MTV News |
- Kanye West Almost Walked Away From Latest Protege Big Sean
- 50 Cent Takes Us On A Ride To Hear <i>War Angel LP</i>
- Young Jeezy On Gucci Mane Dis Record '24-23': 'I'm Not The Aggressor'
- Heidi And Spencer Are 'Praying' That Holly Montag Marries Sanjaya
- Eminem Releases Two Photos From 'Beautiful' Video
- Taylor Swift Raps And Wins At CMT Awards
- From Obama To 'Twilight': The Class Of '09's Defining Milestones
| Kanye West Almost Walked Away From Latest Protege Big Sean Posted: 18 Jun 2009 03:51 AM PDT 'I tapped him on the shoulder and was like, 'I'm an aspiring MC ... Can I rap for you?' '' Sean says of meeting West, in Mixtape Daily.
Fire Starter: Big Sean Kanye West can't tell you the complete background of one of his newer artists, Big Sean, but he can see his guy's future. Sean may be the next mainstream hip-hop star coming out of Detroit. "He put out mixtapes. ... His story for me was I heard him rap, he killed it and he got signed," Kanye said. You couldn't script Sean's introduction to Kanye any better. Sean took a page right out of fellow Detroit native Eminem's handbook and lost himself in the moment — when he was alerted by a friend that 'Ye would be at a local radio station, Sean came down to try and get on.
"One summer — it was junior year, going into senior year — I had this weak job," the now 21-year-old explained. "No offense to telemarketers, but I was a telemarketer making $100 a week. ... I was cashing my check one Saturday, and it was for $100. One of my best friends called and was like, 'Yo, Kanye is down at the radio station. If you go down there and rap for him, he'll sign you.' " In a rush, Sean left the check-cashing place before getting his bread and had to borrow $20 from another friend for transportation. When the youngster got to the station, he used his relationship with the staff to get close to Kanye. West originally denied him, then told him he had 16 seconds — that turned into 10 minutes. "Kanye shook my hand and started walking away," Sean remembered. "My friend was like, 'You gotta go for it.' So I tapped him on the shoulder and was like, 'I'm an aspiring MC. I do this show every Friday. Can I rap for you?' He was like, 'No. I gotta go.' I'm like, 'Man, please — you're my hero. Let me rap for you? Just let me spit for you.' " Kanye softened up and let Sean rap for him as he walked out of the station. "As we get to the entrance of the radio station ... we stopped in the middle of the doorway. He starts looking at me and bobbing his head," Sean said. A nervous Sean kept his head down, looking at the ground so he wouldn't mess up. By the time his bars were done, a crowd had formed. He had a moment. "It was like out of the movies," Kanye remembered. "I could hear his personality and character and style in it. He just walked up to me and said a rap and I said, 'I'mma sign you.' That's what happened. "No, it's not that easy — I'm not really signing acts," 'Ye added. "I wasn't signing acts at that time. But I was so inspired by what he did. His voice was very compelling. His lyrics were very clever and the melodies and the way he was putting it together and his story. So it's not that easy, but it's a lot of people who rap who aren't as dope." After losing contact then getting back in touch, 'Ye brought Sean out on the road while he recorded Graduation. Eventually the Louis Vuitton Don signed Sean to G.O.O.D. Music/ Def Jam at the end of 2007. Sean turned down a collegiate career at Michigan State (he graduated high school with a 3.8 GPA) to pursue rap, realizing he couldn't do both. "He's a perfectionist," Sean says of working with Kanye. "He told me how to perfect my records and get them how you want them. You gotta prepare yourself. He taught me a lot. I get on tracks with him and I think I hold my own. It's great." The Uknowbigsean mixtape is the precursor to his album Finally Famous, due later this year. "It's different things I go through, struggling through different situations — love, heartbreak," Sean said about the content of the tape. "I'm not killing anybody. It's how I feel at the time, at the moment. I wanted to make the soundtrack of people's lives. I feel I can really relate to a lot of young people. People who tend to listen to my music have come back and said, 'Yo, this is my anthem. This is what I live by.' " For other artists featured in Mixtape Daily, check out Mixtape Daily Headlines. Related Videos Related Artists |
| 50 Cent Takes Us On A Ride To Hear <i>War Angel LP</i> Posted: 17 Jun 2009 04:40 AM PDT Fif says fans are 'ready' for harder material, like new street album.
