GoneTrending

Trap rap godfather T.I. has been instrumental in the careers of many of the modern generation of trap rappers like 21 Savage and Young Thug, but he’s rarely actually signed any of them to his label, Grand Hustle Records. In a new interview with ESPN’s Shannon Sharpe, he explained why.

The conversation opens with Sharpe asking T.I. what a so-called “360 record deal” is. After T.I. explains it (very eloquently too, I might add), Shannon’s shocked to learn that the deals give labels access to “ancillary” income, such as sponsorships.

“Most artists are only looking for what they’re getting right then,” Tip says. He breaks it down as an exchange of ideas (from the artists) for access (from the labels), which can lead to artists giving away too much for too little.

He says that he learned the business side of the music business early on, and now finds it “honorable” to pass on what he’s learned. “21 Savage, [Young] Thug,” he names as examples. “A lot of them come up to me, ‘Aye man, give me a million, Tip. I don’t care what you do, just give me a million and let me handle it from there.’ And I’m like, ‘Nah, I ain’t gonna do that.’”

And while that might sound unhelpful to some new artists, he explains, “‘If I give you a million, I gotta take back something that’s gonna be worth way more, and we ain’t gon’ be able to be friends from there.’ I always tell ’em, man, ‘Don’t worry about the money up front ’cause it’s gon’ come.’ I remember telling that to Slime, I remember telling that to 21. And even Savage, every time he sees me now, he’ll hit me and say, ‘Ay, it came.’ And that put a smile on my face because I just know how impactful every generation has the opportunity to be even more than the last.”

That game has apparently paid off for his young proteges: 21 Savage owns his masters rights, which he says allows him to make more from albums sales than touring (which is fortunate, considering his immigration case prevents him from maximizing his revenue from touring — which is usually where most artists make most of their money).

Young Thug, who signed to Gucci Mane’s 1017 Records before securing distribution for his own YSL Records under 300 Entertainment, also turned out to be one of the more successful rappers from Atlanta. However, YSL is now being accused of also being a criminal enterprise by Georgia authorities, with the RICO trial scheduled to begin in the coming weeks.

Beware franchise movies with “last” or “final” in the title. They can be great, like Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. Or they can be crappy, like any number of Friday the 13th or Freddy Kreuger movies.

In any case, it’s a cynical attempt to manufacture urgency in a loyal audience, suggesting that this could be the last time you ever see your favorite character in a new story. Of course, it rarely is. Freddy and Jason always came back, and the return of Harrison Ford at 65 years old in Crystal Skull (and now at 80 in this year’s Dial of Destiny) proves there’s no such thing as “last” or “final” until your hero is dead in the ground. And maybe not even then, if the grosses stay good and the technology continues to evolve.

Magic Mike’s Last Dance, which hits theaters on February 10, might not be the last two hours we spend in this universe. There’s already a Magic Mike stage show in Las Vegas, London, and Miami, and a reality show, Finding Magic Mike on HBO Max, not to mention the future projects revolving around the franchise’s side characters that have been hinted at by director Steven Soderbergh. But it could be our final rendezvous with Magic Mike himself.

Channing Tatum, who plays Mike Lane, is 42 years old, not particularly ancient for a leading man, but still an age that raises questions. How long will his back hold up doing those pelvic thrusts, lifting those women, spinning them in the air, and simulating the most athletic copulation you’re likely to see outside of a wildlife video? The trailer hints at a transition for Mike from dancer to choreographer, so maybe his time has already passed. Or maybe they’re just saving the best stuff for their paying customers.

Even if Last Dance represents the end of Mike, it could be the beginning of something else. How it lands with the public could map out our moviegoing future. The Magic Mike franchise represents an anomaly in the movie landscape that becomes more special with every passing year. The streaming revolution has narrowed the path for a movie made for adults to get into theaters, let alone perform well there. Much has changed since 2015 when the most recent film in the franchise, Magic Mike XXL, made $122 million. Even more has changed since the original Magic Mike grossed $167 million in 2012.

Early on in its production, Last Dance was slated to premiere on HBO Max before executives at Warner Brothers thought better of it and put it in theaters. If it performs well, it would not only keep the franchise going, but it would also engender confidence that there’s a future for adult-driven franchises.

