MTV News |
- Lady Gaga Recalls 'Jet Black' Sky On September 11
- Iraq War Blogger Matt Gallagher Reflects On 9/11
- T.I. Disputes Reason For His Return To Prison
- Drake Promises Lots Of 'Radio' Records On <i>Take Care</i>
- Trouble Raps From 'Life Experience' On <i>December 17th</i>
- Big K.R.I.T., CyHi The Prynce Talk 'Uncapped' Series
- Amy Lee Skates To Detention On 'When I Was 17'
- Adam Sandler Is No 'Centerfold' In 'Jack And Jill' Drag
- Daniel Craig, Rachel Weisz 'Committed' To 'Dream House' Couple
- Wiz Khalifa Cleared Of Felony Marijuana Charges
- Justin Bieber Can't Stay Away From Cobra Starship's Drums
- Michael Jackson Manslaughter Trial Begins Jury Selection
- Paramore Debut 'Renegade' At Fueled By Ramen Show
- Seth Rogen Talks Cancer, Sex And '50/50'
- Young Jeezy's <i>TM 103</i> Will 'Hurt Feelings,' Freddie Gibbs Says
- How Did Bruno Mars End Up On Song Of Summer 'Lighters'?
- Chris Brown Fan: Keeping Rolex 'Didn't Cross My Mind'
- Lil Wayne, Lady Gaga, The Throne Show More Than One Way To #1
- Lil Wayne Scores 18 BET Hip-Hop Award Nominations
- Freddie Gibbs, Kendrick Lamar Explain #1 Rule Of Ghostwriting
| Lady Gaga Recalls 'Jet Black' Sky On September 11 Posted: 08 Sep 2011 05:16 AM PDT MTV parent company Viacom recruits Gaga, DJ Pauly D, Nas and others to answer 'What will you do to remember?'
As many Americans reflect on the events of September 11, with the upcoming the 10th anniversary of the terror attacks, MTV parent company Viacom has teamed with artists including Lady Gaga, Nas, DJ Pauly D, Julianne Hough and Drake Bell to launch a national day of service campaign that asks, "What will you do to remember?"
Gaga, a native New Yorker, recently remembered where she was and what she was doing when it all happened. "On September 11, I was at school with my girlfriends," she recalled of the day that forever changed her home city. "I just remember that the history teachers had us all piled into one room and had a television on and none of us believed it was happening," she continued. "So we didn't believe it, so we ran up to the roof and I just remember we got up to the roof, and one tower had already fallen and we all watched the second tower fall all together." While Gaga was not anywhere near the actual site of the attack in downtown Manhattan, her mother was near it. "I don't know; you really can't describe something like that," she said. "It's too horrific. We were in disbelief. I still think sometimes I'm in disbelief. "My dad picked us up, we couldn't reach my mom for a long time because she worked right across the street," she continued. "We were really nervous and I just remember all we saw were these young men, really young. You could tell they worked on the floor at the stock and they were in their jackets and they were just covered in ashes and all you could see was the lines from the tears on their face. [My school] was miles and miles away, but the sky that hovered above us was jet black." Through Sunday, Viacom's networks will air specially produced "I Will" public service announcements featuring artists and actors, including Gaga, Fran Drescher, Pauly D, Nas, Hough and Bell, along with Viacom employees. The multiplatform public service campaign is designed to inspire Americans to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the attacks by committing to good deeds, charity or volunteer service. Working with MyGoodDeed and HandsOn Network, organizers of this year's September 11 National Day of Service and Remembrance, the "I Will" campaign asks participants, "Ten years later, what will you do to remember?" "Every year on September 11 with my family, we take a moment together and acknowledge a tremendous loss in our city and in the world," Gaga said. "I remember so many friends that lost family and so many people that lives were changed forever. "It's a moment to honor New York," she continued. "It's a moment to come together and realize that New York really is forever changed and will always now be a family." What will you do to remember 9/11? Share your thoughts below, and visit 911day.org to upload your video response. Related Artists |
| Iraq War Blogger Matt Gallagher Reflects On 9/11 Posted: 09 Sep 2011 03:53 AM PDT 'In many ways, the world as we knew it was ending,' veteran says 10 years later
Back in July 2008, Matthew Gallagher's popular blog Kaboom: A Soldier's War Journal was shut down by the military brass after seven months of highly literate and very real posts about the war in Iraq. The plug was pulled after he failed to get the proper vetting for a post titled "The Only Difference Between Martyrdom and Suicide Is Press Coverage," in which he wrote candidly about a conversation with a superior officer, a breach of military protocol.
Three years after the flap caused by the shutdown, MTV News spoke to Gallagher — who turned his blog into the memoir "Kaboom: Embracing the Suck in a Savage Little War" last year — in the days leading up to the 10th anniversary of the September 11 attacks. We wanted to know how the events of that day changed Gallagher, 28, who currently works as the senior writing manager at the non-profit Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, and what he's learned since. "On September 11, 2001, I was a freshman in college at Wake Forest University in North Carolina, and I actually slept through the attacks," said Gallagher, who had stayed up late the night before playing video games. His roommate, who was from the New York area, woke him up to tell him that he needed to watch the news. "Very groggily, I remember asking him, 'What's going on? Is the world ending?' Looking back on it, in many ways the world as we knew it, the world as I knew it, was ending." He watched as the second of the Twin Towers fell, just two weeks after he'd joined his school's ROTC program, mostly as a way to pay for his studies. Like most 18-year-olds, Gallagher said he wasn't sure what he wanted to do with his life, and didn't consider himself a gung-ho, "G.I. Joe" type of guy, instead seeing himself as perhaps an Army lawyer. "Like a lot of 18-year-old kids, I figured I'd figure it out," he said. "9/11 changed that drastically." Four years later, he was commissioned into the Army Cavalry and, by age 24 he was stationed in Hawaii and getting ready to ship off to the war in Iraq as part of President George W. Bush's "surge" tactic. Always interested in writing, Gallagher launched the blog in November 2007, just before deployment as a way to "keep some part of myself" and, as its title indicates, as a kind of inside joke against the insurgents. "They're kind of just travel writings, what I'm seeing, what I'm hearing, what I'm experiencing. What my men are doing," he said. "Funny, sad, angry." For the first six months, he said, the writing was positively received both in and out of the military as a means of putting a face to the soldiers on the front lines. That is, until the fateful blog of June 2008, when the soldier posted about a heated, expletive-filled dressing down he got from his battalion commander about a proposed promotion that Gallagher said he didn't want, because it would have taken him away from his men. "I did the same thing I did the previous six months, I went back to my hooch and I wrote about it," he said. "Then I posted it. Very naively thinking it wouldn't get back to him, and of course we all know that's not how the Internet works. I look back on it now and it was a poor decision, a petulant decision made by a young platoon leader who was exhausted both mentally and physically." Though there were some debates back home about freedom of speech issues, the blog was summarily shut down by his superiors. With nine months left on his 15-month tour, Gallagher