Most celebrity memoirs are disappointingly boring, a PR move for an extremely famous people to control their own narrative — and make a lot of money in the process. We, the readers, want the good stuff. Matthew McConaughey, please bring the good stuff.
The Oscar winner, whose breakout role came in 1993’s Dazed and Confused, announced this week that he’s publishing his first memoir, Greenlights. “So, ever since I learned to write, I’ve been keeping a journal, writing down anything that turned me on, turned me off, made me laugh, made me cry, made me question, or kept me up at night,” McConaughey said in a video posted to social media. “Two years ago, I worked up the courage to take all of those journals off into solitary confinement just to see what the hell I had. And I returned with a book.” I’m buying 12 copies based on the cover alone.
Cosmically thoughtful McConaughey is one of my favorite McConaugheys (Professor McConaughey is up there, too). The Interstellar star named the book Greenlights because “it’s a story about how I have and we all can catch more of them in this life we’re living. We don’t like the red and yellow lights because they take up our time. When we realize that they all eventually turn green, that’s when they reveal their rhyme. That’s when life’s a poem and we start getting what we want and what we need at the same time.”
McConaughey will have to make room on his awards shelf for a Nobel Prize. He has space from the time he was sure he and How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days co-star Kate Hudson were going to win Choice Movie Liplock at the 2003 Teen Choice Awards, but lost to Reese Witherspoon and Josh Lucas in Sweet Home Alabama. I’m still upset.
Drake is a wealthy person, and that’s not a fact that he hides. In June, he showed off his massive home in a video of him hitting a long-range cornhole throw, and a couple months before that, he offered a ride on his private jet to raise money for coronavirus relief.
Now, the Canadian rapper is back with another example of his extreme prosperity, and it serves as a tribute to Tupac. He commissioned jeweler Jason Of Beverly Hills to make him a pair of chains featuring Tupac’s face, one wearing a red bandana and the other one opting for blue. Both are wearing crowns of thorns, and the pair wasn’t cheap.
A half-kilo of gold was used to make both pendants, and each one hangs on a 70-carat diamond chain. both pieces took a total of 150 hours over the course of five weeks to make, and they cost $300,000 each, so $600,000 for the pair.
Drake has a long history with loving Tupac. He referenced him in his early music. In 2011, he bought a neon sign that said, “Less Drake, More Tupac,” and explained why he was actually flattered by it. In a 2013 interview, he was asked which song he wished he had recorded, and his response was Tupac’s “Pain.” He paid tribute to Tupac with his outfit at an NBA Finals game last year. Just last month, he showed off a check signed by Tupac that he had bought on eBay.
Tequila has been unfairly labeled either “shooters” or “margarita mixers” for far too long. The truth is, the blue agave-based distillate from the Jalisco Highlands can be every bit as refined as any single malt whiskey or dark rum. There are more than enough potential variations in the production process to keep any spirits aficionado engaged.
One of the best examples of just how good a good tequila can be is Olmeca’s Altos line. The Plata, Reposado, and Anejo were all featured on the @UproxxLife IGTV “Expressions Session” this week. Sadly, I only got to taste two bottles while our guest, chef Isaac Toups, tasted all three. Don’t cry for me just yet. I’ve been to this distillery pre-COVID and I’m very familiar with the anejo, which didn’t make it to my door in time for the tasting.
As far as this tequila goes, it is my personal go-to for all-around enjoyment. I keep this stuff stocked in my house and use it for palomas, margaritas, and tequila highballs. Plus, the anejo is a great sipper that barely needs ice. Check my tasting notes below!
The beauty of Altos is plainly apparent in the unaged Plata. This, arguably, can be sipped with ease. The tequila is grown sustainably in the Jalisco highlands and hand-harvested by jimadors. The pinas (agave hearts) are then slow-roasted before getting smashed by a classic Tahona stone.
The juice is fermented and twice distilled in copper pots. That’s it.
Tasting Notes:
This is a classic unaged tequila. There’s a clear sense of vegetal agave that dances with bright citrus. The sip leans into the lime notes with hints of herbs and a mild sweetness pinned to that roasted agave.
Bottom Line:
This is a stellar go-to for any and all tequila-based cocktails.
This expression uses the Plata above and ages it for six to eight months in 200-liter white oak that previously held bourbon. The aging process may not seem particularly long (especially when it takes at least two years to make bourbon). But the warmer climate and high-altitude help the spirit age more quickly, adding depth in a hurry.
Tasting Notes:
The agave and citrus are still present but now are accompanied by a sense of bourbon vanilla and a hint of oakiness. The roasted agave is the star of the show as the bourbon-seasoned wood leads to a hint of mild spice and whisper of nuttiness. The sip fades quickly and leaves you with all the agave, wood, and spice filling your senses.
