Category: Viral

We care a lot about fast food here. It’s a real passion point and we’ve gone deep. From breaking down the best chicken sandwiches and tenders in fast food to getting hyper-specific like exploring which fast food hamburger patty tastes best or how to put together the best Chipotle burrito build — we’ve done it all.

Have we gone too deep? Maybe!

As a result, I know more about fast food than anyone likely needs to. Do you have a question about anything fast food related? I can tell you, from the newest menu items, to where the best deals are, and whose food is the highest quality. And because I have a pretty intimate knowledge of the menus of some of the biggest fast food chains, it’s time to rank 10 of the best fast food restaurants in America.

Before we dive in here are some things to keep in mind:

1. This is only a list of 10, so naturally, not every fast-food restaurant is going to be covered. For the most part, I’ve stuck to restaurants that have a multi-state presence and consistently place on our fast food rankings.
2. If your personal favorite isn’t on this list and a restaurant you hate is, don’t take it personally, I’ve probably excluded it because there were 10 other restaurants I felt were more vital to review, don’t know the menu well enough to speak on it, or I’ve never been there. If your restaurant is missing, tell me, I want to know what your favorite is — plus, I’m always looking for suggestions.
3. I almost always deferred to the most popular restaurants here. There are at least 10 fast food restaurants that I love more than our number 10 pick, but these brands are more obscure/just starting out/ not as well known. I wanted this list to be a list of 10 restaurants that most people have been to, or at least heard of.

Of the 10 restaurants chosen, I’ll be scoring them 1-5 on a few factors:

• Consistency: Generally, how much does the food taste the way it’s supposed to? Are the fries always cold? Does the quality vary widely from restaurant to restaurant?
• Freshness: How fresh is it, is it made to order? Are they using frozen ingredients? Quality ingredients?
• Flavor: How good is the best thing on the menu?

Okay, enough rules — let’s rank the 10 best fast food restaurants, starting with our least favorite. If you’ve read Uproxx fast food coverage in the past, you’ve seen this one coming.

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• The Best Breakfast Sandwiches In The Fast Food Universe, Ranked

10. Burger King

Consistency: 2
Freshness: 2
Flavor: 2
Total Score: 6

Thoughts:

I, like most of America, am not a fan of Burger King. And it’s not for lack of trying. Anytime the chain drops a new menu item I always pull up to that drive-thru hoping they’re finally going to wow me. They did once in 2021 with the Ch’King sandwich, a direct response to Popeyes Chicken Sandwich. This chicken sandwich was big, juicy, and hand-breaded on-site.

It wasn’t Popeyes-level good, but it was a sign that BK was moving in the right direction.

And then the brand discontinued it, changed the preparation process to be less labor intensive, and renamed it the “Crispy Chicken Sandwich.” It sucks. And now Burger King is going back to its roots with a long chicken sandwich, which is a step in the right direction but doesn’t match the flavor and form factor of the Ch’King. Elsewhere on the menu, you’ve got the fries, which are almost always too salty if they aren’t stale and cold, chicken nuggets that are terrible, and the Whopper — which may have been a novelty at one point in the fast food space, but today just tastes like the sort of burger you get at a sad cafeteria.

This is unrelated to the food but I feel like it’s worth mentioning:

Burger King now requires its employees to say “You Rule,” and the end of every customer’s order. To which we have to ask — why? Whose day is this improving? Why Is BK focusing on sh*t like this instead of just making better food? If you make good food, all is forgiven, and considering how many fast food chains out there make legitimately good food, we know it’s possible!

Go back to the lab and start changing up those recipes BK, we want better for you!

Best Order:

A Whopper with cheese and a side of Onion Rings.

9. Jack in the Box

Consistency: 2
Freshness: 2
Flavor: 3
Total Score: 7

Thoughts:

Growing up I loved Jack in the Box. At a time when fast food menus all resembled one another, it felt a bit different thanks to random inclusions on the menu like egg rolls, teriyaki bowls, bacon potato cheddar wedges, mozzarella sticks, and that delicious Oreo milkshake. These days the menu just doesn’t feel that adventurous. JiB does pretty much what the big restaurants like McDonald’s and Wendy’s do, but not nearly as well.

Not to mention JiB seems to have ended its original policy of “we don’t make it ’til you order it.” That policy ensured the food was always, at the least, piping hot, which almost always makes fast food taste better. These days the consistency is all over the place. I’ve had experiences where the food is fresh and tasty, but most of the time I’m getting something old. An old chicken strip, stale fries, cold tacos — it’s always something.

It looks like things are getting better at JiB, though. The recently launched Smashed Jack is one of the best new fast food burgers I’ve tasted this year (we’re still in January) and the new menu options like boba, and the various Munchie Meal exclusives show that JiB is still experimenting, which is always a good thing.

Best Order:

A Bacon Double Smashed Jack with a side of Curly Fries.

8. Popeyes

Consistency: 2
Freshness: 2
Flavor: 5
Total Score: 9

Thoughts:

I know, I know, trust me, I know. I’m going to anger a lot of fast food fans for ranking Popeyes this low. And look, I’m even a bit mad at myself. I love Popeyes, I eat Popeyes regularly, for pleasure, not for work. But we have to be real about the things we love. The consistency of Popeyes is all over the place.

