If online trolls thought that shaming Iggy Azalea for joining the subscription-based platform OnlyFans was going to get her to deactivate her account, they were wrong. In fact, just outside of the recent sale of her publishing catalog, becoming an OnlyFans content creator has proven to be one of the easiest and most financially lucrative moves she’s made in the last few years.
Initially, the rapper felt guilt around the decision due to the stigma surrounding the platform but during a recent interview on the High Low podcast hosted by model Emily Ratajkowski, Iggy shares that she no longer feels that way. The musician defended her OnlyFans profits and raised questions as to why she was forced to be apologetic about her body in the first place.
“Why do I have to be so apologetic about what I want to do with my own body? Why do I have to wait to enjoy things the way I want to,” the rapper questioned. “When I did it,” referring to joining the platform, “I thought I would want to cover it up, or I would lie about it… I didn’t think I’d lie I thought I’d just say no comment.”
Iggy ends with, “And after I did it I felt like, f*ck you guys, I’m not going to let you talk about this or whisper about it or make it bigger than it is because it shouldn’t be better than that it is.”
Later in the conversation, Iggy shared, “I made record labels so much money off my body. I made a lot of people so much money off my body and I got the smallest cut off my own f*cking body and my own work and my own ideas, ” adding, “I’m going to post pictures like that anyway because I like it and I think they’re beautiful, and I like my breasts. F*cking sorry!”
As it relates to her official earnings from the platform, Iggy shared, “I’m making so much money that I won’t say how much it is.”
Unfortunately, concert fatalities aren’t a new occurrence in live music (i.e. the tragedy at Travis Scott’s Astroworld Festival in 2021). As event promoters and venues ramp up their programming efforts following the loosening of COVID protocol, paired with the excitement many concertgoers have when it comes to seeing their favorite acts live, injuries are becoming more and more common.
Grammy-nominated rapper GloRilla is the latest act to be at the center of a concert-related tragedy. Yesterday, news broke that after a stampede during the recording artist’s Sunday night (March 5) concert at the Main Street Armory in Rochester, New York, one concertgoer was tragically killed. Now, according to the Associated Press, the death toll has increased to two while the reported injuries round out to eight so far.
The Memphis native took to Twitter to share her prayers for those injured during her show, writing, “I’m just now hearing about what happened. Wtf! I’m praying everybody is ok.”
I’m just now hearing about what happened wtf praying everybody is ok
GloRilla then went on to add, “I am devastated & heartbroken over the tragic deaths that happened after Sunday’s show. My fans mean the world to me. Praying for their families & for a speedy recovery of everyone affected.”
I am devastated & heartbroken over the tragic deaths that happened after Sunday’s show. My fans mean the world to me praying for their families & for a speedy recovery of everyone affected
Rochester Mayor Malik Evans issued a statement regarding the incident. “[The fatal stampede is] totally unacceptable,” said Mayor Evans, adding “We are going to hold people accountable for what happened last night, period. I intend to get to the bottom of this.”
Chance The Rapper finally explained a mysterious tweet of his. Last night (March 6) on an episode of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, the “Yah Know” rapper took a break from his busy schedule filming The Voice for an interview and a live performance.
During the interview, Fallon asked Chance about a tweet he posted last month, in which he said he was “trying to get @Target and @pizzahut to SQUASH THE BEEF.”
Fallon asked Chance what exactly he meant by this, to which he replied reminiscing on a time when Target shoppers could purchase a personal pan pizza from Pizza Hut while they shopped, and reeled over the fact that Target stores no longer have Pizza Huts in store.
“I can’t be the only person that’s noticing this,” said Chance. “Do you guys not remember a time when you used to go to Target, and you would have a cart in one hand and a personal pep pizza in the other? What’s going on, Target? I just feel like… I don’t know, there’s like a silent beef going on.”
Though he misses those iconic personal-sized pizzas, Chance admitted that Target is still one of his favorite places to shop.
Could Chance be the one to convince Target and Pizza Hut to reinstate their partnership? It’s not unlikely. After all, he was able to convince Wendy’s to bring back their spicy chicken nuggets to their menu back in 2019.
2023 has already been huge for Rihanna thanks to her kicking the year off by performing the Super Bowl Halftime Show. Some folks thought the performance was obscene enough to file complaints with the FCC, with at least one viewer likening it to pornography. Residents at Arcadia Senior Living Bowling Green in Kentucky were apparently cool with it, though, so much so that they re-created the performance themselves (and earned the attention of Jay-Z in the process).
A TikTok video shared back in February starts with two rows of white-clad seniors lined up, parting to reveal the Rihanna of the video, wearing all red and enthusiastically mouthing along to Rihanna’s “Rude Boy.” The clip was a viral hit and has since been viewed over 30 million times.
