Category: News

Bella Poarch is one of the fastest-rising stars out there right now. Her TikToks and streams have led to her getting recognized by giants in the industry such as 100 Thieves and FaZe Clan, while her interests go beyond just being an internet personality — her debut single, “Build a Bitch,” dropped earlier this year.

Poarch is now taking another step in her career as she becomes a brand ambassador for HyperX. The creator of many tools that streamers everywhere use, HyperX signed Poarch to help showcased many of those same tools, such as their microphones. Poarch will work with HyperX to tell unique stories around her love of gaming and passion for developing and performing music and streaming.

“I’m loving the opportunity to bring my style and passion for life and music to the HyperX family,” Poarch said in a statement. “I bring my love for people to be happy and healthy in everything they do and look forward to sharing this with HyperX fans, family, and community.”

Poarch signing this deal gives HyperX another big name in their list of ambassadors that include Steelers wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster, basketball players Gordon Hayward and Aerial Powers, tennis player Daniil Medvedev, ice hockey player Filip Forsberg, international soccer player Dele Alli, professional race car driver Sage Karam, skateboarder Minna Stess, and more than 25 global streamers and influencers.

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

Gorillaz leader Damon Albarn is taking a bit of a break from leading Gorillaz with a new solo album, The Nearer The Fountain, More Pure The Stream Flows. That’s set for release next month, but in the meantime, Albarn has shared a new single, “The Tower Of Montevideo.” On a basic drum-machine beat, Albarn sings on the relaxing track, which is rounded out by a lush arrangement of synths, horns, and piano.

Additionally, he also shared a live performance video of the song.

Albarn previously said of making the album, “I organized musicians, string players, three bass trombones, some percussion, and keyboards into an interesting arrangement. […] I took some of these real-time, extreme elemental experiences [of Iceland] and then tried to develop more formal pop songs with that as my source. I wanted to see where that would take me. Sometimes it took me down to Uruguay and Montevideo. Other times I went to Iran, Iceland, or Devon. With travel being curtailed, it was kind of nice to be able to make a record that put me strangely in those places for a moment or two.”

Listen to “The Tower Of Montevideo” and watch the performance video above.

The Nearer The Fountain, More Pure The Stream Flows is out 11/12 via Transgressive Records. Pre-order it here.

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

The RX is Uproxx Music’s stamp of approval for the best albums, songs, and music stories throughout the year. Inclusion in this category is the highest distinction we can bestow, and signals the most important music being released throughout the year. The RX is the music you need, right now.

Performing on stage at Charli XCX’s LA Pride event last June, rising pop star Gia Woods flips her newly blonde hair and strikes a pose in a petite two piece outfit, working every angle like she was born to be in front of the camera. With her sensual choreography and confident stage presence, it’s impossible to tell Woods grew up as a self-described shy and antisocial person in a conservative Persian family.

It was music that helped her grow from being too nervous to even order at a restaurant to confidently performing in front of thousands. “[Singing] was the only way to use my voice without having to directly talk to somebody,” Woods recalls over the phone while celebrating the release of her EP, Heartbreak County. “Music is exactly why I finally became confident.” Now armed with two EPs and a bold sense of conviction, Woods is pop music’s latest disrupter. Her shimmering four-track Heartbreak County EP gives a voice to young queer girls who don’t feel seen. It offers an erudite reflection on the dark side of fame masked with buoyant beats and dance-ready production. Songs like “Oh My God” and “Next Girlfriend” pay homage to the hot pink and bedazzled era of Y2K pop while putting her own distinct spin on what it means to be a woman in the pop sphere.

As someone who grew up in LA, Woods has seen what happens when fame corrupts a person. She notes that much of the superficiality associated with the birthplace of the influencer comes more from LA transplants than natives, but she still attended high school parties at the houses of famous actors — a stark contrast to her traditional upbringing. Woods’ Heartbreak County song “Fame Kills” explores how fame can lead to an artist’s downfall, and according to Woods, “literally sums up” her entire project. It’s a chilled out bop that opens with atmospheric synths and a bouncy beat as she sings of the prevalence of drug use among burnt out celebrities. She name drops several members of the 27 Club, musicians, artists, and actors who died at the age of 27 after catapulting to fame.

