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Former Hot Boy Turk Mourns For Murdered Brother, Asks For Help

Posted 2/23/10 2:15 pm EST by in Music


By Rahman Dukes

Incarcerated former Hot Boys rapper Turk is mourning the loss of his baby brother, who was reportedly gunned down early yesterday morning in New Orleans.

It's been reported Turk's young brother, Ronald Smith, was found lying dead on behind a daiquiri shop Manhattan Street in New Orleans around 3 a.m. with several gunshot wounds to his body. Apparently Jefferson Parish authorities have 19-year-old Travis Dennis — who has already admitted himself as the shooter — in custody.

Earlier today, Turk penned an an open letter to Ozone magazine asking for the hip-hop community's assistance funding burial costs for his brother Ronald. "I'm reaching out to all of you who have influence on the hip-hop community," he wrote. "My little brother and I were as close as brothers can be and it hurts me to lose him at such a young age, but as a man I must be strong."

Turk continued, "I have been in jail now for over 6yrs and there's not much I can do. Read More...

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Spotted: Ke$ha Parties Down In London

Posted 2/23/10 12:30 pm EST by in Music


Every day a multitude of stars wanders through the halls of MTV News to talk about their latest projects and goof around with our intrepid correspondents. But sometimes we catch stars elsewhere, and that's why we put together Spotted!, a daily compendium of stars in the wild.

When the history book is written about the new version of "We Are the World," there will be an interesting footnote. While the original shot to the top of the Billboard chart immediately, the remake had to settle for second place on last week's chart. What juggernaut kept it from topping the charts? Ke$ha's "Tik Tok," which has held a vice grip on the number one spot for nine straight weeks. And she's not done yet, as her latest single "Blah Blah Blah" (which features a guest spot from 3OH!3) is surging into the top 10. Her debut album Animal has sold over 344,000 copies, so she has plenty of reason to celebrate. That's why she hung out at Bathhouse Bar in London, wearing a typically Ke$ha-tastic outfit: A zebra print body suit, huge boots, plenty of feathers and her bedazzled eye.

Ke$ha wasn't the only celeb enjoying herself in Europe, as Justin Bieber hung out with fans in Paris and Angelina Jolie shot on location in the same place. Click here for these photos as well as the entire "Spotted!" archive, which features over 400 candid shots of stars like Britney Spears, Taylor Swift, Justin Timberlake, the Jonas Brothers, Miley Cyrus, Selena Gomez, Jay-Z, Rihanna, Mariah Carey, Jessica Simpson, Shakira and Kings of Leon!

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Is Lil Wayne's Young Money Album The Best Hip-Hop Posse Record Of All Time?

Posted 2/23/10 11:35 am EST by in Music


With all the buzz surrounding the release of Rebirth, the mad quest to record songs before going to prison and his Twitter and Ustream habits, the biggest music-related Lil Wayne news has gotten swept under the rug a bit. That would be the release of We Are Young Money, the posse album that dropped just before the end of 2009 that secretly contains some of the best Weezy-blessed work of the past 12 months.

The album, which features contributions from Wayne, Drake, Nicki Minaj, Mack Maine, Gudda Gudda, Tyga, Lil Twist and Jae Millz. The two singles ("Every Girl," which peaked at 10 on the Billboard Hot 100, and "BedRock") were both heaters that had some great work from everybody (but especially Nicki Minaj, who is becoming the crew's most potent weapon). There's also some top-shelf production care of Cool & Dre, Kane Beatz and Tha Bizness, making it a wall-to-wall success.

In fact, the greatness of We Are Young Money begs the question: Is it the best posse album of all time?

It has happened dozens of times before: An MC blows up and brings along his (usually far less talented) crew along for a group album (or an excuse to spend money in the studio). For every We Are Young Money, there are a dozen records from the likes of the St. Lunatics (that was Nelly's crew, which included titans like Murphy Lee and City Spud). But there are a handful of records that are on par with (and occasionally above) the work of the group's alpha dog. Check out our picks below and vote in the poll.

