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| Kanye West Goes High-Tech For Complex Cover Shoot
March 23, 2009 at 10:42 am
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| 'Kanye is telling me how they scanned him to have his likeness and are putting him in this computer world,' mag's editor in chief recalls.
By Jayson Rodriguez 
Kanye West in the April/May issue of <i>Complex</i>
Photo: Complex Magazine How can we say this nicely? Kanye West can be a wee bit of a control freak. It's not really a secret, though; the producer and rapper has spoken out in the past about the lengths to which he goes to create his art — whether it's mixing songs over and over again or tediously planning out his Glow in the Dark spectacular. The result of his passion, however, usually leads to universally amazing work. But how does it feel when West brings you into his highly detailed world? The 808s & Heartbreak rapper graces the cover of the April/May issue of Complex, and Editor in Chief Noah Callahan-Bever said West was heavily involved in the layout. 'Ye appears as a computer-generated image in the spread, as opposed to participating in a traditional photo shoot. The high-tech concept was his idea, which he delivered during an unexpected time. "Kanye called me at, like, 7:45 in the morning on a Sunday with the idea," Callahan-Bever told MTV News last week about the genesis of the concept. "Two days later, he calls back and says him and [director] Chris Milk are gonna do the illest sh-- ever. And he said he'd send me the pictures. He ends up sending me pictures of him in this 3-D scanning chamber. He's in this sphere with a million cameras on him. He got with the studio that did the CGI work on 'The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.' They never did a still shoot in this imaging before. So Kanye is telling me how they scanned him to have his likeness and are putting him in this computer world. I mean, what could I say? I was like, 'Uh, OK.' " The rapper was originally scheduled to appear in the February/March issue of the magazine. The photo shoot took place during a layover as West made his way from Germany to New Zealand. "It was very rushed," Callahan-Bever admitted. "He was tired. This was right after Thanksgiving. We ended up bumping the cover, and he said he'd do a new shoot for us when he was off his tour schedule." Two months later, the rapper offered his time, energy and even his own director for the new shoot. Milk has helmed the West videos "All Falls Down," "Touch the Sky" and a version of "Jesus Walks." 'Ye brought him onboard to carry out the plan and praised his collaborator's vision. "He's really dedicated to his work and pulling out really great art," West told Complex in a behind-the-scenes video clip. "He doesn't get caught up in any of the Hollywood-ness of it." Complex magazine's seventh-anniversary issue is set to arrive on newsstands this week. Related Videos Related Photos Related Artists |
| Young Jeezy Gives Atlanta Homies 'Their Just Due': Mixtape Monday
March 23, 2009 at 7:50 am
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| Plus: Jim Jones co-signs for DJ Infamous; Chris Tucker calls Jay-Z 'the Frank Sinatra of rap.'
By Shaheem Reid and Jayson Rodriguez, with additional reporting by Rahman Dukes 
Young Jeezy
Photo: MTV News Artists: Young Jeezy and Corporate Thugz Entertainment Representing: The trap and beyond Mixtape: Shield Gang 2: In the Shield We Trust 411: It's Atlanta Week on MTVNews.com. We couldn't choose anybody better to kick it off than Young Jeezy. If you're in ATL, you might see Young's baby-blue Lambo flying down I-85. You might catch him holed up in Club Miami. You're probably going to see him at Spondivits getting his grub on. But more often than not, the homie is in the studio. The Snowman just dropped Shield Gang 2: In the Shield We Trust with DJ Folk and all the artists on his roster. Jeezy said the focus for the street CD is really on the CTE team and not him. "Shield Gang was crazy. You got everybody on there from the homie Slick Pulla — free Slick Pulla — Blood Raw, Roccet, 211. The family is growing. We here. One life, one love." While in Atlanta, we caught up with Young and three members of the camp he says to look out for: Screwww, Bama and Boo Rossini. "Screwww been a beast sine day one," Jeezy explained. "He's been grinding independently anyway. He's been doing his thing since I was doing my thing. He's just getting his just due. The streets gotta look out for him. Bama is a beast. He's one of the youngest, one of the wildest cats in Atlanta. He's representing that Southside Mafia. My partner, Boo, we go so far back it ain't even funny. Boo Rossini, he's been doing it since Trap or Die." Now that he's established in the game, Jeezy said he wants to make sure his crew is given the proper spotlight. "That was my goal. Nobody gave me a ladder to climb," Young explained. "When I got there, I said, 'I'm gonna throw the ladder down for my homies and keep the door open.' Ain't nothing up here fabricated. "Everybody do what they do in some other way to make a living, but they love music," he added about his artists. "That's why we here. I was the same way six, seven years back. I felt like it was only right