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NO FAIR! Jojo Simmons -- yes, JoJo of MTV's Run's House (repreSENT!) fame -- TOTALLY GOT OUTSIDE HELP with his new Team Blackout video, "Gotta Have Her."

Just playin'. JoJo Simmons proves he's got the rap skills (do I perhaps hear a budding T.I., minus the legal fail?) in Team Blackout's new video, "Gotta Have Her." And DAMN!! Zach's got that Twista tongue!

Also, check that video-as-film narrative. And THANK YOU, JoJo and Team Blackout for employing that technique but not resorting to Jamie Foxx "Blame It" extremes, mkay?

Tags Jamie Foxx, JoJo Simmons, Run's House, T.I., Team Blackout, Twista

At this point, the conflict in Darfur and the resulting humanitarian crisis are more than six years old. It is common knowledge in conscientious circles, that hundreds of thousands have died and millions have been displaced by the horrors -- and I do mean horrors -- of the Sudanese army's systematic decimation of the region's native people. But, after six years of activism, it is easy for our outrage to cool off and devolve into uneasy acceptance. Well, Waxploitation -- the L.A. management company that handles Gnarls Barkley, Black Moth Super Rainbow and Danger Mouse -- just ain't havin' that.

On the verge of releasing his second Causes record to raise money for relief in Darfur, Waxploitation founder Jeff Antebi had this to say about the project:

"It's easy for fatigue to set in when a crisis goes on for a number of years, but no one has given up hope that things can change for the better in Darfur. There are untold numbers of people committed to changing the outcome. It takes humanitarian assistance, tenacity and political will."

And, of course, it takes money. A whole lotta spending money. And, while 15 indie gems clearly aren't going to fund a revolution, Causes 2 does provide everyday people like us with an easy means of contributing to the betterment of the world.

The compilation -- whose profits go entirely to Doctors Without Borders, Human Rights Watch and Oxfam America -- includes rare tracks, remixes and live cuts from Devendra Banhart, Diplo, My Morning Jacket, RJD2, LCD Soundsystem, Gnarls Barkley, The Decemberists, Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings and many others.

The compilation doesn't hit shelves until May 5, but you can listen to Causes 2 right now, for free, only on The Leak. Get hooked here, then shell out $9.99 for the good of humanity in May.

+ If you pre-order Causes 2 now, Waxploitation will throw in Causes 1 -- including tracks from Animal Collective, Bright Eyes and The Shins -- for only $6.99!

Tags Animal Collective, Black Moth Super Rainbow, Bright Eyes, Danger Mouse, Devendra Banhart, Diplo, Gnarls Barkley, LCD Soundsystem, My Morning Jacket, RJD2, Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings, The Decemberists, The Shins

Okay. JOKE TIME! What's about four inches high, made of faux snakeskin, zips up the front, does cartwheels, and sometimes pees itself in concert? If you guessed the "Jonas" heel from Fergie's shoe line, you're TOTALLY right!

As you may or may not know, Fergie recently launched her eponymous Fergie and Fergalicious line of strappy, ornamented, buckled, and Ferg-rageous shoes for spring, all of which retail from between $39 - $129.

But did you KNOW that one of the styles in her "Fergie" line is named "Jonas"? Fergie's "Jonas" sandals are about $80, made of faux snakeskin, zip up the front, and come in fuschia, "natural snake," and black. JUST LIKE THE JONAS BROTHERS, right? And I've heard that Fergie's Jonas heels also have secret Flubber in the insoles to make doing cartwheels while wearing leather pants and singing "Barracuda" just that much easier.

I'm not sure what the correlation is between Fergie and the Jonas Brothers and cagey sandals, but color me intrigued.

Anyway, Jonas fans, would you wear Fergie's "Jonas" heels?

Plus:
+ Get Kelly Clarkson's "I Do Not Hook Up" heels without spending $1,597.
+ Kelly "OMG Shoes!" has a new video!
+ Watch Fergie's infamous "Barracuda" backflip below.

Tags Buzzworthy Style Files, Fergie, Jonas Brothers

An Internet treasure like Kelly -- of "Let's get some shoes" notoriety and the reason you call your friends "betch" -- wasn't just born. She was made. And in case you were still laying awake at night, wondering where her shoe inspo came from, Kelly's new video, which is the prequel to "Shoes," will clear up that wonder for you... Or, I'll just go ahead and spoil it for you now... Kelly's "Shoes" was, um, apparently inspired by Marshalls. The store.

Kelly's (really comedian Liam Sullivan) latest video is one big marketing tool for Marshalls and their store-within-a-store, The Cube, but at least it's got Kelly in it, right? And no, those hooky vocals aren't C&C Music Factory's Martha Wash, though that'd be rad. It's actually singer Maren. And, one of the best things about Kelly's new video? It's got VAMPIRE HEATHER! (AKA, Megahn Perry).

