Kaash Paige may have returned home to Dallas after a stint in LA, but she is claiming her status as a hometown hero. On her latest single, “Doubted Me,” she proves her haters wrong, as she highlights what she’s accomplished over the past few years.

“They doubted me / I’ma be the biggest thing they ever seen / See my name in flashin’ lights and cover magazines / Do it for the real ones and I do this for my team,” she sings on the song’s chorus.

The song’s accompanying music video is a compilation of homemade clips set to the song. In the montage, we see Kaash at various stages of her life — from her childhood in Dallas, playing basketball and singing as a kid, and performing at tour stops and festivals across the country.

Kaash’s new project The Fall Off is set to arrive later this year. In a recent interview with Billboard, she revealed that the cover art will see Kaash sitting on a ledge and looking over her hometown.

“We all go through challenges every single day and I feel like a lot of people don’t know how to take risks or jump off,” she said. “It means a lot to me, because I feel like risks are the biggest things of success. Moving out to L.A. was a big success for me. Moving back to Dallas, I feel like that’s going to be a huge success for me as well. So I think right now, my whole life is about doing the unthinkable.”

Check out the video for “Doubted Me” above.

The best new hip-hop this week includes albums, videos, and songs from Ice Spice, Smino, Westside Gunn and more.

Happy Halloween! As spooky season comes to a close, rap fans got a few treats this week in the form of new releases from Ice Spice, whose new song “Bikini Bottom” may well keep the attention from her viral hit “Munch” coming, Trippie Redd and Don Toliver’s rebellious single”Ain’t Safe,” IDK’s MF DOOM homage “Monsieur Dior,” as well as deluxe versions of Baby Keem’s The Melodic Blue and Freddie Gibbs’ Soul Sold Separately.

Here is the best of hip-hop this week ending October 28, 2022.

Albums/EPs/Mixtapes

BabyTron — Bin Reaper 3: Old Testament

Michiganers have been rejoicing in the resurgence of the state’s underground rap scene, propelled by off-kilter cadences and over-the-top punchlines. BabyTron is perhaps one of the most unusual of the current crop, with a rapidly growing and increasingly vocal fan base singing his praises.

BlueBucksClan — Clan Way 3

West Coast duo BlueBucks has amassed a fervent following behind their nonstop flow of clever sports references and party-ready beat selection. Clan Way 3 was delayed a bit but proves to be worth the wait.

Che Noir — The Last Remnants

While much of the attention on Buffalo’s indie rap scene has centered on Griselda, fans hankering for gritty, bar-forward raps should not sleep on Che Noir, who proves that the upstate New York city has plenty of talent worth checking out.

Duke Deuce — Memphis Massacre III

In the fervor surrounding Quality Control’s marquee acts, it’d be easy to overlook the rest of their roster — and a mistake to do so. Duke Deuce is one of those; he’s an exuberant performer in his own right who raps like the titles of his songs: ALL CAPS.

Smino — Luv 4 Rent

The highlight of the week’s releases for my money, Luv 4 Rent is Smi’s long-awaited follow-up to 2018’s Noir. With a newfound sense of freedom and assists from the likes of J. Cole, Lil Uzi Vert, and more, he pays off fans’ patience in spades.

Westside Gunn — 10

Wisely cutting down the full title of his long-running mixtape series for its final installment in light of recent comments by a sometime collaborator, Griselda’s head honcho delivers more of what the Buffalo-bred producer’s fans have come to expect.

Yung Gravy — Marvelous

If nothing else, Gravy’s album is a perfect example of how to strike when the iron is hot. With his single “Betty” burning down TikTok and RickRolling us all in the process, he picked the perfect time to drop his fourth(!) studio album, ensuring maximum exposure.

Singles/Videos

Babyface Ray — “Nice Guy”

As the Detroiter joins his fellow Michigan rap compatriots in experiencing a boost in acclaim, he kicks off the rollout to the follow-up for his 2022 album Face with a cinematic video and more haunting reflections on the street life he’s working so hard to leave behind.

