Newest Hip-Hop

Fiddy blasts Diddy over Biggie

admin — Sun, 11 Jul 2010 12:40:24 +0000

Finally, 50 Cent has associated himself with a cause we can believe in, lobbying Diddy to stop exploiting the memory of Notorious BIG. The perpetually beefing rapper has launched a petition asking Diddy to “let BIG rest in peace”.

Now that Fiddy’s feuds with the Game and Rick Ross have mostly wound down, the hip-hop star has decided to get Diddy or die tryin’. Speaking on Eminem’s radio station, Shade 45, 50 Cent didn’t pull any punches: “Puffy is a bitch … You know how an ugly bitch surrounds herself with pretty girls? Well, he is the pretty bitch with the other girls around him. He will suck the life out of everyone he is around.”

50 Cent claims Diddy is profiting from the memory of his late friend. “Enough is enough,” he declared in his Twitter petition, dubbed RIP BIG. “Biggie’s name should never have become Diddy’s Black Card … When was the last time Diddy really was biggin up his brother, not biggin up his bank?”

In the 13 years since Notorious BIG’s death, Diddy has certainly made a cottage industry out of euologising his late collaborator. Besides the Police-sampling tribute I’ll Be Missing You, a hit in 1997, Diddy’s Bad Boy Records has issued two posthumous Biggie albums, with you-know-who rapping on each. Diddy has a frequent habit of dropping references to Notorious BIG – or his weeping mother – into his own songs, and the savvy businessman sampled Biggie as recently as last year, on his Angels single. And we shouldn’t forget the Biggie biopic, Notorious, produced by … er, you get the picture.

But the track that finally sent 50 Cent over the edge is not even by Diddy. Instead, Ghost of Christopher Wallace is a single by rapper Jay Electronica, to which Diddy contributes a cameo. “This is just getting disrespectful,” 50 Cent said. “This [song] doesn’t really remind me of Biggie in any way, except for having the Puffy background-dancing and ad libs/intro that almost destroy a good song. Remember less than a month ago when [Diddy] said: ‘[That's] something I’m not going to talk about any more?’”

One day into the Fiddy v Diddy sweepstakes, the petition has gathered about 900 signatures.

Link

Interview: Common – Hip-Hop’s Leading Renaissance Man

admin — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 11:17:34 +0000

Over the past decade, Common has slowly evolved into a modern-day Renaissance man. As one of hip-hop’s few credible actors, he has graced the “silver screen” – in the midst of his GRAMMY-winning career – with several memorable performances: Date Night (2010), as Detective Collins; Wanted (2008), as the Gunsmith; and Smokin’ Aces (2007), as Sir Ivy. With Just Wright, however, Common transitions into the role of film headliner — showcasing a sensitive, loving side, as Scott McKnight, alongside fellow hip-hop laureate Queen Latifah.

In the midst of a promotional campaign for Just Wright, Common managed to squeeze some time out of his busy schedule and settle down for an interview with Clayton Perry – reflecting on lessons in love, the film’s historical significance, and his growth as an actor.

With the release of Just Wright, you and Queen Latifah made history, as the co-stars of the first major studio film headlined by two prominent members of the hip-hop generation. What does this particular historical moment hold for you?

You know, when somebody first brought it to my attention, it kind of touched me, because they had just seen the preview for Just Wright at the movie theatre. Can you believe it? Two hip-hop artists starring in a movie? Who would have known? [laughing] It’s a blessing, because I look at myself not only as a hip-hop artist, but as an actor also. I didn’t think about it that way, but there’s a blessing that comes from that – coming from hip-hop and being able to take it to new levels.

When you first read the script, what compelled you to attach yourself to the project? And in what ways do you think you most identified with your character, Scott McKnight?

Well, the script had a lot of heart, and it was well written, and I really liked the story. I really enjoyed reading it and I found myself looking forward to what was going to happen. And then playing an NBA player – which was a dream of mine as a kid – was also fun to do. So those were some of the things that sold me on the project. And then, it was great to play a leading man, especially in a romantic way. Just Wright really gave me the opportunity to show the diverse aspects of me as an actor.

