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Just a month ago, Taylor Swift released her second re-recorded album, Red (Taylor’s Version), featuring updated versions of the 2013 album’s original 14 songs as well as 16 previously-unheard tunes that were made during the original sessions. After its release, the album would go on to be her fourth No. 1 album in just over a year and a half. It leaves Swift with plenty to be happy about, and her high spirits were on display as she celebrated her 32nd birthday over the weekend.

Swift shared a pair of pictures from the celebration, which shows her dancing with Haim’s Alana and blowing out candles on their respective cakes. (Alana’s birthday is on December 15, just two days after Swift’s.) “Don’t say it, don’t say it OKAY I’m saying it,” Swift wrote in her post. “I’M FEELIN 32. And Alana is feeling 30,” remixing a line from her 2012 song “22.” She continued, “Don’t worry we tested everyone! Thank you so much for the birthday wishes, I love you all so much.” Haim’s Twitter account also shared the picture of Swift and Alana blowing out the candles on their birthday cake and wrote, “It’s sagittarius szn [Sagittarius emoji] happy birthday @taylorswift13 and lanzo!!!!”

The posts come after Swift learned that she would have to face trial in a copyright lawsuit over her 2014 hit song, “Shake It Off.”

When the new game GTA Online: The Contract debuts later this week, it will feature Dr. Dre and Anderson .Paak as characters. But there’s more. Considering that Rockstar Games’ Grand Theft Auto franchise has boasted some of the most profitable media in history, it’s only fitting that they’ve invested heavily in ensuring that the music that accompanies the game play is as fresh and of-the-moment as possible.

When new game bows on December 15th, there will be a new radio station: Rosalía and Arca are behind “Motomami Los Santos,” which not only features new music from Rosalía’s upcoming album, Motomami. It will also has feature tunes from Arca’s Kick series and a brand new track from Bad Gyal. Overall, the station spans the spectrum from Daddy Yankee to Playboy Carti, and Rauw Alejandro to DJ Spinn.

The game’s existing stations are also getting a total refresh, with an incredible amount of new music premieres that would make Zane Lowe jealous. On the Big Boy-hosted “Radio Los Santos,” Schoolboy Q will be premiering the new track “Let’s Get It.” There’s also new and unheard songs from Freddie Gibbs, Mozzy, YG, Tia Corine, Offset, and more. DJ Pooh’s “West Coast Classics” station is also set to feature a career-spanning Dr. Dre playlist. Leimert Park’s Dam-Funk is behind the games overall g-funk-soaked score.

Watch the trailer for GTA Online: The Contract above.

Last week, amid bizarre trials and lots of stories involving former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, one story stuck out more than most: Someone burned down the Christmas tree outside Fox News’ Midtown Manhattan headquarters. The network devoted a ton of time to it, with hosts and guests alike losing their minds over what was, end of the day, a freak occurrence. But they’re still not done with it yet.

On Monday, during a standard White House press briefing, Fox News’ Peter Doocy brought it up during a lengthy tête-à-tête with his longtime squabbling partner, press secretary Jen Psaki. He was asking about an uptick in crime in the nation’s cities. He blamed it on “prosecutors are too soft on crime.” Psaki explained to him that among the Biden administration’s solutions is to increase police budgets.

That didn’t satisfy Doocy. “But I guess what good does it do if you’re gonna give police departments extra money if they arrest bad guys, and they bring ’em to jail, and then they’re not prosecuted? They’re just right back out on the streets,” he said.

“I think Peter,” Psaki replied, “what our focus is on is making sure that the local leaders, the police officers and departments who know what they need for these communities have the assistance and the funding they need and that’s what we’re working around the clock on.”

He then brought up some recent examples of out-of-control crime. Sure enough, one of them was a guy who set a fake tree ablaze. “We’ve seen an arsonist burn down a half a million dollar Christmas tree in New York City. Back out on the streets,” Doocy asked. “Does the President think that that’s good governing?”

Psaki didn’t engage with him, merely pointing out that she already addressed his issue and moved onto another reporter who wouldn’t ask her about a smoldering plant.

But perhaps Doocy buried the lede. People were gobsmacked to learn Fox News’ fake dead tree cost them half a million.

