‘To go from an hour or two hours at night to entire award shows … that’s a big thing,’ LL tells MTV News on black carpet. By Rob Markman LL Cool J Photo: MTV News Who would’ve thought that hip-hop would take it this far? When he got his start in 1984, LL Cool J remembers how the genre was marginalized in the media, but Tuesday night’s 2011 BET Hip Hop Awards are a definite sign of the times. “When we first started the music, they didn’t even play it on the radio in the daytime,” BET’s I Am Hip Hop Icon Award winner told MTV News on the show’s black carpet. “Hip-hop was two hours at night or an hour at night on the weekends, and that was it. So to go from an hour or two hours at night to entire award shows and whole generations of people whose lives have been changed just because they’re involved with the music, that’s a big thing.” The awards shows started off with a bang. Young Jeezy opened with his new single “F.A.M.E.” and gave way to T.I. on the song’s final verse, marking the first television appearance for the King of the South since his prison release in September. Lil Wayne — who was nominated for an astounding 18 awards — took home five, while Busta Rhymes accepted four on behalf of his absent “Look at Me Now” collaborator Chris Brown. Nicki Minaj was named MVP of the Year, while Wiz Khalifa took home the Rookie of the Year award. Kanye West’s My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy won CD of the Year, and Jay-Z was crowned Hustler of the Year. The show’s live performances were something to marvel at, as DMX and Swizz Beatz surprised viewers with a medley of classics. Big Sean and Wiz Khalifa rocked spirited sets, while Rick Ross’ Maybach Music Group performed their singles “That Way” and “Ima Boss.” Rap icon Heavy D closed out the show, but the real highlights were the rap ciphers . B.o.B, Busta Rhymes, Ludacris, Tech N9ne, Kendrick Lamar, Eminem and Rick Ross all participated in the rap segments, while DJ Premier curated the rhyme showcase. “It makes me feel good to be a person that contributed, that helped make this happen,” LL said. How’s that for cultural growth? What did you think of the BET Hip Hop Awards? Let us know in the comments! Related Artists LL Cool J
Co-hosts of political podcast ‘Citizen Radio’ talk to MTV News about their Talib Kweli connection and why the movement is more than a march. By Amanda Sprecher Photo: Mario Tama/Getty Images On Monday, Kanye West and Russell Simmons stopped by to show support for the Occupy Wall Street protesters. But they weren’t the first hip-hop celebs to lend their time to the cause. Last week, Talib Kweli also made a surprise appearance, which included a performance of his new song “Distractions.” Can’t get to New York City? Take our guided tour of the Occupy Wall Street headquarters. And it was two of the forces behind the podcast “Citizen Radio” who were responsible for bringing Kweli to New York’s Zuccotti Park, where the activists have set up camp for nearly a month. Shortly before the Brooklyn rapper’s performance, MTV News caught up with Jamie Kilstein and Allison Kilkenny , co-hosts of the free and independent podcast. Kilstein, a political comedian, performed two charged stand-up pieces for the Occupy Wall Street assembly before introducing Talib as his surprise guest. “I know a lot of these kids are bored,” Kilstein told us. “So I thought I would perform. And then I was like, ‘Well, a lot of people don’t know who I am, so what if I call all my famous friends?’ and Talib was like the first one who signed on.” The duo have done more than just entertain the young protesters, however. They’ve also been covering the Occupy movement from the start. Kilkenny, a reporter for The Nation, has been there since day one. “It was supposed to be a march but day by day, I’ve been more impressed by how it’s grown and how it’s become much more diverse. It’s not just white, wealthy college students, it’s kids who have been buried in student loans. It’s people who have lost their jobs; it’s union members, you know, nurses, teachers. So it’s really becoming a force to be reckoned with.” Citizen Radio has been interviewing and broadcasting directly from the Occupy site in downtown Manhattan, talking to a broad spectrum of supporters, from nurses, teachers and electricians. As the movement spreads beyond Wall Street to spots around the country, increased media attention has followed, but the Citizen Radio hosts said their mission is to spotlight what they see as the most important aspects, including the diversity, the cooperation and the level of organization. Kilstein said some journalists have mistakenly played up a freak-show aspect of the rallies. “A lot of the mainstream media, what they’re doing is they go there and they find the craziest person they can that may not even be a part of it.” Still, Kilstein and Kilkenny are careful to keep a good sense of humor about the Occupy movement. That approach has earned them new followers, including Kweli, Sarah Silveman, Robin Williams and Noam Chomsky. “Liberals talk a lot of sh–,” Kilstein joked. “We’re really good at going to a bar and being like, ‘We got to take down the man, and here’s what we’re going to do! Not tomorrow, because I’ll be hung-over, and probably not the next day because we’re going to go out drinking again, but one day, we’ll get ’em.’ This was people finally putting it all on the line.” Share your thoughts on the Occupy Wall Street movement in our comments section! Related Videos Inside Occupy Wall Street
