MTV News |
- Exclusive: Drake To Re-Release <i>So Far Gone</i> Mixtape
- Lady Gaga Promises 'Groundbreaking' Tour With Kanye West
- Mariah Carey Delays <i>Memoirs Of An Imperfect Angel</i>
- Drake Apologizes To Head Of Motown For Slam
- Mark Hoppus Confirms He's Working With Panic! At The Disco
- Drake's Former 'Degrassi' Co-Stars Offer VMA Advice
- Les Paul, Guitar Legend, Dead at 94
- Asher Roth Thinks His First VMAs Will Be '100 Percent Fun'
| Exclusive: Drake To Re-Release <i>So Far Gone</i> Mixtape Posted: 14 Aug 2009 03:50 AM PDT Drizzy talks about reworking his breakout mixtape for retail release, in Mixtape Daily.
The O.D.: A Mixtape Daily Exclusive Drake has already begun working on his highly anticipated debut album, Thank Me Later, tentatively due later this year, but the Young Money lyricist still isn't done pushing his breakthrough mixtape, So Far Gone. While on the Toronto set for his forthcoming "Successful" video, he revealed to MTV News exclusively that he'll be re-releasing So Far Gone to retail outlets on September 15. According to Drake, the revamped project will feature most of the familiar tracks that have powered his rise, from the Trey Songz and Lil Wayne-backed "Successful" to his hit "Best I Ever Had." But there will be a new record, "Fear," added to the track list. The never-before-heard song will be tacked on to the end of So Far Gone and will serve as the transition from his mixtape to Thank Me Later. According to Drake, the last line of "Fear" will be the first line heard on his debut.
"I did this song that no one has ever heard before, ever," he explained. "[It's] a song called 'Fear.' I recorded it when I did So Far Gone — the first verse and half of the second verse I had gotten through. But then I just stopped because it was getting eerie. It was getting where I didn't know if I could [finish it]. And then the other night I had a moment and I finished the song. That's gonna be the last song on the retail [version of] So Far Gone. And the third verse transitions into Thank Me Later. So the last line of the third verse is gonna be the first line on my album." When Drake first created So Far Gone, he said knowing it was a mixtape as opposed to an album fostered a more relaxed creative environment. He said the project wasn't intended for retail. Now, because of his success, it's made it easier for him to rework the mixtape. "I don't ever look at it and say, 'I wish that was an album,' " he said earlier this year of So Far Gone. "It was important that that was a mixtape, 'cause if it was an album, I don't know if it would've had the same impact. You know, I think the fact that I gave that for free, it was kind of brazen, like, 'What?' Like, 'What do you have in your collection, in your catalog, to be able to throw this out there?' And just while we were creating it, it was all of us, you know — me, 40, Oliver and everyone else involved — it was us just having fun in a stress-free environment because we knew we were going to give it away." Although Drake has been sidelined as of late after he re-injured his knee while on Young Money Presents: The America's Most Wanted Music Festival, he's feeling upbeat these days. So Far Gone presented a dark and moody collection of tracks, but with the finish of "Fear," Drake said he's now cleansed himself of the emotion of that time period. "In that [new] verse I describe exactly how I'm feeling," he explained. "I'm happy today. ... I just feel like [now] I'm breathing a little deeper. The day is moving calm. There's no tension. I feel like I cleansed myself of a lot of emotion that has been building up inside of me. I got it all out." For other artists featured in Mixtape Daily, check out Mixtape Daily Headlines. |
| Lady Gaga Promises 'Groundbreaking' Tour With Kanye West Posted: 12 Aug 2009 10:00 PM PDT Singer told Kanye: 'I just want to be clear before we decide to do this together: My show is gay.'
OK, so Kanye West and Lady Gaga probably have not actually gotten married, as Gaga jokingly said. However, they are apparently working on their first baby. By "baby," we of course mean the super-ambitious set design they're collaborating on for their upcoming co-headlining tour, which, although it is yet to be officially confirmed, is reported to be kicking off on October 4 in Buffalo, New York. In an recent interview with the BBC, Gaga said that she and Kanye have been working together on the look and feel of their tour, and, from the sound of things, it's shaping up to be a big production — if not, as she says, one of the biggest of all time. "I love Kanye ... [he] is my very dear friend and we are creative kindreds," she said. "It's been fun to work on the design of the tour with him — we're finishing each other's sentences. "It's going to be one of the most groundbreaking moments in touring history," she continued. "I am sure of it." In another interview — this one in the September issue of Out magazine — Gaga made another claim. She said she told Kanye, "I just want to be clear before we decide to do this together: I'm gay. My music is gay. My show is gay. And I love that it's gay," she told the magazine. "And I love my gay fans and they're all going to be coming to our show. And it's going to remain gay." Before Gaga hits the road with West, she'll get the chance to work out the live show kinks at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards. She's up for nine Moonmen, and earlier this week, it was announced that she'll also be performing at the big show, alongside the likes of Jay-Z, Green Day, Taylor Swift, Pink and Muse. Related Photos Related Artists |
| Mariah Carey Delays <i>Memoirs Of An Imperfect Angel</i> Posted: 13 Aug 2009 03:56 AM PDT Release date shifts from September 15 to September 29.
