Summer Walker has been busy this year. Not only did the singer drop the new EP Life On Earth and share a deluxe version of her breakout record Over It, but she also recently confirmed she’s pregnant. Now, Walker returns with another exciting announcement: she’s officially launching her own record label.
Walker unveiled her label Ghetto Earth Records Wednesday, a joint venture with Interscope. Alongside the official news, Walker shared that her label’s first signee is singer/songwriter NO1-NOAH, who collaborated with Walker both on Over It and Life On Earth.
Explaining the imprint’s name, Walker said, “I came up with Ghetto Earth because earth is ghetto. I don’t wanna be controlling over my artist’s music. I want them to be fully involved in everything they put out. I’m just here to support and help them get to wherever it is they’re trying to go in life.”
NO1-NOAH expressed his anticipation about joining Walker’s team, saying the singer understands his vision, “I’m excited to show people my music, and what I have to offer. I feel like being on Summer’s team, Ghetto Earth Records, is the right home for me to be as creative as possible as an artist. She’s really understanding of what a true artist is, as she is one herself. I’m free to create here and it’s always a great feeling as an artist to be able to make music for a team that gets the sound that you’re trying to create.”
Interscope Records’ Nicole Wyskoarko echoed NO1-NOAH’s statement, pointing to Walker’s talent as an artists and entrepreneur. “Summer is a true visionary. She’s writing her own rules as one of the most talented artists in R&B music today and is now adding entrepreneur to her vast repertoire,” Wyskoarko said. “Summer brings an unapologetically outspoken and empowering voice to Ghetto Earth and a radically different and much-needed perspective to developing emerging talent such as NO1-NOAH. We are thrilled that Summer has chosen Interscope as Ghetto Earth’s partner and home.”
Earlier this year, Sadie Dupuis of Speedy Ortiz shared Haunted Painting, her sophomore solo album under the moniker Sad13. It’s a deeply personal and introspective record, written as a document of her return to the creative process after reconciling with a delayed processing of grief. Heavy in its subject matter but light on its feet, Haunted Painting is some of Dupuis’ strongest work to date.
To celebrate the album, as well as the recent Simply Having a Wonderful Compilation covers album that she released in partnership with Father/Daughter Records, Dupuis sat down to talk decorations, recording a new holiday cover every year, and mushroom gravy, in the latest Indie Mixtape 20 Q&A holiday edition.
What’s the best holiday gift you’ve ever received?
When I was 17 my mom bought a drum set from my friend’s dad and it’s in her basement to this day. I used it to record a lot of the earliest solo Speedy Ortiz stuff, and the snare actually toured with us on Mike’s kit from about 2011 til last year. So it’s got a lot of use over the last 15 years and you can’t really beat that as far as presents go.
What is your earliest holiday memory?
Driving around Jersey suburbs with my family, looking at people’s over-the-top lights and animatronics.
What’s on your wish list for this year?
I’m easy to please. A good hot sauce or book makes me happy. But if Santa was really looking out for me, I’d be psyched to upgrade my audio interface. Like, if Santa happens to work at Apogee, Santa should hit me up.
What holiday song can you not resist singing along to?
Really loving “Hating You For Christmas” by Everclear lately, thanks to Melkbelly’s very good cover.
What’s the holiday song you wish you could zap out of existence?
I believe this is a popular opinion, but “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” gives me the creeps!
What is your strangest holiday tradition?
I write and record an original holiday song EVERY SINGLE YEAR, all of which are here. You’d think I’d be tired of doing it by now, and I’m running out of traditional Christmas songs to interpolate as guitar solos. But I actually upped the ante this year and co-released a holiday compilation, another collaboration between my label Wax Nine and Father/Daughter Records.
What album makes for the perfect gift?
Haunted Painting by Sad13 OBVIOUSLY. But I have enough copies of it at home, so if it were me being gifted, I would really like the Charli XCX Number 1 Angel/Pop 2 LP.
Thoughts on snow?
It’s cool to look at once or twice a year. Beyond that, it limits my wardrobe too much and I fantasize about becoming a snowbird.
What holiday movie can you not resist watching when it’s on TV?
Black Christmas, Christmas Evil, Nightmare Before Christmas – all classics. Muppets Christmas Carol is also pretty great and, of course, I especially love Marley & Marley.
I guess I’ll marry the turkey to save its life and the other two can fight it out for f*ck or death. I’m Jewish and somehow have never in my life heard of Hanukkah Harry before this moment?
