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DJ Trauma Wants To Make ‘Classic’ Mixtapes

‘I remember having a Kid Capri tape from ’88; I still have the cassette tape,’ Atlanta DJ tells Mixtape Daily. By Alvin Blanco, with reporting by Rahman Dukes DJ Trauma Photo: MTV News DJ Trauma is taking his skills to a bigger stage. After spinning at Atlanta’s Hot 107.9 for 10 years, Trauma recently left the station to focus on being the tour DJ for Ciara and Sean “The Pen” Garrett, as well as his own Carte Blanche team. Trauma has long been a key member of the ATL DJ/mixtape scene thanks to his role as a co-founder of the Superfriends DJ clique, his work on radio and as a staple on the club scene, holding down parties for Diddy, Jamie Foxx and Jay-Z, among others. Although Trauma has plenty of hip-hop ties, he believes his breakthrough mixtape was last year’s #ialmostmadeamixtape, which had him teaming up with British R&B crooner Estelle. “I really wanted to start focusing on the music that I love to hear and I want to help the world hear,” Trauma told Mixtape Daily. “I want to create mixtapes that are not disposable. That’s part of what’s wrong with the mixtape game now, ’cause I remember having a Kid Capri tape from ’88, I still have the cassette tape. People still download the links. I want to create tapes like that, that no matter what, it’s classic. A Trap or Die [mixtape] is classic. That’s the type of mixtape I want to create. Even if it’s an Estelle, which is kind of like pop music or soul, a lot of her records are real soulful and real good music. I want to do stuff like that.” While Trauma’s output also includes a tape with neo-soul singer (and Barack Obama playlist entry) Anthony David, his latest is an EP with former “American Idol” contestant Anoop Desai. Titled Zero.0, Trauma eventually assembled all of the producers and songwriters for the project, earning himself a co-executive producer credit. “What ended up happening is it turned into a real album,” Trauma said of Zero.0, the first of planned trilogy. “It’s called Zero because everything starts and ends from zero. … [Anoop] used to sing in an acapella group. You get his soul and R&B influences on the tape but then you also end off with his single, ‘OoWee,’ which is like a straight dance/pop song.” Billboard hosted the free mixtape upon its initial release and on April 20 a high-quality version will be available for purchase on iTunes. Next, Trauma plan to drop another mixtape, The Sex Tape Chronicles 2, with Verse Simmonds, as well as his own I Am the Party project, inspired by music that gets people jamming no matter what part of the world they’re in. As Trauma put it, “No matter where you are in the world, you can party with me.” For other artists featured in Mixtape Daily, check out Mixtape Daily Headlines .

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DJ Trauma Wants To Make ‘Classic’ Mixtapes

Mariah Carey’s Pregnant Magazine Cover Is ‘Beautiful,’ Nick Cannon Says

‘She’s such a trouper to be carrying two human beings in her body,’ Cannon tells MTV News of his wife. By Jocelyn Vena, with reporting by Kelly Marino Nick Cannon Photo: MTV News Mariah Carey had heads turning at the newsstand when she debuted her bare baby bump on this week’s cover of Life & Style. And while it may have left some blushing, her hubby Nick Cannon told MTV News he loves it. “I think the cover is beautiful,” he said. “The way that happened — we weren’t planning to put that out. It was an idea [where I said], ‘You look beautiful. Let’s take pictures.’ It turned out to be so beautiful; we were like, ‘The world has to see this.’ I actually took some naked pictures too with her — hopefully those won’t be on no magazine covers anytime soon.” So will Dad be following suit with his own scantily clad magazine cover? “I don’t know if I want my kids to see my ass out, but they are classy,” he laughed. “I like the ones of my wife more than the ones of me.” With Carey on the brink of labor at any moment, Cannon is just waiting for the call. The couple are completely ready to be parents — they have the twins’ names picked out and everything. “She’s doing amazingly right now,” he gushed. “She’s such a trouper to be carrying two human beings in her body and for her to have such high spirits and to be so understanding. … It’s just wonderful just to see her in all her aura and beauty, glow. I got a couple of phones on me.” “We thought of a few names, ironically, when we first met,” he recalled. “On our first date [I was planning out our life], and she was into it, and we still play around with those names, but now that it’s real … when the babies come out, we’ll see if they keep the names we made up on our first date.” What did you think of Mariah’s magazine cover? Let us know it the comments! Related Artists Nick Cannon

