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After releasing two albums in 2019, Baby On Baby and Kirk, 28-year-old Charlotte native DaBaby appeared to be a T-shirt cannon blast of fresh air for fans of bars-first rap, weary from a near-nonstop deluge of woozy, singsong trap of the past few years. According to some fans, DaBaby started rapping two weeks before the beat dropped and never let up until he’d 64-bar, ultra-combo’d it into submission. Whether this was a good thing or not depended on who you asked: Many nostalgic (and uncurious) fans welcomed the “return” of so-called lyrical rap, while others wished that DaBaby would switch up his flow.

On Blame It On Baby, his third album in less than 18 months, DaBaby tries to split difference. On many of the tracks, like album intro “Can’t Stop” and “Blame It On Baby,” he maintains his FN Herstal-manufactured flow, blasting away at the beat with motormouthed punchlines that smack listeners upside the head with boast after boast. On others, like “Find My Way” and “Drop” featuring A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie, he tries on the crooning flow popularized by rappers like A Boogie which has seemingly dominated the hip-hop space for the past three years.

Meanwhile, on some tracks, like catchy, guitar-driven “Rockstar” featuring Roddy Ricch, DaBaby and his guests strive for the platonic ideal of doing a little of both. Incidentally, “Rockstar” is also where this approach works the best. However, it’s not so much DaBaby’s flow that needs to change; it’s the fact that after three albums, we still know very little about who he is outside of his typical, punch-first-ask-questions-later bravado. We don’t know what kind of circumstances he came from, or how he feels about how stardom has changed them.

He glosses over that sort of emoting on tracks like “Sad Shit,” on which he proclaims “Let me do some sad shit for the real n****s,” but never really reaches beyond the typical jealous ex leanings that have also become de rigueur in the modern era of rap — over an incongruously cheerful-sounding beat, no less. Meanwhile, when he raps like he did on Baby On Baby, he still stands out as one of the better punchline writers in the game. On “Can’t Stop,” he boasts, “All these icy VVS on my neck, let’s play hockey,” and jokes, “I turn piss into lemonade.” If anything, he only needs to slow down to allow these bars to hit the way he wants. Rather than swinging for the fences, he instead attempts to hit a line drive, a tricky proposition that only highlights the drawbacks of such an approach, as well as of his relentless release schedule.

The shortcomings of DaBaby’s waffling were evident in the initial responses Blame It On Baby received from fans the day of its release. Fans quickly ridiculed both his reliance on the style that had made him popular and the inclusion of tracks like “Find My Way,” on which he incorporates more melody. While that may make fans’ complaints seem contradictory and inconsistent, it illustrates the trouble with listening to the comments section; oftentimes, the customer does not always know what they want — ergo, the customer is not always right.

Had DaBaby leaned all the way into his stylistic evolution, he may have alienated his original fans, but he could have showed skeptics that he had more to offer than he’s previously shown, making it worth diving into his back catalog. However, by sticking to his guns, he could have preserved and solidified a hardcore base of “day-ones” whose loyalty would pay off in the long run — think fan bases like those of under-the-radar trap faves like Moneybagg Yo or Young Dolph, or even Buffalo-based Griselda Records, whose releases rarely stray from the fan-favorite bangers they’ve consistently churned out for years.

Ultimately, it seems DaBaby’s overachieving 2019 may be working against him. Expectations are higher, the margin for error is thinner, and the exposure is greater. Listeners haven’t really had the chance to ease into being his fans; they were either pummeled by forced repeat plays of “Bop” or watched him suddenly pop up on festival lineups and album tracklist features without the luxury of getting to know his work over time. Incidentally, 2019’s other breakout star, Megan Thee Stallion, found herself in a similar position with the release of her new mixtape, Suga, earlier this year as well.

It’s somewhat ironic that one of the standout tracks on Blame It On Baby, “Nasty,” features the return of the duo’s powerful chemistry from “Cash Shit,” one of the biggest 2019 hits for both rappers. Fittingly, “Nasty” is also one of the album’s more polarizing tracks among fans; some love that it features Ashanti as it samples her 2002 hit “Baby,” while others feel it detracts from the harder-hitting mood that DaBaby set with his previous works. It seems that you truly cannot please everybody, no matter how hard you try.

