MTV News |
- Rihanna's 'Russian Roulette' Video: Dark Arts
- 50 Cent, Beanie Sigel Call Out Jay-Z In 'I Go Off'
- DJ AM's Mom Claims In Lawsuit That Plane Crash Led To Overdose
- Usher Bumps Up <i>Raymond Vs. Raymond</i> To December
- Rihanna Director Didn't Want 'Russian Roulette' Video To Be 'Too Obvious'
- Chris Brown Says 'Crawl' Isn't Just About Rihanna
- Gucci Mane Addresses T.I., Young Jeezy In 'Worst Enemy' Video
- Kris Allen, Adam Lambert, Allison Iraheta Illustrate Personal Styles In <i>Elle</i>
- Radio Execs Unconcerned About Playing Chris Brown, Rihanna Back-To-Back
- 30 Seconds To Mars' Album Cover Art Includes Cobra Starship's Gabe Saporta
| Rihanna's 'Russian Roulette' Video: Dark Arts Posted: 13 Nov 2009 08:03 AM PST Singer treads into unfamiliar, moody territory in new clip.
There's seemingly no bottom to the inky depths Rihanna plumbs in her brand-new "Russian Roulette" video, a dark, claustrophobic descent that's creepier than anything she's ever done before (including the "Disturbia" video), mostly because it's so unrelentingly bleak. Directed by frequent collaborator Anthony Mandler, bathed in a near-nocturnal pitch (truly, there is no sunlight here), featuring blood and tears and vehicular assault, "Roulette" is unlike anything we've ever seen from Rihanna and, in keeping with the darker tones of her Rated R album, it serves notice that Little Misss Sunshine is gone forever — replaced instead with someone darker, more sinister (she usually wears lingerie and an eye patch).
There is much of the titular gunplay (it's a wonder most of it got by the censors, truth be told) and artfully shot underwater scenes in which Rihanna is pierced by bullets, her blood clouding as her body contorts. There are her shadowy tormentors, who keep her locked away and subject her to all sorts of torture (mostly of the "red smoke" variety). There are scenes of her twisting and pawing in a padded cell. At one point, she is mowed down by a speeding car. "Pon De Replay," this ain't. "Roulette" is a moody, artful thing, but it's also quite difficult — like the song itself, this isn't your typical pop fare. It's minimal, pulsing, and there is an unspoken tension (which sort of makes sense, since playing Russian roulette isn't exactly a vacation). Rihanna is clearly taking more than a few risks with R — she's stretching her legs and flexing her artistic muscles. Obviously, she has a lot of material to draw from, but the question is, will her fans take her new sound — and style — in stride? Will this song stick at radio stations after the initial fervor surrounding it dissipates? We'll just have to wait and see. If "Russian Roulette" is any indicator, it's certainly going to be an interesting ride. Related Videos Related Artists |
| 50 Cent, Beanie Sigel Call Out Jay-Z In 'I Go Off' Posted: 13 Nov 2009 08:08 AM PST 'You let the money change you, Jay,' Fif says in new track.
50 Cent has officially called out Jay-Z. On Thursday night, the much hyped Beanie Sigel/ 50 Cent collaboration, "I Go Off," premiered on Philadelphia's Power 99 and New York's Hot 97, during Kay Slay's "Drama Hour."
