GoneTrending

At the moment, Drake is in Sweden, but if you believed what you read on the internet last night, he wasn’t having a great time there. HotNewHipHop notes an Instagram user sparked rumors that Drake had been arrested after being found with marijuana. After the “news” was revealed, “Free Drake” apparently became a trending topic on Twitter.

It would seem, though, that this is all unfounded, as Drake’s team has now denied the rapper was ever arrested.

Huffington Post editor Philip Lewis tweeted last night, “FYI: I talked to Swedish police and they told me Drake is not currently in their custody. (That was the only info they would give).” He added in another tweet, “From Drake’s team: ‘Drake is at his hotel and has not been arrested.’”

This echoes a report from The Hollywood Reporter, which notes, “Internet speculation suggested Drake had been arrested by local police at a Stockholm nightclub. His team categorically tells THR that the Grammy winner was in his hotel in the Swedish capital and had not been arrested.”

The publication also notes Drake landed at Sweden’s Arlanda airport around mid-day, taking his personal Boeing 767 (known as “Air Drake”). After arriving, he apparently visited the Ostermalm district of Stockholm and ate at Ciccio’s restaurant, according to local media reports.

Ellie Goulding is kicking off her new era with a hot new Big Sean collaboration. On her new single, “Easy Lover,” she delivers her signature whispery vocals over synthy, dance-pop track, as she sings about remaining infatuated by someone she knows is no good for her.

“Easy, lover / Keep it cool on me / Don’t bе cruel to me / ‘Cause I know you’ve done it before,” she sings on the song’s chorus.

Sean later comes in with a verse rife with his clever wordplay, notable bars being “I’m hung up on the pictures that you send me / made a gallery / The captions be about me / but no at-ing me.”

As of now, Goulding is married and the mother of a one-year-old child, and Sean is currently expecting a child with his longtime girlfriend, Jhene Aiko. In a recent interview with The Mirror, Goulding revealed that much of her new music will consist more of stories she’s written about situations that don’t necessarily pertain to her, as opposed to songs about motherhood and her marriage.

“I haven’t quite hit that point yet,” Goulding said, “where I’m wanting to talk about this thing I have with my child, and this insane bond and connection, and with my husband.”

Check out “Easy Lover” above.

DJ Premier is always a welcome addition to any new music Friday, especially when behind the boards. This week, listeners are blessed to see him assume the forefront of sorts as he taps Nas for “Beat Breaks,” which they teased last week via Twitter. Preemo opens the track telling Nas he wants to “take it back” to the breakbeat days. The Illmatic rapper follows suit, putting on a lyrical clinic of the legend’s immersive production.

Despite being veterans in the game who originated from a different era, they make this record sound so fresh. This collaboration comes after longtime clamors by fans for Nas to release a project fully produced by Preemo, and while it may not be exactly what they asked for, it is still a linkup for the ages.

“Beat Breaks” arrives as part of DJ Premier’s latest EP Hip Hop 50: Volume 1, celebrating 50 years since hip hop’s inception, which also features Lil Wayne, Joey Badass, Rapsody, Slick Rick, Remy Ma, and Run The Jewels. The 56-year-old had this to say about the project: “It’s an honor to kick off this iconic Hip Hop 50 music program. Hip Hop continues to inspire fans across the globe and it’s incredible to think of what the next 50 years will bring.” DJ Premier intends to bring a lot more, as future iterations of Hip Hop 50: The Soundtrack will include production from Hit-Boy, Mike Will Made-It, Swizz Beats, Mustard and more.

Preemo’s last release came in 2018 with PRhyme 2, the follow-up to his and Royce Da 5’9″‘s eponymous 2014 debut album as a duo.

Check out DJ Premier and Nas’ latest record “Beat Breaks.”

Hip Hop 50: Volume 1 is available now via Mass Appeal. Listen to it here.

Calvin Harris is back with another heater. For “Stay With Me,” the latest from his much-anticipated new album, Funk Wav Bounces Vol. 2, he has recruited Halsey, Justin Timberlake, and Pharrell Williams.

A little more fast-paced than the Dua Lipa and Young Thug collaboration, “Potion,” and the 21 Savage-assisted “New Money,” “Stay With Me” contains a psychedelic guitar instrumental ideal for cruising along the oceanside with after a debauched night, or for skating around a roller rink in true nostalgic fashion.

