Category: News

Olivia Rodrigo’s hotly anticipated debut album Sour is out now, and during the lead-up to it, much was made about the relationship between Rodrigo and Taylor Swift. Like many, Rodrigo is a fervent Swift admirer and she’s been fortunate enough to forge a friendship with the pop legend. Now that Sour has been released, fans are drawing even more parallels between Rodrigo and Swift.

First, let’s get the obvious connections out of the way, ones that were made before the album was released. For one, Rodrigo previously told Rolling Stone that the bridge of “Deja Vu” was inspired by that of Swift’s “Cruel Summer.” It was also revealed this week that Rodrigo’s “1 Step Forward, 3 Steps Back” is an interpolation of Swift’s “New Year’s Day” and Swift has a writing credit on the song (along with Jack Antonoff). Some fans have speculated the reason Rodrigo opted to not sample the song directly is because Swift does not own the rights to the original recording, so Scooter Braun and Swift’s former label Big Machine (and not Swift) would be the ones to profit from a sample.

Now that Sour is released, fans have noticed that Rodrigo’s “Happier” and Swift’s Evermore cut “Happiness” are both perhaps the saddest songs from their respective albums despite their upbeat titles.

There are also fans who just see similarities between the two in a more general sense, with one describing Rodrigo as “the second coming of” Swift.

It has also been reported that following the release of Sour, Rodrigo became the top-selling artist across digital platforms around the world. The artist who was No. 1 until Rodrigo took over? Swift, of course.

Check out some other stray observations about Rodrigo and Swift below.

Birdman and Lil Wayne were once an inseparable duo in the hip-hop world. From the early Cash Money days of the late 1990s and early 2000s to the eventual Young Money days of the early 2010s, the Louisiana rappers were side by side through it all. Things would go left from 2014 to 2018 as Wayne and Birdman engaged in a lengthy battle over the delayed release of the former’s album, Tha Carter V. While the matter was settled in court, their relationship didn’t so much return to what it once was. That could change as the pair joined forces for a new track.

The rappers re-sparked their chemistry on “Stunnaman” with Roddy Ricch. It’s the first track Birdman and Lil Wayne have worked on together since 2019’s “Ride Dat” which also featured Juvenile. Today’s new track is a boastful effort that sees each rapper laying confident verses of their own. The single also proves that Birdman and Wayne haven’t let their past differences stop them from making good music together.

As for Roddy Ricch, the track is the latest guest feature that the Compton rapper has delivered as he recently joined DJ Khaled for “Body In Motion” with Lil Baby and Bryson Tiller and 42 Dugg on “4 Da Gang.”

You can listen to the new track above.

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

In February, Sacha Baron Cohen announced that his days of playing Kazakhstani journalist Borat Sagdiyev are over, as the job is getting too dangerous. Now audiences will get to see that for themselves. On Tuesday, May 25, Amazon Prime is dropping Borat Supplemental Reportings Retrieved from Floor of Stable Containing Editing Machine, a multi-part special featuring never-before-seen footage from Borat Subsequent Moviefilm: Delivery of Prodigious Bribe to American Regime for Make Benefit Once Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan, less clunkily known as Borat 2.

BORAT: VHS Cassette of Material Deemed “Sub-acceptable” By Kazakhstan Ministry of Censorship and Circumcision is one part of these special extras. It’s where you’ll find footage that didn’t make it into the movie, including a bit where Borat’s daughter Tutar (Maria Bakalova, who earned an Oscar nomination for the role) is getting a makeover and asks to be made to look like R. Kelly. In the midst of the hilarity, however, is the one scene that led Cohen to his early retirement.

While disguised as a country singer performing at a Three Percenter Rally, Borat—looking out into a sea of all-white faces—describes how he’s “looking out on this diverse crowd in every shade of white, all waving machine guns.” Then, in an extremely rare moment of breaking character, we see Cohen—still in disguise, but speaking as Cohen—tell his driver to “Go, go, go! Just keep going, because if you stop you’re going to be in a violent situation.”

