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| Posted: 12 Nov 2008 04:58 AM PST 'It's a movement, man,' Atlanta-based MC says of new record.
"I feel like this album is a collectors' item," Ludacris said about his November 24 release. "Not only do I feel it's classic — it's a collectors' item. It's a movement, man. Moral to the story is, this album, I'll provide you with the audio — the rest is up to the theater of your mind." Luda is also planning a tour, and he wants to bring some guys from his Southern hometown along for the ride. "I haven't confirmed anything yet," he explained. "It's little talks here and there. But I'll put it out there: I would love to do a tour where it's me, T.I. and [Young] Jeezy. Me, Tip and Jeezy would be outrageous. But nothing is confirmed yet." 'Cris is thinking big like some of his peers. On Monday night, it was announced that Lil Wayne, T-Pain, Keyshia Cole and Gym Class Heroes are going on the road together, so why wouldn't the Kings of Atlanta team up? "That's great," 'Cris said of different hip-hop dignitaries teaming up for a big concert series. "I think that sh-- is phenomenal." Luda's Theater of the Mind has no shortage of what he calls "co-stars" — co-stars, because he promises that every song is cinematic. "It's co-star heavy for me. I've always liked working with other artists, whether it's been me on their song or me inviting people on other songs," he said. "I worked with artists on this album because I loved the competition level — it puts people on their A-game. I wanted to compete against them. It's competition at its finest. It's kinda like when you play basketball and you're friends with people on the other team — you shake hands with people afterward, but it's war." Luda's sparring partners include both Jay-Z and Nas on "I Do It for Hip Hop" and T.I. on "Wish You Would." Common and legendary Hollywood filmmaker Spike Lee partner up on "Do the Right Thang," while others such as Rick Ross, the Game, Plies and Lil Wayne make cameos on other tracks. Related Artists |
| Justin Timberlake, Travis Barker, Christina Aguilera And More Added To 'TRL' Finale Lineup Posted: 10 Nov 2008 11:25 PM PST Star-studded 'Total Finale Live' airs November 16 at 8 p.m. ET/PT.
This Sunday marks the end of an era — MTV's "Total Request Live" will go dark after more than a decade on the air. Current host Damien Fahey and former host Carson Daly will oversee its swan song, a special dubbed "Total Finale Live," which is set to air on MTV at 8 p.m. ET/PT. On Tuesday (November 11), MTV revealed that Justin Timberlake, Kid Rock, Snoop Dogg, Nelly and JC Chasez will be joining previously announced guests 50 Cent, Fall Out Boy, Ludacris, the Backstreet Boys and Beyoncé at the Times Square studios to commemorate the show's momentous conclusion. Former Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker and Christina Aguilera will also be part of the big show, appearing via satellite to say a few words and share some of their favorite "TRL" memories. It will be Barker's first appearance on MTV since surviving a plane crash in late September that killed four people. Ludacris, Snoop and Nelly will be sharing the stage for a one-time-only collaboration, adding another big moment to the long list of hot performances that have taken place in the "TRL" studios over the years. Others expected to appear during the "TRL" farewell show include Diddy, Mariah Carey, Taylor Swift, Hilary Duff, Good Charlotte's Benji and Joel Madden, Fred Durst of Limp Bizkit and Korn frontman Jonathan Davis. In addition, "TRL" will be bringing back its former hosts and VJs for their last stand, including Lyndsey Rodrigues, Vanessa Minnillo, Dave Holmes, Jesse Camp, Hilarie Burton, La La Vasquez and Quddus. Don't miss the end of an era! "Total Finale Live" airs live Sunday, November 16, at 8 p.m. ET/PT. Related Videos Related Artists |
| Posted: 12 Nov 2008 05:00 AM PST Rapper's body of work might be solely committed to satirizing hip-hop culture.
