Category: Viral

HBO’s The Righteous Gemstones recently wrapped up its fantastic second season, so you know what that means? That’s right: it’s bloopers time, folks.

Here are a few highlights from The Righteous Gemstones season two blooper reel:

-Danny McBride using “f*ck you” as a placeholder insult of the actual line

-John Goodman making this face

-Adam DeVine struggling to remember the names of his muscle men God Squad

-McBride losing it after asking Joe Jonas about his “favorite stuff” that he’s done

-Edi Patterson making an orgasmic noise that no word in the English language can possibly describe

-Walton Goggins nearly throwing out his shoulder after flipping the bird

-Patterson saying, “Eat this, that’s the leader’s jizz because we got both boners because we know about boners” while pantomiming giving her on-screen brother a handjob

-McBride, Patterson, Tim Baltz, and Cassidy Freeman puking on each other with hoses

The Righteous Gemstones: good show.

As for when it’s coming back for season three, first off, don’t be greedy. Season two just ended. Give them some time, OK? But if you must know, don’t expect another three-year gap like the break between seasons one and two (unless Baby Billy’s COVID cure actually causes COVID). Based on McBride’s previous HBO shows, Eastbound and Down and Vice Principals, season three should (hopefully!) premiere in 2023 or 2024.

Bandcamp, the artist-friendly music marketplace and content community, has been sold to North Carolina-based Epic Games. Epic is most notably behind the wildly popular game Fortnite, as well as the widely used game development environment Unreal Engine. You can go ahead and file this as a most surprising advancement in the independent music sphere. Terms of the deal with Epic have not been disclosed.

In a statement posted to the Bandcamp blog, CEO Ethan Diamond assured that “Bandcamp will keep operating as a standalone marketplace and music community, and I will continue to lead our team,” and that business should operate pretty much as usual for artists who sell their music and merchandise on the platform. To date, Bandcamp has issued close to $1 billion in payments to artists and labels and the Oakland-based company has been an integral disruptor in a music industry increasingly dominated by music streaming and major labels. Artists net an average of 82 percent of revenue from each sale, which represents a handsome sum compared to the tiny fractions of a penny that they claim via Spotify and other streaming platforms.

Diamond elaborated that “…Behind the scenes we’re working with Epic to expand internationally and push development forward across Bandcamp, from basics like our album pages, mobile apps, merch tools, payment system, and search and discovery features, to newer initiatives like our vinyl pressing and live streaming services.” He also said Epic was the right partner for this new venture because, “We share a vision of building the most open, artist-friendly ecosystem in the world, and together we’ll be able to create even more opportunities for artists to be compensated fairly for their work.”

To some, it may be a bit disconcerting that a company like Bandcamp — who have presented themselves as nothing short of fiercely independent — are selling out to a major player in the digital space, but this is the nature of the beast in 2022. You can only grow so much as a purely independent company and ultimately, you need more resources to scale up. While Bandcamp is promising to continue to provide a fair grounds for artists to sell their music, where you stand on either line in the sand of this sale is entirely up to you and your values.

Read CEO Ethan Diamond’s statement in full below:

“I’m excited to announce that Bandcamp is joining Epic Games, who you may know as the makers of Fortnite and Unreal Engine, and champions for a fair and open Internet.

Bandcamp will keep operating as a standalone marketplace and music community, and I will continue to lead our team. The products and services you depend on aren’t going anywhere, we’ll continue to build Bandcamp around our artists-first revenue model (where artists net an average of 82% of every sale), you’ll still have the same control over how you offer your music, Bandcamp Fridays will continue as planned, and the Daily will keep highlighting the diverse, amazing music on the site. However, behind the scenes we’re working with Epic to expand internationally and push development forward across Bandcamp, from basics like our album pages, mobile apps, merch tools, payment system, and search and discovery features, to newer initiatives like our vinyl pressing and live streaming services.

