Tag: 50 Cent (11-20 of 29)

Apr 27 2011 01:23 PM ET

50 Cent to debut comedy site. Can he bring the funny?

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50Cent

Image Credit: Gustavo Caballero/Getty Images

50 Cent has made a career out of rapping about his street supremacy, why women should sleep with him, and how shorties should dance (provided, of course, that said shorties are celebrating birthdays).

But until now, 50 has never really been funny. He does, however, have an ever-expanding Web empire (we’ll call it a wempire; make it viral, kids!), which gets a new arm tomorrow (Thursday, April 28) when ThisIs50Comedy.com makes its debut.

The site will be hosted by comedian and ThisIs50 contributor Young Jack Thriller (whose biggest contribution to Internet comedy so far is a series of fake and often offensive interviews with stars like Rihanna and Michael Vick), and it’s unclear at the moment whether or not 50 himself will be involved in any joke-telling or sketch-acting. But beneath that gruff exterior is a comedian waiting to break free.

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Mar 23 2011 04:59 PM ET

Rapper Ja Rule pleads guilty for tax evasion, headed to jail for weapons charge

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Image Credit: Julio Cortez/AP Images

Onetime top-tier rhymer Ja Rule plead guilty in a New Jersey Federal Court to two counts of tax evasion this Tuesday (March 22), reports the Los Angeles Times. The Queens, NY rapper (né Jeffrey Atkins) had not filed taxes from 2004 to 2008 and has agreed to now pay $1.1 million. He’s currently free on $50,000 bail. His sentencing is June 13.

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Mar 16 2011 12:02 PM ET

Nate Dogg: The hip-hop crooner's five standout collaborations

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warreng-snoop-dogg

Image Credit: Vince Bucci/Getty Images

A lot of my favorite songs wouldn’t be so if it weren’t for Nate Dogg, who passed last night. He wasn’t the best singer ever. But boy, Nate was necessary. Every track he blessed with his voice—monotone, melodious, and stern—became so much more intense. When he told us to “Lay Low,” you really felt like maybe staying inside was the best idea if you’ve crossed someone. He meant it. His tone and style was essential to Dr. Dre’s G-Funk era, which blended old school funk beats with rhymes that, at times, teetered on sinister.

Though Nate was also a wonderful fit on love songs, too—able to express his feelings without coming off soft. “I wrote the chorus to ‘21 Questions’,” 50 Cent said on Twitter hours ago of their collaboration on his 2003 hit. “I needed Nate to sing it for me. He had a way of making everything feel hard.” Hip-hop has lost its greatest hook man.

Here are some of my favorite Nate Dogg collabs.

Warren G. feat Nate Dogg, “Regulate”

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Mar 10 2011 12:19 PM ET

50 Cent donates Gaddafi performance fee to Unicef

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50 Cent, who performed a private concert for Mutassim Gaddafi — son of the Libyan dictator — in 2005, has announced that he will donate the fee he received for the gig to Unicef. “In light of the ongoing events in Libya,” a representative for the rapper said in a statement, “50 Cent will be making a donation to Unicef, which is providing vital relief supplies to meet the needs of women and children at risk during this crisis.” The performer joins a list of musicians including Beyoncé, Mariah Carey, Usher, and Nelly Furtado, all of whom performed at private events linked to the Gaddafi family and, in the wake of the violence in Libya, have subsequently announced donations to charity.

Read more:
Beyoncé reveals that she donated Gaddafi performance fee

Mar 3 2011 01:37 PM ET

Beyoncé reveals that she donated Gaddafi performance fee, while Mariah Carey issues statement: 'I feel horrible and embarrassed'

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GaddafiImage Credit: Chris Pizzello/Burhan Ozbilici/Evan Agostini/AP ImagesAs the situation in Libya worsens, the music world’s eyes have been trained on stars including Mariah Carey, Beyoncé, Usher, and 50 Cent—all of whom have performed at opulent soirees thrown by Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi or members of his family.

