The best new hip-hop this week includes albums, videos, and songs from DJ Khaled, Drake, Eminem and more.

August is here. While we are still reeling from Beyoncé’s Renaissance, another heavy hitter in DJ Khaled is gearing up for his thirteenth studio album God Did. Though it seems this summer will not be taking any breaks as it powers to its close, other rappers are looking to throw their names in the mix for jams and bops that will soundtrack our pregames, cookouts, and brunches.

Here is the best of hip-hop this week ending August 5, 2022.

Albums/EPs/Mixtapes

Eminem — Curtain Call 2

Seventeen years after compiling his greatest hits, Eminem is back for another victory lap with Curtain Call 2. The tracks include classics like “Love The Way You Lie” featuring Rihanna, “Walk On Water” featuring Beyoncé, and rapid fire “Rap God.”

Bobby Shmurda– Bodboy

After much speculation as to when Bobby would fully dive back into the music, Bodboy is here. The 9-song record features longtime collaborator Rowdy Rebel and Fat Tony. Though “Hoochie Daddy” may have the people split, there is plenty of vintage Bobby chaos to balance out everyone’s palates.

Karlae — Enter

The YSL train doesn’t stop as Karlae wants you to Enter into her era. The 16-track effort features head honcho Young Thug, Gunna, Coi Leray, Lil Yachty, Bhad Bhabie and more.

Jugg Harden — The 13 Tape 2

Jugg Harden fully leans into his take on the bearded baller’s persona with The 13 Tape 2. The 15-song project features Young Scooter, Baby Money, YN Jay and more.

Jay Worthy & Harry Fraud — You Take The Credit, We’ll Take The Check

Jay Worthy and Harry Fraud show the power of two on You Take The Credit, We’ll Take The Check. It is a display of bars galore with the help of Big Body Bes, Conway The Machine, Larry June, Kamaiyah, and more.

Fat Money x Cardo Got Wings– Money Got Wings

Fat Money and Cardo Got Wings believe they can fly, and certainly ascend on collab project Money Got Wings. It is a fun 10-song project with a sole feature in Baby J.

Ron Suno — Suno Mode

Much like his cover art for Suno Mode, Ron Suno feels on top of the world next to a pretty girl. The album is blessed with verses from Rowdy Rebel, Rah Swish, Dusty Locane and more.

Kalan.Frfr — 222

Kalan.Frfr is often confused for a singer, but the melodic tones should not fool you; he talks the talk like any other rapper. 222 shows this to the fullest, with the help of Blxst along the way.

Shitty Boyz — Trifecta 2

Contrary to what the name could convey, the talented Shitty Boyz are far from waste. Trifecta 2 is a 14-song buffet, with guest chefs Tae Retro and Tri.

Singles/Videos

Piers James — “Cha Ching”

Piers James, like many rappers, is motivated by the dollar signs. “Cha Ching” is the quintessential soundtrack for cashing your check at the bank on pay day. Turn that bass up.

YBN Nahmir — “Where I’m From”

YBN Nahmir wears his hometown flag in “Where I’m From,” a rap version of a virtual tour of Birmingham, Alabama. However, this isn’t for the tourists; Nahmir keeps it very honest about the tougher sides of his area. “We got looters and shooters, we got cops and robbers / we got strippers and scammers, we got the hoes that be plottin’.”

Big Boss Vette ft. Flo Milli and Saucy Santana — “Snatched (Remix)”

Big Boss Vette, Flo Milli, and Saucy Santana are beaming with confidence on the “Snatched (Remix).” As “He wanna dive in it” repeats in the background, the rappers assert their dominance over men through their sexual prowess. “Y’all trickin’ for dollars, my legs go up for millions.”

Rob Markman — “100 Losses”

Accredited journalist and rapper Rob Markman doesn’t want to run away from reality. “100 Losses” is a vulnerable outpouring of not only his personal setbacks, but also what has happened to our culture. Through it all, he has no intentions of giving up. “Win by all means, I don’t care what it cost us / Shoulda, coulda, woulda only thing that’s gon’ haunt us.”