was eventually promoted to captain and then switched to an infantry battalion, where he said he strove to serve out his tour as honorably as he could. After coming home in February 2009, Gallagher made his transition out of the active-duty military and began positing his future. "It was never really an ambition of mine initially [to write a non-fiction memoir]," he said. "I wanted to be a writer, but I kind of wanted to be a fiction writer some day, like 20-25 years down the line. I never thought I'd write a non-fiction memoir about Iraq." But he realized that the shutdown of his blog had created a furor that gained way more attention than he could have imagined. In fact, a story in the Washington Post drew a lot of readers to the cached blog entries, leading to a number of calls from literary agents about turning it into a book. As a then 18-year-old whose life was profoundly changed by 9/11, Gallagher said the attacks served as a "maturity moment" during a crossroads in his life. "On a macro level, all of a sudden I realized this world is a very serious place, terrible things can happen," he said. "Evil people do exist, as much as I want to ironically laugh at the simplicity of that statement." Deciding to join the Army and deploy was part of his journey, one Gallagher suspects was a small tile in a much larger mosaic of life-changing choices. "On a bigger level, 9/11 was a crystallizing moment for my generation ... the bubble popped. We were like, 'Whoa, this is what the real world is like, it's not all fun and games.' " Combined with the subsequent global economic crisis and stagnant unemployment numbers, Gallagher said 9/11 initially showed us that you have to have resolve to carry on. "Through the tragedy and all the loss that people across the country, but especially in New York and D.C. felt ... humanity went on. We can honor them and remember them by moving forward." As part of the "I Will" campaign to commemorate the 9/11 attacks as a national day of service and remembrance, we asked Gallagher how he'll mark the anniversary on Sunday. "This September 11, I will remember my fallen friends, 1st Lt. Mark Daily and Capt. David Schultz, for their sacrifice, their humor and their service," he said. What will you do to remember 9/11? Share your thoughts below, and visit 911day.org to upload your video response. |
| T.I. Disputes Reason For His Return To Prison Posted: 08 Sep 2011 01:57 AM PDT Lawyer says Tip wasn't told he could only travel with his wife during halfway-house transfer.
If T.I. was only allowed to travel with his wife when he moved from an Arkansas prison to an Atlanta halfway house last week, no one told him, his lawyer says. "Bureau of Prison officials did not specifically state at any time that T.I. was limited to being in the vehicle with his wife and no one else," Tip's attorney Steve Sadow told MTV News. "There is nothing that was specifically instructed or directed on this." On Thursday (September 8), TMZ published an incident report that said T.I. was on the bus with his wife, his manager and two VH1 producers. His manager and the television producers were not authorized to be aboard the bus, according to the report. The report also suggested that T.I. was conducting business during the interstate ride — a violation of his furlough. According to T.I.'s lawyer, however, the Federal Bureau of Prisons didn't communicate any stipulations on how the August 31 transfer was to be handled. T.I. filled out a Furlough Application, which MTV News has obtained, in which he declared he would travel from Forrest City Prison to the Atlanta halfway house via a "private owned vehicle" and that he would be traveling with his wife, Tameka Harris. "It doesn't say "list all of the individuals that you are going to be with" or "you may not be with anyone else," " Sadow said. Click to see the Furlough Application, exclusively obtained by MTV News. MTV News has learned that the Trap Muzik rapper is now being held in United States Penitentiary in Atlanta until he is able to schedule a disciplinary hearing. Regardless of the outcome, T.I. will have satisfied his 11-month probation-violation sentence and be released from custody September 29. Initially, it was reported that T.I. was sent back to prison because the luxury tour bus in which he traveled wasn't an acceptable mode of transportation. The rapper's lawyer stressed that, at the moment, these are just allegations, but contends that T.I. did nothing wrong. "He had no reason to think there would be a problem traveling with these particular people, because his manager had been approved for visitation and had seen him several times at the facility in Arkansas and the producer had been approved for visitation and had seen him several times," his attorney said. As far as the issue of whether T.I. was discussing business on the bus, Sadow made it clear that he already had a deal with VH1 for a new reality series and a separate book deal in place before the transfer. The best possible outcome at this point for the rapper is that, after his discipline hearing, he would be cleared of any wrongdoing and returned to the halfway house, but as of now, no date for the hearing has been set. MTV News reached out to the Federal Bureau of Prisons and a VH1 press representative, both of whom declined to comment for this story. Related Artists |
| Drake Promises Lots Of 'Radio' Records On <i>Take Care</i> Posted: 07 Sep 2011 11:36 PM PDT 'The purpose of that record was solely to deliver a message,' Drake tells MTV News of first single 'Headlines.'
Maybe "Headlines" wasn't the radio smash that fans were expecting from Drake, but the OVOXO star says that it was the perfect single to set off his upcoming Take Care.
"I think it's great; the purpose of that record was solely to deliver a message," Drizzy told MTV News last month on the BMI Urban Awards red carpet. "I could've gone with the record that was sort of super radio-friendly, but I really just wanted to talk to the people with the first record." Rather than an emotional ballad or party record, Drake's "Headlines" details the MC's frame of mind going into his second album. Despite his success, he raps from an underdog's perspective. "I had someone tell me I fell off, ooh I needed that/ And they wanna see me pick back up, well, where'd I leave it at?" Not your standard pop fare, but Drake, who has crafted hits like "Best I Ever Had," "Find Your Love" and "Successful," said that Take Care will have Billboard-caliber tracks as well. "I've got a lot of records that I think will live on radio for a while," he said. "I'm excited about everything that's happened thus far." Although "Headlines" is the album's first official single, there have been other leaks like "Marvins Room" and "Dreams Money Can Buy," two songs Drake described on his October's Very Own blog as pieces of a bigger story. So what story is the Young Money soldier trying to tell on Take Care? "It'll let you know exactly what's goin' on in my life because unlike a lot of other artists, I don't take to social media outlets to tell you what's goin' on in my life," he replied. "I don't sit there and complain about stuff all day long, I don't lash out, I just sort of save it for the album, so I think if you want to know what's going on with me at all, you'll just listen to Take Care and it'll answer all of your questions." Share your thoughts on Drizzy's Take Care singles so far in the comments below! Related Photos Related Artists |
| Trouble Raps From 'Life Experience' On <i>December 17th</i> Posted: 08 Sep 2011 05:16 AM PDT 'It's just everything that I go through, everything that I see, everything that's in my heart, so that was heartfelt for real,' he tells Mixtape Daily.