NEW YORK — The ride to 25th Street from the G-Unit offices outside of Times Square in 50 Cent's SUV wasn't long enough — the G-Unit General needed a little more time to play his record. Outside of his camp, nobody had heard a lick of material from his street album, War Angel LP (which became available for download Tuesday), and he was eager to preview a few tracks for MTV News. Fif sat in his seat and pressed a button. Up came a huge flat screen from behind his manager Chris Lighty, who was seated facing 50 in the four-passenger SUV.
The screen displayed the Internet, not TV. Fif is big on the Web, if you haven't noticed. He said the traffic on his Web site, ThisIs50.com, has doubled since he started responding to Rick Ross' disses earlier this year with comebacks like his popular "Pimpin' Curly" skits. 50 Cent is bigger in music, however. He said his Before I Self Destruct is just about perfect. He would put it out before its September due date, but he wants that setup time. Don't think he'll be waiting for Interscope Records to come up with marketing plans. The Queens native knows exactly what to do to get his fans in line. 50 was planning to drop another gem on the mixtape circuit, and he delivered in grand fashion, debuting War Angel LP on Funkmaster Flex's Hot 97 radio show. Why did Fif decide to bring War Angel to radio instead of just posting it online like a normal mixtape? "Because it's made like an LP," 50 said. Besides getting people geared up for his album, 50 has an important mission: bringing hardcore rap back to the forefront. He said hip-hop is getting too watered-down, and he's tired of every hit record having someone singing the hook. "It's not like they don't feel the difference in the material and the content also," 50 said of New York's Hot 97, hinting that the station is eager to get some quality, harder-edge records to put in rotation. "They're ready for it. You gonna see by the response." 50 recorded War Angel in just three days, and in less than two weeks, he was ready to give it to the masses. "This material, I felt it fits the summer," he said. "The whole vibe. I used the War Angel title for it [because] I read a comic book through Marvel Comics. The guy who created it, he's done 'Nightmare on Elm Street' and illustrations I'm familiar with. He created this concept: War Angel. God created these angels to create war. It's necessary on some level. I took the concept. It's kinda from the perspective I grew up under. "This one was exciting for me," he added with a grin. "I have [writing] spurts. Like when I did [the original version of] The Massacre. I recorded the album in three days. It was like this [with War Angel]: two-verse songs. No third verse is on these records." As the SUV pulled up to Hot 97, he and his squadron arrived a little early, so he can play some of the music. The beat for "C.R.E.A.M. 2009" bum-rushed out of the speakers in a rampage. "It's a cycle, creatively," Fif said. "It was a lot of soft music, a lot of lighthearted music, then DMX came out. Then it was like, 'That's what I'm talking about.' 'Get at Me Dog,' it was that material that had that energy around it, then it got all lighthearted and soft all over again. Then there was 50 Cent, and that went on for five years. It's different points. When I give them hard, they feel like something's getting ready to happen, like somebody is going to get hurt. When I start to show them some of the things I'm familiar with, based on my upbringing, they go, 'Wow.' Like 'A Psychic Told Me,' that type of vibe, they start going, 'This is not good. Somebody is going to get hurt.' Then I fall back off, because I know it's too much for them. It's too much from an entertainment perspective. ... You gotta lighten up just to have an opportunity to make that real material." Once he was upstairs on Flex's show, the DJ asked about everything from Rick Ross to Diddy, who 50 divulged wanted $2 million a few years ago to let Mase record on G-Unit Records. Obviously, that deal didn't happen; 50 said Mase wasn't worth it. He also gave his opinion on Lil Wayne and Drake. "I think he's cool," Fif said of Weezy. "He's in a good space. They got some heat going. Drake is coming up. I heard Jay got him on a single? That was fast. That was ill. For him to put him on a single, that's ill. I don't know if he's rhyming or singing. The fact that he's on it, that was a fast come-up. Jay won't even rap on his own artists' records." After Flex, Fif returned to the G-Unit office to shoot a video for the mixtape with Lloyd Banks and Tony Yayo. No spoilers here, but we can tell you that Fif did get in a costume. "While a lot of them is sleeping, I'm up working," 50 said with a grin, moments before his team would push the button so fans could download War Angel LP for free on ThisIs50.com. "We'll be here working all night." Related Videos Related Artists |
| Young Jeezy On Gucci Mane Dis Record '24-23': 'I'm Not The Aggressor' Posted: 17 Jun 2009 07:11 AM PDT 'It's not like I had a problem with him — he had a problem with me, because he was jealous,' Jeezy says of fellow Atlanta rapper.
Young Jeezy says real G's don't make dis records for exposure. So when Young dropped his song "24-23 (Kobe, LeBron)" to address Gucci Mane and OJ Da Juiceman, he wanted to get his point across.
