Category: News

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.

Usually, when rappers talk about going back to the basics for a new project, the promise is more of an appeal to fans disappointed with a past work for marketing purposes. For Kyle, it’s been more than a mission statement or a selling point; it was actually his philosophy going into See You When I Am Famous!!!!!!!!!!!!, his recently released follow-up to 2018’s Light Of Mine.

The story behind album closer “Mr. Man & K.i.D.” is a prime example of this; Kyle hasn’t released a song with his junior high buddy Mr. Man since 2013’s “Bang” from Beautiful Loser, the Ventura product’s debut mixtape. Yet, Mr. Man has been there all along, as part of Kyle’s entourage and as a confidant throughout Kyle’s rise to stardom, as I learned at the video shoot for the Tyga-featuring “Money Now,” being invited to the Westlake Village shooting location to get more background for this review.

Kyle and Mr. Man not only explained how the reunion came to be, they also shared details of their long friendship that brings the overall theme of the album into clearer focus. Kyle prompted his old friend to record the verse while on a trip to Vegas but when he heard it, he insisted he come re-record it in person at Kyle’s own studio on Mr. Man’s birthday. Mr. Man insists he had no idea the song would even appear on the album, but Kyle says it had to, because it captured exactly the feeling he was going for — a reminder that nice guys don’t always finish last.

That same insistence on capturing just the right vibe led Kyle and his manager Ben to pursue the Beastie Boys sample on “Girls” with Rico Nasty for eight months, until finally, Kyle reached out to Rick Rubin personally on Twitter hoping to get the song cleared. He expressed doubts that it would be ready in time for the release, but it’s now one of the album’s standout tracks, thanks to the aforementioned nod to hip-hop history and Rico’s stunning tongue lashing of a verse.

Everything about See You When I Am Famous!!!!!!!!!!!!, from its cover to the video for lead single “What It Is,” is permeated with the sense of Kyle tapping into not just his nostalgia for his early career, but also his hunger to push his pen game to new heights. As he says on “Bouncin,” “Man you n****s made me wanna rap again.” That’s not just a regular flex; while reminiscing at the “Money Now” shoot, Kyle and his friends regaled with stories of his battle rap days, when he outrapped grown men as a junior high student.

That doesn’t mean his album is brimming with aggressive, rappity-rap bars though. The thing that has always made Kyle stand out among peers has been the cheerful, upbeat expressiveness of his delivery. He can rap his ass off; he doesn’t feel the need to, instead serving the needs of the beat, from the bouncy flexes of “Money Now” to the warm introspection on “The Sun.”

On the latter, he once again displays his dedication to and passion for the art and history of music by connecting a contemporary with an inspiration. The song features Bryson Tiller on its mellow choruses and one verse, but it’s produced by and contains a feature credit for Raphael Saadiq, a dream get for the two ‘90s kids. Kyle repeats the feat on the title cut, which he calls the bonus track because of its sonic inconsistency with the rest of the project.

Knowing that AzChike is a huge E-40 fan, Kyle made sure to connect the two for the track, because he feels obligated to use his platform to “make people happy.” And while that may not be good enough for some hip-hop fans, See You When I Am Famous!!!!!!!!!!!! proves why the game needs artists like Kyle. Most hip-hop fans are probably closer to Kyle’s story than Pusha T’s; there are way more class clowns and passionate hip-hop fans than there are shooters and drug dealers.

See You When I Am Famous!!!!!!!!!!!! isn’t about shining on haters, or proving how tough Kyle can be. Instead, it’s a call to action, an affirmation. Kyle isn’t stunting out of spite, but to show that anyone can be a star, so long as they remain true to themselves and pursue what they love with determination, dedication, passion, and joy. It’s about naming your dream, then claiming it, taking that moment to savor it — then becoming an example for the next generation to keep chasing their own.

See You When I Am Famous!!!!!!!!!!!! is out now on Independent/Atlantic Records. Get it here.

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

The Atlanta Hawks are no strangers to new uniforms and rebrands, as they made a pretty significant shift in brand identity when the league brought Nike on as their uniform and merchandise partner, as the Hawks went to the black, red, and volt look.