Since our founding in 2008, we’ve been motivated by the pursuit of our mission, which is to help spread the healing power of music by building a community where artists thrive through the direct support of their fans. That simple idea has worked well, with payments to artists and labels closing in on $1 billion USD. And while over the years we’ve heard from other companies who wanted us to join them, we’ve always felt that doing so would only be exciting if they strongly believed in our mission, were aligned with our values, and not only wanted to see Bandcamp continue, but also wanted to provide the resources to bring a lot more benefit to the artists, labels, and fans who use the site. Epic ticks all those boxes. We share a vision of building the most open, artist-friendly ecosystem in the world, and together we’ll be able to create even more opportunities for artists to be compensated fairly for their work.

Whether you joined Bandcamp recently or have been with us since the beginning 14 years ago, thank you for being a part of this incredible community, and we look forward to serving you for many years to come!

Ethan Diamond
Bandcamp co-founder and CEO.”

A slew of injuries, inconsistencies, and poor performances have brought the Los Angeles Lakers to 27-34 on the season, two games up on the 11th-seeded Portland Trail Blazers, who are currently outside of the play-in tournament. Despite that, as well as Los Angeles losing 10 of its past 13 games, LeBron James remains understandably confident.

“We still have games to play,” he said in Tuesday’s post-game presser. “Until you stomp me out, cut my head off, bury me 12 feet under, then I got a chance. So, that’s my confidence.”

While Los Angeles has not played up to expectations, James is having another excellent season. Plus, it should be noted he and Anthony Davis have played a mere 21 games together this year, although the Lakers are 11-10 in those games.

Of course, nobody has to agree with James’ continued optimism, but his aim is a title and the only way to win one is to keep believing.

“At the end of the day, we got to come in here and win ballgames, and we got to play better,” James said. “… I hate losing. I feel like poop right now. But tomorrow is a new day, and I’m going to be prepared and ready for the Clippers on Thursday.

“That’s my mindset. That’s just who I am.”

Kanye West and Kim Kardashian are now legally single after their first divorce hearing, according to TMZ. The hearing took place via teleconference without the presence of Kanye West, who has objected to the proceedings all along, even going so far as to fire and hire his fourth and fifth attorneys, respectively, just a day before the hearing. Kanye had previously tried to delay their official divorce using a legal loophole and challenging their prenuptial agreement, but had already requested to have the court proceedings expedited after saying she had no desire to reconcile with her now ex-husband.

However, Kanye’s lawyers did have some conditions for agreeing to Kim Kardashian’s newly single status, although only one was granted. The right to any money that is supposed to be divided up will be preserved if either of them dies, but a request to prevent Kim from transferring assets she has in trust was denied, as was the final condition that Kim would waive her privilege to withhold any communications with a new spouse should she get remarried.

The two celebrities are now officially single, but it remains to be seen whether that stops Kanye from making overtures to reconcile via social media or haranguing Pete Davidson, Kim’s new beau.

Rum has yet to captivate the mainstream in the way whiskey has. Okay, fine, it’s not even close. Even the dark, aged expressions don’t have anything approaching bourbon-level devotion among fans here in the US. And white rums are often relegated to being mixers — the base for drinks like the mojito and daiquiri or even more sugary tiki concoctions.

That’s a shame because there some very tasty white rums on the market. Sure you have your old standards, Bacardi being foremost among them, but there are also smaller brands emerging that exhibit a deep commitment to craft. You can even have aged white rums — which spend a few months or years in the barrel only to have the caramel color removed using charcoal filtration techniques.

All of this nuance means there’s plenty of variation between expressions to warrant a blind taste test. So that’s exactly what we’re going to do. Our lineup today includes:

• Captain Morgan White Rum
• Havana Club Anejo Blanco
• Wray & Nephew White Rum
• The Real McCoy 3-Year-Old Rum
• Bacardi Superior White Rum
• Banks 5 Island Rum
• Don Q Cristal Rum
• Cruzan Aged Light Rum

Let the white rum sampling commence!

Part 1: The Taste

Taste 1

Tasting Notes:

A lot is going on with this rum’s nose. There are notes of coconut, tropical fruits, and citrus peels. It’s slightly oaky and full of vanilla. The palate is highlighted by sweet sugar cane, more tropical fruit flavors, slight spice, and a gentle, dry, warming finish that left me craving more.

