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The lines between rappers and rock stars blur all the time but every so often, they collide in ways that just serve to remind us all how big the younger genre has gotten. For Big Sean, that reminder is literal, kind of bizarre, and came with his new house. As Sean raps on the song “Lucky Me” from his new album Detroit 2, “Even bought Slash old crib, that’s rock star as it gets.” Well, in a recent interview with NME, not only does he confirm the line is 100 percent facts, he also explains just how rock star it is.

As it turns out, Sean “renovated the whole house” except for a few things. For one, “it even has a night club in it,” which he kept despite saying “I’m not really a club guy.” But the truly odd detail he couldn’t bear to remove turned out to be one of the Guns N’ Roses guitarists’ signature symbols. “[Slash] left a couple of skulls on the wall that I kept,” he explains. “There’s also this super colorful door that I kept and a big, big painting on one of the staircases. So there’s a couple of things I kept for keepsake just to be like, ‘This is Slash’s’, you know?”

Elsewhere in the interview, Sean recalls debating South Park vs. Family Guy with Eminem in the studio. You can read the full piece here.

Last night, Demi Lovato sent fans to bed with an enticing message, tweeting, “Music is always there for me… song in the am.” It is now the a.m., and indeed, there is a song: “Still Have Me.” As of press time, the track has only been shared on Lovato’s social media accounts and is not available on streaming platforms.

The song is an emotional piano-pop ballad which Lovato begins, “I’m a mess and I’m still broken / But I’m finding my way back / And it feels like someone’s stolen / All the light I ever had.” When it comes to the chorus, Lovato finds some optimism, belting out, “I don’t have much but at least I still have me / I still have me / And that’s all I need.”

“Still Have Me” arrives shortly after reports that Lovato and Max Ehrich called off their engagement after two months.

This song has actually been floating around for a while now, and it’s one that Lovato fans are acutely aware of. In July of 2019, songwriter and Lovato collaborator Chloe Angelides posted a snippet of the song online. The song was later revealed to be a Lovato track when a fan received a copyright takedown notice, which identified the tune as a Lovato song called “Still Got Me.” When Lovato first teased her return to music at the end of 2019, fans suspected that the singer was readying to release the song.

Listen to “Still Have Me” above.

The RX is Uproxx Music’s stamp of approval for the best albums, songs, and music stories throughout the year. Inclusion in this category is the highest distinction we can bestow and signals the most important music being released throughout the year. The RX is the music you need, right now.

Where do you turn at the end of the world? It’s a question that seems to become more pressing by the day. As the world we inhabit begins to look more and more apocalyptic by the day, it seems all the more urgent to find an answer as well. How does one stave off the sense of impending doom and get on with the process of just living through this hell on Earth?

It’s a question that also seems to have weighed heavily on the recording for Atlanta super crew Spillage Village’s new album Spilligion. Yes, that is a play on the word “religion,” an institution that factors heavily into the equation. In dire times, some turn to hedonism, some to nihilism, and many, to God — or at least to the instruments that purport to bring us closer to whichever deity we think can get us out of our current predicaments.

It’s no secret that we are collectively living through some dire times. All of the things we normally put our faith into — our leaders, our institutions, our sense of common decency, even our certainty in a shared reality — have been letting us down for months. It seems like it’ll take an act of divine intervention to slow the slide into chaos, but even our demiurges seem to no longer be taking our calls. Either that or to quote the film, the gods must be crazy.

So, it’s telling that Spilligion couches its themes in the language and style of one of society’s most reliable pillars to spread a different kind of gospel. Evoking a quasi-religious tone and content to ensure their message reaches deep into listeners’ bones, Spillage Village argues that while we distance ourselves from society to save our lives, only a sense of community and a deeper belief in each other can save our souls.

To that end, the music on the 12-track set draws from across Americana, especially Black traditions like jazz and gospel, fusing them with folksy banjo and out-of-tune pianos to suggest simpler times and echo the sentimental rhapsodizing of the group’s members. The result is a huge musical evolution from the group’s last outing, 2016’s Bears Like This Too Much. Where that album was obviously inspired by Atlanta’s hip-hop history, including Organized Noise and Dungeon Family, Spilligion is richer, more expansive, and more surprising than its predecessor.