‘A lot of us artists are afraid to speak on obvious stuff that’s going on in our ‘hoods … because of things like this,’ Tyrese tells MTV News. By Rob Markman Tyrese Photo: Jerry Markland/ Getty Images Tyrese isn’t afraid to speak his mind, and though his music is currently banned from 101.7 Kiss FM in Delaware, the R&B singer will not back down. During a September interview at the station, the singer and “Transformers” actor aggressively spoke out to keep liquor stores from opening in the proximity of schools. “People drink — it is what it is — but the personalities and energy that liquor stores attract, I think, need to be much further away from elementary schools,” Tyrese told MTV News when he walked the black carpet for the 2011 BET Hip Hop Awards. The singer, who is a national spokesman for Communities in Schools, had a speaking engagement in a Delaware school when he noticed a liquor store directly across the street. Instead of promoting his new album, Open Invitation , during a scheduled radio interview later in the day, Tyrese got on his soapbox and chastised community leaders for allowing the liquor store so close to the school. “I transitioned into talking about that because it had just happened, and that’s when they kicked me off the air and banned my music,” Tyrese said. “Get them cats outta here, man, sellin’ alcohol right across from your kids’ school, homey,” Tyrese said during his radio interview. Kiss 101.7 owner Tony Quartarone told TMZ that it wasn’t the singer’s message that prompted the ban, but more how Tyrese spoke to the listeners. “Tyrese was not kicked off the air for pointing out that liquor stores should not be located near schools … I totally agree with that. But … he proceeded to downgrade my audience by calling them ‘homeys.’ ” Still, the “Sweet Lady” vocalist will not change his position. “I think a lot of us artists are afraid to speak on obvious stuff that’s going on in our ‘hoods and in our communities because of things like this,” he told MTV News. “For me, I don’t want them to play my music. I don’t care; my position won’t change. I didn’t even get on there to do it on purpose, like, ‘Let me start some sh–.’ I got on there to talk about the album, and because it was fresh on my mind, and I spoke on it.” Related Artists Tyrese
My Bieber fever all started back in September of 2009. I heard him on the radio and was determined to see him in person. In December 2009, my friend (@jasminemusicvip) had just won Radio Disney’s Next Big Thing. One of the prizes was to open up for Justin Bieber twice in concert. So fast forward to December 19th, 2009. It was the day Jasmine was opening for Justin. The concert started and right after her set, I got to go backstage. I knew Justin was close by and I started FREAKING out. I was so nervous. All of the sudden I see him standing with his arms crossed. A few minutes later, we all made two rows so Justin could walk through. He literally walked RIGHT past me. He opened with “Love Me” and that was one of the best performances I’ve seen. That next year I ended up seeing Justin twice on his My World Tour on August 11th 2010 & November 10th 2010. If you’ve never seen him live, let me tell you, HE PUTS ON THE BEST SHOW. I had the most fun at those concerts. I ended up meeting Ryan Good, Legaci, Michael Vargas, Nick DeMoura, and Dan Kanter that year. On June 8th 2011, I got to see Justin once again. He was coming in town for the CMT Awards. Even though I was sitting really far away, I felt blessed to be in the same room as him and getting to see him win those awards. Now, SEPTEMBER 28TH, 2011. This is the story I really wanna talk about. That afternoon I logged onto Twitter. I had heard Justin was shooting a music video, but I didn’t think much about it. I went to @LordBieber’s page (Justin’s dad) and started reading some of his tweets. I scrolled down and then I saw this tweet, “Good Morning Nashville, its beautiful here.” My mouth DROPPED. I couldn’t believe Justin was BACK IN NASHVILLE shooting HIS music video for “Under The Mistletoe ”. For those of you who don’t know, Justin shot “One Less Lonely Girl” here as well. Anyways, I HAD to go. It took some convincing, but my dad finally agreed to take me and my friend Micaela. That night at around 8pm, I got to the set. There were already so many girls waiting to see Justin. After standing in the rain for awhile, I asked my dad to go see if he could find Justin’s bus. A few minutes later he calls and says, “I found it”. I started to get really excited! My friend and I went over to his bus and waited. Then I heard someone say, “He’s filming from 10pm – 5am”. I knew we had to get back to the set before then. We got to the bus and there were a TON of girls singing and shouting for the Biebs. It started getting late and I wanted to