Sometimes good R&B can be hard to find, but there are plenty of great rhythm and blues tunes to get into if you have the time to sift through the hundreds of newly released songs every week. So that R&B heads can focus on listening to what they really love in its true form, we’ll be offering a digest of the hottest R&B jams that fans of the genre should hear every Friday.
As of late, Trey Songz has had the internet buzzing for a really big reason and coming off that NSFW attention, naturally, Trigga dropped a new song titled “Brain” to capitalize off the moment. The song definitely lives in the same vein of his Anticipation mixtape series, so press play.
Tone Stith — “FWM”
Tone Stith deserves to be heard live but since we’re in a pandemic, the R&B singer’s latest string of live performances at home has been a great satisfaction. The latest in Tone’s line-up is “FWM,” the follow up to his track “Devotion.”
Giveon — “Still Your Best (Acoustic)”
Giveon‘s “Still Your Best” just got the acoustic treatment and it’s lovely. The song is off his 2020 project When It’s All Said And Done and remains to be a fan favorite.
Inayah — “Fallin”
R&B darling Inayah just released the visual for her latest song “Fallin.” Borrowing from Blackstreet’s ’90s classic “Don’t Leave Me,” Inayah expresses how she feels about the boy she wants while hanging out with her girls at a very cute old school diner.
Lucky Daye & Tiana Major9 — “On Read”
Lucky Daye and Tiana Major9 switch it up a bit for their collaborative track “On Read.” With a hint of sensuality along with heavy bass and high-hats, Lucky and Tiana create an intense slow jam that is filled with peak toxicity infused with lust.
Bri Steves — “Anti Queen”
Bri Steves has a message and it’s time to listen up. “Anti Queen” is the artist’s progressive new single about how women are perceived, paying homage to plenty of R&B legends in the process. “‘Anti Queen’ challenges people’s expectations and perceptions of female artists,” Steves said in a statement. “I’m pointing out there’s more than one way to wear the crown. In my video, I pay homage to a few women who came before me – Missy Elliott, Aaliyah, Erykah Badu, Lauryn Hill, and Lisa ‘Left Eye’ Lopez.”
Karl Benjamin — “Moon”
Karl Benjamin confesses to his love with his music video for “Moon,” an ode to Black love. “This song represents the journey of a relationship. It represents the progress that two people can make, together rather than apart.” Karl said in a statement. “’Moon,’ to me, is about the adventure you go through, to finally arrive at the most intimate moment within the relationship you treasure most.”
Young Rog — “BS” feat. Summer Walker
LVRN artists Young Rog and Summer Walker linked up for the visual to the Virginia native’s track “BS.” Directed by Mac Grant, Summer and Rog go back and forth in the game of love.
Brandy Haze — “On Site”
Off Brandy Haze’s latest album Silhouette, is the standout track “On Site.” The project just released today and is filled with songs just like this.
Ray Moon — “Glowin”
Ray Moon’s “Glowin” is the perfect break-up-bounce-back-like-i-never-left song and today the singer offers its’ illuminated visual. “When you see growth you can recognize it and embrace your growth that we call ‘Glowin,’” she said in a statement. “I’ve been in the darkest places many times so I am able to realize when I’m glowing and growing, I’m also able to see when someone is glowing as well. To me Glowing means happiness.”
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
A suddenly hot topic in the NBA is the 2021 All-Star Game, which appears set to take place in Atlanta next month. While the parameters of the game were reportedly agreed to by the league and the Players Association, De’Aaron Fox and LeBron James have both voiced serious concerns about it being held amid the COVID-19 pandemic — Fox cited the lengths to which players already have to go to stay safe, while James, citing exhaustion, said he was looking forward to having a week to decompress following last season’s slog and the rushed offseason.
Now, a third player has decided to speak up, although it’s someone who isn’t particularly concerned about getting the call to head down to Atlanta, as Boston Celtics guard Kemba Walker spoke to the media on Friday and backed up James’ stance on the whole thing.
Kemba Walker agrees with LeBron James that the All Star Game shouldn’t be played – “We all seen what Bron said. I agree. He’s a smart man. A lot of things he says is correct. I’m probably gonna be on vacation.”#Celticspic.twitter.com/ZWsWaZKyzm
“I’m probably not gonna be selected, so I could care less,” Walker said. “We all seen what ‘Bron said, so.”
