‘Regardless if you’re writing a verse for somebody else’s album, write it like it’s for yours,’ MC tells MTV News of what he’s learned from Weezy. By Jayson Rodriguez, with reporting by Sway Calloway Cory Gunz and Lil Wayne on the set of “6 Foot 7 Foot” Photo: Rahman Dukes/MTV News Long before Charlie Sheen proclaimed he only had one gear (“Go!”), Lil Wayne proved to be a high-octane performer. From his legendary mixtape run that saw the Cash Money rapper release a yacht-load of free material to his song-stealing cameo on DJ Khaled’s posse cut “We Takin’ Over,” Weezy is powered like an Energizer. It’s a lesson that isn’t lost on his latest prot
Inc. rapper granted furlough to finish album and settle tax issue. By Jayson Rodriguez Ja Rule Photo: MTV News Ja Rule’s teeth are just fine, but the rapper’s finances aren’t in order, and as a result he’s been extended a reprieve in his prison sentencing until June 8. The Queens lyricist pleaded guilty to attempted gun possession in December , stemming from a July 2007 arrest. Lil Wayne, who Ja Rule performed with that night at the Cash Money star’s Beacon Theater show, also was arrested that night and eventually served eight months in prison for the same offense. Wayne’s sentence was postponed a number of times, including once for the rapper to undergo dental work. According to the New York Post , a judge delayed Ja Rule’s sentencing Wednesday morning (March 9) so the rapper could settle a federal tax issue. The Inc. rapper also will use the time to finish his next project, his attorney said. The furlough was issued by the judge against the prosecution’s wishes, the Post also reported. “We want to finish the album, and there’s also a tax issue,” his lawyer, Stacey Richman, said. “Somebody, an accountant, had filed an incorrect form, and this is to correct what was done in the past.” The case originated just over three years ago, when Ja Rule joined Lil Wayne at his first headlining gig in New York City. After the concert, both rappers’ vehicles were pulled over by the New York Police Department in separate instances. Both were subsequently charged with illegal possession of a firearm; Lil Wayne also was brought up on drug charges. Related Artists Ja Rule
F.A.M.E. singer tells Page Six Magazine , ‘You can’t walk around mad.’ By Terri Schwartz Chris Brown Photo: Jason LaVeris/ Getty Images Chris Brown opened up about his infamous assault on ex-girlfriend Rihanna , and he said he’s ready to move past it. “People are always gonna talk, but I’m in a positive place. I consider myself a grown-ass man,” he told Page Six Magazine (in Thursday’s New York Post ). Brown, 21, has been dealing with the fallout since his February 2009 attack on Rihanna, but his new album, F.A.M.E. (which stands for “Forgiving All My Enemies”), has been well-received, showing that the public might be ready to forgive him and accept him as an artist. During the interview, Brown was frank about admitting he was in the wrong for the “mishap,” but said he’s ready to stop apologizing. “At the end of the day, if I walk around apologizing to everybody, I’m gonna look like a damn fool,” he said. Brown admitted that he understood why some of his former friends walked away from him after the incident — “You can’t blame people for how they want to be portrayed or if they don’t want to be associated with somebody who had a particular mishap” — and he said he appreciated the “handful” of people who did stick by him. At the heart of that support group were his fans, whom he thanks in the interview. Brown said he is ready to move beyond this point in his life and look into the future. “The last two years, everybody dissed me,” Brown said. “But my fans were so dedicated. The way I look at it is, you can’t walk around mad, because then you just prove everybody right that you’re an angry person.” Are you a fan of Chris Brown? Sound off in the comments below! Related Photos Rihanna And Chris Brown: A Photo Timeline Related Artists Chris Brown Rihanna
