Category: News

The R. Kelly trial moved into its defense stage yesterday, with Rolling Stone remarking that Kelly’s defense seemed to be well behind the eight-ball, failing to produce one of its witnesses, who it claimed was out of town. This was after the defense also apparently scrapped a list of witnesses at the last minute. The two witnesses who remained maintained R. Kelly’s innocence of the crimes against him — kidnapping, sexual exploitation of a child, racketeering, and more — and tried to characterize the singer as chivalrous.

However, on cross-examination, the prosecution worked to establish their unreliability as witnesses. The first, Dhanai Ramnanan, apparently couldn’t remember specific details of his dealings with R. Kelly and the prosecution pressed him to identify himself in photos of the singer with women on his tour bus. He was unable to, which allowed the prosecution to present an argument that there was no way for Ramnanan to know what Kelly was doing when he wasn’t around. Ramnanan was also colored by his need to remain on Kelly’s good side.

The second witness, Larry Hood, was the singer’s bodyguard and a former Chicago police officer; however, the prosecution brought up Hood’s prior conviction for felony forgery. While Hood maintained he did not know that he was spending counterfeit $100 bills in 2007, he still pled guilty. Likewise, while he claimed he didn’t know about Kelly’s marriage to a then-underage Aaliyah, the prosecution implied that this could also be a falsehood or a gross oversight by Hood.

Meanwhile, it doesn’t seem that R. Kelly’s chivalrousness precludes any of the testimony against him.

The trial is set to continue Tuesday and Wednesday. Rolling Stone notes that the defense still had not furnished a list of witnesses.

This week in pop music saw some anticipated releases. Lil Nas X dropped his debut album, Kehlani released a shimmering new single, and Lady Gaga shared another look at her Tony Bennett collaboration.

Each week, Uproxx rounds up the best new pop releases. Listen up.

Lil Nas X — “Am I Dreaming” Feat. Miley Cyrus

After months of teasing, Lil Nas X finally released his debut album, Montero. Though the musician previously linked up with Billy Ray Cyrus for his chart-topping “Old Town Road” single, his new track “Am I Dreaming” sees a feature with a different Cyrus family member. Over an acoustic guitar, Lil Nas X and Miley Cyrus sing a tender tune about keeping loved ones in your memory.

Lady Gaga, Tony Bennett — “Love For Sale”

Lady Gaga and Tony Bennett are just weeks away from the release of their second collaborative album Love For Sale. This week, the pair dropped the LP’s title track, a jazzy number that sees marvelous harmonization from the two talented singers.

Kehlani — “Altar”

After teasing her new era of music with an eerie trailer, Kehlani served up her swooning track “Altar” this week. The song marks the first single off her forthcoming album Blue Water Road, which is expected to arrive later this winter, and showcases the singer’s honeyed vocals over a watery beat.

Jonas Brothers — “Who’s In Your Head”

Jonas Brothers returned this week with one burning question: Who’s in your head? Their groovy new single, which they previously teased on tour, features a dancefloor-ready beat with sparkling production and was co-written by Britney Spears and N’SYNC collaborators Max Martin and Rami Yacoub.

Magdalena Bay — “You Lose!”

LA pop duo Magdalena Bay offered another preview of their upcoming album Mercurial World, this time with the glistening track “You Lose!” The new single boasts crunchy synths and an upbeat rhythm that offers a perfect backdrop for singer Mica Tenenbaum’s breathy vocals.

Alec Benjamin — “Older”

After releasing his 2020 album These Two Windows, songwriter Alec Benjamin returns with another wistful single. On his new track “Older,” Benjamin sets the tone for the anxieties that arrive with age. It’s a nostalgic and tenderhearted tune that perfectly encapsulates the singer’s vulnerable songwriting.