Flipmode Squad, The Imperial
Busta Rhymes' recording career has been pretty spotty (outside of the true classic When Disaster Strikes), but the one album he cut with his crew is a model of quality and consistency. Alongside Busta, Squad members Rampage, Lord Have Mercy, Rah Digga, Spliff Star and Baby Sham spun together rugged rhymes and catchy choruses for an incredible brew (especially on the singles "Everybody on the Line Outside" and "Cha Cha Cha"). Some of the Flipmode members even went on to put out excellent solo work (like Rah Digga's Dirty Harriet).

G-Unit, Beg For Mercy
Think what you want about 50 Cent, but the first album he put together with his G-Unit crew is an intense, sometimes brutal but always impressive piece of gangsta pop. Read More...

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Michael Jackson's 'Captain EO' Returns To Disneyland Today

Posted 2/23/10 10:30 am EST by in Music


If you're a Michael Jackson fan and happen to be in the vicinity of Disneyland in California today, be sure to call in sick, drop everything and head to Tomorrowland, because "Captain EO" makes its triumphant return to the rotation at the happiest place on Earth. The film hasn't been shown at the park since 1997, but in honor of Jackson's passing last year, Disney decided to bring back the 3-D movie with enhanced sound.

"Captain EO" made its debut in 1986 and starred Jackson as the titular captain of a spaceship. He and his crew (including "Bad Santa" star Tony Cox as the bumbling elephant-like alien Hooter) are given the task of delivering a package to the evil Witch Queen (played by Oscar winner Anjelica Huston) on her home planet. When they arrive, they are captured and sentence to torture, and only the power of EO's singing and dancing can save them. The film closes with a performance of an early version of "Another Part of Me" (which later appeared on Jackson's 1987 album Bad). It simultaneously opened at Disneyland and at Epcot Center in Walt Disney World, then later had runs at Tokyo Disneyland and Disneyland Paris.

When it was first released, "Captain EO" contained some 3-D effects that were absolutely state-of-the-art, though whether or not they hold up in this post-"Avatar" world is anybody's guess. Still, the Francis Ford Coppola-directed, George Lucas-produced film is fun, has great energy and delivers a positive message (and marks Jackson's best film work outside of "Thriller").

What's your favorite Michael Jackson film project? Leave your thoughts in the comments!

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Olympic Ice Dancing Features Canadian Victory, Linkin Park

Posted 2/23/10 8:05 am EST by in Sports


Despite the fact that everybody seems to hate NBC's coverage of the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, there have still been compelling television moments. Take Monday night (February 22) for example: In the midst of hypnotic images of ski jumping and freestyle aerials, the focus of the evening was on ice dancing. It's an event that has been dominated by Russia ever since joining the Olympics ranks in 1976, but Monday's competition saw the rise of Scott Moir and Tessa Virtue, the Canadian pair who surged to the top and took the gold medal. Meryl Davis and Charlie White, an American team who have been partnered up for 13 years, took the silver medal, while Russia's Oksana Domnina and Maxim Shabalin — the reigning world champions — settled for bronze.

Unlike plain old figure skating, ice dancing focuses more on storytelling, coordination, lifts and holds rather than jumps and twists. There's also a heavy focus on music — in fact, one of the reasons why the American pair grabbed such a big score in their final skate was because they managed to meld their choreography so well with the music (sadly, said music was a series of tunes from "Phantom of the Opera" — apparently, some aspects of ice dancing are still stuck in 1988).

In fact, most of the musical selections were pretty safe, as a majority of the teams stuck to well-worn classical pieces. However, there was at least one truly bold choice during the skating last night. Brits Sinead and John Kerr gave something of a retirement performance (they declared that this would be their last Olympics) set to a remix of Linkin Park's "Crawling" (they used "Krwlng," from LP's 2002 remix album Reanimation). The commentators noted that it was a big chance, and while their scores didn't put them on the medal podium (they finished in 20th place), they deserve a thumbs up for injecting a little edge into the evening.

