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When it comes to a band’s creative differences, sometimes things get worked out smoothly. But when they don’t, it sometimes leads to a band member leaving the group altogether. That’s what happened with one of Foo Fighters‘ early members, William Goldsmith, who was their drummer up until 1997. Dave Grohl has one account of the split, but a new interview reveals a very different story from Goldsmith himself.

Grohl recently sat down for a lengthy interview with Vulture about his storied career in the music industry. During the conversation, Grohl explained his side of the story when it came to Goldsmith leaving Foo Fighters during the The Colour And The Shape era. He said the band was working with Pixies’ producer Gil Norton, who was a “a whip-cracking, ass-kicking, do-it-50-times-to-get-it-right kind of producer.” The environment was tough, and Grohl said he “could see it wearing on William.”

After taking a break for the holidays, Grohl said he went down to Los Angeles to show Norton a few demos he recorded, and Norton asked him to re-record Goldsmith’s drums on some parts. When Grohl told Goldsmith about re-recording his drums, he said Goldsmith quit the band, though he tried to get him to stay:

“I’ll never forget one of the things he said: ‘Actually, my friend offered me a job digging ditches.’ I said, ‘Really? You know what? You should do that for a little while.’ I used to dig ditches. I did f*cking masonry when I was a kid in the Virginia summer heat. Go dig some ditches for a while, then you’ll want to be a drummer. So yeah, it kind of imploded. I begged him to stay; he refused to stay. That’s the bottom line.”

But when Vulture reached out to Goldsmith to corroborate Grohl’s series of events, the former drummer’s version of the story was very different — down to part about digging ditches:

“We had tracked drums on the record for up to 13 hours a day for three straight weeks, in one case doing 96 takes on a single song. So the idea that I would throw it all away because Dave wanted to play drums on two songs is preposterous. Finding out that all the work I’d done was being disregarded that led to my decision to leave.”

Goldsmith went on to say he couldn’t accept Grohl asking him to stay. “I couldn’t justify after all the work I put into the record was disregarded.” Goldsmith said. “I then made a joke saying ‘The world needs ditch-diggers too,’ which is a Caddyshack reference, but I guess he didn’t get it.”

Read Grohl’s full interview with Vulture here.

While discussing the accidental shooting death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of Rust on Monday, The View‘s Sunny Hostin did not hold back her thoughts on the right-wing “ghouls” who came out of the woodwork to attack Alec Baldwin who has been inconsolable since the tragic incident. As has been reported, Baldwin is the one who fired the shot that killed Hutchins during a rehearsal. However, there were several safety failures along the way that caused the actor to be handed a gun that reportedly contained a live bullet.

During a panel discussion, which involved Whoopi Goldberg sharing her wealth of experience working on movie sets with guns and the protocols that should have been followed, Hostin used her time to call out Donald Trump Jr. and Lauren Boebert for using the tragedy to score political points.

You can watch Hostin’s remarks at the 3:38 mark below:

Via The Wrap:

“You know, a woman died here. A woman who was a mother, a wife, someone who was, they say, just wonderful at her craft. A cinematographer, just starting,” Hostin said. “When you have people like that coming out, trying to, I don’t know, take some sort of opportunity and a shot at Alec Baldwin — I thought that that was pretty disgusting and despicable.”

Don Jr. has been a particularly relentless critic of Baldwin since the accidental shooting was reported. Currently, the former president’s son is selling T-shirts on his official website that read “Guns Don’t Kill People Alec Baldwin Kills People.” So Hostin calling Don Jr. “disgusting and despicable” is putting it pretty lightly.

(Via The View on Twitter)

Riding the wave of the success of her viral hit “Whole Lotta Money,” Boston rapper BIA follows up with a new single, “Can’t Touch This,” from the recently released deluxe version of her debut album, For Certain. Produced by DJ Pharoah, IROCC, and London Jae, the single samples Kelis’ 2003 hit “Milkshake” while borrowing some lyrical inspiration from MC Hammer’s signature hit of the same name. The result is a confident, surprisingly smooth club anthem BIA used to assert her supremacy.

Naturally, the video also borrows some visual cues from its sonic inspiration, while giving the diner concept of Kelis’ video for “Milkshake” a modern-day update. Instead of a fast-casual eatery bringing all the boys to the yard, BIA brings the yard to the boys via her BIA Shakes food truck. She also shoots scenes in a laundromat and on a pastel dollhouse’s well-manicured lawn, surrounded by colorfully dressed dancers the whole way through.