When asked if he shares the sentiment shared by James, Walker said, “Yeah, I agree. He’s a smart man, he’s been around, he’s a leader. A lot of things he says is correct, man. He feels the way he feels. I’m probably gonna be on vacation, so.”
The Celtics have opted to ease Walker into this year after getting treatment on his knee during the offseason, meaning he has appeared in seven games and is averaging 15 points and 4.3 assists a night. He is right that it’d be a surprise if he was an All-Star — Walker did not appear in the first top-10 roundup of fan voting — but even if he did get a nod, Walker appears to be in the James camp of really wanting to chill out for a week instead of participating in an extra basketball game.
The GameStop stock drama is taking something of an ugly turn. WallStreetBets — the forum where a group of Redditors decided to work together to buy up shares of GameStop in direct opposition to hedge funds like Melvin Capital, who have made it a practice to borrow shares of struggling companies and profit off their losses — has been home to infighting in recent days as the company’s stock price fell sharply this week. GameStop’s price per share is down 84%, a drop spurred on by questionable practices from the investment app, Robinhood, and by many original Reddit buyers deciding to sell their shares.
“Stop f—ing selling GME,” was the title of one of the latest threads on the WallStreetBets forum where members were arguing over whether to hold their stock or give in to outside influences pressuring Reddit members to sell.
“We have the advantage. All we have to [do] is buy and hold shares,” one Reddit user responded while another issued this warning: “To any [hedge fund] plants in the sub trying to break [WallStreetBets]: F— you. I’m not selling. We’re not selling.”
This isn’t the first time members of the forum have argued over the next steps in their plan to subvert the stock market. News of Hollywood studios wanting to buy the rights to tell their story for various streaming platforms caused a handful of Redditors to clash over who within the group should profit. Still, despite declining stock prices and increasing government scrutiny, whether they make millions from this or not, what the Reddit group has been able to do will certainly have a lasting effect on Wall Street.
As far as killer dolls go, Chucky is the GOAT (sorry not sorry, Annabelle). The lil’ knife-wielding, overalls-wearing maniac has appeared in eight movies, from 1988’s Child’s Play to 2019’s reboot with Aubrey Plaza and Mark Hamill, and will star in an upcoming television show, too. He also recently confused a whole lot of people in Texas.
The New York Timesreports that the Texas Department of Public Safety sent out an Amber Alert last week notifying residents that a child had been abducted by a 28-year-old male with red or auburn hair and blue eyes. Also, he’s a doll. The additional information reads, “Blue denim overalls with multi-colored striped long sleeve shirt wielding a huge kitchen knife,” but nowhere does it mention that the alert was the “result of a test malfunction.”
The department later apologized “for the confusion this may have caused” and said they are “diligently working to ensure this does not happen again,” so the next time you get an Amber Alert for a fictional murder doll (this happens all the time), just know that it didn’t come from the Texas Department of Public Safety. But the weirdest/creepiest detail of all: Chucky’s five-year-old abductee was his son, Glen, who was introduced in Seed of Chucky.
The alert said that Chucky and Glen were last seen at a residential address in Henderson, Texas, a city about 130 miles southeast of Dallas. A woman who answered a call to a phone number associated with that address on Wednesday said, “Yes, I’m aware” when asked about the alert before hanging up.
Meanwhile, the Bride of Chucky is still on the loose.
Cardi B is once again being accused of plagiarizing others’ songs after releasing her latest single “Up” last night. Shortly after its release, a New Jersey rapper named Mir Pesos posted a snippet of the video, tweeting, “We want my money!” Pesos pointed out how similar the hook from “Up” is to the one from his own song “Stuck,” released with Mir Fontane in September 2020.
In response, Cardi presented a video recording from a fan taken during an Instagram Live stream in August in which she previewed “Up” for fans. “I’m the type of person that avoids problems & court days,” she wrote. “If i get inspired by a song I wouldn’t mind giving a percentage or couple of thousand but I never Hurd if this man. I’m glad while I was recording this song in August I was playing wit the hook on this live.”
Naaa im the type of person that avoids problems & court days .If i get inspired by a song I wouldn’t mind giving a percentage or couple of thousand but I never Hurd if this man .I’m glad while I was recording this song in August I was playing wit the hook on this live https://t.co/xiYLOoj4Vd
Mir Fontane insisted that his and Pesos’ track had been previewed and recorded a day before the day Cardi’s Live took place, saying the two rappers had “recorded it even earlier than that.”
