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| Rick Ross Aims For 'Greatness' With Nas' Help Posted: 02 Apr 2009 10:29 PM PDT 'You have to be able to rise to the occasion,' Ross says of working with Nas on 'Usual Suspects.'
Rick Ross' first two projects debuted on top of the Billboard album charts. For the third go-round, Deeper Than Rap, due April 21, the Miami rapper is seeking something even bigger. "That's when everyone can judge [for] greatness," Ross told MTV News. To help him achieve his goal, the Def Jam star reached out to labelmate Nas for the Inkredibles-produced "Usual Suspects."
"That song is, like, really me being a fan of Nas, for so long me just respecting the way he moves. Nas is such a veteran but, at the same time, he's more relevant now than he was before, especially in the South," Ross explained. "So there's a lot to learn there. So when the concept came about — the 'Usual Suspects' — the record was not a boastful record. It was a record that I felt needed somebody to really be sincere, to take time to think about what they were gonna say. 'Cause I most definitely did. And Nas came to light. It was my first time having the opportunity to work with him, and I take my hat off to him just for taking that time out and doing it in such a timely fashion and giving me an incredible 16-bar verse." The Bawse might be thankful now that the record is complete. But during the recording, Ross said he put more effort into his first verse than usual. Then he joked that he had to get his mind right to finish the third verse after Nas sent back his vocals. "I poured 'hit' all into my first verse 'cause I knew I was gonna give him the record. Then when he send the joint back to me and I heard his verse, I was like, 'Wow,' " Ross said. "I might have smoked three weeks in a row before I wrote the third verse. [Laughs.] But that's the momentum and energy you need if you wanna make a classic record. You have to be able to rise to the occasion. ... I felt like it was gonna be a special record to me, and he gave me that heartfelt music I needed to hear." Related Artists |
| Eminem Says 'We Made You' Video Has 'Some Celebrity Bashing' Posted: 03 Apr 2009 04:04 AM PDT Clip will premiere Tuesday at 6 a.m., exclusively on MTV.
Eminem is back to his old tricks again, it seems. The Detroit rapper is about to premiere the video for "We Made You," his first solo clip since 2005 and the opening salvo from his forthcoming album Relapse, due May 19. The Joseph Khan-directed video will premiere exclusively on MTV's "AMTV" Tuesday at 6 a.m. ET and will play throughout the day across various MTV platforms, both on-air and online. And much like Eminem's previous lead singles — "My Name Is," "Without Me," The Real Slim Shady" and "Just Lose It" — the comical clip for "We Made You" will take aim at some of our favorite (and maybe not so favorite) celebrities.
"There's some celebrity bashing in it," Em warned in a clip obtained by MTV News from the video set. "I wanna say it's not necessarily intentional bashing in it, it's not necessarily taking deliberate shots at people. ... Yes, it is. What the f--- am I talking about?" So who's in Eminem's crosshairs this time around? The Aftermath artist has been pretty reclusive over the past few years, so there's no obvious person he's feuding with. A still image from the video, which was shot at the Palms Casino in Las Vegas, showed Eminem apparently dressed like Dustin Hoffman's character in "Rain Man." Fif appears in the video in a cameo, and Dr. Dre, decked out in a gray suit that matches Em's, seems to be taking on Tom Cruise's character in "Rain Man." Maybe Tom Cruise is a target? The rapper said the idea for the video stems from the track's chorus: "Was saying you're a rock star, everybody wants you." But he twisted the idea a bit. "Hot chicks who don't want me, I'm telling them they do," Em said. "It's kind of like a reverse-psychology thing, and I'm gonna see if the record comes out and it works." Eminem's "We Made You" video premieres on MTV Tuesday at 6 a.m. Related Videos Related Artists |
| Rihanna's Dad Says She's 'Back To Herself Again' Posted: 03 Apr 2009 03:19 AM PDT Singer is in Barbados after a week of jetting around.
