GoneTrending

Last December, SZA dropped her long-awaited SOS album, and she experienced unprecedented success from it well into 2023, enough that Uproxx included it on the list of “Best R&B Albums Of 2023 So Far.” In January, she dropped the “Kill Bill” video, and she embarked on her headlining North American tour throughout February and March. The chart-topper’s second North American leg is scheduled to kick off on September 20 in Miami, Florida, and just as she did earlier this year, her tour run will be preceded by a big-time drop.

On Wednesday, August 23, SZA confirmed that the video for “Snooze” is coming this Friday, August 25. This comes roughly two weeks after she posted two steamy Instagram videos billed as behind-the-scenes “Snooze” footage.

As of this writing, “Snooze” has charted for 36 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 — peaking at No. 10 — and 15 weeks on Billboard‘s Radio Songs chart with a No. 4 peak. The song also spent 36 weeks on the publication’s Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, peaking at No. 3.

Along with “Kill Bill,” SZA has also released a video for SOS tracks “Nobody Gets Me,” which made her “really f*cking sad,” and “Shirt,” a song that fans had wanted SZA to release for two-plus years. Lakeith Stanfield starred opposite SZA in the latter video.

In May, Anjimile announced The King, his forthcoming sophomore album, by releasing its title track. Then in June came “Father,” which Uproxx selected among “The Best Indie Music” from that week because of how powerfully the ballad acknowledges his parents supporting him while getting sober.

Anjimile’s The King rollout continued on Wednesday, August 23, with “Animal,” a potent protest against police brutality. The acoustic track was accompanied by an evocative video, directed by Robby Opperman, and an announcement that Anjimile will head out on tour later this year.

“‘Animal’ is one of the first protest songs I ever made,” Anjimile captioned an Instagram post. “I was pissed off when I wrote it and I’m pissed off now. F*ck police brutality. Link to video in bio + stream the tune wherever you listen to music. And we’re going on F*cking tour! See you in the UK/EU in November + east coast US in December :).”

The video begins with a candle burning in an otherwise pitch-black room. It cuts to an up-close shot of Anjimile’s face. He references George Floyd’s May 2020 murder, singing, “I lost my mind I couldn’t handle it / Burned my fingers on the candle lit / Madness manifest / Kneeling on my chest / I’ve seen the footage and the camera roll / If you treat me like an animal / I’ll be an animal.”

Per a press release, The King finds Anjimile as he “continues exploring what it means to be a Black trans person in America.” It adds, “Featuring the singles ‘The King,’ ‘Father,’ and ‘Animal,’ the brutally honest reflection of 2020’s deadly summer is less reminiscent of the pink cloud of early sobriety and more rooted in the reality of seeing brutality with clear eyes. Drawing from influences ranging from religion, Phillip Glass, and lived experiences, the album is a grand step forward for Anjimile.”

Watch the “Animal” video above, and check out Anjimile’s upcoming tour dates below.

09/09 — Raleigh, NC @ Hopscotch
09/28 — Montreal, CA @ POP Montreal
11/03-04 — Reykjavik, IS @ Iceland Airwaves
11/07 — Amsterdam, NL @ Paradiso Zonzij
11/10 – Paris, FR @ Pitchfork Paris
11/11 — London, UK @ Pitchfork London
12/o1 — Winston-Salem, NC @ SECCA
12/02 — Washington, DC @ DC9
12/03 — Philadelphia, PA @ PhilaMOCA
12/05 — Brooklyn, NY @ Public Records
12/07 — Kingtson, NY @ Tubby’s
12/08 — Boston, MA @ ICA
12/10 — Toronto, ON @ The Drake
12/12 — Chicago, IL @ Schubas
12/13 — Lexington, KY @ The Burl

The King is out 9/8 via 4AD. Find more information here.

In June, Oneohtrix Point Never was announced as a headliner for Levitation, a festival scheduled for late October in Austin, Texas. The set will likely be filled with brand-new material.

On Wednesday, August 23, Daniel Lopatin announced the arrival of Again, his first album as Oneohtrix Point Never since 2020’s Magic Oneohtrix Point Never, which piqued the interest of Uproxx‘s Steven Hyden. The album will drop on September 29 via Warp Records. Lopatin shared the cover art and teased the LP with an endearingly self-deprecating trailer.

The 70-second trailer is shot man-on-the-street-style in New York City and captures a slew of strangers trying, and mostly failing, to pronounce Oneohtrix Point Never.

