In early 2019, Ariana Grande teamed up with Starbucks for her own drink. Lately, though, there have been rumors that the relationship between the pop star and the coffee chain has soured. Starbucks recently prohibited employees from wearing Black Lives Matter clothing (a stance they later eased up on), after which people noticed Grande doesn’t follow the brand on Instagram.

Whatever the case may be, at the very least, Grande is trying out different coffee destinations. She has been shopping around in recent days: Earlier this week, she enjoyed a drink from the wizard-themed Nimbus Coffee. She also swung by South LA Cafe for an iced drink and shared a photo from her visit on her Instagram Story (as she did during her Nimbus stop). Both of those businesses are Black-owned, and South LA Cafe reported a huge increase in business following the Grande co-sign.

South LA wrote on Instagram, “Did y’all know that @arianagrande stands with the Movement for Black Lives and Black-Owned businesses like @southlacafe? We’ve been fortunate to win her over from Starbucks this past week, as well as her incredible #arianators. (Click the first pic) They showed up in full force for today’s live of the South LA Grocery Giveaway, sending big love for our mission. This is an example of people with influence and privilege using it to forward the movement. We welcome the support and are grateful to be recognized for our impact and community leadership.”

The post also notes that they served 150 people in 29 minutes following Grande bringing increased attention to their establishment, which they say is “one for the record books.”

Grande hasn’t made a public comment about her relationship with Starbucks, but as they say, money talks.

Matthew and Eleanor Friedberger formed The Fiery Furnaces during a golden era of indie music: The year 2000, in New York City. The band went on to release eight records over the course of the next seven years following their 2003 debut. After a lengthy hiatus in 2010 in which both halves of the duo pivoted towards a solo career, The Fiery Furnaces are making a triumphant return.

“Down At The So And So On Somewhere” marks The Fiery Furnaces’ first release in ten years. Along with releasing the single digitally, the track will be pressed into a 7-inch vinyl with the bonus single “The Fortune Teller’s Revenge.”

The duo was slated to make their on-stage return at Pitchfork Music Festival this summer, which has since been canceled due to the pandemic. While the band can’t make an on-stage return for the foreseeable future, they still wanted to make an impact. Consequently, The Fiery Furnaces will donate a portion of proceeds from their 7-inch and accompanying merch to Black Lives Matter and AACM Chicago, an organization composed of Black artists who aim to preserve their craft and showcase their unique talents.

In a statement alongside the single’s release, The Fiery Furnaces said they penned the track back in February as a reflection on regret, but it has since morphed in meaning in light of recent events:

“This is the first new music from The Fiery Furnaces in ten years. The songs were recorded in New York City and a few hours north of New York City on February 3 and February 10 – 12, 2020. ‘Down at the So and So on Somewhere’ is a regretful song about having regrets. Now it seems even more sad than we thought it was back then: ‘Will you meet me,’ etc. Matthew was happy to use a Soviet drum machine. Eleanor was happy to play real drums. ‘The Fortune Teller’s Revenge’ is another sad song. We cut out the lines from the first and third verse: ‘with me; just kidding’ and ‘leave everything to me.’ Matthew likes hearing Eleanor sing ‘I’m sorry to say I’ve never made a mistake.’ Eleanor likes that you can’t quite tell who’s singing what, when.”

Listen to “Down At The So And So On Somewhere” above. Get the 7-inch release via Third Man Records here.

10 years ago, Eminem released Recovery, a musical return to form for the once-masterful chief mischief maker of hip-hop. In 2010, Em was in an odd place with both critics and fans. His previous albums, Encore and Relapse, had received criticism for leaning too heavily into his comedic personas and he was “still finding his feet” after getting sober as he told Rolling Stone in 2013. Recovery saw him find that balance and while it’s far from his best album — that honor still goes to The Eminem Show — it was a major turning point in Eminem’s career, bridging the gap between his drugged-out Slim Shady era and the hyper-focused technician he was to become.

There’s one major difference between this album and those both before and after it. Unlike his more recent output, he still sounds like he’s having fun, while still taking his job seriously enough that it doesn’t feel like he was making an endless, recurring fart joke. By finding the balance between those warring impulses, Eminem made an album that sounds like he was making music, not trying to make a point. For sure, he targets critics and celebrities, but he doesn’t fixate on them — Recovery is about Eminem. Some songs have aged better than others, but this is the first flash of the “mature” Em that the world has had a decade to become accustomed to.