Bottom Line:
This also makes for a killer mixing tequila, especially in highballs. But you can absolutely get away with sipping this one on the rocks.
The last tequila in the Altos line was aged for a total of 18 months in old bourbon oak. This expression truly feels like a culmination of the decades of experience Maestro Tequilero Jesús Hernández brings to the table. It’s refined, unfussy, and shockingly easy-to-drink.
Tasting Notes:
Roasted agave greets you with a sense of dark spice and fatty nuts next to an almost butter-fried banana note. The sip’s velvet nature embraces the wood, vanilla, agave, and spice. A late hint of dark chocolate bitterness helps really draw out the spice and nut flavors as the sip slowly fades.
Bottom Line:
Drink it with a single rock after enjoying a mole-based dish.
How is it possible to choose the best Beyonce song? She is an artist with a discography so vast, so influential, so disparate, that it’s possible for nearly everybody on the planet to have their own favored version of their own cherished track. As a performer, her ability to morph and combine songs from all across her catalogue has birthed new renditions over the years, and across six solo albums, prior material with Destiny’s Child, and a collaborative album with her rapper husband Jay-Z as The Carters, the sheer magnitude of music she’s created makes it very challenging to narrow down to song selections.
For the sake of this list, then, of say, her 30 best songs — though at least 30 more remain on the debating room floor, equally deserving of a place here, depending on the argument — the scope includes only Beyonce solo tracks. Nothing from the Destiny’s Child discography, The Carters’ album, or her guests on other people’s songs will be included here.
And though her later work on her self-titled album Beyonce and the visual album Lemonade have had a monumental impact on pop culture in recent years, this list is careful to balance contemporary feelings about those records with the way her early music hit when it was released, and how it has managed to hold up over the last two decades. Which is to say if any intentional scale-tipping has been taken place, it’s to err away from overrating those records simply because they are more recent. It’s to take a look at Beyonce songs across the last seventeen years, and attempt to rank them in order of importance, acclaim, and relevance. On the eve of her next chapter, Black Is King, here is one attempt, from one moment in time.
30. “Best Thing I Never Had”
Album: 4
Most of us have been dumped at some point in our lives, but it takes a whole new level of maturity to get to the place where the dumpee can see it as a blessing. Enter Beyonce, queen of showing every woman, man and child their self-worth — but especially women — letting her ex know that she has absolutely no regrets about how things played out. The clever title is a play on words that will come up again and again with Bey, who is much more lyric savvy than she gets credit for, and the triumphant, piano-ballad feel sets this apart from bitter revenge anthems with a sweet twist. “I’m the one that’s got away,” she asserts, “It sucks to be you right now.” Obviously, all of Beyonce’s ex-boyfriends feel that way every single day.
29. “Partition”/”Yonce”
Album: BEYONCE
I love a hidden track as much as the next girl, so the inclusion of “Yonce” as the second half of “Partition” always made these dichotomous tracks feel all the more resonant. Kicking off the first half by telling the crowd to call her by her married name, she pivots after about two minutes into the track to narrate an even more intimate relationship between her and her partner — but from a very different perspective. It’s a fascinating juxtaposition of what it means to be a wife, a superstar, and a sexual being all at once.
28. “Freakum Dress”
Album: B’Day
Young Beyonce seems like exactly the kind of girl I’d want to go to the club with. She’s not interested in actually cheating on her man, but loves using the dance floor and the attention of other men to showcase just how stupid he would be not to get his act together. Not only does she offer plenty of feminist and political anthems, but she’s also never afraid to embrace femininity in order to gain the upper hand in a romantic relationship, either. And yes, most of us have that one item of clothing that makes us feel indestructible. It’s nice to have a song in ode to that.
27. “Sorry”
Album: Lemonade
Come on, who else on the planet has a chance in hell of getting Serena Williams to star in one of their music videos? The video is iconic, but so is the total go-to-hell vibe of this whole song. The phrase “song cycle” is frequently used to describe albums, but it suits a collection of tracks like Lemonade that literally do cycle through every stage of reacting to infidelity in a relationship. Beyonce manages to graduate to gracefulness and forgiveness, the rest of us petty b*tches can lurk back at the “Sorry” phase of “boy, bye” with middle fingers up.
26. “I Care”
Album: 4
Heartbreak anthems come and go, but nobody can weave anger into their sadness like Beyonce. Instead of the usual lies that loneliness and recently single people tell themselves, feigning apathy or immediately moving on, Bey isn’t afraid to be honest. “I Care” is cathartic in a different way, letting every moment of how painful dissolution can be ring true. And once you hear the power of admitting just how much you care, it’s hard to shy away from it, even if the end of the relationship is inevitable.