Since Just Wright is branded as a romantic comedy, I want to focus on its two central elements: “romance” and “comedy.” Starting with “romance,” what lessons about love do you think the film taught you?

Well, I pulled a lot of things from the film. But I think the central message about love is that it is something that comes from the inside. You love a person because of who they are and not what they look like. And you may be attracted to what somebody looks like, but you’ve got to love them from the inside. And I think that is something that I need to be reminded of and we all need to be reminded of at times. Like you have to love from the inside out. And beauty comes in all shapes and sizes. That was another theme of the movie. In life, I have learned that you also have to first be able to love yourself, in order to love the person you’re with.

And focusing on the “comedy” aspect, what was the most hilarious behind-the-scenes moment that you shared with Queen Latifah?

Oh, she was always joking and calling me “the most interesting man alive”! [laughing] Have you ever seen that commercial? It’s a Dos Equis commercial about the most interesting man alive! [laughing continues] And she always would call me that, because this guy’s real. You have to see the commercial to get the joke, but it was something that she always did. And we would also play cards and drink a little red wine. So we had fun times – playing ball and stuff.

When you look at your previous film experiences along your eight-year acting journey, in what ways do you think you have grown the most as an actor?

Well, this time, I realized that being a lead has a lot of responsibilities attached to the position. You have to be on, every day. It’s like being a starter in a basketball game. You start the game, and you’ve got to start the game playing well. It also means that there won’t really be too many stars that can come in after you. You are the leading person, so you have to lead and work on your skills every day. You also have to be able to be natural and go with the flow of things.

As you were filming, is there a particular scene where you felt or recognized a new level of confidence in your acting?

Man, probably not until the end of the movie. That scene with Theo Scott, when I was conducting an interview. That was one of the last days, and I felt that. I also felt confident during certain moments of the movie, but you know, as an artist, you always are trying to go up, you know?

As part of the online promotional campaign for the film, two mixtapes were released. Although you do not have any tracks on Volume 1 and Volume 2, what song from your catalog do you think would be a perfect fit?

I think I have several songs that could fit in with the film’s theme, because you know I do love songs! [laughing] So, I think “The Light.” On Volume 3, I have a new song called “Next Time” – featuring Queen Latifah. We also put the “Come Close” remix on there.

How did the idea of a mixtape promotion come about?

That was something I thought would be very cool, especially at the grass roots level. I felt it would be a good way of promoting the film and getting people to talk about the movement and getting them aware of the release. I thought it would be a good idea, so I approached the team, and then I approached Twilite Tone, and I submitted some songs, and he would submit songs, and then we just decided on the songs we thought would be the best. After that, he put the mix together. And that was that.

Several years ago, you made your acting debut in Brown Sugar, a film for which you won your first GRAMMY: “Love of My Life (An Ode to Hip-Hop) – featuring Erykah Badu. Stealing the infamous question from Sidney, Sanaa Lathan’s character: When did you first fall in love with hip-hop?

I think I really fell in love with hip-hop when Run-D.M.C. hit the scene in ’83. That’s when I really fell in love with it. It was around the same time that LL came out, too. So that was a crazy time for hip-hop. And I want to say, I knew I wanted to be a hip-hop artist when I heard Rakim.

Very briefly, I would also like to discuss your 2002 album, Electric Circus, which has been credited from expanding the hip hop template. What hopes and visions do you have for the future of hip-hop?

I would like to see hip-hop keep growing, obviously. But I would like to see more artists doing different types of music and getting mainstream opportunities. I know that mainstream is a different thing now, because you’ve got the Internet. But it would be nice to hear some creative songs on the radio and some quality Mos Def songs. That is not to say that no one is being creative, but it would be good to hear from them on the radio and see their videos, wherever videos are being played. One of the things I’ve always loved about hip-hip is that we had these different images and characters. You had Big Daddy Kane. You had Biz Markie. You had EPMD. All of them had their themes and characters. I think hip-hop is open for diversity and diverse themes.