Busta Rhymes — “Slap” Feat. Big Daddy Kane & Conway The Machine

Goodness gracious. Two of rap’s most decorated vets turn in a performance that proves the best only get better with time. Conway’s contribution is also pretty cool but all the spotlight is deservedly stolen by Mr. Dark Gable himself, Big Daddy Kane.

Erick The Architect — “No Ice” Feat. Akthesavior

When Flatbush Zombies started working on solo projects, I’ll admit I was disappointed and a little skeptical. I needn’t have been; their solo output as a whole has been every bit as solid and their expanded perspectives make up for the missing group chemistry.

Ray Vaughn — “Tradeline”

Top Dawg Entertainment’s new hitter continues to put his fascinating approach to the label’s formula on display. Many of the hallmarks are there, but his rhymes are ginsu sharp and even more street-focused than those of TDE’s more established names. The end result fills an interesting lane, somewhere between the sharp insights and slick punchlines of Ab-Soul and Kendrick Lamar, and the casual gangsterism of Jay Rock and Schoolboy Q.

Stalley — “Red Light”

Ohio native Stalley is in the midst of a fruitful second life as a Curren$y/Larry June-esque indie who makes up for a lack of flash with cool consistency and low-key luxury. “Red Light” is the first single from his upcoming album Somebody Up There Loves Me, due December 6 on Mello Music.

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

Epic fantasy fans are currently living their best life, given the wealth of TV adaptations for said epic fantasy works. That includes Neil Gaiman’s dazzling The Sandman series on Netflix. He did not write Lord of the Rings, although some trolls did come for him over Amazon’s “woke” adaptation, but Neil is a fan, and he also digs deep when it comes to the Game of Thrones universe. That includes scrutiny of bodily functions.

Of course, House of the Dragon recently rolled out the first season finale, and the timing was right for George R.R. Martin to promote The Rise of the Dragon: An Illustrated History of the Targaryen Dynasty, Volume One while enjoying a conversation with Gaiman in New York City. Well, the American Gods author had a hard-hitting question about the source of Tyrion Lannister’s daddy issues. Via Variety, this went down with a question about which digestion-related affliction applied to Tywin Lannister:

Gaiman: “Did Tywin have chronic diarrhea or chronic constipation?”

Martin: “I think he was possibly a little constipated.”

This speaks for itself, does it not? Variety also details their wide-ranging discussion that included the dynamic duo dissecting the horrors that can happen with adaptations. Martin elaborated with his observations about which “legitimate” changes should happen while adapting for a new medium and which ones can stuff it:

He recalled adapting Roger Zelazny’s “The Last Defender of Camelot” for an episode of “The Twilight Zone” and, due to budget constraints, being forced to choose between having horses or an elaborate Stonehenge-esque set for a battle scene. (He didn’t want to make the decision, so he called up Zelazny, who chose to scrap the horses.) “That, to my mind, is the kind of stuff you are called upon to do in Hollywood that is legitimate.” An example of an “illegitimate” change, Martin said, was CBS making him include an “ordinary person” who just “tags along” in the episode in order to appeal to a “high concept.”

“I was new to Hollywood,” Martin said. “I didn’t say, ‘You’re f*cking morons.’”

There’s nothing else like observing an author who, on one hand, infuses intricate webs of characters with a dizzying array of names that seem geared to f*ck with us, and on the other, drops f-bombs and doesn’t mind discussing constipation. Thank god that this discussion didn’t involve King Viserys I. He had suffered enough already.

(Via Variety)

Taylor Swift’s Midnight has officially been out for a week and it’s expectedely already been smashing streaming records. Swift said that even though her tenth studio album is “dark,” she had, “more fun making it than any album I’ve ever made.” Adele has praised her as, “One of the greatest songwriters of our generation,” and Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon called Swift, “the most talented person in the world.” So what is the method to her mastery?

On an appearance on The Graham Norton Show, Swift got deep. Sometimes it’s hard to verbalize what exactly goes into making a concept album, but Swift was very clear in the inspiration behind her songwriting.

