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Weekly Twama Roundup: Rihanna’s Thug Life, Tracy Morgan’s Gonna Live And Demi Lovato Takes A Break
With millions of inane tweets being pumped out every day, it can be hard to keep track of actual celebrity gossip, feuds and random observations that make Twitter so much fun. So we’re rounding up the week in Twitter drama – or Twama for those of you not yet sick of cutesy word combos!
By Kara Klenk
Rihanna, Twitter
Rihanna Is The Girl With The Thug Life Tattoo
Can we all agree that Rihanna is the pop star we’d most like to party with? RiRi is clearly a work hard/play hard type of chick and she smokes ‘em if she gots ‘em. So it wasn’t that shocking when the pop princess tweeted pics of herself with fresh “Thug Life” tattoos on her knuckles this week. What was shocking was people thinking they could tweet their opinions about the tats to her and that she might actually agree/care/not rip you a new one. Remember, Rihanna is the honeybadger of the pop world, she doesn’t give a f*$%!
She calmly swatted away shade on Twitter and went on with her day. Plus it’s not like it’s her first trip to the parlor! I’m just hoping the other photo she tweeted of herself getting some “posterior” ink wasn’t her making the “We Found Love” video (more of) a reality.
Read on for more!
Tracy Morgan Is OK, Thinks He’s Superman
"30 Rock" star Tracy Morgan took to Twitter to explain his collapse at the Sundance Film Festival, naming high altitude as the cause. I’m sure referring to himself as Superman is a metaphor, although Tina Fey did base Tracy Jordan on Morgan, so it’s completely possible at the time of this tweet that he was mistakenly outing himself as a superhero. We may never know.
Demi Lovato Is A Twitter Quitter
Shhh. Can you hear that? That’s the sound of thousands of #Lovatics gently weeping. This week, Demi Lovato announced on Twitter that she is taking a Twitter break. While her reps have shot down claims that she is back in rehab, rumors to the contrary persist so maybe the teen queen just needed some silence and Twitter is pretty much the noisiest place on the Internet. So Demi, enjoy your Twitbatical (yeah, just made it up #dealwithit) and we’ll see you soon.
Kim Kardashian Picks Up Another Acting Gig
Reality TV terror Kim Kardashian is serious about this acting thing.
Not only did she hire three-time Oscar nominee and one-time winner Nicole Kidman's acting coach so she could give her all in director Tyler Perry's sure-thing awards contender "The Marriage Counselor," America's sweetheart Kardashian has signed up for a multi-episode arc on Lifetime's "Drop Dead Diva." She will make her first appearance on this summer's season 4 premiere.
The pop singer former Sketchers spokesmodel will play Nikki, the new love interest of Fred (Ben Feldman), who partners with his ex Stacy (April Bowlby) in a new business venture. Show creator and executive producer Josh Berman is excited about Kardashian's appearance, telling the Hollywood Reporter, "In discussing the role of Nikki with her, I'm blown away by her smarts, sense of humor and passion."
We bet. Probably has nothing to do with the amount of attention she'll bring the show.
The reality TV star, who gets Google alerts about herself (Hi, Kim!), is also set to appear on Tim Allen's ABC hit "Last Man Standing" in February.
Are you excited for Kim K.'s upcoming acting gigs? Let us know in the comments below.
Rihanna’s ‘Thug Life’ Joins List Of Hip-Hop Tattoo Tributes
By Gil Kaufman
Rihanna has raised a lot of eyebrows this week with her latest body modification: a tattoo that reads "Thug Life", in honor of late hip-hop icon Tupac Shakur. While 'Pac had the words emblazoned across his abdomen, Rihanna opted to write them across her knuckles in what appears to be glow-in-the-dark ink.
Say what you will about whether the pop princess is living the kind of rising-up-from-the-streets life Shakur was honoring by splashing the name of his crew across his stomach, but she joins a long list of musicians who've used body art to pay homage to fallen homeys or musical inspirations.
When hip-hip hookmaster Nate Dogg died last year, his old friend and collaborator Snoop Dogg had an image of Nate's face with the legend "All Doggs Go to Heaven" written on his arm as a remembrance of the G-funk singer. And while Faith Evans once proudly bore a heart-shaped tattoo that read "B.I.G." in honor of her then-husband Biggie Smalls. (After the couple split, however, she added some ink so it read "B.I.G. FAYE.")