Now, not all that long after taking a big swing on a futuristic design, the organization is going back to the classics with a return to their original colors and a redesign that brings their uniforms a clean, retro look. The Hawks released their three new uniforms on Tuesday morning, with Torch Red, Infinite Black, Legacy Yellow, and Granite Gray as their four primary colors now, as the volt experiment has come to an end.

The uniforms are now featured in the red, black, and white, all with clean piping down the sides and have gotten rid of the aggressive patterning of their most recent uniforms, for a crisp and clean design with no fuss or effort to do too much.

Of note is that the Black Statement uniforms feature the Jordan Brand logo, while the Icon and Association uniforms have the Nike Swoosh. The shorts feature piping on the sides and bottom, all the way around, with a small Pacman logo on the right side. The waistband on the shorts also features the new alternate logo, as they’ve also introduced new classic logos aside from the Pacman emblem that they keep as the primary.

Overall, this seems like an upgrade for the Hawks, who took a big swing with their last redesign that just didn’t quite land as they had hoped, and now they return to a classic, clean look with a trio of very solid uniforms.

The last time Travis Scott and Chase B hosted an episode of their .WAV Radio Beats 1 show was nearly two years ago. The pair returned last night, though, and they had a big reason for doing so: The two announced a new collaborative album, Escapism, and previewed a bunch of tracks from it.

The pair premiered a couple of Big Sean collaborations, “Zen” and “Lithuania.” Beyond that, they also shared “Cafeteria” (featuring Don Toliver), Picky (featuring Nav and Wheezy), “Scrooge” (featuring Swae Lee), “The Parables” (featuring YBN Cordae), “White Tee” (featuring Young Thug), and “Mayday” (featuring Thug and Sheck Wes).

During the show, Scott also took a moment to tell Houston residents to take the coronavirus pandemic seriously so the city can hopefully return to normal soon. He said, “This is a public service announcement. Make sure y’all got the good echos on that thing right there. COVID-19 in the H. Listen here, my fellow Houstonians: We have to lock in and we got to protect ourselves, y’all, because it’s going up, man. I got a call from Miss Linda Hidalgo and she was just explaining to me that at the rate we going, it can get into the super red and it can be very immediate for us. If we don’t kind of get more control of how we moving around and things like that, it can be another breakout and we’d have to slow the city down so — We don’t need that right now. We need everybody to try to practice as much as they can. You know what I mean? Social distancing, whether y’all got to get on FaceTime or even if y’all got to come to each other’s houses, try to just keep it day one squad or whatever it is.”

Listen to the episode here.

The Seattle Storm — despite missing both Sue Bird and Breanna Stewart for the entire season — enjoyed a surprisingly fruitful season, buoyed by the performances of Jordin Canada, Jewell Loyd and Natasha Howard. In 2018, the Storm won their third championship and were looking to repeat in 2019 until Stewart ruptured her Achilles tendon during a EuroLeague game in April, a month before the WNBA season was slated to start. But even without their two future Hall of Famers, the 2019 Storm still managed to finish with a 18-16 overall record and make the playoffs for the 15th time in their 20-year history. Sophomore point guard Canada stepped off the bench and into Bird’s Nikes to average career-highs in points (9.8), assists (5.2), rebounds (2.4) and steals (2.3) per game. Alysha Clark, Mercedes Russell, Howard and Loyd also made impressive gains last season, with the latter pair earning All-Star distinctions.

This season, Stewart and Bird are set to return to the floor along with some new additions to the team in Ezi Magbegor, Epiphany Prince and Morgan Tuck. Head coach Dan Hughes is not in Florida due to health concerns, so assistant coach Gary Kloppenburg has been handed the reins. Kloppenburg has a very experienced and deeply talented roster in the “wubble,” and it will be a welcome sight to see Bird and Stewart back on the court in Storm jerseys.

WUBBLE ROSTER

Sue Bird
Jordin Canada
Alysha Clark
Natasha Howard
Crystal Langhorne
Jewell Loyd
Ezi Magbegor
Epiphanny Prince
Mercedes Russell
Breanna Stewart
Morgan Tuck
Sami Whitcomb

KEY PLAYERS TO WATCH

Sue Bird: If it’s not clear enough already, the Storm will have their floor general back and healthy this season. In 2018, the Bird averaged 10.1 points and 7.1 assists per game before helping her team defeat the up-and-coming Washington Mystics while playing with a mask over her broken nose in the Finals. After having to sit on on the sidelines all of last year, Bird will be hungry for her fourth title. The veteran point guard is one of the greatest to ever play in the WNBA, and while it’s unclear if this is Bird’s last hurrah, all eyes will be on her.