What’s the one food you need on your Thanksgiving table?
As a vegan I’m all about the veggie sides. And a good mushroom gravy ties them all together.
Where’s the most interesting place you’ve ever spent the holidays?
Now that I’ve spent the last eight years on the road nonstop, it’s a gift in itself to NOT fly or drive places on holidays – or at least I felt that way in years prior. My mom and I did go to Austin a few years ago and got to see an outlaw country Christmas show at a bar, which is about as perfect a Christmas as I can imagine.
You decide to blow off the holidays and travel instead. Where are you going?
Nobody’s traveling right??? Stay home please! I do love Mexico City more than most cities and would be pretty happy to spend any holiday there. But only when the pandemic’s over!
If the holidays are a time for giving, what’s the charity you’d like to big up for the season?
I’m donating $1/sale of my album in 2020 to Prevention Point Philadelphia, a really crucial local harm reduction organization and health resource. So obviously I think folks should support them. And if you happen to buy Haunted Painting before the ball drops, you’re gonna support them involuntarily. 😉
What’s your favorite holiday drink?
Polar Seltzer limited edition Winter flavors! I’m also excited for their Ginger Lime Mule in early 2021.
Is Die Hard a Christmas movie?
Anything’s a Christmas movie if you believe!
How early is too early to decorate for the holiday season?
Keep the Halloween decorations up all year round.
What’s your ideal way to spend New Years Eve?
Wearing a fancy outfit eating junk food at a friend’s apartment is ideal. I’m gonna miss it this year.
As the year ends, how are you going to remember 2020?
I don’t wanna get too dark in a holiday Q+A, but there was a lot of needless death and suffering exacerbated by and even caused by our government and its agents. It would be hard to look back on 2020 without that at the forefront. But a lot of people also came to activism for the first time this year, and I hope that continues into 2021 and beyond – there’s a ton of work to do as a country and for our communities regardless of who’s in office. It’s also the year Union Of Musicians And Allied Workers started, and I hope as a union we’re able to do a lot as we grow.
The ball is dropping. What are you wishing for in the new year?
The other day at 11:11 on the phone with my health insurance for the eighth hour that week I wished for Medicare for All. I think that’s a good 2021 wish too!
Simply Having a Wonderful Compilation is out now. Listen and purchase here.
Like a terrible car crash you crane your neck at while speeding on past, people can’t stop watching Trump’s very public meltdown on Twitter right now.
The president of the United States — he holds onto that title and all its responsibilities until President-elect Joe Biden is sworn in next year, in case he didn’t know — is currently performing a spectacular feat of cognitive dissonance on social media, marathon-tweeting his outrage at losing the 2020 election. And it’s so easy to read into this wildly inaccurate drivel. It seems Trump is all up in his feels.
At 10:00 P.M. on Election Evening, we were at 97% win with the so-called “bookies”.
That is a lot of typing for such small hands. Unfortunately for Trump, Twitter was not impressed by his loquaciousness or sympathetic to his recent acceptance of reality.
Look, we get it, losing is hard. But it’s not half as hard what a lot of people are going through right now: losing a loved one to COVID or losing their homes and job because their government won’t give a monthly stipend from the taxes that they’ve paid for years, so maybe it’s best if Trump goes and cries in a closet like many other people have been doing this year.
The classic Crocs model is an iconic piece of footwear, for reasons good or bad depending on your perspective. One thing that is for certain, though, is that Post Malone is generating attention for the brand. He has been a valuable partner with Crocs over the past few years, and his latest new model, the Post Malone x Crocs Duet Max Clog II, is an instant hit. The shoes were were released in the US yesterday and quickly sold out after fans waited in long online queues to get a pair.
Posty put a few pair aside, though, for a group of people who are special to him: The fine people at his old high school, Grapevine High School in Grapevine, Texas. TMZ reports that every student and faculty member at the school got themselves a pair courtesy of Posty. Before the news was revealed, a spreadsheet was apparently passed around the school, on which people were asked to note their shoe size.
Principal Alex Fingers shared the news on social media, posting some photos of students getting their shoes and writing, “Thank you @PostMalone for always giving back to your community! Your fellow @Grapevine_HS Mustangs are so proud of your success!”
As Kevin Durant returns from a ruptured Achilles tendon, the Nets could have a need for him to play up a position after long slotting in as a wing in the NBA.