Fire Starter: Trouble
Before jail, the Zone 6 rep only rapped as a hobby — something he picked up on his block at age 15 — but upon his release, he opted to do things legitimately. By April, he dropped his tape. The slow-rolling "World Goes 'Round" was a definite standout. On the heartfelt track, Trouble raps about his grandmother, who is confined to a wheelchair. "My grandma bust her ass and she still ain't got no Medicare/ A car crash, she need money from everywhere/ Just to pay off all these high-ass bills/ I'm tryna put her in a high-ass crib, sittin' on the hills." "I actually wrote 'World Goes 'Round' while I was doin' my bid, when I sat down," Trouble told Mixtape Daily. "It's just everything that I go through, everything that I see, everything that's in my heart, so that was heartfelt for real." In the song's video the emotive trap rapper visits a cemetery; it was more than just a glorified scene. "When you see me at my cousin's grave, that's my real cousin," he revealed. "That's everything that's been going on in my life from the beginning on up to this point. So I'm allowing people to go inside of me and understand where I'm coming from." The rest of December 17th ranges from the hard-knocking "Yeen Heard?" to the bouncy "I Don't Wanna Be Wrong." On "Geek'ed Outta My Mind," Trouble links with MTV Jams' 2011 Fab 5 inductee Future and throws it up for Alley Boy and the rest of his Duct Tape family when he spits, "I'm just a thug who popped out the department of corrections/ A lot of n---as only f--- with Duct Tape 'cause they need protection." But it isn't just thugging for the sake of thugging; on "Fake Industry," Trouble goes out of his way to differentiate himself from rappers who haven't been through the harsh realities he's endured. "Everything that you hear from me is a life experience," he said. For other artists featured in Mixtape Daily, check out Mixtape Daily Headlines. |
| Big K.R.I.T., CyHi The Prynce Talk 'Uncapped' Series Posted: 08 Sep 2011 04:31 AM PDT Series-closing MCs tell MTV News the Vitamin Water project a great look for underground artists.
NEW YORK — Vitamin Water hosted the last show in its "Uncapped Live" concert series at the Hudson Hotel on Wednesday night, and Freddie Gibbs, Big K.R.I.T., CyHi the Prynce and Rye Rye came through to rock the New York City crowd.
Over the last few months, the "Uncapped Live" series has partnered with up-and-coming acts to help expose them to bigger audiences. MTV News caught up with K.R.I.T. and CyHi before the show to talk about what the opportunity means to them. "They're actually helping artists such as myself, Big K.R.I.T., Pill [and] other up-and-coming hip-hop artists that's looking to stand on the forefront of hip-hop and the game," CyHi told us. "We're coming from the underground and we're doing it organically, so they're a big help to up-and-coming artists such as myself." The G.O.O.D Music MC opened the show, casually walking onstage in a black tee and his signature Jesus piece; the crowd actually didn't notice him at first. Cy went on to perform songs from his Royal Flush mixtape series and various features. But he really got the crowd rocking when he did his verse from Kanye West's "So Appalled." The ATLien said he loved performing in New York, because New Yorkers are typically harder to impress. "They're the originators, and I guess you have to pay homage to the originators, and at the same time I remember me and K.R.I.T. was on the same show and I got booed. Ever since then, every time I come back it's like pandemonium. That's just the war wounds or the process you have to go through to become a stronger artist. A lot of crowds may not perceive you as well as other crowds may and you may think that they're supposed to." Big Krit — whose Live From the Underground drops September 27 — was grateful for the platform the "Uncapped" tour provided newer artists. The Mississippi MC said he loved the opportunity to perform in front of an audience that may not know have been familiar with his music, jaded New Yorkers or not. "Anywhere where you are performing in front of people who might not know who you are, it can be intimidating. But I've been doing this so long and I've been in front of crowds who knew who I was that didn't bob their heads or really didn't care that I was onstage. So to have the opportunity to be in front — far from where I'm from and performing my music and people are listening — it's dope all the same, whether you get booed or don't get booed." Related Videos Related Artists |
| Amy Lee Skates To Detention On 'When I Was 17' Posted: 08 Sep 2011 03:28 AM PDT Evanescence singer, Theophilus London and Chris Klein featured on new episode, airing Saturday at 11 a.m. ET on MTV.
From accomplished vocalist to skilled pianist, Evanescence singer Amy Lee has plenty of talents to boast. But in the latest episode of "When I Was 17," airing Saturday, Amy reveals another skill that might surprise her fans: roller skating. In the episode, the singer-songwriter recounts how skating around her high school hallways landed her in some serious trouble.
"When I was 17, our school had really slick floors. There was this really big hall, and it was perfect for roller skating," the singer says. So, Amy decided to take advantage of the situation. "The halls are empty when people are in class, and if it's just study hall or art or whatever, then why not go for a little skate?" Her "little skate" however wasn't without its consequences. "I don't know why I thought that that would be good," she says. "So, I was skating by myself. Total nerd. And some other teacher was in the hall, and I skated by, and she was like, 'Detention!' " While detention is a pretty common punishment for misbehaving high school students, it caught Amy's father off-guard. "It was a little bit of a big deal. She got in trouble, and Amy typically never got in trouble," says her father, John. Of course, even back in high school, Amy found a way to translate her experience with the teacher who sent her to detention into something creative. "One of my art pieces after that was her getting skated over by a giant skate," Amy says. "When I Was 17," also featuring Theophilus London and Chris Klein, airs Saturday at 11 a.m. ET on MTV. Related Videos Related Artists |
| Adam Sandler Is No 'Centerfold' In 'Jack And Jill' Drag Posted: 08 Sep 2011 02:18 AM PDT Director Dennis Dugan dishes on Sandler playing both title roles and the comic 'gusto' of Al Pacino in our Fall Movie Preview.
Adam Sandler and director Dennis Dugan have a long history together that includes teaming up on money-making screwball comedies like "Happy Gilmore," "Big Daddy" and "You Don't Mess With the Zohan." Their big-screen antics continue this fall with the November release of "Jack and Jill," a family comedy that has Sandler playing the role of Jack — and that of his sister Jill — alongside Katie Holmes and Al Pacino, who plays himself. If that sounds like a recipe for ridiculousness, check out what Dugan had to say recently about the hilarity that ensued during production, including what Sandler is like in drag and just how funny Pacino really is.
