Kendrick Lamar looks like he’s going through a pretty bad case of writer’s block on the cover of Complex magazine’s August/September 2014 issue, in which the Compton rapper speaks on a number of topics, most notably the highly anticipated follow-up to his debut album good kid, m.A.A.d city.
Released nearly two years ago, ‘m.A.A.d city’ proved that Kendrick is a rapping force to be reckoned with, and now he’s hard at work in the studio working on his sophomore project, due out sometime in the fall.
He’s already recorded about 30 to 40 songs to choose from, but so far, when it comes to the album’s title and cover, he says he’s “flirting with ideas.”
“If I keep focusing on, ‘I need to make something better than good kid,’ it’s going to be just that,” Kendrick said. “That’s not challenging yourself. I don’t want to become that person reflecting on what has been done. What I’m doing now is the question. I’m only as good as my last word, my last hook, my last bridge.”
On his creativity, the “Control” rapper said, “This is truly a blessing from a higher power, and as long as I understand that there’s really no limitations to what I can do. Everything is forward with me. When I’m in the studio I’m looking for creativity I haven’t matched yet, a feeling I haven’t felt. It’s a high. When you look at people like Jay Z, Nas, Dr. Dre, these people are established, but they love music and they love that high. You always want that feeling of creativity.”
Check out a few photos from the spread below, and hit up Complex for the full interview.
Just in time for the summer, Nico & Vinz are heating up the Billboard Hot 100 chart with their hit single “Am I Wrong.”
As the song currently sits at #4, it’s one of the most played on the radio right now and we thought this would be the perfect time to introduce them.
Nico Sereba and Vincent “Vinz” Dery — both born in Oslo, Norway — have been setting the European entertainment scene on fire and after releasing the video for “Am I Wrong” last month on YouTube, they’re on track to take over America too.
Back in April, before the song blew up, popular music blog Idolator called it a “future hit” and described it as a “soul-infused pop song with a unique world music twist.”
Part of the track’s colossal appeal is the striking video clip, which was filmed on location in Botswana, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The narrative is fairly simple — Nico & Vinz wander around the gorgeous terrain trying to find each other — but the combination of stunning scenery, beautiful people and the evocative soundtrack is something to behold.
TMZ managed to catch up with Milian over the weekend at Chris Brown’s celebrity kickball game and asked her about her “relationship” with Wayne.
“We make music together. I’m finally around my record label and have the opportunity to make music,” Christina, who recently signed with Wayne’s Young Money Entertainment label imprint, said.
When asked if she would ever date a manager or producer, Milian replied, “You never know.”
We could see Lil Wayne and Christina Milian coupling up. What do you think?
Pretty soon, you’ll be able to watch EVERY SINGLE EPISODE of the longest running (and one of the greatest) TV series of all time anytime you please, granted you have a working Internet connection, of course.
Last November, FXX made the huge announcement that they had struck an unprecedented deal to obtain the exclusive cable and VOD rights to “The Simpsons” for $750 million, and in April of this year, the network announced that they would airing the longest marathon to ever hit television over 12 days in August.
All good stuff, but you know what’s even better? FXX’s new “Simpsons World” website!
According to the press release:
“Simpsons World” will offer a unique and personalized Simpsons experience for both casual and super fans by allowing users to interact with premium content in unprecedented ways.
For the first time ever, all authenticated viewers will have instant and on-demand access to every single Simpsons episode ever, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week via SimpsonsWorld.com, and FXNOW apps for iPhone, iPad, Xbox One, Xbox 360, Android phones and tablets, Smart TVs, and additional set-tops devices.
Additional exclusive offerings include new ways to explore Springfield’s characters and locations, the ability for users to curate their own personalized playlists and share their favorite show clips and quotes.
Be prepared to do nothing else but this app all day, every day. Or, as Uproxx put it, “You will never get anything done ever again.”
YG delivers (via Noisey) the official video for his new single “Bicken Back Being Bool,” the DJ Mustard-produced track from his debut album My Krazy Life.
The Alex Nazari-directed video finds YG and his boys enjoying what they think to be a typical day on the block (“bicken back being cool” means “kickin back being cool,” btw) and then all hell breaks loose with gunshots ringing out everywhere, everyone scattering and the cops eventually showing up.
