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Jay-Z Says Rap Must 'Tackle Mature Subjects' To 'Grow'

Posted 11/18/10 11:52 am EST by in Music News

By Alvin Blanco

At the end of Jay-Z’s appearance on "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" on Wednesday (November 17) in support of his new book "Decoded," the host asked the rapper to hang an extra five minutes. The extended interview ran on the show's website and includes the pair discussing the Notorious B.I.G. and Richard Pryor, the entrepreneurial aspirations of rappers and longevity in the music business.

Stewart began by making a crack about the Rolling Stones’ Keith Richards age while asking Jay-Z if he saw himself rapping when he was 65. Jay-Z, in turn, joked about checking his knees already before he answered, "In order for rap to have that sort of longevity we have to stop viewing it as a young man’s sport and view it as a music on a whole; a serious art form. Read More...

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Happy Birthday Fabolous!

Posted 11/18/10 10:30 am EST by in Birthdays

By Hillary Crosley, with reporting by Sway Calloway

Happy birthday Fabolous!

Born on November 18, today is Fab's 33rd birthday. Who knew, considering the MC, born John David Jackson, looks just like he did when his single "Can't Deny It" featuring Nate Dogg dropped in 2001. Now, Fab's all grown up and one of the few rappers who've mastered the delicate balance between street and mainstream records as well as albums and mixtapes. He's also a monster in terms of social networking, so much so the MC stopped by "RapFix Live" and shared that he's preparing a book ... of his tweets.

"Did you know that Twitter talked to me about doing a coffee table book of all my trending topics?" Loso asked before expressing his hesitation. "I'm just not sure about it because some of them were like joking on other people and I don't know if they want that brought back to the light like that." Read More...

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Wiz Khalifa Says He's Done 'Work' On Diddy's Album

Posted 11/18/10 7:00 am EST by in Music News

By D.L. Chandler

Pittsburgh MC and green enthusiast Wiz Khalifa visited New York on Monday (November 17) and after he stopped by MTV News, he hit the city's Hot 97 radio station for a freestyle and a short chat about Bad Boy's chief.

“Diddy is a dude I look up to in the industry, business-wise … ," said Wiz, before adding that he'd already done "some work for his album.”

RapFix is looking forward to that. Diddy embraces his guest appearances and one can only hope that he'll kick a rhyme about only "touching J.Los" or something equally as entertaining. The Taylor Gang titan also freestyled for his radio fans.

"Flier than ever, rep Taylor Gang where the higher the better," spit Wiz. "My lines are clever and all my dimes are better, and about my cheese mozzarella/Chains like the old Roc-A-Fella, I know your girl's a freak but you never beat acapella."

In addition to spitting, Read More...

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Nicki Minaj Shows 'Business' Side In 'My Time Now' Doc

Posted 11/17/10 6:27 pm EST by in Music News

Attention Barbies!

Remember when RapFix debuted an exclusive image of Nicki Minaj in the studio with the hastag #112810?

Well, we can finally tell you the secret! A documentary, entitled "My Time Now," following the Queens, NY MC will premiere on November 28, just a few days after her debut LP Pink Friday hits shelves.

On November 28 at 10PM ET/PT MTV will debut, on each of it's platforms—including exclusive excerpts on MTVNews.com and right here on RapFix, sides of the Harajuku Barbie no one has seen. From backstage at her first VMA performance to food with family before her homecoming concert in Trinidad, we've got the inside scoop. Read More...

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T.I.'s No Mercy Track List Revealed

Posted 11/17/10 5:37 pm EST by in Music News

By Vanessa Denis

T.I. might be incarcerated, but his forthcoming album No Mercy is still slated for December 7. The Atlanta MC's website TrapMuzik revealed the final track list for the LP, formerly titled King Uncaged, on Tuesday (November 16).

Tip's camp also announced that a VH1 "Storytellers" featuring the MC will air on December 10. Still, all news hasn't been good news. Recently, a studio technician filed an assault claim against T.I..

Elsewhere, the King's current single, “Get Back Up” featuring Chris Brown, sports a snappy beat and an honest message of forgiveness and humility. Both artists, who've each experienced their respective dust-ups, pitch an inspiring message about rising above, what many would call, their self-imposed setbacks. Read More...

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Jay-Z Talks Wearing Che T-Shirt And Diamonds In 'Decoded'

Posted 11/17/10 5:06 pm EST by in Music News

By Hillary Crosley, with additional reporting by MTV News Staff

Back in 2001, Jay-Z joined a select group of MCs boasting their own MTV "Unplugged" performances. The show, boasting acoustic musicianship, began as a head-scratcher for hip-hop acts, but after LL Cool J dispelled the myth that MCs couldn't play live, it was a success.

In Jay-Z's taping, the MC worn a Che Guevara t-shirt coupled with a diamond chain which some in hip-hop took issue with, saying it juxtaposed two philosophies. Many complained that the South American freedom fighter wouldn't have agreed with Hov's chain, but life's not always that complicated and the Brooklyn MC tackles that topic in his "Decoded" book's first chapter.