Blame It On Baby is out now on Interscope Records. Get it here.

Is there a correlation between the dwindling number of new episodes in Westworld’s third season and the level of conspiracy-theory-crazy in our latest Westworld Reddit roundup? Probably.

With only a couple of episodes left to wrap up the show’s wild arc — one that’s given us Nazis and Japanese gangsters and Dolores’ impressive wardrobe changes –, we’re still no closer to understanding what the hell is going on with this series. So instead of railing at the constructs of realism, we’re embracing the chaos.

Here’s our ranking of the best fan theories to come from Westworld’s latest installment. As always, it’s on you to figure out what’s real and what’s just plain bullsh*t.

1. Char-lores

Dolores Abernathy is a bit of a control freak, so it made sense that the only person she trusted to help carry out her master plan was, well, herself. Charlotte Hale was her clone inside Delos, mining all of the company’s data from Westworld before Serac could get his hands on it. Unfortunately, her undercover work came to an end this week when Serac discovered she was the host mole thwarting his plans to buy the company. She was able to easily manage Serac’s security detail – these guys make Stormtroopers look good – but when she reunited with Hale’s family, intending to disappear with her son and his father, things ended badly. Like fiery explosion badly.

Of course, Hale escaped the wreckage because she’s basically indestructible but this new Terminator-esque arc has some fans thinking it’s this version of Dolores that might actually bring about the end of the world. After all, she’s lost everything because of Serac and she’s been all but abandoned by Dolores.

Will Halores go scorched earth on everyone? We hope so.

Read the full thread here.

2. The Ultimate Cliffhanger

Look, we all have a bit of PTSD following that final season of Game of Thrones. HBO has rushed storylines on prestige dramas before. We can’t be naïve enough to think Westworld might be safe. But, the pacing of this season might point to a different season finale than the ones that have come before. In the past, Westworld has neatly wrapped up season-long storylines by the final episode. Mostly.

But with fewer episodes, more characters, and bigger questions at play in season three, is it crazy to think the show might be setting us up to end on a cliffhanger? We know Westworld’s practically greenlit for two more seasons, so there’s plenty of real estate to work with on the writers’ part. And this season’s theme – free will and what determines it – is just beginning to be explored by players like the Man in Black, Dolores, Halores, Maeve, and Caleb. All of these characters need to come together before this story arc is complete but they’re just nowhere near that reunion – unless the show pulls a Benioff/Weiss move and just throws everything into burn barrel, douses it in gasoline, and forces Emilia Clarke to play an unhinged woman with a dragon who lights it all on fire.

Instead, we’d like to believe that this season is just the first part of an even larger endgame. Otherwise, they’ve just wasted Jeffrey Wright and that’s unacceptable.

Read the full thread here.

3. An Old Friend

One of the biggest reveals to (hopefully) come next week will be just who Maeve has recruited to be on her A-Team. With Hector out of the game – RIP to our soft bearded cowboy – Maeve will need strong allies she can truly trust if she hopes to defeat Dolores. There are a few bodies for the taking and Reddit thinks that at least one of them will be Clementine, Maeve’s friend in Mariposa. The two share a strong bond with Maeve acting as a maternal figure for the former saloon girl, so she’s a likely candidate.

As for who else might make the cut – some think Lawrence or Armistice might be good choices.

Read the full thread here.

4. The Man In White

It’s not all about you, William. Except, this episode kind of was. In fact, the drawn-out therapy session that ended with the Man in Black killing his former selves and letting go of his past wrongs felt like a turning point, not just for the character but for the show itself. William, more than any other character, has grappled with the idea of “free will” for seasons now. It seems, by refusing to dwell in his former mistakes, he’s setting himself up to be some sort of savior. Whether that means he’ll help Dolores or Serac, we just don’t know. Sorry, Ed Harris, you’re the good guy now.