25. “Diva”
Album: I Am… Sasha Fierce
“A diva is a female version of a hustler.” That line is so cinematic, I wish the real Sasha Fierce would play it out across two and a half hours of dance scenes and couture outfits. Or, maybe it was a rebuttal to Jay-Z’s incessant conversation about his early hustling days. One of the best things about this song is it’s basically hip-hop, as Beyonce raps all over the beat long before she was spitting bars on the leaked, pitch-shifted demo “I Been On.”
24. “Get Me Bodied”
Album: B’Day
Another early classic from the Beyonce discography, “Get Me Bodied” showcases Swizz Beatz at his best — and this song was also a co-write with Beyonce’s sister Solange. Sonically, Bey would build on this song for “Single Ladies” but it also shares DNA with the unstoppable party attitude of “Party” and the feeling-myself energy of “Freakum Dress.” The version of the song we’re all most familiar with is dubbed “extended mix” and comes in at a whopping six minutes, yet every moment feels essential.
23. “Daddy Lessons” Feat. Dixie Chicks
Album: Lemonade
Remember when the Dixie Chicks stood up for what they believed in politically, and had their whole career torched? Well, Beyonce remembers. And as a bit of karmic grace, she recently appeared with newly-christened The Chicks at one of their first public performances in a long time, adding them to a country-infused track off Lemonade. “Daddy Lessons” was good on its own, but with the additional harmonies from The Chicks, and the fact that Beyonce went and performed it at the Country Music Awards for a pretty notoriously conservative, white audience, it rose in the ranks as one of her finest and most subversive moments.
22. “Déjà Vu”
Album: B’Day
On an album that had a total of three Jay-Z features and not a single appearance from any other rappers, “Déjà Vu” still managed to be one of the best collaborations the pair ever did. Or maybe these earlier collaborative works feel more impactful because they came before we knew the whole saga and dynasty that these two would build together? Nah, it’s definitely the impeccable brass, funk, and Darkchild production. Sort of a sister song to “Crazy In Love,” this cut didn’t have near the critical and commercial acclaim, but it’s definitely still notable.
21. “Freedom” Feat. Kendrick Lamar
Album: Lemonade
It’s easy to see that Beyonce likes to challenge herself by constantly selecting new styles and collaborators, trying to create music she hasn’t done in the past. “Freedom” is the perfect example of that, as she enlists the current greatest rapper alive, Kendrick Lamar, to bring another politically-charged angle to Lemonade. It might not be in the top 20 songs she’s ever done, but it definitely deserves honorable mention in the next ten, partially just because it’s such an anthem, and partially because “a winner don’t quit on themselves” is a historic affirmation.
20. “Ring The Alarm”
Album: B’Day
There are a lot of arguments to be made as to why you should stick with your two-timing dude, but not wanting the girl he’s cheating on you with to get access to a luxury lifestyle has to take the cake. Then again, in the era of a divorce rate that’s close to 50%, who has a better perspective on the nitty-gritty of how these things actually play out than the Beyonce generation? The real, intense anger that she imbues her voice with on this track is spectacular, necessary catharsis. “Ring The Alarm” walked so Lemonade could run.
19. “Pretty Hurts”
Album: BEYONCE
A pop song written by Sia for Katy Perry, that was later put on hold by Rihanna’s manager, and finally snatched up by Beyonce, “Pretty Hurts” isn’t a perfect ballad by any means, but it’s definitely one of the most interesting ones of the last few decades. It’s not that women haven’t quietly revealed just how much pain and suffering they go through for the subjective, sickening, patriarchal standards of beauty that have dominated a woman’s place in society for eternity, it’s just that no one has done it with quite the dramatics that Beyonce possesses. It’s an instant classic, and something that Bey’s younger and more impressionable female fans in particular, will always need to hear.
18. “Dangerously In Love”
Album: Dangerously In Love
If a new project from Beyonce is hotly anticipated these days, it’s hard to imagine how eager critics and fans were to hear her first solo album ever back in 2003. As the title track for her first-ever album, this song stands as an example of where she started, and how much she already had going for her. Even though it’s a relatively downtempo track, she still manages to find pockets of drama and flair. Not quite a wedding love song (unless?), but definitely a fascinating representation of what R&B music sounded like in the early 2000s, and how clearly some of her earliest music holds up.