On The Record: Behold, A True Master At Work Imagine if everything you knew about Soulja Boy Tell'em was wrong. That he was not a hyperactive, cash-craving demon hell-bent on destroying hip-hop. That his songs were not shameless stabs at ringtone royalties, his lyrics not indecipherable and lightweight, his image not clownish and gaudy. Imagine if he were secretly more brilliant than you could ever imagine, that his entire career has been one deceptively subtle bit of social commentary, and that you are just not smart enough to be in on the joke. I ask you to consider all this, because I am fairly sure that it is all true. Soulja Boy gets a bad rap (pardon the pun). He is not a pariah. He is not, as some of his hip-hop forefathers have claimed, "garbage." He is simply the greatest performance artist of our generation, a genius whose body of work — be it his songs, his persona, his merchandise or his endless parade of YouTube musings — is solely committed to satirizing hip-hop culture. That most people don't get the joke is almost more of a comment on his success. If you look at some of the best moments of performance art in recent history — say, Andy Kaufman's turns as abusive lounge lizard Tony Clifton or Gregg Turkington's groan-inducing Neil Hamburger routines or even Norm MacDonald's purposeful tank job at the Comedy Central Roast of Bob Saget — they are almost always misunderstood by those not in on the joke. These are well-crafted pieces of art, designed to tweak, to provoke and, often, even to enrage anyone not smart enough to catch on (like Stamos in the MacDonald bit or, say, Ice-T with Soulja Boy). The truly great artists create works that somehow manage to transcend sheer annoyance and enter the realm of astute commentary — some bit or character or act that pokes holes in social contrivances and points out the inherent ridiculousness of a given situation or notion. Soulja Boy does this basically every time he opens his mouth. There are about a million examples of this. The first is "Crank That," an amazingly misogynistic song about a sexual act that's probably banned in several countries, yet was marketed to tweens and ended up on more than a few critics' "Best Songs of 2007" lists (mine included). Or the follow-up single, "Yahhh!," which ditched the concept of a hook altogether in favor of Soulja shouting "Yarhghhrhhhrhhfhrwhhwhwh!" like the Great Cornholio. There is the fact that he named his major-label debut SouljaBoyTellem.com, or that he lent his name to a brand of sneakers that come in colors like "Grape," "Lemon Lime" and "Smores," or that he walked around with puff paint on his sunglasses and thousands of dollars of diamonds around his neck. To the unaware, all of that made Soulja Boy a walking stereotype, a one-stop shop for all that is wrong with hip-hop culture: the sexism, the braggadocio, the idea of style over substance. He caused people to cringe and to lash out, because what they saw made them angry. But really, that's only because they weren't aware that this was all an act, that the entire concept of Soulja Boy "the character" was a rather elaborate bit of performance art designed to point out the inherent ridiculousness of all of those stereotypes. Or, at least, I hoped so. But recently, two things have sewn it up for me, the first being a series of YouTube clips Soulja began posting in August called — cringingly enough — "Rich N---a Sh--." In the first video, the character of Soulja is taken to new heights: waking up on a Gucci-fied bed, donning a "Soulja Boy" robe, blowing his nose with a $100 bill and riding around his barely filled house on a Segway because "only poor-ass n---as walk." In subsequent chapters, he approaches two homeless men and makes them beg for money, shows off a room in another of his houses in which only those who have $50,000 in the bank are allowed to enter, plays a few minutes of "Grand Theft Auto" on a massive TV, and rides a souped-up go-kart around a gated community. It's perhaps the greatest example of performance art I've ever seen, if only because it takes just about every other stereotype possible and satirizes it in one fell swoop. The character has become huge, preening and grotesque, like a villain in professional wrestling or a bad bit of vaudeville. There is no way he could be taken seriously, only he is, which sort of proves just how brilliant Soulja really is (because, really, no one could be that dumb). But, things had only begun. Late last month, Soulja did an interview with respected cultural critic Touré, in which he submitted to a form of the Proust Questionnaire. When asked, "What historical figure do you most hate?," Soulja was apparently stumped, to which Touré prompted: "Others have said Hitler, bin Laden, the slave masters ... " "Oh, wait! Hold up! Shout-out to the