Tag Archives: made-it-happen

NBA All-Stars LeBron James, Dwight Howard, More Talk Hoops, Hip-Hop

‘They say all rappers want to be basketball players, [and] all basketball players want to be rappers,’ says wife of Carmelo Anthony, La La Vazquez. By Alvin Blanco, with reporting by Rahman Dukes LeBron James Photo: MTV News Hip-hop and sports are practically kindred spirits, especially when it comes to basketball. At this year’s NBA All-Star Weekend , a number of hoop stars, and the wife of one player in particular, wholeheartedly agreed with this observation. “They always say all rappers want to be basketball players, [and] all basketball players want to be rappers,” La La Vazquez, wife of New York Knick Carmelo Anthony and ex-MTV VJ, told MTV News. Over the years, a number of NBA players have actually become rappers on the side. Besides four championships — three with the Los Angeles Lakers, one with the Miami Heat — Shaquille O’Neal also managed to release four albums. The first, 1993’s Shaq Diesel, went platinum and the third, 1996’s You Can’t Stop the Reign, featured a pair of verses from the Notorious B.I.G. on its title track. More recently, L.A. Laker Ron Artest has embarked on a rap career, while his teammate Kobe Bryant once kicked rhymes on R&B singer Brian McKnight’s “Hold Me.” Not every player necessarily has rap dreams to go along with their hoop dreams, though. “Every player except me wants to be a rapper,” said Dwight Howard of the NBA’s Orlando Magic. “I don’t want to do the rap thing.” Howard did add though about his fellow NBA stars, “We love music. We love hip-hop and we support it.” LeBron James, who is famously and charitably good friends with Jay-Z, mentioned how basketball players are frequently name-checked in song. For example, on Jay-Z’s “Empire State of Mind,” the MC rhymes, “Jesus paying LeBron, I’m paying Dwyane Wade.” This synergy between players and rappers ultimately boils down to mutual respect. “We all came from nothing,” Boston Celtic Kevin Garnett told us. “The appreciation factor for each other, the fact you gotta grind and work hard to get where you at, it’s similar. It’s a very similar industry.” Garnett’s teammate and fellow All-Star Rajon Rondo added, “We respect those guys the way they respect us. It kind of goes hand in hand. Rappers love to come see us play. We love to see them perform.” What do you think of the ongoing love between hip-hop and hoops? Sound off in the comments!

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NBA All-Stars LeBron James, Dwight Howard, More Talk Hoops, Hip-Hop

NBA All-Stars LeBron James, Dwight Howard, More Talk Hoops, Hip-Hop

‘They say all rappers want to be basketball players, [and] all basketball players want to be rappers,’ says wife of Carmelo Anthony, La La Vazquez. By Alvin Blanco, with reporting by Rahman Dukes LeBron James Photo: MTV News Hip-hop and sports are practically kindred spirits, especially when it comes to basketball. At this year’s NBA All-Star Weekend , a number of hoop stars, and the wife of one player in particular, wholeheartedly agreed with this observation. “They always say all rappers want to be basketball players, [and] all basketball players want to be rappers,” La La Vazquez, wife of New York Knick Carmelo Anthony and ex-MTV VJ, told MTV News. Over the years, a number of NBA players have actually become rappers on the side. Besides four championships — three with the Los Angeles Lakers, one with the Miami Heat — Shaquille O’Neal also managed to release four albums. The first, 1993’s Shaq Diesel, went platinum and the third, 1996’s You Can’t Stop the Reign, featured a pair of verses from the Notorious B.I.G. on its title track. More recently, L.A. Laker Ron Artest has embarked on a rap career, while his teammate Kobe Bryant once kicked rhymes on R&B singer Brian McKnight’s “Hold Me.” Not every player necessarily has rap dreams to go along with their hoop dreams, though. “Every player except me wants to be a rapper,” said Dwight Howard of the NBA’s Orlando Magic. “I don’t want to do the rap thing.” Howard did add though about his fellow NBA stars, “We love music. We love hip-hop and we support it.” LeBron James, who is famously and charitably good friends with Jay-Z, mentioned how basketball players are frequently name-checked in song. For example, on Jay-Z’s “Empire State of Mind,” the MC rhymes, “Jesus paying LeBron, I’m paying Dwyane Wade.” This synergy between players and rappers ultimately boils down to mutual respect. “We all came from nothing,” Boston Celtic Kevin Garnett told us. “The appreciation factor for each other, the fact you gotta grind and work hard to get where you at, it’s similar. It’s a very similar industry.” Garnett’s teammate and fellow All-Star Rajon Rondo added, “We respect those guys the way they respect us. It kind of goes hand in hand. Rappers love to come see us play. We love to see them perform.” What do you think of the ongoing love between hip-hop and hoops? Sound off in the comments!