Singer Layne Staley died of a drug overdose in 2002. By Gil Kaufman Photo: 2011 Getty Images The death on Tuesday of former Alice in Chains bassist Mike Starr continued the tragic legacy of one of the most beloved bands to emerge out of the early 1990s grunge scene in Seattle. Largely because of late singer Layne Staley’s debilitating drug addiction , in their heyday, AIC were known almost as much for their long periods of inactivity as they were for their gloom-laden, brooding music. Melding hard-rock guitars and the sludgy grunge aesthetic of the time, AIC stood out from the pack thanks to their adoption of a more classic heavy-metal sound and intense, almost unrelentingly bleak lyrics that touched on everything from drug addiction and isolation to the plight of Vietnam veterans. The seeds of the group were formed in 1986, when a then-teenage Staley quit his first group, Sleeze, and formed a new band, Alice N Chains, which followed the lead of a number of other Seattle bands at the time in mixing up the gender-bending look and sound of glam metal with the more hard-hitting sound of speed-metal acts such as Slayer. The rail-thin, enigmatic Staley met future AIC guitarist Jerry Cantrell when both were working at the Music Bank rehearsal studios, and they soon became roommates. When Alice N Chains fizzled out, Staley joined forces with Cantrell, who brought along his bandmates from the glam act Diamond Lie, drummer Sean Kinney and bassist Starr. They considered a number of names for their new group, including Mothra, but decided to go with Alice in Chains because Staley thought it suggested the image of a cross-dressing speed-metal band. After working on their patented mix of brutish, crunching guitars and grim psychedelic blues, the group quickly stood apart from future Seattle peers by honing a menacing sound that owed more to the work of metal icons Black Sabbath and Deep Purple than the punk-derived sound of such grunge contemporaries as Nirvana and Soundgarden. A demo called The Treehouse Tapes in 1988 won them a major-label deal with Columbia Records the next year. A three-song promotional EP, We Die Young, was released in July 1990, spawning the hard-rock radio hit in the title track, followed by their first full-length effort, Facelift, in August of that year. The album was a landmark in contemporary hard rock, mixing the over-the-top guitar heroics of the previous decade with grinding tempos. Staley’s rumbling vocals were hypnotic, ominously singing lines such as “Love, sex, pain, confusion, suffering/ You’re there crying/ I feel not a thing/ Drilling my way deeper in your head/ Sinking, draining, drowning, bleeding, dead” on the track “Confusion.” The album produced a bona fide hit with a song that bore the band’s soon-to-be hallmark music signature, “Man in the Box.” It was inspired by a story Staley reportedly overheard about how veal were raised in tiny spaces, and it combines his haunted vocals with Cantrell’s fuzzed-out, choppy guitar. Other songs, such as “Sea of Sorrow” and “Bleed the Freak,” set out the template for Staley’s emerging creative voice: a morbidly disaffected social outcast fighting to survive in mainstream society. AIC hit the road for their first U.S. tour that year, followed by a summer swing with Anthrax, Slayer and Megadeth the next summer under the title Clash of the Titans. They were back in March 1992 with a largely acoustic four-song EP called Sap, which featured the vocals of Ann Wilson of Heart and Soundgarden singer Chris Cornell. Thanks to the smash success of Nirvana’s Nevermind and the inclusion of the AIC song “Would?” on the soundtrack of the grunge movie “Singles” in the summer of 1992, Columbia began marketing AIC to both metal and alternative fans, which greatly increased the group’s fanbase. Work on their second full-length, Dirt, began in Los Angeles on the same day riots erupted in that city, postponing the sessions for two weeks. The resulting music was another bleak manifesto from the now commercially successful, Grammy-nominated group. While Staley sang about the ravages of drug addiction and self-destruction (“Junkhead,” “God Smack,” “Sickman,” “Angry Chair”), Cantrell attempted to make peace with his father through the dramatic Vietnam-themed epic “Rooster.” The album was influential in a number of ways. Singer/songwriter Ryan Adams and the hard-rock band Fuel have covered “Down in a Hole,” and rockers Godsmack chose their name from a song with that title. After the album’s release, Starr, then struggling with drug problems, was replaced by former Ozzy Osbourne bassist Mike Inez. Though rumors of Staley’s drug issues were rampant at the time, the band successfully hit the road as part of the third Lollapalooza tour in 1993, and Dirt went on to sell more than 3 million