MTV: How is Adam as a woman? Dennis Dugan: Wonderful. He plays this absolutely [straight]; [Jill is] essentially his identical twin sister, so not a centerfold, if I can be diplomatic. MTV: Does she think she's a centerfold? Dugan: She's this Bronx spinster, all that that entails in a single, 40-ish woman from the Bronx. She's a really powerful personality that could be translated as a pain in the ass, depending on who you are, but has a really, really, really nice heart. She just doesn't understand how annoying she is. MTV: What kind of Adam Sandler movie is this? How does it compare to your other offerings? Dugan: It's very funny. It's got a lot of heart. It's PG and it's a Thanksgiving/Christmas type of movie and, so far, in tests it appeals all the way across the board. And so if you were saying it was different from a normal Adam Sandler movie, it has a wide appeal to both — to women and boys too. So it plays out pretty equally among all the quadrants, where usually [our movies] are a tiny bit more focused on younger males. MTV: How was working with Al Pacino? Dugan: It was just absolutely wonderful when he said yes. We were delighted and then we were scared. He's an artist, he wants to be as great as he can possibly be and he doesn't care what project it is. I saw him on Broadway in "Merchant of Venice" and he has the exact commitment to playing the part of Al Pacino in the movie as he did Shylock. MTV: Would you say that Pacino or Katie Holmes is the more pleasant surprise in the film? Dugan: I wouldn't say one or the other was more pleasant but it was just delightful. [Katie] is just the nicest human being and the most flexible in terms of working. She had a lot to do with most characters; Pacino had a little less to do in terms of split screens and all of the effects and green screens and all of that stuff. But Katie just has that smile on her face and it's genuine. And then Al, like I said, we were kind of scared because we didn't know what his process was but he just dives in, completely commits to everything. Every crazy thing we threw at him, he did, and did it with gusto, and that was nice because he's delightful and happy and brave and I couldn't have had a better time. From "Abduction" to "Muppets, "Moneyball" to "Breaking Dawn," the MTV Movies team is delving into the hottest upcoming flicks in our 2011 Fall Movie Preview. Check back daily for exclusive clips, photos and interviews with the films' biggest stars. Check out everything we've got on "Jack and Jill." For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com. Related Videos Related Photos |
| Daniel Craig, Rachel Weisz 'Committed' To 'Dream House' Couple Posted: 08 Sep 2011 02:55 AM PDT Producer Ehren Kruger talks about the newlyweds' performance in the thriller, in our Fall Movie Preview.
Daniel Craig and Rachel Weisz married in a quiet New York ceremony in June, an idyllic union that presents a stark contrast to their onscreen marriage in "Dream House." A genre mash-up with thriller and horror elements directed by Jim Sheridan, the film begins with a familiar setup: Craig, Weisz and their daughters move to a new home, only to discover their quarters are nothing like what they expected. From there, though, "Dream House" takes a twist, one that makes viewers reconsider everything they've previously seen and which was revealed in a surprisingly spoiler-filled trailer this summer. Click for photos from fall's biggest flicks! But as producer Ehren Kruger told MTV News recently, that twist is just one in a flick filled with them. If you think you know everything "Dream House" has in store, he made clear that you're missing all the clues — just as Kruger and the rest of the cast and crew seemingly missed the signs on set that Craig and Weisz's heated on-camera coupling was the beginning of a trip down the aisle.
As part of our Fall Movie Preview, we not only have a chat with Kruger, but the first clip from the film, in which Weisz confesses that she's certain something is wrong with their new home and Craig promises to hire a priest or "feng shui the place." Hit play on the video above and the read on for Kruger's interview. MTV: You've got some impressive talent in front of and behind the camera. How did all those pieces of the puzzle come together? Ehren Kruger: It started with the original script by David Loucka, which blended genres in a very interesting way. That caught the eye of Jim Sheridan, and he's not a director who is known for doing straightforward genre pieces. So he responded to some of the deeper character ideas in the script, and once he became interested, we started developing the script with him and very quickly there were actors like Daniel and Rachel and Naomi [Watts] that were interested in being a part of it, because his reputation is so wonderful with performance. You don't always get that in genres that are perceived as just a mystery or just a scary movie or just a thriller, so getting involved in this allowed the actors to bring their A-game and challenge themselves performance-wise. MTV: As you said, this is not the type of film that Jim Sheridan normally takes on. Why was he the right guy for the job? Kruger: He's often dealing with families in an emotional crisis. He really responds to that sort of environment, so while this story has a lot of the scary genre trappings and mystery trappings, at its core it's really a family that's in intense crisis. MTV: In terms of developing the script, what are the influences you drew on? Kruger: It shares some genre DNA with movies like "The Others" or "The Sixth Sense" or "Rosemary's Baby" and movies that really try to cast a spell in terms of mood. In the world of scary thriller mysteries, there are the vampires and the zombies and the mask killers. They are very upfront with what is scary about them. And then there are the more traditional ghost-story antagonists, where their secrets can play something even more sinister. You don't quite know who is pulling the strings and what to be afraid of. We talked about some of those classic ghost-story influences like "The Haunting" or "The Innocence" or "The Shining," movies where you are dealing with something you initially think you can fight or combat but then aren't sure if you can at all. MTV: Tell us about what Daniel brought to the table, how he approached the material and how he made the character his own. Kruger: He's a very intense person, and it comes across in his roles and on the screen. This is a character who, on the outside, seems like an everyman, a family man, but you come to find out he has a number of demons of his own. Daniel was really able to dig into those and pull off a very intense portrayal of a man trying to protect his family in nearly an impossible situation. It's a very valiant performance from him. And the chemistry between him and Rachel, which is kind of the core of the film, is really great. MTV: Was their relationship off camera apparent to you on the set? Kruger: They are both very focused actors, so you just figured they were really committed to their performance of this married couple. There is method acting and I guess there is matrimonial method acting. But I wouldn't say it was apparent during shooting. They were playing the roles as professional, and it went from there. MTV: You show a big twist in the trailer about the murders that took place in the house. How do you make the decision of how much to reveal and how early? Kruger: It's always a trick with movies that start off seeming like one thing and then turn into something else. In the case of this movie, it turns into something else again. You just have to make the decision of what is the best way to tell the audience that they are going to be getting more than what they think they are getting. You could have a trailer that doesn't reveal any of the revelations that they will come to find out about — the house where he lives and the family — and then there's just not quite enough juicy material to sell the movie. You have to provide a little and assure the audience there's going to be more revelations. MTV: When do you find out who the murderer is in the movie? Kruger: It will be in the first half of the movie that you are getting the revelations that are in the trailer, so there is still half of the movie of mystery to tell. From "Abduction" to "Muppets, "Moneyball" to "Breaking Dawn," the MTV Movies team is delving into the hottest upcoming flicks in our 2011 Fall Movie Preview. Check back daily for exclusive clips, photos and interviews with the films' biggest stars. Check out everything we've got on "Dream House." For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com. Related Videos Related Photos |
| Wiz Khalifa Cleared Of Felony Marijuana Charges Posted: 08 Sep 2011 12:33 AM PDT North Carolina district attorney drops trafficking charge against 'Black and Yellow' MC.
