Archive for September, 2010

Hip-hop’s extraterrestrial rock star dropped a new video Wednesday (September 15) for the title track from his upcoming project I Am Not a Human Being, which comes out September 27, Wayne’s birthday. The new video is mostly Wayne performing, with the lights turned low and his tats glowing in the dark.

“I don’t know why they keep playing/ They better replay it/ I’m giving them the blues, Bobby Blue Bland,” he raps on the first verse. “Together we stand and fall on y’all/ Balling with my bloods/ Call it b-ball.”

Later, he calls himself a “rhyming oasis.” “I must be sticky, ’cause them bitches got they eyes glued,” he continues. “Young Money, baby, we the sh– like fly food/ Y’all can’t see us, like the bride’s shoes/ … If you think you hot then obviously you were lied to/ And we don’t die, we multiply, and then we come divide you.”

The host of the evening certainly thought so: She was singing the tune when MTV News spotted her on the way back to her dressing room.

“Shout out to the douche bags,” Chelsea Handler sang while walking down the stairs from the backstage area. “I need that as a mix.”

West received a loud ovation from the various music industry insiders, MTV staffers and photographers gathered backstage when he and his entourage headed back to the area post-performance. Aziz Ansari — this year’s MTV Movie Awards host — introduced the performance and sought out ‘Ye afterward to offer praise.

The Clipse’s Pusha T, who is featured on the track and joined West onstage, was jubilant backstage as well.

“I’m happy,” Steve Victor, a member of Pusha T’s management team, beamed to MTV News.

When West finally made it to his room, he and his team roared their approval. “Shout out to the a–holes,” they sang in unison as they closed the door to huddle for a personal moment.

Rihanna arrived and congratulated West backstage before making a beeline for the exit. And Florence and the Machine’s lead singer, Florence Welch, ventured into ‘Ye’s dressing room and returned with a smile.

Drake spoke to MTV News, calling West’s performance “dope”; he had also stopped to chat with the Chicago rapper in his VMA dressing room. He collects moments, the Toronto star said.

“I’m sorry, Taylor,” he wrote. “We’re both artists, and the media and managers are trying to get between us. She deserves the apology more than anyone. Thank you [Twitter co-founders] Biz Stone and Evan Williams for creating a platform where we can communicate directly.”

Expounding on the backlash he received, he wrote, “If you Google a–hole my face may very well pop up 2 pages into the search. … There are people who don’t dislike me … they absolutely hate me. People tweeted that they wish I was dead … No listen. They wanted me to die, people. I carry that.”

Kanye went on to say that the media vilified him. He alluded to his claim during a 2005 NBC telethon for Hurricane Katrina that “George Bush doesn’t care about black people,” as a point for which the media was looking to pay him back. He noted that in the VMA aftermath, the media played the race card and turned it into an angry black man versus innocent white girl issue.

“Even though the NBC telethon was widely praised y’all didn’t think they was just gone let me get away with that did y’all???!!!” he questioned, rhetorically. “The media has successfully diminished the ‘receptive’ audience of… KANYE WEST. …taking a 15 second blip the media have successfully painted the image of the ‘ANGRY BLACK MAN.’ The King Kong theory. With the help of strong will, a lack of empathy, a lil alcohol and extremely distasteful & bad timing … I became George Bush over night.”

Kanye also said that he had a song he’d written for Taylor. Should she not be receptive to that idea, he said he’d perform it for her. “She had nothing to do with my issues with award shows,” he wrote. “She had no idea what hit her. She’s justa lil girl with dreams like the rest of us. Beyoncé didn’t need that. MTV didn’t need that and Taylor and her family friends and fans definitely didn’t want or need that.”

As his tweets continued, in a stream-of-consciousness manner, Kanye compared his life to that of the Wicked Witch of the West in the book and play “Wicked,” which is based on the witches from “The Wizard of Oz.” “The Wicked witch of the west basically is so convicted to tell her’ truth,” he wrote, “when she does it she is outcasted by society and turned WICKED.”

The Detroit run started Thursday night at Detroit’s Comerica Park and concluded Friday (September 3). Sitting down with MTV News before the second show, 50, Lloyd Banks and Tony Yayo expressed their excitement to be a part of the historic event. On Thursday, the Unit performed “Patiently Waiting,” “I Get Money” and “In Da Club.” And by the following morning, footage and photos from the show circulated on various websites. But thelifefiles.com caught a very unexpected gem: One of Jay’s close friends, Lenny Santiago, snapped a picture of the Jiggaman and Fif talking backstage. The energy in the pic seemed to be positive, and both were smiling.

It was surprising to all hip-hop fans, considering the fact that since last year, Fif has been throwing jabs at Hov in interviews and on songs such as “Flight 187.” While Fif declined to say exactly what he and Jay conversed about on Thursday, he did say they didn’t have serious beef.

“We got a chance to kick it for a minute,” 50 said. “I know people were interested in what that conversation was like. But they can ask Jay-Z. I take people’s actions as if it’s genuinely how they feel. I can only use what I saw you do as if that’s what you meant. I can’t understand what your motivation was prior to that.”

Fif has also had some well-documented issues with Diddy. Ever since Diddy aligned himself with Rick Ross several months ago, the General of the G-Unit has publicly lambasted the leader of Dirty Money. But 50 says a recent talk with Diddy helped clear the air between them.