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Chloe is extremely tuned-in to social media. She’s used her Instagram to soft launch each of her solo singles and show off her impressive vocal chops. It’s clear that she takes social buzz into consideration before making moves — although that usually means those moves defy criticism rather than cater to it. Now, she’s kicking that engagement up a notch, asking fans to help her choose her next single.

During a recent live stream on Instagram, the flourishing R&B singer played snippets of three potential singles to get fans’ feedback. “I have all of this music and I don’t know which one I should do next,” she explained during an introduction. The three tracks, “For The Night,” “Suprise,” and “Cheat Back,” tapped into a more downtempo, R&B-focused groove than her previous singles, the club-ready “Have Mercy” and “Treat Me.”

While fans fought it out in the comments — with Chloe keeping a running tally, noting that most of the responses demanded “For The Night” and “Surprise” — Chloe also played two more snippets: a collaboration with 6lack called “Cry For Me” and a portion of her collaboration with Fivio Foreign, “Hello.” Although it didn’t seem that anything was resolved during the Live, we now do have a better idea of what Chloe’s self-titled debut sounds like — and a growing appetite for the full project and its release date. Check out the recording of the Live session below.

The late Nipsey Hussle added much to the music industry, his community, and the world, which is why he is so sorely missed. One contribution people may not have been aware of is his songwriting for a certain fellow West Coast legend. Snoop Dogg jumped on Instagram yesterday (May 19) with a blunt in hand rocking out to his record “Ten Toes Down” off of 2016’s Coolaid. In the caption, he reveals the song was written by Hussle.

The two had a longstanding relationship, previously collaborating on “Upside Down,” “Gangstas Life,” and “Question #1.” Nipsey Hussle was fatally slain in March 2019 in front of his Marathon store. Snoop Dogg spoke at the Victory Lap rapper’s memorial at Staples Center, citing they were drawn to one another for their spirits of love.

Snoop Dogg is gearing up for the release of his next album A Death Row Summer, leading off with the single “Touch Away” featuring October London. There is no set date, but the “Gin And Juice” artist says it is “coming soon.” A Death Row Summer will be the second Death Row release of 2022 after Snoop Dogg claimed the rights to the label back in February.

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

The Golden State Warriors took Game 1 of the 2022 Western Conference Finals against the Dallas Mavericks on Thursday night, 112-87. Throughout the evening, the Inside the NBA guys were posted up outside of the Chase Center in San Francisco, which meant that Charles Barkley and Warriors fans felt the need to openly antagonize one another for several hours.

Barkley said earlier in the week that he does not like San Francisco, going as far as to call the city “hell,” so it’s not a surprise that there was some tension between the NBA Hall of Fame inductee and the Warriors faithful. At one point, the fans got on Barkley so much that he felt the need to really lay out that he wanted them to leave him alone in a NSFW way.

It would have been easy after the Warriors won for Barkley to take his foot off the gas and ease up on his dislike of the city, but Barkley is among media’s most adept haters, so as the fans chanted “Barkley sucks,” he could not help but respond.

And after the game, the city got some reinforcements when Draymond Green made his way out on set and sat at the desk it’s presumed he’ll join upon the end of his NBA career. Barkley decided to talk a little more trash about the area, at which point Green told him that his feelings about San Francisco are reciprocated by the city.

The banter will assuredly continue on Friday night when the Warriors host the Mavericks in Game 2.

Sometimes the best new R&B can be hard to find, but there are plenty of great rhythm-and-blues tunes to get into if you have the time to sift through the hundreds of newly released songs every week. So that R&B heads can focus on listening to what they really love in its true form, we’ll be offering a digest of the best new R&B songs that fans of the genre should hear every Friday.

This past week was filled with some strong R&B and afrobeat releases. They include Davido’s “Stand Strong,” Burna Boy’s “Last Last,” Chloe’s cover of Capella Grey’s “Gyalis,” and more. There are so more releases you should take note of and you can find them below.

Arin Ray — “Gold”

After more than two years without a project, and more than four years removed from his debut album, it seems like Arin Ray is just a short time away from dropping a body of work for his patient supporters. Last month, he dropped “The Mood” with D Smoke and now he’s back with the luscious “Gold.”