see Justin come out before they started filming, so we went back to the set. This time we went on the OTHER side of the street because Justin was filming there and they were setting up trees, snow, and anything “Christmasy”. Finally we found a spot to stand and wait for him to come out. A little while later, everyone started screaming and I knew it HAD to be because of Justin. I got on top of my dads back and looked over the crowd. Justin was walking with Kenny and being just a normal, crazy kid. He did some hand motion type thing, almost like a bow? Then they started filming scenes of him and this girl sitting at a table. During that time, I met Alfredo Flores. I was yelling with one of my other friends, “Alfredo! Fredo! Come over here!” and he did. I asked, “Can you follow me on Twitter?” and he said, “Yeah.. what is it?” I told him and he walked away. A little bit later, Kenny came over and she got him to follow her. I also saw Ryan Good, Allison, Vanessa, and we yelled to them, but only Ryan & Allison heard and waved back to us. Justin got up on a ladder and waved & blew kisses to all of us. He is SO sweet, you can really tell he appreciates all the support. He even posted a picture of all of us on Twitter. Justin is so funny, he started dougie-ing with Santa later on. It was already midnight and I had school the next day. I would have LOVED to stay later, but my dad was ready to go. I said bye to one of my other friends, and me and Micaela went home. That night was ONE OF THE BEST Bieber experiences I’ve had. It was really fun watching the making of “Under The Mistletoe” and I can’t wait for it to come out! I feel so lucky to have seen Justin as many times as I have. If you haven’t seen/met Justin yet, DON’T GIVE UP. Like he always says, Never Say Never. He means it. I’m not gonna give up on meeting him, because I know one day it will happen. ♥ – Dakota (@RunWithMeJB) Here are some videos I took last night: Kenny singing & Talking to Alfredo View original post here: My Bieber fever all started back in September of 2009. I heard…
Word on the street is that rapper Juelz Santana was arrested for giving his baby mama Kimbella a beatdown after she admitted on “Love & Hip Hop” that she slept with his boy Fabolous. Juelz was pissed that she would put their biz on blast on TV. We reported last month that while taping the first episode of the second season Emily B got into a heated argument with new cast member Kimbella (Juelz’s baby mama). Emily threw a party to celebrate finally ending things with her longtime boyfriend/baby daddy Fabolous, and Kimbella got drunk and told Emily that she and Fab use to get it in! Sources are saying: “He beat [Kimbella] up and threw her out of his car . . . [Juelz] left her on the side of the road like she was garbage.” Kim reportedly called police and Juelz was later picked up on a warrant connected with the beating. But it doesn’t end there, the couple are reportedly back together and all is love!! Love And Hip Hop airs next month! Rappers’ Baby Moms Come To Blows On “Love & Hip Hop” Taping Juelz Santana’s Girlfriend & Baby Mama Joins “Love & Hip-Hop” Cast Fabolous Clears Up Ray J Altercation On The Radio [AUDIO]
What is the recipe to a GREAT future for Atlanta? Dedicated and caring staff mixed with fun and enriching after-school programming reaching young people who need them most. On November 10th,Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Atlanta will be hosting the 2011 Youth of the Year Gala to honor young leaders who benefited from this recipe for success and are now well on their way to achieving a GREAT future. Join us in supporting the youth destined to make Atlanta great. www.atlyouthoftheyear.org Sponsored by Radio One! About the Event BGCMA’s 2011 Youth of the Year Gala will celebrate 2011 Youth of the Year candidates from each of our Clubs. Each candidate represents their Club because they excel in academics, character, and service to community and their Club. You will have the chance to meet all candidates, watch them compete, hear personal stories of perseverance and be there as metro Atlanta’s Face of the Future is named. The event will be emceed by WSB-Tv’s Fred Blankenship and Erin Coleman. When & Where Georgia Aquarium 225 Baker Street Northwest Atlanta, GA 30313 5:00pm: Chairman’s Reception/Silent Auction 7:00pm: Dinner & Awards Presentation What is Youth of the Year? Youth of the Year, a year-round development program, honors Boys & Girls Club members as outstanding citizens and leaders. A panel of staff, community leaders and board members evaluate applicants for leadership qualities and activities through family, community, school and Club involvement. Additional criteria include demonstrated ability to overcome obstacles, essay writing, poise and public speaking.
The woman flashing her hump in Vegas in this picture is a mother of two. And a Latina. Can you guess who it is? That would be none other than La Lopez on day two of the iHeart Radio Music Festival, doing her best to prove that she doesn’t need to retire from the music game and focus on movies, motherhood and fashion. And she did A LOT to prove it. More pics below.
