MTV News |
- Nicki Minaj Explains Why She Skipped <i>XXL</i>'s Freshmen 10
- 50 Cent Says Uptempo <i>Black Magic</i> LP Is 'Still Hip-Hop'
- Lady Gaga/ Rob Fusari Lawsuit: A Closer Look
- Patrick Stump Talks First Solo Performance At South By Southwest
- Taio Cruz Talks Collaborating With Ludacris, Ke$ha
- Watch Justin Bieber Rap In Exclusive 'Baby' Live Performance Sneak Peek
- David Guetta Featured On Akon's Upcoming Album
- Snooki Responds To 'American Idol' Shout-Out From Ellen DeGeneres
- T.I. And 'Tiny' Cottle To Marry 'This Year,' She Says
| Nicki Minaj Explains Why She Skipped <i>XXL</i>'s Freshmen 10 Posted: 19 Mar 2010 12:37 AM PDT 'With all due respect, we felt like we kinda had graduated from the freshman class,' MC says of her and Drake's exclusion from the issue.
Nicki Minaj said she told XXL magazine, "No disrespect, but no thanks." The sexy rapper declined the invitation to be a part of the 2010 Freshmen 10 issue because, like her Young Money compatriot Drake, she felt she should have been down last year.
"Drake and I, we love XXL," she told us recently on the set of her video for "Massive Attack." "We just shot for XXL. With all due respect, we felt like we kinda had graduated from the freshman class. We felt that XXL missed the mark when they didn't put us on the cover prior to that. They have to pay for that. They can't say, 'Hey, get on the next one.' But we love XXL. That's like a hip-hop classic. So we said, 'Can we have something just a little bit more catered to us, so that we feel like we have still grown as artists, so we're not at all disrespecting the magazine?' They were cool with that. "We didn't dictate, we just asked nicely," Nicki smiled. "Technically, we were freshmen when they didn't put us on," Drake told ImFlashy.com in February. "I feel now it's just returning the favor." Earlier this month, the publication revealed their Freshmen 10. The roster consisted of OJ Da Juiceman, Nipsey Hussle, Jay Rock, Pill, Donnis, Fashawn, J. Cole, Wiz Khalifah, Freddie Gibbs and Big Sean. Related Artists |
| 50 Cent Says Uptempo <i>Black Magic</i> LP Is 'Still Hip-Hop' Posted: 18 Mar 2010 11:14 PM PDT 'It's still 50 Cent content; it's just written in a different way,' he tells U.K. DJ Tim Westwood.
Earlier this week, an overseas interview with 50 Cent hit the Web in which he said his upcoming LP, Black Magic, would have a different feel. "I went to a nightclub afterparty," 50 told reporter Jonas Pettersen. "It's a little different music going on before I got there. They play your music when you come. But the music they played before they started playing a lot of what I created was more uptempo, more dance. I wanted to make a song like that. So I went into the studio. Because I'm traveling with my live band, I took my band with me and sequenced it and recorded the actual record while I was out there. I did two other songs I had production for. I had been writing those songs for a while. So I finished them and recorded them while I was out." The G-Unit General is leaning toward dance music? Fif says not so fast. He clarified his creative direction when he called into U.K. DJ Tim Westwood's show the other day. "I got a joint that I did that was real uptempo," 50 told Westwood. "It's a different type of vibe. It's still 50 Cent. It's official. If you heard the record, you'd feel different. My Black Magic album, I've been listening to different types of music. I just wanna create something that's outta the box. I'm using different song formats. I'll write a rap song in the sequence of a different kind of record. A traditional hip-hop record may have three 16-bar verses. To write it in a different formant instead of the way a traditional rap record is written, to experiment with different things, it's still hip-hop music. It's still 50 Cent content; it's just written in a different way." 50 also talked about getting sued for posting a sex tape of one of the mothers of Rick Ross' children online. "That wasn't me; that was Pimpin' Curly," 50 said of his comedic alter ego. "When a person tries to say, 'You've done something that's created mental harm to them in some way,' then they might wanna consider the recordings of Rick Ross saying she's an actual call girl. Or the pamphlets I'm showing you in the actual tape that's saying she's available. How distraught is she? They think I bought the tape. I didn't even buy it." Related Photos Related Artists |
| Lady Gaga/ Rob Fusari Lawsuit: A Closer Look Posted: 18 Mar 2010 10:16 PM PDT Lawsuit provides details on Fusari's version of Gaga's early career.
