By Daniela Capistrano, with additional reporting by
Rob Fields
KRS-One once said, "Rap is something you do. Hip-hop is something you live."
Since founding Boogie Down Productions in the mid-1980s and incorporating Jamaican melodies that continue to influence rhyming styles today, the artist has embodied hip-hop expression in all forms. Influencing artists from Rage Against the Machine to Sublime, KRS has supported the culture for more than 20 years, including founding the Stop the Violence Movement and lecturing at more than 500 colleges, universities and other venues.
Now, the Teacha is ready to share his 20-plus years of knowledge with "The Gospel of Hip Hop: The First Instrument."
Once a homeless teen who witnessed hip-hop's birth in the projects of the South Bronx, the young MC drew from this life-altering experience to form his philosophy of self-creation. The 818-page book will be the first in a series from the I Am Hip Hop imprint with PowerHouse Books, set for launch in September.
(Check out photos from KRS' performance at the I Am Hip Hop release party.)
In the introduction for "The First Instrument," KRS answers the question of why "it's important to know hip-hop." Encouraging readers to explore what they can do without technological assistance, the artist challenges: "How human do you remain in a society where we can't even live without technology? Hip-hop reminds us of our humanity." Read more...
NEW YORK — Last night, I hit the release party for Asher Roth's Asleep in the Bread Aisle LP, the debut full-length from the young, much-hyped rapper.
Considering he's already had a mixtape out, The Greenhouse Effect, as well as a plethora of tracks all over the Internet, I almost did a double-take when I saw an "Asher Roth Release Party" invite in my mailbox — but hey, these days people seem to come to "release parties" for the party rather than the release.
And a party it was! It was held in a three-floor penthouse at the Rivington Hotel on the Lower East Side, packed with bloggers, label reps and other industry peeps — not to mention kegs and college-style party cups that each displayed the Asher Roth crown logo. Asher and his "Roth Boys," Brian Langley and Thomas Boyd, arrived at around 11 p.m. or so, and situated themselves at the back of the second floor, where a small bathroom looked out onto downtown Manhattan. Read more...
Double-O had double duty last night at Sutra Lounge in Manhattan. One half of Kidz in the Hall not only celebrated his birthday, he was one of the house DJs. The birthday boy spun records like MGMT's "Electric Feel," M.I.A.'s "Paper Planes" and Kanye West's "Flashing Lights" and "Homecoming." O couldn't contain himself and also played a brand new Kidz record. He played just around a minute of it, but the song was upbeat and uptempo.
"I definitely can't wait until this new album comes out," Double-O said of the Kidz's new project, slated to arrive later this year. Kidz in the Hall, which also includes Naledge, recently put out a video for the ‘09 version of Special Ed's ‘80s classic "I Got It Made." The song was made in conjunction with Reebok Classic — classic like a glass of Hennessy or Patrón. There was plenty of it at the bar. There was also a birthday cake that didn't get eaten until well after 1 a.m.
Model Ivana Fields also celebrated her birthday last night at Sutra, and the multitalented Amanda Diva was among the revelers who attended.
NEW YORK — The city that never sleeps is often the city that never runs out of options. Tuesday was one of those nights when it felt like everybody came out — there were parties and concerts all night long. Joe Budden decided against heavy fanfare and posturing and kept it gully with a party at the New Era flagship store in lower Manhattan to usher in the release of his latest LP, Padded Room.
Meanwhile, The-Dream was pumping up anticipation for his Love Vs. Money album, which drops on March 10. He performed at B.B. King's Blues Club & Grill.
The major event of the night, though, was the party for King magazine. The home of busty and lusted-after models and female celebrities celebrated its 50th issue. Cute-as-a-button Christina Milian — who was recently linked romantically with The-Dream — got the cover-girl honors for the issue, and although Milian wasn't in attendance, the mag’s founder, Datwon Thomas, and editor-in-chief Jermaine Hall welcomed lovelies such as Danity Kane's Dawn Richard (who, in addition to speaking with us recently about the Danity Kane split, has a spread in the Milian issue) and radio personality Free. Meanwhile, fly guys such as Fabolous were spotted in the crowd while Busta Rhymes was a guest of Ron Browz onstage.
Read more...
Last week, in the run-up to Super Bowl XLIII, I did an interview with die-hard Steelers fan/ Arizona resident/ "Rock of Love" lady magnet Bret Michaels about his pick for the big game. As it turns out, he's as good at predictions as he is at wrangling ladies on a tour bus: He came within one point of nailing the final score.
Michaels said the Steelers would beat the Cardinals 27-24. As it turns out, they won 27-23. Seriously, it's like Bret has ESP or something.
Anyway, despite his amazing accuracy with regard to the game's score, he apparently didn't remember his prediction for around 48 hours. So on Tuesday, he called to remind me of his prognostication skills. He also filled me in on his big Super Bowl weekend (Playboy mansion, kicking ass, playing rock and roll), and used the term "awesome" approximately 25 times ...
It was the second time in less than a week that he's left an amazing voicemail for an MTV News employee (read how he made Christina Garibaldi's day, which means that not only is Bret Michaels great at predicting the outcomes of major sporting events, but he seems like a pretty great dude).
Hear the voicemail after the jump! Read more...
By Vanessa White Wolf
Yeah, the Super Bowl and Australian Open were this weekend. But the other big story coming out of the sports world was a little less feel-good. Photos of Olympic superstar Michael Phelps were published in the British News of the World tabloid over the weekend — pictures in which he's smoking what appears to be marijuana from a glass bong.
In a statement, Phelps said he "engaged in behavior which was regrettable and demonstrated bad judgment. I'm 23 years old, and despite the successes I have had in the pool, I acted in a youthful and inappropriate way, not in a manner that people have come to expect from me." He then promised it would never happen again.
We can't help but feel a twinge of guilt over all this: See, at the 2008 MTV Video Music Awards back in September, Michael Phelps was scheduled to attend the show to introduce Lil Wayne's performance. So when he hit the carpet, we grabbed him in an effort to interview him during our pre-show. At the same time, Kid Rock — no stranger to partying — had just pulled up, so we hastily threw them together for a live segment. They even joked during the interview segment about the after parties.
See video evidence of Phelps and Rock after the jump! Read more...