to give them their just due." Jeezy has his own solo mixtape with DJ Infamous dropping soon, but he's keeping the info close to the chest. "I got a mixtape coming out too, but I don't know the name yet," he said. "I just been grinding, homie, making sure the homies get in. We way stronger than this. It's a lot of homies that represent CTE, but we are the streets. You talking to the cat that comes from mixtapes. I wouldn't have a job if it wasn't for mixtapes. I passed out tapes. I respect the game." Joints To Check For » "Comeback" by Boo Rossini. "Me, I got a lane where I deal with the females. I do the [street] thing in my sleep, but I'm in my own lane where I'm hollering at the females," Boo said. "My [solo] mixtape is Feed the Streets. It's a drought, so we gonna feed the streets." » "It's Gone" by Bama. "You could be selling your CDs in the trunk of your car, you can get it off. You're doing your thing in the streets, you get that off too. This song is for you. My [solo] mixtape is called Street ID, Volume One. It's real big. Big brother looked out for us, and we gonna look out for him and bring hit records to the table." » "Down for the Cause" by Screwww. "I appreciate the homeboy Jeezy," Screwww said. "He put that ladder out and said, 'Climb up.' We sure need it, because you know what's going on out here. We appreciate all that. My solo mixtape is with Bigga Rankin. It's called As Real as It Gets. The title is self-explanatory." Don't Sleep: Other Notable Selections This Week » Icadon and Rockwilder - Robot-ic
» Oschino - The Appetizer Vol. 3
» Superstar Jay and Maino - Black Flag City (The New Religion)
» Greg Street - Sertified Worldwide 'Hood's Heavy Rotation: Bubbling Below The Radar » Fabolous (featuring The-Dream) - "Throw It in the Bag"
» Fat Joe - "Hey Joe"
» Jim Jones (featuring Ludacris and NOE)- "How to Be a Boss"
» Rhymefest (featuring Queen Latifah) - "Goin' In"
» Slim Thug (featuring UGK) - "Leanin' "
» Young Dro (featuring Yung LA) - "Take Off" Celebrity Favorites Chris Tucker has made so much money in Hollywood, he obviously isn't worried about starring in films on a consistent basis. Despite all the cream he's accumulated in La-La Land, however, Tucker still has love for his hometown of Atlanta, so we had to include him in our ATL Week. Chris has his heart in the streets, and one of his favorite rappers right now is Jay-Z. "He's the Frank Sinatra of rap. He's got a style of his own, and he's just good," the comedian said recently in Arizona during Jay and LeBron James' Sprite Green "2 Kings" dinner and afterparty. Tucker also talked up the "Swagga Like Us" performance at the Grammys, featuring Jay, T.I., Kanye West, Lil Wayne and M.I.A. "I told him it was one of the best performances I ever saw," Tucker said of a conversation he had with Jay. "All them together was entertaining. It was great." Tucker's favorite performer right now, though, is his good friend MJ. "It's always Michael Jackson," he said. "You'll catch Michael Jackson in my iPod or CD changer. I'm pretty sure he's gonna come back soon. [He was right!] He's just sitting there probably strategizing and waiting." The Streets Is Talking: News & Notes From The Underground It's only fair that new Atlanta rappers have a new DJ to push their records in the clubs and the streets. DJ Drama ushered in T.I.'s reign with a number of landmark mixtapes, and DJ Scream helped break Shawty Lo's post-D4L career. DJ Infamous is next at bat, and the young multitasker is getting plenty of recognition in a hurry. Jim Jones recently connected with Infamous for their Risky Business mixtape. The Harlem-bred rapper and record executive told us he thinks Infamous could join the ranks of DJ Khaled and DJ Clue as record spinners-turned-industry influencers. "I think he's gonna be the next one," Jones said. "I'm actually trying to do business with him right now from an A&R standpoint. I think he can be just as relevant as a DJ Khaled, or like when DJ Clue [was doing it]. "Shouts to Scream, shouts to Drama, but [Infamous] just has that energy," Jones continued. "He's young, he's up-and-coming. He paid his dudes. He sat back, he learned the craft, he learned his area from an Atlanta standpoint. He got next to the right people, as far as Young Jeezy and how important he is to the hip-hop industry. Jeezy endorsed him. So as far as his grind and work ethic, it worked for him. He's in the club six days a week in Atlanta. Six days a week is heavy when you in the club. It's easy to take over like that, especially when people are coming to your party by the boatload. And he knows how to break a record. He's on the radio every day and things like that. He has a lot going on for him — as does everybody else from Atlanta — but right now, he has it going on." Infamous reeled in another current ATL track killer, DJ Don Cannon, for the Risky Business set, and the former Aphilliate laced Jim with several beats. For other artists featured in Mixtape Monday, check out Mixtape Mondays Headlines. Related Videos Related Artists |
| Photo From Eminem's 'We Made You' Video Set Hits Web
March 23, 2009 at 6:57 am
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| First single from Relapse was produced by Dr. Dre; 50 Cent is only featured in clip.