BIA’s breakout year has not only seen her receive a rare co-sign from the former regent of hip-hop Nicki Minaj on the “Whole Lotta Money” remix, but also an invitation from T-Pain to join him and Kehlani on their remix of “I Like Dat.” Additionally, BIA’s other single from the album, “Besito,” is gaining steam as she enters the home stretch of Don Toliver’s Life Of A Don Tour.

Watch BIA’s “Can’t Touch This” video above.

For Certain Deluxe is out now on Epic Records. Get it here.

Everyone likes to talk about the bourbon boom, the Irish whiskey boom, the Scotch whisky boom. It would just be easier at some point to simply say, “whiskey, in general, is having a moment. A big, long moment.” And you can certainly include rye whiskey in that conversation. In fact, it could be argued that the rye whiskey boom is even bigger than some of the others, as countries like Ireland, Germany, and even Scotland are getting in on the sticky grain.

While rye is getting toyed with all over the globe, it’s still the American and Canadian ryes that dominate the conversation right now. It’s those expressions — many widely beloved and award-winning bottles among them — that we’re looking at today. For this blind taste test, I tried 15 rye whiskeys, all of them either completely new or the 2021 release of a well-known expression.

Our lineup today is:

• Catoctin Creek Roundstone Rye (VA)
• High West Double Rye! (IN & UT)
• Blue Run Golden Rye (KY)
• Knob Creek Rye (KY)
• Traverse City North Coast Rye (MI)
• Nashville Barrel Single Barrel Rye #511 (TN)
• Alberta Premium Cask Strength Rye (AB)
• 2021 BTAC Sazerac 18 (KY)
• Sagamore Spirits Cask Strength Rye (MD)
• Stellum Rye (IN, TN, & KY)
• 2021 BTAC Thomas H. Handy Rye (KY)
• Woodinville 100% Rye (WA)
• Michter’s 10-year Rye (KY)
• Chicken Cock Rye (KY)
• Redemption Rye (IN)

Let’s dive right in. And if you dig any of these, click those prices to give them a try yourself.

Part 1: The Tasting

Taste 1

Tasting Notes:

This opens with a hint of peppery spice that leads towards lemon cream pie filling and a touch of vanilla pods on the nose. The palate holds onto that lemon vibe and marries it to black pepper, like a 1990s s”lemon pepper” spice blend, next to a rush of black licorice, white peaches, and more of that rich vanilla.

The pepper gets powdery towards the finish — more like a fine white pepper — as the citrus lingers longest.

Taste 2

Tasting Notes:

This is pure apple crumble with notes of brown sugar, cinnamon/nutmeg/allspice, and a bit of mint. The taste has a dried rose note that leads into a very botanical, absinthe feel next to dry apple cores and stems. A warm mid-palate soon takes over, with plenty of black pepper and sharp cinnamon. That apple returns late, with a warmth that reminds you of apple tobacco on the finish.

Taste 3

Tasting Notes:

This is like thick challah French toast with just the right balance of yolky custard, nutmeg, and cinnamon with a touch of vanilla oils and a hint of soft, worn leather on the nose. That vanilla turns into a thick eggnog pudding with a slight wet straw funk and black-tea-soaked dates with a touch more cinnamon. The mid-palate reembraces the leather with a dried tobacco whisper next to a light grainy warmth and a super soft minerality.

Taste 4

Tasting Notes:

From my notes: “Classic cherry, vanilla, cedar, and peppery spice? This has to be a Beam product.”

That matrix of flavors delivers on the palate with the vanilla getting super creamy as the cherry really pops as “ripe” and “vibrant” on the tongue. The spice is more attached to a moist tobacco leaf with a bit of a chew to it that’s also just touched by dark chocolate cherry vibes.

Taste 5

Tasting Notes:

This is sort of all over the place from top to bottom, with a nose full of soft leather, dried flowers, bready grains, lemon curd, and dark cherry. The palate has that creamy vanilla and eggnog pudding vibe with a touch of caramel corn, fresh ginger, and meaty dates. The spice kicks up on the backend with a very distinct cherry-vanilla tobacco chewiness that leaves your mouth buzzing.

Taste 6

Tasting Notes:

This draws you in with a cinnamon toast with plenty of woody cinnamon, butter, brown sugar, and a hint of vanilla bean. The palate is very peppery — kind of like milling some black pepper right onto your tongue — while balancing a nice touch of raisins, clove, and anise. The mid-palate dries out even more with a toasted tobacco leaf that leads back to a cherry-infused cream soda.