Magic Mike may not be a superhero movie — although the bodies on display surpass normal human expectations — but it still benefits from being seen on the big screen with a first-class sound system. The dance sequences are an amazing blend of creative choreography, athletic accomplishment, and bangin’ music, all of which play up in movie theaters. These films are essentially show-biz musicals. There are several big dance numbers expertly dropped into the story of Mike Lane (Tatum), a striver who dances at night to earn seed money for his custom furniture business. There’s drama between him and his boys, and a romance with a pretty outsider who needs to be convinced stripping is an honorable profession. When we see the dancing, the debate ends. Nothing that beautiful can be dishonorable.

The other thing the Magic Mike franchise has going for it is that its fans typically show up in large groups. We’re talking a lot of women (who made up 96% of the sequel’s opening weekend audience in 2015) and quite a few gay men. For these groups, it’s a night out with friends to see hot guys dance and disrobe. The films are designed to be these kinds of crowd pleasing events with the dance sequences often shot from the perspective of audience members. So while Tatum and company thrust and gyrate for the women packed into clubs and arenas on screen, the folks in the theater are just as ready to pull out a stack of singles. It’s both a justifiable artistic choice and a way to turn the outing into more than just a night at the movies.

The other nagging question about Magic Mike’s Last Dance is exactly what kind of film it is. So far, the franchise has been unafraid to pivot in tone and shape, as long as it delivers the sexy thrills the audience wants. The first film was a classic Soderbergh joint that used slick design and handsome dudes to make its critique of American capitalism go down smoothly (this is the man who gave us the Ocean’s trilogy, after all). Magic Mike XXL was a strange and wonderful divergence, a road trip movie that found Mike and his boys traveling to a stripper convention to perform their “last” show (remember what I said about “last”) while soulfully exploring themes ranging from artistic integrity and the value of personal expression to a full-throated embrace of female pleasure. The new one? It was described in the New York Times by its star as “a fish-out-of-water story, a reverse-role ‘Pretty Woman’ story that ends up with a lot of dancing in it.” Hard to tell exactly what that means, but it sure sounds different from the first two films.

It’s a franchise whose marketability is not exactly replicable, although Hollywood should still try. The studios aren’t likely to give up on franchises anytime soon, but if Magic Mike’s Last Dance is a hit — in this landscape, a gross approaching $100 million would qualify — it would demonstrate that making a franchise for adults is not only possible but highly profitable. It’s not so complicated. People want what they’ve always wanted: to watch beautiful people trade witticisms, fall in love, and do incredible things. The Magic Mike franchise just wants to a few more butt cheeks to the formula.

Rick Ross may love to live the flashy lifestyle, with large mansions and luxury vehicles. But there is one luxury vehicle he refuses to set foot in. In a since-expired Instagram Story (per XXL), Ross revealed he has never ridden in a Tesla. His reason: He believes the vehicle may bring him to the feds.

Ross said to someone off camera

“I won’t say I’ll never have a smart car, but I’ve never ridden in a Tesla. Never. Never in my life. I’ve never ridden in a Tesla and the reason being is because I’ve always had in the back of my mind, the government could tap into the brain of the car. ‘OK, where’s Rick? He’s over there. Nah, bring him in for questioning.’ [Makes car sounds with mouth]… It’s leaving Wingstop. You pull up to the building and the agent walk out. ‘Hey, Rick.’”

He continued, “What, you think it can’t? So if you get in that muthaf*cka, that muthaf*cka lock the door and take you where it wanna go. You think you finna smoke a blunt? That b*tch will suck the air out that b*tch.”

It’s safe to say Ross will most likely be sticking with his Aston Martin.

Anyone who has ever heard the word “cyber” come out of Mike Lindell’s mouth likely knows that when it comes to understanding, or explaining, technology, the kooky MyPillow Man is a bit of a Luddite. And Jimmy Kimmel is on to him.

On Tuesday night, the late-night host shared a hilarious clip of the pillow maestro accidentally discovering Zoom’s background blur feature… and kind of freaking out. As Kimmel explained:

The MyPillow Man, Mike Lindell… is still trying to overturn the election, because he believes the voting machines are rigged. Last night, Mike Lindell — who says he understands the voting system data better than anyone else — had a little bit of trouble wrapping his head around the virtual background feature on Zoom.

While delivering his daily “The Lindell Report” to the half-a-dozen or so people who watch his Lindell TV livestream, poor Mike got a little confused by why his background was blurred (which is hardly surprising coming from the man who claimed he tried to rid Minnesota of drugs by “doing them all.”) When his sidekick, Brandon (poor Brandon) tried to explain to the Pillow Man that he hadn’t done anything to Mike’s computer settings and that “that’s on your side,” Lindell seemed suspicious.

