Category: News

Steve Lacy’s “Bad Habit” is not just a ridiculously infectious song, it’s also one of the biggest songs this year. The Gemini Rights single has taken over TikTok ever since it came out, and even with summer ending, the hype around it still hasn’t relented. In fact, it’s threatening to dethrone Harry Styles’s massive “As It Was” from its No. 1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, which is the longest-running No. 1 single of the decade.

Lacy knows this, and today on his Instagram story, he called for his fans to take action. He posted a screenshot of the chart and added text over it: “ok ermmmm ima need this #1!!!!!! as it was? nah AS IT NEED TO BE,” he wrote, adding some laughing faces.

Other musicians are noticing Lacy’s takeover as well. Today, SZA tweeted, “Steve Lacy being number 2 rn is so f*cking important. Faith restored.”

Unfortunately, Lacy’s fame has some downsides, at least for fans. His tour is selling out fast, with the $35 tickets flying off the shelves almost immediately. Fans took to TikTok using his song “Static” as background to their complaints, with his most devout followers voiced their grievances with him and Ticketmaster about the size of the venues he’s set to play at and the over 300% markup on resale tickets.

DJ Quik was the guest on People’s Party with Talib Kweli last week and he told a fantastic origin story of “Tonite,” the breakout hit from his 1991 debut album Quik Is the Name. In their sprawling — and story filled! — convo, Quik explained to Kweli and co-host Jasmin Leigh that the song was based on a real-life three-day party weekend he threw when he was only 18.

“That record made itself” Quick says. “I looped the beat, and we lived for a weekend while it played just on repeat on the SP 1200- in the little kitchen nook.”

Though the beat was ready, Quik wasn’t resolved on the lyrics and figured they would come to him as the weekend progressed. As the house party continued, he rotated in songs by En Vogue and Digital Underground, along with other jams from the era. After swimming in a sea of Super-Socko and gin (the original gin and juice for LA hood folks) he awakened to a frightening hangover from the night befor — knowing instantly he’d overdone it.

“I end up rappin’ a song about that whole weekend,” Quik continues. “Like Friday morning til Sunday. Prayin’ to God like ‘I’ll never drink again!’ It was Friday night when I had the hangover — here’s Saturday night and everybody had so much fun they’re like ‘Hey man we’re coming back over!’”

From there Kweli, Leigh, and DJ Quik have a hilarious conversation about various cures for hangovers. Everything from chef Anthony Bourdain’s favorite hangover cure to hood remedies are debated.

Listen to DJ Quik talk about his life as one of hip-hop’s most celebrated producers on People’s Party with Talib Kweli on Luminary or watch the full episode below.

It’s a big year for Charlie Puth who has been previewing his new album Charlie with emotional singles like “Light Switch” and “Smells Like Me.” Along with being a pop phenomenon, last year he was one of the most-viewed musician accounts on TikTok. His social media accounts are always buzzing, but especially today after he posted a steamy thirst trap.

The picture is an intimate selfie where all he’s wearing is underwear and a headband. It’s quite revealing, and immediately went very viral, as he probably expected.

About his forthcoming LP, Puth wrote on Instagram, “This album was born on the internet, and I’ve had so much fun making it in front of all of you this past year. 2019 me used to think that in order to be an artist, you had to hide away and talk to nobody to make your art. Turns out you make MUCH better art when you involve millions of people in the process. (For me at least.) I hope you scream cry every word when I sing these songs on tour because they wouldn’t be here without you. Thank you.”

Charlie is out 10/7 via Atlantic. Pre-order it here.

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

Remember November 2020? It was one of the most chaotic times in American history. The national election had just happened. The incumbent president was not re-elected. Said incumbent president and his many cronies declared, baselessly, that he was. They reached for any and all conspiracy theories to back up their claims. The result? The election was not overturned and some of the people and news networks that aired those baseless claims found themselves sued for an ungodly amount of money. It got so bad, a new report reveals, that one network almost parted ways with one of their most popular and shoutiest pundits.

As per NPR, in the midst of the Fox News lawsuit brought about by Dominion Voting Systems — who numerous hosts had accused, falsely, of tampering with the 2020 election lost by Donald Trump — there surfaced an email from a Fox News broadcaster insisting they yank Jeanine Pirro off the air. The producer accused her, as NPR put it, of “pulling conspiracy theories from dark corners of the Web to justify then-President Donald Trump’s lies that the election had been stolen from him.”