Overall, it’s a decent rum that I would try again.

Taste 2

Tasting Notes:

While not overly abundant with aromas, the nose did have hints of ripe pineapple, toasted vanilla beans, toffee, and rich, oaky wood. Drinking it brought forth flavors like coconut chocolate, more vanilla, sugarcane, gentle wintry spices, and more light fruity flavors throughout. The finish was dry, sweet, and warming.

Taste 3

Tasting Notes:

On the nose, this rum is surprisingly dull with slight aromas of sugary vanilla and maybe just a tickle of cracked black pepper. But that’s really pushing it. The palate was slightly more flavorful with light pineapple, cane sugar, and some vanilla.

All in all, it’s a pretty bland and unexciting rum, to say the least.

Taste 4

Tasting Notes:

In the absence of color, this rum’s nose let me in on the flavors I was in for. Aromas are fruity, sweet cinnamon, molasses, and full of vanilla beans. The palate continues this trend of surprising my senses with notes of ripe pineapple, coconut meat, sugar cane, vanilla beans, and gentle, oaky spices that tie everything together nicely.

Taste 5

Tasting Notes:

This rum smells like a dark rum. There are notable aromas of butterscotch, treacle, vanilla beans, and a slight fruitiness. The palate continues this trend with notes of dried fruits, vanilla cream, brown sugar, caramelized pineapple, and gentle baking spices. Overall, it’s a very flavorful white rum.

Taste 6

Tasting Notes:

There isn’t much smell to this rum besides a sweet, saccharine sugar smell. It’s like someone made a simple syrup and then told you it was rum. There might be faint vanilla in there too, but it might also be my imagination. The palate followed suit with more teeth-aching sweetness with a slight treacle flavor.

Honestly, this rum tasted like pure sugar with a hint of alcohol heat.

Taste 7

Tasting Notes:

This is a surprisingly fruity rum on first nosing. Ripe pineapple, sweet banana, and dried fruits met my nostrils. On top of that, there were scents of vanilla beans and gentle wintry spices. Sipping it revealed more vanilla cream, buttery caramel, raisins, more ripe fruit flavors, berries, and just a hint of cracked black paper to add a little spice into the mix.

Taste 8

Tasting Notes:

This rum had a bit of a funky smell, and I could tell it was very high proof. I also noticed the aromas of molasses, vanilla beans, and maybe some cinnamon but not much else. The aromas were definitely overshadowed by the alcohol heat. Sipping it almost knocked me completely out of my chair.

Once I got past the overwhelming alcohol taste, there were notes of vanilla, caramel, molasses, and a slight fruity flavor. Overall, the alcohol was a bit too much to handle though.

Part 2: The Ranking

8) Captain Morgan White Rum — Taste 6

ABV: 40%

Average Price: $30 for a liter

The Rum:

There are few more well-known rums than Captain Morgan, but name recognition doesn’t necessarily equal value. This rum was created to be a mixer. This sugarcane-based rum was distilled five times in an effort to remove any harsh qualities and create a smooth, mixable rum and not much else.

Bottom Line:

I didn’t enjoy sipping this rum at all and really wasn’t surprised when I learned that it was Captain Morgan. It’s definitely not for sipping.

7) Bacardi Superior White Rum — Taste 3

ABV: 40%

Average Price: $18 for a liter

The Rum:

Like Captain Morgan, Bacardi is a massive name in the rum game. Its iconic white rum was created in 1862 by Don Facundo Bacardí Massó. It took him ten years to perfect the recipe. Designed to be mixed with, but not lost in the shuffle, it’s still one of the most popular white rums today.

Bottom Line:

Once again, I wasn’t surprised to see Bacardi land so low on the list. It’s cheap, available everywhere, and is an acceptable mixer. That’s all though.