Ne-Yo — “Don’t Love Me”

With his eighth album on the way, Ne-Yo is giving his fans, both new and old, more reasons to be excited about the upcoming project. It remains untitled at the moment, but it will be his first full-length since 2018’s Good Man. Until that arrives, Ne-Yo keeps us satisfied with his latest drop, “Don’t Love Me.”

Muni Long — “Pain”

Muni Long, who is fresh off signing to Def Jam, continues her strong year with her newest single, “Pain.” The record accounts for the changes she sees within her relationship and how it affects herself and her lover. It’s also a good follow-up to last month’s “Another.”

Dylan Sinclair — No Longer In The Suburbs

Three years removed from his JUNO-nominated second project Proverbs, Toronto singer Dylan Sinclair is back with his third body of work and it’s own filled with sincere R&B records that also display his growth. No Longer In The Suburbs arrives complete with eight songs and no features as Sinclair carries the weight of the project with no struggle.

Tank And The Bangas — Red Balloon

Nearly three years to the date of their 2019 second album Green Balloon, Tank And The Bangas returns with their third album Red Balloon. Hoping for the same success as their 2019 effort, which earned them a Grammy nomination, Tank And The Bangas present 15 songs with help from The Ton3s, Jamison Ross, Trombone Shorty, Lalah Hathaway, Big Freedia, and more.

Johan Lenox — WDYWTBWYGU

For his second project in less than a year, Johan Lenox strived to create an orchestrated pop epic and he did so with WDYWTBWYGU (What Do You Want To Be When You Grow Up). On it, Lenox fires off 15 songs that feature collaborations with the likes of KayCyy, Ant Clemons, 070 Shake, RMR, Mr Hudson, Cousin Stizz, and more for what truly strikes as a grand and attention-grasping body of work.

Leven Kali — “Everything I Want”

Leven Kali’s last project came in 2020 with the release of Hightide. After staying low for a couple of years, the West Coast singer is slowly bringing back a wave of new music and it continues with “Everything I Want” which follows this year’s “Let It Rain” and “Eek.”

Dende — “Round Trip To Atlanta”

Texas native Dende closed 2021 with his seductive Pregnancy Pack EP. He then kicked off the year alongside Deante Hitchcock on “Neck Up” with Bairi who also appears on Pregnancy Pack. For his latest act, he rides solo and flies high for an intimate moment with a newfound lover on “Round Trip To Atlanta.”

Black Party — “Hotline”

With his upcoming album on the horizon, Arkansas-bred, Los Angeles-based singer Black Party gives fans a great treat with his new single, “Hotline.” The song is carried by Black Party’s sultry voice as he tells a lover to “pick up the phone when a real one call ya.” It’s also produced by Lido which marks the first, and definitely not the last time, that the duo will work together

Agnez Mo — “Patience”

After dropping a pair of singles in 2021, singer Agnez Mo kicked off 2022 with “Patience.” Originally a solo single, she later returned with a new version of the track which featured a verse from D Smoke. Weeks after that update, she’s back with an acoustic take of her new collaboration with D Smoke.

Skylar Stecker — “What’s Good”

Skylar Stecker’s 2021 year was highlighted by her sixth project Earth Signs. The seven-track body of work served as her third EP and first release since 2019’s Redemption. To kick off 2022, she released “What’s Good” with Tone Stith, and now she returns with an acoustic and solo take of the gentle record.

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

When Mike Ziemer launched the inaugural So What Festival in 2008, social media was in its infancy. There was no Instagram for him to purchase advertisements, no TikTok to share videos, and no music streaming platforms, as Spotify hadn’t arrived to the US. By way of MySpace, word of mouth, and building a niche community in Plano, Texas, Ziemer was able to grow what began as a series of concerts in a local community center into one of the most anticipated festivals of the year.

The 2022 So What Festival marks the first iteration of the festival in three years, and its first in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex in five. This year’s lineup boasts throwback artists like The Maine, Simple Plan, and Sum 41, and newer acts like Trippie Redd, Princess Nokia and 2 Chainz. With its largest and most diverse line-up yet, the festival will take place May 29-31 at Arlington’s Choctaw Stadium.