Rolling Stone reported earlier this week that these artists have been facing calls to give away the money they earned from their performances. Yesterday, Beyoncé’s publicist released a statement saying that the singer had done just that: “All monies paid to Beyoncé for her performance at a private party at Nikki Beach St. Barts on New Year’s Eve 2009, including the commissions paid to her booking agency, were donated to the earthquake relief efforts for Haiti, over a year ago. Once it became known that the third party promoter was linked to the Qaddafi family, the decision was made to put that payment to a good cause,” the statement reads.

Mariah Carey, meanwhile—who received $1 million after performing for Gaddafi’s son Muatassim in 2008—has issued her own statement on the matter: “I was naïve and unaware of who I was booked to perform for. I feel horrible and embarrassed to have participated in this mess. Going forward, this is a lesson for all artists to learn from. We need to be more aware and take more responsibility regardless of who books our shows. Ultimately we as artists are to be held accountable.”

What do you think, readers—do you respect these artists for their admissions after the fact, or believe they shouldn’t have agreed to the performances in the first place?

UPDATE: Carey’s rep reports: “Mariah Carey has written a new song, “Save the Day,” and the proceeds from that song will go to human rights organizations.”

More on EW.com:
Lady Gaga spends third week at No. 1 on Billboard hot 100 chart
Kim Kardashian’s new single ‘Jam’: Listen to it here

Jan 27 2011 03:18 PM ET

Viral video sensation Keenan Cahill strikes again with David Guetta mash-up: Are you over him yet?

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Does the internet ever tire of tiny-little, lip-synching Keenan Cahill? Another of the 15-year-old’s videos hit YouTube on Monday—this time, he’s with famed DJ David Guetta, lipping to a montage of all his hits—and it’s only Thursday and the clip is already headed toward 6 million views. Cahill’s cover of Katy Perry’s “Teenage Dream” just crossed the 28 million mark; his lip-dub of 50 Cent’s “Down on Me” is headed for 20 million (in part thanks to an appearance by 50 Cent himself); and his version of Willow Smith’s “Whip My Hair” has just over 3 million views. Watch his latest hit here:

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Nov 2 2010 12:18 PM ET

Taylor Swift's amazing sales: Who else has sold a million in a week?

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Taylor-Swift-million-in-a-weekWhat do Lil Wayne, the Backstreet Boys, and Garth Brooks have in common? They’ve all released albums that sold over one million copies domestically in their respective first weeks on shelves. If industry projections are accurate, Taylor Swift is about to join that elite group thanks to Speak Now‘s spectacular debut week.

The instant-million club is a strange place. The very first member was Garth Brooks, whose Live Garth set sold 1.08 million copies when it debuted back in 1998. At the time, no album had ever sold that many copies in its first sales frame. (The soundtrack for The Bodyguard had previously sold 1.06 million during one week in 1993, a few months after its release.) Swift’s victory this week brings things full circle in a couple of ways, then — not only is she the first country artist since Brooks to join the club, but she’s joining at a time when moving a million is similarly unheard of. In 1998 and 2010 alike, this is a rare accomplishment worth noting.

Things were different for a brief, wild period around the turn of the century. Brooks ushered in an era where pop stars routinely broke the million mark. It started in May 1999, when the Backstreet Boys‘ Millenium sold 1.13 million in a week, but the following year was the really crazy one. In March 2000, *NSYNC shattered the previous record with an astounding 2.42 million-copy opening week for No Strings Attached. (*NSYNC’s record still holds today, by the way.) Britney Spears joined the club that May by selling 1.32 million copies of Oops!…I Did It Again. Eminem followed suit in June with 1.76 million copies of The Marshall Mathers LP, the first rap album in this category. Limp Bizkit became the club’s first (and last) hard-rock members that October, selling just over 1 million copies of Chocolate Starfish & the Hot Dog Flavored Water. In November, BSB lapped everyone else, scoring a second instant-million badge for Black & Blue (1.6 million). Finally, the Beatles rounded out the busy year by selling 1.26 million copies of their compilation 1 during Christmas week (again, somewhat after the week of release). READ FULL STORY »

Sep 14 2010 12:49 PM ET

Jay-Z, Eminem, and their hip-hop super friends bring 'Home and Home' tour to Yankee Stadium

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Jay-Z-Kanye-Nicki-MinajImage Credit: Kevin Mazur/WireImage.com“Let’s go, Yankees,” chanted fans last night in the Bronx, New York, home of Major League Baseball’s defending champions. But they weren’t there to see Derek Jeter or Alex Rodriguez smash it out of the park. The sold-out crowd filled the new Yankee Stadium to see two of hip-hop’s greatest and most accomplished talents, Eminem and native son Jay-Z, bring the young venue its first show.  Two weeks ago, the combo kicked off the first half of their Home and Home mini-tour at Detroit’s Comerica Park. There Em, was the night’s closer. But on Monday night, he set things off.