17. “Countdown”
Album: 4
Lots of people I respect and admire consider this to be Beyonce’s best song! I see the argument. It’s an extremely clever, musically complex tune, and in any other artist’s discography it probably would be top five. And as far as the lyrical trope of using a countdown, this is probably the best time that device has been invoked. Somehow, all the bombast, horns, and lyrical trills come together in a song that doesn’t feel overdone.
16.“Drunk In Love”
Album: BEYONCE
Beyonce has already been “Dangerously In Love,” and last time we checked she and Jay-Z were “Crazy In Love,” so “Drunk In Love” gives their status a lighthearted, heady update. Like a lot of songs on her self-titled album, this one is strangely personal, discussing waking up drunk in the kitchen and getting extremely horny when drunk and partying. This is such a far cry from the more buttoned-up and formal version of Beyonce we got at the beginning of her career — aka “Dangerously In Love” era — that it’s fun to watch the progress. As she gets older, she loosens up and settles in. Finally, let’s give a shout to the way this song transformed the word “surfboard” forever.
15. “Halo”
Album: I Am… Sasha Fierce
Wedding song alert! “Halo” is half-reference to faith-based traditions, half over-the-top praise of a partner who is so committed and wonderful that they register as angelic. It doesn’t hurt as a call-in to all her religious fans, that’s for sure. And yet, it’s not so overtly Christian that it alienates anyone chilling in the secular realm. The call and response of the chorus is a technique shes uses elsewhere to great effect later in her career, and for some reason this song always makes my eyes water a little. Total coincidence, not tears at all.
14. “Hold Up”
Album: Lemonade
Although the iconic Lemonade drop definitely worked best as one cohesive film, and individual songs didn’t feel as strong when broken out into tracks, “Hold Up” was one of the standouts from the record. In the video, Bey swings a baseball bat at a car or two, walking through a dystopian town clad in yellow like an avenging angel of infidelity. For those who love the indie music world, this song not only interpolates a lyric from the Yeah Yeah Yeahs beloved song “Maps” — “they don’t love you like I love you” — but was also co-written by Ezra Koenig (of Vampire Weekend) and Josh Tillman, aka Father John Misty.
13. “Upgrade U”
Album: B’Day
This might be my favorite Beyonce song, period. Even if you disagree, this is definitely the Jay-Z collab that best sums up their relationship. Jay thinking he doesn’t need help from anybody at all, Beyonce carefully going through each aspect she plans to improve in his life without an ounce of derision. It’s a laundry list of a partnership that makes both parties better, but with allusions to Martin Luther King Jr. and the iconic line “ran by the man but the women keep the tempo,” Bey includes plenty of sly references to the unsung power women have always held, even when it was behind-the-scenes. The other great irony of the Beyonce/Jay-Z partnership is how she has completely eclipsed him in the latter half of their careers. At least she upgraded him early on so he can keep up with her now.
12. “If I Were A Boy”
Album: I Am… Sasha Fierce
Another absolutely iconic music video, “If I Were A Boy” dives into the way society and the overwhelming forces of the patriarchy so often result in men carrying on all sorts of emotional and short term affairs without any consequences. But watching it from the flip side, Beyonce doing all the flirting and line-crossing while her good-loving man looks up jewelry for her and sits alone at the table with breakfast he made, is downright fascinating. Nobody is advocating for either gender to be treated that way by a partner, but her gender-flip is a pretty powerful one — especially for 2008 when this song came out. Also, Beyonce portraying her selfish, unfaithful player as a cop? Chef’s kiss.
11. “1+1”
Album: 4
There are songs about young love, toxic love, and plenty of songs about love gone wrong, but Beyonce also manages to specialize in songs about “marriage love” — long-term, worts and all, in it to win longevity anthems. That’s exactly what “1+1” is, and it has been a staple on plenty of grown and sexy playlists for close to a decade now without losing an ounce of its charm, or commitment. If there’s anyone who can make being with one person for the rest of your life sound sexy, it’s Beyonce.
10. “XO”
Album: BEYONCE
Though the overall tone for Beyonce’s self-titled album was relatively dark and gothic, “XO” stands out as one of the brightest and most carefree songs on the record. She uses the motif of space travel to convey her feelings this time, even including a sample from the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster, an aircraft that infamously crashed right after its launch. Though Beyonce later clarified the song was meant to bring to the families of those who lost loved ones, it received criticism for inclusion of the audio footage. But, divorced from that bit of pop culture ephemera, “XO” will continue to shine as another standout in Bey’s pantheon of love songs. And the call and response of the chorus is a great tie back to her earlier classic love song, “Halo.”