Wiz Khalifa's felony marijuana charges have gone up in smoke. On Wednesday, Pitt County (North Carolina) District Attorney Clark Everett dropped a felony drug trafficking count against the rapper, who was arrested on November 8 following a show on the campus of East Carolina University after police found marijuana on his tour bus. Khalifa and nine other men were subsequently charged with trafficking, maintaining a vehicle for sale or storage of marijuana and a misdemeanor offense of possession of drug paraphernalia. But according to Everett, the trafficking charge was in error, because the amount of marijuana seized on the bus — slightly more than 2 ounces, according to Greenville, North Carolina's The Daily Reflector — did not exceed the 10-pound threshold required to make the count stick. Everett told the Reflector that all additional charges against Khalifa and six others with him were dismissed when three of the men admitted the marijuana was theirs and pleaded guilty to misdemeanor possession during an August 11 hearing. Each of the three paid a $1,000 fine and court costs. In the days following his arrest, Keith Stroup, legal counsel for the marijuana-advocacy group NORML, predicted to MTV News that it was likely Khalifa's attorney would arrange for such a plea deal, in which the rapper, or one of the other men arrested, would agree to possession of marijuana for personal use. At the time of his arrest, Khalifa paid a substantial fee to a bail bondsman to cover a $300,000 bond for himself and the nine other men arrested so they could leave immediately, a tab Everett said was also an error, given the actual nature of the charges. "The magistrate or someone at that office must have misread the statute. We discovered the error maybe two hours after [Khalifa] paid the bondsman's premium and left," he told the Reflector. "Because of that, it was a high price he paid for bringing the drug onto campus. Had he remained to discover the error, he would not have been bonded so high. Probably $1,000." A spokesperson for the Pitt County District Attorney's Office did not respond to MTV News' request for comment on the matter by press time. Related Videos Related Artists |
| Justin Bieber Can't Stay Away From Cobra Starship's Drums Posted: 08 Sep 2011 12:24 AM PDT 'He could beat me up, so I can't say anything,' Cobra drummer Nate Novarro says of Bieber hopping on his kit before VMAs.
Anyone who was inside the J.W. Marriott in downtown Los Angeles during rehearsals for the 2011 Video Music Awards pre-show can surely attest to two things: the catchiness of Cobra Starship's "You Make Me Feel ..." (especially since they sound-checked it roughly 52 dozen times) and the fact that, during a quick break from all that sound-checking, Justin Bieber totally snuck behind the band's drum kit and let it rip.
Bieber, of course, was there to support his girlfriend, Selena Gomez, who was serving as MTV News' special pre-show correspondent, and he's definitely no stranger to the occasional drum solo, so the whole thing sort of made sense (though, to be fair, pretty much everyone who saw it go down couldn't believe their eyes). But, when we caught up with Cobra Starship backstage at the Fueled by Ramen 15th anniversary show in New York on Wednesday, we had to ask them: Were they aware of Bieber's impromptu drum performance? And, more importantly, did they take umbrage to it? "I heard about that, that Justin Bieber was playing our kit," Cobra bassist Alex Suarez laughed. "It's a rental," drummer Nate Novarro added. Of course, you'll notice that Novarro didn't say whether Bieber's actions angered him. Is the drum kit, much like the pitcher's mound, a sacred space in which only a select few dare tread? "Kind of, but [Bieber] could beat me up, so I can't approach him and say anything," Novarro said. It should be noted, however, that this is not the first time Bieber has hijacked Cobra Starship's kit. At the 2009 Jingle Ball in Sacramento, California, he took the stage during the band's set after frontman Gabe Saporta challenged him to a dance-off, but, since JB was still recovering from a broken foot, all he could do was sit down behind the drums and bang out a searing solo. And that, Novarro believes, set the precedent for the VMA pre-show incident. "He showed me what he could do, and it was good, so I was like, 'You can come back and do it whenever you want,' " he said. "I think he just took full advantage of that." And it was at that exact minute that Cobra guitarist Ryland Blackinton — perhaps wanting to quash any beef with the Biebs (especially since the two are set to tour Mexico and South America next month) — stepped in to diffuse the situation and let it be known that they were cool with any and all Bieber-related drum performances. "He didn't overstep any boundaries," Blackinton said. Phew. Related Artists |
| Michael Jackson Manslaughter Trial Begins Jury Selection Posted: 07 Sep 2011 11:48 PM PDT Dr. Conrad Murray faces charges he administrated lethal dose of sedatives to Jackson.
It's been more than two years since Michael Jackson's death shocked the world on the eve of the pop icon's planned comeback tour. In the time since, the focus has turned to the King of Pop's personal physician, Dr. Conrad Murray, who officials claim administered the lethal combination of sedatives that ended Jackson's life at age 50. On Thursday (September 8), jury selection began in Los Angeles in Murray's manslaughter trial, which promises to grab headlines for the next month as prosecutors aim to pin the "Thriller" singer's death on a series of actions Murray allegedly took in the hours before Jackson's passing. No cameras will be allowed inside the courtroom for the trial, which will begin as soon as 12 impartial jurors can be found, a task that will likely be challenging given the worldwide attention Jackson's death generated. Jackson died on June 25, 2009, after suffering cardiac arrest at his rented Hollywood mansion. The Los Angeles County coroner's office ruled that the 50-year-old singer died of "acute propofol intoxication" in combination with the use of sedatives. Authorities have claimed that cardiologist Murray administered a lethal dose of the surgical anesthetic to chronic insomniac Jackson in an attempt to help him get to sleep. Murray was charged with involuntary manslaughter last February in connection with Jackson's death and has pleaded not guilty in the case. The doctor is out on $75,000 bail and faces up to four years in prison and the revocation of his medical license if convicted. After taking care of Jackson and the singer's children in his hometown of Las Vegas, Murray was hired by the pop star to be his personal physician in the lead-up to a series of 50 comeback shows at the O2 Arena in London dubbed This Is It. Murray was by Jackson's side the night he died and has admitted to administering several doses of propofol and other sedatives to his client, but his lawyers have said that the physician did not give the fatal push of medication. Instead, they reportedly are planning to argue that Jackson — a chronic insomniac who was allegedly addicted to a deadly cocktail of strong sedatives in order to get rest — gave himself the final dose while Murray was out of the room. According to a Reuters report, in the first three days of the oft-delayed trial more than 480 potential jurors will be brought through the court house. They will be given a 30-page, 117-question survey seeking their past experience with prescription drugs, doctors, celebrities, news outlets, law enforcement and queries about their DVD collections, according to NBC Los Angeles. Among the questions on an earlier version of the questionnaire: "Have you ever considered yourself a fan of Michael Jackson or the Jackson family?," "Did you ever watch [the Jackson documentary] 'This Is It'?" and "What Internet sites or blogs, if any, do you visit on a regular basis?" The pool will be cut down to 100 potential jurors who will return for more questioning later this month. The trial is expected to last five weeks, with opening arguments set for September 27. Related Videos Related Photos Related Artists |
| Paramore Debut 'Renegade' At Fueled By Ramen Show Posted: 08 Sep 2011 09:44 AM PDT Band promises churning new track will be available online 'soon,' at 15th anniversary concert in NYC.
