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| Katy Perry Talks About Her Split From Travis McCoy ... Sort Of Posted: 09 Jan 2009 01:51 AM PST Singer says she's putting all her 'energy and efforts' into upcoming tour.
In the weeks following her split with boyfriend Travis McCoy, Katy Perry has remained silent about the subject, a move which is entirely understandable, if not particularly, you know, Perry-like.
So, when MTV News caught up with her on the Critics' Choice Awards in Los Angeles, we took the opportunity to ask her about her newly single status. And, somewhat surprisingly, she answered. Sort of. "Well, it's a new year, and I'm very focused," she said when asked about the Gym Class Heroes frontman. "I have a tour coming up on January 23 called the Hello Katy Tour, and I'm putting all my energy and efforts into that." So there you go. Perry isn't worried about dating, just touring. And given her rather hectic schedule, perhaps that's a good thing. Aside from the tour, there's her appearance at next month's Grammy Awards, plus, you know, the very booming business of being Katy Perry. "I really don't know how you follow [2008] up. I'm kind of just putting one step in front of the other and I never expected any of it to happen, so I don't expect it to always happen perfect every time, you know?" she laughed. "I'm constantly knocking on wood and freaking out saying, 'Really? They want me to do that?!? OK! Really? Presenting at the Critics' Choice Awards? Great!' Or at the Grammys, which, by golly, is going to be a fun, fun night." And just what can we expect from her come Grammy night? "Fruit," she said, before being ushered down the carpet. Girl of few words, that Katy Perry. Related Artists |
| Ciara Says New Single With Young Jeezy Is About 'Letting Go' Posted: 09 Jan 2009 01:51 AM PST 'Never Ever' producer Polow Da Don says he and Ciara are the new Timbaland and Aaliyah.
Ciara's upcoming album, Fantasy Ride, may feature a slew of hitmaking producers, including Tricky Stewart (Rihanna's "Umbrella"), Danjahandz (Britney Spears' "Gimme More") and Missy Elliott (Jazmine Sullivan's "Need U Bad"). But according to Polow Da Don, only he and CiCi have something special enough to become the new Aaliyah and Timbaland. "We both came up and were raised in the same camp," Polow explained to MTV News. "We've known each other for a long time. We actually just have this natural chemistry that I don't even have with some of my own artists. "I understand her and I understand what she should be doing," the producer added. "I look at it like this: When I work with her, I'm a fan, and this is what I want her to be doing."
The two recently put their chemistry to work on Ciara's new single, "Never Ever." The track, which features Young Jeezy, is the Atlanta singer's first official single from Ride (tentatively due in April) and follows the warm-up selections "Ahh" and "Go Girl." (She's shooting a video for the clip this weekend in Atlanta.) The singer told MTV News earlier this week that "Never Ever" is "one of those real records." "I'm singing about [when] you go through the confusion of love," she said from the red carpet of the "Notorious" premiere. "And, basically, I say, 'If that boy don't love you by now, he'll never ever love you.' And sometimes we wait around and we go through so many different things. And if that person is not showing you the affection you need and not giving you the right love, then you got to let it go. I talk about the confusion of love — being confused about staying or leaving or letting go." The song's chorus takes its inspiration from Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes' "If You Don't Know Me by Now." But unlike the classic original, Ciara's version is more likely to be blasting out of sound systems. "Hard midtempo is back," Polow said. "Where dudes can ride around in their cars and listen to R&B and not feel like a girl. ['Never Ever'] is hard like a rap record, and that's why Jeezy had no problem jumping on it — 'cause it's hard. "And one thing people do say about when I work with Ciara is that I make her sound better than ever," he continued. "I make her sound like a vocalist versus the other stuff she may do that's more performance, where she can get on the dance floor. It's kind of the same thing with Aaliyah. She may not have been the best singer, but her voice was so unique and her sound — she had her own lane, and I think Ciara is like that same thing." Related Videos Related Artists |
| Kanye West Says He'll Pose Naked And 'Break Every Rule Of Hip-Hop' Posted: 09 Jan 2009 08:41 AM PST In an interview with Vibe, the MC longs for 'the freedom of having less fans.'