By Shaheem Reid 
Dr. Dre, Eminem and 50 Cent on the 'We Made You' set
Photo: Interscope/ThisIs50.com Place your bets on Interscope's three-headed monster! Just about everyone in the music industry is expecting big things from Dr. Dre, Eminem and 50 Cent this year. Interscope confirmed that the trio were in Las Vegas at the Palms Casino on Sunday filming the video for "We Made You," the first single from Em's Relapse album. A photo from the video set was posted on 50 Cent's Web site, ThisIs50.com. The flick features the trio sitting at a poker table. Em is sitting in the middle, sporting a gray suit, white shirt and his new dark-brown hair with a part in it. Dr. Dre is on Slim Shady's right and has the most poker chips. The Doc has on an identical outfit to Em, while 50 sticks out in a T-shirt and red-and-blue fitted cap. According to RapRadar.com, "We Made You" was produced by Dr. Dre. While Fif is in the video, he isn't featured on the song. In a press release announcing the Relapse release date of May 19, Interscope said the video would hit airwaves April 7. That same press release also noted that Em would be coming out with a follow-up LP to Relapse later this year. In a recent interview with MTV News, 50 Cent said it was him who gave Em the idea to double up. In the same interview, 50 had his own bit of news: He's dropping two albums this year as well. Both records will come on the heels of Eminem's releases. There has been no word from Dr. Dre on his anticipated Detox LP. Several songs apparently for the album leaked before Dre even got to lay his vocals on them. Those songs featured T.I. referencing lyrics for the production legend. Related Artists |
| Bun B Talks New Pimp C Solo Album, Tribute Shows
March 23, 2009 at 6:10 am
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| 'These are shows that we're trying to put together for the core that's been supporting UGK the most,' rapper says of upcoming tour.
By James Montgomery 
Bun B
Photo: MTV News AUSTIN — Bun B is determined to maintain the legacy of both his former group, UGK, and his former partner in rhyme, Pimp C. Both came to an end on December 5, 2007, when C was discovered dead in a Los Angeles hotel room. Since the tragedy, B has soldiered on, putting the finishing touches on the "final" UGK album, 4 Life (due March 31), and — unbeknownst to pretty much everyone — a Pimp C solo album too, which he revealed to MTV News at the South By Southwest Music Conference, hours before playing a fierce set at the Austin Music Hall alongside acts like Mistah F.A.B. and B.o.B. "There's a solo album from Pimp C that's going to be released in two months, called The Naked Soul of Sweet James Jones," he said. "That's probably the best album title I think I ever heard in my life." The title of the new C album recalls his first solo effort, 2005's The Sweet James Jones Stories, and while B didn't reveal any additional details on the album, he did have plenty to say about his plans to tour behind 4 Life, including information about special Pimp C tribute shows in certain cities. "They'll be probably in the top-five markets. These are shows that we're trying to put together for the core that's been supporting UGK the most — I would love to do it in every city, it's just not feasible for me to do — so it will probably be in, like, Houston, Dallas, and Atlanta, maybe Chicago, St. Louis," he said. "I don't want to get into it, 'cause there's a lot of cities that support UGK and I don't want them to be like, 'Oh man, they ain't bringing it here, they're tripping.' But it's going to be something more, where we bring other artists into the fold. Like, if we do the Houston show, I'll have other Houston artists come up and join me on different records. Same thing if we go to an Atlanta or Chicago ... try to make it an interactive experience." The dates will serve as the final chapter in the UGK experience — after wrapping them, B will turn his focus to finishing his new solo album, Trill O.G. But, he says that for now, all of his energy is dedicated to giving his lifelong friend one final tribute, both on record and onstage. "Yeah man, we're trying to do this with as much respect as possible, you know? It's a very unique and genuine situation in itself — I'm not really sure if it's ever really occurred as far as hip-hop goes," B said. "We're carrying this one with the kid gloves on. I made a lot of mistakes in my life — I'll probably make a lot more — I'm just praying I don't make one right now." Related Artists |
| South By Southwest 2009: Top 10 Moments From A Wild Week Of Music
March 23, 2009 at 5:53 am
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| Gigs from Kanye West, Jane's Addiction, Metallica and more were highlights of our week in Austin.