6) Wray & Nephew White Rum — Taste 8

ABV: 63%

Average Price: $26

The Rum:

This is a bold punch to the gut rum with 63 percent alcohol. You’re really not supposed to drink this neat. This award-winning, classic white rum has been made the same way in Nassau Valley in Jamaica since the 1800s in small batches.

Bottom Line:

Wray & Nephew doesn’t mess around. This high-proof Jamaican rum has a ton of flavor. It’s just that it’s masked by having so much alcohol content. That’s great for the mixer that it is. But, come on, never drink this straight.

5) Don Q Cristal Rum — Taste 1

ABV: 40%

Average Price: $15

The Rum:

If you’ve never tried Don Q, now is the time. Its popular cristal rum is distilled multiple times to soften and mellow it before it’s aged for between one and five years in American oak barrels. Then the amber color is removed while keeping the bold flavor.

Bottom Line:

I wasn’t very familiar with Don Q before this blind taste test, so I didn’t really know what to expect. While the flavor didn’t knock my socks off, it’s definitely a decent mixer or sipper (if you enjoy sipping white rum neat).

4) Cruzan Aged Light Rum — Taste 2

ABV: 40%

Average Price: $12

The Rum:

This St. Croix-produced rum is made with a blend of various rums aged between one and four years in barrels that formerly held bourbon. It’s then filtered to remove color and mellow out the taste. It’s cheap, always available, and definitely a bargain mixer to add to your bar cart.

Bottom Line:

This is by far the least expensive rum on this list and ranked among the best. That’s fairly telling. Price doesn’t always dictate quality. This is a decent mixer and I’d even sip it in a pinch.

3) Banks 5 Island Rum — Taste 4

ABV: 43%

Average Price: $35

The Rum:

This is a really complicated rum. It’s a blend of twenty or more different rums from (you guessed it) five different “islands”: Barbados, Jamaica, Trinidad, Guyana (although technically a landlocked country), and Java. It’s aged between three and five years and then the color is removed through charcoal filtering.

Bottom Line:

I definitely expected Banks 5 Island Rum to place high on these rankings. It’s complex and flavorful due to the different rums present. It’s like taking a journey throughout the Caribbean and parts of South America in a glass.

2) Havana Club Añejo Blanco — Taste 5

ABV: 40%

Average Price: $21

The Rum:

When I hear terms like “añejo,” I usually just assume the bottle in question is tequila. In this case, it’s a way to differentiate between an aged and unaged rum. While not actually made in Cuba, this Puerto Rican rum is made using the original recipe from the Cuban Arechebala family. It’s aged for one year in oak barrels, blended, and then aged for another two months.

Bottom Line:

I’ve never had to privilege of trying the original Havana Club rum, but this Puerto Rican version definitely surprised me in overall flavor. It’s complex and mixable, but a rum I’d definitely sip neat as well.

1) The Real McCoy 3-Year-Old Rum — Taste 7

ABV: 40%

Average Price: $23

The Rum:

Named for prohibition-era rum runner Bill McCoy, The Real McCoy 3-Year-Old Rum is produced at the well-known Foursquare Distillery on the island of Barbados. This blended rum is aged for a minimum of three years in ex-bourbon barrels before having its caramel color removed using charcoal filtering.

Bottom Line:

With a name like The Real McCoy, I should have known that this rum wasn’t messing around. It’s by far the most flavorful and complex of the rums on this list. I will definitely crack this one open for another taste.

It’s been about a year and a half since Phoebe Bridgers officially introduced her very own record label, Saddest Factory Records. The endeavor seems to have gone well so far, as the label is home to artists people really like, including Claud and Muna. Now, the Saddest Factory empire is expanding: Bridgers is launching Saddest Factory Radio, a monthly show on SiriusXM.

The program is set to feature Bridgers talking with artists, including her label signees, and introducing listeners to some of her favorite music. The show is set to premiere on March 3 (tomorrow) at 6 p.m. ET and 9 p.m. ET on SiriusXMU (Channel 35), with further new episodes arriving on the first Thursday of each month.