Kanye West has become a worldwide music icon by always telling us the naked truth as he sees it. In the February issue of Vibe — the only cover story he's done to promote 808s & Heartbreak — the Grammy winner contemplates baring even more than that. "I made a decision. I wanna make popular music, but I want less fans," he told writer Sean Fennessey when asked if he was comfortable with fame. "I want the freedom of having less fans. It's like the freedom of having less money. If you have less money, you have less responsibility. It's like Björk. If she wanted to pose naked, you'd be like, 'Oh, that's Björk.' But if I wanted to pose naked, people would draw all type of things into it. I definitely feel like, in the next however many years, if I work out for two months, that I'll pose naked. I break every rule and mentality of hip-hop, of black culture, of American culture." (Kanye had some things to say about his photo on the magazine's cover, too.) Kanye clarified that by "less fans" he meant having a core of 20,000 devotees who understand him, rather than a swell of 100,000 "fly-by-night" followers who just favor him because he's the hot thing out. West also gave his take on some of his peers, telling the publication that he refuses to say anything negative about fellow performers, but has no problem giving praise where it is due. "I believe Beyoncé is the greatest performer of our generation," he offered. "I believe I am the greatest entertainer of this generation. I go neck-and-neck on Jay-Z and [Lil] Wayne as far as who's the best lyricist. Jay-Z has longevity." MTV News' reigning Hottest MC in the Game also discussed his singing efforts on 808s & Heartbreak, calling the album his top project ever and the most resonate LP of 2008. Related Artists |
| Lil' Kim Talks New LP, Slams 'Notorious' Posted: 09 Jan 2009 03:19 AM PST Former Biggie protege says her next LP is coming 'soon, really soon.'
One thing about Lil Kim, the pint-sized Brooklyn rapper will take on all challengers. It doesn't matter if it's man or woman. First, there were Kim's recent comments in the latest issue of Hip-Hop Weekly, where she lashed out against Faith Evans and Big's mother, Voletta Wallace. The lady lyricist was upset that she wasn't invited to be more involved in the making of the film. Although she hasn't seen the movie yet, Kim claims the accuracy of the script is off. The rappers said a writer involved in "Notorious" — who was not identified in the article — contacted her and, during the conversation, she said she discovered mistakes in the story. "I knew something was fishy about them having the writer call me. When I spoke to the writer I felt like he was trying to play me, so I wouldn't give up anything," Kim explained to the magazine. "I knew I wouldn't have control of how I was depicted. I did correct the writer about Biggie's nickname for me. He had written that Biggie called me Big Momma. Biggie never called me Big Momma. As a matter of fact, he didn't even like that name for me. He used to call me Mookie." Kim went on to say that Faith and Biggie's mother were responsible for the way she was portrayed in the movie by Naturi Naughton. But on Thursday, Evans told MTV News she wasn't responsible for the script. The screenplay, in fact, was adapted from the book "Unbelievable: The Life, Death, and Afterlife of the Notorious B.I.G.," by writer Cheo Hodari Coker. "I don't know what to say," Evans said. "I think that beyond myself, Ms. Wallace or whoever else she wants to blame, everyone who was around Big at that time has had some things to say about [her relationship with Biggie] in order for Cheo to even write the book. He interviewed pretty much all of us. She's sadly mistaken. I'm aware of what she has to say, and that's fine. I don't know what to say. God bless her." (The Hip-Hop Weekly interview was conducted before Evans' comments to MTV News were published; at press time, Kim's rep had not responded to requests for comment.) The Queen Bee said she's spoken to her lawyer and has no plans to support the movie. She said she might watch the bootleg. "For legal reasons," she said. Another, less intense, battle Kim is set to embark on is with her fellow rappers. She recently told MTV News she's plotting her return to music soon and her approach may surprise some. "I'm getting ready to come with a whole new flavor, a whole new style," she said, beaming. "And I don't care what nobody says, I'm not gonna let anyone pigeonhole me. This is what it is. I'm coming with it. I got to hang in there with the fellas. The only way to hang in there with the fellas is to be able to do what the fellas do. And with Lil Wayne singing and rapping, T-Pain singing and rapping, and everybody singing and rapping, somebody got to represent for my laaaaaaadies, she laughed. Kim said she has no plans for her to use Auto-Tune, but then again, she said there are no plans in place at all. "Maybe, maybe not," she said. "I'm gonna be singing, I'm gonna be flowing. Whatever I feel. It's not gonna be so strategic or placed. It's gonna be whatever I feel. I'm gonna have fun on my next album. It's coming soon. Really soon." MTV News has even more B.I.G. things on the horizon surrounding "Notorious" — stay tuned for more in the coming days! Related Artists |
| Mistah F.A.B. Speaks Out On Bay Area Shooting Posted: 09 Jan 2009 05:45 AM PST 'We are not even asking for justice anymore. We are out here demanding it,' rapper says of protests.