Born and raised in Huntington Beach, California, Ziemer moved to Plano at the age of 16. Though he admits he struggled to fit in with the suburban crowd, he found solace in Dallas’ music scene. In order to get into shows for free, Ziemer would interview bands for online zines. After building a presence online and within Dallas’ music community, a local band called The Perfect Ending reached out to Ziemer and asked him to manage them.

“The biggest thing that I came across was that at the time, which was 2004, there was no scene for all-ages shows,” Ziemer tells Uproxx. “You had to play in a bar, and the show would end at like eight o’clock, and none of your friends from the suburbs could go. I rented out a small room at The Plano Centre [which has since been renamed Plano Event Center], with some money that I borrowed from the guitarist of the band’s mom, and put on my first show. I paid everybody off. And there was some money left over, even after I paid her back. And I was like, ‘What do I do with this money? Like, oh, I’ve made some money. This is cool. I should do this again.’”

Ziemer would then launch a series in which he would hold monthly concerts at The Plano Centre. Those Plano Centre shows became staples for indie artists and emo kids alike, as Ziemer brought in artists and bands like The Maine, Terminal, and Jeffree Star — yes, that Jeffree Star.

During The Plano Centre concert series’ early beginnings, Ziemer and his street team would hand-deliver flyers to mailboxes in Plano, Frisco, and Richardson. As popularity for these shows grew, he and his team would deliver the flyers to even more surrounding cities, like Rowlett, Mesquite, Arlington, and Fort Worth.

In tandem with the ardent efforts of his street team and the scene kids who frequented these shows, Ziemer says MySpace was one of the biggest factors that pulled in large audiences every month.

“The ability to invite people and post bulletins and grow these insane followings on MySpace was incredible,” Ziemer says. With Facebook, you’re limited to 5,000 friends, unless you start creating new profiles. And on MySpace, I think I had 65,000 friends on there. Everything about MySpace was in order. If I post a bulletin, I’m on top. There was no weird algorithm. We spent zero dollars advertising, except for printing out flyers. The average person couldn’t just boost a post. It was all organic and word of mouth.”

In 2008, Ziemer would celebrate the concert series’ fourth anniversary with the inaugural So What Festival. Originally called South By So What, the first festival brought “just over 40 acts” to North Texas that otherwise wouldn’t get booked for SXSW, including Breathe Carolina, Memphis Mayfire, and Scary Kids Scaring Kids.

“The guy that was doing all my graphics was like, ‘Man, you have everybody everyone wants to see. You may as well call it South By So What,’” Ziemer recalls, “And I was like, ‘That’s funny, Let’s see if we can get away with it.’ We posted about it and it just became a brand. Even if you were over 21, if you wanted to go see anything that was rock or metal, it would be at a venue that could fit 500 people but there were, like, 3000 people trying to get in. The alternative was come up to Dallas to get away from all the chaos and enjoy all the bands. It wasn’t necessarily a stab at SXSW.”

While the South By So What name was all in good humor, the festival continued to grow over the years. Within two years, the festival had expanded from The Plano Centre to the Dr. Pepper Arena in Frisco. By 2011, the festival had moved to Dallas’ South Side Ballroom, then known as Palladium Ballroom, before taking place at QuikTrip Park, now known as AirHogs Stadium.

By 2016, the festival had garnered a fanbase comparable to that of SXSW.

“It got to a point where they considered us a competitor,” Ziemer says. “So when [SXSW] reached out and they were like, ‘Hey, at this point, we would like to get actual compensation from you using [‘south by’] because you’re now a competitor,’ We were just like, ‘Ok, we’re just gonna go by So What.’”

Around that time is when Ziemer had begun seeing a shift in music culture and within his audience. He would see crowds forming mosh pits at hip-hop and EDM festivals, realizing many of the individuals in these crowds were people who went to the Plano Centre shows growing up.

Having grown up in Southern California, Ziemer himself has an eclectic music taste, comprised of West Coast hip-hop and bands like Less Than Jake and NOFX. Ziemer’s own personal musical inclinations, paired with the shift taking place in the realm of music, prompted him to diversify So What’s lineup.