"It wasn't a question of 'Why do the song now?' " Jeezy explained to MTV News. Young has refused to address Gucci for years and says this interview about the subject will be his last. "It was more so of when dude went away, did his little time or whatever — he came back. The sh-- was squashed. I wasn't trippin' on him. I was getting my money on. I was done with it. I was on my grind. I wasn't really paying attention what was going on [with Gucci]. But as you know, Slick Pulla is locked up. A few of my partners that I really been down with since day one. He started taking shots on his little mixtapes. I was really kinda done with it, because on 'Stay Strapped,' I killed him with one verse. To make a long story short, I'm tired of the bullsh--, because I know him. He ain't like that. To be honest, I don't have a problem with Gucci because I wear it — I have a problem with Radric [Gucci's Mane's given name]." There's a song called "Hurry" off of Gucci's mixtape The Writing's on the Wall that contains lines that could be taken as jabs at Young and his crew. "Girl you look like Keyshia Cole/ I know you a di-- pulla," he raps. "But can't f--- you Blood Raw/ Damn I like them Kinky flows." Gucci will neither confirm nor deny if he was throwing disses, but obviously Slick Pulla, Blood Raw and Kinky B are in Young's crew, and he used to date Keyshia Cole. Jeezy found it funny that Gucci called radio-show host Miss Info on Tuesday and downplayed the whole situation saying Jeezy was just dissing him to build hype. "This is what he does. He always does it," Jeezy said. "He says what he says, then he hides his hands. Then when you say something, you're the bad guy. I'm definitely not the aggressor in this situation. I'm just holding my business. I'm a grown-ass man. The best thing for you to do is get your money and leave me the f--- alone. I heard their little statement, 'We ain't feeding into that.' Y'all been feeding into that for four years. Get your money, dog. Don't be out here with the bullsh--. "I don't got no reason to be picking on nobody or f--- with nobody for no exposure," he added, denying Gucci's claims. "Come on, dog. I ain't never did no sh-- like that to sell no records or get no notoriety. It's personal because he keeps f---ing throwing rocks and hiding your hands, man." Jeezy debuted "24-23" at Atlanta hot spot the Velvet Room, where Gucci Mane and Snoop Dogg were in the VIP section. "I heard he played the song after we left," Gucci told MTV News. Young has a slightly different account. "I heard the n---a was at the club, so I went to the club to see what's up," Young said. "He was at one of my spots. They snuck him out the front door while we was coming through the back." The Jeezy and Gucci Mane tension goes back four years, after they made the hit record "So Icy." Shortly after the song blew up, the two had a falling out and things snowballed. The pair actually sat down in the aftermath and squashed things, but soon after, Jeezy heard more disses. The Snowman says he tried to stay away from the nonsense to focus on his career — a career that Young feels Gucci was envious of. "It's not like I had a problem with him — he had a problem with me, because he was jealous." he explained. "That's what this is about. Now you getting your money, OK, get your money — don't come f--- with me." Jeezy and Gucci are both billed on two concerts this weekend — 102 Jamz SuperJam in North Carolina and Atlanta's Hot 107.9 Birthday Bash. Jeezy says he doesn't expect any problems, especially in the ATL. "At the end of the day, I'm not worried about no show or nothing," Jeezy offered. "I'm getting my money. Nothing's stopping me from getting my money. You feel me? This is for my city, this is for Atlanta. I been the king of this sh-- for a while as far as Birthday Bash is concerned. We're coming there to do our show." Related Artists |
| Heidi And Spencer Are 'Praying' That Holly Montag Marries Sanjaya Posted: 16 Jun 2009 11:58 PM PDT 'They are going to be Sanjolly!,' Heidi Montag says of the blooming 'I'm a Celebrity' romance.
Spencer Pratt and Heidi Montag have been married for almost two months now, so it's only natural that they want to see other people falling in love. And they couldn't be happier to see Heidi's sister (and their "I'm a Celebrity ... Get Me Out of Here!" replacement) Holly Montag forming a romance with fellow contestant Sanjaya Malakar.