Others wondered what Doocy expects a world leader to do about a private business’ plant.

(Via Raw Story)

This past weekend was busy for Megan Thee Stallion. The rapper graduated from Texas Southern University and celebrated with fellow classmates and administration at the HBCU, as well as her rap peers and fans online. “Meg Thee Graduate I know my parents are looking down on me so proud,” she wrote in an Instagram post alongside a blue heart emoji. “Thank you everyone for all the love today.” The following day, she was honored by her hometown of Houston with the 18th Congressional District Humanitarian Award, which she dedicated to her late grandmother.

“I’m so honored,” Megan said before adding that she was very serious about the “responsibility to take care of the city that took care of me.” She continued, “My grandma always taught me to be kind and giving. I learned that from her. I was raised by very giving women. So I want to dedicate this award to my grandma because she taught me to be the woman I am today.”

Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee also spoke about Megan receiving the award during the ceremony. “This award has not been given out often, or … to many,” she said. “When this award is given, it has that special promise and special history. … The Hero Award is wrapped up in humanitarianism. It means that you have exhibited humanity and you have helped without asking.”

You can watch Megan accept her award in the video above.

Megan Thee Stallion is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Look, we all know that learning another language is pretty darn difficult as an adult. Not impossible, but certainly not easy.

Well, one wife might have found the ultimate learning hack. To teach her husband Spanish, she gave him proper incentive, in the form of a water spray bottle. And it made for a delightful (and viral) TikTok video.

As if from the point of view of the menacing red water bottle, we see it enter the frame.

“Spanish answers only,” the wife says to her husband. And he knows instantly what kind of quiz this is gonna be.

“How old are you? What’s your wife’s name? How many kids do you have?” she asks in Spanish. Sadly, it’s spray spray spray for the husband.

But hey, he dodged the H20 bullet when asked how many kids he had. Saved by the uno.

Nowhere is safe for the poor man, not even the bathroom. But this method seems to work. When asked “how are you?” he remembered to say “muy bien.”

Folks in the comments were cracking up.

“He’s def saying “HUH?” to extend the time he’s given

“The bathroom killed me when he said ‘come on bro’”

One person even wrote:

“If my wife does not teach me like this then I don’t want her.”

Moral of the story: When rewards don’t work, playful threats just might! Also the husband seems to be having fun as well, so no harm, no foul. Or should I say falta? Don’t spray me!

It took a bit for the masses to come around on Succession. Some major publications, such as Vulture, didn’t even recap it during its first season. But by Season 2 its legend started growing. Now everyone’s obsessed with a show whose hard-sell logline is basically “modern King Lear but with more swearing and puns.” And by the time of its barnburner of a Season 3 finale, the show had broke its own records.

According to The Wrap, the episode where [SPOILER] happened played to a whopping 1.7 million viewers across multiple HBO platforms on the night it aired. That wasn’t only a best for the acclaimed HBO show. It was also up a staggering 47% from the finale for Season 2, which had its own bombshell conclusion.

This season has a been a good one for Succession, not only in terms of quality but in terms of how many eyeballs it’s attracted. The season premiere kicked off with 1.4 million viewers. By the time it ended, eight episodes later, it had jumped up to 1.7 million, with an 8% uptick from the penultimate episode to the finale.

The Wrap reports that the average viewership for Succession’s third season episodes is 6.1 million over a set period of time — a huge increase of 56% compared to Season 2. The season 3 premiere has amassed 7 million viewers so far.

What’s to account for such a massive increase in viewers? Word-of-mouth, probably, combined with its ability to hit viewers with shocking twists. Succession has few name stars (though it has scores of incredibly talented performers) and its premise, again, is a bit tricky to describe. But sometimes excellence is rewarded with popularity, even if the show is filled with awful, awful characters.

(Via The Wrap)

For anyone who has been a longtime follower of Canadian jazz/instrumental hip-hop group Badbadnotgood, it was widely accepted that co-founder Matthew “Matty” Tavares was one of, if not the driving force behind the band. The band’s final two records with Tavares, 2015’s Sour Soul collaboration with Ghostface Killah and 2016’s Polaris Prize-nominated IV, raised their profile considerably as both in-demand studio musicians and a must-see touring act. So it came as a surprise when Tavares announced he was leaving the band in October of 2019, when it felt like the foursome was at the peak of their success both creatively and monetarily.

