The Buzz On: Nneka
January 29, 2010 by owner
Filed under Entertainment
With a soulful voice that sounds like it’s full of the cracks, pops and character of vintage vinyl, Nigerian-German singer/songwriter, Nneka takes something old and makes it new.
SImply put, her combination of blues, Afro beat, hip-hop, pop, jazz, and soul is breathtaking, calling to mind the work of anyone from Fela Kuti to Nina Simone. Some might draw the easy comparison to Erykah Badu, Res, or Lauryn Hill, and yes, there are some similarities, but Nneka’s music, especially that on her new album Concrete Jungle, has a vibe all its own.
On …Jungle (the full-length follow up to her EP, The Uncomfortable Truth), Nneka is able slip in and out of genres while always retaining a unique charm. Whether she’s playing the torch song singer (”Come With Me”), the MC (”Showin’ Love”) or reggae toaster (”Africans”), she’s always her.
Video Director Richie Mac Backs It Up to Number One with New Artist Colette Carr
December 23, 2009 by owner
Filed under Press Release
Pictured from left to right: Video extra; artist, Colette Car; director Richie Mac and a video extra.
Michael Jackson Is MTV News’ Man Of The Year
December 18, 2009 by owner
Filed under Entertainment, RIP
Where were you when you heard the news? It’s a question reserved for only the biggest of moments, and it’s usually not asked fondly. And that was the case with the death of Michael Jackson, an event that stopped the world in its tracks.
That’s not hyperbole, either. Jackson’s death on June 25 was a global event, bringing traffic in Times Square to a standstill, turning London’s O2 Arena — where he was scheduled to hold a 50-show residency — into an impromptu memorial site, filling the streets of Paris, Berlin and Dakar, Senegal, with mourners. His fans gathered because they didn’t know what else to do — so deep was their grief that they sought out the solace of strangers, their only connection the undying devotion to a man and his music, both of which, on one solemn day, disappeared forever.
It was an awful tragedy. Jackson’s legacy — not just his music or his effortless showmanship, but his charitable work too — extended to every corner of the earth, reached places even the United Nations dared not tread. Even as his popularity waned here in the States (and waned is a relative term, considering, even though he hadn’t released an album of new material in nearly a decade, his catalog still sold millions each year), he remained the most famous man on the planet, a near-deity seemingly lifted from the pulpy pages of a Siegel and Shuster comic, or, perhaps more correctly, a Greek tragedy.
MTV ‘Remote Control’ host Ken Ober dies
November 17, 2009 by owner
Filed under Entertainment, RIP
- Ken Ober, whose MTV game show “Remote Control” was among the network’s first forays into non-music programming, has died at age 52, his agent said Monday.
Ober hosted five seasons of “Remote Control,” a pop-culture quiz show that featured contestants strapped into easy chairs to answer questions from categories such as “Dead or Canadian?” The show first aired in 1987 and helped launch the careers of comedians Adam Sandler, Denis Leary and Colin Quinn, who was the program’s announcer.
Beyonce And Lady Gaga’s ‘Video Phone’ Clip Confirmed!
October 16, 2009 by owner
Filed under Entertainment
All week, gossip sites have been abuzz with rumors that two of the fiercest divas in the game — Beyoncé and Lady Gaga — had joined forces on a super-secret video for B’s “Video Phone.”
It was a fairly big deal, and accordingly there’s been much quoting of “insider” sources and “my boy [who] worked as a stylist for [Gaga's] dancers,” but no confirmation from any major contributor to the project — until now.
On Thursday (October 15), a spokesperson for director Hype Williams confirmed to MTV News that that both Beyoncé and Gaga appear in the “Video Phone” clip, which Williams shot last weekend in Brooklyn’s Greenpoint neighborhood.
Williams’ spokesperson would not confirm any additional information about the “Video Phone” shoot, but, according to Life and Style magazine, security on set was extremely tight, and the video is shaping up to be a fashion bonanza, with Beyoncé wearing “a feathered dress” and Gaga sporting “something wild … the fashion is sick and insane.”
Common Promises ‘Raw Hip-Hop’ On Believer Album
October 14, 2009 by owner
Filed under Entertainment
After venturing left with a more dance-oriented sound for Universal Mind Control, Common is returning to his raw rap roots for his next album, The Believer.
“For Believer, it was creating raw music, raw hip-hop,” the Chicago MC told MTV News last week. “I just wanted to create good hip-hop music. When I create albums, they develop as I go along, ’cause I have different thoughts and visions. And then as you create the music, it takes its own personality and spirit to it. But the beginning of it is raw hip-hop, it’s just soulful.”
For the project, the rapper’s ninth solo album, he’ll reunite with the sound architects behind his first three albums, No I.D. and Twilite Tone. Com said reconnecting with the pair and having Kanye West onboard as well gives the album a homecoming feel.
“Twilite Tone and No I.D., they produced my first three albums and they were the first producers I worked with,” he said. “And Kanye is an extension of them. Kanye always says No I.D. is his mentor. That’s how I met Kanye, through No I.D. So for me to have these three working on my album is going home again. But I’m always gonna offer something new and fresh.”
Jay-Z Questions Eminem’s Absence From MTV’s “Hottest In The Game” List
October 9, 2009 by owner
Filed under Entertainment
Jay-Z has shared his reaction to MTV’s “Hottest MC’s In The Game” listing him at number one and questioned why Grammy-winning rapper Eminem lost out to artists including Rick Ross, Gucci Mane and Young Jeezy.
After Shyne’s Release, What’s Next?
October 8, 2009 by owner
Filed under Crime & Law, Entertainment
Shyne’s expected release date from prison came and went Tuesday as the rapper remained in the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials in New York. Word of his delayed release surprised many and caused a stir about his whereabouts as conflicted reports were filed by media outlets.
“Shyne is currently in federal custody while his future immigration status is determined,” a Shyne rep told MTV News in an e-mail message.
An I.C.E. spokesman then told the New York’s Daily News on Wednesday (October 7) that Shyne was being detained for violation of U.S. immigration law.
No further explanation was given, however.
Although the former Bad Boy rapper repped Brooklyn on his tracks, Shyne was actually born in Belize, where his father is prime minister. It’s unknown as of press time if the rapper’s mother is a U.S. citizen. According to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Web site, a child born outside the country to a parent of American citizenship can become a citizen, but the circumstances around the law vary depending on birthday.
Ne-Yo Says He Tried To Add ‘Hotness’ To 50 Cent’s ‘Baby By Me’
October 8, 2009 by owner
Filed under Entertainment, Media
One more for Ne-Yo’s impressive résumé. The singer/songwriter can add 50 Cent to his list of superstar collaborators after singing the hook on his new single, “Baby by Me.”
“He reached out,” Ne-Yo told MTV News. “I always say he did the majority of the heavy lifting. [The song] was pretty much done by the time he sent it to me. He said, ‘I just need you to put something on it.’ He gave it to me, I wrote my part, sent it back and the rest is history.”
Before she was a big star, Gaga was a contestant on MTV’s hidden camera show ‘Boiling Points
