Last night Kanye West visited the home-front, when the Watch The Throne Tour hit Chicago’s United Center. Good for his eventful diversions, ‘Ye took a moment during the show to speak on the Grammy snub for Album of the Year, which overlooked his 2010 masterpiece My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. West places the blame on himself, using it only to fuel his creative fire. Head over to HipHopWired.com to see exactly what he had to say.
‘I just sent ‘Ye like 12 beats the other day,’ producer Hit-Boy tells MTV News. By Rob Markman, with reporting by Matt Elias Kanye West Photo: Getty Images As soloists, Kanye West ‘s G.O.O.D. Music roster has proven to be formidable hip-hop hitmakers. Now put Big Sean , Kid Cudi , Pusha T and Kanye West together on one album and expectations will no doubt run high. In October, West set things up when he tweeted, “GOODMUSIC.THE ALBUM.SPRING2012,” and the date couldn’t come soon enough. While label producer Hit-Boy couldn’t confirm the sonic direction of the compilation, he assured MTV News that it’ll be quality. “It’s going to be G.O.O.D. Music-esque, which is great music,” the “N—as in Paris” producer said when he sat with MTV News last week. It’s a safe bet that ‘Ye will remain chief producer, but that doesn’t mean he won’t enlist others as he did on his 2010 album My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy and his tag-team album with Jay-Z, Watch the Throne . “We actually already started a couple of ideas for that, just bouncing around stuff,” Hit-Boy confirmed. “I just sent ‘Ye like 12 beats the other day. He hit me like, ‘I need joints.’ So we’re just going in.” The California producer scored the most exciting track on WTT with “N—as in Paris,” but he revealed to MTV News that he made a few more records for the high-profile album that just didn’t make the final cut. “The crazy thing about the ‘Paris’ record is that record just came out of nowhere, pretty much,” Hit-Boy said. “I did other records that were talked about being singles and all types of stuff, so I was hyped over those records.” It seems that those records won’t go to waste either as a few, if not all, will end up on the G.O.O.D. Music album. “We made a lot of music around the time we were working on Watch the Throne so joints will end up where they’re supposed to,” he said. Related Videos MTV News Extended Play: Hit-Boy Related Artists Kanye West
Compilation album due in the spring may include such G.O.O.D. artists as Big Sean, Pusha T. By Gil Kaufman Kanye West Photo: Flanigan/ Getty Images Kanye West spent much of summer 2010 seeding the Internet with new music via his “G.O.O.D. Friday” track releases, previewing a number of the songs from his own My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy album. And on Wednesday, West announced that he’s packaging up some of those goods for a proper release. “Goodmusic. The album. Spring 2012,” he tweeted , providing just a tease of what’s to come. ‘Ye’s label, Def Jam, confirmed the release as well in a tweet , hyping upcoming albums from Rick Ross, the Roots, Young Jeezy and Rihanna, though a spokesperson could not be reached at press time for further details on the disc. The G.O.O.D. Music bench is deep, so it’s possible the disc could contain tracks from Big Sean, Kid Kudi, CyHi Da Prynce, Mos Def, Common, Mr. Hudson, Pusha T and John Legend. It could also contain a few of the “Friday” tracks that did not make the cut on Fantasy, including “Chain Heavy” with Talib Kweli and Consequence; “Looking for Trouble” with Pusha, CyHi, Big Sean and J. Cole; “Christian Dior Denim Flow” with Kid Cudi, Pusha, John Legend, Lloyd Banks and Ryan Leslie; and “Take One for the Team” with Keri Hilson, Pusha and CyHi. West recently took a stroll down to New York’s Zuccotti Park to check out the action at the Occupy Wall Street demonstration, not long after wrapping up his Twisted world tour in September at Austin City Limits. But he won’t be chilling for long, as he’s slated to kick off the Throne Tour with Jay-Z on October 28 at Atlanta’s Philips Arena. The tour is currently slated to run through a December 18 date at Rogers Arena in Vancouver. Related Videos Welcome To Jay-Z And Kanye West’s ‘Watch The Throne’ Week Related Artists Kanye West
It’s good to be Chris Brown right now. Team Breezy has his back. Karrueche Tran is not pregnant. Even Rihanna says she’s a fan. And the BET Hip Hop Awards just bestowed three honors upon him. Most notably, Chris won Best Hip-Hop Video for “Look at Me Now.” Brown was on tour and not present, but Tweeted: “Thank you BET but most of all TeamBreezy!” The show, hosted by Mike Epps and MC’d by Da Brat (yep, she’s still around) opened up with a performance by T.I. (no word if the party bus took him there). Wiz Khalifa, Heavy D and Tyrese, Rick Ross and the Maybach Music Group, Big Sean and even DMX alongside Swizz Beatz hit the stage and rocked the crowd. Lupe Fiasco also took the mic and gave a political performance (big surprise) with a mysteriously masked female vocalist who turned out to be … Erykah Badu. Follow the jump for a list of BET Hip Hop Award winners : Best Hip-Hop Video:
