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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.

Savannah Re stands among the growing list of artists from Toronto’s latest R&B class. She joins names like Raahiim, Shantel May, Shay Lia, Safe, and more who lead the new wave of singers from up north, with each looking to join the established names from Toronto’s first class that includes PartyNextDoor, dvsn, Majid Jordan, Roy Woods, Jessie Reyez, and others. Returning to the spotlight she created thanks to songs like ”Where You Are” and “Homies,” Savannah Re steps forward with a collection of self-aware ballads on her debut EP, Opia.

The Toronto singer presents nine tracks to the world that delve into her love life of today and yesterday. Opia preaches self-awareness as clear as the mirror that holds her reflection. The singer documents various segments of her journey through relationships and accounts for each footstep she takes and for every mile ahead of her. However, that’s only half of the puzzle that makes up the EP. Elsewhere, Savannah shows that manifesting the best can lead to just that when it comes to her attempts at love.

While standing in front of her all-telling mirror, Savannah makes it clear on Opia that she’s among the legion of lovers who consider reassurance as one of their biggest needs. “Solid” beautifully encapsulates her desire to feel comfortable with her love interest. “Honestly, I just, I need you here with me / As long as we can breathe,” she sings. “I need you to be solid.” Whether it exists between them or not, she needs to hear her partner say it and do so without a cast of doubt in their voice. This message is furthered on the project’s title track, but this time it’s her doubts that overshadow all else. “There ain’t much more that you can do to show that you care,” she confesses. “You’re more than qualified, but I’m so unprepared.” All of her self-perceived beauty and ugliness come alive in the mirror and the Toronto native learns that our reflection doesn’t always show us things we want to see.

The realities that present themselves in our reflection can be a bit jarring, but Savannah doesn’t let it stifle her. She takes ownership of it and manifests for the best in her love life. Her most popular release, “Where You Are,” does just that. A married woman in the real world, she details the frustration of not being beside her husband as a result of her musical obligations. Instead of focusing on this grueling distance, she gives herself and her partner something to look forward to with an enticing promise of a steamy night in the bedroom. Even when things are falling apart like they do on “Homies,” Savannah maintains the spirit and confidence to still seek out the best. “You can keep the stress, I want more of you,” she proclaims. “I want more of us / I want less of this.”

A moment must be taken to recognize when Savannah shines the brightest on Opia. The first instance is on “Nothing Into Something” where she speaks openly about the restless butterflies her stomach now holds after she strikes gold with love. “It’s the way that you listen / Baby, you like my best friend,” she says adding, “Wish I could bottle your essence.” The Toronto singer gleams with happiness as she unearths a new love that makes her as cheerful as the animated piano keys that carry the song. Another highlight comes on “Love Me Back” which boasts a phenomenal sample of Romeo Santos’ “Imitadora” which appears at the forefront of the song at its start, all to be drowned out by the song’s thumping bass and the singer’s feisty lyrics. She begs for the reciprocation of her energy on the song, but the song’s composition makes it feel like anything but a plea for love. She’s well aware of what she brings to the table within a relationship, however, she realizes that it’s all pointless when said table doesn’t seat two people.

The results of self-reflection allow us to do one of two things: accept or dismiss what we see. Savannah, who seeks the best for herself, chooses to do the former. On Opia she chases the elusive qualities that she believes bring a dose of euphoria to her life, and she’s beyond honest in pursuing and wanting these things. “This Henny gon’ say what I won’t dare,” she says on “Opia.” One way or another, the truths that she discovers about herself will be voiced out to her world and the people in it, but in accepting them, she allows herself the opportunity to receive the things she manifests for. In addition to creating one of the better R&B releases of the year, Savannah beautifully details the importance of knowing and understanding yourself before beginning a journey towards attaining the things we feel are necessary for our lives.

Opia is out now via 1Music/UMG Canada. Get it here.