OAKLAND, California— Officials with the city of Oakland have been urging calm for its residents in the wake of the fatal shooting of a 22-year-old Bay Area father and the subsequent protests that sparked up last week over his death at the hands of a local police officer. But Oakland rapper Mistah F.A.B wants more than peace — he wants justice. "It was a malicious attack, an act of cruelty," he said of the New Year's Day shooting of Oscar Grant by a local transit agency police officer. "So we are not even asking for justice anymore. We are out here demanding it." The rising star in the Bay's hyphy scene should have been in Los Angeles continuing the recording of his debut album, but instead he talked to MTV News on Friday (January 9) by phone from near Oakland's City Hall, where he was joining a third day of protests over the killing. Grant was killed after he and a group of other young men were pulled off a Bay Area Rapid Transit train following a fight in the early hours of January 1. He was shot while lying face-down with his hands behind his head by a BART police officer, Johannes Mehserle. The shooting was captured on cell phone video by train passengers observing the scuffle and broadcast by the local news station, KTVU. "I'm on the front lines, homey, because I am a member of this community and we are not going to stand for these assassinations anymore," F.A.B. told us. "I wish [today's protest] was more consistent, though — there's only, like, a couple of dozen people here right now and dwindling. But I can understand, given what happened Wednesday night." On Wednesday, hours after Grant was laid to rest and Mehserle resigned from his position, thousands of people staged a vocal but peaceful afternoon protest in downtown Oakland. By nighttime, it turned into a destructive, angry uprising that left the windows and doorways of many local minority businesses smashed and trash cans set ablaze. It also tarnished the idea that the citizens of the East Bay Area could have their voices heard in a cogent, rational activist setting. "We have a history of being a city and community known for organizing and for our activism," F.A.B. said. "So it was disheartening that a few people used the protest to get out their frustrations. A lot of those people [causing the damage] didn't know what the rally was for, and had nothing to do with the original protest and had no interest in Oscar Grant's situation. It takes away from what we're battling and the justice we want done. "But they're frustrated. People are frustrated. I don't condone the burning down of minority businesses or destroying city property — that makes Oakland look bad. But Oscar Grant was not the first young man to be shot and killed by a police officer in Oakland in the last year. The Oakland police do not have a good relationship with the community — especially the young people of this community — so I understand some of that frustration." F.A.B. hopes that more people in Oakland — specifically, young people — and nationwide will stand with him and the other protesters over Grant's killing. He and others want the officer tried as a murderer and the mayor and the police department to recognize that there is a problem between police officers in the Bay Area and the communities they are policing. He believes that Grant's killing has touched a nerve nationwide. "You know, when people hear or read that an officer killed someone, they're almost immune to it. But when you actually see it happen like on the news, and how senseless it seemed ... Imagine if Sean Bell's murder [in New York last year] was captured on video. You can only shake your head." Related Artists |
| Fall Out Boy Bury Beef With <i>Blender</i> Magazine Posted: 08 Jan 2009 10:16 PM PST 'This whole thing is stupid,' frontman Patrick Stump writes about clamor over mag's FOB cover story.
