Simons talks to MTV News about hitting the road with ‘cool guys’ Redfoo and SkyBlu. By Jocelyn Vena Eva Simons Photo: MTV News LMFAO has enlisted some hardcore party rockers for their Sorry for the Party Rocking Tour kicking off on Tuesday (May 22) in Columbus, Ohio. With the likes of Far East Movement , the Quest Crew, Sidney Samson and Natalia Kills all ready to rock out each night of the 26-date trek, fellow tourmate Eva Simons is excited to be hitting the road with her “big brothers,” SkyBlu and Redfoo. “I’m kind of like their sister, that’s the feeling I got,” she told MTV News. “They’re still like, we have jokes, but they’re still very like protective and they’re cool guys. They work, they’re fun, but in the end we all just really normal people that also want to have a good time.” While the guys of LMFAO may seem like zebra-pants-wearing party dudes, it’s all really a persona crafted in order to come up with all their chart-topping jams. “You know, everybody’s always saying when there’s a party song out, ‘I can write that song.’ Well, can you? Try it! It’s not that easy,” she said. “You have to really know what’s going on, and they know what’s going on because they’re always in the clubs. They’re always on tour and I think that’s something you should be doing as an artist nowadays. [You have to] know what’s going on in the streets [or] what are you trying to sell us? Some fake story? People don’t want to hear no fake story. People want to hear what’s real, organic.” So, has she ever been sorry for any of her party rocking? She laughed, “Oh, yeah, yes, I have those moments. I’ve had those moments I will not discuss.” Fellow party rockers Far East Movement recently shared they have equally high hopes for the jaunt . “There’s going to be a little bit of wiggling going on,” Kev Nish told MTV News. “There’s gonna be shuffling, booty popping, a lot of movement. That’s what both crews like to do. Big shout-out to [LMFAO’s] Redfoo and the Party Rock Crew and [our label] Cherry Tree, really, for putting this all together.” In addition to wiggling their way through Columbus on Tuesday, LMFAO and crew will be partying all around the country, including stops in Seattle, Los Angeles, Atlanta and Miami. The tour will wrap up on July 4 in Toronto. “It’s gonna be a whole lot of bass and a whole lot of showers,” Far Easter Movement’s J-Splif added. “Bring your raincoats.” Are you planning on seeing LMFAO on tour? Leave your comment below! Related Artists Lmfao Eva Simons
New Zealand-born singer says her 2011 album has ‘gone through a bit of an evolution’ for its May 22 release in the U.S. By Jocelyn Vena Kimbra Photo: MTV News Kimbra has already topped the charts as Gotye’s former love on his smash hit “Somebody That I Used To Know.” This week, the New Zealand-born songstress will finally release her genre-defying Vows in the U.S. The album, which incorporates dance, pop and alternative, will be released on May 22. And despite the fact that Kimbra’s “lived for these songs for nearly five years,” she found a way to renew her Vows by featuring five new songs on the Stateside release. “It kind of feels like it’s gone through a bit of an evolution,” she told MTV News. “For that reason, I feel refreshed going out to promote it. It still feels new.” In order to freshen up the album, she enlisted the help of some legendary producers, including Greg Kurstin (who’s worked with the Flaming Lips and the Shins) and Mike Elizondo (who worked with Dr. Dre). “I just think you learn a process that works for you,” she said. “I think I took a lot from the first few years of making Vows and then when I came here to work in America, I knew the ways I like to work.” Kimbra said she’s enjoyed exploring different genres on the new tracks, including girl-power anthem “Warrior” with A-Track and Mark Foster as well as the funky “Come Into My Head.” “It channels a bit of a funk thing, which is something I’m dabbling in more now with the live band,” she said of “Come Into My Head.” “It’s got a lot of syncopation and quite a heavy groove, so, I think, maybe that’s a new direction for me to start exploring on the second album, perhaps.” Related Artists Kimbra
