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While his dad is holed up in Mar-A-Lago mourning the loss of his blog, Donald Trump Jr. is taking his particular brand of unhinged conservatism to another social media platform: Cameo.

For just over $500, Don Jr. is offering “fans” the opportunity to purchase a personalized video message from him on the site as long as they’re cool with it being delivered within two to seven days. If for some reason, prospective buyers need that video message within 24 hours, they’ll have to shell out $787 for their rush order. (We’d ask why someone would need such a tight deadline for a recorded shoutout from a former president’s child, but that would imply that we understand why people would want to pay for this kind of thing in the first place, which we don’t.)

It’s an unsurprisingly narcissistic move from Don Jr. who, up until this point, was content to unload his disturbing rants and strung-out temper tantrums for free. Now, he wants people to hand over their hard-earned cash for a chance to hear their name amid some tirade over Joe Biden’s workout routine and the liberal left’s war on hamburgers … probably. Honestly, nothing makes sense here.

On his Cameo profile, Don Jr. claims a portion of the proceeds he receives will go to a foundation that supports private military contractors, although Trump charities normally don’t work out too well. Still, at least one person has already made use of Don Jr.’s Cameo offer — a guy from Australia that it seems paid the $525 to have Don Jr. tell him not to worry if his wife is upset that the night of the 2016 election was the “happiest night” of his life.

What is the point of satire anymore?

Prince recorded his final album Welcome 2 America over a decade ago and now, it’s finally about to be released. Prince’s estate first announced the exciting project back in April with the title track, which is a spoken word reflection on the pitfalls of mass media. Now offering another look at the album, Prince’s funk-forward track “Born 2 Die” is officially here.

As noted by Prince’s team, the song was conceived over a decade ago as Prince reflected on issues of racial justice:

“The song was recorded during a flurry of studio activity in the spring of 2010, when President Obama was just a year into his first term and Prince was reflecting deeply on the issues affecting the Black community and the role he hoped to play. As happened countless times throughout his career, Prince ended up shelving the song and the rest of Welcome 2 America in his legendary vault.”

Prince’s collaborator and longtime music director Morris Hayes recalled how the musician wrote “Born 2 Die” after being compared to Curtis Mayfield. “We got to ‘Born 2 Die,’ and Prince said, ‘I’ll tell you how that came about,’” Hayes said. “He had been watching videos of his friend Dr. Cornel West on YouTube, and during one speech Dr. West said, ‘I love my brother Prince, but he’s no Curtis Mayfield.’ So Prince said, “Oh really? We will see.”

Listen to “Born 2 Die” above.

Welcome 2 America is out 7/30 via The Prince Estate/Legacy Recordings. Pre-order it here.

The story of the United States can’t be told without Magic Mike XXL, an American masterpiece (it’s up there with jazz and McDonald’s), so it’s only fitting that Channing Tatum should be in America: The Motion Picture.

Directed by Matt Thompson (Archer) with a script from Dave Callaham (Wonder Woman 1984, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings), the animated movie stars Tatum as George Washington, except this ain’t your daddy’s Founding Father. He’s ready to “start a f*cking revolution” and says things like, “Ding dong, it’s America, motherf*cker.” Based on the trailer above, it looks like Clone High meets Archer meets Genndy Tartakovsky, with bonus Jason Mantzoukas and Judy Greer.

Producers Phil Lord and Christopher Miller were already behind one of the year’s best animated movies in The Mitchells vs. the Machines — can they do it again with America: The Motion Picture? F*ck yeah. Here’s the official plot synopsis:

For, like, thousands of years, the origins of the United States of America have remained shrouded in mystery, lost to the sands of time. Who built this ‘country tis of thee,’ and why? Only the dinosaurs know… until now. For the first time in human history, the incredible, completely true story of America’s origins are revealed in America: The Motion Picture — a once-in-a-lifetime cultural event available the only way the Founding Fathers ever intended their story be told: On Netflix, on your phone, June 30th.

America: The Motion Picture, which also stars Simon Pegg, Bobby Moynihan, Raoul Trujillo, Olivia Munn, Will Forte, and Andy Samberg, premieres on Netflix on June 30.