After traveling to Hawaii, Los Angeles and New York in recent days, Rihanna has made her way back to her native Barbados just days before Chris Brown is going to be arraigned on Monday in connection with the alleged altercation between them in February. "She's home," Rihanna's father Ronald Fenty told People.com after she was photographed at the island's international airport. "She is in good spirits. And she sounds great." The singer is back home to help celebrate her grandparent's 50th wedding anniversary, according to Usmagazine.com. "Yeah [she's back]," Fenty told Us. "She just got in a couple hours ago. I will see her tomorrow," adding the he and his superstar daughter will "probably do lunch" while she's home for the weekend. "Of course, I'm happy to have her home. Things are good with her. She is doing really, really well. She's back to herself again." Although she isn't required to attend Brown's arraignment on Monday, her lawyer Donald Etra said, "She will do everything that the law requires her to do." Despite briefly reconciling in Miami a few weeks after the incident, sources tell People that the singers "are still taking a mutually decided-on break. ... It's been more than two weeks since they were last together in L.A." On Monday, Brown is expected to enter a plea on two felony counts. He is currently free on $50,000 bail after turning himself in during the Grammy Awards. If convicted, he could face a sentence ranging from probation to nearly five years in state prison. Related Videos Related Artists |
| Eminem's Video Legacy, On The Eve Of 'We Made You' Posted: 03 Apr 2009 01:40 AM PDT 'We Made You,' Eminem's first video in five years, premieres on MTV Tuesday at 6 a.m.
As we lead up to the long-awaited Tuesday premiere of Eminem's first video in five years, "We Made You," we're taking a look back at Eminem's extensive video legacy. When "My Name Is" first appeared on MTV in 1999, Eminem probably had no clue he was setting a standard for himself with the video.
"If I touch on a subject in a song and it has the potential to be funny, we're probably going to figure out a way to base some video around it," he explained in his 2008 book, "The Way I Am." "With 'My Name Is,' I remember [Dr.] Dre saying, 'You know, it'd be crazy if you dressed up like Marilyn Manson.' And at the time, I hadn't really seen too many videos of Marilyn Manson. His reputation was f---ed up in middle America, but when I mentioned him I suddenly thought, 'Wait a minute, I'd better actually look at some videos, because I don't know exactly how this guy acts.' "We come up with a lot of the funny stuff in the videos on the spot," Em wrote later. "We'll get a basic treatment, and then when we're on the set someone will say, 'What if we tried this? What if we set up the camera to do this?' " Ten years later, of course, Eminem has left a legacy of clips featuring low-brow humor, comical put-downs and some shocking antics that would even make attention-seeking cable commentators blush. His latest effort, "We Made You," from his forthcoming album Relapse, would seem to fit right in with that legacy. The clip is set to premiere on MTV's AMTV Tuesday at 6 a.m. and repeat every hour across different MTV platforms and appear on MTV.com exclusively for the first 24 hours after it debuts. The song will also be serviced to radio the same day, and the album is scheduled to arrive on May 19. So far, Eminem's camp has kept a tight lid on information about the video. The only nugget the fans have had is a still image that was released where Em appears to be channeling Dustin Hoffman in "Rain Man." But if "My Name Is," along with Em's zany antics in "The Real Slim Shady," "Without Me" and "Just Lose It," is any indication, it seems possible that someone's feelings will be hurt come Tuesday. The rapper has infamously taken down Moby, Christina Aguilera and a bevy of pop stars in his videos. One thing Eminem has also done with his videos, however, is tackle weightier subjects once his shocking tactics have gained our attention. "Mockingbird," from his Encore album, showed a softer side of the rapper. In the somber clip, Em is seen watching home videos of his daughter Hailie and his niece Laney. Detroit native Quig, who co-directed the video, told MTV News in 2005 that the video was Eminem's idea and the rapper even delivered 25 hours of home-video footage to assist with the production. "I worked around the clock through the holiday week, including New Year's Eve and New Year's Day, to get the first edit done," Quig said. The results were certainly worth the effort. It was one of the rapper's most personal works. Not even his detractors could criticize Eminem's emotions for his family. And of course 2002's "Lose Yourself" features footage from the feature film "8 Mile," which is loosely based on Em's years coming up in the local hip-hop scene. Eminem became more political with the animated clip for "Mosh." The video was a searing indictment of the Bush administration on the