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Blxst exploded on this scene with his breakout hit “Hurt” last year, which has garnered over 3 million streams, and he’s been going crazy ever since. As an artist and producer, the multi-talented West Coast troubadour is paving his own way, literally. He produces and writes for himself and loads of other music artists that appreciate his artistic prowess.

He also works heavily with Bino Rideaux and has done great work Grammy Award-winning hip-hop acts Kendrick Lamar and DJ Mustard.

Now, the burgeoning star is tapped in Red Bull Records for a sweet partnership that allows him to maintain creative control — something a lot of artists coming into the game only dream of.

Uproxx caught up with Blxst to talk about his contemporary union with Red Bull Records as well as his debut project with the label and what it’s like being one of LA’s lionized rising musicians.

Congratulations about your partnership with Red Bull. Tell me about it!

It was mainly the understanding of my creative freedom. They seen that I already had a program and I already had a sound that I wanted to take to the next level and they was willing to stand behind and push the vision.

What would you say that vision is?

Because I feel like my sound is kind of going against the grain of what’s out right now and just standing behind what’s unpopular which is speaking on love and speaking in a positive light.

Are you able tell me more about what the partnership entails?

For right now it’s just one project EP that I’m releasing and hopefully we can continue to do business after the success of this one. So far everything’s been flowing smoothly.

That’s really rare. Some colleagues and I were talking about artists getting in these deals but they don’t really read or understand their contracts. They’re signed for like these long seven-album deals and that’s basically your entire life, right? So there’s been a lot of debate and talk about artists being indie or signing to a major label. This deal sounds very pioneering to me.

My situation is slightly different from another artist because one, I produce my own sound. I write my own music. I’m hands-on with my videos, my artwork, I do all my artwork. So going into my first deal ever, I want it to be very careful and I wanted to kind of see the workflow thing before I commit long-term. So, Red Bull is the perfect fit for that because they understood my vision. They understood my values that I feel I have with myself, even though it’s early on in the game. I felt that move was the most important move that I made up until this point.

There’s talk of Usher and Chris Brown being in a Verzuz. Who would you have in a Verzuz between Chris Brown or Usher?

It’s Chris Brown everyday for me. I’m Chris Brown gang. Anybody getting a flip on stage, he got the W.

I’m Usher over here. What’s your favorite Chris Brown song?

I don’t know, I couldn’t name one honestly, but right now it’s “Go Crazy.”

Oh man, I wish the clubs was open right now.

Man, that’s a hater.

And we missed out on “No Guidance.”

Right! We couldn’t even enjoy that to the full length.

I feel like I didn’t get lit to “No Guidance” enough, and then “Go Crazy” came out and we’re stuck in the house. What’s the name of your project and when is your it coming out?

I’m not sure if I want to announce the title yet, but it’s coming in the fall.

Do you consider yourself R&B?

I wouldn’t only consider myself that, but yeah, I am heavily influenced by R&B.

I know with certain artists, depending on how they look, media and whoever else is quick to label anybody that has a certain look and delivers melodically, they’ll automatically be like “Oh, they’re a rapper” but if you listen to their music, it sounds like they’re singing so it’s kind of confusing. Then there are some “rappers” who I feel that want to be called rappers, but they are actually singing. So I always like to ask.

Nah, I feel you. I feel like I have yet to really unleash my other side of rapping. Mainly what I’ve been putting out as of recently has been melodic, but I’m also capable of getting in another bag.

I was reading a couple of things and Nate Dogg came up. People compare you to Nate Dogg a lot and he’s West Coast legend. Does that add pressure for you?

I love it, actually. I’m a big fan of Nate Dogg and I just felt melodically, we fit in that same pocket of just being smooth and easy-going, not too aggressive on the track. We just fit perfectly with any artists, but we also have our own world we can go to.

How would you describe LA’s music climate right now?

That’s a good question. I think LA is in a solid place right now and I feel like over the years we had the stigma of being boxed in with one sound. Artists like Roddy [Ricch], we broke that barrier to where we can create anything.

Definitely. Where do you feel like your sound fits? There’s a lot of that going on in the city musically so how do you plan on standing out?