By James Montgomery 
Perez Hilton, Kid Cudi, Victoria Hesketh and Kanye West at SXSW 2009
Photo: Rahav Segev/WireImage How does one summarize roughly 96 hours of continuous music? How does one encapsulate the experience of South by Southwest, of staying up way too late and partying way too hard, of seeing bands until your ears bleed and eating BBQ until your stomach does somersaults? Why, with a top 10 list, of course! It may seem like the lazy way out, but cut me some slack. I slept a grand total of 10 hours last week in Austin, and I wrote something in the neighborhood of 576 stories about SXSW — all of which you can check out on MTV News' South By Southwest hub. When faced with the daunting task of penning a recap of the entire festival, I decided it was best just to focus on my 10 favorite moments from SXSW 2009. Because, sometimes, there is no grand point. Sometimes it's just about the music. If there are any shows I left off my list, feel free to let me know about them in the comments section. Now, if you excuse me, I have to go fall asleep under my desk, Costanza-style. 1. The Decemberists at Stubb's
Imagine if you discovered that not only was your science teacher in a heavy-metal band, but that they were actually a really good heavy-metal band. That was the general takeaway from the Decemberists' Wednesday night gig at Stubb's, where they debuted their new album, The Hazards of Love, in its entirety. It was a brave idea to tackle a 60-minute prog opera in front of perhaps the most fickle audience on the planet, and it paid off in spades. The heavy stuff was heavy, the pretty stuff was pretty and, for one night at least, the super-nerdy were super-mighty. 2. Kanye West at the Levi's/Fader Fort
It may not have been a proper Kanye show — he spent the majority of his 90-minute set playing hypeman to his roster of G.O.O.D. Music artists — but it was the gig everyone in Austin was talking about, days before West was even confirmed to appear. That buzz, coupled with cameos by Common and Erykah Badu (and turns from newcomers 88-Keys and Kid Cudi) made it a highlight. After wrapping at the Fort, West would take his party over to Perez Hilton's late-night soiree, which only further cemented his status as the hardest partyer of SXSW 2009 (well, either him or MTV News digital producer Andrew Ross Rowe. That dude's a beast.) 3. Metallica at Stubb's
Just once, it would be amazing if a "secret" SXSW show actually managed to remain a secret, but when a band as ginormous as Metallica is involved, it's difficult to keep the cat in the bag for long. According to some reports, as many as 4,000 die-hard fans deduced that Metallica would be the surprise guests at Friday night's "Guitar Hero" party, and nearly two-thirds were turned away (they still attempted to watch from a nearby parking garage). What they missed was 90 minutes of one of hard rock's greatest bands, playing fast and loose ... and doing impressions too. And how can you not include all that in a SXSW top 10? 4. Grizzly Bear at the Central Presbyterian Church
It's difficult to think of a better place to see Grizzly Bear than a warm, intimate church. All the usual adjectives apply ("hushed," "reverent," "ethereal"), but to actually feel the tones created by the Brooklyn four-piece reverberate around the room made this one truly special. During Thursday night's performance, co-frontman Ed Droste joked that Grizzly Bear had come a long way from their first SXSW gig four years ago at a pizzeria. Somehow, I doubt it sounded and felt as good as this one did. 5. Jane's Addiction at the Playboy "Rock the Rabbit" party
Immediately following Grizzly Bear's set, I walked across town to catch the return of Jane's Addiction — playing with original bassist Eric Avery for the first time in 17 years — at the Playboy party, and to say that it was a change of pace would be an understatement of Hefner-ian proportions. Super-charged (and super-loud), Jane's hadn't lost a beat, and they looked happy as Pigs in Zen while doing it, which only bodes well for the future. They completely blew out of the water 90 percent of the bands I saw at SXSW — more proof that the original is always the best. 6. WAVVES at Red 7
I'll admit that I didn't know the first thing about 22-year-old San Diego noisemaker Nathan Williams — a.k.a. WAVVES — before heading down to SXSW. But with his Wednesday afternoon gig at Red 7, he won me over. Backed by drummer Ryan Ulsh (who may or may not be an actual member of WAVVES ... this was never clarified for me), Williams tore through blast after blast of raw and lightning-quick bedroom punk. You can check out some of that performance (and hear Williams talk about dirty stuff) on the Newsroom blog. 7. Asher Roth at Club Deville
His set was very short and happened very late at night, but it proved that 21-year-old rapper Asher Roth might actually be the breakout star of 2009. Laconic and bed-headed, Roth might try to play down his deft lyrical touch and ability to spin a narrative, but on songs like "Lark on My Go-Kart" and "Blunt Cruising," he does just that (and work in a MILF joke or two). And it translates to the stage. The crowd at the Deville ate him up, and by the time he got around to his hit, the dorm-room banger "I Love College," the place was going bananas. He sounds like Eminem, looks like your R.A. and has a fascination with weed that is perhaps rivaled only by the immortal B-Real. Now that's elite company. 8. BLK JKS at the Mohawk Patio
Elements of spiky punk, bubbly dub, stoned-out reggae and free-form jazz (with the occasional Hendrix guitar explosion thrown in for good measure), fronted by a kid who happens to sing like a Kele Okereke/ Peter Murphy hybrid. In other words, exactly like every rock band from Johannesburg, South Africa, would sound. BLK JKS (pronounced "Black Jacks") were my favorite discovery at SXSW 2009, and I'm certain you'll be hearing more about them very, very soon. Their gig at the Mohawk was co-signed by YouTube, which means you can watch it here, guilt-free. Oh, and yes, the bass player does look an awful lot like Avon Barksdale, which only makes them rule even more. 9. The Pains of Being Pure at Heart at seemingly every venue in Austin
These Brooklyn dream-poppers (or, if you prefer, nu-shoegazers) played a tidy 13 gigs at SXSW 2009, all of which seemed to be at venues I would randomly wander into. The thing was, they were always good, with the dueling vocals of Kip Bermand and Peggy Wang particularly standing out. After seeing them a baker's dozen times, I'm willing to say that the hype surrounding their debut album is, in fact, justified. Still, I can't help but think that I was being stalked. Don't make me get the restraining order, guys. 10. Explosions in the Sky at the Auditorium Shores Stage (with fireworks immediately following)
An Explosions in the Sky gig with actual explosions in the sky?!? Duuuuude. MTV News was all over the South by Southwest festival, with blogs, articles and video on all the gigs, the artists and the scene! Related Videos Related Photos Related Artists |
| Pussycat Dolls Cancel New York Show Due To Nicole Scherzinger's Illness
March 23, 2009 at 5:22 am
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| Britney Spears' headlining set will go on as scheduled.