"Her and Sanjaya are going to be the biggest couple," Heidi told MTV News, who said Holly could win the show because she's "jungle-friendly." "They are going to be Sanjolly!" Spencer also wishes the new reality couple all the best, and he'd like to see them take their romance from the jungle to real life. "I've actually been praying nonstop that they get married, and I can actually have a brother-in-law named Sanjaya, and I can go to India and hang out," he said. "Speidi and Sanjolly are going to Bollywood!" Heidi is so happy for Holly that she was even willing to forgive her for any comments she made about Heidi on the show, including when she said Heidi was "like Velcro" with Spencer and her family. "It's hard for [Holly], 'cause she's out in L.A. and I'm really busy, so I think it was more of she didn't really know what Janice was asking her," she said about former castmate Janice Dickinson, who questioned Holly about Speidi. "And when I was younger, I loved being around my mom a lot. Everyone does, and then you grow up and you have your own life. I think that's what she meant." But leave it to Spencer to find a way to cause some drama. "I personally think Holly's a little bitter that she's not part of Speidi," he said. "Sorry, you're not a part of this Velcro!" Miss any of "I'm a Celebrity ... Get Me Out of Here!" this week? Then tune in to MTV on Sunday at 12 p.m. ET for a marathon of the week's episodes. |
| Eminem Releases Two Photos From 'Beautiful' Video Posted: 17 Jun 2009 12:15 AM PDT MC takes to Twitter to share shots from clip for Relapse track.
Eminem doesn't update his Twitter very often, but in the past two days he has dropped a pair of exclusive photos from the set of the video shoot for "Beautiful," from his recent Relapse LP. According to the Tweets, the clip was shot last week in Detroit. Though it's difficult to determine what the plot of the video might be, the second photo shows Em posing in front of an old train station (it appears to be Michigan Central Station, a long-abandoned Gothic behemoth). "The old train station ... that place is unreal," Eminem wrote. The first photo showed Eminem standing in front of a window — likely from inside the station — looking out onto Detroit in stark black and white. It's been an active week for Marshall Mathers, as Relapse crossed the million-sales mark in its fourth week of release. The MC is also planning on getting his old band back together, as he announced that D12 will be hitting the studio for their first new album in five years. He also may or may not be the object of Mariah Carey's new song, "Obsessed." It's worth a scroll through Eminem's photo feed on Twitter, as he's got some gems — like this shot of Em as the Joker. Related Artists |
| Taylor Swift Raps And Wins At CMT Awards Posted: 17 Jun 2009 06:45 AM PDT "T-Swizzle" collaborates with T-Pain and Def Leppard, while Brad Paisley takes home most awards.
Yes, technically a bunch of other artists won hardware at the Country Music Television Awards on Tuesday night, but mostly the show seemed like a dream factory come true for reigning teen country queen Taylor Swift. The 19-year-old megastar made her MC debut as T-Swizzle in a cute rap clip with T-Pain for "Thug Story," performed her single "You Belong With Me" and ended the show by joining one of her favorite bands, '80s pop-metal stars Def Leppard, on their indelible arena rocker "Pour Some Sugar on Me."
The night began with a skit about Swift living her fantasies (keep wishing about the whole "Star Trek" and Tennessee Titans thing), and in between the performances, for the second year in a row, she dominated two categories: Best Video of the Year and Best Female Video, both for her elaborate "Romeo and Juliet"-style "Love Story" clip. "I wanna thank CMT for letting me live so many of my dreams this year!" Swift said. "I want to thank Shania Twain for always making such theatrical videos, and I want to thank Garth Brooks for always putting his fans first. I take my cues from you. And I want to thank my little brother, Austin, for agreeing to be my date tonight." Though it was clearly Swift's night, it was Brad Paisley who actually won the show's award tally, taking home Best Male Vocalist ("Waiting on a Woman"), Performance of the Year ("Country Boy" with Alan Jackson, George Strait and Dierks Bentley) and Best Collaboration ("Start a Band" with Keith Urban). Accepting for the latter, whose video features two kids playing "Rock Band," Urban urged, "Learn guitar, kids ... the real thing." Paisley added, " 'Rock Band' never got anyone a date ... never." Other winners included Rascal Flatts for Group Video of the Year ("Every Day"), Sugarland for Duo Video of the Year ("All I Want to Do") and Kid Rock for Wide Open Country Video ("All Summer Long"). Accepting his award, the always humble Rock joked that his win must really have been based on the creativity of the video for the song — which mashes up Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Sweet Home Alabama" and Warren Zevon's "Werewolves of London." "What's more creative than a strip pole on a pontoon boat?" Rock quipped. In addition to the appearances by T-Pain and Def Leppard, the show featured a number of other decidedly non-country visitors, including rocker Ted Nugent as a presenter and Sugarland hooking up with fellow Georgians the B-52s on that band's pop classic, "Love Shack." Related Photos Related Artists |
| From Obama To 'Twilight': The Class Of '09's Defining Milestones Posted: 17 Jun 2009 01:22 AM PDT The failing economy, Lady Gaga and other phenomena to put in your time capsule.
