Beyoncé’s Renaissance World Tour is the hottest ticket in town — which is ironic, since the tickets themselves are proving practically impossible to get. Thanks to Ticketmaster’s policy changes, which were designed to curtail resellers, as well as the generally insane demand for Beyoncé tickets in the first place, even the “Break My Soul” singer’s fellow stars are having trouble securing access to her shows.
However, it helps if you have a direct line to Queen Bey herself. Much like Swedish pop star Zara Larsson, Beyoncé’s fellow Houston hottie Megan Thee Stallion put in the call to the superstar herself to make sure she didn’t miss out when the tour comes to town. During her red-carpet interview with Entertainment Tonight at Vanity Fair‘s Oscars party, Meg demured on revealing her source, but quickly revealed that she used her personal connections to lock down those tickets.
“I ain’t gon’ tell where I got ’em,” she joked. “You gon’ be hating on me but I got ’em… You know I called up directly… ‘Beyoncé! Let me get a ticket!’ You know Beyoncé is my auntie!” Check out Megan’s response to securing those Renaissance Tour tickets below.
Childish Gambino, aka Donald Glover, dropped the first glimpse of his new feature on “Sticky,” through the trailer for the upcoming Amazon Prime series, Swarm. The track is a collaboration with Kirby and Ni’Jah and gives off a spooky and psychedelic feel — fitting for the tone of the show.
“Sticky-icky / Somebody’s watching, so watch your back / Don’t look back, look at the mess you’ve made,” the song’s clip says.
Glover, who created the series alongside Janine Nabers, based the premise around a woman who is obsessed with a pop star. It stars Dominique Fishback, Chlöe Bailey, and Damson Idris.
“We just thought it’d be fun to make a post-truth Piano Teacher mixed with The King Of Comedy,” he told Vanity Fair earlier this year, naming films that influenced the project. “Me and my brother Stephen were talking about finding someone like Isabelle Huppert, as far as risk-takers in performances.”
“A lot of people did it out of the kindness of their hearts and they did a really great job,” Glover added. “Dom, Damson, Chloe. I was really blown away at how hard they worked on the tone, ’cause it’s a strange one.”
Check out the Swarm trailer — which features Ni’Jah, Kirby, and Childish Gambino’s “Sticky” — above.
Tems‘ Oscars dress was one of the most talked-about outfits this past weekend. During the Academy Awards, the Nigerian singer-songwriter, who was nominated for Best Original Song for her work on Rihanna’s “Lift Me Up” from Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, wore a white dress with a large puffy portion that wrapped around her head.
In pictures from the ceremony, some of the people seated behind Tems are seen struggling to see the stage, as Tems’ headpiece appears to obstruct the view. It appears Tems has caught wind of the comments.
Yesterday (March 13), she took to Instagram sharing pictures from the night, cheekily captioned, “Uh Ohh!”
She took to Twitter to double down on the fact that she is unbothered, sharing another set of photos captioned “Oops” with a blushing emoji.
Over the course of the night, the dress spurred mixed reactions from viewers.
“If I was I sitting behind Tems, I would be the most annoying asshole. Because WHY would you wear that and block people’s view???,” said one Twitter user.
If I was I sitting behind Tems, I would be the most annoying asshole. Because WHY would you wear that and block people’s view???
Another fan suggested that the criticisms of her outfit may be rooted in racism, due to a lack of backlash for outfits worn by similar stars in the past.
“The backlash Tems is receiving from white people and Africans is just borne [sic] out of racial prejudice. Nothing more,” said another fan. “Where was that ‘rude’ talk when Gaga wore an outfit that blocked those behind her? It’s our sister now, and they are yapping, just to cancel her.”
The backlash Tems is receiving from white people and Africans is just borne out of racial prejudice. Nothing more.
Where was that “rude” talk when Gaga wore an outfit that blocked those behind her?
It’s our sister now, and they are yapping, just to cancel her.