Now that the BET Awards is over, it’s time to to look forward to the MTV Video Music Awards, and last Thursday the official list of nominees were announced with Beyoncé leading the pack with a total of EIGHT nominations, including “Video of the Year” and “Best Collaboration” for “Drunk In Love” and “Best Choreography” for “Partition.”
Other big names include Eminem and Iggy Azalea with seven nods a piece, and Pharrell Williams, Ariana Grande and Sia received three each.
Though the complete performance line-up has yet to be released, Usher has already been named as the opening act, and Ariana Grande and Five Seconds of Summer will also take the stage.
Hopefully if Beyoncé ends up performing, she’ll actually BE THERE and not “Skype” her performance in from somewhere else (like how she’s done at the BET Awards the past two years).
The 2014 VMAs are set to take place next month on Sunday, August 24th in Inglewood, CA at The Forum and will air live on MTV.
Here is the full list of nominees:
VIDEO OF THE YEAR
Beyonce feat. Jay Z “Drunk In Love”
Iggy Azalea feat. Charli XCX “Fancy”
Miley Cyrus “Wrecking Ball”
Pharrell Williams “Happy”
Sia “Chandelier”
ARTIST TO WATCH
5 Seconds of Summer “She Looks So Perfect”
Charli XCX “Boom Clap”
Fifth Harmony “Miss Movin On”
Sam Smith “Stay With Me”
Schoolboy Q “Man Of The Year”
BEST POP VIDEO
Ariana Grande feat. Iggy Azalea “Problem”
Avicii feat. Aloe Blacc “Wake Me Up”
Iggy Azalea feat. Charli XCX “Fancy”
Jason Derulo feat. 2 Chainz “Talk Dirty”
Pharrell Williams “Happy”
BEST HIP-HOP VIDEO
Childish Gambino “3005?
Drake feat. Majid Jordan “Hold On (We’re Going Home)”
Eminem “Berzerk”
Kanye West “Black Skinhead”
Wiz Khalifa “We Dem Boyz”
BEST MALE VIDEO
Ed Sheeran feat. Pharrell Williams “Sing”
Eminem feat. Rihanna “The Monster”
John Legend “All Of Me”
Pharrell Williams “Happy”
Sam Smith “Stay With Me”
Angel Haze feat. Sia “Battle Cry”
Avicii “Hey Brother”
Beyonce “Pretty Hurts”
David Guetta feat. Mikky Ekko “One Voice”
J. Cole feat. TLC “Crooked Smile”
Kelly Rowland “Dirty Laundry”
BEST COLLABORATION
Ariana Grande feat. Iggy Azalea “Problem”
Beyonce feat. Jay Z “Drunk In Love”
Chris Brown feat. Lil Wayne & Tyga “Loyal”
Eminem feat. Rihanna “The Monster”
Katy Perry feat. Juicy J “Dark Horse”
Pitbull feat. Kesha “Timber”
BEST ROCK VIDEO
Arctic Monkeys “Do I Wanna Know?”
Black Keys “Fever”
Imagine Dragons “Demons”
Linkin Park “Until It’s Gone”
Lorde “Royals”
BEST ART DIRECTION
Arcade Fire “Reflektor”
DJ Snake & Lil Jon “Turn Down For What”
Eminem “Rap God”
Iggy Azalea feat. Charli XCX “Fancy”
Tyler, The Creator “Tamale”
BEST CHOREOGRAPHY
Beyonce “Partition”
Jason Derulo feat. 2 Chainz “Talk Dirty”
Kiesza “Hideaway”
Michael Jackson & Justin Timberlake “Love Never Felt So Good”
Sia “Chandelier”
Usher “Good Kisser”
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Thirty Seconds to Mars “City of Angels”
Arcade Fire “Afterlife”
Beyonce “Pretty Hurts”
Gesaffelstein “Hate Or Glory
Lana Del Rey “West Coast”
BEST DIRECTION
Beyonce “Pretty Hurts”
DJ Snake & Lil Jon “Turn Down For What”
Eminem feat. Rihanna “The Monster”
Miley Cyrus “Wrecking Ball”
OK Go “The Writing’s On The Wall”
BEST EDITING
Beyonce “Pretty Hurts”
Eminem “Rap God”
Fitz and the Tantrums “The Walker”
MGMT “Your Life is a Lie”
Zedd feat. Hayley Williams “Stay the Night”
BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
Disclosure “Grab Her!”
