The theme for T.I.’s 28th birthday party on Saturday at the Biltmore in Atlanta was “suited and booted” and neither T.I. nor his girl Tiny disappointed. The rapper is scheduled to take the stage tonight at Marquee in New York City to perform at a benefit event for the Patrón Music In Motion Tour, which raises funds to help rebuild New Orleans.
It looks like John Legend is a fan of the AM! By the sounds of Legend’s recent material from his 3rd solo effort, Evolver, homey might be getting a bit more brash with his commentary. “Green Light”, which features Andre 3000’s lurid commentary, is an easy, “yea it’s about to go down as soon as you give me the signal” ode to that particular female in the corner of the club you would like to have relations with.
True enough, Legend’s brash commentary is catching a lot of us off guard, but hey, like Three stacks suggested, “Sometimes you gotta step from behind the piano and let them know what’s going on. Even Stevie Wonder got down, sometimes.” Remember the song playing at the end of the “Green Light” video (which can be viewed right here) well, your prayers have been answered… I FOUND THE TUNE!
Is “Good Morning” the official second single, who knows. But, I can definitely tell you that at least ONCE we’ve all shared the same theory of staying in bed the morning after our late night rendezvous for an extra spooning session, correct? Anyway, enough of the chit chatter, just down download the darn thing and see for yourself.
Like mentor, like protégé ?
You got T-Pain dropping his third album this fall, and what’s good for him apparently is good for Akon, also.
The Senegalese singer who put T-pain on the map is releasing his third album, Freedom, on November 25, his label announced today. The first single “Right Now (Na Na Na)” will be serviced to radio soon.
‘Kon has been working with Michael Jackson on the Glove’d One’s comeback album and there’s been chatter that the King of Pop would return the favor for Akon. Nothing has been confirmed as of press time, however. Other artists that could appear on Freedom include Lil Wayne and T-Pain.
The lead single, “Right Now (Na Na Na)” is a synthy number, with Akon’s measured vocals singing about making up with a love lost. “We need to make up right now, now, now,” he sings.
Akon’s first two albums, 2004’s Trouble and 2006’s Konvicted, have spawned a number of hits while selling a combined four-million copies.
The mother of a soldier killed in Iraq is criticizing Internet reports that suggest Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama exploited her son for political purposes by mentioning him during Friday’s debate.
Although Jopek told The Associated Press on Sunday she was honored that Obama remembered Sgt. Ryan David Jopek, who was killed in 2006 by a roadside bomb, she acknowledged that she e-mailed the Obama campaign in February asking that the presidential candidate not mention her son in speeches or debates.
But she said Obama’s mention on Friday was appropriate because he was responding after Sen. John McCain, the Republican nominee, said a soldier’s mother gave him a bracelet.
“I’ve got a bracelet, too, from Sergeant — from the mother of Sergeant Ryan David Jopek, given to me in Green Bay,” Obama said during the debate. “She asked me, ‘Can you please make sure another mother is not going through what I’m going through?’ No U.S. soldier ever dies in vain because they’re carrying out the missions of their commander in chief. And we honor all the service that they’ve provided.”
Jopek told the AP: “I don’t understand how people can take that and turn it into some garbage on the Internet,” adding that Obama’s comment rightfully suggested there’s more than one viewpoint on the war.
“I think these bracelets should be looked upon as an honor that both candidates wear them to respect the troops. My request to both of them is that they honor the troops by lifting the conversation to the issues, and that they continue to live up to the standards our military deserves.”
Jacksonville Jaguars offensive tackle Richard Collier, who was shot earlier this month, is paralyzed below the waist and has had his left leg amputated, his doctors said Monday.
Collier, who had 14 bullet wounds, has had his condition lifted from critical to stable, according to the Associated Press.
The athlete and his former teammate Kenneth Pettway were waiting for two women outside an apartment complex early Sept. 2 when a gunman fired into the vehicle, according to the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office. Pettway was not injured.
The motive behind the attack on Collier is unknown, but investigators said earlier he appeared to be targeted.
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The Congressional Black Caucus has awarded Sen. Barack Obama its prestigious Phoenix award, which recognizes those who have made significant contributions to society through their efforts and accomplishments.
The Democratic presidential nominee was saluted for his contributions to African American political awareness, empowerment, and the advancement of minorities in the electoral process. He accepted the honor in person on Saturday (Sept. 27) at the 38th Annual Legislative Conference (ALC) dinner in Washington, D.C.