Black Soprano Family — “Times Is Rough”

Benny The Butcher has seen much success over the last few years, and has brought along his Black Soprano Family along the way. “Times Is Rough” is laced by DJ Premier, and with help from Heem and Rick Hyde, Benny reflects on his come up. The video finds all three rapping in an NYC park, surrounded by bottles of Bel-Air, and riding bikes.

Dustystaytrue — “Ironman”

Dustystaytrue quite literally surrounds himself by hell in the “Ironman” video, crooning about people changing up on him as flames burn in the room he sits in. Ultimately, the artist realizes he has to spread his wings and make his way through life alone. “I’m just trying to be free.

Noodah05 x Rylo Rodriguez — “Tameka”

The “Tameka” visual finds Noodah05 and Rylo Rodriguez struggling with matters of the heart while trying to hold down the fort. They ultimately want their women back, but know that it’s tough to be who they need to be when they have to be so much else to other people. They rap alongside their crews, almost coming off as venting sessions with friends.

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Kevin Spacey has been quietly trying to toss out his $31 million lawsuit from MRC, the production company behind House Of Cards, but this week, Entertainment Weekly has reported that a judge ordered the actor to pay the company for their losses after they were forced to remove him from the sixth season of the acclaimed series.

Spacey played Frank Underwood on the hit Netflix series before he was fired due to a number of sexual assault allegations from young men, including then-14-year-old Anthony Rapp. The allegations caused MRC to investigate and eventually terminate all of his acting and producing contracts in 2017. The company claimed that Spacey owed them millions in lost profits after his allegations.

The actor has denied any and all allegations about him, though earlier this year he was charged with four counts of sexual assault in the UK. Since then, he has been dropped from a movie about Genghis Khan. He is expected to stand trial next year.

For now, it seems like the actor will have to shell out $30.9 million to MRC, who are reportedly “pleased” with the court’s ruling. Despite the allegations, Spacey has been able to get roles in various non-American projects, but no studio over here seems to want to risk being involved with the actor. He has an upcoming role in the Italian film The Man Who Drew God alongside Faye Dunaway.

(Via Entertainment Weekly)

The United States espouses noble ideals and has worked for more than two centuries to make its way toward them. It’s always been an uneven process, however, and sometimes we stumble—or get violently shoved—backward.

The “zero tolerance” policy for handling migrant families was one of those times. The policy, unofficially piloted by the Trump administration in 2017 and officially enacted in May of 2018, forced children and parents to be separated instead of being detained together while awaiting asylum decisions.

During those two years, thousands of migrant children at the U.S.-Mexico border were taken from their families with no notice, sometimes torn straight from the parents’ arms, and sent away to unknown locations around the country. Thousands of parents and caregivers were deported with no idea where their children were or if they’d ever see them again. Some were toddlers and preschoolers. We read horror stories of children screaming while being taken away, their parents frantic but helpless to do anything about it.

These were not all people trying to enter the U.S. illegally. Many were going through the legal asylum-seeking process. According to NBC, lawyers estimated that more than two-thirds of the parents and caregivers were deported, leaving thousands of children behind.

After intense pressure from human rights advocates around the world, President Trump signed an executive order ending the policy in June 2018. But the monstrous mess was already made. Thousands of families had been separated with no recourse and thousands of children thrown into foster homes in an unfamiliar country with no warning. There’s no other way to describe it but cruel and unthinkable.

And if that weren’t inhumane enough, after a federal judge ordered that the children be reunited with their families within 30 days, it came to light that the administration had enacted the policy with no clear method of keeping track of which kids were separated and no plans to find and reunite them with their families. There was simply no way to make it happen that quickly.

One of the first things President Biden did after his inauguration was to address this crisis directly through an executive order. On February 2, 2021, he formed the Interagency Task Force on the Reunification of Families and tasked it with “identifying all children who were separated from their families at the United States-Mexico border between January 20, 2017, and January 20, 2021, in connection with the operation of the Zero-Tolerance Policy” and “to the greatest extent possible, facilitating and enabling the reunification of each of the identified children with their families.”

