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After a few years out of the game, JoJo has been back in all of her mononymous glory. Since a strong 2016 return, Mad Love, a record that came after a decade-long absence, now she’s putting albums out at a slightly faster pace, following up with a fourth record last year, Good To Know and a Christmas project, December Baby. But it looks like fans won’t have to wait another four – or ten — years for more new music from JoJo, because she’s back tonight with another new single.

“American Mood” is a complete 180 for the pop star, who usually leans into a polished R&B song. This song, on the other hand, is a folksy, almost country single with lots of finger-picked guitar and muted vocals from the powerhouse singer. Thematically, the song addresses immaturity and privilege in America, veering toward Jackson Browne in more ways than just the sonics, reflecting on the material differences that separate people. “American mood / to all the kids without a silver spoon,” she sings. “You deserve much more this one’s for you.”

Though it is a tonal change for Jojo, the shift in genre only helps reveal how versatile she is as a vocalist and a performer. Against the odds, she pulls it off. And for what it’s worth, I did see her show up as a surprise guest at a Maren Morris show in 2019. So if she’s going to keep going down this road, let’s hope those two have collab in the can. Listen above.

Lil Durk isn’t slowing down anytime soon. The Chicago native posted an impressive 2020 that featured his Just Cause Y’all Waited 2 album and his “Laugh Now Cry Later” track with Drake, which both peaked at No. 2 on their respective charts. While Just Cause Y’all Waited 2 and its deluxe reissue were more than enough music for a year, he returned in December with The Voice, his second project of 2020. Just a month after its release, Lil Durk updates The Voice with eleven new songs, and of the new additions, an early highlight finds him standing beside Lil Baby as the two reflect on their past lives.

The duo’s latest track, entitled “Finesse Out The Gang Way,” finds them both reminiscing on their individual rap careers as well as what it took for them to earn and enjoy a successful life. Lil Durk leads the way with a simple message just seconds into the song. “I came from nothin’, I had to go get it,” he says. “I had to finesse out the gang way.” His verses discuss the decisions he made to stay alive and how the people in his life have changed over the years while Lil Baby gives fans a rags-to-riches story to close out the song. After moving from “juvenile to the penitentiary,” Lil Baby flaunts his lavish lifestyle, which includes “rockin’ clothes I can’t even pronounce.”

You can listen to “Finesse Out The Gang Way” in the video above.

The Voice (Deluxe) is out now via Alamo/Geffen. Get it here.

Earlier in the year, Selena Gomez let fans know that she was going to be releasing the first Spanish-language project of her career. Kicking this new phase off with the first single, “De Una Vez,” she followed up a few days ago to announce the title of her new EP, Revelacion, and let fans know that it would be coming out in mid-March. She also teased another new song, “Baila Conmigo” – which translates to “Dance With Me” — and features the artists Tainy and Rauw Alejandro as collaborators.

Tonight, the video dropped and boy does it live up to the song’s name. In the Nogari-directed clip, Gomez is a star seen on TV while young viewers try to learn the dance moves she performs. Then, the two characters who have been studying the moves separately are drawn together, rather mysteriously, to dance together. It’s a welcome shift, as the pop stars are relegated to the realm of the silver screen, and the fans are the ones who really star in the video. There’s also a classic moment when one of the fans of the song is listening on a radio out in the middle of the ocean. Watch the clip above and look for Selena’s full EP coming in March.

After a monster 2019, Tyler the Creator kept things rather quiet in 2020, limiting his musical work to just a few guest features on tracks. His voice could be found on songs like Channel Tres’ “Fuego” and Westside Gunn’s “327” with Joey Badass. With a new year underway, the rapper picks up where he left off and joins Brent Faiyaz for their new single, “Gravity.”

The track is the duo’s first collaboration and it goes out to a significant other who stuck by their side through the ups and downs over the years. Despite their loyalty, Brent and Tyler ask them to move on to someone else so they don’t spend a lifetime waiting for their commitment to a full-on relationship.

The track was released with production from DJ Dahi and help from Adidas as a part of the brand’s Songs From Scratch series, which shares tracks that are rooted in “curated collaboration between artists” who, of course, create a song from scratch. While things were quiet for Tyler in 2020, Brent, on the other hand, had a pretty good year thanks to his sophomore album, F*ck The World. The ten-track effort stood out as one of last year’s best R&B albums and gave the Maryland singer a new group of fans who slowly fell in love with his music.

You can listen to “Gravity” and watch how the track came together above.

Mariah Carey paid Shawn Mendes quite the favor today — but Mendes fans with memories will realize she’s simply returning it. Today on Twitter Mariah offered a note of thankfulness for a laundry list of seemingly unrelated things.

