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Over the weekend, Kylie Jenner treated her 359 million Instagram followers to a photo of her and her boyfriend, rapper Travis Scott, standing in front of a pair of private jets. “You wanna take mine or yours?” she wrote. It’s very relatable content. Also relatable: taking your environment-destroying private jet on a minutes-long flight.

The Daily Mail reports that “Kylie is the latest member of her family to be accused of hypocrisy, after she flew on her luxury ‘Kylie Air’ private plane twice across the county on July 13, and again just two days later on July 15. The Bombardier Global 7500 jet travelled for 35 minutes from Palm Springs, just outside of LA, to Van Nuys, in Los Angeles, close to her $36 million Hidden Hills mansion on July 15.” Two hours later, she went from Van Nuys to Camarillo, a trip that “took just 12 minutes.”

A private jet like “Kylie Air” is five to 14 times more dangerous to the environment than taking a commercial airplane, let alone driving the meager distance from one California city to another nearby California city, and “50 times more polluting than trains,” according to Transport and Environment. Over two tons of CO2 are emitted. That’s… not great.

Had the star driven the 26 mile trip from her home in Hidden Hills, to Camarillo it would have taken her around 39 minutes – without traffic. But instead the star drove 30 minutes in the wrong direction to Van Nuys airport, before jumping on the plane – with the journey taking longer despite the 12 minute flight.

Jenner, who responded to the controversy with a TikTok of her and her kids shopping at Target in an attempt to seem “normal” and not someone who casually takes their private jet for a quick jaunt, is being called a “climate criminal” on social media.

(Via the Daily Mail)

This week was full of blessings with the long-awaited release of albums from Lizzo and Sabrina Carpenter. Along with these gems, we got news about a new Zara Larsson album, plus new singles from Maggie Rogers and Demi Lovato, previewing their new eras.

Each week, Uproxx rounds up the best new pop releases. Listen up.

Demi Lovato — “Substance”

Demi Lovato’s pop-punk direction persists with this new track “Substance,” less dark than “Skin Of My Teeth” and more interesting in a catchy rhythm and fast pace. They sound optimistic despite the dejected lyricism: “So I ask myself / ‘Am I the only one looking for substance?’ / Got high, it only left me lonely and loveless.”

Maggie Rogers — “Horses”

The singles from Maggie Rogers’s highly anticipated sophomore album Surrender have been previewing a dynamic record. The past tracks have been more upbeat and pop-leaning, but “Horses” showcases a twangy side. Driven by acoustic guitar, the paean is vulnerable, finding power in Rogers’s strong, gorgeous vocals preaching hope and persistence.

Finneas — “Mona Lisa, Mona Lisa”

“Mona Lisa, Mona Lisa” by Finneas sputters and skids with mischief, telling a complicated love story. Romance comes when we least expect it; Finneas wasn’t prepared, but he accepted it anyway: “She could be the Mona Lisa / If the Mona Lisa had a prettier face / This could be heaven / If heaven was an actual place,” he quips coyly.

Calvin Harris, Halsey, Justin Timberlake, Pharrell Williams — “Stay With Me”

Who expected this stacked collaboration? Halsey and Justin Timberlake? Pharrell Williams and Calvin Harris? The funky “Stay With Me” seemingly came out of nowhere, but we’re glad it’s here. At over five minutes, the song is playful and inflected with disco, shaking with an irresistible playfulness.

Omar Apollo — “Archetype”

Though Omar Apollo’s debut LP Ivory already came out, he’s not done with it. He’s expanding it, and “Archetype” is one of the new tracks from this longer version. It’s as groovy and catchy as his previously released songs, and it leaves lots of room for anticipation of the other extra tracks that’ll be unleashed soon.

Carly Rae Jepsen, Lewis OfMan — “Move Me”

This jovial collaboration between Carly Rae Jepsen and Lewis OfMan came about when the two connected over Zoom during the pandemic. “Move Me” doesn’t sound dimmed at all my poor circumstances; it’s an uplifting earworm with a catchy melody and infectious piano, radiating hope.