Check out Kelly's latest work. It's no "Text Message Breakup," but it's still better than Lindsay Lohan's Fornarina commercial.

Tags Buzzworthy Style Files, Kelly, Liam Sullivan, Lindsay Lohan

+ Sparring Hills stars Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt managed to pull off a whole wedding this weekend without a single sucker punch being thrown. And the priest didn't melt! Even Heidi's mom, who recently tried to reunite her daughter with an ex, gushed that they were the perfect couple. Ha. What a liar. (Remote Control)

+ AP cover models Jack Barakat, Alex Gaskarth, Zack Merrick and Rian Dawson proudly announce the release of All Time Low's brand-new album, "Nothing Personal," and follow it up with a string of penis jokes. (NothingPersonal.com)

+ In a vain attempt to keep Spencer and Heidi's egos in check, Salma Hayek married her billionaire baby daddy Francois-Henry Pinault at the Venice Opera House Saturday. The bride joined guests Bono, Damien Rice, Woody Harrelson and Charlize Theron in an upbeat rendition of "Stand By Me" at the very musical reception. In related news, the phrase "billionaire baby daddy" is officially being grossly overused. (People)

+ Taylor Lautner, I smell a serious grounding in your future! The 17-year-old Twilight star, whose parents have forbidden him from dating until the absurd old age of 28, is rumored to be sneaking around Vancouver with Selena Gomez between shoots for Twilight: New Moon and Ramona And Beezus. Ya see, this is what happens when kids play the video games on the television and talk on the cell phone. (Perez Hilton)

+ Another Nick Jonas ex defended her own new romance against negative internet allegations. Between sightseeing and autograph sessions, Miley Cyrus Twittered away speculation that she'd dump Justin Gaston to get back with Nick, calling it a "stupidddd rumor."(Just Jared Jr.)

+ Romance was really in the air this weekend! Speidi and Salma tied the knot, Selena Gomez and Miley Cyrus explored new relationships and studly High School Musical 3-star Zac Efron spent an enchanted afternoon at a Berlin beer garden with every pretty boy's dream date: Mommy! (Oh No They Didn't)

Tags All Time Low, Bono, Damien Rice, Heidi Montag, High School Musical 3, Jack Barakat, Justin Gaston, Miley Cyrus, Nick Jonas, Selena Gomez, Spencer Pratt, Taylor Lautner, The Hills, The Jonas Brothers, Twilight, Zac Efron

We CAN interview Honor Society AND talk to them about THEM and NOT just about their besties the Jonas Brothers, right?

I mean, don't get me wrong, we LOVE the Jonas Brothers (I mean, I've only written approximately 2,193 Buzzworthy posts about them), love that the Jonas Brothers are taking Honor Society on their summer tour with them, and that all seven guys -- Kevin, Nick, and Joe, AND Michael Bruno, Jason Rosen, Andrew Lee, and Alexander Noyes are Jersey boys who share an affinity for well-tailored menswear and nice shoes.

But HONOR SOCIETY will be here at MTV on Tuesday, May 5 to answer YOUR Buzzworthy Blog fan questions, and I'm not trying to tell you what to do with your life or your hair or whatever (but skip the streaky highlights, okay?), but what do you want to know about HONOR SOCIETY?

For those of you who've already mastered the Honor Roll, I especially look to you to step it up with some especially thought-provoking questions for the guys.

Leave your questions (for Honor Society) in the comments below. And yes, they probably have Kevin Jonas' phone number, and no, they're not going to give it to you. But they'll probably be really polite about turning you down. They are gentlemen, after all.

See you in the dark, friendies!

(Oh yeah: Buzzworthy was SO into Honor Society LIKE LAST AUGUST!)

Tags Honor Society, Jonas Brothers

Oh, the lengths to which Tyson Ritter will go for your happiness... Months ago he stood on a Malibu beach, staring down the icy ocean water, knowing exactly how much it was gonna hurt to jump in.

The All-American Rejects' frontman used an airplane metaphor to describe the inevitable suffering, saying that he knew his "landing gear" was gonna come way up in that chilly water. "I might have ovaries by the end of the day," he joked. Had he seen this coming, the song may have been called "The Ocean Blows."

After watching the Rich Lee-directed (Fergie, Chamillionaire, Evanescence) video for "The Wind Blows," I can safely say that it was well worth the shrinkage. The video -- a hazy ocean-side romance, perfectly matches the song's melodic heartache. The band describes it as a "love story that doesn't end bad, it just ends." Kinda like their latest album, When The World Comes Down: a thrilling emotional rollercoaster that has to end, but does so on a positive note. Follow the Oklahoma boys down to the Malibu beach, and watch the dreamy video for their second When The World Comes Down single, "The Wind Blows."