2020 XXL Freshman Mulatto adds another accomplishment to her growing list, delivering a regal performance for her first appearance on NPR Tiny Desk Concerts. Nixing the “desk” part, she employs both a violinist (Joy Black) and keyboardist (SK) and occupies a throne-like chair as she raps her way through “Youngest N Richest” and “Blame Me” while lounging around. She pops up for the closer, “He Say She Say,” leaving her crown on a side table so she can really get loose while SK embellishes the backing track.

Performing from home has allowed a greater variety of artists to appear on NPR Tiny Desk lately but it’s also something many fans with Mulatto would have adopted as personal policy as well. She recently came under scrutiny on social media for performing a raucous live show in a packed venue at the height of the increase in COVID-19 cases. Of course, her hometown of Atlanta is part of a state that has refused to shut down in response to the spread of the coronavirus, drawing similar scrutiny to 2 Chainz’s restaurant and other concerts held by DaBaby and more.

However, Mulatto herself continues to land prestigious placements, including on 2 Chainz’s new album on the single “Quarantine Thick” and on Kash Doll’s new song “Bad Azz” which debuted during the Gucci Mane vs. Jeezy Verzuz at Magic City in — where else? — Atlanta.

Watch Mulatto’s Tiny Desk Concert above.

NPR’s Tiny Desk concert series have been a staple over the last few years. They’ve invited big-name musicians and undiscovered artists alike to join them in their studio (or from home in recent months) to perform stripped-down versions of their music. So when a photo of Trump sitting at an abnormally small desk circulated Friday, people knew the right joke to make.

Trump gave a Thanksgiving day press conference on Thursday and for some reason, he was seated behind a very tiny desk. After the photo went viral, people flocked to Twitter to make the same NPR Tiny Desk concert jab. “Does he even play an instrument?” one user quipped.

NPR eventually caught wind of the jokes. Posting the same photo to their Instagram page, they wrote: “Made me laugh to see #tinydesk trending on twitter because of this photograph. So what tune might be be singing ?”

Of course, that wasn’t the only joke being made after Trump’s press conference. Trump finally agreed that he’d leave the White House peacefully if the electoral college confirms Biden, but not before complaining about Twitter censoring his tweets. His statements, coupled with the fact he was sitting at a child-size piece of furniture, led many to begin using the hashtags #DiaperDon and #TrumpTantrum to describe the event.

Check out people’s reactions to Trump’s photo above.

Latin pop star Bad Bunny is primarily thought of as a reggaeton artist but his versatile style is becoming increasingly harder to define by the day — especially after the release of his new album El Último Tour Del Mundo. He released the new album just today with very little promotion but it’s already running up its streams and turning the perception of Bad Bunny upside down. Appearing solo on The Tonight Show to celebrate the release, Bad Bunny goes full Juice WRLD, blending pop, punk, and trap for a DIY performance of “Yo Visto Así.”

Bad Bunny was recently diagnosed with COVID-19, which already forced him to cancel one performance at the American Music Awards, but he refused to let that stop him from appearing on The Tonight Show. Instead, he played the whole set from his home, sitting on a couch with a guitar, digital drum set, and his mic, splicing together the three different takes for a cool rendition of the defiant anthem in which he plays his own backup band.

Bunny also interviewed with host Jimmy Fallon via video call — isn’t technology great? — explaining his role on Narcos: Mexico and breaking down the album art for El Último Tour Del Mundo.

Watch Bad Bunny’s The Tonight Show performance above.

When it comes to the new Academy Awards diversity rules that aren’t even set to take effect until 2024, Andy Samberg doesn’t want to hear any complaints. The actor delivered a blunt message to Academy voters who have already started griping about the rules change, which Samberg feels are easy to implement. In fact, they’re a little too easy, which makes the pushback all the more frustrating to the Brooklyn 99 star.

Via Variety:

Samberg says “the parameters if you look at them closely… you can have the “whitest” cast in the history of cinema and still very easily meet them by just doing a few key roles behind the camera. People who have problems with it can f*ck off.”

