Category: Worldwide

When the superdeluxe reissue of Prince‘s Sign o’ the Times drops on Friday, the liner notes will include an interview with Dave Chappelle where the comedian reflects not just on his love of Prince, but also the friendship he formed with the late musician.

As Prince fans know, he absolutely loved the classic Chappelle’s Show sketch where Chappelle played the “Purple Rain” singer in a hilarious retelling of the time he beat Eddie Murphy and his brother Charlie in a game of basketball and then cooked them pancakes. Not only did Prince confirm the story was true, but it led to him meeting up with Chappelle and the two becoming friends. But what no one knew is how much Prince helped the comedian when he made the shocking decision to walk away from his hugely successful series.

In the liner notes for Sign o’ the Times, Chappelle reveals Prince is the only person who supported him quitting Chappelle’s Show without hesitating. “He was one of the few people who truly cared about what was happening in my life.” Via Vulture:

He was the only one I knew who had already done it. In the loneliest corners of that experience, there was always a sign, like “Brooks was here,” that he had been there and lived to tell about it.

The mere sight of Prince reminded me that I’m not the last sane man on earth, and I’m not crazy.

He was the first person I knew who didn’t question my choices. In fact, he didn’t even ask me about them. He just told me, “Whatever it is, you’re right.”

Chappelle said, “He helped me understand that it might not be over and that there might be another side to it,” which turned out to be especially prescient. The comedian has had a resurgence since signing a multi-million dollar deal with Netflix, and he recently scored an Emmy win, which gave him the opportunity to deliver a very Chappelle-like message to critics during his acceptance speech.

(Via Vulture)

The Atlanta Falcons did that thing the Atlanta Falcons do on Sunday, as they saw what was at one point a 20-0 lead and later a 29-10 lead evaporate in the fourth quarter in an incredibly embarrassing 40-39 loss that was punctuated by one of the worst onside kick recovery efforts in NFL history.

As a result, the Falcons fall to 0-2 and will face an uphill battle to make the postseason, particularly given the strength of their division in the NFC South. For Falcons fans, it was just the latest in wildly frustrating and embarrassing collapses — a list that begins with their Super Bowl loss to the Patriots — but for those that decided to fade the public with the Falcons on the money line at their local sportsbook, it likely sent them into a furious rage, both because they melted down to lose and also because they chose to bet on the Falcons.

However, at least those that picked the Falcons on the money line before the game were working from the idea they were underdogs all along, getting the line value that comes with it (Atlanta was ~+230). Usually, when a team takes a massive lead, most in-game wagers are small bets on the losing team trying to cash in on the possibility that they pull off a Cowboys-like comeback, especially if they were favorites prior to the game as Dallas was. Sometimes someone is willing to lay massive odds to reap a small reward on the winning team, and one bettor learned the hard way in the fourth quarter on Sunday why those buildings in Las Vegas are so tall and shiny.

According to BetMGM (via Frank Schwab of Yahoo Sports), a bettor put in a live, in-game bet of $35,000 on the Falcons -3333 to net $1,050 with seven minutes remaining in the game. At that point, Atlanta held a 39-24 lead after a Younghoe Koo field goal with just under eight to play. From there, as you now know, the Cowboys ripped off 16 straight points, scoring two touchdowns, recovering the now infamous onside kick, and having Greg Zuerlein pump a 46-yard field goal through the uprights as time expired.

As such, our friend here flushed $35,000 because he or she thought tempting the football gods with the Atlanta Falcons of all teams was a good idea.

Early on in the pandemic, music festivals began rescheduling their events. There was an optimism to this process, as a lot of them thought this whole coronavirus thing would be fine by the fall. Well, that does not appear to be the case, and therefore, III Points has had to reschedule for a second time.

They originally pushed the festival back to October 2020, but now the Miami event has again been delayed to April 30 and May 1, 2021. They also unveiled a new lineup poster, which, alongside some blurred-out names, features The Strokes, Wu-Tang Clan, Kaytranada, Moses Sumney, Alex G, Kelly Lee Owens, and others.

