| Did Eminem Go Too Far With His Mariah Carey Dis Track? Posted: 31 Jul 2009 02:05 AM PDT Lyrics of 'The Warning' are a scathing attack on Carey and husband Nick Cannon.
By Jocelyn Vena 
Eminem
Photo: Scott Gries/Getty Images First Eminem wrote a song, "Bagpipes From Baghdad," directed at Mariah Carey and Nick Cannon. Then she seemed to respond to his track with her own, "Obsessed," although she has denied the song and the video were directed at him. Now, this week, Eminem has released a scathing dis track, "The Warning," directed at Carey and her husband, Nick Cannon, during which he alleges and describes what was his one full sexual encounter with Carey, labels her a "liar" and other ugly names, and threatens to reveal personal pictures and phone messages he has of the singer. (Carey has denied ever having a romantic relationship with Eminem, while he has insisted there was one.) Eminem has a history of blistering disses, but the song raises the question: Has he taken the feud too far? MTV News headed to Times Square to get fans' opinions on the matter. "I think Eminem has gone too far on this one," Cherie Gardner said. "Even if it is true, I think that's a bit too far." Another fan, Heather, agreed that the track is Eminem being Eminem, but perhaps to an extreme level. "I think if he did anything else, it wouldn't be his kind of signature thing," she said. "Although the part about murdering [her], that probably is a little too far." Meanwhile, Jamie Gilcrest was fluctuating about whether or not the track went too far. "Maybe it is a little inappropriate because he is kind of being an a--hole to her," he said. "But he's just getting his feelings out there, so I think that's pretty cool." But other fans think that this latest feud is stemming from a financial place, not an authentic place. "The dissing thing back and forth, that's kind of played out," Justin Price said. "You know what I'm saying. Like Jay-Z's beefing with the Game. Everyone's got a beef to sell stuff. Eminem is actually better than that." Yet Antwone Wright is quick to point out that this beef is a bit different from when two rappers beef. "Obviously it's going to be different than 50 Cent dissing Ja Rule, because I don't think that 50 cent and Ja Rule ever slept together! But you're trying to dis your girlfriend, I think I would consider that acceptable." Another fan thinks that the track is just Eminem being Eminem. "I don't think he's gone too far. He's Eminem," Katherine Schneeberger said. "That's what he does — be outrageous — so I don't really think it's too far." Related Artists |
| Kanye West Watches While Naked Woman, Performance Artists Pay Tribute To <i>808s & Heartbreak</i> Posted: 30 Jul 2009 10:33 PM PDT West, unfazed by woman's confrontational performance, seems to enjoy 'Why Won't You Let Me Be Great!!!'
By Jim Cantiello 
Kanye West (file)
Photo: Astrid Stawiarz/ Getty Images NEW YORK — Just hours before surprising fans by joining Clipse onstage at the Diesel party, Kanye West was sitting in the small Performance Space 122, watching a group of downtown performance artists pay tribute to his latest album, 808s & Heartbreak. In the new show, "Why Won't You Let Me Be Great!!!" (named after a quote from one of Kanye's fiery blog posts), post-modern dancers, video artists and cabaret legends reinterpret West's highly personal 2008 album in fresh, and sometimes controversial, ways. The show kicked off with an experimental animated film called "Say You Will (Kanye West at the Scale of My Household)" by Karinne Keithley, who is also renowned for her performance of Guns N' Roses "Sweet Child O' Mine" on ukelele. Miniature horse figurines, snail shells and sweater buttons twirled around while 808s opener "Say You Will" was performed by female vocalists who sounded like avant-pop group CocoRosie. Then, show co-creator Neal Medlyn appeared onstage and spazzed out to "Welcome to Heartbreak." His dancing comprised of showing off his double-jointed thumbs and head-thrashing. What began as a silly display quickly turned into an eerie vision, as a naked woman emerged in the back of the stage and mimicked Neal's increasingly harrowing movements. The nude figure stayed for the album's next track, "Heartless," and was joined by several other dancers in a routine "constructed" by Christine Elmo. At one point, she contorted to make her upper torso seemingly disappear, thus making her appear literally heartless (as well as stomach-less, arm-less, and headless.) The sight of disembodied legs and buttocks slowly walking towards the audience was one of many unforgettable snapshots of the night. The evening became tense and uncomfortable when notorious (and buck-naked) performance artist Ann Liv Young confronted Kanye