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- Wyclef Jean Froze Up When Meeting Michael Jackson
- Ghostface Killah Gets Beyonce, Mariah And More On Latest Mixtape
- Lil Wayne On Performing With Chris Brown: 'U Kno I Had To Show Him Sum Luv'
- Nick Cannon Responds To Eminem's 'Warning' With Biblical Tweets
- Cobra Starship Take You Through Their Favorite <i>Hot Mess</i> Songs
- Akon Remembers His 'Cool, Funny' Friend Michael Jackson
- 'Drake's Knee' Tweets Hilarious Verses About Injury
- Katherine Jackson Withdraws Bid For Control Of Michael's Estate
- Lil Wayne Plays Teacher For Young Money Crew On Tour
- Exclusive: My Chemical Romance's New Album Is A 'Love Letter To Rock And Roll'
| Wyclef Jean Froze Up When Meeting Michael Jackson Posted: 04 Aug 2009 03:50 AM PDT 'I go to shake his hand -- and my whole voice box goes out," former Fugees frontman recalls.
Michael Jackson possessed the sort of fame that was so sweeping and intense that it defied comprehension. Even when he was out of the spotlight, he still commanded fawning, sometimes aggressive crowds whenever he went out in public. That mania wasn't limited to just normal everyday fans, either — even other famous people, who are accustomed to fame being in the public eye, still swooned and stammered when Jackson was in the room. In an interview that ended up not being included in MTV's "Michael Jackson's Human Nature" special, which aired over the weekend, former Fugees frontman Wyclef Jean admitted as much when he recalled meeting Jackson in 1997. The two worked together briefly on a recording session for the remix album Blood on the Dance Floor (the track never saw the light of day) and Wyclef admitted that the prospect of meeting Jackson was overwhelming.
"When I knew he was coming, I went to the bathroom, put some water on my face and I was rehearsing how I would be talking to Mike," he said. "When I was in the presence of Michael Jackson, I go to shake his hand — and my whole voice box goes out. This is the kind of effect that this man had on me!" Jean said that even his bodyguards, who tended to shrug off everything, got wound up once Jackson was in the room. But as he explained, Jackson's music was such a huge part of everybody's development that they couldn't help but get excited. "When somebody is the soundtrack of your life, you can just imagine," he said. "Michael Jackson and Bob Marley — those were the soundtracks of my life." |
| Ghostface Killah Gets Beyonce, Mariah And More On Latest Mixtape Posted: 04 Aug 2009 03:50 AM PDT Plus, Raekwon talks about his new single, in Mixtape Daily.
Don't Sleep: Necessary Notables Mixtape: The Wizard Is Coming Headliner: Ghostface Killah Co-Starring: J-Love, Beyoncé, Mariah Carey, Mary J. Blige, Raheem DeVaughn and others. Key Collaborations: Basically the entire mixtape. Essential Info: "What a joy we made from the love we made." Raheem DeVaughn definitely does need to use the Auto-Tune, and despite his computer love in the vocal booth, he laces the chorus to Ghost's single "Baby." The record is the first official offering from the September release The Wizard Of Poetry. (Obviously you can tell by the title of the mixtape that it's to promote said album.) J-Love assembles over 20 Ghost R&B collaborations, such as "Summertime" with Beyoncé, the "Chosen One" remix with Jaheim and the remix to Faith Evans' "Again." Our big beef with the tape is that Love did not include Bulletproof Wallet's "Never Be the Same" with the homie Carl Thomas (C. Teezy!!!). Other Heat This Week » Chamillionaire - Mixtape Messiah 7 The Streets Is Talking: News & Notes From The Underground "Wolves in the back, ready to attack." Last week Raekwon dropped his official single from his Only Built 4 Cuban Linx II LP, "House of Flying Daggers." The song features Inspectah Deck, Method Man and Ghostface Killah. "It's classic Wu," Rae said about the feel of the track. "This album is basically a flashback of where we came from. Everybody knows us from the karate skits, the different formats of how we set up our men and we do a RZA/Wu track sounding joint. It's this kind of record. I think that this is what everybody wanted from the Clan. RZA didn't even make the beat — J Dilla made the beat. This one is interesting for hip-hop. I feel this was carved out for dudes to definitely slam." Rae said Dilla actually handcrafted the beat for him when they met years ago. "Around the time the brother passed away and went to heaven," Rae said of when they met. "I had an opportunity to talk to him on the phone before he passed away, and he was excited about me working with him and likewise. I didn't know he was so heavy at what he does. I felt this one was real special and I wanted to give him his shine on it. "That video is gonna be crazy," the Chef added. "You know me, I'm a creative dude — so I'm thinking of all different kinda ways to structure this project and let people know we taking it all the way back. I'm going for fans that knew what it's supposed to be." For other artists featured in Mixtape Daily, check out Mixtape Daily Headlines. Related Videos |
| Lil Wayne On Performing With Chris Brown: 'U Kno I Had To Show Him Sum Luv' Posted: 03 Aug 2009 03:15 AM PDT Brown made a surprise appearance at America's Most Wanted tour stop in Virginia.
