Jay-Z and Kanye West just released the official video for Watch The Throne ‘s most favored song– “N*ggas In Paris.” Before the ridiculous Illuminati conspiracy theories begin to pour in, let’s take a moment to acknowledge the astounding visuals and cinematography effects in “N*ggas In Paris.” Filmed on their joint Watch The Throne tour, Jay and Yay square off on stage with cameos from a few black panthers and gargoyles flashing across the screen. Make sure you LIKE and TWEET this post with comments! SEE ABOVE Ni**as In Paris video is pretty DOPE! It has the same effects as All Of The Lights. What do you think? HotSpotAtl.com to watch! — GWoods(@iamgwoods) February 9, 2012 Be Advised: This video may cause seizures: RELATED: Jay-Z & Kanye West Prepping Solo Albums And Watch The Throne 2? [VIDEO] Kanye West At ATL Watch The Throne After Party! [PHOTOS] Watch Kanye West Play Jay-Z ‘Big Brother’ For The First Time Beyonce Spotted At Watch The Throne Tour! [PHOTOS] Watch The Throne Concert Review [EXCLUSIVE] Watch The Throne Concert Footage [EXCLUSIVE VIDEO]
‘That record is a process of what was happening in Paris at that time,’ Watch the Throne A&R Bu Thiam tells MTV News. By Rob Markman Kanye West in the video for “Paris” Photo: Roc-A-Fella Records The best rap records are usually rooted in reality, but fans have come to expect their favorite MCs to use a bit of poetic license when delivering their rhymes. That’s not the case with Kanye West and Jay-Z , though: According to Def Jam VP of A&R Bu Thiam, the lyrics on the Throne’s “N—as in Paris” — the video for which was released Thursday (February 9) — are as real as they come. “What I realized in this process is that them dudes really rap about what they go through,” Thiam told MTV News back in August after Watch the Throne was released. “I’ve A&R’d other albums, and people, sometimes they rap about somebody else’s story or what they think is a story. But those guys, everything they rap about is what they’re actually going through.” Take “N—as in Paris,” for instance, which has music fans across the world shouting, “That sh– cray.” On the song’s hook Hov raps, “Ball so hard mother—-ers wanna fine me,” and while it sounds like an empty MC boast, the popular lyric is rooted in truth. Hov, who is a minority owner of the NBA’s New Jersey Nets, was caught taking pictures with the University of Kentucky’s men’s basketball team during their NCAA tournament run last year. It all seemed like a harmless gesture, but contact between NBA personnel and potential NBA college prospects is prohibited. In April, the Nets were fined $50,000 for Hov’s actions. “When you hear it, you’re thinking it’s bragging, but no, it’s really true,” Thiam said of the Throne’s lyrics. “It’s crazy how they take the words and they make the songs and make it reality, and you’re thinking it’s just verses, but nah, it’s really reality for them dudes.” Beyond b-ball drama, the accomplished A&R who also helped string together Rihanna’s Talk That Talk said the entire “N—as in Paris” record is just a reflection of Jay and Kanye’s wild outing to France. “Going out, kicking it and just having fun. That record is a process of what was happening in Paris at that time,” he said. “It’s real life, I promise you, it is.” What’s your favorite lyric from the Throne’s “N—as in Paris”? Tell us in the comments! Related Videos The Throne’s ‘Paris’: A Closer Look Related Artists Jay-Z Kanye West
Part live clip, part kaleidoscopic freakout, the ‘Paris’ video more than matches the song’s massive impact. By James Montgomery Kanye West and Jay-Z in the music video for “N—as in Paris” Photo: Roc-A-Fella Records After the premiere of Kanye West and Jay-Z ‘s new “N—as in Paris” video — which bowed Thursday (February 9) on MTV.com — someone joked that I needed to watch it 13 times in a row to best approximate the experience of the dynamic duo’s Watch the Throne tour. And it’s true, Kanye and Jay did play “Paris” a whole lot during their trek … mostly because the song elicited such a thunderous response from sold-out crowds nationwide . So it’s somewhat fitting that the video (which was directed