Month: November 2021

On Tuesday night, Jimmy Kimmel had a lot to say about the QAnon followers who had gathered in Dallas to await the reemergence of JFK, Jr., and possibly his dad. On Wednesday night, Kimmel brought it up again, as he’s still not sure how this isn’t a much bigger story—and rightfully so. Here was Kimmel’s take:

“The illiterati gathered by the hundreds because they believe JFK, Jr. and JFK, Sr. were going to reemerge and reinstall Donald Trump to power—because obviously the Kennedys would be big Trump fans. I cannot overstate how crazy this event, that is getting almost no coverage, was.”

Kimmel cut to footage of the crowd, who had composed some pretty wacky—albeit on-brand—call and responses, including as resounding “No!” to the question “Did we land on the Moon?”

“Sadly, the Kennedys did not show up in Dallas,” Kimmel said. “So then the new rumor—they pivoted—was that they’d show up at a Rolling Stones concert. There was a Stones concert in Dallas last night, and some of those in the audience became convinced that Keith Richards was JFK.” Kimmel shared a tweet from one attendee, who claimed that: “Whether you like it or not, JFK Senior was there and I feel he was Keith Richards.”

“Who should be more insulted,” Kimmel wanted to know. “Keith Richards, by people who thought he was 104-year-old JFK? Or JFK for them thinking he was a 77-year-old Keith Richards? I don’t know.”

You can watch Kimmel’s full “QAnut” rant above.

In 2012, the martial-arts action thriller The Raid was a pop culture phenomenon, becoming one of the most impactful Indonesian works ever to hit the US at the time. So it makes sense that Rich Brian — who was born and raised in Indonesia before moving to the US to pursue his music career — would channel its uber-violent aesthetic in the video for his aggressive new single “New Tooth.”

Over a rollicking beat by frequent collaborator Diamond Pistols, Brian vents about the jagged path he’s had throughout his artistic career, illuminating both his struggles and his growth as the beat switches from a frenetic fight instrumental to more laid-back synth-heavy meditation music. The video, which follows an elaborate revenge plot highlighted by SWAT team shootouts, was directed and edited by Brian himself. “I really took my time on this song & I think it was worth it,” he said in the press release. “The video was very fun to shoot & edit I feel like I went back to my 2011 filmmaking days, shoutout to Jason Ano.”

The acting skills he displays in the video act as a precursor to Brian’s upcoming film debut Jamojaya, which is directed by Justin Chon and recently wrapped in Hawaii, according to Deadline.

Watch Rich Brian’s “New Tooth” video above

Earlier in the week, conservative White House correspondent Emerald Robinson ran afoul of Twitter’s misinformation policies by tweeting out a conspiracy theory that the Moderna COVID vaccine contains a Satanic tracking device called “luciferase.” While luciferase is an actual luminescent enzyme that exists, it is not used in the Moderna vaccine, which Reuters first reported back in May when the conspiracy theory emerged.

While Robinson’s luciferase tweet was initially pulled by Twitter, the situation has escalated. Robinson’s entire Twitter account is now suspended for “repeated violations” of the platform’s COVID misinformation policies. More notably, her employer, the extremely right wing Newsmax, has pulled Robinson off of the air while it is “currently reviewing the posts” that prompted her suspension from Twitter. Via The Daily Beast:

Several Newsmax staffers cheered on the decision to bench Robinson. “It’s really buzzing the newsroom,” one current employee told The Daily Beast. “I think it’s a good idea. If we are going to be viewed as a news organization, we have to act like one.” Another staffer agreed, reiterating that “it was a stupid thing to tweet.”

The conservative station also rebuked Robinson’s remarks on Tuesday by stating that the COVID vaccines are “safe and effective” and that “we do not believe the vaccines contain any toxic materials or tracking markers.” Of course, the right-wing network is currently staring down the barrel of two multi-billion dollar lawsuits for falsely repeating election fraud claims, so it’s probably not a bad idea to avoid a third one. Satanic tracking devices are never a good hill to die on.