I think I’m going to stand out just because of the simple fact I produce my own sound as well. Even Bino [Rideaux]‘s sound is heavily produced by me. You know what I’m saying? So just creating my own lane to make me stand alone.

I know the city f*cks with you super heavy. I’ve seen your name for a while. How does it feel to just have the city support you relentlessly at this stage in your career?

Honestly, I’m still getting used to it. It’s overwhelming, but just going to the store and seeing people notice me locally, it’s kind of awkward, but I like being embraced and I like to love it. It just fuels me to keep going, and doing what I’ve been doing.

Oh, I love it. I know you got a lot of work with Bino, so tell me what it’s like working with him.

It’s real easy. The workflow with Bino, his recording process is just like me. He don’t write anything. He just go in the booth and just whatever he feeling. We just go back and forth whenever we in the studio together. He would go in till he finished first and I go right back in. Then it’s my verse. Then it’s on to the next one.

Is that your go-to studio partner? Just looking at you guys on video, you guys seem like super comfortable around each other.

I just feel it’s a music chemistry as far as workflow. It was as if we’d been working forever, so the chemistry just naturally clicked.

You also have a really amazing song with Mozzy that I love called “I Ain’t Perfect.” What’s it like working with him?

That was crazy. It was really out of nowhere, his manager Dave-O sent him the beat with my beat versed on it. They had no hook. I hadn’t even met Mozzy. I didn’t end up meeting Mozzy until the video shoot.

Whoa, so how did that happen?

Originally, because I also write, we did some writing camps at APG for Fast And Furious and the Scooby-Doo movie, which I got some placements on. But, Dave-O, which is Mozzy’s manager, he was conducting the sessions, but he would just randomly send me stuff. I tried a hook, it was supposed to be for somebody else to sing but Mozzy ended up rocking with the vocals, like, “Nah, let’s just keep Blxst on there.”

Who was on it originally?

I think they was trying to get Roddy on it to my understanding, but Roddy didn’t end up doing it because Mozzy was like, “Nah just keep Blxst vocals on there”. We shot the music video probably a week after.

What was it like finally meeting him in person at the video shoot? That’s wild.

He really embraced me. We actually ended up doing a session afterwards, knocked out like three songs. His workflow is smooth too and he’s from Cali, so I felt like we got that relatability.

On the song it goes, “I ain’t perfect, but I work on that at least,” which I love. Tell me about a time that really humbled you and made you sit down and work on yourself?

I would say just having my son. That really humbled me because when I first had my son, I was in a position of being confused. I fell out with my friends and it was just really a turning point on how hard I wanted to go with this music thing. Me having my son was a blessing in disguise because he gave me my motivation and my fuel that I felt like I didn’t have until this point.

Crazy times right now as we’re in the middle of a pandemic. It’s kind of crazy for artists right now where some people are just in the studio and a lot of people are just trying to get it how they can. What’s been the silver lining?

I think it’s just the challenge to become more creative whether it’s in money, thinking of new businesses, being more creative, doing stuff you’ve never tried before. I think that’s the beauty of it. It forces you to think outside the box. Being in the box, hypothetically speaking.

Is there something that you’ve done specifically that you can think of that the pandemic has kind of forced you to think outside the box and get creative?

One thing I’ve been working on is different marketing strategies for my up and coming project. So I kind of started learning how to make pitch decks and things of that nature.

So you’re getting really hands-on with the marketing?

In the future, I want to be able to know how I want to attack my projects from point A to Z. You know what I’m saying?

That’s a good look!

Charlize Theron might be the biggest action star in the world right now, and Netflix is claiming massive numbers (at least 72 million within weeks of its release) for The Old Guard, which seems destined to have a sequel, but it’s only a question of when that will happen. Now, director Gina Prince-Bythewood (who became the first Black woman to helm a comic-book movie for Hollywood) reveals that there was a lot more (virtual) butt-kicking going on behind the scenes to get the film ready for streaming.

As Prince-Bythewood reveals, the post-production team for The Old Guard was around 85% female. That’s incredible for any high-profile movie, let alone an adrenaline-fueled action picture, and as the director pointed out, this certainly “doesn’t happen, or very rarely happens on any movie, but on an action film, I guarantee you that’s never happened before.”