Tyga Drops ‘Rack City (Remix)’ w/ Meek Mill, T.I., Jeezy
(Tyga, Young Jeezy, T.I. on 'Rack City (remix) video set')
By Sowmya Krishnamurthy
Tyga released the much-anticipated "Rack City (Remix)" today featuring a veritable who's who of hip-hop with Wale, Meek Mill, Fabolous, Jeezy, and T.I., all adding their own two cents to the infectious strip club anthem. MTV recently caught up with Tyga and the boys in Atlanta earlier this month at the music video shoot for the track to talk about the buzzy cut. Tyga explained how happy he was to have rappers he looks up to like Jeezy and T.I. contributing to his break-out.
Young Jeezy, T.I. Join Tyga On 'Rack City' Video Set
"I didn't think the song would be bigger than outside of L.A., because that's like an L.A. sound," Tyga said. "So to have two of the legends that I'm big fans of on the record is crazy."
"For me, I got reached out to. They told me to add my two cents in, so I did just that," T.I. revealed nonchalantly on how he got involved. "When they told me the video was coming, I picked out an outfit." How gangsta, Clifford. Jeezy explained similar sentiment. "I heard the record, loved it, seen it go crazy in the club. I couldn't visualize it without a Young verse on there, so I just went ahead. The homie hit me up for the video, and we in the A-Town, we in the city, we here, turnt up," said Jeezy.
Wale had similarly positive vibes for the song and joked about its fiscally-forward influence on strippers. "I'm just happy that I can be a part of a record that's influencing and making so many young, ambitious dancers so much money."
Tyga's debut Careless World: Rise of the Last King is slated for release on February 21, 2012. Expect additional guest features from fellow Young Money affiliates like Drake and Nicki Minaj. "You're going to see more of a story and more into Tyga's world and what I represent, the story that I'm trying to tell," Tyga explained to us about the album last year. "I feel like a lot of people they just know me based off of verses, features, heavy rap songs, mixtape stuff. Which is cool because I love to do that — this is rap music — but at the same time, I make a lot of real good music also.
Related
Drake, Lil Wayne, Tyga Tribute West Coast In 'The Motto' Video
Lana Del Ray To Re-Release ‘Pretty Good’ Lizzy Grant Debut
By Zachary Swickey
Some people have begun taking notice of rising star Lana Del Ray’s previous musical iteration – Lizzie Grant, her real name and the one she used when she first tried to break into the music business in 2010. Her first “real” debut can no longer be found on iTunes, but according to a new interview with the singer that is about to change.
Many believed the absence of the album on iTunes (where it was only up for two months) meant Del Ray was attempting to hide from her “embarrassing” past (think Lady Gaga in her Stefani Germanotta days); however, the singer reveals that’s not the case at all. Talking to BBC News, she revealed, “I’m re-releasing it, maybe in late summer.”
The album only cost (her rich daddy) $10,000 to create and it touted production duties from established producer David Kahne – who has worked with everyone from Paul McCartney to Linkin Park.
“People act like it’s so shrouded in mystery, the ‘forgotten terrible album,’" explained Del Ray. “But if you look on YouTube, all 13 tracks are available with millions of views, so it’s not like no one’s hear them. We were all proud of it. It’s pretty good."
Del Ray has been facing criticism from critics all over the map following her weak performance on "Saturday night Live." Many feel like she’s a pre-fabricated musical creation funded by her millionaire father (the modeling contract doesn’t help her get any indie cred either).
We really don’t care about the how, why, where, or who's behind Lana Del Ray, because we’ve been too busy spinning the hell out of her tunes. We suggest you do the same and simply enjoy the music. You won’t regret it.
Drake Really Wants To Play Barack Obama In A Movie
By Tamara Palmer
Before he was known strictly by his middle name, Aubrey Drake Graham was known to millions of North American teenagers as Jimmy Brooks, the wheelchair-bound former basketball player who occasionally rapped awkwardly on Canadian television series "Degrassi: The Next Generation," from 2001 to 2009. And while he recently admitted to Rolling Stone that he’s typically offered roles playing rappers or athletes, he’s hoping and preparing for a chance at his dream role: President Barack Obama.
