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Kanye West and The Weeknd have a history: West produced “Tell Your Friends” from The Weeknd’s 2005 album Beauty Behind The Madness, while The Weeknd sang on West’s The Life Of Pablo highlight “FML.” Now, it seems the two may have something else in the works.

Yesterday, West, who is in the process of finishing Donda, took to Instagram to share a phone screenshot of his recent calls. Most notably, among them were a handful of late-night calls to a contact labeled “ABEL WEEKEND,” which is almost certainly The Weeknd.

This comes shortly after The Weeknd said he’d be interested in reconnecting with West, saying, “I’d love to work with Kanye again. Especially on production.” He also shared admiration for Tyler The Creator, saying, “I got mad love for Tyler The Creator, and what he’s doing right now. Tyler is funny, man. I remember he came to one of my performances — I think it was like a festival performance. And he was very vocal about how ‘Starboy’ was his favorite song at the time. You can tell he’s waiting for the song. I could see him. As soon as the song happened, he’s like, ‘All right, cool. Thanks.’ And he just peaced out. It was pretty funny. But he’s somebody that I really admire, because he wears his feelings on his sleeve.”

For years, Big Sean has been subject to jokes about his chosen rap moniker not quite matching up to his physical stature. But in a recent social media post, the Detroit rapper boasted that he’d actually grown into his name — not just metaphorically. In the video, Sean challenged, “How da f*ck I grow 2 inches? Chiropractor for a year straight twice a week, that’s how. Straight Spine thas how. I’m laughing cause it’s real.”

Just in case his viewers didn’t believe him, the video also sees Sean standing next to a friend, pointing out their similarities. “My n**** Ronnie 5’10″, solid,” he noted. “So b*tch, look at me next to him, b*tch. N****s try and hate on me like I’m 5’6″. Nah, for real, I probably even grew like a couple inches.”

Sean has become an advocate for healthy living, emphasizing the importance of mental health education in a recent interview with Apple Music and speaking extensively on his own experiences in the lead-up to the release of his album Detroit 2. In addition, he recently became the Detroit Pistons’ new “creative director of innovation” and will appear on the revival of MTV’s Cribs along with Rick Ross, Martha Stewart, and more.

This week in Mike Lindell news:

1. He got trolled by a heckler while conducting an interview in public.

2. He’s losing $1 million a week after pulling MyPillow ads from the “the worst station in history,” Fox News. “You turn on us when we needed you most,” he said. “I got attacked on CNN for 18 minutes. Where were you Fox to report? You could have at least reported Mike Lindell got attacked on CNN for 18 minutes because he’s a nut case.”

3. He has changed the day (and month) for when Trump will become president again.

“We’ll be bringing our findings to the Supreme Court in late August or early September, some time after the cyber symposium ends, and it proves it was an attack by China,” Lindell told the Daily Beast of non-existent election fraud, and an upcoming event devoted to the same. “When I gave my prediction about August, and that was several months ago, that was an estimate at the time. But it took so long to get this symposium set up. However long it takes for the Supreme Court to take it up and decide on this, I can’t predict that. I’m not the Supreme Court.”

Lindell has pushed back the timeline for a third time after originally claimed that Trump would be reinstated on Friday, August 13th (spooky!), but what he ACTUALLY meant (until he didn’t) was that “everybody’s going to know what I know” on the 13th. What does he know? It’s unclear, but it apparently has something to do with Joe Biden and Kamala Harris resigning because of his ironclad evidence of election fraud.

The delay has made QAnon very upset:

Everything’s going great.

(Via the Daily Beast)

This week in pop music saw highly anticipated releases from some of today’s biggest pop stars. Billie Eilish dropped her sophomore album, Silk Sonic returned with another sultry single, and Bleachers teamed up with Lana Del Rey for a tender track.

Each week, Uproxx rounds up the best new pop music. Listen up.

