It’s easy to forget that TRL was more than a show where tweens would make their parents drag them to Times Square on a pilgrimage to run their vocals ragged, screaming for their favorite stars. TRL was a defining show for MTV, popular music and kids of a certain generation. It’s also easy to forget the caliber of celebrities that appeared on the show, which ran from 1998-2008. Madonna, Tom Cruise, Jennifer Lopez, Britney Spears, hell, even Angelina Jolie, they all appeared on the show often. In honor of the new VH1 Rock Doc The TRL Decade, which airs January 29, we’d like to take a look back at the VJ’s who made the show what it was, and the celebrities that came down to 1515 Broadway to hang with them. (We invite you to take a closer look at the photo on the upper left in our gallery — yes, that is indeed Destiny’s Child,Eve, 3LW, and Dream hanging with Carson Daly.) And of course, check out the documentary when it airs on Sunday January 29 at 9:30 pm ET/PT.
It’s no secret that Kayne West has a lot of emotions and that he likes to talk about them. The dude just feels a lot of things, okay? He’s modern, for crying out loud. And it’s become somewhat of a signature move of his to pause mid-concert to reflect and share, which he did last night at the Philadelphia leg of his (and Jay-Z‘s) Watch The Throne tour.
It was all about heartbreak for Yeezy last night, as between “Runaway” (a song about how much of a jerk he was to Amber Rose) and “Heartless” (possibly a song about how much of a jerk Amber Rose was to him, although it’s speculative), he stopped to shout out to all the couples in the crowd. Saying, “I know love ain’t always easy,” Kanye asked the people of Philly to do him a favor and hold onto their loves “real tight”. He then riffed briefly to “Runaway” before pausing again to thank Philly for “the incredible person this song was made for,” namely, his ex Amber Rose. Looks like someone’s doing a bit of pining. Regrets much, Yeezy?
As Jay-Z and Kanye West‘s Watch The Throne tour kicks off this week, there’s really not all that much else to talk about. Between set lists, leather outfits, copious bling and “OMG WILL PREGONCÉ OR FRANK OCEAN OR BOTH MAKE AN APPEARANCE?”, it’s a truly immersive experience, permeating all facets of daily life and conversation. So while we wait very impatiently for our turn to Watch The Throne, we’ve compiled a list of some of our favorite collaboration albums of all-time.
Jay-Z and Kanye West‘s Watch The Throne tour kicks off tonight in Atlanta, and we hope if you’re going you’ve got a strong bladder because the set list, as seen on Voyr‘s tour trailer, is a long one. With hits from the collaborative album as well as past favorites from both Hov and Yeezy’s back catalogs (including “99 Problems” and “Can’t Tell Me Nothing”), chances are you’re not going to want to leave your seat. According to the list as seen on the trailer, the concert is 41 songs long, which is a really long time to wait if you need to pee — hence the strong bladder. Better start your pelvic floor exercises now.
Chuck Klosterman Gives A Hilarious Opinion On Lulu, Metallica And Lou Reed’s Collaborative Album
Don’t pretend you weren’t confused when you heard Lou Reed and Metallica would be collaborating on a album. Well, that very strange collaboration is now available for listening, and Chuck Klosterman has some wicked but insightful things to say about the “album that no one wants.” [Grantland]
Kanye West + Saved By The Bell = Awesome
Our vote for the best single-serving Tumblr site of the day goes to Kanyed By The Bell, which combines Yeezy lyrics with still images from the iconic television series. It’s sort of NSFW, but then again, most of the best things are. [Kanyed By The Bell]
Go Behind The Scenes With VOYR at Jay-Z and Kanye West’s Watch The Throne Tour
Speaking of ‘Ye … Launching today, VOYR, for a small fee, offers to take you behind the scenes to see what your favorite artists and celebrities are up to. First up, they’re following Jay-Z and Kayne West‘s Watch The Throne tour to offer insidery exclusives, and it will be interesting to see what comes of the project. [Rolling Stone]
Autumn weather may be in full swing, but this weekend, 70,000 music fans flocked to the musical (and actual) capitol of Texas for one last burst of summer: the 2011 Austin City Limits Festival. Over a hundred artists played on one of the festival’s eight stages, and VH1 photographer Julie Ruiz was on site, following the sounds and snapping pictures of Stevie Wonder, Kanye West, and seventeen others—including three of the can’t-miss sets we recommended. Before this weekend, we thought we were all festival-ed out, but looking at this gallery gives us all-too-fresh pangs of jealousy.
VH1 debuted the latest countdown in our long-running The Greatest series, the 40 Most Shocking Hip Hop Moments, this evening. If you missed it, don’t worry; it will rerun tomorrow night, Monday, September 19, at midnight. If you’re looking for the complete list, look no further. Here are the 40 Most Shocking Hip Hop Moments … so far!
In attempt to have it see the (green)light of day on Comedy Central’s airwaves, Windy City hip hop stars Kanye West and Rhymefest put their wildly creative minds together to craft a pilot for a hip-hop puppet show. Yes, puppets. Created and co-executive produced with Crank Yankers’Daniel Kellison and South Park writer Jon Kimmel, the adult show, titled Alligator Boots, intended to feature hilarious puppet characters, all of which were caringly stitched together to interact with celebrity guests acting as weekly hosts. In the newly released behind-the-scenes footage that was shot an indeterminate time ago, we hear from the director, puppetmakers and puppeteers, background designers, writers, and the masterminds themselves, and get a glimpse of a crass project that was canceled before we all got the chance to giggle our asses off.
“I get nervous about hitting Kanye West in the face over and over with a hard, plastic rattle,” said puppeteer Alice Dinnean when Rhymefest asked her and her colleagues what makes them shiver in their boots on set. Borrowing the audience component from Saturday Night Live, Alligator Boots set out with the lofty goal to feature puppet sketches, faux commericials, backstage “behind-the-scenes” puppet-interaction skits, and much, much more. In the clip above, written to poke fun at Kanye’s “diva” reputation, you see Storm Trooper ‘Ye get ditched by Princess Leia (Kim Kardashian) for a suave puppet named Beary White; just one of “about twenty-nine” puppet thespians. Our favorite part is probably when Rhymefest’s puppet alter-ego Pork Troy appears as a famous rapper character, spitting bars on a little ditty called “Baby In The Club,” and presents visuals for what seems like a music video where a 20-year-old woman brings her 1-year-old infant out to shake a tail feather in a very adult atmosphere. Crass, innapropriate jokes are abundant in the writing, and it’s clear that the set was a breeding ground for hip-hop comedy greatness. R.I.P., Alligator Boots!
Big Sean Video Features Kanye West And Cheesecake
And don’t the two go hand-in-hand? The Hype Williams-directed video for Big Sean‘s “Marvin and Chardonnay” splits the difference between Williams’s 2005 clip for Kanye West‘s “Gold Digger” and “Best I Ever Had,” the Drake video that West directed. [YouTube]
Blink-182 Release New Song
Two weeks after premiering the video for lead single “Up All Night,” Blink-182 have released another cut from Neighborhoods (due out September 27). “After Midnight” is available as a free download for winners of a mind-numbingly simple stopwatch game that we nevertheless kept playing until we won (after 13 attempts). [Spin] [click to continue…]