“It wasn’t doing it up until this interview, Brandon,” Lindell told him, somewhat accusingly. So Brandon did his best to explain that “a setting got changed probably.”

Ultimately, Lindell claimed that he kind of liked the blurred background (note: he was sitting in front of a stairway, not his ginormous lion painting), then suggested they take some calls to ask other people what they think of this blur feature, which pretty much everyone in the world learned about when COVID first arrived three years ago.

But even as they went to take some calls, Lindell could not stop fiddling with the camera on his computer — as he was clearly convinced that there was something wrong with it. “Try soaking the computer in hot water,” Kimmel suggested.

“Is he a real person?,” Kimmel wondered aloud. “I’m not convinced. He could be one of those machines in disguise.”

You can (and should) watch the full clip above, beginning at the 6:45 mark.

Rising Spanish pop star Pol Granch covered a song from one of his country’s superstars, Rosalía. Yesterday (January 24), Granch released his version of Rosalía’s “Dolerme” that he recorded for Apple Music.

As part of Apple Music’s Home Sessions, Granch released his version of “Dolerme.” Rosalía dropped that song back in 2020 in the middle of the quarantine during the COVID-19 pandemic. She notably channeled her angst through Auto-Tune with an alternative edge in that track. On Twitter, Granch expressed his excitement to take on “Dolerme.”

“Now available are two very cool and different pieces of music that I recorded for Apple Music,” he wrote in Spanish. “Thank you for the opportunity.”

Granch’s version of “Dolerme” is a more stripped-down version of the song. Solely backed by the piano, his voice soars as he sings Rosalía’s emotional lyrics. In addition to being Spanish, Granch is also French, and his French accent peeks out a few times during his beautiful rendition.

The second track that Granch recorded for his Home Sessions was his own song “Nena.” He also put an acoustic spin on the sweet love song from his latest album Amor Escupido. Rosalía, meanwhile, is set to release her next single, “LLYLM,” this Friday, January 27.

Listen to Granch’s Home Sessions on Apple Music here.

The Chicago Bears are in an interesting spot at the top of the 2023 NFL Draft. Much like the Jacksonville Jaguars last year, Chicago doesn’t need to use the No. 1 overall pick on a quarterback, as the team presumably has its signal caller of the future in Justin Fields. Of course, the Bears can try to trade Fields and use that pick on Alabama’s Bryce Young or Ohio State’s C.J. Stroud, but in the event they don’t go down that road, they have two options: Pick someone at a different position, or look to trade the No. 1 pick for more draft capital that lets them address other needs on their roster.

On Wednesday’s edition of First Take, Chris “Mad Dog” Russo tried to lay things out just like I did. The catch: He did not use the phrase “draft capital.” Instead, he got lost in the sauce and made up the phrase “draft booty,” which got Stephen A. Smith laughing so hard that he nearly burst into tears on set.

Smith tried his best to hold it together, but after making eye contact with Molly Qerim, an understandably baffled Querim simply saying “what?,” and Mad Dog sheepishly admitting he “used the wrong word,” Smith couldn’t contain himself any longer. Things went off the rails for a few seconds after that, but even as Mad Dog got things back on track, Smith couldn’t stop laughing.

While Mac DeMarco is hot off the release of his latest album, the instrumental Five Easy Hot Dogs, it’s a 2019 song of his that’s garnering some traction: A song of DeMarco‘s called “Heart To Heart” just earned him his first ever placement on the Billboard Hot 100.

“Heart To Heart,” which was written as a tribute to late rapper Mac Miller, debuted at No. 98 on the chart dated January 28. The song saw an increase in streams and as Billboard notes, TikTok “has been instrumental in the song’s resurgence.”