Breanna Stewart: Having a healthy Stewart back at the four will be much welcome news to the Storm. The 2018 league MVP was Seattle’s biggest impetus in winning the title, and they will need her to do it again this year. In 2018, she was unstoppable, averaging 21.8 points and 8.4 rebounds per game on her way to helping Seattle earn the best record in the league. In the Finals, she even took it to another level, earning the Finals MVP award after scoring 30 points in Game 3, a career-high in the playoffs. It seemed like Stewart’s story in the league was only just beginning to take off when she suffered an injury prior to the 2019 season. This year, the league will watch “Stewie” return and if she can hit the heights of her MVP season, the sky’s the limit.

EXPECTATIONS

Everyone expects the Storm to pick back up where they left off in 2018 following the returns of Bird and Stewart and contend for a title. The roster remains mostly the same, and is incredibly well-rounded. Last season, Clark, Canada and Howard proved their defensive abilities, earning spots on the All-Defensive First Team and helping the Storm earn the fourth-best defensive rating in the league. Everyone stepped up for the Storm in 2019: Canada was an assist machine and Whitcomb and Clark made their names as three-point threats after shooting 34% and 48%, respectively from beyond the arc. Howard made it seem like there was nothing she couldn’t do and 6’6 Russell made her presence known around the rim after averaging 6.1 rebounds per game.

This year, Kloppenburg should be able to manage minutes effectively knowing that he has proven talent on the bench. Certain players like Canada will see less time compared to last year, but the hope is that she can continue to learn from Bird and eventually ascend to greatness. Seattle certainly has one of the best teams on paper and many expect them to figure into the title race, but Bird and co. are not fooling themselves by assuming this season is a wrap by any means. “Paper is paper — it means nothing,” Bird said in a recent press conference.

X-FACTOR

Natasha Howard: Last season, Howard stepped up tremendously in the absence of Bird and Stewart and could’ve easily been named Most Improved Player for the second year in a row. In addition to showing up on the defensive end — the 6’2 forward was named Defensive Player of the Year after averaging the second-most steals per game (behind Canada) and third-most blocks in the league — she also took on the responsibility of being the team’s primary scorer. Howard averaged a career-high 18.1 points, 8.2 rebounds, 1.7 blocks and 2.2 steals per game while having the third-highest usage rate in the league. Last year, Howard’s star potential really started to emerge and this season, the Storm will hope that she can continue to progress and show the kind of consistency that the WNBA demands.

BIGGEST ON-COURT QUESTION

Will Bird and Stewart truly be able to return to their stellar best? An Achilles injury is among the most serious for a basketball player, and though the delayed start to the 2020 WNBA season was likely an added boon for Stewart’s recovery, we won’t truly know if she can return to her MVP-caliber level of play until the first few games. Stewart and Bird did suit up with Team USA earlier this year in the team’s college tour, although playing week in, week out in the WNBA is an entirely different experience. Bird, who is going on 40 years old, has been cognizant of the increasing pace in the WNBA and of her status as the oldest player in the league. Of course, it is impossible to rule either of these stars out — and Bird looks to be in the best shape of her life based on the photos.

Jim Carrey’s taken quite the story-filled tour while promoting his new novel, Memoirs and Misinformation (which he has described as “none of this is real and all of it is true”). He told Jimmy Fallon about those 10 minutes he spent thinking that he was about to die in Hawaii during the false missile alarm. The Ace Ventura star also related (to Marc Maron) the twisted tale of Fire Marshall Bill’s origins. However, the not-so-verifiable stories contained within Carrey’s novel sound just as entertaining.

USA Today reveals that the book, which blends fiction and reality, portrays his “Nic Cage” character as a guy “with an affinity for semi-naked jiujitsu and given to prophetic visions of saber-toothed tigers.” It’s not “true,” but it’s believable, right? And Gwyneth Paltrow makes an appearance as well, as Carrey and co-author Dana Vichon revealed. The real-life GOOP CEO’s fictional iteration “discovers an insatiable appetite for death” while pushing guided meditation to help her followers cope with the apocalypse and declaring that people should be happy and only concerned about getting “a little neck work.” Here’s more on that little gem:

Vachon: “You’re actually looking at the Goop proprietor there, but everything around that is the hard opposite, which is a Viking berserker who rejoices in combat.”