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Mariah Carey’s Pregnant Magazine Cover Is ‘Beautiful,’ Nick Cannon Says

Lady Gaga’s ‘Judas’ Video Is ‘Groundbreaking,’ Laurieann Gibson Says

‘It’s a phenomenal video: really powerful, really impactful,’ creative director tells MTV News. By Jocelyn Vena, with reporting by Vanessa WhiteWolf Lady Gaga Photo: Tom Briglia/ WireImage Lady Gaga is ready to tell her version of the Bible in her “Judas” video , which recently wrapped production in L.A. MTV News caught up with the video’s co-director and Gaga’s creative director, Laurieann Gibson, to talk about the clip as well as her new E! show “The Dance Scene,” debuting Sunday. “I will tell you now, first off, I’m Christian, and my career is evidence of God in my life, and I think that most people are already thinking that Gaga and the blasphemy and they’re premeditating the approach and I think they’ll be very shocked to find out how huge and really groundbreaking the message is and how freeing the message is for all the right reasons,” she said. “And it’s really going to shock the world.” The cast includes some big-name cameos as well, including Norman Reedus as Judas. “He was so prolific,” she declared of his performance, adding that the video is “badass” and that Gaga will play Mary Magdalene. The two ladies took it upon themselves to make sure the video’s direction was perfect — so they just decided to direct it themselves. “There was elements of ‘Born This Way’ during our collaboration [with director Nick Knight] and, as much as I loved it, there were moments where, for me, it didn’t really evolve as I had inspired of the actual creative, which was defined. “But when we got to ‘Judas,’ it was very clear to me and the inspiration was very clear to her. We approached a director, but then the dates actually got messed up and it was conflicted and her manager and her looked at me [and asked me to direct it with her].” Gibson said she took a moment before agreeing, as she had just wrapped up work on Lady Gaga’s Monster Ball HBO special , premiering in May, but she “couldn’t resist. It’s a phenomenal video: really powerful, really impactful. She’s such a strong, committed artist. Her loyalty to me is something I will be forever grateful for. We’re spiritually connected. We need each other, and ‘Judas’ is ultimately a representation of our true bond.” What are you expecting from the “Judas” video? Let us know in the comments! Related Videos MTV News Extended Play: Lady Gaga Creative Director Laurieann Gibson Related Photos Lady Gaga And The Scissor Sisters Perform At Staples Center Related Artists Lady Gaga

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Lady Gaga’s ‘Judas’ Video Is ‘Groundbreaking,’ Laurieann Gibson Says

Death Cab For Cutie Tell Story Behind ‘You Are A Tourist’

‘Catchy’ first single off upcoming Codes and Keys album almost didn’t make the cut, fontman Ben Gibbard tells MTV News. By James Montgomery, with reporting by Matt Elias Death Cab for Cutie’s Ben Gibbard Photo: MTV News You might think, given the live live video used to promote it (and all the preparation that went into pulling said video off), that Death Cab for Cutie had known for a very long time that “You Are a Tourist” would be the first single off their upcoming Codes and Keys album. But you’d be wrong. “This song … actually came in late during the recording process,” DCFC bassist Nick Harmer told MTV News. “I mean, we had a group of songs in the beginning that we were working on, and you never really know what your album’s going to be at the start of a process, but we knew what songs we were going to start working on. Then [Ben] brought [‘Tourist’] in later on in the process, and the fact that it went from being a song that we hadn’t gone into the process knowing about … to suddenly becoming a song that we immediately reacted to, that as soon as we recorded it, we just knew it was going to be the first song to release from this album. … That was a fun development for us.” So from late addition to first single out of the gate, “Tourist” has certainly had an interesting life already. But that’s just part of what makes the song unique. Because, to hear frontman Ben Gibbard tell it, the song is also different from most in the DCFC catalog because it is, at its very core, just a very shiny pop tune. “It’s weird, there’s not really a narrative in the song. … I feel like the lyrics and the verses are kind of more, just, affirmations than anything else; they’re not really deep thoughts,” Gibbard said. “But I feel that there’s a kind of particular narrative within the bridge that kind of ties everything together, and balances out the affirmations in the verse. And that’s the thing I’m most fond of in the song, is that, you know, the verses are catchy and light — it’s a pop song — but at the same time, there’s a weight to it, that you kind of get in the bridge that kind of ties it all together.” What do you think of DCFC’s “You Are a Tourist”? Tell us in the comments! Related Artists Death Cab For Cutie