personally, shouting that she didn't think 808s was his best work, all the while grinding barbequed pork into her naked crotch (and then eating it). We all know Kanye is no stranger to confrontation and controversy, so perhaps Liv Young was paying tribute to that? In any case, the audience reacted with absolute horror during her "interpretation" of "Love Lockdown." To Kanye's credit, he barely flinched. (Liv Young rather shrewdly ended her performance by shouting, "I love your work with Common," before gathering her clothes — and pork products — and scurrying offstage.) Thankfully, video artist Myles Kane defused the tension with a playful live-video-editing demonstration to Kanye's "Paranoid." Kane brilliantly manipulated video footage of "RoboCop" and a blaxploitation flick, even intercutting between similar — and sometimes nearly identical — shots from the two disparate films. (The mood became even lighter once Varsity Interpretive Dance Squad bounded onstage, performing charmingly literal choreography to Kanye's "RoboCop.") The final stretch of 808s — beginning with "Street Lights" — is especially dark and reflective. Thus, it was fitting that "Why Won't You Let Me Be Great!!!" saved its most serious work for the end. Tony-nominated performer Kenny Mellman — of Kiki and Herb fame — delivered a gut-wrenching cover of "Street Lights" behind a piano while a woman's sweater was slowly unraveled. Then, Dance Gang's "Bad News" poetic choreography suggested that Kanye worked through his pain by evolving his art. But it was Neal Medlyn's grand finale that made the biggest impression on Kanye. Medlyn's intensely emotional cover of album closer "Pinocchio's Story" (while video of fireworks looped behind him) prompted West to seek out Neal after the show was over to tell him it moved him to tears. Medlyn and West talked for five minutes as the crowd of downtown artists looked in awe. The man they had just paid tribute to was now paying tribute to one of their own. Conceived by Medlyn, former "MTV Detox" producer Brendan Kennedy and the dance crew Catch, "Why Won't You Let Me Be Great!!!" is appearing at PS122 through Saturday. Related Artists |
| What Was Michael Jackson Like As A Father? Posted: 31 Jul 2009 12:45 AM PDT Producer Teddy Riley recalls how MJ cared for his children in 'Michael Jackson's Human Nature,' airing Saturday at noon ET on MTV.
By Andrew Millard, with additional reporting by Edward Paige 
Michael Jackson
Photo: Amy Graves / Getty Images Most of us have memories of Michael Jackson being an electrifying performer. Teddy Riley remembers him as an amazing dad. Riley became close to Jackson while producing tracks for his Dangerous and HIStory albums. That bond grew stronger while working on songs for 2001's Invincible, when Michael introduced him to his kids for the first time. "I felt so nervous meeting his children," Riley recalled. "He brought them in and he said, 'I want you to meet Paris and I want you to meet Prince.' And they walk in, playful. And then he was like, 'This is Theodore'. He didn't say Teddy. They were like, 'Hi, Theodore!' And it was just the greatest feeling." What struck Riley immediately was how much Michael loved his kids and how involved he was in their lives. "He read them a book every day. When we were in Virginia during the Invincible [sessions], there was not one day missed reading the children something. So that showed me right there that he was an incredible father." Parenting was a major topic of conversation between Jackson and Riley, who has a family of his own — especially when it came to methods of punishment. This was a sensitive issue for Jackson because of the physical abuse he said he suffered as a child from his father, Joe Jackson. "He was like, 'I would never have them go through the same things ever in their lives,' " Riley said. "He was like, 'I think the best scolding for children was a time-out.' The best scolding for children was, 'Let's read a book.' " Although Teddy respected Michael's hands-on approach with his kids, he did think he was kind of a pushover when it came to discipline. "I have to say this, but his time-outs were not as bad as, you know, our time-outs," he laughed. "They don't go up against a wall and look at the wall for an hour or 10 minutes. He sent them to the bunks with no TV. For me, that's a good time-out. But the kids, they knew what it was." For more intimate anecdotes about the King of Pop, tune in to MTV on Saturday at noon ET for the premiere of "Michael Jackson's Human Nature." Related Artists |
| Bravery's Sam Endicott Is Surprised He Co-Wrote Shakira's 'She Wolf' Too Posted: 31 Jul 2009 03:28 AM PDT 'We just made the thing independently of her, and then she liked it a lot,' he tells MTV News.