Carrey: “She seems so proper that it’s just like Jimmy Stewart saying dirty words, you know? There’s gotta be a little mercenary in her, you know what I mean? If she’s gonna be the CEO of a big company.”

Other celebrities who get roasted with absurd counterparts in the book include Kelsey Grammer and Anthony Hopkins. Oh, and Kanye West apparently gets the same treatment, although the novel would be hard pressed to eclipse Kanye’s messy and problematic behavior in our own world. As for Cage, though, Carrey said that he’s captivated with how he was portrayed: “He said Melville, would’ve loved this book! Heinlein would’ve loved this book!’” What an endorsement.

Jim Carrey’s Memoirs and Misinformation is available in stores now.

(Via USA Today)

After the song leaked earlier in the year, Smino and JID have finally shared their Kenny Beats-produced collaboration “Baguetti.” Along with Buddy and Guapdad 4000, the two rappers are members of a loose collective known as Zoink Gang, which sprouted as a side effect of its members participation in Dreamville’s Revenge Of The Dreamers III sessions in Atlanta. The drop has fans on Twitter speculating that a Zoink Gang album is coming soon, as the crew apparently has enough tracks recorded for one.

First, though, there are a number of side projects for the “Baguetti” rappers on the way. JID is one of the members of Spillage Village, which is promising their own full-length sometime this year. They released their “End Of Daze” video earlier this month, while JID used an Instagram Live session to preview his own music, presumably for a followup to 2018’s DiCaprio 2.

Meanwhile, Smino is also up for a new album after saying that it was “done” in February of this year. He’s also about two years removed from his last release, Noir, as well as billed on the Ghetto Sage album with Noname and Saba that has been teased since last year. With so many projects in the works, one can only hope that the various obstacles blocking all these releases — namely, a nasty virus that’s been going around because some people won’t wear facemasks — can be cleared, so that Spillage Village, Ghetto Sage, and Zoink Gang can all see the light of day.

Listen to Smino, JID, and Kenny Beats’ “Baguetti” above.

Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, one of the best comic book movies of the 2010s, came out 10 years ago next month, and to celebrate the almost-anniversary, the cast reunited for a charity table read. In attendance was, among others, Mary Elizabeth Winstead (and her dog), Chris Evans (and his dog), Anna Kendrick, Alison Pill, Aubrey Plaza, Mae Whitman, Jason Schwartzman, Ellen Wong, Satya Bhabha, Brandon Routh, Mark Webber, and Scott Pilgrim himself, Michael Cera. (Brie Larson and Kieran Culkin were both absent.)

The Arrested Development actor isn’t as everywhere as he was in the late 2000s and early 2010s, but he still continues to work consistently, including voicing Robin in The Lego Batman Movie (another great comic book movie) and appearing in Netflix’s Medical Police and Showtime’s Twin Peaks: The Return as greaser icon Wally Brando. But Scott Pilgrim fans were still surprised to see Cera’s new look during the Zoom reunion.

We’ve seen the mustache before (“Anyone remember that time when Michael Cera decided to sport a mustache for a while? There are men that can pull the look off and there are those that just can’t, and unfortunately Cera falls into the latter category,” TV Overmind once wrote, rudely), but the beard, in all its unmaintained glory, is new.

But honestly? I respect the patchiness. Michael Cera: a quarantine king.

And speaking of hair: you can win Cera’s drawing of Ramona’s hair!

Lauded indie label Burger Records is in hot water right now: The label and its artists have faced multiple accusations of sexual misconduct in recent days. Artists that are facing allegations include SWMRS’ Joey Armstrong, The Growlers, The Frights, The Buttertones, and a number of others.

The “LURED BY BURGER RECORDS” Instagram account has detailed some of the allegations and is “dedicated to amplifying voices and supporting those who were victims of sexual predation by predators involved with Burger Records.” One post from the account reads, “Burger Records is responsible for curating a culture built on pedophilic tendencies and teenage fetishization, allowing predators access to the thousands of teenagers paying $$$ to go to their nearly-daily shows being held. Men of Burger Records lured teens in vans, the back room of Burger Records, and a storage unit someone was living in within the Burger Records lot. These people will be held accountable, and there will be silence no longer.”