9. “Run The World (Girls)”
Album: 4
Beyonce had slowly but surely become an icon for female empowerment, particularly for Black women and women of color, but “Run The World” took the cause to a whole new level. Built upon a sample of “Pon de Floor” by Major Lazer, the song’s unstoppable feel and the tongue-in-cheek slang refrain “who run this mother?” gave it a more intense feel than a lot of her other more sensual work. “Run The World” was the lead single off Beyonce’s celebrated album 4, but didn’t perform as well on the charts as some of her other singles, peaking at No. 29. Retrospectively, it seems like a clue that as her music got more interesting, definitive, and politically-minded, that commercial performance might dip a little, but her core fans would become more engaged than ever.
8. “Crazy In Love”
Album: Dangerously In Love
The whole “name a better duo, I’ll wait” meme might as well have originated with Beyonce and Jay-Z. All throughout both of their careers, the two have collaborated many, many times on songs, and pretty much every time it’s resulted in a better song than either of them would have made alone. As one of the earliest and most public of their duets, “Crazy In Love” dropped multiple hints that the two were together, as their relationship still wasn’t public back then, became a No. 1 hit and won an R&B Grammy. Not too shabby, no wonder they kept repeating the formula for the next seventeen years.
7. “Party” Feat. Andre 3000
Album: 4
In her early career, Beyonce had a good working relationship with Kanye, as he was often closely collaborating with her husband, Jay-Z. This song has a lot of the carefree, lighthearted vibes that made early Kanye productions so beloved, and even the way it samples Doug E. Fresh’s 1985 song “La Di Da Di” has Ye’s fingerprints all over it — and then there’s the 808-beat. But the real cherry on top here? Andre 3000’s absolutely iconic verse, as he’s still such a rarity as a guest, particularly on a pop-oriented song. Not only is this song great to play at parties, it’s great to listen to when you’re home, alone, in need of a pick-me-up. Just try not to smile at the rapid-fire puns 3-Stack comes up with. Along with “Love On Top,” this track ranks up there as one of the best Beyonce songs to play at a wedding.
6. “Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)”
Album: I Am… Sasha Fierce
The music video that sparked a million parody clips, like a good number of songs on this list the accompanying choreography for “Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)” was almost more popular than the song itself. In a world where divorce rates are at an all-time high, and cohabitating or long-term relationships without traditional commitment are much more common, this song still resonated with plenty of women hoping for that final step in their courtship. Another satisfying kiss-off with a mesmerizing video to boot, it’s also important to note that this video is the reason Kanye and Taylor’s feud began (!) No doubt the VMAs are about as full of regret about not selecting this video as the guy in the song is about losing his girl.
5. “Me Myself & I”
Album: Dangerously In Love
No one does jilted like Beyonce, as the number one song on this list so clearly illustrates, and though there is a time for stewing, a time for tears, and a time for busting out freakum dresses, this song is a tried and true reminder to ground down into yourself. Plenty of songs in her canon are soothing in their own ways, but this one in particular is a very healing balm. Additional note: When you hear a woman blasting this song, it’s best to leave her the f*ck alone.
4. “Flawless”
Album: BEYONCE
Sometimes it seems like Beyonce just wants to reiterate that she can make every kind of music, any genre of song. The gritty, venomous “Flawless” video brings that point home, even as the lyrics hone in on feminism more directly than anything else in Bey’s catalogue. Channeling a lecture from Nigerian writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie mid-song, “Flawless” turns a self-empowerment anthem into a broader text that, again, ventures into the political realm without abandoning pop song elasticity. There are confidence-boosting songs, and then there’s “Flawless,” the best feminine hype up track to date. And it would be remiss not to mention how she once again turned a simple phrase — “I woke up like this” — into a battle cry.
3. “Formation”
Album:Lemonade
Plenty of people will argue this is Beyonce’s best song, and it certainly had the best and most effective drop of any single she’s ever released. After surprise-releasing her self-titled album a few years earlier, Bey used the same format for her visual album Lemonade, dropping this single first before the rest of the album. Clearly the standout track off the record, it was the political nature of the lyrics that really set it apart from a lot of Beyonce’s other work, and what has made it strike such a chord with critics over the last few years, as pop music is increasingly called to tackle the political realm.
Sonically, it’s a powerful conglomeration of influences like Big Freedia and New Orleans bounce, with essential elements from Mike Will Made It and Rae Sremmurd, but the lyrics and the swag are all Beyonce herself. It felt like a very intimate look inside the mind of a singer who, at that point, had largely stopped giving interviews or letting her private life be known to the public outside of a carefully curated Instagram (or leaked footage of an elevator fight).
