Syd Releases First Song in Over Three Years
Ahead of her summer stint as a supporting artist for bothBillieEilishandRenee Rapp's respective UK tour dates,Sydhas returned with her first piece of solo new music in over three years. Dubbed 'Die For This,' the cut arrives as her first single since the release of her sophomore solo endeavor,Broken Hearts Club,in April of 2022.
'Die For This' hears Syd continue to push the needle on her own sound, an easy-on-the-ears fusion of diverse R&B sounds infused with jazz and pop influences. The two-and-a-half-minute offering is a classic solo Syd cut, spotlighting her effortless ability to flit over any melody with her soothing vocals.
Syd made her official solo debut in 2017 with the release of her initial long-form solo endeavor,Fin.Since the acclaimed album's drop, Syd has stayed busy with follow-up singles, EPs, and features leading up toBroken Hearts Club,including the release ofThe Internet's fourth studio album,Hive Mind,in 2018.
Stream 'Die For This,' out everywhere now, and stay tuned for more updates on what Syd has in store…
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Black America Web
14 hours ago
- Black America Web
Syd Returns With Intimate Single 'Die For This'
Source: Taylor Hill / Getty Syd. Is. Back. The genre-blurring singer, songwriter, and producer just released her first solo track in three years, 'Die For This,' a delicate preview of her upcoming EP. The song premiered on a Monday, July 7th, as BBC Radio 1's 'Hottest Record in the World'. The record is out now on all streaming platforms. Best known as the lead singer of The Internet and original member of the underrated rap group Odd Future, Syd delivers her signature softness on this new track. 'Die For This' finds her pledging devotion in the kind of stripped-down, late-night R&B that has become her calling. RELATED: Brent Faiyaz Drops Double Release: 'Peter Pan' and 'Tony Soprano' It's a strong return for Syd, who hasn't dropped any new solo material since 2022's Broken Hearts Club . That same year, she reflected on her growth as a vocalist and songwriter, saying: 'I've always thought I have a cool voice, a pretty voice. But singing was the last thing I started doing… I'm just now starting to feel like, 'Okay, yeah, I do this.'' Since her last album, Syd has remained in creative motion. She co-wrote Beyoncé's Renaissance cut 'Plastic Off the Sofa,' earning a Grammy win for Best Traditional R&B Performance. This summer, Syd will support Billie Eilish on her U.K. tour, then join Reneé Rapp for a run of U.S. dates in the fall. Listen to 'Die For This' here! SEE ALSO Syd Returns With Intimate Single 'Die For This' was originally published on
Miami Herald
20 hours ago
- Miami Herald
This entrepreneur spots deepfakes for celebrities. Can he help average Joes too?
Celebrities are all too familiar with the world of deepfakes, the colloquial term for artificial-intelligence-generated videos that depict actors and other Hollywood talent falsely doing or saying things that they never agreed to. To protect themselves, actors including Steve Harvey, Beverly Hills talent agency WME and studios have enlisted the help of Vermillio, a Chicago-based company that tracks famous people's digital likenesses and intellectual property online. Depending on what its clients want, Vermillio can have the material taken down. But as AI technology continues to improve and becomes more widely available to the general public, regular people are getting scammed too. Now, Vermillio says it is offering a version of its service for free to everyone. The move comes as more and more convincing deepfakes continue to proliferate online, making it difficult for social media sites to police such activity. In 2019, there were about 18,000 deepfakes globally, and this year, there have been roughly 2 trillion generative creations, said Vermillio Chief Executive and co-founder Dan Neely. That leaves average Joes at a growing risk of being impersonated online, with little recourse. "We can't wait for governments to solve this problem," Neely said. "We can't wait for legislators to solve this problem. We can't wait for other people to solve this problem. We just said it's the right thing to do, so we should just be doing it." With this move, Vermillo is adopting a classic "freemium" model - offering partial service for no charge and up-selling for additional features. Here's how it works. Using its TraceID technology, the company flags problematic content. For paying clients, Vermillio can send takedown requests to sites such as YouTube or Instagram. Additionally, Vermillio says clients can monetize their data by licensing it. People who sign up for the free version enter information about themselves such as their name, date of birth and social media handles. Vermillio will use that information to build a "likeness model" to scour the Internet for potential red flags involving the user's identity. Then, Vermillio alerts the user to what exists online. For example, if someone has created a fake Instagram account of that user, Vermillio would flag that. Users can decide for themselves what they would like to allow or take action to remove. If the user wants Vermillio to request takedowns of the inappropriate content, users would need to upgrade to a paid account, which starts at $10 a month and includes five monthly takedown requests. While many social media platforms give an option to users to flag problematic content, Vermillio said its service is faster and more effective than having users go directly to YouTube or Instagram to rectify the situation. It has built a network of partners and can escalate takedowns in as quickly as an hour, the company said. Vermillio executives said some real-life