Organizers shared a message alongside the announcement, which begins:

“2020 has grounded us even deeper with appreciation and love for everyone who has supported III Points. No matter what the obstacles have been, we have always found a way to push forward with continually greater strength, fueled by the beautiful movement of music and art here in Miami.

From the artists here locally, to the agents, managers and international artists who have worked with us and trusted our plan for our new dates, we are eternally grateful for your faith in this project.

The work that has gone into moving a large scale production has been no small task… especially twice in one year :/ but our team, our partners and our city are extremely resilient and we know in our hearts that April 30 and May 1 will be a beautiful celebration of art and music.”

The message goes on to say they “will be opening up a refund application process so that even if you wanna come but need your money right now… we got you.” They also note that they “will be taking all precautions for safety at this event, which includes limiting our capacity at a large outdoor facility.”

It also reveals why some names on the poster are blurred out: “All of the blurred acts on this bill had to be held off until our friends at Coachella announce their new lineup. Bet on this, they are going to SUPER stack our already fantastic bill. The names of the last six acts will be revealed by January 2021.”

Becky Paskin — world-renowned whisky writer and educator — called out the Jim Murray Whisky Bible on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter over alleged sexism by the book’s author and whisk(e)y reviewer, the titular Jim Murray. Paskin started out her inventory of the rating guide’s sexism on Twitter yesterday with “This post will no doubt attract some hate comments, but something needs to be said. Why does the whisky industry still hold Jim Murray’s Whisky Bible in such high regard when his tasting notes are so sexist and vulgar?”

Paskin’s eleven tweet thread and her Instagram post point out verbatim instances where Murray has equated a whiskey’s taste to women or having sex. Paskin says there are 34 instances in the latest edition of 4,500 whisk(e)y reviews that speak about women in a manner similar to this one about Glenmorangie Artisan Casks. “If whisky could be sexed, this would be a woman.” Murray wrote. “Every time I encounter Morangie Artisan, it pops up with a new look, a different perfume. And mood. It appears not to be able to make up its mind. But does it know how to pout, seduce, and win your heart…? Oh yes.”

From Paskin’s thread:

In the 2021 edition there are 34 references to whisky being ‘sexy’ and many more crudely comparing drinking whisky to having sex with women.

Penderyn is made by an all-female team of distillers and blenders, yet this is how he refers to their whisky: “If this was a woman, I’d want to make love to it every night. And in the morning. And afternoon, if I could find the time… and energy…” (Penderyn Celt)

You can read more of the instances below, via Paskin’s Twitter account.

The issue was expanded on today in The Times when Mike Wafe reported on the issue by saying, “Whisky connoisseurs enjoying a quiet dram have had their world shattered by a noisy row about sexism.” Which, in and of itself sounds pretty sexist against the women making “noise” over legitimate concerns of representation.

The Times article repeats Paskin’s Twitter and Instagram posts points. It also includes a rebuttal from Murray, who faces criticism every year when his book drops. “Whisky deals with sensuality, so, therefore, for some whiskies I may refer to sex, because that is what the whisky may remind me of.” Murray then continued that if he’s upsetting the “woke” or “humorless” or “the whisky snobs” that he’ll “lose no sleep over that.”

Paskin is making a wider point, however. As she points out in her Instagram post, “Women working in the industry continue to be asked if we even like whisky, with ambassadors and female whisky makers often enduring leering comments during whisky tastings and festivals. This. Has. To. Stop.”

UPDATE: As Paskin reports, the Whiskey Exchange has decided to delist The Whisky Bible from their website and stores.

Dornoch Distillery has also disavowed Murray, as has Catoctin Creek distillery.

With so much suffering and confusion in the world, sometimes it’s nice to start a day and know that something wonderful will happen. For many people, Monday was that day, thanks to comedian Demi Adejuyigbe, a writer on The Good Place and the forthcoming Amber Ruffin Show on Peacock. Demi has also carved out a faithful following on social media, where he often posts song parodies and riffs on topics in pop culture.

