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We are just days away from Gorillaz eighth studio album, Cracker Island. While Gorillaz fans are elated to finally hear the band’s much-anticipated record in full, they may be disappointed to learn that an upcoming Netflix movie starring the band isn’t going to see the light of day.

Gorillaz creator Damon Albarn confirmed the news during an interview with Belgian publication HUMO, which was conducted in Dutch, but Google Translated to English.

Albarn said the project was “permanently suspended” after Netflix recently purged several of its animated projects and downsized their animation departments.

“They started to panic because they were making too much content and decided to cut back on their movie offerings,” said Albarn. “And, as has been classic Hollywood practice for decades, the guy we were working with has moved on to another company. From then on you have lost your guardian angel, and there seems to be a bad smell hanging on you. Hollywood is quite territorial: if a new guy comes along, he must and will have a different opinion, even if he secretly agrees with his predecessor.”

Cracker Island is out 2/24 via Parlophone. You can pre-save it here.

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

Bryan-Michael Cox has a laundry list of accomplishments to his name, but the Grammy Award-winning producer and songwriter is far from done with his music career. Today, the hip-hop and R&B label Love Renaissance (LVRN) announced that Cox was appointed as the label’s Senior Vice President, A&R, and Executive Producer. The news comes after Cox collaborated with DVSN, who is signed to LVRN under a management deal, on their recent album Working on My Karma. Cox contributed to five of the album’s 12 songs.

In his role, Cox will focus on breaking new talent as well as furthering the label’s strong roster of artists that include Summer Walker, 6lack, and more. “A&R has become a lost art in this new generation of music because of the gap in relationship between A&R, the artist and the label,” LVRN co-founder Justice Baiden said in a press release. “Bryan-Michael Cox is a respected and accomplished producer and executive, and he’s the perfect addition to our team to help continue in bridging that gap. Bryan not only speaks the same language as the artist, but he also shares the same values as LVRN.” He later added, “When I think of someone who handles music with care, I think of Bryan and we’re excited to welcome him home to Atlanta and LVRN.”

Cox also shared his excitement about his new role in the press release. “The time is right for this union because what LVRN has been able to do culturally is incredible,” he said. “The commitment to the full picture of artist development is something that this business has been missing. From the single selections to album track listing to the rollouts, each artist has been launched uniquely with care.” He continued, “I have a great track record of being able to bond with artists, get the best out of them, and, of course, being able to create or identify hit records. This is a perfect fit.”

Cox’s addition to the LVRN team comes after the label was valued at over $100 million after Matt Pincus invested $25 million in the group. Pincus is the co-founder and CEO of MUSIC, a holding company he co-founded.

After the nepo baby discourse has died down somewhat, it seems Liam Gallagher is finally offering his thoughts about it all. And, in typical fashion, he did not hold back one bit.

“All this snizzle about famous folks kids out earning a crust least they’re not out mugging old people zip it ya jealous ugly f*cks LG x,” he tweeted today (February 21).

The Oasis musician has two sons, Lennon and Gene, and two daughters, Molly and Gemma. Gene has performed as a drummer with his father during last summer’s Etihad Stadium show in Manchester. A few days earlier, Liam confirmed that he will be joining him again for this summer’s shows.

His mother, Nicole Appleton, posted a photo of Gene behind the kit at the time, captioning, “My boy!! Soo proud!!.”

Both of Liam’s sons also recently appeared at the Burberry show at London Fashion Week. Gene was seated in the front row while Lennon walked the runway. (Iris Law, Jude Law’s daughter, was also among the famous models in the fashion show.) This might have been why Liam chose to weigh in now.

“Lennon smashed the Burberry show. What did you think? Is he cooler than you yet?” one fan asked.

“He is at the moment as I’m mash up but I’ll be back saucier than ever,” Liam replied, leaving things optimistic.

The news of De La Soul member Trugoy The Dove’s death was met with a wave of appreciative and grief-stricken posts from all over hip-hop, but the voices of his bandmates were conspicuously (and understandably) absent. And although Posdnous — aka Plug One — has yet to return to social media, Maseo — aka Plug Three — returned to Instagram for the first time in almost a week to share a few nostalgic posts in a guided tour down memory lane.