DJ Snake & Lil Jon “Turn Down For What”
Eminem “Rap God”
Jack White “Lazaretto”
OK Go “The Writing’s On The Wall”
In the wake of the crashing of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 in Ukraine Thursday (Jul 17), a Facebook post by a Dutch passenger named Cor Pan has gone viral because of its eerie content.
“If it should disappear, this is what it looks like,” Pan, on his way to a beach vacation in Malaysia, wrote (according to translation) before taking off Thursday morning jokingly referring to the Malaysia Airlines flight (MH370) that mysteriously disappeared over the Indian Ocean back in March.
Although there has been no confirmation that Cor, from Volendam, nine miles (15 kilometres) north of Amsterdam, was on board, his photo of the aircraft on the tarmac is tagged “near Schipol airport” and appears to have been taken from the gate as passengers waited to board.
The comments by his friends on Facebook, however, seem to indicate that he was on board the flight. Late on Thursday his picture had been shared more than 10,000 times on the social media site. “This can’t be true!” said Alicia de Boer.
Petra Bleeker posted a picture of Cor and his girlfriend Neeltje Tol on which she superimposed a white rose, signifying death. It was unclear whether Tol was also on the flight.
“Such a beautiful couple who have been taken from life. I wish you the best wherever you are,” said Peter Bootsman.
Cor had earlier post pictures of idyllic tropical beaches on his Facebook page, saying: “A few more days to wait yet…”
One of Cor’s friends posted this photo of him and his girlfriend Neeltje:
All 295 people aboard the flight to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia from the Netherlands died after the Boeing 777 disintegrated and plunged to the earth in Ukraine not too far away from the Russian border.
It is believed by U.S. officials that a surface-to-air missile is thought to be the cause of the crash of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 that killed as many “23 Americans,” according to Ukrainian officials.
President Barack Obama, however, has said that the U.S. is still confirming this, though one American on board the flight has been identified as Quinn Lucas Schansman.
Sunday, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said that he believes that Russia was responsible for the attack.
“This is the moment of truth for Russia,” Kerry said on CNN. “Russia is supporting these separatists. Russia is arming these separatists. Russia is training these separatists, and Russia has not yet done the things necessary in order to try to bring them under control.”
If you’ve ever been in the unfortunate situation of being followed around a high-end store because of your age and/or the color of your skin and/or because “OH MY GOD, THEY DON’T LOOK LIKE THEY CAN EVEN AFFORD TO BE IN HERE,” then this Vine will be very familiar territory for you. And if you haven’t, well, welcome to racism in America.
As our rib-tickling friends over at The Smoking Section point out, “the worst kind of racism is the kind you can’t technically prove but you know it’s there.”
This six-second video clip is a sad, but perfect, example of that, and the best part is at the end when the lady got caught and tried to run away like we didn’t just see her following that guy around the gas station (A GAS STATION, YOU GUYS) for no damn reason at all, other than the fact that his skin is darker than hers.
While Drake was busy hosting the ESPY’s last night, his boss Lil Wayne was showing off his newest love interest.
Weezy was spotted at the award show holding hands and looking affectionate with Christina Milian, possibly confirming that the two are dating. The picture was taken as the two walked briskly by a photographer at the show, as if they didn’t want to be seen.
The news shouldn’t come as much of a surprise to anyone since back in May, Weezy previewed a song called “Tina Turn Up Needs a Tune-Up,” referring to Milian (who also goes by Tina Turn Up).
Wayne also took jabs at Christina’s ex-boyfriend Jas Prince — who previously filed a lawsuit against Young Money over Drake royalties — in the song.
