It takes DC rapper Wale two hours to get dressed in the morning, because he takes fashion incredibly seriously. "Sneakerhead" doesn't begin to describe him, or the way he pores over denim styles, cuts and washes. This is not a hobby. This is art.
When he's not making masterpieces in the mirror, Wale is obsessing over sports -- real or pixelated. He's only lost at "NBA 2K9" once since he left for tour (he frequently invites people on to the bus for a challenge), and his win count for the year now hovers around 250. He's into sports so deep that, as he'll tell you, if he weren't all wrapped up in music, he'd be working the athlete beat.
But he is all wrapped up in music. Mark Ronson, who's doing everything he can to pull Wale up, describes the rapper as a "cross between Lil Wayne, Lupe Fiasco and Nas."
To find out how this fanatic talent -- the same one that spawned "Chillin," featuring Lady Gaga -- grew out of an early obsession with professional wrestling, watch Wale on "The 5," below. Keep an eye out for Wale's Attention: Deficit, due out later this year.
Tags Lady Gaga, Lil Wayne, Lupe Fiasco, Mark Ronson, Nas, video, Wale
UPDATE: Watch Demi Lovato's Buzzworthy Blog fan Q&A interview!
DEMI LOVATO IS COMING TO MTV! Demi is COMING! DEMI WILL BE HERE! She just got started on her Summer Tour with David Archuleta, and her upcoming album, Here We Go Again, is almost ready, but she's stopping by MTV on Wednesday, June 24th, and she'll be answering Buzzworthy Blog fan questions. What do you want to ask Demi? (Besides everything?)
Leave your questions in the comments section below, and I'll try to ask Demi when she's here on Wednesday!
Tags Demi Lovato
+ Ricky Martin (remember him) kind of came out. (Popnography)
+ Open mouth, insert foot: Joe Jonas accidentally blabbed on Larry King Live that his little brother Nick Jonas was indeed dating Miley Cyrus again. LOVE IT! (US Magazine)
+ Justin Timberlake refuses to play golf with girlfriend Jessica Biel because she kicks his ass everytime. (PopCrunch)
+ Here's a shocker: Lauren Conrad just dished on The View that Spencer Pratt's apology on the last episode of The Hills was... GASP! STAGED! (Ryan Seacrest)
+ Um, a dead body was found during the clean-up after this year's Bonnaroo festival? So creepy! (NME)
+ Keyshia Cole pulled out all the stops on the L.A. leg of her current U.S. tour. Friends like Keri Hilson, Nas, and Diddy were all in attendance to help the singer put on a star-studded show. Wish we could have gone! (Rap-Up)
Tags Bonnaroo, Diddy, Jessica Biel, Joe Jonas, Jonas Brothers, Justin Timberlake, Keri Hilson, Keyshia Cole, Lauren Conrad, Miley Cyrus, Nas, Nick Jonas, Ricky Martin, Spencer Pratt
Your weekend's about to get lit up, four hours early. Grammy-nominee mami Amerie just dropped her new burner, "Why R U?," it's an all-attitude R&B firebomb. In other words, get your neck loose because that thing's about to be poppin' all over the place.
The first single to surface from her upcoming August release, Love and War, Amerie's "Why R U?" brings enough heat to carry us all the way through summer.
I tell you what, if the rest of Love and War hits this hard, they're gonna have to change August's name to Amerie.
Tags Amerie, video
What is this, bring your kid to work day? Tiny Masters Of Today are the second teenage band to pop up on Buzzworthy today and I am loving it. Who decided that weathered old junkies were supposed be in charge of rock 'n roll, anyway? Those dudes go to bed at 10. These dudes (specifically brother/sister duo Ivan and Ada, and friend Jackson Pollis*) stay up all night freaking out about things like how insane it would've been to see The Stooges. OK, I'm projecting, it's unfair. But it's not totally unfounded.
I read this Facebook status update this morning that's stuck with me all day: "Just watched Almost Famous and was reminded of how fun it is to love a band that much." Sure, old folks (read: twenty-somethings) love music, too. But I really do believe that nobody falls in love with the world -- especially the consumable world -- as deeply or intensely as 14-year-olds. Everything is new. And for the first time, it kind of looks like yours.
What better explanation is there for the level of commitment and sincerity in Tiny Masters Of Today's swagger? And what better explanation for the freshness and recklessness of their careless sound?
Again, I hate to dwell on age, because Tiny Masters Of Today sound just as legit as any gang of disillusioned 35-year-olds. They've more than held their own on collaborations with Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Kimya Dawson, Jon Spencer Blues Explosion and the B-52s. David Bowie called them geniuses. Now they're back to blow all those middle-agers away again with a new blah-punk ballad called "Pop Chart." The video is below. Quit reading and watch it already.