“Growing up in LA, I’ve been around and seen a lot of famous people come and go,” Woods says about her inspiration behind “Fame Kills.” “LA can look like it’s all glitz and glam, but it’s honestly really dark too.” Woods has noticed that once an artist achieves a certain level of popularity, people start essentially bullying them online. “When someone’s doing really well or someone’s having a really amazing moment, we always have to find a way to bring them down,” she says. “Artists see people talking and putting them down in the press and in the media. I think that’s why artists lose themselves, because they’re so vulnerable and they’re so open and they put themselves out there. And then this whole other side of the world is judging them and putting them down. That’s why, a lot of the time, fame can lead to drugs, alcohol, losing control, and losing the focus of why you even started music.”

After witnessing first hand the dangers of fame, Woods is breaking the mold of the “perfect pop star.” As someone who has been subjected to the pervasive misogyny in the music industry, Woods notes how female pop stars are expected to look and dress a type of way. “I think we need to stop putting pop stars on this pedestal,” she says. “We are allowed to look bad sometimes, we’re allowed to sound bad sometimes, we’re allowed to say the wrong f*cking things, nobody is perfect.” Particularly as a queer musician, Woods has experienced the pressure to say the right thing. “I’ve never really felt that I needed to be this perfect artist. I’ve always wanted to do my own thing. I’ve always been on my own path,” she says. And she strives to use her platform to inspire young girls to similarly forge their own futures.

Woods has already received countless messages from fans who thank her for inspiring them to be their authentic selves. After releasing her debut single “Only A Girl” in 2016, a snappy WLW anthem. Woods used the song as her way of coming out to her family and music team. To this day, the singer still gets messages from people in their teens to their mid-40s who say her music has inspired them to come out. One women even told her that hearing “Only A Girl” inspired her to leave her husband. “People ask what my biggest goal is, and it’s being a part of people’s journeys who are discovering themselves,” Woods says. “I’m eternally grateful that I could play any part in that, just because I didn’t really have anyone to look up to you growing up.”

The singer’s Heartbreak County song “Next Girlfriend” is a sultry and buzzing maximalist pop tune about finding an intense connection with another woman, a song she wishes existed when she was young. Before releasing “Only A Girl,” Woods describes herself as “super closeted and super, super, super alone.” She adds, “I didn’t even think I could ever come out until I had the motivation and support system from my music team.” Part of Woods’ hesitation to come out came from growing up in a household she described as “old fashioned.” She started dating her best friend in high school, was going out to parties, and experiencing all her “firsts,” all while her parents were unaware. “It was definitely weird growing up with a Persian family who were old fashioned because I did really feel like I was Hannah Montana,” she said, describing the difference between her home life and personal life. “My family outside of my family was showing me the world around me. And when I was home, it felt like my parents just didn’t tell me sh*t. I was my own teacher throughout all of it.”

Now, after having several girlfriends and finding success in the music industry, her mom is more accepting of her identity. But she still needs to set boundaries, like when she recently blocked her mom on Instagram after her insensitive response to a Heartbreak County teaser that showed Woods making out with a girl. “She was just reminding me of my childhood experience with her. I literally just hung up the phone and I blocked her on Instagram,” Woods recalls. “We’ve come so far, are you really trying to go backwards now? And are you seriously still asking these questions? I’m kissing a f*cking girl. Get the f*ck over it. If I was kissing a boy, you would not call me right now.”

Another aspect of Woods’ original dubiety to come out in her late teens was due to the representation of lesbians in the media. As a super feminine women who’s always rocking body suits and acrylic nails, Woods’ concept of queerness was influenced by the women she saw in TV and film at the time. “I didn’t even know you could just be gay and you can still dress and act however you want. The stereotypes really got in my head,” she said. “I was like, wow, I guess I could be super femme and still be gay. People still to this day don’t even believe [I’m gay]. Everyone’s always like, ‘Wait, really? With those nails?’”

That’s why Woods wrote Heartbreak County — to show young girls discovering their identity that they don’t need to fit a certain stereotype to be valid. To her, music is an escape, and she hopes that others will find solace in getting lost in the dancefloor-ready beats of songs like “Oh My God” or “Enough Of You.” But more than anything, Woods wants her listeners to know they’re not alone. “Wherever you’re growing up right now in whatever city, I want people to know that you’re not going to be stuck in that forever, even if it feels that you are.” The last takeaway she hopes listeners have from her EP, she notes with a twinge of sarcasm, is to “leave your husbands and block your parents on Instagram.”

Heartbreak County, Vol. 1 is out now via Snafu Records. Get it here.