In 2017, for the festival’s 10th iteration, So What took place at AirHogs Stadium, as well as various venue’s in Dallas’ Deep Ellum neighborhood. On the lineup were Mayday Parade, Forever The Sickest Kids, and Every Time I Die, along with local hip-hop acts Lil Lotus and Blue The Misfit.

“Obviously, we’re not the first people to ever mix the genres together,” Ziemer says, “…but it just felt natural. Some people comment like, ‘How could you do this? This is supposed to be a metal festival,’ but I feel like those are grumpy people that aren’t going to come anyway. But the music all flows to me, especially in an era where Travis Barker is collaborating with every possible artist.”

Booking some of the newer acts feels like a full-circle moment for Ziemer, who first met 2 Chainz while his friend was working backstage at one of his concerts. He recalls being at a Rae Sremmurd show, which was the first time he saw fans form a mosh pit at a hip-hop concert. He’s also been following Blackbear’s music since he was performing under the name Mat Musto.

This eclectic lineup is expected to bring in fans from various parts of the world, which makes Ziemer all the more proud to have grown this festival in Dallas.

“Dallas is home,” Ziemer says. “I tried to deny that for a long time. I moved to Texas with spiky hair and Hurley shirts, when everyone was wearing Abercrombie. I was automatically thrown into this category of being a punk. I honestly didn’t think I would ever find my place here. I moved to LA for two years and came back. I talked about moving to New York, but this is just home.”

In a much-needed change of narrative after getting pummeled on social media by her late father’s former campaign manager, Meghan McCain is opening up about her life after The View. The TV personality turned Daily Mail columnist stopped by the Reality with The King podcast where she described leaving the daytime talk show as “kind of like having an ex-boyfriend that everyone knows you broke up with.”

According to McCain, she doesn’t watch the show particularly after the way she felt she was treated during her final season. (McCain had previously called the show a “toxic work environment.”) Via Mediaite:

“I don’t watch the show at all. It doesn’t really enter my lexicon,” she said. “I don’t watch anymore and it’s too weird. It would be too weird to watch, but, um, I don’t miss it. And I think it’s because I had such a hard time. My last season, it was a really rough time in my life.”

However, McCain surprisingly revealed that she still talks to one of her former The View co-hosts: Sunny Hostin. After gushing about how Hostin is “one of the greatest TV presences,” McCain said that she often turns to her old co-host for parenting advice because Hostin is just such a “good person.”

“She didn’t demonize me the way a lot of other people did whatever that’s worth,” McCain said about her ongoing friendship with Hostin, which is an interesting development if you know anything about their history.

Back in 2019, McCain was being plagued by behind-the-scenes leaks about her diva-like behavior on set, and according to Page Six, her team had pegged Hostin as the source of those leaks. Whether that was true or not has never been confirmed, but clearly, McCain and Hostin are on good terms now unlike Joy Behar and Whoopi Goldberg, who couldn’t wait for McCain to leave The View for obvious reasons.

(Via Mediaite)

The recent rule changes regarding college athletes profiting off of their name, image, and likeness have generally caused people to lose their minds. The latest example of this came on Wednesday, when Alabama head football coach Nick Saban called out a pair of college football programs, Texas A+M and Jackson State, and one basketball program, Miami, for how they have benefitted from NIL.

Saban alleged that Jackson State “bragged” in newspapers that they paid $1 million to get No. 1 recruit Travis Hunter to go to the HBCU, while Miami has players “that are going to play basketball there for $400,000,” a reference to the NIL deal received by Kansas State transfer Nijel Pack. But the most pointed comments came when discussing A+M, a division rival led by former Saban assistant Jimbo Fisher.

“I mean, we were second in recruiting last year,” Saban said, per ESPN. “A+M was first. A+M bought every player on their team — made a deal for name, image, likeness. We didn’t buy one player, all right? But I don’t know if we’re gonna be able to sustain that in the future because more and more people are doing it. It’s tough.”

The Aggies were, indeed, the only team to finish above Alabama in 247’s team rankings last year by putting together a class filled with eight 5-star players, including four top-20 defensive line prospects. Fisher was pretty upset about all of this, so he called an emergency press conference on Thursday morning and decided to throw some haymakers in his old boss’ direction.

