New West hustler leads Mixtape Daily through his latest tape. By Alvin Blanco, with reporting by Steven Roberts Nipsey Hussle Photo: MTV News Mixtape Daily Main Pick Street King : Nipsey Hussle Holding It Down For : Los Angeles Mixtape : The Marathon Real Spit : Nipsey Hussle’s career has been more stop-and-go than L.A. traffic, but the rapper is far from discouraged. After building a sizable buzz that landed him a record deal with Epic, a shoe deal with Pony, co-signs from the Game and Snoop, and acting credits in flicks with Vivica A. Fox and Ving Rhames, Nipsey still hasn’t dropped his major-label debut, South Central State of Mind. No worries: The lanky hip-hop prospect is still delivering heat with his latest mixtape, The Marathon. ” The Marathon concept is just me stepping outside of the situation and assessing it,” Nipsey told Mixtape Daily. “A lot of times, you go through a situation where you didn’t get what you expected out of it, and it’ll get you down, but when it come to us, we done been through this a million times. We done had it, took losses and bounced back harder. And that’s part of the game: bouncing back off your loss, if you would even consider this a loss.” As MTV News continues its New West Week coverage, it’s only right that Nipsey’s name be affiliated with Cali’s rap resurgence. No matter what label Nip eventually chooses to hustle with — he recently left the Epic fold — bank on the “Feelin’ Myself” rapper to keep winning. Joints to Check For
David Guetta’s ex-producer also talks to MTV News about teaming up with Perry Farrell for Lollapalooza. By Adam Stewart Joachim Garraud Photo: Getty Images If you’re familiar with David Guetta , then you’re probably already familiar with Frenchman Joachim Garraud — even if you didn’t know it. In fact, Garraud’s largely responsible for what is widely considered a house music primer for today’s aficionados: Guetta’s 2002 mega-smash album, Just a Little More Love. Guetta fans also may be unaware that Garraud co-produced and wrote many of the album’s marquee tracks, including the title cut and “Love Don’t Let Me Go.” But Garraud’s hits don’t stop there. Joachim is also responsible for the ’04 club smash “The World Is Mine” and, perhaps most notably, one of the first and biggest club-friendly tracks to hit mainstream U.S. radio, 2007’s “Love Is Gone.” Now, after spending nearly a decade as a key player on Guetta’s production team, Garraud has stepped out on his own, putting out his second studio album, Invasion 2011, and heading out on a world tour. “We made tracks on production for three of David Guetta’s albums, and that was a pretty long and very cool story,” Garraud told MTV News recently in Miami. “[But] we stopped working together a few months ago, as [Guetta’s] choice was to focus more on the U.S. market by working with a lot of vocal artists. I was not very excited about this choice as a DJ. I was thinking that it’s maybe moving a little too far away from [that] area. But his choice was good. I mean, look at how successful the David Guetta project is!” That’s not to say Garraud has left behind his original style and influence. When listening to Invasion 2011, one can distinctly hear what his contributions to the various Guetta projects have been. His edgy, stab synths, the bone-crushing low ends, his superb timing and use of a wide range of effects and filters, all with the surgical precision we would expect from a producer of his ilk, bring all of the elements together for a thumping, underground, infectious set of grooves meant to take the listener back into the club. “I’m very excited about this new album, Invasion 2011, because it’s very focused on the DJ thing; it’s really for the DJ,” he said. “It’s not really [meant] to be played on the radio, because all the tracks are meant to be massive on the dance floor.” Steering clear of the mainstream-radio crossover vibe, Garraud hand-selected vocalists and collaborators who would fit his signature sound. “I worked with Roland Clark on a track called ‘Stop’ and another, ‘Bang Bang,’ [and] a girl named Ze from Kuala Lumpur [on ‘I’m Invaded’].” (Clark is known for his vocals with acts like Fatboy Slim and Prodigy.) Garraud also paired up with Black Eyed Peas super producer and touring DJ, Poet Name Life, on “Everybody Is in the Place,” which was most recently remixed by AutoErotique. The quality of Garraud’s collaborators and remixers garnishes the album with an array of future sounds. However, his reach and ability extend beyond the studio and the DJ booth. Partnering with Jane’s Addiction frontman and Lollapalooza founder Perry Farrell, the duo are bringing electro to the big stage. “When Perry saw [my set] at Lollapalooza Chicago last summer, he was shocked. So [he] came to me and was like, ‘OK, I