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Death Cab For Cutie Tell Story Behind ‘You Are A Tourist’

Carrie Underwood Opens Up About ‘Soul Surfer’ Acting Debut

‘It’s important to get Bethany’s story out,’ singer/actress tells MTV News about real-life story of surfer who lost her arm in shark attack. By Kara Warner Carrie Underwood Photo: MTV News Because the movie “Soul Surfer” is based on the true and inspiring story of teen surfer Bethany Hamilton, who lost her arm in a shark attack but overcame all odds to become a pro, the film was a real labor of love for everyone involved. Particularly so first-time actress Carrie Underwood. When MTV News caught up with the country music superstar, she explained why she decided to make her acting debut in “Surfer,” which opens on Friday. She also opened up about discovering how different the worlds of music and film really are. “This whole movie, this whole project is important,” Underwood said about signing on. “It’s important to get Bethany’s story out, and people being entertained but also, hopefully, people leave the movie theater feeling different about themselves in their lives and inspired,” she said. Underwood added that this was a project she really believed in and of which she wanted to be a part. “It wasn’t some silly nothing movie that in 10 years nobody is going to care [about]. Hopefully, people watch this and really take something away from it.” Regarding the differences between performing onstage and performing on a film set, Underwood said she felt a little bit like a fish out of water at first, but thanks to support from the cast and crew, she got through it. “Oh gosh, I think my singing world and the movie world are way, way, way different,” she said. “I know what I’m doing when I’m singing, I feel like on the set, everyone was so nice and they helped me out so much. They were very patient with me and very understanding that this was my first movie. … Onstage I know what to do, but in front of the lights and being on the movie set, I was pretty lost most of the time,” she admitted. “But they were great.” Are you excited to see Carrie make her acting debut in “Soul Surfer”? Tell us in the comments! Check out everything we’ve got on “Soul Surfer.” For young Hollywood news, fashion and “Twilight” updates around the clock, visit HollywoodCrush.MTV.com . Related Artists Carrie Underwood

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Carrie Underwood Opens Up About ‘Soul Surfer’ Acting Debut