While it seems DeMarco has TikTok to thank for his first Hot 100 chart placement, he revealed in a recent interview with Variety that he actually finds the platform “depressing,” saying:

“It’s very depressing. I think that that’s the problem is artists have slipped into this role of like, ‘Well, I do need those things.’ You don’t… but if you want to make money, I guess you do. I was always of the ilk of make what you want to make, and if money comes afterward, it’s a bonus. A lot of my songs actually do quite well on TikTok, but I never had to think about, [mocking voice] ‘Well this should sound pretty good sped up!’ At the same time… what do people say? Get that bag, or whatever? Live your life however you want to live your life, I don’t give a f*ck. But kids don’t seem to like going on tour anymore, either. Going on tour was the greatest gift of life for me. You get a van with your friends and drive around, party every night, share your music, see the weirdest parts of every city and meet other weird people. It’s like, ‘Would you like your life to become an adventure? Here you go.’ And now people are like, ‘I’m so tired…’ I don’t want to sound like a grumpy old uncle, but it’s strange!

That’s why making this record felt quite natural for me. It has its own weird little musical identity, and it doesn’t ‘slap,’ it doesn’t have ‘bangers.’ It just is what it is. I love music. I love recording music. I love listening to music. And I don’t need extra baggage to come with it. It’s a very simple pleasure of being alive. Maybe I’m waxing a little too poetic…”

Mac Miller is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Ariana Grande might be best known as a pop queen, but her musical theatre talents run deep. She was a performer on Broadway at the age of nine, long before she began racking up Grammys. And even throughout her adult career, she’ll wave that theatre kid flag once in a while, as she did for NBC’s “Hairspray Live!”

Grande is even currently filming a live adaptation of the musical “Wicked,” playing the role of Galinda, aka Glinda the Good Witch. While the movie might not release until Christmas of 2024, the singer treated fans to an early taste of Oz with a gorgeous rendition of “Somewhere Over The Rainbow,” originally sung by Judy Garland in the 1939 film “The Wizard of Oz.”

---

The video shows Grande chilling in a kitchen, completely covered up in a giant pink yarn sweater—equal parts for comfort and hiding her golden Glinda locks, to be sure—as she effortlessly captures that same kind of dreamy lilt that Garland once did for the tune. Perhaps this shouldn’t come as a surprise, since Grande is a whiz at musical impressions.

Listen. It’s stunning.

@arianagrande

wanted to sing you a little something but don’t want to sing anything that is not “Ozian” at the moment 🙂 keeping to my little bubble for now … done with lots of love.

♬ original sound – arianagrande

“Wanted to sing you a little something but don’t want to sing anything that is not ‘Ozian’ at the moment 🙂 keeping to my little bubble for now,” Grande wrote in the video’s caption. “Done with lots of love.” The cover comes as a polite response to a fan who asked, “Why aren’t you a singer anymore?” since Grande hasn’t put out a new album since 2020.

Understandably, filming two huge movies at the same time (“Wicked” director Jon Chu previously announced that the movie would be split into two parts) leaves little time to produce new music. But rest assured, Grande is, and probably always will be, a SINGER. (All-caps necessary to encapsulate all that talent.)

Grande’s clip quickly went viral, reaching yet another famous Glinda—Kristin Chenoweth. Chenoweth, who originated the “Wicked” role on Broadway, threw on a hot pink feathered sweater and performed a TikTok duet of the song, along with the caption, “Just two Ozians.”

Is there any better seal of approval than a duet with the OG Galinda herself? I don’t think so.

@kristinchenoweth Just two Ozians 🌈💞 @arianagrande #wicked #glinda #galinda #wizardofoz #overtherainbow ♬ original sound – arianagrande

“Wicked” boasts an impressive cast of not only Grande, but Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba, Michelle Yeoh as Madame Morrible and Jeff Goldblum as The Wizard of Oz. And if this cover is any indicator, it seems like it’s going to be a lovely retelling of the story…with one amazing soundtrack.

Insurance companies can be a frustrating maze for consumers and for providers. It’s not uncommon to call the number on the back of your insurance card and get a different answer every time you call with the same question. But for Dr. Tiffany Najberg, the fight with the insurance companies is a bit more personal.

Najberg is a transgender woman who has run into a multitude of problems in the insurance claims world—not as a patient, but as a provider. After changing her name legally and updating all of the required information on official websites, including the Council for Affordable Quality Healthcare and the National Plan and Provider Enumeration System, two websites insurance companies look at to verify providers’ credentials and ability to practice, her claims have been denied.

In the beginning of this year-long saga, Najberg was receiving checks, but the checks were in her dead name and couldn’t be cashed. After going several rounds with the insurance companies, the checks stopped coming and the insurance companies started denying her claims altogether. Of course, this prompted even more questions and frustration since Najberg updated the insurance companies with her legal name as required.