Taste 7

Tasting Notes:

Green dill sits next to west cedar bark and rich yet sweet cherry candies on the nose. The taste veers into cream soda vanilla territory while red berries, savory pumpkin, and green peppercorns dominate. The end has this super-refined dark chocolate and brandied cherry vibe that bursts on your palate like firecrackers at midnight on New Year’s eve.

Taste 8

Tasting Notes:

Woah… This stands out from the jump with a nose full of rich and fresh honey next to tart and juicy apple nestled in burnt straw with a slight herbal tea note (maybe rooibos). The palate has a matrix of clove, allspice, and nutmeg that leads towards a maple butter before the mid-palate bitters and sweetens with black-tea-soaked dates. The finish arrives with a milky yet bitter chocolate-covered cherry with a final note of dried reeds buried deep in the background.

It’s also so damn soft and refined, comparatively.

Taste 9

Tasting Notes:

This opens with brandied cherries with a dark chocolate whiff. That leads to a black pepper vibe on the tongue next to wet brown sugar, vanilla pods, and honey apple cookies. That bitter dark chocolate returns on the finish but pops with dried chili spice and… almost-woodiness.

Taste 10

Tasting Notes:

From my notes: “This draws you in with a note of soft leather and … Guinness? … with a touch of apple crumble with plenty of dark spice, brown sugar, and butter.”

The palate goes full holiday cake mode with even more brown spice, nuts, and candied fruits that lead towards a mid-palate that’s all moist banana bread with walnuts. The finish lets the spice kick up a notch, creating a sharp cinnamon toast feel.

Taste 11

Tasting Notes:

This starts with a rush of clove-heavy absinthe, with hints of dry cinnamon sticks and that divisive Buffalo Trace raw leather. The palate goes deep with marzipan, orange oils, and a whisper of fresh mint. That mint attaches to bitter dark chocolate, creating a mint-choco tobacco vibe with a finish that has touches of dried chili flakes and cherry candy lurking in the background.

Taste 12

Tasting Notes:

There’s a clear red fruit vibe on the nose that’s supported by dark spices and honeyed tobacco. Plums turn into prunes on the tongue as fat nuts lead to dry nutshells and a wisp of spicy yet dry tobacco leaves waft in. The end is all about the old cedar and leather as very soft vanilla lingers on your senses.

Taste 13

Tasting Notes:

This opens with a rich and buttery toffee that’s just touched with a flake of smoked salt next to rose-water-heavy marzipan, cedar, cinnamon sticks, and what really feels like “dark” leather on the nose (it’s kind of like a leather jacket that your most-beloved grandparent wore their whole life while smoking every day). The taste leans into the cinnamon with a Red Hots vibe supported by orange oils, vanilla pods, and a sweet/hot chili pepper twinge. The vanilla gets super creamy on the mid-palate as the finish hits back on that marzipan with an orange infusion and a crust of rich, bitter, and slightly savory dark chocolate.

Taste 14

Tasting Notes:

This opens like a root beer float with an eggnog ice cream scoop that leads to a touch of rye bread funk. The palate is like an old cedar box full of spicy tobacco leaves that lead back to the sasparilla of that root beer. The mid-palate has this spicy stewed peaches vibe with a hint of dried fruit, black tea bitterness, and touch more of that peppery root beer.

Taste 15

Tasting Notes:

This opens with rushes of cedar, green grass, nasturtiums, and soft leather. The palate feels like common black pepper next to more cedar with a touch of wet chili pepper flesh. The end combines mint, chocolate, and tobacco and packs all three into an old cigar box, and then dusts the whole thing with white pepper.

Part 2: The Ranking

15. Redemption Rye — Taste 15

ABV: 46%

Average Price: $30

The Whiskey:

This affordable rye is a sourced whiskey from MGP. It’s the famed 95 percent rye — aged for just under three years — that’s dominated the market for the last decade or so. The juice is blended by Master Blender Dave Carpenter and is brought down to a very reasonable 92 proof with soft Kentucky limestone water.

Bottom Line:

I liked everything on this list but something had to be last. This was the least engaging overall and that’s really the only reason it’s in this slot. That being said, I’ve been going back to this in highballs and it rules.

14. Nashville Barrel Single Barrel Rye #511 — Taste 6

ABV: 57.5%

Average Price: $115

The Whiskey:

This is an interesting whiskey. Nashville Barrel is all about the barrel picks for retailers, bars, and whoever comes along (within reason). The juice in this case is that 95 percent MGP rye that’s around eight years old. The whiskey went into the bottle at barrel strength without any additional fussing.

