MTV News |
- Rihanna Tells MTV News She Ushered In A 'New Era' At Jay-Z Concert
- OJ Da Juiceman Reveals Mixtape With Gucci Mane, Waka Flocka Flame
- Britney Spears' <i>The Singles Collection</i> Hits Stores Today
- Rihanna Tells MTV News: Domestic Abuse 'Doesn't Define Who I Am'
- 50 Cent Says People Will 'Identify With' 'Do You Think About Me' Video
- Domestic Violence Experts React to Chris Brown, Rihanna Interviews
- Rihanna Did ABC Interview To 'Give Insight' To Other Victims
- Drake And Nicki Minaj Defend Their Written Rhymes
- Lady Gaga Says 'Bad Romance' Video Is About 'Tough Female Spirit'
- 30 Seconds To Mars' 'Kings And Queens' Video: Watch An Exclusive Preview!
| Rihanna Tells MTV News She Ushered In A 'New Era' At Jay-Z Concert Posted: 10 Nov 2009 03:50 AM PST 'There are a lot of butterflies, a lot of excitement,' she says of returning to music after Chris Brown assault.
NEW YORK — Rihanna joined Jay-Z onstage Sunday night in Los Angeles to sing "Run This Town" and her Young Jeezy-assisted track "Hard." While it wasn't her first performance since she was assaulted by then-boyfriend Chris Brown in February, it did mark the first time she's performed any new material from the upcoming Rated R album. Rihanna told MTV News on Monday that she was ushering in a "new era" at the concert.
"There are a lot of butterflies, a lot of excitement," Rihanna said about her return to music. "I'm anxious. Like, I can't wait. But you're always nervous, because you're about to go do something big. It's a new thing, a new era. But I'm not scared. I'm just really excited. I just can't wait to start. My first time performing the songs was [Sunday] night in L.A. I performed with Jay. We did 'Run This Town' and 'Hard,' and I kept thinking, 'Why the hell am I so nervous?' And I couldn't figure it out. But then I knew why: It was the first time performing one of my new songs. But it was fun. It was so exciting. The energy was awesome." "Hard" was released to radio last week, featuring some tough, rhyme-like lyrics from Rihanna. "Tougher than a lion/ Ain't no need in trying/ I live where the sky ends, yup, you know this," she sings in a near-rap flow. "Never lying, truth telling/ That Rihanna reign just won't let up/ ... The hottest bi--- in heels right here." Rihanna will preview Rated R on Monday in a worldwide telecast from a performance taking place at an undisclosed location in London. Related Videos Related Photos |
| OJ Da Juiceman Reveals Mixtape With Gucci Mane, Waka Flocka Flame Posted: 10 Nov 2009 03:50 AM PST 'Waka, he's crunk,' OJ tells Mixtape Daily of the new Brick Squad member.
The O.D.: A Mixtape Daily Exclusive OJ Da Juiceman smiles with a gold-tooth grin when asked who has more mixtapes: him or his brother in arms, Gucci Mane. "I'm at 25 or 26 mixtapes, but Gucci Mane is well over 30," OJ said. He plans to increase his catalog very shortly, with a tape called Six Rings: The Michael Jordan Edition dropping soon. Then he and DJ Drama are hooking up for a Gangsta Grillz simply called Orange. After all that, OJ said he and Gucci have plans to put out a street project with Waka Flocka Flame, a new member of the Brick Squad crew.
"We actually working on a me, Gucci, Waka mixtape," the Juice said. "[That's] half of the Brick Squad. I think me and Waka gonna do a mixtape first, then me, Gucci and Waka gonna do a mixtape together. Waka is up next. He has a song on the radio with the 'O Let's Do It.' He's real down to earth when you meet him. Waka, he's crunk. If you go to the store and buy a bobblehead, that's how he's gonna have you in the club. "The Brick Squad is me, Waka, Gucci, Frenchie, Woo [Da Kid] — that's it," OJ explained of the clique. "The 1017 Boys is all them same people except me. 1017 is Gucci's crew." In the beginning of 2007, OJ is putting out his official LP, The Otis Williams Jr. Story. He just finished a track with the New Boyz, and Busta Rhymes, Mistah F.A.B. and Verse Simmonds are onboard. The Juice appears on R. Kelly's upcoming Untitled LP via "Superman High" and laid down a verse for the remix of Mariah Carey's "H.A.T.E.U." "That was a blessing. I was like, 'Are you serious? Who?!' " OJ said of getting the phone call from Jermaine Dupri about getting on Mariah's song along with Big Boi and Gucci Mane. "I hurried up and did it. Knocked that guy out in 10 minutes. It surprised me." Other Heat This Week » Audio Push - The Soundcheck Mixtape » Sha Stimuli - My Soul to Keep For other artists featured in Mixtape Daily, check out Mixtape Daily Headlines. Related Videos |
| Britney Spears' <i>The Singles Collection</i> Hits Stores Today Posted: 10 Nov 2009 03:50 AM PST Her latest greatest-hits package also includes new single '3.'
