Earlier today Essence Magazine announced the lineup to their annual Essence Music Festival in New Orleans July 6 – 8. Mary J. Blige, Fantasia Aretha Franklin, Charlie Wilson, SWV, Dru Hill, Ledisi, Estelle, Goapele, Vivian Green, and many more are slated to perform over the three-day event. Click here to check out the full roster. Excited about the Louisiana function? Plan on heading that way come July? Let us know. RELATED STORIES: Kelly Rowland To Be Honored By Essence Magazine D-Wade and Gabrielle Union Talk About Love In Essence Magazine [PHOTOS]
Producer tells MTV News of sending track to Em, in Mixtape Daily. By Rob Markman Eminem on the set of his “Space Bound” music video Photo: Eric Ford / On Location News Behind the Beats: Jim Jonsin Before Eminem could make the heart-wrenching “Space Bound” a hit single, the song’s producer, Jim Jonsin, had to rework the track, which he had previously recorded with British songwriter Steve McEwan. “It was actually a full song with verses, b-section, chorus,” Jonsin told MTV News of the original Eminem-less version. “Me and Steve McEwan actually wrote the song, we actually did it here in New York on guitar — it was just a guitar vocal on an iPhone,” the multiplatinum producer said. “We took the idea later in Miami, like three months after, and produced the track, and we sent it out to Eminem to see what he thought about it. He loved it. So he interpreted it his own way.” The initial concept remained mostly intact, and the song’s chorus acted as a guide for the Detroit MC to add his own twist. “The chorus was based off of a chase, a guy who’s chasing after a woman that he’s crazy about,” Jonsin said of the theme. “He loves her; she’s everything to him. I’m a rocket ship aiming at her heart, her heart’s the moon — I’m going full-on.” It was Jonsin’s manager who suggested that he send the track to Slim Shady, which he did, even though he didn’t believe anything would come of it. “He had me strip down the verses, take them out, and make the track a little more hip-hop, and he sent it out,” he said. “I didn’t really believe that it would end up on Eminem’s album, let alone be a single.” The video for “Space Bound,” now the fourth single off of Em’s multiplatinum 2010 Recovery album, was released last week on iTunes. The clip, which stars ex-porn actress Sasha Grey, depicts a rocky romance that eventually leads the rapper to kill himself with a single shot to the head. For other artists featured in Mixtape Daily, check out Mixtape Daily Headlines . Related Photos Eminem’s ‘Space Bound’ Video Shoot Related Artists Jim Jonsin Eminem
‘I miss VJs,’ stars tell MTV News. By Kara Warner Tom Hanks Photo: MTV News Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts’ new movie, “Larry Crowne,” is, in a nutshell, about a middle-aged man who, after constantly being looked over for managerial promotions at work due to his lack of college degree, enrolls himself in his local community college, where he finds himself being taught by and falling in love with the lovely Mercedes Tainot (Roberts). When MTV News caught up with Hanks and Roberts at the press day for the film, we attempted to discuss Hanks’ return to the director’s chair after a 15-year hiatus (the last film he helmed was 1996’s “That Thing You Do!”), but first the two superstars took a moment to talk about us. “I miss VJs,” Roberts lamented of MTV’s onetime team of on-camera personalities. “I miss VJs, too,” Hanks agreed. “I miss, you know, ‘The Rock Hour!’ ” he added, likely meaning “120 Minutes,” hosted by Matt Pinfield, which has been resurrected over at MTV2. “What’s on MTV now?” Roberts asked. “Pregnant teenagers,” quipped Hanks. Hanks and Roberts then briefly discussed MTV’s current slate of programs, citing “The Real World,” “Jersey Shore” and “16 and Pregnant,” but admitted only to hearing stories about them, not to having watched any of those shows themselves. Once we were able to bring the focus to the topic at hand, we asked Hanks about his return to the director’s chair, and what inspired him to take on so many roles for this film — he directed, acted in, co-wrote and produced “Crowne.” “Somewhere I think in 2009 a switch just goes off in my head that goes, ‘I really want to direct this,’ ” he recalled, equating his passion for the project to a fever he had to have cooked out of him. “It takes you out of the marketplace for a long time, which is fine. I have a lot of things going on, but it ends up being like this personal letter that you’re writing to your mom where you want it to be right, you want it to be authentic, you want it to actually reflect who you are and where you are at this point, and so that’s why you end up directing a movie and being in it.” For Roberts, signing on to the film was mostly about working with her good friend. She and Hanks worked together once before in “Charlie Wilson’s War,” which, according to Roberts, cemented their friendship for life. “I knew I had a friend for the rest of my life,” she said, recalling one specific day on the “Wilson’s War” set that involved Hanks, Roberts and some joke with a little box. “He [makes] me want to live a longer life,” she gushed. “What a great answer!” Hanks said with a big smile. “It’s true, I love Tom. It’s kind of retarded for us sitting here trying to be professionals because we’re friends,” she said. “I love his wife, I love his kids.” “This is what we’d be doing if we were sitting around or having lunch,” Hanks added, speaking to the pair’s easy rapport. “We’ll laugh for three hours together.” Check out everything we’ve got on “Larry Crowne.” For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com .