While it might not be her best ever, “Formation” is an incredible song, made perfect by the accompanying music video directed by Melina Matsoukas. The visual reimagines Southern history in a way that’s both subversive and inclusive, giving plenty of shine to her self-proclaimed “country” roots, addressing the Black Lives Matter protests that arose after Ferguson, and the way the federal government poorly handled administering aid to New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. It’s an unparalleled political statement, tackles a number of disparate subjects, and draws them all together into a cohesive pop culture moment. The big shout out to hot sauce in purses doesn’t hurt, either.
2. “Love On Top”
Album: 4
The quintessential wedding, anniversary, and relationship celebration song, “Love On Top” is probably best understood as Beyonce’s tribute to Michael Jackson. This is never more apparent than in the song’s simple, hammy video, where her dance moves and facial expressions are cruise ship-ready, yes, but also seem to be a nod to the Jackson 5 era. Later lyrical allusions let us know she’s a fan (“Formation”) and keep in mind, this was all before the accusations of child abuse were highlighted via the Leaving Neverland doc and changed how his career is viewed.
Back to the music — entire music theory blog posts have been written about the song’s quick, sure-footed modulations, and the fact that Bey spans through five keys through the course of the song is more than just impressive, it’s outstanding. From a music theory standpoint, this is definitely one of Beyonce’s most excellent tracks, and the fact that a mainstream pop star is bringing this kind of heat adds another dimension to the many realms Bey can claim dominion over.
Despite everything she’s been through in her romantic relationship, as of our current moment Beyonce and Jay-Z remain intact, so even though it’s back-dated, this song also functions as a celebration of her own relationship. Happy endings don’t necessarily have to be boring, they’re just more simple and straightforward, and another excellent thing about this song is the lyrics are totally gender-neutral, making it an inclusive love song suitable to celebrate any style or level of relationship. It is, simply, a perfect love song.
1. “Irreplaceable”
Album: B’Day
Just like Beyonce herself, the best song in her catalogue is “Irreplaceable.” I know I’m going to get a lot of blowback on this pick, but stick with me. Though Bey’s place in the music world has shifted considerably in the 2010s due to the impact of her self-titled album, that towering coup de grace, Lemonade, and of course, her historical Coachella performance and accompanying live album and documentary, it’s important to not let our current proximity to those moments eclipse how fantastic her earlier work was, too.
First of all the phrase “to the left” has been plucked from the obscurity of simple direction-giving and turned into a kiss-off for men who can’t get their act together. Even years after the song initially dropped, you can hear cashiers humming it to themselves at the grocery store, teens singing along to it when it comes on in the car, and of course, the Bey Hive using it online to school the less educated on the proper worship of their deity. She’s turned plenty of random phrases into signature moments, but this one is so ubiquitous it’s almost impossible to hear it without falling into a verse or two of the song.
That’s to say nothing of the jilted lovers who can use it as a sort of talisman when in pain, and, who knows the hurt of being cheated on better than Beyonce? Her public airing of the emotional arc she experienced during a period of infidelity in her marriage has helped normalize conversation around that specific betrayal. And while her personal story ended in reconciliation, so many relationships never reach that grand plateau of forgiveness, and it’s the many expressions of pain on this subject she’s recorded over the years that might become her greatest legacy, with “Irreplaceable” as the greatest of them all.
The lyrics to the song are about how easy it is to replace a man, not-so-subtle undercurrent hinting that it’s the woman singing it who is one in a million. There’s the immaculate side-eye she gives in the video, the campy, dramatic filing of her nails, the girl band who joins toward the end of the clip to help keep spirits light. It’s the rare song about a breakup that’s actually about female empowerment, an expression of internal joy and self-confidence instead of mourning what’s lost or missing a man — it hits like a girls’-night-out anthem, not like a breakup song.
Beyonce’s uncanny ability to turn what, for most of us, would be the lowest point in life, into another chance to celebrate her own self is on full display here. This song was a warning shot, a planted flag, and a prophecy. She is, forever, irreplaceable. All other challengers for this top spot can step aside and wait in line where they belong — to the left.
Just hours after tweeting and deleting the release date for a follow-up to his fan-favorite compilation album Slime Language, Young Thug now says the whole thing was a hoax perpetrated by a hacker who got access to his account.
The original tweet, which read “#slimelanguage 8-16,” was promptly removed, but not before fan accounts were able to grab screenshots and set the hype train in motion. However, Thugger himself logged in a couple of hours later to apply the brakes before it got too far out of the station. “Twitter was hacked,” he wrote.
It’s easy to see why fans were so excited though. For one, Thug has so many irons in the fire at the moment — he announced his follow-up to So Much Fun, Punk, last year, he’s supposedly got a Super Slimey sequel on the way featuring Gunna and Lil Baby, and he could be working on any number rumored joint projects he’s teased over the past year — that the confirmation of any one project coming out would feel like a godsend.