Other parts of the special features include Borat’s American Lockdown, a 40-minute reality show that details the five days Cohen spent (as Borat) with conspiracy theorists Jim and Jerry; and Debunking Borat, a collection of six documentary shorts in which Jim and Jerry’s wild ideas about vaccine microchips, mail-in ballots, and Hillary Clinton’s nefarious ongoing role in government are all debunked—with a special appearance by Clinton herself.

You can watch the trailer for Borat 2’s unseen footage above.

Hip-hop has granted fans a decent amount of joint albums over the last few years. Drake and Future, 2 Chainz and Lil Wayne, 21 Savage and Offset, Future and Lil Uzi Vert, and more are among the list of rappers who took a moment to combine the best of both worlds for a project. The latest example comes from YG and Mozzy who just released their joint album, Kommunity Service. The 10-track effort is flooded with the many colors of West Coast rap with one example coming on “Vibe With You” which features fellow California native, Ty Dolla Sign.

On the collaboration, the two rappers take a moment from the muscle-flexing and big talk that is heavily present on Kommunity Service to let their softer sides fly. Altogether, “Vibe With You” is a chilled track that sees YG and Mozzy detailing how their fame has made it easier to keep the ladies entertained.

In addition to the Ty Dolla Sign guest appearance, Kommunity Service also sees features from G Herbo, E Mozzy, Celly Ru, D3szn, Tyga, Blxst, Young M.A, and A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie. YG and Mozzy first began the campaign for the new album with “Bompton To Oak Park” and “Perfect Timing.”

You can listen to “Vibe With You” in the video above.

Kommunity Service is out now via Mozzy Records/4Hunnid/EMPIRE. Get it here.

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

Tom Cruise’s willingness to do crazy things for stunts is well-known at this point. Stories of him trying to film Mission: Impossible alone have made it clear that the man is dedicated to getting the shot that fits the outlandish and visually-demanding scripts from Christopher McQuarrie. And according to a newly-uncovered discussion about the first Mission: Impossible, it seems an ingenious solution was necessary to make one of the most iconic scenes in the series’ history a reality.

As The Hollywood Reporter detailed, Cruise was having a terrible time filming the infamous “close call” scene in the film where he’s suspended from a wire in an all-white secure room. With a computer disc in his teeth and sweat pouring from his face, the high-wire act is a near-silent set piece that’s instantly-recognizable 25 years later.

The moment is as harrowing as it is visually stunning. The rat in the air vents might be scary, sure, but mostly the idea of slamming face-first into a floor seems pretty painful even before FBI security would haul you away if alarms went off. Actually getting the shot, however, involved some spare English coinage and a bit of fun on the part of director Brian De Palma. According to the anniversary edition of the movie’s Blu-Ray, Cruise actually did slam his face on the ground quite a bit before they got it all right.

“We were running out of time, and I kept hitting my face and the take didn’t work,” the actor said, explaining he finally asked crewmembers for British pound coins to put in his shoes as counterweights.

“[Director] Brian [De Palma] said, ‘One more and then I am going to have to cut [into the moment] and do it,’” Cruise said. “I said, ‘I can do it.’ And I went down to the floor, and I didn’t touch. I remember thinking, ‘Oh, my gosh. I didn’t touch.’ And I was holding it, holding it, holding it, holding it. And I’m sweating and I’m sweating. And he just keeps rolling.”

Cruise said he realized in that moment that they got the shot and De Palma was now just messing with him. Finally, De Palma began to laugh and called cut.

It’s really fascinating to know these details watching the scene again all these years later, as Cruise’s reaction to not hitting the ground seems that much more genuine. The shot De Palma uses certainly lingers on Cruise’s dangling body, his arms and legs desperately reaching away from the floor to make sure the take was useable. Imagining him holding that pose, only to have De Palma mess with him perhaps longer than we’ve seen on screen, is pretty funny. Simply put, though, that scene without that visual of Cruise bouncing just shy of the floor pretty obviously would not hold the same place in the series’ lore today.

And though there’s no sign of the English pounds used to apparently keep Cruise off the ground, they get a notable place in film history as the unsung heroes that made movie magic possible.