heels of the 2004 presidential election. For the video, Em even enlisted the services of the Guerrilla News Network's Ian Inaba. In "Stan" and "Guilty Conscience," Eminem addressed some serious topics, including overzealous fans mimicking their favorite pop stars and misguided youths and decision making. Both clips were directed by Dr. Dre and Philip Atwell. While Em said most of the humor for his videos comes from on-the-spot ideas, for "Stan" the epic extended version featuring Dido and actor Devon Sawa, he said the directors crafted the vision. "Most of it was Dre and Phil's idea. I barely put my input into it at all," he told MTV News. "I didn't really have to. The story is kind of right there, so all you have to do is follow the story. Basically, that's what the video is doing." Aside from pop acts, Em has taken aim at other targets, as well, including his mother Debbie Nelson. In "Cleanin' Out My Closet," the rapper appears in a number of grave scenes, from his confessing in church to, presumably, digging a grave and burying his family skeletons. In "The Way I Am," Em turned defensive, firing back at critics of his music. The revealing video showed the rapper under duress as he struggled to adjust to his exploding fame. He leaps from a tall building and continues rapping as he plummets to the ground, eventually landing numbly on the ground. Marilyn Manson, of all people, makes a cameo in the video. While Eminem has struck a provocative balance between the serious to the silly with his videos, the shocking headlines from his outrageous clips will probably always overshadow his more dramatic work. After all, not everyone gets called out by Michael Jackson. The King of Pop called Em's "Just Lose It" video — where the rapper dresses like MJ and parodies his penchant for surrounding himself with children — "offensive." BET even pulled the video from rotation at the time. Yep, Tuesday should be interesting! Eminem's "We Made You" video premieres on MTV Tuesday at 6 a.m. Related Videos Related Artists |
| Eminem Video Throwback: 'The Real Slim Shady,' 2000 Posted: 03 Apr 2009 04:51 AM PDT In anticipation of Em's 'We Made You' clip, we're looking back at his most memorable videos.
Back in 2000, Eminem's popularity was skyrocketing following the release of his debut album, The Slim Shady LP. But along with that success came comparisons to boy bands like the Backstreet Boys and 'NSYNC, due to all three acts sharing a fanbase that consisted of screaming teenage girls who frequented MTV's "TRL" studio in Times Square. Eminem's video for "We Made You" is set to premiere Tuesday. The clip is his first solo video since 2005 and the first single from his forthcoming album, Relapse, due May 19. MTV News continues to look back on some of Eminem's most memorable videos, one by one.
For "The Real Slim Shady," Eminem first launched what would later become his trademark: the celebrity smackdown. "Back when my first album came out, you know, all this boy-band sh-- was not really ... it was going on, but it wasn't as ridiculous as it is now," Em explained during the making of "The Real Slim Shady" video. "And in my opinion, the sh-- is corny. I've read articles: 'Eminem looks like a Backstreet Boy.' And I find myself, a lot of times, placed in that category. So the best way that I know to separate myself from that category is to separate myself from it, period. Lash out or whatever." And lash out he did. The clip, which takes place in an asylum, features a not-so-sedated Eminem firing disses toward the aforementioned boy bands, along with Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera. There's the awards-show scene where Em tosses to Limp Bizkit's Fred Durst, who tussled with a faux Carson Daly over a presumed Aguilera doll. There's also an imitation 'NSYNC — complete with a Joey Fatone clone with an awful red dye job — and superhero-costumed Em even tackles a Justin Timberlake look-alike. The directors, Philip Atwell and Dr. Dre, helped to foster the video's comical tone. Atwell called the clip " 'My Name Is' on steroids," while Dre called it "a hip-hop 'One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.' " For his part, Em said the song was about the person everyone carries inside of themselves that comes out when we're pushed to the brink. "What it's basically saying is there is a Slim Shady that exists in all of us," he explained. "Everybody has their nice side, their mean side, their calm side, their wild side. When they feel like being wild, or if they're pushed to a certain extent, basically that's what the song is talking about. It's, 'Will the real Slim Shady please stand up?' And in the video, everybody will stand up because they're Slim Shady." Eminem's "We Made You" video premieres on MTV Tuesday at 6 a.m. Related Videos Related Artists |
| Anti-Chris Brown Song 'My Flow So Tight' Gaining Radio Airplay Posted: 03 Apr 2009 02:37 AM PDT 'Not enough people were speaking out against Chris Brown,' Smoke Jumpers member says of the track.