“Dr. King once said that economic justice is the inseparable twin to racial justice,” Obama told the crowd in his address. “It makes no difference if you can sit at the lunch counter if you can’t afford the lunch. It makes no difference if a neighborhood is integrated if you can’t afford to buy a home there, or send your child to school there. Dr. King understood that so long as economic justice is denied his dream would be deferred.”
The award dinner was co-hosted by actress Holly Robinson Peete and her husband, retired NFL quarterback Rodney Peete, and included performances by Grammy Patti LaBelle and Marilyn Ashford-Brown.
The other recipients of the 2008 Phoenix award include: Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick, New York Governor David A. Paterson, California Assembly Speaker Karen Bass, Actress and Humanitarian Kerry Washington, an co-founder of Focus: HOPE in Detroit, Eleanor M. Josaitis.
Last summer’s beef between the English rock band Oasis and hip hop star Jay-Z has reared its bloody head again in response to lyrics in the rapper’s recent single, “Jockin’ Jay-Z.”
In June, Oasis frontman Noel Gallagher protested the choice of Jay-Z to headline the traditionally rock-centered Glastonbury festival in the UK, believing rappers had no business performing at such an event.
Jay responded by calling Gallagher’s comments “ignorant.” He later poked fun at Gallagher by opening his Glastonbury set with a mocking performance of the group’s 1995 hit “Wonderwall.”
In his single “Jockin’ Jay-Z,” the artist raps: “That bloke from Oasis said I couldn’t play guitar / Somebody should have told him I’m a f**kin rock star.”
Those two lines have now prompted Oasis bass player Gem Archer to jump into the exchange, saying enough is enough.
“It’s like eight-year-old girls in a schoolyard, running off and writing ditties like that. Grow up!” he told UK’s The Sun newspaper. “But rappers love a ruck. It’s what they do. They set out to have a fight and it’s there in their lyrics. They love biffo.”
The Chicago Sun Times is reporting that trouble is again brewing at “The View,” this time between conservative Elisabeth Hasselbeck and her liberal co-hosts Whoopi Goldberg and Joy Behar.
Hasselbeck is said to be “really upset” with her colleagues following heated discussions about the upcoming presidential election.
‘It’s not as bad as during the Rosie [O'Donnell] era,’ said the source, but said it’s bad enough that ‘View’ creator Barbara Walters has called a ‘cooling off’ meeting between the two political factions.
Earlier this month, left-leaning O’Donnell said her former co-host Hasselbeck and Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin are “identical cousins … women who hunt in high heels.”
O’Donnell decided to leave the ABC daytime talk show before her contract expired following an on-air confrontation with Hasselbeck over politics.
Barack Obama has already stated publically that he is a fan of hip hop. He has songs from Jay-Z and Kanye West on his iPod, and famously brushed dirt off his shoulder in April referencing one of Jay-Z’s biggest hits.
In light of his appreciation for the genre, MTV News asked the Democratic presidential nominee how he feels about the overwhelming amount of support, lyrical shout-outs and mixtape love from hip hop’s finest.
“I enjoy it, but these days I don’t have the time to listen to it all the time,” he said.
“I’m a little older than hip-hop culture,” he added. “I was there at the beginning, but I was already getting older. … What I’ve appreciated, watching this hip-hop generation, is to see how entrepreneurial they’ve been. In the past, musicians oftentimes were commodities. They were just shuffled around. Obviously, they did well, but they didn’t have the vision to say, ‘I’m going to build a business. I’m going to build my own studio. I’m going to create my own production operations.’ I think they’re a lot more sophisticated than in the past, and that is a wonderful thing.”
Obama went on to tell MTV that he’s still seeing growth in the genre and that he’s optimistic about what’s ahead for hip-hop.
“What I’m starting to see is them stretching out more and thinking about social responsibility and how they can impact the culture in a positive way,” he said. “And I hope that continues.”
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For those who fancy some haberdashery from Andre 3000’s new fashion line, you’ll have to either wait for some pieces to trickle down to eBay, or make reservations to fly across the pond.
The Guardian is reporting that the Outkast rapper, born Andre Benjamin, is selling his new Benjamin Bixby line of classic menswear exclusively at Harrods in London.
As previously reported, the line features 1930s baseball-inspired clothing, including tweeds, plus fours, pleat-fronted trousers, cardigans with bold lettering, flat caps and braces.
The rap star says he sketched the entire line himself and has visited Italian clothing factories and textile fairs in Paris for inspiration. He also loves shopping at Hackett on London’s Sloane Street, as well as Portobello market for vintage corduroys and brogues.
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