KAINA — “Casita”

Chicago singer KAINA lays out a hopeful wish for the future with her new Y2K R&B-inspired single “Casita.” Pulling inspiration from The Cheetah Girls and salsa-maestro Oscar D’Leon, KAINA soulfully serenades a love letter to her friends and family over endlessly dreamy instrumentals. “‘Casita’ is about all the people I miss,” KAINA said about the single in a statement. “I miss sharing space in my home, staying up way too late talking sh*t and laughing — I miss sharing my mother’s cooking with friends and family.”

Jeremy Zucker — “Therapist”

Platinum-certified pop singer Jeremy Zucker shared the addictive tune “Therapist” this week, offering a preview of his upcoming sophomore album Crusher. Co-produced by Ethan Gruska, the new single is a driving ballad about the emotional labor of carrying someone else’s burden.

Boylife — “Amphetamine”

LA-based producer Boylife (aka Ryan Yoo) dropped the deliciously sultry single “Amphetamine.” With playful production and some NSFW lyrics, Boylife’s new track follows a handful of singles released in the past year. “This song is a tribute to women being in the driver’s seat of a sexual relationship,” he said in a statement to Apple Music. “And also Prince.”

Naliya — “Whatever”

Rising Canadian pop singer Naliya shared the shimmering breakup track “Whatever.” The new single combines sugar-coated keys with a blown-out bass and her airy vocals to create an intimate and catchy tune.

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

JJ Redick was once the most hated basketball player in America during his time as a star at Duke, embracing his role as college hoops’ villain as he lit up opposing teams from three-point range, preening for the adoring fans at Cameron Indoor or for a furious road crowd all the same.

In the NBA, he became a much less polarizing face, one of the league’s best and most consistent three-point shooters, able to carve out a 15-year career thanks to the steady increase in the importance of the deep ball from when he entered the league in 2006 to when he leaves it now in 2021. Redick announced on Tuesday morning on his podcast that he would be retiring from basketball.

On the court, Redick will retire with a career average of 12.8 points per game on 44.7/41.5/89.2 shooting splits, as he steadily carved out a role as one of the league’s most reliable three-point shooters at a time when that was starting to become increasingly important to teams.

Redick says in the video that last season was a “seven month exercise in coming face-to-face with my own athletic mortality,” noting the difficulty in being away from his family due to COVID protocols as well as simply not playing up to his usual standards. At the end, he notes that he’s excited to be a full-time dad, able to help out more and watch as his kids grow up.

Peril, the new book by Bob Woodward and Robert Costa, hits bookshelves today and is guaranteed to include a couple of major bombshells and some laugh-out-loud commentary about Donald Trump’s lame duck period and the fraught transition between the Trump and Biden administrations.

Details from the book have been leaking out over the past several days, including—as Raw Story reports—what sounds like a few amazing moments back in July 2017, after former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson called Donald Trump a “f*#&ing moron” during a meeting with the Pentagon.

The incident made headlines back when it happened, but Tillerson repeatedly denied that he called the then-president a “moron.” But, according to Peril, there’s a reason why Tillerson felt completely justified in asserting that he did not call Trump that insult specifically. A passage from the book reads:

“Do you know why Tillerson was able to say that he didn’t call the president a ‘moron?’” McConnell would dryly ask colleagues in his Kentucky drawl. “Because he called him a ‘f*cking moron!’”

McConnell wasn’t the only one having a laugh about the exchange. While speaking with Lawrence O’Donnell on Monday night, Woodward and Costa explained that a gaggle of Senate members their way to a cloakroom following Tillerson’s f-bomb—to chuckle about the incident.

While, at least publicly, McConnell usually seemed to have Trump’s back, the book claims that it was the then-Senate Majority Leader (now Senate Minority Leader) who worked with Biden’s team behind the scenes to ensure a successful transition of power between the outgoing president and the incoming one—because Trump refused to play along.

One other telling gem, according to Raw Story: On a very chilly January 5th, Trump let employees of the West Wing freeze their asses off so that he could leave the windows to the White House open and hear the crowds of MAGA sheep outside who had gathered to cheer on their führer.

“Isn’t that great!” Trump reportedly said, noting that: “Tomorrow’s going to be a big day.”