John Slattery’s Emmy-nominated performance as the pompous Roger Sterling on Mad Men has led to a number of film roles for the 48-year-old actor: He’s turned up in Reservation Road , Charlie Wilson’s War , and — more recently — in The Adjustment Bureau (out on DVD next week), playing a supernatural, crisply-suited agent named Richardson who’s responsible for breaking up two fate-defying romantics (Matt Damon and Emily Blunt). Movieline caught up with Slattery to discuss filming The Adjustment Bureau , wariness about Roger Sterling knockoff roles, and the breakneck pace of directing Mad Men .
“Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts, together at last!” That’s the marketing hook for Hanks’s film Larry Crowne, which he co-wrote and directed – or at least what’s supposed to be appealing about this. Then again, they were in Charlie Wilson’s War together, and that disappeared. The first trailer played up the idea of a man Broadcasting platform : YouTube Source : ScreenCrave.com Discovery Date : 10/06/2011 22:21 Number of articles : 2
Some of the best songs are not born of one mind, but instead result from the collaboration of great artists. In 1984 Zapp And Roger’s “Computer Love” was a top 10 Billboard hit featuring Charlie Wilson and Shirley Murdock . In this interview for TheUrbandaily.com Uncle Charlie tells the hilarious story of Roger coming to his room one night with the idea for a song, their ideas for a video and how it almost didn’t get released. “ We had problems with the label when they found out I was singing with Roger…they said it wasn’t going to be a hit… ” – -Charlie Wilson RELATED POSTS: Chrisette Michele to Charlie Wilson, “If You Don’t Tell Us, Who Will?” Chrisette Michele, Charlie Wilson Talk “Grown & Sexy” Charlie Wilson “Still Doing It Big”
Some of the best songs are not born of one mind, but instead result from the collaboration of great artists. In 1984 Zapp And Roger’s “Computer Love” was a top 10 Billboard hit featuring Charlie Wilson and Shirley Murdock . In this interview for TheUrbandaily.com Uncle Charlie tells the hilarious story of Roger coming to his room one night with the idea for a song, their ideas for a video and how it almost didn’t get released. “ We had problems with the label when they found out I was singing with Roger…they said it wasn’t going to be a hit… ” – -Charlie Wilson RELATED POSTS: Chrisette Michele to Charlie Wilson, “If You Don’t Tell Us, Who Will?” Chrisette Michele, Charlie Wilson Talk “Grown & Sexy” Charlie Wilson “Still Doing It Big”
‘Kanye’s creative process is ever-changing,’ Drizzy tells Shade 45. By Alvin Blanco Drake Photo: MTV News Even if Drake and Kanye West aren’t best friends, Drizzy still counts the Chicago rapper/producer as one of his musical idols. Drake dropped into Shade 45’s morning show Thursday (December 9) and chatted it up with host Elliott Wilson on a variety of topics, including being removed from the final version of Yeezy’s “All of the Lights.” An early version of the song, whose crowded guest list includes Elton John, La Roux’s Elly Jackson, Charlie Wilson and Ryan Leslie, had previously leaked that included Drake, but the Toronto rapper is nowhere to be found on the version that appears on West’s My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. “Kanye’s creative process is ever-changing,” Drake said, adding that he doesn’t know why he was removed. “We make music differently. I make what comes to me and I hate changing it, whereas ‘Ye will change something 30 or 40 times to get it perfect. To each their own, and the change was to put all those people on it, and I wasn’t one of them. That’s completely OK.” Since Drake came to national prominence with the release of his So Far Gone mixtape, the