One photo he shared featured the three Plugs and their then-producer Prince Paul as they signed their initial recording contract with Tommy Boy Records — the same contract that they only recently resolved to win back control of their publishing rights.

In another post, he revealed that he still has his leather medallion from the 3 Feet High And Rising era. The Afrocentric trappings of De La’s early output are still seen as an antidote to materialism and excess in hip-hop, and clearly, Maseo is still proud to have offered that alternative to rap fans.

The timing of Trugoy’s death was especially tragic, as De La Soul had just announced that their catalog would finally be available to stream in just a few weeks. They should finally get some of the flowers they always deserved — no pun intended — but one of their number won’t be around to enjoy it.

David Fincher has some bad news for Mindhunter fans. The FBI series has been on hold at Netflix and the chances for a Season 3 have only gotten slimmer as time goes on. That said, some of the show’s creatives have hinted that there’s a possibility that Netflix could bring the profiling series back if enough fans watch the previous seasons, but Fincher doesn’t seem to believe that’s the case.

While talking to the French publication, Le Journal du Dimanche, here’s what Fincher said about the prospects of a Season 3 and it doesn’t look good. That said, Fincher’s response is via Google Translate, which could be why it starts to sound like a fortune cookie at the end:

I’m very proud of the first two seasons. But it’s a particularly expensive show and, in the eyes of Netflix, we haven’t attracted a large enough audience to justify such an investment. I don’t blame them, they took risks to launch the series, gave me the means to do as I dreamed Mank [his black and white film on Hollywood in the 1930s] and they allowed me to venture on new paths with The Killer. It’s a chance to be able to work with people capable of audacity. The day when our desires will no longer be the same, we will have to be honest to separate.

Fincher’s assessment tracks with previous reports. The show is not cheap and wasn’t bringing enough views for Netflix to justify the expenditure. Which is a real shame because the third season plot sounded pretty great.

“What they were going to do with season three was they were going to go [to] Hollywood,” Mindhunter director Andrew Dominik revealed to Collider last year. “So one of them was going to be hooking up with Jonathan Demme and the other one was going to be hooking up with Michael Mann. And it was all going to be about profiling making it into the sort of zeitgeist, the public consciousness.”

(Via Le Journal du Dimanche)

(Spoilers for You will obviously be found below.)

You switched gears in Season 4 by taking Stalker Joe to London, and the show became less compulsively watchable and more filled with ennui, given that Joe became the stalker and also lost a lot of his fire. That hasn’t stopped viewers from flocking to the show, however. Variety reports that Part 1 of Season 4 has churned out respectable numbers with the show scoring 92.07 million hours streamed in the first week. That’s not top-tier stuff, but that’s Top 10 territory in 90 countries.

One can expect the show to still keep going after Season 4 Part 2 arrives on March 9, if Netflix decides that it’s worth the ride. Will producers of the show want to keep going, though? Penn Badgley has already gone on record (a few times) to declare that he’s no longer interested in doing sex scenes, and showrunner Sara Gamble was apparently good with this. As well, Gamble sounds like she’s “in” if the call gets made to make Season 4. Here’s what she told The Hollywood Reporter:

“We have an idea for season five that we’re excited about. It was never anyone’s intention to run this one into the ground. When we’re done, we’ll be done. And we’ll pack it up. Even in the early conversations with Penn, the idea was not to crank out episodes forever; it’s to feel like we have told the complete story. And though I feel like tonally, we’re very different and we are not trying to sell Joe as any kind of a hero with a straight face. This is a show that is in the tradition of these single-lead shows with a guy who does increasingly bad things. The beautiful thing about it is that when his arc is complete, so is the show.”

So, it sounds like there will be a Season 5? God only knows that Netflix will feel the wrath of several million Joe fans if they make the call to quit it. As well, Penn Badgley will probably keep boogying on TikTok in his spare time, so viewers can always get their fix.

You returns on March 9.