Following Parasite sweeping the 2020 Oscars, the new rules were announced in September 2020 as part of the Academy’s efforts to drive much needed diversity in the film community. As Samberg notes, the standards are not that hard to meet, so there shouldn’t be any issues. You can take a look at a breakdown of the new changes via the Oscars website:

– Nominees must, to the tune of at least 30% of a cast, include actors from underrepresented groups in “significant” roles;
– Same percentage as the above, but in regards to a nominated film’s behind-the scenes players, including both leadership and crew;
– Paid apprenticeships and internships (industry opportunities) must clearly be a priority for nominated films; and
– Audience development teams (marketing, publicity, and distribution) must also prioritize significant representation.

Samberg made the comments while promoting his latest film, Palm Springs, which is currently available to stream on Hulu.

(Via Variety)

The world lost the widely influential musician John Prine this year, but his memory still lives on through his iconic music. Kurt Vile paid tribute to the late singer with his recent EP Speed, Sound, Lonely KV. Now, Vile brings his cover of Prine’s 1986 “Speed Of The Sound Of Loneliness” to Late Night With Seth Meyers.

Armed with just his acoustic guitar, Vile offered a soulful rendition of Prine’s song for Thanksgiving. Introducing Vile to the stage, Meyers said the track resonates with those who can’t be with their families this holiday season: “My family loved John Prine and we booked this act because we thought it’d be the perfect song to listen to together on our couch. But now we can’t be together, and it was unplanned, but this is a perfect for anyone who’s not with their loved ones this year.”

Along with covering Prine’s song on his EP, Vile was also able to collaborate with the singer on the track “How Lucky.” Speaking about experience, Vile said: “The truth is John was my hero for a long time when he came into The Butcher Shoppe to recut one of his deepest classics with me. And, man, I was floating and flying and I couldn’t hear anything he told me while he was there till after he was gone for the night. A couple nights later we were playing ‘How Lucky’ together again; this time onstage at the Grand Ole Opry on New Year’s Eve at the turn of 2020. Nothing like seeing John and his band of musical brothers and family and friends playing into the new decade in front of an adoring audience on that stage in Nashville, TN… and, yup, that’s just how lucky we all got that night.”

Watch Kurt Vile perform “Speed Of The Sound Of Loneliness” on Late Night With Seth Meyers above.

Speed, Sound, Lonely KV is out now via Matador. Get it here.

Click to download here.

On the latest Pod Yourself A Gun, Gloria throws things, the Russian gets away, and “the poo ass was dog.” This week Matt and Vince are thankful for their guest, Jack O’Brien from the Daily Zeitgeist, and season 3 episode 11 of The Sopranos, Pine Barrens.

This episode is so good, it’s a cliché to bring it up. As Jack points out during the podcast, saying “Pine Barrens” is your favorite Sopranos episode is like saying Michael Jordan is your favorite basketball player. It’s not a bad choice but come on — try to surprise me.

If you haven’t seen it in a while, you might remember this Steve Buscemi-directed episode as the one where Paulie and Chris get lost in the woods. What you might not remember are Gloria’s London broil toss and Jackie Jr.’s Scrabble prowess. If last week’s episode was a reminder that The Sopranos is a soap opera, this week’s episode is a reminder that it is also a sitcom, because it’s got jokes.

Are some of the jokes too sitcom-y? Vince says yes. I say VA FANGOOL, Vince. What happened to Valery? Don’t ask David Chase. What is the geopolitical significance of Paulie’s satin finish manicure? Listen now to find out.

If you’re not going to share your Tic Tacs, at least share a five star review on Apple Podcasts. (-written by Brent Flyberg)

Subscribe to Pod Yourself A Gun on Apple Podcasts.
Email us at [email protected]; leave us a voicemail at 415-275-0030.
Support the Pod: become a patron at patreon.com/Frotcast and get more bonus content than you could ever want.

This Thanksgiving holiday turned out to be a weird one for many reasons. Not only did the pandemic make “gathering” a very bad idea for Americans, but the soon-to-no-longer-be-president threw a Twitter tantrum about “National Security” possibly being threatened by Twitter’s “this claim about election fraud is disputed”-style warnings. And maybe he was complaining about certain unflattering trends. It’s a long story (as with all things this year), but this happened after he addressed reporters from behind a tiny desk, which led to the rise of the #DiaperDon and #TrumpTantrum hashtags. Is this reality? Of course it is, but this whole situation needs some parsing out.