By Jocelyn Vena 
Nicole Scherzinger
Photo: Bruce Glikas/FilmMagic The Pussycat Dolls have canceled their Monday night (March 23) show opening for Britney Spears at New York's Nassau Coliseum, according to a post on the group's Web site. "Due to the illness of lead singer Nicole Scherzinger, the Pussycat Dolls are canceling tonight's performance at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale, NY," the message reads. "Britney Spears' performance will proceed as planned." Nicole's illness was addressed on Britney Spears' Web site: "Britney and her camp wish Nicole a speedy recovery!" the post reads. A rep for the Pussycat Dolls declined MTV News' request to elaborate further on the cancellation PCD have been opening up for Spears on her Circus tour since it kicked off in New Orleans earlier this month. When they kicked off the tour on March 4, the girls were excited to be touring with Britney and described the experience as "amazing." "This whole show is amazing ... it's a perfect match, really," Doll Ashley Roberts said. "Britney Spears is truly a Pussycat Doll, and she's an icon and she's someone I have watched and always looked up to, as a triple-threat entertainer. So it's a perfect match — PCD and Britney Spears, in the circus." The only reservations the group had about doing the tour was having to perform in the round. "You always wanna stay connected to the audience ... so it's hard, because when you're on one side, your butt cheeks are facing everyone else. And when you go to another part of the circle, then your back is against someone else," Scherzinger laughed. "So you constantly wanna keep it moving and be able to spread the love everywhere, even though your backside is to some of the people." Related Artists |
| Chris Brown's Lawyer In Court For Mystery Hearing
March 23, 2009 at 3:41 am
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| Special hearing may be related to Rihanna's testimony.
By Gil Kaufman 
Chris Brown (file)
Photo: Getty Images According to a voicemail received by MTV News from Rihanna's lawyer on Monday afternoon (March 23), the court hearing addressed in this article will not take place on Monday. Further details were not available at press time. As Chris Brown prepares for his April 6 arraignment on felony charges of assault and making criminal threats stemming from an alleged February 8 incident involving girlfriend Rihanna, the 19-year-old singer's lawyer will be in court on Monday (March 23) for another hearing related to the case. Brown's attorney, Mark Geragos, requested the unscheduled hearing, but Los Angeles District Attorney's office spokesperson Jane Robinson told MTV News that the singer does not have to be present for the proceeding. She said she could not comment on what the hearing will cover, as it will be held behind closed doors. The judge in the case, Patricia Schnegg, and Rihanna's attorney, Donald Etra, will also attend. Calls to Geragos and Etra for more information on the secret hearing were not returned for comment. TMZ reports that the hearing might have to do with Rihanna testifying in the case. When contacted shortly after news broke about the hearing two weeks ago, Etra said he was not then aware of it, though the lawyer had previously told MTV News that his client would definitely testify in the case if subpoenaed. Rihanna is not expected to be present at the hearing. Brown, who is free on $50,000 bail after turning himself in during the Grammy Awards on the day of the alleged incident, could face a sentence ranging from probation to nearly five years in state prison if convicted of assaulting Rihanna. Go here for domestic-violence resources, or check out Think MTV for a video handbook on spotting the warning signs of abuse. [This story was originally published on 3.23.09 at 9:39 a.m. ET.] Related Videos Related Photos Related Artists |
| Tyrese Gibson Says Rihanna Case Is 'Taking A Toll' On Chris Brown
March 23, 2009 at 2:53 am
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| 'People like me and [Diddy], we're just trying to show him love,' Tyrese says.
By Jocelyn Vena 
Chris Brown
Photo: Pool/ Getty Images In an interview with People.com, Tyrese Gibson spoke out in support of his friend Chris Brown, as well as Rihanna. "Although he appears to be really strong through all of this, it's really taking a toll on his spirit," Gibson reportedly told the site on Sunday at the 2009 Ball Up Street Ball Tour in Los Angeles. "People like me and Puff [Diddy], we're just trying to show him love and keep his spirits up while he's going through all of the heat, and there are a lot people doing the same for Rihanna." Since news broke in February of the alleged altercation between Brown and Rihanna, the pair reportedly reunited — staying at Diddy's Miami home — but are now reportedly taking a break. Yet conversation around the incident has continued to rage, and was even the subject of a special episode of "The Oprah Winfrey Show" earlier this month and a disturbing public service announcement from the teen organization DoSomething.org. Gibson also pointed out that the two are still quite young, which makes the situation even more difficult. "And a lot of people forget that he's 19, she's only 21. "It's really hard for him to focus right now on his music, even though he really wants to," Gibson continued. "At the end of the day, I'm not trying to justify it because wrong is wrong, but unfortunately, us as entertainers, we have to grow up onstage with a lot of people looking at us." Related Videos Related Photos Related Artists |
| Kanye West Complex Interview Is MC's Most 'Self-Critical,' Editor Says
March 23, 2009 at 2:24 am
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| 'He has the comfort to have a forum to express himself,' Noah Callahan-Bever says.