On Like Water for Chocolate, you recorded a song entitled “Time Travelin’ (A Tribute To Fela).” And with the recent Tony nominations garnered by his biographical Broadway musical, what reflections do you have on Fela’s influence on your career?

Well, Fela was one of the biggest influences on my career because of what he reflected in his music – the struggle for freedom. His soul pour throughout his work, and it is just incredible to think about all the things he achieved. But I first got introduced to his music through Black Thought. I learned at that point: music is so revolutionary, not just in concept and ideas, but in its mentality. Fela recorded songs that lasted fourteen minutes. And for me, small acts like that mean a big deal to me. His artistry just opened me up to music more, in ways like John Coltrane did.

Eminem’s Recovery : A Track-By-Track Guide

admin — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 23:11:58 +0000

Eminem returned from a five-year hiatus last year with the release of Relapse, and, fortunately for fans, he’s back again just a year later with his new offering, Recovery, which was released Monday (June 21).
The collection marks the first time the Detroit MC has broken free from his network of go-to collaborators, like Dr. Dre and the Shady Records camp, to work with outside talent such as Just Blaze, DJ Khalil, Jim Jonsin, Pink and Rihanna. The album continues Eminem’s post-drug-dependency life as he narrates his experiences through sober eyes. Here, MTV News delivers the goods on the set:

1. “Cold Wind Blows”
Eminem reasserts his lyrical dominance on the opener, forcefully spitting his rhymes with the bravado of a young backpack MC and avoiding any kitschy humor or the accents that bogged down verses on his previous effort.

Illuminating Rhymes: “Drop the anvil, these are shoes that you can’t fill/ Sh–, the day that happens the world will stop spinning and Michael J. Fox will come to a standstill.”

2. “Talkin’ 2 Myself” (featuring Kobe)
Em turns inward on this one. Instead of reveling in the details of his drug dependency, à la Relapse, he spins a tale about the psychological toll his demons caused.

Illuminating Rhymes: “I went away, I guess, and opened up some lanes/ But there was no one who even knew I was going through growing pains/ Hate was flowing through my veins/ On the verge of going insane/ I almost made a song dissing Lil Wayne.”

3. “On Fire”
The Shady One takes it back to his 8 Mile days here: straight rhymes with a hook that’s present by happenstance.

Illuminating Rhymes: “I just put a bullsh– hook in between two long-ass verses/ If you mistook this for a song, look, this ain’t a song it’s a warning/ To Brooke Hogan and David Cook that the crook just took over, so book.”

4. “Won’t Back Down” (featuring Pink)
A defiant Eminem unleashes a battle-rhyme salvo to his detractors.

Illuminating Rhymes: “Listen, garden tool/ Don’t make me introduce you to my power tool/ You know the f—ing drill/ How you douche bags feel?/ Knowing you’re disposable, Summer’s Eve, Massengill.”

5. “W.T.P.”
Marshall Mathers revisits his roots on this one, taking it back to backyard boogies in this ode to white-trash parties.

Illuminating Rhymes: “Pull out a fifth of Bacardi from out my underwear/ And walk around the party without a care, like a body without a head/ Looking like a zombie from ‘Night of the Living Dead’/ And tomorrow probably still be too high to get out of bed.”

6. “Going Through Changes”
On one of the heavier tracks on Recovery, Eminem turns confessional, touching on past suicidal thoughts, fears of failing to be a good father and his friends not being able to relate to the new Marshall Mathers.

Illuminating Rhymes: “Marshall, what happened that you/ Can’t stop with these pills and you falling off with your skills/ And your own fans are laughing at you?”

7. “Not Afraid”
A departure from the usual lead cuts, Eminem eschews jabs at pop-culture icons and goofballing in favor of introspection.

Illuminating Rhymes: “To the fans, I never let you down again, I’m back/ I promise to never go back on that promise/ In fact, let’s be honest/ That last Relapse CD was ‘ehh’/ Perhaps I ran them accents into the ground/ Relax, I ain’t going to do that now.”