Bridgers tells Rolling Stone:

“My favorite way to consume music is incidentally — something playing in the grocery store, an opening band I’ve never heard, a college radio station while trying to find signal on a road trip. I hope I can offer something like that to people who tune in. In my personal life, I have always had a radio show. Punishing my friends on road trips with hours of dirges and ambient music, I can’t wait to do it professionally.”

We don’t yet know exactly who Bridgers is set to have on the show, but listeners would be fortunate if she pulls from her pool of musical collaborators, as that list includes Taylor Swift, Conor Oberst, Lucy Dacus, Julien Baker, Matt Berninger, Lord Huron, Maggie Rogers, Kid Cudi, Paul McCartney, The Killers, and Lorde.

Kanye West allegedly may not want to divorce Kim Kardashian but it looks like he doesn’t mind enjoying himself while the two are going through their separation. After spending much of the early part of the year publicly dating actress Julia Fox, it looks like he’s found — well, not a replacement for Kim, but certainly a companion who fits a type. Kanye’s recently been seen out with a model named Chaney Jones, who some have described as a Kim Kardashian lookalike, and judging from a new social media post, it looks like they are more than friends.

After Kanye reposted a Shade Room photo of himself and Jones walking through a shopping center in Miami, Jones appeared in the comments to call Kanye “my love.” According to Complex, Jones also previously shared a selfie of the two together on her Instagram Story, adding fuel to the rumors that the two have been growing closer.

Prior to being linked with Jones, Kanye’s whirlwind fling with Julia Fox generated some truly bonkers headlines, including ones about their extravagant dates, and over the top gifts for her and her friends. When rumors began to circulate about the short-lived couples’ possible breakup, she confirmed them on no more auspicious an occasion than Valentine’s Day. It looks like some of Kanye’s theatricality may have rubbed off on her. Meanwhile, Kanye and Jones have yet to confirm that they’re dating, but if their social media activity is to believed, it looks like Kanye has met his match — at least for now.

I think Yasper did it. Let’s get that out of the way first, if we’re going to discuss The Afterparty with the finale, and presumably the big reveal to the whodunnit, coming this week. I think that for a bunch of reasons. He had motive (jealousy over Xavier’s success after their high school ska band, Skarpe Diem, broke up), he had opportunity (his whereabouts have always been a little murky), and he always seems a little too interested in helping Aniq — the prime suspect so far, who is perilously close to being railroaded into an arrest — snoop around the investigation in ways that could get him in trouble if he got caught (the earbud thing to listen in on interrogations, the lingering in rooms a beat too long, all of it a little weird unless there’s another reason). Plus, I just think the show would want the killer to be a recognizable face that has appeared in most of the episodes for a significant chunk of time, and Ben Schwartz checks both of those boxes. So there’s that.

But also, like, who cares?

I should clarify that. I don’t mean it dismissively, like that I’m not invested in the mystery at the core of the show, or in the show itself as a whole. Very much the opposite, actually. The Afterparty has been a ton of fun. I’ve been looking forward to the new episodes each week and clearing my schedule so I can watch them without interruption, and just generally basking in the relentless silliness of it all. It’s still early in the year and things can go sideways in any number of ways between now and December but, if I were a betting man, I’d put a fiver on this making my own personal Best of 2022 list. The point I’m making is that it’s all been so fun — the journey of it all — that focusing too much on the resolution seems like missing the point.

Think about what we’ve had here. We’ve had a series loaded with your favorite stars from your favorite comedies. We’ve had a cool premise executed well, with each episode focusing on a different character and presented in a different format, from rom-com to action movie to animation to a borderline police procedure. We’ve had a slew of perfectly stupid throwaway gags, from Channing Tatum showing up in a scene from a fake Hall & Oates biopic to posters lining the house for movies with titles like Legal Beagle. We had both a urination-based showdown…

… and one of my beloved “not so different” scenes, albeit slightly modified.

And again, it’s just been a lot of fun, every week. There’s a fair amount of hand-wringing among television critics and viewers — most of it justified — about what the deluge of content over the last few years has done to the medium. There are ten-episode shows that should have been eight-episode shows and eight-episode shows that should have probably been movies, if we’re being honest. There is a bottomless pit to fill with all the various streaming services and cable channels and it can really just get to be a lot. But it also creates opportunity. There’s room to do cool stuff. Cool stuff, for example, like this.