copies. Another EP of mostly acoustic tunes, Jar of Flies, was released in January 1994. It features two of the group’s most iconic songs: the power ballads “I Stay Away” and “No Excuses.” Staley broke off for a tour and album by his side project, Mad Season, in 1995, and AIC came back later that year with a self-titled album that debuted at #1 on the Billboard chart. But, as with Jar of Flies, there was no tour to support the album, and a long period of inactivity followed its release. They got together for their first live show in three years for MTV’s “Unplugged” in April 1996, an intense performance that was released on CD in July 1996. With the exception of a few opening gigs for Kiss that summer, the “Unplugged” show would be the final time the group performed live. Cantrell released his solo debut, Boggy Depot, in 1998, with contributions from Inez and Kinney, but Staley was replaced by Screaming Trees singer Mark Lanegan on Mad Season’s second album. A four-disc box set featuring rare and previously released AIC material entitled Music Bank was released in 1999 and a live album followed a year later. Staley became a recluse, rarely seen or heard from until news of his death emerged in early April 2002, when he was found dead of an overdose of cocaine and heroin at the age of 34, almost eight years to the day after Nirvana singer Kurt Cobain’s suicide. Cantrell continued to work solo, while Inez joined Slash’s Snakepit, Black Label Society and the short-lived grunge supergroup Spys 4 Darwin. Kinney joined his former bandmates in 2005 for a benefit concert for tsunami relief, and the three original members regrouped under the AIC banner in 2006 with Comes With the Fall’s William DuVall on vocals. The re-formed band released Black Gives Way to Blue in September 2009. The original AIC had a short-but-crucial period of creativity that helped reshape the face of heavy metal in the 1990s after the excess and pop trash of the late 1980s L.A. glam-rock scene. Their nihilistic, brooding tone and dark edge helped inspire a new generation of bands, from Creed and Godsmack to Theory of a Deadman, the Deftones and Staind, and their songs remain a staple of hard-rock radio to this day. Share your memories of Mike Starr and Alice in Chains in the comments. Related Photos In Memoriam: Alice In Chains’ Mike Starr Related Artists Alice in Chains
‘I was really happy to have him produce on this record,’ Lavigne says of Sum 41’s Deryck Whibley. By Jocelyn Vena Avril Lavigne Photo: MTV News This week, Avril Lavigne released her new album, Goodbye Lullaby , an emotionally charged record that will leave some fans wondering just who she is singing about. With a highly publicized divorce from Sum 41 singer Deryck Whibley and equally highly publicized romance with “Hills” star Brody Jenner, Lavigne says that she doesn’t really care if fans are trying to decode her songs. “At this point, because I’ve been doing this for 10 years, I’ve kind of learned … my life lesson has been about not worrying about people and what they think,” she told MTV News. “Obviously I care. I want people to like my music and stuff. I’ve had to learn to really focus on myself: who I am, what I want … You don’t want to have distractions, especially when you’re being creative.” Lavigne’s ex-husband Whibley worked on many of the album’s tracks. And considering how well the former spouses get along, the spunky pop star doesn’t seem bothered by public speculation about her personal life. “I respect Deryck so much as an artist, and he produced several songs on this record,” she explained. “I mean, he’s in a really cool band, he’s a writer and he’s a rocker.” Whibley’s skills and the duo’s easygoing nature are what helped make magic happen in the studio. “He’s a musician. He does it all, and to have him come on this album and produce and mix, it’s like he’s so talented, I was really happy to have him produce on this record,” she added. “He did a really amazing job. We’re great friends and I’m grateful for the relationship.” Related Videos Extended Play: Avril Lavigne’s ‘Goodbye Lullaby’ Related Artists Avril Lavigne