Michelle Brané, executive director of the task force, told NBC News that the Biden administration has now successfully reunited 400 migrant children impacted by the zero tolerance policy with their families. It has been a daunting challenge, considering the lack of record-keeping, and there are still more families who remain separated. But it’s at least a step forward from that enormous leap back.

u201cThe Biden admin has reunited 400 children with their parents after they were separated as migrants crossing the border under Trump.nhttps://t.co/yrkZKa2MKSu201d

— Kyle Griffin (@Kyle Griffin)
1659542401

The children’s parents and caregivers are being brought back to the U.S. and given temporary legal status to be able to live and work in the U.S. for three years. They are also allowed to bring dependent family members with them. Lawyers are pushing for the families to be given permanent status, but the Biden administration has not agreed on that yet.

While this is good news, we also must remember that these children’s lives are changed forever and the trauma they have endured at the hands of the U.S. government will not easily be overcome. These kids were taken from the only security many of them had ever known—their family—and sent to live with strangers in a strange land. It’s an unfathomable thing to imagine as a parent.

Immigration and asylum are complicated issues, but there are some lines we simply do not cross when dealing with challenging issues. Tearing kids from their parents’ arms and sending them away to an undisclosed place for an indefinite amount of time in an unfamiliar country is a line we should never have crossed. It was cruel to both the parents and the children, and purposefully so.

While we can’t undo the damage already done, let’s celebrate the fact that some of those wrongs are beginning to be righted, and let’s ensure that nothing like that is ever done in our name again.

Hey ho, beautiful people!

It’s time for another roundup of goodness from around the internet, and this week we seem to have a theme. We love celebrating families here at Upworthy, our list this week highlights some delightful daddies, some fabulous fathers and some precious pop pops. Few things are as heartwarming as a good dad or grandpa moment, and we’ve got a sweet little handful of them for you.

We’ve also got a Disney princess making someone’s day, a guy who practically channels an iconic voice, some wickedly (and hilariously) talented animals and an expression of pure public joy.

We hope this collection brings as much happiness to your hearts as it does to ours. Enjoy!

1. When he kissed this newborn baby, he definitely didn’t expect this to happen.

u201cAwww, my heart just melted. ud83eudee0ud83eudd70u201d

— Viola Davis (@Viola Davis)
1659328866

That is a brand new bebe, but it’s like the tiny human knew exactly what to do on instinct. So dang sweet.

And someday, that love might morph into this kind of pride…

2. A wee one is so proud of her papa at his graduation, and he’s so appreciative.

See on Instagram

Her little voice! His beaming smile when he heard it. And the way the woman making the announcement had to wait til she’d said her “Congratulations, Daddy!” and “I love you, Daddy!” Just so much mutual love.

And someday, that love may turn into adorable dad humor…

3. This most classic of dad jokes never gets old.

See on Instagram

Hilarious how just one word can make us laugh out loud. Gotta love a daddy with a sense of humor.

Also gotta love a daddy with a sense of fashion and no shame…

4. Dad dresses in daughter’s crochet creations to help market them and totally owns it.

@lovebeav

brought to you by my parents’ obsession with drag race

It started with one TikTok and has grown into a full-blown phenomenon. Jeff rocks these crocheted pieces and has a blast doing it. Read the full story here.

And someday, all of that love and support may go from fatherhood to grandfatherhood and be equally heartwarming…

5. Granddaughter surprises grandpa who had to miss her wedding and his reaction is so sweet.

See on Instagram

I know this list is supposed to make you smile, not cry, but this kind of crying is good, right?

6. Disney princess makes a deaf visitor’s day by having a full conversation with her in sign language.

@jeanettetapley

When Princess Anna can sign and have a full conversation with my deaf child. 🥹 Zoe has never been able to chat with a princess without Jesse or myself interpreting. This was magical. Thank you Princess Anna for making our trip so special! #deafchildren #asl #americansignlanguage #BigInkEnergy #fyp #feelgood #inclusionmatters @Disney Parks @Disneyland California

“Zoe has never been able to chat with a princess without Jesse or myself interpreting. This was magical,” wrote the girl’s mom. “Thank you Princess Anna for making our trip so special!” Disney does its best to bring the magic to all of its visitors and it doesn’t go unnoticed. Read the full story here.

7. This guy’s first TikTok got 25 million views. When he opens his mouth you see why.

@brandonconway11

First post on tiktok let me know what you guys think! More videos coming soon feom mj to country to rock so yall be sure to stay tuned!#fyp #singer #usherchallenge @usher @tpain #letsgo #firstvideo

That’s quite the Michael Jackson impression, sir. The falsetto “he he” totally seals it.

