Category: Viral

MadeInTYO’s latest video from his new album Never Forgotten gets super literal with its concept, dropping him on Luna’s surface to perform half the video while borrowing influences from Japanese pop culture in the other. The video’s first half is an Akira-inspired cyberpunk fantasy with TYO speeding through a futuristic cityscape on a sleek motorcycle and rapping while surrounded by iconic images like Takashi Murakami’s smiling flowers. The second half puts TYO on the moon, where he raps with Earth in the background.

MadeInTYO made his return to the spotlight earlier this year after a two-year hiatus in the wake of his 2018 album Sincerely, Tokyo. While he made appearances in 2019 with ASAP Ferg on “Wam” and Chance The Rapper and DaBaby on “Hot Shower,” in 2020, he got back to work in earnest. First he appeared with Ferg once again on “Move Ya Hips” featuring Nicki Minaj, then he reunited with Chance on “BET Uncut,” which also featured Smino. His efforts culminated in the release of his second album, Never Forgotten, which released on October 30 and featured appearances from Cam’ron, Chynna, J Balvin, Toro Y Moi, Wiz Khalifa, and Young Nudy.

Watch the “To The Moon/Throw It Back” video above.

Never Forgotten is out now on Private Club. Get it here.

Fans have always been protective of their favorite entertainers but thanks to social media, that tendency has been turned way up. Now, stans view their every chart disappointment as a conspiracy against their beloved artists and perceive slights in every digital promo campaign slip-up. Case in point, the fans of the Griselda Records collective are as enthusiastic as any but they’ve recently taken to expressing displeasure at the indie’s affiliation with the larger Shady Records, feeling like Shady has suppressed the deserved success of the Buffalo boys’ venture.

Now, a cryptic tweet from core member Conway the Machine has those fans speculating on a possible split after the fans apparently decided that Griselda has become disgruntled with the distribution deal they signed with Shady in 2017. “I’m not f*ckin wit none of them n****s no more,” Conway wrote, leaving off any defining characteristics for just whom he might be cutting off. However, that hasn’t stopped fans from chiming in with their assumptions regarding Shady Records.

For what it’s worth, the Shady deal hasn’t stopped Griselda from continuing to be one of the more productive indie labels out in 2020, releasing no less than six projects over the course of the year, including multiple Westside Gunn albums, Benny The Butcher’s album, Armani Caesar’s album, and yes, a pair of Conway The Machine projects, all of which have been well-received by critics and fans. Many of the projects were distributed by EMPIRE, meaning no Shady funds were put into the creation, marketing, or promotion of those projects and Griselda seems to retain much of their creative control on their Shady releases.

Of course, none of those facts will ever stop fans from clamoring for ever more material from their favorite artists and believing that those artists should only ever go No. 1 on all the charts (these fans especially, because they seem to share a consensus opinion that everything else sucks). Unfortunately, there’s only room for one act at the top and it’ll always be the more popular ones, rather than just the ones with the most vehement supporters. However, that doesn’t mean they aren’t successful; if anything, this shows fans need to find new ways to define success.

The most menacing presence in rap has a bite every bit as bad as his bark. DMX emerged in the mid-1990s as a force to be reckoned with, distilling the gritty, pugnacious energy of New York City into a flow that snapped off every bar like a Doberman’s grip. His debut album, It’s Dark And Hell Is Hot, changed hip-hop forever, and for much of the late ’90s, DMX held a spot in every King Of New York debate. His chokehold on the game made him a fixture of video countdowns and radio rotation for most of the next decade, until the demons that he exorcised on each release finally caught up with him.

Last year, a rejuvenated DMX signed a new deal with Def Jam, reuniting with the label that helped turn him into a phenomenon and sparking renewed interest in future album releases from the man who once dominated hip-hop. Although the pandemic of 2020 undoubtedly slowed him down, if there’s one thing we’ve learned about Earl Simmons, it’s that nothing can keep him down for too long. While hip-hop awaits his future projects with bated breath, let’s take a look at the classic songs that made him such an icon and show why rap fans will always have a place in their hearts for Dark Man X.

Although this is a “Best Of” list, of course, “taste” is subjective. These are the songs that have made the biggest impact, so feel free to add your personal faves in the comments. Oh, and DMX has far too many amazing guest verses to list here, from “24 Hrs. To Live” with Mase and The LOX to “Money, Cash, Hoes” with Jay-Z and “4, 3, 2, 1” with LL Cool J. So, we’re sticking to DMX jams only.

10. “Where The Hood At?”