[insert Law & Order “dun dun” music]

Peril is available today.

(Via Raw Story)

On the L riding back from Riot Fest on Sunday, a self-proclaimed aging rock fan decided to pose a hypothetical to a car full of folks who did not volunteer to be spoken to in the first place.

“If I decided not to wear a mask on here, would you say something?”

“Fuck yeah, we would. You better keep it on,” one passenger responded, with others deliriously nodding.

Nothing is the same in 2021, but one thing’s for sure, respect is definitely punk rock. The common refrain from bands playing the 3+1 day festival – which had a “preview” night on Thursday featuring Joyce Manor, Patti Smith, Alkaline Trio, (puzzlingly) Morrissey, and others – was gratitude that they were even playing at all, as well as pleas to take care of one another. Anti Flag dedicated their set to those we’ve lost, and promised to fight like hell for the living. Rancid was close to going over their allotted time, said doing so was disrespectful to the other artists, and diplomatically asked fans which song between “Ruby Soho” and “Time Bomb” they’d rather hear. The Flaming Lips had some members masked on stage, and Wayne Coyne in his big bubble, as he encouraged others to consider the headspace and mental state of those next to them.

Maybe a lot of these acts are aging into a range where respect and rage go hand and hand.

Or maybe it’s just that the times we live in mean being angry doesn’t stop for any of us because nothing stops it just always keeps going and going endlessly as we are bombarded with pain and suffering and a lack of humanity and the sheer exhaustion of knowing nothing matters and none of us will ever escape and we’ll have to see it all unfold at once through a constant stream of screens and screaming and Cronenberg villains grifting their way into blips of desperation-fueled attention – so maybe the least we can do is pick someone up in the pit if they fall down.

Rather unsurprisingly, Rise Against’s Tim McIlrath delivered the most impassioned speech of the weekend around “I Don’t Want To Be Here Anymore,” as he wondered “maybe that darkness is something you will still carry” about the pandemic and the fallout none of us have even been able to process yet. The last two exhausting years have permeated to every bit of the festival circuit, from artists to pyrotechnics workers, and the sheer act of performing hasn’t worn off as a novelty yet. If there’s anything other than anxiety (of which there’s still plenty) wafting through the air of large events, it’s amazement that we’re even out here at all.

For many acts on the bill, this was their first set since 2019, and even nervousness came off as authentic. Meg Myers tried out a new song, stoped it midway through and asked if she could try again. The crowd was more than happy to oblige.

There was something cathartic about being able to scream with everyone and no one around you. To be present and anonymous and to hear songs you’ve heard over and over again alone in headphones over the past two years. And even beyond the paranoia of being *in public* it is still possible to lose yourself in a socially distanced, somewhat masked, vaxxed (or negative test within 48 hours) crowd. That’s something I don’t think I’ll ever take for granted anymore, and it seemed like a lot of the artists feel the same way.

Here are some highlights from the weekend.

Joyce Manor

The band played a spirited run-through of their s/t album, and these full album moments have become a staple of Riot Fest over the years. Fans get the chance to hear songs that maybe haven’t been played in a long time, and even bands feel the nostalgia. The past can be a black hole, but black holes are beautiful and as powerful as anything cosmically. Observing from afar without being sucked in can be awe-inspiring. And they played the hell out of My Chemical Romance’s “Helena.”

Patti Smith

A funny thing happens over a three or four-day event like this, and credit to those in charge of building out a lineup (especially one in flux as much as this year’s Riot Fest was). Common threads emerge, and the layers of music history pile onto each other. A legend like Smith, who puts out just as much angst and fervor as ever, can spawn offshoots that hardly seem recognizable after five decades of playing telephone. Even an act like Body Count owes something to Smith, who had maybe the funniest moment of the weekend after a fan asked to sign a copy of Horses, to which she responded, “what like I’ve got nothing better to do than sign my own record album?” (She did sign it.)

