Cardi B certainly had an eventful weekend: While performing in Las Vegas, she was splashed by a concertgoer’s drink, so Cardi threw her microphone at the person. There’s no “allegedly” about it, as there’s plenty of video of the throw. Now, it appears she could be facing some legal action.
TMZ reports that the woman who was struck by the mic visited the Las Vegas Metro Police Department to report the incident, and Cardi is now listed as the suspect in a battery. The publication notes, “A woman in the crowd threw some kinda liquid at Cardi while she was performing … and the rapper snapped, immediately throwing the mic in retaliation. The mic struck the drink thrower, but ricocheted and also hit another woman standing next to her. It’s unclear which one of them went to cops, or if there was any mention of the drink being thrown at Cardi.”
That incident wasn’t even the only microphone Cardi threw that weekend: Video from a show the day before shows Cardi, seemingly out of frustration, throwing her mic towards the DJ booth after a performance of “I Like It.”
Cardi B is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
Paul Reubens, the actor and comedian best known for playing Pee-Wee Herman in multiple TV shows and movies including The Pee-wee Herman Show and Pee-wee’s Big Adventure, has died at 70.
“Last night we said farewell to Paul Reubens, an iconic American actor, comedian, writer and producer whose beloved character Pee-wee Herman delighted generations of children and adults with his positivity, whimsy and belief in the importance of kindness,” a message on his Facebook account wrote. “Paul bravely and privately fought cancer for years with his trademark tenacity and wit. A gifted and prolific talent, he will forever live in the comedy pantheon and in our hearts as a treasured friend and man of remarkable character and generosity of spirit.”
For decades, hip-hop has often taken inspiration from queer sounds and aesthetics. In the ‘90s, Lil Kim was open about the fact the extravagant outfits and makeup she wore were inspired by drag performers and figures of the underground ballroom scene. She was a vocal supporter of the LGBTQ+ community, displaying a sense of allyship that was vital at the time. Despite the fact that Lil Kim had love for the queer and trans communities — a love that was reciprocated — homophobic ideology within hip-hop was rampant. Artists like NWA, DMX, and Ice-T were often praised for their conscious lyrics about racial disparities and economic inequality, however, many listeners reeled over their homophobic lyrics.
Early works by Eminem and the Beastie Boys often depicted violent acts against queer and trans people, which would later be the subject of GLAAD protests. Though the aforementioned artists have since recantedtheselyrics and actions, or have otherwise have shown support for the LGBTQ+ community, many listeners and artists believe bigotry towards queer and trans people is still an issue within the genre. However, in recent years, with LGBTQ+ artists rising through the charts, and at the helm of production of inescapable hits, signs seem to point at a queer revolution within hip-hop.
For the past few years, queerness has had an undeniable presence in hip-hop. Though some women rappers have utilized ballroom lingo and queer aesthetics in their music and visuals, despite not openly identifying as LGBTQ+, many others have made it known from the jump that they are not inhibiting themselves for anybody.
It’s hard to pinpoint exactly when and how the recent LGBTQ+ revolution in hip-hop began. Perhaps it was when Lil Nas X earned the longest-running Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 in 2019 with “Old Town Road,” or maybe it was during the pandemic, when fans helped elevate artists like Doechii, Ice Spice, and Lacy through dances and storytelling on TikTok. Ice Spice alluded to her bisexuality in one of her earliest hits, “Bikini Bottom.” She doubled down on this during an interview with Genius, where she explained that fans “need to know – we’re here and we’re queer!”
The eccentric Doechii has also captivated listeners, not only with her witty one-liners and vibrant displays of the characters she invents with her music, but also simply by unapologetically being herself. Before signing to Top Dawg Entertainment, which has housed the likes of Kendrick Lamar and SZA, Doechii went viral with her autobiographical song “Yucky Blucky Fruitcake,” on which, she proclaims, “I think I like girls, but I think I like men.” One of her first major label hits, “Persuasive,” likens the idea of smoking marijuana to giving into the affections of a woman.
In an interview with British GQ last year, Doechii cited the LGBTQ+ community in helping her find confidence in her sound, saying, “I always knew that I was queer, and I was bisexual. But I didn’t really feel comfortable talking about it, because nobody around me was gay. So it’s not like I was hiding it — but I also wasn’t fully embracing it. I just started indulging myself with more friends who were like me. And that’s when I could become more comfortable talking about it, because that’s my normal everyday conversation now with my gay friends.”