Drake Makes Up With Tattoo Artist, Another Fan Gets Drake Tattoo
This isn’t just a passing fancy, as it turns out. Drake’s been trying to actualize this idea through interviews for more than a year. “I hope somebody makes a movie about Obama’s life soon because I could play him,” he told Paper magazine in July 2010. “Anytime I see him on TV, I don't change the channel, I definitely pay attention and listen to the inflections of his voice. If you ask anyone who knows me, I'm pretty good at impressions.”
"I've been reading scripts for awhile," he told Rolling Stone this year. "I want to do something great. I want to do something for my culture: the younger people who are still in tune with everything going on. I’m actually writing with my friends right now."
Drake’s biracial heritage gives him a similar complexion to Obama’s, and they both happen to hover at just over six feet tall. He’s already proven that he’s got charisma when it comes to the camera, and the work ethic needed to get through a grueling film shoot.
Ultimately, if Drake really is a good impressionist like Affion Crockett (who has famously impersonated him), he actually might not be a bad candidate.
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D’Angelo Performs ‘Chicken Grease’ In Sweden
By Rob Markman
D’Angelo back? On Thursday the R&B/soul singer performed his first show in over a decade when he rocked in Stockholm, Sweden to kick off his current European tour. Fans all across the world got to enjoy a bit of the performance as footage quickly appeared on YouTube yesterday. The “Brown Sugar” singer was all smiles as he rocked “Chicken Grease” from his 2000 sophomore album Voodoo.
The critically-acclaimed Voodoo was released 12 years ago this month, it was the last solo album he released. Over the past ten years D’Angelo has battled a number of legal and drug issues and has dropped out of the spotlight only to reemerge with drama from time to time. In recent years industry insiders have been a buzz about a third D’Aneglo comeback album, though not much is known about the release.
Whatever the case, the neo-soul singer did resemble the D’Aneglo of old in the footage of his Stockholm concert. He wore black pants, a black tank top and a black scarf around his neck. He bounced back and forth on stage engaging with fans. RapFix couldn’t be there, but judging from the crowd reaction fans seemed to have a great time.
Welcome back, it’s been a long time.
Do you believe D’Angelo can make a comeback? Tell is in the comments!
Pop Culture’s Digital DaVinci Sam Spratt Talks Star Reactions To His Work
Kanye West by Sam Spratt
By Zachary Swickey
When digital painter Sam Spratt was a spry art college grad in June 2010, he immediately became the (first) in-house staff illustrator for popular media conglomerate Gawker. Articles boasting his work were getting plenty more hits than ones carrying boring stock photo images. Before long, Spratt was getting more commission work than he could handle and had to say goodbye to Gawker and venture out on his own. (But trust us, he’s doing just fine!)
Since his departure, Spratt has diversified his portfolio - creating merch designs for herbal enthusiast and rapper Wiz Khalifa, as well as album artwork for rockers Foxy Shazam and metal-heads Trivium. Spratt has no problem with tricky imagery, whether it’s a Renaissance period piece for a private client or his collaboration with Rovio Mobile’s super-mega-smash-hit “Angry Birds.” It seems he’s up for any type of visual challenge.
Quite the fan of pop culture, Spratt has painted multiple interesting likenesses of various characters, including Ron Swanson from “Parks and Recreation,” quirky Dwight Schrute of “The Office,” Kanye West, a breathtaking portrait of “2 Broke Girls” star Kat Dennings and a hilarious take on Troy and Abed of “Community” in a fake movie poster for “Inspector Spacetime." Even his personal self-portrait is stunning to say the least. We are simply floored by the visual creations Spratt manages to create and with Twitter as an outlet – some of his creations have gone viral. Rainn Wilson is even using his portrait as his Twitter avatar.
Spratt is currently based in Brooklyn, New York, and was kind enough to chat with us about his interesting craft and provide us a look into his digital art domain.
MTV: It took me a moment to realize your works were digital paintings when I first discovered you. I know you were not originally trained on digital media, so how was that transition?