The introduction to the $30.5 million lawsuit lodged by producer/songwriter Rob Fusari against his former collaborator and girlfriend Lady Gaga opens with the most famous quote from English playwright and poet William Congreve. "Heaven has no rage like love to hatred turned/ Nor hell a fury like a woman scorned," reads the intro, which includes another lyrical flourish with the added emotional argument, "All business is personal. When those personal relationships evolve into romantic entanglements, any corresponding business relationship usually follows the same trajectory so that when one crashes they all burn. That is what happened here."
What follows is page-upon-page of legal argument from Fusari's lawyer detailing the producer's claims of having discovered and nurtured Gaga (then an unknown singer by the name of Stefani Germanotta, spelled "Stephani" in the complaint), only to have her abandon him and cut him out of her lucrative recording career once she made it big. At press time, a spokesperson for Gaga had not responded to MTV News' requests for comment on the suit, but a deeper look at the legal document provides interesting details on Fusari's version of Gaga's early career. The suit claims that on March 23, 2006, Gaga performed at a New Writers' Showcase at New York's Cutting Room club, where she met a songwriter friend of Fusari's named Wendy Starland. Germanotta asked Starland if she remembered her from Germanotta's days working as an intern at the Famous Music publishing company, and the two bonded. "Starland knew that Fusari had been searching for months for a dynamic female rock-n-roller with garage band chops to front an all-girl version of the Strokes," the suit reads. "Starland was blown away by Germanotta's performance and immediately called Fusari and told him she had found him his girl." The document says that the aspiring singer took a bus the next day to Fusari's 150 Studios in Parsippany, New Jersey, hiking the last quarter-mile. "Fusari was expecting someone a little more grunge-rocker than the young Italian girl 'guidette' that arrived at his doorstep and was worried that he had made a mistake," the document continues. "Fusari then asked her to play one of her songs on the studio piano and within seconds realized that Germanotta had star potential. The trick would be coaxing it out of her. Before long, Germanotta was riding the bus to Jersey every day to work with Fusari at his studio. Fusari thought Germanotta's songs were brilliant but lacked commercial appeal. He pushed her to explore different musical genres. Over the course of the next several months, Germanotta commuted from New York to Jersey seven days a week, radically reshaping her approach. They put their focus on writing music and finding a sound for her." Soon enough, Fusari says he convinced Gaga to give up on rock and focus on dance beats, showing her how a drum machine would not impact the integrity of her sound on the day they finished collaborating on "Beautiful, Dirty, Rich," a song that would ultimately be released in 2008 on her multiplatinum debut, The Fame. He says they then went on to write several other songs together, including the smash hit "Paparazzi," as well as "Brown Eyes" and "Disco Heaven." In a 2008 interview with MTV's Buzzworthy blog before The Fame's release, Gaga credited Fusari with the origin of her stage name. "My name, Lady Gaga, comes from the first producer that I worked with, Rob Fusari," she said. "I was playing a record for him one day in the studio called 'Again Again,' which is actually a B-side for the album, it's like this super-Beatles/Queen theatrical ballad. He said, 'God, you're so "Radio Gaga," ' and I thought that was funny. And every time I'd come into the studio he'd say, 'Gaga is here, Gaga is here! Gaga Gaga!' So it sort of stuck, and I tacked on the 'Lady' as a sort of ironic contrast to the crazy of the Gaga." Gaga has said in interviews