Atlanta rapper detained at NYC’s LaGuardia Airport after his ring set off an alarm, Port Authority officials confirm to MTV News. By Nadeska Alexis 2 Chainz Photo: MTV News 2 Chainz joined Drake on his Club Paradise Tour in Atlanta on Sunday night. But while jetting from New York to North Carolina on Tuesday (May 22) for another stop on the cross-country jaunt, the rapper was arrested for carrying “brass knuckles” in his bag. A Port Authority officer confirmed to MTV News that 2 Chainz (born Tauheed Epps) was apprehended while entering the Delta Airlines terminal at New York City’s LaGuardia Airport after officials found a pair of “metal knuckles” in his carry-on bag. Police took Chainz into custody for misdemeanor possession of a weapon in the 4th degree at around 1:45 p.m. ET. “The knuckles were in his personal bag and sounded the alarm,” the officer told us. The “No Lie” rapper was held in detention at the airport, where he’ll eventually be taken to Queens County Central booking to be formally charged. Meanwhile, his peers, including DJ Drama and Big Sean, who saw him wearing the ring earlier this week, have addressed the arrest on Twitter, calling foul. “2 chainz ain’t have no brass knuckles, it was a 4 finger ring that spelled hood,” Big Sean wrote minutes after news of the arrest was reported. “We had a shoot yesturday n he was rockin em.” DJ Drama, who dropped The Lost Tape with 50 Cent on Tuesday, spread the #Free2Chainz hashtag, adding an Instagram photo that shows 2 Chainz wearing the ring — clearly designed just for style. MTV News caught up with the Def Jam signee before he took the stage in Atlanta on Sunday night, and he’s seen sporting the same ring in the video footage. “The atmosphere is just unexplainable right now,” he said of Drake’s Club Paradise Tour. “We just came from the West Coast and the closer we get to home, the warmer it feels, as far as the welcome.” In the past few months, the Playaz Circle rapper has broken out of the underground to become a fixture on the mainstream, but he emphasizes that it was a long time in the making. “I built a relationship with Drake on [Wayne’s] I Am Music Tour,” he said. “I met Nicki [Minaj] and Drake on the tour, and they’re the ones that kept [me believing] in the back of my mind that I could do something, because I knew them when they were just trying to get on like me.” Fans can catch 2 Chainz in much better spirits on tonight’s premiere episode of MTV2’s “Hip Hop Squares” at 11p.m.ET. Stick with RapFix.MTV.com and MTVNews for details in the developing story. Related Artists 2 Chainz
Onetime G-Unit rapper reached a plea deal with Nashville prosecutors on gun charges dating back to 2010. By Rob Markman Young Buck Photo: Arnold Turner/ WireImage Young Buck started his rap career with a ton of promise, but his legal problems thwarted that potential and his woes continue to mount. According to reports, the former G-Unit MC is looking at an 18-month prison stint for gun possession. The Tennessee rap star has agreed to a plea deal with Nashville prosecutors that will land him behind bars for a year and half, TMZ reported on Tuesday (May 22). A judge signed off on the plea, but Buck won’t be sentenced formally until July 13. “I got to go to the penitentiary in two months,” Buck said in a personal video posted online over the weekend. “F— with me for real, hold me down — and when I get out of the penitentiary, all you rap n—as better get the f— out the way. I ain’t even gonna say no names, but it’s a good thing I’m about to go to the penitentiary.” After an IRS raid on Buck’s Nashville home in 2010, authorities found a .40 caliber Glock 22 as well as ammunition. The raid followed reports that the rapper had an outstanding $300,000 tax debt, and because he’s a convicted felon, Buck is prohibited from possessing any firearms. Back in 2005, he pleaded no contest to assault with a chance to produce bodily injury after he stabbed a man while trying to defend Dr. Dre at the 2004 Vibe Awards . Buck rose to fame as a member of 50 Cent’s G-Unit crew. In 2004, his debut, Straight Outta Cashville, went platinum; he followed that up with 2007’s sophomore effort, Buck the World. But by ’08, Young Buck had gotten himself kicked out of the group after tension between him and label boss 50. The MC has been releasing mixtape material on and off ever since, including The Rehab, an independent street album. Related Artists Young Buck