Sam: Not too hard, actually. In college I first learned oil painting under the technique of Peter Paul Rubens – studying every step of his process. The transition to digital touched on many of the same concepts: ground color, sketch, grayscale painting, cool and warm color additions and final color/detail-work. It's a different medium ... a cleaner one, but it can be treated almost identically.
MTV: You're only 23 and you've already got quite the clientele list. Was it a nerve-wracking experience to be Gawker’s in-house artist at only - what, 21?
Sam: It was terrifying. I walked in there with this massive ego that my professors had helped build, and was almost instantaneously knocked down 10 pegs and it was like starting all over. The crew there was great in both bringing me down to earth and challenging me to work my ass off. It was a one of a kind experience that I wouldn't change in any way despite its wealth of difficulties. Getting put back in reality and being demanded to learn and grow in a very real environment with very quick deadlines was the best thing that could've possibly happened to me after four years of people telling you almost nothing but candy-coated pleasantries.
MTV: So several of your most interesting pieces feature characters from some of our favorite comedy television shows ("Park and Rec's" Ron Swanson and "The Office's" Dwight among the many). Did you do these pieces just for your own personal fun?
Sam: Thank you. I love television and keep it going while I work during the day. I could have a busy as hell 14-hour day of painting and blow through an entire season of a show in the background, so they've become a weird part of my productivity. When I started doing them, they were for fun, but I treat all of my pop-culture/non-client pieces as one of the most important parts of my business. Ron Swanson, Dwight and Inspector Spacetime each had pretty large viral-pickups and sent dozens of clients my way and granted me some nice exposure. I treat them like my advertising – except they are also some of my favorite pieces to make.
Kat Dennings by Sam Spratt
MTV: How did "2 Broke Girls" star Kat Dennings like her portrait painting? We're big fans of her and the show.
Sam: She's this unusual archetype of beauty and dark humor that many seem to respond very well to. She seemed very happy with it and apparently "likes the voodoo that [I] do".
MTV: That Foxy Shazam album art work you did was incredible as well as the Wiz Khalifa merch design. Do you find yourself getting more music-related commissions? Are there any musicians you're itching to paint?
Sam: Much appreciated. I've worked with a few. Foxy Shazam being a personal favorite as those guys are both amazingly talented and complete and total characters in their appearances. I keep my toes in the water in the music industry as I definitely have my share of interest there and would love to contribute album covers to some of my favorite artists. If I can score a cover for Broken Social Scene and Kanye West in my lifetime, I'll consider it a success.
MTV: Do you know if Kanye has seen his portrait you did of him?
Sam: I have no idea, and if he did, he wouldn't be Kanye if he acknowledged it. His appeal to me is in his utter honesty with how completely self-absorbed he is. No one wants a humble or appreciative Kanye. Those who value him, value his god complex – which, when it comes to music, I think he has largely earned.
MTV: I constantly refer to him as "King Midas" in my write-ups.
Sam: Perfect.
MTV: Have you thought about or been approached by film studios for design work? I can't help but think you could've lent a hand with Ridley Scott’s upcoming “Prometheus” or a Pixar flick.
Sam: I've been approached by a few; some haven't been things that have excited me, others I can't talk about quite yet. That said, I want to see a renaissance in illustrated film posters. Things are getting pretty generic out there.
MTV: That actually leads me to my next question... Would you like to tackle movie posters someday? You seem like a worthy candidate to take the torch from Drew Struzan and bring it to the digital world.
Sam: Every time someone draws a link between myself and Struzan, I get absurdly nervous – the man is an illustrative deity and someone I couldn't possibly ever match in technical achievement. One of the nicest and most pressure inducing things said to me was by Ryan Kalil of the Carolina Panthers, who made a similar parallel. I can only hope to even be in a league similar to Struzan. That said, the genre he tackled is one I would love to visit and approach in my own way. I mean, I love photographers, but for a movie poster – studios/the ad-agencies behind them have to hire a photographer, a crew, sets, retouchers, compositors, etc. Big movies easily have six figures poured into some of these posters dispersed across the many facets that go into them. Why not hire just one painter?