August 11, 2023, will mark the 50th anniversary of the house party largely credited with the creation of hip-hop. Although the various elements of what we’ve come to know as the world’s most popular and influential cultures were already taking root in the streets of New York City, the birthday party that Cindy and Clive Campbell (aka DJ Kool Herc) threw in the rec room of their apartment building became the widely accepted inception point of hip-hop in the history books.
Now, 50 years later, the musical innovations that grew out of that soiree and the block parties that followed it have become the foundation of a global phenomenon with branches on nearly every continent. Hip-hop, once thought to be a trend that would go the way of disco, has instead flourished, changing the way the world acts, dresses, and talks through multiple generations of musical evolution.
But it all started with the DJ, the one who played the breaks back-to-back to form the beats that all rap music, from early electro to G-Funk to trap and cloud rap, is built upon. So, who better to talk about the history of rap than one of its most prolific DJs (and producers), Just Blaze, whose experiences span nearly the breadth of hip-hop’s history? His memory for all things hip-hop is darn near photographic – or should I say “phonographic” (sorry) – and he’s got an ear for details that makes picking his brain a treasure hunt that always bears fruit.
“This is an art form that is truly organic, truly natural,” he says via Zoom. “It came from a place of struggle, as do many things in our community. And for something that we created from a place of struggle and not having, for it to be as lucrative… The money aspect is great, but to be as lucrative, but also just as influential, as it has become worldwide, it’s truly an astonishing thing to see.”
Just’s earliest memories of hip-hop stem all the way back to the early ‘80s when the first rap records were first finding their way to radio stations throughout the Tri-State area. The New Jersey-bred producer fell in love at first listen. “I remember my younger days when I was a literal kid, like six, seven years old, and discovering this music, only to be told by my elders, ‘Well, when we were kids, we thought Motown was going to last forever. And trust me, in 10 years it’ll be something else.” And that was 40 years ago, and we’re still here and stronger than ever and more powerful than ever.
But obviously, hip-hop has changed a lot in the decades since. Where once, all you needed was a four-track drum machine and a microphone, there’s a lot more technology involved in crafting a hit. While Sylvia Robinson brought in a session band to replay the riff from Chic’s “Good Times” on “Rapper’s Delight,” today’s producers have a wide array of samples to choose from, pulling liberally from any genre that strikes their fancy. Whether breakbeats or 808s, jazz samples, or pre-produced loops, there is any number of permutations the music can take.
Likewise, rappers themselves look vastly different from their forebears. Adidas tracksuits are a thing of the past; now, you might see a rapper from Atlanta decked out like a rock star, or one from Compton dressed like a vision of the far future. “Everything that’s old will be new again, everything that’s new will eventually get old,” Just says of the rapid evolution. “The first round of records were kind of emulations or recreations of what was happening in the parks. But then you enter that second generation of it being put on record, starting with ‘The Message’ or whatever. And then you fast-forward only three years later, two, three years later, and it’s Run DMC. All black. It looked like dudes from the streets as opposed to the previous generation that looked like dudes dressing like P-Funk.”
When he looks at where hip-hop is now, he very much recognizes tinges of records that he had a hand in himself. “Over the past two years, I’ve cleared so many samples of my records from the early 2000s,” he beams. “There’s kids rhyming over flips of Fabolous’ ‘Can’t Let You Go.’ There’s kids rhyming off of [Cam’ron’s] “Oh Boy.” I shouldn’t call them kids respectfully, but younger people rhyming off of records that I created in the early 2000s. You got R&B records that are flipping all the R&B records from the late ‘90s and early 2000s as well. So it’s all a cycle, right?”
And despite the new technologies that bring the music to the audience, he still sees a place for the original purveyors of the sound, the DJs. While Spotify rolls out algorithmic playlists and TikTok presages the breakaway hits of the future, Just Blaze knows that there’s just no replacing the living, breathing, person behind the turntables. Sometimes, someone just has to be able to feel the vibe.
“It started out where the DJ was at the forefront,” he recalls. “The emcees were kind of just the backup. They kept the party going. And those routines evolved to eventually provide the early building blocks for songs. Over time, that focus changed in certain genres. So obviously in hip hop, the focus remained on or started to shift towards the emcee for various reasons that are too long to get into here.”