The post-production crew included frequent Prince-Bythewood collaborator Terilyn A. Shropshire, who became the first Black woman to edit a Hollywood comic-book movie, as well as Oscar-winning VFX supervisor Sara Bennett (Ex Machina), supervisor Hayley Williams (Annihilation, so there are two Alex Garland films looking even better than previously right about now), costume designer Mary Vogt (Crazy Rich Asians), and cinematographer Tami Reiker.

The news arrives after Chiwetel Ejiofor already called the movie an “important marker” for inclusive stories, and it seems that Netflix is committed to significant inclusion behind the scenes as well. Even better news: an example-setting franchise has been born.

(Via Hollywood Reporter)

Hayley Williams made a decisive pivot to a solo career this year with her debut solo effort Petals For Armor. Since Williams can’t tour behind the record, the singer has been filling her time by sharing acoustic covers of her favorite tracks, as well as stripped-down renditions of popular Petals For Armor numbers. Following her quiet cover of Björk’s song “Unison,” Williams gets some fresh air with a version of “Simmer” performed from her back porch, complete with a cameo from her scruffy dog Alfie.

Sharing the acoustic version to Instagram, Williams wrote that it feels like her record came out months ago but she’s been enjoying continuing to tweak different tracks: “this song came out 6 hundred years ago, b.c. (corona) but i still love it and it keeps evolving. ‘SIMMER’. thanks for listening to me sing to myself all these months. i have really enjoyed sharing lil glimpses into my solitude like this. hope you’re stayin safe and allowing yourself some peace in your own solitude. oh yeah, Alf says hello.”

Watch Williams sing “Simmer” from her porch above.

Petals For Armor is out now via Atlantic. Get it here.

Hayley Williams is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

When I found out I was pregnant in October 2018, I had planned to keep the news a secret from family for a little while — but my phone seemed to have other ideas.

Within just a few hours of finding out the news, I was being bombarded with ads for baby gear, baby clothes and diapers on Facebook, Instagram and pretty much any other site I visited — be it my phone or on my computer.

Good thing my family wasn’t looking over my shoulder while I was on my phone or my secret would have been ruined.

I’m certainly not alone in feeling like online ads can read your mind.

When I started asking around, it seemed like everyone had their own similar story: Brian Kelleher told me that when he and his wife met, they started getting ads for wedding rings and bridal shops within just a few weeks. Tech blogger Snezhina Piskov told me that she started getting ads for pocket projectors after discussing them in Messenger with her colleagues. Meanwhile Lauren Foley, a writer, told me she started getting ads for Happy Socks after seeing one of their shops when she got off the bus one day.

When online advertising seems to know us this well, it begs the question: are our phones listening to us?

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Mozilla

“There is a common myth that companies like Facebook are using the microphone on your device to passively listen to all your conversations,” says Marshall Erwin, Senior Director of Trust and Security at Mozilla and cybersecurity expert who worked for Congress during the Snowden disclosures in 2013. “This isn’t the case.”

However, your phone — just like your computer — is collecting your personal data.

It’s collecting this data with cookies and other web trackers embedded in the sites you visit, with the data you provide freely when you create social media profiles, use apps or buy things online, with your location data, and with your device ID.

“Your phone is the most complete surveillance device invented by mankind,” says Bruce Schneier, adjunct lecturer in public policy at the Harvard Kennedy School and renowned security technologist. “It knows where you live, it knows where you work, it knows when you wake up and when you go to sleep. It knows who you sleep with. It knows you better than your spouse.”

“Surveillance is the business model of the internet,” he adds.

For example, Schneier tells me, “the fact that we are talking is recorded somewhere and we actually don’t know which of our cell phone companies is selling that data. We don’t know which apps on our phone are grabbing that data and using it.”

Pretty much everything we do on our computers or our phones — which, remember, are mini-computers we carry around all day — produces personal data.

Our data is often then bought, sold, and correlated against other data to create a profile of who we are. That profile is in turn targeted in a variety of ways.