8. “Seduction”
Slim Shady turns Don Juan as he lures the ladies with his lyrics over this woozy production.

Illuminating Rhymes: “She’s sitting here getting liquored up at the bar/ She says it’s quicker to count the things that ain’t wrong with you than to count the things that are/ There’s a seven-disc CD changer in her car/ And I’m in every single slot and you’re not, aww.”

9. “No Love” (featuring Lil Wayne)
Eminem and Wayne face off on this Just Blaze-produced number, on which the two trade verses and leave the track smoking hot, like one of Suge Knight’s cigars.

Illuminating Rhymes: “Get these wack co——ers offstage/ Where’s Kanye when you need him?”

10. “Space Bound”
Eminem is bitten by the love bug in this tale, but unfortunately the girl of his dreams isn’t — which causes the rapper to take his own life if he can’t have her.

Illuminating Rhymes: “Don’t play games, it’ll be dangerous/ If you f— me over, ’cause if I get burnt, I’mma show ya/ What it’s like to hurt, ’cause I’ve been treated like dirt before ya/ And love is evil, spell it backwards, I’ll show ya.”

11. “Cinderella Man”
He’s the baddest MC at the (rap) ball, and with a clearer conscience, Em’s not taking his talent for granted.

Illuminating Rhymes: “Who forms pyramids and rap circles around square lyricists/ Who? Here’s a clue/ He came to the ball in his wife-beater, lost his Nike/ Now it’s in your ass, he’s in your ass, he’s all up in your psyche too.”

12. “25 to Life”
Eminem compares his career to a bad marriage, detailing how his devotion to hip-hop and the resulting fame left his life devoid of simple freedoms.

Illuminating Rhymes: “Look at how I dress, f—ing baggy sweats, go to work a mess/ Always in a rush to get back to you, I ain’t heard you yet/ Not even once say you appreciate me, I deserve respect.”

13. “So Bad”
Eminem boasts and brags here, revisiting his “Superman” days.

Illuminating Rhymes: “Same sh–, different toilet, oh you got a nice ass, darling/ Can’t wait to get you into my Benz, take you for a spin/ What you mean we ain’t f—ing, you take me for a friend?”

14. “Almost Famous”
Shady wags his fingers at those who want to trade places and fill his shoes, a heavy task, according to him.

Illuminating Rhymes: “I stuck my di– in this game like a rapist, they call me Slim Roethlisberger/ I go berserker than a fed-up post-office worker/ A murker with a Mossberg, I’m pissed off, get murdered.”

15. “Love the Way You Lie” (featuring Rihanna)
The Detroit rapper revisits old material — his love affair with ex-wife Kim — but this time, a sober, more mature Eminem places their relationship in the context of how they hurt each other.

Illuminating Rhymes: “Wait, where you going? I’m leaving you/ No, you ain’t, come back/ We running right back/ Here we go again/ It’s insane, ’cause when it’s going good, it’s going great/ I’m Superman, with the wind to his back/ She’s Lois Lane/ But when it’s bad, it’s awful/ I feel so ashamed/ I snap, ‘Who’s that dude? I don’t even know his name’/ I laid hands on her/ I’ll never stoop so low again/ I guess I don’t know my own strength.”

16. “You’re Never Over”
A dedication to Eminem’s late best friend, D12 member Proof.

Illuminating Rhymes: “For you, I wanna write the sickest rhyme of my life/ So sick it’ll blow up the mic, it’ll put the dyna in mite.”

17. “Untitled” (bonus track)
Shady’s back on this one, as Eminem pushes the boundaries with his bawdy rhymes.

Illuminating Rhymes: “Shady, I don’t understand your flow, understand my flow/ Bitch, I flow like Troy Polamalu’s hair, boy/ Don’t you dare try to follow or compare, boy.”