Lil Wayne fans got a big surprise when the America's Most Wanted tour rolled into the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater in Virginia Beach, Virginia, two nights after Drake was forced to leave the tour after seriously re-injuring his knee. That surprise was a guest appearance from Chris Brown. In his first onstage appearance since pleading guilty to assaulting Rihanna in February, singer Chris Brown jumped onstage near the end of headliner Lil Wayne's set. Brown, who is from Virginia, helped out by lending his voice to Drake's "Every Girl," and paid tribute to Michael Jackson by as "Billie Jean" played in the background at the end of the night's show. Wayne asked the crowd to make noise for "the new Michael." When asked by MTV News for a comment about the performance, Weezy responded simply via e-mail through a rep: "U kno I had to show him sum luv." The surprise appearance at the Young Money gig was Brown's first public appearance since releasing a video on July 20 in which he apologized to Rihanna for the assault on the eve of the Grammys, which left her with facial contusions and cuts. Brown pleaded guilty last month to one count of felony assault and was ordered to perform 180 days of community service in Virginia as part of his plea deal. At press time, and it was unclear if Brown will be performing on other dates on the tour, which is scheduled to last through August 23. Brown appeared to be trying to fill a gap created when Drake went down on Friday night at a show in Camden, New Jersey, where he re-injured his already torn up knee, requiring immediate surgery. Drake blogged about being laid up over the weekend. Related Artists |
| Nick Cannon Responds To Eminem's 'Warning' With Biblical Tweets Posted: 03 Aug 2009 09:05 AM PDT Ongoing battle pitting Em against Cannon and Mariah Carey takes an unusual turn.
The ongoing back-and-forth pitting Eminem against Mariah Carey and husband Nick Cannon — which began with Em's "Bagpipes From Baghdad" and continued with Carey's "Obsessed" and then Em's "The Warning" — took an unusual turn over the weekend, as Cannon produced a series of quotes, original statements and Biblical tweets (concluding with one actually from the Bible) that, while not naming Eminem or "The Warning" directly, did seem to address the MC's latest attack on his wife. "Quote of the day: 'Never argue with fools because from a distance people can't tell who is who,' " he tweeted Friday to kick things off. What followed was a series of inspirational quotes apparently intended to defuse the situation and ultimately put "The Warning" in the past. "Be patient in the moment of anger and escape a hundred days of sorrow!" (often erroneously cited as a Chinese proverb) he followed up. Four minutes later, he tweeted Booker T. Washington's quote, "I will permit no man to narrow or degrade my soul by making me hate him." Cannon also suggested that a reprisal from either he or Carey was unlikely. "Never take your own revenge," he wrote, quoting the Bible, "but rather give place unto the wrath. For it is written that vengeance is mine, I will repay ... PREACH!" (from Romans 12:19). Also in there was another Bible quote, "I will bless those that bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse," from Genesis 12:3. While the tweets began as apparent attempts at keeping the peace, they became a little more pointed by the time Cannon wrapped up. "No one but a fool would measure their satisfaction by what the world thinks of him," he wrote, quoting Irish poet Oliver Goldsmith. Just after that, he tweeted, "Trying to save a hater is like trying to teach astrophysics to a wino!" (apparently an original line). The tweets were presumably in response to "The Warning," Eminem's latest dis track against the couple. In the song, Eminem graphically addresses his alleged romantic relationship with Carey and her portrayal of a male stalker (who looks remarkably like Em) in her recent "Obsessed" video. Carey has denied having a previous relationship with Eminem; Eminem has insisted there was one. In recent weeks, all three parties denied any hard feelings: After Cannon wrote an angry blog post about "Baghdad," he emphasized there was never any beef; Em has said the song's lyrics were "misinterpreted"; Carey and Cannon both denied that the male-stalker