Try to remember that this week, if you can, as you smash play on the finale. The journey here has been such a refreshing ride. It almost makes the destination secondary, which is a weird thing to say about a show that opens with a murder that it promises to pay off by the end. I still think Yasper did it, but I have a decent amount of confidence that the show could hang a hard left 15 minutes into the finale and still pull it off.

Brett did it? Sure, why not?

Walt did it? I never trusted him.

One or both of the Jennifers did it? They seem like the type.

A stiff breeze or passing seagull brushed Xavier off the balcony and he fell to his death as a result of some sort of nature/karma combination initiated by a higher power who we meet in person when Xavier ascends or descends to the afterlife? I would laugh.

The thing to remember is that it’s a good show. And it’s cool it’s existed. And that we should say those things a lot out loud so the people who greenlight and finance these things go ahead and greenlight and finance more fun offbeat stuff like this going forward. Let’s get weird and stay weird. And cast Sam Richardson in more things. I still think someone should let or make him star in a modern-day reboot of Columbo, maybe one where Jake Johnson from New Girl plays a billionaire tech CEO who murders his co-founder and tries to cover it up with… oh, let’s say “holograms.”That would be fun. And that’s the kind of thing that could exist if we keep pushing boundaries with cool stuff like The Afterparty. There’s a multi-step process here and, as a wise man once said, it’s always good to trust the process.

Daniel Radcliffe’s low-key the best at his post-blockbuster career moves. He simply does the projects that he wants to do (including shaking his butt on Miracle Workers), and that’s his whole M.O., which has led him to sign on for Roku’s Weird: The Al Yankovic Story. Radcliffe’s already been revealed as “Weird Al” Yankovic in a first-look photo in bewigged glory for the “depraved” biopic. Filming is currently ongoing in Los Angeles, and that’s where the rest of the cast is coming together.

Speaking of which, expect some 1980s Madonna in this movie, and here’s a first look at Evan Rachel Wood in full Material Girl regalia:

Man, that brings back memories of my grandma being none-too-pleased about what my siblings were watching on MTV. Evan is crushing the tulle-and-costume-jewelry-clad Madge look (with teased-up hair and just an edge of sacrilegious accessorizing thus far), and it’s surely a nice, lighter turn of events after baring her soul in the Phoenix Rising documentary (largely about her Marilyn Manson allegations) coming soon on HBO.

In addition, Roku announced that the Funny Or Die-produced movie will also co-star Julianne Nicholson (also definitely needing something lighter after Mare of Easttown and The Outsider) as Weird Al’s mom, Mary Yankovic. Toby Huss steps in as Al’s dad, Nick Yankovic, and Rainn Wilson will portray radio broadcaster Dr. Demento. There’s no word yet on a release date for Weird: The Al Yankovic Story, but it’s not soon enough.

At just the age of 23 years old, Nija Charles is undoubtedly one of the music industry’s most sought-after songwriters. Her list of collaborators is a dream cast of names that any songwriter, or any artist at that, would love to have at her age. Cardi B, Meek Mill, The Carters, 21 Savage, Beyonce, Chris Brown, Drake, and Summer Walker are all people she’s worked to great success. Between chart-topping albums and top-20 Billboard Hot 100 songs, Nija’s resume shines on its one.

In 2020, Nija hit the jackpot — twice. She scored two No. 1s, the first being Lady Gaga and Ariana Grande’s “Rain On Me” and the second being Grande’s “Positions.” Her elevated success as a songwriter earned her recognition on various platforms. In 2020, she appeared on Rolling Stone’s Future 25, BET’s Future 40, and Forbes’ 30 Under 30 lists. Two years after she topped the charts as a songwriter, Nija is aiming for that same success as a singer.

Fresh off the release of her debut project, Don’t Say I Didn’t Warn You, we caught up with Nija to discuss her success as a songwriter, her goals for her own artistry, and how she’s able to do it all.