[via THR]

It may not feel like it, but it was more than a year ago that RMR broke the internet with his juxtaposing video for “Rascal,” the lead single off his 2020 project, Druging Dealing Is A Lost Art. Now, RMR is well-established as an artist with the hope that his second full-length project is close to arriving. Until that’s confirmed fans can enjoy the singer’s latest release, “Vibes,” a track that puts him beside Tyla Yaweh. The laid-back track finds the pair revealing what an ideal day in their lives looks like.

“Politicking in Miami, right after New York,” RMR sings. “She gon’ suck me up for breakfast / Eat me after brunch, meet me after lunch.” Later on, Yaweh submits a verse that finds him enjoying some of his own fun while promising to protect RMR from harm at all costs.

The collaboration comes after RMR kicked off the year with his 4th Quarter Medley, a four-track effort that included covers of Matchbox Twenty’s ’90s hit “3 AM” (titled “The Wishing Hour”) and Drake’s “Laugh Now Cry Later” (titled “That Was Therapeutic). Tyla Yaweh, on the other hand, hasn’t shared a project since 2019, but he saw his stock rise last year thanks to collaborations with Wiz Khalifa, Post Malone, and more.

Press play on the new song in the video above.

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

While grammar has never been a high priority for the Kanye-cosigned right wing pundit Candace Owen before, she’s made it one today. After pop star Demi Lovato came out as nonbinary and announced their pronouns are “they/them,” to the immense support of fans and academics who are well aware that style guides like the AP and MLA, along with Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary have accepted these pronouns for years, Owens suddenly became immensely concerned with the grammar of the decision. Fascinating how that happens.

In a tweet from this morning Owens stated that, in her mind, using “they/them” pronouns was “low academic achievement. “Announcing that your pronouns are they/them is just poor grammar,” the noted Cardi B troll wrote. “I don’t care your reasons—please stop trying to make low academic achievement a thing.”

I guess using nonspecific slang like “a thing” to refer to a common usage of “they/them” pronouns for when gender is unknown, or when the person who possesses it has determined it as undefined is how Owens deals with her own insecurity. Unsure what “academic achievement” has to do with grammar anyway, mine’s always been terrible and yet I managed to be the valedictorian at my high school. But instead of letting things be with one trolling comment about Demi, Candace continued to beat her own drum on the subject that has nothing at all to do with her.

“America is actually such an accepting society that because coming out as gay and lesbian no longer inspires hatred, the Left moved the goal post to coming out as ‘bad at English pronouns’, so that they could call people who enjoy the english language ‘bigots,’” she wrote, with numerous commas misplaced outside of quotation marks. “So desperate,” she finished. To which I ask, once more, as I do every time the backlash against simple requests like using a pronoun or using the toilet comes up: Why on earth do people like Owens even care? It doesn’t impact their lives in anyway.

So far, Demi has managed to stay out of the fray. Knowing them, a retort might be coming at any moment, but ignoring trolls like Candace is still the best way to handle them.

A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie is known for his ability to deliver tracks that are perfect for the club as well as efforts that are softer and a bit more intimate. Thanks to some help from Lil Durk, A Boogie arrives with another example of the latter with his new track, “24 Hours.” The melodic effort finds the two rappers pleading to see their lovers for 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The brief moments they normally share together are not enough to satisfy their cravings as their constant presence is the only thing that will keep the pair happy.

The new song is the latest in a string of releases from A Boogie after he stayed fairly quiet following the release of his last album, Artist 2.0 in 2020. Last week he teamed up with Rowdy Rebel for a cross-borough connection on their “9 Bridge” collaboration. In addition that, he also remixed Mooski’s viral track, “Track Star,” for fans to enjoy. As for Lil Durk, the Chicago rapper is readying Voice Of The Heroes, his joint project with Lil Baby, for a release in the coming weeks.

While it’s been a while since the two rappers last collaborated, A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie And Lil Durk could both be found on DJ Khaled’s latest album, Khaled Khaled. The former appeared on “This Is My Year” with Big Sean, Puff Daddy, and Rick Ross while the latter starred with Lil Baby on “Every Chance I Get.”

You can press play on “24 Hours” in the video above.