That led him to say during a virtual press conference on Wednesday that he could see himself playing some center for Brooklyn in 2020-21 in smaller Nets lineups.
Kevin Durant says he expects to spend time playing at the four and the five. He said he doesn’t have a set number of minutes in mind to play in pre-season games, but he hopes to get a feel for what sort of load his body can take coming off the Achilles injury.
Second-year big man Nic Claxton underwent surgery for right knee tendinopathy last week, leaving De’Andre Jordan and Jarrett Allen as the only traditional bigs on the roster.
The 2014 NBA MVP also said he will act as the offensive initiator for the team at times as well.
Durant: “I don’t think about James Harden at all. He doesn’t play on our team.”
While the Nets have depth at both point guard and center, their overall roster is deeper on the wing after re-signing Joe Harris this offseason and adding players like Bruce Brown and Landry Shamet. So it makes sense that new head coach Steve Nash might take advantage of Durant’s versatility to build out smaller and more dynamic lineups. At the same time, training camp is always the time where teams throw stuff at the wall, so maybe by the time the season comes around, Durant is in a more natural point forward role.
Another option for Brooklyn at center in smaller lineups is newly signed Jeff Green, who functioned as the backup center for the super-small Rockets last season and in the Bubble. And of course, the Nets have plenty of depth at point guard between Kyrie Irving and Spencer Dinwiddie, so don’t expect Durant to turn into a true point guard any time soon, but we’ve certainly seen Durant run offense in the past.
No matter how they line up, Nash’s Nets will have plenty of talent and versatility on offense. The bigger question is whether they can defend well enough, and it’s not clear whether Durant, coming back from a nasty injury, can be a consistent deterrent on the interior defensively.
For over a month now, Donald Trump has maintained that he’s the real winner of the 2020 presidential election despite all evidence to the contrary including repeated losses in court. As recently as Tuesday, Trump used his “vaccine summit” to falsely claim that the American people rewarded his campaign with a victory and rail against the Supreme Court for not having “the courage to do what everybody in this country knows is right.” However, behind the scenes, a different story is unfolding. First Lady Melania Trump has been quietly preparing to move to the couple’s possessions to their residences in Florida and New York.
“She just wants to go home,” a source tells CNN who reports that Melania’s top staff member Marcia Kelly has already explored options to see what taxpayer funds are specifically available for the First Lady during the transition:
Kelly had previously run the White House Office of Administration and after it became clear Trump would need to prep for her life after Washington the first lady told Kelly to discreetly ask West Wing acquaintances and a member of the Office of Management and Budget whether there were taxpayer funds allocated to former first ladies, according to two sources familiar with the discussions.
The short answer is no. While there are post-presidential perks for such things for the outgoing commander in chief, budgets to set up an official office and staff and cover some travel costs, there is nothing from the government for any first lady.
Despite the lack of funds, CNN reports that Melania is still working diligently on getting the heck out of Dodge, and “there is currently ongoing inventory being taken at the White House of the Trump’s own furniture and art and personal items.”
A Genius interview in which Louisville rapper Jack Harlow confesses to being aroused by certain cartoon characters has resurfaced, causing chaos on Twitter. When he appeared on the popular lyrics site’s Verified show to break down the lyrics from his hit song “What’s Poppin,” he apparently felt his reference to Kim Possible villain Shego needed a little extra explanation. In the excerpt that made its way to Twitter, Harlow expands on his animated fantasies but they turn out to be a lot weirder than you might expect.
“Shego’s fine as hell,” he gushes. “I had a lot of cartoon characters that used to get me sexually aroused as a kid. She was one of them. The female reindeer from the Rudolph Claymation series. When I was in preschool, I used to be bricked up watching that shit and then that fine-ass fish from Shark Tale. But Shego is up there, with her fine ass.”
Meanwhile, Anthony Fantano did some real journalism we all needed, asking the hard — and likely rhetorical — questions befuddled fans wanted to be answered.
To be honest, Harlow’s goofy humor seems in keeping with Gen Z’s forum-bred absurdist bent. After being raised on a diet of cartoons like Cow & Chicken, Gumball, and late-90s Nickelodeon, it’s no wonder artists like Harlow, Doja Cat, and Lil Nas X are as silly as they are. The gag may turn out to help Harlow a bunch this week though — his new video, “Way Out” with Big Sean dropped today, and his debut album That’s What They All Say is due this Friday.