that her moniker derived from the Queen song but was a nickname among family and friends. The "close emotional quarters" the two purportedly shared during this period grew into a romantic relationship, with Gaga sleeping over at Fusari's home and he, in turn, socializing with her family and dining at their Manhattan home. Fusari began shopping the CD of songs they worked on together to record companies, including Island Def Jam, which reportedly signed Gaga on the spot after president L.A. Reid heard her performing from his office. Though her IDJ debut was set for release in May 2007, Gaga was "inexplicably" dropped after three months, according to the suit, just after she had renegotiated her deal with Fusari, which awarded him merchandising rights and some compensation as a producer on the album. The loss of the deal allegedly coincided with the end of the couple's personal relationship in January 2007, though Fusari said he encouraged Gaga to keep writing and recording. Around this time, Fusari's manager, Laurent Besencon — who had also taken on Gaga as a client — introduced her to producer RedOne, who would go on to co-write such hits as "Poker Face," "Just Dance" and "Boys, Boys, Boys" with the singer, while relegating Fusari to the sidelines, the suit claims. In the documents, Fusari claims he then talked with a friend, Vince Herbert, who worked with Interscope Records, who sent Gaga's music to company chairman Jimmy Iovine. The legendary record man was impressed and eventually signed the singer at the same time that Fusari claims Gaga and her father cut off all contact with him. Additionally, the suit claims that Besencon froze Fusari out of the Interscope negotiations and began protecting the interests of Gaga over his own, even allegedly sharing confidential information with her that compromised Fusari's negotiating posture. Gaga signed a deal with Interscope in May 2007, and the label released The Fame in August 2008, an album Fusari claims he co-produced and which included songs he is credited with co-writing and producing, "Paparazzi", "Beautiful, Dirty, Rich" and "Brown Eyes," along with bonus tracks on various incarnations of the album: "Disco Heaven," "Retro, Dance, Freak" and "Again Again." To date, the suit claims Fusari has received two checks totaling $203,000 and $394,965 (both in 2009) representing his 20 percent commission, with the second featuring the words "endorsed in accord and satisfaction of all sums due to undersigned" on the back. "By adding this endorsement to the back of the check, defendants had attempted to trick plaintiff into depositing said check and thereby settle all outstanding debts due him by defendants under the [contract] and to bar plaintiff from seeking any additional payments," the suit reads. In the documents, Fusari says he has not endorsed or deposited the second check. He also says he has not received his 15 percent share of merchandising revenue that was agreed upon in the contract. As a result, Fusari lodged the $30.5 million suit against Gaga in New York Supreme Court on Wednesday. Related Photos Related Artists |
| Patrick Stump Talks First Solo Performance At South By Southwest Posted: 19 Mar 2010 04:41 AM PDT 'It's something I've been wanting to do for a while,' former Fall Out Boy frontman says.
AUSTIN, Texas — It is 3:30 p.m. CT, and Patrick Stump is sitting cross-legged on the balcony of his hotel, looking out on the Austin skyline with a smile on his face. He is wearing a gray button-up tucked into skintight black jeans. He looks ridiculously fit, not to mention pretty content. The smile never fades, not even for a second. If you were to see him right now, you'd never guess that in a little less than six hours, he'd be taking the stage for the first time as a solo artist, debuting songs from his upcoming album before a raucous South by Southwest crowd. It is a very big deal, but Stump is anything but nervous.
