Tag: Hip-Hop/Rap (71-80 of 725)

Jan 7 2013 11:00 AM ET

M.I.A. album delayed until April because it's 'too positive'

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Image Credit: Kevin Mazur/WireImage

High-profile albums get delayed all the time, though rarely do pop stars find their work bumped in this climate because they smile too much.

But that’s apparently the reason M.I.A.’s label told her the world would have to wait until April to hear Matangi. During an interview promoting a performance at a festival in Australia, she told The Gold Coast, “At the moment, I’ve been told it’s too positive. So we’re having a bit of an issue at the label.”

“I thought I’d finished it,” she continued. “I finished it and then I handed the record in, like a couple of months ago. They’re like ‘You need to, like, darken it up a bit.’ I don’t know what it is but as soon as I work that out. It’s like, ‘We just built you up as the public enemy number one, and now you’re coming out with all this positive stuff.’” READ FULL STORY »

Jan 3 2013 09:30 AM ET

Watch a sneak peek of the Sundance Channel's upcoming 'New American Noise' series -- EXCLUSIVE

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NOKIA-MUSIC

The streets is talking — and the Sundance Channel is listening.

The network has teamed up with Nokia Music for a new six-part documentary series titled New American Noise, and you can watch an exclusive preview of it here.

The project provides a window into the music scenes percolating in six key cities around the country, and the clip below offers a sneak peek at four of those locales: the atmospheric skies and indie-chill of Portland, the daggering-friendly vibes emanating from New Orleans’ bounce movement, the repurposed underground scene in gritty Detroit, and the busy streets where sub-rosa rap thrives in New York City (particularly Brooklyn).

In addition to those places, the series will include portraits of the Los Angeles and Atlanta scenes. The filmmakers behind the project include Abteen Bagheri (who handled New Orleans and Portland), Emily Kai Bock (NYC), Bob Harlow (Detroit), and Tyrone Lebon (ATL and LA).

The series will premiere on the Sundance Channel Jan. 18, but until then, get a taste of things to come in the video below:

READ FULL STORY »

Jan 2 2013 12:05 PM ET

Jay-Z at work on 'dope' score for 'The Great Gatsby'

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Image Credit: Allison Joyce/Getty Images

Both Jay Gatsby and Jay-Z  know that you can’t knock the hustle, so it makes sense that the two will be scheming together this spring.

In a somewhat (though not totally) unexpected bit of news, producer the Bullitts (né Jeymes Samuel, brother of Seal) tweeted that he and Jay-Z are hard at work on scoring Baz Luhrmann’s upcoming adaptation of the The Great Gastby.

“Jay-Z and myself have been working tirelessly on the score for the upcoming #CLASSIC The Great Gatsby! It is too DOPE for words!” read the tweet, which added yet another dash of intrigue to the elusive Gatsby remake. The film, which stars Leonardo DiCaprio as Gatsby himself, is set for a May release after more than a year of assorted trailers and promotion.

The news shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise, however, as Jay-Z’s Kanye West-assisted single “No Church in the Wild” soundtracked one of the movie’s early trailers, which you can watch below:

READ FULL STORY »

Dec 21 2012 11:07 AM ET

Best and Worst 2012: Carly Rae Jepsen, Taylor Swift, and the other best singles of the year

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One encouraging trend that ran throughout 2012 was the egalitarian nature of hit singles. Whether you were a Joni Mitchell-loving Canadian Idol survivor, an Australian with a bruised ego, or a bunch of Florida emo survivors high on Queen, the music world fully embraced you as long as your inescapable earworms continuously delivered thrilling results.

Check out EW’s list of the 20 greatest singles of the year below (as they appear in the current issue of EW, which is on newsstands now), and be sure to check out this specially-curated VEVO playlist that takes you through the year that was one glorious pop hook at a time.

BEST

1. Carly Rae Jepsen, ”Call Me Maybe”
Before the countless YouTube lip dubs, the nine weeks at No. 1, and the 1,000th time you heard it at a BBQ, there was just a song: a purple-ink love letter with a tiny voice whispering about wishing wells and ripped jeans like it was a secret she wanted you to keep forever. It might have been the soundtrack of your summer, or you might’ve rolled your eyes at parties but then secretly put it on your workout mix. But every time it played, life sounded just a tiny bit different. Better maybe. —Adam Markovitz READ FULL STORY »

Dec 18 2012 03:49 PM ET

Stream the new Twenty One Pilots album 'Vessel' here -- EXCLUSIVE

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TWENTY-ONE-PILOTS

Now let’s take a break from tallying up our favorite albums of the past year and take a look at an album from next year.