Sabrina Carpenter — “Because I Liked A Boy”

Sabrina Carpenter has not had an easy year after drama related to Olivia Rodrigo and Joshua Bassett. “Because I Liked A Boy” from her new album Emails I Can’t Send addresses this upfront: “Now I’m a homewrecker / I’m a slut / I got death threats / Filling up semi-trucks.” It’s a wake-up call for all the people online who’ve been acting like she’s not human; also, it’s just an addictive tune.

Lizzo — “2 Be Loved (Am I Ready)”

Lizzo’s new album Special is packed with bangers, but “2 Be Loved (Am I Ready)” takes on more vulnerable topics while still retaining a bright, upbeat sonic palette. She speculates, “How am I supposed to love somebody else? / When I don’t like myself?” She makes it clear, though, that she wants to overcome these obstacles, and the key change toward the end provides an extra layer of optimism.

Latto — “P*ssy”

“P*ssy” is Latto’s unabashed response to the overturning of Roe V. Wade and the lack of concern from men. It’s full of brilliant quips: “All up in them comments talkin’ ’bout some p*ssy that you’ll never touch / F*ck you and your double standards, p*ssy ain’t for you to judge,” she raps, along with lines about lines calling out hypocrisy, gender roles, and the sexualization of lesbians. She touches on a lot of topics worth discussing, which often go unnoticed in hip-hop.

Porter Robinson — “Everything Goes On”

For the popular game League Of Legends, Porter Robinson shared this skittish, thoughtful track “Everything Goes On,” which simultaneously radiates excitement and bittersweetness: “But if I was gone tomorrow, / Won’t the waves crash on? / Is it selfish that I’m happy, / As we pass the setting sun?” he sings.

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

DJ Premier is undoubtedly a legend in hip-hop who rose to fame as one-half of the rap duo Gang Starr in the early ’90s. Since then, Premier has worked with a plethora of artists that include The Game, J. Cole, Janet Jackson, Jay-Z, Joey Badass, Kanye West, The LOX, Ludacris, Mac Miller, Eminem, Nas, The Notorious B.I.G., and many many more. Another artist that Premier has worked with is 50 Cent, but that 2011 collaboration, “Shut Ur Bloodclot Mouth,” came years after 50’s peak in rap. During a recent interview on The Breakfast Club, Premier revealed that Dr. Dre is to blame for the collaboration with 50 taking so long to happen.

“This was when everybody wasn’t really messing with 50 to the fullest because he was having too much drama after doing ‘How To Rob,’ and me and Fif hit it off right away and clicked when I got on the phone with him,” Premier said after explaining plans to drop a solo album with 50 on its lead single. “He said he would do the record, and right when it’s about time to do the record, we get a call that Fif can’t do it.”

Premier continued, “I’m like, ‘Why not?’ and they like he’s about to sign to Eminem and Dr. Dre, and I’m like, ‘Noooo,’ because we already committed to us and I talked to Dre and Dre was like ‘Preem, I love you, but he’s not doing any more recording until he does his debut album.” While Premier and 50 eventually got together for 2011’s “Shut Ur Bloodclot Mouth,” Premier still hasn’t forgotten about that initial denial. “I always tell 50, you still owe me that track,” Premier added.

You can check out Premier’s full interview on The Breakfast Club in the video above.

Drew Barrymore’s enthusiasm for the simple things is adorable, but it’s even more delightful when you know what she’s experienced in her life.

The actress got her start as a young child actor in the 1980s in films such as “E.T.” and “Firestarter” and has had quite an extraordinary journey. Her struggles with drug addiction started at a startlingly young age, getting her blacklisted in Hollywood at the age of 12 due to her marijuana and cocaine habits. Her issues with her mother, who institutionalized Barrymore at 13 and from whom Barrymore emancipated herself at age 14, have also been well documented.

