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Rap’s always had a minor obsession with brands and brand names, which at the best of times gives it a deeper connection with pop culture. On the other hand, by tapping into cultural touchstones, rap has occasionally run afoul of the civil side of the law. From rappers being forced to change their names (Remy Ma, who once went by the more recognizable Remy Martin, which also sued 50 Cent over his competing cognac) to copyright infringement suits (Tyga and Lil Nas X were both recently sued over sneaker collaborations), rap’s propensity for name-checking has gotten more than one artist into trouble.

Now, the brands that associate with rappers are feeling those effects too. According to Reuters, the Rap Snacks potato chip brand is being sued by toy manufacturer Mattel over its new Nicki Minaj-themed flavor. Spinning the flavor’s name off from Nicki’s self-derived Barbie nickname, Barbie-Que” Honey Truffle — and its logo, which borrows the original logo of Mattel’s long-running, beloved doll line — Rap Snacks has drawn the ire of Mattel’s legal department, which filed suit last week, alleging unfair competition and false designation of origin, trademark dilution, and unfair competition violation.

Mattel argues that the logo’s use creates customer confusion and false association with the actual Barbie brand. The logo’s use wasn’t authorized and Rap Snacks “purposely” misled customers, allegedly refusing to “correct the misimpression it foisted on the public.” Nicki Minaj, who has long used the Barbie terminology and aesthetic, even calling her fans “Barbz” and herself “Harajuku Barbie” (oof), is said to have deferred to Mattel, obtaining at least tacit permission to continue using the moniker, even having her own doll made in 2011.

Mattel not only wants Rap Snacks to discontinue its “Barbie-Que” flavor but also wants it to cancel its trademarks for Barbie-Que and hand over all of the profits made from its sales. Rap Snacks, which also has flavors based on Cardi B, Lil Durk, Migos, and Moneybagg Yo, has not made a public statement as of press time.

Over the past couple years, Jason Isbell has expanded his presence in the world of TV and movies, guesting on an episode of Billions last year and landing a role in the upcoming movie Killers Of The Flower Moon (as did Sturgill Simpson, by the way). Consequently, Isbell has rubbed shoulders with some big-time cinematic figures. That includes Flower Moon co-star Robert De Niro, who Isbell wished a happy birthday today (the actor’s 78th) with a funny message about his own natural way of talking.

Taking to Twitter, Isbell wrote, “Happy birthday to De Niro who I’m pretty sure thought I was pulling some goofy method bullsh*t for a few days until he realized I actually talk this way.”

Yesterday, Isbell shared another delightful nugget that apparently stemmed from his time on the Flower Moon set. A Twitter account about movies posted the classic “You talking to me?” scene from Taxi Driver and noted, “The script for TAXI DRIVER just said ‘Travis talks to himself in the mirror’ and ROBERT DE NIRO improvised one of the most famous lines in cinema.” Isbell shared that and noted, “And Scorsese was sitting at his feet egging him on.”

He added in a follow-up tweet, “Got that story from the source.” In this case, “the source” could have been either De Niro or Taxi Driver director Martin Scorsese, who also directed Flower Moon.

This fall, Welsh band Mclusky will tour North America for the first time since 2004.

Known for songs like “To Hell With Good Intentions” and “Collagen Rock,” Mclusky formed in the late ’90s before releasing their first album, 2000’s My Pain And Sadness Is More Sad And Painful Than Yours. They gained wider attention with their second LP, 2002’s Mclusky Do Dallas, which led to the debut album getting re-issued in 2003. They released their third (and so far, final) album, The Difference Between Me And You Is That I’m Not On Fire, in 2004 before disbanding in 2005.

In an interview with The Guardian, Mclusky lead vocalist Andrew Falkous said the band will return with the same fervor they had two decades ago.

“I don’t believe in half-conviction,” Falkous said. “If you’re not going on stage to be the best band of the night, one that renders all the other acts irrelevant, then don’t even get up there. Wanting to be in the best rock band in the world is still part of it. But it has also become about having a nice time with my friends. Sometimes I see people in big bands, and there are songs they have to play, which everybody likes, but they have grown to despise. We don’t play often enough for that to happen. So it always feels special.”

Check out the tour dates below.

09/16 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Regent Theater
09/17 – Oakland, CA @ Starline Social Club
09/20 – Portland, OR @ Revolution Hall
09/21 – Seattle, WA @ The Crocodile
09/22 – Vancouver, BC @ Rickshaw
11/30 – Cambridge, MA @ The Sinclair
12/01 – Brooklyn, NY @ Warsaw
12/03 – Philadelphia, PA @ Underground Arts
12/04 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Spirit Hall
12/06 – Toronto, ON @ Lee’s Palace
12/07 – Detroit, MI @ Loving Touch
12/09 – Chicago, IL @ Metro
12/10 – St. Paul, MN @ Turf Club
12/12 – Nashville, TN @ Basement East
12/13 – Atlanta, GA @ Masquerade (Hell)
12/14 – Carrboro, NC @ Cat’s Cradle
12/16 – Washington, DC @ Black Cat

Is it possible to be “fatigued” of pizza?