From the tender age of 16, Britney Spears has been one of the biggest pop stars of her generation. She's proven that even when she's down, she can still make a comeback. On the greatest-hits compilation The Singles Collection — out Tuesday (November 9), but a deluxe version will drop November 23 — fans can revisit their favorite hits in Spears' catalog. The album includes " ... Baby One More Time," "(You Drive Me) Crazy (The Stop Remix!)," "I'm a Slave 4 U," Toxic" and "Oops! ... I Did It Again" to name a few. The album also features her latest single, "3," the video for which premiered on her site last week. "When I see her on set, she's extremely professional, and it's a job," video director and frequent collaborator Joseph Kahn told MTV News about working with the pop star over the years. "There's really literally no messing around. Whatever accolades she gets, she deserves." As for her place among some of the greatest pop artists of all time, Dave Meyers, who directed Spears in videos for "Boys," Lucky" and, most recently, "Radar," shared that she's definitely vying for the Queen of Pop title with Madonna. "She kind of filled [Madonna's] shoes," Meyers said. "[But] everything is done in a Britney way. She's not Madonna, and Madonna is not Britney. It seems like Madonna made the same choices that were right for her at the time, to class her up when she had just done a sexpot video. She was riding that image train too. She was leading that image train, and I think that Britney has done that as well." On Monday, MTV News will roll out an online retrospective of Britney's career, including interviews with collaborators, songwriters, directors and the woman herself. Make sure to check back in with MTVNews.com next week! Related Photos |
| Rihanna Tells MTV News: Domestic Abuse 'Doesn't Define Who I Am' Posted: 09 Nov 2009 05:30 AM PST 'But if I can help young women in any way ... then I'll do that,' she tells Sway.
NEW YORK — During her interview with Diane Sawyer, Rihanna revealed that she finally walked away from her relationship with Chris Brown after briefly reuniting because she wanted to set a positive example for her fans. The singer said she didn't want young girls to think it was OK to return to an abusive situation. But Rihanna also said she doesn't want to be the "domestic-violence spokesperson," because Brown's assault is only one aspect of her story.
"One of the big things for me, I always want to help young women and give them insight into life experiences," she told MTV News on Monday (November 9). "One of those things is going through an abusive relationship like I did. But that's one thing for me. So I don't want to be the big domestic-violence spokesperson, because that doesn't define who I am. But if I can help young women in any way, and that being one of the things they need help with, then I'll do that." Rihanna is attempting to move forward following the February assault, when Brown left her battered and bruised in his rented Lamborghini after a pre-Grammy party. He eventually struck a plea deal and was sentenced to 180 days of community labor, weekly therapy sessions and five years' probation. Brown has already conducted a handful of interviews, including MTV News' "Chris Brown: The Interview" on Friday. But Rihanna didn't break her silence until last week's sit-down with Sawyer. "It was the biggest weight lifted off my chest," she told MTV News. "If you watch the interview, you see it was a subject that I didn't talk about for the eight months that I didn't talk about it, so that was my first real time opening up. I had a lot of tension bottled up. So when I finally spoke about it, it felt really good. More importantly, it felt good that people got something positive out of it, because it's devastating. It's not fun to talk about or listen to, but there are a lot of women who are going through it, a lot of teenagers who are scared to talk about it. So I thought it was a good thing that I can be that voice for them and help them get out of that situation." Watch Sway's entire interview with Rihanna. 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 |
| 50 Cent Says People Will 'Identify With' 'Do You Think About Me' Video Posted: 09 Nov 2009 02:40 AM PST The second single from Before I Self Destruct focuses on relationships and breakups.