examples of deep fakes include celebrity voices used to raise money for fake charities or terrorist organizations, and high school students creating fake pornography of their classmates. "It's affecting regular people in the sense that they're getting scammed by deepfakes, but it's also affecting teenagers ... so people need to understand where they stand," said Kathleen Grace, Vermillio's chief strategy officer. "This is an easy way for them to do that." While fake social media profiles have existed for years, "generative AI just poured gasoline on it," Grace said. The company said hundreds of people use Vermillio's services, but didn't specify numbers. By the end of the year, the company expects to have thousands. Neely said the company isn't profitable and declined to share revenue figures. Time magazine reported that revenue from Vermillio's TraceID has increased tenfold from April 2023 to April 2024. The company makes money through the paid versions of its service and licensing. Vermillio has raised $24 million in funding. Hollywood companies and talent are navigating artificial intelligence in different ways. Groups such as performers guild SAG-AFTRA are pushing for more state and federal protections against deepfakes. Some celebrities such as Academy Award-winning supporting actor Jamie Lee Curtis struggled to get a fake ad of her on Instagram taken down showing her falsely endorsing a dental product. WME announced a partnership with Vermillio last year. "The scale of the issue is extraordinary, so if you're a rights holder, just trying to understand how much of these AI outputs are based on or utilized my data, my IP in some way, shape or form, is a massive need," said Chris Jacquemin, WME's head of digital strategy. "They've obviously proven that TraceID can protect the most important, most high-profile public figures in the world," Jacquemin added. "Opening it up in a much broader application, I think, is a huge step forward in really democratizing how anybody can start to police use of their likeness with respect to AI and AI platforms." Copyright (C) 2025, Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Portions copyrighted by the respective providers.
Buzz Feed
a day ago
- Buzz Feed
A Breakdown Of Syd's "The Bear" Black Coded Episode
The Bear Season 4 touched down on Hulu recently, giving viewers another opportunity to catch up with our favorite chefs. Episode 4 of the new season, entitled "Worms," was a standalone piece for Sydney, and it was absolutely *chef's kiss.* "Worms" was a beautiful look at Black culture and family, and gave us a more serene episode without much of the usual chaos and emotional baggage that comes with the standard The Bear atmosphere. "Worms" was written by Ayo Edebiri, who plays Sydney, and Lionel Boyce, who plays Marcus. By far, this was the most Black coded episode in the entire series, and it really made me feel seen. For a show that's based in Chicago, a city with one of the largest populations of Black people in America, I had long felt like I wanted to see more of the culture depicted in the series. "Worms" delivers this in such an eloquent and fresh way that it shocked me. So many times when we see Black culture depicted on shows that do not feature a majority Black cast, it feels trite and vociferous. In contrast, "Worms" was quiet, subtle, realistic, and gratifying. Here are all the ways "Worms" was Black coded: The Whoopi Goldberg opening. The episode starts with Syd watching Jumpin' Jack Flash, a Whoopi Goldberg comedy from the mid-'80s. The film is a deep cut and is about a woman who is way overqualified but underappreciated, being recruited to help a European spy escape from danger. 'Do you wanna work here, or do you want to live?," asks Whoopi in the film. I couldn't help but see the parallels to Syd's journey here. She is an overqualified Black woman who feels underappreciated, working to help keep The Bear afloat. Does she want to continue working there, or does she want to live a more peaceful life? Syd taking out her braids. As Syd watches Jumpin' Jack Flash she is undoing her box braids. We see her removing some extensions, sometimes painfully, with semi-patience and grace. This process alone can take forever and is the first step in the hours-long process of getting your hair redone. Chef Adam thinks the hair appointment will only last two hours. While Syd is taking her braids out, Chef Adam Shapiro calls her. If you recall, in the previous season, Chef Adam offered Syd a boss position at his new restaurant. The decision to leave The Bear and join Chef Adam has been weighing heavily on Syd for an entire season at this point. Chef Adam asks Syd to come check out the new restaurant, which is still being built. Syd lets him know that she has a hair appointment today... a warning that most people in the Black community know means, "I'm busy for the rest of the day, try me another time." However, this goes right over Chef Adam's head as a white man, and he offers to meet her after it's done in "two hours." Both Syd and I scoffed at the same time here... TWO HOURS? For box braids? Impossible. However, rather than explaining this, Syd just offers to push her appointment back so she can go meet him quickly. Syd's wool beanie. To cover up her undone hair in public, Syd rocks a large wool beanie. Same Syd, Same. Chef Adam's slight microaggressions. Chef Adam seems like a genuinely nice guy who just wants to impress Syd and make her feel welcome. Unfortunately, he commits quite a few microaggressions in his attempt to be friendly. When Syd meets Chef Adam at the new spot, he is blasting MOP's "Ante Up," which is honestly a classic rap record that I play around the house."Do you know this guy?" he asks Syd (MOP