Catch Lupe Fiasco on ‘RapFix Live’ this Wednesday at 4 p.m. ET on MTV.com. By Rob Markman Lupe Fiasco Photo: Johnny Nunez/WireImage When Pete Rock and C.L. Smooth dropped “They Reminisce Over You (T.R.O.Y.)” 20 years ago, the celebrated rap duo was still reeling over the unexpected death of their dear friend Troy “Trouble T” Dixon of Heavy D & the Boyz. What began as the most personal of lyrical eulogies soon became an iconic hip-hop track, so when Lupe Fiasco reworked the “T.R.O.Y.” instrumental for his new single “Around My Way (Freedom Ain’t Free)” on Monday, things were all good until Pete Rock chimed in. “No disrespect to lupe fiasco and i like him alot but TROY should be left alone. Feel so violated,the beat is next to my heart and was made Outta anguish and pain. When it’s like that it should not be touched by no one,” Rock tweeted on Monday after hearing the track. While Lu’s new single clearly is a nod to “T.R.O.Y,” the original track isn’t exactly an original composition, as it samples from jazz musician Tom Scott’s 1967 song “Today.” It’s possible that “Around My Way,” which was produced by Simonsayz and B-Sidet, sampled a portion of their track from Scott’s version. This isn’t the first time that Lupe has paid homage to Pete Rock either, he once freestyled over the “Reminisce” beat for his “Dopeboys” freestyle with Wale and Kardinal Offishall. Lyrically, Lu continues to push rap’s topical boundaries on “Around My Way,” choosing to rhyme about social-political ills in Ghana and corruption in the oil industry. Rock stressed that he did not have a personal problem with the Chicago rapper, he just didn’t appreciate the remake. “I’m not flattered @ all. Dat sh– is wack, and the producer should be ashamed of his f–kin self. Smh,” he wrote . On Tuesday, Lupe began tweeting links to other “T.R.O.Y.” remakes, including Mann’s J.R. Rotem-produced “Reminisce” and a remixed version of the song which featured Journalist, Mr. Cheeks and Pete Rock and C.L. Smooth themselves. Finally Lupe took the high road and tweeted a YouTube link to the original Pete Rock and C.L. Smooth video with the hash tag “#20YearsLaterStillTheBest.” Catch Lupe Fiasco on this week’s “RapFix Live,” Wednesday at 4 p.m. ET on MTV.com. Do you side with Pete Rock? Should “They Reminisce Over You (T.R.O.Y.)” remain untouched? Let us know in the comments. Related Artists Lupe Fiasco Pete Rock
Catch Lupe Fiasco on ‘RapFix Live’ this Wednesday at 4 p.m. ET on MTV.com. By Rob Markman Lupe Fiasco Photo: Johnny Nunez/WireImage When Pete Rock and C.L. Smooth dropped “They Reminisce Over You (T.R.O.Y.)” 20 years ago, the celebrated rap duo was still reeling over the unexpected death of their dear friend Troy “Trouble T” Dixon of Heavy D & the Boyz. What began as the most personal of lyrical eulogies soon became an iconic hip-hop track, so when Lupe Fiasco reworked the “T.R.O.Y.” instrumental for his new single “Around My Way (Freedom Ain’t Free)” on Monday, things were all good until Pete Rock chimed in. “No disrespect to lupe fiasco and i like him alot but TROY should be left alone. Feel so violated,the beat is next to my heart and was made Outta anguish and pain. When it’s like that it should not be touched by no one,” Rock tweeted on Monday after hearing the track. While Lu’s new single clearly is a nod to “T.R.O.Y,” the original track isn’t exactly an original composition, as it samples from jazz musician Tom Scott’s 1967 song “Today.” It’s possible that “Around My Way,” which was produced by Simonsayz and B-Sidet, sampled a portion of their track from Scott’s version. This isn’t the first time that Lupe has paid homage to Pete Rock either, he once freestyled over the “Reminisce” beat for his “Dopeboys” freestyle with Wale and Kardinal Offishall. Lyrically, Lu continues to push rap’s topical boundaries on “Around My Way,” choosing to rhyme about social-political ills in Ghana and corruption in the oil industry. Rock stressed that he did not have a personal problem with the Chicago rapper, he just didn’t appreciate the remake. “I’m not flattered @ all. Dat sh– is wack, and the producer should be ashamed of his f–kin self. Smh,” he wrote . On Tuesday, Lupe began tweeting links to other “T.R.O.Y.” remakes, including Mann’s J.R. Rotem-produced “Reminisce” and a remixed version of the song which featured Journalist, Mr. Cheeks and Pete Rock and C.L. Smooth themselves. Finally Lupe took the high road and tweeted a YouTube link to the original Pete Rock and C.L. Smooth video with the hash tag “#20YearsLaterStillTheBest.” Catch Lupe Fiasco on this week’s “RapFix Live,” Wednesday at 4 p.m. ET on MTV.com. Do you side with Pete Rock? Should “They Reminisce Over You (T.R.O.Y.)” remain untouched? Let us know in the comments. Related Artists Lupe Fiasco Pete Rock