No.

Counterpoint: yeah… the answer is still no.

But Papa Johns has a counter-counterpoint. The pizza chain claims that the reason sales for its North American locations grew under one percent in the second quarter of 2022, compared to five percent in the same period last year, is because people are tired of pizza. “There’s a general thought that there could be a little bit of pizza fatigue,” Scott Rodriguez, senior vice president of menu strategy and innovation at Papa Johns, told CNN. “Because that’s all we’ve had for the last couple of years.”

To increase sales, Papa Johns, which underwent a rebirth after greasy founder John Schnatter left the company after he used the n-word during a conference call (among other misdeeds), has introduced a new item to its menu: the Papa Bowl. That involuntary shudder you just experienced is normal. The day of reckoning has arrived.

To get people excited about pizza again, Papa Johns is offering a new spin on the classic, with Papa Bowls that are all topping — no crust. The Papa Bowl comes in three varieties, Garden Veggie, Chicken Alfredo, and Italian Meats Trio. They are available to the company’s loyalty members this week and will roll out nationally next, and cost $7.99.

The creation of the Papa Bowl apparently isn’t a bet gone horribly wrong, but rather, it aims to remove the “veto vote,” in which “an eatery gets ruled out because it doesn’t have enough options for everyone in the dining party,” according to CNN. We all have that one friend who refuses to eat a normal slice of pizza because they would rather a sloppy pile of meat and cheese and veggies instead. “Let’s slop ’em up.”

We’ll have a review soon, but until then, let’s see what social media is saying about the Papa Bowl.

Going great so far!

In a new profile in Esquire, former GOOD Music artist Kid Cudi says it would take nothing short of a miracle to repair his fractured relationship with his erstwhile mentor Kanye West. Once upon a timeline, the two seemed inseparable; as recently as 2018, they had collaborated together on a joint album titled Kids See Ghosts and were even said to be working on an animated project based on the album. But apparently, Cudi has had his fill of Kanye’s antics in the intervening years and said “enough is enough.”

Sadly, he’s not the only artist formerly signed to West’s label whose relationship with the mercurial producer has soured since leaving the label. In fact, Kanye seems to have made it a point to alienate practically everyone who ever shared the stage with him prior to his first public show of support for Donald Trump in 2016. It makes a certain kind of sense; of course, those artists who teamed up with him after that wouldn’t have minded, but many of those who worked with him early on must feel a sense of betrayal.

Kanye certainly does. In interviews he’s given throughout the year, he’s identified his support of Trump — and his own disastrous presidential bid — as the major breaking point in nearly all of his relationships. He’s apparently felt hurt by what he perceived as a lack of support during that tumultuous time. Whether they were truly disloyal or he caused the schisms himself with his erratic behavior is debatable. But either way, it’s clear that things have gone bad at GOOD Music. Here’s where Kanye stands with his former artists.

Big Sean

During Kanye’s appearance on the Drink Champs podcast in November, he proclaimed that the worst thing he ever did was sign Big Sean. Sean himself said that he was baffled by Kanye’s comment, pointing out that he “was just wit this man, he ain’t say none of that!” After revealing that Kanye still owes him royalties from his time on the label — he completed his contract with Detroit 2 in 2020 — Sean went on Drink Champs himself a month later, calling Kanye’s assertion “some bitch-ass sh*t.” He also shot down Ye’s complaint that he was unsupportive of his presidential campaign, saying that he isn’t interested in politics one way or the other (which is something of a political position in itself). However, they were seen together at a studio in Los Angeles, leaving the ultimate fate of their relationship a big question mark.

Common

It could be argued that Kanye’s intervention revitalized Common’s musical career in the late 2000s after Com misstepped with the experimental (and misunderstood) Electric Circus. Com’s Kanye-produced follow-up, Be, is widely considered one of the Chicago rapper’s best and earned him enough goodwill to renew interest in his music. Fittingly, Com’s been reluctant to talk about the status of his relationship with the younger rapper, maintaining that he still feels a kinship with him and that he wishes they’d made just one more album together.

Desiigner

Of the former GOOD Music artists who released more than one record on the label, Desiigner’s the one whose friction with Kanye stems most from his treatment while signed there. In 2019, he admitted that he felt ignored by GOOD Music’s leadership, asking for the label to release him on Twitter after saying “I’ve been doing this sh*t myself” on Instagram earlier that year. In 2021, Desiigner released “Letter To Ye,” a nostalgic reflection on his time with the label in which he relishes the highs but also deplores the way Kanye treated him.

