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| Posted: 17 Oct 2008 02:36 AM PDT Plus: Gems from 50 Cent, Dr. Dre and Slim Shady get new life; Fat Joe is proud of DJ Khaled.
Hip-Hop Editor's Note: What's up, fam? We switched it up a little this week. We still have a main pick, but don't be surprised when you click on the video and see none other than G-Unit's Tony Yayo. We're gonna give you a tease of his upcoming S.O.D. mixtape. You can read more about that in the Streets Is Talking section. OK, now onto the rest of this feature. DJ: Hevehitta and DJ Unexpected Mixtape: Year of the Aftermath Representing: Rare gems from the Shady/Aftermath/G-Unit family
411: With all the talk of the Shady/Aftermath/G-Unit "three-headed monster," Hevehitta went back in the vault and culled a bunch of underground classics and cutting-room-floor vintage material. There's a record called "The Glow," which is said to be 50 Cent's first-ever song, as well as the original version of "Renegade," which features Eminem and Royce Da 5'9" instead of Slim Shady with Jay-Z. Joints to Check For » "Who U Rep With" by Nas and the Bravehearts (featuring 50 Cent). Simply classic. Too much time and bad blood has passed to ever think about a Nas and 50 Cent collaboration, but their combination from almost 10 years ago still holds up. What could have been! Be sure to look for "Projects Too Hot" as well. That also rang off in the underground back in the day.
» "The Way I Be Pimpin" by Dr. Dre (featuring Royce Da 5'9"). This beat ended up being the instrumental for The Chronic 2001's "Xxplosive." Hearing the beat makes you wonder why he never added his raps to the final version. » "Imagine" by Snoop Dogg (featuring Dr. Dre and D'Angelo). This track is way more up to date than what's featured on the mixtape, for the most part. It was a track from Snoop's Tha Blue Carpet Treatment, and it should have had a video. It was just featured in the closing credits of "Entourage" a couple of weeks back. Hood's Heavy Rotation » 40 Glocc (featuring Busta Rhymes and Chamillionaire) - "On the Blocc" Celebrity Faves Last week, Fat Joe told us how proud he was of his buddy Lil Wayne. This week, the Terror Squad Don expressed pride when speaking on the most vocal member of the squad: DJ Khaled. "I feel so proud," Joey Crack said. "Khaled is gonna make more money than I ever made in this business, because he's more of a politician than me. He's able to work with more people. He lives every day like it's his last." Crack is also surprised by Khaled's ear. "He signed Ace Hood," Joe said. "I was like, 'I really don't know. Are you sure?' He comes to my house. ... He puts on that Ace Hood album. That Ace Hood album is gonna surprise America. This Ace Hood album is sick. I ain't saying that because it's Khaled's artist. I wouldn't put my name on the line and my word behind that if I didn't mean it. Very impressive." Streets Is Talking: News & Notes From The Underground No doubt about it: Eminem is back. He announced his comeback for later this year, and he wasn't just talking. He dropped the "I Am Having a Relapse" freestyle last week, and the buzz around those few bars has been louder than for a lot of people's singles.
We love Marshall Mathers' spit game just like you do, so we decided to salute him by digging up a vintage freestyle from the Detroit king. He visited the MTV offices around a decade ago and dropped hot lines off the dome. Mixtape Monday co-creator and Senior Producer Rahman Dukes was right there for the Slim Shady experience. In his own words, he tells us how it went down: "It was the year prior to Eminem's debut album coming out. MTV.com was producing 'The DJ Stretch Armstrong show,' a half-hour audio program. The concept was, Stretch would bring in an artist, and they would give us an exclusive freestyle. Other artists we highlighted were Capone-N-Noreaga, Big Pun and even Sway, which marked his introduction to the MTV News family. "We were the first folks to bring Em to the MTV building. He had a fractured arm at the time but still came through and spit off the top of the head, as noted in the video clip. The freestyle centered on [Eminem's manager] Paul Rosenberg giving Em one-word associations to rhyme to. Months later, Em's "My Name Is" video hit the channel, and the rest was history. I'm just glad to say we were the first ones to bring a musical legend to the building. FYI, the freestyle happened on the 29th floor, in what's now the office of [MTV Executive Vice President for Multiplatform Production, News and Music] Dave Sirulnick." ... T.I. says the video for "Swing Ya Rag" — an undeniably mammoth musical moment on Paper Trail — is one for the vaults. Tip and Swizz Beatz shot the video many weeks ago, around the same time as the "What Up, What's Haapnin' " clip. However, the two companies mentioned in the song were not excited about the prospect of full-on visuals for the record. "We did it, and it came out hot," Tip said of the video. "Louis [Vuitton] and Gucci started trippin' about it. They were saying we were infringing, in one way or another. They weren't happy about it. They didn't want it to come out. But it's hot, though." One thing the King of the South doesn't need is another headache. He's planning his tour and shooting the film "Bone Deep." Still, the fans would love it if the lost video mysteriously hit the Net on a blog or something. Tip has moved on, and a video for "Live Your Life" with Rihanna is on the way shortly. There's also still hope for a "Swagger Like Us" video and a major performance. "I hope we can pull that off," Tip said of a video featuring song co-stars Jay-Z, Kanye West and Lil Wayne. "That was the definite intentions initially. We have to see when everybody is all available. I'm available whenever they are." ... Next week, hide the kids and put granny in the back room — the G's are coming. We have something big from 50 Cent and G-Unit. In addition to highlighting Tony Yayo's S.O.D. mixtape, we have some other treats for you. Stay tuned. In the meantime, the Talk of New York explains his street CD's title. "S.O.D. means 'swammies on deck.' A swammy is [a firearm]," Yayo explained. "It's a saying in Queens, swammy. I'm heavy in the streets." "The mixtape came out, and we did a hardcore collabo where we abused the ['Dark Knight'] theme, because we thought the movie was so crazy," DJ Whoo Kid added about the tape. "Yayo is built like Joker." Yayo is even made up like the Joker on the cover. For other artists featured in Mixtape Monday, check out Mixtape Mondays Headlines. Related Videos Related Artists | |