Critics can’t get away from Jacob/’Twilight’ comparisons as Taylor Lautner bids for action-hero status in John Singleton flick. By Jocelyn Vena Taylor Lautner and Lily Collins in “Abduction” Photo: Lionsgate For much of his career, Taylor Lautner has either been a karate-kicking spy kid or a heartbroken werewolf hopelessly in love with his mortal enemy’s girl. But on Friday (September 23), the teen star launched the next phase of his career in the John Singleton-directed “Abduction.” The film centers on a young man (Lautner) who realizes that his life isn’t exactly what it seems. His character sets out to learn who he really is after finding his baby picture posted on a missing-persons website. In addition to Lautner (in his first lead role), the movie also stars Lily Collins as his love interest and a number of A-listers, including Sigourney Weaver, Jason Isaacs, Maria Bello and Alfred Molina. Before you head to the theater this weekend, check out this handy “Abduction” cheat sheet and read on for what the critics are saying about Lautner’s giant leap from teen werewolf to action hero. Taylor Lautner the Action Hero “Even playing the hunted, jacked-up, dude-on-the-run hero of a ‘realistic’ action film, Taylor Lautner still looks like the world’s sexiest werewolf in ‘Abduction.’ There’s a stylized quality to his features — not just the lupine snub nose, but the daggerish Son of Spock eyebrows that lend him a squint of intensity even when not very much is going on. That face gives Lautner one advantage as an actor: He’s a great camera subject, like the young Matt Damon crossed with Tom Cruise.” — Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly The Inevitable Jacob Comparisons “Lautner’s sensitive young stud in ‘Abduction’ isn’t far removed from the pining werewolf he plays in the ‘Twilight’ movies. They both have anger issues, yes, but they also can be achingly sweet and vulnerable and protective — and shirtless, when appropriate.” — Glenn Whipp, Los Angeles Times The Final Word “In the end, it all feels like much ado about not much. The film lets Lautner down more than the other way around and he essentially holds his own surrounded by the sturdy likes of Weaver, Molina, Isaacs and Bello. Collins, who made her big-screen debut in ‘The Blind Side’ last year and has the title role in the forthcoming ‘Snow White,’ has a promising, offbeat appeal.” — Todd McCarthy, The Hollywood Reporter Check out everything we’ve got on “Abduction.” For young Hollywood news, fashion and “Twilight” updates around the clock, visit HollywoodCrush.MTV.com . Related Videos MTV First: Taylor Lautner Related Photos Taylor Lautner At ‘Abduction’ Premiere
Sebastian Ingrosso, Axwell and Steve Angello confirm December 16 show at famed New York arena. By Akshay Bhansali Swedish House Mafia Photo: Getty Images British dance music tastemaker Pete Tong’s Essential Mix brought official confirmation Friday (September 23) of what American fans of house music supergroup Swedish House Mafia have suspected for a few weeks now: Yes, Sebastian Ingrosso, Axwell and Steve Angello are slated to take the stage at New York’s famed Madison Square Garden in December. In fact, two “One Night Stand” performances have been announced and confirmed by the Swedes’ label, EMI: December 16 at MSG and July 14, 2012, at Milton Keynes National Bowl in England. Rumblings of an epic announcement have been suspected since the group first posted a website, www.230911.com , teasing coded numbers and letters that eventually came to spell out MSG and MKB. In fact, it’s a form of underground promotion SHM has become known for: Before March’s Miami “Masquerade Motel: One Night Stand” beach party, they released a series of teaser videos online. With some of global DJ music’s biggest hits of the past couple of years under their collective belt already — “Leave the World Behind,” “One” (with Pharrell Williams) , “Miami 2 Ibiza” and “Save the World” — their MSG showing will keep in line with the way Swedish House Mafia intend to conduct business: Every undertaking aims to one-up the next. In just a year and a half, the holy trinity of house will have gone from headlining Ultra Music Festival and Electric Daisy Carnival to hosting their very own 15,000-strong South Beach party. And now comes the Garden. Should it be a surprise that a dance music outfit will follow in the footsteps of U2, Britney Spears, Paul McCartney, Jay-Z and the Kings of Leon? Maybe not to those in the know. But in a two-year period, it’s fair to say one of music’s most-underground genres has gone pop. Afrojack, David Guetta, RedOne and Dr. Luke have turned the radio “club,” and EDM festival attendance has skyrocketed. Dance music has never been more popular — and according to some their biggest stars, if anyone can handle the Garden, it’s “the Swedes.” “The Swedish House Mafia crew: If there is one thing you can note them for, it’s thinking outside the box,” Pete Tong said. “It’s exciting. It’s something for the people to talk about that moves the culture forward.” When MTV News caught up with Ti