slave masters!" Soulja replied "Without them, we'd still be in Africa. ... We wouldn't be here to get this ice and tattoos." Now, keep in mind that Soulja — or, as I'm convinced, his alter ego, 18-year-old DeAndre Way — claimed that his comment was blown out of proportion because he was being "sarcastic," but I'd like to think this was the final master stroke: a hip-hop artist making a comment so mind-blowingly ignorant and insensitive that even the most fervent supporters of the genre would be forced to throw their hands up in the air and say "You know what? There really is no hope." Of course, you are probably thinking there is no way Soulja Boy is that smart, that he is just a money-hungry kid with no respect and no talent and a blight to the entire genre. And you might be completely right. But that probably also means that you're not in on the joke, and therefore, you're also missing the point. Soulja Boy isn't real; he's a character created out of the public's misconceptions, a brilliant bit of social commentary sprung from one of the most brilliant performance artists of our time. Or, at least, I hope he is. All I really know is that, apparently, he has a new album coming out next month, and personally, I can't wait to see what he does next. Actually, I'm slightly terrified. And that's great art. Questions? Comments? BTTS@MTVStaff.com. Related Artists |
| Taylor Swift Says She 'Owed It' To Her Fans To Be Open About Joe Jonas Breakup Posted: 11 Nov 2008 05:00 AM PST 'That's a chapter in my life that's closed now,' she tells MTV News.
On her new album Fearless, Taylor Swift sings about falling in and out of love with various paramours, including JoBro heartthrob Joe Jonas. She isn't sure if her former flame has heard the song "Always and Forever" — which Swift has previously admitted to being about Joe — because, she said, "I don't talk to him."
But she also isn't apologizing for being vocal about their breakup, which she said happened on a 25-second phone call. (One MTV Newser recalls Swift's first trip to our offices, in the Newsroom blog.) "With this situation, I feel like I owed it to my fans to be like, 'Look, it happened, you weren't crazy,' and address it," she told MTV News. "And I addressed it, and, you know, that's a chapter in my life that's closed now." Swift said references to her relationships on Fearless are more veiled than on past songs, like the VMA-nominated "Teardrops on my Guitar," in which she calls out her former crush by name. "On this album, I had the opportunity to be more general, and it might have done me some good to be general," she said. "I like to write personal songs," she added. "I like to write songs that are very obviously about people. It's kind of hard to change your stripes. I like to write songs about love, and I like to write songs about relationships, and I like to write songs about boys." With the album's first single, "Love Story," at #1 on the country charts, Swift hopes to prove to everyone she's in it for the long haul and isn't scared to work hard to get there. "I really thought about what that word ['fearless'] means to me, and I guess, to me, fearless doesn't mean you're completely unafraid and it doesn't mean that you're bulletproof," she said. "It means that you have a lot of fears, but you jump anyway." Not only did she co-write all the songs on the album, she also co-produced them with longtime collaborator Nathan Chapman. Swift is particularly proud of one song, "White Horses," which is about the dissolution of a relationship. "[It's] about that moment that you realize that the person you thought was going to be Prince Charming is really not going to sweep you off your feet, and he's going to sweep someone else off their feet. There's that moment in the letdown where you realize that. That was a hard one to write." Swift is up for various awards, including an AMA and a CMA, and although she holds both in high regard, she admits that a CMA win can prove she's more than just an up-and-comer. "The CMA award nomination — that's a big deal to me, because that's the [Female Vocalist of the Year] category," she said. "That's not a New Artist category. So it's cool to be considered in that way." Swift hopes to take that kind of recognition and apply it to the next steps in her career. But until she sees just how successful Fearless is, she's holding her breath and hoping her star continues to rise. "I think you can always hope as a new artist to go up and have your career go like this [she motions up] instead of like this [motions down]," she said. "The next couple weeks will be very telling." Related Videos Related Artists |
| Outkast To Deliver Two Solo Albums And Another Group Effort in 2009 Posted: 11 Nov 2008 05:35 AM PST 'Y'all gonna get three records from the 'Kast next year,' Big Boi says.