Teen heartthrob surprised concertgoers when he joined Swift for a duet on ‘Baby’ Tuesday night. By James Dinh Justin Bieber and Taylor Swift (file) Photo: WireImage Justin Bieber is all about surprises this summer. Back in July, the 17-year-old pop superstar took fans by surprise when he joined Selena Gomez onstage in Costa Mesa, California, and on Tuesday night, he made another unexpected appearance when he joined Taylor Swift onstage for a duet of his hit “Baby” at her Speak Now tour stop in Los Angeles. Video footage of the duo’s performance at the Staples Center hit the Internet shortly after the concert. It shows the music superstars sharing song verses and Bieber spitting a brief rap midway through the number. Swift took to Twitter hours later to applaud her roaring concert audience and their overwhelming reaction to the Bieb’s surprise appearance. “Dear amazing LA crowd tonight, God only knows what I’d be without you,” she wrote. “You think you’ve heard LOUD screaming in your life. Then @justinbieber comes out and does a surprise song during your show. Woah. Unreal.” Bieber responded to the country-pop darling, tweeting , “@taylorswift13 we should do that more often. 🙂 great show! #muchlove.” It was nothing but love as Bieber’s manager, Scooter Braun , also chimed in on the surprise concert cameo. “Had to keep it a secret all day. But @justinbieber just came out and sang BABY with @taylorswift13 at STAPLES. EPIC ROAR! #greatmoment,” he wrote on Twitter. Bieber also recently collaborated with Chris Brown. Earlier this month, the Video Music Award nominee showed off his rap skills on “Ladies Love Me,” a track that appears on Breezy’s Boy in Detention mixtape. Related Artists Justin Bieber Taylor Swift
R&B artist Syl Johnson alleges Watch the Throne track samples his ‘Different Strokes’ without permission By Alvin Blanco Jay-Z and Kanye West Photo: Johnny Nunez/ WireImage Def Jam’s lawyers are about to get busier. According to a post on “archival record label” and publisher the Numero Uno Group ‘s blog, acclaimed R&B/soul singer Syl Johnson is considering a lawsuit against the Throne (Jay-Z and Kanye West) for an uncleared sample of one of his songs on their album Watch the Throne. A sample of Johnson’s 1967 song “Different Strokes,” which appears on the track “The Joy,” was allegedly never properly cleared. “Two decades and several lawsuits later, Syl Johnson is a veteran of copyright infringement cases, and has done very well for himself clearing samples from his fertile catalog (we’re glad to say we’ve helped him with a few) for use in numerous tracks,” reads part of the post. “He’s been amply paid, as he is quick to boast in his concerts, by acts like Wu-Tang Clan, Kid Rock, and Michael Jackson. Other performers … have not been so respectful.” The post, titled “Syl Johnson vs Kanye West/Jay-Z,” goes on to say that the Numero Uno Group reached out to Def Jam’s business department about clearing “The Joy” after Syl Johnson had gotten wind of the song. Last year, the Pete Rock-produced tune (Kanye West is credited as producer along with Mike Dean and Mike Bhaskar) was part of the G.O.O.D. Fridays series of leaks. Although originally intended to be included on West’s My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy , the sample was unable to be cleared in time to make the album (though an agreement was apparently reached for its use). Negotiations stalled due to the fact that the song was not actually being sold. However, “The Joy” recently reappeared as a bonus cut on the deluxe edition of Watch the Throne. The Numero Uno Group points out that in the credits for Watch the Throne, they are erroneously identified as the publishers of Syl Johnson’s “Different Strokes.” “Wondering why we weren’t consulted on this new use, and baffled why we appear in the credits, for which we never asked, we contacted the sample clearance house,” continued the post. “Even they cannot get a response from their own clients. Island Def Jam seems to think that Syl doesn’t have any fight left in him. We’re betting otherwise.” Since the song appears on an album that is being sold — Watch the Throne has already gone gold, selling more than 600,000 units to date — Johnson is expected to be properly compensated for the use of his song, whether via a lawsuit or some sort of settlement. Messages to Def Jam representatives for comment were not returned as this story went to press. Related Videos Welcome To Jay-Z And Kanye West’s ‘Watch The Throne’ Week Related Artists Kanye West Jay-Z
Section 80 track featuring Wu-Tang Clan leader released online Friday. By Rob Markman Kendrick Lamar Photo: MTV News Save for a refrain on Kanye West’s My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy or verses on any of his Wu-affiliated projects, Wu-Tang Clan’s chief producer and orchestrator RZA doesn’t make many guest appearances these days, so New West Coast representative Kendrick Lamar knows how lucky he is to have vocals from the Abbot on his latest single, “Ronald Reagan Era.” “A mutual friend said he was diggin’ the music, and he blessed me to get these [RZA a cappella vocals]. I was sittin’ on them for a while, like, ‘Damn, I got some RZA joints up in my hard drive. That’s incredible,’ ” Lamar told MTV News. “So I didn’t want to touch ’em just yet unless it was right. So I was sittin’ on them for a while, then I was like, ‘You know what? This is the perfect sound right here.’ My dude Tae Beast did the beat, and it came together, man. It was magic.” “Ronald Reagan Era” — which was released online Friday and will be featured on Lamar’s upcoming album, Section 80 — finds the Compton MC rapping over a haunting loop. He raps of trifling street tales set in the late 1980s, when Ronald Reagan was serving his second term as the 40th president of the United States. Lamar, who was born in 1987, draws a distinct parallel between his youth and Reagan’s reign, sometimes referred to as the “crack era.” Lamar rhymes: “1987, the children of Ronald Reagan, rake the leaves off your front porch with a machine blowtorch.” The RZA’s contribution is slight, but his distinct wet drawl is pronounced as he repeats “California dungeons” during the song’s chorus, reinforcing Lamar’s feeling of coming up from the bottom. Lamar told MTV News that Section 80, due out in July, has received blessings from Dr. Dre , but won’t feature production from the Good Doctor. Share your review of Kendrick Lamar’s “Ronald Reagan Era” in the comments! Related Artists Kendrick Lamar RZA
G.O.O.D. Music MC tells Mixtape Daily, ‘He’ll tell me when my verse is not as hot.’ By Jayson Rodriguez, with reporting by Matt Harper CyHi Da Prince Photo: MTV News Celebrity Favorites: CyHi Da Prynce CyHi Da Prynce likens the G.O.O.D. Music collective to superheroes, but you might be surprised to learn who he compares his crew to. “[Kanye] is Captain Planet and all our powers combined,” the upstart MC told Mixtape Daily, referencing the animated Planeteers. “I’m heart, Big Sean is water, Pusha T is fire and Teyana Taylor is Wind. So if you put it all together, it’s Captain Planet. He’s Captain Planet.” And maybe Mr. Hudson is Earth, but even without the final element, it’s hard not to give ‘Ye a nod for pushing his team to the forefront. The My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy star recently held court down in Texas, where he headlined a ballyhooed G.O.O.D. Music set at the South by Southwest music festival. Push, Cy and Jay-Z joined Mr. West for a formidable lineup. According to Da Prynce, it’s just another example of Yeezy’s hospitality, though, to hear the Georgia rapper tell it, it’s really his mentor’s honesty that sets him apart, for better or worse. “I wish you guys could really be around him,” CyHi said. “The misconception … it’s like this, you know how you say something about somebody behind their back, and then when you see them you have to be politically correct and you don’t say what you want to say to them? I don’t feel like that’s right. Some people have to be honest with each other, ’cause sometimes you can’t let a situation escalate to a point where it’s out of control. “Honesty is the biggest thing to me and that’s what I love about [Kanye],” he continued. “He’ll tell me when my verse is not as hot. Most of your friends will tell you you’re dope because you’re already naturally dope. But he pushes me and challenges me to be better. And he does that in music, art, fashion and so many other things to the point where I take it as constructive criticism. Especially to someone that sold all these records, he didn’t sell them for nothing. Don’t shoot the messenger all the time, just get the message.” For other artists featured in Mixtape Daily, check out Mixtape Daily Headlines . Related Videos Mixtape Daily: Cy Hi Da Prince, Pusha T
G.O.O.D. Music MC tells Mixtape Daily, ‘He’ll tell me when my verse is not as hot.’ By Jayson Rodriguez, with reporting by Matt Harper CyHi Da Prince Photo: MTV News Celebrity Favorites: CyHi Da Prynce CyHi Da Prynce likens the G.O.O.D. Music collective to superheroes, but you might be surprised to learn who he compares his crew to. “[Kanye] is Captain Planet and all our powers combined,” the upstart MC told Mixtape Daily, referencing the animated Planeteers. “I’m heart, Big Sean is water, Pusha T is fire and Teyana Taylor is Wind. So if you put it all together, it’s Captain Planet. He’s Captain Planet.” And maybe Mr. Hudson is Earth, but even without the final element, it’s hard not to give ‘Ye a nod for pushing his team to the forefront. The My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy star recently held court down in Texas, where he headlined a ballyhooed G.O.O.D. Music set at the South by Southwest music festival. Push, Cy and Jay-Z joined Mr. West for a formidable lineup. According to Da Prynce, it’s just another example of Yeezy’s hospitality, though, to hear the Georgia rapper tell it, it’s really his mentor’s honesty that sets him apart, for better or worse. “I wish you guys could really be around him,” CyHi said. “The misconception … it’s like this, you know how you say something about somebody behind their back, and then when you see them you have to be politically correct and you don’t say what you want to say to them? I don’t feel like that’s right. Some people have to be honest with each other, ’cause sometimes you can’t let a situation escalate to a point where it’s out of control. “Honesty is the biggest thing to me and that’s what I love about [Kanye],” he continued. “He’ll tell me when my verse is not as hot. Most of your friends will tell you you’re dope because you’re already naturally dope. But he pushes me and challenges me to be better. And he does that in music, art, fashion and so many other things to the point where I take it as constructive criticism. Especially to someone that sold all these records, he didn’t sell them for nothing. Don’t shoot the messenger all the time, just get the message.” For other artists featured in Mixtape Daily, check out Mixtape Daily Headlines . Related Videos Mixtape Daily: Cy Hi Da Prince, Pusha T
