MTV Buzzworthy Blog › RZA

Credit: Getty Images

+ Florence + The Machine released details on their sophomore album, Ceremonials. Florence Welch and band revealed the 12-song track list, and it'll drop in the UK October 31 (yay!). No word on when it hits the U.S. (boo!). Guess we'll be scoping the import section. (Pitchfork)

+ French electro producer DJ Mehdi passed away yesterday at the young age of 34. Mehdi, who'd remixed tracks by Chromeo and Miike Snow, to name a new, suffered fatal injuries when a skylight shattered in the Plexiglas floor of his apartment in Paris. (MTV News)

+ Lady Gaga, Usher and Bono are among the artists booked for a charity show honoring Bill Clinton. The benefit performances will take place in Los Angeles October 15 and will be streamed live on Yahoo!. (MTV News)

+ I think I could do an entire week of Buzz Bites on Nicki Minaj fashions alone, maybe even a year's worth. Peep some of her craycray get-ups at NYFW at MTV Style. (MTV Style)

+ Hilary Duff launched a brand new website. She says "Obrigado" to fans (that's "thank you" in Portuguese; she was just in Brazil on a book tour). She also features some exclusive photos with fans from the tour. (HilaryDuff)

+ Yesterday marked the 15th anniversary of Tupac Shakur's death. While he was murdered at the young age of 25, his legend lives on. Snoop Dogg, RZA, and Drake reflect on his influence here. Read more about his life and legacy at MTV News. (MTV News)

Related Content Follow Buzzworthy on Twitter

Tags Bono, Buzz Bites, Celebrity, Drake, Florence and the Machine, Florence Welch, Hilary Duff, Lady Gaga, Nicki Minaj, RZA, Snoop Dogg, Tupac Shakur, Usher

How do I love thee, Vampire Weekend? Let me count the ways. I love thee's zippy cardigan sweaters, thee's lyrics about French Connection and Philly cheesesteaks, and lest us not forget about thee's adorable, baby-faced frontman Ezra Koenig. (Hell, I bet even Elizabeth Barrett Browning would be putty in his hands.)

When I moseyed over to Spinner.com this morning to catch a gander at the band's newest video for "Giving Up The Gun" off their sophomore album Contra, I was given yet another reason to adore the New York City quartet.

Directed by the Malloy Brothers, the clip features Vampire Weekend performing amidst a fiercely competitive tennis match, which boasts guest appearances by Lil' Jon, Wu-Tang Clan's RZA, one of the Jo Bros and—gasp!—Jake Gyllenhaal, sporting the hottest pair of hot pants I've ever seen. Eat your heart out, Reece!

Tags Joe Jonas, Lil Jon, RZA, The Jonas Brothers, Vampire Weekend, video, Wu-Tang Clan

(Credit: Annie Leibovitz/Terry Richardson/Candies)

+ A while back, we chortled, chuckled and LOL'd at Britney Spears' earlier Candie's ad campaign. Well, the new set of advertisements has been released and where we once laughed, we now must respectfully nod our heads Brit's general direction because homegirl looks amazing! Spears was shot by three different high-profile photographers—Annie Leibovitz (above left), Terry Richardson (above right) and Mark Seliger. If you don't believe us, see for yourself! (E! Online)

+ I know we've all been kept up at night, worrying and praying about the financial stability of Akon's 401K. Well, our prayers have been answered. Yes, Akon is going to be able to retire with ease and in luxury. Thankfully, he will not be playing "Locked Up" on the senior citizen circuit. His patronage of a young gal who goes by the name of Lady Gaga has paved the way for a rather comfortable run of senior living. (PopEater)

+ MTV News caught up recently with blink-182 drummer Travis Barker and it turns out he's quite a busy man. Barker is currently immersed in two different projects: one is a collaboration album with DJ A-Trak, which could be seen as an extension of the work he did with the late DJ AM, and the other is a solo album, which is scheduled to feature the likes of Wu-Tang Clan's RZA, Linkin Park's Chester Bennington and Slipknot's Corey Taylor. (MTV News)

+ 3Oh!3 are back in the studio, recording their new album, Streets Of Gold, with the help of super-producers Dr. Luke and Benny Blanco. When asked about new tunage, the Denver duo explained, "We're going full-ahead with the sexism and misogyny. We're trying to blaze new trails." (EW)

+ Have you seen the awesome #BecauseOfNickiMinaj trending topic on Twitter recently? In case you missed it, Idolator has compiled the greatest hits for your perusal, featuring classics like, "i failed my speech and english classes bc i said things like bestest." See? Rappers are role models. (Idolator)