Living Colour

On the same stage as Fishbone playing the entirety of their The Reality Of My Surroundings album, vocalist Corey Glover, guitarist Vernon Reid, and the rest of Living Colour delivered a brash and charged set that proved much of the last two decades of rock still owe a debt to the genre-bending sounds they produce. Reid’s explosiveness is timeless, and Glover continues to command the stage as well as he did at Lollapalooza in 1991. They even brought out CM Punk to introduce “Cult Of Personality.”

Coheed And Cambria

Festivals get a lot of rubberneckers, as fans are waiting for someone else or have gaps in their schedule and give themselves a chance to see a band they maybe have never listened to before. For a group like Coheed, who can be an acquired taste or inspire plenty of eye-rolls with their sci-fi blend of emo-inspired progressive rock, this plays right into their hands. Claudio Sanchez embraced the opportunity with as tight a set as he’s ever performed, choosing one new single, “Shoulders,” while giving plenty of tracks off staple LPs In Keeping Secrets Of Silent Earth: 3, Good Apollo, I’m Burning Star IV, Volume One: From Fear Through The Eyes Of Madness, and Good Apollo, I’m Burning Star IV, Volume Two: No World For Tomorrow. Watching a younger fan’s eyes get wide in the middle of “The Willing Well IV: Final Cut” and saying to no one “holy shit this guitar solo” reminded me why I still can’t quit festivals.

The Smashing Pumpkins

Billy Corgan always gives it his all in Chicago, and he seemed excited to play tracks off his new album for the first time, as well as deliver some quirky standouts that aren’t always on the setlist. A rare performance of “Quiet” off Siamese Dream, the first in almost 30 years, was truly special. As was the group bringing Meg Myers up to sing “Eye,” off the soundtrack from David Lynch’s Lost Highway. Myers is a true talent, and is at her very best when she’s channeling grunge vibes.

The Mighty Mighty Bosstones

Full-time hype man Ben Carr is still dancing after all these years, and watching him skank nonstop through a raucous set just felt right. He may not go as hard as he did a decade or two ago, but he still sets the tone for the ska group that is a sheer joy to witness live.

Rise Against

A late add in the revolving door of cancelations and replacements, the fest could’ve done worse than bringing in another hometown favorite in Rise Against. The earnestness sometimes comes off as hokey on record, but the band has been able to build off traditional punk influences to make singable, emotive songs that grab a wide swath of fans. And there’s no doubting the power that can have, especially live. Plus, maybe the coolest overall moment of the weekend was seeing the band bring up Damian Abraham from Fucked Up to cover Creedence Clearwater Revival’s “Fortunate Son.”

Run The Jewels

At one point during Taking Back Sunday’s set, lead singer Adam Lazzara stopped and turned to the Riot Stage, giving his full attention to Run The Jewels, whose loud and aggressive sound was dwarfing everything, even three stages over. Run The Jewels never disappoint, and their sound is another that has been influenced by plenty of acts from the weekend – whether it be Body Count or Devo – as Killer Mike and El-P channel the rage of the world around them into a live grenade at every performance.

Devo

Devo was right all along. The Akron band was formed out of the Kent State shootings in 1970, and by using art, multimedia, music, fashion, and other forms to provide commentary of the devolution of humans, basically set the tone for everything we’re up against now. With riffs on technology and consumerism, it’s hard not to think about TikTok or alt-right fascism in the world of Devo, who is comfortable being (and making everyone else around them) uncomfortable. The group tore through their most recognizable tracks, with backing videos and their famous costumes in tow. Closing with “Freedom Of Choice” couldn’t have been a better outro, as fans used the ensuing Flaming Lips set as a breather to decide whether to see Slipknot, New Found Glory, or Machine Gun Kelly (who found a way to beef with Slipknot) to close out the weekend.

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

Fugees were only active for a few years, but their star burned brightly during that brief window thanks to their massively influential 1996 album The Score. That release celebrates its 25th anniversary this year, so Lauryn Hill, Wyclef Jean, and Pras Michel are marking the occasion by reuniting for a brief set of reunion tour dates.