8. This emu doing an interpretive dance is the definition of chaotic good.

@useless_farm

👑Interpretive dance king 👑

Before Emmanuel Todd Lopez, there was Karen the obstinate emu whose aggressive antics are hilariously showcased on the Useless Farm TikTok channel. You can read about Karen here, but first watch that interpretive dance video of her and Stanley a few more times because how could you not???

And speaking of talented animals…

9. Who taught these adorable doggos how to jump rope? I need names.

u201cThere is so much to see in here. ud83eudd70nnCredit/Imguru201d

— Danny Deraney (@Danny Deraney)
1659542908

How do they even know what to do? The way they prep for the hops! Their impeccable timing! That dog just holding the rope in its mouth and watching the others have all the fun! The way they keep coming back for more! So much to appreciate here.

10. Let’s roll into the weekend like this guy joyfully cruising through town belting Taylor Swift.

See on Instagram

Worth it to watch til the end. This is how we roll, folks. Nothing but unbridled, unabashed, unadulterated joy.

Hope that made your week! Come back next Friday for another round of smile-worthy content.

In 2016, Danny Dubbaneh and his brother Jimmy started Z&Z, a Middle Eastern foods company just outside of Washington, D.C., to share the “bold flavors of za’atar with the rest of the world” as well as Middle Eastern culture and hospitality.

Za’atar is a spice mix that can be used as a rub for chicken, beef, lamb or fish. It’s also sprinkled over hummus, labneh or baba ganoush.

Danny created a YouTube channel Z&Z TV where his family shares the joys of Middle Eastern culture. On August 2, Danny released a popular video of himself and his father, affectionately known as Baba, explaining some popular Arabic idioms.

The video is great because it shows how when we learn new sayings they open up a new way of seeing the world that we may not have considered.

“My favorite parts of learning any language are idioms of what some people call sayings or proverbs,” Danny explains in the video. “Idioms can often give you quite a bit of insight into another culture, especially if they’re commonly used.”

Here are a few of their favorite sayings.

“Go tile the ocean” — It’s basically a way of saying “get lost.”

“Repetition teaches the donkey” — Donkeys aren’t the smartest animals, but even with some repetition, they can learn a thing or two.

“Stretch your legs only as far as your blanket extends” — Don’t overextend yourself, financially.

“Swallowed a radio” — Is a phrase to describe someone who won’t stop talking.

“Light blooded” — Someone who is fun and easy-going and who you enjoy being around.

There are few joys greater than curling up and reading a good book. The best books are the ones that are so engrossing you forget that you’re reading. Then, when you take a break, you look and see you’ve blown through 50 pages without realizing it.

However, there are a lot of us who wish that we read more often, but we watch TV instead because it takes less mental energy. But the benefits of reading seem to be far greater.

Reading keeps our brains sharper as we age and, according to research, people who read live longer than those who don’t.

A 2016 study published in the journal Social Science & Medicine asked 3,635 participants who were over 50 years old about their reading habits and monitored them over a 12-year period. The researchers split the participants into three categories: those who don’t read at all, those who read less than 3.5 hours a week and those who read more than 3.5 hours a week.

The results were astonishing.

People who read more than 3.5 hours a week were found to live 23 months longer than those who didn’t read at all.

“Compared to non-book readers, book readers had a 4-month survival advantage,” at the age when 20% of their peers passed away. “Book readers also experienced a 20% reduction in risk of mortality over the 12 years of follow up compared to non-book readers.”

Those who read less than 3.5 hours a week were 17% less likely to die than those who never crack open a book.

“People who report as little as a half-hour a day of book reading had a significant survival advantage over those who did not read,” the senior author, Becca R. Levy, a professor of epidemiology at Yale, said according to The New York Times. “And the survival advantage remained after adjusting for wealth, education, cognitive ability and many other variables.”

The researchers also noted that reading books will help you live longer than sticking to newspapers and magazines.

“Further, our analyses demonstrated that any level of book reading gave a significantly stronger survival advantage than reading periodicals,” the researchers wrote. “This is a novel finding, as previous studies did not compare types of reading material; it indicates that book reading rather than reading, in general, is driving a survival advantage.”