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Fabolous Gets His Yo Gabba Gabba On For Son's Birthday Party

Posted 2/22/10 6:00 pm EST by in Music


By Rahman Dukes

Thanks to his always-witty rhymes, Brooklyn bad boy spitter Fabolous' name has been on the tongue of just about every hip-hop head for the past decade. While Fab's extensive wordplay has unquestionably been one of his strongest suits as far as being an MC goes, the New York native has been known to keep a relatively low profile, shying away from the media and letting his music do the talking.

But that was all before the social media monster otherwise known as Twitter.

Fab all but re-launched his career on Twitter amazing users and fans alike with his comedic tweets. Just a few to note include his rants against Lil Mama ("#Lilmama is the bird that flew outta Lady Gaga's nest on her face!!") and T-Pain ("better stop singin in the fan... that aint talent we can all do that," a reference to Pain's ubiquitous Auto-Tune recorder effect).

This past weekend, Fab once again displayed his humorous side when he dressed up as DJ Lance Rock for his little Loso's birthday, tweeting about the event himself. "Gettin' ready 4 my son's bday party," he wrote. "We're having a Yo Gabba Gabba party & guess who's DJ Lance Rock." He included the incredible photo of him in costume as well as the hash tag "#HowDidYa'llTalkMeIntoThis."

For more on Fabolous, check out our Mixtape Daily feature on his new Gangsta Grillz mixtape, The Funeral Service: There Is No Competition 2.

Who is your favorite hip-hop artist on Twitter? Leave your votes in the comments!

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Abbey Road Studios Will Survive, Leaving It In The Seven Wonders Of The Music World

Posted 2/22/10 5:30 pm EST by in Music


There's no question that the music industry is in trouble, and record labels are doing everything they can to try to stay afloat and figure out how to do business in the new media world. Despite the financial troubles of some of those institutions, you would think that certain places would be protected by history. But there was a scare last week when a rumor floated around that EMI was thinking about selling Abbey Road Studios, made legendary by the Beatles for their 1969 album Abbey Road and the site of the recording of legendary albums like Pink Floyd's The Dark Side of the Moon and Radiohead's The Bends.

But though composer Andrew Lloyd Webber was floated as a potential buyer, EMI announced that they were not planning on selling the place. "We believe that Abbey Road should remain in EMI's ownership," the company said in a statement.

That's good news for people — especially hardcore Beatles fans — who feel an attachment to the history of the place. Not only did famous people cut records that, but a number of modern bits of studio trickery were developed at Abbey Road. Plus, it's got that great, iconic crosswalk out front. That combination of criteria makes it one of the more legendary places in the music world (just like the rest of these).

The Capitol Records Building
The tower that houses Capitol Records is one of the most recognizable entries in the Los Angeles skyline. Built in 1955, it was the world's first circular office building and still houses the label. It also contains Capitol Studios, which are below street level and feature an echo chamber calibrated by the late, great Les Paul.

Electric Lady Studios
Located in an unassuming block in New York City's Greenwich Village neighborhood, the famous recording studio has been the home of a number of iconic rockers since it opened in 1970. Read More...

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Travis Barker Defends Himself Against Paparazzi: The MTV News Quote Of The Day

Posted 2/22/10 4:30 pm EST by in Music


"Bottom line, take photos at red carpets. Take pics of hungry Hollywood starlets and douche bags that are out at clubs and bars that like it ... Bottom line: I don't. I'm not a socialite out begging for that kind of attention. I'm a family man out wit my kids. Don't get the 2 twisted."

-Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker, laying down the law on his Twitter after an altercation with a group of paparazzi photographers and videographers on Sunday (February 21). Barker was with his daughter and some friends at a restaurant in Calabasas, California when a pair of shooters started snapping photos and video of him. According to the photographers, Barker and his pals spat at them, threatened them and tried to take and abuse some of their equipment.

The drummer immediately took to Twitter to rant about the incident.