While the songs bear similar hooks, it should be noted that the point of contention “if it’s up, then it’s stuck” is a common slang phrase, while the cadence both songs use is clearly influenced by the 2006 Crime Mob hit “Knuck If You Buck.”
This isn’t the first time Cardi has had to defend herself from accusations of plagiarism. In June last year, an underground rapper noted similarities between one of her songs and Cardi’s verses on Offset’s “Clout” and Blueface’s “Thotiana (Remix).” As in that case, Cardi chose to exit the debate early, telling her fans to “RUN THE NUMBERS UP!”
Super Bowl LV (Sunday, CBS 6:30 p.m.) — This has been a season like no other, and tonight, the Kansas City Chiefs and Tampa Bay Buccaneers will be going at it (with a smaller live audience than usual) from Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, and you’ll be seeing The Weeknd at halftime.
Puppy Bowl XVII (Sunday, Animal Planet 6:00 & 9:00 p.m.) — Snoop Dogg and Martha Stewart are hosting all of this intentional cuteness, and I don’t know about you, but I might have to watch this twice in one evening. Will they get baked? Please let them get baked and have lots of yummy snacks
Wandavision: Episode 4 (Disney+ series) — Marvel fans were thrilled to tip their hats to Kevin Feige for what’s easily the best episode of the series so far. Watch out for that brutal Easter egg and a sort-of Full House vibe, but only because “Olsen” and “twins.”
Malcolm & Marie (Netflix film) — Zendaya and John David Washington are getting “achingly romantic,” not to mention dramatic, in this black-and-white film shot during lockdown. Sam Levinson directs and Marcell Rev is on cinematography, so the film looks achingly beautiful as well. Washington’s character is celebrating his movie premiere, and Zendaya portrays his girlfriend, and something goes wrong once they return home with revelations flying and their love put to the test. Levinson meant to send an ode to the Hollywood romances of yesteryear with this one, so Happy (early) Valentine’s Day.
Earwig and the Witch (Studio Ghibli film on HBO Max) — Not a moment too soon, Studio Ghibli follows up the internationally acclaimed Howl’s Moving Castle with a new classic adaptation, and this one focuses upon Diana Wynne Jones’ novel about an orphan, Earwig, who never wants to be adopted because she can apparently control everyone at the orphanage. However, a witch wants to adopt Earwig, who decides maybe that’s not so bad after all because… magic?
Firefly Lane (Netflix series) — Now for a different type of love. Katherine Heigl returns to TV with Sarah Chalke as co-star, as the duo portrays two women over three-to-four decades of best friendship. Expect laughs and sentimentality, all based upon the New York Times bestselling book of the same name, and a brunette Heigl. The show’s an exploration of the most important relationship in one’s life and those friendships that can pick up without missing a beat, even after time apart.
More Than Miyagi (Streaming on VOD platforms) — The The Karate Kid films would never have translated with a lesser Miyagi actor than Noriyuki “Pat” Morita. He was Oscar-nominated for the first film, and as Ralph Macchio reveals in More Than Miyagi (a new Love Project Films documentary), his one Morita-centered regret is not being able to walk the awards red carpet with his friend. Cobra Kai fans will also love this film full of revelations from an impressive assembling of Morita’s well-known co-stars, all of whom express nothing but love and respect for an icon
Bliss (Amazon Prime film) — Mike Cahill directs this sci-fi thriller about a man (Owen Wilson) who realizes that he’s residing within a computer simulation, and the film aims to make you wonder whether you’re in the “real” world or said simulation. It’s a mind-bending adventure with Salma Hayek portraying a mysterious romantic interest, and her telekinesis might be the least weird thing about this movie. Oh, and they definitely go roller skating, too. Fun!
Strip Down, Rise Up (Netflix film) — Pole dancing ain’t easy, and Academy Award-nominated director Michèle Ohayon sends up an intimate look at a group of women who come together to heal trauma and put body image issues to rest with this particular type of dancing. Yes, it’s sensual stuff but so much more, and it looks like a take-the-power-back kind of ride.
The New York Times Presents: “Framing Britney Spears”: New Episode (FX on Hulu) — The seemingly unending saga of mega pop star Britney Spears’ controversial conservatorship is only one focus of this docuseries that aims to do a deep-dive, retrospective view on how Spears’ life and career has also been shaped by public perception and the press. It’s been a long twelve years for Britney under her father’s financial thumb, and that followed a few years of public chaos, which I’m sure you will never forget. Her fans rally in this series for her “freedom,” given that Britney has vowed not to work again until she can make her own decisions again.