Today, Tavares shared a statement via his Instagram airing out his grievances in very unfiltered fashion. He explains how his exit wasn’t as rosy as it may have seemed, and that the band unfollowed him on Instagram shortly after he left. “When I was about to leave, I was told by management to play along with this narrative so they don’t sacrifice their XL Records deal, and I did, but the record [2021’s Talk Memory] is out now and I can tell that the story will not be set straight by them,” he begins, before outlining how he recorded and mixed IV himself, filmed the band’s first videos with his equipment, edited videos, did all of the artwork and package design for albums, made their website, etc… You can feel how angry he is in this statement, which often veers into stream of consciousness territory, as if he’s been bottling this up for years (which he has):

“Just so everything is clear, I left the band on my own volition. Leaving the master rights to a band that has 4 million monthly listeners on Spotify, to a band whose touring income was at insane heights, with an identity that was consistently validated and praised by our peers and the general public. The environment was so negative that all this didn’t matter, I needed to get out, I couldn’t take it anymore.”

He goes on to say that “Alex” (band member Alexander Sowinski) held it over his head when he stopped touring with the band and that led to a pattern. He outlines a troubling incident in South Africa that he says was the last straw and “sums it all up.” It’s a tough turn to take in for fans of the band, but Tavares, who has since been producing and songwriting with acts like Shawn Mendes, Mustafa, Jessie Ware, and Camila Cabello says that he feel “really, really grounded and happy, but I need to live honestly.”

Read Tavares’ entire statement here.

A recent NFT (non-fungible token) boom has a lot of people scratching their heads over why someone would pay over a million dollars for a digital art file that can be easily replicated by right-clicking “Save as.” But NFT enthusiasts are willing to pay ridiculous amounts for the artwork because they have a certificate of digital ownership that cannot be replicated.

Much like a piece of physical artwork such as painting, you can create a replica of an NFT but there are a limited number of originals. This has ushered in a new era where digital assets can now possess the type of scarcity usually attributed to physical objects.

This new form of manufactured scarcity seems to many as another way for powerful people to claim ownership over things that are shared by the general public.

“Sure, you can enjoy this drawing of an ape,” the NFT owner proudly states. “But I own the ape! It says so on the blockchain.”

In a recent interview with The Verge about how the digital world is slowly encroaching upon real life, “Matrix Resurrections” stars Keanu Reeves and Carrie-Anne Moss were asked by Alex Heath about the notion of digital scarcity. The question made Reeves lose composure and he let out a large cackle, exclaiming “They’re easily reproduced.”

Keanu Reeves laughing at the concept of NFTu2019s makes me like him that much more.pic.twitter.com/qHWd2EKSTn

— SPENCE, TODD (@SPENCE, TODD)
1639189501

Reeve’s outburst inspired Heath to push back, claiming “But it’s not the same.”

“The Matrix” star’s outburst was cathartic to many people who think that NFTs are nothing but an elitist scam. The clip quickly went viral on social media, earning a lot of hilarious and thoughtful responses.

This is how NFTs work pic.twitter.com/WWymNTsBj5

— Greedo – Master of Scum, Harbinger of Filth (@KingGidruh) December 11, 2021

I own this ticket. Not the artist. There’s only 10 of them in existence. You can’t “right click-save” this physical ticket.

With NFTs, you don’t own ANYTHING but a picture. You can’t even make a physical copy without it infringing on the artist’s copyright.

What good is that? pic.twitter.com/1DBHO8einR

— SGC Finest (@SGCFinests) December 11, 2021

NFTs are proof that capitalists will try to restrict the supply of anything to try to make it profitable

— Milly🎲 (@Hoodie_Milly) December 11, 2021

Mah dude was like “but but here’s why copy/paste or right-click/save-as is uh…wait a minute”.

— Please get the vaxx (っ◕‿◕)っ (@TheyCallMeTarz) December 11, 2021

The guy gives these vibes pic.twitter.com/aHAMvWYZJL

— Suns Bob (@Robydraco) December 11, 2021

“BuT iT’s NoT tHe SaMe” It is, actually. When i right click and save an nft, I have experienced the nft in the same way that the “owner” has and i didn’t pay a dime.

