Yesterday we told you about the lyrically dexterous, brand-new-retro sound of Kidz In The Hall. Well, today we have the first video from their upcoming Land Of Make Believe album, "Jukebox."
"Jukebox," directed by BB Gun, finds Kidz MC, Naledge, overwhelmed by his options. Over a dirty, propulsive funk track (featuring some dope string-stabs), he kicks game, and then he kicks some more. And just when you thought he might be tapped out, he comes back kicking again.
Set on some kind of city block from an alternative universe where the male to female ratio mirrors that of Mt. Holyoke College, Naledge raps to girls on bikes, girls who are walking, girls with places to go. They all seem charmed, but they all seem otherwise engaged.
The action there moves to a bar. This setting, like the last one, has the same kind of disparity of gender representation and also features a Lo Bosworth lookalike.
It's really an embarrassment of riches for Naledge and his partner, Double-O. But I'm sure they'll manage somehow.
Check out the video for "Jukebox" below. Land Of Make Believe is due out March 9th.
+ Beyonce got her Carmen Miranda on down Rio way recently. Bey is down in Brazil, shooting a part in Alicia Keys' "Put It In A Love Song" video. Check out her Carnival-themed outfit. NIce eye makeup, gurl. (Idolator)
+ In other "pop queens looking hot on the set of music videos" news, here are some shots of Rihanna from the set of her new video, "Rude Boy." Rocking a black-and-white print body suit while sitting on a (albeit fake) zebra? Next level. (We Are Pop Slags)
+ Speaking of Rihanna (and Beyonce, and tons of other fashionable celebs), ever wonder whether there's some kind of incentive for them to be front and center at certain fashion week runway shows? Sure, some of them may have just ambled in to a Bryant Park tent because they were in the neighborhood (ha!), but do you think some of them may have been (gasp) paid?! Learn all about the secretive world of under-the-runway pay-offs, Rihanna's alleged $100,000 per show rate and more. (E! Online)
+ A little bit late to the party, but funny none the less; watch Brandon T. Jackson (from Percy Jackson & The Olympians) and Eve (from awesome rap albums and movies like Whip It!), in the Twilight parody, Dark Moon. Eve's Kristen Stewart is pretty spot on, actually. (Funny or Die)
+ All Time Low have taken their sugar-coated pop-punk to England as part of the Kerrang! Tour. The tour covered much of England and Scotland and, based on the photographic evidence, Alex Gaskarth and the boys really brought the noise. (Buzznet)
+ Whoa, adventures in Photoshop alert. Check out the before-and-after looks at Madonna, from her new Louis Vuitton ad campaign. Nice bunny ears, Madge! (Dlisted)
With a sound that acknowledges hip-hop's rich past and a lyrical sensibility that's at once intellectually stimulating and packed with attitude, Kidz In The Hall have something in their pocket for all kinds of rap fans.
Made up of MC's Naledge and Double-O (who met at a University of Pennsylvania talent show), the duo, who have made three albums (including the upcoming Land Of Make Believe), are flexible artists. They can do gutsy hardcore ("Middle Of The Map Pt. 2" from 2009's The In Crowd) as well as emotional honesty (the break-up-to-make-up jam, "Love Hangover").
If there's one constant with Kidz In The Hall, it's the respect they have for those who have come before them. Whether it's joining the label of East Coast legends Black Moon (Duck Down Records), remixing/re-imagining the Special Ed classic, "I Got It Made," or collaborating with old-schoolers like MC Lyte on their new album, they always give props to hip-hop's tradition.
Check out the video for their "I Got It Made" remake below, come back tomorrow for premiere of their video, "Jukebox," and check out photos of Kidz In The Hall performing live at MTV. The Land Of Make Believe is due out on March 9th.
Let's start from some sort of beginning, shall we? Die Antwoord are a South African hip-hop group featuring a DJ who may be missing, an MC named Ninja (left) who may or may not answer to Waddy, and a female vocalist named Yo-Landi. According to the Ninja himself, he's the embodiment of all various cultures in modern-day South Africa, all bundled into his hyper-kinetic, Dark Side Of The Moon-boxers-wearing, Pauly D-haircut-having, tatted-up, beating-up-the-beat body.
Die Antwoord makes furious, rave-infused hip-hop that reflects a multi-cultural, underprivileged life in modern-day South Africa. Their explicit raps are sometimes in English, and are referred to as "Zef" music, which, in Afrikaans, loosely means "redneck." There's also much evidence that suggests Ninja's past life as Max Normal. There's much speculation that the whole thing is made up by a bunch of art school kids. Meanwhile, Bizcommunity.com writer Ruth Collins suggests that Die Antwoord could be nothing more than "a calculated marketing strategy by the trio cashing in on the Afrikaans Culture coolness phenomena." Regardless, Die Antwoord's visuals are eerily compelling -- their videos mix the aesthetic of Harmony Korine and Aphex Twin's haunting videos.