Gaga’s tour promoters are negotiating with government officials for Jakarta concert to go forward despite threats from extremist groups. By John Mitchell Lady Gaga Photo: Kevin Mazur/ WireImage Lady Gaga has responded to the increasingly volatile situation surrounding her “Born This Way” concert in Indonesia, saying on Twitter that she has been asked by authorities to censor her show and has received threats of violence from Islamic hardliners should it go on as planned. Earlier reports indicated that Gaga’s planned June 3 concert at Jakarta’s Gelora Bung Karno Stadium had been canceled after Indonesian national police refused to issue a permit, citing objections from Islamic groups who worried that Gaga’s performance would corrupt the nation’s youth. However, Gaga’s tour promoters are currently negotiating with government officials and police for the concert to go forward as planned. “The Jakarta situation is 2-fold: Indonesian authorities demand I censor the show & religious extremist separately, are threatening violence,” Gaga tweeted Tuesday (May 22). “If the show does go on as scheduled, I will perform the BTWBall alone.” Fifty thousand tickets for the show have been sold. While Indonesia is a secular state governed as a multi-party representative democratic republic, it has the world’s largest population of Muslims, most of whom practice a moderate form of the religion. However, there are also more extremist fringe groups that have in recent years become increasingly vocal, particularly regarding Western entertainers visiting the country. Beyonc
‘Kanye and Kim, they’re kind of like two peas in a pod,’ Khloe Kardashian says in clip for ‘Keeping Up With the Kardashians.’ By Jocelyn Vena Kim Kardashian and Kanye West Photo: Splash News “Kanye and Kim, they’re kind of like two peas in a pod,” little sister Khloe Kardashian says about Kim’s romance with Kanye West in a “Keeping Up With the Kardashians” teaser . While not much footage of Kim and Yeezy made it into the clip, the little bit that did will certainly spark interest in Sunday’s season premiere of the E! reality show. As Khloe narrates her feelings about the twosome, the trailer cuts to them sitting together, dressed all in black and sharing a laugh. Kimye isn’t the only headline that made the jam-packed show trailer. Kourtney reveals to her family that she’s having a baby girl , the family goes on a drama-filled vacation to the Dominican Republic and Lamar Odom ponders his basketball-playing future, telling in-laws Bruce and Kris Jenner, “I know that I can make any team a championship-caliber team. I got to just get back.” And, yes, the infamous red-carpet flour-bombing also makes the cut. Toward the end of the teaser, mama Kris proclaims, “I left my husband for this guy,” as footage of her hugging a mysterious man is teased. A teary-eyed Kourtney says, “I don’t understand. I could never do that to my children.” However, it is unclear what exactly will play out. When MTV News caught up with Kim and Khloe , the eldest Kardashian sister noted that she wanted to keep as much of her relationship with West as private as possible. “I don’t know if I’m ready to talk about him,” Kim said. “I feel like I’ve had such a hard time sharing my love life that now I’m a little bit more reserved on that.” While Kim was tight-lipped about her man, Khloe teased her sister a bit about the romance. “No I love, it. You’re like a wild, crowd-surfing child and I love you.” On Wednesday, Kim and Kanye were spotted in London, where Kim will launch her jewelry line. According to E! , the twosome touched down to lots of paparazzi. Kim will be doing some press while in town, including radio and TV appearances. Related Artists Kanye West
Philadelphia band gets an assist from Paramore frontwoman Hayley Williams on standout new album, in Bigger Than the Sound. By James Montgomery mewithoutYou’s Ten Stories cover art Photo: Pine Street In September 2009, Hayley Williams gave me a tour of her home in Franklin, Tennessee. It wasn’t the usual kind of rock-star pad, for about a million reasons (there were a lot of “I Love Lucy” Barbie dolls), most notably what was playing on her Michael Jackson turntable at the time: a copy of mewithoutYou’s It’s All Crazy! It’s All False! It’s All a Dream! It’s Alright. I only mention it now for a couple of reasons: One, it led to the first — and, to this day, only — conversation I’ve ever had with someone about mewithoutYou (they aren’t exactly what you’d call a “unifying” band), and two, because as luck would have it, they have a new album out Tuesday (May 15), Ten Stories, which features Williams on a pair of tracks and is probably the best thing they’ve ever done. Or at least the most recent. That’s the thing about mewithoutYou, who, in case you aren’t aware (and you probably