The first of them is this week, on September 22 at a yet-to-be-announced venue. After that, they’ll pick things back up in November and December for a handful of shows in the US, as well as dates in Nigeria and Ghana.

Hill says, “The Fugees have a complex but impactful history. I wasn’t even aware the 25th anniversary had arrived until someone brought it to my attention. I decided to honor this significant project, its anniversary, and the fans who appreciated the music by creating a peaceful platform where we could unite, perform the music we loved, and set an example of reconciliation for the world.”

Jean also says, “As I celebrate 25 years with the Fugees, my first memory was that we vowed, from the gate, we would not just do music we would be a movement. We would be a voice for the un-heard, and in these challenging times, I am grateful once again, that God has brought us together.”

Check out the full list of dates below.

09/22 — New York, NY @ TBA
11/02 — Chicago, IL @ United Center
11/07 — Oakland, CA @ Oakland Arena
11/12 — Los Angeles, CA @ The Forum
11/18 — Atlanta, GA @ State Farm Arena
11/21 — Miami, FL @ FTX Arena
11/26 — Newark, NJ @ Prudential Center
11/28 — Washington, DC @ Capital One Arena
12/04 — Paris, France @ La Defense Arena
12/06 — London, UK @ The O2 Arena
Date TBA — Nigeria @ TBA
12/18 — Ghana @ TBA

You can keep your outdated “there’s a fly on Mike Pence’s head” sketch and other 2021 Emmy Awards shenanigans. On Monday night, as The Wrap reported, Trevor Noah announced that his own awards show is making a comeback: the second annual Pandemmys are here!

While a “second annual” anything might seem like a good thing, Noah assured his viewers that was definitely not the case with the Pademmys. “You see last year, at this time, we thought it would be fun to honor some of the most outstanding performances of the coronavirus pandemic. And we really blew it out, because we were all like, ‘Well, we definitely won’t be doing this more than once. It’s not like COVID will still be a thing in September 2021. Remember when we had hope?”

The good news is that it’s the viewers who will choose the winners of these 10 awards, which Noah warned are all “extremely competitive.” Among this year’s categories are Best Historical Adaptation, which honors those people who, according to Noah, “compared President Biden’s anti-COVID’s efforts to various events from the past.” And the nominees are…

Tucker Carlson for “Jim Crow”
Steve Hilton for “Apartheid”
Candace Owens for “Segregation”
Marjorie Taylor Greene for “Nazi Germany”

That’s one category you wouldn’t want to be a part of, both because of just how competitive it is… and also because being a nominee would mean that you’re probably a nutso bigot who has clearly never cracked a history book.

Noah, being from South Africa, admitted that the apartheid comparison is a personal favorite for him. “Being forced to wear masks is a lot like apartheid,” he said. “I mean, we all remember when Nelson Mandela said, ‘I refuse to wear a face diaper, like some libtard cuck.’ Famous words, man. Because that’s what apartheid was: If you didn’t choose to be white, then you were oppressed, and this is the exact same thing!”

Among the other heated categories: Best Original COVID Treatment (before you predict that Ivermectin’s got this one in the bag, don’t forget Trump’s suggestion that we all drink bleach); Outstanding Achievement in Scapegoating; Best Vaccine Incentive That’s Not “It Saves Your Life”; Best COVID-Supporting Governor (if Ron DeSantis doesn’t take this category for his seeming attempts to murder all of Florida, it’s clearly rigged); Best Supporting Disaster in a Pandemic; and The Donald J. Trump “It’s Like the Flu” Award for Worst COVID Prediction (never have we wished for Ted Cruz to succeed so badly… or at all).

You can view all the categories, and cast your vote, on the Pandemmys website here; the winners will be announced on September 28.