Curren$y Says One Alchemist Song Turned Into Covert Coup Mixtape

‘You work with artists, and then that way, your music will stand,’ Curren$y tells MTV News of picking producers. By Alvin Blanco Curren$y Photo: MTV News New Orleans rapper Curren$y has a fresh deal with Warner Bros. Records, but it’s not stopping him from releasing free music. The former Young Money Records signee made his name in the hip-hop world via prolific mixtape releases that helped land him on the cover of XXL Magazine’s 2009 Freshmen cover. Now, Curren$y will be releasing the Covert Coup mixtape April 20. The album will be available for download at CurrensySpitta.com . Covert Coup is produced by Alchemist (Eminem, Mobb Deep, Nas), and guests include Freddie Gibbs and Prodigy. The mixtape came together after Spitta and Alchemist connected to record only one song. “I was going to do one record and give it away, that night, but we did three,” Curren$y told MTV News. “We did one; I was like, ‘We’ll give this one away.’ Then [Alchemist] was like, ‘Well, we need another one to make up for that one.’ So we did one, and I was like, ‘Yo, let me hear that other beat that you played before you played the one we just did,’ and then that turned into another one. And three is, like, 10. You might as well go ahead and get it done.” Curren$y is comfortable collaborating on projects where one producer oversees the bulk of the beats. He released a pair of albums last year ( Pilot Talk and Pilot Talk 2 ) that were handled almost entirely by Ski Beatz (Jay-Z, Camp Lo). “Producers, that’s an art. So you work with artists, not hustlers,” Curren$y explained. “Not people just milling beats. It’s like beat mills, don’t do that. You work with artists, and then that way, your music will stand. You’re not trying to sell 10 million records right now. Sell that over time. Sell it to where you’re 50 and your records still selling because people who grew up with you are trying to show their kids what’s effed up about the game, and then they go to the record store and buy your record to play that for them.” On the day of Covert Coup ‘s release, Curren$y will kick off a nationwide Jet Life Tour that runs through June. Its first show, in New Orleans, will be streamed live to Los Angeles and New York. The Covert Coup track list, according to Warner Bros.: 1. “BBS” 2. “The Type” (featuring Prodigy) 3. “Blood Sweat and Gears” (featuring Fiend) 4. “Ventilation” 5. “Life Instructions” (featuring Smoke Dza) 6. “Smoke Break” 7. “Double 0 7” 8. “Scottie Pippen” (featuring Freddie Gibbs) 9. “Full Metal” Will you check out Curren$y’s latest tape? Let us know in the comments! Related Artists Curren$y

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Curren$y Says One Alchemist Song Turned Into Covert Coup Mixtape

30 Seconds To Mars Get Conflicted In ‘This Is War’ Video

Long-delayed clip is heavy on special effects — and message. By James Montgomery Jared Leto in the “This is War” video Photo: EMI More than a year after they shot it — and nearly nine months since we asked “Whatever Happened to It?” — 30 Seconds to Mars premiered their “This Is War” video on Wednesday (April 6), a clip that’s nearly as heavy on special effects as it is on message. Opening with a quote from H.G. Wells (“If we don’t end war, war will end us”) and concluding with the computer-generated destruction of tanks, jets and all manner of implements of destruction — or, more specifically, their assemblage into something more, which may or may not be the group’s Triad symbol — “War” is actually all about peace, a concept that doesn’t seem to gibe with the fact that 30STM are dressed as U.S. soldiers, patrolling the desert in an armored Humvee. Then again, with its quick-cut montages of various deities and despots, perhaps the video is less about the physical act of war as it is the men who wage it — or, alternately, rail against it. As Jared Leto told MTV News last year, the clip and the song are about “the inevitability of conflict, the blessing of conflict and what we can all learn from it.” It seems that, no matter how inhumane the outcome, humankind is practically predestined for war — a fact that roughly 2,000 years of our existence has sadly proven time and time again. So rather than just come right out and say that war is bad — since, you know, duh — 30 Seconds to Mars try their very best to explore the various facets of the concept: the men and women who lead us to conflict and those who attempt to halt that march. It’s a tact they applied to the notion of sex in their “Hurricane” video , only here, they’re much subtler (as subtle as a war video with flying tanks can be, of course). But since a complete investigation of humanity’s foibles would take a lot longer to complete than the six minutes 30STM have to work with in “This Is War,” they basically leave their findings up to the viewer. When the pile of tanks and battleships at clip’s end transforms into a massive pyramid, the meaning isn’t readily apparent: There seems to be some sort of extraterrestrial force at play here, or perhaps it’s just the overwhelming good nature of humankind willing the event to happen. The image is clearly meant to provoke, but does it also provoke thought ? Ultimately, that’s up to you. Though, it bears mention that much like conflict itself, thought is a decidedly human condition. And it’s also more powerful than any bomb could ever be. What did you think of 30 Seconds to Mars’ new video? Let us know in the comments! Related Artists 30 Seconds To Mars