Eating here is a gamble, you never know what you’re going to get in terms of quality. And I know it’s not location-specific because I run into this at various restaurants. Part of that is the nature of making fried chicken, each restaurant is always dropping chicken, whether it be mild, spicy, bone-in, or tenders and sometimes you come in at a bad time and you get some old chicken. A few times I’ve come in and gotten old stale tenders and nuggets, or seen the cajun fries being warmed under a heat lamp rather than being fried to order.

Normally I don’t hold this against Popeyes, it’s just what I’ve come to expect. And when you get lucky, the food is amazing. But you just can’t count on it, and because of that, I can’t rank this chain any higher.

Best Order:

Popeyes Chicken Sandwich with a side of Cajun Fries.

7. Taco Bell

Consistency: 4
Freshness: 2
Flavor: 3
Total Score: 9

Thoughts:

People are ride-or-die over Taco Bell, and I get it. What the chain restaurant does — stoner/drunk friendly guilty pleasure Mexican-adjacent flavors — it does incredibly well. But let’s not pretend this food is quality.

The cheese is pre-shredded, all the protein options are low-quality (the steak is downright inedible), the beans are powdered, the hot sauce (packet and sauce cup) is watery and lacking in flavor, and the produce is just sad.

But when these ingredients all combine something special happens. I can’t explain why the Mexican Pizza or the Crunchwrap Supreme ignites all the pleasure centers in my brain but it does. And given how cheap the food is and how consistent the product is (Taco Bell always tastes like Taco Bell) I always know Taco Bell is going to scratch that itch when I have it.

Best Order:

A toss-up between the Crunchwrap Supreme, Mexican Pizza, and Classic Crunchy Taco.

6. McDonald’s

Consistency: 3.5
Freshness: 3
Flavor: 3
Total Score: 9.5

Thoughts:

I’m giving McDonald’s a slight edge over Popeyes and Taco Bell because the consistency of its product doesn’t vary quite as much, but I’ve had many an experience at McDonald’s where I’ve been disheartened by cold fries or stale chicken McNuggets that taste like cardboard. And what’s with that ice cream machine that seems to never work?

At McDonald’s you’re not going to find a whole lot of fresh food, the fries are frozen before frying, same with the burgers, chicken, and most of the breakfast. For the most part, you’re essentially paying for warmed-up pre-cooked food.

The burgers have stepped up in quality as of late and if you haven’t been in the last year, it’s worth checking out. The smartest move for McDonald’s to make is to elevate their game when it comes to their core line of products, and it seems like they’re doing just that.

We have high hopes that McDonald’s continues to make improvements.

Best Order:

A Quarter Pounder and Fries. For the best experience, eat these immediately after ordering. Park the car if you have to!

5. Wendy’s

Consistency: 3
Freshness: 4
Flavor: 4
Total Score: 11

Thoughts:

Before the era of what I like to call New Classics (your Chipotles, Chick-fil-As, etc) Wendy’s used to be the gold standard of fast food. The burgers are made using fresh non-frozen beef, everything is cooked to order, and the menu is robust. The cheeseburgers are amazing, the chicken sandwiches are amazing, the sides are interesting — where else are you going to be able to get a side of chili and a baked potato? Everything Wendy’s does, they do well and if I’m taking a road trip, Wendy’s is always the go-to.

It just doesn’t have the quality control of the fast food restaurants we’ve ranked higher. Your experience is going to vary, sometimes your fries will be stale, or the chicken sandwich will taste like it has been sitting around for a long time. The burgers are almost always on point, so your safest bet is to order a cheeseburger.

Best Order:

Baconator with a side of Spicy Nuggets.

4. Chipotle

Consistency: 2
Freshness: 5
Flavor: 5
Total Score: 12

Thoughts:

Chipotle has a lot of haters and, as a Los Angeles native, I get it. Chipotle is marketed as Mexican food, and for some people in some places throughout the country, it’s one of the only representations of Mexican food, and nothing on the menu matches the depth of flavor of an actual taqueria. My point is, Chipotle isn’t really Mexican food and when you think of it as such, it misses the mark.

But if instead you think of Chipotle as a remedy to the typical practices of fast food, it’s kind of amazing. All of the food is fresh and prepared in-restaurant daily (except the tortillas). The meat is braised in the restaurant, the guacamole is made in the restaurant, the fajitas are grilled in a restaurant, the cheese is grated in the restaurant — you get our point. They’ve got some fresh food, that’s their strength.

Has that led to some incidences of food-borne illness? Yes, unfortunately, but anecdotally, that’s never been my experience at Chipotle. One thing I don’t love about the restaurant though is its lack of consistency. Sometimes the guacamole straight up isn’t good. Sometimes you’re going to get cold beans. Sometimes the meat will be lukewarm at best.

Having said that, I appreciate what the restaurant is doing and hope that more restaurants take note and start valuing fresh ingredients as much as their hungry customer base does.

Best Order:

Oh, boy are you in for a treat. We’ve done the research here, this is the best burrito build, best taco build, and best bowl build.

3. Chick-fil-A

Consistency: 5
Freshness: 4
Flavor: 4
Total Score: 13

Thoughts:

Chick-fil-A has got service down, more than any other fast food chain. And not because their employees say “My pleasure,” anytime you ask or thank them for anything. Your order comes out lightning fast, whether you’re ordering in the drive-thru or in the restaurant. More than a few times I’ve placed an order inside a Chick-fil-A, walked over to pick up my favorite sauces, napkins, and a straw, and arrived at my table only to find an employee already there with my food.