By Jayson Rodriguez 
Kanye West in <i>Complex</i> Magazine
Photo: <i>Complex</i> Magazine Warning to all rappers who try to dis Kanye West: He's not gonna respond. Writers who cover the Chicago superstar, however, are an entirely different matter. "I feel like I'm playing on the same intellectual level of a journalist and not a rapper," a laughing 'Ye said in the April/ May issue of Complex magazine. "I feel like if a rapper disses me, they're just trying get a rise out of me and get me to play in their field to find some way that they can beat me. I feel like there's a lot of rappers that can beat me in ignorance. So why would I play a sport that I'm not particularly trying to get better at or beaten in? There's a lot of rappers that can beat me in ignorance, but there's only a few that can play with true intellect. How f---ing perfect is that f---ing answer?!" One writer West has set his aim on in the past is Complex Editor in Chief Noah Callahan-Bever. A profile he wrote about West in Vibe wasn't met with enthusiasm by the rapper, who skewered the journalist and magazine. "It takes more than a magazine to kill my vibe," West rapped on his 2005 hit "Diamonds From Sierra Leone." Callahan-Bever told MTV News that the two now share a healthy respect for each other that's led to a less combative but more rewarding journalist/subject relationship. "At no point was it tense. It was just like, 'Yo, let's have a real conversation,' " Callahan-Bever said last week. "It's just that thing where there is a respect. I've written about him enough times to where I've written things about him that he's liked and things he hasn't liked, but there's a comfortability in our professional relationship. There's always an issue with him feeling misunderstood by the media, but I think for him, this was an opportunity to do something that's absolutely journalistically credible. It's not a puff piece, but he has the comfort to have a forum to express himself in a way that he feels represents himself in the way he absolutely means." In the revealing interview, West admits to being depressed during the recording of his recent album, 808s & Heartbreak. The project was recorded in the wake of his mother's tragic death and his breakup with his fiancée Alexis Phifer. He also apologized for his infamous award show tirades. He even expressed remorse over his rant following the 2007 VMAs. (Thanks, 'Ye!) Throughout the piece, a gracious Kanye gives credit to his support team, even going so far as to admit his road manager, Don Crowley, has better taste. He also said Don C is the person he trusts most now that his mother is gone. Callahan-Bever called the interview West's most "self-critical." "To most of the kids who follow Kanye, he could have easily taken the credit for being this incredible tastemaker," he said. "But to be able to say, 'This dude, who is my really good friend, one of my best friends and my partner in this — he is actually one of the guys that I trust the most,' I thought was really humble. And as he points out in the piece, it kind of flies in the face of the picture that's been painted of him as this total egomaniac. That's not to say that the guy doesn't have a very healthy ego, though." Related Photos Related Artists |
| Ciara Heats Up With Justin Timberlake In 'Love Sex Magic' Video
March 23, 2009 at 1:58 am
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| Singer says she took inspiration from sexy Las Vegas cabaret shows.
By Jocelyn Vena 
Justin Timberlake and Ciara on the set of "Love Sex Magic"
Photo: Jive Records One thing you can say about Ciara's new video for her song, "Love Sex Magic," which finds her and Justin Timberlake indulging in sexy dance moves and near make-out sessions — it lives up to the song's name. "It's all about showing another side of me with this video," Ciara said about the video. "I'm basically giving you a show you'd see in Vegas — and it's my love, sex and magic show. He's the voyeur and I play with him a little bit. I got my inspiration from the Crazy Horse [Cabaret] show and just from the shows [in Vegas], period. It's giving you the elements of love and sex and magic." For his part, Timberlake said, "I just kind of wanted to create a song for a female that was along the same lines as a male who could have swagga on an album," he said of the duet. "She just fit the song so perfectly." The duo really turn up the heat for the video: Ciara is scantily clad in several different bodysuits while grinding and dancing with Timberlake, as well as on a metal beam. It was an experience Ciara said she didn't mind at all. "Working with Justin as an artist and producer was really fun for me," she said. "[He's] very cool, very humble. I have a lot of respect for him." Of course, Ciara got plenty steamy in a photo shoot for Vibe magazine last year, for which she later insisted she did not pose nude, although the magazine's editor disagreed. "Love Sex Magic" will be featured on Ciara's new album, Fantasy Ride, due out this spring. Related Videos Related Artists |
| Lollapalooza Rumors: Killers, Tool, Decemberists Joining Lineup?
March 23, 2009 at 1:36 am
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| Lou Reed also rumored to be playing the Chicago festival.