But his most famous bit since 2016 comes on September 21, when he posts a video with a reworked version of Earth Wind and Fire’s “September.” It’s extremely weird and charming and very funny, and it’s grown to become a charitable endeavor as much as something to riff on. As Demi warned people the night before the best day of the year, the video would drop at 9:21 a.m. PST so those on the east coast needed to be patient.

But it was well worth the wait. The video began on an alarm clock showing that exact time, and the familiar Earth, Wind And Fire track began playing before things gleefully spiraled out of control. As the camera panned to a calendar marking September 21 and an empty bed with the words “THAT’S TODAY” hanging over it, the wave of nostalgia and fondness for the videos gave way to a legitimate laugh as Adejuyigbe finally appeared on screen and started dancing.

Each year the video gets more and more elaborate. This year’s video features an astounding array of transportation methods, including a box truck, airplane and a car flying by on the highway. There’s also an impressive amount of signage. Here’s my favorite screengrab from the video, though there are many great ones in the running.

The second half of the video addresses something many fans have wondered over the years: where does he go with it next? As the videos get more and more elaborate, they take up more of his time and effort to create.

“Well gang, we did it. Five years, five September videos,” he says, petting a very good dog. “And that’s such a nice round number I think that’s the perfect place to stop.”

Cue dramatic music change, and a mention of how much the videos have raised over the years. It’s a funny, non-musical twist, but it comes with good news: if fans of the videos raise $50,000 for charities he linked online and in the video on YouTube, he’ll make another “September” video next year.

The fundraiser link he sent out with the video almost immediately crashed due to its popularity, but donations started rolling in.

If you’re just catching up on one of the most wholesome and charitable memes on the internet, we’ve got you covered. Here’s the first video, which is delightfully silly but does not feature paying for advertisements to soar through the sky.

The next year, a more minimalist version came with him dancing in front of a red backdrop, which revealed a confetti-filled surprise finish.

The 2018 version of September 21 featured, most notably, a children’s choir.

And finally, things really got gloriously complex in 2019 with some misdirection and a mariachi band.

As Demi once wrote in the YouTube description of these, “Once more sisyphus rolls the boulder up the mountain.” But at least it’s for a very good cause.

As it does every Monday, Billboard has unveiled the top ten of its weekly Hot 100 chart. This time around, on the chart dated September 26, Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion’s “WAP” is No. 1 for its fourth total week. Achieving No. 1 status for any amount of time is impressive, but “WAP” remaining on top isn’t the biggest headline from this week’s chart. Instead, that comes courtesy of The Weeknd. “Blinding Lights” clocks in at No. 5 on the new chart, which makes this the 28th week the song has spent in the top five of the Hot 100, which is now the most ever.

“Blinding Lights” has broken a three-way tie it was previously in with Ed Sheeran’s “Shape Of You” and The Chainsmokers’ Halsey-featuring “Closer,” both of which have spent 27 total weeks in the top five.

Post Malone set a similar record earlier this year, when “Circles” became the new leader in weeks spent within the chart’s top ten spots. It left the top ten this summer, wrapping up its run at 38 total weeks. So, if “Blinding Lights” can manage to stay in the top ten for another eleven weeks, it will overtake that record, too.

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

The In Memoriam montage at Sunday’s Emmys hit many of the big names we’ve lost in 2019 and so far in 2020, including Chadwick Boseman, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Regis Philbin, Adam Schlesinger, Lynn Shelton, and Fred Willard. But Scrubs star Zach Braff is upset about two names it left out: Nick Cordero and Sam Lloyd.

“For those wondering: The Emmys chose to leave Nick Cordero out of the memorial montage. I had no idea one had to campaign to get their loved one in. We did. They passed,” he tweeted. Cordero, a Tony-nominated actor who appeared in episodes of Queer as Folk and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, died in July after testing positive for COVID-19. Following Braff’s tweet, the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences released a statement about Cordero’s exclusion. “Those involved in the In Memoriam selection process are very aware of the sad passing of Mr. Cordero due to coronavirus and we assure that his name has been given every consideration for inclusion,” it read. “With so many people passing in any given year, we simply cannot ensure any particular individual is included, nor do we release the names included prior to the telecast.”

