Tag Archives: young-the-giant

Mac Miller Reunites, Shares Secrets With His ‘First Date’

MTV’s Rya Backer also has a few chance encounters with ‘exes’ like Kendrick Lamar and Young the Giant at Bonnaroo ’12. By Rya Backer Mac Miller on a “First Date” Photo: Bonnaroo , you seem so far away already. Earlier this month, I caught some amazing performances — Battles, Feist and Ludacris were just some of my favorites. But between sets, I found myself fighting to maintain my composure as I encountered something many men and women face daily: bumping into an ex. Granted, they were rapper and rocker exes of the fictionalized “First Date,” variety, but still: We’d gone on a date. And yes, there were cameras involved and I’m very much in a real-life relationship (which is to say nothing of the statuses of the many artists I’ve gone out with), but still — connections were made. So, on a plot of land somewhere between Nashville and Chattanooga, Tennessee, I ran into upwards of seven “exes.” Over a fairly wide expanse, I had chance run-ins with the likes of Kendrick Lamar , Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. and Young the Giant. And then there was Mac Miller . A perennial fave around the MTV newsroom (and a favorite “First Date” episode among rabid followers of the series such as my mother and father), Mac and I caught up with each other to talk about what he’s been up to since we first went out late last year for a kosher lunch at New York’s Katz’s Deli. “I made history,” he deadpanned, referring to his debut, Blue Slide Park, which became the first independent album to hit #1 in well over a decade. In addition to that small feat, Mac toured the world and dropped an acclaimed mixtape, Macadelic. A follow-up mixtape with Pharrell is on deck, and there’s even more music to be heard. “I’ve been making my own beats, which I’ve done forever but, like, I’m really gonna start taking it seriously now,” Mac told me. “I’ve been making beats forever, but no one had known … I kept it secret.” Hopefully, we won’t have to wait until a third date — which Mac suggested we do at a NASCAR race — to hear them. Who should go on the next “First Date”? Share your suggestions in the comments! Related Videos MTV News First Date Related Artists Mac Miller

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Mac Miller Reunites, Shares Secrets With His ‘First Date’

Lil Wayne’s Carter IV Tops Billboard With Nearly A Million Sold

Hyped album moved 964,000 copies in its first week. By Gil Kaufman Lil Wayne Photo: Kevin Winter/Getty Images Lil Wayne was thisclose to making history as the first rap act to open with back-to-back million-selling albums. Thanks to record-setting iTunes sales of 300,000, plus the push provided by a post-VMA on-sale stunt, Weezy’s eagerly anticipated Tha Carter IV will debut at #1 on the Billboard 200 chart next week on sales of 964,000, according to figures provided by Nielsen SoundScan. That’s more than enough to win out over funky veterans the Red Hot Chili Peppers , who land at #2 with I’m With You thanks to sales of 229,000. That figure is less than half as much as the band’s previous release, the double album Stadium Arcadium, which moved 443,000 copies in its first week on the charts in 2006. Dance master David Guetta has a solid debut with his star-packed Nothing but the Beat, which lands at #5 (56,000), just barely edging out country singer Jake Owen ‘s Barefoot Blue Jean Night (55,000). A number of other artists got a VMA bump, including Adele, whose 21 is up 88 percent to 154,000 (putting her just shy of 3.3 million to date) and Beyonc

Machine Gun Kelly Shoots His First Bad Boy Video

‘I never been on a real video set,’ MGK admits to MTV News. By Rob Markman, with reporting by Matt Elias Machine Gun Kelly on the set of the “Stereo” music video Photo: MTV News Bigger deals mean bigger budgets. While on the come-up, Cleveland, Ohio’s Machine Gun Kelly made the most of his independent music grind, but his new deal with Diddy ‘s Bad Boy Records has allowed the rapid-fire rapper to do things slightly bigger. “This is the first video we’re doing with Bad Boy/Interscope,” MGK told MTV News on Monday while on the set of the Colin Tilley-directed clip for his mixtape cut “Stereo.” “Man, our videos? C’mon man, they’re like all directed by us; like jokes, then we turn it and flip it and make it great,” he said of his past vids like “Cleveland” and “Salute.” For “Stereo,” Kells invaded Fred C. Nelles Youth Correctional Facility in Whittier, California. “We shut the whole thing down, moved all the prisoners in one room and they’re all jerking off together, it’s pretty crazy,” he joked. “It’s just a bunch of just badass girls, and we’re all just getting shipped to the correctional facility and we’re just having a bad time. It’s like the music comes on and it kinda cheers us up, kinda just excited and ready to do whatever.” In August, Diddy announced that he signed MGK on “RapFix Live,” and while Kelly doesn’t exactly fit the Bad Boy rapper mold set by the likes of the Notorious B.I.G. , Mase and the LOX , Combs insisted that he doesn’t want the youngster to change a thing. “He will not be changing for Bad Boy; he will not have a typical Bad Boy swag,” Diddy said. “He’s not going to be popping champagne or driving around in Bentleys. He’s gonna be him and true to himself. He has a lot of creative control in his project.” After breaking through with his 2010 mixtape Lace Up, MGK caught hip-hop’s attention. His popularity began to grow so much that the NBA’s Cleveland Cavaliers began to play his hometown ode “Cleveland” at home games during the 2010-2011 basketball season. On the upbeat “Stereo,” MGK raps metaphorically about his love affair with music and his stereo. For Kells, turning his underground fan-favorite into his first big visual means the world to him. “We’re just about being organic and keeping everything how it was before the deal, so we’re taking one of the older songs that the fans love,” he said. “I never been on a real video set. I’m so happy I’m from Cleveland, Ohio, dude. This whole experience is just crazy.” Related Artists Machine Gun Kelly

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Machine Gun Kelly Shoots His First Bad Boy Video

Beyonce, Adele, Lil Wayne Get VMA Bump On iTunes

Up-and-coming rockers Young the Giant also among those benefitting from post-show sales boost. By Gil Kaufman Beyonc

Beyonce, Adele, Lil Wayne Get VMA Bump On iTunes

Up-and-coming rockers Young the Giant also among those benefitting from post-show sales boost. By Gil Kaufman Beyonc

Lady Gaga To Perform At 2011 MTV VMAs

Singer will also make VMA announcement during live ‘MTV First’ special on Thursday at 7:49 p.m. ET. By Gil Kaufman Lady Gaga Photo: MTV The night just keeps getting bigger. Little Monsters can rejoice because Lady Gaga will be performing at the upcoming 2011 MTV Video Music Awards . Gaga will appear live Thursday on MTV and Logo during “MTV First: Lady Gaga,” to make a special #VMA announcement and tease her new VMA promo on the special, which will air at 7:49 p.m. ET

. Gaga joins a star-studded VMA roster that already includes Adele, Lil Wayne, Bruno Mars, Chris Brown and Young the Giant. The 2011 VMAs will air from the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles live on Sunday, August 28, at 9 p.m. ET. MTV will announce additional performers and presenters in the coming days. Gaga unexpectedly unleashed the mind-blowing six-minute “Yo