"My Flow So Tight" — a Smoke Jumpers song that criticizes Chris Brown because of the alleged altercation between him and Rihanna — is gaining radio airplay in cities across the country. One line in the song says, "Chris Brown should get his a-- kicked." Radio stations in Los Angeles, New York and Chicago have begun to play the song, The Associated Press reports. According to the Smoke Jumpers' Web site, "A portion of the proceeds [from the song] will benefit various organizations for battered women." No further details were available about which charity the funds would be going to. "I was really upset with the way a lot of celebrities and people were handling the situation. Not enough people were speaking out against Chris Brown," one of the group's members, C.W. Griz, told the AP about the R&B singer, who is scheduled to be arraigned Monday. "What he [allegedly] did was a thousand percent wrong. We're not trying to take advantage of a horrible situation. We want to take a positive stance." At press time, MTV News had not received comment from Brown's rep about the song. Brown is free on $50,000 bail after turning himself in on the night of the Grammy Awards. If convicted, he could face a sentence ranging from probation to nearly five years in state prison. Go here for domestic-violence resources, or check out Think MTV for a video handbook on spotting the warning signs of abuse. Related Videos Related Artists |
| Madonna's Adoption Bid Rejected In Malawi Posted: 03 Apr 2009 06:14 AM PDT Judge denies singer's adoption of a 4-year-old girl.
A judge in Malawi has rejected Madonna's bid to adopt a 4-year-old orphan girl from that African country. According to The Associated Press, the country's High Court ruled on Friday (April 3) that the 50-year-old singer had not met the requirement that prospective adoptive parents live in the southern African nation for at least 18-24 months before the adoption process can be completed.
Madonna — who adopted a young boy, David Banda, from Malawi in 2006 — had spent the week in the country awaiting word from the court on her request to adopt the girl, Chifundo "Mercy" James. The rejection will likely please some of the critics of the adoption, who complained that authorities were giving the world-famous pop star special treatment by considering the waiving of the 18-month waiting period. The residency rule was waived in the adoption of David, whom Madonna was allowed to take home to London before his adoption was finalized last year. According to the AP, it was unknown why the judge in the latest case, Esme Chombo, ruled differently than the judge in Madonna's previous adoption, but a court official said the attempt was rejected because the singer is not a resident of Malawi. Madonna's lawyer said she would lodge an appeal with the country's Supreme Court. Malawi's government had expressed support for the adoption on Thursday. "We have close to 2 million orphans in Malawi who need help," Women and Child Welfare Development Minister Anna Kachikho told the AP. "We can't look after all of them as a country. If people like Madonna adopt even one such orphan, it's one mouth less we have to feed." But Chombo explained in her ruling that the trend of celebrity adoptions could lead to child trafficking in the impoverished nation, which has been decimated by an AIDS epidemic. "Anyone could come to Malawi and quickly arrange for an adoption that might have grave consequences on the very children that the law seeks to protect," Chombo said. Critics of the adoption had said the girl, whose mother died at age 14 just days after her birth and whose father's whereabouts are unknown, could live with her grandmother. Madonna had countered that the grandparent was unable to care for the girl and that she could offer the girl a permanent home and spare her the hardship of life as an orphan. "I am able and willing to securely provide for Chifundo James and make her a permanent and established member of my family," Madonna said in a statement before the ruling. "To deny Chifundo James the opportunity to be adopted by me could expose her to hardship and emotional trauma which is otherwise avoidable." On Thursday, UsMagazine.com reported that Madonna was arranging a party to celebrate the adoption at an upscale lodge featuring traditional dancers and two of Mercy's uncles, who had signed off on the adoption papers. David Banda accompanied his adoptive mother on her trip this week and on Sunday visited with his birth father, whom he reportedly did not recognize. Madonna first became aware of the devastating AIDS orphan situation in Malawi when she traveled there in 2006 while producing the documentary "I Am Because We Are," on the poverty and the AIDS crisis. Related Artists |
| Mark Hoppus And Pete Wentz Tweet About 'America's Suitehearts' Remix Posted: 03 Apr 2009 01:58 AM PDT Back-and-forth unleashes a celebrity Twitter pile-up, which included Ashlee Simpson-Wentz, Ryan Seacrest and John Mayer.