A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Zombies, romance, and villains. Coupledom and comedy, too. Do you want to know where you’ll find the best bang for your buck among the streaming services? As always (and this is still a great problem to have), there’s a ton of fresh content on tap this week, so we are here to help you decide which service will bring you the most joy, if you only had to pick one… or two of them.

This week, the top prize goes to Netflix, which is bringing us a highly anticipated zombie flick (from Zack Snyder) that will keep your home theater fires burning, along with the return of Aziz Ansari’s brainchild after a four-year absence and a few other fresh selections. The runner up this weekend would be Hulu, which has a fantastic new animated Marvel series starring Patton Oswalt, and not too far behind would be HBO Max, which has two more new episodes of Jean Smart’s new series and more. Be sure to check out the new anthology series from Amazon Prime and a joint project from Oprah Winfrey and Prince Harry on Apple TV+, all while Disney+ and Paramount+ have a few intriguing options as well. You’ll never be bored with all of these offerings.

Netflix

Army Of The Dead (Netflix film) — Zack Snyder’s pretty much the King of Streaming at the moment after Justice League scored big for HBO Max on the superhero front, and he’s spreading his love around over at Netflix while going back to his undead-loving roots. This zombie-heist movie follows a group of mercenaries who head into the Las Vegas quarantine zone to pull off the ultimate heist. Watch out for those intelligent zombies, through, and an undead tiger. Fortunately, Dave Bautista is aided by hot Tig Notaro (who replaced Chris D’Elia) — both good reasons to root for humanity.

Master of None: Season 3 (Netflix series) — It’s been (four) years since we’ve seen Aziz Ansari’s brainchild do its thing, and that’s not even (officially, at least) down to the pandemic. Ansari’s been largely out of the public eye following sexual misconduct allegations, although he did emerge a few years ago for an insightful comedy special that goes a long way to show that gazing inward, and this new batch of episodes proves it. Aziz takes a step behind the camera to direct in a season that he cowrote with the Emmy-winning Lena Waithe, whose character moves to the forefront.

Who Killed Sara?: Season 2 (Netflix series) — Alex Guzmán’s working hard to uncover the Lazcano family’s darkest secrets, which might have something to do with his sister’s death. In the process, he unmasks Sara’s true nature that she kept hidden from almost everyone. Meanwhile, a mystery corpse is discovered buried in his patio, which doesn’t help the whole return-to-prison factor. Enjoy all of those investigative hats, dude.

Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous: Season 3 (Netflix series) — Honestly, it’s amazing that this series keeps cranking out the seasons during the pandemic, and these wild-and-crazy campers are still on the run from dinosaurs during their supposedly idealistic summer camp experience. Maybe don’t mess with nature, adults? And kids, stop thinking that baby T-Rexes are adorable. Nothing good can come of that, ever.

Hulu

Marvel’s M.O.D.O.K. (Hulu series) — Patton Oswalt’s indisputable knack for voice work recently managed to shock The Boys audience (that’s what happens when you “cameo” as a set of gills for the lead pervert character), and now he’s the leading man in a very adult-oriented animated series. Here, Oswalt’s portraying an egomaniacal supervillain (with a massive, unwieldy noggin) who’s struggling to balance his day job as a bad dude with family life (it happens, even to the most evil among us!). In the process, he’s gotta deal with a certain busybody named Tony Stark/Iron Man, who’s voiced by freaking Jon Hamm. Expect to hear Bill Hader, Whoopi Goldberg, Ben Schwartz, and Nathan Fillion all join the chorus as everyone on this show seems to want to push a bad man down.

Shrill: Season 3 (Hulu series) — The Lorne Michaels and Elizabeth Banks-produced series picks up with Aidy Bryant’s Annie feeling good about breaking up with her awful boyfriend and crushing everything at work. However, now that she can have everything that she wants, she must decide, you know, what she really wants. A blind date, an embarrassing doctor’s visit, and a wild girl’s night are all on tap this season, so get ready to be vicariously awkward.