Around the same time Doechii began blowing up, her Top Dawg labelmate Isaiah Rashad was the subject of rumors surrounding his sexuality. In February 2022, sex tapes of Rashad engaging in activities with other men surfaced online. Rashad would not address these tapes until his performance at Coachella two months later. During the performance, he thanked fans, who sent messages of support following the leaks, saying, “I see all the messages and all that sh*t, all the positivity,” and noted that his fans kept him “alive these last couple months.” A month later, he came out as sexually fluid during an interview with Joe Budden.
Also that year, Lil Uzi Vert, who had previously identified as a man, started using they/them pronouns. Though they made this announcement simply by updating the pronouns in their Instagram bio, and have not officially labeled themselves as non-binary, Uzi revealed in an interview with 032c that this change came without any sort of hesitation.
“I did take my time to learn as much as I could about this before I was able to proceed,” said Uzi. “Taking the time to figure out who you are is a big part of what it means to be alive.”
They continued, explaining that the LGBTQ+ community has always been an essential component of the hip-hop game.
“I just think a good product [is] a good product,” Uzi said. “Think about fashion. Gay and trans designers are some of the biggest talents out there, and gangster-ass guys wear their stuff without a thought. What you make is what matters, not how you identify.”
And the quality of Uzi’s work has certainly been reflected in their sales and streams. Last month, their long-awaited Pink Tape album reached No. 1 on the Billboard 200, becoming the first hip-hop album of 2023 to do so.
But also, in regards to “a good product,” several queer producers are working behind the scenes to give these hip-hop records a magical touch. Over the course of the past year, openly gay producer Kaytranada has cut tracks for rappers IDK and JID, and even collaborated with rapper Aminé on a full-length collaborative album. Bisexual singer and instrumentalist Steve Lacy has been a go-to collaborator for artists like Kendrick Lamar and J Cole for years.
Last year, Lacy earned the biggest hit of his career with “Bad Habit,” a chart-topping song which tells the painful story of a missed connection. Throughout the song, Lacy doesn’t mention anyone by name, or allude to specific pronouns, which makes the song all the more relatable. “[I]f only you’d known, things would be different,” said Shani Fuller-Tillman, RCA Records VP of Marketing in a 2022 interview with Variety. “There’s no one of any age, race or gender identity that hasn’t experienced this in life.”
While relatability is a key factor in the success of songs like “Bad Habit,” the tune also got a viral push through TikTok. Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, TikTok has been crucial to a song’s success — whether it be from the song’s genesis to its official release, or as the platform documents the song’s second — or even third — life.
LGBTQ+ artists, especially, have felt the effects of TikTok on their music, especially Lil Nas X, who began teasing his single, “Montero (Call Me By Your Name)” through TikTok months before its official March 2021 release. The song reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, and though Lil Nas X hasn’t released an album since September of 2021, he continues to tease new music through the platform — the snippets often met with fans in the comments, demanding he release the full song immediately.
In 2022, fellow gay rapper Saucy Santana went viral on TikTok with his opulent single, “Material Gworllllllll!,” though the song had been released three years prior. Its viral resurgence prompted Madonna — who has long been deemed a gay icon — to perform the song alongside Santana at New York City Pride that year, and later, release a remix of the song in the form of a mashup with her 1984 hit, “Material Girl.”
But what is the catalyst for hip-hop’s recent embrace of queer and trans artists and producers? Is it online virality? The post-COVID desire to dance and feel liberated? The genre-fluidity in which streaming is pushing hip-hop numbers into similar territory as pop?
Is it even fair that hip-hop gets all the flack for homophobia? At the time of writing, Miley Cyrus is the only openly queer artist in the top 10 of Billboard’s Pop Airplay chart. Meanwhile, Jason Aldean, whose recent small town-romanticizing music video for his song “Try That In A Small Town” has been accused of racist imagery, is within arms length of his first Billboard Hot 100 topper.
Rap and hip-hop are certainly not monolithic, but even as the pop-adjacent rappers and hip-hop artists, like those mentioned above, have been met with support from hip-hop fans — both queer and straight — even conscious rappers, like Rashad, have received an outpour of love from their day-one fans.