Braff was also upset about Lloyd, best known for playing fan-favorite character Ted on Scrubs, not making the In Memoriam cut (he died from brain tumor at the age of 56 in April). “I should mention too, that they also left out Sam Lloyd. I would have never even considered ‘campaigning’ for Sam because he had more TV credits than most actors I know,” he wrote. Lloyd was also on Cougar Town, Seinfeld, and Malcolm in the Middle.

Even though the Emmys left him out, Scrubs fans will always remember Ted.

When it comes to showing up every day and doing the work, The Rock doesn’t mess around. In fact, his fierce dedication to putting in the hours may have kicked off his infamous feud with Vin Diesel, given that the two clashed on the set of the The Fast and the Furious films. This time around, The Rock’s opponent was a hydraulic gate, and you probably won’t be surprised to see who was left standing.

In an Instagram post shared to his millions of followers on Saturday, The Rock shared a photo of a severely demolished gate in front of his home.

According to the post, there was a power outage from a series of storms, and the gate wouldn’t open. Unfortunately, The Rock had work to do, and what do you not do? Get between The Rock and his work:

I tried to override the hydraulic system to open the gates, which usually works when power goes out – but this time it wouldn’t. Made some calls to see how fast I can get the gate tech on site, but I didn’t have 45min to wait. By this time, I know I have hundreds of production crew members waiting for me to come to work so we can start our day. So I did what I had to do. I pushed, pulled and ripped the gate completely off myself. Tore it out of the brick wall, severed the steel hydraulics and threw it on the grass. My security team was able to meet the gate technician and welders about an hour later — and they were apparently, “in disbelief and equally scared.” Not my finest hour, but I had to go to work.

In a nod to his upcoming DC Comics role, The Rock added, “I think I’m ready to be Black Adam.”

While there’s been some speculation about whether The Rock is messing with fans and didn’t personally rip off the gate (does anyone seriously doubt that he could?), he later posted a series of follow-up videos of a welding crew repairing the gate along with his thanks for their quick work. “Thank you, gentlemen,” he wrote. “Just one of those days where I wasn’t in the mood. We’ve all been there.”

Of course, it didn’t take long for The Rock’s Red Notice co-star, Ryan Reynolds, to have some fun trolling the former wrestling star. The Deadpool star hopped into the comments with a helpful note: “The gate opened the OTHER way.”

(Via The Rock on Instagram)

The franchise-sneaker tie-in is for better or worse, a part of modern sneaker culture. Just like brand or celebrity collaborations, every year brings a fresh crop of franchise-sneaker tie-ins that make us either cringe, scratch our heads in confusion, or salivate with enthusiasm. Sometimes they can be great, like this year’s Space Jam Air Jordan 6 Hares, but most of the time they’re blatant cash grabs that make us roll our eyes in disgust. We’re looking at you, Game of Thrones sneaker series.

Very rarely do these kicks make our weekly column, where we round up the week’s best sneakers and apparel — SNX DLX. So when I heard that an entire collection of sneakers from Adidas celebrating the 40th anniversary of Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back would drop this year, I found myself in a tough spot. How could I, a life-long Star Wars fan, find a way to write about these sneakers which celebrate my favorite Star Wars movie knowing full well that I’d probably never feel compelled to include them in a single entry for SNX DLX? Time for a top to bottom ranking, of course!

As bad as the Star Wars Adidas collection is, and brace yourself, it is bad, it’s also incredibly interesting. Almost every design in this ten sneaker collection is marred by a single detail that absolutely ruins any good idea it had going for it. In a way, the sneakers manage to reflect the troubled and divisive franchise that they’re celebrating and that’s pretty fascinating.

Let’s dive in!