Bottom Line:

This was another perfectly fine whiskey. It’s unique and tasty. Again, though, it just didn’t wow next to the heavy hitters on this list.

13. 2021 BTAC Thomas H. Handy Rye — Taste 11

ABV: 64.75%

Average Price: $500

The Whiskey:

This is the youngest bottle in 2021’s BTAC. The whiskey was distilled in the spring of 2015 and bottled in the fall of 2021. The mash is mainly Minnesota rye with Kentucky corn and North Dakota barley. The juice matured in warehouses I, K, L, and O on the fifth through seventh floors. Over that time, 31 percent of the juice was lost to the angels.

Bottom Line:

I have a hard time getting past that raw leather note on some Buffalo Trace releases (like Buffalo Trace Bourbon). It might work for others but this just doesn’t vibe with my palate right now.

12. Chicken Cock Rye — Taste 14

ABV: 45%

Average Price: $75

The Whiskey:

This whiskey from a re-invigorated brand is comprised of that famous sourced 95 percent rye that’s aged at Bardstown Bourbon Company. In this case, it’s aged for around two years before the barrels are blended, proofed, and bottled.

Bottom Line:

This was a bit more refined than the other representations of 95 percent rye on this list — even the ones cut with own-make. Still, this is a great mixer for Sazeracs and Manhattans more than a sipper that you want to spend significant time with.

11. Sagamore Cask Strength Rye — Taste 9

ABV: 56.1%

Average Price: $68

The Whiskey:

This Maryland rye is a blend of seven-year-old juice with four-year-old rye. The whiskey is blended and just touched with limestone water from a 100-plus-year-old farm well in Maryland to bring it back down to the lower cask’s strength.

Bottom Line:

This, again, was really tasty and well-balanced. Though, I’d argue this felt more like a cocktail rye than a slow sipper. I want to try this in a Manhattan to really plumb the depths of this tasty Maryland expression.

10. Catoctin Creek Roundstone Rye — Taste 1

ABV: 40%

Average Price: $44

The Whiskey:

This Virginia whiskey is made from 100 percent rye grains sourced from local farms. The juice matures for two years in Virginia before it’s proofed with local water to a very approachable 80 proof.

Bottom Line:

It’s kind of shocking that whiskey at 80 proof has this much depth of flavor. That aside, this still feels like we’re squarely in cocktail mixing territory.

9. Traverse City North Coast Rye — Taste 5

ABV: 45%

Average Price: $45

The Whiskey:

This whiskey from Michigan is a blend of Traverse City’s own-make (a 100 percent rye) and MGP’s 95 percent rye. The whiskeys are aged for about two years before they’re vatted and proofed down with that clear Michigan water.

Bottom Line:

This is a very tasty whiskey. It was just a little spice-heavy and didn’t have that “x-factor” to help it break into the top tier.

8. High West Double Rye — Taste 2

ABV: 46%

Average Price: $38

The Whiskey:

This rye is a blend of Indiana’s MGP 95 percent rye with own-make from the Utah distillery. The rye from Utah is an 80 percent rye/20 percent malted rye mash. Both whiskeys are a minimum of two years old before they’re vatted, proofed with Utah’s Rocky Mountain water, and bottled in old tequila bottles.

Bottom Line:

I really liked this — wild that it didn’t break into the top ten. I guess that just goes to show you how freakin’ great these whiskeys were today.

7. Knob Creek Rye — Taste 4

ABV: 50%

Average Price: $36

The Whiskey:

This is another bourbon drinker’s rye with a mash bill that’s believed to be only 51 percent rye (which is likely the same for the Basil Hayden’s above). This rye, however, is batched and proofed at a higher ABV, 50 proof, allowing more of the barrel to shine through.

Bottom Line:

Even pretty much knowing this was Knob Creek, it was still one of the more memorable whiskeys in this tasting. The flavors were distinct and refined while bringing a clear sense of self to the mix. This is also getting into sippable “on the rocks” territory while still being very mixable.

6. Stellum Rye — Taste 10

ABV: 58.12%

Average Price: $55

The Whiskey:

This new release from Barrell Spirits Co. blends rye whiskey from Indiana, Tennessee, and Kentucky. The core is the classic 95 percent rye from MGP of Indiana that’s cut with more barley-forward ryes from Tennessee and Kentucky. All of it is left at barrel strength when bottled.