For instance, on “Jupiter,” none of the rappers actually rap, despite the band’s membership boasting of lyrical machines like JID and Earthgang. Instead, they sing together as one (minus 6lack), expressing the closest thing the album has to a thesis: “So hold my hands and dance with me tonight / You know, they say we’re all about to die / And maybe it’s the love we all are tryna find / Who knows what lies, it’s only by design.” If this isn’t the essence of faith, what is?

The departure from their prior obsession with having the nicest bars is intentional, too. As Earthgang’s Doctor Dot (aka Wowgr8) says, “I’ve been over my lyrical phase, I’d rather be potent.” Even with that mission in mind, the bars fly fast and furiously, stacking syllables and slithering serpentine through tongue-twisting rhyme schemes. On “Judas,” guest Chance The Rapper obliquely demands an apology for the way you’ve all treated him with a verse that dispels the past year worth of criticisms with tantalizingly quotable gems like “I know my freedom papers ain’t my payment stubs / But how could you blame a n*** just for chasin’ Tubs?”

Chance’s presence here — and slight departure from the topic at hand — is ironic in light of his enthusiasm for the subject, but it’s clear that Spill Vil’s faith isn’t without its skepticism. On “End Of Daze,” the group ponders Armageddon and questions the will of a supposedly benevolent God who would let things get so bad that it really does feel like the end of the world. They also suggest solutions that would make any “turn the other cheek” Christian clutch their rosary a little tighter. “When the poor people run out of food,” snarks JID, “They can eat the rich.”

By the time “Jupiter” rolls around to close the album, the group has called on gods from across cultures, from “Cupid” to “Shiva” to “Hapi,” arriving at the conclusions the final song offers: Nobody knows what’s going to happen, but we’re all in this together, no matter who we pray to. The use of its broad range of musical traditions ties this sentiment uniquely to America and its diversity of histories and beliefs, all woven together to form one distinctive harmony, and a new religion — one that binds us rather than divides. Spilligion may be one group of Atlanta kids’ reactions to feeling like the world’s gone to hell, but its message is one of hope, reminding us all to look to each other and keep the faith.

Spilligion is out now via Dreamville / Spillage Village. Listen to it here.

In the aftermath of the first presidential debate, supporters of both President Trump and Democratic nominee Joe Biden have taken to Twitter to rehash some of the biggest talking points. And because no one’s figured out how to change Rudy Giuliani’s password to lock him out of his social media accounts, the former New York City mayor has crowned himself the leader of Trump’s conspiracy-theorist cheer squad.

Giuliani, who just yesterday horrified Fox & Friends hosts by braying endless about Biden mental fitness, fired up the old keyboard to take shots at Biden’s son, Hunter.

Trump and his supporters have been obsessed with Hunter Biden — a lawyer and investment advisor — for a while now but during the debate the president insulted Biden by launching unsubstantiated accusations against Hunter and his overseas business dealings. (Again, the irony.) And Giuliani echoed Trump’s accusations on Twitter.

But there was one person who was just fed up with Giuliani’s Twitter ranting and that person just happened to be his daughter, who didn’t mind quote-tweeting her dear old dad before ripping into him.

Caroline Giuliani has made it clear she does not agree with her father’s politics in the past, but this latest Tweet felt especially pointed considering she herself has been in the spotlight because of her dad’s political career.

Thoughts and prayers to Caroline Giuliani because Thanksgiving this year is going to be rough.

Public Enemy was the musical guest on last night’s episode of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, bringing the noise with a gritty rendition of “Grid” from their new album What You Gonna Do When The Grid Goes Down. They brought B Real of Cypress Hill and funk pioneer George Clinton of Parliament/Funkadelic, along with a blinding light show as they imagined a world without electronic devices and 24-hour television networks.

That’s the running theme of their album, which arrived on Def Jam this past Friday — the group’s first full-length project for the label in over 25 years. It dropped after several months of controversy and unrest, both within the band and the world at large, and is just one of many projects that speaks to the unsettling climate of the moment.