(Via The Daily Beast)

Major festivals across the globe are slowly but surely returning, and that includes Lollapalooza‘s European counterpart, Lollapalooza Paris. The festival was canceled both in 2020 and 2021 due to COVID but they’re now aiming to make their 2022 event one to remember. Lollapalooza Paris officially unveiled their full 2022 lineup and details about the upcoming festival, showing how they’ve booked some of today’s top musicians.

The festival officially takes place the weekend of July 16-17, 2022 across four stages at Hippodrome De Longchamp, which is actually a massive horse racing track in the city. The lineup features US and European acts alike and includes artists like Imagine Dragons, David Guetta, Anitta, Jack Harlow, Pearl Jam, ASAP Rocky, Megan Thee Stallion, Maneskin, Turnstile, Little Simz, Phoebe Bridgers, White Reaper, and more.

Like many of the major festivals in the US, Lollapalooza Paris fans will get the chance to experience more than just music. Festivalgoers can sample a wide variety of French cuisine and art exhibitions. According to press materials, there will even be a space dedicated for fans to learn more about “how to help the world around them.”

See Lollapalooza Paris’ full 2022 lineup above.

Tickets for Lollapalooza Paris 2022 are on sale now. Get them here.

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

James Carville’s telling it straight to his fellow Democrats when it comes to mopping up the mess after this week’s election losses. That’s what led Ted Cruz to go on a cable-news victory tour and dance all over the place while, strangely, no one is claiming election fraud anywhere. You know that would be the case, had Glenn Youngkin not won the Virginia gubernatorial race over ex-Governor Terry McAuliffe. That issue, though, is beside the point because Republicans saw huge turnout for this week’s elections

Well, veteran Democratic campaign strategist and author James Carville believes that there’s significant backlash to blame here, and he’s pointing the finger at the sharp turn that Democrats have taken into hyper-wokeness. At around the 3:00 minute mark in the above video, PBS NewsHour host Judy Woodruff asked Carville what he believes “went wrong,” and he had a ready answer, which is that Democratic rhetoric is swinging too far to the left:

“What went wrong was this stupid wokeness. Don’t just look at Virginia and New Jersey. Look at Long Island, look at Buffalo, look at Minneapolis, even look at Seattle, Washington. I mean, this defund the police lunacy, this ‘take Abraham Lincoln’s name off schools, people see that. Some of these people need to go to a woke detox center or something.”

It sure sounds like the right wing was ready to push back hard on hyper-wokeness, especially after certain far-right cheerleaders freaked out over a poll that claimed that Republicans might stay home from voting. That didn’t happen here, and yes, there’s a whole lot of extremism on both sides. More to the point, though, Carville believes that the Left is currently “expressing language people just don’t use and there’s a backlash and a frustration at that. Suburbanites in northern Virginia… New Jersey, you know, pulled away a little bit.” He added as well, “Youngkin never ran any ads against Biden,” which suggests that the rhetoric on both extreme sides did all the work in this week’s election, rather than Biden’s low approval ratings.

(Via Mediaite)

It’s November, meaning that while some people are starting to celebrate Christmas early, others are preparing the tissues in anticipation for Adele’s upcoming album 30, which drops in a few short weeks. So far, the singer has shared her album’s tracklist and previewed the LP with just one single, “Easy On Me.” The lead single got serious about how Adele was coping with her divorce, so now, the singer has offered her fans something a little more lighthearted in the form of some hilarious bloopers.

Adele’s “Easy On Me” video saw the singer braving a wind storm and somberly looking out a window while delivering the lyrics to her piano ballad. But in some of the video’s behind-the-scenes bloopers, it’s clear that the filming process involved many more laughs. “It’s all smoke and mirrors,” she wrote alongside the bloopers.