Bottom Line:

This really popped for me. Maybe it’s the combination of three of the biggest states in whiskey that helps it along. In the end, it’s just really easy drinking rye with a clear and distinct flavor profile that’s very enticing.

5. Woodinville 100% Rye — Taste 12

ABV: 45%

Average Price: $45

The Whiskey:

American Distilling Institute Craft Spirits Awards named this their Best Rye back in 2017. The juice is 100 percent rye with grains sourced locally from the Omlin family farm. The whiskey is barreled in air-dried and toasted barrels but this time they’re heavily charred before the spirit goes in. The barrels are then hand-selected and married to create a pure rye whiskey experience at an accessible 90 proof.

Bottom Line:

This is where the “wow factor” started coming into play, making this and the next two entries pretty much an exercise in splitting hairs. This is just really, really good rye that hits high marks for uniqueness, drinkability, and deliciousness. You can’t go wrong stocking up on this juice.

4. Alberta Premium Cask Strength Rye — Taste 7

ABV: 65.1%

Average Price: $80

The Whiskey:

This Whisky Bible-beloved 100 percent rye mash bill is made from rye from the prairies of Alberta. The grist (milled rye grains) is then married with Rocky Mountain glacial water for fermentation. The spirit is barrelled and left to mature for an undisclosed amount of time. The results are blended and bottled with zero fussing at cask strength, giving this whisky a real depth and sense of those chilly plains, mountains, and glacier-fed waters from Alberta.

Bottom Line:

This continues to be named the best rye in the world and it’s easy to see why when you take a sip. It’s so refined while also being wholly unique. The high-ABVs do mean you’ll likely need a rock to sip this one, but that just means you’re opening the whiskey’s deeper flavor notes.

3. Blue Run Golden Rye — Taste 3

ABV: 47.5%

Average Price: $110

The Whiskey:

This whiskey is a sourced Kentucky rye from an undisclosed distillery or distilleries. The batch is a small outing of only 91 barrels that have been vatted and then proofed with that soft Kentucky limestone water before bottling.

Bottom Line:

This is pretty special juice. The nuance and depth are very good while the actual approachability of this whiskey is very high. It’s a great sipper neat, on the rocks, or even in a simple cocktail. This is just a winner all around.

2. 2021 Michter’s 10-Year Rye — Taste 13

ABV: 46.4%

Average Price: $230

The Whiskey:

This release goes through the same rigorous barrel-selection process as the Michter’s ten-year bourbon. However, because the point of Michther’s was to bring rye back to mainstream prominence, this bottle holds a very special place in whiskey drinkers’ hearts.

This is the bottle of rye that distillers are still chasing to this day.

Bottom Line:

This is where we get into the “wow” and “x-factor” territories — that dark, smoky leather is so entrancing. This whiskey is a touchstone rye that has serious beauty in the glass.

I also like to make $50 Manhattans with it, but that’s just me.

1. 2021 BTAC Sazerac 18 — Taste 8

ABV: 45%

Average Price: $1,400

The Whiskey:

This rye was made back in 2003 from Minnesota Rye, Kentucky corn, and North Dakota barley. The juice spent 18-and-a-half years in warehouses K and P on the second and fourth floors. Finally, it was vatted, proofed with that iconic Kentucky limestone water, and bottled.

Bottom Line:

This is damn near perfect. Actually, it might just be perfect. It’s really hard to find any faults in this juice. At the same time, it’s mature and stands alone as a great whiskey in general and a damn near amazing rye. It was so, so easy to drink today while delivering serious depth, surprises, and comfort.

What more can you really as for in a whiskey?

Part 3: Final Thoughts

This was really tough to rank, so I employed a newish method of marking every rye I liked as I sipped them and marking the ones I loved right away. That made it easier to go back and rank the top three and bottom three. That, however, made ranking the middle nine damn near impossible. Depending on my mood, I could probably reorder slots 12 through four a million different ways, but here we are.

In the end, this was an illuminating experience for my taste buds but I can’t say I was super surprised. I’m a very open stan of Michter’s but have a rockier relationship with Buffalo Trace’s ryes. Was I surprised their 2021 BTAC Sazerac 18 won? Yes and no. I had just taste-tested that expression the day before. So it was fresh in my memory. It’s amazing and it just rang the brightest today and that’s what counts in these tastings.

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In 2011, Interpol got an assist from David Lynch, who created a short film, I Touch A Red Button Man, to accompany Interpol’s “Lights” performance at Coachella. Now, that collaboration is making a return in a new form. This time, it’s an NFT, of which only eight are available in collaboration with HIFI Labs. It’s not just a re-hash of the original Coachella presentation, though, as included are new recordings of the song. Auctions for the NFTs are set to begin today, October 26.