John Legend

Along with Kid Cudi, John Legend is one of the handful of artists who makes no bones about his standing with Kanye. Earlier this year, he told CNN’s David Axelrod, “We aren’t friends as much as we used to be.” He attributes the change in their relationship to his refusal to support Kanye’s 2020 presidential campaign, something Ye himself alluded to on Drink Champs. As Legend puts it, “I honestly think because we publicly disagreed on his running for office, his supporting Trump. I think it became too much for us to sustain our friendship, honestly.”

Kid Cudi

The fracture between Cudi and Kanye seems to stem as much from Cudi’s continued friendship with Pete Davidson as anything else. Considering how Kanye felt about those who distanced themselves from his support of Donald Trump, it makes sense he’d want his friends to side with him in his one-man war against his ex’s new (now ex-) boo. However, Cudi and Davidson had formed a bond stemming from their shared affinity for comedy and mutual struggles with mental health — something you’d think Kanye would relate to. Unfortunately, as he’s told us repeatedly in the past, he’s insecure and immature, cutting Cudi off and even cruelly mocking his old friend for being pelted with objects during his Rolling Loud set.

Teyana Taylor

It’s difficult to get a read on just where Teyana Taylor stands with Kanye these days, but when you consider her declaring her retirement from music over label frustrations in 2020, you have to imagine that at least some of that stems from Kanye. When collaborator Mykki Blanco said that they weren’t paid for their contributions to Taylor’s 2018 album KTSE, Teyana deferred the complaints to Kanye, GOOD, and Def Jam. While it is generally the label’s job to handle those sorts of disputes, it’s telling that she included Kanye in her response. After feeling underappreciated at GOOD Music, there’s no wonder that some of that disappointment would be pointed at Kanye, but Teyana has remained mum as to whether the two remain on speaking terms.

LeBron James isn’t going anywhere. According to reports by Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN and Shams Charania of The Athletic, James and the Los Angeles Lakers came to terms on a 2-year max contract extension that is slated to keep him in the purple and gold through potentially the 2024-25 campaign.

The pair report that James will get a deal worth $97.1 million, while Wojnarowski brings word that the second year of James’ deal includes a player option. James was previously slated to enter this year with one year left on his deal before he had the opportunity to hit unrestricted free agency.

Wojnarowski added another fun wrinkle: James has the potential to make more money on this deal. If the NBA’s salary cap substantially increases in the lead-up to the 2023-23 campaign, James’ deal apparently increases to $111 million.

Despite the fact that the Lakers missed out on the postseason this past year, James was still ultra productive, even without mentioning that he turned 37 last year. James averaged 30.3 points, 8.2 rebounds, and 6.2 assists in 37.2 minutes per game, but only appeared in 56 games due to a short bout with COVID and injuries. There are still plenty of questions about what Los Angeles will look like next year, but at the very least, they’ll know they are going into battle with one of the greatest players of all time on their roster.

San Bernardino rapper KINGMOSTWANTED has proved he’s one of Cali’s most promising talents. His single “In My City” had a viral moment on Tik-Tok, piling millions of views and thousands of videos from creators. And with singles like “Cali Lovin” and collaborations with West Coast artists like AZ Chike, label mate MCM Raymond & KayDaBandit, KINGMOSTWANTED doesn’t shy away from his roots.

In today’s UPROXX Sessions, he represents the West with his single “Cali Lovin,” sampling Ice Cube’s infamous 90’s banger “Check Yo Self. The song is upbeat and boastful, selling California dreams with KINGMOSTWANTED rapping of the state’s infamous Interstate 10 (I-10) and lyrics like “weed puffin, Cali loving, the music up high and I’m outchea thuggin.” In addition to delivering a turnt-up rendition of his latest single, he brings his crew, a cup of coffee, and a laid-back cadence to Uproxx Studios.

Watch KingMostWanted perform “Cali Lovin” for UPROXX Sessions above.

UPROXX Sessions is Uproxx’s performance show featuring the hottest up-and-coming acts you should keep an eye on. Featuring creative direction from LA promotion collective, Ham On Everything, and taking place on our “bathroom” set designed and painted by Julian Gross, UPROXX Sessions is a showcase of some of our favorite performers, who just might soon be yours, too.

Jared Kushner‘s new book has been ruthlessly eviscerated in a brutal review by The New York Times. Like all things Trump, Kushner’s tome, Breaking History: A White House Memoir, appears to be shamelessly opportunistic and devoid of substance. Granted, those are our words, and not Times writer Dwight Garner’s, who went to town on the former president’s son-in-law “soulless and earnest” book way more eloquently than we ever could.

“Kushner writes as if he believes foreign dignitaries (and less-than dignitaries) prized him in the White House because he was the fresh ideas guy, the starting point guard, the dimpled go-getter,” Garner wrote. “He betrays little cognizance that he was in demand because, as a landslide of other reporting has demonstrated, he was in over his head.”