character she plays in the new video for "Obsessed" was supposed to be a parody of Slim Shady. "My wife doesn't beef," Cannon told MTV News recently. "She's Mariah Carey. She's not beefin', she's a vegetarian. People keep saying ['Obsessed'] was directed at certain people. To be completely honest, she did the record 'cause she's a huge fan of this movie 'Mean Girls,' and there's a line in the movie where one of the girls is like, 'Why are you so obsessed with me?' She says that at the beginning of the song, and that's where the concept came from. But, you know, art imitates life." Carey told MTV News, "Everybody started having their own speculations about who the stalker [in the video] was. I'm like, look, when I look at that stalker and me with the beard and the whole nine yards, I look like my cousin Chris. I do. I look like my brother and my cousin Chris. So basically, you know, all the speculation about who I'm playing in the video, it's not accurate." Related Photos Related Artists |
| Cobra Starship Take You Through Their Favorite <i>Hot Mess</i> Songs Posted: 04 Aug 2009 03:50 AM PDT Cobra's latest album is available on MTV.com's 'The Leak' a week before its release.
Cobra Starship's much-anticipated Hot Mess premieres on MTV.com's "The Leak" on Tuesday (August 4), but before you listen, we figured you should read the stories behind some of the album's standout tracks — right from the mouths of Cobra themselves.
Last week, we gave you our take on the album (calling it "pitch-perfect future pop"), but what do Cobra's Gabe Saporta and Alex Suarez think about Hot Mess? Well, we asked them to tell us about their favorite songs on the album, which hits stores next Tuesday, and this is what we got: "Nice Guys Finish Last" Gabe Saporta: We wear our influences proudly. We don't take influences from one genre. ... We have Adam Ant influences in that song, like "Goody Two Shoes"; there's a Britney influence in that song; there's a big-band, Brian Setzer influence in the song. It's like this big soup we put together, stir it up and puke out some Cobra sh--. A bunch of babes sing on it. One is the girl on the cover of the record. [Cobra keytarist] Victoria [Asher] sings on it. Cassadee Pope from Hey Monday, we added her to it on tour. Our engineer's girlfriend sings on there. A bunch of other friends of his too. There's a real story [behind the song]. ... I used to have this boss, I had one job when I was a kid, after high school, I was working for this guy who had a company that cleaned garbage chutes in buildings. And I don't know how he ended up doing that, because he was a rock-and-roll dude. He had Rod Stewart hair, and he was, like, 50. It was awesome. But he was such a chauvinist pig, and I was a straight-edge punk kid, very politically correct. Like, I would take offense if someone said something rude, which is the exact opposite of the way I am now. But I was that kid. And one time, he was like, "Yeah, you treat girls like sh--, they'll stick to you like toilet paper." And I was like, "What?!?! That's f---ed up!" But I put that into the song, that he told me that. I mean, I don't treat girls like sh--, but the song's about that. Sometimes the bad boys end up getting the girls. ... We know a couple of guys who are "too nice." Like our sound guy, he'll just meet some girl and, like, give her flowers. Suarez: If you're too nice, you don't get to finish at all. "Fold Your Hands Child" "You're Not in on the Joke" Suarez: There's all these dudes screaming on it at one point. We added them all on tour. We needed all the muscle dudes. All the big security dudes are on the chorus. "Hot Mess" Our friend did the beat ... and we thought it was awesome, so let's f--- with it. And that's how we first met Kevin [Rudolf]. We had the beat and melodies, but it felt like it wasn't up to par with where the song should be, so we sent it to Kevin, he sent it back, and we were like, "Wow, this is awesome." It put our version to shame. His lyrics were "You're a landslide, and I'm falling to you," and that was cool, but we changed it a bit to "Hot Mess." That's the mission statement. Related Videos |
| Akon Remembers His 'Cool, Funny' Friend Michael Jackson Posted: 03 Aug 2009 03:14 AM PDT 'I didn't expect him to be that cool,' Akon recalls in moment from MTV's 'Michael Jackson's Human Nature.'
