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Talib Kweli Discusses The New Black Community Leaders

Posted 2/3/11 10:10 am EST by in Music News

By Hillary Crosley, with reporting by Sway Calloway

It's Black History Month and time for the annual discussion amongst the hip-hop community: Now that Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X are gone, who's leading us these days? Brooklyn MC Talib Kweli stopped by MTV News earlier this week and spoke to Sway about just that conundrum, along with the living legacy of Martin Luther King Jr.

"Without trying to disrespect anybody's beliefs, [Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X] are our prophets for our generation," Kweli said. "In the scope of history, they haven't been gone for too long. Someone asked me 'Do you think the spirit of King is in hip-hop?' And if you think about it, hip-hop wouldn't exist without King. Our whole movement is based on Dr. King and Malcolm X." Read More...

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J.Cole 'Ripped Down' His Basketball Icons After He Decided To Rap

Posted 2/2/11 5:30 pm EST by in RapFix Live

Everyone remembers the moment when he or she decides their life's path and for rapper J.Cole, it all boiled down to photographs on his bedroom wall.

"When I was growing up my wall in my bedroom was important. I remember I was in the fourth or fifth grade when we moved to a new house and me and my brother finally had our own rooms," J.Cole recalled. "I didn't even know what to do with my own room, but my older brother ... started putting pictures on his wall. So he had pictures of all these girls and all of these lowriders, he was into the Lowrider magazines, so I was like 'I'm going to put my pictures up.' So of course I put up all of these basketball pictures, so I had a wall full of pictures." Read More...

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J.Cole To Appear On 'RapFix Live' This Thursday

Posted 2/2/11 2:08 pm EST by in RapFix Live

On the heels of his first international concert in the United Kingdom, J.Cole is stopping by the "RapFix Live" couch to chat with Sway. The "Friday Night Lights" rapper, following he and rap buddy Drake's joint European tour and amid crafting his first major label debut via Roc Nation, is ready to take your questions.

Cole is scheduled to appear on Thursday (February 3) at 4p.m. on right here on RapFix.MTV.com where he’ll answer questions from fans who tweet him @MTVRapFix with the hashtag #rapfixlive or upload videos to Your.MTV.com. Read More...

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'I Love That Girl' Says Drake: The RapFix Quote Of The Day

Posted 1/27/11 11:08 am EST by in Music News

By Hillary Crosley, with reporting by Sway Calloway

"Yeah, I love that girl, man. I'm not gonna lie to you. I love her, so it's easy. It's not hard to play romantic."

- Drake on his Young Money labelmate Nicki Minaj and their on-screen (and perhaps off) chemistry for their "Moment 4 Life" duet.

The Toronto MC and former "Degrassi" star talked on the set of the video for the pair's collaboration, which appears on Minaj's Pink Friday album. Drizzy was coy about how the two will interact in the clip, but hinted that the pair will give fans an eye-popping spectacle. Obviously, Nicki's recent musings on what the two's children might look like only added fuel to the fire. Read More...

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Nicki Minaj's 'Moment 4 Life' Video Debuts On MTV Thursday

Posted 1/26/11 4:02 pm EST by in Music News

By Hillary Crosley, with reporting by Sway Calloway

On Thursday, Nicki Minaj will reveal her long-awaited "Moment 4 Life" video on MTV. Shot in December in Los Angeles, the mini-movie also features Young Money labelmate Drake and is rumored to show the pair playing up their "are they or aren't they?" relationship with a kiss. The playful flirtation seems apropos after Minaj mused on what the pair's children would look like recently.

"I think [our children will] definitely have my personality. My mother-in-law will be super beautiful, so that's good 'cause Drake's mom is freaking amazing. I love her," Minaj said. "They’ll have Drake's intelligence, they'll have his sarcastic wittiness that I love about him, and they'll have his songwriting skills."

The "Moment 4 Life" clip will premiere at 7:54 p.m. ET on MTV. Read More...