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30 Seconds To Mars Get Conflicted In ‘This Is War’ Video

Death Cab For Cutie Take You Behind The Scenes Of ‘You Are A Tourist’ Video

Bandmembers say they weren’t nervous about live broadcast of video shoot. By James Montgomery, with reporting by Matt Elias Death Cab for Cutie’s Ben Gibbard Photo: MTV News As you are probably aware by now, on Tuesday night, Death Cab for Cutie managed to pull off their “You Are a Tourist” video — which was shot live, in one continuous take, and broadcast to the entire world via the Internet — without incident. Although the final product looked effortless, it only came together after a full day of rehearsals in Los Angeles, where Death Cab for Cutie worked (and reworked) the “Tourist” choreography with director Tim Nackashi and a bevy of background dancers. Now that “Tourist” is in the books — and disaster-free — we decided it was time to have DCFC take us through the process of making the clip, live, without a net. “The idea actually came to us from a friend of ours that’s been a creative collaborator with us over a number of projects over the years, named Aaron Stewart-Ahn,” Death Cab bassist Nick Harmer said. “He basically had a concept for the video and passed it to us, and we were able to go out into the world and find Tim Nackashi to direct and come up with a great treatment. … Really, it’s been a lot of minds all working on the same puzzle, and those two, between Tim and Aaron, deserve all the credit.” “Honestly,” frontman Ben Gibbard laughed, “we’re just the beneficiaries of all these great ideas.” As Gibbard explained, the trick to pulling off “Tourist” had a lot to do with the choreography — more specifically, striking a balance between too much and too little of it. “The balance here is to try to have there be a legitimate amount of choreography involved, but not so much that if one thing goes wrong, the whole thing topples like a house of cards,” he said. “There are some very kind of tight moves throughout the video, but nothing that, you know, if I’m not standing here at this one point, the Rube Goldberg [machine] falls apart and you’re standing there for the next three minutes looking like a moron.” To that point, DCFC said that though they’d be shooting a video live for the entire world to see, they weren’t nervous in the slightest. Because really, all the hard work was left to Nackashi and Stewart-Ahn. All the guys in the band had to do was hit their marks and everything would, in theory, be OK. As it turns out, it was. “I feel kind of fine. I mean, we’ve done enough live TV actually performing — and we’re not performing in this video, we’re not playing our instruments, we’re lip-synching — so because there’s no performance element, it doesn’t make me nervous,” Gibbard told MTV News on Monday. “Because really, all I have to do is remember the words that are being played over the P.A. and be standing in the right place at the right time. And there will be enough people kind of getting us to where we need to be that I’m not too nervous yet. But then again, it’s not for 24 hours, so I could maybe wake up tomorrow morning and be a little bit freaked out, but I think we’ll be OK.” Related Artists Death Cab For Cutie

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Death Cab For Cutie Take You Behind The Scenes Of ‘You Are A Tourist’ Video

Katy Perry Sees ‘All Kinds Of Emotions’ In Her Fans

‘It turns me on to stare someone deep in their eyes,’ she tells MTV News of looking out at the crowd during California Dreams Tour. By Jocelyn Vena, with reporting by Sway Calloway Katy Perry Photo: MTV News Katy Perry is currently on her California Dreams Tour, inspiring fans with anthems like “Firework.” But, as it turns out, Perry is just as inspired by her fans as they are by her. “It turns me on to stare someone deep in their eyes,” she tells MTV News of looking out into the audience every night on her tour. “Sometimes I see all kinds of emotions. It’s a lot of emotion. “It’s lovely, too, because I love people that are passionate about life and music in general,” she continued. “Music has been such a helping tool for me to get through so many things. That’s why I write a lot of times, is to continue to evolve as a person, and I can see the same thing has happened with other people; they’ve just adopted the song for themselves.” What’s also inspiring Perry these days is outer space. She headed out of this world for her just-released “E.T.” video , and she credits her new wave of fans for finally embracing the pop singer, allowing her the opportunity to be truly creative. “It’s pretty exciting that I have the opportunities now to work with great directors and have 100 percent of my voice heard,” she said. “That’s always been the challenge as an artist, is for other people to jump onboard and see your vision correctly. And that’s why, sometimes, it’s hard for me to break out, especially on other labels, because my vision was always so strong, and I think with Teenage Dream, the record on a whole, I knew I wanted to give so many different flavors, so many different ideas and just make a different movie for each song, and I feel like I’ve done that.” Which Katy Perry song inspires you? Let us know in the comments! Related Videos MTV News Extended Play: Katy Perry Related Artists Katy Perry

