‘I could get whatever I want,’ 21-year-old Harlem rapper tells MTV News about her new record deal with Kanye West. By Nadeska Alexis Teyana Taylor Photo: MTV News Teyana Taylor collaborated with Kanye West on his 2010 album, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy , and now, as an official member of the G.O.O.D. Music team, the Harlem rapper confirms that she will also appear on the upcoming G.O.O.D. compilation album. When MTV News caught up with Taylor after news broke that she’d officially been added to the Def Jam roster, she said the deal was finalized in April. “I had been actually working with the whole G.O.O.D. Music family for quite a while,” she explained. “Around the time we did the ‘Dark Fantasy’ song, I was still in my contract with Star Trak/Interscope Records, and I asked for release because I wanted to find myself as an artist. I had options to go to different labels, but I felt like G.O.O.D. Music was where I wanted to be, where I fit in. “This is the second go ’round for me, and hopefully, the second time’s the charm,” the 21-year-old continued. “I signed to Star Trak with Pharrell when I was 15, and now I’m at a new chapter in my life where I’m signed to G.O.O.D. Music, and I’m blessed and happy to be part of the team.” The rapper, singer, writer and actress said the new deal will definitely improve her worth ethic. “Being signed to G.O.O.D. Music/Def Jam has opened more doors now that I finally have a team behind me that can push me to work harder,” she said. Taylor has already recorded her tracks for the upcoming G.O.O.D. Music album, another humbling experience. “Recording ‘Dark Fantasy’ and recording the G.O.O.D. Music album was both crazy,” she shared. “When we did ‘Dark Fantasy,’ the album had to be turned in in three hours, so that was a song that we made happen so last minute, which happened to be the first song on the album, so that was very exciting. “The same amount of work, same amount of pressure, same amount of heart, intensity, passion [went into recording the G.O.O.D. Music LP]. It was a great experience to be able to work with someone like Kanye and with Pusha T, Big Sean, Kid Cudi, Common and the whole G.O.O.D. family. When it’s time to do something, we all come together, we make it work, everyone’s focused.” Taylor recorded with West in both Los Angeles and New York, laughing off rumors that the crew ticked off the Royal Family while recording in London . Right now, Taylor is simply enjoying her new family circle. “I am the princess of G.O.O.D. Music, the first lady of G.O.O.D. Music, the baby of G.O.O.D. Music,” she said, laughing. “I’m kinda the spoiled brat right now. I could get whatever I want.” Related Artists Teyana Taylor Kanye West
The 21-year-old Harlem rapper and singer is officially added to the roster at West’s Def Jam imprint. By Nadeska Alexis Teyana Taylor Photo: Amanda Edwards/Getty Images Well, this was a long time coming. Kanye West has been closely affiliated with Harlem rapper/singer Teyana Taylor for some time now, but this week it was confirmed that Taylor has officially been signed to ‘Ye’s G.O.O.D. Music label. The 21-year-old singer-songwriter and actress, who worked with West on his fifth album, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, will reveal details about her first G.O.O.D. Music LP and forthcoming singles in the next few weeks. In April she debuted a new mixtape, The Misunderstanding of Teyana Taylor, which pays tribute to Lauryn Hill and her other early influences, including Mary J. Blige and Janet Jackson. Taylor got her start in the industry when she was signed to Pharrell William’s Star Trak record label at the age of 15, and some fans might remember her over-the-top episode of MTV’s “My Super Sweet 16.” Her debut album, 2008’s From a Planet Called Harlem, featured the breakout single “Google Me,” and Taylor has since earned plenty of co-writing credits on recent songs like Nicki Minaj’s “Right By My Side,” which appeared on Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded. Taylor worked closely with West on MBDTF ‘s “Hell of a Life,” “Runaway,” “Dark Fantasy” and the collaboration track “Christmas in Harlem,” which also featured G.O.O.D. Music’s CyHi the Prynce. Her recent onscreen endeavors include roles in 2010’s “Stomp the Yard 2” and Tyler Perry’s 2011 film “Madea’s Big Happy Family.” Last summer, the 21-year-old also grabbed attention with her remix of Drake’s hit single “Marvin’s Room.” “Her Room” found Taylor sampling lyrics from Lauryn Hill’s “X Factor,” as she came to terms with a cheating ex. The G.O.O.D. news just keeps coming from Kanye West’s camp. Last month the super producer/rapper signed veteran Q-Tip to his Def Jam imprint. What do you think of Kanye of signing Teyana to G.O.O.D. Music? Tell us in the comments! Related Artists Teyana Taylor Kanye West