Hey, remember that Blender cover story that got Fall Out Boy all hot-and-bothered earlier this week? You know, the one drummer Andy Hurley called "sensationalist" and "pure bullsh--"? Well, it turns out that it's not really that big of a deal anymore! So say Fall Out Boy themselves, who took to the blogosphere in the days following MTV News' initial report on the incident to let their fans know that they've buried the hatchet with the magazine. "Hey, so I want to say that this whole thing is stupid. Blender wrote a good article and doesn't deserve the flak that it's supposedly getting from the band about it," frontman Patrick Stump wrote on his personal site, PatrickStump.com. "To set the record straight ... I like Blender. I read Blender. ... the cover story dealt with the fact that we are a polarizing band whom people either love or absolutely hate ... and the nature of writing a piece like that is that you're going to have to include some stuff a band doesn't want to hear. "The only reason I thought it prudent to say anything was because it never fully resolved the issue of the band's 'secret breakup,' instead leaving it an open issue to confuse our audience," Stump continued. "That's why I referred to the article as 'plotless' in an interview with MTV.com, because Blender established the conflict without showing you the resolution that had already happened." In an e-mail to MTV News that Stump wrote earlier in the week, he insisted that quotes from him and guitarist Joe Trohman were taken out of context and said he was bothered by the article's portrayal of FOB bassist Pete Wentz, but apparently that, too, is now water under the bridge. "Blender is right, it was essentially a positive piece, and perhaps we are over-sensitive. They said they stand by their reporting, and I think they have every reason to," Stump wrote. "And as much as I don't like hearing Pete Wentz jabs, I also don't like hearing about how 'bad' good journalism is. Music is a community and should operate as such." Trohman also addressed the Blender story on his blog, in a post titled "Oh, for f---'s sake ... ," telling fans to "bring the drama down, maybe from '10' to 'negative 16.' " "There's an entertaining, interesting story out there. Enjoy it," he wrote. "There's no more juice to squeeze out of this lemon." When asked for a statement about FOB's changed tune, a spokesperson for Blender told MTV News that the magazine's original stance still held true: "We stand by our reporting. Anyone who reads the entire article will see that it is not only fair but essentially positive." The Fall Out Boy issue of Blender is due on newsstands Tuesday. Related Artists |
| Posted: 09 Jan 2009 07:57 AM PST Singer was married to wife Andrea for 11 years
After separating in 2005, R. Kelly and his now-ex-wife Andrea finalized their divorce on Thursday, according to UsMagazine.com. The couple, who had been married for 11 years, have two daughters and a son together. "The parties have reached an amicable resolution concerning all issues related to their marriage, and will share joint custody of their three children," their Chicago-based lawyers said in a joint statement. "The details of this agreement will remain confidential and the family requests that their privacy be respected during this time." Despite this "amicable" split, in the fall of 2005, Andrea Kelly, a former backup dancer for the Chicago-based R&B star, went to court to obtain an emergency restraining order against the singer, claiming physical abuse, harassment, stalking and interfering with her personal liberty. She wrote in her petition that she didn't want any contact with Kelly "at all, by any means." At the time, Andrea had moved out of the home the couple shared, and R. Kelly released a statement saying, "My wife and I had a heated argument, and we are now in the process of working it out." The protection order was later rescinded. The initial split came less than a year after Kelly saw charges dropped against him in Florida for having sex with an underage girl, but amid a long-running court case in Chicago in which Kelly was accused of child pornography based on a widely-distributed videotapethat allegedly showed the singer having sex with an under age girl. He was acquitted of those charges last year. Kelly was also briefly married to then 15-year-old singer Aaliyah for five months, but that marriage was reportedly annulled in February 1995. Related Videos Related Artists |
| Jermaine Dupri Reportedly Leaves Island Records Urban Music Gig Posted: 09 Jan 2009 06:19 AM PST Producer is out as president of department, Variety reports.
As the country edges toward near-historic unemployment numbers, you can add one more name to the list of those looking for a new job: Jermaine Dupri. According to Variety, the producer/rapper has reportedly ended his brief tenure as the president of the Island Records Urban Music department. Rumored for months, the split is said to have taken place on Thursday and follows the departure of Dupri's longtime girlfriend, Janet Jackson, from the label. Jackson broke ties with Island Def Jam in late 2008, after her latest album, Discipline, posted disappointing sales of less than 500,000. Dupri's personal publicist and a label representative did not return e-mails seeking comment. Dupri had also split with Virgin Urban Music shortly after Jackson left her previous longtime label home, Virgin Records, following similarly disappointing sales of her 2006 effort, 20 Y.O. Dupri took over the Urban department at IDJ in February of 2007; the division was created shortly before he came onboard. Among the major initiatives under his watch was the creation in April of Tag Records, a joint venture with Procter & Gamble's Tag body spray that helped cross-promote acts like Q Da Kid in Tag advertisements. It was not known at press time how Dupri's exodus would effect his So So Def roster, which has been distributed through Island Urban since 2007. In addition to Jackson's underperforming album, several other records Dupri oversaw during his time at IDJ failed to catch fire, including Jagged Edge's Baby Makin' Project. Related Artists |
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