Barrymore, now 47, has come a long way since then. She has managed to repair her relationship with her mother, free herself from drug addiction and give up alcohol completely as well. She has two children of her own, a successful production company, a cruelty-free makeup line, a few books under belt and her own talk show.

Considering the intense personal struggles she had to overcome, she’s doing extremely well.

But what people most appreciate about Drew Barrymore isn’t so much her professional success as it is her love of, well, everything. She exudes a sense of joy and contentment about the smallest things, and her joie de vivre is infectious.

Seriously, who could not appreciate this kind of reaction to being outside in the rain?

u201cI want to love anything as much as Drew Barrymore loves everything. Perfection.u201d

— michael brown (@michael brown)
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Or her emotional reaction to finding a hidden window in the house she’s renovating.

See on Instagram

Or her sweet, peaceful snuggle with rescue puppies.

See on Instagram

When a handful of people started in with comments like, “Yeah, it’s easy to be happy when you benefit from generational wealth,” they were quickly shushed. This world doesn’t do Drew Barrymore slander. Not when she’s been through the hell of a very publicly traumatic childhood and come out gloriously glowing and grateful on the other side.

u201cIu2019m not even trying to be dramatic but you can tell Drew Barrymore thought she was going to die young and now my good sis is just living life the way she was meant to.u201d

— Rachel Leah (@Rachel Leah)
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Those of us who grew up alongside her remember. The assumption was that there would be a terrible ending to the tragic road she was headed down. The fact that she is here, not just surviving but thriving, is a sign of hope we can all appreciate.

u201cYou will not find even the most cynical Gen Xer who has anything other than sincere love for and zero judgment on Drew Barrymore because we saw it allu201d

— Amber Sparks (@Amber Sparks)
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May we all find as much joy in simple things as Drew Barrymore. Just imagine how much better the world would be if we all followed in her rain-soaked footsteps.

u201cthere are some people in this world who have infectious energy… drew barrymore is one of them.nnher life could’ve continued as it was & been absolutely tragic. the fact that she’s such a bubbly, positive, happy, healthy person who takes joy in damn near everything is beautiful.u201d

— fat sajak (@fat sajak)
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If you’ve ever wondered what it would be like to get a bunch of introverted dogs together, let me put your mind at ease. It’s as awkward as you might think. Surprisingly, introverted dogs are just as uncomfortable in social situations as introverted people, as evidenced in this pet owner’s video of this excruciating event.

A group of pet owners in Sweden decided to bring their introverted pups together for a meetup to see what would happen. Turns out it looks a lot like everyone’s first middle school dance where kids stand around attempting to appear normal while avoiding eye contact with people they don’t know. Sofia Rosten told CNN that a dog psychologist put the group together in an effort to alleviate the concerns of owners of shy dogs.

@qilastiktok

Imagine putting a lot of introverts in one room 😅 #funnydogvideos #funnytiktok #funnytiktokvideos #funnypetvideos #funnydoggo

Rosten shared the video of the last few minutes of the dog party on the TikTok page she has for her rescue dog Qila, who attended the meetup. Qila was the life of the soiree as she attempted to catch flies with her back facing the other canines. The party wasn’t all awkward moments and avoidance of doggy contact, according to Rosten. The shindig started off well apparently, but after a bit of overstimulation, the attendees were ready to go home to their favorite blankies and glasses of puppy noir to recuperate for several weeks.

The adorably awkward encounter has racked up more than 4 million likes since it was posted. All I can say to sweet Qila is same, girl. Same. These dogs deserve a lengthy social battery recharge after all of that socializing.

“Jarabi,” meaning “beloved,” is a popular West African song that was written after the country of Mali gained independence from the French in 1960. Rich in metaphors symbolizing the people’s love for their country and culture, the song was meant to instill a sense of “hope and resolve,” according to World Music in Education.

