Missy Elliott Remembers Aaliyah, Nine Years Later
August 25, 2010 by owner
Filed under Entertainment, Media
It’s been nine years since Aaliyah Dana Haughton died in a plane crash and left an immense void in the hearts of her family, friends and fans.
The singer’s star was still rising when her life was cut short. She released multiplatinum albums and had just started her film career, but there was always a sense that her journey would be a long one, destined for greatness.
Sean Penn Hits Back At Wyclef Jean
August 25, 2010 by owner
Filed under Entertainment, Haiti News, Politics
Wyclef Jean’s brief but colorful attempt to get on the presidential ballot for the upcoming post-earthquake election in Haiti is over, but the controversy continues. While Jean, 40, was garnering international headlines for his fight to get on the ballot in his native country — he has lived in New York since age 9 — behind the scenes, a more intense battle was apparently brewing with a man you definitely don’t want to mess with: actor and activist Sean Penn.
The notoriously short-fused Oscar winner aired his grievances with Jean in an essay for the Huffington Post on Wednesday (August 25), in which he took the former Fugees leader to task for turning their disagreement into a fake “sensationalized celebrity feud,” contesting the country’s electoral laws in the wake of his rejected bid (when he didn’t seem to have any opinion on them before) and for not spending his more time on the ground in Haiti helping those in need in the wake of January’s quake.
Penn, who has lived in a small tent outside the crumbled capital of Port-au-Prince for much of the past six months, wrote, “I have never met Wyclef Jean, and all I really know of him on any personal level has come through the fond comments of a few mutual friends. Hence, nothing I might say, was in ANY way personal, or intended to be lambasting to anyone,” he wrote, referring to comments he made on CNN earlier this month reacting to Jean’s announcement of his presidential bid. “My comments were critical observations of a political candidate and a leader of an organization in Haiti.”
Beyonce Says Feminism Steered Her Career, “It Kept Me Out Of So Much Trouble
August 17, 2010 by owner
Filed under Entertainment
Grammy-winning singer Beyonce has credited feminism for helping steer her career into the right direction and avoid running into bad relationships.
Beyonce
, who is married to rap star Jay-Z, also said her early days in female group Destiny’s Child helped develop strong relationships with other women.
“I think I am a feminist, in a way. It’s not something I consciously decided I was going to be; perhaps it’s because I grew up in a singing group with other women, and that was so helpful to me,” she told the magazine. “It kept me out of so much trouble and out of bad relationships. My friendships with my girls are just so much a part of me that there are things I am never going to do that would upset that bond. I never want to betray that friendship, because I love being a woman and I love being a friend to other women.” (MTV)
Lady Gaga tops MTV VMA nominations
August 4, 2010 by owner
Filed under Entertainment
Well this is a shocker: The same woman whose music videos have been parodied all the way over in Afghanistan – and who is known for publicly describing her fear of getting her creativity stolen through her vagina – is the same woman who has 13 MTV Video Music Award nominations.
Lady Gaga, who gave a bloody performance at the awards show last September, is up for a variety of Moonman awards, including “Best Pop Video,” “Best Female Video” and “Best Dance Video,” all for “Bad Romance.”
This also means that Gaga has set two new records: The 24-year-old star is now the first female artist to have two videos nominated in the “Video of the Year” category – both “Bad Romance” and “Telephone,” featuring Beyonce, made the cut – and she has the most nominations ever in a VMA show.
But aside from MTV going Gaga, up-and-comers like Ke$ha and B.o.B. also received numerous nominations. Ke$ha is vying for the “Best New Artist,” “Best Female Video” and “Best Pop Video” awards for “Tik Tok.”
B.o.B., who partnered with Paramore’s Hayley Williams on “Airplanes,” is up for Moonmen in the “Best Collaboration,” “Best Male Video,” “Best Hip Hop Video,” and “Video of the Year” categories for the “Airplanes” video. His collaboration with Bruno Mars on “Nothing on You” earned him a nod in the “Best Pop Video” category as well.