Now, the label has responded. In a statement, the label extends its “deepest apologies to anyone who has suffered irreparable harm from any experience that occurred in the Burger and indie/DIY music scene, the latter of which we take part.” The label has also “decided to make major structural changes to the label and create and implement active policy measures to address the culture that allowed such harm to occur.” One of those includes re-naming the label to BRGR RECS, “to create a clear delineation between the old and the new Burger Records.”

The label concluded its statement, “We thank you for coming forward and for your courage to speak up, and want you to know that we are committed to doing real work to improve the culture of BRGR RECS and the indie music scene for all of us. We want to be leaders in the industry and a model for other labels to effect real, lasting change.”

Read BRGR RECS’ full statement below.

“Dear Burger Community,

We understand that we will never be able to comprehend the trauma that women have experienced while trying to find a place in the music scene. We are profoundly saddened and sickened by the pain suffered at the hands of a toxic male music culture that does not value women as equals.

We extend our deepest apologies to anyone who has suffered irreparable harm from any experience that occurred in the Burger and indie/DIY music scene, the latter of which we take part. We are also deeply sorry for the role Burger has played in perpetuating a culture of toxic masculinity.

We are sorry that we did not actively monitor this behavior well enough to make the Burger music scene safer for you. You should never feel you have to sacrifice your personal space to be able to enjoy music, for your career or in pursuit of your art; you shouldn’t feel you have to choose between music and your comfort.

But words can only go so far in repairing any damage that has been created. It is the ability to put past behaviors under a microscope, and to fully listen to those who have suffered as a result of such behaviors, in order to be able to truly make meaningful changes so that not only do those behaviors no longer occur, but real positive change can be made to meet the moment.

It is with this in mind that we have decided to make major structural changes to the label and create and implement active policy measures to address the culture that allowed such harm to occur.

To begin, Burger Records co-founder Sean Bohrman will move into a transitional role with the label. Label co-founder Lee Rickard will immediately step down from his role as label president, and fully divest all interest in the label. Jessa Zapor-Gray will assume the role of interim label president. Jessa comes to Burger with extensive experience in the music industry and an extensive familiarity with the Burger catalog. We look forward to having her take the helm at the label.

In the spirit of change, here are the other actions we will be taking moving forward:

• To create a clear delineation between the old and the new Burger Records, the label will become BRGR RECS. Furthermore, we will be adding an all-woman imprint to the label, BRGRRRL, which will serve to give many more women artists a platform and support for growth as musicians.
• BRGR will be instating a standard artist agreement, something we did not previously do. This will include clear statements regarding unlawful and predatory behavior. By doing so, we will create a clear path to restorative justice against predators in the future.
• BRGR will also begin working with experts in trauma and sexual assault awareness and consent education.
• BRGR will set up a counseling fund to help pay for counseling services for those who suffered such trauma while engaging in the Burger scene.
• The Burger Records shop, which is not a part of Burger Records, will no longer have any affiliation to the label and will change its name. The shop will also no longer host in-store performances of any kind.
• BRGR sanctioned events will have a dedicated safe space for women to enjoy music without fear of invasion to their personal space.
• An educated member of the community will be present at all BRGR sanctioned shows over 1000 attendees.
• BRGR sanctioned all-ages shows will have a dedicated safe space for those under the age of 18.
• BRGR will provide ongoing education and training to artists, management, and venues we work with on sensitivity and the effects of trauma.
• BRGR will evaluate the whole of the existing label catalog and artists therein, discontinuing the distribution of artists according to our zero-tolerance policy.
• BRGR will work with women in the industry, artists, and fans to create further actionable goals for educating our bands and the music community on recognizing abusive or predatory behavior.

We thank you for coming forward and for your courage to speak up, and want you to know that we are committed to doing real work to improve the culture of BRGR RECS and the indie music scene for all of us.

We want to be leaders in the industry and a model for other labels to effect real, lasting change.”