As a songwriter, 2020 proved to be your biggest year after you landed No. 1s with Lady Gaga and Ariana Grande. Ahead of your next chapter as an overall artist, how do you look at those moments when you reflect on them now?

Yeah, back in 2020, I didn’t realize how hard I was working and I’m just appreciative of my drive during that time. Getting two No. 1s, especially in pop, is not something you see every day, so it just proves to me that I could do anything. Working hard comes naturally to mean and I was able to put that into my artistry, that type of drive. Working during the pandemic, I got to be able to go back to how I usually work before I really got into writing professionally. I was in my room and just doing what felt good to me. That was really dope that I got to go back to my old self and I feel like that played a big part in my success during that year.

Even though you had success as a songwriter, were you concerned that these No. 1s would box you in as a writer and make it harder for you to be your own artist?

No, I never had a fear because I’m the type of person where it’s like if I want something, I’m going to do everything I can to make sure it happens. I know the music I make is good because I just love listening to music and making music for myself. So as long as I like it, that’s really all that matters to me. I’m glad that everyone else likes it. But no, there was never really a fear because I do it for my own enjoyment.

What’s one of two things that factor heavily into your success as a songwriter, as in, without them, you wouldn’t be as consistent as you are at the moment?

Humbleness and being grounded for sure. I would say that because I feel like a lot of people chase hits and success, but for me from the beginning, I make music because I want to make what I want to hear on the radio. I’m a fan of music so that’s how I always approach every song. I make it so that I can listen to it in the car and listen to my friends. I’m not chasing success and I feel like that plays out in the results. Two, I would say drive and just being a go-getter. I’m always on call, I’m always gonna finish something, [and] I never half-ass things. I feel like that’s definitely played a part in my consistency and it’s also why a lot of people trust me and call on me because they know that I’ll get the job done and I’m going to see things through.

Since these pair of No. 1 singles, how have you grown in your art and what’s contributed to this growth?

Yeah, I’ve grown a lot because one, I feel like I’ve actually been able to experience life more. When I stepped foot in the industry, I was still a teenager and just entering my 20s. So now, I’m learning life like before I really had anything to go off of, I was just writing about what I saw or things that I just heard about, but now I have my own life experiences to draw from through talking with friends and just maturing, that definitely played a big part. Creatively, music progresses and I’m inspired by other artists that I’m listening to and just broadening my music library and just taking inspiration from all types of genres. So yeah, maturing and expanding.

I remember a post you shared in early 2021 where you celebrated your signing to Capitol Music Group. What made that the perfect time and the perfect place to lock in a deal?

It was the perfect time because the three years prior, I just kept leveling up and I’ve worked with about 99% of the people that I looked up to. My first year, I worked with Beyonce and Jay-Z, my second year, I was a big Chris Brown fan growing up and I was able to score one of the biggest cultural records with him. Then, the year after that, I got the biggest pop songs, so it was just like, where do I go from here? I definitely wanted to try something new, and having so much success so early and so quickly, I just felt like that was the right next step. Also, the year before that, Beyonce featured me on “My Power.” So it was really the best timing for me. The reason why I chose Capitol was I was signed by Jeff Vaugh (Chairman/CEO of CMG). Me and Jeff, we’ve known each other over the years because he used to work at Artist Partner Group, so we’ve worked a lot especially at the beginning of my career because he was Kehlani’s A&R and I’ve worked a lot with her — my first hit was “Ring” with Cardi and her. My main thing was I wanted to go somewhere where they were passionate about me, and you know, he was the chairman. He really, really saw my vision as well as Amber Grimes (former SVP and Global Creative of CMG), so that was the perfect place for me.

Now that you’re forging your path as an artist, how has it been balancing creating work for yourself and other artists?