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Kanye West Visits Artist George Condo's 'Mental States' Exhibit

Posted 1/26/11 2:47 pm EST by in Spotted!

Kanye West hit the streets of New York on Tuesday (January 25) to attend artist George Condo's "Mental States" exhibit at the New Museum. The artist is also the man behind West's My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy cover. While there, 'Ye had a Prince-like exchange with New York Magazine, where he answered the reporter's questions ... but didn't.

Are you happy with the paintings George did of you?
[Kanye nods head yes.]

You are happy?
[Nods head.] Read More...

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50 Cent 'Taught Me To Be Still' Says Terrence Howard: The RapFix Quote Of The Day

Posted 1/26/11 11:57 am EST by in Quote of the Day

By Hillary Crosley, with reporting by Josh Horowitz

"One of the things that I learned, the hardest thing to do is be still. When you don't know what to do, be still. He mastered that. And therefore, when he jumped forward and has something to say, he spoke the truth with it. That's a genius. That's what makes great film work. He was there from the beginning. I actually learned more from watching him, 'cause he taught me to be still."

- Terrence Howard on what he's learned from 50 Cent's acting ability. The actor said 50 is a more than capable actor. The two worked together on Fif's first film, "Get Rich or Die Tryin'." And according to the veteran actor ("Hustle & Flow," "Crash," "Ray"), he actually learned more from 50 than the other way around.

Where 50 might be "still" in the cinematic world, he's definitely not in the rap arena. Recently, the G-Unit general took to Twitter and New York's Hot 97 radio station where he took credit for taking down the hip-hop video site WorldStarHipHop. Read More...

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Nicki Minaj Is A Red Coat

Posted 1/24/11 11:34 am EST by in Spotted!

Get it? Red coats, like the British soldiers wore during the American revolutionary war? Anyway ... Nicki Minaj was in London on Monday (January 24), continuing her press tour across the pond.

The Young Money queen visited BBC 1XTRA's DJ Semtex and talked her British, Scottish and Irish fans through a listening of her album. Her playback even included "Raining Men," which the rappper recorded with pop star buddy Rihanna.

"I just wanted to be crazy, I wrote that track in bed actually. I had an off day, they sent me a record and said they needed it back in 24 hours and I wrote ... saying craziness," she said of the cut's creation. "I wanted to make it more melodic and crazy. Read More...

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Wiz Khalifa 'Always Had That Pittsburgh Pride': The RapFix Quote Of The Day

Posted 1/24/11 11:01 am EST by in Quote of the Day

By Hillary Crosley, with reporting by Rahman Dukes

"I've always had that Pittsburgh pride. I just wanted to let people know where I'm from and represent any way I can, and what better way than through our colors? I took that hometown pride and put it in a song."

- Wiz Khalifa said in a statement released by his label when news that the lanky MC would perform his "Black and Yellow" anthem on Sunday (January 23) during the AFC championship gig surfaced. The Pittsburgh Steelers triumphed over the New York Jets, even with all of the creative "GangGreen" songs that crept onto the radio over the last 72 hours in the Big Apple. Read More...

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T-Pain Calls DJ Khaled's 'Welcome To My Hood' A Sequel

Posted 1/22/11 11:09 am EST by in Music News

By Hillary Crosley, with reporting by James "FLX" Smith

"This one's special, 'cause everyone was asking for 'I'm So Hood' part two, and that's what we giving everybody," T-Pain explained on the set of DJ Khaled's latest video shoot. "So, you know, in due time, we gonna get to everyone's request, but right now, we just working on 'I'm So Hood' part two, 'Welcome to My Hood.' It's part two, and it's gonna do just as good as 'I'm So Hood.' "

Khaled — along with Lil Wayne, Plies, Rick Ross and T-Pain — traveled to Miami's Overton neighborhood last week to shoot the 'hood-centric visual and told MTV News that the clip will reflect the same rugged bombast of the posse cut. Read More...

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