Why is it that those who read live longer than those who don’t?

The researchers at Yale speculate that there are two reasons why reading books has such a positive effect on longevity. The first is that books require “deep reading,” or the process of engaging with the book and understanding its internal context. The second is the emotional connection that books help us develop to empathize with characters and their stories.

Together, these two processes help us better understand the world and enhance our survival skills.

The great news about this study is that it shows that all it takes to live a significantly longer life is to read about 30 minutes a day. Plus, not only will you live longer, but you’ll also be happier as well.

Because there are few things that bring greater joy than reading a book and sharing someone else’s thoughts for a while.

In modern times we memorialize our loved ones by saving old photographs, holding onto their jewelry, or keeping their ashes in an urn. But, according to Artsy, before we had photographs of people to remember them by, people often saved their hair.

It was impossible to save someone’s rotting flesh before modern preservation techniques were developed, plus it’s pretty disgusting. So hair was the only part of the body that one could keep. Human hair can retain its color and texture for years after someone has passed, so it’s a durable material to turn into remembrance art.

“The keeping and saving of hair for future use in jewelry or other commemorative craft (such as wreaths) was common,” Karen Bachmann wrote, according to Artsy. The practice was common in Victorian England and it was brought across the pond to America’s frontier.

“The Victorians were also famously sentimental,” Joanna Ebenstein, founder of New York’s Morbid Anatomy Library and Gift Shop told Artsy. “Hair art, which could be used to commemorate the living or dead beloved, perfectly merges the fashion for mourning and sentimentality.”

TikTok user Christina Dyer, who runs The Dyer Ghoul House, which specializes in gothic content, went viral recently after a video she shared on the platform received more than 1.9 million views. The video shows her opening a book from the 1800s that she had purchased, only to find around eight folded pieces of paper with names and dates containing pieces of hair.

“I pretty much have a whole family!” Dyer wrote in a subsequent video.

@thedyerghoulhouse

Question is what do i do with them? 🫣 #victorianhair #victorianmourning

A lot of people thought the hair was taken for nefarious reasons. “Me thinking it’s trophies from a serial killer in the 1800s,” ultraoldsoul commented.

However, multiple people remarked that it was a common practice for people to save their loved ones’ hair and turn it into a keepsake. “That was a common thing to do in that times, to preserve that person’s memory, or they gifted a piece of their hair as a sign of affection,” Jennifer Marie commented.

After the video went viral, Dyer shared another one showing what she planned to do with the hair. “I was drawn to a lock of the mother’s hair, so of course I framed it,” Dyer wrote. In the video, she shares a frame with “Mother 1862” written on it. “Now I need to decide what to do with the others,” she adds.

@thedyerghoulhouse

Replying to @she_horror Update! 🕊 #victorianmourning #victorianhair

After finding the hair, Dyer did some research and discovered the names of three of the people whose hair was in the book.

“Here are three of the people whose hair I found inside the antique book,” she wrote in a follow-up video. The good news was that they all lived long lives for the era. “Walter died aged 78, Constance 77, and Lawrence 57. If my sources are correct!” she wrote.

@thedyerghoulhouse

Replying to @elviratsquirrel Constance is a beauty. 🕊 #victorianmourning #victorianera #victorianhair

It’s tantalizing to wonder if the people whose hair she found have any idea where their last mortal remains turned up. However, they probably would have a really hard time understanding the internet and what it means to “go viral.”

The wonderful thing is that—although some may find it a bit morbid—Dyer is treating the hair with respect, just as the person who placed it in the book intended. Plus, it’s always wise to curry favor with the dead.

Back in 2018, we weren’t exactly living in a more innocent time, but it was arguably a more carefree time. Elon Musk hadn’t yet fathered *as* many children, nor had he tanked both Twitter and Tesla stock by waking up and wanting a new toy (which he since has attempted to abandon). Back in the day, though, Elon decided (seemingly on the spur of the moment) to smoke a blunt with Joe Rogan right there on the podcast.

This made for some excellent memes, but the move wasn’t without consequence. Given that Elon’s also the SpaceX CEO, and SpaceX is federally contracted, and weed is not federally legalized, this presented a bounty of issues. Long story short, Elon smoked that weed in California (which has legalized weed both recreationally and medically), but the feds still came for him on a drug-testing note. Here’s Elon discussing the subject on the Full Send Podcast, which tweeted this clip.