I feel like I’ve had to be more focused add more structure to my schedule. I ended up carving two or three days for me and/or two to three days writing for other people. So it’d be one and off three and two and separate them for each, so that was a big thing. I had to take like a month and a half off just to solely focus on me. I wasn’t doing writing sessions, which was different for me because that’s my everyday life, going to sessions and working with other artists, but I was locked in with myself. Creatively, I had to approach songs differently than I would when working with another artist because I had no boundaries. I was able to use my whole range, I was able to experiment with different melodies and flows, and not be scared or have to limit myself for it to work for multiple people. So it was definitely a lot of change.

The title of your debut project, Don’t Say I Didn’t Warn You, and the music within it presents a double entendre to listeners which is your arrival and impact in the music industry and the energy and qualities you bring to the table in a relationship. Was this intentional, if so, how did you fit them together?

Yeah, it was definitely intention because there are two sides to me, right? Everyone knows that I’m a songwriter and it’s hard to break out of that stigma of songwriters making it out and transferring into an artist and into the spotlight. But, I would never box myself in and I would never let anybody box me into one thing. It’s me telling the music industry and just telling the world, don’t say I didn’t warn you about how I’m coming and in the music that I’m creating, and I’m gonna beat the odds. Then, the story that I’m telling is about my past relationships. It was toxic, it was up and down, and you know, it was me saying “don’t say I didn’t want you” to him. So definitely, it was very intentional with the double entendre.

What were some of the sources of inspiration for this project?

The sources of inspiration were definitely Pop Smoke because I wanted to experiment with the New York drill scene. One of my main things was definitely combining R&B and drill. I’d been saying for months that I wanted to hear an actual singing song on top of a drill beat, so that was one of the inspirations. Also, I was listening to a lot of rap, a lot of pop, and a lot of R&B, and I just really wanted to combine all of those while using freeform melodies, flows, and structures on the records. Content-wise, where I drew inspiration from was just the past three years of my life being in my past relationship and the ups and downs of what we were going through and the feelings after a breakup. Also, me going through my 20s, maturing, becoming an adult, and just being young and successful and dealing with all of that. Achieving so many of those things while also learning how to be an adult at the same time. It definitely gave me a lot to talk about.

Another notable thing about this project is that you’re always in control on these songs, like “You Don’t Love Her” for example. What was your thought process with this direction?

For me, I always want to come from a position of power. I feel like a lot of the R&B that we listened to today is very — I don’t want to say, in the victim realm — but it’s always like, “Oh, you hurt me. Oh it’s me, I’m so sad.” We’ve seen a change within the female rap genre and they’re always in a position of power. I love listening to female rap and the power that they stand for and just always having such confidence. I want to hear that in R&B music. That’s the energy that I carry in general. I always want to make sure that I never feel like the victim or like I’m taking the L. I always want to come out on top because pride is a big thing as well. I never want to feel like I’m losing or just being a victim.

Was there more pressure for you behind writing and create creating content for this specific project as opposed to writing creative content for other people?

Definitely, I feel in the beginning there wasn’t a lot of pressure. I was just doing my own thing and really taking time for ourselves. But when it came down to the wire and it was like, okay, we have 75% of this and we see where this going and see how good this could be, that’s when the pressure was on. I just had to make sure that my mind music matched up to what people know me for. I have a lot of hits under my belt and there’s oftentimes where people feel like the songwriter gave their best songs away. I never want it to feel like that about me, especially because I feel like this is some of the best work that I’ve done. These are my stories, these are my sounds, I feel like I can’t hear other artists singing these records. That’s what’s most important to me. So the pressure was definitely on towards the end of it.

For those who are hearing you in front of the mic for the first time, what do you want them to keep in mind as they listen to your debut project?

One thing I one thing to keep in mind is that I am not the other records that you’ve heard me pen on, they were meant for other people. I want everyone to listen to this with an open mind and a clean slate and not compare this album, or this project, to my past work, that’s one thing. Two, I want everyone listening to this with expecting to heal, especially if they’re going through a toxic relationship. I feel like this is one of those projects where it’ll help you overcome those feelings. It’s definitely not something I’d be down in the dumps with. So those are definitely two things that I want them to keep in mind.

Don’t Say I Didn’t Warn You is out now via Capitol Music Group. You can stream it here.