When you first hear Dave Franco has co-written and directed a movie, the first thing that probably comes to mind isn’t horror film. But, then again, what really does come to mind? Franco, for his part, assumes people would think it’s a comedy, but the more thought that’s put into it, Dave Franco’s directorial debut really could be about anything. Yes, he’s done comedies, but he’s also done films like If Beale Street Could Talk. Whatever is lurking “inside the mind of Dave Franco” really could be a whole host of genres.

Co-written with Joe Swanberg, The Rental follows two couples (played by Dan Stevens, Alison Brie, Sheila Vand, and Jeremy Allen White) as they spend what is supposed to be a romantic, leisurely weekend away at a rented Oregon house with a scenic view. Things start to get weird when they think they are being spied upon by the home’s owner, which complicates an already volatile situation the involves alcohol, drugs, two brothers who don’t like each other very much (yes, Franco is aware of the conclusions you might draw), and infidelity.

Franco says one of his goals was to make a horror movie that didn’t use jump scares, because he loves a great genre movie. Ahead, he explains where this all came from and if, someday, as we often see with horror directors, if we’ll get a movie trailer that promotes a new project of his as, “From the twisted mind of Dave Franco.”

I saw you actually had your premiere at a drive-in theater. That’s great.

You know, we’re obviously living in a new world right now and distributors are trying to find new ways to release their films. I feel very lucky to have been paired with IFC who is really thinking outside the box and being agile. Like you said, we had a drive-in premiere for the film. Everyone kept telling me this is the first time anyone has ever had a premiere at a drive-in. So at least have that under our belts.

It sounds pretty fun.

Actually, it ended up being really fun. It definitely wasn’t what I imagined for the first public screening of the movie, but in certain ways it was even better. Most standard premiers are a little bit stuffy…

Oh yeah.

The red carpet…

They are strangely not very fun. But I saw the pictures from your event and it actually looked fun.

Yeah, this was the opposite where it felt really relaxed and there wasn’t a spotlight on me and the cast. It was more of a communal experience where everyone had been cooped up in their homes for so long. Essentially, it was just a bunch of movie lovers coming together and having this joint experience, which is very rare these days.

This should be your thing. Even when, hopefully, this is all over someday, you should always do it at a drive-in theater.

[Laughs] It’s not a bad idea. And I guess I’d be the first to make it “their thing.”

This movie is sinister.

Yeah. [Laughs] Is that the question?

Yeah, that’s the question. “This movie is sinister.” I guess when I first heard that Dave Franco was going to direct a movie, I guess “sinister” didn’t come to mind.

Yes, yes. Definitely. I think most people know me from the comedies I’ve acted in, so everyone is surprised that my directorial debut is a horror film. But as a viewer, there’s nothing I love more than a smart genre film. I think about the work of Ari Aster, Jordan Peele, Amy Seimetz, Jeremy Saulnier, Sean Durkin. These are filmmakers who make projects that feel more nuanced and atmospheric. They really take the time to creep up on you as opposed to a lot of genre films that rely too heavily on cheap jump scares.

The cheap jump scare is what I hate because they are scary, but I don’t like being scared in that way. That kicks in something in your body that’s uncomfortable.

Yes! These films are more about the characters and their relationships. They ultimately linger with you long after the film ends. These other ones that only rely on the jump scares, they are usually populated with these two-dimensional stock characters that you’re not invested in at all. So by the time the movie ends, you’ve already forgotten about it and they just feel disposable.

Yeah, if you go back to movies like The Shining and The Exorcist and even The Thing, they don’t rely on jump scares. And I admired that about your movie.

Thank you, man. I think there’s a general stigma against horror movies, where a lot of people look down on them and write them off as being schlocky and cheap. But the best ones, the movies from these directors that I mentioned, they have as much merit as some of these serious dramas that are typically recognized during awards season.

The reason I wanted to write this script with Joe Swanberg is because his main strengths lie in characters and relationships. Our goal from the beginning was to create a tense relationship drama where the interpersonal issues between the characters were just as thrilling as the fact that there was a psycho killer lurking in the shadows. At its core the movie really is about these characters and relationships, then we sprinkle the horror elements on top to help accentuate the problems that they’re going through. In my mind, when I’m having problems within my romantic relationships, that can be scarier than anything else. So I think we were trying to tap into that as well.

A big element of this movie is about the tension between brothers. When writing it, did you think about how everyone was going to read into this and jump to a bunch of conclusions? Even if stuff is based on actual experiences.