At one point in the official video, Adele gets in her car and pops in a cassette tape of her “Easy On Me” single. But the blooper reel shows that actually getting the tape in her car stereo was much harder than it looked. It took multiple attempts and the assistance of her acrylic nails to get the tape to work properly.

Watch Adele’s “Easy On Me” bloopers above.

30 is out 11/19 via Columbia. Pre-order it here.

Ghislaine Maxwell was arrested in July 2020 on multiple charges related to the serial sexual abuse of underage girls by the late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. She’s been locked up in Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Center ever since, where her lawyer claims she’s being treated like fictional cannibal Hannibal Lecter.

“The surveillance rivals scenes of Dr. Hannibal Lecter’s incarceration as portrayed in the movie, Silence of the Lambs, despite the absence of the cage and plastic face guard,” defense attorney Bobbi Sternheim wrote in a seven-page letter to the court. “Ms. Maxwell’s conditions of detention for the past 16 months continue to be reprehensible and utterly inappropriate for woman on the cusp of turning 60 with no criminal record or history of violence. It is unwarranted, unrelenting, and utterly inappropriate.”

Sternheim also claims that her weekly visits with Maxwell are “conducted under the most humiliating circumstances that I have ever experienced in many decades of federal criminal practice,” and that a U.S. Marshal who guarded Maxwell during a court appearance told her client, “You think you are special. You are not special. Remember you are in custody and the judge doesn’t care about you.”

She likely faces an uphill battle for bail given that U.S. District Judge Alison Nathan in Manhattan, who oversees her case, has rejected it three times, calling her a “significant risk of flight.” A federal appeals court has also rejected bail.

The document can be found here. Maxwell’s trial is scheduled to begin on November 29.

(Via Reuters)

A cloud of rebellion and angst billowed through the subway doors of the 7 train leading to CitiField Stadium in Queens, where Rolling Loud was set to take place. Hundreds of kids roared down the subway stairs where they were met by ticket scalpers and lines to show proof of vaccination in exchange for a mint green wristband for a chance to see some of their favorite artists hit the stage live.

Rain, sleet, or snow (and it did rain), the weekend promised performances from some of the hottest bubbling rap acts such as Stunna Gambino, 22Gz, Young Devyn, Griselda, Armani Caesar, City Morgue, and of course, performances from some of the biggest names in the music industry including headliners 50 Cent, J. Cole, and Travis Scott.

The New York edition of Rolling Loud was an illuminating experience that delivered a space for young music enthusiasts to gather with their friends and listen to all the music their parents hate to love. Much like any festival, technical difficulties (A Boogie’s mic not working when 50 Cent brought him out) and artists not showing up to their set (like Chief Keef — who rescheduled for the next day) were par for the course. These are problems that I have learned to accept over the many years of attending festivals, including Rolling Loud.

Most of the performances at Rolling Loud are really about energy and vibes. A majority of these acts don’t really put on full-out shows, instead, it’s more like the artist vibing with the crowd to their own songs. City Girls had a fun set and the crowd was really with them singing along to their hits such as “Act Up” and “Pussy Talk.” Gunna, Lil Yachty, Moneybagg Yo, 42Dugg, and Lil Uzi Vert all put on the type of set that saw the artists mostly vibing with their fans from the stage. The more seasoned acts, such as J. Cole, Rick Ross, and Wale, gave more of a live performance that saw the crowds swelled up to the brim for their wealth of hits. Among the younger artists taking a chance at truly rapping live was Roddy Ricch, who also had a live band with him, but even he wasn’t immune to allowing the audience to vibe with him, especially during “The Box.”

When it came to production, performance, and energy, a few acts stood out. Namely, 50 Cent, who put on a head-bopping nostalgic set. Ending the first night of the fest via Queens, Jamaica’s finest was smooth. The rap luminary also brought out A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie, A$AP Rocky, and DaBaby, which the crowd seemed to love. Who doesn’t want to see “In Da Club” or “Many Men” live from a living legend?