“Some people think they’re God,” Fisher said. “Go dig into how God did his deal, you may find out about a guy that … a lot of things you don’t want to know. We build him up to be the czar of football, go dig into his past, or anybody that’s ever coached with him. You can find out anything you wanna find out, what he does and how he does it. And it’s despicable.”

Fisher went on to defend how the Aggies put together their class and revealed that while Saban has tried contacting him in the aftermath of his comments, he refused to take the call.

Beyond that, Fisher suggested Saban could use a smack upside the head.

SEC Media Days will take place from July 18-21, while the Crimson Tide will play host to the Aggies on Oct. 8 this season.

The last eight years have not been easy for pop star and actress Selena Gomez, who has battled lupus, endured a kidney transplant, chemotherapy, and a bipolar disorder diagnosis, in addition to highly publicized heartbreaks. The 29-year-old left social media for four and a half years but now feels the confidence to share her story and uplift others. On Wednesday (May 18) Gomez joined First Lady Dr. Jill Biden for MTV Entertainment’s “Mental Health Is Health” initiative in collaboration with the United States Department of Health and Human Services.

United States Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy and nearly 30 other youth mental health advocates joined the event. Entertainment Tonight reports Gomez spoke on the benefits of discussing her struggles once she was able to understand them herself, while Dr. Biden reiterated the lasting impact the COVID-19 pandemic has on the youth to this day. This conversation preceded today’s Mental Health Action Day, where a group of nonprofits, brands, agencies, and leaders look to emphasize action within the mental health community.

Despite her hardships, Selena Gomez hasn’t been too far away from music. She appeared on the “Let Somebody Go (Ofenbach Remix)” alongside Coldplay and Ofenbach in April of this year. She also joined The Scene for Love You Like A Love Song, Come & Get It, And More released in August of 2021.

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

“The trolls slowed down speed that up,” Lil Durk tweeted on Tuesday. “I’m finna drop my deluxe this week I need to get pissed off real fast.” The Chicago rapper is gearing up to release the deluxe edition of his new album 7720 — an album that has already brought plenty of success his way. Not only was 7220 his first-ever album to debut at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 (and return there a month later), but he also boasted that as a result of the album’s impressive streaming numbers — and his albums previous — Alamo Records renegotiated his deal for another $40 million. At the same time, some of those prior albums crossed another impressive threshold.

According to @chartdata on Twitter, Durk’s 2020 album The Voice has officially been certified platinum by the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America), which means it’s shipped/sold over 1,000,000 equivalent units. In addition, his King Von collaboration “Still Trappin” also met that benchmark, while a number of older singles collected gold certifications with 500,000 equivalent units sold. They include “How I Know” with Lil Baby, “Spin The Block” featuring Future and Young Thug, and “Stay Down” which features 6lack, bringing his total number of certifications to 12 platinum and 30 gold, according to HipHopDX.

Meanwhile, Durk isn’t taking all this success for granted. Earlier this month, he launched a new program through his Neighborhood Heroes Foundation to introduce students to HBCU opportunities.

Fox and Friends is, without a doubt, most interesting when the co-hosts clash, and this generally involves Brian Kilmeade being the most combative of all. Last time this happened, the Chris Columbus superfan ruffled feathers by suggesting that pregnant women shouldn’t be hired to do “important” jobs, and now, he’s being dressed down again by Ainsley Earhardt.

One should preface this subject by acknowledging that freshly-former White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki was perhaps the best person (out of many in recent memory) at the job. She was a total pro, taking down the silliest of questions without missing a beat. Anyone who follows in her footsteps is sure to meet with some rough comparisons, but Karine Jean-Pierre stepped up to give it her best shot.

Yet as this clip reveals, Kilmeade was quick to brand Jean-Pierre “awful.” And Earhardt pushed back while pointing out the gig’s toughness, especially while everyone watches.

“She is off to an awful start. I don’t know how she is going to keep that job,” Kilmeade groused, via Mediaite. “She didn’t know anything instinctively, was reading things off. You have to understand the issues in order to be able to answer the questions.”

“It has to be a very nerve-wracking job though,” Earhardt pointed out, to which Kilmeade responded, “she’s not prepared for it” and “would not be surprised if she does not get any better.”

Yet Earhardt urged, “Maybe just give her a chance.” Rough crowd, man.

(Via Mediaite)