The food is always hot, and I’ve never had a mistake on any of my orders. I honestly don’t know how they do it or why other fast food restaurants can’t match up with this quality of service. And most of the food is hand-prepared in the restaurant daily. Chick-fil-A always provides a quality experience and for that, we have to rank this brand highly.

Having said that, the best menu items are all dishes I’d rather eat elsewhere. The chain doesn’t have the best chicken sandwich, doesn’t have the best fries, and doesn’t have the best breakfast. Where they really shine is those nuggets.

Best Order:

An 8-count chicken nugget with a side of Waffle Fries and a SunJoy (Arnold Palmer).

2. Raising Canes

Consistency: 5
Freshness: 5
Flavor: 4
Total Score: 14

Thoughts:

Raising Canes does one thing: chicken tenders, and they do it well. The chicken is one of the few chicken chains that uses fresh non-frozen chicken tenders, hand-breads them on sight, and cooks them to order. They hand-butter their famous Texas toast and grill them to order, and they even make their own lemonade. The only thing from Raising Canes not fresh are the crinkle-cut fries, which are fried to order but frozen.

There are days when I wish Raising Cane’s had more variety, but on days when I don’t feel like eating chicken strips, I simply go somewhere else.

Overall, I wouldn’t say the food is mind-blowing because I’ll always prefer a chicken sandwich or a cheeseburger over tenders (to be fair Raising Canes has a chicken sandwich but it’s made with chicken tenders, which doesn’t count), so in terms of overall flavor, I’m going to have to knock them a point. But if you want chicken tenders, this is the place to go.

Best Order:

3 Finger Combo with a side of fries and Texas Toast buttered on both sides.

1. In-N-Out

Consistency: 5
Freshness: 5
Flavor: 5
Total Score: 15

Thoughts:

Oh trust me, I’m fully aware that putting In-N-Out at number 1 is going to make a lot of people mad.

I’ve heard it all before, “In-N-Out is overrated!” “The fries suck!” “The burger isn’t that good” but, I’m sorry. You’re wrong.

I have no issue if you don’t like In-N-Out, that’s a fair opinion to have, but when you start saying things like “In-N-Out is overrated” or just “In-N-Out sucks,” it seems like you’re being contrarian for contrarian’s sake. Like saying the Beatles suck or pretending Radiohead isn’t the best rock band of the 90s. It just sounds ridiculous.

Tell me how a place that makes burgers from fresh beef to order, hand-peels and fries its French fries on sight, hand-leafs its lettuce, always has ripe tomatoes, gets its buns baked fresh, and has delicious luxurious milkshakes can ever be overrated? There is a reason In-N-Out has only closed one location ever (and it wasn’t for sales reasons) — the restaurant is just remarkably consistent, fresh, and delicious.

Is it my favorite fast food burger? No actually, that would be Shake Shack, but In-N-Out always tastes like In-N-Out. I’ve eaten at this restaurant in multiple states and up and down California and it always tastes exactly like I expect it to taste. For a thing to be overrated in the first place, it has to be consistently and wildly praised, which In-N-Out is. If it doesn’t live up to the expectations you’ve put upon it in your own head, that’s… kind of on you.

If I had to choose only one fast food restaurant to eat at for the rest of my life, it would be this one, no question.

Best Order:

Double Double with Fries and a Chocolate Shake.

PETA is known for having guilt-trippy ads with fun guest stars, so it’s no surprise that they got Emmy award-winning actress Edie Falco to cry over some stolen cheese. You never know what those animal lovers are going to do next.

In a new Super Bowl ad (that is set to air only in New Jersey…..) Falco stars as an unsuspecting woman who is trying to make pizza, but her cheese is viciously taken from her. The ad then shows Falco pleading for her cheese, juxtaposed with a real video of a cow running after her young calf. Text on the screen then reads: “Cheese isn’t your baby. But it robs a mother of hers. Go vegan.” It’s definitely something.

To take it one step further, PETA President Ingrid Newkirk threw in a Sopranos reference in the press release: “Once people think about severing the bond between mother cows and their beloved calves, it’s a fair bet that many of them will say ‘fuhgeddaboudit’ to cheese,” Newkirk said, seemingly forgetting that half of The Sopranos took place inside the bloody backroom of a butcher shop.

The company is offering vegan starter kits to anyone who was moved by Falco’s performance.

But what might be the most bizarre part of the ad is the fact that Falco was going to make pizza with a block of cheddar cheese. There are many dairy-free mozzarella alternatives!

Few beers are perfectly suited for drinking all year long. Sure, you could enjoy a piney IPA in the middle of winter or a crisp pilsner on a frigid day. But both of those beers hit the best during the summer months. Wheat beer, however, manages to seamlessly bridge the gap between the warmer and colder months. Especially Belgian witbiers, German hefeweizens, and American wheat beers.

This top-fermented beer style is known for having a larger percentage of wheat than the usual barley. This gives the beer a sweet wheat, fruity, gently spicy, sometimes banana-forward flavor, depending on the style (beer is so freaking diverse it’s nearly impossible to ever generalize). The sweet, winter-spiced flavor makes it a great beer for the cooler months.