50 Cent And Floyd Mayweather Talk New Albums, Fake Rappers

admin — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 11:12:54 +0000

For the original concept of his Black Magic album, 50 Cent said he was inspired by dance music while touring overseas.
Now that he’s in the U.S., on the Invitation Tour, the G-Unit team captain said he has a whole other muse for a completely different album.
“I started working on it,” 50 said last week in Los Angeles. “I been working on writing to a concept for Black Magic. … I recorded 19 songs. Then when I got back to the U.S., I started writing to a different concept. I spoke to Em. He called me when I was starting in Detroit.”
Before Fif could go more in-depth about his upcoming album, his friend, Floyd Mayweather — who sat in on the interview as well — announced he has an LP as well. “We’re doing a compilation album,” Money Mayweather said. The boxing champ said he’ll be highlighting various artists on the project.
“We’ll probably launch it in the heat of the next bout,” Fif said. “It’ll probably be the biggest fight in the history of the sport.”
Of course, 50 was referring to the long-delayed Mayweather/ Manny Pacquiao title bout. Floyd wants Pacquiao to take Olympic-style drug testing, and Manny has resisted thus far.
Back to the music: Fif and Mayweather agree that a lot of the hip-hop out right now has taken a softer turn.
“It’ll just make room for you to impact when [the hardcore] comes back,” 50 assessed. “No one told the world to enjoy that [softer] music temporarily. I think a big portion of why people didn’t want to hear the aggressive content is because the people conveying them were lying.”
“You got rappers in today’s time, they get a small advance from their record label, get a bunch of tattoos, a few piercings on their face, go to jail for 10 or 20 days, [then] they killers,” Mayweather weighed in. “Next time out, they rock stars. I think rap is crazy, but it’s still very creative.”

Dr. Dre’s Lawsuit Against Death Row Records Gets Scrapped

admin — Sun, 13 Jun 2010 11:12:50 +0000

Dr. Dre’s lawsuit against Death Row Records hit a major wall this week, when the judge threw out most of his claim against the company. The suit focused on the reissue of “The Chronic,” Dre’s breakout hit of the early 1990s. U.S. District Judge Christina A. Snyder said that the artist can only sue for unpaid royalties, and that his claims of false advertising and copyright infringement were without merit.

In the suit, Dr. Dre, whose real name is Andre Young, sued the company that brought Death Row out of bankruptcy. The new firm’s name is WIDEawake Death Row Entertainment LLC, who was set to release “The Chronic Re-Lit & From the Vault,” in addition to a greatest hits CD.

BRANDY NOT PURSUING RAP CAREER

admin — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 23:17:12 +0000

R&B singer BRANDY has laughed off reports she is seriously considering a career in rap after rhyming on a pair of tracks for her upcoming album.
The Never Say Never hitmaker introduced her rap alter-ego Bran’Nu in December, 2009 for a collaboration with hip-hop producer Timbaland.
The singer admits she shows off her MC skills once again on her upcoming sixth studio album, but she has no plans to pursue her hip-hop persona any further.

She says, “Maybe two songs (on her new album) feature rap, but I’m not turning into a rapper.”

T-Pain & Roscoe Dash Shoot Video For New Disney Single…Talk Collaboration & Music [Video]

admin — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 23:19:20 +0000

T-Pain and Roscoe Dash shot the video to their upcoming new single in Atlanta this weekend called “I Got My Own Steps.”
The high powered dance track will be featured in Disney’s upcoming film “Step Up 3-D” which will hit theatres on August 6th.
This is the third installment of the popular dance movie series.
Hip-Hop Wired caught up with Roscoe and T-Pain as they discussed their collaboration as well their upcoming solo albums and ventures.

Kanye West ‘Took Over’ NYC Nightclub To Preview Songs

admin — Wed, 26 May 2010 23:14:02 +0000

Kanye West has largely shunned the spotlight since his stage-crashing rant at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards in September. Save for a few appearances — joining Beyoncé onstage at a London concert and joining a host of celebrities for the “We Are the World” remake — West has, for the most part, spoken only intermittently through blog posts and a guest turn on Fox’s animated series”The Cleveland Show.”