Here’s the rest of this weekend’s notable programming:
Saturday Night Live (Saturday, NBC 11:29 p.m.) — Dan Levy hosts with musical guest Phoebe Bridgers.
Supermarket Sweep (Sunday, ABC 8:00 p.m.) — Leslie Jones and every bit of her enthusiasm will host contestants in this revival of the grocery-shopping game show.
The Equalizer (Sunday, CBS 10:00 p.m.) — Queen Latifah’s toting the gun in this reboot as enigmatic former CIA operative Robyn McCall. All she wants to do is settle into civilian life, but you know how that’s gonna go. She’ll step up to help a teen who’s been accused of murder and is also running from the bad guys.
The Lady and the Dale: Episodes 1 & 2 (Sunday, HBO 8:00 p.m.) — The Duplass Brothers are at it again, and this week, they’re bringing us Elizabeth finding off both conspiracy charges and inquiries about her gender identity.
Your Honor (Sunday, Showtime 10:00 p.m.) — It’s limited series finale time for the Panic-Cranston series, and the main man is still breaking bad as a corrupt judge. Will Michael find a way to dig himself out of the massive hole he’s dug for his family and associations. Well probably not… he’s totally screwed.
In case you missed these recent picks:
The Little Things (HBO Max film) — Three Oscar winners headline a film that’s mostly landing on streaming (there are few limited theaters in the mix), so thank goodness for the Internet during pandemic times. The movie stars Denzel Washington and Rami Malek as police officers hunting a 1990s-era serial killer in Los Angeles. (Yep, Denzel is playing a cop again! You can’t hate on that.) Their prime suspect is portrayed by Jared Leto, and this is a tale of overarching obsession and secrets that are best left uncovered.
We Are: The Brooklyn Saints (Netflix series) — Rudy Valdez, the Emmy-award winning filmmaker who poured his soul into HBO’s The Sentence, is here with more intimate verité footage of his newest subject. Here, Valdez turns his camera upon a youth football program in the heart of inner city Brooklyn. The program, of course, is much more encompassing than a pastime but also a vehicle for opportunity for these boys. They also become family with an incredible support system of coaches and parents, all while they strive for victory and overcome losses on and off the field. All of this, hopefully, will point toward a brighter future for all involved.
50M2 (Netflix series) — This Turkish hitman series (and how can you not be intrigued?) revolves around Gölge doing the second-chance thing while doing dirty work for Servit Nadir while taking refuge in a tailor shop. Gölge is masqurading as the late tailor’s son, and he’s transforming the neighborhood and vice versa. Meanwhile, Gölge doesn’t recall his own childhood, so get ready for the photograph-related fallout there.
Super Bowl Sunday is for everyone. Whether you find yourself rooting for the Kansas City Chiefs, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, got money in the game, love commercials, or simply want a lot of pizza and wings for cheap — this Sunday has got something for you. Last year we were lucky enough to have a pretty average Super Bowl Sunday party weekend, but this year things are going to be a bit different. While 10-20 people Super Bowl parties were once the norm, this year we’ll be kicking it with a much smaller circle at home, which might sound like a drag but trust us: this is a blessing in disguise.
No more arguing about pizza toppings, sides, dipping sauces, no more running out of brews and being too focused on the game (or buzzed) to go on a beer run. This year, we get to have all of our favorite snacks and drinks, perfectly curated to our individual tastes. So load up on all your favorite Super Bowl snacks with these big bundle food deals from some of our favorite national pizza and wing joints, plus a few delicious surprises.
Let’s dive in!
DEAL OF THE WEEK: 7-Eleven — Order an entire pizza for just $1 on game day when you order delivery through the 7Now app. This is the type of Super Bowl deal we need more of!
RUNNER-UP: Applebee’s — Use the promo code “BIGGAME” and you can receive 40 free boneless wings with any Applebee’s To Go or Delivery order of $40. That’s like a free wing for every dollar you spend!
BJ’s — BJ’s has put together a special Super Bowl “Homegating Pack” which consists of a large deep dish, one family-sized chip and dip order, two shareable appetizers, and a 64-ounce BJ’s beverage (which yes, includes beer) for $64.95. It’s not the cheapest deal, but it’s a lot of food.