Mariah Carey is pushing back the release date for Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel from September 15 to September 29, the singer announced on her Web site on Thursday (August 13). "Mariah is putting the finishing touches on her newest album, Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel, and we have shifted all of our TV and promo appearances to coincide with the new release date of September 29th," the statement on her site reads. "We can't wait for the fans to hear the new album!!"
The news comes on the same day it was announced that Carey was canceling her "Today" show performance for their concert series on August 28 and would be replaced by Miley Cyrus. Carey has garnered a lot of press for the album's first single, "Obsessed," which has been widely assumed to be about rumored former flame Eminem. Carey, husband Nick Cannon and "Obsessed" video director Brett Ratner have all denied that the song is about the MC. Aside from all the Eminem talk, Carey recently spoke to MTV News about working on the album, saying she loved getting in the studio with Timbaland and Jermaine Dupri. "I worked with JD again," she said. "I always love working with Jermaine. Every time it's just ... it reminds me of the first time we worked together, which was 'Always Be My Baby.' Once you do a song like that and you have it forever, you wanna just continue to try and re-create that magic, so that's what we do." Related Videos Related Artists |
| Drake Apologizes To Head Of Motown For Slam Posted: 13 Aug 2009 03:27 AM PDT 'I'm a person that usually handles things with much more tact,' MC says.
Normally, Drake makes headlines with his music, which has led him to become one of the most buzzed-about MCs in recent years. But this week the Toronto rapper's unexpectedly candid comments about Universal Motown head Sylvia Rhone have further stirred blog fodder that began with his dismissive line about the executive on a track titled "Say What's Real," from his breakthrough mixtape So Far Gone.
In an interview with MTV News this week, Drake apologized to Rhone, saying his comments — both in the song and in a recent interview — were "emotionally charged" and "very brazen." "I can definitely say for me, for furthering the negativity, I can definitely say I apologize," Drake told MTV News. "I don't know her personally to discredit her character. It's not the right thing to do." The tension seemed to reach a high point between the parties this past week. First, when Drake's comments in the upcoming issue of the Fader magazine got out, he reportedly said, "I don't f--- with Motown at all." Drake has maintained he signed a deal directly to his management company and secured distribution through Universal Republic, rather than signing with the major label directly. However, on Thursday (August 13), Billboard suggested that Universal Motown execs have put their foot down and demanded that all work from Drake be stamped with the Motown logo. Although Drake did not get into specific details, he explained the issue to MTV News, saying that as an aspiring artist a few years ago he was set to have a meeting with Universal before it was called off. He admits it's common, yet at that point in his career, he was hurt. He described it as the first time he was hurt by the music industry. "There's a lot of people with schedules beyond the average person's comprehension," Drake said. "And at times they prioritize. And a new artist that has made this long journey [to meet] from another country, they may not be their biggest priority, so they may get pushed to the side. The situation, I don't want to get into too many details. It was basically [me] feeling trapped. I was courted by somebody and then they just axed everything. I was stuck. They disappeared. And I couldn't find anybody to talk to about the situation. And then to meet again a year later and to have this person forget they ever met me and say that I should go meet at their office so we can talk about signing me. I was kind of in one of those moments like, For real? [But] everybody has those moments where things aren't gonna go perfect." With so much attention being paid to the rift, Drake said he wanted to say sorry to calm the brewing dispute. "I was looking for an opportunity recently to apologize for how vicious I've been," he said. "Not to say I negate my feelings — I still feel strongly about it. But I'm a person that usually handles things with much more tact." Related Artists |
| Mark Hoppus Confirms He's Working With Panic! At The Disco Posted: 13 Aug 2009 01:00 AM PDT Blink-182 bassist is producing at least one 'gigantic' song on his tourmates' new LP.
