Senin, 15 Maret 2010

MTV News

MTV News

Alley Boy Proves He's 'A Force To Be Reckoned With' On <i>Definition</i> Tape

Posted: 15 Mar 2010 03:51 AM PDT

Plus: Akon talks about his latest signing, Ya Boy, in Mixtape Daily.
By Shaheem Reid, with additional reporting by Rahman Dukes


Alley Boy
Photo: Atlantic

This Week's Main Pick

Street King: Alley Boy, DJ Holiday and the Empire

Holding It Down For: Zone Six in Atlanta

Mixtape: Definition of F--- Sh--

Real Spit: "2010 is a new year," DJ Holiday said. "I had to go get somebody more gutter, more street. I had to go to Zone Six. Have I ever let you down?"

Alley Boy gets the prize for wildest mixtape title this year (see above). The rapper said he wants to keep street rap in the spotlight. "I put that title on the mixtape because I wanted something to stand out," Alley said. (Mission accomplished.) "Just to be different. The topics I went in on, it's a lot of things people would call negative. My whole image, it seems it's so negative. I went there with it. I feel that those words definitely represent my attitude. It's so watered down in Atlanta right now. I wanted to let folks know I'm a force to be reckoned with. I wanted a strong concept and strong title."

He also has a story behind his MC name: "I'm from Zone Six. Edgewood's finest," he said. "The way I came up in these hallways, these cuts, these alleys, it just fit me." Alley has a slew of guest spots holding it down for the A as well.

"I wanted to go in with my boy [Young] Dro," he said. "We got a song called 'Tall.' Yung L.A., we had some controversy goin' on. I wanted to show I reach out. I'm about the A. Princess from Crime Mob is on there. She goes stupid hard."

Waka Flocka Flame is also on the mixtape, as is Gucci Mane, who called in from jail on an interlude.

Joints to Check For

» "Heaven Sent." "It's an intro to the album," Alley said. "I wanted to make a statement from the intro. It's produced by the Runners. It's one of them statement songs. It was something I wanted to go in on. Let them know dudes in the South can really spit. We're not just out swaggin' and dancing. I had to let them know it's really 'hood. But just because you're 'hood, doesn't mean you're not smart or lyrical. I wanted to go in and let them know I'm heaven-sent to the game. I mastered my craft. I'm a force to be reckoned with."

» "Throw it Up." "The second song I want y'all to check for is 'Throw It Up,' " AB said. "It's one of my classics. I did it for every 'hood, every zone, every ward. It's really a representation song. Wherever you're from, throw it up. Whatever you represent, live for it, die for it."

» "Shiester." "It's one of my favorites, because it is telling a lot of things I been through," Alley said. "It sticks out so much. It's really a true story I brought on wax. I'm really passionate about this song. I'm thinking about launching it out as my single."

Streets Is Talking: News & Notes From the Underground

We told you about West Coast beat killer Ya Boy signing to Akon's Kon Live imprint a little while back. Well, now we give you the man himself, 'Kon, telling us why he decided to get in business with the newcomer.

"Ya Boy is one of the most versatile artists I've ever seen," Akon said. "He can make music for the streets, the clubs and the ladies, which really puts him apart from every artist out there. An artist like YB has the ability to make music for the world!"

For other artists featured in Mixtape Daily, check out Mixtape Daily Headlines.

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Lauren Conrad Designs Clothes, Writes Books, 'Doesn't Sleep Much'

Posted: 15 Mar 2010 03:51 AM PDT

'It's all about fitting it into your schedule,' she says of juggling her many tasks.
By Jocelyn Vena, with reporting by Larry Carroll


Lauren Conrad
Photo: MTV News

Lauren Conrad is a very busy lady. With a fashion brand and best-selling novels with a movie adaptation in the works, what's the key to LC's success? Time management.

"Well, I meet up with the team several times a month and we have lots of conference calls," she said about how she manages to design her line while writing her "L.A. Candy" books as well as producing the film version. "It's just something I'm doing throughout the day. It's all about fitting it into your schedule. I don't sleep much."

She also juggles her duties, writing some days and designing clothes during others. "Well, they're all different. There are days when I spend my entire day writing. There's days like today where I'm dealing with the [fashion] line all day," she explained. "I've always loved fashion. It's always been my number one, but I'm really enjoying all the different things I'm getting to do right now."

So is LC going to add any new projects to her already busy schedule? The answer, for now, is no. "I like where I'm at right now," she said. "I think I'm at a good place where I'll see all those [projects] through."

For now, Conrad has hooked up with department store Kohl's for her LC by Lauren Conrad clothing brand — if fans have always admired the former "Hills" star's laid-back, girly sense of style, now they can achieve the look.

