Hip-hop’s newest lovable scamp Jack Harlow is blowing up right now. Not only is his new single “Nail Tech” going strong on playlists and radio but he’s also hanging out with his musical hero Drake, receiving high praise from Kanye West, playing in the NBA’s All-Star Celebrity Game (and balling out, too), and he’s been cast in an upcoming remake of the classic basketball comedy White Men Can’t Jump. So, of course, it only makes sense for him to make a business move many of his rap peers have been making lately and partner with a fast-food chain for his own menu.
That’s exactly what he’s done, and with McDonald’s, Popeye’s, Taco Bell, and Arby’s(!?) all taken, what better chain for the Louisville native to partner with than his home state’s own KFC? Today, Jack and KFC announced the new “Jack’s Favorite’s” menu, featuring “the menu items I’ve been enjoying since I was a child,” according to Jack himself in the press release. “Partnering up with KFC feels like poetic justice,” he said. “I’ve begun traveling the world and no matter how far I go, KFC is one of the first things people want to bring up when they find out where I’m from.”
Unfortunately, the Jack’s Favorites menu basically just collects a few existing items like the 4-piece tender combo, mac & cheese, and biscuit, with no wacky new additions. Saweetie’s McDonald’s menu encouraged fans to remix their faves (causing a similar campaign to be associated with her unofficially by fans); Megan got Hottie Sauce on hers! This is pretty bland for such a hot rising star. Sorry, Jack, we love you, but this ain’t it. Hopefully, there will be some flashy new menu items — or at least some cool merch — to go along with this move, as Jack’s partnership is scheduled to last the year and includes “campaigns, social media activations, special menu item launches, and exclusive experiences” with the rapper. (Chicken) fingers crossed.
For those who remember Rudy Giuliani best as the longtime Mayor of New York City, or the “World’s Mayor” following the terrorist attacks of 9/11, it can be hard to reconcile what he has become: a laughingstock, and regular punchline. The worst thing Giuliani probably ever did (apart from marrying his cousin) was join forces with his old pal Donald Trump while he was president, as it didn’t take long for Rudy to become wrapped up in the Trump administration’s many shenanigans—and to embrace the shady tactics he witnessed being employed by the likes of Vladimir Putin and other key Trump allies when it came to keeping the American public in the loop about the state of our country.
As Business Insider reports, in a new book by Marie Yovanovitch, Lessons From the Edge, the former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine writes that Rudy “completely absorbed the lesson of Russian disinformation” while he was working alongside Trump. Giuliani took these lessons into his dealings with Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who both Rudy and Trump were hoping would agree to make it known that he was investigating possible corruption on the part of Joe Biden and his son Hunter. As Yovanovitch writes:
Giuliani saw Zelenskyy’s interest in meeting with Trump as an opportunity to move forward with his plan to portray Joe Biden as corrupt. If Ukraine’s president would announce that his government planned to investigate Biden, Trump and Giuliani could run with the narrative that Biden must be corrupt; why else would Ukraine be investigating?
What was becoming clearer too was that Giuliani was focused on the announcement of an investigation rather than an actual investigation.
Apparently, he had completely absorbed the lesson of Russian disinformation: the allegation can be just as damaging as the action, and it’s easier, quicker, and cheaper to deploy.
Moon Knight director Mohamed Diab is back with another blunt criticism of DC Film’s handling of Egyptian representation. This time around, Diab is calling out the filmmakers behind 2020’s Wonder Woman 1984 for falling into the trap of “orientalism” with its depiction of Cairo in the sequel that re-teamed star Gal Gadot with director Patty Jenkins for a globe-trotting adventure.
According to the Egyptian writer/director, seeing his country portrayed “inauthentically” is a recurring problem in Hollywood that isn’t exclusive Wonder Woman, but it wasn’t great to see it continue. “It dehumanizes us,” he told SFX Magazine:
“You never see Cairo. You always see Jordan shot for Cairo, Morocco shot for Cairo, sometimes Spain shot for Cairo. This really angers us,” Diab said. “I remember seeing ‘Wonder Woman 1984’ and there was a big sequence in Egypt and it was a disgrace for us. You had a sheik — that doesn’t make any sense to us. Egypt looked like a country from the Middle Ages. It looked like the desert.”