HBO Max

Hacks (HBO Max series premiere) — Jean Smart’s not-so-quiet domination of recent prestige TV shows (Fargo, Watchmen, Mare of Easttown, Legion) and other popular shows of late (Big Mouth, Dirty John) has finally culminated with this leading-lady turn in a role she was arguably meant to play. Hacks hails from executive producer Michael Schur and has three Broad City alums in the writers’ room, so get ready for a (Las Vegas) buffet of complex female characters. Smart portrays a legendary comedian who forges a “dark mentorship” to a 20-something newcomer in town. Don’t miss this one.

Pause With Sam Jay (HBO Max series) — Emmy-nominated SNL writer Sam Jay will host a six-episode season that hopes to revamp the late-night talk show format with each episode taking place at Sam’s apartment, where she’s throwing a party. Each group will dive into divisive cultural issues, so get ready for some feisty conversations and, hopefully, a sense of understanding between those who hold different perspectives.

Gomorrah: Season 4 (HBO Max+ series) — The Italian crime drama shifts focus toward the lone Savastano dynasty survivor, Genny, who’s morphed from a Mafia brat into the family boss. Naturally, he’s also dealing with family drama, and he’s currently on his best behavior while there’s (of course) that Corleone-like struggle going on with some parties (to shift into legit business interests) while others embrace the life of underground crime.

Adventure Time: Distant Lands – Together Again (HBO Max series) — Cartoon Network heroes Finn and Jake are far from home following a break from adventuring. Mysterious events have transformed their current situation beyond expectations, and they must face off with an evil entity and, as the title indicates, take an adventure.

Mare Of Easttown (HBO series streaming on HBO Max) — Kate Winslet returns not only to TV but to HBO (a decade after her award-winning Mildred Pierce turn) to star as a hard-vaping detective in a small town where she both portrays and elevates the “complicated” cop trope. She’s captivating while digging into a murder mystery that has rocked her small town and caused the community to feel utterly claustrophobic. This show will suck you in, and you won’t mind one bit.

The Nevers (HBO series streaming on HBO Max) — This Joss Whedon-created show offers an intriguing setup about a group of “orphans” (almost exclusively women) who find themselves “gifted” with supernaturally-powered abilities. Although there’s far too many plot lines (and some plot holes), there’s also a fair amount of butt-kicking, and the atmosphere is killer. The embattled Buffy and Firefly creator officially exited the series last year, but you won’t be able to forget his presence.

Amazon Prime

Solos (Amazon Prime limited series) — This dramatic anthology series, which hails from David Weil (who also created Hunters), aims to explore the power of human connection while gazing through the eyes of seven individuals, who embody their own stories. The series stars Morgan Freeman, Anne Hathaway, Helen Mirren, Uzo Aduba, Nicole Beharie, Anthony Mackie, Dan Stevens, and Constance Wu, and expect to witness stories that will illuminate the human experience, even during times of isolation.

P!NK: All I Know So Far (Amazon Prime film) — The impressively long-lasting pop star invites fans to take a behind-the-scenes look at how she wrestles with balancing her career, including grueling tour schedules, and her family life. The energizing documentary will take viewers through the process of prepping for 2019’s Beautiful Trauma world tour, which included her very first Wembley Stadium show.

The Underground Railroad (Amazon Prime limited series) — Awe-inspiring cinematography aside in this trailer, one of the biggest attractions to this project, of course, is Oscar winner Barry Jenkins in the director’s seat. Also, Brad Pitt’s executive producing here through his Plan B production company. The story chronicles the desperate bid for freedom by slave Cora Randall (newcomer Thuso Mbedu) as she’s pursued by a bounty hunter, Ridgeway (Joel Edgerton). The ensemble cast includes William Jackson Harper (as Royal, who was born free and helps guide Cora along part of her journey), Lily Rabe, and Damon “Dewey Crowe” Herriman.

Apple TV+

The Me You Can’t See (Apple TV+ series) — On the heels of *that* interview, Prince Harry and Oprah are teaming up as co-creators and executive producers of this series that will dig into stories that revolve around mental health and emotional well-being. Expect a variety of guests, including Lady Gaga, the NBA’s DeMar DeRozan and Langston Galloway, plus a popular chef, and more.

