Music

In addition to the new Normani release, “Fair,” this Friday brought with it even more new music releases and announcements in the world of R&B and hip hop.

— Coi Leray and Nicki Minaj, “Blick Blick!” — The two rappers have released their new collaboration and a video to go along with it. The track almost didn’t happen after Coi’s father prematurely announced the collab last month and Nicki pulled her verse. But she later changed her mind. “I just felt bad that [Coi] was robbed of telling the world in her own way @ her own time. But that’s water under the bridge now. Good vibes all 2022,” Nicki said.

— Mahalia, “Whatever Simon Says” — The Grammy-nominated R&B singer unveiled the new track about the unrealistic beauty standards placed on women. In a statement, he Grammy-nominated R&B singer  says she feels the song is “every girls ‘f*** you’ to the system that has always been set up through a male gaze.”

— Erica Campbell, “Positive” — The singer-songwriter has released the uplifting lead single off her third studio album, which is set to be released on September 23. “Words have power. Positive is a good word even though it’s now connected to something else due to COVID,” Campbell says in a statement. “I just wanted to take that word back and give it the power it deserves.”

— Summer Walker announced she has a new music video coming for her hit single with SZA, “No Love.” The video will feature an extended version of the song with a never-heard-before verse. The video, as well as the extended version of the song, arrive on March 25.

(“Blick Blick!” video contains uncensored profanity.)

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Kel Mitchell knows that reboots are hot right now and is wondering what that means for Good Burger.

ABC Audio caught up with the comedian recently at 90s Con in Hartford, Connecticut, and discussed a modern remake of the beloved 1997 film. If Mitchell had it his way, he’d want a darker re-imagining.

Citing the grittier versions of Fresh Prince of Bel Air and the Archie comics, he remarked, “A darker version of Good Burger will be very interesting. I would love to see that.” He took note of the Fresh Prince reboot, Bel-Air, commenting, “That was really, really, really deep. They showed a dramatic side. So a dramatic side of Good Burger would be funny.”

Mitchell flirted with the possibility of bringing on horror master Jordan Peele to put a twisted spin on the Nickelodeon film, saying, “That would be great! A Jordan Peele Good Burger? I love it.”

The 43-year-old actor said he and his co-star Keenan Thompson “always talked about” doing a reboot, but admitted that they don’t have any say whether or not a dark version of the comedy will ever come to be. “It’s in the fans hands,” he explained. “Hit up Paramount!…Let them know.”

Lori Beth Denberg, another Good Burger alum, agreed that a reboot is overdue, and proposed a project focusing on the son of Mitchell’s character, Ed.  

When asked about the idea of the show taking a more sinister route, Denberg mused over the possibility of her character, Connie, being not-so-nice. “If it’s very dark, maybe I’d be mysterious and in the shadows, but you’d still know it’s me because of my crazy voice,” she posed. “Maybe I murdered someone. Or maybe I didn’t! We’ll have to see.” 

Good Burger is now streaming on Netflix.

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Royal Blood has premiered a new single called “Honeybrains.”

The track, which is available now via digital outlets, arrives less than a year after the U.K. duo dropped their latest album, Typhoons, last April.

In releasing the tune, Royal Blood says, “Instead of sitting on new music, waiting for it to grow old, we thought it’d be fun to let you in on what we’ve been working on over the past few weeks before we head out on our biggest tour so far!”

That tour kicks off this Saturday with a run of U.K. and European dates, followed by a U.S. leg that launches in April.

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Normani bares her soul on her new track, “Fair,” which she says captures a vulnerability never before seen in her music.

Speaking to Apple Music’s Zane Lowe, the former Fifth Harmony singer explained, “I always told myself that I owed it to me to put out something that I really believe in.”  Citing her start in the music industry, Normani says “Fair” is “scary, but freeing,” because “This is me being vulnerable, and really captures a true and raw point in my experience that I wanted to share.”

“Fair” is about the pain of watching an old love moving on and struggling to do the same. Normani said the track “captured me in the moment as I was experiencing. In real time. I was going through it emotionally that, that day, I wasn’t sure if I could even really pick myself up to go to the studio.” 

Normani is thankful she made it to the recording booth. “It’s therapy for me,” she elaborated, because the song was “written by all females.”  The “Dancing with a Stranger” singer says she was able to share her heartache with a larger community: “We really all went through the same experience. So it was a lot easier for the lyrics to just come out. It was like floodgates. I’m so proud of how it was written.”  

Normani is also proud of her journey, and reflected on starting in the industry when she was 15, where all her mistakes were magnified because she was in the spotlight. She said that taught her, “Not everybody you’re going to please, but you’re good.”

“Like I said, 15 versus 25, I needed to go through some stuff to give the most authentic version of myself, which my fans deserve, but I deserve,” she said.

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Travis Barker is taking a break from his many, many music projects to help celebrate Hollywood’s biggest night.

The Blink-182 drummer is set to perform during this year’s Oscars. He’ll be joined by a band that includes music director Adam Blackstone, percussionist and frequent Prince collaborator Sheila E., and pianist Robert Glasper.

We can only hope that Barker’s performance leads to a collaboration with Billie Eilish and Radiohead‘s Jonny Greenwood, who are nominated this year for the Best Original Song and Best Original Score Oscars, respectively.

The 2022 Oscars ceremony airs live Sunday, March 27, at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.

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Eve is over the moon about her newborn son, Wilde Wolf, whom she welcomed last month. In a new video clip posted on her Instagram Story on Friday, she shared a brand-new look at her baby and showed off just how smitten she is.

Using a filter that displayed multi-colored hearts that had “love” written in the middle, the “Let Me Blow Ya Mind” rapper filmed herself sitting while little Wilde is snoozing contentedly on her chest. “Wilde, my precious baby,” she coos over to the infant, who is fast asleep with his mouth wide open. “This is heaven. This is heaven right here!”

Eve, 43, previously announced the arrival of her newborn on Instagram, writing, “Our Beautiful boy was born Feb 1st 2022. Wilde Wolf Fife Alexander Somers Cooper. Words can’t describe this feeling.”

She shares Wilde with husband Maximillion Cooper. 

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Apocalyptica has released a new song called “I’ll Get Through It,” featuring Black Sabbath bassist Geezer Butler.

The track features vocals by Franky Perez, who previously sang with the cello metallers on their 2015 album Shadowmaker, and played with Butler in the short-lived band Deadland Ritual.

Adding to the tune’s collaborative spirit, “I’ll Get Through It” was written by prolific songwriter and 13-time Oscar-nominee Diane Warren.

You can listen to “I’ll Get Through It” now via digital outlets.

Apocalyptica will launch a U.S. tour with Perez on vocals April 7 in Atlanta.

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