Every first date has the same game plan: look for all the red flags. The quicker you’re able to spot all of them, the easier it’ll be to realize whether or not you should pursue something serious with someone. The last thing you want is to get surprised out of nowhere when a certain trait about someone sours the relationship.

Perhaps the easiest way to root out these issues is to ask them their favorite artists. In a sense, what they listen to allows you a deeper examination into their psyche. If they play a lot of old-school R&B, they’re probably a hopeless romantic. If they play a lot of emo, they might grapple with depression.

The same idea applies to certain red flags. How they talk about their favorite artists will likely determine aspects about them that will make or break any future dates. We’ve selected three that might help narrow down the process.

Three Red Flags That Could Be Explained Through Their Favorite Artists

Kanye West = Talks About Themselves a Lot, Massive Ego

Even Kanye West will admit to having an unparalleled ego. Frankly, with the catalog he’s built over two decades, it’s at least a little understandable. However, that does not apply to the Kanye stan who works an extremely ordinary job.

Anyone who lives and dies by Ye will probably echo a lot of his sentiments, posing as an innovator and will probably talk your head off at a date, all while not asking a single question about you. If you wouldn’t date Ye and his red flags, you definitely should avoid them with a regular person too.

BTS/K-Pop = Obsessive, Controlling

From the outside looking in, K-Pop fandom can get pretty intense. The BTS army jumped down the group’s throats for taking a picture with Chris Brown. These are their ‘idols’ after all, so they have to make a good impression at all times.

This mindset would absolutely poison any healthy relationship. It’s fine to have some level of expectations. But it’s another thing entirely when every waking moment is meticulously monitored. As loyal and devoted as they might be, it’ll inevitably prove exhausting.

Taylor Swift = Main Character Syndrome

I mean, it goes without saying that the pop star who literally made a song called “ME!” might be at least mildly self-absorbed. Ever since her first big hits, Taylor Swift has made music like she’s the only person in the universe. On “You Belong With Me”, she talks about the cheerleader like the most evil person in the world. If it wasn’t written by a teenager, it would feel a little insane.

So eyeball that woman who likes “You Belong With Me” a little more than everyone else. They probably have red flags hidden in plain sight.

Photo by Lloyd Bishop/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images

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Every artist needs a break, even the hardest-working ones. John Summit has been one of the most prolific DJs working today. But after a hefty workload this summer, he’s finally decided to take some time off.

In an August 2026 announcement made on Instagram, Summit shared with fans that he’s unfortunately canceling the rest of the summer festivals he was slated to perform. However, with his own tour on the horizon, he deemed it necessary to finally get some rest.

“After much thought, I have decided to take the rest of august off of touring to rest & get ready for my upcoming arena tour,” John Summit wrote. “I unfortunately will not be able to make it to pukkelpop, creamfields, radio 1 malta & touquet festivals. I rarely ever do this but there is so much work to do for the tour and I need to recharge my battery a bit before this fall. Thanks for understanding.”

Thankfully, it seems like fans are actually understanding of his need to rest. One fan commented, “Good for you John. Take a break and recharge for your upcoming tour: you have been touring almost nonstop for what feels like several years and coming up with new visuals, lightning concepts, and set lists all take time… Your Lollapalooza set was the best thing I saw all weekend and Chicago is proud of you dude.”

John Summit Takes a Long Overdue Break from Performing Ahead of His Tour

The EDM artist is set to embark on his CTRL ESCAPE Arena Tour starting October 1. Initially, his run was going to end with a show in Oakland, California. However, when faced with an opportunity to perform at the LA Coliseum in Los Angeles on December 12, he immediately hopped on board.

“Over the years LA has made some of the most special moments of my career,” John Summit told fans. “From the palladium to the shrine, then bmo stadium to kia forum.. we knew we had to end the album tour on the highest note in los angeles.”

Summit’s decision to stop performing for a while was clearly a difficult decision for him. In an interview with NYLON, he admitted the various obligations he has to fulfill can grow deeply exhausting. “It’s not just DJing. You also have to produce,” John Summit explained. “I have my own record label. I have my own events… my own festival, my own merch line. You have to run like 10 different social media accounts. You have to be a marketer, basically; you have to be a good influencer nowadays, too.”

Photo by Barry Brecheisen/Getty Images

The post EDM Star Abruptly Cancels the Rest of His Summer Schedule: ‘I Rarely Ever Do This’ appeared first on VICE.

We’ve heard of rappers starting beef with other artists countless times. The root of the beef could be literally anything. But have you ever heard of them beefing with the people who listen to their music? JPEGMAFIA will beef with just about anyone, and now his fans are on that list.

The Experimental Rap artist published a series of apologies on X, one of which addressed the wilder set of people in his fanbase. “Some of you are genuinely strange and think that because I rapped about anime 20 years ago, it means I’m an expert on whatever weird part of the internet you’re in. I’m sorry that you think this way, and I hope you grow up someday,” JPEGMAFIA wrote.

The people in his replies, fans and otherwise, were largely raising their eyebrows. One person said what many were probably thinking: why was this worth sharing? “All you do is be negative all [the] time and you expect to have some lovely fanbase?? Do you not see how your actions foster this type of fanbase?”

Similarly, non-fans who stumbled upon the tweet were joking that JPEG is always mad about something. “Every time I see a JPEGMAFIA tweet he mad as f**k about some s**t I dead never even heard of,” they shared.

JPEGMafia Randomly Made Fun of A lot of his fans one night

Additionally, amid the other apologies, the rapper delivered a backhanded comment reminiscent of old Kanye rants. “I apologize that a lot of you are so jealous and obsessed with me that my name is in your mouth 24/7. I’m really sorry that you’re all like that,” he added.

This all came on the heels of JPEGMAFIA randomly inciting a beef with LA and Odd Future legend Earl Sweatshirt. The former subliminally threw shots at Earl when talking about his own music and how other people aren’t truly “experimental.”

“Other people in this genre, they want to pretend and try to be cool and be like, ‘I don’t want to be experimental rap. I want to be something else, I want to f***ing rap like Lucki. I want to make songs that the young people make,’” JPEGMAFIA said. “I’m not having a midlife crisis, musically, so I don’t really need to do that. I can just be myself, and I let other people try to figure out who they are at 40 or whatever.”⁠

Earl Sweatshirt didn’t take it nearly as seriously as he could have. Instead, he engaged in an ultimate roasting session over JPEGMAFIA’s music. “Lmao leave me alone pls i make music with my friends that i have (derogatory),” he laughed in one comment. “Nobody copies cuh because his music is gnarled rough and ugly.”

The post This Experimental Rap Artist Is Rivaling Kanye With His Attacks on His Own Fan Base: ‘I’m Really Sorry That You’re All Like That’ appeared first on VICE.