That balance between earnest and playful is most evident in the album’s anthemic singles. “Not Afraid” is defiant without indulging Eminem’s grudges, while “Love The Way You Lie” features some of his most emotive language. Collaborations with Rihanna on “Love The Way You Lie” and Pink on “Won’t Back Down” were Em’s first and most successful experiments with bringing a feminine touch to his song construction. While they may have been as focus-grouped and algorithmically calculated as more recent attempts like the lackluster “Walk On Water” with Beyonce and the head-scratching “Nowhere Fast” with Kehlani from Revival, the chemistry he has with his first female collaborators made the plug-and-play tracks sound organic.

The proof is in the pudding; “Love The Way You Lie” became Eminem’s best-selling single ever. It showed that he could update his sound while remaining thematically true to his core content — the soul-baring, confessional raps that people related too, not the Triumph The Comic Insult Dog jokes that only appealed to a certain brand of frat humor aficionados. However, Em also showed that he was unafraid to get busy, busting out his old battle-rapper persona on songs like “On Fire,” then trading bars with the rapper who would become one of hip-hop’s most influential figures in the coming decade, Lil Wayne, on “No Love.”

There’s even a precursor to Music To Be Murdered By‘s “Those Kinda Nights” in “WTP,” on which Em coins his storytelling club-rap conceit and executes it much better than he would a decade later. Recovery‘s efficacy in comparison with latter-day efforts comes from the comfort he displays on this track, on which he sounds less invested in whether anyone thinks he’s a good rapper. He’s just rapping. In fact, he just raps on the rest of the album as well, poking just enough fun at himself throughout — admitting to the overuse of accents on his previous albums — that the focus remains on the world-class wordplay, not trying to mystify listeners into missing the genericness of his lightspeed fast flow.

While, yes, many of the issues that plague his newer albums crop up here as well, Recovery was still early enough in his career that those nitpicks hadn’t yet become nagging complaints. Some of the beat choices are a bit anachronistic and jarring — particularly “Cinderella Man” and the album closer, “Untitled” — and Em’s frequent and flagrant use of homophobic slurs firmly freezes Recovery as a product of pre-Twitter media society. In today’s world of crowd-sourced accountability, wherein Em deletes the “F-word” from a rap about Tyler The Creator and still gets dragged online, many of Recovery‘s tracks would see the chopping block or the editing room before the album saw store shelves.

But there’s a lot to admire about Eminem’s first middle-aged effort. He definitely shows his age, but he’s still in fighting shape. He hadn’t yet evolved into the crotchety commentator, grousing about how things were better “back in my day.” The stultified affect of albums like Kamikaze and Music To Be Murdered By hadn’t settled in and he was still close enough to the trauma of his past that him rapping about it felt therapeutic rather than wearying. It’d be a trap to hope that Eminem would go back to the version of himself he was on Recovery — a trap he himself couldn’t seem to avoid on his more recent offerings — but it’d be nice to hear him recover some sparks of the sense of fun and maturity he displays on it.

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For his directorial debut, Dave Franco gathered an impressive cast for a horror movie about distrust and always being watched.

The Rental follows two couples, Charlie and Michelle (The Guest‘s Dan Stevens and Community‘s Alison Brie, Franco’s real-life wife) and Mina and Josh (A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night‘s Sheila Vand and Shameless‘ Jeremy Allen White), who rent an ocean-side house for some rest and relaxation. But before they can even browse through the house’s DVD library, which is the first thing I do at every rental property, the owner (icon Toby Huss) makes an odd comment about being a peeping tom, and things only get weirder from there. Brb, I’m adding “camera in the shower head” to my list of nightmares.

Here’s the official plot synopsis:

Two couples on an oceanside getaway grow suspicious that the host of their seemingly perfect rental house may be spying on them. Before long, what should have been a celebratory weekend trip turns into something far more sinister, as well-kept secrets are exposed and the four old friends come to see each other in a whole new light. Alison Brie, Dan Stevens, Jeremy Allen White, and Sheila Vand star in this unnerving and sophisticated debut thriller from Dave Franco.

IFC’s The Rental premieres on On Demand and in select theaters on July 24.