“I look at other genres that have spawned out of similar traditions that hip-hop did, like house music today, which kind of traveled a similar parallel to hip-hop in terms of where it came from. It came from a place of struggle and not having much. A lot of times in that world, the DJ’s still the star of the show. You can have a number one record in the world, nobody knows who the singer is. They know who the producer/DJ was.”
But, he says, “You can never completely take the DJ out of the equation because hip-hop is still very much a street-level culture in many ways. Even though radio plays a different role than it did before the advent of streaming, many records were broken on the radio by DJs. A lot of records still break in the club. Who was running the club? DJs. Remove the DJ from the equation, a lot of these records don’t get the legs that they end up with to allow them to enjoy success…. You could never fully remove the DJ from the equation because like I said, it starts with the DJ.”
So, where does hip-hop go in the next 50 years? It’s proven its staying power. It’s driven ad campaigns, and fashion trends, and even formed the innovative backbone of many industries like tech – just look at AI, NFTs, streaming, and virtual rappers. Just, despite being a fountain of insight, doesn’t want to hazard a guess and end up looking like the elders who told him that hip-hop was just a fad.
“I’m not going to purport to know where hip hop goes in 50 years,” he demurs. “What I will say is, what I hope to see is a return to a bit more of balance. I have nothing against the music that the younger generation is making because I’m cognizant that I’m not the target audience. And one thing that I strongly dislike is when folks from previous generations, whether they be consumers or creators, try to downplay the music that the younger generations are making. It’s like, this music isn’t for you.”
Like a health-conscious person eating more nutritious food, getting more rest, and still occasionally indulging in a sweet treat, the folks who make up this culture are going to need to be more intentional about their choices. “I would like to see a return to balance when you could hear in one day, or in a two-hour span whether it was on TV or on the radio, you might catch Public Enemy, X-Clan, MC Hammer, De La Soul, Pharcyde, some local groups that were making noise,” Just advocates. “You would catch all that and then still hear the super popular… You might still catch Vanilla Ice on the radio too, for better or worse.”
This, he posits, is the key to ensuring that hip-hop sees its 100 birthday, which isn’t as far away as it might seem. After all, 1979 turned out to not be all that long ago. Time flies when you’re having fun – and at its core, that’s what hip-hop is all about. Happy birthday to the culture – and many more.
The first reviews for John Wick: Chapter 4 are rolling, and critics are here for the longest, most elaborate installment yet in the high-octane action series starring Keanu Reeves as the titular assassin.
Picking up after the events of John Wick: Parabellum, the film sends Reeves on another gun-ballet romp as he methodically shoots and punches his way through another brutal gauntlet of opponents, including the ultimate badass, Donnie Yen. Based on early reviews, Chapter 4 is everything you want a John Wick movie to be and more.
I do like the John Wick movies, but I’ve never really loved a John Wick movie before. I have entered and exited movie theaters three times in the past to experience the adventures of John Wick and have felt some form of, “yeah that was fun,” every time. There’s something different about John Wick: Chapter 4. It’s still a great time, but director Chad Stahelski is going for something more here. It reminded me a bit of the Man with No Name movies and how those culminate in the all-time classic The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.
John Wick: Chapter 4 is relentlessly violent. It just does not stop. It bludgeons you like the endless array of assassins bludgeoning its hero. It is so incessantly, expensively savage, it may well be the end of civilisation.
John Wick: Chapter 4 … does not let a good concept rest; at 169 minutes, it is by far the longest installment to date, and easily the most relentless. As a moviegoing experience, it is also patently ridiculous and mostly very fun: the platonic ideal of a globe-hopping meatbag action thriller taken to its gloriously illogical extreme.
The creatives behind the John Wick franchise must lose sleep at night thinking how they can outdo themselves with each new installment. If so, it makes a strong case for insomnia, since “John Wick: Chapter 4” outdoes its formidable predecessors in nearly every respect. Bigger, badder, bolder, longer, and featuring nearly more spectacular set pieces than one movie can comfortably handle, this epic action film practically redefines the stakes.