When giving his Moon Knight pitch to Marvel, Diab made it a point to emphasize the importance of portraying Egypt accurately in the Disney+ series. “There was definitely room to play [in Moon Knight] but keep it as authentic as possible, in the realm of being fantastical,” Diab said. “Even in the original comic books they did a great job of researching and trying to make Egypt authentic.”
In a previous interview, Diab called out Black Adam for squandering an opportunity to feature Egyptian talent by using a fictional Middle Eastern country that “was obviously meant to be in Egypt.” While Diab gets that the production was sticking to the source material, “Representation opportunities shouldn’t be wasted.”
Mike Hadreas, better known as Perfume Genius, will return with his sixth album, Ugly Season, this June. Ahead of the album’s release, Hadreas has already shared the haunting “Eye In The Wall” and the plucky, harpsichord-ridden “Pop Song,” both of which came out in 2019. These tracks were first shared as part of Hadreas’ immersive dance piece, The Sun Still Burns Here choreographed by Kate Wallich.
The Sun Still Burns Here was commissioned by the Seattle Theatre Group and Mass MoCA and performed in residencies in Seattle, Minneapolis, New York City, and Boston. The songs of Ugly Season were written as accompaniment for The Sun Still Burns Here.
In addition to the 10 songs of The Sun Still Burns Here finally becoming available for the public, Ugly Season will be accompanied by a short film directed by Jacolby Satterwhite. Satterwhite, known for his visual projects seen at MoMa, The Smithsonian, The Whitney, and the Studio Museum of Harlem, previously directed the accompanying short film for Solange’s When I Get Home.
Album art courtesy of Matador Records
“This project is the genesis of a whole new direction that I’m taking, one that I’ve been thinking about within this endemic culture, since 2020,” said Satterwhite in a statement. “Mike and I are both writing scripts. My visual narrative serendipitously mirrors the lyrical direction in his music; it’s a rare, like-minded bond. It’s a creation myth. How do you architecturally mold and render an idealized version of utopia? It’s about making something that you desire so beyond your scope that it’s hard to grapple into a concrete form.”
You can view the tracklist for Ugly Season below.
1. “Just A Room”
2. “Here”
3. “Teeth”
4. “Pop Song”
5. “Scherzo”
6. “Ugly Season”
7. “Eye In The Wall”
8. “Photograph”
9. “Hellbent”
10. “Cenote”
Ugly Season out 6/17 via Matador. Pre-save it here.
If you’re not a regular Fox News watcher, flipping to the channel for even just a few minutes can be a confusing experience that elicits many important questions: Are these people reporting facts, or editorializing? Does anyone fact check what the anchors are saying? Why is Tucker Carlson guffawing like a madman at everything Kid Rock says? Why is Kid Rock there at all? Did Kid Rock just say that Donald Trump asked his advice on what to do about North Korea?
It’s easy to become overwhelmed, and even slightly alarmed. Which is why we need Desi Lydic in our lives. The Daily Showcorrespondent is fluent in Fox News, and regularly makes a point of helping out the rest of us by “Foxsplaining” the network’s most pressing conspiracy theories. Right now, the one thing on her mind is the confirmation of Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson. As Lydic explains, after watching 687 hours of Fox News, here’s what the network is telling us:
“Credenza Brown Jackson is part of the radical, far left, Green New Deal geek squad of vaccine mandaters. KBJ was a public defender who represented some seriously questionable characters: Murderers, terrorists. Why hasn’t she once represented someone not charged with a crime? Seriously—show me in the U.S. Legal Code where it says criminals have the right to an attorney! I’ll wait…”
Running with Carlson’s repeated demands to see Jackson’s LSAT scores—which Lydic notes previous nominees have done “zero percent of the time”—The Daily News correspondent wants to take it even further. “I want to see Ketanji LSATs, her MCATs, her STD tests, her AOL screen name, and her high scores in Tetris,” Lydic says.
The biggest question, of course (besides “Are babies racist?”), is whether Jackson is “soft on child pornographers,” according to Lydic. After all, “sex offenders deserve the harshest punishment possible,” she says. “Unless they used to host a Fox News show—in which case it’s cancel culture.”
Alexander Skarsgård may have had more fun filming Succession than The Northman, but his co-star feels differently. Granted, Alexander also had to prep for the shoot by getting more ripped than he did for Tarzan, but he did speak to the physically grueling nature of the shoot, given that the Northern Ireland elements were not kind. Anya Taylor-Joy, on the other hand, freaking loved it. She frequently stood barefoot in ice-cold water and nasty mud, and that was her jam.
