Tag Archives: penned-the-tune

Ice Cube: ‘Boyz N The Hood’ Still ‘As Potent’ 20 Years Later

‘We felt like we was teaching America about a part of itself that they don’t see,’ Cube tells ‘RapFix Live.’ By By Rob Markman, with reporting by Ade Mangum Ice Cube Photo: MTV News “Either they don’t know, don’t show, or don’t care about what’s going on in the ‘hood.” In that line lays the crux of John Singleton’s 1991 film “Boyz N the Hood.” Delivered by Ice Cube’s character, Doughboy, those words ring as true today, 20 years later, as they did when the film first hit theaters. Released on July 12 of that year, “Boyz N the Hood” was a gritty, cinematic depiction of the lives of three young African-American men growing up in inner-city Los Angeles. On Wednesday’s (July 13) “RapFix Live,” Ice Cube broke down the cultural significance of the film that launched his acting career. “When we first did the movie ‘Boyz N the Hood,’ we felt like we was teaching America about a part of itself that they don’t see,” he explained. “We was teaching you about people like Doughboy and why he is the way he is.” But while Cube’s Doughboy was an unapologetic gangster who couldn’t see a way out of the ‘hood and the gang culture that consumed him, his half-brother Ricky Baker (Morris Chestnut) used football as a means to earn a college scholarship that might ultimately take him out of the ghetto. Their friend Tre, played by Cuba Gooding Jr., struggled to balance the life lessons that his father (Laurence Fishburne) passed onto him with the reality of the streets. And for Cube, the circumstances addressed in the movie still ring true after two decades. “The movie holds up. The movie had been used as a tool to teach people about the ‘hood that they may not know about,” he said. “I think the movie is a definite classic, it definitely holds up, it’s definitely as potent today as it was back then. The message is definitely as clear today and needed as it was back then.” Share your favorite scenes from “Boyz N the Hood” in the comments! Related Videos ‘RapFix Live’ With Cali Swag District Related Artists Ice Cube

Read more here:
Ice Cube: ‘Boyz N The Hood’ Still ‘As Potent’ 20 Years Later

Mary J. Blige Calls Nicki Minaj Leak ‘Not Fair’

‘But I’m over it,’ she tells MTV News of unfinished ‘Feel Inside’ hitting the Web. By James Dinh, with additional reporting by Kara Warner Mary J. Blige Photo: Bennett Raglin/ WireImage It’s especially hard nowadays to keep new music under wraps. Just ask Mary J Blige , whose purported collaboration with Nicki Minaj on a song called “Feel Inside” prematurely surfaced online a few weeks ago. Soon after the leak, Blige’s camp revealed that, while the duo are working on a track together for the singer’s new album, My Life Too: The Journey Continues (dropping October 4), the song that hit the blogosphere was the result of two different studio sessions and not the real thing. MTV News recently caught up with Blige to get her take on the leak, and she was none too pleased. “I was pissed about the leaking of the Nicki Minaj and Mary J Blige record, because that’s not fair and people shouldn’t do that,” she said bluntly. “But I’m over it. We move on. We’re going to make more hot music.” Asked what other special guests can be expected on the forthcoming project, MJB remained coy, saying she didn’t want to reveal any other featured collaborators until “maybe a month from now” to make sure everything is “etched in stone.” While Blige didn’t dish too many details about her and Minaj’s collabo, songwriter Andrea Martin (Melanie Fiona, Leona Lewis), the woman who penned the tune, did offer some insight into the Harajuku Barbie-assisted track. “It was a surprise to know that Nicki Minaj jumped on the song and nobody wanted to tell me. I was like ‘What’s going on? What’s going on?’ ” Martin told MTV News. “It’s just such a great thing. I’ve always wanted to work with Mary J. Blige, and I finally got the chance to, and it was a good time for me to prove myself that I can write songs for you, baby.” For fans who are still waiting for the finalized collabo to surface, they’ll be happy to hear that the song is tentatively scheduled to be one of the project’s first singles, with MJB’s camp already scouting a video director for the song. As for whether Martin felt any pressure to deliver material for the sequel to the singer’s 1994 breakthrough My Life LP, the songwriter simply said Blige “knows what she wants.” Are you excited about Mary and Nicki’s upcoming collabo? Tell us in the comments! Related Artists Mary J. Blige Nicki Minaj

Link:
Mary J. Blige Calls Nicki Minaj Leak ‘Not Fair’