Little Simz’s latest album, No Thank You, is the hip-hop gift that keeps on giving. After its surprise release late last year, the UK rapper has been tactic yet patient with her promotional efforts. Immediately following the announcement of the project by way of a supporting short film, the musician took to social media to share a poignant message: “Emotion is energy in motion. Honor your truth and feelings. Eradicate fear. Boundaries are important.”

Just days ago, Simz took to the BAFTA stage to perform the latest single off the album, “Heart On Fire.” Now, continuing her live performance run of the single, she stopped by The Late Show With Stephen Colbert to do the same. With The Harlem Gospel Choir, The B-String Quartet, and The Late Show band, Simz delivered a chilling rendition of the track.

Differing from her BAFTA set design, Simz focused in on the reclusive nature of the song. Seated in an antique wooden chair and dressed in an elegant draped white gown, Simz raps the song. As the camera pans out, it is revealed Simz is not just staring into the void, she’s been dictating these hard-hitting truths to herself as she’s emotionlessly staring into a framed mirror. After Simz transitions out of her depressive solitude, she walks into the light as she joins The Harlem Gospel Choir and The B-String Quartet center stage.

The opening lyrics — “It’s a setup and you’ll be next to those prior / The devil works hard, but the business works harder / I vowed from now to work smarter” — sting, especially given that the star has been open about her mental health struggles which caused her to cancel her tour last year.

But Simz wants to ensure fans that despite her struggles, she has a few guardian angels, as she raps, “They won’t do it like us, for the people, by us / Why they wanna fight? Our spirit on higher / God made truth of everything I desire / I ain’t need much, as long as I got my baby, he a rider.”

If that wasn’t enough reassurance the chorus drills it home, as Simz raps, “My life is a blessing / But it comes with the stresses / And I can take it all / Just don’t let me down when I’m in the fire.”

Watch Little Simz perform “Heart On Fire” on The Late Show above.

Keeping up with new music can be exhausting, even impossible. From the weekly album releases to standalone singles dropping on a daily basis, the amount of music is so vast it’s easy for something to slip through the cracks. Even following along with the Uproxx recommendations on a daily basis can be a lot to ask, so every Monday we’re offering up this rundown of the best new music this week.

This week saw Lana Del Rey go on a musical adventure and Janelle Monáe give some love to the music side of her empire. Yeah, it was a great week for new music. Check out the highlights below.

For more music recommendations, check out our Listen To This section, as well as our Indie Mixtape and Pop Flash newsletters.

Lana Del Rey — “A&W”

We’re now less than a month away from Lana Del Rey’s new album, Did You Know That There’s A Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd Pearl Watch Me On Ring A Bell Psycho Lifeguard. She unleashed a seven-minute chunk of its last week with “A&W,” a sprawling, narrative tune that’s as adventurous musically as it is lyrically.

Janelle Monáe — “Float” Feat. Seun Kuti and Egypt 80

Monáe is fresh off a big weekend getting some cardio in at the NBA All-Star Celebrity Game. Before that, though, she dropped “Float,” an anticipated new single that features hints of reggae and Monáe reaching into her rap bag.

Latto — “Lottery” Feat. Lu Kala

It feels like it was just a matter of time before Latto came through with a song titled “Lottery.” She made the most of it, too, recruiting Lu Kala to help deliver a Dua Lipa-esque disco-pop banger.

Polo G — “No Time Wasted” Feat. Future

Polo G got an assist from Future on last week’s “No Time Wasted.” Uproxx’s Alex Gonzalez notes of the track, “Over a triumphant beat produced by Southside, Polo reminds us where he came from and that he still sees himself becoming even more monumental.”

Tiësto — “Renaissance (The White Lotus) (Tiësto Remix)”

The White Lotus switched up its distinctive theme music a bit for the second season, although that catchy vocal part remained intact. The same is true with Tiësto’s new remix of the tune, which turns the track into what should be a DJ set hit at festivals this summer.

