hoop earrings. In a video shared to Instagram, Lizzo is seen lip-syncing to Rock’s song, “Vibes.”

Though some felt the costume was in poor taste, given the nature of Rock’s relationship with her boyfriend, rapper Blueface, Rock co-signed Lizzo’s costume, commenting “Awwwwwwww I love dis” on her post.

Yesterday, she recreated several iconic memes dressed as Marge Simpson. Covered in yellow makeup, wearing a large, blue wig and a tight green dress, Lizzo impeccably channeled the legendary TV mom and replicated a meme in which she is seen covering her face in embarrassment. Also in her posts are her reenacting a meme of Marge krump dancing, and a meme of a wide-eyed Marge with her husband, Homer, at a winery.

Check out her costumes above.

Lizzo is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music group.

The midterm elections are not far off, and in the final weeks Republicans have been surging in the polls. Even three of the GOP’s kookiest candidates have gained ground: Herschel Walker, the former footballer who keeps getting busted with claims that he paid for abortions; Dr. Oz, a carpetbagger who killed a bunch of dogs; and Kari Lake, a local news anchor and anti-Trumper-turned-MAGA 2020 election denier. SNL’s most recent Cold Open skewered them, hoping to remind viewers that all three are rather silly.

Heidi Gardner played PBS Newshour’s Judy Woodruff, forced to speak to the aforementioned three. She started with Kenan Thompson’s Walker, asking him how on earth he’s suddenly doing well in the home stretch.

“And that’s where I don’t know,” he replied, replicating Walker’s fractured train of thought. “The whole world is a mystery, ain’t it? For per example, a thermos: It keeps the hot things hot, but also the cold things cold. My questions is: How do we decide? So we’re going to be looking into that very much.”

When asked why many Georgians seem to be fine with a candidate who’s been accused of paying for two women’s abortions and holding a gun to his ex-wife’s head, he replied, simply, “Gas.” That should explain it, but he went further. “I’m fun! Look, if you want to get on the jumbotron at the Falcons game, you don’t throw on a cardigan and start making sense! You take your shirt off and shake your belly around! That’s what I’m doing, and people love me no matter what.”

He concluded, “Like the great Trump Donald said, I could pay for an abortion in the middle of Fifth Avenue and not lose any votes! And that’s a promise from me, Herschel Wikipotamus.”

Mikey Day’s Oz was next. “Let’s remember: I was a long shot, Judy,” he said, “but I always told myself, you can win this election if you’re honest, if you’re fair, and if your opponent has a debilitating medical emergency. So, we’re very lucky.”

Then there was Cecily Strong’s Lake, who sent up perhaps her most perplexing habit: doing Zoom interviews in what looks like an iPhone Portrait Mode — or as Strong put it, “constantly in soft focus, and lit like a ’90s Cinemax softcore.”

Strong’s Lake declared, “I’m a fighter. In my life, I’ve sent back over 2,000 salads, and I’m not afraid to do the same thing with democracy.” When asked about her stance on making sure everyone gets the chance to vote, she replied, “Judy, I’ll make it easy: If the people of Arizona elect me, I’ll make sure they never have to vote ever again.”

You can watch the sketch in the video above.

In his first Saturday Night Live episode as a performer and host, Jack Harlow was a scene stealer on last night’s SNL. In a hilarious skit parodying elevated eateries, Harlow is joined by Bowen Yang as the two work as bartenders in an upscale restaurant.

The two arrive at a table of four, where one of the guests asks for tableside guacamole, however, they are unable to serve the guac, as the restaurant is “out of avocado, cilantro, and red onions,” as Yang notes.

Harlow then assures the guest that he and Yang “are horned up” to serve up tableside cocktails.

The first cocktail is a “screwdriver with flair.”

Yang and Harlow then dance to Sam Smith and Kim Petras’ “Unholy” as they mix drinks. They, unfortunately, spill the mixes onto the table, but Yang and Harlow quickly brush this off, before offering a non-drinking guest at the table a “voj-eye-to.”

“What’s a voj-eye-to?” asks the character, played by Heidi Gardner.

Harlow then explains that a voj-eye-to is a virgin mojito, which he pronounces, “moj-eye-to.” The two, once again, dance to “Unholy.”

Later in the sketch, one of the characters, played by Cecily Strong, mentions how happy she is to hear the song.

Harlow then shouts out the restaurant’s DJ, who Yang explains is “a busboy with an aux cord.”

Check out the full skit above.

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

In his second performance of the night, Jack Harlow took to the Saturday Night Live stage for a performance of “State Fair” from his album, Come Home, The Kids Miss You.

Wearing a flowing green sweater and matching pants, Harlow shouts out his hometown of Louisville, Kentucky, recalling fond memories of his childhood.