Jay-Z was apparently tickled by the video, as he sent a bouquet of roses to the Arcadia Senior Living memers. Arcadia resident Sue Evans told Bowling Green’s WNKY, “There’s 100 of them. And they’re from Jay-Z. My granddaughter was worried and she told her mother, ‘I hope she knows who Jay-Z is!’”
The senior living facility that recreated Rihanna’s Super Bowl halftime show on TikTok said Jay-Z sent them ‘100 red roses’ pic.twitter.com/K0qOgll8rI
Fellow Arcadia resident Dora Martin also said, “My grandchildren and I watched and there were flips and flops and I was standing there thinking, ‘Wow, I wish I could do that,’ and then I did do that.” She added, “I went to the doctor the other day and the nurses, as soon as I walked in there, knew who I was.”
Martin also said of Jay-Z’s gesture, “I thought that was wonderful, very nice of him!”
While plenty of attention has been rightly heaped upon Halle Bailey for her role in the upcoming Little Mermaid remake lately, her sister Chlöe is also building her filmography — albeit, via some lower-profile releases. One of those releases is Praise This, a musical comedy coming to Peacock in April. Chlöe just shared the first trailer for the film on social media, and it looks like the perfect vehicle to show off her acting and singing chops at the same time.
According to Deadline, its studio, Universal Pictures, is apparently hoping for Pitch Perfect-esque franchise potential, and judging from the trailer, it certainly appears that the acapella comedy’s DNA is part of the genetic makeup of Praise This, along with a dash of Chlöe’s mentor Beyoncé’s own gospel-based musical comedy, Fighting Temptation.
Per Collider, Bailey will portray Sam, an aspiring singer who gets shipped off to Atlanta to live with her cousin Jess, played by Anjelika Washington. There, she joins Jess’s praise team as they prepare for a singing competition. The cast also includes comedian Druski and The Wire alum Tristan “Mack” Wilds. There’s also a cameo appearance by Quavo.
Praise This is coming to Peacock on April 7, 2023. You can watch the trailer above.
Compared to the same time last year, it may not feel like hip-hop has been quite as productive. It’s been a great year for indie releases; Greedo came home with a new mixtape, underground faves Skyzoo and Oddisee both released excellent projects in January, and rising stars like Maxo and Nappy Nina crafted standout projects.
Likewise, plenty of buzzy faves released stuff; ZelooperZ, Ice Spice, Boldy James, Reuben Vincent, Big Scarr, Gloss Up, and Kash Doll all came back strong ahead of a flurry of end-of-month releases in February that seemed to signal a shift. Just check out Key Glock and Don Toliver‘s new projects. But looking forward, it looks like hip-hop’s penchant for surprise releases is gearing to strike, because although very few projects have been announced, such a wide-open field has to be inviting for anyone looking to make a name for themselves.
So, although things are looking pretty bare bones for the time being, here are the most anticipated hip-hop albums of spring 2023.
March 3
De La Soul — 3 Feet High And Rising, De La Soul Is Dead, Buhloone Mindstate, Stakes Is High, etc.
De La Soul
Okay, this one is a little bit of a cheat, I admit. None of these are new, so much as folks have been anticipating the coming of De La Soul’s long-lost catalog to streaming since… well… streaming started. Between a prolonged label dispute over publishing rights and a labyrinth of sample clearance issues, it seemed for some time that De La’s discography would be a curio consigned to the memories of Gen Xers and millennials, like the 100-point Wilt Chamberlain game. But here they all are, in high definition, 100 percent intact. The only downside is that Trugoy the Dove isn’t here to see it.
Masego — Masego
The Virginia-based polymath — he sings, raps, and plays the sax — is just about five years removed from his debut album Lady Lady. Since then, he has polished his self-devised TrapHouseJazz style and grown his fan base with a handful of strategically based viral favorite singles and a charming, charismatic social media presence that has rap fans very much looking forward to seeing what he does next.
Slowthai — Ugly
Fresh off the success of 2021’s breakout hit Tyron, the UK punk grime star is picking up right where he left off. Slow is known for the emotional push-pull of his music, which cycles through aggression and processing the trauma behind it. Ugly continues his tradition of fusing rap, rock, and electronic music with surprising vulnerability.
March 6
Talib Kweli & Madlib — Liberation 2
One of rap’s earliest experiments in the “free online release” mechanic gets a follow-up a decade and a half later as the Brooklyn MC reunites with one of rap’s most coveted producers. They’ve proven to be a match made in heaven in the past, and longtime fans are excited to hear the evolution of their chemistry.