"When I'm out at breakfast at 8 a.m. in the morning the last thing I appreciate is some photographer threatening me 2 fight while he's 3 deep," he wrote. "When I defend myself/my kids that don't make me a tough guy. I was outnumbered and threatened so I did what any man would ... paparazzi cried like young girls when it was no longer 3 of them against me and my kids."

Barker is a busy and in-demand musician at the moment: He has Blink-182's reunion album, his own solo record (which is due some time in June and features all manner of guest spots, from Slash to Snoop Dogg to Corey Taylor from Slipknot) and an upcoming set of tour dates with DJ A-Trak.

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The 'Crying Justin Bieber Girl' Enters Internet Infamy

Posted 2/22/10 3:30 pm EST by in Music


By Nick Neofitidis

Sometimes, you just have to let it all out.

Maybe you had a bad day. Maybe you had a bad month. Maybe your significant other failed to mention they were sharing time with another significant other until you caught on to some suspicious tweets. Listen, I don't know what your problem is, but sometimes we humans just need to get in a good cry. Whether it's a scene from a movie or a good commercial (like that new Visa one with Dan Jansen for these Olympics — stupid thing gets me almost every time). Every now and then we just need to lean on a shoulder, bury our faces in a blanket or stare into space and just let it rip.

I'm a guy, so don't kid yourself, I'm not even supposed to admit I cry. (It's un-manly!) But I'll put my ego aside, just like Stephon Marbury did when he lost his marbles (and his tear duct control) while listening to some R&B. (Good luck in the Chinese league, buddy). Or how about this poor sorority girl who had a guilt trip for the ages when she ... pulled the fire alarm?! Are you kidding me?

Anyway, we all of course know that there is no crying in baseball, but apparently that rule does not apply to football (as displayed here by Terrell Owens). He's lucky they don't have football in China.

However, today I have the distinct honor of introducing the cutest crying fest of all time. This poor three-year-old girl loves Justin Bieber so much, she decided to spend four minutes bawling her eyes out and answering her mom's questions through tears rolling, all while being embraced by her older sister (who probably knows the power of the Internet and secretly hopes Justin sees this thing and makes a guest appearance at the dinner table). If your heart hurts too much to watch the whole thing, skip ahead to about the 4:10 mark when our little super-fan hears the phone rings stops to proclaim "I bet that's Justin Bieber!" How cute is that?

What can I say? I'm a sucker for cute kids (and Visa commercials). Just don't tell anyone!

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Spotted: Nick Jonas Hits The Links With Selena Gomez

Posted 2/22/10 2:40 pm EST by in Music


Every day a multitude of stars wanders through the halls of MTV News to talk about their latest projects and goof around with our intrepid correspondents. But sometimes we catch stars elsewhere, and that's why we put together Spotted!, a daily compendium of stars in the wild.

If you had to guess which one of the Jonas Brothers plays golf, it would be a pretty easy assumption that it was Nick. After all, the man known amongst his siblings as "Mr. President" (hence the name of his side band the Administration) carries himself with a certain amount of executive weight. Gold is a game played by serious men looking to find a bit of zen out on the course, which is why Nick seems like the natural golfer of the trio. He hit the links in Los Angeles with fellow Disney star and musician Selena Gomez on Sunday (February 21). Jonas' debut with the Administration Who I Am has already crossed six figures in sales, but he clearly isn't done, as he was also spotted at a recording studio in L.A. earlier in the weekend. If you'd rather see more Gomez, look no further than the Disney Channel, as new seasons of "Wizards of Waverly Place" air every Friday night.

Jonas and Gomez weren't the only couple spending quality time together over the weekend. Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel attended a fashion show in New York, while Maroon 5 frontman Adam Levine shopped through Beverly Hills with his girlfriend. Click here for these photos as well as the entire "Spotted!" archive, which features over 400 candid shots of stars like Britney Spears, Miley Cyrus, Taylor Swift, Mariah Carey, Justin Bieber, Shakira, Jay-Z, Rihanna, Diddy, John Mayer, Madonna, Kings of Leon, Jennifer Lopez and Jessica Simpson!

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