As Garner continues, he slams the book for Kushner’s selective recollection of the January 6 attack (he didn’t hear about until later in the day). He also calls out Kushner’s smug satisfaction with his Secret Service codename (“mechanic”), which Kushner clearly doesn’t realize was a jab at his nepotistic presence in the White House where he didn’t fix much of anything. Via The New York Times:

“Breaking History” is an earnest and soulless — Kushner looks like a mannequin, and he writes like one — and peculiarly selective appraisal of Donald J. Trump’s term in office. Kushner almost entirely ignores the chaos, the alienation of allies, the breaking of laws and norms, the flirtations with dictators, the comprehensive loss of America’s moral leadership, and so on, ad infinitum, to speak about his boyish tinkering (the “mechanic”) with issues he was interested in.

Garner goes on to criticize Kushner’s memoir for its “college admissions essay” tone before twisting the knife: “This book is like a tour of a once majestic 18th-century wooden house, now burned to its foundations, that focuses solely on, and rejoices in, what’s left amid the ashes: the two singed bathtubs, the gravel driveway and the mailbox. Kushner’s fealty to Trump remains absolute. Reading this book reminded me of watching a cat lick a dog’s eye goo.” Ouch.

(Via The New York Times)

People hate The Chainsmokers. Clearly not all people based on how successful the electronic/pop duo is, but hundreds of thousands of Google search results indicate there is indeed some hate. The hate is so prominent, in fact, that the duo actually addressed it on their 2018 single “Everybody Hates Me.” They had some palpable hate fly their way recently, when T.I. punched the group’s Drew Taggart in the face.

The Chainsmokers shared a TikTok yesterday and it starts with the title “When meeting T.I. goes wrong” over footage of them posing for photos with the rapper at an event. The video then cuts to Taggart in a car, saying as others laugh in the background, “T.I. just literally punched me in the face. We were on a vibe, and I gave him a kiss on the cheek; It was totally my fault. He was like, ‘Don’t do that.’ I was like, ‘OK.’ He pushed me off and I was like, ‘Alright, my bad.’

Fellow Chainsmoker Alex Pall interjected, “Dude, his friend goes, ‘You need to get your boy,’ and I go, ‘What the f…,’ I don’t even know what happened. I had no context.”

Taggart continued, “He punched me in the face, and I was like, ‘OK, I’m sorry.’ And he was like, ‘Alright, cool, we’re good.’ It was the weirdest interaction ever.” He went on to elaborate, “First of all, T.I.’s fully in the right here. I was feeling the vibes way too hard and I kissed T.I. on the cheek [laughs] and he punched me in the face for it. It’s fully fine.”

In a 17-minute video shared on Instagram today, T.I. told his side of the story, and like Taggart, T.I. had a good-natured take on the proceedings. He just laughs for about the first 30 seconds of the video and indicates he’s been made aware of the situation becoming a matter of public interest. He continues, “OK, first of all, I love The Chainsmokers [laughs], OK, so let’s just get that straight. I love The Chainsmokers, first of all. I have nothing negative to say. We just had to work through some stuff and we worked through it. We got to a much better place.”

He didn’t get into specifics of what happened, but he did say, “There’s really not much more to the story than you’ve already heard.” He added, “Afterwards, we had a drink, we took a shot, you know what I’m saying, and we moved on.” He also said, “Love The Chainsmokers… not to get no sugar, though, you know what I’m saying?”

T.I. also invited the duo to guest on his ExpediTIously podcast, so perhaps a more detailed account of what happened is on the way.

88 Rising’s Head In The Clouds fest is set to takeoff this weekend in Pasadena, CA, but one of the music festival’s headliners won’t be appearing. Niki, the Indonesian singer and songwriter whose name was firmly entrenched atop the celebration of Asian representation in the music world, has tested positive for COVID-19 and announced via Twitter that she won’t be able to perform at Head In The Clouds.

“I’m SO very sorry to disappoint,” she wrote in a message to fans. “Those who know me know I cannot STAND not following through with a commitment & I was truly looking forward to putting on the best show for you all this year. But alas, life is unpredictable.”

Niki continued, “A very exciting silver-lining: My dear friend Keshi has decided to save the day & join the line up!! Please go shower him with the warmest welcome.”

While the Vietnamese-American alt-R&B singer will replace Niki on the lineup, it’s actually Joji’s Yebi Labs DJ set that will fill Niki’s headlining slot.

Taking place at the Brookside at the Rose Bowl venue, Head In The Clouds is a two-day festival on August 20th and 21st. Other acts who will be performing include Rich Brian, Jackson Wang, Dumbfoundead, Jay Park, Audrey Nuna & Deb Never, and more.