That obviously didn’t happen; she’s still there, yelling her head off. But she was and remains one of Trump’s loudest cheerleads, and she was one of the Fox News pundits airing nonsense about Dominion, calling them “allegedly capable of flipping votes.” (She was referring to vote tallies shifting in certain key states, like Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin. In reality, they simply counted ballots cast in person over ones issued by mail, and many Biden voters used the latter.)

Dominion wound up filing multiple $1.6 billion lawsuits from networks and people who spread nonsense about them, including Newsmax, OANN, and Mike Lindell. Their Fox News lawsuit has ramped over the summer, with hosts like Tucker Carlson and Sean Hannity grilled under oath. But for now, imagine a world where Judge Jeanine Pirro didn’t rage against student loan forgiveness.

(Via NPR)

North London indie rock band Sorry are gearing up for the release of their new album, Anywhere But Here, next month. Signed to Domino, the group is led by singer-songwriter Asha Lorenz and we’ve been hyped on early singles like “Let The Lights On.” Now Sorry have shared “Key To The City” along with a funky, visually awesome video directed by Flasha.

In contrast to the upbeat previous track, “Key To The City” is a sputtering song that ponders desire versus reality. “It’s about trying your hardest to retain control when you know you’re exposed emotionally, sexually, spiritually, everything.” Lorenz says in a statement. “In the nude of the headlights, in the nude of someone’s love.”

Watch the video for “Key To The City” above and check out Lorenz’s full statement on the meaning of the track below.

“‘Key to the City’ is a song that stemmed from a very specific situation in my life but that I hope has a more universal resonance. It’s meant as a kind of tender ‘fuck you’ at the dying moment of a relationship you don’t necessarily want to end – when it’s hard to reconcile feelings of anger, jealousy, resentment etc. with the undeniable love you still have for that person. That crossover of pride and vulnerability led me to an image of a deer in the headlights. It’s about trying your hardest to retain control when you know you’re exposed emotionally, sexually, spiritually, everything. In the nude of the headlights, in the nude of someone’s love.

The song came together after the original recording session and stemmed from Louis experimenting with new tunings to give us a bit of a push. This one has a Nick Drake feel. We wanted it to sound cinematic and lonely.

Anywhere But Here is out 10/7 via Domino. Pre-save it here.

The Los Angeles Lakers held a standard introductory press conference on Tuesday for their newest acquisition, Patrick Beverley. During the press conference, Beverley addressed his fit with the Lakers’ roster and spoke favorably about partnering up with Westbrook as his new backcourt mate.

The expectation of a Westbrook trade reached its zenith after the Lakers acquired Beverley, but with training camp only a few weeks away, no trade has materialized. Russ made sure to let everyone know that he will be showing up to training camp even after the Beverley trade. The former MVP even appeared at Beverley’s press conference, tossing Patrick a towel, and the two players even shared a brief hug afterwards.

That dap and hug could be favorably described as a business hug, but it may be an indicator that Westbrook and Beverley are willing to squash a beef that goes back to the 2013 playoffs when an aggressive Beverley play as Westbrook was calling timeout caused Russ to miss the entire playoffs with a knee injury. Since then, the two have gone back and forth with constant jabs and criticism through the media. Beverley even insisted that Westbrook’s comments damaged his career. Although Beverley praised Westbrook’s toughness during his introductory press conference, he did admit that the two would need to have “tough” conversations.

This press conference could be the start of a surprising reconciliation between the two Laker guards, or at least a concerted PR effort on the Lakers part to ensure the season doesn’t start with public concerns of discontent, with the team posting a photo of the two on the court having a laugh.

With all the other legal and financial headaches plaguing Donald Trump right now — including the possibility that he winds up in the slammer — one could be forgiven for forgetting about Truth Social. Launched early this year, it’s his rinky dink attempt at a Twitter clone, right down to the general design. But like many things Trump has touched over his long, rollercoaster career, it’s not doing so hot. It’s already behind on millions in bills. Now it might even cease to exist.

As per The Washington Post, Digital World Acquisition Corp., the company that teamed with Trump Media & Technology Group — and which helps keep Truth Social afloat — was supposed to vote Tuesday on a one-year extension of the merger. But that vote was suddenly delayed two days, so that shareholders have more time to respond. Reuters reported that they simply don’t have the votes:

If 65 percent of the company’s shareholders don’t approve the extension by Thursday, the company could be forced to liquidate, a potentially devastating blow that would leave Truth Social with nothing.

The company can postpone the merger for six months without shareholder approval, but its executives would need to invest millions to keep the company afloat. Some investment analysts have said they doubt that extension would give the company enough time to resolve all of the outstanding concerns about the merger.