The chants flipped to cheers when Em’s spacey intro began on the jumbo screen. Like Star Wars movies begin–with a storyline text appearing as we travel across the galaxy–so did his, chronicling his heavily covered road from troubled drug addict to sobriety. “You are here to witness,” it concluded, “Eminem’s RECOVERY.”

In a black tee, shorts, and a matching hooded sweatshirt pulled over his head, Em crept on stage to “Won’t Back Down,” rapping with fierce intensity. As he spit on the track, “Shady’s got the mass appeal.” And was apparent. From jump, fans made the Motor City rhymer feel right at home, rapping along word-for-word.

“Politically correct” and Eminem don’t go together. Animations of a redneck with a mullet and his beat-up car were met with laughs when he performed “W.T.P. (White Trash Party).” His fans are a different kind of breed—a more twisted bunch who somehow relate to some of his most violent and mortifying lyrics like, “B—-, I’mma kill you” from the aptly titled “Kill You.” And they obeyed his command to raise their middle fingers and say, “F— you, momma!” before he launched into “Cleanin’ Out My Closet.”  After a brief set with his group D12, B.o.B, who opened the show, came back out to perform his “Airplanes” alongside Em, but that guest appearance was just a warm up for what was to come.

Find out who the other surprises were and how Jay-Z did after the jump.

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Sep 10 2010 06:21 PM ET

Perez Hilton responds to 50 Cent Twitter controversy

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On Sept. 6, rapper 50 Cent tweeted that, “Perez Hilton calld me douchebag so I had my homie shoot up a gay wedding. wasnt his but still made me feel better.” Attached to his tweet was a photo of two men in tuxedos, running from an angry mob. (Here is what appears to be the original Hilton post that angered 50 Cent). The rapper’s post caught the attention of GLAAD who then asked that gays and allies tweet back, “RT @glaad: Tell @50cent to let his fans know that anti-gay violence isn’t something to joke about. http://bit.ly/ab6rXV #LGBT #gay Pls RT!”

Hilton tells EW, “Joking about violence is not funny. 50 Cent should stick to what he does best, rapping, and leave the funny business to comedians.”

What do you think, Music Mix-ers?

The Music Mix on Twitter: @EWMusicMix


More news from EW.com’s Music Mix:
Lady Gaga and former producer withdraw competing lawsuits
Simon Cowell wades into Lou Reed-Susan Boyle controversy, asking ‘Do we have permission, yes or no?’
Justin Bieber throws water balloons at cops, keeps bangs intact
Rihanna’s sexy ‘Only Girl (In the World)’ single art: What do you think of it?

Sep 3 2010 12:03 PM ET

Eminem and Jay-Z rock Detroit with help from Dr. Dre, Drake, and so many more

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eminem-jay-zImage Credit: Kevin Mazur/EM/WireImage.comEminem and Jay-Z sharing a stage is an event in and of itself. But that wasn’t all the two rap titans had in store for the first night of their “Home and Home” mini-tour at Detroit’s Comerica Park last night. Oh no. In the course of their two sets, Em and Jay brought out friends including Dr. Dre, Drake, 50 Cent, B.o.B, Young Jeezy — practically half of the hip-hop galaxy.

By all accounts, it was a night to remember. Check out clips of Dr. Dre’s guest appearance, plus Eminem and Jay-Z doing their classic 2001 collab “Renegade,” after the jump (clips via Rap Radar; lots of NSFW language).

Were you at Comerica Park last night? Planning to see Eminem and Jay-Z’s second show there tonight, or one of their Yankee Stadium dates in NYC on Sept. 13 and 14? Let us know in the comments. READ FULL STORY »

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