by West) is equally live … and just as thunderous. Filmed in part during the run of Throne shows at the Staples Center in Los Angeles — additional footage, one can assume, was shot during a casted performance, unless the Staples crowd was 85 percent female models — the clip captures both the loose jocularity of ‘Ye and Jay and the electric energy that coursed through the venue when “Paris” leapt from the speakers (many, many times). West fills the video with eye-catching kaleidoscopic effects, creating dizzying visuals that fold the audience, the stage and everything else in upon themselves, making fractals upon fractals. No wonder the clip is preceded by an epilepsy warning. Check out epic scenes from the “N—as in Paris” video! Given the size and scope of both the song and the artists performing it, the “Paris” video is also loaded with lasers, prowling panthers, pop-up-book cityscapes and the aforementioned models. Shoot, even producer Hit-Boy makes a one-second cameo. It’s a head-spinning, pulse-quickening mixture of imagery and movement, of sight and sound — an experience unlike any other live clip. Oh, and yes, Will Ferrell makes an appearance too, though it’s in the form of a scene from “Blades of Glory” (guess Ferrell wasn’t lying when he told MTV News that plans to feature him in the clip never quite materialized). So truly, there’s something for everyone. If you caught the Throne tour, the “Paris” video is sure to inspire heady flashbacks. If you didn’t, well, here’s what it was like, only pushed to the absolute max. And to further replicate the live feeling, I recommend watching it for roughly the next hour. It’s the way the thing was supposed to be viewed, after all. Did the “Paris” video capture the live Watch the Throne experience? Leave your comment below! Related Photos Epic Scenes From Jay-Z And Kanye West’s ‘Paris’ Video Related Artists Jay-Z Kanye West
The mtvU Woodies are once again heading to SXSW, with plans for a day-long festival leading up to the awards themselves. By James Montgomery Jay-Z and Kanye West Photo: Getty Images The mtvU Woodie Awards are heading back to South by Southwest, and this year, they’re going to be bigger than ever. That’s because on Wednesday (February 8), mtvU announced that, in addition to the awards themselves, the Woodies will channel the SXSW spirit and become a day-long festival. It begins March 15 at 1 p.m. CT with a host of live performances — open to all SXSW badge holders (though, if you’re not going to be down in Austin, you can watch the fest unfold live on Woodies.mtvU.com ) — and culminate with the 2012 Woodie Awards. The best moments from the awards will air on MTV and mtvU on March 18 at 8 p.m. ET, though the music lovers can stay up to date on all Woodie-related mania — interviews, performances and SXSW updates — beginning on March 11, when “Woodie Awards Week” kicks off on MTV, mtvU and MTV.com. Woodie performers will be announced in the coming weeks, but the nominees have already been announced, and fans can vote for their favorite nominated artists beginning Wednesday through Woodies.mtvU.com . Kanye West and Jay-Z, The Black Keys, Skrillex, Mac Miller, Frank Ocean, J.Cole and more lead the field that will vie for the coveted big hunks of wood in categories like “Woodie of the Year” (given to the artist who left their mark on music in 2011) and the “Performing Woodie” (given to the year’s best touring musician). And this year, the Woodies have unveiled a brand-new category to honor electronic dance music: the “EDM Effect Woodie.” Voting in all Woodies categories closes March 9. Here’s a look at all the nominees. Woodie of the Year