For example, internet advertisers, Erwin explains, can use it “to anticipate and target ads related to what you are thinking and talking about, without actually having to listen to your conversations.”

For example, a shoe manufacturer could use your data to target you simply because you’re in your 30s and you seem interested in sports. But they might also target you because you googled running trails or you recently visited a running hobbyist website. Meanwhile, a politician might use it to target you because you are white and live in a battle-ground state.

It’s easy to use (or misuse) your data.

Mozilla

“Data is what powers a lot of misinformation because it is easier to influence people with malicious messages if those messages are highly targeted towards susceptible groups or populations,” explains Erwin.

He continues, “Our data can be misused in discriminatory advertising, where job or housing ads are targeted to only certain racial groups, in violation of people’s basic rights.”

Personal data can also be targeted by malicious actors, especially when the apps on our phone aren’t secure. For example, the app TikTok had vulnerabilities that allowed hackers to manipulate and retrieve user personal information.

So what can you do to protect yourself?

Well, the bad news is that there’s no way to fully protect your data.

“Your data isn’t under your control,” says Schneier, “Your email is held by Google, your photos are held by someone else, your files are on some company’s hard drive and your financial purchases are held by credit card companies. Your data is not yours anymore.”

“That’s the baseline,” he continues. “There’s largely nothing you can do about it.”

But you can take steps to limit the collection of your data.

1. Turn on your privacy controls.

“A lot of tech companies provide ways for people to enhance their privacy and to decrease the amount of data collected about them,” explains Erwin. “These privacy settings are often off by default, however, and need users to turn them on.”

2. Use a browser that turns those privacy protections by default.

Mozilla protects users’ data by turning on privacy features by default in the Firefox browser.

“For example, our Enhanced Tracking Protection feature prevents third parties from tracking you and building a profile of your activity from the websites you visit,” says Erwin. “And our DNS over HTTPS (DoH) feature protects that same data from people spying in the middle of the network, encrypting DNS traffic and ensuring it is only disclosed to parties with strong privacy practices.”

3. Use private browsing.

Private browsing — or incognito mode — allow you to browse the web without saving your browsing history. How? They automatically clear cookies and your cache, making it a little harder to track you and target you with ads.

If you use Firefox, you can also use enhanced tracking protection, which blocks a number of trackers before they’re even placed on your device in the first place.

4. Avoid public WiFi.

Public wifi networks are less secure and it’s easier for your data to be hacked.

5. Use a VPN.

The Mozilla VPN is available on Windows and Android devices and it will help keep you safe online by protecting your data, IP address and location. It also encrypts your activity and communications.

6. Adjust your phone settings

Watch this video for tips on how to do that:

Data Detox: Smartphones | Firefox

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Earthgang’s debut album Mirrorland has been out for a nearly a year now, but the Atlanta duo still has yet to end the promotion cycle for it. Over the weekend, they premiered the video for album standout “Top Down” on Adult Swim and today, they’ve made it available to watch online.

Like the other videos from across the Mirrorland cycle, “Top Down” finds a creative way to get Olu and Wowgr8 involved without actually needing them to be in the same place or employ the usual elaborate video shoots that would usually be needed to convey their creative ideas. Rather than appearing themselves, they utilize puppets in their likenesses, cruising through the city in a convertible and hitting a local strip club — also staffed by puppets, if you’re into that sort of thing.

Taking full advantage of all the surreal possibilities provided by their stuffed stand-ins, Earthgang takes “Top Down” to the bottom of the sea as well, where they’re joined by a few mermaids for a chorus of the song and also “smoke” a ridiculously huge blunt underwater.

Previous trips to Mirrorland have included videos for “Hypnotic Fields,” “Avenue,” and “Lala Challenge,” while the Atlanta boys took a break from their psychedelic creation to participate in the video for Spillage Village’s “End Of Daze.” Olu also paid tribute to his late father with a hair-raising rendition of Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Going On.”

Watch Earthgang’s “Top Down” video above.