In addition, the first Slime Language gave Thug a chance to highlight his Young Stoner Life records roster, which includes Gunna, Lil Duke, Lil Keed, and Thug’s sisters Dolly and HiDoraah and the highlight track, “Gain Clout.” It was well-received, debuting at No. 8 on the Billboard 200 and receiving generally favorable reviews. As of now, it doesn’t seem like a sequel is truly forthcoming but maybe seeing the fervor for one will inspire Thug to undertake yet another project for the fans.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
This year’s Emmy nominees will attend a virtual ceremony. That’s something that probably everyone assumed would happen (especially with California being a hotspot), but the formal confirmation has been made. The recent BET Awards showed how virtual ceremonies can succeed with the right production and preparation, and Emmy host Jimmy Kimmel wants to get the ball rolling there.
In a letter to nominees, the show’s producers (including Kimmel) assured nominees that this will be a “top notch” production that is “going to make you look fabulous.” No word on whether hair and makeup stylists and all of that will be either safe or provided. However, nominees will be allowed to film at home or elsewhere, and the ceremony is vowing to “use good cameras and lighting” to do this thing. As for the dress code? It’s “come as you are, but make an effort!”
If you want to be in formal wear, we’d love that, but equally if you’re in the UK and it’s 3am, perhaps you want to be in designer pajamas and record from your bed! We want to work with you to style your moments, but want you to guide us on your levels of comfort – where you want to be, who you want to be with, what you want to wear etc.
One challenge will be for the Emmys to not play like a bunch of Zoom panels, which would really be a bummer, and they’re gonna have to do better than having Tatiana Maslany appear with a “backlit window” to make this show pop. I’m going to cross my fingers for Jeremy Irons to appear onscreen in full Ozymandias regalia to support his Watchmen nomination and make all the nerds happy. Maybe he can make a fart face, too? We could also use a Lube Man streaking through at some point.
The Emmys will air on Sunday, September 20 on ABC.
Ahead of its release on August 14, we sat down with creative director Brian Hayes and producer Raman Bassi to discuss changes to Career Mode, where fighters can impact an unscripted storyline like never before.
Real-Time Injuries
While fighters in UFC 3 could pick up general injuries during training and having a hard-fought bout resulted in your career shortening, there were no tangible repercussions for getting rocked in a fight, injuring your leg, or worse, getting knocked out. That all changes this year, with real-time injuries and medical suspensions.
“Injuries happen. It’s a real, impactful moment. And these can happen during fights,” Bassi said. “If you get rocked in career mode, you’re going to feel that during and after the fight.”
The new injury system amplifies taking risks, such as short-notice fights, where the potential for injury has to be weighed against the reward of taking the bout.
Get Cut, Fight Your Way Back
New to this year’s game is also the ability to decline fights. Since every decision your fighter makes matters, you can run from opponents all you want, but Dana White could cut you from the UFC. Unlike in years past, getting cut doesn’t actually end your career.
“We wanted to give fighters the opportunity to make more choices,” Hayes said. “Because fight offers matter, there’s a system where you can get cut from the UFC back to WFA and have to fight your way back. That’s authentic UFC in terms of making decisions and the ramifications of those decisions. There’s new choices as well that didn’t exist before.”
If you do end up back in the WFA, your fighter doesn’t actually have to come back to the UFC. The WFA is a full organization of its own and fighters can stay there as long as you’d like them to. Fighters could even theoretically fight their entire career in the WFA.
Fighter Relationships
Relationships are a big theme in this year’s game, from a fighter-coach relationship to working with promoters, other fighters and entertaining fans. Fighters will be onboarded by Coach Davis, who teaches the fundamentals. Once fighters make it to the UFC, you have the opportunity to invite real UFC fighters to camp. These situations offer a variety of opportunities, including the ability to leak training footage, a la TJ Dillashaw and Cody Garbrandt.
“If you want to learn an overhand, you can invite someone like Tyron Woodley to camp,” Bassi said. “Land that overhand and unlock it. What could end up happening is if you knock out Woodley, you get a message from your manager: do you want to keep this footage or let it go? You can actually make the choice to invite this guy to your camp and embarrass them. Or you can develop a rapport and it’ll be cheaper to train with them in the future.”
Follow Your Own Path
In last year’s game, fighters start out in the WFA and after a few fights get called up to the UFC. This year, fighters can start in the amateur circuit, the WFA, Dana White’s Contender Series, or straight to the UFC. Fighters have more control over their future and can hold off on moving up until they’ve developed the attributes worthy of fighting some of the top professionals in the sport.