Star Wars x Adidas Rivalry Hi Chewbacca

Certainly, you could argue, “well, what do you want a Chewbacca shoe to look like?” But come on, this is just a little too out there. Adidas’ choice to use the Rivalry Hi silhouette is great, it has a tall, surprisingly-thin-but-sturdy shape — just like Chewbacca — but then Adidas had to go and cover the whole thing in faux fur.

They could’ve just gone with the mixed leather and suede upper, or here is an idea: they could’ve used fuzzy suede, or in place of suede, chenille. Anything but this. The fur makes the sneakers virtually unwearable unless you know, you’re insane or you’re rolling up to Burning Man or putting in a minimal amount of effort at a cosplay convention.

Bottom line: Um… the whole collection is a step up from here.

Star Wars x Adidas Superstar Darth Vader

The Adidas Superstar Darth Vader unfortunately suffers from this collection’s tendency of mixing good ideas with at least one really stupid one. Here we have an Adidas Superstar — nice choice for Vader, we would’ve gone with a boot though — dressed in a double Core Black colorway with Scarlett red detailing on the heel tag and branding with a leather upper and exposed horizontal stitching meant to resemble Darth Vader’s suit.

The Superstar’s three stripes feature a glossy black material, subtly suggesting the character it’s named for in so many interesting ways… and then you get to that cup toe. What could’ve been an awesome design is totally ruined by the bizarre decision on Adidas’ part to swap out the Superstar’s shell toe cap with a molding of Vader’s helmet.

Bottom line: It’s a little too on the nose, veering into “cool dad” dorkiness.

Star Wars x Adidas Top Ten C-3PO

Repping C-3P0 is a Metallic Gold Top Ten High with Cloud White accenting and a synthetic upper atop a rubber cup sole. No major missteps with this one, the introduction of the synthetic upper in place of the sneaker’s usual leather is a clever tongue in cheek way of referencing the character it’s named for.

Which is all to say, conceptually the sneaker is solid, but visually, we’re just not loving it. What would’ve been cool is this same sneaker in a deconstructed form since C-3PO gets dismantled in Cloud City and haphazardly put back together by Chewbacca in The Empire Strikes Back.

Bottom line: Just hire me, Adidas.

Star Wars x Adidas ZX 2K BOOST Han Solo

Released exclusively to the Japanese market, the ZX 2K BOOST Han Solo is so close to being dope. Featuring a Core Black colorway with synthetic fabrics, TPU overlays, sand leather accents, and a cushy BOOST midsole, the Han Solo is ruined by the garish “blaster buckle” that clasps over the sneaker’s lacing system.

Without the blaster buckle? Sneaker is fire, and still accurately reflects the character it’s named after, but you can’t remove it. So close Adidas, so close.

What would we have done? A GORE-TEX equipped boot — Han’s most iconic Empire moment Is when he cuts that tauntaun open on Hoth. Make that a shoe!

Bottom line: Falls victim to the “hit ’em over the head with a nerdy reference” problem again.

Star Wars x Adidas NMD_R1 Lando Calrissian

I have a sneaking suspicion that whoever designed the Adidas NMD_R1 Lando Calrissian either was a fan of Billy Dee Williams’ Lando, or has absolutely no idea who Lando is. This is one of the few sneakers in this collection that doesn’t feature an insane character detail that totally ruins the design. Instead, the sneaker captures the hue’s of Lando’s outfit accurately and features an extra responsive BOOST midsole that will make you feel like you’re walking on clouds.

Bottom line: A dorky Lando shoe would have been a travesty. This one evades that trap.

Star Wars x Adidas UltraBOOST Princess Leia

Thank God Adidas didn’t go and find a way to add cinnamon roll buns to this sneaker. The UltraBOOST Princess Leia is pretty solid, it features a breathable knit upper with an ultra-responsive BOOST midsole, with some braided graphic detailing dipped in a Chalk White, Cloud White, and Core Black colorway that resembles the princess’ fit in the film.

Bottom line: Very solid… but just a tad boring.