Earlier this month, Panic! at the Disco drummer Spencer Smith told MTV News that he hoped to hand Blink-182's Mark Hoppus a few of his demos while the two bands toured together. Smith's goal was to convince Hoppus — who, what with his work with All Time Low, Motion City Soundtrack and the Michael Jackson estate, has suddenly become a rather hot commodity — to produce a couple of tracks on the new Panic! album.
Well, those demos must have been plenty convincing. On Tuesday, MTV News spoke to Hoppus, who confirmed that he'd be producing at least one song on the upcoming Panic! disc, and he'd like to do even more, if Smith and frontman Brendon Urie will let him. "I've heard a few of Panic! at the Disco's demos for the new album, and they're really strong," Hoppus said. "There's one track in particular that I know I'm committing to produce for them, and hopefully I'll get to do a bunch more. I know they're talking to a bunch of producers, and that's always kind of a touchy subject, especially when you're on tour with people, and they're like, 'Oh yeah, we're recording a new album, would you do a little work on it?' " Earlier, Smith had told MTV News that Panic! hope to begin recording their new album later this fall, after completing their run of shows with Blink. And Hoppus could be following them right off the road and into the studio. Because while he didn't go into great depth while talking about the Panic! demos, it's easy to tell he heard something special in one particular tune that has him plenty psyched to start work. "It's one of those songs that, even in the demo stages, you can tell is gonna be a gigantic song," Hoppus said. "It's really catchy. It's one of those songs you hear one time, and you just remember the hook for the rest of the day. I think it's what everybody loves about Panic! at the Disco, so yeah, I'm excited about that." Related Artists |
| Drake's Former 'Degrassi' Co-Stars Offer VMA Advice Posted: 13 Aug 2009 01:39 AM PDT 'You'd better win!' Lauren Collins jokes about Best New Artist nominee.
Drake has gone from starring on the Canadian teen drama "Degrassi: The Next Generation," under the name Aubrey Graham, to being nominated for Best New Artist at this year's Video Music Awards. And his former "Degrassi" co-stars Lauren Collins and Adamo Ruggiero couldn't be more excited to have one of their own up for a Moonman. "You'd better win!" Collins joked to MTV News when the duo stopped by to promote their TV movie "Degrassi Goes Hollywood," which airs Friday on the N. "I hope he wins. I think he might."
Meanwhile, Ruggiero has it all planned out about what will happen if Drake wins. "Bring the awards home, and we'll, like, polish them together," he laughed. "We're gonna be so honored to see him there." Aside from all things Drake, the pair are also stoked to see what Lady Gaga will come up with when she takes the VMA stage September 13. "No one knows what she's going to wear," Ruggiero said. "I think she'll sing 'Paparazzi.' I'm pretty sure she'll sing that. I think she's awesome and super cool and breaks the mold. She's gonna take it over." Collins agreed, saying, "I don't think we can even fathom what she's going to do." Plus, Collins thinks Gaga's biggest VMA competition, Beyoncé, probably has enough Moonmen at this point. "I kind of think it's Gaga's year. And I'm sure Beyoncé has 400 VMAs in her fantastic home." The 2009 MTV Video Music Awards will take place September 13 at 9 p.m. ET. Additional celebrity presenters and performers will be announced in the coming weeks. To be the first to find out the inside scoop, follow the Inside MTV Twitter account at Twitter.com/InsideMTV. Related Videos Related Photos Related Artists |
| Les Paul, Guitar Legend, Dead at 94 Posted: 12 Aug 2009 10:40 PM PDT Musician/inventor is credited with innovations in multi-track recording and designed the Gibson guitar that bears his name.
Les Paul, the man credited with helping to revolutionize the electric guitar and change the course of music with his innovations in multi-track recording, died on Thursday (August 13) at the age of 94. According to a statement released by Gibson guitars — which manufactures the world-famous guitars bearing Paul's name — he died of complications from pneumonia in a White Plains, New York, hospital. From the time he picked up his first guitar at the age of 9, Paul was fascinated with the instrument and its myriad possibilities. He began playing professionally at age 13 with country and western bands, as well as tinkering in his shop with a number of sound-related inventions that would soon revolutionize and forever change the sound of modern popular music. While working as a bandleader for a number of jazz, country and pop groups, he built the first solid-body electric guitar in 1941 and devised a number of sound technologies that would become the building blocks of popular music, including echo, delay and overdubbing — adding more sounds over a basic recorded track — and, most importantly, multi-track recording, the process that allows an artist to record a number of different musical tracks at the same time and then blend them together to create a richer, fuller sound. Without this invention, the lush, psychedelic rock masterpieces of the Who, the Beatles and Led Zeppelin would not have been possible, not to mention every single popular song recorded today.