"It's very much a California brand. It's all about incorporating new trends and putting our own twist on it — relaxed cool without trying too hard," she told MTV News at a press event for the line, adding that there's a piece in her collection for every occasion.

Kenna's 'Summit On The Summit' Continues Fight For Clean Water

Posted: 14 Mar 2010 07:31 AM PDT

'If we don't take care of it across the world, we'll certainly be facing the issue here at home,' he says of lack of clean drinking water.
By James Montgomery


Kenna at the State Department
Photo: U.S. State Department

The stated goal of Kenna's "Summit on the Summit: Kilimanjaro" was to raise awareness about the global clean-water crisis — more than 1 billion people do not have access to clean drinking water and water-related diseases claim the lives of nearly 4 million people each year — because, as he put it, "What's more noticeable than climbing a mountain?"

In January, along with a team of 300 that included fellow musicians Lupe Fiasco and Santigold, actors Jessica Biel, Emile Hirsch (not to mention scientists, United Nations ambassadors, a film crew and experienced guides), Kenna began his climb up Mount Kilimanjaro, battling freezing rain, gashing rocks and dizzying atmospheric conditions on his way to the peak, some 19,000 feet above sea level. Their trek was documented in "Summit" — which premiered Sunday on MTV — and followed by fans online and, accordingly, awareness was raised. But now that he's back down from the mountain, Kenna says the real struggle has just begun.

Because with no mountain left to climb, Kenna and company are tasked with keeping that awareness alive and, in the process, trying to keep the U.S. government from slashing funding for support of clean-water initiatives. It was actually a battle he began fighting before the ascent up Kilimanjaro even began.

"In November, I went to the State Department and Congress, spent time with [Congresswoman] Nita Lowey. I went there to ask them if I was to climb a mountain to raise awareness, would it help raise awareness in Washington to get appropriations?" Kenna told MTV News. "The response was, 'Well, good luck, because it would certainly be helpful.' "

So he climbed. And then he went back to Washington, along with a team that included United Nations Foundation ambassador Elizabeth Gore, with the express purpose of securing appropriations for fighting water-borne diseases.

"We went down and did a photo exhibition at the State Department to show just how serious this issue is. We sat down with Congressman [Earl] Blumenaur in [House Speaker] Nancy Pelosi's conference room," Kenna said. "He was one of the first to write [Senator] Paul Simon's 'Water for the World.' We went there to ask hard questions, like, 'Are we spending too much money on things that are interconnected with the water issue?' Because water is the issue.

"We spend billions of dollars on the prevention of HIV and AIDS, but only hundreds of millions on [preventing] water-borne diseases on other things? And the two issues are related," he continued. "A woman or a child will walk six miles to get some water, outside of any kind of secure area, and what if one of those women and children gets raped and gets HIV? They will then be taking antiviral medications with compromised water. Or, more commonly, if a child is chasing water, he or she never went to school, never learned about HIV. That same kid will have to take antivirals with compromised water. Basically, how are the anitvirals going to benefit somebody when they're going to die from water with water-borne diseases?"

And while the goal was to secure necessary appropriations, Kenna and his team also prevented the government from cutting the level of funding from $300 million down to $200 million. For now, they'll take that small victory, but the goal — according to Gore — is much, much higher.

"We lose a child every 15 seconds to lack of water, so when we went to Washington, we asked Congress for $500 million in appropriations, because we believe we can end this crisis," she said. "That took guts and teamwork to do and I could never have done it on my own — none of us could, which is why we went together, because if we could climb a mountain, we could certainly do anything."

Kenna said that the end results of his team's visit to Washington will be seen on March 22 — World Water Day. He hopes that the State Department will consider what he and the team had to say and that appropriations will be secured. He's optimistic, but at the same time cautions, "I'll leave it to them to communicate."

And in the meantime, the fight to secure clean water continues. Both Kenna and Gore are championing a text-to-donate system — just texting the world "send" to 90999 will give $10 to the U.N. Foundation, which translates into 1,000 liters of water, enough to benefit a child for an entire year. And he hopes that long after the memories of his trip up Kilimanjaro fade, people will still remember the message behind that climb. Because at the end of the day, the clean-water crisis affects all of us, even if we don't realize it just yet.

"We as a human race tend to be short-sighted. We pay attention to things right in front of us and, frankly, we miss the plot. We mean well, but we miss the plot. For me, it's less of an interesting thing to text and donate, than it is for people to educate themselves about the issue," Kenna said. "It already affects a billion people. And if you turn on the news, you hear about states like California and Virginia not having enough water already. So it's coming here. And if we don't take care of it across the world, we'll certainly be facing the issue here at home."

Find out what you can do to help solve the global water crisis now at the "Summit on the Summit" Web site.

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