50 Cent doesn't have a verse on the record, but for the most part keeps his mic time relegated to the hook. Meanwhile, Sigel — who slammed Jay-Z on Power 99 last week — doesn't call out any names. "Big Pop of the prop on deck," Beans rap. "Who shot ya?/ Who want beef with Big Poppa?/ ... I earned every buck that was mine/ I know n---as upstate doing life in a box/ I know n---as upstate doin' life with they pops." As the song ends, 50 talks, mentioning Jay by name and telling the Brooklyn rap legend that he's lost his street edge. "You changed, man. You let the money change you, Jay," 50 says. "You used to be from Marcy, n---a. Now you'se a 'Pass the Grey Poupon n---a.' You don't want the shooters? I'll take 'em. Feed the wolves, or the wolves will feed off you. ... It's your move, n---a." 50 Cent has literally changed his tune. When MTV News recently asked whether he'd like the Jiggaman to respond to him, Fif said, "I could care less whether he replies to me." 50 did note that a battle between him and Hov would thoroughly engage the game. "Well, it would be great. It would be great for hip-hop," 50 said about a battle between him and Jay. "It would probably be interesting, but I don't think one of us will survive it." Fif also admitted that despite touring together in the past, appearing in a Reebok commercial, being photographed together at various events over the years and even sharing Madison Square's stage a few years back during a monumental moment with T.I., Diddy and Kanye West, he and Jay-Z have no real friendship. "I don't have a relationship with Jay-Z," 50 added. "We're just both apart of hip-hop culture. We're not friends. We don't call each other to talk at leisure." Fif says he doesn't know if Hov will respond to this latest dis, but he would absolutely go at Jay if the shoe were on the other foot. The two had a back-and-forth around 10 years ago, when Fif jokingly threatened Jay on the song "How to Rob." Jay responded with infamous line, "I'm about a dollar/ What the f--- is 50 Cent?" during a freestyle at the 1999 Summer Jam concert. The lyric later appeared on the track "Some Like It Hot" on Jay's Life and Times of Sean Carter LP. Since then, the two had quashed the rivalry. A couple of months back, in the song "Flight 187," 50 did say Jay looked like sitcom character Steve Urkel. And responding to 50's statement that he would have blackened Kanye West's eye, if Kanye tried to interupt him onstage like he did Taylor Swift at the 2009 VMAs, Jay told a reporter overseas that no one was afraid of 50 Cent. Related Videos Related Artists |
| DJ AM's Mom Claims In Lawsuit That Plane Crash Led To Overdose Posted: 13 Nov 2009 05:19 AM PST Andrea Goss picks up son's $20 million suit after his August death.
Just months after her son died from a drug overdose, DJ AM's mother is picking up the late musician's lawsuit against the airline whose crash nearly killed him, claiming the two events are related. Andrea Gross, the mother of Adam Goldstein, has amended her son's $20 million lawsuit against the manufacturer of the Learjet that crashed upon takeoff in September 2008 with Goldstein and Travis Barker onboard. Also named in the lawsuit are the estates of the deceased pilots and others. According to a People report, Los Angeles court papers show that Gross has added a wrongful-death claim to her son's lawsuit. "The crash ultimately caused Adam Goldstein's death at a later date," the document reads. A trial is set for March 2, with Learjet continuing to deny responsibility for the crash. DJ AM and Blink-182 drummer Barker were flying out of Columbia, South Carolina, in the early morning of September 19, 2008, following an event with Perry Farrell and Gavin DeGraw. After sparks emanated from the plane, it crashed through a fence and caught fire, killing the pilots and four others. DJ AM and Barker miraculously escaped, although they were badly burned. After seemingly making a full recovery, DJ AM was found dead almost a year later to the day in his New York City apartment. Later that month, the New York medical examiner determined that Goldstein's death was an accidental overdose caused by a variety of legal and illegal drugs in his system. It is presumed that Gross will cite the 2008 plane crash as leaving DJ AM in so much pain that he sought relief through the various drugs. In the months since his death, several of DJ AM's friends and supporters have similarly blamed his death on the trauma he suffered from the crash. Related Artists |
| Usher Bumps Up <i>Raymond Vs. Raymond</i> To December Posted: 13 Nov 2009 03:48 AM PST The album wasn't set to be released until next year.
Usher was set to release his next album, Raymond vs. Raymond, in early 2010, but since the single "Papers" has everyone buzzing, he won't keep fans waiting much longer. The singer has bumped up the album-release date to December 21, a rep for Usher confirmed to MTV News on Friday (November 13). Producer Bryan Michael Cox spoke with MTV News recently about his work on the upcoming album, promising a deeply personal project from Usher.
"I think Usher is in a place where he really wants to express what's going on in his life, as any artist would," Cox said, referring to Usher's divorce from Tameka Foster-Raymond. "All the greats did it. Marvin Gaye did Here, My Dear. All the greats express where they are personally." Cox said the album will tell the stories everyone wants to hear, especially since Usher is back on the single scene. "I think [the new album] is where we are going to see Usher as an artist. I'm very curious to hear what the rest of the album is going to sound like," Cox said about Raymond vs. Raymond. "Our records are definitely in that lane of touching on what's going on in his life, so we are going to see what's going to happen. I'm very excited about the album. I think he has a lot to say." Related Artists |
| Rihanna Director Didn't Want 'Russian Roulette' Video To Be 'Too Obvious' Posted: 13 Nov 2009 12:08 AM PST Anthony Mandler says clip had to be a metaphor, as opposed to a direct comment on Chris Brown assault.