During Wednesday night's Fueled by Ramen 15th anniversary concert, Paramore pulled the curtain back on a brand-new song, "Renegade," and promised that fans will be able to hear a full studio version very soon.
The new song — recorded along with their roaring single "Monster" back in March with producer Rob Cavallo — is a churning, spiky thing, full of roiling bass and guitars, and seems to bridge the gap between the band's punky Riot! past and the more plaintive expanses of 2009's Brand New Eyes. Paramore have been using a recorded version of the brand-new track as their intro music during their recent run of Warped Tour dates. Now, as frontwoman Hayley Williams promised the crowd at New York's Terminal 5, fans will be able to get their hands on it in the very near future. "This song, we will be putting online for you to have as soon as possible, we're working on it!" she shouted. Of course, it's not clear when (or even where) "Renegade" will be made available. A spokesperson for the band's label told MTV News that the release date "has yet to be confirmed." Paramore didn't just use the FBR anniversary show as a platform to premiere new songs, though. They also worked a classic into another new track, spinning a few refrains of Fleetwood Mac's stirring "Landslide" into their sonorous acoustic track "In the Mourning," and the crowd definitely appreciated the move, singing along to the iconic verses and cheering wildly. And Williams responded, telling fans that they'll be able to own that track too. After all, she's been promising new material in 2011, and she did it again on Wednesday night. "Thank you so much, goodness!" she said. "Well, if you like that, we're going to release it later this year for you guys to have ... hey, we promised we'd put some new songs out for you. You guys sounded amazing on that, thanks for singing along." Are you excited for new music from Paramore? Tell us in the comments! Related Videos Related Photos Related Artists |
| Seth Rogen Talks Cancer, Sex And '50/50' Posted: 07 Sep 2011 10:21 PM PDT Rogen and screenwriter Will Reiser discuss the challenges of making a comedy about a guy with a terminal disease, in our Fall Movie Preview.
Thus far in MTV News' Fall Movie Preview, we've looked at comedies about drug-buying babysitters, people who hang out with puppets and stoners shooting Santa Claus in the face. Unconventional topics for big-screen laughs, all. "50/50" sees those flick's giggles-from-unexpected-places efforts, and raises 'em one: This is a comedy about having cancer, surviving it and figuring out a way to laugh about the whole thing. Based on the experiences of Will Reiser (who penned the script), "50/50" stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Kyle, a young man suddenly diagnosed with the disease. Seth Rogen plays his best friend, the guy trying to cheer him up and get him laid and distract him from the very real possibility of an untimely death. Rogen and Reiser recently called up MTV News to talk about the film's real-life inspirations, the challenges of marketing a comedy about cancer, and how Reiser's disease once gained them early access to "Batman Begins." MTV: So we're looking at "50/50" as part of our Fall Movie Preview. Where does your cancer comedy fit in with the likes of "Breaking Dawn" and "Sherlock Holmes" and "Mission Impossible"? Seth Rogen: I think it's funnier than all those movies. It is about something somewhat serious, but I really think it's as funny as any of our movies. That's what is really interesting about it to me. We'd always talk about how it's not a creative challenge to take something depressing and make something depressing out of it. To us, it was much more interesting to take something that's inherently depressing and try to make something really, really funny out of it. To me, the movies that are about something you generally don't want to watch but you keep watching for decades to come, the only reason you do that is because they're funny. A movie like "Dr. Strangelove," no one wants a movie about f---ing nuclear war, but if it's funny, you keep watching it. Tonally, that's what we were trying to do. Will Reiser: Yeah, challenging that idea of what's acceptable. People are really afraid to laugh at illness in general. MTV: Did the pragmatists in both of you worry about marketing a movie like this? Rogen: I think it's challenging, but I know people like the movie, and if the movie was in any way disappointing, we would really have a challenge. But because it's a satisfying movie and ultimately not depressing and our trailers have been good; it's no bigger challenge than some of the other movies we've done. At the time, a weed action movie was not easy to market. MTV: How true to life is this film for you? Reiser: It's definitely fiction. I took from my own experience and created something that's a work of fiction. I can relate to the character and I really tried to draw on my own experiences. And the other characters, like my mother in the movie — that's not my mother — but there are elements of my mother and there are elements there in our relationship that are things we really went through. A lot of the alienation and isolation and the absurdity you feel when you're sick, that all speaks to my experience. At the time, Seth and I would laugh about it. When you're that young, you don't sit around and talk about your emotions. We're comedy writers. We would joke about it. Rogen: It was never, "What happens when you die?" It was, "Are you too old to get a Make-A-Wish? We should at least go for it. Worst comes to worse, we hang out with Led Zeppelin for a day." Reiser: It's dark humor, but that's who we are and that's how we came up with the idea for the movie. We were at a party one night and we came up with this idea for a buddy comedy. Rogen: The first version was an R-rated version of "The Bucket List." MTV: What about the element of encouraging Kyle to use his illness to benefit his sex life. Is that true to life? Rogen: I don't think it was as specific as, "You can use this to get laid." But I did aggressively push Will to always look on the bright side and make something good out of it. Maybe we can get a free drink, maybe we can go on a trip somewhere. Reiser: I remember in 2005 I had just had this horrible back surgery and I could barely walk, and Seth and I were waiting on line to see this huge action movie — I think it was "Batman Begins" — and Seth walked to the front and said, "My friend has cancer, can we skip the line?" Rogen: And it worked! So yes, I may or may not have used Will's cancer to get into "Batman Begins" for free. From "Abduction" to "Muppets, "Moneyball" to "Breaking Dawn," the MTV Movies team is delving into the hottest upcoming flicks in our 2011 Fall Movie Preview. Check back daily for exclusive clips, photos and interviews with the films' biggest stars. Check out everything we've got on "50/50." For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com. Related Videos Related Photos |
| Young Jeezy's <i>TM 103</i> Will 'Hurt Feelings,' Freddie Gibbs Says Posted: 07 Sep 2011 11:46 PM PDT 'It's definitely coming,' Gibbs tells 'RapFix Live' of Jeezy's long-awaited September 20 album.