The Throne will finally premiere the visuals for their Watch the Throne single Thursday at 12:05 p.m. ET on MTV.com. By Nadeska Alexis Jay-Z and Kanye West Photo: Dimitrios Kambouris/ WireImage Jay-Z and Kanye West’s Watch the Throne Tour swept North America last fall, and one highlight of the large-scale production was the duo’s multiple performances of their hit single “N—as in Paris.” When the Throne rolled through Vancouver in December, they played the song a record 11 times, and on Thursday, they will finally roll out an official video to accompany the single. The video will hit MTV.com at 12:05 p.m. Thursday and will feature footage from the Los Angeles stop of their Watch the Throne Tour. During that Vancouver show, the Throne performed “Paris” for 40.25 minutes, according to Rolling Stone, while the average time per date was approximately 18 minutes. Thus far, the Throne have released only one video to accompany their album. The Spike Jonze-directed clip for “Otis” premiered in August with a brief cameo from comedian Aziz Ansari, but a bulk of the video found ‘Ye and Jay taking a chainsaw to a Maybach , which they then filled with models. During an interview with MTV News last summer, producer Hit-Boy explained how he crafted the popular “Paris” beat . ” ‘N—as in Paris’ came about from me having a beat idea already. When I went to New York, I just further went into it,” Hit-Boy said of linking up with the Throne. “It was just a batch of beats. Kanye asked me for some beats, and that was one of the beats I gave him. … [Kanye and Jay-Z] actually went over to Paris; I didn’t get to make that trip. Next thing I know, they’re like, ‘Yo, I need all the files for that beat.’ ” Tune in to MTV.com at 12:05 p.m. Thursday to catch the new video for the Throne’s “N—as in Paris.” Related Artists Kanye West Jay-Z
From her support of the Tamil Tigers to her politically charged music videos, M.I.A. has never shied away from controversy. By James Montgomery M.I.A. performs at the Super Bowl XLVI Halftime Show Photo: Jeff Kravitz/Film Magic M.I.A.’s middle finger may currently be the most-discussed digit in America, dominating the post-Super Bowl chatter and earning swift rebukes from NBC and the NFL. But for those who’ve covered her career from the beginning, well, let’s just say this is basically par for the course. Because ever since M.I.A. first broke through in 2004, she’s courted controversy, first for her outspoken support of the Tamil Tigers , the Sri Lankan separatist organization that engaged in acts of terror and has been linked to the assassination of Sri Lankan and Indian leaders. That support and her overtly political lyrics led to her being denied a travel visa by the U.S. government and earned her a spot on the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s risk list in 2006. So, really, a middle finger is no big thing. And over the past few years, she hasn’t exactly mellowed. In 2010, she raised eyebrows with the graphic video for “Born Free,” a clip that saw security forces (with American flags prominently displayed) round up red-headed citizens and summarily execute them in brutal fashion. It was a savage bit of socio-political commentary, though most missed that message entirely, focusing instead on the blood and guts, which earned the video a measure of YouTube ignominy and had < href=" http://"www.cnn.com/2010/SHOWBIZ/Music/04/27/mia.music.video/index.html?iref=allsearch" target="_blank"> critics howling . Her outspoken ways also drew the ire of both Lady Gaga and Justin Bieber fans, after she called Gaga “a good mimic” and said the content of “Born Free” was no less offensive than anything Bieber had churned out. And then, she launched a lengthy (and much-covered) offensive against New York Times writer Lynn Hirschberg, posting her phone number on Twitter and releasing a diss song called “I’m a Singer” after reading what she believed to be an unflattering feature in the Times . Though Hirschberg remained largely silent on the matter, the Times did eventually admit that a pair of M.I.A.’s quotes were rearranged in the piece. Finally, earlier this month, she unveiled the video for “Bad Girls,” which re-teamed her with “Born Free” director Romain Gavras and is loaded with socially (and politically) charged imagery, like women cloaked in burqas doing stunts in expensive cars as men in keffiyeh look on, smoldering oil fields and assault rifles. Were you offended by M.I.A.’s halftime gesture? Leave your comment below. Related Photos Infamous Middle Fingers Super Bowl XLVI Performances: Madonna And Kelly Clarkson Related Artists M.I.A.