The second single from DMX’s fifth album, The Grand Champ doesn’t have quite the cultural pull of some of his other hits, mainly because it’s kind of a retread of his other anthemic moments. One thing it does have going for it though: What is quite possibly the most mind-bending moment in political theater we’ve ever seen.

9. “X Gon’ Give It to Ya”

X’s last big single sent him off with a bang. The lead single from the Cradle 2 The Grave soundtrack was better than the movie itself could have hoped to be (Earl Simmons is no Bobby DeNiro, gang) and with its driving beat, it became a career-defining smash, summing up everything that DMX is in one explosive finale. The song’s impact is as evident as it is ubiquitous; MMA fighters have walked out to it, Rick and Morty jammed out to it in season one of their eponymous show, and Deadpool merrily prepared to murder a pack of goons in his 2016 film.

8. “How’s It Goin’ Down”

DMX’s fourth single found him softening his image just enough that a pretty-sounding duet with Faith Evans wasn’t too out-of-place, proving that even thugs need love. Of course, with the song shot through by X’s usual subliminal paranoia, it’s less romantic than it is a rumination on the disintegration of a toxic relationship. Plus, there’s a bonus Ja Rule cameo in the video, from a time before the two rappers were at each other’s throats.

7. “Get At Me Dog”

DMX’s debut single landed in 1998 and instantly made “where my dawgs at?” a rallying cry for tough guys everywhere. Entering a hip-hop world that had just been stripped of its edge in raw, Thug Life-embracing rappers like Tupac, DMX immediately threw his hat in the ring for the next focal point for rap’s most belligerent impulses.

6. “Stop Being Greedy”

With a beat like a horror movie soundtrack, the second single from Hell Is Hot expands on the conditions that generated his truculent attitude. The draw of “Stop Being Greedy” is that illumination; the hellions of rap aren’t that way because it’s cool or fun, but because their “ribs is touching.” And hey, if anything, the intervening decades have only highlighted the message of the title; as billionaires accept government handouts while their workers starve, don’t be surprised if this one becomes a rallying cry for those who have-not when they start coming for what’s owed.

5. “What These Bitches Want”

Transforming the sinister serial killer to a playboy may have been the best trick this 1999 single pulled. Pairing X with Sisqo at the height of their respective powers (Sisqo had just released his album The Dragon and “Thong Song” was absolutely throttling the charts), the sequence of the song in which DMX lists his conquests resurfaced this year as an internet meme, proving that sometimes stepping out of your comfort zone can pay off in unexpected ways — even if it takes a while. Shout-out to all three Kims.

4. “Who We Be”

By the time The Great Depression rolled out in 2001, DMX had lost a little momentum. Its second single, “Who We Be,” was the only one to chart on the Hot 100. But what a song it is. X may as well have been predicting the events of 2020, highlighting police brutality and mass incarceration, mental health, and poverty conditions, as well as a slick mention of how easily rap stardom can turn toxic for its entertainers, all projected over images of 1960s Civil Rights Movement protests that could very well have been shot this year.

3. “Ruff Ryders’ Anthem”

Handy if you’re ever on fire — or if the block is hot — DMX’s third single from his debut is often considered one of hip-hop’s greatest songs. It helped establish Swizz Beatz as a go-to hitmaker and made just about everyone who watched the music video any of the 411 times it played a day fiend for an ATV. Strangely enough, it’s a song DMX apparently didn’t even want to do because of its “awkward” blend of New York and Atlanta aesthetics — then a no-no for an aggressive New Yorker (remember, this was the year they booed Outkast). Fortunately, he gave it a go and gave us the ultimate rap fight song.

2. “Slippin’”

X addressed his many, many issues often throughout his catalog, but rarely ever as poignantly as he did on “Slippin’.” One of his most relatable songs — in spirit, if not content — the first single from his 1998 second studio album Flesh of My Flesh, Blood of My Blood saw DMX rapping over a melancholy sample from Grover Washington Jr.’s “Moonstreams,” laying bare the traumas, losses, and minor victories of his biography. Yet what made the song resonate with audiences was the subtle optimism expressed in the hook: “I got to get up.” That’s something we can all relate to, even if our problems pale in comparison.

1. “Party Up (Up in Here)”

By 2000, DMX had become so big that even my pastor was quoting the second single from his third album … And Then There Was X. “Party Up” would become DMX’s highest-charting single and a pop-culture juggernaut that has featured in dozens of commercials, movies, TV shows, and video games thanks to its instantly recognizable beat by Swizz Beatz and a hook that turns any shindig into a straight-up hootenanny (there’s a difference, trust me). There’s even an indirect reference to the track in Hamilton, meaning even Upper West Side liberal white people will have at least passing familiarity with the guy they would call the cops on instantly.