Pre-pandemic, it seemed that the group might be splitting up for good as Chuck D announced that Flavor Flav had been “fired” after a dispute over their recent performance at a Bernie Sanders rally in LA. Later, Chuck and Flav used the buzz generated by the headlines about their split to promote a new single, “State Of The Union (STFU),” then their new project, Grid. The new project also features old-school luminaries like Ad-Rock and Mike D of Beastie Boys, Ice-T, and Run-DMC, as well as more contemporary truth speakers Black Thought, Nas, Rapsody, and YG.

Watch Public Enemy’s Late Show performance of “Grid” above.

There is no reason why last night’s presidential debate, the first of three (maybe), should have started at 9 p.m. EST. Donald Trump and Joe Biden need sleep (I need sleep). But while most of the country went to bed after an exhausting night of screaming, the late-night hosts were just getting started.

Let’s begin with The Late Show‘s Stephen Colbert, who called Trump refusing to condemn white supremacist groups “one of the most telling, one of the most upsetting moments, not only of the night but of my lifetime.” He compared watching the debate to coming “out of Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace. How can we possibly do this two more times?” Mesa not sure how to answer that. Wesa in bombad trouble.

Jimmy Kimmel didn’t make any Star Wars references, but he agreed with it being a “terrible” debate. “I’d call it a nightmare, but at least during a nightmare you get some sleep,” he joked, while on The Daily Show, Trevor Noah spoke for everyone who “cannot do 90 straight minutes of this sh*t ever again. It was brutal. There’s got to be a commercial break every five minutes, and during those commercial breaks, every ad should be for antidepressants or some drug that has side effects that makes you forget the last four years.″ Even The Tonight Show‘s Jimmy Fallon was feistier than usual:

“Man, what the hell was that? Was that a debate? What did we… I am so… what was it? I am so stressed right now. I have a kink [in my back]. It felt like I just slept on an air mattress. Seriously, did anyone take anything away from tonight?” Fallon asked on The Tonight Show. “Was that helpful to any American? The only person who enjoyed that was Vladimir Putin while he was stroking a cat.”

Another fine night for America. At least the late-night jokes were good. Watch them below.

The Daily Show

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Jimmy Kimmel Live!

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The first 2020 Presidential debate between Donald Trump and Joe Biden was one of many takeaways, like Biden calling Trump a clown and telling him to shut up. Americans across the country had their attention fixed on the spectacle, and that includes many from the music world.

Cardi B, one of the most politically involved rappers of today, offered what was essentially a live reactions vlog on her Instagram, posting tons of clips during the debate with her takes. Her final post of the night was a selfie video (with a cartoon filter) in which she condemned personal attacks Trump made against Biden. She concluded by suggesting that Biden would have been served well by consulting her before the debate: “I wish that f*ckin’ Joe Biden would have spoken to me before he did that debate, because I would have told him he better roast his ass, and I got mad jokes under my belt.”

50 Cent, ever a haver of opinions, shared a photo of a TV playing the debate and wrote simply, “entertainment at its best.”

Chance The Rapper also tweeted some thoughts throughout the debate, summarizing, “The entire country has to make a decision as to whether it will continue to downplay the fact that our President is an openly racist White Supremacist and what that means for its citizens, or… VOTE HIM OUT.”

Check out some other reactions from Ice Cube, Quavo, Guapdad 4000, Lil Dicky, and more below.

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

No one expected civility. However, the first Trump-Biden presidential debate was even more of an unholy mess than anyone imagined it could be. “Moderator” Chris Wallace got slammed across the board for barely stepping in as the two candidates crosstalked. News anchors are speechless and aghast, and even writers of bad movies feel one-upped. Over on Fox & Friends, the tide is actually turning against President Trump. It’s a particularly notable turn of events for a few reasons: (1) Obviously, Fox News generally sides with Trump on all things; (2) Fox & Friends‘ Steve Doocy recently went rogue on Trump while Brian Kilmeade acted completely shocked at his co-host’s stance.