Lester William Polsfuss was born in Waukesha, Wisconsin on June 9, 1915. He dropped out of school at 17 to play in Sunny Joe Wolverton's Radio Band in St. Louis, earning the nickname "Rhubarb Red" from the bandleader, a handle that would stay with him when he moved to Chicago in 1934 and became a radio star playing hillbilly music as well as jazz guitar under the name Les Paul. Fascinated with the idea of electrifying musical instruments due to his distaste for the lack of sustain and thin sound of hollow-body guitars, the "Waukesha Wizard" toiled on weekends to perfect his solid-body electrical guitar, initially a 4-by-4 piece of wood strung with steel strings called "The Log." "I was interested in proving that a vibration-free top was the way to go," he's said of his drive to perfect the instrument. "I even built a guitar out of a railroad rail to prove it. What I wanted was to amplify pure string vibration, without the resonance of the wood getting involved in the sound." Even as he worked to perfect the electrified guitar, Paul backed up such popular 1940s acts as Bing Crosby, Dinah Shore and the Andrews Sisters. In 1947, he released the revolutionary instrumental "Lover (When You're Near Me)," a precursor to multi-track recording that featured him playing eight different guitar parts. He also recorded hit songs with his wife, singer Mary Ford, including 36 gold records and 11 #1 pop hits such as "How High the Moon," "Lover" and "Vaya Con Dios," many of which used the overdubbing techniques Paul had helped develop. When rock and roll exploded onto the scene in the 1950s, his signature Les Paul guitar became one of the weapons of choice for a generation of rockers including Chuck Berry, the Everly Brothers and B.B. King, and later, the Who's Pete Townshend, Eric Clapton, Bob Marley, Carlos Santana, Dave Grohl, The Edge, Lenny Kravitz, Neil Young, Joan Jett, Eddie Van Halen, Green Day's Billie Joe Armstrong, Led Zeppelin's Jimmy Page and countless others. His gold-topped Gibson Les Paul went on to become one of the most popular guitar models of all time. Paul won a Grammy in 1977 for an album of instrumental duets with Chet Atkins and had a standing gig for much of the 1980s and mid-'90s at the New York jazz club Fat Tuesday's. He won a pair of Grammys at age 90 in 2005 for American Made, World Played, an all-star album featuring such disciples as Peter Frampton, Aerosmith's Joe Perry, Steve Miller, Buddy Guy, Keith Richards, Jeff Beck and ZZ Top's Billy Gibbons. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame at its third annual dinner in 1988 as "the architect of rock and roll." Until recently, Paul continued to perform two weekly shows with the Les Paul Trio at the Iridium Jazz Club in New York, which often featured guest stars such as Keith Richards and Paul McCartney. A private funeral service for Paul will be held in New York and plans are being made for a memorial tribute for the public at a future date. Related Photos Related Artists |
| Asher Roth Thinks His First VMAs Will Be '100 Percent Fun' Posted: 13 Aug 2009 02:05 AM PDT The Best New Artist and Best Hip-Hop Video nominee plans to keep it casual on September 13.
Asher Roth holds himself and his work to quite a high set of standards, but he isn't the sort of guy to put pressure on himself or take anything too seriously. Case in point: Though he's nominated for two MTV Video Music Awards, he isn't too worried about the ceremony itself.
"I don't expect to win," Roth told MTV News on the set of the video for his next single, "She Don't Wanna Man." "I think Lady Gaga is going to take Best New Artist, and I'm in the company of some giants for Best Hip-Hop [Video], so I'm not too worried about it." Though he isn't giving himself much of a shot in taking home a Moonman, he's not going to let that get in the way of his enjoyment of the show, which airs live from Radio City Music Hall on Sunday, September 13. "It's going to be 100 percent fun," he said. "I'm probably going to show up in some basketball shorts!" Roth is also relieved that the show is back in New York City. "The great thing about New York is that you can do anything you want," he said, exaggerating just a little. "Obviously, some of the best food in the world is there. I like to keep it mellow — just get some drinks and some good food and I'm good." Roth's video for "She Don't Wanna Man," which co-stars song guest Keri Hilson, should be premiering soon. In the meantime, he's currently in Europe to perform in some festivals before returning to the U.S. to join the Blink-182 tour — and of course to compete for the coveted Moonman. The 2009 MTV Video Music Awards will take place September 13 at 9 p.m. ET. Additional celebrity presenters and performers will be announced in the coming weeks. To be the first to find out the inside scoop, follow the Inside MTV Twitter account at Twitter.com/InsideMTV. Related Videos Related Photos Related Artists |
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