Celebrities: They're just like the rest of us — except when they totally aren't, which is most of the time. Exhibit A is a recent Twitter-fest between Fall Out Boy's Pete Wentz and Blink-182's Mark Hoppus, during which the two engaged in some back-and-forth about Hoppus' remix of FOB's "America's Suitehearts," exchanged fashion advice and got their chops busted by some pals (like Ashlee Simpson-Wentz, Ryan Seacrest, John Mayer, Gabe Saporta, Perez Hilton and FOB guitarist Joe Trohman). On Monday, Hoppus dropped the news that he had met with Panic at the Disco, presumably about doing some production on their next album, writing: "Panic meeting was great gonna collab/produce a track or two w them. Motion City is on for recording. Getting FOB tracks to do a remix. Busy." Meanwhile, over at Wentz's Twitter page, it sounded like the band was also getting some remix work done by rapper/producer Murs and 88-Keys. FOB's manager confirmed the Hoppus remix of "Suitehearts" but did not return messages at press time asking where the other remixes might turn up. Later that day, the seemingly indefatigable Hoppus updated, "Heading out to pick up the Pro Tools files for Fall Out Boy to start digging into tomorrow. I'm gonna get DOWN on this remix." And several hours after that, Hoppus informed his 171,000 followers that Wentz had requested that Blink play "Stay Together for the Kids" on their upcoming reunion tour, so now they will. (Although they were already going to anyway — shhhh, don't tell Pete!) Monday also brought an invitation from singer/actress Emmy Rossum to come over to her house for a "BBQ. Asap"; a blurb from Ashlee thanking someone for a cute shirt she used to be able to fit into before she was pregnant; and a blast from John Mayer, including a picture of Wentz and Bronx Mowgli holding hands, as well as a question from Diddy about when FOB will have new music out. And who should pop in during the early morning hours on Tuesday but Joel Madden to quip, "Oh yeah dude. That's gotta be in the set for sure. How You doing?," presumably in answer to Wentz's request for "Stay Together." By noon on Tuesday, Hoppus had seemingly figured out his Pro Tools issues and bragged, "Now moving on and digging into this Fall Out Boy remix. Get ready to dance like you just don't care and hate music all at the same time." Hoppus' efforts were rewarded with some words of encouragement from Wentz himself, who promised to sleep on the remix overnight and finish it the next day, though minutes later he admitted, "Actually I meant I'm gonna have insomnia all night once again, get 3 hours sleep, and finish the remix tomorrow, or maybe at 4 a.m." Motion City Soundtrack drummer Tony Thaxton jumped in to initiate a game in which the object was to blend movie titles and pop-culture references (i.e. "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and Play"), DJ AM popped in to say hello, and Mayer loved Thaxton's game so much he offered, "Silent Hills Have Eyes Wide Shut" and "Singin' in the Rain Man." While he made swift progress initially, by Thursday morning around 9:32 a.m., Hoppus said he was getting ready to go back in the studio and finish the FOB remix, lamenting 20 minutes later, "Dammit, this remix may need the second pre-chorus after all." In the meantime, Solange Knowles popped in Thursday to ask Wentz who directed one of FOB's videos, while over at Solange's site, it sounded like she was making some play-date plans with Ash and Bronx. And why not? That opened the door for My Chemical Romance's Mikey Way to joke about how MCR use "that jedi mind trick when we sneak everybody into the lounges at airports." By Thursday afternoon, Hoppus alerted Wentz that he was going to be referenced in the voice-over for the intro video for Blink's tour, and Seacrest snuck in to admit that he'd flipped Wentz the bird on the red carpet at the recent Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards. Of course, Perez Hilton weighed in with some style advice, Cobra Starship singer Gabe Saporta asked Wentz to send him some music, and finally, Ashlee huffed, "Twitter's so insane. It's like the ultimate form of internal monologue amplified at the world. I can see me in the background." See, like I said, celebrities are just like us. Related Videos Related Artists |
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