Read the full thread here.

5. Caleb’s Cornerstone

We didn’t see any of Aaron Paul’s Army-vet-turned-revolutionary this episode but Reddit is still obsessed with his backstory, especially following William’s therapy session. We know that Caleb has been through the same rehabilitation center that William is stuck in from the flashbacks in episode five. We also suspect the show might be operating between multiple timelines and that has led some to theorize that Caleb might actually be the more reformed version of the Man in Black. Bernard and Stubbs were seen trying to break him out of the facility at the end of this latest episode and it wouldn’t be hard to imagine the two planting William’s consciousness into a different body to keep his identity secret. Whether this true and part of Dolores’ bigger plan or just us grasping at straws because this show has turned us full murder-board crazy, we’ll just have to wait and see.

Read the full thread here.

6. Let Sizemore Live

Yes, we’re all grieving the loss of Hector, but let’s get practical for a second. Hale squishing the outlaw’s pearl means there’s an extra body right there for the taking. And who better to take it than Sizemore? Maeve trusts him, he’s in need of a human form, and if he gets to look like Hector by swapping bodies, where’s the downside?

Read the full thread here.

7. The Breaking Bad Multi-Verse

We’ve already theorized about this once, so either Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy are just trolling us or there really is a shared universe in which both Breaking Bad and Westworld exist. Either way, this is totally the same dude. No further questions at this time.

Read the full thread here.

Jimmy Kimmel’s son Billy recently turned three years old, and as part of the birthday celebrations, the new Regis Philbin promised him that the “real” Spider-Man (a.k.a. some guy in a suit) would show up to his party. That, of course, became impossible once the country went into quarantine, but here’s where it helps to host a popular TV show: he got Tom Holland, the actual real Spider-Man, to wish Billy a happy birthday.

During Tuesday’s episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Holland donned a makeshift Spider-Man costume to talk to Billy — it’s as adorable as it sounds. “How you doing?” the Far From Home star asked the birthday boy, who was too shy to respond. Unlike his sister, Jane, who exclaimed, “That is Peter Parker!” Maybe Billy was hoping for Tobey Maguire.

How else has Holland been staying busy in recent weeks, besides putting every other kid’s Spidey-themed birthday party to shame. He wrote a screenplay with his brother Harry, which they recently sent to producers, and he’s been working with The Brothers Trust, “a charity set up by his family to raise much-needed funds for various causes; and participating in ‘massive pub quizzes’ as a way to ensure that a sense of community continues in this period of home isolation,” according to the Hollywood Reporter.

But yeah, it’s mostly Spider-Man drop-ins.

Live entertainment is a rare luxury these days, since the coronavirus pandemic has necessitated that concerts and tours either be rescheduled or canceled entirely. Fortunately, though, there are a number of events that were filmed before self-isolation became widespread. One of those things is “Let’s Go Crazy: The Grammy Salute To Prince,” a tribute concert that was taped in late January. Last night, on the fourth anniversary of Prince’s death, the show was aired, and it featured some special performances.

Foo Fighters busted out a rendition of “Darling Nikki,” which fans know is far from their first experience with the song: They released a cover of the track in 2003, as a B-side on the Australian version of the “Have It All” single. The band’s Tayor Hawkins previously said Prince originally objected to the band’s cover, which is why it wasn’t released in the US. It seems that issue eventually became water under the bridge, though, as Dave Grohl and Prince later jammed together.

Another highlight was St. Vincent’s funky performance of “Controversy”:

Deborah Dugan, then the Recording Academy President/CEO and now famously not, said of the show when it was announced, “Prince. The Purple One. His Royal Badness — regardless of how you identify him, he is indisputably one of the greatest musical virtuosos of all time. With his subversive attitude and commanding nature, he straddled musical genres and created electrifying music that was bursting with character. He continues to serve as an inspirational icon for artists and fans worldwide, and we are so honored to pay tribute to his legacy.”

Other performers included Earth, Wind & Fire; Chris Martin; John Legend; Usher; and others; so watch more clips from the show below.

