Lupe Fiasco's much delayed third album, Lasers, finally has a release date. March 8, 2011 is when Fiasco fans will be able to go into stores and purchase their rhyme hero's new album which by then will be more than two plus in the making.
The announcement of a release date for Lasers turned out to be a speedy turn of events, despite the fact that the album has been finished since 2009. Yesterday via his Twitter account, Fiasco posted a picture of himself and Atlantic Records honcho Julie Greenwald smiling like old chums with a simple caption: "Victory!"
Fiasco fans quickly saw this as evidence that their cacophony of concerns were heard by the label and Lasers was one step closer to release. Eighteen hours later Atlantic Records' official twitter account posted that March 8, 2011 is the release date for the long-awaited LP. This date has also been noted on the official Lupe Fiasco blog which also reveals that a single for the project will premiere on October 26.
Obviously, Fiasco fans are ecstatic at this news.
Wrote @LaMz, "YES! @LupeFiasco Album Lasers Drops March 8th 2011 VICTORY! Now We Gotta Go And Buy It And Show The Label What's UP!"
Wrote @MisterSMB "I'm buying 3 copies of #lasers when it finally comes out"
"Today has already been a good day," said @Uptown_Roamer. "Lupe's album finally has a set release date. #Lasers"
However, many have expressed dismay at the album's release being months away, including @Mr_one19twenty.
"March 8 2011 is a victory ?" he asked via Twitter. "I mean I'm glad there's a date (Lupe Fiasco's #Lasers) but that's a while to wait for a album completed long ago."
Guess next week's Fiasco Friday is canceled. Now let's hope that all these "Lasers" (as in Lupe Fiasco advocates) put their money were their mouth is come March 8, 2011.
A million-dollar deal, street love, critical acclaim and collabos with MCs like Jay-Z and Lil Wayne and Drake still feels incomplete. Last month he told MTV News that he gets lonely too, even wrote an R&B song about it for his upcoming mixtape.
"When people call home to check on their girl or they say, 'I'm not going to go out tonight. I'm just going to spend the night with my girl.' That hits me, man,” Drake said of life on the road. “I just don't have that."
Since there are few things more depressing than a lonely MC, we decided to play matchmaker and drum up a list of our top 5 romantic prospects for the 23-year-old Young Money millionaire. We passed over the Malias and the video vixens—Driz says he’s read that chapter already—leaning instead toward the R&B girls, with a couple other looks thrown in.
SOLANGE KNOWLES
The "edgier" Knowles, Solange is not only an upstart DJ but she's quickly shaping up to be a fashion powerhouse, regularly making the style blogs for her sartorial swag. Driz would probably appreciate a girl who knows that the "black hearts" on his cardigan are courtesy of Commes des Garcons. And since she’s rumored to have dated Drake’s fellow XXL Freshman 10 alum Wale (not to mention having an iconic MC for a brother-in-law), Solange should be at ease with the rapper’s lifestyle.
KERI HILSON
A 27-year-old Georgia Peach who lives in the A, Keri would satisfy Drake’s purported taste for women with a few years on him. Not long before his Thank Me Later debut dropped, Driz lamented in a freestyle the dearth of cultured chicks his own age: "Why has every woman never dined here before?/ Am I the only 23-year-old wine connoisseur?" It’s probably safe to assume Hilson can tell the Momofuku Kos from the McDs.
KIM KARDASHIAN
Kim K.’s dating past is checkered with high-profile faces, most of the, um, warmer complexion. The busy, tabloid-baiting “Keeping Up With the Kardashians” star has complained about not being able to find a guy who can keep up with her schedule. Seems like that wouldn’t be an issue for the globe-trotting Toronto MC who’s often away from home. And imagine the ratings when E! inevitably launches “Kourtney and Kim Take Toronto”!
SERENA WILLIAMS
According to the gossip rags, Serena, still smarting from the end of her thing with Common, had her team put out feelers to gauge Drake’s possible interest. Turns out once you go rap, you never go back. Not sure whether he’s a tennis fan but if his “Best I Ever Had” video is any indication, Coach Drake definitely knows his way around a women’s locker room.