"Well, I had a lot of coffee so my stomach is definitely battling it out. But I don't know if that's nervousness or what," he laughed. "It's going to be a bit strange, because this is my first show, and it's at South by Southwest, and it's opening for Hole. But it's kind of a jump-into-the-deep-end kind of thing. I want to get it under my belt so I can move on." Oh yeah, we forgot the entire opening-for-Hole thing, but it's true that Stump will debut his solo project on a bill that also features the roaring return of Courtney Love's Hole — which only kind of adds another level of pressure to things. But to hear him tell it, Stump can't wait to get onstage tonight at the Dirty Dog Bar — and in keeping with the whole "solo artist" vibe, he'll be going it alone. "Tonight I'm going to be playing everything myself. It's something I've been wanting to do for a while. The video I posted online kind of foreshadowed it," he said. "It's kind of great because you can improvise with yourself. It's way more complicated than I imagined it would be, so I kind of composed around it. I'll have my guitar, and I'm going to try and play the saxophone, plus some other stuff. I didn't bring the trumpet with me, but now I'm thinking I probably should have." So tonight — and perhaps on dates down the road — Stump will be a regular one-man band. And yet, he's still not nervous. He knows expectations are high, and that one way or the other, more than a few Fall Out Boy fans might not like what they hear — but he's itching to get his new music out there. And Friday night's (March 19) SXSW gig is the first step in that direction. He's so ready to go that he's already written a review of his first show, which goes a little something like this: "I think, my prediction is: I'm going to be very comfortable. I'm going to have a pretty good time. I'm going to screw up a couple of things, but I'll get beyond it," he smiled. "And [tomorrow], all the reviews will say I was nervous as hell." MTV News is at SXSW all weekend long, so check back for more show reports, interviews and blog posts on what's going down in Austin. |
| Taio Cruz Talks Collaborating With Ludacris, Ke$ha Posted: 19 Mar 2010 06:42 AM PDT Cruz, who had a 'great time on the set' with Ke$ha, plans to attend WMC 2010 in Miami.
Taio Cruz may not be a household name yet in the United States, but that should change soon. The British pop/R&B singer recently broke a Billboard record when his single "Break Your Heart" (featuring Ludacris) jumped 52 places from its debut position to the #1 spot on the Hot 100 chart. "With Ludacris, pretty much every track he's ever featured on sounds amazing," Cruz told MTV News. "I gave him a quick call and asked him if he could get on the record, and he recorded it and sent it over. As I expected, there was nothing I needed to change. It sounded perfect."
It's also worth noting that Luda's verse helped Cruz clarify just how to pronounce his first name correctly. "He put my name in there, which is great — so people know to pronounce it now properly, hopefully," Taio (pronounced "Tie-O") said. Cruz released his second album in the U.K., Rockstarr, last year, and now has his sights set on the States. Also impressive is the fact that he has songwriting game, a talent that has recently seen him penning tracks for a couple of artists you may recognize. "I've been meeting producers," Cruz said. "I was writing for Rihanna and Justin Bieber, like, two weeks ago. I was in with producers like J.R. Rotem and Stargate and Kevin Rudolf and people like that. So, I've spent time with those guys and definitely making links with the writing." Cruz plans to release Rockstarr in the U.S. with the majority of the tracks from his U.K. release, but he'd like to add a few fan favorites from his first U.K. release, Departure — perhaps "I Just Wanna Know" or "She's Like a Star," he offered. And while the video for "Break Your Heart" had him poolside and on a speedboat in the ocean, the video for his upcoming single "Dirty Picture" features Ke$ha, so you know they had to make things a bit grittier. "The video is looking amazing. We've got her performing in a public bathroom, which is quite entertaining," Cruz chuckled. The setting is an underground basement with folks having a good time and Ke$ha being, well, Ke$ha-y. "Yeah, she's crazy. She's cool. She's not like a mad person — she doesn't have, like, any kind of censor on what she wants to say. When she wants to say something she just says it and then it's so much fun. We just had a great time on the set of the video and she's just an amazing performer and artist." Rockstarr is set for a May 18 release, with "Dirty Picture" hitting radio most likely in June. If you can't wait that long, you will find Cruz with the electronic music fans descending upon Miami's Winter Music Conference 2010. "I'm gonna be hanging out with Axwell and Roger Sanchez," he said. Stick with MTV News for more coverage of the WMC 2010, which kicks off Tuesday in Miami. Related Artists |
| Watch Justin Bieber Rap In Exclusive 'Baby' Live Performance Sneak Peek Posted: 19 Mar 2010 08:37 AM PDT Check out this preview of Bieber's March 23 MTV.com performance.