aren’t), hail from Philadelphia, have been making albums for a decade now (in between losing members to grad school/ their frontman threatening to quit and donate all his possessions to the poor ) and have fashioned a sort of anti-career out of coming dangerously close to success, only to veer away at the last possible second (usually into an embankment or something): They are not exactly an easy band to like. Or pin down. Wait, that didn’t come out right. What I meant to say is that they are a challenging band to like. And an impossible one to pin down. Which is, I suppose, why I only know two people who are actually fans. Their first two albums, 2002’s [A→B] Life and ’04’s Catch for Us the Foxes, were careening, crashing exercises in sheer volume (I think the kids called it “post-hardcore”), the latter of which featured the sorta-single “January 1979,” brought them a fair amount of mainstream attention and was, according to me at least, one of the best rock records of the past decade . They started wandering off the leaden path with ’06’s Brother, Sister and then fully embraced lead singer Aaron Weiss’ spiritual voyages (and Sufi mysticisms) on It’s All Crazy, ditching the wattage in favor of hushed tones and a genuine grace. Of course, they also thoroughly confused what remained of their core fanbase in the process, but that was almost beside the point. Because with Ten Stories (which, in true mwY fashion, features 11 tracks), they’ve made it clear that they’re never going to be the same roaring act they were in the early aughts. Instead, they seem to have stumbled into a kind of beatific balance: Sure, they still call songs stuff like “Fox’s Dream of the Log Flume” and “Grist for the Malady Mill,” and, yes, on occasion Weiss still sings/shouts/spouts like a freegan preacherman, but there is a honed focus to the album, a willful maturity and a confidence that only comes when bands realize they can pack as much of a punch with instrumentation as opposed to sheer volume. Part of this was probably inevitable, of course, but it bears mention that Ten Stories draws thematic inspiration from a book Weiss read about a circus-train crash in Montana (hey, why not?) and as such earns the distinction of not only being their most cohesive record, but the first where they don’t seem all that concerned with converting the masses (sample quote from Weiss, circa the Brother, Sister album: “I want to tell people God is love. That’s my eternal, unchanging reality”). Instead, this time out, they just seem content. And that’s exactly where they should be. From the pastoral guitar work of “Cardiff Giant” and the plaintive drift of “Aubergine” to the woozy dramatics of “Bear’s Vision of St. Agnes” and blooming surge of album closer “All Circles,” Ten Stories is very much an album born out of quiet confidence, of willful resignation. Sure, Weiss is still on his lifelong spiritual quest — on “East Enders Wives,” he keens, “I’m still counting on you like an invisible rosary” — but he’s mellowed significantly as the decade has worn on, perhaps finally finding some semblance of inner peace. They even manage to weave Williams into the mix with startling restraint (she is unquestionably the biggest name they’ve ever collaborated with, unless you could Sunny Day Real Estate’s Jeremy Enigk): Her voice is less of a main attraction as it is an additional instrument, another part of the sonic flourish. It’s a truly great album — the kind only a group like mewithoutYou could make, and only at this point in their career (or whatever you want to call it). Call it maturity, if you want to, I prefer to think of it as artistic growth: an accomplished, beautiful record from an equally accomplished (if not severely overlooked) band. But who knows, with Ten Stories, that last bit might change. Hey, Hayley Williams is on it. What do you think of mewithoutYou’s latest music? Let us know in the comments! Related Videos Bigger Than The Sound: Stories Behind The Bands Related Artists Mewithoutyou