Akon has recorded tracks with some of the biggest and brightest stars in music. But there's one star who was bigger and brighter than all the rest: Michael Jackson. In 2007, Akon spent time in a Las Vegas studio with the King of Pop, writing and recording songs for what Jackson intended to be his comeback album. Nearly three years later, only two of those songs have surfaced: a remix of Jackson's "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" that appeared on the 25th anniversary edition of MJ's Thriller album and "Hold My Hand," a track featuring both artists (but written by Claude Kelly), that made the file-sharing rounds last year.
And after Jackson's death in June, who knows when more of the tracks will see the light of day? Akon said that he and Jackson recorded "days" of material, most of which never made it past the demo stages. And, really, he's not that concerned if they are ever released, because, in the wake of Jackson's passing, Akon would prefer to reminisce about the man, not the music. "My favorite moment was the day we actually met, because I didn't expect him to be that cool," Akon said in MTV's "Michael Jackson's Human Nature" special, which aired over the weekend. "I expected him to be this diva — just hard to deal with, rarely speaks, got to send his message through someone else, you know? Because these are the stories you hear." Before they recorded a note of music, Akon had a sitdown meeting with Jackson, one that began predictably — and seemed to confirm the producer's worst fears — but quickly became a life-changing event. "So I'm going upstairs [to meet him], I knock on the door, his bodyguard opens and says, 'OK, he's waiting to meet you.' I walk in and [Michael's] in this spinning chair, but it's facing backwards, so I walk in the room, but his back is turned, and the guard says, 'Hey, Mike, Akon's here.' So he spins around, like it was choreographed — so right away I was like, 'Oh boy,' " he laughed. "But as soon as he turns around, gets up, 'Yo, what up, man?!' and I was like, 'What up, Mike?' and he gave me a pound, we hugged each other. He's like, 'Yo, I've been waiting to meet you for so long, this is a great honor, thanks for showing up, thanks for making the time.' And in my mind I'm like, 'You know, I should be thanking you for making the time.' "It was the craziest thing, because we sat down, we talked about Africa, we talked about my foundation [Konfidence], we talked about the music, we talked about girls. We had a great, incredible time that day," he continued. "He was extremely funny, he told jokes, and he liked to have fun." Related Artists |
| 'Drake's Knee' Tweets Hilarious Verses About Injury Posted: 03 Aug 2009 02:30 AM PDT Twitter site features rhymes about Lil Wayne protégé's injury on America's Most Wanted tour.