Digital World’s stocks aren’t looking good. At its peak last October, after it launched, the special-purpose acquisition company, or SPAC, had shares of $175. On Tuesday, those shares had plummeted to under $21, or 90 percent of what it once was. Should the company liquidate, shareholders will get a mere $10 a share. What’s more, if Digital World liquidates, Trump’s company would not be able to access the $1.3 billion investment it’s been counting on to survive.

But guess who’s not nervous, at least not publicly? Trump. The former president is no stranger to exaggerating his fortunes (and fortune), and sure enough, on Saturday he was posting on his possibly doomed social media service that it was “doing really well.” As for if the Digital World vote could lead to its disappearance, he wasn’t worried: “In any event, I don’t need financing, ‘I’m really rich!’ Private company anyone???” (Trump’s habit of dropping random quotation marks seemed atypically sensible, considering he keeps begging his supporters for money he sometimes pockets.)

Trump also attempted a bit of buttering-up to Digital World shareholders before the vote that was then delayed, but that, too, may have been one of his bluffs. As The Post puts it:

On Tuesday, before the special meeting, Trump posted that the site is “doing amazing” and that it has become “the most engaged social media platform anywhere on the Internet!” In every measurement of online engagement, however — web traffic, downloads, follower counts — the site remains a tiny fraction of more mainstream sites and has fallen even from its launch six months ago. In the same post, Trump encouraged businesses to buy ads on the site.

But then, Trump isn’t always exactly tethered to reality.

(Via The Post)

This festival season, Post Malone has been dazzling with headlining performances that are both a rousing party and a break from the reality of the ills of the world. He released his fourth album, Twelve Carat Toothache in June, which featured appearances from Gunna, Doja Cat, Roddy Ricch, Fleet Foxes, The Weeknd, and The Kid Laroi. He’s now setting out on the “Twelve Carat Toothache Tour” for 2022 with Roddy Ricch as his opener. But when does it begin?

When Does Post Malone’s ‘Twelve Carat Toothache Tour’ Start?

Post Malone’s “Twelve Carat Toothache Tour” begins on Saturday, September 10th. The first stop is in Omaha at the CHI Health Center. He’ll be making stops across the country, from coast to coast, with two stops in Canada at Toronto’s Scotiabank Arena on September 20th and at Vancouver’s Rogers Arena on November 6th. The tour concludes in Los Angeles on November 15th at the Crypto.com Arena.

Check out the complete list of Post Malone’s ‘Twelve Carat Toothache Tour’ dates below and get tickets here.

09/10 –- Omaha, NE @ CHI Health Center
09/11 –- St. Paul, MN @ Xcel Energy Center*
09/14 –- Chicago, IL @ United Center*
09/15 –- Milwaukee, WI @ Fiserv Forum*
09/17 –- St. Louis, MO @ Enterprise Center*
09/18 –- Columbus, OH @ Nationwide Arena*
09/20 –- Toronto, ON @ Scotiabank Arena
09/23 –- Boston, MA @ TD Garden
09/27 –- Cleveland, OH @ Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse
09/28 –- Pittsburgh, PA @ PPG Paints Arena
10/01 –- Detroit, MI @ Little Caesars Arena
10/02 –- Indianapolis, IN @ Gainbridge Fieldhouse
10/04 –- Washington, DC @ Capital One Arena*
10/06 –- Philadelphia, PA @ Wells Fargo Center*+
10/07 –- Newark, NJ @ Prudential Center*
10/09 –- Belmont Park, NY @ UBS Arena*
10/12 –- New York, NY @ Madison Square Garden*
10/15 –- Columbia, SC @ Colonial Life Arena*
10/16 –- Nashville, TN @ Bridgestone Arena*
10/18 –- Atlanta, GA @ State Farm Arena*
10/21 –- Dallas, TX @ American Airlines Center*
10/22 –- Austin, TX @ Moody Center*
10/25 –- Houston, TX @ Toyota Center*
10/26 –- Ft. Worth, TX @ Dickies Arena*
10/28 –- Tulsa, OK @ BOK Center*
10/30 –- Denver, CO @ Ball Arena*
11/01 –- Salt Lake City, UT @ Vivint Arena*
11/03 –- Portland, OR @ Moda Center*
11/05 –- Seattle, WA @ Climate Pledge Arena*
11/06 –- Vancouver, BC @ Rogers Arena*
11/10 –- Los Angeles, CA @ The Kia Forum*
11/11 –- Las Vegas, NV @ T-Mobile Arena*
11/15 –- Los Angeles, CA @ Crypto.com Arena*

*with Roddy Ricch

Starting at a new school is understandably stressful for kids but for a child with a disability, it can be especially agonizing experience. According to NBC News 12 in Arizona, Lucy Cook, a 15-year-old with cerebral palsy, experienced persistent anxiety throughout the summer about starting a new high school.