Billie Eilish — “Oxytocin”

This week, pop darling Billie Eilish released her long-awaited sophomore album Happier Than Ever. The singer said she hopes fans “recline and close your eyes, and listen” to the LP in a car with nice speakers while it’s raining. Her trance-like track “Oxytocin” is perfect for a stormy environment. The thumping song is a departure from the alt-pop heard on Eilish’s debut release, combining electronic elements with her drowned-out vocals.

Silk Sonic — “Skate”

After setting the bar high with their debut single “Leave The Door Open,” Anderson .Paak and Bruno Mars’ Silk Sonic project finally dropped their follow-up single “Skate.” Keeping things light and groovy, the track is a sunny and hip-swinging love song with soulful lyrical delivery.

Pop Smoke — “Demeanor” Feat. Dua Lipa

Pop Smoke’s tragic death at just 20-years-old is still being mourned by the music community. But because the rapper was such a prolific musician, fans have been graced with a number of posthumous releases. His latest LP Faith is a 30-track masterclass in hitmaking, including the thumping and fervent song “Demeanor” with Dua Lipa that’s sure to grace airwaves all summer long.

Bleachers — “Secret Life” Feat. Lana Del Rey

Offering another preview of their Take The Sadness Out Of Saturday Night LP, Jack Antonoff’s band Bleachers shared the woozy ballad “Secret Life” featuring background vocals from Lana Del Rey. The single shares a softer side of the record, pulling inspiration from the tender releases Antonoff worked on with songwriters like Clairo and Taylor Swift.

Jhay Cortez — “En Mi Cuarto” Feat. Skrillex

Following up on his award-winning Bad Bunny collaboration “Dákiti,” Puerto Rican-born musician Jhay Cortez teams up with EDM heavy-hitter Skrillex for the infectious single “En Mi Cuarto.” Combining Cortez’s expert pop hooks and Skrillex’s memorable bass drops, the two hitmakers serve up a beach-ready track to continue the summer.

Dan + Shay — “Lying”

Grammy-winning artists Dan + Shay may have promised their upcoming album Good Things is their best one yet, and their new track “Lying” stands as proof. With just a few weeks before the project’s official debut, “Lying” offers another preview of the project. With a twangy backing band and the singers’ heart-tugging vocals, the song is the perfect cure to any breakup blues.

Tokimonsta — “Naked” Feat. Channel Tres

Acclaimed producer Tokimonsta tapped acclaimed musician Channel Tres for the funk-forward single “Naked” this week. The song sees the producer’s expert dance-ready rhythms and Channel Tres rose-tinted voice, crafting an irresistible tune that’s sure to make you get up and move.

Yola — “Dancing Away In Tears”

After receiving several Grammy nods for her debut album, singer Yola returned with her anthemic LP Stand For Myself, which features the jazzy tune “Dancing Away In Tears.” The orchestral single sees Yola standing up for her self-worth with bravado. About the track, Yola said: “There are times you just need to cut and run, but sometimes you need only slowly waltz away waving a sorry goodbye wishing it could’ve gone another way. Either way, you’re out.”

Glaive — “Bastard”

After carving out a niche space in the world of hyperpop, 16-year-old songwriter Glaive took the world by storm with his debut EP Cypress Grove. Now gearing up for the release of his sophomore project All Dogs Go To Heaven, Glaive shares the tricked-out track “Bastard.” The singer said he’s been sitting on the wildly energetic track for some time, but decided to drop it this week because it “stands the test of time.”

Mark Ronson — “Show Me”

Producer Mark Ronson premiered his Apple TV+ docuseries Watch The Sound this week, which walks viewers through the process of creating songs with cutting-edge music technology. The soundtrack to the series also arrived this week with the glimmering single “Show Me,” as well as contributions from artists like Paul McCartney, Wale, Jónsi, Diana Gordon, Gary Numan, and King Princess. “Show Me” is more downtempo compared to some of Ronson’s former club-ready releases, offering a different side to the multifaceted songwriter.