Across any artistic platform, there’s always room for improvement in terms of LGBTQ+ acceptance and representation; but it feels safe to say that hip-hop is on the right track.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
Olivia Rodrigo is clever as ever in the lead-up to Guts, her forthcoming sophomore album that she may have subtly teased within her 2021 “Brutal” video. Fans are now convinced that Rodrigo is sending them on a new scavenger hunt with an Instagram video posted Monday morning (July 31).
The teaser is an aerial view of Rodrigo in a bedroom. She toys with a keyboard and places a cake on the floor before hopping on her bed — covered in purple sheets, of course — to write with her typewriter, “Guts tracklist.”
The comments section is already full of guesses as to which song titles are hidden within the video. It should be noted that there is a white tee on the floor with “Obsessed” written across the front, and Rodrigo lays down next to a yearbook open to pages reading, “Class Of” and “Book Club.” Before playing a few notes on the keyboard, the keys were covered by a piece of paper with “Stranger” written on it.
Rodrigo also wrote “Bad Idea Right” in lipstick on her mirror, and there appears to be “Grudge” underlined on a piece of white paper. At the end of the video, a snippet of an unreleased grunge-pop song can be heard with Rodrigo singing, “My brain goes ahhh…” So far, the only confirmed track is “Vampire,” debuting at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 earlier this month.
Back in 2020, Christopher McQuarrie opened up about his time on the Jack Reacher films with Tom Cruise, and how the two of them wished they could’ve pushed the franchise into grittier, more R-Rated territory. Those discussions led to what’s now known as The Gnarly Movie. Obviously, the two got extremely busy as the pandemic scattered the production of Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One all over Europe, and naturally, delayed the filming of Part Two.
But, fear not, The Gnarly Movie is still on the menu. According to McQuarrie, the two are actively trying to film it soon. Via Empire:
“There’s a movie that Cruise and I are talking about doing next or in some probable next, that Erik [Jendresen, writer] and I developed together – what has been referred to on the internet as ‘The Gnarly Movie’,” McQ teases. “It’s that movie that they’re all asking for, and that we want to do.”
As for why The Gnarly Movie has taken hold of the internet’s imagination, here’s how McQuarrie first described the movie when he revealed its existence to the world.
“Reacher could have been an R-rated movie and an R-rated franchise and really fed into the brutality of those books. We were fully ready to lean into that,” McQuarrie told Empire about the genesis for The Gnarly Movie. “It’s a very un-Tom character, and we have plans for an even more un-Tom character that we’ve been talking about, which I’m hopeful about in the future. […] The franchise has moved on, and we haven’t. So we’ve now got stuff in the hopper. The [Jack Reacher] stuff we’re talking about now is tinker toys [compared to it], I’m actually very, very excited.”
However, before everyone gets their hopes up, Cruise and McQuarrie still have to deliver Dead Reckoning Part Two, which now has the unenviable task of topping the motorcycle-jumping action extravaganza of Part One. That’s not gonna be an easy task.
Sam Smith has plenty of material to choose from for their headlining Gloria The Tour, which began in Miami on July 25 and will next treat fans at PNC Arena in Raleigh, North Carolina on Tuesday, August 1.
Smith’s North American leg will stretch until mid-September. For all the Sailors still planning on experiencing Gloria The Tour, check out the Smith’s setlist below (based on setlist.fm from July 26).
1. “Stay With Me”
2. “I’m Not The Only One”
3. “Like I Can”
4. “Too Good At Goodbyes”
5. “Perfect”
6. “Diamonds”
7. “How Do You Sleep?”
8. “Dancing With A Stranger”
Act II: Beauty
9. “I’m Kissing You” (Des’ree cover)
10. “Lay Me Down”
11. “Love Goes”
12. “Gimme”
13. “Lose You”
14. “Promises” (Calvin Harris and Sam Smith cover)
15. “I’m Not Here To Make Friends”
16. “Latch” (Disclosure cover)
17. “I Feel Love” (Donna Summer cover)
Killer Mike is currently on his High And Holy Tour, promoting his new album Michael. Most recently, he stopped at The Fillmore in San Francisco, while tonight (July 31), he’s playing the Ace Hotel in Los Angeles. We’ve got the setlist — courtesy, as always, of Setlist.fm — below. In addition to tracks from Michael, Killer Mike has also been playing tracks by Big Boi (“Kill Jill”), Bone Crusher (“Never Scared”), and Purple Ribbon All-Stars (“Kryptonite [I’m On It]”), on which he had standout verses throughout the early 2000s.