The Class of '09 will be graduating at a time that is both one of the most difficult and the most hopeful of any class in generations. With America still fighting two wars overseas and the economy in the midst of an ongoing collapse, these kids have a lot to deal with. Then again, they've also lived through one of the most exciting elections in U.S. history. That's not to mention the many pop-culture phenomena that have blossomed in the past year. So, forget the "Pomp and Circumstance," it's time to look back at the milestones, from Barack Obama to "Twilight," that have defined the times for the Class of '09.
The Election: Every generation has its indelible moments, from the Vietnam War and the civil-rights movement to the terror attacks of September 11, 2001. And this class can boast of its own monumental event: the election of the country's first black president. After a bruising primary battle with now Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, followed by an equally intense fight against Republican Senator John McCain, Obama handily won November's election thanks in large part to an energized block of youth voters. "Twilight": Guilty as charged. We did as much as anyone to spark the fire under the raging bonfire that is author Stephanie Meyer's vampire saga of Bella Swan and her be-fanged beloved, Edward Cullen. The mega-best-selling book series — which some have tagged as the new "Harry Potter" — begat the smash movie, which made millions of fans of all ages obsessed with the strange goings on in Forks, Washington. The first movie sequel, "New Moon," is already in the works, and if the "Twilight" sweep at the MTV Movie Awards is any indication, the shrieking will likely continue for several years go come. Twitter: How did we know what Ashton Kutcher was up to before Twitter? The free, three-year-old, micro-blogging app that swallowed the Internet in 2009 — 140 characters at a time — seemingly vaulted overnight from obscurity to 55 million monthly visits. Kutcher, of course, became the first celeb to reach the 1 million follower mark, but he wasn't the only one obsessively chronicling his every move. Politicians Tweeted during President Obama's State of the Union; Blink-182 spilled the beans on their summer reunion tour; Erykah Badu Tweeted while in labor. Even if some A-listers (Britney? 50 Cent?) are paying folks to Tweet for them, Twitter will likely be the Class of '09's equivalent to the hula hoop or Napster — only, you know, shorter. The Recession: The good news is that some experts believe we're already on our way back up after hitting rock bottom. The bad news is that the Class of '09 is graduating into one of the worst economic meltdowns in U.S. history. That means money for college will be tight, if it's there at all and if their parents aren't among the nearly 15 million unemployed. It also means that the money they had socked away for college may be going to keep the house out of foreclosure. They might even be competing with one of their parents' friends for that entry-level job. On the upside, historic meltdowns have always created tons of new opportunities and businesses, so young entrepreneurs out there with a world-beating idea have a wide lane all to themselves. Just think, by the time you get out of college, this whole mess could be turning around! Lady Gaga: Every generation gets the pop diva it deserves: Madonna, Janet, Britney, Fergie, Gwen Stefani. For the class of '09, it's Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta, a.k.a. Lady Gaga. The 23-year-old New York sensation has blown up over the past year, crossing over from dance clubs to the mainstream on the back of three titanic disco hits — "Just Dance," "Poker Face" and "LoveGame" — as her debut album, The Fame, slowly racked up more than 2 million in worldwide sales. In addition to serving as the soundtrack to every school dance the Class of '09 attended this year (not to mention every reality show they watched), Gaga has also provided inspiration for budding fashionistas out there with an interplanetary sense of style, created by her own Andy Warhol-esque design collaborative, Haus of Gaga. Gay Marriage: Besides the election and the economy, one of the biggest political stories for the Class of '09 was same-sex marriage. The struggle for equal marriage rights for gay and lesbian couples was dealt a major blow in November 2008 when California passed Proposition 8, which redefined marriage in the state as a union between a man and a woman. At the same time, Massachusetts, Maine, Connecticut, Iowa, Vermont and New Hampshire legalized gay marriage. So, there you have it, Class of '09, a little time capsule to remember this year by. Go ahead and stick your "Star Trek" movie stub in there, alongside a Susan Boyle YouTube clip, that Sarah Palin Halloween mask and your "Gossip Girl" poster. Welcome to Class of '09 Week on MTVNews.com, where we're celebrating a memorable time in the lives of more than 3 million high school seniors: graduation! We'll be rolling out articles and videos with graduation memories from your favorite celebrities and much more. Be sure to upload your own three-minute video for our Class of '09 Valedictory Search to Your.MTV.com — the winner will be flown to New York for lunch with MTV News' Sway and will attend a taping of MTV's new series "It's On With Alexa Chung." Related Videos Related Artists |
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