RIHANNA
We know these two went there once before and Rihanna’s World Series attitude is all about Dodger Matt Kemp now, but for Drake, this is the girl that got away. It’s hard to dismiss the bitterness in his crackling, end-of-the-affair missive “Fireworks.” Since the duo is reportedly in the lab together, we recommend a late-night, post-studio trip to the place where it all started, NYC’s Lucky Strike, this time sans flashing paparazzi lights.
Remember, follow us at @MTVRapFix for up to the minute hip-hop news and conversation!
50 Cent isn't the first rapper to cause a ruckus on Twitter.
Brooklyn rapper/Twitter extraordinaire Fabolous has used his 3000+ tweets to create a laundry list of Trending Topics. Hip-Hop mogul Diddy has amassed nearly three million followers and used his power and influence to spread positivity all throughout the tweets. And, of course, Kanye West has had the Internets going nuts since he signed up for the social networking site back in June.
But as far as using controversy on Twitter to get attention, Fif's taken things to a whole new level. Since taking control of his own account last month (he previously had someone on his staff handling his Twitter), he's sent out a handful of controversial thoughts and Twitpics. RapFix gathered some of the most outrageous ones. Get ready to get offended!
The Tweet: "Follow me for I have found the path to our lord a savior Jesus Christ you 3,303,447 people were chosen on Twitter have just joined my colt" Our Reaction: Hmmm... is following Fif on Twitter really like a religion? Yeah, we don't think so, either. And "colt," dude? Please activate your spell-check ASAP!
The Tweet: "Shout out to my man Michael Vick. I was the first person he called when he got out of jail. I told him he would get back on top and he did"
Our Reaction: So, let us get this straight: Mike Vick got out of prison after serving time on federal dogfighting charges and you were the first person he got at when he got out, Fif? Say it ain't so. Let's just hope NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell didn't see this one.
The Tweet: "I'm a holidays dad. My son only likes me when its xmas time. I prolly wouldn't recognize him if he aint had his hands out when I see him"
Our Reaction: If 50's own son isn't immune to his rants, who won't he diss to drum up a little controversy?
The Tweet: "Now this is how you shut a b---- up http://twitpic.com/2qejfi"
Our Reaction: Yikes. Are you holding a knife up to your dog, dude? Now we really hope Roger Goodell doesn't find out that you're down with Michael Vick.
The Tweet: "Perez Hilton called me douchebag so I had my homie shoot up a gay wedding. wasn't his but still made me feel better" (50 has since deleted this)
Our Reaction: He didn't apologize to GLAAD after they publicly condemned him for posting this tweet (are you surprised?), but this was so outrageous that even 50 saw fit to take it down from his Twitter account. Good thinking.
The Tweet: "My man Dwight Howard filed a 500,000,000 lawsuit on his baby mama good f--- that b---- she shouldn't be running her mouth"
Our Reaction: 50 knows a thing or two about baby mama drama. So, who better to comment on NBA player Dwight Howard's current situation than him?
The Tweet: "I joked and said if I was a porn star my name would be Bishop Eddie Long. Then I woke up this morning and saw a bishop with the same name" Our Reaction: And that Bishop is currently facing sexual abuse charges... Sorry, Fif. Time to find a new porn name.
The Tweet: "Speaking of MILF. I wanna do something that impact kids in a positive way, thats why im opening an abortion clinic. Ima call it 50/50 chance" Our Reaction: SMH. Next!
The Tweet: "Soulja Boy my little n---- They just cought him snow mobiling Its cool. I got a n---- dat a handle da kat stacks B---- for him right quick" Our Reaction: When did 50 Cent realize that getting on Soulja Boy's good side could be a good thing for his career?
The Tweet: "I think @TonyYayo done stole money out my pocket dam cant trust nobody ima find me a hot bitch and leave all these n****s like j did da roc" Our Reaction: His son, gay people, Bishop Eddie Long, Kat Stacks, his fellow G-Unit members—no one, and we mean no one, can escape the wrath of 50 Cent's Twitter account.
Do you think 50 Cent's Twitter account is entertaining... or does he take things too far? Vote below or tweet us at @MTVRapFix and let us know.