To help you find the right winter wheat beer for you, we selected eight flavorful, wintry wheat beers and ranked them based on how well they drink during the colder months. Keep scrolling to see them all.

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8.) Avery White Rascal

ABV: 5.6%

Average Price: $13 for a six-pack

The Beer:

This award-winning Belgian-style wheat beer is unfiltered, and hazy, and gets its traditional flavor from the addition of Curaçao orange peel and coriander. The result is a beer that pays homage to the European beers that came before it with classic, memorable flavors.

Tasting Notes:

You’ll find notes of coriander, orange peels, sweet wheat, and yeasty bread on the nose. The palate continues this trend with a ton of sweet malt and wheat upfront and candied orange peels, coriander, and other light wintry spices.

Citrus, spice — what’s not to love?

Bottom Line:

This is a great interpretation of the traditional Belgian-style wheat beer. Yeast, wheat, orange peels, and spices. It does it right.

7.) Upland Wheat Ale

ABV: 4.7%

Average Price: $8 for a four-pack of 16-ounce cans

The Beer:

This year-round Belgian-style witbier was brewed with Belgian wit yeast, Pilsner malt, wheat, as well as Cluster, Vanguard, and Mt. Hood hops. This yeasty, unfiltered wheat beer gets its classic, European flavor from the addition of organic coriander and orange zest.

Tasting Notes:

Wheat, cereal grains, freshly baked bread, coriander, and orange peel are prevalent on the memorable nose. The palate is filled with hints of fresh bread, sweet wheat, yeast, coriander, and a nice kick of orange zest to tie everything together nicely.

Bottom Line:

This beer has everything traditional Belgian-style wheat beer fans love in a sessionable 4.7% ABV package.

6.) Troegs Dreamweaver

ABV: 4.8%

Average Price: $12 for a six-pack

The Beer:

Brewed with malted wheat, Pilsner, and Vienna malts as well as German Wheat yeast, it gets its hop presence from the addition of German Northern Brewer hops. The result is a classic wheat beer with notes of yeast, wheat, banana, clove, and gentle wintry spices.

Tasting Notes:

The nose is a mix of bread, yeast, wheat, bubblegum, pepper, and bananas. Drinking it reveals a lightly tart beer with notes of cracked black pepper, cloves, bananas, yeasty bread, sweet wheat, and lightly floral hops.

Bottom Line:

This is an interesting take on the classic German wheat beer. It’s lightly tart, spiced, and fruity.

5.) Ommegang Witte

ABV: 5.2%

Average Price: $13 for a six-pack

The Beer:

Ommegang is well-known for its traditional Belgian-style beers. It’s Ommegang Witte is one of its best. Brewed with flaked oats, and unmalted, and malted wheat, it gets its hop aroma and flavor from Hallertau Spalter Select hops. It’s spiced with coriander and sweet orange peel.

Tasting Notes:

There’s a lot of spice on the nose. Cloves, coriander, and other baking spices are followed by wheat, yeasty bread, and light floral hops. Sipping it brings forth notes of coriander, orange peels, cloves, cracked black pepper, ripe banana, and wheat.

Bottom Line:

This beer is heavily spiced in the best way possible. It has the warming spice of winter along with the classic flavors of European wheat beers.

4.) St. Bernardus Wit

ABV: 5.5%

Average Price: $18 for a four-pack

The Beer:

This beloved 5.5% ABV unfiltered Belgian witbier is hazy, cloudy, and known for flavors like wheat, cloves, and banana. It may have been created with St. Bernardus’ former master brewer Perre Celis in the 1960s, but it’s still extremely popular among Belgian beer fans today.

Tasting Notes:

You’ll find aromas of candied orange peels, cracked black pepper, coriander, cloves, yeasty bread, and wheat on the nose. The palate is lightly acidic, tart, and filled with notes of wheat, fresh bread, coriander, pepper, cloves, banana, fruit esters, and orange zest.

Bottom Line:

This is a classic Belgian witbier. It’s the kind of beer that American brewers from coast to coast attempt to recreate every day.

3.) Unibroue Blanche de Chambly

ABV: 5%

Average Price: $11 for six-pack

The Beer:

When it comes to Canadian beer brands for drinkers looking for Authentic European-style beers, it’s tough to beat the appeal of Unibroue. While you can’t go wrong with any of its beers, Blanche de Chambly is an outstanding Belgian-style wheat ale. Named for Quebec’s Fort Chambly, it’s known for its Sweet, citrus, and spiced flavor profile.

Tasting Notes:

The nose is a bouquet of yeasty bread, cloves, coriander, candied orange peel, and sweet wheat. The palate continues this trend with a ton of fruit esters, yeasty bread, wheat, orange peel, clover honey, and wintry spice. There’s also a memorable tart acidity throughout.

Bottom Line:

Drink this beer with your eyes closed and you’d assume you were drinking something from Belgium. Heck, drink it with your eyes open and if you’ve never heard of Unibroue, you’d think it was located in Belgium instead of Quebec.

Regardless, it’s delicious — that’s the point.