Tags 3OH!3, A-Trak, Akon, Benny Blanco, Blink-182, Britney Spears, Chester Bennington, DJ AM, Lady Gaga, linkin park, Nicki Minaj, RZA, Slipknot, Travis Barker, Wu-Tang Clan

You know who had a kind of quietly awesome year? Mos Def! True story: the Brooklyn MC/rocker/actor/activist appeared in an episode of House, starred in the underrated Next Day Air, collaborated with the indie-blues duo Black Keys on the recently released Black Roc album (along with Rza and many others) and, if all that weren't enough, made one of the best hip-hop albums of the year -- The Ecstatic.

Here we have a cool sneak peek at the video for one of The Ecstatic's most, well, ecstatic tracks, "History," which also functions as a reunion of one of hip-hop's great groups: Black Star, which featured Mos Def and his partner Talib Kweli trading verses, dropping knowledge, and generally rocking your face off.

The sneak peek for Mos Def's new video, "History" promises some rich, black and white cinematography, and Mos Def keeping it real in a suit. Keep your eyes peeled and your mind ready for the full-length "History video," coming soon.

Tags Black Keys, Mos Def, RZA, Talib Kweli, video

Four years ago there was a Spike Jonze (duuude, have you seen that Where The Wild Things Are trailer yet?!?!?)-directed  Adidas commercial called "Hello, Tomorrow," that was so aimlessly, supernaturally dreamy, that it was sort of a shame when whatever show you were watching kicked back in. The clip came accompanied by an equally dreamy soundtrack -- a sleepwalker of a song, also called "Hello, Tomorrow," by Squeak E. Clean (Jonze's brother) and Karen O.  The collaboration was such a success that Squeak E. Clean (aka Sam Spiegel) went on to produce Show Your Bones, the second album from Karen's band, Yeah Yeah Yeahs.

Now Squeak E. Clean has paired up on a more permanent basis with Ze "DJ Zegon" Gonzalez, to form N.A.S.A., but the collaboration doesn't end there. N.A.S.A.'s first record is actually all collaborations. Squeak E. Clean and DJ Zegon provide ambient background for vocals from an incredibly wide range of performers, including David Byrne, RZA, Tom Waits, George Clinton, Kanye West, Karen O, Santigold, Spank Rock, John Frusciante and many more. Like, very many more.

As for this "Gifted" video, it's directed by Three Legged Legs, a group whose cartoony sci-fi style isn't so far off from Spike Jonze's new project. It's a mind-bending space adventure that perfectly matches the tone and rhythm laid down by super collab Kanye West, Lykke Li and Santigold. Watch "Gifted," right here, and keep an eye out for more brilliance from N.A.S.A.

Tags David Byrne, George Clinton, John Frusciante, Kanye West, Karen O, Lykke Li, N.A.S.A., RZA, Santigold, Spank-Rock, Tom Waits, Yeah Yeah Yeahs

+ Don't believe what that prankster Joel Madden wrote on his Good Charlotte blog -- he and baby mama Nicole Richie are still happily unmarried. Those so-called wedding photos? That was just Joel "monkeying around." (Joel's Good Charlotte blog profile)

+ 50 Cent apologizes for calling Shawty Lo (of D4L) a one-hit wonder. Judging by the success of Lo's new record, "Dey Know," the term "two-hit wonder" is, perhaps, more appropriate. (MTV)

+ Wu-Tang Clan rapper RZA shows non-believers that chess and hip-hop go together in da hood. Checkmate, yo! (Sydney Morning Herald)

+ Outkast-turned-solo artist Big Boi hypes up his upcoming new album be equating it to...yard work? "Right now, we're just putting the sod in the front of the house. We almost done." Presumably, all that's left is for Big Boi and Raekwon to get rid of all the weed(s). (MTV)

+ A word to the wise: if you throw a bottle at the Queens of the Stone Age frontman Josh Homme, be prepared to duck. (NME)

+ Forbes' 35th-most-powerful celeb Miley Cyrus still needs to learn not to bring her camera to bed with her. (Think Fashion)

+ The Jonas Brothers try to convince British teens to keep it in their knickers. (Telegraph.co.uk)

Tags 50 Cent, Big Boi, Buzz Bites, Celebrity, Good Charlotte, Joel-Madden, Jonas Brothers, Miley Cyrus, Music, News, Nicole Richie, Outkast, Queens Of The Stone Age, RZA, Shawty Lo, Wu-Tang Clan