Party starter worked with Weezer singer Rivers Cuomo on sultry single. By Gil Kaufman Cee Lo Green Photo: Jay West/ Getty Images You’ve probably heard Wallpaper.’s music on “Jersey Shore,” and maybe you saw him tagged as one of Buzzworthy’s 11 artists to watch in 2012 . The brainchild of rapper/songwriter/remixer Ricky Reed began as an attempt to bring some lighthearted fun to dance music with songs like “F—ing Best Song Everrr” and “#STUPiDFACEDD.” But after gaining attention with a sax-blasting remix of Das Racist’s “Combination Pizza Hut & Taco Bell,” remixes of songs by Passion Pit and Local Natives, and an album and EP of party-starting originals, he’s hooked up with two music legends for a deceptively tossed-off-sounding song called “Anyway.” “The hook wasn’t right, you know, and every song needs a great hook, so who better than [Weezer singer/songwriter] Rivers Cuomo to come in and finish it up for us?” Reed said of his collabo with the geek-rock icon on Cee Lo Green ‘s recently released sultry single. The tune — co-produced and co-written by Wallpaper. — appeared on the platinum edition of Green’s Lady Killer album, released last month. Getting to share a writing credit with Cuomo was yet another career highlight for Oakland, California’s Reed, who signed with major label Epic Records late last year after a meeting with Epic CEO and “X Factor” judge L.A. Reid. “It’s a little dark,” he said of the Green song, in which the singer recounts his many flaws. “In the co-write, I did a lot of the verse lyric, then Rivers came in with this really sentimental hook, which is kind of what the song needed. … It needed to balance out. If there’s anybody to be sentimental, it’s Rivers, and if there’s anyone to be f—ed up, it’s me.” What do you think of the collaboration? Let us know in the comments! Related Artists Cee Lo Green Wallpaper.
‘He was just being a mean, negative person, and that’s one of the main reasons why I’m not with him,’ model tells ‘RapFix Live.’ By Rob Markman, with reporting by Sway Calloway Amber Rose on “RapFix Live” Photo: Natasha Chandel/ MTV News Kanye West admits his flaws — well, in song at least: On his 2011 single “Runaway,” the Louis Vuitton Don was apologetic about how he treated ex flame Amber Rose, owning up to his wrongs. He took things a step further during his Watch the Throne Tour with Jay-Z, giving the audience love advice while performing the song. During the November 2 stop, ‘Ye sent a special shout to ex-girlfriend Amber Rose in the model’s hometown. “To the city of Philly, I want to thank y’all for making the incredible person that this song was made for,” he said while performing “Runaway” in Philadelphia. “At first, I was like, ‘Wow, maybe he is sorry for just not being a good guy and not treating me the way I want to be treated and talking down to me,’ amongst other things,” Rose said on last week’s “RapFix Live.” “I instantly was like, ‘I forgive him.’ ” To her, it all seemed very sincere. “When I first saw it, I was like, ‘Yo, I forgive him.’ I let that go. I went through the crying and the heartbreak and all that stuff, and I moved on, and I’m so happy now that I actually have a gentleman, a great guy that I love so much,” Rose said of current boyfriend Wiz Khalifa . “Then after he called me an incredible person in my hometown, he said, ‘Never find love in a strip club.’ And that’s when I was like, ‘You know what? Take your apology and shove it up your ass, because I don’t want to hear it.’ ” The “Never find love in a strip club” line wasn’t from the Philly concert, though it is a Yeezy lyric from the Throne’s “New Day,” in which West passes life lessons to his unborn son. “New Day” was actually released in August, months before the concert, and in the song, Kanye makes no mention of Amber’s name, but it still rubbed the beauty the wrong way. According to Amber, who feels the lyric was a shot at her, the ex-couple didn’t meet in a gentlemen’s club. “He didn’t meet me in a strip club; he knows he didn’t meet me in a strip club,” she said. “He was just being a mean, negative person, and that’s one of the main reasons why I’m not with him. He’s that; I don’t want that negativity in my life. Don’t apologize and then say something like that. It’s just rude, and it’s mean, and it’s not true.” Later in her “RapFix Live” interview , Rose broke down crying because of the way some of ‘Ye’s overzealous fans have treated her in public. “I have people throwing things at me in the street because they’re fans of Kanye,” Amber said before she started to cry on set. “I’m just crying because I don’t deserve to be bullied like that. I’m a nice girl. I don’t bother anybody. I keep my mouth shut because I don’t want any trouble.” Related Videos ‘RapFix Live’ With Amber Rose And Yo Gotti Related Artists Kanye West