2.) Allagash White

ABV: 5.2%

Average Price: $10 for a six-pack

The Beer:

When it comes to American-made wheat beers, there are none as respected and beloved as Allagash White. This award-winning Belgian-style wheat ale is brewed with malted wheat, raw wheat, and oats. It gets its traditional flavor profile from adding coriander and Curaçao orange peel.

Tasting Notes:

A lot is going on with this beer’s nose. There are scents of candied orange peels, wheat, freshly baked bread, cereal grains, bananas, and coriander. Drinking it reveals hints of coriander, clove, yeasty bread, orange zest, lemongrass, cracked black pepper, and sweet wheat. The finish is yeasty, sweet, and lightly crisp.

Bottom Line:

The hype is real. When it comes to American wheat beers, you’ll have a hard to finding one better than Allagash White.

1.) Weihenstephaner Hefe Weissbier

ABV: 5.4%

Average Price: $12 for a six-pack

The Beer:

To say that the brewers at Bavaria’s Weihenstephaner have mastered the art of brewing is a bit of an understatement. Not only is the brewery old. It’s the oldest brewery in the world with a genesis of 1040. It’s the type of brewery that creates nothing but award-winning brews. Our favorite is its Weihenstephaner Hefe Weissbier, known for its fruity, spicy, banana-like flavor profile.

Tasting Notes:

Complex aromas of cloves, wheat, yeasty bread, bananas, citrus peels, bubblegum, and gentle spices make for a very welcoming nose. The palate only adds to this start with yeasty bready malts, bananas, cloves, fruit esters, honey, orange peels, and more warming spices. It’s a perfectly balanced sweet, fruity, lightly spicy wheat beer.

Bottom Line:

If you only try one beer on this list, make it Weihenstephaner Hefe Weissbier. This is as traditional as wheat beers get. Everything fits together in perfect unity.

Girl In Red announced that her new album, greatly titled I’m Doing It Again Baby!, will be arriving this spring. As part of the reveal, she also shared that the lead single, “Too Much,” will be dropping on February 9.

As for what to expect, she won’t be departing too far from what fans heard on 2021’s If I Could Make It Go Quiet.

“I definitely feel like this new album is a lot more optimistic, but I obviously have some sad love bangers because love is always going to be a part of it; I’ve been on a journey of feeling really shitty and having really low self-esteem, but I’m in my positive era now,” Girl In Red previously shared during an interview with Dork Magazine, where she spoke about how her sound will evolve on this new album

“It’s still a very eclectic record,” she added. “The first one was all over the place, and some people said that was my weakness, but absolutely not. All those songs had strong identities, and I’m doing the same thing on this record. Maybe in the future, I’ll calm down and put out a record like Folklore, but I’m not there yet.”

Check out Girl In Red’s album announcement post below.

I’m Doing It Again Baby! is out 4/12 via Columbia. Find more information here.

So far, Justin Timberlake has sought out to do everything he teased in 2023. Prior to his appearance on SNL, Timberlake debuted the lead single “Selfish” off his forthcoming album, Everything I Thought It Was. Timberlake then unveiled the dates for his supporting The Forget Tomorrow World Tour. Even with so much to look forward to from Timberlake, fans were still curious about the likelihood of a proper NSYNC reunion.

Today (January 30), during an appearance on The Kelly Clarkson Show, Timberlake added more fuel to the fire. When asked about the group coming back together for the Trolls Band Together soundtrack song, “Better Place,” he hinted that more could come.

“That was fun,” he said. “It’s kind of crazy — there’s so much that picks up right where it left off as far as chemistry. We’ve been in the studio. So there may be a little something in the future.”

With a project of his own slated to drop in March and a tour kicking off in April, Timberlake has been quite the busy man. The fact that he found the time to reconnect with his NSYNC member is commendable, whether or not it manifests this year.

Watch the full clip above.

Everything I Thought It Was is out 3/15 via RCA Records. Find more information here.

Paramount+ is already the home of multiple (very good) Star Trek shows, including Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, Star Trek: Lower Decks, and Star Trek: Picard. The streaming service will soon add an original movie to the roster.

Star Trek: Section 31 stars Michelle Yeoh as Philippa Georgiou, the character she portrayed in Star Trek: Discovery. According to the film’s official plot description, Georgiou will be “tasked with protecting the United Federation of Planets,” while also facing “the sins of her past.” And she’ll do it without breaking the Prime Directive, like Kirk in every episode of the original Star Trek.

“And we’re off to the races! Thrilled to report principal photography has started on Star Trek: Section 31,” executive producer Alex Kurtzman said in a statement to announce the beginning of production, according to Variety. “We welcome our incredible cast of new characters as they join our beloved Michelle Yeoh on her next wild adventure across the Trek universe.”

The Star Trek: Section 31 (Section 31 is an oft-mentioned organization in the Trek verse) cast also includes Omari Hardwick, Kacey Rohl, Sven Ruygrok, Robert Kazinsky, Humberly Gonzalez, James Hiroyuki Liao, and Detroiters legend Sam Richardson, who should be in everything.

Star Trek: Section 31 will premiere on Paramount+, but does not currently have a release date.

(Via Variety)

The landscape of R&B is changing, but producer Jamil Pierce, better known as Deputy, has his finger on the pulse. With credits on tracks by Mikhala Jené, Rihanna, and Ari Lennox, the prolific artist has helped craft a multitude of alternative R&B and melodic hip-hop hits.