Christina Milian just broke up with her fiancé Jas Prince. Prior to the breakup, Lil Wayne released a track called “Tina Turn Up Needs A Tune Up” where he took subliminal jabs at Jas Prince. The lyrics included, “I’ll take your Tina” (Short for Christina), and “She needs a king, f-ck a prince” (in reference to Jas Prince).
Sources close to Jas Prince say he is very hurt by all of this, especially since he used to be cool with Wayne. He is credited with introducing Drake to Lil Wayne, and he also allegedly helped Christina Milian get her deal with Young Money. Things started falling apart between Lil Wayne and Jas Prince after Jas filed a lawsuit against Young Money’s management team for unpaid royalties he felt he was owed from Drake’s deal.
It also seems as though Wayne has a thing for The-Dream’s exes. He famously dated singer Nivea, after her marriage to The-Dream, and years later, he seems to be courting Christina Milian who also married and had a child by The-Dream.
Lil Wayne and Christina Milian being together may actually not be a bad look, we know Wayne can definitely rejuvenate her music career, and she’d make the perfect next baby mama in his ever-growing list, wouldn’t she?
Drake hosted the 2014 ESPY Awards last night and even though he essentially killed it, though there were a few eyebrow-raising moments that made us go “huh?”
After opening with a 15-minute monologue that included a few jokes about the year’s biggest sports headlines (he also poked fun at a few athletes in the crowd and even mocked himself for his famous allegiance to teams and players who win championships), Drizzy also tapped into his comedic side and showed off his improv skills by starring in a variety of sports-related skits that aired throughout the show.
Overall, Drake did a really good job at showing another side of himself, and this probably won’t be the last time we see Drake host an awards show.
Here are five things we learned from Drake hosting the 2014 ESPYs:
1: Drake and Chris Brown REALLY want us to know they’re friends again
During probably one of the best skits of the night — “Drake Vs. Blake” — Drizzy lays on a surgical table waiting to get his appendix taken out. The funny part kicks in when Drake finds out one of the doctors is L.A. Clippers star Blake Griffin.
“Oh my god, you’re the surgeon?” a shocked and frightened Drizzy asked. Blake quickly informs Drake that his former enemy now turned friend Chris Brown will be handling the surgery.
“Oh, I’m not the surgeon. He is,” Griffin said before the camera switched to Chris holding a large tool. “YOLO motherf**ker,” Chris says before he and Griffin go to work on Drake.
We all know this was another attempt for Drake and Chris to make us believe they’ve let bygones be bygones. We get it guys!
TMZ reported that “a huge brawl erupted” during the taping of the “Love & Hip Hop Atlanta” Season 3 reunion show in New York City Tuesday night (Jul 15) that left “several cast members — and their weaves” injured.
But based on their description of the events, they should change “a huge brawl” to “SEVERAL HUGE BRAWLS,” because … DAMN!
Multiple sources on the set tell us the fight involved Benzino, his fiancee Althea, Stevie J, Joseline, [Waka Flocka’s mom] Debra, Tammy, and Mimi — and the whole mess started when Benzino cracked a joke about Stevie J and Joseline doing drugs.
We’re told Stevie jumped up to get in Benzino’s grill, but security guards stopped him. That’s when — according to witnesses — Stevie’s girl Joseline sneak attacked Althea.
After that, all hell broke loose — weaves were torn out in the chaos — and every time security broke up one fight … a different one would spark up between other cast members.
We’re told most of the fighting was between the women — although at least one male security guard took a shot to the face … from one of the chicks.
Cops were called, obviously, and at least three people received medical attention.
And to answer the question you’ve been asking since clicking on this article, YES, VH1 cameras were definitely rolling (it was the reunion taping, duh!) and captured “most of the violence,” according to TMZ.
Watch the video footage here:
The day before the fight, Stevie J leaked naked photos of Althea on her hands and knees performing fellatio to Benzino and all hell broke loose on social media, with the former “friends” trading jabs back-and-forth, so it’s possible that’s what sparked the whole showdown.
In any event, that LHHATL Season 3 Reunion show can’t come on TV fast enough!
UPDATE: Officials in the United States have concluded that the Malaysia Airlines jet that crashed between the Ukraine-Russia border today was shot down by a missile.