is actually a duo) before he continues whitesplaining. "It's East Coast shit, but it's a classic.' I assume Chef Adam thinks playing very loud rap music for the Black woman coming to visit him will make her feel welcome. He tells her she can then play whatever she wants (I guess he assumed she wanted loud rap music?), but then Syd turns on Beethoven, to which a caught-off-guard Chef Adam goes, "Yeah, vibes." Next, he suggests that Syd bring in, 'some of those Afro-Caribbean influences' to the menu. However, I don't think we've seen Syd create many "Afro" dishes thus far on the show, which highlights that Chef Adam doesn't really know her style at all and is just assuming she has some African or Caribbean dishes in her repertoire because she's a Black woman. To cap off this parade of microaggressions, Chef Adam then suggests that he doesn't want to hire a woman, but then fill the kitchen with, "guys that look like me." Once again, I think he's just trying to be warm and welcoming, but the comment just hit like someone who is trying too hard to be diverse and hip. Would he have made this same comment to a guy who looks like Carmy? Probably not. Family doing your hair on their day off. After Syd finally gets to her hair appointment, we meet her cousin Chantel, played by the always masterful Danielle Deadwyler. Chantel, who is a stylist, is doing Syd's hair at her house on her day off. Having an auntie or cousin do your hair on their off day is such a subtle nod to the culture, and it's little things like that that really bring this episode together. The close-up shots of the hair gel just adds to the ambiance and sets the cultural mood perfectly. The entire relationship and lingo between Syd and Chantel. Throughout the entire episode, we are given a front-row seat to Syd and Chantel's relationship. From their lingo to their body language, it's just such a fresh, funny, and vivid window into the culture. The way they gossip, the way they throw shots at each other and allude to family beef... it feels so authentic, like I'm sitting in my auntie's house while watching it. Chantel code switching on the phone. While Chantel is doing Syd's hair, she gets a call from someone trying to schedule an appointment. We hear Chantel immediately code-switch and talk in a much more "proper" voice to the client on the phone, reminding them not to call her personal phone and to call the shop instead. "I know she didn't just talk to me like that." This was my favorite moment from "Worms." Chantel yells upstairs to her daughter, TJ, asking her to bring down the hair extensions to finish Syd's hair. To which her daughter yells back, "There ain't none, damn!" LAWD, let me tell you I almost fell out of my seat when Syd slowly turns to look at Chantel, both of them in shock. Using a simple curse word like "damn" towards your parents in a Black household sounds to them like you're asking for the death penalty. The subsequent crash out from Chantel had me in tears of laughter. Chantel leaving mid-session to get more supplies. But it turns out TJ was right, there aren't any hair extensions in the house. So, Chantel tells Syd that she's heading to the store and doesn't ask but instructs Syd to watch TJ while she runs out. While I don't use extensions for my locs, I have definitely been in a position where the loc gel or another item runs out, and I'm left to sit and watch TV while my stylist runs to the store. "Fit Check!" Chantel hits Syd with the obligatory, "fit check" question before sliding out the door in a fresh blue Adidas tracksuit. At this point, it's pretty obvious that Chantel is not just going to the hair store. Also, I was howling when she asked for a fit check and didn't even wait for a response before deciding her look was good enough and leaving. The blinking and unset stove clock stuck on 12:00. The unset stove clock is such a subtle inside joke, and I loved it. It's not as trite as the overused "why is the smoke alarm always beeping" joke, but it hits the same tone. The feeling of being left out when going to a better school. While Syd is watching TJ, it's revealed that TJ is being forced by her mother to attend a charter school, while her friends get to go to the public school. This is a struggle that many kids in the hood can relate to. Their parents want them to have a better education and experience, but that means leaving friends behind whose parents may not be able to afford those same opportunities. And God forbid you're seen as the kid with "rich" parents who can afford to provide you with a better life. "Go and make me a bowl." When Chantel finally comes home, after shopping for herself on top of everything else, she checks out the dish that Sydney prepared for TJ. Syd has the audacity to ask, "What did you buy me at Adidas?", after seeing all the shopping bags. Chantel simply hits back with, "Don't worry about that, go and make me a bowl." TRIFLING yet hilarious. Food on the North Side being too dry. When Syd invites Chantel to The Bear, the latter is hesitant because it's on the North Side of Chicago. "You know they beefs be different," Chantel quips. The wide-eyed look of disgust Chantel gives Syd is the tell that she's talking about white people, even though she doesn't directly mention race. "Dip it, keep it wet. With the cheese," Chantel continues, alluding to the fact that the beef on the North side is too dry. And finally, one more microaggression from Chef Adam. When all is said and done, Syd leaves Chantel's place and calls Chef Adam. And you know he has to leave us with one more friendly yet painful microaggression. 'Have you seen Good Hair? I just streamed it. It's so dope," he tells Syd on the phone. I'm still shaking my damn head. Stream The Bear on Hulu.