Netflix is not having a great week—and CEO Ted Sarandos isn’t helping matters any by opening his mouth or hitting “send” on his memos. Amidst the increasing controversy surrounding accusations that Dave Chappelle’s new comedy special, The Closer, is homophobic and transphobic, Sarandos seems to be going out of his way to side with the comedian, while attempting to turn the conversation away from the offensive content of the special and make it a question of censorship and freedom of expression. On Wednesday, Variety published an internal memo from Sarandos that just made the whole situation even worse, as he noted:

“With The Closer, we understand that the concern is not about offensive-to-some content but titles which could increase real world harm (such as further marginalizing already marginalized groups, hate, violence etc.) Last year, we heard similar concerns about 365 Days and violence against women. While some employees disagree, we have a strong belief that content on screen doesn’t directly translate to real-world harm.”

Where to begin?!

Not only is Sarandos attempting to put words into his employees’ mouths by stating that “the concern is not about offensive-to-some content.” That’s precisely the issue for many Netflix staffers. Like Terra Field, the trans engineer who was one of three staffers fired after speaking out against the company’s decision to air Chappelle’s special, only to then be reinstated. At this very moment, the company’s trans employees and their allies are planning a walkout on October 20.

Then there’s the part about Sarandos’ “strong belief that content on screen doesn’t directly translate to real-world harm.” First of all, he’s wrong. And doesn’t need to look much further than Netflix’s very own 2020 documentary Disclosure in which, per the company’s description, “leading trans creatives and thinkers share heartfelt perspectives and analysis about Hollywood’s impact on the trans community.”

As The Wrap reports, Sarandos’ memo has also caught the attention of GLAAD, one of the world’s most respected LGBTQ advocacy groups, who are calling Sarandos out for his extremely erroneous—and dangerous—view that there’s no connection between on-screen content and real-world actions. The group issued a statement, in which it noted:

“GLAAD was founded 36 years ago because media representation has consequences for LGBTQ people. Authentic media stories about LGBTQ lives have been cited as directly responsible for increasing public support for issues like marriage equality. But film and TV have also been filled with stereotypes and misinformation about us for decades, leading to real world harm, especially for trans people and LGBTQ people of color.”

GLAAD, too, pointed out the irony of the documentary Disclosure being a Netflix production, and tackling this very issue. As The Wrap notes, Orange Is the New Black star Laverne Cox appears in Disclosure and even cites a statistic from a GLAAD study which says that 80 percent of Americans don’t personally know any trans people. “So most of the information that Americans get about who transgender people are, what our lives are and are about, comes from the media,” according to Cox.

Netflix would not comment on GLAAD’s statement, nor is it commenting on Sarandos’ memo.

(Via The Wrap)

Are you ready to blackout with your rack out? Are you ready to show off just the right amount of ass meat? Mindy Kaling is. The prolific creator of The Mindy Project, Champions, Four Weddings and a Funeral, and Never Have I Ever just shared the trailer for her newest project, The Sex Lives of College Girls, which will premiere on HBO Max on November 18.

Going all the way back to her time on The Office—on which she was a writer and executive producer in addition to one of its stars—Kaling has been consistently redefining the rules of the female protagonist and what women can and should be allowed to talk about. And, if the title didn’t clue you in, The Sex Lives of College Girls looks to be a continuation of that trend.

The show’s official description, according to HBO Max, is as follows: “Created by Emmy®-nominated writer/producer Mindy Kaling and Justin Noble, The Sex Lives of College Girls follows four college roommates as they arrive at New England’s prestigious Essex College. A bundle of contradictions and hormones, these girls are equal parts lovable and infuriating as they live out their new, free lives on campus.”

From the trailer, which you can watch above, the series definitely seems like it will dabble in Kaling’s unique style of cringe comedy, where even the most embarrassing moments can be a triumph if you treat them as such (see the treadmill scene).

The Sex Lives of College Girls will premiere exclusively on HBO Max on November 18, 2021.

For the past several years, Drake has absolutely dominated streaming numbers on Spotify. Several of his songs sit at over one billion streams and he was even named the most-streamed Spotify artist of the decade along with Ed Sheeran and Post Malone. But some of his Spotify stats have recently changed, as Doja Cat has now surpassed Drake as the rapper with the most monthly listeners on the streaming platform.