Star Wars x Adidas NMD_R1 Stormtrooper

Like the Lando Calrissian, the NMD_R1 Stormtrooper features a remarkably tame design. Featuring a clean white one-piece Primeknit upper with black flecks throughout, recalling battle-scarred armor, with blue detailing on the heel, the NMD R_1 Stormtrooper is totally wearable on the streets.

Bottom line: Pretty fly, but let’s get real: Who’s a fan of Stormtroopers?

Star Wars x Adidas Ultra BOOST Yoda

The UltraBOOST Yoda features a mixed upper of Primeknit and moisture-wicking yarn that ups the sneaker’s breathability, making it an incredibly functional running sneaker that has a performance-based edge over the Princess Leia. The added texture of the yarn is a dope visual reference to Yoda’s weathered robes and the sneaker’s mix of Trace Cargo, Core Black and Raw Khaki does a good job of reflecting both the colors of Yoda and the planet of his exile, Dagoba.

Bottom line: No major errors, but it’s sort of hard to imagine someone wearing these.

Star Wars x Adidas Top Ten Hi Boba Fett

The Top Ten Hi Boba Fett is the only sneaker in the entire Empire Strikes Back 40th Anniversary collection that can get away with its insane character detail. While we could’ve done without the attached pouch — which, we hate it break it to you Disney, absolutely will be used for stashing drugs — this iteration of the Top Ten Hi isn’t that bad. Even solely as a collector’s item it’s a pretty solid attempt at translating a beloved character into sneaker form.

Aside from the Trace Green and Scarlett upper, the Boba Fett features yellow and powder blue detailing and “blast holes” that provided some extra breathability, all coming together to recall Boba Fett’s iconic armor.

Bottom line: This finds the right balance of character details mixed with wearability and sneakerhead coolness.

Star Wars x Adidas Stan Smith Luke Skywalker

The debut sneaker in the Empire Strikes Back 40th Anniversary collection the Star Wars Stan Smith Luke Skywalker is also the collection’s best. When it initially released in July of this year, we thought that surely the designs would get more flashy from here, but it turns out that’s the last thing we actually needed.

That Chewbacca sneaker will forever haunt us.

The Luke Skywalker Stan Smith features a Chalk White and Cloud White (like the Princess Leia, nice touch Adidas!) canvas upper with bright blue accents on the heel tab and tongue atop a translucent blue sole. It’s simple, desert-y, and oozing with 70’s vibes, just like the character it’s named for.

But does it say “Empire Strikes Back?” Nah, we don’t think so. In order to do that Adidas would have to just sell you just one sneaker instead of a pair.

Bottom line: The coolest of the bunch — mixing a classic look while capturing the vibe of the movie.

The RX is Uproxx Music’s stamp of approval for the best albums, songs, and music stories throughout the year. Inclusion in this category is the highest distinction we can bestow, and signals the most important music being released throughout the year. The RX is the music you need, right now.

Somewhere between the gritty traditionalism of Rapsody and raunchy exhibitionism of Cardi B, Buffalo rapper Armani Caesar has been flying the flag for people who love both “real hip-hop” and shaking their asses. Her Griselda Records-backed debut album, The Liz, lands in the midst of a resurgence of female energy in hip-hop, yet stands on its own as a unique throwback to the energy of pioneers like Lil Kim and Foxy Brown who also split the difference between sexy and rugged, as comfortable strutting in a g-string and heels as they were posted up on the block in hoodies and Timbs.

My original introduction to the Buffalo-bred, North Carolina-educated rapper was through songs like “Big Ole Bag” and “The Nasty Song,” initially pegging her for a rapper in the same vein as what Jermaine Dupri once dubbed “stripper rap.” So it was a shock to me when Armani was announced as the successor of the “First Lady Of Gridselda Records” title in March of this year. Surely her modern presentation clashed with their throwback stance, her raps about collecting dollar bills in garbage bags at odds with theirs about getting Virgil Abloh to scrawl his signature quotes on bricks of cocaine.