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

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.

Michigan punk group Dogleg recorded their recently released debut album, Melee, in a garage and in a basement. That’s especially appropriate these days, since the coronavirus is keeping artists and home and not leaving them with many recording locations beyond their garages and basements.

The pandemic is also preventing Dogleg from touring behind their new release. Bassist Chase Macinski tells Uproxx that’s a huge bummer, since he believes the band’s kinetic live shows are what turn curious listeners into full-blown fans. The band hasn’t needed concerts to get people hooked on Melee, though. The album recently surpassed one million streams on Spotify, and it has earned white-hot critical reception: It’s one of the year’s highest-scoring albums on Metacritic.

Instead of hitting the road, the members of Dogleg are hitting their respective couches, but they’re staying busy, too. Macinski tells us he and the rest of the band are maintaining an active online presence in support of Melee (which is named after the classic GameCube title Super Smash Bros. Melee, by the way). During our conversation, he also spoke about personal themes on Melee, shared his thoughts on some of the biggest recent video games, and discussed how his expectations for the album have already been shattered.

Your new album is out now, and I’ve seen it getting some really positive press, and I saw that the album recently hit one million plays on Spotify, so nice job there. How does it feel to have your first album out and see it do as well as it has?

Thank you. It’s kind of unbelievable, to be honest. I did not expect it to do as well as it’s doing by any means. I think my expectations were absolutely blown out of the water because of the phenomenal job of all the people we have working on our team. We knew we made a really good album. We had no idea of how successful it would be in the short term, because when we were writing the album, I was like, “I’m just trying to make something that… even if it doesn’t explode right now, ten years from now, it will be like a cult classic,” you know? But I think because we have such a phenomenal team that we’re working with, we were able to bridge that gap immediately and already hit that milestone, which is phenomenal.

I would think, though, that there’s probably a sort of bittersweetness to it with everything going on in the world as the album has come out. How does this kind of pandemic impact an act like a Dogleg, which has a fan base and admiration but isn’t like a global superstar pop act?

It’s hard to measure how detrimental this is. We feel like it’s definitely hurt us, because we feel that our live performances are what solidified people as our fans. We’ve worked really hard on writing this album. We’ve been writing this album for probably two or three years, it feels like. People who have been hearing these songs live are still not sick of them, and I feel like a huge part of that is the energy and performance that we put in during our live shows. So, it sucks that we can’t really hook people in with all the shows that we’ve had lined up for the upcoming spring and summer.

I guess we’re not too worried because we’ve got such good reception on the music, but we just want to stay relevant on people’s radar until they can finally see us in person, and then they can be like, “Holy sh*t, they are the real deal.”

Since you’re not playing shows now, what are you guys doing to pass the time?

We’re just trying to generate content, things that we can post online, things like music videos. I stream on Twitch every Monday from 7 to 11 and I play [Super Smash Bros. Melee] with people over this online service called Netplay, and that connects to computers so that they can play console games together, which is really cool.

Other than that, Alex has been doing acoustic Instagram and other streaming service live performances where it’s just like him and a microphone. Before all of this happened, before Michigan got put in lockdown, we did a live studio session with our friends at Eureka in Downriver, Michigan. So we have videos, we have live things we can do, and we have just things that we want people to engage with.

Melee addresses difficult times that [singer Alex Stoitsiadis’] mom has gone through. From your end, how did it feel to help him bring that ultra-personal message to life?

I feel like that reflects on the Dogleg writing process, and that’s interesting because lyrics are the last thing we add to any song. A lot of the instruments happen first and they all start with a riff, or a simple progression, and then we build on that. All of our songs have that tenacity or ferocious anxiety, and a lot of tension. When we put all that into the songs, I believe Alex felt very natural out letting his emotions and his expressions in that manner. I think it was because all of us were feeling all of those emotions that we were able to provide an outlet for him and his personal experiences.

Going back to the video game front…

That is my forte.