3 Of Kanye West’s Albums On Rolling Stone’s “500 Greatest Albums Of All Time” List Can you guess which ones?? Three Kanye West albums have made it on to the latest edition of Rolling Stone magazine’s authoritative “500 Greatest Albums of All Time” list, placing him among the greats of popular music. The new ranking, which combines a 2003 list (updated in 2005) with a later survey of the 2000s, saw two Radiohead records join the elite club, while long-established names including Bruce Springsteen and Bob Dylan also had albums added. Rolling Stone has published the list, along with details of the albums and several new recording histories based on first-hand accounts, in “bookazine” format available for $11.99 on newsstands between Friday and July 25 in the United States. The big beneficiary was U.S. hip-hop star West, who saw 2005 album “Late Registration,” “The College Dropout” (2004) and “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy” (2010) make it to the top 500. In total, 30 albums were added and 30 taken away, with the casualties including several artists well-represented on the list already and whose “lesser” albums have now been dropped. The highest entry among recent albums was West’s “Late Registration” at No. 118. Asked whether the relatively low position of recently released albums reflected a barren period for great rock and pop, Hoard replied: “My personal opinion is no. Music is as inspirational as it’s ever been. “Things get clearer as the years pass. If you held this poll in 10 years, say, Arcade Fire could be a lot higher and the same could be said of Kanye West. Reputation and time definitely help an album, especially with pollers like ours.” Radiohead features twice — for “Amnesiac” (2001) and “In Rainbows” (2007), Jay-Z is added for “The Black Album” (2003), Lil Wayne makes it with “Tha Carter III” (2008) and the late Amy Winehouse for “Back to Black.” Among those dropping out to make way for the additions were The Beach Boys (“Sunflower”), David Bowie (“Changesone”), Elton John (“Elton John”) and Madonna (“Music”). Congrats, Yeezy. What’s your favorite album of all time?? Source More On Bossip! Cheese So Hard… That Isht Cray! We’ve Never Seen Yeezy Look So Happy In His Life Bad Girls Club Season 8 Reunion First Clips: First Time Audience Member Scrap At Reunion [Video] The OMG Girls Speak To Bossip Exclusively About Their Career Family And Boys Peace, My Brother: A List Of The 10 LEAST Violent States In America
‘She can probably do anything she wants,’ ‘Paparazzi’ and ‘Telephone’ director tells us at SXSW. By Kara Warner Lady Gaga Photo: Kevin Mazur/ WireImage After the mostly positive reviews of Lady Gaga ‘s first music-video directorial effort on “Marry the Night” . It’s fair to assume that we fans can expect more Gaga-directed clips in the near future. When MTV News caught up with her “Paparazzi” and “Telephone” director Jonas
Duo have reached an agreement with Syl Johnson over use of his ‘Different Strokes’ record on Throne track ‘The Joy.’ By Rob Markman Kanye West and Jay-Z Photo: The Washington Post/Getty Images All samples cleared! TMZ reports that Jay-Z and Kanye West have settled a federal lawsuit in which soul singer Syl Johnson claimed that Jay and Kanye illegally lifted a portion of his 1967 record “Different Strokes” for “The Joy,” off of their Watch the Throne album. “The Joy,” which was produced by Pete Rock with West, Mike Dean and Jeff Bhasker listed as co-producers, first surfaced in 2010 as a free digital download as part of Yeezy’s G.O.O.D. Fridays viral campaign. The suit claimed that ‘Ye attempted to clear the “Different Strokes” sample for his Grammy Award-winning My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy but couldn’t get the necessary agreement in place before releasing his LP. The song was later included as a bonus track on the deluxe version of Kanye and Jay’s tag-team Watch the Throne