The band’s Paul Banks notes of the performances, “The new performances are stripped-down renditions featuring [Interpol lead guitarist] Daniel Kessler on piano.” He continued, “In the spirit of fandom, we are glad to reveal that one of the eight NFTs will go to fans — for free.”

Banks also spoke about his excitement over working with Lynch, saying, “To be frank, Interpol is crazy about David Lynch, and we are over the moon to have ever been able to align our name with his in an artistic forum. Humbly, we believe that as digital artifacts go, these are worthy of preservation in the infinite digital realm.” He also noted of the band’s choice to partner with Aerial, which allows NFT sellers to offset the carbon footprint of NFTs, “We are pleased to enter the NFT space in as ethical a manner as we could, in conjunction with Aerial. We hope to bring an artful and interactive approach to this launch.”

Jack Spallone, Head Of Crypto And Product at HIFI Labs, says, “What makes us so excited about this release is it memorializes the collaboration between David Lynch and Interpol. Using Ethereum, these NFTs can live in eternity as artifacts of cinematic and musical history. Just as David Lynch’s career helped push the boundaries of film and even fiction, it is now extending into the permanent universe of blockchain.”

Learn more about the NFTs here.

For as long as hip-hop has existed it has done so in sweaty, small venues where the crowd is often pressed into the stage and the artists are no more than an arm’s length away from their adoring fans in the front row. As hip-hop’s commercial appeal grew, though, so too did the size of the crowds, then the venues themselves. Now, rap music is being played at arenas and stadiums before tens of thousands of fans at once. While that’s great for the genre — and artists’ bank accounts — there are some who feel that the old-school, intimate feeling at rap’s core has been lost, or, at least, irrevocably eroded.

When No. 1-selling artists like Drake, Kendrick Lamar, and J. Cole come to towns now, it’s rarely to show out to the 5,000-capacity (or lower) sized rooms in which they got their respective starts. K-Dot wouldn’t be pulling up to The Good Hurt in 2021, even if its organizers had kept it going for the 15 years since he became a household name. Which is why, when J. Cole announced a throwback, small-venue show at The Roxy on Saturday for SiriusXM and Pandora’s Small Stage Series in Los Angeles, just two days after his headlining tour stop at The Forum in Inglewood, I jumped at the rare opportunity to compare the proverbial apples to apples and determine just which live experience really is best.

Another thing that helped the comparison: Cole used the same setlist (with the needed adjustments for absent guests) at both shows. The theme, according to the man himself, was “real fucking bars.” While many tours would focus on playing the hits, J. Cole wanted to try something different: bringing a focus to the lyrics to a new setting, the arena tour — a similar principle to the renewed focus on tongue-twisting displays of vocal virtuoso on his new album, The Off-Season. Of course, that doesn’t mean there wasn’t room for some of his hits, but when he opened the concert with the assertive “85 South,” it was clear that this wouldn’t be the typical arena show.

Like the artwork for the album, the stage revolved around a basketball theme, with a massive flaming hoop behind Cole. The man himself truly dressed for the occasion, wearing a Dreamville jersey in the signature colors of the iconic NBA team that once racked up multiple championships in the legendary venue. The joking Mount Rushmore meme made an appearance on the big screens. Cole’s band, ready to embellish every song with live instrumentation — a favorite was playing a snippet of Wu-Tang Clan’s “C.R.E.A.M.” during “Punching The Clock” — played from recesses upstage, allowing the focus to be entirely absorbed by the rapper and his occasional guests.

After running through impressive displays of breath control on “100 Mil” and “Let Go My Hand,” Cole finally launched into his “classic shit,” playing his older songs grouped by album/era. From 2014 Forest Hills Drive: “tale of 2 cities,” “GOMD,” “No Role Modelz,” and “Wet Dreams”; from his debut album Sideline Story: “Nobody’s Perfect,” “Workout,” and “Can’t Get Enough”; from his 2013 sophomore album Born Sinner: “Power Trip.”

He also played a few of his feature verses. His verse from Jeremih’s “Planes” got a warm reception and when Ari Lennox popped out to do “Shea Butter Baby” and “BMO,” the change of pace was welcomed by the audience. From Revenge Of The Dreamers III, Cole played *Under The Sun,” then Bas returned for a blitzkrieg performance of “Down Bad” under an image of the Dreamville lineup. Returning to The Off-Season era, “The Climb Back” and “Pride Is The Devil” preceded one last feature, “The London,” (during which Cole joked he finally started getting features on his own albums yet forgets his guests’ verses), then he was rejoined by tour openers 21 Savage (who happened to be celebrating his birthday) and Morray to close things out with “My Life.”