* thanks ashlonie!
+ Amazing interview with Ada of Tiny Masters Of Today
Tags B-52s, David Bowie, Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, Kimya Dawson, Moldy Peaches, The Stooges, Tiny Masters Of Today, video, Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Who saw It's On With Alexa Chung yesterday? Everybody here sure did. It's kind of getting to be this crazy phenomenon at the office. Every day at noon, the nail-biting, hair-pulling and obscenities (not to mention the "work") stop and Alexa's stylie little face beams out from every single cubicle TV. This probably sounds like some hackneyed sales pitch, but I swear it's true!
Yesterday, when she showed all those internet clips of people falling and nailing their crotches on pylons, etc, etc, you could hear people shouting "OOF!" all down the hall. Even the old guys were cracking up! Anyway, just thought you might like to know about that. I've never seen such an uproar around here.
I chimed in on the yelling (the uhhh... Chung Chatter? :-/) yesterday when Phoenix showed up to play "1901." Did you notice who the drummer was?! Dude. Trick question. It was not a drummer at all. It was a ghetto-blaster! Man are the French cool.
It was interesting to hear that big gussied-up single all stripped-down and acoustic. The "Eh-eh-eh-eh-eh" bit has a totally different vibe without all the airy production. But I digress. The point is, what a performance! Watch as those mega-talented Frenchies do their thing for Alexa Chung in the sci-fi talking-picture-rectangle below. Just hit play. Easy.
Tags It's On With Alexa Chung, Phoenix, video
(Credit: Phil Knott)
Care Bears On Fire's brand-new "Everybody Else" video is a scrolling vintage collage that looks kinda like a lost level of Contra. You remember Contra, don't you? More importantly, "Everybody Else" is the quintessential snot-nosed girl-punk anthem, from its snarling "1,2,3,4" count-off to its tattle-tale chorus.
Sophie (vox, guitar), Izzy (drums) and Jena (bass) started Care Bears On Fire four years ago. When they were in 5th grade. Are you doing the math? Now, on the brink of high school, they've become some of the most prominent players in what Spin Magazine calls the "New York kid-core scene."
The thing is -- and this is true of any uncommonly young band worth listening to -- they don't sound like kids. They sound like seasoned bad-asses putting new spit on old Joan Jett. Lighting off The Runaways' "Cherry Bomb" for a new generation. Check out the sweet-looking video for "Everybody Else," right here.
Tags Care Bears On Fire, Joan Jett, The Runaways, video
This just in, sickos! Forever The Sickest Kids are taking a break from recording their sophomore album, due out this fall to head out on the Warped Tour this July. But first, they're playing a secret California show on the Santa Monica pier this Sunday, June 21, at 5:47 p.m. (sharp!). Well, I guess it's not a secret anymore! Believe me, I'm not lying. Go to this show. Fly if you have to.
Tags Forever The Sickest Kids
You know what, All Time Low? F+++ you too. Just kidding. Love you, mean it, love your hair. And I really do love the promo poster All Time Low and Hopeless Records sent out -- dudes (or someone purporting to be them) SIGNED I can't even imagine how many posters with a loving, heartfelt "eff you" message promoting their upcoming album, Nothing Personal, which comes out July 7. It's funny, cheap (and recession-friendly!) music marketing, and it works. Thanks, All Time Low. And happy birthday, Jack. And eff you too. (And I meant it that time.)
Related Content Watch All Time Low Get Held Hostage On MTV
Tags All Time Low
Esser is a tough dude to Google. Lucky for us, he has posted this introduction on a site called Bebo:
Esser is a person not a band. I use a computer machine and some instruments to make popular songs. Most of my songs are in the key of E.
I have also put together that Esser is from London and wears his hair like the Slim Jim mascot. What I already knew is that Esser knows how to make the club get crunk. His designer blend of house, two-step, rock and outsider-easy-listening (which amounts roughly to a whimsical mix of Phoenix meets The Streets) has got the whole London underground on lock. He's also in the midst of his first U.S. tour, an abbreviated trip with stops in New York, L.A., San Francisco and Chicago.
To fuel the fire he ignited with his debut LP, Braveface, Esser now sporadically drops solid gold mixtapes for free on his website. (You can sign up for his feed RIGHT HERE.) I highly recommend that you do that if you expect to be entertaining anytime this summer. All you gotta to do to set a party off, is pop in an Esser mixtape and watch it burn.
Tags Esser, Phoenix, The Buzz On, The Streets