" ... In the studio with a reporter from The Village Voice, a young writer named Elizabeth Mendez Berry. I was playing the [Black Album ] ... After we listened, [she] said the strangest thing: 'You don't feel funny? ... You're wearing that Che t-shirt and you have—' she gestured dramatically at the chain around my neck. 'I couldn't even concentrate on the music,' she said. 'All I could think of is that big chain bouncing off of Che's forehead.' Read More...

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Nicki Minaj on 'Wendy Williams': 5 Things RapFix Learned

Posted 11/17/10 3:08 pm EST by in Music News

By Kathy Iandoli

While Nicki Minaj is everywhere in support of her Pink Friday LP release on Monday (November 22), the woman named Onika Maraj is still pretty elusive. Leave it to shock jock-turned-morning show host Wendy Williams to approach some personal territory with Barbie.

Nicki visited "The Wendy Williams Show" on Wednesday (November 17), sporting blond tresses dipped in pink dye along with her new MAC lipstick line, aptly titled “Pink Friday.” While the MC offered up the traditional banter about how she got started (Lil Wayne watching the "On Come-Up" DVD, etc), RapFix learned a few new things about Ms. Minaj.

1. Nicki’s Parents Are Still Together

On her poignant mixtape track “Autobiography,” Nicki shares that her father burned down their home … while her mother was still inside. The song really detailed the pain associated with the trauma and Nicki shared more with Wendy. “She had to run out the last minute,” Nicki explained. Read More...

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G.O.O.D. Music's Pusha T And More To Appear On 'RapFix Live'

Posted 11/17/10 12:25 pm EST by in RapFix Live

Like "Runaway"? Think "Final Hour" is good? Are you unable to stop listening to Royal Flush? If these symptoms sound familiar, then tuning in to "RapFix Live" on Thursday (November 18) right here on RapFix and MTV.com is just what the doctor ordered.

G.O.O.D. Music MC Pusha T will stop by our Times Square office to talk about his upcoming album and just what happens when one half of the Clipse aligns with Kanye West. Not to mention ... who knows who else might come by.

The show will stream here on RapFix and MTV.com and will be all the way live at 4 p.m. ET.

We're taking questions for Pusha from fans, just like you, via Twitter at @MTVRapFix as well as video inquiries uploaded to Your.MTV.com. This is your chance to ask the Virginia native, and whomever else may appear—no, we're still not outwardly spilling the beans—whatever you'd like about working with Kanye West, recording in a lavish Hawaiian studio and whether 'Ye supplies all of those suits. Read More...

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Jay-Z Vs. Nas?: Vintage Video From Jay-Z's Past

Posted 11/17/10 11:30 am EST by in Music News

By Hillary Crosley, with additional reporting by Rahman Dukes

Before Jay-Z and Nas worked together during Hov's tenure as Def Jam's President, the two New York MCs were bitter rivals. Now, with the release of "Decoded," a book detailing Hov's lyrics for a select collection of songs, Jay's revisited the ultimate war of words in interviews and declared that his "Takeover" song was better than Nas' "Ether."

"When we look back, and no disrespect to Nas, it's not even close ... the record," said Jay-Z of Nas' "Ether" on New York's Hot 97 radio station. "If we take 'Ether,' ['Takeover' is] 100 times better ... it's terrible."

Ehn, RapFix doesn't take sides.

However, we did dug up some vintage footage, from 2000, on the war of Nas vs. Jay, where the Queens MC reacts to Jay's mentee, Memphis Bleek, attacking him on the cut, "Mind Right," from DJ Clue Presents :The Backstage Mixtape LP.

"Your lifestyle's written, so who you 'posed to be, play your position," spits Memph. Read More...

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DJ Premier Breaks Down Jay-Z's 'Hustler' In 'Decoded'

Posted 11/17/10 7:00 am EST by in Music News

By Hillary Crosley, with reporting by Akshay Bhansali

Like Memphis Bleek, DJ Premier weighed in on a page from Jay-Z's "Decoded" book, which hit shelves Tuesday (November 16). The Gang Starr legend met MTV News at the New York bar Jukebox to crack the code on some of Hov's influences.

"I remember the 12-inch of Run-DMC's 'It's Like That' backed with 'Sucker M.C.'s' being definitive," wrote Jay in the first few pages of the book, which delves into the meaning of his lyrics. "That same year, 1983, I started high school, Bambaataa released 'Looking for the Perfect Beat' and shot a wild-ass wearing feathered headdresses that they'd play on the local access channel. [My big sister Annie] and I would make up dance routines to those songs, but we didn't take it as far as the costumes."

After reading the words placed craftily inside of a vintage jukebox, Premier said, "I think after reading that page, it's so ill that Jay equated 'Sucker M.C.'s' from Run-DMC, which is a classic, classic record and then 'The Message,' which is the first record that talked about how life is in the streets of the ghetto." Read More...

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