ATLANTA — Big Boi is getting his second solo album, Sir Lucious Leftfoot: The Son of Chico Dusty, back on the good foot. The street-embedded member of Outkast says that despite a delay, his record is still coming. "The South got something to say, and we gonna keep on talking," he told us recently in Atlanta. The roll-out plan for his LP seems to coincide once again with that of his partner, Andre 3000, and the 'Kast have been putting their heads together in preparations. "Me and 'Dre were on the conference call [recently]," Big explained. "He's working on his album; my album is done. We're gonna wait until the top of the year — January or February — to put it out. Then 'Dre is gonna come hit y'all, and [then] we're gonna do the Outkast album. So y'all gonna get three records from the 'Kast next year." Besides being holed up in the studio working on these records, Daddy Fat Sacks has also been spending time on the set — he's due to appear on "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" next Tuesday, November 25. He plays a rapper — Gots Money — who gets greedy. Instead of just relying on the loot he gets as an artist, he decides to get involved with an animal-smuggling ring — when the cops catch him, he turns sides and works undercover for the authorities. Now, we have heard about the 'Kast pulling a trifecta of albums before, and it hasn't materialized — but it might actually happen this time. Andre 3000 told MTV News' Mixtape Monday in September he had finally started work on his album. "To be honest, I work best when people doubt me," 'Dre explained. "Our whole Outkast career has been built on people doubting us. [Hip-hop fans] up North hated on us from the get-go. We wouldn't be Outkast if people didn't understand what people would call weird. You know, none of that would've happened. Actually, if you see me, tell me I'm wack. That's the best thing you can do for me. You know, if you want a greater album, say that. Say that!" Related Artists |
| Scott Weiland Talks New Solo Album, Possible Stone Temple Pilots LP Posted: 12 Nov 2008 05:00 AM PST Plus, singer addresses Velvet Revolver split: 'It just mistakenly kind of eroded.'
They reunited for a successful run of summer gigs and they've even been writing new material — but, according to frontman Scott Weiland, Stone Temple Pilots' future plans are still very much up in the air, given that two of the band's members have been sued by their old record label, Atlantic Records. "It's pretty f---ed up, actually," Weiland told MTV News last week. "I don't know who we would record for. I'm not into recording for Atlantic Records, and there are some legal issues there. Originally, I was told — and I was told for years — that we were free from Atlantic. I don't know how it is that [bassist] Dean [DeLeo] and [guitarist] Robert [DeLeo] are free from [Atlantic], and [drummer] Eric [Kretz] and I are not. I have no interest in making a record for a major label. If we were going to make a record, I would want to do it in a way that was much more original and in a more creative fashion." Atlantic Records filed a lawsuit in Manhattan District Court this spring against Weiland and Kretz, claiming the two tried to get out of their recording contract with the Warner Music Group label prematurely. The filing contends Weiland and Kretz have threatened to stop performing under their current contract, and that they've indicated that they'd like to end the agreement unless Atlantic makes some significant changes. In the suit, the label claims that, though STP have written and recorded six LPs, it wants them to record a seventh — and deliver up to two more, should the label decide it wants them. However, the suit hasn't deterred the band from working on new material, Weiland said. "I know those guys have been writing, and there's been some really cool stuff that's come about from that," he explained. "I'm proud of everything we've written. But to make another record would mean another couple of years of my life dedicated to that, and I just don't know if that's where I see myself going." Weiland will issue his second solo offering, Happy in Galoshes, on November 25, an album he's been working on for more than a year, even before he was fired from Velvet Revolver back in the spring. He said that, while he's receptive to recording with STP once more, he likes the freedom that being a solo artist affords him. "When I look at people like Beck and even, unfortunately, Elliott Smith, who was one of my favorite singer/songwriters, the ability to do what you want to do at your own pace is appealing to me," Weiland said. "You don't really have any fiduciary responsibility to anyone but yourself. But being in a band, you do. It's like, you can't just say, 'You know what? I don't want to tour.' You just can't." As for Velvet Revolver's collapse, Weiland said that, looking back on it now, he knows just what caused the band's turmoil. "Velvet Revolver fell apart because there were too many big egos in the band — and I'm including myself," he said. "It wasn't necessarily about bad egos, just big egos, and unfortunately, it just mistakenly kind of eroded." Related Artists |
| BRAVE Petition For Veterans' Rights Reaches 60,000 Signatures Posted: 10 Nov 2008 10:35 PM PST Goal is to get 100,000 signatures for petition that 50 Cent, Ludacris played concert supporting last month.