Ever since making a name for himself in music, Jay-Z has been committed to giving back. The rapper often rears his head during matters of criminal justice reform and uses the legal side of the organization Team Roc to effectuate change. In February, the rapper teamed up with Yo Gotti and Team Roc to sue Parchman Prison in Mississippi after reports of “inhumane” conditions surfaced from inmates. While the case has been ongoing, there was just a major breakthrough in their push for justice.

Team Roc represented 227 Parchman Prison inmates and filed a class-action lawsuit against the prison’s healthcare provider Centurion. According to documents obtained by Pitchfork, Centurion announced it will be terminating its contract with the Mississippi Department of Corrections this October.

Since Team Roc first filed a lawsuit citing poor conditions and a lack of necessary healthcare, several inmates have submitted questionnaires that show a lack of COVID testing options, social distancing measures, and protective equipment like face masks and latex gloves. The original lawsuit alleged inmates experienced “meals of just a slice of bologna with a packet of mustard, sightings of rats and mold, and nights spent on a mat on a cold, damp floor.”

In a statement filed by Centurion CEO Steven H. Wheeler wrote they “do not believe we can further improve the effectiveness of our level of care without additional investment from the Department in correctional staffing and infrastructure along the lines of what we have already recommended.”

Marcy Croft, Team ROC’s attorney responded to Wheeler’s statement, saying:

“We hope that Centene’s decision to end its relationship with the Mississippi Department of Corrections sends a clear message to Governor Tate Reeves—it’s time to invest in the health and well-being of the people in your prisons. There is no excuse for the 53 deaths across the Mississippi prison system over the past several months, many of which were preventable. We will not stop until the incarcerated receive consistent and competent medical care, especially now with the COVID-19 crisis. This must be a priority.”

While the NBA awards voted on by the media will not be handed out for some time — although voting has commenced for those — the National Basketball Coaches Association has named its Co-Coaches of the Year after voting from the 30 coaches in the NBA.

In a bit of a surprise, Nick Nurse of the Toronto Raptors is not one of the two co-winners of the award, as Mike Budenholzer of the Milwaukee Bucks and Billy Donovan of the Oklahoma City Thunder will share the award after a tie in votes, per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Nurse reportedly received one fewer vote than Budenholzer and Donovan, nearly making it a three-way tie.

Others receiving votes include Nate McMillan of the Pacers, Taylor Jenkins of the Grizzlies, Erik Spoelstra of the Heat, Brad Stevens of the Celtics, and Frank Vogel of the Lakers. If anything the vote represents just how strong the coaching around the NBA has been this season, as you can make a case for a number of coaches for the jobs they’ve done getting the most out of their rosters.

While Nurse is the expected frontrunner for the media award given the job he’s done keeping the Raptors as a top-two seed in the East despite the loss of Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green, what Donovan has done in OKC and Budenholzer has done in Milwaukee are each incredibly impressive. Bud won the award a year ago and after the Bucks shuffled around some roster pieces this summer around their top stars, the Bucks have only continued to improve. For the Thunder, this was supposed to be a rebuilding year, but Donovan has managed to bring young players and veterans alike into harmony, resulting in the current 5-seed in the West who look like a team no one wants to see come playoff time.

You can make similar cases for a number of coaches, as Jenkins has his young Grizzlies ahead of schedule in the 8-seed out West, McMillan continues to get the most out of Indiana despite injuries, Stevens has the Celtics still in the mix despite losing key frontcourt pieces, and Vogel has done a spectacular job coaxing one of the league’s best defenses out of the Lakers.

MTV recently announced the nominees for its 2020 VMAs, and one artist who wasn’t selected for the honor decided to vent his frustrations at MTV on Instagram Live.

Lil Yachty, whose “Oprah’s Bank Account” video accumulated well over 20 million YouTube views between two versions and lit up social media thanks to its creative re-imagining of Yachy as the media mogul, told viewers on his Instagram Live session that he felt disrespected by the perceived snub. Even Oprah loved Yachty’s ‘Oprah’s Bank Account’ video, but it wasn’t enough to earn him a VMA nomination.