Jay-Z Says He’s On Lil Wayne’s Level, “For Me To Still Be Able To Compete At My Age, That’s Rarefied Air”
June 11, 2010 by owner
Filed under Entertainment
“One of the reasons I wanted to make Blueprint 3 was because of the challenge,” Jay told the magazine in a cover story out this week. “We’ve seen people like LL [Cool J] have longevity, and we respect the heritage of what he’s done, but it’s not like, right now, he’s competing on the same level as Lil Wayne. So for me to still be able to compete at that level at my age, that’s rarefied air. It’s never been done. I think the problem with people, as they start to mature, they say, ‘Rap is a young man’s game,’ and they keep trying to make young songs. But you don’t know the slang — it changes every day. You can visit the topic, but these young kids live it every day, and you’re just visiting. So you’re trying to be something you’re not, and the audience doesn’t buy into that. And people wonder why. ‘I made a great Southern bounce song!’ You’re from New York, and you’re 70! Why are you bouncing?”
MTV Movie Awards’ Most Talked-About Moments
June 7, 2010 by owner
Filed under Entertainment
LL Cool J Vibes On Jimi Hendrix
April 26, 2010 by owner
Filed under Entertainment, Media
Jim Jones To Teach ‘Music Business 101′ To High-Schoolers
April 23, 2010 by owner
Filed under Education, Entertainment, Media
Gang Starr’s Guru Dead At 43
April 20, 2010 by owner
Filed under Entertainment, New York News, RIP
Just over a month since undergoing surgery following a heart attack, Gang Starr MC Guru (born Keith Elam) has died at age 43. According to a statement, Guru died of cancer-related causes on Monday after a long fight with the disease.
Guru’s longtime collaborator and partner Solar mourns his loss in the statement and explains that Guru had written a letter to his fans that was to be released upon his death.
“The world has lost one of the best MCs and hip-hop icons of all-time — my loyal best friend, partner, and brother, Guru,” Solar said. “Guru has been battling cancer for well over a year and has lost his battle! This is a matter that Guru wanted private until he could beat it, but tragically, this did not happen. The cancer took him. Now the world has lost a great man and a true genius.”
Born on July 17, 1966, near Boston, Guru rose to fame in the late 1980s as part of the duo Gang Starr with partner DJ Premier. The pair helped define the New York underground rap sound in the 1990s. Their unique sound combined Premier’s production palette, which leaned heavily on sampled jazz records and scratched vocals on the choruses, with Guru’s uncompromising rhymes. Although the pair would work separately as often as they did together — Guru’s Jazzmatazzseries of albums and Premier’s work with Nas, Jay-Z, and underground act Group Home — Gang Starr continued to release critically acclaimed material throughout the late ’90s and early 2000s.
Their 1998 album Moment of Truth was among their most critically lauded collections and Gang Starr’s biggest-selling project to date. Gang Starr’s last group project, The Ownerz, was released in 2003.
Guru found solo fame in 1993 when he released the first volume of his Jazzmatazz series, an all-star project that featured a number of collaborations with jazz icons such as Branford Marsalis, Donald Byrd, Roy Ayers and Ronny Jordan, as well as vocals from French producer Solaar and N’Dea Davenport of the Brand New Heavies. The album’s mixture of jazz and rap was considered pioneering at the time, and the record spawned the hit “Trust Me.” Guru would go on to make four volumes in the series.
Guru: A Life In Photos – click HERE
Dr. Dre Says Jay-Z Collaboration, ‘Under Pressure,’ Could Be Out In Two Weeks
April 6, 2010 by owner
Filed under Entertainment
Dr. Dre’s long-awaited Detox LP is no longer just urban legend. The producer has announced that the first single, “Under Pressure,” featuring Jay-Z, will hit the airwaves this month. The West Coast hip-hop icon revealed the information Monday (April 6) during an interview on “Closing Bell With Maria Bartiromo” on CNBC.
“Hopefully we’ll be releasing that in the next two weeks or so,” he said of the track. “And I’m definitely gonna be putting out the album this year. Finally. I think everyone is gonna be happy with it.”
The move is the first tangible evidence that the album will actually be released. In the past, Dre has repeatedly attempted to assure fans that the follow-up to Dr. Dre 2001 (a.k.a. The Chronic 2001) would eventually see the light of day. But as the years passed and material for Detox instead landed on albums by Eminem and 50 Cent, fans compared Dr. Dre’s promises to those made by Axl Rose when he withheld a Guns N’ Roses follow-up album for 15 years until the 2008 release of Chinese Democracy.
It’s been 11 years since Dre last released an album. But late last year, in an interview with MTV News, Dre told Jay-Z to “Come holler” and contribute to Detox