At the Forum, these songs rumbled to life and washed over the 17,505-capacity crowd. There’s a certain sound quality you only get from the massive systems available in big venues like this, but for all the bellowing bass and bone-rattling decibels, Cole’s vocals never got lost in the mix. This is an impressive achievement in itself, made all the more potent by that theme of “real bars.” The clarity of his rhymes anchored the show, making his newer songs feel all the more vivid and vibrant by the realization that there were no recording tricks, no punch-ins or retakes for him to fall back on. He can really, really, really, rap like the athlete he depicted himself as in the rollout to The Off-Season’s release.

Oddly enough, this element worked slightly against him in the closer confines of The Roxy. Acoustically, with his band packed around him on the 20-foot-square stage, their playing filled the room, sometimes overtaking the backing beats and threatening to drown him out — especially the drums. However, some deft on-the-fly remixing by the sound engineer throughout the set mitigated this, while the crowd — made up almost entirely of Cole diehards — weren’t just capable of picking up the slack, they relished it. When the whole crowd jumped in to finish lines and the like, The effect felt like it had more impact in the tighter space despite the disparity in the number of voices joining in. It was also fun to hear Jermaine’s vocals on “Let Go My Hand” as he filled in for his compatriot Bas, who had moved onto Red Rocks in Colorado with the rest of the Dreamville roster.

The smaller space had the added effect of increased crown participation, too — and vice versa. When Cole called for everybody to get their motherfucking hands up, he was able to see the one person in VIP with their hands down and gently call them out. He required fewer preambles between songs to catch his breath because he had less real estate to cover to perform to everybody in the room. He teased people who fake knowing the lyrics at shows (no one in particular here, but Lebron James sprung to my mind). The mic went out halfway through his “Can’t Get Enough” verse. His face said it all but he kept rapping and it worked out. The screams of encouragement from the audience were one thing… But then he did a reprise. It was the exact sort of unrehearsed, spontaneous moment that literally can’t happen at an arena show, hammering home the sense that it was a special, one-of-a-kind performance in a way that a rapper’s insistence that “this” city is the best one could never convey, no matter how many times they repeat it.

At the big show, things were professional and smooth, but impersonal. At the smaller one, sure, there were hitches, but Cole seemed all the more human for them. The sense of community and connectedness was greater at The Roxy; more than once, I had to shrug off an overly enthusiastic neighbor, which felt like a gift and a curse. Obviously, don’t touch people without their permission — but being part of what felt like a single organism, rather than just another seat number in a faceless crowd, is why these events even exist, right? The experience at the smaller show, especially with such a big artist who played so many fan favorites, amplified the communal enjoyment. As much as I enjoyed seeing Cole interact with his friends and collaborators, watching him do so with the people who came to see him had a different impact. (Also, getting home from the Forum with the parking and rideshare situations there can be an utter nightmare, adding a layer of unnecessary hassle that detracted from the afterglow).

It might seem elitist or snobby to say, but if you can, go to the small show. It’s harder to do, it’s rarer to experience, but it’s worth it. And if you can’t, go to the big one! It’s a fun night out, you get to see all the cool stage effects the artists worked out beforehand, there are usually surprise guests, and you will never hear better sound quality unless you’re in the studio with the artists when they’re recording the songs (the ultimate elitist experience, sorry). You really can’t go wrong with either choice.

J. Cole’s exclusive performance as part of SiriusXM and Pandora’s Small Stage Series will air on SiriusXM’s Hip Hop Nation channel via satellite (ch. 44) and on the SXM App on Tuesday, October 26 at 6:00 pm ET.

When he first arrived on the scene 15 years ago, Kid Cudi was one of the first rappers to live his life not just in the spotlight but on social media as well, giving fans an unprecedented level of access to his triumphs and trials. However, that doesn’t mean that we know all there is to know about him; following the modern trend of artists putting out their own documentaries about their lives and careers, Cudi shared the trailer for his upcoming film, A Man Named Scott, streaming November 5 on Amazon Prime Video.