| Bill Of Rights For American Veterans: Breaking Down The Petition's Calls To Action Posted: 17 Oct 2008 04:36 AM PDT The BRAVE petition urges the next president to support veterans' key issues.
With Election Day right around the corner, there's one issue that, no matter how you define yourself politically, we can all agree on: Veterans deserve the best care and support possible. That's why MTV has teamed up with vet organizations around the country to introduce the Bill of Rights for American Veterans (BRAVE), a petition urging the next president to raise awareness and support veterans' issues, such as employment, health care, homelessness and education. The BRAVE petition makes five specific calls to action: 1. Properly Diagnose and Treat Mental-Health Issues Some troops come home from the battlefields with scars not visible to the naked eye. Many return with intense emotional or mental challenges, like post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury. One former Marine currently suffering from PTSD is Justin LaPree, who served two seven-month tours in Iraq. In 2003, he was part of the initial Iraq invasion, and in 2004, he was stationed in Fallujah, an area that saw some of the heaviest fighting and casualties. He was diagnosed with PTSD after his second tour. Though he's been a civilian since 2005, he's still in recovery. With a lot of courage, Justin has managed to land a successful job in finance and is a major contributor to the Wounded Warrior Project, a program designed to raise awareness for injured servicemen and -women across the country. By signing the BRAVE petition, LaPree believes the transition will be much easier for many veterans dealing with brain injuries. "It is extremely important for veterans to get this help so they can make the transition from the war zone to the civilian sector," he said. "This disease ... can take over your life with the use of alcohol and drugs and lead you down a road of hopelessness and despair. All veterans need to know that there is help available out there, and all you have to do is ask." 2. Prevent Homelessness Among Veterans On any given night, up to 200,000 veterans are homeless in America. One of them was former Marine Sergeant Jose Adams. After serving two tours in Iraq, he returned to his native New York in May 2006 and found that he had nowhere to live. "I had to spend three weeks on the street before getting a bed to sleep on inside Bellevue Hospital," he said. His afternoons were mostly spent handing out fliers on the street for pocket change, until one day, a fellow serviceman noticed he was wearing military shoes. Through that exchange, Adams was introduced to Black Veterans for Social Justice, an organization that helps homeless veterans find housing and jobs. Thankfully, Adams is no longer homeless — in fact he's now a caseworker for BVSJ, helping to keep other veterans off the street. By supporting the BRAVE petition, Adams believes we can stop homelessness from impacting the next generation of veterans. 3. Give Disabled Vets the Benefits They Deserve Veterans who have sacrificed for their country expect the government to hold up their end of the deal. Currently, veterans are waiting up to eight months for disability compensation. According to former Army Specialist Aubrey Arcangel, this needs to change. "With approximately 1.7 million veterans who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan since 2001, many with multiple tours, taking care of America's military men and women should be a priority and not an afterthought," Arcangel said. "It is a shame that the presidential candidates have spoken very little about veterans, those of whom have served honorably and deserve to be taken care of. BRAVE is important because it outlines the top priorities our veterans are facing." 4. Veterans Hospitals Need to Be Fully Funded The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs provides patient care and federal benefits to veterans and their dependents. The VA is where many vets get the care they need. But the hospitals don't get funding until after the fact, so a lot of the doctors and treatments they need are not available when they need them. Zambia King, a former specialist for the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment, knows this firsthand, as she's currently seeking treatment for a back injury she suffered during her tour in Iraq. "I receive all of my health care and get my prescriptions filled at the VA," she said. "I constantly experience the result of lack of funding. Significantly more often than not, when I go to the hospital for a 30- to 45-minute appointment, I spend at least two to three hours total, because I have to wait so long to be seen. Simply put, there absolutely needs to be more funding for the VA to hire more staff. After all, taking care of veterans is a cost of war, so the president must start paying the price." 5. Pay The Troops for the Work They Do Right now, many soldiers and Marines who should be home end up having to go back and fight. Extended service takes a physical, emotional and financial toll on not only the servicemen, but on their families as well. The BRAVE petition urges the next administration to insure that troops who have been stop-lossed get paid an additional $1,500 a month. To help make BRAVE a reality, head to ChooseOrLose.com and sign your name so the next president knows that taking care of our young vets is a priority for this country.