“Grateful,” she wrote. “The sun, tea, my health, my family, old Shawn Mendes songs, music, humans!!!” Although the other elements on her gratitude list were pretty predictable, the Shawn shout-out stuck out, until eagle-eyed fans took a look at her pose in the photo with outstretched arms outdoors and began to remember a similar post that he’d made just a day ago:

His caption? “Grateful. The sun, coffee, my health, my family, old Mariah Carey songs, music, humans!!!”

Mystery solved! Though Mariah probably has had a listen through of Wonder, and she’s certainly heard Shawn’s inescapable earlier radio hits like “Stitches,” it isn’t that she’s begun stanning the next generation of singer-songwriters, but that she’s simply stanning them stanning her. Based on everything we know about Mariah — a recent recommendation of her own memoir certainly included — this all checks out. Presumably Shawn’s girlfriend and fellow pop star Camila Cabello will get in on the photo meme very soon, surely no one is a bigger fan of both Mariah and Shawn?

Jeopardy! news these days has alternated between varying levels of sadness over the death of Alex Trebek and uncertain controversy with various guest hosts dealing with comments they’ve made outside of the game show’s studio. But thankfully we do have a bit of normalcy to report: contestants are blanking on very easy questions (for most people) and social media reacting with outrage.

The latest in this fabled, ahem, genre of Jeopardy! clip came on Wednesday night in Double Jeopardy with a category called Funny Business. A contestant went right for the $2,000 question, which was a clue about a comedian who took part in the movie A Star Is Born. The clue even came with a picture of the comedian, an extremely famous one: Dave Chappelle.

But despite Chappelle’s ubiquity in the comedy world, no one on stage seemed willing to pull the trigger on the signaling device and get some free Jeopardy! money.

There is something very funny about guest host Ken Jennings smiling and saying “that’s Dave Chappelle” to the contestants playing. It certainly seems like something Jennings would know if he were at one of the other podiums on the stage, but perhaps that’s why he’s the GOAT and hosting the show, not seeking their first win among two other competitors.

In any event, people really struggled with very smart people not knowing who Chappelle is, and they had a lot of Chappelle’s Show GIFs ready to express their frustration on Twitter.

Even former contestants playing along at home were surprised no one took a stab at it.

Perhaps those playing are simply not comedy fans. But it’s yet another example that a culture’s working knowledge of trivia is always in flux. And apparently those writing the clues were right to make it the hardest question in the category.

Last month, the trial for Nipsey Hussle’s tragic murder became the latest thing to be affected by the rapid spread of the coronavirus pandemic. It forced the late rapper’s loved ones to wait additional time for the trial to begin after its December date was delayed and, unfortunately, the wait for the trial’s start will continue as it was pushed back once again.

According to the New York Daily News, the trial was postponed after Robert J. Perry, the judge who presided over the case, announced his retirement.

“His attorney discussed it with him, and [Holder] agreed to put it over,” a source told New York Daily News. “The next hearing will be a 0 of 30, meaning the earliest the trial could happen is 30 days from that date.” It’s unknown at the moment who will replace Judge Perry and preside over the trial when it begins next month, February 24.

This marks the third time the trial has been delayed over the last year. Last May, it was delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic as all LA County clerk offices and courtrooms were closed at the time due to the virus.

“Mr. Holder, as you know, this is an important case and a serious case,” Perry said at the time. “These cases take time to get ready for trial.” Seven months later, the trial received a second postponement. “I really don’t know how we can realistically expect to see this case go to trial anytime in the next 90 days or more,” the judge admitted after the December delay. Hopefully, the trial can get underway on the rescheduled February 24 date.

(via New York Daily News)

Nipsey Hussle is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

While some notable conservative voices have turned on Marjorie Taylor Greene for her QAnon beliefs and amplifying other wild conspiracy theories, the lawmaker from Georgia continues to serve in the House of Representatives. Now that Greene has become a member of the House her past statements and conspiracy theories have seen new attention, most of which were spread on social media in the past.

According to Media Matters, the latest of those to resurface is a bizarre claim that a space laser was responsible for starting a deadly wildfire in California in 2018 as part of a long list of bizarre claims that have had anti-semitic overtones.

Rep. Greene is a proponent of the Camp Fire laser beam conspiracy theory. She wrote a November 17, 2018, Facebook post — which is no longer available online — in which she said that she was speculating “because there are too many coincidences to ignore” regarding the fire, including that then-California Gov. Jerry Brown (D) wanted to build the high-speed rail project and “oddly there are all these people who have said they saw what looked like lasers or blue beams of light causing the fires.” She also speculated that a vice chairman at “Rothschild Inc, international investment banking firm” was somehow involved, and suggested the fire was caused by a beam from “space solar generators.”