(Via The Wrap)

The Coen brothers, Joel and Ethan, may never make another movie together, but that doesn’t mean they’re done making movies. Well, maybe Ethan is, but Joel has made his first solo film, and it looks incredible. A24’s The Tragedy of Macbeth stars Denzel Washington as Lord Macbeth and Frances McDormand as Lady Macbeth in a tale of “murder, madness, ambition, and wrathful cunning.” The black-and-white film is based on William Shakespeare’s tragedy of the same name, but McDormand wants to make the distinction between the source text and The Tragedy clear.

“I think a very important thing about Joel’s adaptation is that we are not calling it Macbeth. We’re calling it The Tragedy of Macbeth,” she said. “In Joel’s adaptation, we are exploring the age of the characters and in our adaptation the Macbeths are older. Both Denzel and I are older than what is often cast as the Macbeths. We’re postmenopausal, we’re past childbearing age. So that puts a pressure on their ambition to have the crown. I think the most important distinction is that it is their last chance for glory.”

Between Washington’s pair of Oscars, McDormand’s four Oscars, and another four for Coen, there could be glory for Macbeth during the 94th Academy Awards, too.

The Tragedy of Macbeth, which also stars Bertie Carvel, Alex Hassell, Corey Hawkins, Harry Melling, Brendan Gleeson, Moses Ingram, and Kathryn Hunter, hits theaters on December 25 before being released on Apple TV+ on January 14.

With a little over a week to go before Jon Stewart‘s official return to television, Apple has a dropped a new trailer for his new vehicle The Problem with Jon Stewart. Like The Daily Show, the show will tackle current events. However, the episodes will be one hour long, and Stewart promises a more comprehensive and longer look at serious topics that won’t be focused on jokes. Entirely.

In one of the scenes, Stewart can be seen dropping his trademark wit on what appears to be a government official over veterans’ health problems after exposure to burn pits. Leapfrogging off of his work on Capitol Hill, The Problem with Jon Stewart will tackle the care, or lack thereof, that veterans and 9/11 first responders have received in the past 20 years. Stewart hasn’t been afraid to take the topic all the way to Washington where he’s gone toe-to-toe with senators and called them out to his face, so he certainly won’t pull punches on his own show.

Here’s the official synopsis:

It’s easy to feel overwhelmed by the world’s problems. It’s harder to pinpoint the systems responsible for creating them. In this series, Jon Stewart brings together people impacted by different parts of a problem to discuss one big question: How do we come up with change?

The Problem with Jon Stewart premieres September 30 on Apple TV+.

In recent days, Machine Gun Kelly and Slipknot’s Corey Taylor have found themselves embroiled in some beef. The pair traded words, with Taylor dissing Kelly on a podcast and Kelly returning fire on stage at Riot Fest, while Slipknot was performing on a different stage at the fest at the same time. Then Kelly gave his version of the reason why he and Taylor have beef, with Kelly claiming, “corey did a verse for a song on tickets to my downfall album, it was f*cking terrible, so i didn’t use it. he got mad about it, and talked sh*t to a magazine about the same album he was almost on.”

However, Taylor refutes that story and says things went differently, producing screenshots of emails to bolster his case.

On Twitter last night, Taylor explained, “I don’t like people airing private sh*t like a child. So this is all I’ll say: I didn’t do the track because I don’t like when people try to ‘write’ for me. I said NO to THEM. So without further ado…. #receipts. This is all I’m going to say about it.”

The “receipts” in questions are screenshots of two emails: One from Kelly collaborator Travis Barker to Taylor, then Taylor’s response. Barker passed along notes on the song from Kelly, who proposed some changes to the song they were collaborating on. The song, by the way, is “Can’t Look Back,” which was released (without contributions from Taylor) on deluxe versions of Tickets To My Downfall.

Then, in Taylor’s response, he politely noted that he didn’t think he was the right collaborator for the song, writing, “Do I listened to the ideas and to be honest, I don’t think I’m the right guy for the track. Nothing persona, I just think if this is what MGK is looking for, someone else is the guy to do it. It’s ALL good, and I’m stoked for him- I hope you guys find the right fit for it. Hope you understand and I wish you guys the best with it. If I can help in any way, let me know.”

Check out Taylor’s tweet below.

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