By James Montgomery 
Shakira in "She Wolf"
Photo: Sony On Thursday night, much to the delight of her fans and lycanthropes everywhere, Shakira premiered the video for her totally batty, completely amazing new song "She Wolf." And while most of the chatter has (somewhat understandably) centered on her howling, hanging and hip-popping, we'd be remiss if we didn't point out that the song itself is actually pretty mind-blowing too: a whirling, pulsating take on the slinky Italian disco tracks of the '70s and '80s, the kind of thing you just don't hear in pop tunes anymore. But given the instant success of "She Wolf," it's a style we expect to be emulated by producers everywhere any day now. You'd probably never guess it, but the song is the brainchild of none other than Sam Endicott, frontman of New York electro act the Bravery, who, along with producer John Hill, created the track mostly on a whim. "I'm friends with John Hill. He and I co-produced the new Bravery album, and in the process of that, we would just make beats and stuff on the side. Just mainly for fun," Endicott explained to MTV News. "We've done a lot of it, and somehow, Shakira contacted him, asking if he had any stuff. ... We never had her in mind. We just made the thing independently of her, and then she liked it a lot, and she sang over it. She used some of the melodies we put in there and then wrote these crazy lyrics about being a werewolf. And that's how it happened." If Endicott seems rather dumbfounded by the entire process, well, he is. And it gets even weirder. Not only did Shakira snag "She Wolf" from the duo, she also took two more tracks from them, which might end up on her much-anticipated new album, due in October. Though the whole thing happened pretty quickly, Endicott witnessed enough to be plenty impressed with Shakira's commitment to the project — and to making really bizarre pop tunes. "When I first heard her singing on the song, I really liked it, because it's f---ing weird for a pop song. She definitely has a strange lyric sense. This isn't the first song she's done with some bizarre lyrics in it," he laughed. "I like the idea of a werewolf. And when I heard her idea for the song, I was like, 'You gotta have her howl at the moon at some point,' and she did it. She's a subtle wolf." But even though he's suddenly found success penning songs for other artists, Endicott doesn't see himself changing careers anytime soon — not with a new Bravery album in the final stages (it's due later this year), at least. "I don't look at it like [some new career]. It's more that I really like music, regardless of the genre. I just really like making it, I like being involved with it, I like being around creative people," he said. "If there was a country band right now that wanted to have me come in and play bass, I'd say, 'F--- yeah.' Or if there was a metal band that ... you know, someone was talking to me about working with Priestess at one point. I would love it." And though Endicott admits to being probably the only person on the planet who has yet to watch the "She Wolf" video, he's heard it's "really great." Though, if he's being honest, he's a little disappointed that director Jake Nava didn't come to him for creative input on the clip, because he had a totally killer treatment in mind. "I was hoping they would do the video like 'Teen Wolf,' " he laughed. "Like I was hoping she could be playing basketball and turn into a werewolf and dunk on some people. ... That would be great." Related Videos Related Artists |
| Eminem And Mariah Carey Fans Take Sides Over Em's Dis Track Posted: 31 Jul 2009 12:56 AM PDT 'Em is just being Em, hate it or love it,' one fan says of 'The Warning.'
By Jocelyn Vena 
Mariah Carey and Eminem
Photo: James Devaney/ WireImage/ Interscope Soon after Eminem released his track "Bagpipes From Baghdad," which takes aim at Mariah Carey, there had been speculation that Carey's single and the video for "Obsessed" were a counterattack on the rapper. Everyone in Carey's camp denied the rumors, but it seems like Eminem responded with another dis track, "The Warning." Now fans are taking sides, saying Mariah needs to own up to her reported relationship with the rapper. "Eminem just OWNED Mariah," QUEST IS ABDC wrote on MTVNews.com. "Play with fire, you'll get burned. She needs to admit and face the truth about the relationship. If they ain't really have a relationship, Eminem wouldn't go this far. He's the TRUTH." Meanwhile, jpowell06 wrote, "I like Mariah and all, but she kinda had it comin'. If you had a relationship with the dude, just say it and be over it. Don't deny it. Em is just being Em, hate it or love it. I think he went a lil overboard with the name callin', but I still love him, cuz he's always being real and tellin' it like it is. I wanna see what Nick Cannon gonna say about this one." Despite the song's racy content, Liss2504 can't help but love Em for making "The Warning." "I love Em!" she wrote. "But dis is HARSH! I still love him!" But there are a few fans who don't think too highly of Em's song. "Eminem has officially fell off," Bashmatic wrote. "When Rick Ross ... says he's not what he used to be, Em is as quiet as a mouse. Instead, he goes after an R&B singer. Never in the history of rap has this been cool." Zoidburg took Mariah's side: "We will only be talking about this until Mariah's next single. Eminem don't matter!" But there are still the fans who think the whole thing is just about publicity. "I think it's all for sales," Andrew told MTV News in Times Square. " 'Cause when you hear Mariah going at Em, everybody's going to wanna hear it." Antwone Wright agreed, saying, "It's all a publicity stunt." And some felt that the track confirms everyone's suspicions: Mariah's "Obsessed" was, in fact, all about Em. "I guess that was Eminem in Mariah's new video, because he sure sounds pissed off on that dis record," Asonye88 wrote. "If I was Mariah, I would leave Em alone! Dude is really crazy!" Chelle06 added: "He went hard on this track, but this dude seriously got voice mails from, like, nine years ago. That sounds a lil obsessed!" What do you think about Mariah and Eminem's back-and-forth? Did Em take it to far? Let us know! Related Photos Related Artists |
| Kanye West Denies Ever Saying He's The 'New King Of Pop' Posted: 31 Jul 2009 01:17 AM PDT 'Not only did I not say that, I haven't said anything,' West writes on his blog.