---

Najberg told Upworthy that on six different occasions, she and her billing company attempted to rectify the situation to no avail. These aren’t small companies that may have never encountered such a request. In fact, many Americans with insurance are likely covered by one of the companies she’s currently challenging. “Human, Cigna and Aetna flat out refused, but Medicaid, BlueCross BlueShield changed it immediately so it clearly has been approved through national databases,” Najberg said.

@tifftastic75

#greenscreen please share help me permanently fix this problem. here is the link for yall: chng🦋it/MLJcPRQNcc replace the butterfly with a dot #fyp #drtiffany #tiffocracy #urgentems #arklatexacceleratedcare #trans #lgbt #aetna #cigna #humana #callmebymyname

The insurance companies’ refusal to pay has been hurting Najberg and her practice, UrgentEMS, located in Shreveport, Louisiana. “My clinic treats everyone, but we aim towards communities that are underinsured and uninsured. I don’t have money to pay my rent next month because of this,” the doctor told Upworthy.

Najberg explained that between the three major insurance companies, she is currently owed nearly $200,000 in unpaid claims. Of course, she could turn patients who have these particular insurances away, but for Najberg, that’s not an option because she focuses on serving those who are underinsured and people in marginalized communities. She currently has over 100 trans patients who need continued healthcare with someone who makes them feel safe.

During the height of the pandemic, her clinic served as a place where people could get COVID-19 treatment, with Najberg proudly saying she treated everyone across the political spectrum. Najberg has built such a reputation on TikTok for her openness and ability to present public health issues in a relatable way that CDC officials have contacted her for pointers on how to engage the public.

But none of that matters if she can’t keep her doors open, and the fear that comes from recognizing that possibility keeps her up at night. Through tears, Najberg expressed her concerns for the most vulnerable population she treats, saying, “I’ll likely have to sleep in my car, and what about my trans patients? If my clinic closes, a few of them may kill themselves.”

Najberg actually found herself in the position to lose everything last month after once again not being paid, but thankfully someone anonymously paid the rent on her office space, which costs around $5,000 a month. Recently, she has relied on donations from her followers in order to keep her doors open until she wins her fight with the insurance companies.

During the interview, Najberg informed Upworthy that one insurance company is now complying. “Aetna has started processing all the back claims and a new contract has been signed. I have no retirement anymore. I have no savings. I’ll never own property. For a lifetime to be wiped away over a name change is ridiculous,” Najberg said.

A name change isn’t uncommon. People change their names for multiple reasons, the main one being marriage, so it would stand to reason that insurance companies know how to navigate name changes within their system. What makes this name change so different if other companies had no issue?

It took Najberg months of phone calls to find out the reason for her denials was due to her name change and she was advised to submit under her dead name. But submitting an insurance claim under a different name than your own is insurance fraud and kind of illegal, she protested.

For Najberg, who’s had a lifelong passion for helping people, the fight isn’t just for herself.

“If they’re doing this to me, they have to be doing this to other people. If they get away with this, they’ll do it to other trans providers,” Najberg told Upworthy.

If you’d like to support Dr. Tiffany in her fight against the insurance companies, you can sign her petition here, and if you’d like to donate to help her pay rent and get needed medical supplies, you can do that here.

If there’s a song — let alone an artist — that’s been topping the charts domestically in South Korea, and perhaps dominating TikTok and Instagram Reels at the moment, it’s NewJeans and their latest hit “OMG.” Some may counteract and say “hype boy,” as the dance continues to make waves on social platforms, but the recent track and infectious hand-to-forehead dance move — alongside “Ditto” — have set the internet ablaze with addiction.

Just six months after their debut, NewJeans’ rise in the Korean music industry has been continuously praised by the general public and K-pop fans globally. The group’s ongoing achievements only continue after Billboard unveiled the news of “OMG” ranking at no. 91 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart yesterday (January 24). This would mark the ADOR quintet’s highest placement ranked to date.

Last week, the group earned themselves the fastest K-Pop group to enter the Billboard Hot 100 with their pre-release single “Ditto.” The dance-pop and Jersey Club-inspired track debuted on the Billboard chart at no. 96.

With two songs landing on the Billboard chart, this not only makes NewJeans the fastest K-pop group to debut on the chart but also the fastest act to have multiple entries on the chart.

They are the third K-pop act to break into the Hot 100 chart, following pioneering acts BTS and Blackpink.