Our Longest Summer series will look at the eight teams whose seasons are now officially over, and will have to wait until mid-October to make decisions on what’s next and how to proceed after falling short of the cut-off for a continued 2019-20 campaign.

It may seem like a lifetime ago, but the 2019-20 Detroit Pistons were supposed to compete for a postseason berth in the Eastern Conference. The Pistons landed in the playoffs last season and, with Blake Griffin and Andre Drummond anchoring a team with a respectable roster, there was optimism, at least in some circles, for a repeat performance. Fast-forward to the end, however, and Griffin appeared in only 18 games, with Drummond seeing only 49 games of action before being dealt to Cleveland before the deadline.

In some ways, Detroit’s demise was foreseeable, especially with regard to Griffin’s injury issues. The All-Star forward was banged up considerably by the end of the 2018-19 campaign and, while unfortunate, it wasn’t totally shocking that he wasn’t able to play at full strength this season. Still, the Pistons heavily relied on his brilliance in 2018-19 and, without that centerpiece available, the lack of talent on the roster became glaring on the way to a 20-win performance in the aggregate. Now, the Pistons shift fully to rebuilding mode and the 2020 offseason provides a number of questions for the team to attempt to answer.

2020 Free Agents

Christian Wood (UFA), Tony Snell (player option), Brandon Knight (UFA), John Henson (UFA), Langston Galloway (UFA), Thon Maker (RFA), Jordan McRae (UFA)

2020 Projected salary cap space (assuming $115 million salary cap)

$33.9 million, per Early Bird Rights

Areas of Strength

This is a tough one. There are some intriguing young pieces on the roster with Luke Kennard and Sekou Doumbouya, though neither is established enough to specifically build around. From there, Christian Wood emerged in a big way this season, but the young center now hits the free agent market with unrestricted status. The Pistons certainly can afford to bring Wood back at a considerable number but, if they don’t, things become even more adventurous. Detroit did benefit from a strong season from Derrick Rose, who remains under contract at a reasonable cap figure, and flexibility is the order of the day for this franchise.

Areas of Need

Aside from a magic potion to make Griffin 100 percent healthy again, the Pistons need a focal point. Though Wood’s emergence is encouraging, Detroit still lacks star power and, though they could get lucky in the draft lottery with a path to select a prospect like LaMelo Ball, every rebuild begins (and sometimes ends) with the quest for a franchise player that the Pistons don’t have for the future. Beyond that, Detroit’s roster is (very) thin when accounting for only players that are firmly under contract, and Griffin’s highly lucrative contract is tough to navigate.

Biggest Decisions

Wood is the team’s only free agent that should command a large sum on the market, and Detroit’s willingness to pay up is perhaps the franchise’s most interesting decision of the offseason. If the Pistons believe Wood is an average starter (or better), bringing him back would plug a hole and give the team more of an identity. If the bidding gets out of control and Detroit sees the need to move on, the canvas is even more bleak. From there, the team’s lottery pick will be key to everything and, in advance of that, the Pistons are a team that could really use some lottery luck and a path to selecting a prospect with legitimate star equity.

Overall Offseason Focus

Though there may have been chatter that the Pistons could avoid the full-scale rebuild, that evaporated this season. Barring some sort of miraculous effort to send Griffin’s large contract elsewhere, the parameters appear to be set in Detroit and the franchise simply needs to patient in accumulating assets and doing anything they can to find a young star. That is easier said than done, but the Pistons are in a vastly different place than they were even nine months ago, and that is the reality.

On Friday, Tulsa’s historic Greenwood district — the area where the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre occurred with a white mob burning Black Wall street to the ground — will hold a Juneteenth gathering to commemorate the end of slavery in the U.S. in 1865. Festivities and peaceful protests are expected to continue throughout the weekend (although Trump’s indoor rally of 19,000+ attendees in downtown Tulsa on Saturday will complicate matters, even though Gov. Stitt has asked Trump not to visit Greenwood). Given that the Tulsa Race Massacre was depicted in the opening moments of showrunner Damon Lindelof’s Watchmen series, and in light of ongoing Black Lives Matters protests around the globe, the premium cable channel has decided to offer up the entire 9-episode season on HBO.com and Free On Demand.

