L.A. rapper and longtime girlfriend Tiffney Cambridge call off wedding just one week before ceremony. By Nadeska Alexis Game and fiancee Tiffany Cambridge Photo: James Michael Lacsina/ MTV News
MTV News was on set as ‘Ye shot visual this weekend after teaming up with DJ Khaled and Rick Ross on ‘I Wish You Would’ clip. By Nadeska Alexis, with reporting by Ricky Louis Kanye West on the set of his “Cold” music video Photo: MTV News
Ocean’s coming out has led to increased visibility and a potential sales increase for his Def Jam debut Channel Orange. By Nadeska Alexis Frank Ocean Photo: Karl Walter/Getty Images
‘I’m not perfect, but my music is,’ West tells the crowd at a rare solo show (save for Pusha T) at Revel Resort. By Nadeska Alexis Kanye West performs at Revel Resort in Atlantic City on Friday Photo: Getty Images
Maroon 5 leading man owns up to a fear of the creepy FX show that he will appear on next season. By Jocelyn Vena, with reporting by James Montgomery Adam Levine Photo: MTV News
‘It was a learning experience and it hurt my feelings, but I want to apologize to everyone that was offended,’ singer says. By Nadeska Alexis Mary J. Blige Photo: Scott Weiner/PictureGroup
Chicago rapper reveals the title of his latest project exclusively to MTV News. By Nadeska Alexis Rockie Fresh Photo: Chicago has bred plenty of legendary hip-hop artists, but the city’s youngest crop of rappers are ready to usher in a new era for the Midwest. Among those leading the pack is Rockie Fresh, who will follow up his January mixtape Driving 88 with a new project titled Electric Highway this fall. The 21-year-old Southside native has released several notable mixtapes over the past few years, including 2011’s The Otherside Redux and this year’s Driving 88, which found him collaborating with Casey Veggies and fellow Chi-town rapper King Louie. But Rockie’s confident that current recording sessions will result in his best work yet. “It’s called Electric Highway ,” Rockie told MTV News exclusively, revealing the title. “I always want to do original music even if it’s a mixtape, so it’s definitely a free album, but all of the records are going to be original. With me getting older and seeing different parts of the world, my content is always going to be evolving, so this is going to be the peak of Rockie Fresh. Out of all of the stuff that I’ve done, I think this is going to be my best work and I’m really looking forward to dropping it.” Rockie’s fans will certainly be looking forward to the project, as will a few industry heavyweights who also have their eye on the young rapper. During a visit to New York City’s Hot 97 radio station this week, Maybach Music Group CEO Rick Ross sent a “shout out to the lil’ homie Rockie Fresh,” adding, “I’m a fan of his music.” And even though Rozay confirmed that Rockie hasn’t been signed to MMG “as of now,” they certainly have a good relationship going. “That was crazy,” Rockie told MTV News just hours after the shout-out from Ross. “Me and him, we’ve been talking a lot back and forth. That’s definitely one of my big homies.” While Rockie continues to explore his label options, you’d better believe that he’ll stay buried in his work. While on tour over the past few months, he gave fans the chance to keep up with his everyday grind through the vlog series “Life on the Otherside.” “[It’s] to let people know that sh– is real,” he said matter-of-factly. “A lot of people utilize the Internet to stunt and it kind of gets old after a while. I really want people to see my climb, to really respect the work ethic that goes into it, and even for them just to be motivated by it. [It’s] to let other young artists know that the struggle is something everybody has to go through. It’s not a smooth road, so I just feel like it’s dope to really show people the real picture.”
Toronto rapper tells MTV News he wants to have ‘a real impact on the world’ with his follow-up to Take Care. By Nadeska Alexis, with reporting by Sway Calloway Drake Photo: Every once in a while, Drake will remind us that he “got rich off a mixtape,” but now that the YMCMB rapper is coming up on his third album, he’s focused on sharing his evolution as an artist. Some of that change is a result of his experiences over the past couple of years, and his headline-making club brawl with Chris Brown this week should certainly factor in. The two entertainers clashed in a messy fight at a New York City nightclub on Wednesday after exchanging heated words. It seems fair to say that Drake, who tends to address the ups-and-downs of fame in his music, will have plenty of new material when he starts recording this third album. “I feel like with every project we do there’s growth and with every project I do, I become more comfortable with the artist I am,” Drake told MTV News’ Sway Calloway backstage at a recent stop on his Club Paradise tour . ” Take Care solidified a lot of things for me. [It’s] a list of things that would probably be too immense to go through, but it solidified a lot of things and let me know what I want to do, and who I want to be.” The Toronto rapper, who has clearly reflected on the scope of his music, added that he’s pushed boundaries way past the standards. “The music that I make is bigger than the box people try and put rappers [in],” he said. “People always try to draw me back to just rap. And — nah, I’m good. I like what I do. Period. That’s how I feel. Nobody can really do what I do or what we do, including 40 and all the producers that I’ve worked with.” Drake has already revealed that his third album will be very much influenced by recent events in his life, including his move to Los Angeles, but he also hopes it will have a lasting effect on people. “[It’s interesting] to see artists that have a real impact on the world,” he said. “We live in a generation where there is nothing necessarily to fight for politically, whereas in the Marley documentary [for example] he was fighting for peace in Jamaica. [There’s] nothing necessarily for me to step up and say I want to fight for, but there is a way for me to give moments to the world, and to bear my emotions and hope that I’m remembered as that guy who was able to bring people together. I want to be that guy. I want to bring people together.”