Breaking up is, indeed, hard to do. 50 Cent touches on the topic of relationships on his next single, "Do You Think About Me," from the upcoming Before I Self Destruct. 50 spoke to us recently on the set of the video. "So many people are gonna I.D. with it," Fif told us about the single, his favorite on the album. "The 55 percent of people that have been married and divorced are gonna identify with it.
"I was writing about the difference of how it felt when it was only about money once it got down to me dealing with the child-support situation," he continued. "The friendship we had was forgotten. I believe people invest in each other and it's never even when you're in a relationship -- one person is loving harder than the other. When the expectations aren't being met, they kinda resent the other party. A lot of times they don't go from being boyfriend and girlfriend or to getting engaged or being married back to being friends. They kinda gotta part ways from each other because one still has feelings and one is ready to move on." The clip for "Do You Think About Me" continues the precedent set by his current video, "Baby By Me," and will lead into the third single from Self Destruct,"Get It Hot." "I had to do 'Baby By Me' before I can get to 'Do You Think About Me' because the singles tell the story. From 'Do You Think About Me,' I'm going to 'Get it Hot.' " Before I Self Destruct lands in stores November 16. Related Artists |
| Domestic Violence Experts React to Chris Brown, Rihanna Interviews Posted: 09 Nov 2009 03:46 AM PST Experts weigh in on Brown, Rihanna's recent comments about February assault.
Nine months after the assault that shocked their fans and peers and threw both of their lives into turmoil, Chris Brown and Rihanna have begun to speak out on the events of February 8. While Brown — who pleaded guilty to a count of felony assault in connection with the attack in June — has done two previous interviews in which he spoke in general terms about that night, in "Chris Brown: The Interview," a sit-down with MTV News' Sway Calloway that aired on Friday, the 20-year-old singer provided his most in-depth thoughts on the incident to date. Just hours later, more from Rihanna's interview with Diane Sawyer aired on "20/20." In response to Rihanna's comments — in which the singer gave a first-hand account of the assault and talked about her feelings toward Brown before and after the incident — Brown released a statement on Friday that read in part, "While I respect Rihanna's right to discuss the specific events of February 8, I maintain my position that all of the details should remain a private matter between us. I do appreciate her support and wish her the best. I am extremely sorry for what I did, and I accept accountability for my actions. At this point, I am taking the proper steps to learn about me and grow from my mistakes." Terry O'Neill, President of the National Organization for Women and a victim of domestic violence, said on Monday that after viewing both interviews, she does not feel Brown has truly taken responsibility for his actions. "Chris Brown [wrote that statement] to Rihanna in which he said he believed his battery on her should remain a private issue. That's what batterers need, they need it to be shameful and keep it a secret," she said. "If it's secret, they can deny it and minimize it and claim that it was merely a temporary slip on the straight and narrow path and what really counts is that they're a good person on the straight and narrow now," she added. Brown stated several times in the interview that he was getting help and that he would never do such a thing again, hoping that his speaking out would help others. But O'Neill said the language the 20-year-old singer used to describe the assault made her think that Brown has not fully faced up to his actions. "If he can't deny it, then he can minimize it and talk about 'When it happened,' 'When the incident happened,' not 'When I committed the assault,' " she said. "It's a non-denial denial, which is classic behavior. He says he wants to teach others not to do this by simply saying, 'Don't do it?' That's not teaching others not to do it. Watching this makes me think his whole focus is on putting this behind him." As for Rihanna, O'Neill credited the singer with speaking openly about a very painful subject and taking responsibility for both her own actions and realizing that as a role model she had to also take responsibility on behalf of other women who might find themselves in this situation. "She strikes me as someone completely grappling with, 'Who am I, what kind of person am I and how do I respond to this and be the person I want to be?' " said O'Neill. "She is really taking personal responsibility for this and sharing her response in a way that allows her to live the way she wants to: free of fear, in safety and in a way that can help others to be safe." Sheryl Cates, CEO of the National Domestic Violence Hotline agreed that Brown's thoughts and demeanor did not seem to indicate that he understood the gravity of the situation. While Cates, who has more than 20 years of experience in the field of domestic violence, has no firsthand knowledge of Brown's counseling, she said the singer's comments about being "confused" about his public perception seem to indicate that he is not taking ownership of his actions. "It's not saying, 'What I did is not tolerated and I'm going to do what needs to be done now to make sure it doesn't happen again,' " she said. "That's what I would like him to say." Nathaniel Fields, senior vice president of New York-based victim-assistance agency Safe Horizon, said Rihanna's comments about feeling embarrassed and humiliated by the assault are typical of domestic violence victims. "We hear a lot of that in our work, but what's so difficult about this is that it's playing out in a public arena and she's not afforded the right to privacy that the victims we tend to work with do," he said. But, judging from the way the 21-year-old singer is talking about her emotions since the incident, Fields said it sounds like she is getting proper support. "I think it's really neat that she is understanding the impact of her public persona, especially on younger girls," said O'Neill. "It's remarkable and wonderful that she gets that piece of it." 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 Photos Related Artists |
| Rihanna Did ABC Interview To 'Give Insight' To Other Victims Posted: 09 Nov 2009 01:44 AM PST On 'Alexa Chung,' singer says opening up about Chris Brown is 'helping save lives.' "It's On With Alexa Chung" opened with the pop star telling viewers that "today's show is Rated R cause I'm talking over."