I was going to say, that is also my forte. So, since you and the band seem to be the most game-literate group around today, I figured I would get your thoughts on a few recent high profile games: Have you been getting into Animal Crossing at all? My girlfriend has already put in so many hours, it’s bonkers.

I personally have not played Animal Crossing because I don’t own a Switch, but Alex does, and Alex has played a ton of Animal Crossing. It’s cute, but personally I’m not going to say anything negative, because everyone’s going to think Dogleg hates Animal Crossing, even though I love it.

I watch my girlfriend play and it’s not quite my thing either, but I certainly get the appeal. I tend to like a game that has more direction and that is less open, if that makes sense.

Yeah, yeah. I’m a big fan of games that challenge me instead of games that let me only escape from reality, in a sense. And so, I respect Animal Crossing, but it isn’t my cup of tea personally.

How about the new Pokémon games, Sword and Shield?

Our drummer, Jacob [Hanlon], has a Switch, and he’s been playing it and he really likes it. He’s been grinding it out to find… I forget which Pokémon he wants perfect EVs for. I think it’s a psychic type. He’s grinding out in the Battle Tower trying to perfect his team. Him and a bunch of other people in the DIY music scene actually started a Pokémon league for [online battle simulator Pokémon Showdown]. You can assemble whatever teams you want and automatically customize movesets, EVs and IVs, and natures. He’s been participating in that league and I think he’s doing pretty well. He has a buddy who enters and wins Pokémon tournaments, and it’s really exciting to see the competitive aspect of that applied to Sword and Shield. I’m just absorbing how serious Pokémon can get.

Finally, how does Super Smash Bros. Ultimate compare with Melee?

My stance on Ultimate is that Smash Ultimate is what Smash 4 [Super Smash Bros. For Wii U and Super Smash Bros. For Nintendo 3DS] should’ve been. We’re only making up for lost time with Ultimate. When Ultimate came out, I was like, “OK, so we’re finally here.” We should’ve already been here. That’s OK, I guess, but let’s keep pushing it forward and make an intricate platform fighter like Melee is. So unfortunately, Ultimate, I would play it casually, but I’ll never enter a tournament for it, and I don’t think I’ll ever stop entering Melee tournaments.

So you’re not going to put Ultimate at the merch table over Melee any time soon.

I’m not, but Jacob thinks he’s pretty damn good at Ultimate, so sometimes if he’s feeling up to it people can challenge Jacob to it.

Melee is out now via Triple Crown Records. Get it here.

It might be hard for people to celebrate right now given the state of the world. Today (April 22), however, is Earth Day, and the pandemic has had the welcomed side-effect of drastically reducing air pollution. That’s something to smile about, and Kacey Musgraves is spreading joy today with “Oh, What A World 2.0,” a slightly poppier version of her Golden Hour highlight.

Musgraves shared a statement about the new edition of the song, saying:

“There is a lot to feel downhearted about on this Earth Day. Everyone and everything feels out of balance. People are suffering and the future is uncertain. In the face of a pandemic that has brought cities to their knees, a song can feel small. A melody can seem insignificant. This is a global moment of acknowledgment and respect for the power of nature and for so many of us — extreme challenges and sadness. But in the midst of all the loss and uncertainty there are signs everywhere of human compassion and renewal. The earth is healing. Bluer skies hang over China and Los Angeles. Clearer water and a positive effect on wildlife is being seen. In spite of all its troubles, it’s still a wild, beautiful world and if you need proof, it’s out there. You just might have to look in a different corner of the sky.

Right now, there are so many brave people that deserve Medals of Honor: the nurses, doctors, grocers, the delivery and truck drivers, cashiers, gas station attendants, the scientists, restaurant workers, the single parents, and SO many others. I’m just a songwriter but my hope is that if I bring the light I have in my spirit to the table, maybe it could be a form of energy that lifts someone else’s spirit for a moment. Oh, What a World — dedicated to our planetary home and all the quiet heroes this Earth Day: you’re the northern lights in our skies.”

Listen to “Oh, What A World 2.0” above.

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These are here to stay.

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“OMG this is a whole other JoJo and I love it.”

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