Bassist, 44, was found dead in his Salt Lake City home on Tuesday. By Gil Kaufman Mike Starr Photo: Steve Jennings/ WireImage The original members of Alice in Chains reacted to the death of the band’s former bassist Mike Starr . Guitarist Jerry Cantrell and drummer Sean Kinney released a statement on Tuesday in which they said, “Jerry and Sean are mourning the loss of their friend and ask that the media respect their privacy — and the privacy of Mike’s family — during this difficult time. Their thoughts & prayers are with the Starr family.” Starr, 44, was found dead Tuesday afternoon in his Salt Lake City home. A co-founding member of the pioneering Seattle grunge band, Starr appeared on VH1’s “Celebrity Rehab” in 2009. He was arrested on February 18 for felony possession of a controlled substance. Salt Lake City police said he had several painkillers on him when he was arrested. The bass player’s death unleashed a flood of comments from Alice in Chains fans and fellow rockers including former Guns N’ Roses members Steven Adler and Matt Sorum , as well as ex-Dream Theater drummer Mike Portnoy, M
Pittsburgh rapper recently described laid-back single to MTV News as a ‘swag song.’ By Jayson Rodriguez Wiz Khalifa Photo: MTV News Wiz Khalifa’s Rolling Papers is arriving song-by-song ahead of its March 29 release date. The latest record to spring forth onto the Web is “The Race,” a breezy number about the Pittsburgh rapper’s rise to the top. “I’m in the race and taking the winner’s place,” Wiz says, delivering the hook in his trademark melodic flourish over I.D. Labs’ production work. “No foot on the breaks/ One of the best homey, that’s what they call me/ It’s lonely at the top, ain’t no company/ So now I just stunt on my own, I just stunt on my own.” Last year, Wiz described the track as a “swag song,” calling it “an attitude, ‘doing what we do’-type thing,” he explained. “Every song, they were like, ‘Man, this is going to the radio. You could go to the radio with that,’ ” Wiz said when he previewed the collection for a select group in Los Angeles. “So they are good songs, but they are also songs that are going to be accepted widely.” “I’ve got to stick to what I know, what I’ve been doing,” he added. “My main producers have been doing the bulk of the album, and it’s majority done. We’re just doing the big songs now, putting some of the features together, but really, it’s more personal. You get to see me and feel me more as a person, but it’s still that same edgy, that same rawness that people dig.” What do you think of Wiz’s new song, “The Race”? Let us know in the comments! Related Artists Wiz Khalifa
‘My heart goes out to everyone he left behind,’ one commenter writes after ex-Alice in Chains bassist’s death. ‘Addiction is very hard to kick.’ By Katie Byrne Mike Starr in 1991 Photo: Marty Temme/ Getty Images News of former Alice in Chains bassist Mike Starr’s death on Tuesday (March 8) had a big impact on his famous friends, including M
Holly Holliday revisited the classic made famous by Stevie Nicks on latest episode. By Aly Semigran Gwenyth Paltrow on “Glee” Tuesday Photo: FOX Gwyneth Paltrow is back, Gleeks, and she’s brought the legendary Stevie Nicks with her. After weeks of waiting, the Academy Award-winning actress, who has more recently been spending her time performing onstage at various awards shows, including the Oscars and the Grammys , finally returned to reprise her “Glee” character, flighty substitute teacher Holly Holliday. During her turn on Tuesday night’s (March 8) episode, titled “Sexy,” Paltrow, who made a lasting impression last time around thanks to her giddy (and squeaky-clean) take on Cee Lo Green’s “Forget You,” took on an entirely different sound when she sang the moving Fleetwood Mac classic “Landslide.” Accompanied by twangy guitars and a banjo, Paltrow drew on her country music chops (heard most recently in her 2010 drama “Country Strong”) as she covered the timeless tune. But even before getting the “Glee”/Gwyneth treatment, “Landslide,” written by Nicks, has long been considered a treasure of the Fleetwood Mac catalog. In 1973, 25-year-old Nicks penned the song during a stay in the snowy mountains of Colorado. Although there have been various theories regarding who — or what — the song is about, the singer set the record straight during a visit to VH1’s “Storytellers” in 1998. “Everybody, everybody seems to think that I wrote this song about them — everybody in my family, all my friends, everybody,” Nicks said on the show. “And my Dad, my Dad did have something to do with it, but he absolutely thinks that he was the whole, complete reason that it was ever written.” She went on to explain