A senior U.S. official told CNN that moments before the plane was hit, a radar system detected a surface-to-air missile system turn on and track an aircraft. Another system saw a heat signature at the time the airliner was hit, the official said.
The U.S. is said to be analyzing the trajectory of the missile to try and determine the attack’s origin. Vice President Joe Biden said the downed plane was “blown out of the sky” and “not an accident.”
Biden said Ukraine would allow U.S. experts to investigate the jetliner crash, adding “they will be on their way rapidly to see if we can get to the bottom of this.”
Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak had called for an international team to have full access to the crash site. He told reporters, “We must and we will find out precisely what happened to this flight. No stone will be left unturned … If it transpires that the plane was indeed shot down, we insist that the perpetrators must swiftly be brought to justice.”
Meanwhile, Vice President of Malaysia Airlines Europe Huib Gorter told reporters that the 15 crew members aboard the downed jetliner were all from Malaysia.
He also gave a breakdown of the known nationalities of the 280 passengers. From CNN:
154 were Dutch, 27 were Australians, 23 were Malaysians, 11 were Indonesian, six were from the United Kingdom, four were from Germany; four were from Belgium, three were from the Philippines and one was Canadian. Authorities were still trying to determine the nationalities of the other passengers.
In a brief statement, President Barack Obama said the U.S. government would work to determine if any American citizens were on board.
‘We’re working to determine whether or not there were American citizens on board’ – President Obama on #MH17pic.twitter.com/ZHxNF4ufrN
The Russian news agency Interfax broke the news this morning (via Reuters) that a Malaysia Airlines passenger jet carrying 295 passengers and crew members was shot down Thursday (Jul 17) somewhere along the border between Ukraine and Russia.
Malaysia Airlines confirmed in a post on its official Facebook page that air traffic control in Ukraine lost contact with flight MH17 about 30 miles from the Ukraine-Russia border at about 2:15 local time. The plane was carrying 280 passengers and 15 crew members, the airline said.
According to Interfax, the plane was flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur when it was shot down at an altitude of about 32,000 feet.
Per Reuters, the plane failed to enter Russian airspace when expected to, and was taken down by a missile, presumably from either Russia or Ukraine. A Reuters reporter on the scene in Eastern Ukraine actually saw the burning wreckage along with “bodies on the ground.”
Unsurprisingly, neither Russia nor Ukraine are accepting responsibility for the plane being shot down, with both countries pinning the blame for one of the worst disasters in aviation history on the other.
Twitter user @MatevzNovak posted these photos, which he says are from the downed plane. Though the photos haven’t been confirmed, the debris — which has reportedly been scattered across several miles — appears to match up with the Malaysia Airlines jet.
Ross recently sat down with Bullett Media and when questioned about the Meek vs. Wale situation he revealed that it was just a battle of brotherly love.
Check out excerpts from the interview below:
On the way here, something was going on with Meek Mill and Wale. As the owner of the label, how do you handle when there’s conflict between two of your guys? It’s a misunderstanding. As soon as the tweets went out, I spoke to both of them on the phone. Those two guys, they’re brothers. At the end of the day, they’re brothers and it’s time to turn up right now. It’s time for all of us to turn up and stay turned up, you know what I mean? But it’s all love between those two and everybody knows that.
The fact you got on the phone though shows how much you care.
Of course! That’s why you seen whatever was said, the little brotherly jabs and then that was it. That’s all you’re going to see. They’re two real dudes, two successful dudes, and we all came from the same place. When I first brought them on the team, we all drove to our first video set together. It was just us three, and I felt we all was at the bottom at the time. You know, Wale was in his new situation, Meek in his first situation, and me in my very first situation being a CEO, being a bawse with my own label deal. So we all was on the same flow, and once we mention that, it’s all good.
It’s just a testament to how you handle beef, because you’re pretty laid back about conflict, and when it’s done it’s done.
Of course! That’s how it’s supposed be, because we’re not here for that. What we’re here for is this, the culture! Fashion, the clothing, sneakers, sending that message – that’s what it’s about. You know certain things will occur; that’s just the nature of the game. There’s going to be dust kicked up at every arena, and you should all expect that. But at the same time, we’re focused on what we came for.