But then, I considered how the origin of those garbage bag bills was just as likely from those illicit pharmaceutical deals as it was Wall Street trading, and suddenly it all made sense. According to my conversation by phone with Armani herself, that’s exactly as the Griselda gang planned it. The Liz caught my skeptical brain even further off-guard when the lead single was revealed to be the DJ Premier-produced “Simply Done” costarring fellow Buffalo bar bruiser Benny The Butcher. The vision came together; like the Westside Gunn-conceived cover of the album, I had to open up my third eye to perceive al lthe levels the project was set to operate upon.

Barreling through untimely obstacles such as the death of Buffalo mentor DJ Shay, a full album leak and resulting delay, and oh yeah, a global pandemic, rookie rapper Armani Caesar arrives on her debut a fully-fledged, multidimensional hip-hop diva in the making, completely aware of her power and versatility, and unafraid of the spotlight. As it turns out, she fits right in with the likes of Benny, Conway The Machine, and Westside Gunn, earning not just her “first lady” title, but also establishing herself as a star in her own right.

Okay, and before we start any interview stuff allow me to say my condolences for DJ Shay. I know he was really important to you guys up there, and my heart goes out to you guys. I’m sending you all the positive energy.

Thank you so much. I really appreciate that because the family is definitely, we’re close-knit. We’ve all known each other for over a decade so it was a huge blow, but we’re getting through it.

So how’s quarantine been treating you? What have you been up to?

Just working. I have the boutique, I have the projects popping. You know how Griselda drops, so I had to get in my recording bag and really catch up with everybody because them n****s drop like five albums or projects a year.

So did you have to speed up just to, what was the adjustment process from going from independently producing to doing stuff with Griselda?

It definitely takes more of the weight off of me as far as like doing it myself. I came in the game doing everything solo, I didn’t have no bag behind me. I didn’t have any producers or anything. I just had to seek everything out by myself. So now, I have a whole team be able to just help facilitate that, and it still be my vision because West is very big on us being able to still be in our independent bag. I like the fact that he gives me complete creative control and I trust his vision, so I’m able to come up with ideas and then he has his own ideas, and it just works. I just think that it’s like working with family.

When you signed to Griselda I know a lot of people were surprised because they seem to have such a different style from what you were doing with “Big Ole Bag” or “The Nasty Song.” So, what was your reaction to people saying that?

I think the biggest thing with that is just that, before people actually knew me, before I moved down to the South or North Carolina, anything, I grew up rapping on those beats. My first couple of tracks were freestyles over Alchemist beats and stuff like that. So it wasn’t foreign to me to go back and do that again, but it was foreign to everybody else that was following me once I moved down here. So that’s why it really was a no-brainer when West came to me with the idea because he already knows what I should do, because we’ve been doing this for a minute. It was just like, “Now is the time to shut everybody up.” If they don’t know, they going to know.

Obviously the biggest influence on The Liz tape is of course Liz Taylor. I see the iconic photo with the third eye, whose idea was that?

It was both of our ideas. It was us coming together in the middle ground, because it’s also Miss Elizabeth from wrestling, and that’s the reference that West brought to us. He’s super big on wrestling. So with Liz Taylor being an iconic, fly, ethereal type female, and then just throwing it on such a hard gritty, I feel like it just represented the projects more than any picture of me could have. It wasn’t as cliche. We did have another direction that we were going to go in at first.

Griselda is also big on movie samples. You guys used a clip from CB4 for “Sissy Intro,” right? You’re flipping it and using it in a different way to talk about some stuff that maybe people wouldn’t expect.

I feel like what she stated in that skit is exactly what I be on in my raps, just teaching girls to not be so caught up in the hype of trying to date the rapper, or the ball player, or any guy that you feel has money. You want to turn yourself into a boss. She was like, if not, you’re just a groupie, or you just a hoe, and it’s a lot of hip-hop hoes out here.

Now that we’re moving into the realm of females emerging, you have so many different styles. I feel like I’m bridging the gap between being free and a feminist, being able to say and do what you want to, and also having the responsibility to make sure that you’re still paying your bills, you still bossing up, so can’t nobody really tell you nothing. Because until you’re your own boss or until you are able to maintain and sustain your own wellbeing, you’re a slave to whatever they throw at you. And I’m just totally 100% for females being able to boss up and get their own, talk their shit, and run their own show.