So there’s this game that a lot of people play, but the reasons everyone plays it are a little different. Some just really want to power trip and make their own experience out of it. Others like to micromanage every aspect of themselves and get the most out of the experience. Some just need something to do after a hard day and it is their way to relax.

Depending on the person, that game can be an MMO like World of Warcraft or Final Fantasy XIV, or it could mean a life simulator like Animal Crossing or Stardew Valley. These two genres have way more in common than we realize and it’s why the trailer for a new game called Palia looks so incredible: It’s the MMO/life simulator game of our dreams.

This is a really cool trailer because it starts off looking like a standard farm simulator or life simulation game — chopping trees, mining, building out your house/farm. Then, it reveals itself to be an MMO. Other players begin to appear, a world open for exploration is at our fingertips, and a sense of excitement fills the air.

The potential of this game looks amazing and the people behind it have a proven background. They even understand that not everyone wants a multiplayer experience out of their life simulation game. Via IGN:

Palia is being developed by a collective of former developers from Blizzard, Epic, Riot, Zynga, and Sony, and it shows in the overall aesthetic, which can’t help bringing to mind World of Warcraft and Fortnite.

…

As for those who would rather go solo, director Aidan Karabaich says that Singularity 6 is “absolutely focused” on players who don’t want to have what he characterizes as intense social interactions. Solo players who don’t want to collaborate on a village will be able to create their own settlement.

Obviously, the game is still in pre-alpha, but early signs make Palia look like something that could change how we look at life simulation games. Personally, I’ve already signed up for the chance to be a part of it.

For years, Quentin Tarantino has maintained that his tenth film will be his last. With Once Upon A Time in Hollywood coming in at number nine (the Kill Bill volumes count as one film), the writer/director has one movie left to go, but during a recent interview, he seems to be contemplating walking away from filmmaking before suffering the same fate as most directors.

While talking to the Pure Cinema Podcast, Tarantino, a notorious cinephile, shared his blunt assessment of most final films, and it’s not pretty. Via MovieMaker:

“Most directors have horrible last movies,” Tarantino said. “Usually their worst movies are their last movies. That’s the case for most of the Golden Age directors that ended up making their last movies in the late ’60s and the ’70s, then that ended up being the case for most of the New Hollywood directors who made their last movies in the late ’80s and the ’90s.”

After putting even more mustard on his thoughts by calling most directors’ final works “f*cking lousy,” Tarantino admitted that the prospect of delivering a terrible follow-up to Once Upon a Time in Hollywood has him thinking about walking away with a win.

“Maybe I should not make another movie because I could be really happy with dropping the mic,” he said. “That’s the frustrating part, is a lot of the really terrific directors, it’s like their third-to-the-last movie would have been an amazing, amazing one to end on, which goes back to what I was saying about myself.”

(Via Pure Cinema Podcast)

It’s been nearly a year since Chloe x Halle released their standout sophomore album Ungodly Hour, but the two are still making sure there’s enough music to go around. They’ve been holding fans over with a number of fun covers, and they’ve now taken a stab at a rendition of TLC’s classic song “Waterfalls.”

Chloe x Halle take the sultry cover as an opportunity to once again showcase their impressive vocal range. “This song speaks so much to who we are as artists and human beings,” the duo said about the song. “We always say music is therapy to us because the lyrics are healing. There’s something about singing these words to yourself—it turns into an encouraging mantra that makes you feel inspired after listening.” This isn’t the first time the duo have covered “Waterfalls.” Back in June of 2020, Chloe x Halle shared a medley of covers to their YouTube page featuring songs by Lauryn Hill, Aaliyah, and TLC, saying they are three artists who have “inspired” them immensely.

Ahead of sharing their rendition of “Waterfalls,” Chloe x Halle have taken on a number of other hit songs. They recently released a moving cover of “Georgia On My Mind” for the 2020 Masters Tournament. Before that, Chloe Bailey took on a cover of Cardi B’s “Be Careful,” Silk Sonic’s “Leave The Door Open,” and Rihanna’s “Love On The Brain.”

Listen to their cover of TLC’s “Waterfalls” above, exclusively on Apple Music and iTunes.