Last week, however, West popped up at Manhattan hot spot CV with entourage in tow — Plain Pat, Consequence, Kid Cudi — for a rare public appearance since he first vowed to take time off following his VMA stunt. (West admitted at the time in a televised interview with Jay Leno that he was still dealing with the emotional complexities of his mother’s death.)

The unsuspecting crowd at CV partying to the tunes of DJ/ hip-hop producer Scram Jones got a first listen as Kanye premiered a handful of songs from his forthcoming album.

“Kanye came through. There’s a table right by the DJ booth, so they posted up right in front of the booth, and basically, after they hung out for a little while, 45 minutes later, Pat came in the booth and said he wanted to play some new stuff. He had a CD, and we put it in,” Jones explained to MTV News on Tuesday (May 25).

“Kanye leaned over and said, ‘Play track three.’ They all went nuts, Kid Cudi was dancing on the table, and then we cut it off at about a minute-and-a-half. We went to another record, and that got everybody excited, and Kanye said, ‘Play number seven.’ That’s how it kept happening. By the end of the process, we played four records,” the DJ added.

According to Jones, there was no microphone announcement made by West — he just asked for the records to be played and “kind of took over the spot.” Jones wasn’t able to identify the titles of the tracks he spun but described them as “real hip-hop,” sans Auto-Tune, singing, or even West’s trademark soul samples.

His cursory review comes on the heels of similar oness made by some of the album’s contributors, including producers Q-Tip, Pete Rock and the RZA, who all have said West’s next project will be more in line with his work pre-808s & Heartbreak. As of press time, it’s unclear when West’s album will arrive, though rumors suggest it will see a late-2010 release.

Up next for Jones, the producer is working on a compilation project for Nature Sounds Records that will showcase both his production and rap skills; a number of Jones’ productions are also set to see the light of day soon, among them numbers by Maino (featuring T.I.), Styles P. and C-N-N.

Cops enlist rappers to fight violence

admin — Tue, 25 May 2010 11:13:50 +0000

Rap music videos are often filled with angry young men waving guns and spitting rhymes about how much they despise police.

And nobody would be too surprised these days to tune into the nightly news and see yet another hip-hop artist facing drug, gun, or even murder charges.

So, the thought of cops and rappers working together to make the city safer is sure to raise some eyebrows.

But Toronto Police are hopeful this unlikely pairing is what’s needed to get young people’s attention. They’ve enlisted the help of seven local rappers for public service announcements as part of this summer’s TAVIS initiative.

“The only way we’re going to stop someone from getting shot is by convincing the person holding the gun to put it down,” said Const. Scott Mills, the force’s social media relations officer. “These guys are definitely pieces to that puzzle.”

Sean Combs – Combs Opens Up About Wayne Jail Visit

admin — Thu, 20 May 2010 23:13:56 +0000

SEAN COMBS has opened up about his jail visit to see incarcerated rapper LIL WAYNE – insisting the star “is doing great” behind bars.

Combs was approved by officials to meet with the Lollipop hitmaker – who was caged in March (10) after pleading guilty to gun possession charges – for an hour last month (Apr10).

The hip-hop star visited Wayne at Rikers Island prison in New York, and admits he urged the rapper to use his time in prison to make himself a “better person”.

Combs tells MTV News, “Wayne is a trooper. Wayne is doing great. It was a personal visit, so I don’t want to get into the details of that. We’re just counting down the days of him getting out. He’s somebody that has been there for me over the years numerous times.

“I live in New York. It wouldn’t have been right if I didn’t go see him and check on his health and well-being. But the status of where that’s at, that’s his personal business. I think we gonna miss a certain energy that Wayne has.

“The beauty about it is, he’ll be back, and hopefully he’ll come back a better person. Whenever we get in trouble, we’re in the public spotlight. So hopefully there’s a lot of kids out there who could learn from any mistakes that we may have put ourselves in, even if we’re not guilty of the crime sometimes.”