Best we ever had? Not only did we live blog Drake's Light Dreams & Nightmares concert at New York's Radio City Music Hall last night (September 29), we hit the streets to see what fans like you thought of the show.
"This Drake concert was definitely the concert of the year, awesome," said a young lady with blond hair.
Whoa, that's a bold statement. And she wasn't alone.
"Drake 2010, Radio City, Concert of the year," said a gent in a blue t-shirt.
Toronto's golden boy is absolutely enjoying the best year of his career, but he's not he only epic show of 2010. Remember Jay-Z and Eminem... Yankee Stadium... COMAMERICA Park? What about Wu-Tang rocking their debut LP Enter The Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) at Rock The Bells? A Tribe Called Quest? No? Ehn, we did agree with fans on one thing.
"As a performer, he was amazing, i think he did a good job and kept the audience entertained," said the gent in the blue shirt.
His subject matter also ropes in interest.
"He talks about his life, instead of like, sex drugs and alcohol all the time," said a female fan, sporting braces and the cover of Drake's first mixtape emblazoned on her t-shirt. "It's about his life, his feelings, girls... his loves in life."
"I think he sings better live, he just really gets into it," added another fan.
Elsewhere, Aubrey fans through jabs at the stage game of other MCs. No shots... sort of.
"He actually knows how to perform unlike a lot of other rappers and singers these days," said one girl, with a smirk.
"He knows how to get the ladies and he knows how to give a great performance," said another girl. "The lightening was awesome, any seat you're in you're going to love the show."
Another track from Kanye West's forthcoming Dark Twisted Fantasy (if he keeps this title) leaked onto the web this morning (September 29). Entitled "Lost in the World," the track samples Bon Iver's "Woods" and includes lyrics Ye spit during his social media office promo tour, visiting Twitter and Facebook.
"Lost in the World" follows "Power" and "Runaway Love," no Justin Beiber. Kanye performed the latter at the Facebook offices as well as premiered the track during the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards touting Pusha T and ballerinas in complementary outfits. Toast!
The new song is topped off with the vocals from Gil Scott-Heron's fiery spoken-word number "Comment #1." On the Auto-Tune heavy track, West harmonizes on the chorus an interpolation of "Woods" singing "I'm lost in the world, been down my whole life, I'm new in the city, but I'm down for the night."
"You're my devil, you're my angel," he begins the song. "You're my heaven, you're my hell/ You're my now, you're my forever/ You're my freedom, you're my jail/ You're my lies, you're my truth/ You're my war, you're my truce/ You're my questions, you're my proof/ You're my stress, you're my masseuse."
The track clocks in at just under six minutes and features a number of musical changes throughout the production. The song starts off faintly with the Bon Iver vocoder-tinged sample before pulsating drums pick up the tempo. Midway through, however, the song slows down to a measured tempo as Scott-Heron's vocals fire through the beat.
"Who will survive in America," Scott-Heron's voice chants over and over before the song ends with a weak hand-clap that sounds like it was recorded in an almost empty room. We approve.
Word on the street, per Rap-Up, says Kanye's as-yet-un(officially)titled LP will be released on November 22, the same week as Nicki Minaj's Pink Friday along with a slew of other projects. How will we afford Thanksgiving turkeys with all the CDs we have to buy?
Leading up to his fifth album, Dark Twisted Fantasy, due November 16, as well as an EP, Watch The Thrown, featuring his his big brother Jay-Z dropping one week later, Kanye West is again building feverish anticipation for his work.
The MC has always been savvy when it comes time to release a new album. Before the release of Graduation he appeared on numerous remixes and 808s & Heartbreak benefited from the rapper/producer's insistence at taking a turn as a love tortured crooner.
But now in 2010 he is exploiting social media to the fullest via a Twitter account rabidly followed by fans and media alike along with his own blog. In late August, West announced via Twitter that he would leak new music every Friday via his blog up until Christmas.
To-date there have been seven official GOOD Fridays leaks from West, beginning with "Power Remix" boasting Jay-Z and Swizz Beatz and the next song to leak was "Monster" which features an all-star cast including Rick Ross, Jay-Z, Nicki Minaj and Bon Iver.