Again is billed as “a speculative autobiography,” as per Pitchfork. The official announcement also said that album “imagines what might have been, as the musician made his music through space and time. Which decisions foreclosed some realities? What might those other worlds have sounded like?”

Since releasing Magic Oneohtrix Point Never, Lopatin has served as an executive producer on The Weeknd’s January 2022 album, Dawn FM, and contributed music to the Disney+ series Star Wars: Visions Vol. 2. Lopatin and The Weeknd have frequently collaborated. The Weeknd recently proclaimed he doesn’t plan on doing another feature ever again, but perhaps he made an exception for Again.

Watch the trailer for Again above.

Again is out 9/29 via Warp Records. Find out more information here.

Dominic Fike was thinking on his feet when he stripped down to his underwear for an on-stage wardrobe change during his ongoing Don’t Stare At The Sun Tour. Such antics are to be expected from the artist who wrote “Think Fast,” a track from his Sunburn album that features Weezer’s Rivers Cuomo on guitar and backing vocals.

On Wednesday, Fike released the video for “Think Fast” video. In it, Fike is back home in his beloved Florida. He’s riding a lopsided boat, laying on a roof at sunset, peeling oranges, and hanging upside down from a moving vehicle as he sings, “Think fast, you only get one try / Sleep tight, I wanna get sunshine / Wake up, you know we got things to see.”

Throughout the slow-burning song, Fike tries to make sense of an elusive person in his life (“What’s worse, what stings, I saw her in / The garden with the snakes”) and reflects upon his conflicting upbringing (“I wrote rules the wrong ways, had blues and long days”).

At one point the video shifts to black-and-white, capturing Fike withstanding a wind storm before elevating above the clouds while sporting a tee that reads, “I KICKED THE HABIT.” The final scene finds Fike alone, strumming his guitar.

“Think Fast” follows “Mona Lisa,” which became Fike’s first-career solo entry on Billboard‘s Hot 100 chart this week (No. 98).

Fike has five remaining Don’t Stare At The Sun Tour dates before wrapping on August 30 at Iroquois Amphitheater in Louisville, Kentucky. He’ll next perform at Huntington Bank Pavilion At Northerly Island in Chicago on Thursday, August 24. See all of his upcoming dates here.

Watch the “Think Fast” video above.

Rudy Giuliani hasn’t had a great last few years, and on Wednesday he arguably hit a new nadir. That’s the day the former “America’s Mayor,” not to mention star prosecutor, turned himself to jail and got a mugshot. It’s worse than the day black goo dripped down his head, worse than the day he did a presser at a landscaping joint, worse than the day Donald Trump refused to bail him out of the financial hole he dug to help him out. How could it get worse? Well, it did.

As per Mediaite, after Giuliani was arraigned, a CNN camera crew spotted him walking into the “2nd Chance Bail Bonds” in Atlanta, Georgia.

“This this is the former president’s former personal attorney, by the way, former mayor of New York City, former prosecutor himself, who sent many, many folks he prosecuted to bail Bonds offices, bondsman offices like that in the past,” CNN anchor Jim Sciutto said over the footage. “And now he himself is walking through that door.”

Giuliani’s bail was set at a whopping $150,000. It’s not surprising that Giuliani would have to visit a bail bond joint. His finances are, uh, not great these days. It’s not even that shocking that he chose one with such a sad, deflating name.

That news cameras were there to capture the walk of shame only makes his humiliation even worse. Indeed, people couldn’t believe the footage was real.

Some marveled at how far the guy’s fallen.

There were, of course, jokes to add salt to Rudy’s wound.

Some pointed out that this is karma for all the lives he unfairly ruined as prosecutor and mayor.

(Via Mediaite)

Donald Trump is a strong and brave leader, which is why he’s skipping Wednesday night’s GOP debate. Perhaps he sees duking it out with candidates he’s already handily clobbering as a waste of time. Perhaps he’s afraid of Chris Christie. Whatever the reason, he’ll be (mostly) MIA during Fox News’ big show. That doesn’t mean his campaign won’t still try to spin this as some kind of victory.

“President Trump has already won this evening’s debate because everything is going to be about him,” Trump Campaign Senior Adviser Chris LaCivita wrote in a statement. He continued:

“Only President Trump has the policy ideas, the fortitude, and the polling to go head-to-head with Crooked Joe Biden in the general election. Republican voters recognize this, hence President Trump’s 62-16 lead in the GOP primary.