Throughout the song, Williams delivers a pre-chorus in signature high-tinged vocals, singing “The energy is flowing, it keeps us glowing / So we don’t need no lights, why is it on? / I’m talking to you, girl, it’s a new world”

On the song’s chorus, Halsey rap-sings, “Hey! it’s a mess out there / They can leave, but we don’t care, we’ll stay / I’m good right here /I’ve been waiting for you all year.” They duet with JT on a post-chorus, singing “All night / Come on and stay with me / Let’s stay tight / Come on, let’s stay, baby.”

Albeit a unique combination of artists, their musical chemistry is impeccable, thus making “Stay With Me” a late contender for song of the summer.

Check out “Stay With Me” above.

Funk Wav Bounces Vol. 2 is out 8/5 via Columbia Records. Pre-save it here.

Lizzo is talented at commanding our attention in many ways, and this week the superstar shares her new record “Everybody’s Gay.” The uptempo dance bop shows the full extent of her vocals, her fun-loving disposition, and her willingness to shake the table with such a title. She sings about her excitement to go out, release her inhibitions, and even partake in demon time.

“Everybody’s Gay” arrives as part of Lizzo’s latest studio album Special, led by singles “About Damn Time” and “Grrrls.” Special, which was finished back in March according to the 34-year-old, marks her first project since the massively successful breakout, 2019’s Cuz I Love You, backed by the smash hit “Truth Hurts.” Lizzo will also be teaming up with American Express for Lizzoverse, an “immersive planetarium-esque lightshow experience produced by Superfly” in support of Special.

Despite the slowed releases, Lizzo has made her presence felt. She teamed up with Cardi B for “Rumors” back in August 2021, hosted and performed on Saturday Night Live this past April, joined Harry Styles on the Coachella stage that same month and opened the 2022 BET Awards back in June. Lizzo also recently pledged $500,000 from her upcoming tour to planned parenthood and pro-choice organizations on the heels of the controversial Roe. v. Wade decision; Live Nation will match her donation, making it $1 million going toward the important cause.

Check out Lizzo’s new record “Everybody’s Gay” above.

Special is available now via Atlantic Records and Nice Life. Listen to it here.

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

Joey Badass is keeping the pressure on leading up to his delayed yet highly-anticipated album, 2000. This week he drops off his latest single “Zipcodes,” which finds the rapper having a blast in New York City but also traversing countries overseas. Regardless of what time zone or zip code he is in, the bars are copious.

“Zipcodes” follows “Survivors Guilt” from last week, in addition to “Where I Belong,” “Head High,” and “The Revenge.” Joey also joined Chance the Rapper on “The Highs & The Lows” and the two performed the record at the 2022 BET Awards at the end of June. This all may not be entirely fulfilling for fans, who anticipated the album coming on June 17 before being delayed due to sample clearance issues. Many suspected the true reason he pushed the album back was because of Drake’s surprise LP Honestly, Nevermind, but Joey denounced that speculation. 2000 would be the 27-year-old’s first solo release since 2017’s All-Amerikkkan Bada$$.

In the interim, he joined Beast Coast and Flatbush Zombies on the 2019 project Escape From New York and appeared on a slew of features in 2021. There is still no confirmation as to when 2000 will hit DSPs, but Joey Badass is making sure to not leave the fans completely devoid of any music for the time being.

Check out Joey Badass’ new record “Zipcodes” above.

The J-Hope era has officially begun. After announcing his debut album at the end of June and leading off with the single “More,” the 28-year-old has now shared the “Arson” video. J-Hope raps along with the track as he walks past cars, motorcycles, chairs and other items that have been set ablaze.

This record is one of 10 appearing on J-Hope’s debut album Jack In The Box. Last week, he released the aforementioned single “More” with an accompanying video. This foray makes J-Hope the first BTS member to release a solo project after the group announced a hiatus a while back, an announcement that rendered the need for them to clarify that BTS is not breaking up but rather each member will explore their own solo ventures.

This announcement followed their 35-track anthology project Proof that came out in June, so the brief hysteria surrounding a breakup was understandable. However, J-Hope leading the charge simply means listeners will be able to experience BTS in a new, more individualistic way. Time will tell how J-Hope and his fellow members’ solo projects will be received, but given their success, this could simply boost their profiles. J-Hope is also slated to be one of the headliners for the 2022 Lollapalooza Festival taking place July 28-31 in Chicago.