Philadelphia band gets an assist from Paramore frontwoman Hayley Williams on standout new album, in Bigger Than the Sound. By James Montgomery mewithoutYou’s Ten Stories cover art Photo: Pine Street In September 2009, Hayley Williams gave me a tour of her home in Franklin, Tennessee. It wasn’t the usual kind of rock-star pad, for about a million reasons (there were a lot of “I Love Lucy” Barbie dolls), most notably what was playing on her Michael Jackson turntable at the time: a copy of mewithoutYou’s It’s All Crazy! It’s All False! It’s All a Dream! It’s Alright. I only mention it now for a couple of reasons: One, it led to the first — and, to this day, only — conversation I’ve ever had with someone about mewithoutYou (they aren’t exactly what you’d call a “unifying” band), and two, because as luck would have it, they have a new album out Tuesday (May 15), Ten Stories, which features Williams on a pair of tracks and is probably the best thing they’ve ever done. Or at least the most recent. That’s the thing about mewithoutYou, who, in case you aren’t aware (and you probably aren’t), hail from Philadelphia, have been making albums for a decade now (in between losing members to grad school/ their frontman threatening to quit and donate all his possessions to the poor ) and have fashioned a sort of anti-career out of coming dangerously close to success, only to veer away at the last possible second (usually into an embankment or something): They are not exactly an easy band to like. Or pin down. Wait, that didn’t come out right. What I meant to say is that they are a challenging band to like. And an impossible one to pin down. Which is, I suppose, why I only know two people who are actually fans. Their first two albums, 2002’s [A→B] Life and ’04’s Catch for Us the Foxes, were careening, crashing exercises in sheer volume (I think the kids called it “post-hardcore”), the latter of which featured the sorta-single “January 1979,” brought them a fair amount of mainstream attention and was, according to me at least, one of the best rock records of the past decade . They started wandering off the leaden path with ’06’s Brother, Sister and then fully embraced lead singer Aaron Weiss’ spiritual voyages (and Sufi mysticisms) on It’s All Crazy, ditching the wattage in favor of hushed tones and a genuine grace. Of course, they also thoroughly confused what remained of their core fanbase in the process, but that was almost beside the point. Because with Ten Stories (which, in true mwY fashion, features 11 tracks), they’ve made it clear that they’re never going to be the same roaring act they were in the early aughts. Instead, they seem to have stumbled into a kind of beatific balance: Sure, they still call songs stuff like “Fox’s Dream of the Log Flume” and “Grist for the Malady Mill,” and, yes, on occasion Weiss still sings/shouts/spouts like a freegan preacherman, but there is a honed focus to the album, a willful maturity and a confidence that only comes when bands realize they can pack as much of a punch with instrumentation as opposed to sheer volume. Part of this was probably inevitable, of course, but it bears mention that Ten Stories draws thematic inspiration from a book Weiss read about a circus-train crash in Montana (hey, why not?) and as such earns the distinction of not only being their most cohesive record, but the first where they don’t seem all that concerned with converting the masses (sample quote from Weiss, circa the Brother, Sister album: “I want to tell people God is love. That’s my eternal, unchanging reality”). Instead, this time out, they just seem content. And that’s exactly where they should be. From the pastoral guitar work of “Cardiff Giant” and the plaintive drift of “Aubergine” to the woozy dramatics of “Bear’s Vision of St. Agnes” and blooming surge of album closer “All Circles,” Ten Stories is very much an album born out of quiet confidence, of willful resignation. Sure, Weiss is still on his lifelong spiritual quest — on “East Enders Wives,” he keens, “I’m still counting on you like an invisible rosary” — but he’s mellowed significantly as the decade has worn on, perhaps finally finding some semblance of inner peace. They even manage to weave Williams into the mix with startling restraint (she is unquestionably the biggest name they’ve ever collaborated with, unless you could Sunny Day Real Estate’s Jeremy Enigk): Her voice is less of a main attraction as it is an additional instrument, another part of the sonic flourish. It’s a truly great album — the kind only a group like mewithoutYou could make, and only at this point in their career (or whatever you want to call it). Call it maturity, if you want to, I prefer to think of it as artistic growth: an accomplished, beautiful record from an equally accomplished (if not severely overlooked) band. But who knows, with Ten Stories, that last bit might change. Hey, Hayley Williams is on it. What do you think of mewithoutYou’s latest music? Let us know in the comments! Related Videos Bigger Than The Sound: Stories Behind The Bands Related Artists Mewithoutyou