The episode was an ode to the singer, featuring "America's Best Dance Crew" champs We Are Heroes dancing to a medley of Rihanna's songs and a fan makeover. Rihanna, wearing a black-and-red hooded sweatshirt and ankle boots, began by discussing her interview with Diane Sawyer, in which she opened up about the night that Chris Brown assaulted her. She explained that she did the televised sit-down in order "to give insight to people who have been through what I have. [The fan response has been] insane, and for a little statistic there's the domestic violence hotline, and the calls have been up 59 percent. It's also helping save lives." Quickly the conversation turned to less-serious topics, like how Rihanna wishes she could go home to Barbados more often. "The last time I was there was earlier this year, just before the summer," she said. "It's hot all year there, so it felt like summer anyways." Rihanna also talked about her eerie first single, "Russian Roulette," and how it fits in with the rest of Rated R. "Well, actually Ne-Yo gave me the first song we did on the album," she said. "It's called 'Stupid in Love' [which we worked on early on], and 'Russian Roulette' came at the end. ... And the song was very dark, which matched the base of the album. I love that it was metaphorical." Rihanna also talked a lot about her clothes and her style, explaining why she gets tattoos. "I don't plan my tattoos. It's always something that I love," she said, adding about her style that "nothing I wear is comfortable besides my underwear. The shoes, the clothes are pretty uncomfortable." Related Videos Related Photos Related Artists |
| Drake And Nicki Minaj Defend Their Written Rhymes Posted: 09 Nov 2009 03:37 AM PST Critics recently slammed both Young Money MCs for not spitting off the dome.
Nicki Minaj isn't worried about the people who criticized her for not spitting off the dome during the BET Hip-Hop Awards cyphers. "How many people on that cypher do you think spit off the top of their head?" Minaj fumed to Richmond, Virginia, radio host TT Torrez last week. "I don't write off the top of my head. I can't come up with those punch lines and metaphors off the top of my head. Everybody besides KRS-One, who else can you name that spit off the top of their head? They will tear apart a female, like, 'She did a good verse, but she wrote it.' ... The only thing that matters is that I wrote on a paper and memorized it. Wayne never wrote my sh--. No one ever wrote my stuff." Nicki's Young Money family member Drake went through some of the same problems earlier this year. When he was on Funkmaster Flex's Hot 97 show, Drake spit his rhymes while reading them from his BlackBerry. Some bloggers and fans wrote negative responses, and comedian Affion Crockett even posted a video spoof online.
"I'll never forget the night, man, when I went up to Hot 97, and it wasn't scheduled," Drake explained. "It wasn't like, you know, 'Drake's coming up here Tuesday.' It was literally like, 'Funk Flex wants to meet you,' and bam, like, two seconds later, it was like, 'Let's go on the radio and just kill New York.' I'll never forget how nervous I was. It was such a rookie hip-hop moment — and, obviously, the controversy of me pulling out my phone and rapping off my phone because I just wasn't prepared. A lot of people don't know the difference between freestyle or off the top and coming to a radio show knowing you got to go there, so you got verses cued up in your head, whether they be off your upcoming album or verses just that you have laying around. A lot of artists get that preparation time." Drake said the moment was an important steppingstone. "That moment, just as far as hip-hop, as far as MCing goes, that moment was one of those ... it was just, 'Whoa! I'm really here and I got to get better. I got get to be better than this. I can never be caught off guard again,' " Drake said. "That was probably one of the most interesting moments of my life this year. I'm a writer, man. I appreciate the elements of hip-hop. I appreciate a guy like Common who goes city to city and just spits at the crowd for 10 minutes about everything he sees. I admire talent like that, because that's just not my creative process. So, you know, as far as moments this year go, though, I've had amazing stories. I don't want to tell them all in interviews, because then Thank Me Later will just be empty, so I think I'm going to tell them in this album as vivid as I possibly can." Related Artists |
| Lady Gaga Says 'Bad Romance' Video Is About 'Tough Female Spirit' Posted: 09 Nov 2009 12:56 AM PST Clip premieres on her site Monday.