Despite very recently releasing a full-length album, Mike said he had even more songs recorded, including one featuring a seven-minute André 3000 verse. He followed up by claiming that André was working on an album of his own, but later insisted that he was only joking. Of course, with André 3000, anything is possible; even the Killer Mike collab that appeared on Michael, “Scientists & Engineers,” was nearly nixed by the mercurial Outkast-er until he heard the full version with Eryn Allen Kane’s vocals.
Check out the setlist for Killer Mike’s High And Holy Tour below.
1. “Down By Law”
2. “Shed Tears”
3. “Ready Set Go”
4. “Run”
5. “NRich”
6. “Talk’n That Sh*t!”
7. “Slummer”
8. “Scientists & Engineers”
9. “Two Days”
10. “Kryptonite (I’m On It)”
11. “Kill Jill”
12. “Never Scared”
13. “Spaceship Views”
14. “Reagan”
15. “Something For Junkies”
16. “Motherless”
17. “Ric Flair”
18. “Don’t Let The Devil”
19. “High & Holy”
20. “Thank You Lord”
At the risk of sounding like a horrible, narrow-minded rockist: It’s cool to hear a Mitski song where she’s playing guitar again. I have no idea if the rest of the forthcoming The Land Is Inhospitable And So Are We (due September 15) sounds like this, but given that she tends to write her albums in tandems, it seems like a safe bet that it won’t emulate the synth-pop psychodrama of her previous two records, Be The Cowboy and Laurel Hell. Maybe we’re about to behold Mitski’s gospel period?
2. MJ Lenderman, “Rudolph”
He made my favorite album of 2022, and he plays on one of my favorite albums of 2023. Now MJ Lenderman has released one of my favorite singles of the year. Can I interest you in some lap steel, cowbell, a “Blowin’ In The Wind” reference, a Lightning McQueen joke, and a ripping guitar solo? How about a music video loaded with muscle cars and cool mulleted guys smoking cigarettes? I’m telling you, MJ Lenderman simply does not miss.
3. Joanna Sternberg, I’ve Got Me
If this Brooklyn singer-songwriter were alive in the 1960s, she would have been like Harry Nilsson or Randy Newman — an eccentric original whose songs are covered by The Monkees and The Turtles. I actually wish we went back to that era, in which mainstream rock groups performed songs penned by songwriters who operate on the margins. I hear a lot of bands who are just okay are writing their own material, and they would be much better off transforming the loads of gems served up on I’ve Got Me.
4. Slow Pulp, “Doubt”
One of my most anticipated indie albums of the fall is Yard, the latest from this Chicago-by-way-of-Madison band. Actually, I’m not really “anticipating” it, since I have had the promo for a while now. I guess I am anticipating all of you hearing it, as I really think that Slow Pulp is one of the better young indie-pop groups around at the moment. “Doubt” showcases their hooky, zippy side, but the strength of Yard is that it displays a range of sounds, from spiky power pop to rustic alt-country.
5. Dusk, “Pissing In A Wishing Well”
My only criticism of Slow Pulp is that they left my home state of Wisconsin for the brighter lights of Illinois’ biggest city. Of course, this makes me a hypocrite, since I also left Wisconsin for a neighboring state. Nevertheless, part of my affection for Dusk stems from their steadfast devotion to America’s Dairyland. This country-rock outfit has the same unpretentious charm as our shared home. They favor group vocals, layers of keyboards and pedal steel, and beer-friendly, shout-along choruses. You can hear all of that in this single from the forthcoming Glass Pastures, out on October 20.
6. Being Dead, When Horses Would Run
Surf music is one of those genres, like rockabilly or psychedelic rock, that is never in fashion and always in style. Somewhere in your town right now, someone is playing those kinds of music and more people than you might expect are enjoying those kinds of music. Being Dead isn’t a strict surf band, per se, but this Austin outfit does apply the conventions of the genre in the service of making irreverent and witty punk rock. This album is a hoot.