MC has been compared to West — not just for his introspective lyrics, but for his overall sound as well. Back in August, Drake’s main producer, Noah “40” Shebib , relayed a story about Kanye West cursing him out for using his production style. Add to that mix the fact that Drake and Kanye have appeared on relatively few songs together — including “Forever,” with Lil Wayne and Eminem — and conspiracy theorists feel there must be tension between the two. “I can never sit here and tell you that’s not one of my idols, that’s not one of my favorite rappers,” Drake said of Kanye during the Shade 45 interview. “Whatever energy I’ve ever felt is irrelevant. When you ask me, ‘What do I think of Kanye West,’ I’mma always have something positive to say.” The host then interjected by asking, “But sometimes the energy is not always where you want it to be?” “I feel like we can co-exist,” Drake answered. “I feel like hip-hop is broad enough that we can both exist and give great music without feeling like it’s one or the other. I might be the only one that feels that way, though.” Drake stressed his reverence for Kanye West. At only 24 years old, the Canadian MC said he missed the Notorious B.I.G. and Tupac era, and Yeezy is a personal favorite artist whose career he can personally trace since its inception. What do you think about Drake’s thoughts on Kanye? Let us know in the comments. Related Artists Drake Kanye West
Mos Def and Charlie Wilson also guest on ‘Ye’s latest G.O.O.D. Friday joint. By Mawuse Ziegbe Kanye West Photo: Dominique Charriau/WireImage The G.O.O.D. Fridays keep rolling on. Kanye West dropped his weekly gratis track early Saturday (September 18), and this week’s offering, “Lord, Lord, Lord,” is heavy on silky soul and laid-back flows. Boasting verses from lyrical luminaries Mos Def and Raekwon and fellow producer/MC Swizz Beatz, as well as hearty riffs from R&B heavyweight and favored West vocalist of late Charlie Wilson, “Lord” features more of the smoky throwback feel the MC has dished out on tracks like “Devil In a New Dress” and “See Me Now.” West apparently tinkered with the song until, literally, the midnight hour, tweeting late Friday, “Swizz laying his verse … it’s almost midnight #GOODFRIDAYS.” Swizzy quipped that he and the Chicago MC had to fudge the Friday deadline for East Coast fans. “GOOD FRIDAY IS ON LA TiME TONIGHT LMAO!” he tweeted . However, the resulting track has none of the rushed energy you might expect from a five-artist collabo completed just hours before hitting the Web. It is instead a graceful seven-minute-long opus highlighting each contributor’s distinct swagger. Mos opens the track, gliding through cerebral rhymes like, “Cool ruler standing still, sweatin’ through the shade/He knew those lights only grew bright to fade/Dead-wrong pageantry, lottery and games/Sleight of hand provided by extravagant and fake.” West follows with a punchier delivery, rattling off lyrics such as, “I got lines that’s better than n—-s albums, plural/king of the urban, make ya sh– sound rural.” Then Swizz shows off the fruits of his late-night session, jumping in with “All-white Bentley, I call that ‘Mama’/my life crazy, like Obama’s.” Wu-Tang Clan elder statesman Raekwon rides out the track with lines like, “Open glass on my fingers/I sit back like I’m caged but still cakin,’ my n—-s is hatin.’ It’s like being in the livest Lambo in the hood, you a piece of steak/I’d rather be that then some bacon,” before recounting days living “amongst fiends, countin’ currency, hittin’ blunts.” What do you think of Kanye West’s new track “Lord, Lord, Lord”? Let us know in the comments below! Related Artists Kanye West Swizz Beatz Raekwon
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