Taylor-Joy revealed this to British Vogue while raving about how reteaming with her VVitch director, Robert Eggers, was a dream. This time, though, it was viking-land, and she got especially dirty. “I looked insane. So infuriatingly joyful,” exclaimed Anya of the mud scenes. The publication makes note of how she carted all her stuff around in plastic shopping bags on the set. She added that she feels so much more at home in the muck than while all dolled up for Hollywood.
“When I first started doing red carpets, I couldn’t handle the notion of being pretty,” she added. “I am a scummy, mud-caked ferret and striving for anything different felt disingenuous and scary.” It seems like she’s pulling off both ends of the spectrum, though, and now, she’s even a face of Dior. And she can beat all the boys while making chess seem exciting, too. Mud chess could be a new sport, though? Too far.
Don’t make Tyler The Creator wait for you because he’s both punctual and impatient — two things that don’t go together well when he shows up and you’re still getting ready. That’s the premise of his new song and video, “Come On, Let’s Go,” from Japanese DJ and fashion designer Nigo’s upcoming album, I Know Nigo.
The self-directed video literalizes the concept, depicting a fresh-to-death Tyler parked outside his date’s house rapping into his phone before he completely loses patience and goes to break in via a conveniently-placed ladder to the roof. Tyler’s longtime hero (and frequent Nigo collaborator) Pharrell pops up for a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it cameo, as well.
Nigo’s album, which is slated for release tomorrow, features guest appearances from many of the designer’s favorite rappers, all of whom also share a love for fashion and dressing up. So far, he’s previously released tracks from ASAP Rocky (“Arya“), Kid Cudi (“Want It Bad“), Pusha T (“Hear Me Clearly“), and Lil Uzi Vert (“Heavy“), all well-known fashionistas in their own rights. Of course, the album also features multiple appearances from Pharrell, as well as Nigo’s own musical group Teriyaki Boyz, who are still best-known for their Fast & Furious franchise soundtrack contribution, “Tokyo Drift.”
Watch Tyler The Creator’s “Come On, Let’s Go” video above.
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 week is led by the ladies as Normani makes her return with her long-awaited single, “Fair.” It’s a tender track that falls on the opposite side of the spectrum from her last release, “Wild Side” with Cardi B. Elsewhere, Syd returns with “Could You Break A Heart” alongside Lucky Daye and an album announcement while Joyce Wrice and Kaytranada groove and glide on their new collaboration, “Iced Tea.”
Normani — “Fair”
Normani closed out 2021 by showing off her “Wild Side” with Cardi B. In 2022, Normani took a lot less time to make her impact as she returns with “Fair.” It’s a tender single that captures her struggle with accepting that a past relationship is now over.
Syd — “Could You Break A Heart” Feat. Lucky Daye
More than four years after she released her debut solo album Fin, Syd is gearing up to release her sophomore album soon. The Internet’s lead vocalist revealed that Broken Hearts Club will arrive on April 8 and to celebrate the announcement, she released its latest single: “Could You Break A Heart” with Lucky Daye.
Joyce Wrice & Kaytranada — “Iced Tea”
Joyce Wrice and Kaytranada first worked together last year as they joined forces for “Kaytra’s Interlude” from Wrice’s stellar debut album, Overgrown. Now they’re at it once again with their latest drop, “Iced Tea.” It arrives as Wrice is on tour with Lucky Daye and months after Kaytranada dropped his Intimidated EP.
Capella Grey & Nija — “Confujawn”
Two notable young acts on the come up in R&B are Capella Grey and Nija. The respective New York and New Jersey natives have had spotlight moments for themselves lately, which they’ve combined for “Confujawn” (pronounced like “confusion”), which is quite the infectious and flirtatious track.
Tiana Major9 — Fool Me Once
Two years after she released her At Sixes And At Sevens project, British singer Tiana Major9 is back in action with her latest effort Fool Me Once. It’s a four-song EP highlighted by “2 Seater” with Smino and the stellar “On God!” The project arrives as she tours with Jazmine Sullivan on her Heaux Tales Tour.
Mahalia — “Whatever Simon Says”
It’d be safe to say that British singer Mahalia likely has a project on the way, following up her 2019 debut album Love & Compromise. After steadily released singles over the past couple of years, her latest is “Whatever Simon Says.” On it, Mahalia makes it clear that she doesn’t act like the rest of the girls in the world — so as a man, if you’re looking for something similar, she is not the one.