The BJ’s Homegating Packs are available for takeout and delivery via the BJ’s website or app.
Blaze Pizza — Score one large pepperoni pizza for just $9.95 or pick up a Party of One Bundle, which features an 11-inch one-topping pizza and a drink for $7.95 when you order carryout or curbside pickup.
For those looking for delivery, Blaze is offering a Cheesy Bread Bundle, which consists of one large two-topping pizza, two bottled beverages, and cheesy bread for $20.95.
Buffalo Wild Wings — This isn’t a deal to get you fed on the Super Bowl, but it is one worth remembering. If Sunday’s game goes into overtime, B-dubs will give everyone an order of six free boneless or bone-in wings on February 22nd between the hours of 4-7 p.m.
Digiorno — This Sunday, make sure you’re following Digiorno’s Twitter account as anytime the score hits 3-14 or 14-3, Digiorno’s official account will be tweeting out a link for a chance to win free pizza. Which is frozen, so you can totally save it for the next Super Bowl, or you know, eat it next time you get stoned.
Domino’s — Not exactly a Super Bowl deal but Domino’s mix and match deal is a great option for anyone looking to get a lot of food for cheap. For just $5.99, chose two of the following menu items: medium two-topping pizzas, Bread Twists, Cookie Brownies, Oven-baked sandwiches, Chicken Kickers, Stuffed Cheesy Bread, an eight-piece order of boneless chicken wings, a pasta dish, or bread twists.
Hooters — For a big appetite, grab Hooters MVP Bundle which consists of 42 wings and two sides for $39.99. For pre-orders totaling more than $60 placed before February 6th, use the promo code BIGGAME at checkout to receive $10 off your total order.
IHOP — In celebration of the big game, IHOP is introducing the Game Day Family Feast which includes crispy chicken strips, dipping sauce, and French fries for $27.99.
The Game Day Family Feast is only available for take out orders, but IHOP is also offering free delivery on all orders placed through Uber Eats.
Little Caesars — Get an order of free Crazy Bread on any order placed online when using the promo code FREECB. Not the best deal in the world but hey, it’s free!
Pieology — On game day receive $5 off any purchase above $25 when using the code BIGGAME 21.
Pizza Hut — Pizza Hut is offering a $10 Tastemaker pizza which features 3 topping selections totaling 680 total pieces of food on top of your pizza. Is that too many toppings? We think so, but Pizza Hut feels the need to advertise that fact so we figured we’d mention it!
Red Lobster — Red Lobster is offering two different Super Bowl-themed bundles. Choose between the Big Game Bundle, which consists of three seafood entrees and two family-style sides or the Ultimate Feast Big Game Bundle, which consists of lobster tails, crab legs, a garlic shrimp scampi, and Walt’s Favorite Shrimp, as well as two family-style sides.
Both bundles feed a family of four and come with a side of biscuits and Pepsi.
Sonny’s BBQ — Grab a Game Day bundles which features 25 wings with dipping sauce for $24.99, or two meat orders with two three-pint side orders and bread for $39.99.
TGI Fridays — Receive a 25% discount on all Family Meal Bundles and platters ordered online when using the code HOMETEAM. Orders must be placed between February 5th and February 7th.
Yard House — Grab Yardhouse’s Tailgate Takeout Pack, which consists of chicken nachos, wings, and two pizzas for just $50. This deal is valid on Super Bowl Sunday only.
Yoshinoya — Yoshinoya Beef Bowl is offering a $14.99 Combo Feast Deal for game day which includes two bowl combos, and an order of spring rolls and boneless wings. Pick up the promotion via the Yoshinoya app when you use the coupon BIGGAME.
Ariana Grande wasn’t finished releasing music when she dropped her highly anticipated album Positions back in October. The singer followed up the release earlier this year by tapping Doja Cat and Megan Thee Stallion to hop on a remix of her sultry track “34+35.” After the three musicians had fun recording the song together, it looks like they’re now working on an upcoming video.
Grande first teased the possibility of a video last week alongside the announcement of her Positions deluxe album. The singer posted a photo set which featured an updated tracklist with five new songs, including “34+35 (Remix).” Another photo showed Grande, Doja, and Megan’s name all drawn on a mirror in lipstick, hinting that the three had something special up their sleeves.
Then on Friday, Doja teased a “34+35 (Remix)” video with a series of photos posted to social media. The singer snapped a behind-the-scenes selfie of the three dressed in lace and glamorous jewelry, as well as a close-up of her own look.