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

Xolo Maridueña is making the leap from the Karate Kid universe to DC Comics. The Cobra Kai star has snatched the lead role in Blue Beetle, which alongside Batgirl, is one of the first batch of DC Films that will arrive exclusively on HBO Max. On Monday afternoon, The Wrap reported that Maridueña was in talks for the lead part of Jamie Reyes, and that situation quickly moved to a done deal as Maridueña arrived at The Suicide Squad premiere with Blue Beetle director Angel Manuel Soto (Charm City Kings) who confirmed the casting to Heat Vision reporter Aaron Couch.

“#BlueBeetle has arrived at #TheSuicideSquad! Director Angel Manuel Soto and Warners execs surprised Xolo Maridueña with the news at dinner just last night,” Couch tweeted along with a photo of the director and star at the premiere.

In Blue Beetle, Maridueña will be playing teenager Jamie Reyes, who is the third iteration of the classic superhero. In the comics, Reyes is a Mexican American teenager who accidentally stumbled upon the Blue Beetle Scarab in his hometown of El Paso. The Scarab fused to his spine, giving him a technologically advanced body armor with powers that the young hero doesn’t even know the full extent of. The Reyes version of Blue Beetle also a prominent role in the fan favorite animated series Young Justice.

As The Wrap notes, Blue Beetle (as far as DC/Warner Bros. goes) will be “the first stand-alone title to feature a Latino lead.” The HBO Max exclusive film will also be written by Mexico-born writer Gareth Dunnet-Alcocer (Scarface, Miss Bala).

(Via The Wrap, Aaron Couch on Twitter)

The Killers aren’t usually a group that has a ton of features on their albums, but there’s at least one on the upcoming effort, Pressure Machine. The band shared the album tracklist yesterday, which revealed that Phoebe Bridgers guests on the song “Runaway Horses.”

Attentive fans have known about this Bridgers appearance for weeks now: When the album was initially announced, some pre-order pages included a mention of Bridgers being featured on the album. That cat was seemingly let out of the bag earlier than intended, though, as those pages were quickly updated to remove that information.

Bridgers has a bit of a pre-existing relationship with the band: Around this time last year, Bridgers and Flowers had a conversation for Interview Magazine. A year before that, Bridgers and Conor Oberst (collectively known as Better Oblivion Community Center) covered The Killers’ “Human.”

Drummer Ronnie Vannucci Jr. previously said of the upcoming album, “We were discussing [Flowers] moving to [Nephi, Utah] as a kid and being stuck in the middle of nowhere, and during COVID-19, it started to feel like we were all in the middle of nowhere.” Flowers added, “I discovered this grief that I hadn’t dealt with, many memories of my time in Nephi are tender. But the ones tied to fear or great sadness were emotionally charged. I’ve got more understanding now than when we started the band, and hopefully I was able to do justice to these stories and these lives in this little town that I grew up in.”

Pressure Machine is out 8/13 via Island Records. Pre-order it here.

On her new song “Walk The Beat,” genre-bending Philadelphia rapper Tierra Whack claims that she’s “versatile, so I can keep switching lanes,” and proves it, wrangling a house-influenced beat that would fit right in at a New York drag ball. Whack’s latest is an ode to “fashion shows, fancy clothes,” which fits right in with her unique sense of style as she name-checks designers like Raf Simons and Rick Owens.

Whack has kept up a trickle of new music in 2021, three years removed from her star-making EP Whack World. The slower pace suits her, as she fiddles with her sound to find the lanes she enjoys the most. In addition to appearing on Willow’s new album Lately I Feel Everything, Whack created a theme song for her hometown 76ers’ playoff run and “linked” with Lego for an imaginative video encouraging kids to embrace their creativity.

And although they don’t technically count as new releases, Whack certainly renewed the buzz around her name with a string of impressive freestyles earlier this year, employing both hip-hop classics like Onyx’s “Last Dayz” and Ludacris’ “Stand Up” and contemporary hits like CJ’s “Whoopty” to show off the dagger-sharp flow that made her one of rap’s most intriguing figures.