Less than a month after MTV teamed up with veterans' organizations around the country to introduce the Bill of Rights for American Veterans (BRAVE), the petition urging the next president to raise awareness and support for veterans' issues has already garnered 60,000 signatures. And as we honor the sacrifices of the members of our armed forces on Veterans Day, Pete Griffin, Manager of Think MTV, said that the goal of reaching 100,000 signatures on the petition is within reach. "I don't think we knew what to expect," said Griffin. "I was hoping for a number like 100,000, but I didn't know if we'd get 2,000 or 200,000." To date, more than 23,000 of the signatures have come via text message, 35,000 through the online widget at the Think site, and several thousand more from the "Rock Band" Live Tour featuring Dashboard Confessional, Panic at the Disco and Plain White T's and the MTV Choose or Lose Tour featuring Locksley. "If we can get around that 100,000 mark then we'd feel really good about it," Griffin said.
The petition has five specific calls to action, covering such pressing issues for veterans as employment, health care, homelessness and education. In particular, BRAVE calls for the proper diagnosis and treatment of mental-health issues, such as post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury, and increased assistance to help veterans avoid homelessness considering that, on any given night in this country, up to 200,000 veterans are homeless. BRAVE also seeks to get disabled vets the benefits they deserve in a timely fashion, fully funding veterans' hospitals and provide an additional $1,500 a month to troops who have been stop-lossed. One of the most encouraging aspects of the response to the BRAVE petition for Griffin is the flood of support and thanks that have streamed into the BRAVE site since last month's "A Night for Vets: An MTV Concert for the BRAVE," which featured sets from 50 Cent, Ludacris, Kanye West and Hinder. West also teamed up with MTV for "Homecoming," a show in which he and MTV News' Sway listened to the stories of several veterans, thanked them for their contributions to the country, and then helped the vets confront their challenges, including debt and adjusting to civilian life. "We've gotten lots of feedback from veterans and their boyfriends, girlfriends and spouses, with the main message being about how nice it is that people out there actually care about these issues and they're not forgetting about these men and women and that MTV is helping to mobilize people around these issues," said Griffin. Now, Griffin said he's trying to figure out what the next step is. "We've created the awareness and programming to show people these stories and get them informed, and they've taken action by signing the petition, but what now?" he said. If they reach the 100,000 mark, Griffin said organizers will plan ways to deliver the petition to elected officials and to President-elect Barack Obama in order to get results. "If we can say we've gotten X-number of young people to sign this petition for veterans, then we can say to them, 'What will you do now?,' " he said. Griffin said it hasn't yet been decided whether that action will take place before or after Obama's inauguration on January 20. Head to ChooseOrLose.com and sign your name to the petition to let president-elect Obama know that taking care of our young vets is a priority. Related Videos |
| Obama Camp Says It Hasn't Received 'Hannah Montana' Offer For Sasha And Malia Posted: 11 Nov 2008 12:09 AM PST However, on Tuesday, Disney offered the girls 'a guest role or a visit, anytime' via the media.