“I be doing some sh*t. Putting my all in some sh*t,” Yachty said. “People be trying to sh*t on that and try to discredit some of the things that I’ve done, or try to downplay it or try to make it seem as if that sh*t ain’t nothin’… I don’t f*ck with that. That sh*t is wack, bro. I don’t know, that’s all I gotta say. VMAs is dumb wack for that sh*t.”

He also downplayed the VMAs, saying,” Nominations, all that shit is corny. N****s don’t be giving me no f*ckin’ respect.”

Had it been selected, “Oprah’s Bank Account” would have been in contention against DaBaby’s “Bop,” Eminem’s “Godzilla‘ featuring Juice WRLD, Future and Drake’s “Life Is Good,” Megan Thee Stallion’s “Savage,” Roddy Ricch’s “The Box,” and Travis Scott’s “Highest In The Room.”

Watch Lil Yachty’s reaction to being snubbed for a VMA above.

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

I’ve seen Toy Story 3 at least a dozen times, and cried during the incinerator scene every time (it’s not the saddest Pixar moment, but it’s up there). But one thing I’ve never stopped to consider is: if Woody, Buzz, etc. hadn’t been saved by the Claw-loving aliens, what would happen if they were engulfed by fire? Would Hamm’s consciousness be transferred to another piggy bank? Are toys immortal? Or would they, y’know, die?

Here’s your childhood-ruining moment of the week.

Over the weekend, Twitter user “mustard clown” tweeted, “My girlfriend and i are having a big fight bc i think the toys from Toy Story are immortal and she thinks they can die.” The replies to this philosophical question ranged from the scientific (“they aren’t biologically living, they’re just sentient. technically they aren’t even actually alive, just animated”) to the morbid (“ok so mr potato head can be completely dismembered and still be alive. but if you chopped off woody’s head… and put it far far away from his body where no one could put it back on… he must be dead. right?”), but the tweet caught the attention of Toy Story 3 and Coco director Lee Unkrich, who wrote, “They live as long as they exist. But if they were to be utterly destroyed? Say, in an incinerator? Game over.”

That 101 Dalmatians Happy Meal toy you put into the microwave because you wanted to see “what would happen”? You murdered it.

(Via Twitter)

LEGO recently unveiled plans to roll out a set of bricks for use by the visually impaired. Using each LEGO brick’s 3-by-2 grid of raised dots, the educational toy includes bricks imprinted with every letter, number, and mathematical symbol in the braille alphabet.

Why LEGOs? Well, the American Printing House for the Blind recently found that only 8.4 percent of visually impaired children read Braille, as opposed to 50 percent in 1960. With the advent of audio books and voice-to-text technology, reading and writing are becoming lost arts for the visually impaired, often for lack of resources or time — modern braille education methods include expensive “Braille writers” or a slate and stylus, both of which create text that is difficult for students to edit or erase. LEGO bricks are not only swappable, but children are already familiar with their mechanics!

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There is a high demand for this kind of educational tool. The Danish Association of the Blind and the Dorina Nowill Foundation for the Blind in Brazil have both called upon LEGO to make something like this in the past decade — even making their own product, Braille Bricks, which will continue to be compatible with LEGO.

How LEGO® Braille Bricks help kids learn!

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The Royal National Institute of Blind People in the United Kingdom is helping to develop the bricks. David Clarke, the director of the institute, is quoted as saying, “Thanks to this innovation, children with vision impairment will be able to learn Braille and interact with their friends and classmates in a fun way, using play to encourage creativity while learning to read and write.” This is a truly wonderful partnership — pretty much a full redemption from when LEGO partnered up with Shell gas stations in 2014.

Smithsonian Magazine reports, “Currently, Lego has developed sets covering Danish, English, Norwegian and Portuguese, but will also have French, German and Spanish versions ready to go by the 2020 launch date.”

“With thousands of audiobooks and computer programs now available, fewer kids are learning to read Braille,” Philippe Chazal, Treasurer of the European Blind Union, recently said in a report by the National Federation for the Blind.

“This is particularly critical when we know that Braille users often are more independent, have a higher level of education and better employment opportunities. We strongly believe Lego Braille Bricks can help boost the level of interest in learning Braille, so we’re thrilled that the Lego Foundation is making it possible to further this concept and bring it to children around the world.”