“When you step up to the UFC, that’s a tough challenge,” Bassi said. “Sometimes your attributes aren’t that far. This year, you’ll make the choice if you’re ready to take that next step. You can build up, win the WFA belt and maybe jump into the top-10 in the UFC.”
Fighter Evolution
Along with the overhauled Career Mode is a brand-new fighter evolution system. Every time a fighter connects on a strike, successfully completes a takedown or submission in training, sparring and in fights, the quicker fighters can advance levels. Those disciplines include specific sparring techniques in kickboxing, boxing, wrestling, jiu-jitsu or developing a balanced fighter.
Fighters can narrow their skillset in addition to earning points that can be used to purchase perks and regain attributes lost due to injuries suffered in training or fights.
Malcolm X once said that the Black woman is the most disrespected and unprotected person in the world, but he failed to mention that when nobody else has their backs, they’ve got each other. While men in hip-hop were making jokes at the expense of Megan Thee Stallion after her recent shooting, hip-hop’s women have closed ranks, ensuring that she knows she’s supported. The latest to show solidarity is Kehlani, who has been in some rough relationship situations herself.
The Bay Area singer announced on Twitter that the highly anticipated deluxe version of her album she recently teased will have a new verse on the song “Can I,” removing Tory Lanez, who is suspected of shooting Megan Thee Stallion in her feet after an argument at a Hollywood party. Kehlani explained that while she can’t update the original version, since “the album came out months ago” and it “doesn’t work like that,” she has removed him from the upcoming video for the song and the deluxe version of the album will have a whole new verse.
full transparency cuz i believe in that with my following, his verse is still on the song, the video is solo. new verse on the deluxe.
Megan was also supported by Rihanna and Lizzo, who sent her gifts and messages to wish her a speedy recovery. Tory Lanez is currently under investigation for assault. The video for “Can I” premieres today at 10am PST/ 1pm EST, per Kehlani.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
Despite being semi-retired and well on her way to starting a family, it seems Nicki Minaj still has time to help out a friend with a new verse. When ASAP Ferg called to put her on his new single, “Move Ya Hips” featuring MadeInTYO, she definitely picked up the phone and delivered a trademark, no-frills Nicki Minaj verse. While TYO handles the simple, catchy chorus, Ferg and Nicki trade bars, employing a back-and-forth pass-the-mic session on the back end of the song that sounds like the two mind melded in the studio, finishing each others’ sentences.
Ferg’s been highlighting women’s voices in hip-hop a bunch over the past year, releasing and promoting his Floor Seats EP with two different versions of the same song, “Wigs,” with one featuring City Girls and the other hosting Asian Da Brat (fka Asian Doll). Rico Nasty also appeared on the EP’s track “Butt Naked.” Meanwhile, Ferg’s expanded his own features resume as well, sharing “Bezerk” with Big Sean and “Mazel Tov” with IDK. He previously worked with Nicki on Mike Will Made-It’s “Runnin’” and with MadeInTYO on Floor Seats song “Wam.”
Listen to ASAP Ferg’s “Move Ya Hips” featuring Nicki Minaj and MadeInTYO above.
For a studio album by a global pop star, Taylor Swift’s Folklore seems to have come together quickly. She and Aaron Dessner only began working on the record a few months ago, and even a seasoned industry veteran like Dessner was surprised by the speed at which this process happened.
It was surely a fascinating undertaking to behold, and fortunately, Swift and Dessner have offered some behind-the-scenes looks at the album. Now Swift is back with another: She shared a video for the “cabin in candlelight” version of “Cardigan,” and the video is made up of footage from the photoshoot for the Folklore cover art.
This is a limited time thing, though: The song is only available for download and on CD and vinyl until tonight (July 30) at midnight ET.
The video for cardigan “cabin in candlelight” version is out now using new behind-the-scenes footage from the album photoshoot. You can watch it here: https://t.co/rsSvCRO6P3pic.twitter.com/7lAbxpLybG
Ahead of the release of the song’s original video, Swift explained the song’s meaning in a live Q&A, saying, “The song is about a lost romance and why young love is often fixed so permanently within our memories. Why it leaves such an indelible mark.” She further explained in a BBC Radio 1 interview, “This is a song that’s about long lost love, and looking back on it and how special it made you feel, all the good things it made you feel, all the pain that it made you feel.”
Dessner also recently spoke about the song, calling it “a bit of a lightning rod for a lot of the rest of the record”: “It hearkens back to lessons learned, or experiences in your youth, in a really beautiful way and this sense of longing and sadness, but ultimately, it’s cathartic. I thought it was a perfect match for the music, and how her voice feels.”
Watch the new “Cardigan” video above, and read our review of Folklorehere.
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