You should also expect the Fox hosts to show an unnatural obsession with President Trump tonight, asking other Republican candidates over and over to react to President Trump’s policy positions. In fact, we will be tallying the number of times President Trump’s name is brought up, and his total ‘speaking time,’ even though he is not in attendance.

LaCivita concluded that “tonight’s Republican undercard event really shouldn’t even be called a debate, but rather an audition to be a part of President Trump’s team in his second term.”

Of course, the GOP debate will probably feature candidates talking about other things. But even when they are, Trump will definitely be the giant orange elephant in the room.

Trump will still be around during the debate. In a fit of eff-you counter-programming, the big guy will be sitting down for a softball chat with one of his fiercest critics, Tucker Carlson.

(Via Mediaite)

After dropping two stand-out albums, 2017’s Good Woman and 2020’s The Greatest Part, Nashville-based musician Becca Mancari is leaning away from their alt-country sound to indie-pop territory (while not leaving the slide guitar behind) with the dreamy project Left Hand.

Throughout the album, Mancari unpacks family, identity, and religion on tracks like “I Had A Dream,” the Brittany Howard-featuring “Don’t Even Worry” and the Julien Baker– featuring “Over And Over.” Mancari was raised in a fundamentalist Mennonite community and went to a Evangelical university. But after coming to terms with their upbringing and learning the strength of radical acceptance, Mancari has poured their self-discoveries into song.

The album title itself, Left Hand, is a nod to their family crest from the Italian region of Calabria, which features a left hand holding a dagger. “In many cultures children born with a dominant left hand were taught not to use that hand, and were told that using the right hand was ‘normal’ and ‘correct,’” they said in a statement. “Similarly, queer children are often times told that it’s not ‘normal’ for them to love who they love and that they need to ‘change.’”

To celebrate the release of Left Hand, Mancari sits down with Uproxx to talk Brittany Howard, Frank Ocean, and sleeping at a haunted house in our latest Q&A.

What are four words you would use to describe your music?

Truthful. Interesting. Seeking. Sonically Minded.

It’s 2050 and the world hasn’t ended and people are still listening to your music. How would you like it to be remembered?

Haha if the world hasn’t ended by then, well I hope I am still touring and playing my music, but if I am gone then I hope they remembered me for my love and for my honesty, and I hope that I can help others feel less lonely by listening maybe even a little understood.

What’s your favorite city in the world to perform?

NYC and Paris.

Who’s the person who has most inspired your work, and why?

Brittany Howard, who I am lucky enough to call my friend. She is just as pure as it gets with music and I want to be as honest in my life and my art as she is.

Where did you eat the best meal of your life?

I love food so much, but I will have to say it has to be some of the family meals at my old job where I was a line cook. The restaurant is sadly no longer in business, but it was called “Silly Goose”.

What album do you know every word to?

Frank Ocean’s Blonde record.

What was the best concert you’ve ever attended?

Kendrick Lamar (Damn Tour).

What is the best outfit for performing and why?

Kind of depends on my mood! I either like a very nice sleek suit or oversized jeans and t-shirt with vans.

Who’s your favorite person to follow on Twitter and/or Instagram?

Hayley Williams on IG. She keeps it real.

What’s your most frequently played song in the van on tour?

The whole record Songs from Adrianne Lenker.

What’s the last thing you Googled?

“Family another word in English.”

What album makes for the perfect gift?

Wede Harer Guzo by Dahlak Band. I would personally love this on vinyl.

Where’s the weirdest place you’ve ever crashed while on tour?

A farm in Idaho where I slept in the owners bed. They had a haunted house vibe in the basement.

What artists keep you from flipping the channel on the radio?

SZA or Palehound.

What’s the nicest thing anyone has ever done for you?

My partner loving me everyday.

What’s one piece of advice you’d go back in time to give to your 18-year-old self?

Take care of yourself and your mental health and forgive yourself!

What’s the last show you went to?

Tegan and Sara.

What movie can you not resist watching when it’s on TV?

Speed.

What’s one of your hidden talents?

I am a pretty good photographer but I don’t do it often and never for others.

Left Hand is out 8/25 via Captured Tracks. Find more information here.