The season will not only stream for free all weekend but as a marathon at 1:00pm EST on Friday with HBO and HBO Latino. In a statement, HBO declared that they are “proud to offer all nine episodes for free of this timely, poignant series that explores the legacy of systemic racism in America.” If you haven’t watched yet, you should. Watchmen is a phenomenal show that was risky and ambitious in adapting the “unadaptable” graphic novel from Alan Moore and Dave Gibbon’s iconic graphic novel. And it also reimagined and recontextualized the story against the backdrop of the Tulsa Race Massacre and explored a world where masked vigilantes are treated as outlaws

Lindelof was inspired to bring knowledge of the Tulsa Race Massacre to the viewing public at large after he read Ta’Nehisi Coates’ The Atlantic piece, The Case For Reparations. And the showrunner recently marked the anniversary of the massacre by urging people to get educated (he provided a recommended list of reading, listening, and viewing material) in light of police brutality protests following the killing of George Floyd.

Last week, the Peabody Awards recognized Watchmen, and Lindelof and Regina King accepted the award in a video that was reportedly taped prior to Floyd’s death. Watch below, as the pair discusses the (sadly now-always) timely subjects of systemic racism, police brutality and the continued killing of unarmed Black citizens.

Atlanta rapper/singer 6lack is about a week away from his 28th birthday and in response to a question from his friends and coworkers at his record label, LVRN, he decided that what he really wants to do is give his fans a gift — a six-song EP. Sharing a screenshot of the text conversation with his “LVRN Family” on Instagram, 6lack offered a link to 6lackbox.com, where fans can sign up for exclusive content.

It’s not the first time he’s set up an unusual rollout for a project. In the run-up to the release of his last album, East Atlanta Love Letter, 6lack actually mailed love letters to fans who signed up on his site. Given his penchant for going the extra mile, there’s no telling what 6lack’s gift for fans will include, but you can bet it’ll be something that will endear them even more to the “OTW” crooner.

6lack’s 27th year has been pretty impressive, as 2019 brought verses on Guapdad4000’s “Prada Process,” Tinashe’s “Touch & Go,” and the Queen And Slim soundtrack’s “Yo Love” with Vince Staples and Mereba. In 2020, 6lack has appeared on tracks with Gallant, K Camp, and Deante Hitchcock, as well as releasing “ATL Freestyle” to keep his buzz simmering as he prepares to release his third full-length LP.

Stay tuned for more info on 6lack’s upcoming birthday EP.

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

At this point, it’s clear that, at least for the foreseeable future, concerts won’t be like how they were before. That apparently applies to the behind-the-scenes aspects as well: Live Nation is changing some of their policies for 2021, and it puts a greater financial burden on artists.

In a recent memo (which was obtained by Rolling Stone), Live Nation reveals that they plan to decrease monetary guarantees to artists before an event by 20 percent. Also, if a concert is canceled due to poor ticket sales, instead of a 100-percent guarantee, artists will only get 25 percent. Those are just two of many changes outlined in the document.

The memo begins, “The global pandemic has changed the world in recent months and with it the dynamics of the music industry. We are in unprecedented times and must adequately account for the shift in market demand, the exponential rise of certain costs and the overall increase of uncertainty that materially affects our mission. In order for us to move forward, we must make certain changes to our agreements with the artists.”

After outlining the changes, the memo concludes, “We are fully aware of the significance of these changes, and we did not make these changes without serious consideration. We appreciate you — and all artists — understanding the need for us to make these changes in order to allow the festival business to continue not only for the artists and the producers, but also for the fans.”

Read the full memo below.

“The global pandemic has changed the world in recent months and with it the dynamics of the music industry. We are in unprecedented times and must adequately account for the shift in market demand, the exponential rise of certain costs and the overall increase of uncertainty that materially affects our mission. In order for us to move forward, we must make certain changes to our agreements with the artists. The principle changes for 2021 are outlined below.

Artist Guarantees: Artist guarantees will be adjusted downward 20% from 2020 levels.

Ticket Prices: Ticket prices are set by the promoter, at the promoter’s sole discretion, and are subject to change.

Payment Terms: Artists will receive a deposit of 10% one month before the festival, contingent on an executed agreement and fulfillment of marketing responsibilities. The balance, minus standard deductions for taxes and production costs, will be paid after the performance.

