Phife will appear on ‘Yo! MTV Raps: Classic Cuts’ on MTV2 on Sunday. By Rob Markman Tupac Shakur Photo: Steve Granitz/ Wireimage During its history, “Yo! MTV Raps” documented the rise of hip-hop’s most revered artists. One of rap’s most iconic figures, Tupac Shakur , gave the show many memorable moments; one in particular found a fiery ‘Pac airing out his beef with “Menace II Society” film directors Albert and Allen Hughes. Still, as controversial as Tupac was, he sure did get a lot of love. “Dude was just mad talented,” Phife Dawg told MTV News of Tupac. “He’s a human being, he’s made some mistakes along the way, blah, blah, blah, but the love was there. You couldn’t tell the ladies nothing about Tupac. Now that I live on the West Coast, I really see for myself firsthand how much love that dude gets.” Phife, a former member of A Tribe Called Quest , will appear on “MTV2 Presents: Yo! MTV Raps: Classic Cuts” on December 4. He made his bones in the early 1990s, much like ‘Pac. While they both hailed from New York, Shakur called California home. “A lot of people forget he’s originally from Harlem, went to school in Baltimore with Jada Pinkett Smith — they forget that he’s actually from the East Coast,” Phife explained. “But one thing I heard ‘Pac say is, ‘I learned the game of life from the West Coast.’ So I guess he can say West Coast is home.” When the topic of the greatest MC of all time comes up, Shakur’s name is usually mentioned, but in Phife’s opinion, when out in California, there’s not even an argument: Tupac reigns supreme. ” ‘Pac is king on the West Coast,” he said. “Nobody touches Tupac out there.” Watch “MTV2 Presents: Yo! MTV Raps: Classic Cuts” on December 4 at 12 a.m. ET, immediately after the “2011 Sucker Free Awards.” Related Videos Reminisce Over The Return Of ‘Yo! MTV Raps’ With These Classic Clips
“Starting today, the company will offer the features as part of its iPad application, letting users browse merchandise from shows and movies. [… Steve] Yankovich, 50, was inspired to develop the technology while watching the movie Something’s Gotta Give , which featured a toaster he wanted. ‘You’ll be able to buy exactly what’s there,’ said Yankovich, who runs mobile services at the San Jose, California-based company.” [ Bloomberg ]
Call me a glum frog with a hand flapping up my ass, but I didn’t love The Muppets . Jim Henson’s franchise is about goofy, heartfelt antics, and his whimsy warps into a barrage of Glee tunes, self-conscious dorkiness and perky, perky people under the pen of Jason Segel. It’s a no for me. Luckily, the ’90s already gave us a solid, if stupendously, un -self-consciously dorky Muppets update in the form of Muppets From Space . It’s not exactly a part of the classic Kermit cannon, but that’s because it’s a tangential Henson operation. Think of it as Muppets Origins: Gonzo . Now you’re in.
Do you believe in Rachel Crow? This young X Factor finalist did all she could last night to earn votes and praise from the judges, covering a Yolanda Adams single with the same pluck and fire she brings each week to the competition. At least we think that’s what happened. It was a bit difficult to actually see Rachel on stage, what with all the backup dancers and confetti flying around. This may have been an overly staged performance. But Paula Abdul referred to Crow as an “angel,” while Nicole Scherzinger labeled her a “bright light.” Watch the audition and judge for yourself now: Rachel Crow – I Believe How does Crow compare to Melanie Amaro? Watch the latter’s latest performance HERE and decide who has the better shot at winning.
Move over, Susan Boyle. We have a new favorite cover of “Wild Horses.” On last night’s two-hour edition of The X Factor , Josh Krajcik delivered his best audition yet, showcasing his versatility with a restrained, piano-based version of this classic single. It was a 180 from last week’s rock ‘n roll performance and made it clear that Melanie Amaro won’t simply waltz to this year’s title. “You have the right amount of everything,” L.A. Reid said, while Simon Cowell simply praised Josh for having a “great voice” and Nicole Scherzinger? She cried. Josh Krajcik – Wild Horses
Much has been made of British actor Henry Cavill ‘s abs in this week’s Immortals , or the strange, logic-defying Superman beard spied on the set of Man of Steel . Never mind that the 28-year-old actor turns in a persuasive dramatic performance in Tarsem ‘s stylized fantasy myth, playing the classic hero Theseus as an honorable peasant battling a sadistic god-hating tyrant (Mickey Rourke) with the aid of a comely priestess (Freida Pinto) and supernatural bow and arrows. But therein lies the surprise: Go to Immortals for the bloody action, or the mythological spin, or the wonderment of Tarsem’s visuals, and you’ll also get the pleasant revelation that Cavill wears leading man status like a natural.
When Joss Whedon first dropped Angelina Jolie ‘s name while talking up his doomed Wonder Woman project, folks assumed he’d envisioned her in the lead role. Speaking with Rookie Magazine, he clarified: His Diana Prince, Amazon goddess, was merely Angelina-esque in her globe-trotting humanitarian leanings. And in a way, the superheroine would have been saved by love. Whedon explains after the jump.
Jennifer Saunders will begin scripting a feature version of her classic BBC series Absolutely Fabulous sometime next year, after she finishes work on the Spice Girls stage musical Viva Forever in London. Deadline reports that Ab Fab: The Movie will open with “Patsy and Edina waking up hungover in the empty drifting yacht of an oligarch in the middle of the ocean. Even worse, their cellphones can’t get a signal.” I’m torn — I want to be excited that the movie’s happening, but I can’t shake the paralyzing sadness of Ab Fab ‘s most recently aborted revival.
With these kids having sex younger and younger (and with teachers) nowadays, sounds like a good idea… The American Academy of Pediatrics now recommends that all teens 16 to 18 years old receive regular, routine HIV tests if they live in an area where the prevalence of HIV is greater than 0.1% of the population. The AAP also advises that adolescents of any age who are tested for other sexually transmitted infections also be tested for HIV. Previous guidelines recommended HIV testing only for teens who admitted to being sexually active. The new recommendations were outlined in a position paper released Monday that also advocates that the routine screening be done using a rapid response test that gives a diagnosis about 20 minutes after the test is conducted. “We’re finding that when targeted testing is offered to sexually active youth… we’re not getting those youth to actually test and we have not decreased the number of new infections in [that] population,” says Dr. Jaime Martinez, an adolescent medicine specialist with Stroger Hospital of Cook County in Chicago. He deals with HIV-infected youth daily and is one of the authors of the AAP paper. In 2006, there were more than 1.1 million HIV-positive people living in the United States. Of that population, the CDC says 5% were adolescents and young adults, ages 13 to 24 years old. That may seem like a small overall percentage but consider this: Upwards of 70% of new HIV infections are caused by people of all ages who are unaware of their HIV-positive status. Roughly one of every two HIV-infected adolescents don’t know they’re positive. Although there may be some parents who aren’t comfortable with this idea, the doctors are hoping that this practice will ultimately lead to better, more health-conscious decisions. “I can’t think of a downside [to testing],” says Martinez. “We find that youth who test and become aware of whether they’re affected… become more conscious about engaging in safer sex practices.” Are you comfortable with your 16 year-old son or daughter to get HIV tested a few times a year? Take care of yourself people. You only get one life. Source