Culture has always had room for renegades who tell inappropriate truths, stunning us with the kind of fearless candor that is first alarming, then funny, and then, ultimately, persuasive. Standup comedian Matt Rife is not one of them, but he has put immense effort into projecting this persona — and …
Read More »Herbal Abortions Are Going Viral on TikTok. They Could Kill You
At first, the TikTok video seems like your average makeup tutorial: Alexis, a content creator with glowing skin, perfectly groomed brows, and a scrunchie on her wrist, is applying blush to her cheekbones as “Flesh” by Ghostmane plays in the background. Then the text flashes on screen: “If you’re a …
Read More »Julia Fox Has the Internet in a Chokehold By Declaring Herself Josh Safdie's Muse in 'Uncuh Jamzzz'
It’s hard to scroll through TikTok these days without being confronted by the sound of Julia Fox‘s yassified pronunciation of her breakthrough filmUncut Gems. Her appearance on the podcastCall Her Daddy has prompted a new level of virality for the actress, New York City personality and solid candidate for most …
Read More »TikTok Is Making Ed Sheeran Cool Again Question Mark?
It’s no secret that Ed Sheeran has historically been considered, for lack of a better term, uncool. The Brit’s musical output skews on the schmaltzier side, and tracks like “Perfect” and “Thinking Out Loud” have traditionally been considered wedding dance songs or the soundtrack for freshman high schoolers’ first experience …
Read More »How Brandan Robertson, a.k.a. the 'Tik-Tok Preacher,' Is Taking on the Anti-LGBTQ Teachings of His Faith
This piece originally appeared as part of Rolling Stone’s annual Hot List, in the July/August 2021 issue of the magazine. Recently this thing has been happening to Brandan Robertson. He’ll be at a gay bar, minding his own business (sort of), when someone will approach to ask, “Are you a …
Read More »Want a Record Deal? Call a TikTok Marketing Company
In 2020, a “top 3 biggest pet peeves” TikTok created by a marketing company without a website can land a former high school football player a record deal. “Psycho!” is just the fifth track ever released by the 19-year-old Mason Rupper, a Salt Lake City, Utah native who began writing …
Read More »TikTok Is a Lottery, and Tai Verdes Is Winning
TikTok has been downloaded over two billion times, but some artists still remain wary of the app, uncomfortable with its reputation as an engine for dance crazes. “Some people think they’re too good for the platform, don’t want to disgrace their art — ‘this is the song, only play it …
Read More »RS Charts: BTS' 'On' Debuts Top Ten, but Roddy Ricch Is Still Number One
Roddy Ricch‘s “The Box” repeated at Number One for the ninth week on the Rolling Stone Top 100 Songs chart, earning another 34.1 million streams for the week of February 21st through February 27th. The squeaky single has been the biggest hit of the year by a wide margin, holding …
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