Minimum Marketing Requirements: All artists will be required to assist in marketing of the festival through minimum social media posting requirements outlined in artist offer.

Streaming requirements: All artists will be required to allow their performance to be filmed by the festival for use in a live television broadcast, a live webcast, on-demand streaming, and/or live satellite radio broadcast.

Billing: All decisions regarding “festival billing” are at the sole discretion of the promoter.

Merchandise: Purchaser will retain 30 % of Artist merchandise sales and send 70% to the artist within two weeks following the Festival.

Airfare and Accommodations: These expenses will be the responsibility of the artist.

Sponsorship: The promoter controls all sponsorship at the festival without any restrictions, and artists may not promote brands onstage or in its productions.

Radius Clause. Violation of a radius clause without the festival’s prior authorization in writing will, at the festival’s sole discretion, result in either a reduction of the artist fee or the removal of the artist from the event, with any pre-event deposits returned to the festival immediately.

Insurance: The artist is required to maintain its own cancellation insurance as the promoter is not responsible for the artist fee in the event of a cancellation of the festival due to weather or a force majeure.

Cancellation by Artist: If an artist cancels its performance in breach of the agreement, the artist will pay the promoter two times the artist’s fee.

Cancellation Due to Poor Sales. If a show is cancelled due to poor ticket sales, the artist will receive 25% of the guarantee.

Force Majeure: If the artist’s performance is canceled due to an event of force majeure – including a pandemic similar to Covid-19 – the promoter will not pay the artist its fee. The artist is responsible for obtaining any cancellation insurance for its performance.

Inability to Use Full Capacity of the Venue: If the promoter – either because of orders of the venue or any governmental entity – is not permitted to use the full capacity of the venue, then the promoter may terminate the agreement, and artist will refund any money previously paid.

We are fully aware of the significance of these changes, and we did not make these changes without serious consideration. We appreciate you – and all artists – understanding the need for us to make these changes in order to allow the festival business to continue not only for the artists and the producers, but also for the fans.”

After months of drama, last summer’s planned Woodstock 50 anniversary festival was ultimately canceled. The story involved investors dropping out, new ones coming in, venues being changed, and artists having no idea what the heck was going on. Now, the event’s organizers are blaming original investor Dentsu Group in a new lawsuit, in which they are suing the company for “sabotage” and “destruction of the festival,” Rolling Stone reports.

The complaint was filed on Wednesday in New York Supreme Court, and it alleges that “Dentsu Group and its affiliates Dentsu Aegis Network and MKTG are directly responsible for the destruction of the Woodstock 50 Anniversary Festival.” The suit also claims that Dentsu affiliate Amplifi Live, LLC, which “governed the terms of the production of the festival,” “breached that agreement.”

The suit continues, “Despite Woodstock 50’s best efforts, Dentsu’s sabotage was effective and complete, and directly resulted in huge damages to Woodstock 50. As a result of Dentsu’s egregious conduct, Woodstock 50 is entitled to tens of millions of dollars in compensatory and punitive damages.”

Amplifi Live offered a response to the suit, with a representative saying, “Dentsu’s affiliate, Amplifi Live, acted in the best interest of the public last year after Woodstock 50 breached its agreement. After a full evidentiary hearing, the court credited Amplifi Live’s evidence that a safe and profitable festival could not be mounted, and therefore refused to order Amplfi Live to continue funding the project. […] Amplfi Live is vigorously defending these claims in arbitration and pursuing breach and fraud claims against Woodstock 50. Amplifi Live and its parent and affiliates will vigorously defend Woodstock 50’s eleventh-hour effort to escape the arbitration forum. Woodstock 50 does not represent the Woodstock brand, having lost that license, and the claims in this new filing have no merit and are improper.”

Last summer, Michael Lang explained why he thought things didn’t work with Dentsu, saying, “We just frankly picked the wrong partner in Dentsu. They didn’t really understand the business. When the agreement went at the last minute of just being a backer to a co-producer, they had input into everything that we did. It just pretty much went off the rails from the beginning. They weren’t cognizant of the timeframe for how these things have to get done and how much work has to get done. So they waited for months before signing [production company] Superfly [who was hired to help produce the festival], which was tasked with getting the permits. Then when they pulled the plug, everything sort of stopped.”