"'Monster' was definitely exciting because every person I spoke to had a different favorite verse," says Jake Paine, Editor-in-Chief of HipHopDX.com. "It's very brief, but Ross' verse is so crucial in setting the tone for the record and made it feel like an anthem. Additionally, I wanted to see how Kanye and Bon Iver would sound. 'Monster' was a way better fusion than I imagined and every contributor to this song impressed me. Monsters, Inc." Read More...
It looks like Drake is showing no signs of slowing down in the near future.
Last year, the Toronto MC caught everyone’s attention with the release of his mixtape So Far Gone, and this past spring he debuted his first LP Thank Me Later.
With mounting success met on both projects, Drizzy has given hints that his fans won’t stop hearing his music anytime soon.
Young Money president Mack Mane recently spoke with MTV News about the possibility of Drake dropping another LP before the years end.
And if all possibilities come to fruition, that could mean three projects in one year for an MC who’s already blazing the airwaves across the country. So that has us wondering, should Drake slow down with all of these projects, or will his fans never grow tired of hearing his music? Take our poll and you decide.
Kanye West dropped his first G.O.O.D. Friday offering, "Monster," last week, a plodding, six-minute epic featuring nothing but heavy-hitting MCs.
"Gossip, gossip, everybody stop it, everybody know I'm a mutha' f****** monster," Kanye spits on the track.
In addition to nailing Jay-Z and Rick Ross to the track, 'Ye gave Nicki Minaj ample real estate to show of her multiple personalities.
Kanye, Jay and Rick aside, though, streets are talking about the pint-sized rapper.
"Nicki smashed 'Monster'!" hip-hop fan John Lacarbier tweeted. "She's growing on me!"
Fan Alex Alexander co-signed, "Not only did Nick kill it, she bodied Hov, Ye, and Ross!"
Even Milwaukee Bucks point guard Brandon Jennings expressed his love for the song, exclaiming, “OMG Nikki Minaj is a beast! She bodied that Kanye West 'Monster.'"
Late last week, 50 Cent took hold of his 140-character destiny, lighting up his two million follower strong Twitter after years of dormancy.
His first tweet? "I can't belive my grandmother's making me take out the garbage. I'm rich. F*** this! I'm going home."
For the next few hours, 50 was on fire, weighing in on Fat Joe, Soulja Boy, and even the failure of his last LP, Before I Self Destruct.
Of course, the currently undisputed hip-hop Twitterverse heavyweight is Kanye West, whose accelerated from zero 870,000 followers by the absurdity, profundity, hilarity and sheer volume of activity -- to say nothing of his G.O.O.D. Friday releases.
So how do the two stack up? Hit the jump to see...
As you probably know by now, Eminem's Recovery continues to dominate the Billboard albums chart, having notched the biggest debut in nearly two years, then spent seven of the next nine weeks at #1 (including this week), and sold more than 2.2 million copies to date (which makes it the second-best selling album released this year).
So yeah, it's been a pretty good year for Mr. Mathers. So much so that folks are even starting to talk about Recovery in the same way they spoke about "Inception" or "Avatar," unstoppable blockbusters that grab the public's consciousness and refuse to let go. To wit, earlier this week, Billboard published a story about the album's historical run at #1, pointing out that it's already held the top spot on the Top 200 longer than any album since Taylor Swift's Fearless was on top for 11 non-consecutive weeks in late 2008/early 2008, and has tied the record for most weeks at #1 by a hip hop album (Outkast's Speakerboxxx/The Love Below, which tallied seven weeks atop the chart in late 2003.)
At this point, people are beginning to wonder if anyone can stop Eminem ... because while he faces tough challenges from both Katy Perry and Fantasia—both of whom just released new records on Tuesday—on next week's chart, it's entirely possible he may still hold on to #1. After all, at this point, who's gonna bet against him?
So, we're asking all of you: Just who do you think will unseat Eminem from #1? Can Katy or Fantasia do it? The guys in Linkin Park? Lady Gaga? Or will King Mathers continue to reign forever and ever? Hit the poll and let us know.
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.