After spending six years in a small, private school, Lucy was set to go to a high school with more than 2,000 students. “She was really stressed about it,” her mom, Stephanie Cook, told NBC 12. “She was expressing concern, what if the kids don’t like me? What if the kids make fun of me? What if the teachers don’t know how to help me if I have a problem?”

Stephanie took to Facebook to share some thoughts on “intentional kindness” before her daughter started at the school. In the post, she made the point that all kids, no matter their ability, are anxious about how they will be treated in school and that simple acts of kindness can put them at ease.

Here’s part of the post:

She’s scared that kids will make fun of her because she has cerebral palsy. She’s worried they will make fun of her smaller right hand that doesn’t open all the way, the way that she walks, that her body isn’t shaped like she thinks it should be, that she can’t do all the things that other kids can do. She’s worried that they won’t like her. She’s worried she won’t make any friends. She’s worried that her classes will be hard and she won’t know where to go. She’s worried she will have a seizure and her new teachers won’t know what to do. She’s worried she will miss me while she’s gone. She’s worried she will be lonely.

These fears are in some ways unique to Lucy, but pretty similar to the fears and worries most kids and teens have. My experience has been that when people understand, they always step up. Please consider taking the time to teach your kids about other kids like Lucy.

Teach them that Lucy has challenges every day that seem almost insurmountable, but the one thing she wants the most is to be loved and valued and accepted—just like everyone else.

Teach them that they have the incredible power to build people up or tear them down, and they make choices with those effects every day. Be brave and reach out to those who look lonely.

Teach them not to be so eager to climb the social ladder and relieved when they do that they forget what it felt like to be at the bottom. We don’t lose any of our goodness by offering some of it to others—magic!

Teach them that everyone is fighting hard, unseen battles and that a smile or wave or kind word costs them nothing, but has the potential to change the trajectory of someone’s day.

Stephanie also made a point of telling kids not to use the “R-word” because “it’s hateful and hurtful to people with intellectual disabilities. Help them understand by likening it to using a slur against another minority group or as an insult (for example, the N-word).”

=

u201cIn a moment of vulnerability, one mom opened up on Facebook about her teenage daughter’s back-to-school anxieties. What she didn’t expect was that the message would go viral. u2764ufe0f https://t.co/58hTwU7M1bu201d

— Good Morning America (@Good Morning America)
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Stephanie’s post received a lot of positive responses from people in her community and across the internet. After Lucy read them she felt a lot more confident about starting her new school.

“[My first day] was great, amazing, awesome,” Lucy told News 12.

Stephanie told Good Morning America that all kids, including hers, need to remember two questions to help them make it through the school year. “I ask my kids … every day after school,” she said. “Were your friends nice to you today? And were you nice to your friends?”

Stephanie’s post was an important reminder that we all have the ability to be kind and you never know who really needs the help.

“We just need to try to make it a habit to look for people that maybe need our friendship or give people the benefit of the doubt because everybody struggles with something,” Stephanie told Good Morning America. “When [kids] realize this, they do better and they’re there for each other.”

Games with high-profile NBA Draft prospects usually happen in the college basketball ranks. According to a new report by Jonathan Givony of ESPN, we’re getting something a little bit different when the two teams that boast the perceived top-2 picks in the 2023 NBA Draft go head-to-head later this year.

Givony reports that Metropolitans 92, the French team that features 18-year-old big man Victor Wembanyama, will come to the United States for a pair of games against the G League Ignite team, which is led by 18-year-old guard Scoot Henderson. This comes as confirmation of a report from Rafael Barlow that there were conversations about making this matchup happen in Las Vegas.

The two are penciled in as the players who will go first and second next summer — as of now, Wembanyama is viewed as the favorite to go atop the draft. Both are considered the sorts of franchise-changing prospects that could trigger a race to the bottom among NBA teams who want to increase their odds of getting that high of a pick in next year’s lottery.

As Givony noted, Wembanyama recently measured at 7’4 with an 8-foot wingspan. Despite this, his game does not resemble that of a traditional big man, as he’s as comfortable handling the ball out on the perimeter along as he is protecting the rim. Henderson, meanwhile, was a 2022 recruit who reclassified to 2021 and joined the Ignite team. He turned heads even at his young age, showing off prodigious skills as an explosive and physical guard.