The trailer finds Cudi detailing his musical mission: “to make something that calls out to the broken and the lost… How can I give people something that they haven’t heard before?” It also touches on how the pressure of the fame that resulted from pursuing this goal weighed on Cudi’s mind and forced him to make “adjustments from being Scott to being Kid Cudi.” He describes how the success of Man On The Moon made people look up to him despite his own unhappiness because they related so much. “I felt like a fraud,” he admits. “I sacrificed the privacy of my life and put my story out there to help others. That’s always been my mission.”

Watch the trailer for Kid Cudi’s A Man Named Scott documentary above and stream the film on 11/5 on Prime Video.

After initially being praised for landing the part when it was announced, Kathryn Hahn will no longer be playing comedian Joan Rivers in the Showtime limited series, The Comeback Girl. However, Hahn exiting the role has nothing to do with concerns from Rivers’ fellow comedian Sarah Silverman, who accused the series of ‘Jewface’ by casting Hahn instead of a Jewish actor. Instead, the show suffered a much more fatal error: No one secured the rights. Whoops. Via Variety:

Yet Rivers’ life rights, which are held by her daughter, Melissa Rivers, hadn’t been secured by producers. The project could have proceeded as an unauthorized venture, but “The Comeback Girl” wouldn’t have been able to use any of Rivers’ jokes or catchphrases, and, of course, risked running afoul of Melissa Rivers and the estate.

While Hahn’s shot at playing the legendary Rivers just went out the window, for now, the actress will be returning to the MCU in a recently announced spinoff series based on her WandaVision character, Agatha Harkness. We’re pretty sure there won’t be any rights issues there… unless another studio still owns Mephisto! Seriously, that guy has to show up in something.

In the meantime, Hahn can next be seen in the Apple TV+ series The Shrink Next Door alongside Paul Rudd and Will Ferrell, which is a helluva cast. Look for it to start streaming on November 12.

(Via Variety)

Before a screening of Dune last week, my local Alamo Drafthouse played a Dune-themed pre-roll. After going through the history of prog-rock songs inspired by Frank Herbert’s classic novel, the theater chain showed Gabriel Gundacker’s iconic “Zendaya Is Meechee” video. It was a clever choice, not only because Zendaya is in the film, but also because the cast/character list has big “Zendaya Is Meechee” vibes.

“Oscar Isaac is Duke Leo,” “Josh Brolin is Gurney Halleck,” “Dave Bautista is Glossu Rabban,” and, of course, “Jason Momoa is Duncan Idaho.” That’s the one people are having a hard time getting over, even though Dune is a movie with sandworms, “spice” that makes space travel possible, and Oscar Isaac not sharing his grooming habits, which is just rude. But a character named Duncan Idaho? That’s too much, man.

In an interview with Vulture, Dune director Denis Villeneuve was asked whether he thinks Duncan Idaho is a cool name. “Personally, I deeply love it,” he replied. “I love that Frank Herbert gives hints of Earth culture. You have links with the Catholic religion, or Middle Eastern cultural elements. They are hints that these people were coming from Earth, and then they expanded into the galaxy. And ‘Duncan Idaho’ roots it to Earth. So personally, I don’t know what your position on it is, but I love it. I think it’s the best.”

This is the correct answer. Another cool name: Jason Momoa.

(Via Vulture)

It’s no secret that hip-hop music is going through a nearly unprecedented boom in female artists dominating the charts. There are more female rappers charting on the Hot 100 than ever, and more women in hip-hop are receiving more attention. The 2021 XXL Freshman class included no fewer than three new women on it, including Coi Leray, Lakeyah, and Rubi Rose, and the days of label or fan-imposed, Highlander-style rap beef (“there can only be one!”) among them appear to be over.

While there are obviously some men in the game unhappy about this shift in the status quo, there are others who are ready and willing to champion the next generation. Among the latter is Memphis rising star NLE Choppa, who used his Twitter to highlight some of those who are currently taking over or poised to blow up in the near future. He even went out of his way to tag them all in the thread to ensure they got maximum exposure, listing the above-mentioned Coi, Lakeyah, and Rubi, as well as BIA, DreamDoll, Dreezy, Erica Banks, and Renni Rucci. Later on, he added a couple of names he forgot, Flo Milli and Rico Nasty, noting he’s got a song with the latter.

Of course, because it’s Twitter, fans were quick to chime in and insist that he forgot other rising stars like Armani Caesar, KenTheMan, and Latto, but there’s no pleasing everybody — and, to be fair, there are a lot more female rappers getting attention these days. If a few get missed in one or two Twitter threads, they’ll likely still receive big love from fans, which should be the goal at the end of the day, right?

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