Right. One of the things that does kind of set you apart is your focus on punchlines and getting those lines off. When you said “Elastigirl, I’m so out of their reach” I had to just stop and sit there for a second. Do you have a favorite line from the album?

I feel like all my songs are like my kids, I can’t pick just one. I don’t have a favorite because I feel like every single one hits different, and I try to go into every song saying what we all are saying as women or even we’re saying as people, but being able to say it in a more creative way. Rap is not new, and of course there’s nothing new under the sun, but I also just don’t want to be, I want to be able to say it in a way that it hasn’t been said before.

I still use lines and references that are current, and because of my sound with me having such a nostalgic sound, I want to be able to bridge the gap and make it new by being current. I’ll get ideas watching cartoons and stuff like that. I have just been doing it for so long, studying it, being around greatness because they’re all spitters. I think that just makes me push my pen harder.

That strikes me as something that you would have learned from 9th Wonder down there in North Carolina, taking his class. What were some of the other things that you really learned from working with him, or just learning under him as a professor?

We used to just have so many different things that we had to do. Every day we have to come to class with a current event. We have actual books to read, and really just digging deep into the surface of things. Even just walking into the class he would be on at his DJ station and he’ll play a old song that has been sampled, and we would have to guess which current song it was. That put me more so into digging deep, actually doing my research, and it helps everything become more cohesive, then you’re not looking to sound like everybody else. It helps you to just be a little bit more creative, and think about just music as a whole, more so as an art form than it is just a regular genre.

I don’t think there’s anybody that’s out quite like you, so you have a lane. When I think about the closest person to you is maybe Che Noir, but she’s not quite doing what you’re doing. You can switch back and do the Megan Thee Stallion, City Girl type stuff. So it’s really interesting to see that all the one person, because we haven’t really seen anybody do that in a really, really long time.

That’s what I wanted. I wanted it to be like the ideal female rapper that you can get everything from, because I don’t feel like any one female is one thing. I feel like you do have females that are very brash and bossed up, and sometimes they on their City Girl shit, sometimes they on their backpack shit. They want to be the one with the power, however they want to give it up, but I just felt like I’m a one-stop shop.

I really, really, really, really love to hear women rap because without women rap becomes very monotonous, it becomes very tedious and boring. So when women are rapping, not only do you bring your different stories, you also bring a wider variety of voices and clothes, and interesting different things to do. You rap about garbage bag money. And a lot of people won’t admit or don’t know what “garbage bag money” is, but you can play it both sides. And I love that.

I feel like that too, because a lot of people will try to use my past against me and say, “Oh, she’s just another stripper rapper.” At the end of the day, I always say the streets and the strip club is parallel, meaning we all hustle and do the same things. You can call it “work” or you can call it “ass and titties,” but we have to have that amount of game, you have to hustle and get in there. If the streets are messed up and dried up and there’s no money in the streets, nine times out of ten, there’s no money in the club.

So when rap about it, I’m not so much glamorizing it, but just how you would hear a Jay-Z or whoever rap about their hustling experience, I’m bringing that to it. So the average female rapper that may not get that from another rapper, a Che Noir or a Rapsody, over a hard beat, they can look at me. It’s like, “I can identify with her because I look like that, it tells me my story.”

That’s what it comes down to, all about telling a story. I just want to thank you for sharing your story with me. What’s next in your story?

This project is really just to kind of solidify my spot in the Griselda group, to let people know that I can do both. After that, I’m just stretching my wings and just doing whatever I feel like is going to make the track work. My biggest thing is that I didn’t want to be pigeonholed into having to sound like one thing. It’s always been like my superpower, I can switch and do both. That’s why I’m a star player because I can do everything. I can go into whatever realm I want to and dominate just like Kim did coming from Junior M.A.F.I.A, and moving on to doing more commercial songs.

The Liz is out now via Griselda Records. Listen to it here.