By Jem Aswad 
Kanye West
Photo: Gareth Cattermole/ Getty Images Earlier this week, rumors spread that Kanye West had declared himself "the new King of Pop," in the wake of Michael Jackson's death late last month. While those rumors — which stemmed from an erroneous blog posted just days after Jackson's death but spread into the blogosphere this week — were never true, they were apparently not completely debunked. After Kanye heard about them, he fired off one of his characteristic all-caps blog entries, which was posted on Friday (July 31). "I was just listening to Wendy Williams' [radio show] and heard some quote about me saying I'm the new King of Pop," he wrote. "Not only did I not say that, I haven't said anything. It makes me feel bad that obviously I made people feel that I would be corny enough to say something so whack after the passing of an idol, a legend and, more than that, a human being with feelings and family. "It scares me to think what people will believe, without even a source," he continued. "Any random person can type something on the Internet and then the world believes it. I don't talk to press or do TV or do promotions of any sort. I've stopped chasing and buying into fame. Fame is like cigarettes with no surgeon general warning. It destroys most people as it did to the true and only King of Pop. We exploit ourselves and eat our own egos 'till there is nothing left. I have a feeling that this won't be the last false statement with my name on it, but this will be the last time I defend myself. I'm done." Related Artists |
| Wolfmother Return To Rock You, Because Led Zeppelin Can't Posted: 31 Jul 2009 12:21 AM PDT Frontman Andrew Stockdale picks up three new bandmembers to help carry on the Wolfmother name for Cosmic Egg.
By James Montgomery 
Wolfmother's Andrew Stockdale
Photo: MTV News In August 2008, after nearly two years of touring in support of their breakthrough debut, Wolfmother returned to their native Australia for a triumphant homecoming show at the Splendour in the Grass festival. It would be the last time they'd ever share the stage together. Three days later — amid constant media speculation that the band had broken up — Wolfmother's record label released a statement announcing that drummer Myles Heskett and bassist/keyboardist Chris Ross had left the group due to "irreconcilable differences" but that wild-haired guitarist/frontman Andrew Stockdale had decided to soldier on under the Wolfmother mantle, with plans to write and record a new album ... all by himself, if necessary. For almost a year, Stockdale toiled away, writing and recording, playing guitar, bass, drums (and even a Fender Rhodes here or there) on what he hoped would become the new Wolfmother album. He battled writer's block, feared that the musical muse had abandoned him and thought about scrapping the project more times than he cares to admit. But he never did. Because he never could. "I used to think musicians were like monks ... and music was like a religious path, because it tests you. It tests your ego, your jealousies, your competitiveness — all those things. How it's going to consume you. If you can keep writing songs. It tests you in so many ways," Stockdale told MTV News. "I decided to answer those challenges, for one, because I can't help myself, but also, because I'm the Wolfmother guy all the time. I'm the dude from Wolfmother. It confronts me all the time. I didn't want to justify myself to the press, or explain what happened, or what didn't happen, or who said what, or why. ... I didn't want to get involved in all that. So I thought the best thing to do was just make music and let that speak for itself." And it does. Due in October, Cosmic Egg shouts very loudly, showcasing the added punch of three new musicians (rhythm guitarist Aidan Nemeth, bassist/keyboardist Ian Peres and drummer Dave Atkins) and taking everything that made Wolfmother's self-titled debut such a smash — namely, gut-busting riffs, incendiary solos and bong-glazed mysticism — and cranking it to the absolute maximum. Tunes like "California Queen" and "Sundial" chug along on meaty chords, dive into sludgy breakdowns and sizzle with Stockdale's flame-kissed solos. "Far Away" and "Pilgrim" are moody, fog-machine ruminations on astral planes and mythic realms, floating on pealing organ lines and stony synths. And, of course, all of it is entirely intentional — because Stockdale loves a good challenge. "For a while, I was thinking of not going forward as Wolfmother ... but then, eventually, I decided just to do it. It's a bizarre situation, because you're making new music, but you're also connected to the first record, and the new people are replacing people. It's not a new band with a fresh slate," Stockdale said. "But once we got started making this record, I