‘I always feel uncomfortable spending anyone’s money, but I really did want the tigers,’ Del Rey says of video for title track. By James Montgomery Lana Del Ray Photo: MTV News Chances are, if you’ve ventured anywhere near a blog in the past six months, you not only know who Lana Del Rey is, but you’ve probably already formed your opinion about her. Based mainly on a pair of majestic, maudlin singles — “Video Games” and “Blue Jeans” — not to mention some rather rampant speculation on her background, Del Rey has been nothing if not a lightning rod, and now she’s rode that, uh, attention to a major-label deal with Interscope, who will release her Born To Die album at the end of the month. But for an artist who has been the subject of so much discussion, Del Rey remains strangely silent when it comes to her critics, the folks who like to bring up points like “authenticity” and “paying your dues.” Though you get the feeling she’s growing tired of keeping her mouth shut. “I don’t agree [with it] … it’s a f—ing personal thing, in terms of whether people like me or not, it has to do with my personality getting in the way of the music,” she told MTV News. “I personally don’t like drama of any sort … I just think it’s reflective of the times we live in, and have been living in since the dawn of humanity. People love terrible news, they love when things go wrong, and they like to see people going off the tracks and people fighting, because it’s exciting, and life is f—ing boring.” And that’s an odd thing to say, especially considering that, in recent months, Del Rey’s life has been anything but boring. She’s been whisked around the world to promote Born To Die, she’s been the subject of countless magazine spreads, and this weekend, she’ll perform on her biggest stage to date: “Saturday Night Live.” And through it all, she’s tried very hard to keep the focus squarely on her music, a task that grows increasingly difficult by the day. “The goal is definitely just to sort of try to re-create myself in song form, that was really my only ambition in this whole thing. I mean, I’ve been making music for a long time, but it was really only ever to please myself,” she said. “I really write because I love to write and I sing because I love to sing … and I think the way I make music is different from the way some people make music, in the way that I write for myself. “I started working [on Born To Die ] with this kid from London, Justin Parker; he sort of wrote a lot of the chords on the record. And then I was looking for a producer to tie everything together, sonically, and Emile [Haynie, who’s worked with the likes of Kanye West and Eminem] was perfect, because, musically, we’re on the same path,” she continued. “We love mixing the light and the dark together, and I was in love with his beats … he understood what I meant when I was talking about wanting a mix of a sound similar to Thomas Newman’s ‘American Beauty’ score, mixed with a Springsteen, summertime sadness feel. And everything came together … Sonically, I always knew exactly what I wanted.” And that focus extended to the big-budget video for the album’s title track, a gorgeous, gigantic thing Del Rey shot in Paris with director Yoann Lemoine. It sprung from a treatment she penned, and doesn’t skimp when it comes to scenery, sex appeal and, of course, seriously hormonal tigers … all courtesy of the good folks at Interscope, of course. “I always feel uncomfortable spending anyone’s money, but I really did want the tigers, just because of what they symbolize to me, and just visually, they’re so striking,” she laughed. “I always like the vision of a girl in a white nightgown with two majestic tigers. [In one scene], I was sitting on the throne first, and then I had to leave the room and then the tiger was filmed right by the throne, and then spliced in … Tigers and women can’t be in the same room, even if the tiger is a female, because of the pheromones.” And so, Del Rey is quickly learning that acrimony sort of comes with the territory these days. And as she moves forward as a major artist, she’s willing to trade a few nasty comments for the opportunity to create videos (and albums) that are uniquely her . It’s been a rollercoaster ride just to get to this point, and Del Rey is determined to enjoy her lofty new perch … no matter what her detractors have to say. “I’m a very happy person. I feel really at peace with my life and where it’s been for the last long time, really,” she said. “I’m grateful for my life, I’m grateful for being able to make music, and for everyone around me. So, yeah, overall, I feel happy.” Are you excited for Born to Die ? Let us know in the comments below! Related Videos MTV News Extended Play: Lana Del Ray Related Artists Lana Del Rey