MTV: We hear you, man. Right there with you. Lastly, you don't have divulge any names, but have you done private commissions for any big-time celebs? Any star struck moments there?
Sam: Sadly, the nature of private commissions is that they remain private, but I have definitely had my star struck moments. What I'd really like to do is to eventually segue my painting into advertising/promotional tools for television. I find the industry hugely fascinating and though I have the benefit of a job I already love every second of it that supports me well, the closer I get to other industries I'm passionate about, the bigger the results seem to be.
‘Red Tails’ Defeats Odds To Make #2 Box Office Debut
By Rob Markman
Everyone involved in the creation of "Red Tails" will tell you that it was no easy feat to get the movie into theaters, but now that struggle is being rewarded. The film debuted at #2 in the box offices and Ne-Yo believes that all of the hard work paid off. "I feel like we definitely did what we set out to do, which was make sure these incredible men, the Tuskegee Airmen, got the recognition that they deserved for the incredible things that they did for this country," Ne-Yo told MTV News of the George Lucas-produced film on Wednesday.
"And [we] proved to Hollywood that an ensemble cast of black faces can put asses in the seats, basically," he laughed. "So I feel like we served our purpose."
"Red Tails" tells the story of the Tuskegee Airmen, a group of African-American fighter pilots who battled deep-rooted racism, while fighting in World War II. Both Terrence Howard and Cuba Gooding Jr. star in the flick, while Ne-Yo, Method Man and Tristan Wilds have supporting roles. The historical piece hit theaters January 20, the Friday before Martin Luther King Jr. Day and opened second behind "Underworld: Awakening." Not bad for the singer/songwriter, who was also named senior vice president of A&R at Motown Records.
Considering the movie wasn't especially well-received by critics, "Red Tails" did well in its first weekend, surpassing initial expectations. Lucas appeared on "The Daily Show With Jon Stewart" earlier this month and claimed that major studios showed no interest in the film when he went to pitch it.
"It's because it's an all-black movie," he said. "There's no major white roles in it at all. It's one of the first all-black action pictures ever made."
"We've come a long way from when Martin was marching in the streets and getting rocks thrown at him. We've come a very, very long way," Ne-Yo said. "However, even with that being said, we got a long way to go. As a black person, period, we're kinda constantly in a state of proving, which is something that I came to wraps with a long time ago."
Despite the studios' lack of interest in the film, Ne-Yo decided to let the success of "Red Tails" speak for itself. "At the end of the day, you complain about it, or you prove them wrong," he said. "I feel like this was a matter of just proving them wrong."
Amy Winehouse’s Family Call Jean Paul Gaultier Fashion Tribute ‘In Bad Taste’
Fashion designer Jean Paul Gaultier, a favorite of Lady Gaga, is catching heat after presenting his Amy Winehouse-inspired spring/summer 2012 collection at Paris Fashion Week.
Winehouse's family is a bit miffed that the over-the-top designer, perhaps best known as the man behind Madonna's famous cone bra bustier (which is in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Museum), approximated Winehouse's signature style looks with a collection heavy on brightly-colored '60s style looks and beehive-sporting models wearing heavy black eyeliner. Gaultier admitted Winehouse directly inspired his collection, telling reporters, "Amy Winehouse was a true style icon. What she stands for above all, is uniqueness. Both in music and the way she dressed, she mixed a great many influences to create her style."
Well, Mitch Winehouse isn't feeling the love today and in a statement said the singer's family was upset when they saw images from the show, particularly because the look and presentation reflected the more troubled aspects of the "Back To Black" stars life and because Gaultier hadn't offered to make a donation to the Amy Winehouse Foundation, adding that the show was "purely about Gaultier making money."
Read Mitch Winehouse's strongly worded statement in full, after the jump.
"The family was upset to see those pictures, they were a total shock. We're still grieving for her loss, and we've had a difficult week with the six-month anniversary of Amy's death. To see her image lifted wholesale to sell clothes was a wrench we were not expecting or consulted on. We're proud of her influence on fashion but find black veils on models, smoking cigarettes with a barbershop quartet singing her music in bad taste. It portrays a view of Amy when she was not at her best, and glamorizes some of the more upsetting times in her life. That's upsetting for her family."
Ouch.