Maybach Music Group celebrated the 2012 BET Awards via an after party thrown by their record label, Warner Music Group, at Cecconi’s restaurant in West Hollywood, Calif. Sunday (July 1) night. The rap collective had lots to be happy about last night, as Wale took home the Best Collaboration trophy for “Lotus Flower Bomb,” featuring Miguel. MMG is also fresh off the release of their Self Made Vol. 2 compilation which is projected to sell 80-90,000 units in its first week… Continue
With T.I., Nas and Wiz Khalifa, Rozay tells ‘RapFix Live’ new album features ‘the best of the best, from the new guys to the veterans.’ By Rob Markman, with reporting by Sway Calloway Wale, Meek Mill and Rick Ross on “RapFix Live” Photo: Rick Ross has been raising the bar for himself with each project since his 2006 debut, Port of Miami . Rozay’s most-recent solo album, 2010’s Teflon Don , is arguably his best, and for his Maybach Music Group, the Bawse encourages the same growth. On Tuesday, Ross and his MMG crew dropped Self Made, Vol. 2 , 13 months after they released the first volume. If Rozay had to pick a favorite, he said he’d pick the latest — after all, it is all about progression. “Of course, the difference first and foremost is the sound, the music. When we released Self Made, Vol. 1 , we had just really closed our deal. We pretty much did it in two weeks, just sitting around in the studio, just having fun, and we recorded it,” Ross shared on Wednesday’s (June 27) “RapFix Live.” When MMG released the first Self Made in May 2011, Ross had only secured his label deal with Warner Music Group three months prior, but he, Wale and Meek Mill put it together quickly. This time out, the Bawse expanded his roster, giving Stalley more shine and adding French Montana and former B2K frontman Omarion to the fold. “This project here, everybody was pretty much in a different position. It’s been a big difference status-wise from the first year [’til] now,” Ross explained. “Everybody was basically on tour when we first started this process. We stayed in communication a little more, and I think the music itself it sounds straight up organic, like it was meant to be, from the choruses, the concepts, the titles to the sequencing.” Rozay doesn’t discount Self Made, Vol. 1 , however; he likens it to a seed. Aside from the expanded roster, Ross decided to add a ton of features to the new album as well. T.I., Nas, Bun B, T-Pain, Wiz Khalifa and Kendrick Lamar all appear. “I feel like it’s the best of the best, from the new guys to the veterans,” Ross said. What is your favorite song from Self Made, Vol.2 ? Let us know in the comments! Related Videos ‘RapFix’ Gets ‘Made’ With Rick Ross And MMG Related Artists Rick Ross
‘It’s sort of like, ‘Screw you … deal with it. Come with us on this journey or bye,’ ‘ Adam Levine says of the album’s pop leanings. By James Montgomery Maroon 5’s James Valentine and Adam Levine Photo: The first thing you’ll probably notice about Maroon 5’s Overexposed album is the lengthy list of collaborators attached to it: a Murderer’s Row of pop hitmakers like Ryan Tedder, Shellback and Benny Blanco, with Max Martin helming it all as executive producer. The second thing you’ll probably notice is that it’s called Overexposed. Because, reinvigorated by the worldwide success of their hit “Moves Like Jagger” — which marked the first time the band had written with outside sources (in this case Blanco and Shellback) — M5 make no bones about the fact that, this time out, they’re aiming to become the most popular, inescapable and, yes, overexposed band on the planet. “The title is kind of pre-emptively saying, ‘Hey, we’re overexposed. Deal with it,’ ” frontman Adam Levine told MTV News during the premiere of M5’s new “One More Night” video . “Bands like to do this thing where they’re like, ‘Oh, man, we just didn’t know. Oh my God, it’s so crazy, we just wrote this song,’ and that’s true, but we like that. We want to have that experience, we want to have hits, we want to have songs that, internationally, people are going to know. “It’s exciting when you go to a country you’ve never been to, when you go to Jakarta, and they’re singing the lyrics to ‘Payphone,’ it’s so cool, ” he continued. “And that’s something that we not only love, but we pursue, unabashedly. Our sense of purpose was very dialed in. … We knew what we wanted, we knew in our minds how to achieve it on an album … and I think we found it.” And, in a lot of ways, it’s fitting that Overexposed (in stores now) comes exactly 10 years after the release of Maroon 5’s debut disc, Songs About Jane. Because ever since that album, they’ve been hearing complaints from fans who want them to return to their roots. The difference now is that they no longer listen to those complaints. Backed by the biggest names in the pop business, Maroon 5 are going for greatness these days, and like it or not, they’re not going to change course anytime soon. ” Songs About Jane was alienating a certain amount of our fanbase back then, and if we’re not alienating a small percentage of our fanbase every time we make a record, we’re doing something wrong,” Levine said. “And usually, I find that people who complain about wanting that original sound would be the same people where, if you had a record that sounded like the first one, they would say, ‘Why don’t you guys branch out and change a little bit?’ So it’s sort of like, ‘Screw you … deal with it. Come with us on this journey or bye!’ “When you’ve been in a band for a decade, even longer, you start thinking, ‘OK, well maybe now we should explore this or change things up,’ because you don’t want to have it sound formulaic or too much like what you’ve always done,” he continued. “So we’re totally cool with kind of being born again. … At the heart of it, it still sounds like us, but we embrace this side of our band, and now that we’ve fully captured it on this record, we’re going to see what happens, and I think it’s going to be really positive.” Stick with MTV News for more from our exclusive interview with Maroon 5! Related Videos MTV First: Maroon 5 Related Photos MTV First: Maroon 5 Related Artists Maroon 5