The following nights, however, the festival itself belonged to Playboi Carti and Travis Scott. They are clearly what Rolling Loud was made for. It is why we attend — to rage and nothing else.

God bless anyone who was front and center of the Carti set because I have been there and you have got to really be with the shits in order to survive that kind of energy. I can only imagine how wild things got when he brought out Uzi for “Shoota.” The flashing white and red lighting cloaked over his black vampiric silhouette was captivating and the rain just added texture to the entire set, while the chaos and madness were orchestrated by his guitarist. It was bewitching to witness in real-time.

Travis Scott’s set was pure insanity. It was as if the entire festival swarmed to the Deleon Stage to catch his performance. I was situated somewhere near the middle-back of the growing crowd and at the stroke of the clock, the curtains came down and intense energy flowed through the crowd placing us all on the same frequency. The only thing to do was let go and go with the wave of the audience, instead of fighting it. Bodies bounced and dropped left to right. “I’m the highest in the room / Hope I make it outta here,” never felt so real.

There’s all this recent talk about how the metaverse is supposed to bring people to live shows without having to be physically present. I would like to see technology accurately replicate the kind of intensity that happens at a Travis or Carti show (throw Rocky, Uzi, and Ski Mask in that category too) because — sheesh!

Overall, Rolling Loud New York provided a huge cathartic release to a sea of kids pent up during the pandemic. Even as the event came to a close, the subway was no match for the hundreds of festivalgoers who filled up the 7 train, exiting Citi Field. That is where the party continued.

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

Utopia season may very well be upon us, as Travis Scott announced the first new music from his hotly-anticipated album on Twitter with a cheeky reference to cheesy ’90s tabloids like Weekly World News. Remember seeing Bat Boy on the grocery store checkout stand? Travis Scott does. Along with his exuberant promise of “SOME NEW MUSIC AT MIDNIGHT,” Travis included cover art inspired by the covers featuring the fictional Bat Boy creature, with Travis photoshopped into the character and a headline reading “THE TRUE DYSTOPIA IS HERE!”

It’s worth noting that November 5 will also kick off the third iteration of Travis’ Houston-based Astroworld Festival, which should be a nice salve for H-Town natives after the Houston Astros lost the Major League Baseball World Series to the Atlanta Braves (gotta be doubly embarrassing to lose to a team with that name, yeesh). In all likelihood, the set will be the first time Travis performs the new music from his long-awaited fourth studio album, which has long been rumored — but never confirmed — to bear the title Utopia. The art from Travis’ announcement seemingly bears out those rumors, although it also suggests that he might have been baiting fans all along for a switch to the opposite.

For fans who can’t attend Astroworld, have no fear; Travis intends to live-stream his solo set on Apple Music.

A show hosted by Saweetie and a pack of sex-positive puppets sounds like a strange proposition but oddly enough, it works. That’s the premise of Sex: Unzipped, a new hour-long Netflix comedy special that plays like an adult sex education course mashed up with raunchier sketch comedy than you’ll ever see on SNL, all in the mode of the least kid-friendly episode of Sesame Street ever.

It helps that the human host is game for the silliness, shamelessly flirting with the puppets and vice versa. For all of the complaints about Saweetie’s live performances, the Bay Area-bred star has a lot of charisma. While not as boisterous and playful as rap contemporaries Megan Thee Stallion and Cardi B, Saweetie still has a laid-back, confident charm that makes her the perfect on-camera personality for any number of situations. From hosting her own Icy University YouTube series, to coolly cruising through the full taste bud punishing course of wings on Hot Ones, Saweetie’s easygoing, round-the-way bearing almost demands that she skips the rap portion of her career trajectory and goes straight to hosting her own show.