Lady Gaga may already have plenty of celebrity friends these days, but in the Francis Lawrence-directed video for "Bad Romance" (the first video from her forthcoming release, The Fame Monster), there's a devilish group of supermodels who have their eyes on making Gaga their newest bestie. "I knew [Lawrence's] ability as a director is so much higher than what I could [do]," Gaga explained to MTV News last week. "There's this one shot in the video where I get kidnapped by supermodels. I'm washing away my sins and they shove vodka down my throat to drug me up before they sell me off to the Russian mafia."
As if being kidnapped by supermodels before being sold off to the Russian mafia isn't bizarre enough, Gaga also decided to step up her fashion game in the clip and include some razor-blade sunglasses — yep, razor-blade sunglasses. "I wanted to design a pair for some of the toughest chicks and some of my girlfriends — don't do this at home! — they used to keep razor blades in the side of their mouths," she explained. "That tough female sprit is something that I want to project. It's meant to be, 'This is my shield, this is my weapon, this is my inner sense of fame, this is my monster.' " In addition to paying homage to those tough chicks, she also knew she wanted to work with Lawrence (Britney Spears, Janet Jackson, Gwen Stefani). "It was collaborative. He's a really pop video director and a filmmaker. He did 'I Am Legend' and I'm a huge Will Smith fan, so I knew he could execute the video in a way that I could give him all my weirdest, most psychotic ideas," she said. "But it would come across to and be relevant to the public." It also doesn't hurt that it was one of the few times while making a video that she felt the director just got it. "I wanted somebody with a tremendous understanding of how to make a pop video, because my biggest challenge working with directors is that I am the director and I write the treatments and I get the fashion and I decide what it's about and it's very hard to find directors that will relinquish any sort of input from the artist," she said. "But Francis and I worked together." Related Artists |
| 30 Seconds To Mars' 'Kings And Queens' Video: Watch An Exclusive Preview! Posted: 09 Nov 2009 01:53 AM PST Band has created an epic video, and the roll-out is epic as well.
Thirty Seconds To Mars have already gone to great lengths to make sure that their "Kings and Queens" video is a thoroughly epic production. They've filmed in and around some of Los Angeles' most iconic landmarks, recruited scores of extras and all manner of surrealist street performers to make cameos. So naturally, they want to roll the thing out in an equally epic manner.
Last week, they unveiled a 30-second teaser trailer for the clip, one that features a fire-breathing clown and an army of gas mask-wearing bicycle messengers patrolling the streets of L.A. And now, they're unveiling a second teaser video: right here, right now. On Monday (November 9), Jared Leto sent MTV News a 30-second clip — called, appropriately enough, "The Horse" — that shows a majestic white stallion galloping in slow motion down a deserted city street. It's a startling, eye-popping image, one only amplified by the soundtrack: a chorus of young voices, chanting in unison (we can assume it was recorded earlier this year at 30STM's fan "summit" in Hollywood.) At the end of the video, we are told that the video for "Kings and Queens" is "coming soon." It's not known if the horse — or the clown from the earlier teaser trailer — will actually appear in the final version of the "Kings" video, but we're pretty sure the bike messengers will ... mostly because we were on hand last month when 30STM filmed the segment. "We're doing all-night shoots. That was my big, dumb idea, to shoot at night," Leto told MTV News. "But I think this city is a beautiful place at night, and we have these empty streets, and it's kind of a haunting, forgotten landscape. It's been an incredible adventure, but it's also been really difficult, because there are so many people, and we're shutting down streets of Los Angeles." Related Artists |
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