LP, but the duo failed to clear the sample, according to Johnson. This isn’t the first time “Different Strokes” has been sampled in hip-hop before: Wu-Tang Clan (“Shame On a N—a”) and Public Enemy (“Fight the Power”) are among the most notable acts to use the record. Johnson filed his complaint in Illinois federal court in October after archival record label and publisher the Numero Uno Group initially threatened a lawsuit on his behalf. The lawsuit was dismissed last week because the two sides have reached a settlement. No details on the agreement have been made available, however. Related Photos Jay-Z Performs At Carnegie Hall Related Artists Jay-Z Kanye West
Chi-Town hero claims the Throne and Hottest MCs in the Game VII’s top 3 with a Twisted Fantasy and a groundbreaking joint album. By MTV News staff Kanye West Photo: Getty Images To be considered one of the Hottest MCs in the Game, a rapper has to build a solid case with lyrics and album sales, but buzz is just as important, and few artists can stir up a frenzy quite like Kanye West , who happens to have the verses and plaques to back it up. But that’s just touching the surface when it comes to why the Hip-Hop Brain Trust gave ‘Ye the #3 spot on our Hottest MCs in the Game VII list. The Chicago native set tongues wagging back on New Year’s Eve 2010, when he announced at a party in Las Vegas that his joint album with Jay-Z would arrive at the top of ’11. Although Watch the Throne didn’t actually drop until August 8, 2011, anticipation in the months leading up to its release was palpable. “Kanye came off of My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy in 2010, and just the hype from that album rolled over into 2011, as he started prepping us for WTT, ” said Nadeska Alexis, MTV News’ RapFix blog editor. “Kanye was the only thing people could talk about for the first few months of the year.” Want to join the debate? Just hit us on Twitter using the hashtag #HottestMC! West and Jay teased fans with the single “H.A.M.” — later relegated to a bonus track — all while Kanye continued to push songs from his Grammy-winning solo LP. A flashy video for “All of the Lights” featured an appearance from Rihanna and generated plenty of chatter, and that folded right into the Watch the Throne hype. HOT STREAK Album: Watch the Throne with Jay-Z; My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy Selected Mixtapes: None Singles: “All of the Lights” (with Rihanna, Kid Cudi and Fergie); “H.A.M,” “N—as in Paris” and “Otis” (all with Jay-Z) Street Bangers: “Paris” remix (with Jay-Z and T.I.) Key Guest Appearances: Big Sean’s “Marvin & Chardonnay” Meteoric Metrics: Watch the Throne debuted at #1 on the album charts and has sold approximately 1.3 million copies to date, while West’s Grammy-winning solo single “All of the Lights” was certified platinum Business Ventures: Inked an official distribution deal with Def Jam Records for G.O.O.D. Music imprint; launched DW by Kanye West line at Paris Fashion Week Tours: Along with Jay-Z, West put on one of the most anticipated hip-hop tours to date in support of Watch the Throne. They grossed $48.3 million across 26 dates. Monumental Moment: Not only did Kanye add “cray” to the rap vernacular, he joined Jay in performing “Paris” a record 11 times at one of their live shows Forecast: After picking up Grammys for Best Rap Album ( MBDTF ) and Best Rap Performance (“Otis”), Kanye is currently at work on the highly anticipated G.O.O.D. album. And, of course, the second incarnation of his fashion line is getting plenty of advance buzz. In the weeks before the album debuted, Throne fans were treated to more tidbits from the project, much of which had the indelible Kanye West stamp. Animal-inspired cover art designed by Givenchy creative director Riccardo Tisci? The brainchild of Kanye West, certainly. “Jay-Z has really stood alone over the course of his career and he never really let somebody else get in the front,” said Rahman Dukes, MTV News’ director of hip-hop news, about the collaboration. “This is the one time [he let someone take control] and that’s a huge nod to Kanye’s genius.” One of the key elements in building anticipation for the album was that the Throne successfully avoided a leak. The duo even threw a grand listening session at the Museum of Natural History in New York City — select music journalists and A-list insiders from Beyonc