While the NBA has released extensive guidelines for teams this season as they attempt to keep players and staff safe outside the Bubble, the league has not established a benchmark of positive cases or a “precise scenario” that would cause a game to be canceled, according to Baxter Holmes of ESPN.
This is designed to allow the league to remain nimble in its planning and account for differing types of spread, but could lead to inconsistency throughout the season.
From Holmes:
For instance, teams could have a similar number of positive COVID-19 cases but differing circumstances for the total, such as potential spread in a facility or isolated cases at home, leading to the NBA’s reluctance to create a fixed number that would lead to play being suspended on a given night.
This is reasonable flexibility to have, but again could end up causing infighting in the league if two teams with a similar number of infected players and staff receive different instructions on how to proceed. Of course, the job of the NBA is to keep things as consistent as possible, but across the sports landscape this year, we’ve seen different outbreaks and positive test counts result in differing policies.
The NBA released only the first half of its schedule intentionally to maintain openings later in the year if needed, so obviously no one is certain the season will go on without a hitch, but the league also clearly sees game cancelations, forfeitures or postponements as a last resort.
A warm place to sleep, basic hygienic products, clean clothes — these are often things we take for granted. But for our neighbors, living without these basic human dignities, something as simple as laundered clothes to wear can make all the difference.
Jodie Dolan knows a little something about clothing making people feel seen. She’s the founder of DOLAN clothing company. And when she set out to help members of the unhoused community, one need came up again and again: People didn’t have a place to do laundry. Springing into action, Dolan created The Laundry Truck LA, a mobile service that provides free laundry service to anyone who asks for it. The action is simple; the impact is massive.
“For us, it’s about changing the stigma,” Dolan says. “We help people be seen, and we help them feel like their best selves.”
Watching Dolan and their clients speak, it’s hard not to be struck by how small gestures can make a huge difference. From job interviews to going into a grocery store, clean clothes change the way people look at you. For many unhoused individuals, it’s a chance to feel validated by others and regain confidence.
We’ve all heard the quote, “be the change you wish to see in the world,” but believing in a mantra and going out and doing something about it can be very different things. Which is why we’re inspired by people like Jodie Dolan — who cross the threshold from “feeling bad” to “showing up.”
Because when you show up to help, lives change. And it can all start with something as simple as a load of laundry.
“Two-thirty baby won’t you meet me by the beach / Too early, maybe later you can show me things.” These pleading lines from Giveon served as his head-turning introduction to the mainstream world. Appearing alongside Drake, “Chicago Freestyle” arrived during a cold Saturday night in February, a timely release for a track that sought warmth from an unrequited love just as much of the world did amid their weekend unwind. Giveon’s baritone voice lays like a soothing blanket to the ears of listeners, perfect for the love ballads he would deliver in the ensuing months. 2020 is the year Giveon planned to open his heart to the world, and despite this very world closing its door for much of the year, the Long Beach singer found a way to succeed in his endeavors.
Giveon introduced himself to a small part of the world as the opening act on Snoh Aalegra’s 2019 tour, ‘Ugh, A Mini Tour Again.’ Here he graced fans with eyebrow-raising performances of songs like “Garden Kisses” and “Like I Want You” and left his newfound supporters to declare him as their “crush” and request he sing at their wedding reception. His run continued on March 27 with the arrival of Take Time, his debut solo project. This 8-track body of work that clocks in at 24 minutes solidified the Long Beach singer’s position in the music world while giving his fans a package of pristine songs to enjoy until he returned. The experience that is Take Time begins with “The Beach,” a heartfelt ode to the city that raised him and the woman in his life who loves the city — despite being an outsider — for making Giveon the man he is. The heavy doses of appreciation are woven in his falsetto runs throughout the song and his love for the woman is delivered with a fiery passion of baritone-confidence on the song’s chorus. Some sing from the heart, but Giveon digs deeper and lets his proclamations of love rise up from his diaphragm, and it arrives with such a force and weight that its impact is undeniable.
The mastery of Giveon’s Take Time continues on “Favorite Mistake.” The emotive ballad presents the singer on the toxic side of the world as he rummages through his collection of persuasive proclamations to capture the thrill of infidelity. A night with his mistress is declared as his “favorite mistake,” and although they “both know it’s wrong,” the immorality of the situation is just a mere obstacle in the way of their mischievous getaway. Take Time also proves all the emotions — both good and bad — that the singer experiences at a given moment are delivered to its fullest and truest experience. ”Like I Want You” and “Heartbreak Anniversary” both capture the waning presence of love to the point where it no longer exists and leaves him in a state of sadness to reflect on what could’ve been.