Skrillex — “Ratata” Feat. Missy Elliott and Mr. Oizo

Skrillex has been a machine lately, releasing new songs at an impressive clip. That was all leading up to Quest For Fire, his first album in nine years that’s out now. Highlights include “Ratata,” a jittery two-minute number featuring Missy Elliott and Mr. Oizo.

Caroline Polachek — “Fly To You” Feat. Grimes and Dido

Instead of dropping on Friday like everybody else, she opted to release her new LP, Desire, I Want To Turn Into You, on Valentine’s Day. She mostly flies solo on the project, although she shared the love on “Fly To You,” which features Grimes and Dido.

Beabadoobee — “Glue Song”

Beabadoobee is enjoying some newfound happiness on last week’s single “Glue Song.” She explained of it, “I wrote a lot of this song while on tour across Australia and Asia in the back of cars and traveling. It’s a heartfelt song that means a lot to me…. A love song and the first one I’ve written in my new relationship.”

Don Toliver — “4 Me” Feat. Kali Uchis

Toliver had a busy week, dropping two new singles: “Leave The Club” and “4 Me.” Of the latter, Uproxx’s Aaron Williams says, “His latest single from the album, ‘4 Me,’ sticks closely to the [Lovesick] theme, hijacking an interpolation of Beenie Man’s 2000 Mya collaboration, ‘Girls Dem Sugar,’ to express his devotion to the song’s addressee.”

100 Gecs — “Hollywood Baby”

The famous Forrest Gump “box of chocolates” line could have easily been about 100 Gecs (timeline impossibility aside), because you really can’t predict what a new Gecs tune is going to sound like. On “Hollywood Baby,” the latest, they went in a guitar-driven direction that comes across as their warped-version of hooky ’00s pop-punk.

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

Ed Sheeran is coming in hot! Maybe not with new music quite yet, but today, the “Shivers” hitmaker has announced that he has dropped a new line of hot sauce, cleverly called Tingly Ted’s.

Tingly Ted comes in two flavors: the medium heat “Tingly” and the extra spicy “Xtra Tingly.” According to a press release, either of the sauces is ideal for fries, nuggets, falafels, and fried chicken.

In an Instagram post announcing the hot sauce, Tingly Ted’s is described as the ‘Ketchup Of Hot Sauces’ – a not-so-hot, hot sauce to be dolloped onto everything.”

“I had a year of whittling down the perfect flavors with a great mixing team, and we settled on two absolute belters,” Sheeran said in the post. “The tingly and the xtra tingly. I’ve had them on tour with me recently to try them with all sorts of meals, and there really isn’t anything they don’t go with (except bananas, don’t do that).”

As of now, Tingly Ted’s is only available for pre-order in Europe, New Zealand, and Australia. However, fans can sign up here to receive a notification by email as to when it will be available in other parts of the world.

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

There are dozens, if not hundreds, of The Simpsons lines that have crept into my everyday vocabulary. “Just because I don’t care doesn’t mean that I don’t understand” is useful for feigning interest, while “lousy Smarch weather” is a handy phase for when the weather is subpar, in Smarch or otherwise. I haven’t found the right opportunity to use “so then I says to Mabel, I says…” yet, but it’s always buzzing around my brain, unwilling to be pushed out every time I learn something new (there’s another one).

Bart’s “Mabel” story — which appears in the season eight classic “El Viaje Misterioso de Nuestro Jomer,” or “The Mysterious Voyage of Homer” — is a favorite line among many Simpsons fans, and even for people who wrote on the show. “Homer story in Chili ep was so full we had no room for kids B story. So when Homer asks them where Marge is, they have nothing going on. What they’re doing that moment had to be 100% freestanding. Hence, Mabel,” former co-showrunner Josh Weinstein tweeted.

He added, “And no, there were never any Mabel-related lines before or after ‘So anyway, I says to Mabel, I says…’ It was perfect. And to be clear, because people have asked about this often, the Mabel line does not reference anything, it never appeared in a book or movie or anything. As far as I know, it is totally freestanding in the human timeline.”

Weinstein also asked his followers to share their favorite “random” quotes.

This is great, but I’m going to need a 25-tweet thread on “time for chili” next.