Sometimes the Internet can be a wonderful thing: Just hours after Drake re-injured his knee while performing with Lil Wayne at the America's Most Wanted tour stop in Camden, New Jersey, on Friday night, a Twitter account surfaced called "Drake's Knee." It did exactly what it claimed to do: file tweets from the perspective of the rapper and his wounded knee, mostly in verse. With his location listed as "on the ground look down" and featuring photos of Drake's character from "Degrassi" in a wheelchair, at press time the account had already amassed 63 dispatches and more than 4,100 followers — which is no surprise, as the output is hilarious, clever and self-deprecating. "Before I tripped I was the man/ Wish I was rappin' in some sand/ Now I never want to hear 'Fallin' by Alicia, man," goes one of the lyrics posted Sunday night. Earlier, Drake's Knee tweeted, "Hip-hop's like an open sore/ But Weezy came and opened doors/ Don't worry bout my knee/ Worry if I lose my vocal cords." The "Knee" also takes time out to boast a bit about its own sudden ubiquity, highlighted by "Cats actin' all aggy but inside they wanna be me/ @drakesknee be reason their girl hoggin' up the PC" and "Most of these MCs really aren't even half of me/ In fact, besides God the only fear I have is gravity." The rest of the feed is fleshed out by nods to Lil Wayne, like "It's all good when u shine u on the top they hate/ Hope Weezy's not mad 'cuz they might have to operate" and "Woke in a daze, bright lights, feelin' weaker/ Feelin' like Wayne put oil on my sneakers." A rep for Drake told MTV News on Monday (August 3) that the Twitter account did not emanate from Drake or anyone affiliated with him; at press time, the creator of the account had not responded to requests for comment. Due to the injury, Drake has returned home to Toronto to recover from the injury, which will likely keep him off the remaining dates of the America's Most Wanted tour. In the meantime, Drake revealed in a blog post on his Web site that he will be reflecting on his experiences and working on his hotly anticipated debut full-length album, Thank Me Later. [This story was originally published at 2:05 pm E.T. on 8.3.2009] Related Artists |
| Katherine Jackson Withdraws Bid For Control Of Michael's Estate Posted: 03 Aug 2009 05:23 AM PDT John Branca and John McClain granted control of MJ's financial affairs, while Katherine gets permanent custody of son's kids.
Earlier Monday (August 3), an important hearing on Michael Jackson's estate gave Katherine Jackson guardianship of her son's three children despite a surprise objection; in the second half of the day, two men named in Michael Jackson's will have been granted control of his financial affairs. Judge Mitchell Beckloff admitted Jackson's 2002 will into probate Monday afternoon, naming attorney John Branca and music executive John McClain as co-executors — a decision that Jackson's mother Katherine was not in accordance with. After a brief recess, Katherine withdrew a petition asking that she be put in charge of the estate, clearing the way for Branca and McClain. According to TMZ, Branca and Jackson's estate have also reached an agreement with concert promoter AEG regarding the potentially lucrative possession of Michael Jackson merchandising and remaining rehearsal footage from the final concert tour that he never lived to perform. Also at the hearing, dermatologist Arnold Klein raised what were described as "nonspecific objections" to the custody arrangements for Jackson's children. After some tense moments in the courtroom — the doctor recently denied rumors "to the best of my knowledge" that he was the father of the children — Klein's attorney Mark Vincent Kaplan explained that the dermatologist was merely concerned about the children's education and other parenting issues. Judge Beckloff dismissed Klein's objection and insisted that he did not have a legal basis to object to an agreement forged last week by attorneys for Katherine Jackson and Michael Jackson's ex-wife Debbie Rowe. The second half of the courtroom proceedings revolved around a petition filed by Katherine Jackson last week accusing McClain and Branca of "keeping her in the dark" about the deals they are making on behalf of the estate, reportedly worth up to $500 million. Attorney L. Londell McMillan explained in a statement last week that Michael Jackson's mother was merely seeking more information on what the men have planned for the estate and that she was forced to make a legal request for discovery of business documents because they had not agreed to appoint her as co-executor of the estate. McMillan has also raised questions about what he called a "suspicious circle of relationships" involving Branca and McClain. After Monday's hearing, however, the duo will retain control of Michael Jackson's financial matters until a hearing October 2. Related Photos Related Artists |
| Lil Wayne Plays Teacher For Young Money Crew On Tour Posted: 03 Aug 2009 01:40 AM PDT Drake had hoped to watch Wayne's set every night, but knee injury has forced him off of tour.
Lil Wayne's Young Money franchise players said they look forward to learning from their camp's general while on Young Money Presents: The America's Most Wanted Music Festival. "I did the I Am Music Tour. That was a great experience," Nicki Minaj said during the America's Most Wanted kickoff concert. "Now I have a longer set. We did [the first] rehearsal, and that was fun. [Wayne] was way more into it than I expected him to be. I'm looking forward to it. "I don't think people know how smart he is," Nicki added about Weezy. "He's a thinker. People think he's just doing records. He has a plan for everything."