As first reported by XXL, Drake has 63,302,316 monthly listeners on Spotify, whereas Doja Cat managed to slightly beat that number thanks to the success of her 2021 album Planet Her. Beating Drake’s monthly listener count by several hundred thousand, Doja Cat now boasts 63,690,597 monthly listeners.

Doja Cat’s new feat counts as another career win for the musician, but she recently revealed she was starting to feel burnt out from hustling a little too hard. In a series of since-deleted tweets earlier this month, Doja Cat went off about how she never takes breaks from constantly working. “I’m just tired and i don’t want to do anything,” she wrote. “I’m not happy. I’m done saying yes to motherf*ckers cuz I can’t even have a week to just chill. I’m never not working. I’m f*cking tired.”

Planet Her is out now via Kemosabe/RCA. Get it here.

In the aptly titled preview, “Change of Plans,” Disney+ reveals that its upcoming Hawkeye series will switch things up a bit when it premieres the day before Thanksgiving. According to the new video, Hawkeye will drop two episodes on November 24, which is practically a whole Marvel movie to enjoy over the holiday. There’s also a healthy amount of new footage scattered throughout the minute-long clip, but sorry, no sign of Florence Pugh’s Yelena yet.

The new Hawkeye release schedule also puts to bed concerns over The Book of Boba Fett premiere. Before today’s announcement, the Star Wars series was set to arrive on the same day as Hawkeye‘s finale, which seemed like an odd move for Disney+. Sure, both series would no doubt perform well as far as views, but Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige revealed over the summer that social media reactions have been an important metric for determining a series’ success.

With Book of Boba Fett and Hawkeye releasing on the same date, the two would have had to compete for eyeballs on social media instead of dominating the pop culture conversation as most Disney+ series have done so far. Now, it’s smooth sailing for both as Hawkeye wraps up just a few days before Christmas, which is fitting for the show’s holiday theme.

Here’s the official synopsis:

Former Avenger Clint Barton has a seemingly simple mission: get back to his family for Christmas. Possible? Maybe with the help of Kate Bishop, a 22-year-old archer with dreams of becoming a Super Hero. The two are forced to work together when a presence from Barton’s past threatens to derail far more than the festive spirit.

The first two episodes of Hawkeye premiere November 24 on Disney+.

Just days short of his 29th birthday, Lil Durk is quite the accomplished young man. In the 11th year of his rap career, he’s bigger than ever, thanks in part to Drake putting him on the 2020 single “Laugh Now, Cry Later.” After years of being a cult favorite, Durk has spent the months since Drake’s co-sign enjoying his status as one of rap’s go-to feature artists, lending his voice to breakout singles from Pooh Shiesty and Coi Leray, teaming up with Lil Baby for a joint album, and elevating singles from a slew both established stars and up-and-comers.

But there’s one thing he has yet to do that he’s now setting his sights on accomplishing: Finishing high school and earning his diploma. In an effort to challenge himself and expand his worldview, he announced his intention on Twitter. “I’m going to get my high school diploma,” he wrote. “I want to challenge myself on my goals and real life situations.”

His admirable intentions drew a varied response from fans, some of whom were supportive of his decisions while others ridiculed him for going back to school at the age of 28. But there’s nothing wrong with continuing your education, and it’s never too late to pursue any goal — especially one aimed at bettering yourself and setting a good example. I salute Durk’s decision and look forward to posting about his graduation, just like with Quavo last year.

When running around the world that NBA 2K has created for My Career it’s hard not to recognize the variety. When players are geared up in their off-court outfits, it becomes an opportunity for players to express themselves in new and interesting ways.

This is entirely by design. 2K wants players to feel like they have a wide variety of styles available to them because basketball is a multi-cultural game. It brings in people from all walks of life — Different ages, backgrounds, interests, and ideas — NBA 2K has given these players the chance to make the ideal basketball player in their mind. Of course, 2K is also a game about living the life of an NBA superstar. Sure, it allows the player to break out into other passions as well, but the idea of being an NBA star remains true at the game’s core. So gaining the opportunity to be expressive, but also still look like an NBA player, is what drives the clothing players can choose from when playing 2K.

“Being able to play and live the life of NBA players is central to everything that we’re doing with [My Career] mode.” Ronnie “Ronnie 2K” Singh told Uproxx. “So part of, you know, storytelling and being expressive is what you wear in the real world. So it was really important for us to think about that when it came to licensing. So, this has been a multi-year thing. But it’s really come to a place where we have the who’s who of the brands in the fashion world and a lot of it came from a lot of different sources like we got a lot of input from NBA players. We see what they wear and we wanted to again, give people the clothes that they see on their favorite NBA player to kind of live that life.”