Ravyn Lenae — “Light Me Up”
Ravyn Lenae left us high and dry without music for the better part of four years but thankfully she’s back in action this year. For her second release of 2022, Lenae arrives with “Light Me Up.” It’s truly a mystical track that aided by production from Steve Lacy as it’s a tasteful follow-up to her previous single, “Skin Tight.”
Elaine — “Shine”
South African singer Elaine is certainly someone to keep an eye on in the coming months. She impressed in 2019 with the release of her debut project Elements, and now she’s back with her latest record, “Shine.” The new release blends R&B and pop for a refreshing track dedicated to the love she has for the natural and most beautiful aspects of a special someone in her life.
Thuy — “Inhibitions” Feat. P-Lo
Thuy ended her streak of singles late last year with the release of her nine-track I Hope U See This project. A few months later, she returns with “Inhibitions” alongside Oakland rapper P-Lo. In the new song, both artists reveal how their partners lower their inhibitions, to positive results.
Devvon Terrell — Boys Don’t Cry
Less than two years removed from his last project, 2020’s Vol 2: Deja Vu, singer Devvon Terrell is back with his latest body of work. Boys Don’t Cry sharply captures the ups and downs in love, anchored by the singer’s pristine voice. Highlights on the project are “Let It Go,” “Sneaky Link,” and “Ifwu.”
Gemaine & Charlie Heat — “Conditional Love”
Singer Gemaine and producer Charlie Heat continue the rollout for the upcoming project New Jack City with their latest single “Conditional Love.” The island-influenced track sees Gemaine contemplate the commitment of his lover as he knows their love is more transactional than genuine.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
Tomorrow, The Killers are releasing a deluxe edition of their 2021 album Pressure Machine. Today, they’ve offered something to accompany that: A concert film/documentary called Notes From A Quiet Town. The 33-minute video features the band visiting Brandon Flowers’ childhood home of Nephi, Utah and performing “Cody,” “Terrible Thing,” and “Quiet Town” on a simple stage in somebody’s yard. The film premiered on Facebook on March 21 but is now available on YouTube.
Flowers previously told NME about his and the album’s relationship with Nephi:
“Mentally, I started to go to this place where I grew up and write songs about it. It was as if there was a chamber of memories somewhere that was just waiting for me to unlock it. It was incredible. Once I finally opened that door, the songs that came out and the memories were pretty vivid and emotional. It became pretty obvious to me what this record was going to be.
I have a lot of nice and tender memories of Nephi. It’s no secret that I didn’t have a lot of struggle in my upbringing. My parents stayed together; they loved me and nurtured me. What I found was that the memories attached to sorrow, sadness and shock were really emotional for me. I was still walking around with them.”
Jimmy Kimmel had some harsh words for the many Republican senators who’ve been treating the Supreme Court confirmation hearing of Ketanji Brown Jackson as if it’s some sort of audition for the world’s worst soap opera. The shameless, seemingly performative, and often idiotic lines of questioning from the likes of Lindsey Graham (who has now stormed out of the hearings TWICE), Josh Hawley, and Marsha Blackburn would almost be laughable if they weren’t so racist, sexist, and/or hypocritical. Kimmel had something to say about all of these GOP knuckleheads on Wednesday night, but saved some of his most exasperated outrage for frequent adversary Ted Cruz.
Cruz, who somehow managed to ask Jackson whether babies were “racist” with a straight face, made a total ass out of himself yet again when he unwisely decided to follow up on Blackburn’s question about whether Jackson could provide a definition of “woman” for the assembled senators. Which Kimmel half-expected.
“Of course, Cancun Cruz had to get in on the action,” Kimmel said. “He loves talking at these things, and he really wants to know what a woman is, too.” After sharing a clip in which Cruz tells Jackson that he thinks she’s “the only Supreme Court nominee in history who has been unable to answer the question: What is a woman?,’” Kimmel people out that “she’s also the only one in history who has been asked that disgusting question.”
But Cruz wasn’t done yet: He went on to wonder “If I decide right now that I’m a woman, ummm, then, apparently I’m a woman. Does that mean that I would have Article 3 standing to challenge a gender-based restriction?”
Kimmel had an answer: “No, it means you’d be the world’s ugliest woman. What a slug of a human being… This poor lady had to sit there and listen to this pontificating from a man who wipes from back to front.”
You can watch the full clip above.
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