The video for Rihanna's "Russian Roulette" is just as eerie as the song itself. In a preview that aired on German TV and stills that appeared on the fan site RihannaDaily.com, the singer is seen drowning, being shot at and imprisoned. Of course, there are scenes of her sitting at a table with a man seeing who can win the deadly game. Director Anthony Mandler — who also helmed the singer's "Wait Your Turn" clip — said the video is the perfect embodiment of the haunting ballad.
"I think that with this song and the meaning of this song and how loaded it all is, no pun intended, how much imagery and perhaps symbolism that is loaded in this song, the only way to do it was to do something that was visually challenging," he told MTV News about the video, which premieres Friday (November 13) on "20/20." Mandler thought of the video as a metaphor for Rihanna's very public life in the gossip pages, as opposed to a direct comment on her February assault by then-boyfriend Chris Brown. "I think you can't effect change unless you're willing to take a risk," he said. "You can't get people to pay attention and understand unless you're willing to push the limit and try new things. The song, this situation, everything is so frontloaded with so much gossip and so much media coverage and so many emotions and stories that if you don't try to do something that is poetic and layered in symbolism, then you're either running from the truth or you're being too obvious with it." So, instead of literally telling the story of lovers in a dangerous game, Rihanna and Mandler decided to make that the subplot. "I think our objective was to run down our lane with it and to step out of the drama and the gossip," he said. "To get deeper and be more symbolic." Related Videos Related Artists |
| Chris Brown Says 'Crawl' Isn't Just About Rihanna Posted: 13 Nov 2009 09:47 AM PST Singer says song is about 'my personal situation with shorty' and 'everybody.'
In the lyrics to Chris Brown's song, "Crawl," the singer not-so-subtly seems to be calling for the return of his ex-girlfriend Rihanna, with whom he has apparently finally split in the aftermath of his assault on her in February. "So we'll crawl, until we can walk again," Brown sings on the tune. "Then we'll run, until we're strong enough to jump/ Then we'll fly, until there is no wind/ So let's crawl, crawl, crawl, back to love."
But Brown, who debuted the video for "Crawl" on "The Wendy Williams Show" on Friday (November 13), told MTV News that the song actually isn't just about his own relationships. He said "Crawl" is more of a universal message dedicated to moving on past any type of heartache. "When I heard the whole concept and everything I was like, 'Yo, this is crazy,' " Brown said about the track. "So being able to express the feelings, it was like, probably one of the best [records I've done.] But it was more than me trying to do a record that meant crawl to love, crawl back to love. Meaning whether it's from your negative situations, whether it's from any problems you've dealt with, like anybody's situation. Mine being my personal situation with shorty, but for anybody, for being inspired as far it being the war or a death in the family, whether it's anything, anybody just crawl back to love. 'Cause love conquers everything. Love, at the end of the day, makes everybody happy." Joseph Khan, who directed the song's video, predicted the visuals to "Crawl" will make as much of an impact as the song. Khan spoke to MTV News recently about the video. "It's my first ballad with Chris, and it was easy," Khan said of "Crawl." "Again, it's another idea that he clearly had, in terms of what the genesis of the idea is. I don't even know if Chris is trying to say anything with the video. I think he just sort of, as an artist, I think Chris communicates more through what he does ... and so what he does in the video will speak for itself." Related Videos Related Artists |
| Gucci Mane Addresses T.I., Young Jeezy In 'Worst Enemy' Video Posted: 13 Nov 2009 03:17 AM PST Video hits Internet a day after Gucci was sentenced to 12 months in jail for parole violation.