“It’s a concept album. And the main question is: ‘What keeps you up at night,” Swift began. “So it’s you know, you could be up at night because you’re reeling from just having met someone and you’re falling for them. Or you could be plotting revenge,” she joked. She then references a moment of vulnerability in a “nightmare” screen test she did with actor Eddie Redmayne for a role in the 2012 Les Miserables feature film, saying “You could be thinking about that time that they painted your teeth brown. You could be thinking about what could have been.”

Swift then takes a breath and summarizes how the concept guided her through the entire songwriting process: “You know, there’s just so many possibilities. If you give that like — if you think of that as a creative writing prompt, which is what I did. That’s where the album came from.”

Men talk, women talk, and apparently so does Polo G‘s bag. The Chicago rapper returns from a brief musical hiatus with the high-energy single, “Bag Talk.” On the surface, “Bag Talk” may appear to be yet another braggadocious record. However, upon further inspection, the song co-produced by DJ Tony Tone, Smatt Sertified, Southside, and TM88 is a bold reminder of just how far Polo G has come.

This year alone, the rapper has found himself at the mercy of the justice system several times — even beating misdemeanor charges this past April. The TooTurntGang head honcho refuses to let outside forces slow him or his hustle down. Now, with the weight of a potential prison sentence lifted off his shoulder he is back to doing what he loves — releasing bangers.

For fans that were worried about what direction the rapper would take, especially after his attempt to crossover with “Bad Man”, a take on the late Michael Jackson’s hit “Smooth Criminal” — don’t be. Although “Bag Talk” is a departure from Polo G’s drill roots, the essence of hip-hop’s gritty street culture is ever so present. In the official video directed by Caleb Jermale, viewers are given a tour through Polo G’s stomping grounds. If you want more new music from Polo G, you won’t have to wait long as whispers are growing that he has several collaborations dropping in the coming weeks.

Watch the full video above.

After already landing him in hot water with a passage about how he wished Keanu Reeves had died instead of River Phoenix, Matthew Perry‘s book is back with another not so great anecdote about another celebrity: Salma Hayek. With his fame rocketing from his role on Friends, Perry starred in the 1997 romantic comedy, Fools Rush In, alongside Hayek. However, Perry was not a huge fan of Hayek’s acting advice.

Here’s what Perry wrote in his upcoming memoir, Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing, via Entertainment Weekly:

Perry goes on to say that Hayek always had a “very elaborate and lengthy idea” about how to tackle the scene at hand, but “her long-winded ideas weren’t always helpful.” He writes, “There’s one scene in which I’m professing my love for her. She suggested that we don’t look at each other — rather, we should look out at our future together. After listening to this nonsense for about twenty minutes, I finally said: ‘Listen, Salma,’ I said, ‘I’m telling you I love you in this scene. You look wherever you want, but I’m going to be looking at you.’”

Obviously, Perry’s anecdote about Hayek is nowhere near as bad as his remarks about Keanu Reeves. But it is another exciting installment in “Which Famous Celebrity Does Matthew Perry Have an Issue With Now?” The book isn’t even out yet and so far Perry has taken shots at Reeves, Hayek, and Valerie Bertinelli. Could he be any more of a tea spiller?

(Via Entertainment Weekly)

Last week, amid all the other genuinely terrible things he’s been saying, Kanye West raised eyebrows for a completely different reason when he accused Jamie Foxx and Quentin Tarantino of stealing his idea for their film Django Unchained. “They got the idea from me,” he insisted in an interview with Piers Morgan, “because the idea for Django, I pitched to Jamie Foxx and Quentin Tarantino as the video for ‘Gold Digger.’”

However, in his own recent appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live! to promote his new book, Tarantino said that there is “no truth” to Kanye’s version of events and instead offers an alternate take that explains Mr. West’s wild claims.

“He wanted to do a giant movie version of College Dropout, the way he did the album,” he said. ” “So he wanted to get big directors to do different tracks from the album and then release it as this, like, giant movie. Not videos, oh no, there’s nothing as crass as videos. They were movies. They were gonna be movies based on each of the different tracks. So we used it as an excuse to meet each other… He did have an idea for a video, and I do think it was for the ‘Gold Digger’ video, that he would be a slave and the whole thing was this slave narrative, where he’s a slave and he’s singing ‘Gold Digger.’”