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

Vince Staples hasn’t released much new music over the past couple of years but he’s set to break his silence later this month, according to a new interview in W magazine. In addition to talking about the two projects he has coming out this year, Ramona Park Broke My Heart and Vince Staples, which is partially produced by Kenny Beats, the feature also revealed the release date for the first single from his upcoming self-titled project: June 18.

Addressing the upcoming Vince Staples project with Kenny Beats, Vince said, “[Kenny] sent me a beat that I recorded on, and it just went from there. We didn’t go into it intentionally thinking that we would end up with as much as we had. We ended up working two days a week for a month, from after Thanksgiving until before Christmas in 2020. A couple of weeks in, we looked up, and we had some stuff.”

Recently, Vince let Killer Mike hear one of the two projects, prompting the Atlanta rap vet to compliment the Long Beach native as “gifted.” While we don’t know which of the two projects Mike heard, given the groundbreaking quality of Vince’s last two efforts, 2019’s FM! and Big Fish Theory, it’s just about a sure bet that he’s going to deliver something that sounds fresh and innovative, yet true to his California roots.

Vince’s next single drops on 6/18. Until then, you can check out some of Vince’s features from the past year, including Tiana Major9’s “Real Affair,” Lil Yachty’s “In My Stussy’s,” and The White Tiger soundtrack cut, “Jungle Mantra.”

It’s been 60 years since The Beach Boys first formed and their music still remains influential five decades later. To celebrate the band’s seminal catalog, The Beach Boys’ record label has compiled a massive box set spanning the years 1969-1971. It includes five CDs of music, over 100 previously unreleased songs, and and exclusive photo book filled with behind-the-scenes images.

Titled Feel Flows – The Sunflower and Surf’s Up Sessions 1969-1971, the box set dives into a prolific period for the band. The collection features newly remastered of their albums Sunflower and Surf’s Up and boasts 135 tracks, including 108 previously unreleased tracks, live recordings, radio promos, alternate versions, alternate mixes, isolated backing tracks and acappella versions taken from the album recording sessions.

Along with music, fans can learn more about The Beach Boys’ early days with a 48-page book. It contains rare photos, lyric sheets, tape box images, recording artifacts, insightful new liner notes, and new and archival interviews from members Al Jardine, Brian Wilson, Bruce Johnston, Carl Wilson, Dennis Wilson, Mike Love, and others.

Listen to The Beach Boys’ newly released track “Big Sur” above and check out a photo of the Feel Flows box set below.

Feel Flows – The Sunflower and Surf’s Up Sessions 1969-1971 is out 7/30 via Capitol/UMe . Pre-order it here.

The best song on DMX’s recently released, posthumous album Exodus is “Bath Salts.” It’s the song that best summarizes the album’s purpose, that gives us the best glimpse of DMX as an artist hitting middle age, taking stock, and quietly contemplating the future while celebrating his accomplishments. It’s probably no coincidence that the featured guests are Jay-Z and Nas at their absolute best, as the three rappers have been peers, rivals, friends, and the rear guard of hip-hop’s turn-of-the-millennium boom era, three of the last men standing.

It’s hard to say whether the rest of the album clears the high bar set by just its second track because it’s been so long since DMX released new music on his own accord that there’s no telling whether the rest of his guest features are the result of natural evolution or algorithmic calculation. I don’t know that the DMX would have especially wanted to work with someone like Bono on “Skyscrapers” or Moneybagg Yo on “Money Money Money.” In fact, in a recent interview, the album’s executive producer Swizz Beatz even admitted the latter was a replacement choice after the desired Pop Smoke verse turned out to be unavailable.

Swizz is as much responsible for the album’s direction as anyone, the navigator to X’s driver. There are times when it feels like Swizz’s desires dictate the sound and collaborators as much as X’s did — like in Goofy Movie when Max changes Goofy’s map so he can attend the Powerline concert instead of visiting his pop’s sacred fishing hole. When Alicia Keys pops up — bless her — it smells strongly of Swizz doing favors for people in his circle. It’s a circle that had grown to include pop-favorite multi-millionaire R&B stars like Usher, but not so much the purveyors of the gritty street sounds that informed Swizz and X’s earliest work.