Take Time resides in the realm of patience; having it, using it, and finding it. In Giveon’s world, young love with a solid dose of maturity reigns supreme, but he still flashes some of the naivety that many have fallen victim to in an attempt at love. That’s what made his debut so enjoyable: it was relatable in so many ways. From its growing presence to its complete erasure, love came and went with the wind for Giveon, just like it did during the heartbreak era of our lives.
When Take Time arrived, the world was a real-life ghost town, much different than the society Giveon envisioned on “World We Created.” The coronavirus pandemic had settled in to disrupt the normal life we once knew. Lockdowns were put in place and a work from home status was initiated for the better part of the employed community. However, the quarantine seemed to benefit the Long Beach singer as his growing fan base was granted the opportunity to sit with his music and digest it like it was meant to be. As a result, new fans of Giveon began to uproot from the soil as their time in solitary confinement grew from weeks to months. The stories that made up the project gave listeners a place to escape in the confinements of their quarantine. “The hardest part is writing a song as a story,” Giveon said in an interview with Vice. “A song is so short and there are only so many words that every line has to hit. The words have to flow.” By the looks of it, every line indeed hit.
Giveon’s debut project is just one reason to appreciate him. It’s a well-crafted body of work that highlights his enchanting voice while honing in on his ability as a songwriter. However, an overlooked quality from the singer is his ability to adjust to the times, something he showed on his sophomore EP, When It’s All Said And Done which arrived in October. The 4-track effort presented his heart as the new normal that we all experienced throughout the country and in most corners of the world at its September release: closed and resistant to the new normal that stands before him.
When It’s All Said And Done is a continuation of Take Time with a change in direction. Giveon is no longer the sweet lover we were introduced to on his debut. Instead, the light dose of toxicity that led the way on “Favorite Mistake” is now the palette he takes colors from for the new EP. The love that once was on his debut no longer exists, and while he’s aware of this, his actions prove otherwise. “Still Your Best” is loaded with sheer disgust and discomfort towards a former lover who sought “better” with a new partner. Art is subjective and the attractiveness of another person is as well, but the way Giveon presents it, there’s no doubt his ex failed to step their game up. Jealousy is quickly wiped away by confidence and reassurance that at the end of the day, the singer is the best they’ve ever had, so they’ll know where to find him when they regain their senses.
The toxicity continues on “Last Time” with Snoh Aalegra, where Giveon promises to cease all physical interactions with his former lover, a promise that the Long Beach native knows holds as much weight as a Kleenex, and we as listeners know Giveon’s claims are just smoke and mirrors. Deep down, he wants the sneaky links with his quaran-ting to continue but it’s the shame of falling into his uncommitted love interest’s traps that cause him to deny a future instance of it, that is until the EP’s closer. “Stuck On You” is essentially Giveon’s “it is what it is” realization towards the situation at hand. Is this woman bad for him? Yes. Does he deserve better? Yes. Will he go and find better though? Nope. The singer and his ill sentiments crawl back into bed with this partner simply to forget what his frustrations were in the first place. He recognizes that he may never leave them and the current situation will just have to run its course.
In the realm of love, pride leads the way for Giveon on Take Time and When It’s All Said And Done. It causes him to point fingers in situations he’s also at fault for, hold back from relaying his true feelings, talk down on a former lover, and deny the obvious truths of a situation. Haven’t we all though? Love has never been some fairytale endeavor that transitions from highlight moment to highlight moment. Giveon has his flaws but in creating music that’s damn near flawless, it’s easy to get caught up in the feel of it before its inner workings are examined.
Giveon couldn’t have picked a worse year for his mainstream arrival, but at the same time, he couldn’t have picked a better year. The absolute chaos that we’ve watched unfold over the past nine months was enough for some artists to keep their upcoming releases within the confinements of their hard drive for the next year or so. Others ran into the dust cloud and hoped for the best and that’s what Giveon did. He took the good moments of normalcy with Take Time and the bad moments that came with an internal struggle on When It’s All Said And Done to create a portfolio of music that very much emulated the rise and fall that is 2020. And as the calendar flips to what is hopefully a better year for the world at large, it’s comforting to know that the Long Beach native is here to stay.
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