Wale, Meek Mill, French Montana, Omarion and Stalley will join Rozay in sit-down with Sway Calloway. By Rob Markman Maybach Music Group Photo: Looks like MTV News is going to need a few extra parking passes because Rick Ross will be bringing his entire Maybach Music Group up to “RapFix Live” on Wednesday. Rozay, Wale, Meek Mill, French Montana, Omarion and Stalley will all be in the building to sit and chop it up with host Sway Calloway on a very luxurious episode of “RapFix Live.” On Tuesday (June 26) the MMG crew released their Self Made Vol. 2 label compilation. The LP, led by the T-Pain-assisted single “Bag of Money,” features appearances from Nas, T.I., Wiz Khalifa, Kendrick Lamar and Bun B. The compilation sets up a very busy summer for Rozay and his boys. On July 31 Ross will drop his long-awaited God Forgives, I Don’t LP, and Meek Mill is prepping his debut, Dreams and Nightmares, for an August 28 release. French Montana’s Excuse My French is also scheduled to drop later this year. Back in May Ross held a press conference in New York City to announce his label’s release dates and the signing of R&B star and former B2K frontman Omarion. “I think it was a great day for hip-hop. It was a great energy for hip-hop,” Ross told MTV News of the MMG press conference. “When you reflect on hip-hop on a boss level, for the last 10 years, the business of hip-hop has been kinda shaky, it’s been in a decline. … I think this was a new energy that the hip-hop game needed, a momentum change.” The MMG crew members, though mostly known for music, occasionally make a few headlines outside of the studio as well. Most recently Meek Mill’s name came up in reports surrounding the fight between Drake and Chris Brown’s entourages at a New York club on June 14. See what Meek has to say about it all on Wednesday. Catch Rick Ross and his Maybach Music Group on “RapFix Live” on Wednesday, June 27, at 4 p.m. ET on MTV.com! Related Artists Rick Ross Maybach Music Group
Empire Girls Ep. 3 Sneak Peek: Julissa Settles Things With Old Boyfriend Larry Johnson Causing Her To In the third episode of, Empire Girls: Adrienne & Julissa… Julissa runs into her old boyfriend Larry Johnson and he breaks the real down to her about his new love life. Turn it and peep.
Yes, Rick Ross really does say the square root of a kilo is Rick Ross. Maybach Music Group (Rozay, Stalley, Wale, Gunplay & Meek Mill ) drop a grand single, featuring guest star Kendrick Lamar, called “Power Circle.”… Continue
‘He watering it down, just putting words together that sounded good,’ Waka tells Complex magazine. By Rob Markman Waka Flocka Flame Photo: Getty Images Waka Flocka Flame doesn’t dabble in rap politics. The outspoken Atlanta rap star hasn’t yet mastered the art of being diplomatic and he most likely never will. In his most recent interview with Complex magazine, Waka weighed in on Jay-Z, Kanye West, Rick Ross and other rappers he feels have capitalized off of his rowdy, down-bottom sound. “What are y’all gonna say now? Jay-Z stupid as hell? My sound is wack? You gonna say that? They love the sound. They can’t run away from it. That shit re-sparked n—as’ careers. My sound put life into a lot of people’s careers. I feel like my sound changed hip-hop. Period,” Waka told the magazine. “It’s crazy when I came out with it, everybody laughed at it, but the next year everybody’s doing it. They getting credit for the sh– you started. You be like, ‘Damn, how is this n—a a genius for doing something I started?’ ” Flocka first emerged in 2009 with “O Let’s Do It,” a riot-starting jam fueled by a mix of sporadic horn stabs and thumping bass. His next single, the Lex Luger -produced “Hard in the Paint,” would introduce rap fans to a refreshing-yet-schizophrenic sound. By 2010, the horrific synth lines and kinetic drum patterns became rap’s hottest sound and Luger one of the most in-demand producers. Kanye tapped Waka’s sound scientist on the Throne’s “H.A.M.” single. Rick Ross, who first collaborated with Waka on his “O Let’s Do It” remix, went on to make a number of hits with Lex, most notably “B.M.F. (Blowin’ Money Fast).” In just two years, Luger has crafted tracks with Wiz Khalifa, Juicy J, 2 Chainz, Wale, Mac Miller and Ace Hood. Waka, who will release his new album Triple F Life on Tuesday, doesn’t mention Ross by name, but suggests that the Maybach Music boss swiped his signature sound. “This n—a out here making 30 fucking songs with your sound,” Flocka charged. “He watering it down, just putting words together that sounded good. Sh– would be harder if it was the truth.” Thirty songs may be a stretch, but still Waka is not flattered by what he sees as imitation. “That sh– made me tight. N—as built labels off our sound — like, literally. You know how many n—as sound like Lex Luger and Southside?” he asked rhetorically, referencing his second in-house producer Southside. “I go in n—as’ studios, all their beats sound like my producers. I be like, What the f—?” Do you believe Rick Ross swiped Waka Flocka Flame’s sound? Share your opinion in the comments! Related Artists Waka Flocka Flame Rick Ross
Another reality star is getting just as sue happy as Basketball Wives’ Jennifer Williams. Real Housewives of Atlanta star Phaedra Parks is suing Vibe Magazine…
Hot 107.9′s own DJ Scream was on 50 Cent’s Thisis50.com recently talking about his career and upcoming album, Long Live the Hustle. Scream also talked…
Hot 107.9′s own DJ Scream was on 50 Cent’s Thisis50.com recently talking about his career and upcoming album, Long Live the Hustle. Scream also talked…