While Tarantino says “it sounded really cool” and that he wishes the idea had come to fruition, Kanye’s recent actions have many other former collaborators and business partners distancing themselves from him, if not outright regretting their associations with him in the first place. You can watch Tarantino and Kimmel’s full interview above.

Finally, Rihanna is back with new music: Earlier today, she released “Lift Me Up,” her contribution to the Black Panther: Wakanda Forever soundtrack (one of two songs she did for it, apparently). Now, she’s dropped a new video for the song.

This video is relatively simple in concept, featuring footage of Rihanna on a beach at dusk between clips from the movie. The visuals firmly take a backseat to the audio here, but in a good way, as they help elevate the emotional resonance of the impactful tune by offering calm and warm scenes to enhance the song without overpowering it.

Tems — who co-wrote the track alongside Rihanna, Ludwig Göransson, and director Ryan Coogler — says of the song, “After speaking with Ryan and hearing his direction for the film and the song, I wanted to write something that portrays a warm embrace from all the people that I’ve lost in my life. I tried to imagine what it would feel like if I could sing to them now and express how much I miss them. Rihanna has been an inspiration to me so hearing her convey this song is a great honor.”

Watch the “Lift Me Up” video above.

Halloween weekend is upon us and we’ve already seen a number of artists showcasing their spookiest and cutest costumes thus far. Doja Cat got into the spirit dressing up as Elvira, Doechii totally smashed it with her take on Pamela Anderson’s Barb Wire, and in a move nobody saw coming, Charlie Puth was an Oreo Cookie alongside Elmo’s M&M’s cookie. But Charli XCX and Lorde had a plan to break the Halloween internet, and it almost worked. Rather, the almost tried it.

“So, I thought about going as Lorde for Halloween this year…and like actually doing a cover of ‘Royals,’” Charli XCX tweeted. “And so I text Lorde and told her the idea and she was like ‘Ok, iconic. I’m going as Charli XCX.’ And then we both cackled and then we were like, ‘Ok cute’ yeah but actually cba [can’t be arsed] maybe next year. So just so you guys know THE THOUGHT was there and we KNOW it’s legendary butttt we’re just lazy lol.”

Perhaps Charli can strike another deal with the devil and make it happen before October 31st rolls around?

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

Sech has returned with his new EP Ya Casi Vienen that was released today (October 28). The Panamanian superstar pushes reggaeton music to the next level in his latest single “Foto En Panty.”

Sech broke through in 2019 with this global hit “Otro Trago.” The song hit No. 1 on Billboard‘s Hot Latin Songs chart while impressively peaking at No. 34 on the Hot 100 chart. Sech has since become one of the most popular artists to emerge from Panama. Considering that reggaeton music has roots in Panama that are often overlooked, Sech’s success is a reminder of the country that helped shape the genre. He has since collaborated with artists like Bad Bunny, J Balvin, and Manuel Turizo.

This past year, Sech remained mostly quiet on the music front outside of his single “Noche De Teteo” in May. The Ya Casi Vienen EP is his first major release since last year’s 42 album. The title translates to “They’re Almost Coming” in English, which hints to the new music that’s coming in the next phase of Sech’s career.

“When I started thinking about the next song I wanted to release, I couldn’t choose one, because I love all of them,” Sech said in a statement. “I decided that I had to present these four tracks at the same time. With them I present a new era of Sech, where much more than music will come. I hope you enjoy it as much or more than me.”

The EP features four new tracks by Sech. The lead single “Foto En Panty” is beast of a reggaeton banger. The rhythm switches up from fast to frenetic as Sech sings about empowering women to post whatever kinds of photos they want to on Instagram. If their boyfriend doesn’t like that bikini photo on social media, that’s too bad, he preaches. Sech also branches out to dance music with the alluring “Party De Electronica.” Dembow beats meet electronica influences as Sech’s soulful voice shines.

Ya Casi Vienen is out now via RichMusic Inc. Listen to it here.