Tags Chamillionaire, Evanescence, Fergie, The All-American Rejects, Tyson Ritter

As they'll tell you in the $5 Cover trailer (embedded below), every city has a story. Well, this one's about Memphis, Tennessee, that capital of American music where landmarks like Graceland and Sun Records share a zip code with the Beale Street BBQs and grown-over backyard bandshells that hosted the humble beginnings of Johnny Cash, B.B. King, Carl Perkins and countless others.

These days, the pomade and blue suede that kept those rhythm and blues pilgrims slick are in shorter supply, but the music has only gotten louder and more diverse. Between Lucero's whiskey growl, Amy LaVere's musky seductions, Al Kapone's blues-driven rap rants and Two Way Radio's saccharine squeal, Memphis has enough homegrown talent to nightly light up every old marquee in Tennessee.

That's where Craig Brewer comes in. The same visionary exporter who turned the world on to the ho-slapping Memphis rap circuit with Hustle & Flow picks up where he left off, delivering new windows into Southern music's subcultures. As he did last time around, Brewer casts local musicians as themselves. And while they do go by a script, it's all drawn from their lives and peppered with plenty of improvisation.

Show-stopping musical performances mingle with tricky marriages, dead end jobs and heated inter-roommate love triangles. Basically $5 Cover exists to document the everyday dramas of the Delta's foremost flavor-purveyors, the mundane details of this town's least boring characters. Watch them in bite-sized installments and get yourself hooked on that same old electricity that set the King of Rock'n'Roll's thighs flying and made all the girls scream. Meet the players here, get familiar, and do yourself a favor: watch $5 Cover. Trust me.

Tags $5 Cover, Al Kapone, Amy LaVere, B.B. King, Carl Perkins, Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Lucero, Two Way Radio

Have you seen the (VERY, VERY NSFW) introductory video over at NipseyHussle.com yet? Good lord. It has got to be just about the most wildly glorifying and insanely over-the-top "nice to meet you" clip I have ever seen in my whole damn life. And my friends, after watching, I am now officially and deeply SOLD on some Nipsey Hussle.

It opens with solemn words from The Game, who, as you know, is not a dude to be taken lightly. He describes the West Coast newcomer as a resurrection. "Feel like you lookin' at Dre and Dogg all over again," The Game trumpets, imagining himself in the role of the mentor.

Anyway. Nipsey Hussle, who takes his name from TV poet laureate Nipsey Russell, got his first big break when he jumped on The Game's LAX tour back in '08. After being taken under that inked-up wing, he put out a barrage of violent mixtapes (Bullets Ain't Got No Name, Volumes 1 and 2) that quickly got folks to shouting about Nipsey being the West Coast's new spokesman.

Obviously it was right about then that the East African transplant sold his Los Angeles clothing shop and got to full-time rapping. The new jack West Coast rhymer doles out unflinching hardcore realness, bringing more than just braids to back up The Game's highfalutin claims.

Now Nipsey is hard at work on South Central State Of Mind, his first original full-length featuring cameos by, guess who, Snoop and The Game. Second single "Roll The Windows Up," a '90s-style drop-top popper with the Slauson Boyz on the fills, is in circulation now. Have you heard it? Are you in on this resurrection s---? Get a look at Nipsey Hussle on Mixtape Monday below, watch his "Hussle In The House" clip after the jump and tell me you aren't sold.

Read more...

Tags Dr. Dre, Nipsey Hussle, Snoop Dogg, The Game

(Credit: Chr!s Sm!th)

I don't know what it's like where you are, but over here in NYC we're deep into the nicest day we've had all year. Major sunshine and big smiles all around. It's perfect weather for the endlessly optimistic power-pop of Two Hours Traffic. The Canadian quartet started out as kindergarten playtime buddies, and they recreate the same five-year-old wonder that brought them together in their irresistibly sunny songs.

But don't get the wrong idea here. Though their tunes are loaded with jangly guitars and sweetheart harmonies, Two Hours Traffic still knows exactly how to get down to business. Their flowery melodies and bucking backbeats add up to unstoppable combos of Beach Boys breeze and Strokes-y swagger. That one-two pop punch has already landed the band among the TV soundtrack elite, earning them airtime on Gossip Girl, The Ghost Whisperer, Smallville and The OC.

This weekend they add MTV's own Camp'd Out to their list of credits. The two-hour docu-drama follows a group of Broadway stars through the grueling paces of a competitive theater camp. Two Hours Traffic's "Stuck For The Summer" is the official theme song!

See what all the fuss is about in their barn-burner "Stuck For The Summer" video and then tune in to MTV this Saturday at noon to see Camp'd Out!

Tags Gossip Girl, The Beach Boys, The Buzz On, The Strokes, Two Hours Traffic