There is perhaps no greater example of situational comedy than when Rudy Giuliani spewed factually incorrect statements about voter fraud outside of the Four Seasons Total Landscaping company in Philedelphia shortly after Biden’s victory. The event was so unexpectedly ridiculous that even comedy king Tim Heidecker couldn’t have imagined it for a sketch. Taking the opportunity to poke fun at the event, Heidecker quickly penned a satirical song titled “Rudy At The 4 Seasons.”

While seated at a piano, Heidecker delivered the hilarious tune which covered the ludicrousness of Giuliani’s recent speech in clever prose. “Standing out in front of a pile of manure / Spitting out lies that belong in the sewer / All while your boss is swinging his head in the sand / He sends you out to make a one last stand / You thought you were headed to a four star hotel / Just a couple of miles from the Liberty Bell,” Heidecker sang.

The comedian of course couldn’t help but also include a line mentioning Giuliani’s incriminating scene in Borat 2. “With your hand down your pants maybe you don’t wanna do a hotel / Maybe next time / You and your friends can find / Someplace that isn’t next to a dildo store,” Heidecker said.

Heidecker’s parody song arrives after the comedian shared a non-comedic album of his own. Back in September, the comedian debuted his LP Fear Of Death, which also featured a morbid collaboration with Weyes Blood.

Listen to Heidecker’s “Rudy At The 4 Seasons” above.

The world doesn’t really know when music fans will be able to attend in-person concerts again, but what we do know is that when shows do come back, things won’t be how they were before. Safety will be a higher priority than ever before in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, and Ticketmaster has a plan to provide as safe an environment as possible.

Billboard reports that Ticketmaster “has been working on a framework for post-pandemic fan safety” which will involve using phones to verify that a person has either been vaccinated for COVID-19 or they they’ve tested negative for the virus within a 24- to 72-hour window. The plan is still in a development phase, but it will reportedly involve the Ticketmaster app, third party health information companies like CLEAR Health Pass or IBM’s Digital Health Pass, and testing and vaccine distribution providers like Labcorp and the CVS Minute Clinic.” Fans would have to verify that they’ve been vaccinated or have tested negatively before being allowed into the event.

Ticketmaster president Mark Yovich says of the plan, “We’re already seeing many third-party health care providers prepare to handle the vetting — whether that is getting a vaccine, taking a test, or other methods of review and approval — which could then be linked via a digital ticket so everyone entering the event is verified. Ticketmaster’s goal is to provide enough flexibility and options that venues and fans have multiple paths to return to events, and is working to create integrations to our API and leading digital ticketing technology as we will look to tap into the top solutions based on what’s green-lit by officials and desired by clients.”

Read more about the plan here.

The Jrue Holiday trade market appears to be heating up in the lead-up to the 2020 NBA Draft. Last week, word came out that a handful of contenders are interested in a move for the veteran guard, with the New Orleans Pelicans “openly discussing” trying to find him a new team. Now, a new report indicates that a team with aspirations of making it to the postseason want to get in on the fun.

Marc Stein of the New York Times reports that the Atlanta Hawks have their sights set on a potential multi-team trade for Holiday, and are willing to part with the No. 6 pick in the upcoming Draft to make it happen.

Atlanta is a fascinating landing spot for Holiday. The team has plenty of money to spend this summer and can make his contract fit — Stein notes that it would probably be a year-long rental — and while he’s nominally a point guard, he’s perfectly comfortable playing off the ball. This makes him a snug fit next to Trae Young while also taking some defensive duties away from Young, which has never been a strength of his.

A Hawks team with those two in the backcourt, a frontcourt duo of John Collins and Clint Capela, and a handful of promising youngsters on the wings (Kevin Huerter, De’Andre Hunter, Cam Reddish) would be fun to watch. Whether it would be a playoff team is a different question, but depending on what they’d have to give up, it stands to reason that Holiday would get them closer to that goal.

Netflix has released the official trailer for its unusual upcoming docuseries, We Are the Champions, which focuses on the highly competitive world of some very unusual activities. Narrated by The Office‘s Rainn Wilson, who serves as executive producer, the trailer offers a brief glimpse at such unorthodox contests as Cheese Rolling, Dog Dancing, Chili Eating, and Frog Jumping along with a look at the fiercely determined individuals who strive to be the best at them. Although, some of them seem to have some doubts about dedicating their lives to rolling down a hill after a block of cheese or destroying their entire face by suffering through some super intense chili.