It's been a long time coming. Young Jeezy's TM 103 is finally arriving, says Freddie Gibbs. At a New York City concert in July, the Snowman announced that his much-anticipated album would be released on September 20, but after nearly two years of delays, many were skeptical.
"Yeah it's coming out, it's definitely coming," Jeezy's newest signee Gibbs told "RapFix Live" on Wednesday. "TM 103, that's gonna be something to be reckoned with," Gibbs said. Back in 2010, the Plies-assisted "Lose My Mind" was the first official track released from the album, and Jeezy's current single, "Ballin'," featuring Lil Wayne, is picking up steam in the streets. In promoting the LP, Jeezy released his The Real Is Back 2 mixtape with DJ Drama on September 3, but fans have yet to see TM 103's album cover or an official track listing, and with less than two weeks before it is due in stores, anticipation is building. "It's a lot of rumblings, it's gonna be some controversy with that record too," Gibbs said. "People's feelings gonna get hurt." Jeezy's debut album, Let's Get It: Thug Motivation 101, dropped in 2005, and the following year he dropped The Inspiration: Thug Motivation 102. By 2008, Mr. 17.5 had taken a break from the TM series, deciding to release The Recession instead, but now he has decided to return to the album series that cemented his place as a rap titan. As far as what TM 103 has in store, Gibbs wouldn't say, instead choosing to let his CTE CEO present the long-awaited LP as he sees fit. "I ain't speaking on nothing Jeezy doin'," Gibbs said. "I know what I'm doin'." Related Videos Related Artists |
| How Did Bruno Mars End Up On Song Of Summer 'Lighters'? Posted: 08 Sep 2011 03:53 AM PDT Singer jokes that a 'freestyle battle' with Eminem landed him on Bad Meets Evil track.
Over on the MTV Newsroom blog, it was a heated battle for 2011's Song of the Summer. Would it be Lady Gaga, Britney Spears, Katy Perry or LMFAO? Or would Bad Meets Evil (Eminem and Royce Da 5'9'') bring home the title for hip-hop heads everywhere?
Well, on Wednesday (September 7), the world spoke, and the summer jam that reigned supreme was Bad Meets Evil's feel-good anthem "Lighters," featuring Bruno Mars. Earlier this summer, MTV News caught up with Mars, and he revealed just how he ended up on the track. "It was a freestyle battle," he joked. "I said, 'Yo, Em, if I beat you, you're gonna have to do a song with me!' I shut him down right then and there." What's no joke is the way fans have been connecting with the track, which proudly declares, "This one's for you and me living out our dreams/ We're all right where we should be/ With my arms out wide I open my eyes/ And now all I wanna see is a sky full of lighters." Now that Mars and his crew are the ruling Kings of Summer, he is planning his next big move, which includes a top-secret new track. "I'm definitely thinking about what's next," he said. "I've got a song that I just wrote that I'm extremely proud of and I worked really hard on, and it's gonna come out soon." While he wouldn't say much else, he teased that the song was for Michael Bolton before admitting, "No, it's for me." In addition to working on more tracks for his own bustling career, he shared that he'd love to get into the studio with Cee Lo Green again, and even Lil Wayne. "But this is just the very beginning and there's a lot more to come." What are you expecting next from Bruno Mars? Let us know in the comments! Related Videos Related Artists |
| Chris Brown Fan: Keeping Rolex 'Didn't Cross My Mind' Posted: 08 Sep 2011 09:18 AM PDT 'I was afraid it was gonna get broken,' VMA hero Alisha Borton tells MTV News of rescuing singer's pricey watch.
When Chris Brown's Rolex went missing during his high-flying VMA performance last month, it was a young lady in the audience who found the watch and promptly returned it to the pop star. Alisha Borton, a 24-year-old Ohio native, got tickets to the 2011 VMAs through a casting service while she was in California visiting a friend. Little did Alisha know that just by attending the show — and finding Brown's very expensive Rollie — she would become the unofficial leader of Team Breezy.
"I was actually on the stage right behind where the trampoline was," Borton recalled to MTV News on Wednesday. "You can see me right behind the trampoline ... on TV [and] you can see where he takes off his watch and throws it. I guess he did it on purpose. There's the watch flying in the air, I just picked it up and put it on my wrist. I was afraid it was gonna get broken." After putting on the watch for safekeeping, the dental hygiene student kept her eye out for the singer. "Whenever he came off the stage, I kind of went towards him but he didn't see me at all," she explained. "Then we were walking back to where we were [standing onstage]. Then there was a lady ... the lady came up to me [and said], 'I need that watch,' and she took it." The star's watch is worth an estimated $22,000, and Alisha joked, "I thought it was expensive, I didn't think it was that expensive. I had it on my wrist waiting for somebody to take it. That's crazy," she added about the price of the accessory. "That's like taking a car and trying to sell it. It didn't cross my mind that I could keep it." For helping to make sure that watch got back in one piece, Breezy rewarded Borton with concert tickets and a special VIP meet-and-greet with him at his September 21 show in Ohio. "It's just been so crazy. I haven't gotten to process it yet. My friends are probably tired of me talking about it," she laughed. Related Videos Related Artists |
| Lil Wayne, Lady Gaga, The Throne Show More Than One Way To #1 Posted: 08 Sep 2011 09:55 AM PDT The top five chart debuts of 2011 so far, including Beyonce, Adele, each used a different approach.