One day after he was sentenced to 12 months in jail for violating his probation, Gucci Mane's video for "Worst Enemy" hit the Internet. The video is for the latest single from his forthcoming — and now all-too-appropriately titled — LP, The State vs. Radric Davis. In the clip, Gucci wears all black and performs the pensive song. Special effects of television screens show various moments from Gucci's life, such as him on the mic early in his career, and his sentencing last year for probation violation. "I'm my best friend and I'm my worst enemy," he raps on the record, which addresses both Young Jeezy and T.I. "And no one else can hurt me unless I let them/ Is you feelin' me?/ And misery loves company and I had my share of misery/ No mystery, my infamy got me in hip-hop history/ First Tupac died then Biggie died/ And it crazily impacted me." In his verses, Gucci goes on to dole out his thoughts on his tumultuous relationship with both Tip (stemming from his T.I. dis song "What Kind of King") and the Snowman, with whom he's feuded for years. "I wouldn't hurt a girl on purpose 'cause I feel they don't deserve it/ I admit my words can hurt, I dissed Tiny she didn't deserve it," he rapped, expressing remorse for his disparaging comments about T.I.'s fiancée in "What Kind of King." "Me, Jeezy and T.I share one thing in common," Gucci adds. "Role model to young people, though at times man we still ignore it/ And y'all gonna owe respect to me and I don't like apologies/ Just dis me till you satisfied/ I swear it doesn't bother me ... Insults only show the world how y'all respecting me." In an interview that hit the Internet Wednesday, Gucci told radio personality Miss Info that he had no more time to beef with artists. "Growing up," he said of the song's inspiration. "Growth — musically and as a person. I feel like I owed it to my fans. There's a lot of die-hard fans that have been writing me, praying for me. I gave it to them ... What anybody else does, doesn't stop my serenity. I'm good." Related Artists |
| Kris Allen, Adam Lambert, Allison Iraheta Illustrate Personal Styles In <i>Elle</i> Posted: 13 Nov 2009 02:13 AM PST Creative director Joe Zee lets the 'American Idol' stars express themselves in photo shoot.
Kris Allen, Allison Iraheta and Adam Lambert all certainly have very distinct senses of style. So when the trio of "American Idol" stars teamed up for an Elle magazine photo shoot, they each got to express their individual sense of fashion. And, yes, that means that Lambert was wearing eyeliner and spiky platforms. Lambert appears in the spread all dolled up in a glam suit posing with a microphone. "Accessories were the big thing for Adam," Elle creative director (and "The City" regular) Joe Zee says in his A to Zee column in the December issue.
"He's got a classic uniform of nonconformity," Zee continued about Lambert's look. "But I wanted the finishing touches to make his look a look. Think dangerous: chainmail scarf, link-chain gloves, spiked boots." Just to illustrate the contrast of the singers' styles, Zee dressed Allen in Lambert-style wings and platforms — a look the "Idol" winner clearly can't pull off. But in the real spread, Allen embraces his "soulful quality" in a tie, vest and skinny black pants, holding an acoustic guitar. "He's like a young Chris Isaak who can sing in a stadium and make every person feel like it's a one-on-one performance," Zee wrote. As for the only lady in the group, Zee wanted to keep Iraheta's personal aesthetic alive and make sure her rocker spirit was captured in the photos, dressing her in a figure-hugging one-sleeve dress and leopard-print ankle boots. "I'm very inspired by girl rockers," Zee explained, "especially a young Courtney Love and Grace Slick, and mixed kick-ass sexy with the toughness of her attitude and the music." Get your "Idol" fix on MTV News' "American Idol" page, where you'll find all the latest news, interviews and opinions. Related Photos Related Artists |
| Radio Execs Unconcerned About Playing Chris Brown, Rihanna Back-To-Back Posted: 13 Nov 2009 12:53 AM PST Both singers have multiple singles currently at radio.
It's a unique dilemma in modern radio history: How do you deal with programming multiple new singles from a former couple that were involved in the most widely publicized domestic violence incident in recent memory? That's the potentially sticky issue facing radio programmers across the country as they seek to make space for songs from Rihanna and Chris Brown, who, between them, have five different singles currently getting airtime. As the former couple continue to shadow each other with the promotional campaigns for their respective upcoming albums — releasing videos and announcements on the same day and appearing for major interviews — a number of programmers contacted by MTV News said they're not worried about playing Brown and Rihanna close together, considering Brown's guilty plea in June to felony assault in connection with his February 8 attack on his former girlfriend. "We have no restrictions on whether we play their songs back-to-back or not," said Colby Colb, Operations Manager for Cleveland's WENZ 107.9 FM. "They've both got hot records out and however it's scheduled is how it's scheduled. It's music. What does it have to do with their personal lives? There's so much other stuff we have to worry about at radio stations, I couldn't care less if we play them back-to-back." Colb's feelings were echoed by a number of other urban programmers who are juggling two singles from Brown's forthcoming album, Graffiti, "I Can Transform Ya" and "Crawl," as well as a potential three songs from Rihanna's forthcoming Rated R, "Russian Roulette," "Hard" and "Wait Your Turn" — along