Grande shortly followed suit, posting the same selfie as well as a photo of what appears to be the three musicians watching VHS tape footage of themselves on a vintage television.
Check out the teaser photos for the “34+35” video above.
Hip-hop has a lot to say about a lot of topics, in some truly creative and interesting ways. We all know about “Fight The Power” and “F*ck The Police.” It’s not just about police brutality. Those are fantastic, vital songs, by the way, but focusing on those same songs over and over again overlooks plenty of other gems in which hip-hop talks about social and political problems, sometimes in unexpected, understated, and ingenious ways.
This Black History Month, Uproxx is highlighting some of those underrated gems, the songs that speak to important moments and cultural lightning rods, that give a perspective different from cable news talking heads’ takes. Maybe they’re too subtle, or maybe they’re too inflammatory. Maybe their artists are too obscure, or perhaps their subjects are. Maybe they just got overlooked in the frenzy for other, more obviously “political” songs or bigger hits from artists whose names we all know and love.
But after a year in which hip-hop’s political power was highlighted for a whole new generation to see, these songs deserve some time in the spotlight. Here are the most underrated hip-hop songs for change.
14. Jidenna — “White N****s”
Jidenna’s debut album The Chiefwas criminally overlooked. Maybe “Classic Man” wore out Jidenna’s welcome or perhaps he simply lost momentum by waiting so long to put out this album, but he speaks to an extraordinary personal experience throughout it, reserving this one cut to make some astute observations on race relations. The idea has been done before, but rarely with such a dreamy yet clear-eyed quality.
13. Nas — “Sly Fox”
On this fiery diatribe from Nas’ 2008 album Untitled, the Queens veteran unloads on Rupert Murdoch’s long-term experiment in mind control, rightfully calling Fox News “propaganda” and pointing out the detrimental effects of its biased “news” coverage. It’s an extremely necessary meditation on one of America’s most toxic institutions that was buried by yet another scattered and shambolic Nas Album Rollout.
12. Kanye West — “All Falls Down” Feat. Syleena Johnson
“Drug dealers buy Jordans, crackheads buy crack / And a white man get paid off of all of that,” might still be the most salient political point Kanye has made in his entire career.
11. Ice Cube — “Why We Thugs”
Look, all praise due to “F*ck The Police” and much of Ice Cube’s early Bomb Squad-produced catalog, but this is the song that best condenses his musical philosophy into a singular idea. By the time Laugh Now, Cry Later dropped in 2006, he’d perfected his pen. “Why We Thugs” is a master class in songwriting economy, succinctly summing up how America’s failings create its scariest boogiemen.
10. Lupe Fiasco — “Little Weapon”
“Won’t someone please think of the children?” It’s been a near-constant refrain about the threat of hip-hop’s deleterious effects on the youth since the genre’s inception and you know what? It’s a stale, pointless theme that’s especially undercut by the content of this gem from Lupe’s 2007 album The Cool. Taking on the prevalence of guns in the hands of children, whether through violent media or literally, in the case of child soldiers, Lupe takes to task our universal fascination with the tools of war.
9. Rapsody — “Hatshepsut” Feat. Queen Latifah
Protect Black women. Honor Black women. Support Black women. Listen to Black women. Believe Black women. And oh, yeah, let Rapsody and Queen Latifah show you what a rap song should sound like.
8. YG — “FDT” Feat. Nipsey Hussle
Wait, hasn’t “FDT” been, like, the anthem of the past four years? Yes, it has. And it’s still underrated. Not only is its refrain one of those things that can never be said enough, but had we heeded this extremely vital and necessary track upon its release, we never would have found out just how thoroughly it applied. Controversial? Sure. But unless you were hanging out on Capitol Hill on January 6, you have four years’ worth of reasons to agree with this song’s core sentiment.
7. Black Star — “What’s Beef?”
When Mos Def and Talib Kweli reunited on Chappelle’s Show in 2003, they shared a new song that somehow was never released. I don’t know why but I know this was a travesty. The highlight here is Mos’ verse, which runs down foreign policy, gang culture, the US’s global pandemic response, the failure of the economic system, for-profit prisons, and ties it all up with a neat bow. Yasiin Bey deserves recognition as one of the greatest writers of our time.