Get informed! Head to Choose or Lose for nonstop coverage of the 2008 presidential election, including everything from the latest news on the candidates to on-the-ground multimedia reports from our 51 citizen journalists, MTV and MySpace's Presidential Dialogues, and much more. Related Videos | |
| 'American Idol' Champ David Cook's One Wish For 'Light On' Video: 'I Hope I Don't Blow It' Posted: 17 Oct 2008 05:23 AM PDT 'It's kind of out of this world,' singer says of his idol, Chris Cornell, co-writing the single.
If David Cook has learned anything on his whirlwind trip from obscurity to "American Idol" celebrity, it's that, sometimes, it's best to just sit back and enjoy the ride. Which probably explains why — despite the fact that he's standing on a deserted football field on a rather frigid (well, at least for Los Angeles) Thursday night in October — he's still got a mile-wide grin on his face.
He's here to shoot the video for "Light On," the first single from his self-titled album, which hits stores November 18. And though he realizes the video is a fairly big deal (it's directed by Wayne Isham, the guy behind Metallica's "Enter Sandman" and Britney Spears' "Piece of Me"), Cook will freely admit that he's rather starstruck by the entire process. Which is odd, considering he's the star. "We did the first run-through, and I felt real timid because, obviously, I don't have any experience. It's not like I grew up shooting music videos," he laughed. "It's weird, man. Little things keep happening along the way that drive the point home that I'm doing something that's both insane and really fulfilling, and this is one of those things. To be able to shoot a music video is kind of rad — especially something on this scale. So, you know, I hope I don't blow it." We suspect he's just being modest, because when MTV News was on set — er, field — at L.A. Valley College last Thursday (October 16), Cook looked every bit the pro, rocking out on the 50-yard line and joking with Isham, all while giving off an approachable, decidedly everyman aura. But that's just the way he's wired. "I was pretty much an open book on ['Idol'], and that's how I am. For me, I take music really seriously — the stuff that I write definitely comes from a serious place — but I don't really take myself all that seriously," he said. "I mean, at the end of the day, I'm out on a football field at 1, 2 a.m. There's a very kind of absurd undertone to most of the things I do, and I'm usually the first to try and get somebody to laugh — but, yeah, I do take some things seriously." And that includes "Light On" — a song that was co-written by none other than Chris Cornell and one that has already attached itself to the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart. It's one of Cook's favorites on the album (along with tracks like the piano-laden ballad "Permanent," a "heavy riff-rocker" called "Bar-ba-sol" and "A Daily AntheM," a song he wrote about his brother, Adam, who is battling cancer), though he'd be lying if he said a lot of that didn't have to do with Cornell's involvement. "I did [a version of Cornell's cover of Michael Jackson's 'Billie Jean'] on the show, and Chris went into the media and said some really, really nice things," he explained. "And this song actually got pitched to us, which I take as another huge compliment, the fact that he saw something in me with a song of his ... just the fact that somebody of his caliber takes the time out of their day not just to mention my name, but to say something nice, it's kind of out of this world." The video for "Light On" is expected to premiere in early November, and until then, Cook will stay busy with a string of high-profile gigs — including a November 1 performance on "Saturday Night Live." And he's already accepting ideas for his next music video, like the one we proposed to him: Why not a cameo by Cook's former "Idol" competitor, David Archuleta? "Actually, that's not a bad idea, why didn't I think of that?" Cook laughed. "I'd make him the male lead. He'd have to win the girl, and he'd be horribly uncomfortable with that." Get your "Idol" fix on MTV News' "American Idol" page, where you'll find all the latest news, interviews and opinions. And relive six seasons of "Idol" hot messes and high notes in six minutes with our video timeline. Related Artists |
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