John Fetterman is one of the most distinctive-looking members of Congress. The Pennsylvania senator is a giant, with the build of an NFL lineman. He’s got tattoos, some of which hold deep, personal meaning. He wears suits on Capitol Hill, but he usually rocks hoodies and basketball shorts. And he’s got a giant, busy goatee. But over the weekend he changed things up. Gone was the mass of chin hair, and in was an awesome ‘70s porn mustache (plus prescription glasses). When he debuted his new look, he teased that he’d “lost a bet to Karl,” his 13-year-old son. Turns out the full story behind the ‘stache is even better.

In an interview with GQ, Fetterman explained that the bet he lost involved the brainiest of games.

“Karl is into chess, he plays online, so I got him pieces and a board,” Fetterman explained. “We played together, and I bet him that if he loses, he’d have to make me a dozen deviled eggs because he makes great deviled eggs. He said that if I lose, I’d need to have a mustache for two weeks.”

Fetterman added, “I wish I could say that I went easy on him, but he beat the brakes off of me.”

When Fetterman debuted his new whiskers, social media inevitably melted down. It also further discombobulated the internet’s conspiracy theory nutters, who saw it as further evidence that the “current” Fetterman is really a clone due to the “real” one’s health issues.

Fetterman is aware of that line, addressing it in an April tweet. “You know, during my time [in] the hospital, the fringy fringies really came up with a conspiracy that I have a body double,” he wrote. “And I just want you to know that is just crazy. That’s not true!”

In any case, don’t get too used to Fetterman looking like he’s in Boogie Nights; he plans to shave it after the allotted fortnight.

(Via GQ)

When you think of fast cars, statistically, the only things you can and should think of are “Fast Car” by Tracy Chapman, Gran Turismo, and the Fast and Furious franchise. It just makes sense. But back when The Fast and Furious first came out, nobody knew what a staple it would become.

David Ayer, who wrote the movie back in 2001, says that he has “nothing” to show for penning the film, which spawned almost a dozen sequels, various spinoffs, and a stunt show at Universal that people love to visit when the VelociCoaster is down for the day.

Ayer appeared on Jon Bernthal’s Real Ones podcast where he said, “Biggest franchise in Hollywood, and I don’t have any of it. I got nothing to show for it, nothing, because of the way the business works.”

The writer, who also directed Suicide Squad, so he has had some critiques under his belt, said that he was the one who took the initial script and made it into the Vin Diesel masterpiece it turned out to be. “When I got that script, that s*** was set in New York, it was all Italian kids, right?” he told Bernthal. “I’m like, ‘Bro, I’m not gonna take it unless I can set it in L.A. and make it look like the people I know in L.A., right?’ So then I started, like, writing in people of color, and writing in the street stuff, and writing in the culture, and no one knew s*** about street racing at the time.”

Ayer implied that he didn’t get the recognition because he was an “outsider” in Hollywood at the time. “It’s like people hijack narratives, control narratives, create narratives to empower themselves, right? And because I was always an outsider and because, like, I don’t go to the f****ng parties. I don’t go to the meals, I don’t do any of that stuff. The people that did were able to control and manage narratives because they’re socialized in that part of the problem.” Instead of hijacking narratives, people should stick to just hijacking cars.

Meanwhile, Vin Diesel is out here creating a Fast empire. Maybe Ayer can attend one of those family meals for once.

(Via EW)

It’s hard to pinpoint the moment when Rudy Giuliani’s legacy fully evaporated. Was it during his cameo in Borat 2? The Four Seasons Landscaping debacle? When hair dye melted on his face during a press conference? Whatever your pick might be, Rudy certainly lost the “America’s Mayor” title long ago. Or perhaps “MAGA’s Mayor” is a better term now.

Rudy, along with Jenna Ellis and Sydney Powell, has now surrendered at the Fulton County jail. This definitely looks like a man who is miffed about those Trump-fueled legal fees coming his way.

Whereas Jenna Ellis looks like she’s back into “live laugh love” mode.

Also! Here is the rest of the gang, other than Trump. It’s the most uncool rogues’ gallery ever.

Trump, for his part, is expected to surrender on Thursday. He has claimed that he will be “proudly” doing his fourth (alleged) perp walk. Meanwhile, everyone can watch and wait to see if either of these (alleged) co-conspirators will turn on Trump. Rudy knows where all of the (again, alleged) RICO details are buried, and this is a guy who has bragged about knowing RICO all too well. So, Trump might be a bit apprehensive on that note. That will especially be the case if no one shows up to that high-rolling, $100,000 per head fundraiser that he decided to go ahead and hold for Rudy’s legal fees.

If there’s anyone left out there who owes Trump an expensive favor, they will probably be receiving that call soon.