While fans are anxiously awaiting Justin Bieber's sophomore effort, My World 2.0, we have a sneak peek of an exclusive performance set to premiere on MTV.com next Tuesday, the day of the album's release. In this preview, Bieber sits down for an acoustic version of his hit "Baby" and shows fans a different side of himself.
On "Baby," Bieber is usually joined by Ludacris, but for this version, the crooner takes over Luda's part and spits the rhyme himself. Though Bieber has told MTV News that he has no plans to get into the rap game — even though he chills with guys like Luda, Diddy and Drake — his MCing skills aren't half bad. Previously, Ludacris has talked about how he found inspiration to write lyrics for the teen star's song about young love, admitting that it is a lot different than writing rhymes for his own albums. "He's talking about [how] he's mad that his girl left him and he still cares for her," he said. "As soon as I heard it, I knew it was a hit, I just had to figure out how I could get on a record with a 15-year-old. So I sat there and said, 'Let me reminisce on the past,' and that's basically how I stepped on the record. And I guarantee you, mark my word, that's going to be one of the biggest songs of the year 2010." Bieber also explained how he ended up on a track with the rapper. "Well, [Ludacris and I] both live in Atlanta. I met him a year prior to this and we figured it was a perfect collaboration for him, so we invited him out to do it," Bieber said. "No, [he didn't give me any advice]. I mean, he's a rapper; he doesn't sing. No, [I'm not planning on rapping]. Not at all. Nope." What do you think of Justin Bieber's rapping on "Baby"? Let us know in the comments below, or upload a video to Your.MTV.com! Related Artists |
| David Guetta Featured On Akon's Upcoming Album Posted: 19 Mar 2010 01:59 AM PDT 'He's an incredible producer,' 'Kon says of Guetta, set to perform at WMC 2010 in Miami.
For the past two years, David Guetta has been on a house music DJ/producer's dream run. He has had commercial success doing what few of his colleagues in the electronic world have been able to do: He's making club music that has American urban artists biting at his heels, has soared into the U.S. charts with a series of monster singles and, after being nominated in three categories, he walked away with the Grammy for Best Remixed Recording for his single "When Love Takes Over," featuring Kelly Rowland.
One of his most lasting accomplishments was last year's Black Eyed Peas single "I Gotta Feeling," a track he produced that spent 14 weeks at the #1 position on the Billboard Hot 100, selling over 5 million downloads through February of this year. In addition to Rowland, his album One Love featured notable singles with Estelle ("One Love") and Kid Cudi (the internationally charting "Memories"). And then there is his most successful single as a solo artist, "Sexy Chick" featuring Akon, which peaked in December of last year at #5 and now, months later, is still perched at #20 on the Hot 100 list. MTV News had a chance to catch up with Akon recently on the set of Quincy Jones' video for his forthcoming album single, "Strawberry Letter 23," where he broke down a bit of Guetta's genius for us. "He's an incredible DJ, first of all," 'Kon said. "Second, he's an incredible producer. He's the kind of guy that goes outside the box, so we spoke the same language on the production side of things. We just wanted to do something that no one had thought to put together and before you know it, man, we just got together and came up with the most incredible record." Lately rumors have been swirling that Guetta has produced a song for Rihanna, and that he also recorded with one of Akon's artists, Lady Gaga, but that turned out to have been just a meeting of mutual appreciation. Still, 'Kon did reveal to expect another treat courtesy of the "Sexy Chick" pair on his forthcoming album, Stadium. "I got some incredible collaborations," Akon said. "I just can't let you know yet. But I can give you a hint: Guetta will be a part of that record as well. It's gonna be ... just wait. I don't want to overhype it. I just want to put it out and let you see." If you can't wait that long, Guetta will be headlining the Ultra Music Fest at the Winter Music Conference in Miami. Also featured at the fest will be Will.I.Am, Deadmau5, Swedish House Mafia, Major Lazer, Calvin Harris, LMFAO, Tiesto, A-Trak and many more. Stick with MTV News for more coverage of the Winter Music Conference, which kicks off Tuesday in Miami. Related Artists |
| Snooki Responds To 'American Idol' Shout-Out From Ellen DeGeneres Posted: 19 Mar 2010 09:31 AM PDT 'My mom called me screaming,' 'Jersey Shore' star says after Ellen's 'poof' reference.
