Hip-Hop Lives Here
Hip-Hop Lives Here
Lil Uzi Vert unexpectedly released a new EP only hours after their Lollapalooza performance was cancelled at the last minute over the weekend.
The Chicago festival began on Thursday, July 30, with Olivia Dean, Charli XCX, Tate McRae, Lorde and The xx among the leading performers. John Summit, Jennie and The Smashing Pumpkins also appeared near the top of the bill.
This year’s schedule covered several musical styles and featured Geese, Wet Leg, Ethel Cain, Turnstile, CMAT, Little Simz, Zara Larsson, Clipse, The Neighbourhood, Yungblud, Beabadoobee, Sombr and Wolf Alice. Lil Uzi Vert, the nonbinary rapper from Philadelphia, had been scheduled to perform before Charli XCX on Friday evening, July 31.
Uzi’s appearance was eventually called off because of dangerous weather conditions, which also caused several other performances to be cancelled or cut short during the weekend. Their set was expected to be especially significant because it fell on the artist’s 31st birthday.
Although their scheduled performance did not happen, Uzi still appeared at the Chicago event. They unexpectedly joined Major Lazer on Perry’s Stage to perform the 2022 song ‘Just Wanna Rock’, before the audience later celebrated by singing ‘Happy Birthday’.
Uzi also commemorated the moment by unexpectedly issuing the EP Maverick ‘Almost Forever’, their first project since 2024’s ‘Eternal Atake 2’. The release arrived exactly 10 years after ‘The Perfect LUV Tape’ first came out.
Awarding ‘Eternal Atake’ five stars, NME wrote: “Lil Uzi Vert still has the game in a chokehold. He’s been making masterpieces for five years now; his body of work offers timestamps for different eras of rap music in that period, from mumble rap (which he pioneered with 2016’s ‘Luv Is Rage’ and ‘Lil Uzi Vert Vs The World’), or the commercial rap he pushed out on his debut ‘Luv Is Rage 2’.
“And here, again, he has made another record that will stay close to the hearts of a generation of rap fans. He is surely our generation’s Lil Wayne.”
Lollapalooza concluded on Sunday, August 2, following several unexpected collaborations. Sombr invited 5 Seconds of Summer onto the stage, The Smashing Pumpkins reunited with Melissa Auf der Maur, Lorde welcomed Charli XCX for ‘Girl, So Confusing’, and Sam Fender joined Olivia Dean to perform their record setting song ‘Rein Me In’.
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Simon Cowell is reportedly set to sit out several episodes of America's Got Talent while he recovers from a routine back operation.
According to TMZ, the judge is expected to be away from the talent competition "for the next couple of weeks" as he prepares to undergo a planned procedure on his back.
Sources told the publication that the 66-year-old is due to have the operation shortly and will need to take some time away from filming while he recuperates.
The music executive previously suffered a serious back injury after falling from an electric bike at his Malibu, California home in August 2020. He underwent a six-hour operation, during which doctors placed metal rods and screws in his back, followed by a lengthy recovery.
Discussing the accident in 2021, The X Factor creator told Extra, "When I saw the X-ray, I really nearly could have smashed my spine to pieces, so I literally wouldn't have been able to walk. I knew I'd broken my back the minute I landed... it was really, really kind of sudden and it hurt."
Cowell later admitted to OK! in 2022 that he had been "lucky to survive" the operation and described the recovery process as a "long haul".
"I didn't talk about it too much at the time. I kept a lot back. It was a lot worse than people thought. I had a lot of long-term nerve damage as well," he said. "Then, a year later, I fell off (another) bike - and that set me back again."
The 21st season of America's Got Talent, which premiered in June, has now reached the live quarter-finals.
There has been no word yet on who could fill in for Cowell while he is away or exactly when he is expected to rejoin Howie Mandel, Mel B and Sofía Vergara on the judging panel.
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