with "Run This Town," the Jay-Z joint featuring a hook from Rihanna that is one of the hottest songs at radio at the moment. Late Thursday, Brown dropped yet another single, the slow-grind ballad "Sing Like Me," which could soon by pushing for airtime as well. Los Angeles hits station KIIS-FM (102.7) has been playing both "Transform Ya," "Hard" and "Russian Roulette" in light rotation, which is a switch from how things were just a few months ago, according to Program Director John Ivey. "We stopped playing [Brown's] records after the Rihanna confrontation because they weren't testing well [with our audience]," said Ivey. "But when that wedding video with 'Forever' in it got popular, we put that song back on." Now, Ivey said, with both singers angling for airtime, he too has not given much thought to putting distance between them on the station, opting instead to focus more on what sounds go back-to-back and the overall musical mix on the airwaves. "We're not as urban as urban radio, and those styles are a bit different," he said of the Brown club track and Rihanna's more downbeat "Roulette." "So they probably wouldn't come up back-to-back and it wouldn't cross my mind to not play them that way. I'm more concerned about the overall sound than people putting it together and feeling it's weird to hear them like that. News is different than music flow. I just want it to flow." Ebro Darden, program director for New York's tastemaking WQHT Hot 97.1 FM, said he doesn't think anyone at the station is playing the singer's songs close together on purpose. "We haven't had any conversations about it," he said. "What does the music have to do with what went down?" At Cincinnati's WIZF 101.1 FM, songs by Brown and Rihanna have indeed played right after one another, but program director Simone Party said it wasn't intentional and, frankly, she hasn't even really given it much thought. "Both artists have very good requests with the station right now and they have hot, topical songs," she said. "I haven't thought about dropping one to play another or playing them back-to-back. The audience is definitely feeling both singles from both artists." Related Videos Related Photos Related Artists |
| 30 Seconds To Mars' Album Cover Art Includes Cobra Starship's Gabe Saporta Posted: 13 Nov 2009 01:48 AM PST 'You see this cross-section of people that's pretty beautiful,' frontman Jared Leto says of 2,000 different covers for This Is War.
In keeping with the grand tradition of pretty much everything they do, 30 Seconds to Mars' upcoming This Is War album will feature — no lie — 2,000 different covers, each showing an image of a fan. And, unbeknownst to them, Cobra Starship's Gabe Saporta too.
Confused? Well, let us get you up to speed. Back in June, as they were putting the finishing touches on War, 30STM decided to involve their fans in the creation of the album artwork, asking them to submit pictures of themselves. The band would then select the 2,000 best images, which would be used as covers for the album itself and shipped randomly to stores around the world. Seeing this as a relatively huge opportunity, 30 Seconds to Mars' fanbase sprung into action, inundating the band with all kinds of images. And, seeing this as a way to play a pretty amazing prank, so did Saporta. He sent in a photo of himself and sat back and waited, never expecting that he'd actually make the cut. Only, he did. Of course, he didn't reveal this until Thursday, (November 12), when he was talking to MTV News about something else entirely (in this case, Weezer's Rivers Cuomo). During the interview, he randomly mentioned the 2,000 covers project, and then let it slip that he would be featured on one of them. "I'm on one of the covers," Saporta laughed. "I made it." We didn't believe him, but he insisted it was true. As luck would have it, we were due to sit down with Jared Leto and company later that afternoon. So, naturally, we had to ask them if Saporta had pulled a fast one. Were they aware that they had chosen the lead singer of Cobra Starship as one of their cover stars? "That's a surprise. But there are all kinds of surprises out there with these album covers," Leto told MTV News. "We looked at each photo, and yeah, it was a royal pain in the ass, but worth it. I mean, 2,000 record covers is a lot ... to look at." And, in 30 Seconds to Mars' defense, Saporta's grinning mug probably slipped through the cracks — after all, they were looking at a lot of images. "All the images all amazed us. I mean, you have people that you would never think would submit. I mean, I think we might have had a few pictures submitted from prison," Leto laughed. "And then we got some from people on the opposite side of the spectrum too. And that was the best part of the experiment to me — you see this cross-section of people that's pretty beautiful." So, aside from Saporta, who else made the cut? Well, Leto didn't want to give away all of his cover stars just yet — though from the sound of things, This Is War truly will feature everyone. Including Leto's mom. "Everyone [is on a cover] from a stranger, to my mom, to Terry Richardson, to Gabe and on and on and on. And there are surprises. We're not going to release every name that we put out there," he said. "It will be totally random, and I'm hoping that stores don't just have all the same of one cover. ... But it is a giant experiment and it really rests upon all the people that participated. We're so thankful people did. It drove the record company crazy, but it's always good when you can do that." Related Artists |
| You are subscribed to email updates from MTV News To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610 | |
Tidak ada komentar:
Posting Komentar