Drake — who was forced to leave the tour after re-injuring his knee while performing with Wayne on Friday night — had hoped to watch Weezy's set every night to pick up some gems. "I wanna get out there and give these people what I can, man," Drake said, although he blogged on Sunday that he'll be recovering from his injury in Toronto instead; Chris Brown made a surprise appearance filling in for Drake at the tour's stop in Virginia Sunday night. The tour is a mixture of hot MCs and singers who drive the girls crazy. "To be out here performing for all the fans, all the consumers," Jeremih gushed after his performance, "here I am. We hit the stage, it was love. I kicked it off on the stage. I'm a rookie. It was crazy to see they know all the songs." "It's not a whole lot of pressure," Pleasure P said about performing with his peers on the outing. "I've just been taking things one day at a time. "All of our songs are the best songs out," P added about why fans should come see all the performers in the crew. "All of us got swag. We're just what you wanna see." After the show on July 27 at Scranton, Pennsylvania's Toyota Pavilion, Wayne was amazed by how different the faces look in the crowd at his concerts now than when he first started. "That hit me last tour," he said, explaining how the fans that come to his concerts now are different from when he was a teenager on Cash Money Records. "The last tour, when I was doing a song like 'Bling Bling' ... they would know what I'm talking about, but they don't [now]. Then I would say something like 'Lollipop,' and they'd know exactly what I'm talking about. It's like, 'Wow, I have a new wave of fans.' It's amazing." Related Videos Related Photos Related Artists |
| Exclusive: My Chemical Romance's New Album Is A 'Love Letter To Rock And Roll' Posted: 03 Aug 2009 02:11 AM PDT 'It's definitely more aggressive, but to me it feels like a celebration of rock and roll,' Gerard Way says.
Forget all that talk about ditching the shtick and focusing on fast-and-furious punk. My Chemical Romance have one sentiment they'd like to get across on their new album, one that echoes what Grand Funk Railroad said decades ago: "We're an American band."
"The punk element was something a lot of people talked about. I think once I said we were pulling out the marching bands, they assumed it was going to be a punk record," Gerard Way told MTV News last month at San Diego Comic-Con, where he was promoting "Umbrella Academy: Hotel Oblivion," the third series of his Eisner-winning comic. "I mean, it's definitely more aggressive, but to me it feels like a celebration of rock and roll. It feels like a true love letter to rock and roll. There's something about being an American rock-and-roll band that we've kind of grown into and we're very proud of. And I think that's what we're celebrating with this record. There's no agenda, there's no mission; it's just about rock and roll." For proof, check out the fan footage of "Death Before Disco," one of three new tracks MCR unveiled last Friday, during a secret show at the Roxy in Los Angeles. It's a charging, fist-pumping number that recalls the Motor City pump of the MC5 and the L.A. strut of the Knack. And to help them hone in on that vibe even further, they've tapped producer Brendan O'Brien — who's done albums for Bruce Springsteen, Pearl Jam and Mastodon, to name just a few — to helm the sessions for the new album. "We're so happy working with Brendan O'Brien," Way said. "We love him, we're having the best time of our lives. It's a total blast. I feel like it's getting close to being finished. We're doing tracking now. There's no title yet. It's crazy — this is the first time we're waiting to get really far into the project before [choosing a title]. I'm actually kind of excited about that. It's kind of 'anything goes' at this point, but I'm so happy with the songs." Way said there's still no release date for the new album, though he added, "It's safe to say it'll come out next year." This is all keeping with the band's open-ended, fast-and-loose approach to recording and writing, a first for MCR, who — up to this point — have made their living on expansive conceptual fare. "It's actually kind of liberating," Way said. "I'm writing lyrics simply about what the song's telling me, instead of trying to shoehorn something into a story line. I'd say they all have their own little stories. Some of them are direct, real life things that happened to us or me. Some of them are fiction, [because] I didn't want to lose that side. One of the things I really liked about Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge is that we took people on a journey with each video and each single, even though it was a concept record. The Black Parade didn't do that. It stuck all the way through to this rigid vision up until the end, but this time I'm really excited about giving someone something new every time." Related Artists |
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