1971: The Year That Music Changed Everything (Apple TV series) — This docuseries dives into a year that was overstuffed with musical innovation and a sense of rebirth, all of which was fueled by cultural and political upheaval. Artists obliterated boundaries and stars reached higher than they’d ever done before this fateful moment.

Trying: Season 2 (Apple TV+ series) — Esther Smith and Rafe Spall return as a married couple who are painstakingly wading through the adoption process after learning that they’re unable to conceive a biological child. That particular angle on parenthood isn’t frequently tackled on TV, but as the couple moves past conquering the almighty adoption panel, they’ve got even harder work ahead of them. This show’s already landed a Season 3 renewal, so there’s an ultimate plan out there for this couple.

Mythic Quest: Season 2 (Apple TV+ series) — Two pandemic specials sustained viewers between seasons of Rob McElhenney’s workplace comedy, which shall see plenty of awkward maneuvering while the crew comes back to the office after you-know-what forced the work-at-home situation. The best news: Snoop Dogg stops by this season to spread his feel-good… vibes.

Disney+

Inside Pixar: Unpacked (Disney+ series) — This docuseries packs a whole lot into its batch premiere. The season will dive into the artistry and culture within Pixar animation studios and emerge with a look at villains, the character known as “time,” the balance that the studio aims to strike between realistic characters and caricature, and the importance of background characters. The whole thing’s narrated by W. Kamau Bell, so you’re in for an extra special treat.

Star Wars: The Bad Batch: Episode 3 (Disney+ series) — You might prefer to think of this show as the Star Wars franchise’s version of D.C.’s Suicide Squad, but fear no Leto-Joker intrusion. Instead, this The Clone Wars spinoff follows the conclusion of its flagship series that recently wound down on Disney+. Dave Filoni is executive producing, and the show focuses on a mercenary squad of sorts that’s made up of (as the title indicates) “the Bad Batch” or Clone Force 99. These elite soldiers stand apart from standard clones due to their unique physical capabilities like super strength, super eyesight, and so on.

Paramount+

From Cradle To Stage (Paramount+ series) — This Dave Grohl-directed series follows Dave and his mom, Virginia, meeting up with another artist and their mom each week. This time, iconic country singer Miranda Lambert joins in the fun. in Lindale, Texas. Her mom’s her manager and also a former private investigator, so of course, she’s a badass, too. Moms rule, and so does Dave Grohl.

Somewhere in the four-year haze of a near-constant stream of news stories about absurd things Donald Trump said or did while president was a time it seemed like the leader of the free world really did want to buy an entire country on a whim. In 2019, Trump reportedly tried to put in motion a plan to buy Greenland, an autonomous Danish territory that happens to be the largest island in the world.

The reaction was mostly confusion, but as it turned out the reports that Trump was interested in buying another country were very true. Which is why an official state visit to Greenland in 2021 would come with some, well, questions.

According to Reuters, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is currently on a tour of Greenland, where he’s met with a variety of officials from the vast island. And on Thursday at a press conference an interesting question popped up: is America still in the market for a very icy island?

Sitting beside Danish Foreign Minister Jeppe Kofod, Greenland’s premier, Mute Egede, and Foreign Minister Pele Broberg during a news conference, Blinken confirmed to a reporter it was “correct” that the United States does not seek to buy the country.

From the report it seems that the question, while serious, was handled with a bit of humor. But it does put to rest a period of real diplomatic tension between the two groups. Even if there was little chance Greenland was up for sale, it was one of the many minor stresses on American foreign policy in the Trump era. But all that’s behind us now, apparently.

Broberg said on Wednesday there was speculation about Greenland because of its strategic importance but said Blinken’s visit was “not considered a real estate deal.”

“A real estate deal means land with nothing on it, nobody on it. Secretary Blinken has made it clear that he’s here for the people living in the Arctic, for the people living in Greenland,” said Broberg.

Even when Trump had the authority, at least in theory, to purchase an entire nation full of people on behalf of the United States, there was little chance of that ever actually happening. But at least that’s one of the many things that happened during his presidency we can all put behind us. At least this one we can laugh at for a little bit without feeling too guilty.

[via Reuters]