"I will go down as the voice of this generation of this decade." That assertion, allegedly made by Kanye West during a recent interview, provoked faux news pundit Stephen Colbert to declare war on the notoriously vainglorious rapper on last night’s episode of Comedy Central’s The Colbert Report. In addition to calling West a "sunglasses display mannequin," Colbert dissed his vocal style: "With all the Auto-Tuning on your records, you’re barely the voice of your own albums." That’s why, at exactly 5 p.m. today, he urged viewers to purchase his new holiday CD, A Colbert Christmas: The Greatest Gift of All, from iTunes in an effort to crush West’s famously huge ego by knocking his latest disc, 808s & Heartbreak, from the No. 1 spot on their Top Albums chart. Newsflash: Britney Spears already beat him to it with her new CD, Circus, and I doubt he has the manpower to topple her sales. Still, it’ll be fun to watch his reaction tonight when the numbers are in. Meantime, just in case you missed it, here’s the must-see clip from last night’s show.
Archive: December 2008 (21-23 of 23)
'Cadillac Records' vs. 'Chess Records': Soundtrack showdown
Cadillac Records is a good movie, one I that encourage you to see when it opens in theaters this Friday, but the musical performances, entertaining as they are, did not make me want to pick up the soundtrack when it dropped last week. Don’t get me wrong: Within the context of the film, I enjoyed watching Beyonce as Etta James (her acting outshines her singing), Mos Def as Chuck Berry, Eamonn Walker as Howlin’ Wolf, and above all, the immensely talented Jeffrey Wright as Muddy Waters. But let’s face it: As vocalists, they can’t hold a match to the original artists who lived and breathed the music that inspired the film. So while I was checking out today’s new releases at iTunes, I was thrilled to discover that Geffen Records has just put out a fantastic compilation called The Best of Chess Records, featuring the original renditions of all the songs in the movie. My advice? See Cadillac Records, skip the soundtrack, and cop this album. Ain’t nothing like the real thing, baby. Trust!
Weekend Rewind: Britney, Madonna...Ashley Dupre?
In case you missed it, here’s a quick look back at all the music news that caught my attention this weekend.
Diva vs. diva: Britney: For the Record premieres on MTV; Spears’ confessions upstaged by Madonna‘s scary face. Says one of my co-workers: "Dear god! The woman is like two acid peels away from Jocelyn Wildenstein!" Did you watch? Will For the Record help or hurt sales of Britney’s new Circus disc when it hits stores tomorrow? Vote in our poll, after the jump. – EW.com
F—— for tracks: Ex-call girl-cum-aspiring pop star Ashley Dupré, whose widely publicized trysts with former New York state governor Eliot Spitzer led to his resignation, signs with Violator Management; music career to be overseen by 50 Cent‘s manager, Chris Lighty. – Allhiphop.com
UPDATE: A rep for Chris Lighty has just issued the following statement: "Despite media reports, Chris Lighty and Violator Management do not represent Ashley Dupré. Lighty helped negotiate an interview for Dupre with Diane Sawyer, and has no further involvement in Dupre’s career."
Now available on iTunes and Myspace: Mos Def drops new single, "Life in Marvelous Times,” from his upcoming fourth solo CD, The Ecstatic, due out next year on Downtown Records. Hate it or love it? You tell me. – Myspace
Hipster meets hip-hop: A hot new Jay-Z track featuring Santogold has leaked online. It’s called "Brooklyn (Go Hard)" and it was produced by Kanye West for the soundtrack of the upcoming Biggie Smalls biopic, Notorious. Speaking of Hov, his wife, Beyonce, recently shot down the rumor that the power couple is joining forces for an upcoming tour with her sister Solange. "That’s a new one," she told my colleague Carrie Bell at the Cadillac Records L.A. premiere last week. "I haven’t heard that before. There are no plans for me to tour with those two." Anyway, check out Jay-Z’s new song below and let me know what you think.
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