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NBA All-Stars LeBron James, Dwight Howard, More Talk Hoops, Hip-Hop

‘Drive Angry’ Stars Discuss Film’s Most Outrageous Moments

‘I’m still kind of amazed that they let me drink beer out of somebody’s skull,’ Nicolas Cage marvels to MTV News. By Kara Warner Amber Heard Photo: MTV News If the trailers haven’t already sold the fact that “Drive Angry” is outrageous , in every sense of the word, allow the cast of the film — Nicolas Cage, Amber Heard, Billy Burke and William Fichtner — to expand on the subject, particularly the scenes they thought would be left on the cutting-room floor. “I’m still kind of amazed that they let me drink beer out of somebody’s skull,” Cage admitted to MTV News recently of his character’s most over-the-top antics. “That that’s still in the movie, and it’s a credit to [director] Patrick Lussier that he had the guts to go in the most far-out places.” “Only in our movie, in the world of ‘Drive Angry,’ ” Heard said. “I wanted it to look good, like, ‘My cup runneth over,’ ” Cage explained of the big moment. “I wanted the beer to come sploshing out of the eye sockets.” Burke, who plays a very disturbed and psychotic cult leader hell-bent on infant sacrifice in the film, said he figured that one of the film’s climactic scenes would receive a less intensely violent edit. “I thought that we would probably change sacrificing a baby to maybe a lamb or something like that,” Burke said. “I didn’t think that we’d actually go forward with wanting to kill a baby, but we did, and that’s the kind of movie this is. So if you can’t take that, for the fun and spirit in which it’s intended, then you shouldn’t go see this movie,” he advised. For scene-stealer Fichtner, who plays the mysterious character the Accountant, he was most surprised that a very racy/violent love scene made the cut. “There was one scene in the movie, we all know which one I’m talking about [a ‘creative’ sex scene in which Cage engages in a gunfight with a naked woman still on top of him] where I thought, ‘Wow, that’s interesting,’ ” he said. “That’s a challenge.” In addition to the outrageousness of wrapping your head around what happens in that scene, Fichtner said he has great respect for the actors and stunt coordinators who made it happen. “Patrick [Lussier] did an amazing job and so did Charlotte [Ross] and Nic,” he said. “It’s much more than just a sex scene.” Check out everything we’ve got on “Drive Angry.” For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com .

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‘Drive Angry’ Stars Discuss Film’s Most Outrageous Moments

Justin Bieber, Sean Kingston Flirt With Same Girl In ‘Eeenie Meenie’ Video

The two singers get played at a pool party in the Hollywood Hills. By Jocelyn Vena Justin Bieber in his “Eenie Meenie” video Photo: Island, RBMG A pool party in the Hollywood Hills. If this were “The Hills,” trouble would certainly break out at some point, and someone would end up in tears. But this isn’t reality TV, it’s the new music video for the Sean Kingston/ Justin Bieber collaboration “Eenie Meenie,” and it’s the place for a young lady to play both Bieber and Kingston. Not cool. Here’s the play-by-play: While Kingston and the lady in question are flirting out on the deck, Bieber is chilling inside. But, wait — there she is flirting with Bieber while Kingston is hanging out, wondering where she went. The fickle girl eventually leaves Bieber to chill with Kingston, and then — boom — there she is with Bieber again. And, well you get it. Of course, the “eenie-meenie-miny-moe lover” eventually gets caught. While she’s chatting up Kingston, along comes Bieber, and her game is blown. The dudes are cool with it. Well, they’re not cool with her playing them, but they seem to remain friends despite both going for the same girl. It’s her fault, anyway. How does it all end? The way you kind of expect it would, with each of the guys finding new girls, obviously. Kingston recently explained how he came to work with the chart-topping pop star. “I met Justin about two years ago, before he was the teenage phenom that he is now,” he said. “I don’t really have that same chemistry with some celebrities. God just made it happen.” What do you think of Sean and Justin’s new video? Share your reviews in the comments below. Related Artists Justin Bieber Sean Kingston

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Justin Bieber, Sean Kingston Flirt With Same Girl In ‘Eeenie Meenie’ Video

Justin Bieber, Sean Kingston Throw Pool Party For ‘Eenie Meenie’ Video

‘The video is basically about this girl trying to play both of us,’ Kingston explained about new video with Bieber. By Jocelyn Vena Justin Bieber on the set of his and Sean Kingston’s “Eenie Meenie” video Photo: RapUp.com Following this week’s release of the video for his new song “Never Let You Go,” Justin Bieber is already hard at work on his next clip from My World 2.0, “Eenie Meenie,” featuring Sean Kingston. Kingston explained the plot of the video during a set visit with Rap-up.com . “The video is basically about this girl trying to play both of us and at the end … we end up both at the same place at one time, and she’s left with a stupid look on her face,” he explained. The video was shot at a house in the Hollywood Hills, and in it, Bieber is seen at a pool party holding hands, goofing around and dancing with a girl. Kingston, who has confessed to having “Bieber fever,” explains how he came to work with the chart-topping pop star. “I met Justin about two years ago before he was the teenage phenom that he is now,” he said. “I don’t really have that same chemistry with some celebrities. God just made it happen.” So, what kind of advice does Kingston have for his pal? “I tell him stay humble, keep God first and at the end of the day you’re a role model,” he advised. But that doesn’t mean he won’t let Bieber play around with his Ferrari. “He’s Justin Bieber. If he wrecks it, I’m sure a check won’t be a problem,” Kingston joked. Are you excited to see Bieber’s new music video? Tell us in the comments! Related Artists Justin Bieber Sean Kingston

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Justin Bieber, Sean Kingston Throw Pool Party For ‘Eenie Meenie’ Video