You know what’s funny? That thought never crossed my mind until this press tour that I’m currently on. I’m sure subconsciously I included elements from our relationship into the film. I think the brotherly dynamic in the film is more reflective of how me and my brother were a decade ago. Where my brother used to look at me as the baby in the family, no matter how old I got. Now he does look at me as more of an equal.

Is directing where you want your focus to go? You know how when you see the trailers, sometimes with famous horror directors they say things like, “From the twisted mind of so and so.” Is that what you want? “From the twisted mind of Dave Franco.”

[Laughs] No, I mean, I would love to continue to direct but I hope that I’m able to balance that with acting and writing and producing and just continuing to attach myself to projects that feel unique and original, regardless of what role I’m playing in those projects. It is nice to flex a different muscle every once in a while. I definitely have a few ideas in mind for what my follow up project could be as a director. That being said, I’m attached to a couple of projects as an actor that I’m really excited about. So. I guess I just need to kind of wait and see which one comes to fruition first.

Well, I hope you get that someday. Where we just hear, “From the twisted mind of Dave Franco,” and we know what we’re in for.

[Laughs] Yeah, I appreciate all the kind words man. It’s very nice of you.

‘The Rental’ will be released on July 24th. You can contact Mike Ryan directly on Twitter.

Burger Records, an esteemed indie label founded in 2007, is in the midst of a major controversy. Numerous sexual assault allegations have been made against the label and artists signed to it, and the label stands accused of “curating a culture built on pedophilic tendencies and teenage fetishization.” One of the most prominent acts involved is SWMRS, the pop-punk band featuring Joey Armstrong, the son of Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong.

In a lengthy Instagram post, The Regrettes’ Lydia Night accused Armstrong of sexual misconduct, calling the singer her “abuser” and alleging that he engaged in “emotional abuse and sexual coercion” with her.

Night began her statement:

“Over the past few weeks, I’ve read a lot of heartbreaking, disturbing and inspiring stories of abuse in the music industry that were brought to light by some very brave womxn. Yesterday, my abuser Joey Armstrong and his band SWMRS released an unbelievably hypocritical statement on social media that has pushed me to publicly share my story. This band’s delusional positioning of themselves as woke feminists is not only triggering for me as a victim, but is complete bullsh*t and needs to be called out. I’ve spent over a year processing and reflecting on my experience to try to find the right way to go about it. I was in a relationship with Joey that started when I was 16 and ended right before my 18th birthday. For so long I viewed it just as being toxic and not something valid enough to share but now I know that what I actually experienced was emotional abuse and sexual coercion by someone in a position of power over me. It’s important to me that Joey and his entire band are held accountable to fully understand that even though they may view themselves as ‘good guys’ they are continuing to perpetuate the exact toxic culture they are trying to call out.”

Night went on to describe how she and Joey met, saying he sent her messages on Instagram offering to take her band on tour with SWMRS. While on tour, the two formed a sexual relationship, when she was 16 years old and Armstrong was 22. She said Armstrong asked her to keep the relationship secret, which “created an isolating mindset where I constantly felt alone.” Night said she felt like Armstrong was “pressuring” her into “sexual situations,” noting, “Everytime we took a step sexually it was because he wanted to and made it clear either by putting my hand on his crotch, shaming me for saying I wasn’t comfortable, gaslighting me or ignoring me when I didn’t give my consent.”

She wrote towards the end of the message:

“It took me years to finally understand that I am a victim of abuse. When I started becoming sexual in my current relationship, there were multiple times where I felt extremely triggered and would cry in bed not knowing how to explain it. I’m still remembering traumatic events from Joey and I’s relationship 3 years later. It hit me hard and took a major toll on my self esteem. Last December, I tried to start the healing process by confronting Joey. Even though he interrupted me throughout the conversation, he seemed to somewhat take in what I was telling him and apologized. […] [SWMRS’ Cole Becker] dropped a handwritten apology letter from Joey by my house almost a week ago which was nice but didn’t address any of the abuse, my age, his position of power, or anything sexual at all. After yesterday’s social media post, Joey texted me to follow up on the letter which was a completely transparent attempt at feeling out what I was gonna do knowing the pure hypocrisy their statement held.”

Read Night’s full statement below, along with the SWMRS statement that prompted Night to speak out.