This year, Deputy is nominated for two Grammys — Record Of The Year and Best R&B Song, for his work on Victoria Monét’s “On My Mama.” As his resume holds, Deputy has become a go-to collaborator for women in R&B.

Deputy’s love of music traces back to his childhood in Brooklyn, where his days were spent inside his grandmother’s and great-grandmother’s homes, soundtracked by soap operas, and “easy listening” radio stations. Some of his favorites included Stevie Wonder, Luther Vandross, The BeeGees, Phil Collins, Cyndi Lauper, and Madonna.

“I didn’t know half of what they were talking about at the time,” says Deputy. “But the melodies were pretty cool. As a kid, it just developed this love for music.”

As a young talent with an old soul, Deputy always sought to create songs with which, he could form an emotional connection. Having worked on the business side and the creative side of the industry, Deputy has covered his bases, but still has visions for the future of music.

We catch up with Deputy shortly before the Grammys to discuss the current realm of music, and how one of the biggest hits of the past year came together.

One of your first experiences in the industry was working as an intern at JIVE Records. What would you say is the most important thing you’ve learned while working on the business side?

Hits keep the lights on. I say that because I was able to see the artists, at that time, come to the office and see how the energy of everyone who worked there changed. Once those artists came into the office, I just noticed everyone’s energy was different. “Oh, Justin Timberlake is here” or “Oh, Britney Spears is here.” Just seeing that made me realize hits make the building move.

You signed to Roc Nation in 2009 as a producer. What made you want to realign your focus from the business side to the creative side?

I did my internship at Jive Records because it was my way to get into the industry. My goal was always to be a music producer. I didn’t know anyone in the industry to get my feet in the door. Once I quit my job at Morgan Stanley and I found that internship, it was just my point of entry into the industry. The purpose is always to be a music producer.

Having worked with Ari Lennox, Rihanna, and Victoria Monét, how do you feel about the current landscape of R&B?

A lot of my R&B songs are with women, but having a balance with a male presence would be fire to just, add something new. I think for me, I would like to inject something new. A new sound, something that’s disruptive and urgent. I love what we’ve done with the genre so far. And I think that we’re at a space right now, where we can add something else to elevate something different.

I get what you’re saying. You don’t necessarily imagine a male-dominated landscape, but you want to bring back that era of the male singers crying in the desert, like in the ‘90s

Yes. 100%. Like, there were a lot of men who showed vulnerability. They showed vulnerability within the music. People wanted things. No one wants anything anymore. Back then, people cried for things, like, “I cry for you. I’ll give you the stars, and moon, and whatever.”

How did you first connect with Victoria Monét?

I first met her a few years ago at a random studio session. I was like, ‘Hey, what’s up? I’m Dep” A few years after that, her manager reached out to me for a session. It was somewhat of a random reach out because I didn’t really know her manager like that. Our very first session was for [the title track to Monét’s 2020 EP] Jaguar, which sparked the whole Jaguar era. But yeah, it was just basically her manager reaching out, saying, “Hey, would you like to do a session with Victoria?” Knowing who she is, and how crazy her pen is, I definitely said “Yeah, let’s do it.” That one reach-out turned into this amazing moment four years later.

Part of the catchiness of “On My Mama” is that Chalie Boy sample. And me, being from Dallas, the original song, “I Look Good,” was always in rotation. So I’ve gotta ask, how did you end up using this sample?

Victoria was writing her verses, and as she’s writing, I’m in my head too. At this point, the beat is the beat is done and it’s just really left for her to do the writing. So, I’m just there chilling, while she writes and she starts singing the verse, so in my mind, I’m like, “Oh my god, this is crazy.” At the same time, I’m hearing “On my mama, on my hood.” Then I’m like, “Yo, Vic, it would be dope if we use [the sample]. I could see her looking at me, and I’m like “We need to do this.” Her genius after that was pretty much just taking the song and interpolating it into her own way. But it really just came off of me just vibing with the track while Victoria was writing.

What was your reaction when you learned the song was nominated for two Grammys?

The day the nominations came out, I was still sleeping. My phone was blowing up, and I didn’t understand why my phone was blowing up. And bro, I was really tired, and I was ignoring the calls. So when I finally realized why everyone kept calling me, it was definitely a surprising moment. I felt extremely grateful. I felt excited. I felt acknowledged. Not only for me, but for Victoria herself, just understanding her journey as a songwriter and as an artist. Seeing her get her flowers was an acknowledgment that she deserved. I didn’t even know the nominations were happening that morning, but it was a grateful feeling for sure.

What do you think is the biggest issue artists are facing today?

Social media, I think, on several levels. Some artists are extremely talented, but they’re not social media savvy. And we’re now in a climate where your personality and your activity on social media precedes everything that you do with your music. So now. you’re known for your antics, you’re known for your colorful personality outside of the music. And some artists that are really talented, they don’t have that other side of the brain working for them where they can do both. So I feel like some artists don’t get a chance to benefit from being amazing artists that the world knows because they don’t really have the personality or they haven’t yet figured out how to be social media savvy.