Check out J-Hope’s new record “Arson” above.

Jack In The Box is available now via Big Hit Music. Listen to it here.

We’re about a month away from Demi Lovato‘s hotly anticipated eighth album, Holy Fvck. On the latest from their album, a new single called “Substance,” a freshly sober Lovato searches for something meaningful.

Like many of the songs on the upcoming album, “Substance” sees Lovato returning to their pop-rock roots. On the guitar-and-drum heavy track, Lovato asks themselves, “Am I the only one looking for substance?” They continue, saying they “Got high, it only left me lonely and loveless / Don’t wanna end up in a casket, head full of maggots / Body full of jack sh*t, I get an abundance / Am I the only one looking for substance?”

In the song’s accompanying music video, directed by Cody Critcheloe, Lovato climbs into the window of an office building, stands on a desk surrounded by business executives having a meeting, then tosses papers in the air. They jump out of the window, landing safely onto a mattress before visiting several Hollywood-like film sets, causing mayhem throughout.

In addition to “Substance,” Lovato has revealed the tracklist for Holy Fvck, which features collaborations with Royal & The Serpent, Yungblud, and Dead Sara.

Check out “Substance” above and the Holy Fvck tracklist below.

1. “Freak” Feat. Yungblud
2. “Skin Of My Teeth”
3. “Substance”
4. “Eat Me” Feat. Royal & The Serpent
5. “Holy Fvck”
6. “29”
7. “Happy Ending”
8. “Heaven”
9. “City Of Angels”
10. “Bones”
11. “Wasted”
12. “Come Together”
13. “Dead Friends”
14. “Help Me” Feat. Dead Sara
15. “Feed”
16. 4 Ever 4 Me

Holy Fvck is out 8/19 via Island. Pre-save it here.

Finneas is having a big year. On top of winning an Oscar with his sister, Billie Eilish, for Best Original Song for No Time To Die, he appears to be launching a new musical era. The producer, songwriter, and singer has just released a new song called “Mona Lisa, Mona Lisa.”

On the punchy, percussion-driven track, he revels in spending time with his girlfriend, actress Claudia Sulewski, singing “she could be the Mona Lisa, if the Mona Lisa had a prettier face.”

Finneas announced the single last week, sharing album artwork featuring a distorted version of the iconic Mona Lisa portrait.

“The artwork is a painting by the incredible Gus Van Sant that he gave me before he even knew I had a song named after the Mona Lisa,” said Finneas in an Instagram post. “So cool and such an honor to have this piece of art as the cover for my song.”

The song’s accompanying video, directed by Sam Bennett, consists of footage of Finneas and Sulewski laying in bed, exploring different cities, and sampling ice cream in between stops on Eilish’s worldwide tour.

In addition to new music of his own, Finneas has also composed the score for B.J. Novak’s upcoming workplace comedy film, Vengeance, which hits theaters on July 29.

Check out “Mona Lisa, Mona Lisa” above.

Still riding the highs of her critically-acclaimed sophomore album, 777, Latto is back with a new empowering anthem. On her new single, “P*ssy,” the Atlanta rapper is responding to the recent overturn of Roe v. Wade.

On the blaring beat, Latto raps, “How you ain’t got a p*ssy, but got opinions on p*ssy? / That’s p*ssy / My ovaries ain’t for you to bully.”

Latto announced the single earlier this week, and while many responded in support, others accused her of trying to capitalize off of the loss of the right to safe, legal abortion.

“Using serious issues to promote your song is wild,” said Twitter user @cruelfantasy. Latto replied, saying she was simply doing what rappers have done for decades.

“Orrrr I took my frustrations to the booth like a RAPPER & using my platform to spread awareness,” she said.

Another Twitter user claimed Latto was using the overturn to make a profit, to which she replied confirming she would be donating proceeds from the song to presumably pro-choice organizations.

“I actually am donating proceeds,” she responded. “Yall be the same ones saying ‘why u gotta post everything’ if I do & assume I’m not doing it if I don’t post it lol however I AM using my power (platform) to make a change regardless shut yo fake woke ass up what are YOU doing???”

Check out “P*ssy” above.