6. Noname — “Song 33”
It’s 90 seconds long. It’s clear, concise, and consistent in drawing attention to the plight of Black women in America, who are so thoroughly overlooked even as they stand on the front lines in the protests against police violence and unprotected by American society that future generations will look back in shame. And yet, it’s been reduced by fans to a diss track.
5. Run The Jewels — “A Few Words For The Firing Squad”
You’ve got to stand for something. Preemptively sharing their final words with their own imagined executioners, El-P and Killer Mike detail exactly what they stand for. They use their last words to point out the hypocrisy and toxicity of capitalism, to highlight the danger of elevating activists to celebrity status, and to flip a defiant bird to the powers-that-be.
4. Chika — “Richey Vs. Alabama”
When Chika, then a mostly unknown MC who’d gained prominence through a Twitter freestyle condemning Kanye West’s 2018 MAGA hat antics, made her television debut, it wasn’t with a well-known hit — she didn’t have any at the time. Instead, in what could have been her star-making moment, she chose to use her platform to call out her home state for voting a proposed abortion ban into law. She’s been tagged a “political rapper” ever since but her insistence on rejecting the title only underscores how deeply we are all affected by political power plays like this one.
3. Lil Wayne — “Tie My Hands” Feat. Robin Thicke
Lil Wayne has never been known for making too much music that feels overtly political, but he can create some truly urgent moments within his work all the same. “Georgia… Bush” usually pops up in lists like this, but “Tie My Hands” is the more poignant version of his observations on the failures of the federal government during and after Hurricane Katrina’s devastation. When he says “My whole city underwater, some people still floatin’,” you should feel a lump in your throat.
2. Common — “A Song For Assata” Feat. Ceelo Green
At the end of Common’s ridiculously acclaimed 2000 album Like Water For Chocolate, the Chicago MC does something rare and beautiful. “A Song For Assata” is a glittering ode to an important figure in Black Americans’ struggle against white supremacist oppression, as well as an informative biography, detailing her story for a generation that may not have ever heard it told so sympathetically.
1. Hip Hop For Respect — “Tree Never Grown”
In the wake of the 1999 NYPD shooting of Amadou Diallo, a collection of New York’s finest underground rappers collaborated to create a spiritual successor to hip-hop’s earlier Stop the Violence movement, resulting in the defiant Hip Hop for Respect EP. While plenty of shine is rightly given to the fiery “One Four Love,” I always liked this more understated, soulful cut that focuses more on the life of Diallo, which makes his death feel all the more tragic.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
We’ve already seen a few reports about GameStop movies on the way: Netflix has movie in mind and there’s even some talk that the Reddit moderators that helped usher in this chaotic crowdsourced short squeeze are fighting over their own chances to cash in with movie deals. But Friday brought news of another GameStop adaptation, this time from the co-creator of Billions.
According to Entertainment Weekly, HBO is the latest outlet in the GameStop-Reddit business, and Jason Blum is on board to turn the still-ongoing stock saga into a movie.
The untitled project is from Jason Blum (of Blumhouse horror movie empire fame), Andrew Ross Sorkin (who co-created Showtime’s Wall Street drama Billions) and Len Amato (Recount).
The pitch: “How a populist uprising of social media day traders beat Wall Street at their own game turning the stock market upside down and shaking the financial world to its core.”
As EW notes, that makes SEVEN different GameStop projects in the works, including a pair of documentaries and five scripted series that are either movies or TV shows. And much like the people who sunk a lot of time and money into propping up stocks to execute the short squeeze, not everyone is likely to be successful. But the list of projects, and the notable names attached either writing or acting in them, is pretty impressive already.
In addition to the HBO project, there’s a scripted MGM movie in development from author Ben Mezrich (Bitcoin Billionaires) based on a pitch titled The Antisocial Network; another in the works from Netflix written by Mark Boal (Zero Dark Thirty) with Noah Centineo (The Fosters) attached to star; yet another from a new company that’s described as a limited series titled To the Moon; and a fourth from Brett Ratner’s RatPac Entertainment, which acquired the story rights of Jaime and Joel Rogozinski — two men behind the WallStreetBets subreddit — as well as the rights to the book WallStreetBets: How Boomers Made the World’s Biggest Casino for Millennials.
That’s a lot of furious writing about and filming of diamond-handed Redditors, and a good amount of competition to actually get the projects out into the real world. But, hey, it’s a good story. Just one we might see a lot of in the coming years.
(@MirFontane) 