Saweetie’s media takeover strategy isn’t new to hip-hop but the way she’s going about it sort of is. Plenty of rappers have made the jump from purely making music to acting, hosting, and any number of other media gigs (the new one seems to be podcasting, with everyone from Joe Budden to Nicki Minaj contracting with Apple and Spotify for their own shows). But usually, the artist in question must be established; Will Smith had already won his first Grammy by the time he jumped into television with The Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air, Eve had a number of supporting roles in movies after delivering multiple platinum albums, then got her own sitcom, and both versions of Queen Latifah’s talk show came after two albums and an ensemble role on Living Single.

More recently, Saweetie peers like Cardi B reversed the formula, utilizing a role on the popular Love & Hip-Hop franchise to develop a huge social media following, then translating that into rap superstardom. After becoming the first female rapper since Lauryn Hill to reach No. 1 on the Billboard 200, it was only natural that Cardi B would go on to host her own show on Facebook, Cardi B Tries…, which built on her established fame and naturally outgoing personality. Likewise with her role on Netflix’s Rhythm + Flow. Cardi’s move into television (or what passes for television when everything we watch is on a computer, phone, or tablet screen) launched from the springboard of her existing catalog of hits and near-ubiquity in the wake of her breakout hit “Bodak Yellow.”

Saweetie, on the other hand, has yet to even release a full-length project. So far, she’s only dropped a trio of EPs, of which only Icy even registered on the Billboard 200. She’s had a string of virally successful singles, including her original hit “Icy Grl,” “My Type,” and “Tap In,” but only three have reached the Top 40, with “Best Friend” charting the highest — arguably due in large part to her co-star on the song, Doja Cat. It’s probably fair to say that Saweetie is not the pop culture dominating juggernaut that Cardi is. Even Doja Cat, fresh off her first award show hosting gig at the 2021 MTV VMAs has a No. 1 hit record in “Say So” and multiple viral trends to her name.

Yet Saweetie has still managed to cultivate the air of a much more successful artist by sheer will. At this point, I think Forbes might be the only major magazine she hasn’t done a feature with. She’s been on every internet interview show (twice, in some cases), she’s got a Sprite sponsorship, she had a guest-starring role on Freeform’s Black-ish spinoff Grown-ish, and who could forget the infamous McDonald’s partnership — which seemed based almost entirely on a handful of viral moments of people teasing her for her off-the-wall food combinations (ranch on spaghetti!?!?). Nearly all of the media Saweetie has done has been to promote her upcoming debut album Pretty Bitch Music, yet she’s pushed the album back multiple times, once as a result of the ridicule she received for a few lackluster performances.

At this point, Saweetie is just as well-known for just being Saweetie as she is for rapping. Here’s a crazy idea: She should lean into this. After releasing her album and completing the requisite tour, why doesn’t she just do a bunch of different projects with Netflix? She’s already proved that she can handle herself in front of a camera. Do another comedy special — maybe try standup! Do a Christmas movie! I’d watch a Christmas movie with Saweetie in it — and you would too. Do a travel show! Saweetie is always shouting out her Filipino heritage — take her to the islands and follow her around with a camera. Gold is guaranteed. I’d watch a Saweetie talk show, a Saweetie sitcom, a Saweetie police procedural… the possibilities are literally endless. Did you see Saweetie’s Halloween sketch where she dressed up as Catwoman and won the approval of Halle Berry? Saweetie superhero movie.

None of this is to dismiss Saweetie as an artist. She’s a way better rapper than she gets credit for (check out some of her earlier car freestyles or the time she rapped for J. Cole), she’s just had a hard time adjusting her rhyme-heavy style for the pop-friendly beats she’s employed in her attempts to crossover (something that also happened to J. Cole himself, lest we all forget). Rumor has it, she has some pretty brassy musical swings on the upcoming album, which could finally endear her to a skeptical public if they don’t turn people off entirely. The hip-hop public is notoriously fickle — why keep trying to please them when there are so many on-screen opportunities that make use of Saweetie’s best weapons? She’s got the chops, and against the odds, she’s got the resume. All she needs is the official Saweetie show, which even her haters would love to watch.

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