just how the song came to be, “[Bandmate] Lindsey [Buckingham] and I went up to Aspen and we went to somebody’s incredible house and they had a piano and I had my guitar with me and I went in their living room, looking out over the incredible Aspen sky and I wrote “Landslide.” The song, which includes such lyrics as “I saw my reflection in the snow-covered hills/ ‘Till the landslide brought me down,” would become a turning point in the careers of Nicks and collaborator Buckingham, who was also her boyfriend at the time. As she told the “Storytellers” audience, “Three months later Mick Fleetwood called on New Year’s Eve 1974 and asked us to join Fleetwood Mac.” “Landslide” was initially released on Fleetwood Mac’s self-titled 1975 album, but it wasn’t actually released as a single (despite being a fan favorite) until 1998, when a live version of the song appeared on the Fleetwood album The Dance and hit airwaves. It peaked at #10 on Billboard ‘s adult contemporary chart and hit #51 on the Hot 100 that year. The sentimental and deeply personal song, with its simple, yet effective guitar chords and lyrics like “Well, I’ve been afraid of changing/ ‘Cause I’ve built my life around you” found its way into the hearts and onto the records of other inspired artists, most notably the Smashing Pumpkins and the Dixie Chicks. The Smashing Pumpkins released their version of “Landslide” on their 1994 B-sides album, Pisces Iscariot. The cover went on to be one of the rock band’s most-beloved tracks and even had the approval of Nicks herself. As she told fans during a 1998 online chat with SonicNet, “There’s nothing more pleasing to a songwriter than [someone else] doing one of their songs.”[‘Landslide’] also led me to being friends with Billy [Corgan] and the possibility that we’ll work together,” she said of the Smashing Pumpkins frontman. “Over this song, there’s been this incredible connection … he reached out … I believe that my poetry is really meant for everyone, no matter what age.” Nearly 10 years later, chart-topping country trio the Dixie Chicks created their own rendition of “Landslide.” Released on their 2002 album, Home, the trio’s cover also became a favorite among fans. With its debut on Glee, “Landslide,” proves that it continues to be a song that speaks to many generations, moving listeners years after Nicks first shared the song with the world more than 35 years ago. What did you think of Gwyneth Paltrow’s “Glee” cover of “Landslide”? Tell us in the comments! Related Artists Gwyneth Paltrow
‘Celebrity Rehab’ castmates Mackenzie Phillips and Lisa D’Amato also tweet about late ex-Alice in Chains bassist. By Ryan J. Downey Mike Starr in 1990 Photo: Steve Jennings/ Getty Images Mike Starr’s friends and fans have taken to Twitter to express their grief about the ex-Alice in Chains bassist’s death on Tuesday (March 8). “Devastating to hear of Mike Starr succumbing to his illness,” tweeted Dr. Drew Pinsky , who treated Starr on VH1’s “Celebrity Rehab” and the spin-off show “Sober House.” “So very sad. Our prayers are with his family.” Former Guns N’ Roses drummer Steven Adler — another founding member of a hard-rock powerhouse whose career was sidelined by drug addiction — also hit Twitter: “R.I.P. Mike Starr!! Such a sad day! 🙁 :(” Adler is also a “Celebrity Rehab” alum, though the two men appeared on separate seasons. Starr would have turned 45 next month. “Drugs and alcohol aren’t a joke,” tweeted Velvet Revolver drummer Matt Sorum , who replaced Adler in GN’R. “Please take care of yourself and respect yourself. We lost Mike Starr today. Rest in Peace man.” Ex-Dream Theater drummer Mike Portnoy , who filled in with Avenged Sevenfold after they lost Jimmy “The Rev” Sullivan to an overdose, had this to say via Twitter: “RIP Mike Starr… I watched his struggle on Celebrity Rehab and had my fingers crossed for his recovery… this disease kills… sad stuff…” Starr was found dead in a Salt Lake City house on Tuesday. He played bass for Alice in Chains from their inception in the late ’80s until 1993, when he left the Seattle grunge stars while touring for their second album, Dirt. Alice in Chains have several songs dealing with addiction. “You can’t understand a user’s mind,” former singer Layne Staley sings on “Junkhead.” Staley died in 2002 after overdosing on a mixture of heroin and cocaine. M
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