Reeves truly continues to impress, seemingly getting better at this stuff with each franchise (following four Matrix films where he honed his initial skills). His characters are men of few words, but who needs a lot of dialogue anyway? The casting in this one with two giants of the genre Yen and Sanada really takes the series to new levels, and Skarsgard seems to be having a swell time playing a lethal guy we love to hate. Shout-out as well to new cast member Shamier Anderson as The Tracker, a killer with a faithful Belgian Malinois (this series does seem to employ a lot of dogs) that not only is a faithful companion but also pretty fearsome when the situation calls for it.
Chapter 4 firmly cements John Wick as standing shoulder to shoulder with The Matrix’s Neo as part of Keanu Reeves’ nearly unparalleled action hero lineup. The raw-nerved rage of the freshly widowed Wick that wowed in the original movie has progressed into something even more deadly: resolve and focus. Reeves conveys these qualities with practiced restraint, so complete here that the occasional one-liners or subtly raised eyebrow come off as authentic to the character and not beholden to representing any cliches of the genre… sometimes if you bake your cake well enough, you get to eat it, too.
It has a story that, if it were told more briskly, could fit into an 83-minute potboiler that you might have seen in a grindhouse in 1977. Yet the way that Chad Stahelski, the series’ stuntman-turned-director, has staged it, full of hushed, portentous, ritualistic verbal showdowns that are meant to be hypnotic as they build up to each new action scene, “Chapter 4” feels like the first “John Wick” movie that wants to be a Clint Eastwood spaghetti Western. It’s like Sergio Leone crossed with John Woo as seen in Times Square.
John Wick: Chapter 4 borders on being too much of a good thing—both in the sense that it’s the fourth installment of a series that could have easily ended after its first, and with regards to its gargantuan 169-minute runtime. Fortunately, more turns out to be just about right in this case, with the film offering up such an onslaught of brutal, breakneck action that it’s easy to forgive its less compelling narrative excesses. Designed as a culmination as much as a continuation, it may not be consistent enough to rank as the franchise’s finest, but when it gets going, it cooks with gas.
On Sunday (March 12), Lady Gaga did not walk away from the Oscars with the award for Best Original Song, but her surprise performance of the nominated track “Hold My Hand” was the talk amongst the viewing audience. When the singer arrived at the champagne carpet, she was dressed in a ’90s-inspired tailored black extreme drop waist Versace gown. The glamour continued as Gaga’s makeup was equally as bold.
However, once the singer took the stage to perform the song from Top Gun: Maverick, she went bare-faced and modestly dressed in a pair of ripped dark denim jeans and a plain t-shirt. This switch-up left fans confused, questioning if the set was filmed in advance. But thanks to an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, the ceremony’s executive producers, Glenn Weiss and Ricky Kirshner, more details have emerged.
When asked about Gaga’s decision to perform after they previously announced that she would be, Kirshner said, “Honestly, and this is not to pat ourselves on the back, because we’re very bad at that, but we’ve built up trust in the relationship with Gaga over the years — I did the Super Bowl with her and Glenn has done many awards shows with her, including the ‘Shallow’ performance on the Oscars.”
As for her decision to forgo a lavish set design and muted onstage appearance, Kirshner said, “She really wanted to do something. She honestly was shooting her movie [the Joker sequel] — there was no trickery involved. And Thursday, at four-something, we got a text that she wanted to try something, didn’t have time to put together a big performance, but wanted it to be raw and for people to see the real Gaga, and, with a voice like that, you don’t need much more than that.”
Watch Lady Gaga’s full performance of “Hold My Hand” below.
As the seasons change and the weather warms up — allegedly, anyway — it’s time for a spring cleaning. While it’s important to take care of the cobwebs around your apartment and finally donate that musty bag of clothes in the back of your closet, it’s also an apt time to refresh your go-to playlists. No, we’re not telling you to stop streaming SOS, but it might be good for your mental state to mix it up a bit…
Without further ado, here are ten artists to help you shake off the winter blues, from a Korean rapper that mashes up punk rock with hyperpop to a queer Chicano singer that wants to smooch on all his homies. And best of all? None of these tracks would feel out of place on a playlist with “Kill Bill” and “Snooze.”