On the flip side of that, I feel like the artists that are social media savvy, I feel like some of them might lean too much on social media, in terms of the engagement that they get, and may not realize that sometimes that’s not enough. When it’s time to go on tour, your tickets might not be selling as much as you thought, because your social media tells you one thing, but when it’s time to sell tickets, it’s a whole different story. I think social media in some ways affects the artists and if an artist is able to do both, then great. But it can be misleading and it can be a tool. You just have to understand the different pitfalls that come with that.

“On My Mama” has proven to be a viral hit, in both its audio and its visual form. Which avenue do you think is the most valuable for artist? Spotify? YouTube? TikTok? Or something else?

A lot of songs are discovered through TikTok. And it’s crazy, because your song could come out today, and somehow, someway, somebody does something funny a year from now, or two years from now, with that same song, and a challenge or whatever the cool thing is at that point. TikTok can allow you to have a resurgence, even if the song came out two years ago. So I feel like TikTok is probably one of the platforms that allow a lot of discovery to happen for artists and their songs.

What are you most looking forward to with Grammy season?

As of right now, it’s a lot of anxiety — a lot of great anxiety. But I mean, I’m just looking forward to just being in a space with peers that I look up to, and peers that are my friends. And just enjoying the moment with them. And being acknowledged for all the hard work and all of the years that I’ve put into my craft and getting to this level. To be a part of such a prestigious award, like Record Of The Year, just getting that acknowledgment, I want to live in that moment, and I want to enjoy it, and I want to be present.

This past week has been a chaotic one in the rap and pop culture world. For those who might have missed it, Megan Thee Stallion dropped her new single, “Hiss,” where she called out a bunch of other rappers. One line in particular, which had a reference to “Megan’s Law,” sparked a feud with Nicki Minaj.

Over the weekend, Minaj posted about Megan, calling her out repeatedly for the lyric. She also fired back with her own track, titled “Big Foot,” as she had been calling Megan that — due to both her tall height and the Tory Lanez shooting incident.

When Did Nicki Minaj First Call Megan Thee Stallion “Big Foot?”

Although Nicki Minaj calling Megan Thee Stallion “big foot” gained traction this weekend and through her song, one Twitter user pointed out that she had been calling her that for quite a while. The user directed to a tweet that Uproxx cover star Latto made back in 2022, where she had shared DM’s between herself and Minaj during an argument.

In one of Minaj’s replies, she wrote, “I could say the same thing. But would you or big foot care? No,” seemingly referencing Megan in the comment.

Check out Latto’s 2022 tweet about Minaj below.

Megan Thee Stallion is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Young Thug’s YSL RICO trial has forced Georgia authority to rummage through the “Slime Sh*t” rapper’s past lyrics with a fine-tooth comb. Several of hip-hop’s head honchos have spoken out against the demonization of rap as an art form. Others like Fat Joe have even taken it as far as to claim that most rappers are embellishing or flat-out lying in their songs.

On January 29, during Kai Cenat’s Twitch livestream, 21 Savage showed that there’s undoubtedly some truth to those statements. In 21 Savage’s music, he’s a gritty Atlanta good ready for anything. But when the “N.H.I.E.” rapper was face-to-face with a few snakes, 21 Savage hilariously changed his tough guy tune. Following a game of “What’s In The Box,” Cenat decided to take things up a notch, bringing out a pair of snakes. This immediately sent 21 Savage running for the hills as the streamer’s live chat flooded the comment section with laughing emojis.

But 21 Savage got his revenge before the stream ended when the duo sat down for a game of Madden. After making a friendly wager of $300,000, 21 Savage came out victorious, which sent the otherwise sweet-hearted Cenat into a spiral.

Watch both clips below.

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

Indie music has grown to include so much. It’s not just music that is released on independent labels, but speaks to an aesthetic that deviates from the norm and follows its own weirdo heart. It can come in the form of rock music, pop, or folk. In a sense, it says as much about the people that are drawn to it as it does about the people that make it.

Every week, Uproxx is rounding up the best new indie music from the past seven days. This week, we got new music from The Smile, Katy Kirby, Militarie Gun, and more.

While we’re at it, sign up for our newsletter to get the best new indie music delivered directly to your inbox, every Monday.

Katy Kirby – Blue Raspberry

There’s a lot of indie music out there that sounds like Katy Kirby. But rarely do people do it as well as Kirby herself. 2021’s Cool Dry Place was a quiet, meditative record whose marvelous subtleties landed like gut punches. Newly signed to Anti- Records, the Texas-born, Nashville-based indie-folk songwriter has a lot more attention on her, and for good reason. Her new album, Blue Raspberry, is a masterful exercise in restraint, one in which the most memorable moments come from its quietude. There’s the gentle finger-picking and strings in “Party Of The Century;” the tender brush-drumming on “Alexandria;” and the swooning, orchestral embellishments of “Salt Crystal.” Blue raspberry may be an artificial flavor, but there’s nothing artificial about Kirby’s record.

The Smile – Wall Of Eyes

Within the span of less than two years, we’ve gotten two new records from The Smile, the Radiohead side project that features frontman Thom Yorke, guitarist and ad hoc everyman Jonny Greenwood, and former Sons Of Kemet drummer Tom Skinner. It’s easily the most prolific Yorke and Greenwood have been as a unit in years, and, frankly, it doesn’t bode well for the prospect of a new Radiohead album. But it’s hard to complain when the music is this transfixing, ornate, and outright gorgeous, as is the case with Wall Of Eyes. Whether it’s the amorphous ambiance and muted percussion of “Teleharmonic” or the uneasy, crackling guitars of “Read The Room,” The Smile makes a compelling case as something greater than a Radiohead side project. They’re simply one of the greatest new art-rock bands around.