The essential sound of “Jarabi” comes from the kora, a 12-stringed harp dating back to the 18th century. In Mande tradition—meaning that of the Mande speaking peoples of western Africa, which includes the country of Mali—playing the kora professionally was an exclusive sacred right reserved for males in families of tribal storytellers known as griots.

That’s what makes this recently resurfaced viral video from May 2022 so unique.

In it you’ll find Sona Jobarteh, the first ever female virtuoso player of the kora. Born into a griot family, Jobarteh first began learning the instrument from her brother at 3 years old. Her passion grew as she got older. Eventually she decided to make a career out of it, and history along the way.

“I really wanted to study with my father because he is very much an expert in that style of playing,” she shared in an interview with French radio station RFI. She added that her father was very adamant that she earn recognition for her talent, and talent alone.

“He told me that he will teach me as his child, not as his daughter, not as his son but as his child which is no gender. And also he told me that the one thing he wanted in return for teaching me is that I aim to be just a good kora player not a good female kora player.”

Jobarteh has certainly fulfilled her father’s wishes. Her skills have reached wide acclaim, gaining the reputation of a top-level performer for not only playing the kora, but for her melodic voice and strong stage presence as well. She’s performed all over the world, been featured in award-winning films and has released two albums.

Coincidentally, Jobarteh is also the cousin of Toumani Diabeté, a world-renowned kora player and the writer of “Jarabi.” Her beautiful rendition of his song below pays homage to history while breaking barriers all at the same time. It also stands as a powerful reminder that music transcends all limits to connect us with our joy.

Watch and be transported away:

Usually, seeing “Florida” and “man” in a headline makes me take a deep breath in preparation for some sort of shenanigans. The short phrase has become synonymous with outlandish antics, but this is a Florida man story everyone can get behind. Kevin Cate, a former campaign spokesperson for President Barack Obama and owner of CATECOMM, a media consulting company, caught a random act of kindness by a Florida man while dining at a Waffle House in Midway, in the northern part of the state.

Cate watched as an anonymous man attached money to small handmade notes. Eventually, curiosity got the better of Cate and he asked the man what he was up to. Turns out the elderly gentleman had been spending his time passing out $1 and $5 to strangers at the restaurant and other places. According to Cate, who documented the interaction on Twitter, each note said “Love Every Body,” in bold text. Turns out those words were the last thing the generous stranger’s mother said to him before she passed away.

“She didn’t say ‘I love you.’ She said ‘Love everybody.’ So that’s what I’m doing,” the man said, according to Cate. That’s one powerful moment that clearly stuck with the man. Cate wrote that since 2014, the mysterious donor has given away more than $13,000 to strangers and preps to give away his money by printing and cutting out the notes every few days.

What a sweet way for the man to honor his mother’s memory. Surely there are people who receive his gift just when they need it the most, and for the others it likely brings a smile to their faces. Since Cate shared the encounter with his Twitter followers, the man spreading kindness is spreading hope on social media.

One commenter, Tiffany wrote, “I just needed to tell you thank you for posting this. Ever since my sister was killed in the Boise mall shooting, it feels as though a snow ball effect has taken all of the light from the world. This thread helped me remember the lights still there.”

Another commenter, Doug, pointed out, “While we might not know this from Twitter or the news, trust me when I say there are far more good people out there than bad. They just don’t make the news. It’s really nice to be reminded.”

I’m pretty sure Doug is onto something. Media rarely focuses on the good in the world, and the constant barrage of bad news can make you forget that good still happens. And not just occasionally. Good things happen daily, multiple times a day in large and small ways. It’s unfortunate that we don’t bolster all the kindness around us to balance things out, but it’s clear this Florida man’s acts of kindness are restoring some of our faith in humanity.

Hopefully being a witness to or reading about someone else’s kind deeds will inspire others to follow suit in their own ways.