thought, 'It's more of a challenge to continue as Wolfmother,' because there is a first record, there is something to compare it to ... and that makes you push yourself." Emboldened by the struggle, and with a new album on the horizon, Stockdale is on a mission: to carry the Wolfmother name onward into the future — which is why you can't really blame him if he doesn't want to talk about the past anymore. "The past is the past ... that's over. Even when we started, people were like, 'Oh, you sound like this, you sound like that.' Well, it's like, 'You can't go see Led Zeppelin tonight. You can't go see Black Sabbath. We're here, we've written these songs, so whatever,' " he hissed. "You know, like Jimi Hendrix ain't here, and it's all good and well for everyone to have these high standards and ideas, but, like, it's not real." Related Artists |
| Michael Jackson Chef Says Tour Prep Was 'Killing' Him Posted: 31 Jul 2009 09:27 AM PDT Kai Chase said Jackson looked good, but rehearsals were stressful.
By Gil Kaufman 
Kai Chase
Photo: CBS Investigators are still trying to piece together what happened in the days and hours before Michael Jackson died on June 25. But someone who witnessed the King of Pop's last days said she saw the toll the intense rehearsals for the singer's planned London comeback concerts were taking on the 50-year-old and that he said they were "killing" him. Chef Kai Chase appeared on CBS' "The Early Show" on Friday (July 31) and said that Jackson looked good and healthy in his final days, but that the grueling lead-up to the planned July 13 launch of the 50-show This Is It series at London's O2 Arena was hard on his body. "This tour was very important for him," Chase said. "He [took] me to the side and told me, 'You know, I really need you to make sure that I'm eating organic and healthy. I know you know what you're doing, and I know you know what to do. That's why you're here. They're killing me. They're killing me. I'm working so much. I'm rehearsing a lot.'" Jackson's father, Joseph Jackson, has claimed that the promoters of the concert series, AEG Live, were working his son too hard and that Jackson was not well enough to perform the string of shows. Chase said Jackson was very excited about the shows and despite ample evidence that the singer was allegedly taking a number of prescription pain medications as well as the powerful anesthetic Propofol, she said she'd "never seen any evidence of drug use" at the rented Holmby Hills, California mansion Jackson was living in at the time of his death. In light of revelations this week that police are investigation the 19 different aliases Jackson allegedly used to obtain prescription medications, Chase said she was "very shocked" to learn that her name was among the pseudonyms the singer was said to have used. "This is all news to me. It's unbelievable. It's very shocking," Chase said. She also gave one of the first glimpses at what happened on the morning Jackson died, saying the singer's personal physician, cardiologist Dr. Conrad Murray, came downstairs 90 minutes later than usual that day to fetch the juices and granola that Jackson typically had every morning. In an earlier interview with Chase said she got used to seeing Murray arrive at night and stay until after she left. When she would return the next morning, she described Murray coming down the steps carrying oxygen tanks, which officials believe might have been used in the administration of Propofol as a sleep aid for Jackson, who reportedly suffered from chronic insomnia. Murray is at the center of a manslaughter investigation and detectives are focusing on the use of the Propofol as a possible contributing factor in the singer's death. Chase said that when she arrived for work on the morning of the 25th, she suspected Jackson was sleeping late and began preparing lunch when Murray came down the steps a little past noon and began screaming for someone to fetch Jackson's oldest son, Prince Michael. "I walked into the hall and I saw the children there. The daughter [Paris] was crying. I saw paramedics running up the stairs," she said. Soon after, Chase, the children, their nanny and a housekeeper held hands and began to pray quietly for Jackson's safety. At 1:30, security guards told Chase and other staff members to leave the home because Jackson was being taken to the hospital. Police served search warrants on Murray's offices and home in Las Vegas this week and carted away evidence related to what they said was the potentially illegal prescription of medications to a known "addict," seemingly referring to Jackson. Murray has not been named a suspect in the case, but police sources said earlier this week that he is the main focus of their manslaughter probe. Related Videos Related Photos Related Artists |