want exactly the same. You have to produce tracks for me and produce video and produce the show,’ ” he recalled. Garraud was humbled by the ask, and the wheels were soon set in motion. “We’ve produced 12 tracks together, and all the tracks are very cool, because the lyrics are so cool. He sings all of the tracks with his heart, so they’re very beautiful tracks, and on the dance floor, it’s very, very powerful.” Garraud and Farrell recently took the stage at Chile’s inaugural version of Lollapalooza, where the DJ/producer helmed Perry’s stage show, putting together the music, tracks, video and what he refers to as the overall “stage attitude.” Garraud said fans will get to see their set on the Chicago leg of his tour and, possibly, on a future iteration of the Lollapalooza festival in Europe. In the meantime, he can be seen next on Saturday at the increasingly electro-friendly Coachella music festival , alongside a flurry of other big name DJs, including Axwell, Steve Angello, Laidback Luke, Skrillex and many others. What do you think of Joachim’s Invasion 2011 album? Let us know in the comments below! Related Videos Pump Your Fist For Miami Music Week Related Photos Miami Music Week Related Artists Joachim Garraud
‘It ain’t just a whole city of gang-banging,’ the gangsta rap pioneer tells MTV News of burgeoning L.A. hip-hop scene. By Alvin Blanco, with reporting by Ade Mangum Ice Cube Photo: MTV News is an accomplished actor and director who regularly brings cash to the box office via family-friendly fair like “Are We There Yet?” and comedies like the “Friday” series. The Hollywood savvy Cube may be years removed from his ascent as a gangsta rap pioneer with N.W.A and as a soloist with albums like AmeriKKKa’s Most Wanted, but he’s still a menace on the mic, releasing his ninth solo album, I Am the West, last year. But when we asked about the chances of a new generation of L.A. rappers breaking through like he did in the late 1980s and early ’90s as we gear up for MTV News’ New West Week , Cube said he thought a lack of airplay was a potential obstacle — but one that is being overcome. “I’m not really happy with radio out in L.A.,” Ice Cube told MTV News recently. “I think they turned their back on the hip-hop scene out there. Not stations like KDAY, they still play the hits. But some stations that got a little more wattage, they’re not bumping the hip-hop like they’re supposed to. “I think if you really focus too much on radio, you’ll be lost as an artist anyway,” he continued. “I think radio is very deceptive. It’s kind of fool’s gold ’cause you always chasing your last radio hit instead of just going and doing hip-hop like you supposed to, you worrying about spins, stuff like that. To me, radio has messed up a lot of artists.” While some of the MCs set to be featured during our New West Week — Nipsey Hussle, Pac Div, Odd Future — have turned to the Internet when radio and other traditional outlets weren’t as welcoming, Cube called it a double-edged sword since file-sharing has affected the music business’ bottom line. And although Cube admitted he isn’t up on too many of the up-and-comers primed to re-establish L.A. as a hip-hop superpower (apart from his sons OMG and Doughboy), he’s proud of the movement’s variety. “I think people just got caught in a trick bag. L.A. has always been full of all kind of different talent, different styles,” Cube said. “It ain’t just a whole city of gang-banging. The Black Eyed Peas is a great example of how creative that region is, so I’m happy that it ain’t all just one flavor now. That a lot of different flavors are getting out there. Leave the gangsta sh– to me and everybody else can do whatever they do.” The multitalented rapper has been cast in the upcoming “21 Jump Street” film adaptation. And although executive-producing his TBS sitcom “Are We There Yet?” keeps him busy, Cube currently has his sights set on bringing the N.W.A story to theaters. “We’re in the process of writing the script,” Cube said. “Hopefully, everything will come out perfect. To me, it’s an interesting story because the neighborhood we came from created N.W.A. And N.W.A also impacted the neighborhood we came from. It’s an interesting movie that needs to be told.” Starting Monday, stick with us as MTV News turns the spotlight on the New West, the next wave of hip-hop acts helping to restore faith in the L.A. rap scene. From groups like Odd Future to rising MCs like Dom Kennedy, we’ll bring you up close and personal to these artists as they carve their own lanes in the post-gangsta rap era. Keep it locked here for the next week for more on the West Coast up-and-comers!- Related Videos The New West: An In-Depth Look At L.A. Hip-Hop Related Artists Ice Cube
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