“As a self-proclaimed expert on the unconventional, I’m excited to introduce viewers to these small-world competitors with big-world dreams because, in this time, we could all use a hero—be it a dancing dog or the world Yo-Yo champion,” Wilson told Variety when We Are the Champions was first announced back in October.

Here’s the official synopsis:

From executive producer Rainn Wilson, We Are the Champions explores the quirkiest, most charming, and oddly inspirational competitions you never knew existed. Each episode follows a unique competition, providing a window into a world of determined, passionate, and incredibly skilled competitors who put it all on the line to become heroes in their own extraordinary worlds. Featured competitions include Cheese Rolling, Chili Eating, Fantasy Hair Styling, Yo-Yo, Dog Dancing and Frog Jumping.

We Are The Champions starts streaming November 17 on Netflix.

As the live entertainment shutdown continues, artists must continue finding creative ways to boost their income. While some, like Cardi B and Tyga, adopted the OnlyFans approach, and others like Blimes And Gab or Run The Jewels, rely on TV money from song placements and sponsored concerts, others are innovating any way they can. Take LA rapper Blueface, who rode high last year on the success of his single “Thotiana” but has nowhere to perform it now.

To offset the loss of performance revenue, it appears Blueface has listed his “Blue Girls Club” mansion on Airbnb — with three bedrooms and two-and-half baths — for $2,500 a night. The mansion itself has been the site of Blueface’s latest project which is incidentally also hosted on his OnlyFans: an unofficial reboot of the popular Vh1 reality show Bad Girls Club, which seems like mostly an excuse for Blueface to hang out in the house with a group of uninhibited women and watch them get into fights. However, he maintains on his social media that he has not added them to his boastful total of women he’s had sex with.

For what it’s worth, Blueface isn’t the only rap star making use of Airbnb. In September, Will Smith gave fans the opportunity to stay at his Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air mansion.

Demi Lovato turned in perhaps the defining song of the election season when she released “Commander In Chief,” which asked big questions and offered scathing criticisms of Donald Trump. Lovato was a guest on Late Night With Seth Meyers yesterday, and on the show, she revealed that the song was inspired by another political tune: Pink’s 2006 single “Dear Mr. President.”

“I was thinking about the music that’s out there right now, and I was like, ‘Why isn’t anyone talking about what’s happening?’ In the ’60s and ’70s, when anything political would happen, music was such a key element to help people process and get through it. So I was like, ‘You know, I really need to step up my lyrics and make it about something other than just my life.’ So I started making more music that is less about me and more about the broad scope of what’s going on in the world, and one of the songs that we came up with was ‘Commander In Chief.’ And it was inspired by Pink’s ‘Dear Mr. President,’ you know, back however many years ago that came out, and I wanted to do like a newer version.”

Lovato previously expressed her disappointment at how close the election is, writing on Twitter, “Kind of terribly sad how close this election was. After this year and especially this summer it should’ve been a landslide. I don’t get it. Truly. I’m not losing hope. My faith is strong. Just very disappointed at how close this is. Like…. really y’all?”

Watch the full interview above.

In a time when some sort of norm-shattering event is happening by the minute, it’s downright impressive that people are still having at a laugh at Rudy Giuliani holding a Trump campaign event at Four Seasons Total Landscaping instead of the Four Seasons hotel. The viral moment has had considerable staying power, and according to NPR’s David Greene, people are still calling the sex shop next door, Fantasy Island, and asking, “Is Rudy there?” several times a day.

While the event has been a merchandising boon for Four Seasons Total Landscaping, who’s already selling T-shirts, Fantasy Island didn’t capitalize on the viral moment yet. But owner Bernie D’Angelo did tell Slate that he is enjoying the hilarity of it all, and it has been brought a huge amount of hits to the store’s Facebook page. “We could never afford advertising like this,” he said. “This is worldwide. I don’t know if I’ll ever trend like this ever again.”

D’Angelo particularly enjoyed the delicious irony of the viral event. Via Slate:

“What are the odds, you know? Donald Trump starts out playing around with Stormy Daniels, and next thing you know, one of his final hurrahs is going to be down the street from an adult bookstore that’s been there for 40 years. You can’t write this stuff. Basically, I was pretty much in awe of the funniness of the whole situation.”

While this all sounds pretty embarrassing for Giuliani, at least nobody’s talking about him sticking his hand down his pants in Borat 2. Silver linings, right?

(Via David Greene on Twitter, Slate)