GALE
For fans of: Rosaliá, Avril Lavinge
Last November, GALE scored her first Latin Grammy win for a co-write on Christina Aguilera’s latest Spanish language album, Aguilera — but it’s her own tracks that will have you slamming the repeat button. It’s no surprise that the singer was raised on Shakira and Avril Lavinge; her latest tracks mirror the IDGAF-itude found on Laundry Service and Let Go.
Early in her career, Adanna Duru appeared on both The Voice and American Idol, but it’s clear the singer, now 26, has since taken time to figure out who she is as an artist. Despite proving to be more than capable of a big vocal moment, Duru has discovered a necessary ingredient that makes her soulful debut EP, Nappy Hour, sound like pure butter: restraint.
Check out: “ur a bitch,” “POP!”
Bentley Robles
For fans of: Jonas Brothers, Charlie Puth
It’s impossible to make it through Brooklyn-based Bentley Robles’ catalog without cracking a grin. Whether he’s begging his homies to “come taste my lips, it’s just platonic” on the horny “kiss my friends,” or answering Lady Gaga’s “Alejandro” from a queer, Chicano perspective with “salvatore,” Robles is a much-needed dose of serotonin for the coming spring season.
Check out: “kiss my friends,” “salvatore,” “kim kardashian”
Noelle
For fans of: Carly Rae Jepsen, Halsey
Raised on the Tyendinaga Mohawk territory in Ontario, Canada, Noelle was exposed to a menagerie of influences, from jazz greats like Sarah Vaughn and Nat King Cole to the native wind flute and powwow drum of her indigenous roots. After finding her footing through viral YouTube covers, the singer found her voice writing her own songs — the latest of which have a sparkling, synth-heavy sound.
Check out: “Cold Killer,” “Mars”
Whiterosemoxie
For fans of: Travis Scott, Omar Apollo
Not many artists would think to draw inspiration from a bizarre Young Thug tweet, but that’s exactly what Detroit’s whiterosemoxy did on bass-heavy “girls die,” spinning Jeffery’s rumination into a thesis on the bittersweet feeling of life’s resets. The poignant track is a sample of the artist’s forthcoming debut full-length album.
Check out: “girls die,” “whts rght,” “CALL!”
Vivi Rincon
For fans of: Olivia Rodrigo, Phoebe Bridgers
Vivi Rincon’s debut EP, crash landing, opens with the vulnerable ballad “if we lived on the moon,” a delicate track in which she confesses the struggles of being in a queer relationship. With stingers like, “we’d never think twice about who we’d offend, and we’d never say we’re just friends,” it’s clear that Rincon has the songwriting goods — a promise she makes good on through the project’s bitter (but relatable!) closing number, “the party.”
Check out: “if we lived on the moon,” “the party,” “overflow”
Lil Cherry
For fans of: Doechii, Doja Cat
South Korean rap sensation Lil Cherry’s unique sound can be found at the intersection of hyperpop and punk rock, and it was developed with guidance of her older brother and producer GOLDBUUDA. Last year, the sibling duo dropped their adrenaline-soaked collaborative album, Space Talk, which included the belligerent, Rico Nasty-assisted “Catwalk.” Most recently, the rapper flexed her agility by teaming up with MVW and TiaCorinne for a more subdued contribution to the hazy “Tru Tru.”
Check out: “Catwalk,” “Tru Tru,” “PYE LIFE”
Blake Rose
For fans of: Shawn Mendes, The 1975
If you haven’t been introduced to Perth export Blake Rose yet, get familiar. The 25-year-old made his U.S. television debut on The Late Late Show with James Corden last month and followed it with a solid 7-track EP, You’ll Get It When You’re Older – the bulk of which was self-produced.