And yet, there are allusions to that work all over the album, making it feel less like the slapdash, stream-baiting efforts on other posthumous releases that have come out over the past few years — way too many. Way. Way. Too. Many — and more like a DMX album proper — maybe a more mellow Grand Champ. Swizz certainly sets things off properly with “That’s My Dog,” which features X’s Ruff Ryders compatriots The LOX, each member in rare form. Then, there’s the aforementioned “Bath Salts,” on which Nas makes a rock-solid case that Swizz Beatz should absolutely executive produce as many of the next albums the Queens icon cares to make (seriously, they are batting like .800 in the past few years, why hasn’t this happened yet?).

DMX proves he can still hang with his contemporaries lyrically, and his flow, despite being worn by time, still connects like an aging NBA player polishing his finesse game as time robs him of his explosiveness. It’s when he tries to get it back that the seams begin to show. Of course, again, it’s difficult to pinpoint the issue on the missteps. The yell-raps on “Money Money Money” and the Griselda Records- featuring “Hood Blues” sound rushed and off-kilter — is this intentional? Is it the result of rust? Did DMX have trouble adjusting to these beats, which are a bit unusual in his catalog as they feature Swizz’s more recently developed swing-style drums? Or is it Swizz and his engineers being in too big a hurry to finish this project before the spotlight swung away, flying vocals onto mismatched production to take advantage of the name recognition of guests?

It certainly feels like this on the pop reaches, “Hold Me Down” and “Skyscrapers.” Fortunately, another Ruff Ryders appearance — this time from oft-overlooked members Cross and Infrared on a hilarious, hyperviolent skit — sets things right, setting the stage for the more confessional, emotive back half of the album, featuring the songs that X most likely had more of a hand in. His flow, subject matter, and voice certainly seem better suited to “Walking In The Rain” — the fact he performs the hook himself suggests that it was certainly one of the songs he finished before he passed. It’s classic DMX, a ruminative track that looks inward and backward, with X and Nas reflecting on life changes.

Likewise, on “Letter To My Son,” DMX speaks to the titular Exodus from the perspective of an elder addressing his son on the cusp of manhood — an opportunity robbed from him by his addiction. It’s a sobering thought, that X could foresee a world in which he wouldn’t have the chance to have the grown man chat with his son. Moments like this album closer suggest that maybe X wanted to use this project to say all the things he wouldn’t get a chance to say. Perhaps if he had been alive to see it finished, little would have changed from the product that ultimately came. That’s always the tragedy, isn’t it?

It’s funny; for all the dog imagery DMX has embraced throughout his life and career, he resembles nothing here so much as an old lion. He’s battle-scarred, he’s tired — but he’s no less noble and beautiful for it. He has the authority and lived experience that his advice rings true, yet he has little interest in holding the throne. Leave that for the cubs. He’s earned his place, he’s left his legacy. The only thing left is to say goodbye. The fiery father figure somehow found a way to do that, leaving behind a flawed but fitting testament to a flawed man.

Exodus is out now via Def Jam. Get it here.

While the rush on GameStop stocks dominated headlines earlier in the year, AMC also saw its fortunes reversed during the social media-fueled buying frenzy, and the theater chain wants to give back to its millions of new shareholders who rocketed the company’s stock by more than 1,400% since the retail investing boom began.

Thanks to a new portal on its website called AMC Investor Connect, shareholders can register for perks like free popcorn and special screenings as the theater chain slowly comes back to life after the pandemic pushed AMC to the brink of bankruptcy. Via CNBC:

“During my five-plus year tenure as CEO at AMC, I’ve taken great pride in the relationships I have forged with AMC’s owners,” Aron said in a statement Wednesday. “With AMC Investor Connect, that effort in relationship building will continue apace even if our shareholders now number in the millions. After all, these people are the owners of AMC, and I work for them.”

Unlike GameStop, whose stock rush seems to be waning, AMC has been going strong in recent days, with buying reaching such a frenzy towards the end of May that purchasing had to be halted several times. However, by midday Thursday, AMC already saw a 30% drop after the company announced it would be selling millions of its Class A common stock. The plummet was a stark contrast to Wednesday where the stock “rallied 95%,” according to CNBC. Maybe get that free popcorn while the getting’s good.

(Via CNBC)