March 10
6lack — Since I Have A Lover
It always feels iffy to include 6lack in hip-hop lists considering he’s as much of an R&B traditionalist as he is a bars-first rhyme spitter, and with every project, he can easily split the difference or go all-in on just one side of things. I feel prettty confident in saying this will be one of the better projects to come out this year, though.
March 11
Yeat — Afterlyfe
I’ll be honest and say I don’t quite have the best handle on what exactly makes Yeat so damn popular. There’s a unique blend of Gen-Z nihilism and deep-web-bred meme humor I suspect I’m missing (have I finally found myself on the other side of the Lil B equation?), but anyone with eyes can see that he’s having quite the effect on online discourse. Fans are looking forward to his next album, so I’m looking forward to his next album — even if only in hopes of finally “getting it.”
April
Lil Uzi Vert — The Pink Tape
There’s no hard date attached to this one as far as I can tell — and it would be largely useless, considering the release drama around this album so far, as well as Uzi’s last one, Eternal Atake — but Genius has a tentative April release date. Given Uzi has already blown through the original October date and another February one. All that has only served to increase the anticipation surrounding this release — especially since Uzi promised the delays were to ensure the tape wouldn’t “suck.”
Destroy Lonely — If Looks Could Kill
Similarly to Lil Uzi Vert’s Pink Tape, this one is just posited by Genius for an April date, and simliarly to Yeat, there’s a buzzy, grown-up-confusing element to Destroy Lonely’s music that makes him heavily anticipated, but only by those “in the know.” A clear descendant of the SoundCloud Rap era he’s also a rap nepo baby (his dad I-20 was one of Ludacris’ Disturbing Tha Peace artists in the 2000s), but his vibe is very inspired by Trippie Redd and Playboi Carti — whose label he’s signed to.
May
Your guess is as good as mine. None of the usual forums or resources have any information about what might be coming out, but no one on our Most Anticipated Albums Of 2023 list has dropped yet, and just before summer would be an opportune time for anyone looking to dominate the latter half of the year.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
Keeping up with new music can be exhausting, even impossible. From the weekly album releases to standalone singles dropping on a daily basis, the amount of music is so vast it’s easy for something to slip through the cracks. Even following along with the Uproxx recommendations on a daily basis can be a lot to ask, so every Monday we’re offering up this rundown of the best new music this week.
This week saw a new side of Nicki Minaj and a J summit. Yeah, it was a great week for new music. Check out the highlights below.
Nicki Minaj is Nicki Minaj, but she’s also a number of other people, like Roman Zolanski and Chun-Li. Now, she has added Red Ruby Da Sleeze to her list of alter egos by debuting them on a new self-titled song. Ruby introduces herself by rapping, “Only on them Cs if it’s breeze / Red Ruby Da Sleeze / Chinese on my sleeves / These wannabe Chun Lis / Anyway, ni hao / Who the f*ck told b*tches they was me know.”
Kali Uchis — “Deserve Me” Feat. Summer Walker
Uchis had one of last week’s most hyped new albums with Red Moon In Venus, her well-received third full-length. She carries the LP but gets assists here and there, like from Summer Walker on “Deserve Me,” a smooth number that’s ready for nighttime.
J-Hope and J. Cole — “On The Street”
The biggest J’s of hip-hop and K-pop have linked up at last with “On The Street.” This collaboration is especially meaningful for BTS member J-Hope, as he’s long been a passionate fan of J. Cole and has been forthcoming about the rapper’s influence on him.
Boygenius — “Not Strong Enough”
Phoebe Bridgers, Lucy Dacus, and Julien Baker are finally doing it: releasing a full-length album under their collaborative project, Boygenius. They’ve offered enticing advance tastes of the project so far, the latest being last week’s “Not Strong Enough,” which comes with a video that shows off just how much the three enjoy basking in each other’s auras.
6lack — “Since I Have A Lover”
6lack recently announced when his anticipated new album Since I Have A Lover Is Dropping (later this month), and now we have the title track. 6lack called the track “the highs of having a healthy love, compressed into song format,” adding, “It’s a note to self, that I’m no longer who I was or where I was, and that there’s a bigger purpose starting to reveal itself in the things I create.”
Arlo Parks — “Impurities”
My Soft Machine is coming in May but before that, Arlo Parks has offered a taste of her forthcoming album with “Impurities.” Uproxx’s Alez Gonzalez notes that on the song, Parks “celebrates her chosen community, who embraces her impurities and encourages her to do the same.”
Don Toliver and Travis Scott — “Embarrassed”
Don Toliver quickly followed his new album Love Sick up with a deluxe edition, and who wouldn’t when the expanded album adds a Travis Scott collab to the proceedings? Toliver also didn’t wait long to perform “Embarrassed” live, as Scott popped up at Toliver’s release concert a few days ago.