Siobhan Magnus' dramatic and sinister take on "Paint It Black" on Tuesday's "American Idol" had Randy Jackson saying the singer looked hot, Simon Cowell calling it the standout performance of the night and Ellen DeGeneres comparing her to a certain pint-size MTV reality star.
"Like Snooki's poof, you just stand out," the judge declared. Shortly after the show aired, Snooki told MTV News how excited she was about the shout-out and shot a compliment right back at Ellen. "I didn't watch 'American Idol,' but my mom called me screaming. I was like, 'Why are you screaming?' She's like, 'Ellen DeGeneres just said Snooki.' I was like, 'Oh, that's my girl!' "How many people watch 'American Idol?' " the "Jersey Shore" star asked. "Millions? That's awesome." This isn't the first time a Snooki reference has popped up on network TV. In December, "Saturday Night Live" funnyman Bobby Moynihan donned a wig and some orangey bronzer for a good-natured send-up of Snickers, then reprised the impression in January. Snooki welcomed both the "SNL" parodies and the "Idol" name-check. "Honestly, it's really, really flattering," she said. "I'm so thankful Ellen said something about it. That just shows that you made it. I knew I made it when I was on 'SNL' and they did skits about me. They did, like, two of them. You know you've made it when they do that." Snooki and her poof have certainly made it, even if Simon looked a bit confused after Ellen's comment. Snooki took that reaction in stride as well. "Simon doesn't know me," she said with a shrug. "Cool." Have you used Snooki comparisons in your everyday conversations? Share your thoughts and stories below! Get your "Idol" fix on MTV News' "American Idol" page, where you'll find all the latest news, interviews and opinions. Related Videos |
| T.I. And 'Tiny' Cottle To Marry 'This Year,' She Says Posted: 18 Mar 2010 11:07 PM PDT Singer is fed up with people asking 'what's taking so long.'
Wedding bells for for T.I and fiancée Tameka "Tiny" Cottle will come, but not until they're ready. The former Xscape singer told Vibe.com that she and Tip are taking their time. "I don't really worry about what people say about what's taking so long," Cottle told Vibe. "Like, it ain't none of your business what's taking so long. If we happy, why are you so concerned? We living, we're happy, we're in love. I mean, it's no doubt in my mind that he doesn't love every piece of me and vice versa, so we're just doing what's comfortable and what works for us. Tiny and T.I.: Not for the world. When we get ready to make a move, we will make it. We just can't do it for everybody." Tiny did reveal that she and Tip would walk the aisle at some point in 2010 in front of a couple of hundred of their loved ones. "There are wedding plans coming soon, sometime this year," the mother of two of Tip's sons said. "Not too big, 'cause I want it to be as private as possible. There've been a million rumors about us getting married. It's taking away from the day that we really do get married, so I just want to kind of have that moment for myself." T.I. began his prison sentence on gun-possession charges in May. He was released to a halfway house in December, and is scheduled to finish his term on March 26. "It was crazy. I seen him every week," Tiny said about Tip's time behind bars. "We just picked up where we left off and we just, you know, I'm just in love all over again." Related Artists |
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