By Gil Kaufman 
The Killers' Brandon Flowers
Photo: John Shearer/ WireImage The longer Lollapalooza organizers wait to unveil the lineup for this year's festival, the more people will speculate. The Chicago Tribune and Billboard already leaked the news that the Beastie Boys, Depeche Mode, Kings of Leon and Jane's Addiction will be among this year's headliners. And over the weekend, the Tribune added a few more names to that list: the Killers and Tool, who will reportedly fill out the remaining headliner slots for the three-day festival (August 7-9). Another act the paper says you can count on is the Decemberists, who might play their new concept album, The Hazards of Love, in its entirety, just like they did at South by Southwest. The story also confirms that punk godfather Lou Reed has been asked to play a late-afternoon/ early-evening greatest-hits set. A spokesperson for the festival would not comment on the latest rumors and reiterated that the official lineup will be released on April 21. The Tribune isn't the only Chicago paper speculating about the schedule. An article in the city's alt-weekly, the Chicago Reader, took a slightly more scientific approach to the task by looking at the festival's notorious blackout window for artists, which, according to writer Jessica Hopper, can bar an act from playing within 250 miles and 120 days of Lolla. Using that logic, Hopper reverse-engineered a lineup by figuring out which acts appear to have Chicago-centric holes in their U.S. tours between April and Lollapalooza, or who might have priced out of Pitchfork's rival Chicago festival. On the basis of those parameters, Hopper offered up a possible return from Girl Talk, as well as potential sets from Bon Iver, No Age, Peter Bjorn and John, Animal Collective, Atmosphere, Bat for Lashes, Jason Mraz and Lykke Li. She even speculates that Taylor Swift — who has an apparently open spot on her tour on August 7 — could pop in, as well as hometown heroes Fall Out Boy, M.I.A. (who just confirmed her first post-pregnancy date for Coachella next month), PJ Harvey and maybe Lil Wayne, though he has a gig in nearby Hoffman Estates on April 10, 111 days before the festival. Related Videos Related Artists |
| DJ Infamous Taking Over ATL With Help From Young Jeezy, Jermaine Dupri
March 23, 2009 at 1:27 am
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| 'It just took off,' Inf says of his nearly overnight success.
By Shaheem Reid 
DJ Infamous
Photo: MTV News ATLANTA — The hottest place in ATL on Sunday nights has to be the Velvet Room. You're bound to see a superstar — from Jay-Z to R. Kelly to T.I. — there during any given week. They say the capacity is 3,500 people, but anyone on the dance floor will feel like there are probably three times as many people in the building. It's so packed you can barely move, but nobody seems to care. The music is banging, the drinks are flowing and everybody came out the house looking fly. A couple of weeks ago, it seemed like 3,500 people were in the VIP section alone. Picture it: A cross-section of hip-hop kings from all over the country. Hometown hero Young Jeezy and his Corporate Thugz Entertainment crew. Fat Joe, Diamond D and DJ Khaled and their entourage. Playaz Circle were in the house. Singer Trey Songz was there, as was Fonzworth Bentley, DJ Drama, DJ Don Cannon, Rich Boy and Jim Jones and his Goonies. Clearly, a regular night won't bring all these guys out. So is it a concert? Nope. Afterparty for an awards show? Nah. They all came to help DJ Infamous celebrate his fourth year of spinning on the radio. "Infamous, happy anniversary," Def Jam South President DJ Khaled screamed. "Def Jam had to come rep Infamous real quick. We in ATL. Velvet Room. It's going down. Let's get it." "A-Town gets in," DJ Drama said. "You can go anywhere in the world, and you're not gonna see all this star power in one room." "DJ Infamous, that's my brother right there," Fat Joe said. "I had to come out for him. He's one of the hottest DJs in Atlanta. I respect him big time." "Let me tell you, Sunday night in the Velvet Room ... it was crazy, man," Inf, a.k.a. "the youngest in charge," said as he drove to downtown Atlanta two days after his party. "It was basically special for me. Being professionally on the radio for four years and that many people come show me love like that. These are cats that's been in the game for years. They didn't just show up, they came down and performed. It makes me feel good. These are real cats, man." Infamous seems destined to follow in the footsteps of DJ Drama (a Philadelphia transplant) as the next big spinner to come from ATL. The 26-year-old got his career going five years ago, going to school in Alabama in the day and spinning on the radio and clubs out there in his free time. He felt he couldn't get any bigger in such a small market, so he moved to Atlanta. He was commuting to ATL on the weekends anyway, because one of his friends, Botchey, was a club promoter and got him work at the clubs in A-Town. Infamous soon started interning at radio station V-103 and ended up on the airwaves as he increased his profile in clubs like Vision, 112 and South Beach. "I was probably in Atlanta seven months, and within seven months I was on the radio heavy," he said. "I was in the biggest clubs, doing Young Jeezy's album-release party and other big functions. ... It just took off. That's how I got the whole 'youngest in charge' name. Here, it's unheard of for a dude that young to come here and start getting clubs and radio like that. I just kept it moving." Along the way, Infamous briefly joined DJ Drama's Aphilliate family and had a long stint at Jermaine Dupri's Club 72. Infamous' biggest outlet, however, might be his offerings on the mixtape circuit. In just a few months, he's put out CDs with Rick Ross, Bow Wow and Young Jeezy. "I didn't take it seriously until Jeezy called me and said, 'I want you to do this Prime Minister mixtape.' When he called me for that, I saw the outcome of it. I said, 'I need to put some mixtapes out.' It was 150,000 downloads on ThisIs50.com the first day and 160,000 downloads on USDA2day.com. That's what sparked it off. I was like, 'Now people in other areas know who I am. People in New York know me. People in Cali know me.' After that, I had the wave." Infamous' next mixtape is Risky Business with Jim Jones. You can find out more about that project in this week's Mixtape Monday. Related Videos Related Photos Related Artists |
| Kanye West, Perez Hilton Team Up To Close SXSW '09
March 22, 2009 at 11:39 am
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| 'Ye leaves his G.O.O.D. Music showcase for a set at Hilton's South by Southwest party.