We expect certain things from our pop superstars: amazing, outrageous outfits and rides, spectacular stage shows and gaudy first-week sales. So far this year, some of our brightest have not disappointed, with Lady Gaga, Lil Wayne, Adele, Beyoncé, Jay-Z and Kanye West posting 2011's biggest chart debuts to date. But what's most amazing in this age when traditional album sales have continued to shrink due to still-rampant illegal file downloads, is that they all achieved their chart triumphs in totally different ways, proving that these days there's more than one way to land on top. #1 With a Bullet: Lady Gaga's Born This Way It was an old-school, flood-the-zone approach that worked for several reasons: Gaga's legion of Little Monsters are always eager to help Mother Monster spread her message, the singer has harnessed a record-setting army of social media followers, and her ability to morph her look and continue to shock and surprise with new characters, from mermaids to Jo Calderone, keeps interest high. Born This Way became the first album since Lil Wayne's Tha Carter III in 2008 to cross the million mark in its debut, while Gaga proved that the old everywhere-at-once model can still work in this new era. #2: Lil Wayne, Just Shy of a Milli Wayne's nearly year in prison and a string of street singles helped prime the pump for the Young Money boss' smash chart dive. Similar to the non-stop buzz for the equally huge Tha Carter III, a series of anticipated Carter IV release dates came and went, building the hype for the effort. And, like Gaga, Weezy used an old-school method to keep interest up: touring. His relentless roadwork, plus an 11th-hour leak of the disc and the midnight release stunt all added up to a new look/old look combo that put up near-platinum first week numbers. #3: Kanye and Jay-Z Share The Throne Watch the Throne might have sold more in its first week, but some experts said its staggered release — following the iTunes exclusive, it was available to all digital and physical sellers on August 12, giving fans only two days to snatch it up before SoundScan's tracking week ended on Sunday — may have curtailed its first-week sales potential. They were helped, though, by the fact that they miraculously avoided a leak of the album by employing a high-tech, CIA-like series of maneuvers to guard the master tapes until the moment they were sent to the pressing plant. Either way, it was a huge score for both rappers, giving Jay his 12th #1 album and Kanye his fifth, while providing proof that at the end of the day, star power can still win the day. The pair also served notice to other rap icons that two can be better than one, and has spurred talk of other potential all-star albums by Drake, Wayne and Rick Ross; Fabolous and Ne-Yo; Drake and Trey Songz; and the long-dormant Nas and AZ joint. #4 Selling in the Deep: Adele's 21 A recent Rolling Stone article noted that the album also got a boost when a number of dance-pop-leaning radio stations that wouldn't normally play such a sedate ballad picked it up earlier this year to great success. While the song clearly clicked with female listeners, the robust 2 million in physical sales — along with a record-setting 1.1 million in digital copies — indicates that it has pulled in older and casual music fans as well. "Deep" was almost an afterthought, slapped together in a day, though upon hearing it, Adele's manager immediately dubbed it the first single. And, in this era when other divas like Gaga, Beyoncé and Katy Perry push out singles and videos at a rapid pace, Adele's label took the opposite approach, purposely rolling out the single laconically and allowing the album to catch on in a slow-burn manner. #5: Queen Beyoncé Reigns Again With 4 Though it clearly wasn't part of the traditional album set-up plan, Bey got a major boost post-VMAs when her baby reveal made headlines and goosed sales by nearly 90 percent in one week. Other pop and rock artists who had big debuts include Britney Spears, who put up her sixth #1 album thanks to sales of 276,000 for Femme Fatale, Chris Brown, who notched his first #1 debut in late March with F.A.M.E., which sold a respectable 270,000 copies and rockers the Foo Fighters, who scored their first #1 debut in April with Wasting Light, which earned the pole position with 235,000 in sales. The bottom line? Whether they do it old school by humping it out on the road and plastering their face all over the newsstands, tap into their online army or break the modern cycle of leaks with technological wizardry, today's stars are finding a way to make the system work for them in all new combinations. Related Videos Related Artists |
| Lil Wayne Scores 18 BET Hip-Hop Award Nominations Posted: 08 Sep 2011 07:34 AM PDT Wiz Khalifa and Kanye West rolled up nine each.
Lil Wayne is having a moment. On the heels of landing a nearly platinum first sales week for Tha Carter IV, Weezy put up another set of gaudy numbers on Wednesday when he was nominated for a record 18 BET Hip-Hop Awards.
How big a figure is that? Wayne's number equaled the combined total of the next two biggest nominees at the sixth annual show, Kanye West and Wiz Khalifa, who each earned nine a piece. Among his nods: Best Live Performer, Lyricist of the Year, MVP of the Year, Track of the Year, Best Club Banger and Viewers' Choice ("6 Foot, 7 Foot"), Best Featured Verse ("Motivation" by Kelly Rowland) and Hustler of the Year. Right behind Wiz and 'Ye is Rick Ross, with eight nominations including Hustler of the Year, MVP of the Year, Lyricist of the Year and Reese's Perfect Combo Award for best collaboration for his verses on Ace Hood's "Hustle Hard" remix and DJ Khaled's "I'm on One." Kanye got lots of love for his visuals and performances, including Best Hip-Hop Video for "All of the Lights," Best Live Performer, Lyricist of the Year, Video Director of the Year, Producer of the Year, MVP of the Year and CD of the Year for My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. Wiz was noticed as Rookie of the Year, Made-You-Look Award for hip-hop style, Verizon People's Champ Award (Viewers' Choice) and Best Club Banger for "Black and Yellow," and two bids for the Sweet 16: Best Featured Verse for his bars on Tinie Tempah's "Till I'm Gone" and Cee Lo Green's "Bright Lights, Bigger City." Other Rookie of the Year nominees include Big K.R.I.T., Big Sean, Frank Ocean, Diggy Simmons and Tyler, the Creator. The show, which will air on October 11, will be hosted by comedian Mike Epps and feature Maybach Music's Meek Mill in the cypher. Related Videos Related Photos Related Artists |
| Freddie Gibbs, Kendrick Lamar Explain #1 Rule Of Ghostwriting Posted: 08 Sep 2011 07:11 AM PDT 'Shhh, don't tell nobody,' Gibbs says on 'RapFix Live.'
The #1 rule of ghostwriting in rap is not to talk about ghostwriting in rap. Freddie Gibbs and Kendrick Lamar are not only two of the most exciting up-and-coming performers in the game, but dynamic writers as well, so it's no wonder that others would enlist the two rap rookies to pen lyrics. Not that Gangsta Gibbs or K. Dot would reveal their list of clients.
"Shhh, don't tell nobody," Gibbs joked on Wednesday's "RapFix Live" when asked if he has ever writing lyrics for another MC. Still, show host Sway Calloway pressed on. "Is it a written agreement, is it a verbal agreement?" he asked. "It's a money agreement with me. If your money ain't talking, I'mma talk. I'mma bust you out and say, 'Yeah, I wrote that for him,' " Gibbs replied before admitting that he has lent his pen to about five different artists since his rise through rap's ranks. Kendrick was even more cryptic. Since his name started buzzing in late 2009, Lamar has been rumored to have written lyrics for some of the game's biggest artists, but nothing has ever been confirmed. When Game dropped his R.E.D. Album on August 23, however, both Lamar and Jay-Z protégé J. Cole received writing credit on "Drug Test," a song neither of them appeared on vocally. Instead, the song features Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, singer Sly and, of course, Game. "Yeah, we had some work to do with that," Kendrick confirmed before explaining the process. "With writer's credit, it can be anything from a melody, to just an idea thrown into the air. As long as they give you the credit for it, it doesn't initially have to be the writing though. ... I just threw a few ideas in the air." Related Videos 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