Well, Kilmeade is disgusted by what transpired during the Trump-Biden showdown. He did call out Biden for being “rude” (with the “clown” thing), but he cannot believe that Trump didn’t seize the opportunity to distance himself from white supremacists. Instead, Trump told the far-right group known as the Proud Boys to “stand back and stand by” before insisting that “somebody’s got to do something about Antifa and the left.” Yikes.

“Trump ruined the biggest layup in the history of debates by not condemning white supremacists,” Kilmeade declared. “I don’t know if he didn’t hear it, but he’s gotta clarify that right away… Why the president didn’t just knock it out of the park, I’m not sure.”

It’s certainly a major misstep, and even Fox News co-hosts don’t want to be viewed as applauding a failure to distance from racists. As for the definition of what Trump said to the Proud Boys, Merriam-Webster wrote on Twitter that “stand back” means to “take a few steps backwards,” but “stand by” means “to be or to get ready to act.”

Steven Yeun gave an Oscar-worthy performance in Burning, Lee Chang-dong’s fantastic 2018 film where he plays a wealthy Gatsby-type who becomes entangled in the lives of… you know what? Just watch it. It’s on Netflix. Because if you only know Yeun as Glenn from The Walking Dead, you might be surprised how fantastic he is in Burning, and how equally great he looks (both in terms of his acting abilities and, y’know, he’s a handsome dude) in Minari. The A24 drama from director Lee Isaac Chung, described as a “sweeping American epic about a Korean family putting down roots in the rugged heartland,” won both the U.S. Dramatic Grand Jury Prize and U.S. Dramatic Audience Award at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year. Much like Yeun, it looks great.

Here’s the official plot synopsis:

A tender and sweeping story about what roots us, Minari follows a Korean-American family that moves to a tiny Arkansas farm in search of their own American Dream. The family home changes completely with the arrival of their sly, foul-mouthed, but incredibly loving grandmother. Amidst the instability and challenges of this new life in the rugged Ozarks, Minari shows the undeniable resilience of family and what really makes a home.

Minari, which also stars Yeri Han, Alan Kim, Noel Kate Cho, Yuh-Jung Youn, and Will Patton, does not currently have a release date, only “coming soon.”

Oasis’ 1995 album (What’s The Story) Morning Glory? is a significant piece of music history, having yielded iconic songs like “Wonderwall,” “Don’t Look Back In Anger,” and “Champagne Supernova.” Those songs have come to mean a great deal to a lot of people, but according to Noel Gallagher (who wrote them), the latter doesn’t really mean anything at all.

He recently spoke with SiriusXM’s ’90s alternative station Lithium to commemorate the album’s 25th anniversary (as Stereogum notes), and he admitted that he’s not really sure what “Champagne Supernova” is about:

“I was on my last tour and I was playing ‘Champagne Supernova.’ That song is so long, and I often find myself drifting off enjoying the song and thinking, ‘What f*cking does it mean?’ You know, ‘Walking down the hall faster than a cannonball,’ what the f*ck is all that about? And I should know, ’cause I wrote it, and I haven’t got a clue. I was somewhere in the north of England and I happened to glance up at the crowd. It was just a sea of teenagers, all young lads, all with their tops off on each other’s shoulders, singing the words of a nonsensical song by a band that were broke up when… they were two years old when the band f*cking broke up. So I think to myself sometimes, you know, ‘That’s what it means. Because we recorded it and it was written while we were still relatively young. It still appeals to young people, and it’s gone through three or four generations now.”

This lines up with what Gallagher has said of the song before. In a 1995 interview, before the album was even released, he told NME, “Some of the lyrics were written when I was out of it. There’s the words, ‘Someday you will find me / Caught beneath a landslide / In a champagne supernova in the sky.’ That’s probably as psychedelic as I’ll ever get. It means different things when I’m in different moods. […] But some of the words are about nothing. One is about Bracket The Butler [from British children’s television series Chipley]. He used to take about 20 minutes to go down the hall, and then I couldn’t think of anything that rhymed with ‘hall’ apart from ‘cannonball,’ so I wrote, ‘Slowly walking down the hall / Faster than a cannonball,’ and people were like, ‘Wow, f*ck, man.’”

Listen to snippets of the SiriusXM interview below.