No official statements have surfaced to explain why Trump (or someone on his team) decided that he should address the press from behind a child-sized piece of furniture, but it happened. This is where he stated, in response to questions about whether he’d leave the White House peacefully in January 2021, “Certainly I will, and you know that.” He still has not conceded but told reporters that he’d leave office if the Electoral College did their thing and confirmed Joe Biden’s victory. Still, Trump (baselessly) added, “If they do, they’ve made a mistake… this election was a fraud.”

Oh, and here’s that tiny desk in action.

From behind this miniature piece of furniture, Trump railed at a reporter, “I’m the president of the United States. Don’t ever talk to the president that way!” (SNL will have so much fun with this.) The #DiaperDon and #TrumpTantrum hashtags were born.

Trump, of course, tweeted all day and night, and he also did a lot of retweeting, so there’s no telling whether he was upset about these hashtags, but who knows? He first complained about how how wished a Happy Thanksgiving to the armed forces, yet the “Fake News Media” allegedly muddled his “real message,” which is that “the 2020 Election was RIGGED, and that I WON!”

The Twitter tantrum continued. Trump complained, “Twitter is sending out totally false ‘Trends’ that have absolutely nothing to do with what is really trending in the world. They make it up, and only negative ‘stuff.’”

Trump appeared to argue that “National Security” was somehow under siege:

As The Hill notes, Trump and the GOP wish to repeal Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which they believe “allows social media companies to discriminate against conservative content on their websites, although such content is often amplified.” Whether Trump is upset that his tweets are being marked with warnings, or he doesn’t like unflattering hashtags, who knows? Probably both.

Jay-Z is cutting a deal with Netflix. The rapper is reportedly planning to be the executive producer on an upcoming Netflix thriller titled Forty Acres, a big screen adaptation of a 2014 book by Dwayne Alexander.

Deadline was the first to report about the project, saying the film is still in its developing stages and describing it as a crossover between Jordan Peele’s Get Out and Tom Cruise’s 1993 film The Firm. Apparently, Forty Acres follows the story of a civil rights attorney who is suddenly forced to fight for his life when he joins an elite Black organization with a terrifying secret.

This isn’t the only project that the rapper has signed up to executive produce this year. It was announced in August that Jay-Z will be producing the upcoming six-part series Women Of The Movement. Airing on ABC, the series centers around influential women in the civil rights movement, starting with Emmett Till’s mother Mamie Till Mobley who dedicated her life to seeking justice after the murder of her son in 1955.

The film is the latest entrepreneurial endeavor that Hov has hopped on. In the last few months alone, the rapper backed an at-home workout equipment start-up and broke ground on his own cannabis brand.

Guyanese rapper Saint JHN bypassed Kanye West‘s approval to get a verse on his raunchy new song “Smack DVD,” revealing in the stripper-filled visualizer that Kanye probably won’t see it until it’s officially out. The tongue-in-cheek message plays out via title cards on a blank screen during Kanye’s verse, informing viewers that Kanye didn’t get approval on the video and jokingly asking for “some Yeezys in a colorway for not a cult.”

Saint JHN just released his third album, While the World Was Burning, a week ago via HITCO and his own Godd Complexx imprint. Ahead of the release, he planned to release a video for the single “Roses” with Future but instead canceled the shoot to donate the budget to charity. He did release the single “Gorgeous,” while the album itself features appearances from 6lack, A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie, DaBaby, JID, Kehlani, and Lil Uzi Vert. Kanye also appears on a song called “Pray 4 Me.”

The rapper has steadily increased in notoriety since changing his stage name to Saint JHN in 2016. After being cosigned by Solange Knowles, he featured on her sister Beyonce’s The Lion King: The Gift project, as well as Vic Mensa’s V Tape and “Famous” with Octavian.

Watch the “Smack DVD” visualizer above.