The list of options available to players is honestly impressive. It of course has the usual suspects like Nike, Adidas, and Jordan but it also features After School Special, OVO, and Crocs. Wearing Crocs while running around a city designed for basketball players might sound a little weird, but it’s all about giving players the opportunity to express themselves through their fashion choices. While clothes don’t define someone, people can make the clothing they wear representative of themselves. If that’s what it’s like in in the real world, then it would be a disservice to players to not be able to show that same expression in the world of 2K.

“We’re really trying to give our player base the most amount of options in the way that they express themselves throughout the game,” Singh said. “You know, that doesn’t just extend to the clothing, but in the game, you also get an option of — What do you want to be? A fashion designer, or music collaborator as your side gig for the game. I just think the people really relate and connect with that…We have a wide demographic of people that play our game, a lot of different interests. So we need to be diverse in what we are offering.”

In a way, basketball has always been a sport where the players have expressed themselves through their fashion choices. From guys like Allen Iverson bringing hip-hop style to the NBA (and the ensuing pushback from the league with the dress code) to today where players will sometimes wear clothes that could fit in a traditional fashion show, this variety in style is an opportunity for players to give all of us a glimpse of who they really are as people. It’s also representative of what the NBA now values. The NBA is a league that wants its players to share who they are as people and their fashion choices are a perfect way for them to do that — a stark contrast to the dress code era. So it only makes sense that in a game like NBA 2K, where everyone is trying to live out their dream of being an NBA superstar, that they would also express themselves through fashion.

“It is all about storytelling.” Singh said. “You know, I use this example when I talk about our game in general, but it’s a great kind of corollary to the clothing world. For years basketball was about teams. We grew up in the Lakers versus Celtics all those historical teams. Well, you know, the NBA did a great job of moving towards you caring about their superstars. So now we know so much about Kobe and LeBron and Steph and all of the inner workings. MJ, obviously, Magic, and Larry were kind of the first people in that world where we knew a lot about them as individuals. Well, part of that individuality was what they were doing in terms of what they were wearing and their personal brands. We kind of took on that same mold. Right? Like we introduce my career into 2K10. We made it about you as a basketball player and then now, like, we’re making it about you as a greater influencer in the basketball world with these extensions, such as being a fashion designer yourself or being a musician in the game yourself.”

As basketball, and 2K, have evolved it’s become about something more than basketball. It’s a culture where we are constantly seeking out ways to express ourselves. What better way than to tell everyone who we are as a person than through our clothes? NBA players have been doing it for well over a decade so it only makes since that 2K has been embracing that too. Fashion is expression and these days in the world of 2K players have more options to express themselves than ever before.

Nearly a decade after the project was announced (and after a few scheduling changes due to COVID Delta variant concerns), we are now merely a month away from the first-ever live-action adaptation of Clifford the Big Red Dog hitting theaters — and even have a warm and fuzzy final trailer to prove it. Based on the upcoming film’s final trailer, it looks like we can count on it containing just as much love as there is pup, with some heart-warming moments and lessons about never making yourself small to fit into a world where others deem you “too big.”

Based on Norman Bridwell’s 1963 Scholastic children’s book series of the same name, the upcoming movie follows a young, New Yorker named Emily Elizabeth (Darby Camp) who lives with her mother in a small apartment. However, as she grows older, she never quite feels a sense of belonging — that is until a strange man named Mr. Bridwell (John Cleese) gifts her a strange, red puppy that will forever change her life. As her love for the dog causes him to grow to a preposterous size, Emily has to recruit her Uncle Casey (Jack Whitehall) to help her care for him. However, while Emily, Jack, and the community take to the pup, proving to Emily regardless of who you are you do belong, the government — fueled by a social media frenzy — threaten to take Clifford away from her.

In addition to Camp, Cleese, and Whitehall, the film features the talents of Tony Hale, Sienna Guillory, David Alan Grier, Russell Wong, and a what’s sure to be a fun Kenan Thompson cameo. While the initial report of the film being live-action (as well as the first look at CGI Clifford) was met with some scorn, Deadline reports the film has been tracking well and could be a real, heartwarming film for families, providing they feel safe enough seeing it with current pandemic conditions. Clifford the Big Red Dog will be released both theatrically and via streaming over on Paramount+ on November 10.