Kanye West won FOUR Grammys last night. Unfortunately, he was a no show. Why didn’t Kanye show up? No one really knows. It is pretty interesting that Ye’ managed to best his ex-girlfriend’s (Amber Rose) “husband” in the best rap performance category. Kanye’s 2012 Grammy wins include: Best Rap Performance – “Otis” (with Jay-Z) – (beating Wiz Khalifa’s “Black and Yellow”) Best Rap/Sung Collaboration – “All of Lights” Best Rap Song – “All of Lights” Best Rap Album – “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy”
Singer’s ex-husband and the Houston family release statements just before daughter Bobby Kristina Brown is hospitalized. By Jason Kaufman Bobby Brown and Whitney Houston Photo: Ron Galella/ Ron Galella Collection As details of Whitney Houston’s death emerged, both the singer’s ex-husband, Bobby Brown, and her family officially addressed the media for the first time. “I am deeply saddened at the passing of my ex-wife, Whitney Houston,” Brown said in a statement to MTV News. “At this time, we ask for privacy, especially for my daughter, Bobbi Kristina. I appreciate all of the condolences that have been directed towards my family and I at this most difficult time.” The statement appears to have been made before Brown and Houston’s 18-year-old daughter, “Bobbi Kristina, was admitted to Cedars-Sinai hospital . According to TMZ, the teen was spotted being taken out of the Beverly Hilton on a stretcher less than 24 hours after her mother’s body was taken from the same hotel. The Houston family also released a statement to MTV News in what appears to be the hours before Bobbi Kristina’s hospitalization. “We are devastated by the loss of our beloved Whitney. This is an unimaginable tragedy and we will miss her terribly,” the statement read. “We appreciate the outpouring of love and support from her fans and friends.” Before his statement, the most the world had heard from Brown was during a New Edition concert in Mississippi Saturday night. After being comforted by the other members of New Edition, Brown took the stage and addressed the crowd . “First of all, I want to tell you that I love you all. Second, I would like to say, ‘I love you Whitney.’ The hardest thing for me to do is come on this stage.” Brown then told the fans that their support for New Edition over the years was the only thing that allowed him to get through the show. Brown broke down several times through the show and left the stage near the end of the set when he appeared too shaken to perform. MTV News’ Sway and James Montgomery will be live from the Grammys red carpet all evening to get reactions from music’s biggest stars on the death of Whitney Houston. Watch reactions and remembrances at MTV.com. Share your condolences with Whitney’s family and friends on our Facebook page. Related Videos Whitney Houston: Life And Music Of An Icon Related Artists Whitney Houston Bobby Brown
The most nominated artist of the night, West wins Best Rap Album, Best Rap Song and Best Rap Collaboration. By Gil Kaufman Kanye West Photo: Don Arnold/ WireImage It didn’t look like Kanye West, the most nominated man at Sunday (February 12) night’s Grammys , was going to make an appearance at the show, but even before the curtain came up, he was already a big winner. West came into the night with a leading seven nominations, and though he was controversially shut out of the Album of the Year race, he pulled off a near clean sweep in hip-hop categories handed out before the show. ‘Ye scored a win in the Best Rap Album race, taking the award for My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, beating out his collabo with Jay-Z on Watch the Throne, Lil Wayne’s Tha Carter IV, Lupe Fiasco’s Lasers and Nicki Minaj’s Pink Friday. “Everybody’s working hard and he’s definitely another big artist in the game,” Tyga told MTV News’ Sway on the Grammy red carpet when news broke about the West wins. With 17 nominations for the YMCMB crew, label boss Baby didn’t have much to add about West’s win, though Weezy had plenty to say in a pre-Grammy freestyle in which he took shots at West and Jigga . West also scooped up Best Rap Song for “All of the Lights” and Best Rap Song Collaboration for that song’s hook-up with Rihanna, Fergie and Kid Cudi. In that category he beat out some other major players, including Beyonc
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