“The consequences for me and for SpaceX were actually not good. I had to have like random drug tests and stuff after that, to prove that I’m not like a drug addict,” Musk declared. “They drug tested me for everything, and randomly… I had like a whole year of random drug tests.”

Not only that, but Business Insider points out that those random tests extended to SpaceX employees, who were surely not thrilled to be peeing in cups when they’d done nothing to provoke the oversight. Elon also weighed in on how the U.S. is attempting to work out a prisoner exchange deal with Russia for Brittney Griner, who received a nine-year sentence on drug charges. As Musk put it, “If there are people in jail in America for the same stuff, shouldn’t we free them too?” The unofficial federal jury’s still out on how this will all work out for Griner, not to mention the consistency issue pointed out by Musk.

(Via Business Insider)

As you can see from the above video, the summertime vibes were set to high recently in New York City where WMX and White Claw teamed up to celebrate the beverage brand’s new REFRSHR line of drinks. The exclusive activation took over The Little Shop, a trend spot in the historic Seaport District just a stone’s throw away from the ocean, offering a lively sanctuary from the sweltering city heat outside.

Guests started the experience by walking through the seemingly ordinary neighborhood convenience store before being ushered through a secret sliding door in the back by fridges fully stocked with White Claw. There they were greeted by a popping party that combined surfer cool with streetwear culture, the inspiration for the REFRSHR can design. Inside, the fashionable crowd enjoyed wafts of cooled air from the freezers paired with fittingly revitalizing REFRSHR in ice-cold cans. The new flavors of iced teas and lemonades range from blood orange with a hint of black raspberry to limón with a hint of calamansi to more traditional offerings like strawberry.

On scene was a spectacular 300-pound ice sculpture wave that sat at a place of honor atop the bar. The mood and overall tone were set brilliantly by tunes provided by local DJ Ella Hu$$le from her booth. The song choices were on point with the room bouncing to bangers all night.

The attendees didn’t have to leave empty-handed either, as the event was also host to local streetwear customizers Zachariah of Thanks A Lot, Danica Pantic, and Johnny Skinz who were handcrafting specialty REFRSHR merch. Guests were walking out with hand-printed tees by Thanks A Lot and hand-painted hats by Skinz. So not only did the hyped crowd leave The Little Shop feeling refreshed but they also left looking fresh.

Last month, Omar Apollo announced Ivory (Marfil), the expanded version of his album Ivory from April of this year. Today, he’s back with a new single “Highlight,” as well as the announcement of the Prototype Tour.

The Prototype Tour will go through North America this fall kicking off in San Diego, California in October and ending in Toronto, Ontario in November. Check out the full dates below and watch the video for “Highlight” above.

10/21 — San Diego, CA @ Cal Coast Credit Union Open Air Theatre
10/22 — Tucson, AZ @ 191 Toole
10/25 — Tulsa, OK @ Cain’s Ballroom
10/26 — Houston, TX @ 713 Music Hall
10/27 — San Antonio, TX @ Aztec Theatre
10/29 — Boulder, CO @ Boulder Theater
11/01 — Los Angeles, CA @ The Greek Theater
11/02 — San Jose, CA @ San Jose Civic
11/03 — Oakland, CA @ Fox Theater
11/05 — Salt Lake City, UT @ The Complex
11/08 — St. Paul, MN @ Palace Theatre
11/10 — St. Louis, MO @ The Pageant
11/11 — Indianapolis, IN @ Egyptian Room at Old National Centre
11/13 — Richmond, VA @ The National
11/15 — Atlanta, GA @ The Eastern
11/17 — Washington, D.C. @ The Anthem
11/18 — Norfolk, VA @ The NorVa
11/19 — Charlotte, NC @ The Fillmore
11/20 — Raleigh, NC @ The Ritz
11/22 — Nashville, TN @ Ryman Auditorium
11/26 — Brooklyn, NY @ Kings Theatre
11/29 — Toronto, ON @ HISTORY

Ivory (Marfil) is out 8/5 via Warner Records. Pre-order it here.

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