The Columbus band Twenty One Pilots (stylized as twenty | one | pilots) has been on tour all summer with the Neon Trees, and soon they’ll be ready to release their debut album. Titled Vessel, the record will be out on Jan. 8 of next year on Fueled By Ramen, but you can stream the whole thing exclusively here.

The duo — Tyler Joseph and Josh Dun – have been gaining kudos for singles like “Holding on to You” and “Guns for Hands,” which mix zippy keyboards, melodic guitars, and rock-meets-rap vocal stylings. The album was recorded in Los Angeles with producer Greg Wells, who’s worked with everyone from Adele to Katy Perry.

Intrigued? Check out their upcoming Vessel with the exclusive full-album stream below:

READ FULL STORY »

Dec 18 2012 12:25 PM ET

Alicia Keys sued over 'Girl On Fire'

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Image Credit: Jeff Kravitz/Film Magic

Alicia Keys’ single “Girl on Fire” already has five credited songwriters (including ’80s rocker Billy Squier, whose drum track for “The Big Beat” appears underneath “Girl on Fire”) — and now it may need to add a sixth.

Songwriter Earl Shuman is suing Keys over “Girl On Fire,” claiming it borrows elements from “Hey There Lonely Girl,” a song he co-wrote with Leon Carr for Eddie Holman.

“Hey There Lonely Girl” was a huge hit for R&B singer Holman in 1970, peaking at number two on the Billboard Hot 100. Give a listen to both below and decide for yourself if Shuman has a case.  READ FULL STORY »

Dec 13 2012 08:09 AM ET

Bruce Springsteen, the Who, Billy Joel, and Beatlevana: On the scene at 12-12-12

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Image Credit: Kevin Mazur/WireImage

Wednesday night’s 12-12-12 benefit concert for Sandy relief was an unqualified success: Before even a single note was played on stage at New York’s Madison Square Garden, more than $30 million had already been raised for the Robin Hood Foundation through ticket sales, merchandise, and corporate pledges.

As a charity event, 12-12-12 was a slam dunk. As a musical entertainment endeavor, it was more of a mixed bag, full of plenty of glorious, triumphant moments for sure, but also bloated with curious choices and inexplicable performances.

Bruce Springsteen had the honor of kicking the show off, beginning his band’s brief set with “Land of Hope and Dreams.” As Jersey’s greatest ambassador for well over three decades, Springsteen sweated and howled through the opener’s anthemic refrain, only to raise the stakes on “Wrecking Ball,” a defiant anthem of hope from the album of the same name.

“Wrecking Ball” started a running theme of transformation through out the night: Familiar songs became re-packaged and recontextualized, and themes of renewal and rebirth crept up during the finest performances. READ FULL STORY »

Dec 11 2012 03:11 PM ET

Public Enemy, Rush, Heart, Donna Summer to be inducted into Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

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Image Credit: Daniel Boczarski/Redferns via Getty Images

In a victory for those interested in the teachings of Malcolm X and Ayn Rand (or not!), the new crop of Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees includes both hip-hop fire starters Public Enemy and Canadian prog merchants Rush.

The rest of this year’s newcomers include Heart, Donna Summer, Randy Newman, and Albert King, as well as Lou Adler and Quincy Jones in the nonperformers category. The induction ceremony will take place at Los Angeles’ Nokia Theatre on April 18, 2013, and will undoubtedly feature Flavor Flav embarrassing himself and an extremely long version of “Tom Sawyer.”

It’s hard to argue with any of those inductees, as they all had a great deal of influence over the course of long careers. However, it’s interesting to note the nominees who were left out in the cold: READ FULL STORY »

Dec 10 2012 06:10 PM ET

Q&A: Big Boi on new 'funk gumbo' album 'Vicious Lies & Dangerous Rumors'

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BIG-BOI_510x317Big Boi’s latest album, Vicious Lies & Dangerous Rumors, hits stores tomorrow — which is neither a lie nor a rumor, despite earlier release-date delays.

EW talked to the OutKast-famed rapper about filling the big (left) shoes of his critically acclaimed 2010 solo debut Sir Lucious Left Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty, his response to hearing André 3000 apologize to him in T.I.’s recent “Sorry”, and how the 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan influenced Vicious Lies‘ first track. READ FULL STORY »

Dec 7 2012 05:17 PM ET

Rick Ross cancels shows due to gang threats

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Sorry, North Carolina: You’re just too thug for Rick Ross.

The Maybach Music master announced that he’d be canceling two scheduled shows in the Tar Heel State after a gang known as the Gangster Disciples released a video threatening to harm Ross and his MMG crew. Meek Mill, Wale, and Machine Gun Kelly were also on the bill for the North Carolina shows.
READ FULL STORY »

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