Check out: “Use Me,” “Demon,” “Already Be Dead”
Ayleen Valentine
For fans of: Taylor Swift, mxmtoon
It’s actually shocking that singer-songwriter-producer triple threat Ayleen Valentine is only 21-years-old given the sheer intricacy of her work. The Berklee dropout’s latest project involves releasing sets of singles in pairs as a way to explore the idea of opposites.
Check out: “anesthetized,” “stars”
iyla
For fans of: Kehlani, Ariana Grande
The Los Angeles native’s latest EP, Appetite for Disaster, begs to not be put into a box. The project sees iyla cooing jazz-influenced harmonies on one track, spitting rhymes over a trap beat on another and yodeling — yes, yodeling — on another. On standout track “Sad Bitch Bad Bitch,” the singer shares a meme-worthy mantra: “I don’t get mad, I get pretty/ Can’t have me, I’m too busy.”
Check out: “Mona Lisa,” “Sad Bitch Bad Bitch,” “2LATE”
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
Following the untimely death of his cousin and Migos bandmate Takeoff last year, it looks like Offset is getting back into the gears of making music. Yesterday (March 13), the rapper took to Instagram to share an update on what fans believe will be his second solo album.
In an Instagram Story, he shared a picture of himself wearing a hoodie, protected by a Balenciaga windbreaker. The photo was captioned, “Album mode.” The album was planned to arrive last year, but Offset delayed the project after Takeoff’s death.
In recent months, Offset and his wife, Cardi B have been making lots of public appearances. They did not shy away from any sort of public displays of affection this past weekend at the Vanity Fair Oscars afterparty, or last month at the Grammys. During the Super Bowl, the two appeared in a commercial announcing the launch of their McDonald’s meal.
In an interview with Complex published after the commercial, both Offset and Cardi teased new music of their own.
“I’m just looking forward to the fans hearing this music,” Offset said. “I’ve been making because I [used] a lot of new producers, I did a lot of new sounds, there was some new artists. So I’m just excited for the new chapter.”
Last year, Madonna announced that she was creating a biopic of her life. Created by Universal Pictures, the role of the pop icon was reportedly given to Ozark‘s Julia Garner — as of June 2022, when Variety broke the exclusive news.
However, in the months since, the film apparently had been scrapped completely… or has it? Garner chatted with Entertainment Tonight at the Vanity Fair Oscars party, where she shared there might be still more good news to come.
“I don’t want to tell too much. I want to keep things… yeah, fingers crossed,” she said.
Other celebrities that had been in the running included Florence Pugh, Alexa Demie, Sky Ferreira, Snail Mail, and more. There was even apparently an intense boot camp where those auditioning had to learn Madonna’s famous dance numbers.
Originally, per Variety, Madonna wanted the biopic to “convey the incredible journey that life has taken me on as an artist, a musician, a dancer — a human being, trying to make her way in this world. The focus of this film will always be music. Music has kept me going and art has kept me alive. There are so many untold and inspiring stories and who better to tell it than me. It’s essential to share the roller coaster ride of my life with my voice and vision.”
On the heels of films about Elvis and other major stars, time will tell if hers comes to light.
Madonna is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
Top Gun: Maverick was nominated for six Oscars, winning once for Best Sound, and the actor’s absence was the butt of a joke from host Jimmy Kimmel. “Everyone loved Top Gun. Everybody. I mean, Tom Cruise with his shirt off in that beach football scene? L Ron Hubba Hubba, you know what I’m saying?” he said during the opening monologue (which left out “harder” Slap jokes.)
Would Kimmel have told that same joke if Cruise was in the Dolby Theater? “No,” producer (and Kimmel’s wife) Molly McNearney told Variety. “We had about a three minute chunk of the monologue dedicated to Tom Cruise, honoring him and his role in reviving the movie industry. We were so disappointed when we learned a few days before the Oscars that he wouldn’t be there. Jimmy loves him and really wanted to celebrate him.”
Cruise was expected to attend the ceremony as recently as last week, and “few believe the excuse that he just had to get back to Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part Two, especially since his right-hand producer, Chris McQuarrie, flew to L.A. just for the show,” according to Puck. I hope someone learns what really happened because OMG new Mission: Impossible poster.
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