Greene added: “If they are beaming the suns energy back to Earth, I’m sure they wouldn’t ever miss a transmitter receiving station right??!! I mean mistakes are never made when anything new is invented. What would that look like anyway? A laser beam or light beam coming down to Earth I guess. Could that cause a fire? Hmmm, I don’t know. I hope not! That wouldn’t look so good for PG&E, Rothschild Inc, Solaren or Jerry Brown who sure does seem fond of PG&E.”

A secret Jewish space laser is far from the only completely outlandish thing Green has openly supported or suggested both before and after she was elected to congress. There’s, of course, the completely baseless claim that Donald Trump lost the 2020 election because of widespread voter fraud, which resulted in a failed, deadly coup attempt in early January at the US Capitol in DC.

And as Media Matters pointed out, Greene has expressed belief in QAnon, conspiracies about school shootings, 9/11, and other popular conspiracies among right-wing corners of the internet. CNN also reported that Green has “repeatedly” supported executing Democratic leaders for various claims of treason.

Perhaps in a related move, the social media accounts for the representative appear to be losing tweets, as reporters speculated Greene may be removing some wilder statements from her account as scrutiny of conspiracy theories past and present

That will likely only add scrutiny to what she’s said on social media in the past. Because as we all know, the internet never truly forgets.

[via Media Matters]

Lil Baby has done a lot in his relatively short career. The Atlanta native landed the best-selling album of 2020 with My Turn while also learning a spot on the Forbes 30 Under 30 List for 2021. He’s also a Grammy-nominated artist who is now taking his talents outside the music world in his latest endeavor. During an interview with XXL the “We Paid” rapper revealed plans to open a restaurant in Atlanta within the coming months.

“I have a new restaurant and I’ma open it in Atlanta,” he said when speaking about his ventures outside the music world. “It was supposed to be open by January, but we had to finish the stages, so maybe, February, March.”

He also revealed what dishes attendees can expect to be served and the environment he hopes to create in the upcoming establishment. “You know, lamb chops, lobster tails, rice, stuff like that,” he said. “A little music, alcohol. Stuff like that.”

The new restaurant could be the first of many endeavors outside of rapping for Lil Baby. Last month, Meek Mill revealed that he, Lil Baby, Lil Durk, and 21 Savage would all be joining forces to kickstart a new “music platform” that they hope to launch at some point in 2021. “Me lil baby Durkio tryna get somebody in Silicon Valley to build us our own music platform we can be majority owner in,” he said, adding, “We will pay!! We need top Silicon Valley steppers please!”

(via XXL)

Meek Mill is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Mardi Gras usually draws 1.4 million people to the streets of New Orleans in February or March, as people party their hearts out for Fat Tuesday. The Carnival season actually begins in January, so in a normal year, Mardi Gras festivities would already be underway.

A big part of Mardi Gras celebrations are the parades, and a big part of the parades are the colorful floats made for the occasion.

Seriously:

Since we’re still knee-deep in a pandemic, streets packed wall to wall with people would be a bad idea. So the people of New Orleans are having to get creative with their Mardi Gras celebrations, and boy are they delivering.

Instead of the traditional floats, thousands of New Orleans residents are transforming their homes into colorful “house floats.”

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According to the Associated Press, the idea took root the morning of November 17, after the city announced that parades wouldn’t be happening. Megan Joy Boudreaux posted a joke on Twitter, saying: “We’re doing this. Turn your house into a float and throw all the beads from your attic at your neighbors walking by.”

The idea genuinely grew on her, and she started a Facebook group called Krewe of House Floats, which quickly grew and spawned dozens of neighborhood groups to discuss local plans.

The house floats are every bit as bold and beautiful as the floats we usually see gliding down the streets during Mardi Gras and are an innovative solution to the pandemic parade problem. Perhaps people will tour the house floats the same way people go around to look at Christmas lights.

Check these out:

Megan Boudreaux explained to the AP that it’s almost like a reverse parade, and that people can still throw things at one another. “That’s actually a very socially distant activity,” she laughed.

When a deadly pandemic alters life for more than a year and steals the fun out of normal traditions, we don’t give up, we get creative. These house floats will surely bring a smile to people’s faces and soften the blow of not being able to celebrate Mardi Gras in the usual way. And just think of the unique memories this year’s “parade at home” will create.

Way to pull through under tough circumstances, New Orleans. Hopefully next year you’ll be back to packed streets, parade floats, and partying all together again.

Thousands of houses decorated for Mardi Gras

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