— FrysauceMccrust (@FMccrust) December 13, 2021

pic.twitter.com/siKETTpHv7

— Kenny ツ 🥅🏒 🎛🎧 (@kdriley05) December 11, 2021

Why people trying so hard to make virtual worlds as greedy as the real world?

— The Truth (@udemeeebong) December 11, 2021

The purpose of art is to be experienced, not owned. A bunch of bros mistaking art for investment doesn’t change that

— Stomponato (@Stomponato) December 11, 2021

Warning: This post contains spoilers for Succession’s Season 3 finale, which you should really probably watch if you haven’t already.

Succession has always been top shelf when it comes to genuinely shocking, unpredictable hairpin turns. But on Sunday’s season finale, it may have topped itself. The episode found the three younger Roy children (which is to say, not Connor, who was busy guilt-tripping his girlfriend into marriage) thinking they’d found a way to thwart paterfamilias Logan (Brian Cox) from selling the company. They were wrong. Logan won, because he always wins. And he had some help: Tom (Matthew Macfadyen) and Cousin Greg (Nicholas Bruan).

It was a surprise to the cast, too, of course. But some of them knew that the Tomelette and Gregs would betray the Roy kids (including Tom’s wife, Sarah Snook’s Shiv) before everyone else. In a kind of Season 3 exit interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Cox revealed that, in true Logan fashion, he was several steps ahead of everyone else:

“Well, I kind of knew that was going to happen. I was the one person who knew about that all the way through — I had been informed. Normally, I don’t want to know about the scripts. But I was informed that was the trajectory we were going to go down. It was a little different from what they suggested, but it actually did come true.”

Now, Macfadyen, in an interview with GQ, said that he also knew about what Tom would do “quite early on,” saying he had a “rough idea of how it might end up but I was fully prepared for it to change.” But it’s not clear what the timeline was here — if showrunner Jesse Armstrong told Cox first, then Macfadyen, then everyone else later.

Cox was also asked about another stand-out bit in the season finale: Is Logan really going to have a kid, and in his 70s? The actor who plays him, though, was a bit vague:

“I think there may be an element of that that’s true if we take it historically — if we look at examples of that, guys in late life having children. I think that there is probably an element of truth in it. But it’s not a road I want to go down because it’s still ambiguous. I think it’s pretty ambiguous, but there’s room for a certain truth in it and there’s also room for the fact that it’s just him trying to be healthy.”

It was quite the finale, and everyone will have to be very patient to find out what happens next. In the meantime, you can always check out other shows by Armstrong, including the comedies Peep Show, which he co-created; The Thick of It, on which he was a writer; and the latter’s movie spinoff In the Loop, which if anything manages to feature even better swearing and insults than the already very blue Succession.

(Via THR)

It’s often said that good things come in threes — and for Cardi B, it’s absolutely true this week as The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) officially certified “I Like It” featuring Bad Bunny and J Balvin her third single to reach diamond (10 million units sold) this year. She became the first female rapper with a diamond-certified single in March for her 2017 mega-hit “Bodak Yellow,” while in November, she reached the milestone again with “Girls Like You,” her 2018 collaboration with Maroon 5. “OMMMMMMGGGGGGG,” she wrote on Twitter, tagging her collaborators and pairing her reaction with a string of screaming emojis.

Over on Instagram, she gave a longer reaction, explaining her feelings about making history. “Wow I’m sooo happy,” she wrote. “My album came out in 2018 and it’s still breaking records. I have a solo [diamond] record, a feature [diamond] record, and now ANOTHER [diamond] record from a collab with 2 people that I look up to and love so much, @jbalvin & @badbunny! I remember like it was yesterday when this song went #1 and now it’s Diamond. I honestly just can’t believe this is happening! I’m so proud to have two songs off my debut album go Diamond. I hope I can achieve the same or even better on my next one.”

She also shared a fun fact about the single. “This song started my great relationship with Balenciaga and is the record that gets me the most coin since it’s requested for commercials and brands all the time,” she said. That’s just fantastic. Check out the song above.