Not so fast. Malia Obama, 10, and Sasha Obama, 7, may be in the public eye in a major way thanks to their dad's new gig as president-elect, but that doesn't mean the first daughters are suddenly going Hollywood. According to an interview given by Billy Ray Cyrus on Monday, the young Obama girls — who have been carefully sheltered from the glare of the media spotlight by President-elect Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle — were invited to appear on his daughter Miley Cyrus' popular Disney show, "Hannah Montana." But, in addition to Miley's lack of knowledge about said cameo, Katie McCormick Lelyveld, the communications director for Michelle Obama, told MTV News on Tuesday (November 11) that "we have received no such inquiry for the girls." The response came a day after Billy Ray told "Access Hollywood" that the Obama siblings might appear on the show in the spring. "They probably will. The invitation is there," Cyrus told the celebrity TV show. "The 'Hannah Montana' film comes out in April. Maybe something might happen around then." Cyrus would not elaborate on what kind of role the Obama girls would play, saying, "I can't, I can't. I have got to keep a secret." Disney released a statement in response to the confusion on Tuesday, saying, "We're pleased that Malia and Sasha are fans and, as long as their parents say it's OK, they are invited to the set of 'Hannah Montana' and all Disney Channel shows, for a guest role or a visit, anytime." Like the Obama camp, Miley herself seemed unaware of the possible ratings stunt, telling "Access," "I think that would be really cool and if anything, [we would] have them visit the set. They could see what we do, and we could hear about what they do." A spokesperson for Cyrus had not returned calls for comment at press time. Related Videos Related Artists |
| French Duo Justice Reveal Songwriting, Sampling Secrets: 50 Cent, Slipknot Take Note! Posted: 11 Nov 2008 02:00 AM PST Group says most of its samples -- including 50 Cent, Slipknot, Queen -- are so brief they're unrecognizable.
French electro-pop duo Justice have said that it'll be a while before they release any new music. But fans should understand that the reason for the delay is because the group's songwriting process is très compliqué. The pair — Gaspard Auge and Xavier de Rosnay — sat down with us before their recent performance at Hard Festival in Los Angeles to talk about it. "We're really slow at making music," de Rosnay said. "On the album, [†], we maybe sampled 400 records." Sampling, of course, has been a hot-button issue in the music business for the past 20 years, reaching a new peak with the dubious legality of the samples used on the latest album from Girl Talk, Feed the Animals. But Justice — best known on these shores for their 2007 VMA-nominated hit, "D.A.N.C.E." — inhabit more of a gray area. Conflicting stories have arisen over the extent of their sampling: Fans speculate that from zero to 100 percent of the group's music is sampled. "I know why stories are conflicting," de Rosnay said. "Because we do sample really small bits of things that nobody can recognize. "Say we use the 'In Da Club' hand clap — not even 50 Cent would notice," he continued. "But if you listen to 'Genesis,' the first track [on †], there are samples of Slipknot, Queen and 50 Cent, but they are such short samples no one can recognize them. The ones from Slipknot, for example, are just tiny bits of the voice." Other samples that fans claim to have found within Justice's musical maze include Three 6 Mafia, Devo, Britney Spears and Madonna. But the duo want a few of the samples to be easily identifiable. "Sometimes we do also use big samples," de Rosnay said. "On the album, we used three big samples that we had to clear, and all the rest are just impossible to recognize. We're using the very short samples to improve the sound, because we are just writing melodies on piano and then we are listing each note taken from other records, so we make a trade between those notes and the proper loops." De Rosnay then sat down at his MacBook, reminiscent of the way, say, Josh Groban sits down at a piano. He pressed "play" and then "stop" quickly enough to release a millisecond of sound from a song that's destined to remain a mystery to everyone but him. "Just like that!" he said triumphantly. Repeat ad infinitum for most of the duo's songs. "That's why it takes so long to do." So, as fans wait patiently for more music to obsess over, there's no shortage of sonic nuances to wrap your head around in the tracks the duo have already released. It's new music you've already heard. For new versions of older music you've already heard, check out the group's live DVD/CD, A Cross the Universe, when it drops November 24. Related Artists |
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