Gorillaz — “Crocadillaz” Feat. De La Soul and Dawn Penn
Speaking of meaningful additions via deluxe albums, on the expanded version of Cracker Island, Gorillaz reunited with regular collaborators De La Soul on “Crocadillaz.” This comes at a particularly bittersweet time for De La Soul: Their music is finally streaming after years of waiting, but this follows the recent death of group member Trugoy, who leads the way on the new Gorillaz collab.
Yves Tumor — “Heaven Surrounds Us Like A Hood”
Praise A Lord Who Chews But Which Does Not Consume; (Or Simply, Hot Between Worlds) is out soon (maybe by the time you finish reading the title). Yves Tumor dropped “Heaven Surrounds Us Like A Hood” last week and Uproxx’s Flisadam Pointer notes it “spins that narrative that no matter how pure your intentions are, eventually, life will chew you up and spit you out.”
The Dare — “Good Time”
The Dare (aka Harrison Patrick Smith) earned some attention with the 2022 single “Girls,” which aesthetically hearkens back to the 2000s dance-ready indie rock of artists like LCD Soundsystem. The Dare returned last week with more of the same on “Good Time,” which Smith described as “the hangover to the celebration of ‘Girls.’”
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
“Well, I have a record label now,” Minaj confirmed on the latest episode (as noted by Complex). The diamond-certified rapper didn’t reveal the name of her record label yet, but Patty Lauren (aka Patty Duke) has been tapped as the A&R.
Complex additionally relayed that the roster includes Nana Fofie, London Hill, Rico Danna, and Tate Kobang.
Per Billboard, Minaj credited Republic co-president Wendy Goldstein with pushing her to create her own label — “I don’t want no little itty-bitty ting ting; I want to do it right”— and clarified that her artists will be diverse (“Don’t think my label is just rap or Black or anything”).
Fofie’s since-expired Instagram Story showed her and the rest of Minaj’s new roster toasting “to better days,” and Kobang also posted a celebratory Instagram. See the posts below.
Nicki Minaj’s new artists celebrating getting signed to her new record label. pic.twitter.com/NlouJGVT2h
A few days ago, Melle Mel of Grandmaster Flash And The Furious Five stirred the pot when he shared his opinion that Eminem is overrated because he’s white. Well, longtime Eminem associate 50 Cent is having none of that.
In a now-deleted Instagram post from over the weekend, 50 wrote, “There was more money selling dope, then being in Hip Hop when Melly Mel was popping, the culture has grown so much. i’m not sure if it would be what it is today with out artist like Eminem. Sh*t i’m not sure i would be who i am with out him but you know it’s competitive so n****s gonna hate. LOL f*ck outta here ! we sucker free.”
50 Cent responds in defense of Eminem over Melle Mel’s comments on Eminem only being on people’s Top 5 lists cause he’s white. pic.twitter.com/EM3rRo5R2p
This comes after Mel said of Em, “Obviously, he’s a capable rapper. If you was talking about sales, he sold more than everybody. If you talking about rhyme style — OK, he got a rhyme style. But he’s white! He’s white! If Eminem was just another n**** like all the rest of us, would he be top 5 on that list when a n**** that can rhyme just as good as him is 35? […] If he was a Black rapper, he wouldn’t even make the list probably. […] Eminem, he has his style. He’s got a nice little tricky, gimmicky style. But to say that he would be [able to] sell as many records if he was just another brother, that’s not true. It’s just not.”
Chaka Khan found herself at the forefront of the music news cycle last week after appearing on an episode of the Los Angeles Magazine Presents: The Originals podcast. On the show, she was asked about Rolling Stone‘s recent list of the all-time best singers, and she threw shade at vocalists like Mariah Carey and Adele.
Now, Khan has explained herself.
In an Instagram post shared last night (March 5), Khan broke down what happened and offered an apology, writing:
“Recently, I was asked about a list of the ‘greatest singers of all time’ and instead of questioning the need for such a list, I was pitted against other artists and I took the bait.
As artists, we are unfairly put into ‘boxes’, ‘categories’ or on ‘lists.’ Being an artist or musician is not a competition. It’s a gift, for which I am truly grateful.
It was not my intention to cause pain or upset anyone. To anyone that felt this way, I sincerely apologize.
Thank you for all the love everyone has shown me, unconditionally. I have always been about empowering others and I started a foundation for that very purpose. I will be announcing soon.
Empowering all artists is most important because we truly are the architects of change…and change begins within the heart. I love you all and God bless – Chaka.”
(@GloTheofficial) 
Inependet Music Collection 