Joe Rogan is once again stirring up controversy. During the latest episode of his podcast, Rogan and his guest, comedian Tom Segura, discussed homelessness in Los Angeles, which took a dark turn as Rogan floated a particularly not great solution to the problem: Shooting them. After the potentially dangerous remarks were recently shared on Twitter, unhoused advocates have been publicly denouncing Rogan’s comments, and you can see why below:

Via Variety:

Tom Segura: When you see stuff like that on the streets, at least in Los Angeles or California, that’s protected property. Like by law. That’s that’s person’s property by law.

Joe Rogan: Oh, a homeless person’s property is protected?

Segura: Absolutely. If you were to try to move that or take that—

Rogan: You’d get arrested. Hilarious. But they wouldn’t arrest you if you shot somebody. Maybe you should just go shoot the homeless people.

Segura: I like your ideas.

Rogan: And if nobody claims it. I mean nobody does anything about violent crime in LA anymore.

Considering Rogan’s podcast reaches an audience of millions who swallowed his controversial opinions on the COVID vaccine, there’s a legitimate potential for violence following his remarks.

“It’s repulsive,” unhoused advocate Theo Henderson told Variety. “It’s infuriating because it’s not only out of touch, but the reality is that unhoused people are targeted by housed people. To advocate trying to shoot at unhoused people or just giving these dog whistles to people that do not see unhoused people as human beings — I can’t believe you’d advocate for it.”

Andy Bales, who runs the Union Rescue Mission in downtown Los Angeles, voiced similar concerns.

“I’m surprised and saddened,” Bales said. “The comments about beginning to kill homeless people hits too close to reality for any comfort, because murders of homeless people in Los Angeles went up 47% last year over the previous year…. There is a bit of an unfortunate vigilantism already in Los Angeles towards people devastated by homelessness and they don’t need any encouragement.”

(Via Variety)

In a recent episode of Math Hoffa’s My Expert Opinion, Method Man sat down in a barbershop, where he dropped tidbits of knowledge. When he got into label politics, he shared his thoughts on artists signing to labels owned by other artists.

“I always felt like you can’t sign to somebody who still trying to be an artist,” He said. “It’s hard. They can’t give you the time or attention that you probably need and deserve unless you are your own machine.”

By “machine,” he clarified that he was referring to artists like Drake, Lil Wayne, and Rick Ross.

Also in the episode, Method mentioned that he hated being seen as a sex symbol following the release of his 1995 hit single, “I’ll Be There For You / You’re All I Need,” which featured Mary J. Blige.

“I fought that ‘All I Need’ sh*t,” he recalled. “I didn’t wanna put it out ’cause it was at a point now where, when we were doing these shows [with] Wu-Tang, I would come out and it’d be girls screaming. Now, for me, it’s like, I’m grimy, same-clothes-for-three-days-in-a-row; who wants to go the sex symbol route at this point?”

Check out the full episode above.

A parking enforcement officer who was working on the set of NBC’s Law & Order: Organized Crime was fatally shot in the earlier hours of Tuesday morning, according to multiple reports.

The New York Post reports that the man, who was reserving spots for the production, was shot in Brooklyn around 5:15 am. He was rushed to a nearby hospital and pronounced dead around 6 am. The victim was shot multiple times in the face and neck. Law enforcement have yet to catch the shooter.

The victim’s co-worker said that this was the same job they had been doing for nearly six years. “We put up the fliers, cones and park the trucks. We come 24 hours in advance to start clearing out the parking. We park in our trucks, and we wait for the stars to come out,” he explained. “He was a great guy, always laughing or making somebody laugh, you know?”

NBC shut down production for the day, and released the following statement, as per the New York Post: “We were terribly saddened and shocked to hear that one of our crew members was the victim of a crime early this morning and has died as a result. We are working with local law enforcement as they continue to investigate. Our hearts go out to his family and friends, and we ask that you respect their privacy during this time.”

The series had just begun shooting its third season. The Law & Order spinoff stars Christopher Meloni, Danielle Mone Truitt, and Ainsley Seiger.

(Via Deadline)