“I wanna go back to Kentucky and shut down the state fair / Visit my old teachers and tell ’em to take care / I might take a whip instead of payin’ the plane fare / I still remember the way there,” he raps on the free-flowing song.

“State Fair” is one of the more personal tracks on Come Home, The Kids Miss You. In a piece for Harper’s Bazaar, Harlow wrote that he wants to use his platform to uplift is home state.

“I would like people to think of me as real and one of one,” Harlow said. “And I’d like for people to know me as someone who gave back and lifted the community he’s from up. I’d like for Kentucky to be different after I leave earth and for people to have a better life because of it.”

Check out the performance of “State Fair” above.

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

After stealing scenes in hilarious sketches throughout the night, Jack Harlow finally brought his musical stylings to the Saturday Night Live stage. To kick things off musically, Harlow opened his first of two sets with the sultry “Lil Secret”

“I know that you sick of bein’ my little secret / I know that you sick of bein’ my favorite / I know that you hate the fact that I’m famous / Hate the fact that you gotta wait,” he raps on the song’s chorus.

Shortly after, the song transitions to his No. 1 hit, First Class”

During the performance of the Fergie-sampling hit single, Harlow wore a lush, white suit, as he danced beneath a disco ball atop flashy, colorful floor tiles.

“First Class” has proven to be Harlow’s most successful single, and one of the biggest songs of the year. The song debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and remained at the top for three weeks. In a recent interview for Paper, Harlow said that he’s proud of the song, as it showcased his musical range.

“[My old songs] had that modern sound and I always loved that, but I thought that deep down, what I like and what I wanted to make and what my mixtapes and albums are filled with–the track eights and track twelves and thirteens–are these smooth records that I want to play in the car with a girl that might not necessarily cause a mosh pit. To get one of those to debut at the top of the charts, not to mention a sample that is near and dear to my heart, that’s one of the best feelings in the world, man.”

Check out Harlow’s performance of “First Class” above.

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

The Brooklyn Nets fell to 1-5 on the season with another dreadful defensive performance on Saturday night against the Indiana Pacers, losing 125-116 to drop to the second worst record in the NBA, with only the winless Lakers behind them.

However, Brooklyn’s lackluster play and effort was a secondary storyline to Kyrie Irving’s recent tweet promoting a movie based on an anti-semitic book, which led to vague statements from the Nets and NBA about not supporting hate speech (but not addressing Irving specifically), Joe Tsai saying he wants to sit down with Irving to explain why it was wrong and hurtful to support a movie that peddles anti-semitic conspiracy theories, and ultimately a non-apology from Irving on Twitter.

On the Nets broadcast Saturday night, Richard Jefferson laid out why Irving’s non-apology wasn’t enough and after the game Irving faced the media for the first time and it did not go well. Irving was asked about posting a clip from extremist Alex Jones in the offseason about a New World Order, saying “it’s true,” before growing increasingly upset he was being questioned about his post with a link to the movie, with ESPN’s Nick Friedell pressing him as Irving deflected.

Irving, as is usually the case when presented an opportunity to explain his beliefs, refuses to say anything of note and instead declares himself the victim for being asked about his post to 4.5 million followers, insisting Friedell is “dehumanizing” him by asking him about it.

As Irving continues to dig his heels in ever deeper on conspiracy theories and pushing harmful rhetoric, the Nets are rapidly approaching a situation where they are going to have to make a choice (again) about whether Irving’s basketball skills override the PR nightmare he has become off of it.

Jack Harlow is taking on double duty on the Saturday Night Live stage tonight (October 29) as the episode’s host and musical guest. He performed on SNL last year, however his episode was hosted by was hosted by Maya Rudolph. Tonight, the rapper is showing off both his musical stylings and his acting chops.

During his opening monologue, he acknowledged many of the roasts he’s heard about himself.

“One guy said ‘I don’t know why y’all think Jack Harlow is so special, you can find somebody that looks like him at any local gas station’” Harlow said. “I’ve heard them say I look like if you try to draw Justin Timberlake from memory. I think my favorite one might be ‘Jack Harlow looks like the guy who rips the tickets in half at the movie theater.’”

Harlow addressed rumors that have circulated about him, saying, “Some people think I’m only five foot 10, stop it. Other people think I was created by the CIA, no telling. Some people have even gone as far as to accuse me of being white.”

Shortly after, he said, “I’ve also heard people try to romantically link me and Lil Nas X as an item. But I’m going to tell you right now, no. Everything that happened between us was casual. And consensual. And one of the best nights of my entire life.” He then clarified, “working with him, working with him, working with him.”

Check out Harlow’s opening monologue above.

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