‘There hasn’t been that ‘California Love’-type feel since the ’90s and I wanted to … represent where I’m from,’ K. Dot tells MTV News. By Nadeska Alexis Kendrick Lamar Photo: The lead single from Kendrick Lamar’s major-label debut, “The Recipe,” includes a feature from his mentor Dr. Dre. And when the video for the Good Kid in a Mad City track drops, the Compton native will be giving the world a taste of his own brand of “California Love.” Kendrick filmed his video for “The Recipe” at a mansion in the Los Angeles last month, and after performing the single at the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival in Tennessee last week, he explained his vision behind the clip. “I felt like there hasn’t been that ‘California Love’-type feel since the ’90s, and I really wanted to display that and represent where I’m from,” he told MTV News. “So I had a whole bunch of beautiful women, good weather — it was like 85 degrees and breezy — and we had [ScHoolboy] Q up in there stealing some of Snoop’s weed, him and Ab-Soul, and we had fun.” If Kendrick is hoping to tap into the nostalgia of Tupac’s infamous 1995 track “California Love,” it helps that he’s got two of the original California legends in his corner: Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg. “The Recipe” will boast his most extravagant visuals to date, and the 25-year-old rap prodigy is ready to take his career to another level. “We’re here to spread this music all across the world,” he said. “It started in my backyard, in Compton, and now I’m fittin’ to take it to the next level and take it worldwide because I feel like the world needs to hear this. I’ve been ready for a long time.” Fun fact: When the song debuted, Dr. Dre revealed that it once had a more straightforward title, telling Big Boy on L.A.’s Power 106 morning show, “The original title was ‘Women, Weed and Weather.’ That’s what represents L.A.” Related Videos ‘RapFix Live’ Gets Gangsta With Jim Jones And Ice-T Related Artists Kendrick Lamar
‘That sounds tight. What the f— is ‘pink slime’?,’ Miller said when Pharrell suggested the name for his EP. By Nadeska Alexis, with reporting by Rya Backer Mac Miller Photo: MTV News During Mac Miller ‘s recent visit to “RapFix Live,” he dropped some hints about his upcoming EP Pink Slime. But now the cat’s out of the bag as it’s been revealed that Pharrell will co-pilot the project. MTV News caught up with Miller at the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival in Tennessee, where he chatted about recording with Skateboard P and dreaming up the EP’s title. The Pittsburgh rapper released the first Pink Slime single, “Onaroll,” on June 5 and performed it for the first time at Bonnaroo just a few days later. Before hitting the stage, he opened up about the collaborative project, admitting that he was nervous to record with Pharrell at first. “Pharrell is a very creative person with everything he does,” Mac said, detailing one of their recording sessions. “We did this one record called ‘Dreams,’ and he was like, ‘I’ma rap on this.’ So he goes outside for 20 minutes and he just comes back, gets in the booth and raps. I don’t know what he did in those 20 minutes, but he just went out and came back in with no paper, no anything, and just had a verse ready.” As far as the name of the project, that was Pharrell’s brainchild as well. “It was his idea. I was at a loss for names,” Mac admits. “I was on tour and I was talking to him and he’s like, ‘I got the name — it’s Pink Slime. ‘ I was like, ‘That sounds tight. What the f— is “pink slime”?’ He’s like, ‘Pink slime is the fake meat they use at McDonald’s,’ and I was like, ‘Cool, man.’ ” From there, the Blue Slide Park rapper got a little bit silly about the deeper meaning in the title. “The meaning is that there is so much filth and ammonia in the world and we’re just speaking on how we need to clean up the environment,” he joked. “The message is … we pay for a Big Mac, maybe give me some good beef in there. It’s really a political statement we’re making.” There’s no confirmed release date for Pink Slime just yet. Related Artists Mac Miller Pharrell Williams
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