7. Palehound, Eye On The Bat
A million and one indie rock bands right now are trying to make heavy riffing rock songs that sound like they could have been released by Matador Records in 1994. Most of them fall short of the mark. Palehound does not. El Kempner brings the riffs as well as the diaristic lyrics about sex, bad relationships, and various other highs and lows. The result is an album that sounds like a long-treasured used CD.
As someone who liked but didn’t last year’s Chloe And The Next 20th Century, this fantastic live album feels like a reboot. What sometimes felt like affectations on the album — particularly the old-timey, soft shoe music — really come alive here, as Josh Tillman and his impressive band lend some needed muscle to his most insular set of songs. Of course, the songs that do work on Chloe — “Goodbye Mr. Blue,” “(Everything But) Her Love” — are absolutely stunning here. As are the reliable favorites from past records. (The story he tells before “The Night Josh Tillman Came To Our Apt.” reasserts his mastery of banter.)
9. Wham!
I’ve been listening to a lot of George Michael lately, and I have Chris Smith’s Netflix documentary to thank for that. Though the real star of the film isn’t Michael but rather his oft-dismissed former partner Andrew Ridgeley, the handsome and preternaturally self-assured other half of the 1980s teen pop phenomenon Wham! While George is rightly seen as the musical engine of the group — he wrote and produced all of their best work — we learn from the doc that Ridgeley was the one who teased all of that talent out of his best friend and then supported him when he came to dominate the group. Like so many of the best music documentaries, this is as much a study about a friendship as it is an exploration of a successful band’s music. And after watching Wham! I couldn’t help wishing that Andrew Ridgeley was my best friend, too.
Talk to Me is one of the best horror movies of the year. It’s also a genuine hit. The Danny and Michael Philippou-directed film opened to $10 million at the box office this weekend; that’s the second biggest debut in A24 history, behind only 2018’s Hereditary ($13.6 million).
“We wanted to make a film that was about a world that we understand. We didn’t want to do a period piece or anything like that, just something that was current. And that’s the big thing of today’s culture. It was just a world that we understand,” Michael told CBR.
The siblings’ videos often go on bizarre, violent, unexpected journeys. Take “Selling Riley Reid’s BATHWATER,” for instance. What starts as a normal (“normal”) video from 2019 about selling bathwater that adult film actress Riley Reid soaked in on eBay becomes… something else.
You can watch it below (NSFW, obviously).
Talk to Me is in theaters now. You can read our interview with the directors here.
It’s nearly time for Osheaga Art And Music Festival 2023, where Billie Eilish, Kendrick Lamar, and Rufus Du Sol will serve as heavy-hitting headliners. The annual festival is scheduled from this Friday, August 4, through Sunday, August 6, and the full schedule is available for planning purposes.
Six stages will host multiple enticing acts, beginning on August 4 with Magdalena Bay, Xela Edna, and Mindflip at 2 p.m. local time. The likes of Holly Humberstone (3:20-4:05 p.m.), Soccer Mommy (4:05-4:50 p.m.), Rina Sawayama (6:30-7:20 p.m.), and The Flaming Lips (7:20-8:20 p.m.) will precede Rufus Du Sol’s headlining set from 9:20 p.m. to 10:50 p.m.
Saturday, August 5, will bring attendees performances from Fletcher (4:50-5:40 p.m.), Lil Yachty (5:40-6:30 p.m.), 070 Shake (7-7:50 p.m.), The National (7:20-8:20 p.m.), Carly Rae Jepsen (7:50-8:40 p.m.), and Baby Keem (8:20-9:20 p.m.). Eilish’s headlining set is scheduled from 9:20 p.m. to 10:50 p.m., and Rema will simultaneously go on a different stage from 9:40 p.m. to 10:40 p.m.
Sunday’s bill is also stacked. Armani White (4-4:45 p.m.), Beabadoobee (4:50-5:35 p.m.), Central Cee (6:20-7:10 p.m.), Kim Petras (7:10-8 p.m.), Japanese Breakfast (7:45-8:35 p.m.), and Fred Again.. (8-9 p.m.) are among those who will warm up crowds ahead of Lamar’s headlining set from 9 p.m. to 10:30 p.m.
It’ll be a particularly busy week for Eilish and Lamar, as they’re pulling headliner double duty between Osheaga and Lollapalooza. See the full Lolla schedule here.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Cookie settingsACCEPT
Privacy & Cookies Policy
Privacy Overview
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