By James Montgomery 
Kanye West performs on stage at Perez Hilton's One Night in Austin
Photo: Daniel Boczarski/ Redferns AUSTIN, Texas -- "Ya'll motherf---ers are smiling. Ya'll enjoyed yourself. Ain't nobody got shot tonight." That was Kanye West, onstage Saturday night at the Levi's Fader Fort, lashing out at his detractors (or, as he put it, "the motherf---ers who want to f--- with" him), a large and seemingly ever-growing contingent that, on this weekend, included those who didn't believe he should have been at South by Southwest, even if it was to host a showcase for his label, G.O.O.D. Music. Those purists -- the South By vets who remember the good old days, when bands came to Austin looking for that elusive record deal, and when every event wasn't sponsored by a mobile device -- were probably going out of their heads on Saturday, 24 hours dominated by globally successful rapper/producers, celebrity bloggers and toothsome TV chefs. It was SXSW gone Hollywood -- parties by Rachael Ray and Perez Hilton, even rumored Robert Pattinson sightings -- and, to be honest, West's showcase should've been the least of their worries. Because it was, in essence, just a decent 90-minute Kanye concert, albeit one bereft of sexy holograms and smoky moonscapes. His appearance was perhaps the second worst-kept secret of the entire week (Metallica's Friday night show at Stubb's takes top honors in that category), and hours before the G.O.O.D. showcase's scheduled 8 p.m. start time, the line of SXSW badge-holders looking to get in stretched the entire length of the Fader Fort. Of course, those folks would be waiting a long time. West didn't take the stage until it was nearly 10 p.m., but when he finally did -- decked out in a denim vest, dark shades on his face -- he more than made up for the delay. Backed by the usual assortment of characters (a pair of DJs, a guitarist and drummer in riot gear, a female backup singer with shoulder pads like the Legion of Doom), he ripped through a few verses of "Amazing," welcomed fans to the future and then slipped into his primary role of the evening: Emcee. And not of the rapping variety. Because for the next hour, 'Ye played hypeman to a string of G.O.O.D. artists -- Consequence, GLC, Big Sean -- spitting a verse here or there, urging the crowd to throw their hands in the air, etc. It wasn't the West most were expecting, and during some of the, uh, lesser moments (the Fonzworth Bentley step routine, a cringe-worthy set by British crooner Mr. Hudson), they made their displeasure known by streaming toward the exits. But then Kanye, ever the showman, would lure them back with snippets of his own tunes, like "Diamonds From Sierra Leone" or "Crack Music." That's not to say there weren't some genuinely excellent moments, though. West traded verses with up-and-comers 88 Keys ("Stay Up (Viagra)") and Kid Cudi ("Welcome to Heartbreak") and shared a genuinely jaw-dropping freestyle session with Common and Eryah Badu(!). And when welcomed the entire G.O.O.D. roster onto the stage for the one-two punch of "Good Life" and "Love Lockdown," he had the entire crowd going bananas (even if he did flub a line or two because he "got too excited"). He shouted out each member of his roster as the applause built, then moved on to the evening's sponsors, taking special care to instruct Levi's to "cut the check." Hey, at least he's honest. And somewhere, a SXSW loyalist's head spontaneously combusted. But their nightmare was far from over. As if dealing with Rachael Ray's second-annual South By soiree (sets by the Hold Steady and the Thermals, delicious themed beverages) wasn't enough, they had put up with Perez Hilton, who was back in town for his "One Night in Austin" party. Held in the same supermarket-turned-mega club that Jane's Addiction destroyed on Thursday, Hilton's party had a "Divas" theme, featuring sets by Little Boots and Ladyhawke (Lady Sovereign was a no-show, which led Hilton to call her a "c--t" live onstage), plus a surprise appearance by the Indigo Girls. Seriously. Hilton himself wore a replica of Aretha Franklin's inauguration hat and seemed genuinely nonplussed by the fact that his party was in direct competition with West's. Of course, that point proved moot when West popped in for a quick five-song performance, to the squealed delight of all in attendance. And then, having fused their powers to become some sort of celebrified Voltron, Kanyez then set out to destroy all vestiges of this once very un-celeb event. Or usher it into the future. Depends on your point of view. MTV News was Live & Mobile at the South by Southwest festival this week, with blogs, articles plus live and on-demand video of all the bands, gigs and BBQ! Related Videos Related Photos Related Artists | | |  |
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