Joe Wong – “What Have You Done”

Los Angeles composer Joe Wong is back with his sophomore album, Mere Survival, in just a few days. Meanwhile, Wong has given us one more taste before it officially drops. “What Have You Done,” like much of his work, teems with orchestral flourishes and psychedelic production, courtesy of guitarist Mary Timony. From the swelling strings in the intro to the slapback echo that colors his vocals in the chorus, Wong’s latest tune is a kaleidoscopic reverie.

Fanclubwallet – “Band Like That”

The irony of naming a song “Band Like That” isn’t lost on Hannah Judge, the Ottawa musician who originally started Fanclubwallet as a bedroom-pop project. That one-person endeavor has now transformed into a proper, full-fledged four-piece. As the lead single for their forthcoming EP, Our Bodies Paint Traffic Lines, “Band Like That” appropriately lives up to its name. It’s the sound of a group of musicians playing in a room together, as Judge’s songwriting takes on a new life that feels more fully fleshed out than ever before. This band has made a great song about starting a band.

Shannon & The Clams – “The Moon Is In The Wrong Place”

Weeks before Shannon Shaw’s wedding, her fiancé, Joe Haener, died in a car accident. Understandably, it completely upended her life and her bandmates’ lives, too, as they were all close with Haener. Shannon & The Clams’ forthcoming album, The Moon Is In The Wrong Place, traverses the tragedy, loss, and grief that arose from that moment. On the title track, the garage-rock group, with production from de facto member Dan Auerbach of The Black Keys, trudges through the calamity together, underlining friendship’s importance in times of distress.

Liquid Mike – “American Caveman”

Power-pop-punk perfectly sums up what Liquid Mike is all about. The Marquette, Michigan outfit sneaks jangly earworms into riffs slathered in distortion. Imagine if Mark Hoppus fronted a DIY band, and you’d get some semblance of Liquid Mike. As last year’s S/T showed, this band has got hooks on hooks, and they’re nowhere close to running out of said hooks. Paul Bunyan’s Slingshot, their soon-to-be-released fifth album, is chock-full of them. Take “American Caveman,” whose harmonica melodies foreshadow frontman Mike Maple’s vocal melodies in the verse. It’s all so catchy that you won’t even notice it’s in the same time signature as countless Rush songs.

Future Islands – People Who Aren’t There Anymore

It’s hard to believe that Future Islands’ legendary Letterman performance is officially a decade old now. The new-wave revivalists took the late-night stage just a couple of months before their breakthrough album, Singles, introduced them to a significantly wider audience. People Who Aren’t There Anymore, which sees them reunite with mixing engineer Chris Coady for the first time since Singles, boasts some of the band’s catchiest music since that breakthrough moment. It captures the band’s freewheeling energy and frontman Samuel T. Herring’s gripping charisma, from the propulsive, dancey “Say Goodbye” to the powerful, wistful ballad “The Fight.”

Militarie Gun – Life Under The Sun

Life Under The Gun was a fitting title for last year’s Militarie Gun album. It blazed by in a brisk 27 minutes, Ian Shelton’s gravelly delivery acting as a lodestar for both his own career and hardcore as a whole. On Life Under The Sun, the LA band’s new EP, four songs (and a NOFX cover) from that record gain new life and context. Absent are Shelton’s howling vocals, replaced by contemplative crooning from himself and peers like Manchester Orchestra, Bully, and Mannequin Pussy. For a band so heavily linked to the contemporary state of hardcore, Militarie Gun displays a gift for a different kind of command: one where quiet, peaceful instrumentation is just as effective as Shelton’s signature OOH! OOHs!

Hurray For The Riff Raff – “Colossus Of Roads”

“Colossus Of Roads” practically spilled out of Alynda Segarra’s pen. Composed right after the tragic Club Q shooting in Colorado Springs in 2022, Segarra’s new single is an urgent yet measured missive, a call to arms for the queer community and against the hegemonic powers that try to stifle it. “Say goodbye to America / I wanna see it dissolve,” Segarra sings, their winsome melodies contrasting the monstrous imagery of gunfire. It’s easy to understand why it’s their favorite song they’ve written to date.

Finnoguns Wake – Stay Young

Finnoguns Wake, like the best punk bands, was born from sheer circumstances and kindred spirits. After Tim “Shogun” Wall’s best friend moved overseas, he got in touch with that friend’s brother, Finn Berzin. The duo hit it off immediately, and that camaraderie is apparent throughout the four tracks on Stay Young, their debut EP. Like if Oasis were actually a punk band and enjoyed each other’s company, Finnoguns Wake makes music that transcends scenes; Shogun played in groups like Royal Headache and Shogun And The Sheets, and Berzin had recently purchased a guitar when the pair started making music together. From the Britpop crunch of closing track “Strawberry Avalanche” to the talk-sing cadences of “So Nice,” Finnoguns Wake make their influences their own. Despite its creators’ distance in age and origins, Stay Young sounds like the creation of two close, inseparable friends.

Hurray For The Riff Raff is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.