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Katy Perry Sees ‘All Kinds Of Emotions’ In Her Fans

Britney Spears’ Femme Fatale Debuts At #1 On Billboard

Wiz Khalifa’s Rolling Papers comes in at #2. By Gil Kaufman Britney Spears Photo: Jive Make it an even half dozen. With the chart-topping bow next week of Femme Fatale, Britney Spears will notch her sixth Billboard 200 #1 debut thanks to first-week sales of 276,000 for the pop diva’s seventh studio collection. Though it’s nearly half the 505,000 in sales the singer put up with 2008’s Circus, the debut easily outpaces the week’s #2 showing by Wiz Khalifa, whose Rolling Papers moved 197,000, according to figures provided by Nielsen SoundScan. Among the other debuts in the top 10 are the physical release of Radiohead’s latest, King of Limbs (#6, 69,000), Snoop Dogg ‘s Doggumentary (#8, 50,000) and Mary Mary ‘s Something Big, which rounds out the new titles at #10 on sales of 42,000. The rest of the top 10: Adele , 21 (#3, 94,000), Chris Brown , F.A.M.E. (#4, 91,000, down 66 percent), Songs for Japan (#5, 71,000), Jennifer Hudson , I Remember Me (#7, down 66 percent) and Kirk Franklin , Hello Fear (#9, 46,000). After debuting at #4 last week, the Strokes take a bit of a dive down to #18, as sales of Angles leveled off by 76 percent to 21,000. The hard-charging soundtrack to the critically panned fantasy film “Sucker Punch” actually rises nine spots in its second week to #22 on sales of 20,000. The soundtrack to the “Grey’s Anatomy: The Musical Event” episode comes in at #24 (19,000), while Sum 41 ‘s Screaming Bloody Murder inches on to the charts at #31 (15,000) and Panic! at the Disco plunge 25 places in week two to #32 with Vices & Virtues (15,000). A number of indie darlings also make their chart debuts, including the Mountain Goats with All Eternals Deck (#71, 9,000), the Pains of Being Pure at Heart , Belong (#91, 6,000) and Peter Bjorn and John , Gimme Some (#108, 6,000). Britney also tops the iTunes albums chart, edging out the Songs for Japan compilation, followed by Khalifa, Adele, the “Grey’s Anatomy” album, Mumford & Sons ‘ Sigh No More and albums by Brown, Radiohead, the self-titled effort from Sara Ramirez and the “Sucker Punch” soundtrack. Black Eyed Peas rule the iTunes singles chart with “Just Can’t Get Enough,” winning out over Katy Perry ‘s “E.T.,” Rihanna ‘s “S&M,” Perry’s “E.T.” without Kanye West, then Khalifa’s “No Sleep,” Brown’s “Look at Me Now,” Jennifer Lopez ‘s “On the Floor,” Adele’s “Rolling in the Deep,” Cee Lo Green ‘s “Forget You” and Lady Gaga ‘s “Born This Way.” Next week will see new albums from Foo Fighters , TV on the Radio , Paul Simon and Jessie J . Related Videos Britney Spears: I Am The Femme Fatale Related Photos Candid Moments From ‘Britney Spears: I Am The Femme Fatale’ Britney Spears Brings Down The House In Las Vegas Related Artists Britney Spears

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Britney Spears’ Femme Fatale Debuts At #1 On Billboard