Listen to “Walk The Beat” above.

With its premiere just a little over a week away, Disney+ is getting MCU fans pumped for its new animated series Marvel’s What If…? But while the ambitious multiverse project is boasting a massive voice cast, one eagle-eyed Guardians of the Galaxy fan couldn’t help but notice that Dave Bautista‘s name is missing. Granted, the series couldn’t get every MCU actor. Despite reports to the contrary, Robert Downey Jr. is not reprising his role of Iron Man for the series. Brie Larson, Tom Holland, and Chris Pratt are also sitting What If…? out.

However, when asked by the curious fan on Twitter why he’s not voicing Drax in What If…?, Bautista’s response seemed a tad disgruntled: “Let’s start with I was never asked,” he tweeted back.

Bautista’s response seemingly caught Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn by surprise, as he hopped into the thread to drop a “What.”

It’s an interesting wrinkle for Bautista’s relationship with Marvel going forward. The actor has previously said that he’s done playing Drax after Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, and Bautista seems to hang part of that reason on Marvel’s lack of interest in a Drax and Mantis spin-off film that Gunn pitched the studio. “I mean, as far as my obligations, I’ve got Guardians 3, and that’s probably going to be the end of Drax,” he told Digital Spy back in May.

Here’s the official synopsis for Marvel’s What If…?:

“What If…?” flips the script on the MCU, reimagining famous events from the films in unexpected ways. Marvel Studios’ first animated series focuses on different heroes from the MCU, featuring a voice cast that includes a host of stars who reprise their roles.

Marvel’s What If…? starts streaming August 11 on Disney+.

(Via Dave Bautista on Twitter)

After a bunch of not-so-subtle hints, it looks like The Weeknd is ready to kick off his post-After Hours era. He teased nearly two minutes of new music in a video yesterday, and now he’s unveiled even more of the song. Furthermore, he revealed that it’s called “Take My Breath” and that it’s set to drop this Friday, August 6.

The song scores a new ad for NBC’s coverage of the 2020 Olympics, specifically some track and field events. Although the ad reveals the name of the song, compared to the previous teaser, it’s a less substantial preview of the actual music, although it shows off what sounds like the hook, which the teaser did not.

In an interview from last September, The Weeknd indicated that the album he was working on at the time was cinematic in nature, saying, “I’m guilty of wanting to outdo my last album, but it’s never like, ‘I’ve got to do the same type of song.’ I’m so happy I’m not like that. My palette is so wide. […] I’m trying to find a perfect balance with the film and the music, and so far it’s going really well. I think I might have cracked the code.”

Check out the ad above.

The grand tradition of “jacked” photos from actors who play superheroes means that everybody wins. The Rock might be the king of these, given that he’s jacked on every occasion but particularly so while rolling out his recent Black Adam look. Jensen Ackles begrudgingly jumped into the jacked-photo game for The Boys (he’ll play Soldier Boy, a Cap type), and so on. For Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II will return as Black Manta, now the biggest bad for the sequel, and to play that role, one must be jacked.

However, Yahya didn’t step up to the jacked mat early, unlike Momoa (who, like The Rock) is almost always jacked, and unlike Amber Heard, who did the lady-jacked thing to show off her own sequel prep for the Queen Mera role. Instead, the actor who most recently portrayed Dr. Manhattan bided his time and kept his game under wraps. He posted the opposite of a jacked photo to share script prep, but now, he’s ready. And that’s a good thing, since filming is well underway.

“Back Under Construction! #Aquaman2” the Candyman star wrote on Twitter. It must be noted that he went with an artsy, black-and-white filter, and it’s working.

Let’s get completely real here, though. Not every jacked photo can be as classy as this one. Yahya can also do the more traditional Instagram poses, too. Here he is while “kickin back, chillin, and celebrating the wins” of a long work week in July. More screentime for Black Manta is something that the fans will never be mad to see.

Aquaman II arrives on December 16, 2022.