Ahead of the long-awaited release of her next album The Pinkprint, YMCMB’s first lady just dropped her own remix to Rae Sremmurd‘s stand-out single “No Flex Zone,” the viral song of the summer which was produced by Mike WiLL Made It. (RS is signed to MWM’s EarDrummers label imprint and their name is “Ear Drummers” spelled backwards.)
Nicki raps on the track:
“Runnin’ this game for five years, Guess that’s why my feet hurt / Wonder when they bite me, do these b-tches teeth hurt / Yes I am an icon, that’s me on your t-shirt / Thought you knew better, do your f-ckin’ research”
The 40 or 50-something-year-old “Love & Hip Hop Atlanta” star was recently flirting it up with Sosa on Twitter and even called the 18 year-old rapper her boo.
It all started when Karlie retweeted a picture a fan posted of Chief Keef saying that he was “the real Daquan.”
“My boo love his fans,” Karlie wrote.
Keef caught wind of Karlie’s tweet and the two went back and forth from there.
Karlie Redd and Yung Joc are still together from what we hear, but it wouldn’t be at all surprising if they broke up and she got with Sosa. This chick has been with everybody from Benzino and Roscoe Dash to Jeremih and finally Joc. Now that’s what you call thotting all over the world…
Check out Karlie’s Twitter exchange with Chief Keef below:
Trick Daddy likes to eat booty and wants the world to know how much he enjoys doing it.
Miami’s Finest recently sat down with VladTV and spoke on his new crew the “Eat A Booty Gang,” whose motto is “baby lay down, we got you,” which doesn’t really need to be explained.
Trick also said that he no longer eats p*ssy and likes to get his booty ate out too.
From Vlad:
According to Trick Daddy, the “Eat a Booty” gang’s motto is “baby, lay down, we got you,” and is a clear reference to pleasing a woman in a way many men aren’t comfortable with. He even invites women to “eat him out” as well, saying he doesn’t have any kind of complex about it.
He continues, saying he didn’t understand why people tried to turn it into something homosexual and says that obviously wasn’t what he intended. Still, he has a sense of humor about it and doesn’t let the jokes get to him.
When it comes to ignoring critics, Trick says he’s never cared what other people had to say about him because he was raised in real situations and exposed to a lot at a young age, thickening his skin over time.
Damn son! Joe Budden may not be participating in any battle rapping for a while.
Over the weekend, the “Love and Hip Hop New York” star went toe to toe with fellow battle rapper Hollow Da Don in the first installment of Eminem and Shady Films’ “Total Slaughter” rap battle Event in NYC.
Joey seemed to have the upper hand until the final round when Hollow called him out for allegedly abusing Tahiry.
“I kinda figured that, with Tahiry, the way he be treating her, spreading her business on social media, even beating her…” Hollow Da Don rapped.
Hollow Da Don went even further to tell the judges to stop the clock and got in Joe’s face and sonned the hell out of him, saying, “Beating her, my n*gga? Yo, stop my clock. You ever hit a woman in your life, I’ll f*ck you up you f*ggot. Do that sh*t in front of me, you p*ssy. Beating on women, you bitch ass n*gga. You’re a f*ggot. You hit a woman, I’ll f*ck you up.”
Joe Budden ended up quitting in the last round giving Hollow Da Don the win.
“If y’all don’t stop booing I’m gonna stop rapping,” Joe told the booing crowd before laying the mic down.
Watch Joe Budden get sonned by Hollow Da Don in the video above!
Joseline Hernandez may want to hang the mic up and give this whole music thing a damn break, because it look like folks ain’t buyin’ what the Puerto Rican Princes is selling.
The “Love & Hip Hop Atlanta” star recently performed at Medusa nightclub in Dallas, Texas and was booed off stage before she could even finish her first verse.
The whole scene was so bad that her on-again, off-again “hubby” Stevie J had to step in and get the crowd back hype.
Joseline wasn’t all too pleased with the crowd’s reaction and tweeted after the performance:
Never seen so much HATE N SO MUCH Luv at the same time. #Dallas make up your mind
