RapFix › Hillary Crosley

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...

Tags , ,

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...

Tags , , , ,

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...

Tags , , ,

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...

Tags , , , , ,

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...

Tags , ,

Soulja Boy, 50 Cent Debut 'Mean Mug' Video Photo: A RapFix Exclusive

Posted 11/16/10 6:56 pm EST by in Music News

In October, 50 Cent admitted that if he could be any other rapper these days, he'd choose the "Crank Dat" author.

“If I had the wish to be another artist, just for right now, it would be Soulja Boy,” said 50 Cent.

Recently, the pair teamed up for the official "Mean Mug" video, directed by Collin Tilley. The video is the first of Fif and Soulja Boy's viral videos, set in an abandoned mental hospital in Los Angeles. RapFix is exclusively kicking off the 24 hour clock until the video debuts on Thisis50.com.

In the G-Unit General's XXL cover story with Soulja Boy, he acknowledged that he's reassumed his Muhammad Ali stance in terms of his career. Read More...

Tags , , ,

Jay-Z Says Oprah, Cornel West Sparked 'Decoded'

Posted 11/16/10 6:19 pm EST by in Music News


By Hillary Crosley, with reporting by Sway Calloway

On Monday (November 15), Jay-Z spoke to MTV News' Sway about some of the catalysts for his book "Decoded." One happens to be black America's top minds, while the other is one of the most influential voices in the world.

"I've always been a fan of his, of his speaking," said Jay-Z of Dr. Cornel West and why he invited him to moderate his "Decoded" talk at the New York Public Library. "I met him awhile ago, he came to my house, him and a guy who runs Harlem Children Zone, Jeffrey Canada. We had this great conversation at my dining room table about the separation and about language and about hip-hop and of course they were against it."

Though the trio didn't agree, Jay said something sparked in him that day. Read More...

Tags , , ,

Wiz Khalifa Explains The Unlikely Producers Behind 'Black And Yellow'

Posted 11/16/10 5:44 pm EST by in Music News

By Hillary Crosley, with reporting by Sway Calloway

Drumma Boy, Swizz Beatz and Boi-1Da are a few of hip-hop production's usual suspects, but not when it comes to Wiz Khalifa. The Pittsburgh MC recently told MTV News that his "Black And Yellow" hit was crafted by a duo more well-known for pop hits with Ne-Yo, Rihanna and Chris Brown.

"Stargate, they're really musical guys as well, any beat that I got from them was already sequenced so it's stuff that I listen for anyway when I make my music so when we got in the studio, we meshed really well," said Wiz. "It was kinda crazy because, you know, me being a rapper and them being pop, nobody knew where it was gonna go but then it ended up working out perfect."

The Norwegian pair, Tor Erik Hermansen and Mikkel Storleer Eriksen, were introduced to Wiz Khalifa through the MC's Atlantic Records A&R and, to the label's credit, the song's a rousing success the newcomer. "Black And Yellow" currently sits at no. 17 on Billboard's R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. Read More...

Tags , ,

Fans Follow Jay-Z 'Like He's A Professor' Says Memphis Bleek

Posted 11/16/10 4:21 pm EST by in Music News

By Hillary Crosley, with reporting by Akshay Bhansali

On Monday (November 15), Memphis Bleek broke down one of Jay-Z's "Decoded" book clues that happened to be in the center of New York City. The Times Square bit was emblazoned on the MTV television screen, playing excerpts from the MC's 2001 "Unplugged" performance.

"That's the page about the "Decoded" book, that was important back in '01 for the whole "Unplugged" thing because that was the first time I ever saw a rapper use a band," said Bleek. "And at that time, to use the Roots, you know a soulful band like that it just did so much for hip-hop." Read More...

Tags , ,

Drake Named GQ's Man of the Year

Posted 11/16/10 12:23 pm EST by in Music News

By Hillary Crosley, with additional reporting by Sway Calloway

Recently, we declared that Swizz Beatz was having the best year ever, but we may have to reassign that title to Drake.

Toronto's golden boy joins Alicia Keys' beau in the pages of GQ magazine, except he's earned more than a fashion spread. Instead, Drizzy's garnered one of the publication's most coveted honors, Man of the Year.

Actors Jeff Bridges and James Franco, comedian and 'The Colbert Report' host Stephen Colbert and Woman of the Year Scarlet Johansson accompany Drake in the six Man of the Year slots for 2010. Each selection bares a subtitle, describing their achievements for the year and Drake's been named "Breakout of the Year."

We here at RapFix would have to agree. Read More...

Tags , , ,

9101112131415161718

About

RapFix is MTV News’ hub for breaking hip-hop stories, features, exclusive behind-the-scenes content and everything in between. The conversation begins on the blog and continues on our weekly show “RapFix Live,” hosted by Sway Calloway.

Follow us on Twitter:
@MTVRapFix

Like us on Facebook:
Facebook.com/RapFix

Watch full episodes of “RapFix Live”:
RapFixLive.MTV.com

Managing Editor
Nadeska Alexis

SPONSORS
AD:
©2013 Viacom International Inc. All Rights Reserved. MTV and all related titles and logos are trademarks of Viacom International Inc.