It's because of these videos that Die Antwoord has become an Internet sensation, showing up on dozens of aggregation sites like BoingBoing and Buzzfeed, and garnering the group so many web hits their official site got shut down. Fred Durst likes them.
You're know you're pretty much printing your own money when you're... printing your own money. Case in point, Lady Gaga, who, as you know -- unless you live somewhere that uses shells as currency (in which case you're probably not reading this) -- is pretty famous. So famous that she inspired artist Craig Gleason to break the law (though I'm sure the U.S. Treasury would let it slide in this case) and create a series of hand-painted dollars that satisfy the heretofore unchartered intersection of George Washington and Lady Gaga. Perhaps you saw Craig Gleason's Gaga dollars back in December. But it looks like he just created some brand-new ones, featuring the razor blade sunglasses from her "Bad Romance," video, one of her very Matthew Barney Haus of Gaga outfits, and her mirrorball dress with intense shoulders.
The latest Gaga dollars are available on Craig Gleason's blog (which you can find by Googling his name or a combination of two felonies). Or hit him up at his Etsy shop to see how many regular dollars it takes to buy Gaga dollars. (Worth it at any price, I say!) If only I could use Gaga dollars to buy me some unwearable Alexander McQueen armadillo heels.
What, you were expecting her to go all Pride And Prejudice? You thought Ke$ha's new single, "Blah Blah Blah," would be some kind of restrained, measured act of emotional restraint? You thought the presence of 3Oh!3 would signal some uptick in maturity? You thought there wouldn't be any Auto-Tune? No references to whiskey and private parts?
C'mon, son! It's Ke$ha, it's 3Oh!3, it's Auto-Tuned, it's filthy (as in NSFW -- you were warned), and you love it.
"Blah Blah Blah" (co-written by Buzz On artist, Neon Hitch) is the follow up to the chart-topping, parody-spawning smash "Tik Tok." The track resembles "Tik Tok"'s hybrid of electro, new wave and hip-hop, while the lyrics find Ke$ha giving into her primal side, shushing a guy who thinks his sweet talk will get him some, as he ruins Ke$ha's favorite song with his yapping.
Representing the male side of this battle of the sexes, the boys in the 3Oh!3 spit a rhyme over the bridge about not caring who Ke$ha is. Feisty, fun stuff. Prepare to hear "Blah Blah Blah" constantly, team.
Bamboo Shoots are a five-piece, Brooklyn-based band with plenty of attitude. Their sound is a pop-rock, not unlike, say, a less-glam Cobra Starship, but embellished by the musical traditions of the group's South Asian heritage.
Songs like "Hey Girl," and "Where The Ocean Meets" are passionate, rhythmically dynamic tracks filled with longing and heart. But it's live where the band really shine.
When Bamboo Shoots play live, they play to win over everyone in the venue; no exceptions. To hear singer, Avir Mitra, describe it, the band are "evangelical" about converting folks into fans.
Winners of mtvU's Best Music On Campus contest, Bamboo Shoots, who released their debut album Armour last fall, recently sat down with MTV Iggy to dropm some Bamboo knowledge
In the below clip, Mitra talks about rock's reticence to sonically embrace other cultures, the importance of the band's live show and the band's songwriting and recording process.
Check out the interview below, and head over to Bamboo Shoots' MySpace for tour dates and to hear music.
In case you missed it the first time around this past New Year's Eve, Jennifer Lopez trotted out her chocolate-colored, semi-see-through Bedazzled bodysuit AGAIN this past Saturday night when she performed live at the AXE Lounge at the Fontainebleau Hotel's LIV nightclub in Miami.
Now, real talk -- I am NO Jennifer Lopez hater. She pushed out not one but TWO children, she's a triathlete, and keeps her shiz right and tight. Also, "Waiting For The Night" is still my jam, and I will unabashedly see The Back-up Plan. But did this bodysuit really need another go-round? It's not that it's not flattering. It just kind of has a Uhura feel to it. If Jennifer Lopez is going to recycle any outfit, it should be the green Versace dress (AKA "that dress!") she wore to the 2000 GRAMMYs. Now that, as my grandmother would say, was a DRESS. Jennifer! "Get right," put the bodysuit into retirement, and take that green GRAMMYs dress out of storage!
+ Which outfit would you rather see Jennifer Lopez in? Think about it, and tell me after you watch "Waiting For Tonight."
+ Long ago, a promise was made. A man named Diddy promised a boy named Justin Bieber that when he turned 16 he would bestow onto him a Ferrari. And when that day came, did Diddy keep his promise? It doesn't really matter, because Justin Bieber is a baller, and he copped his own Ferrari. (Idolator)
+ As if that weren't enough, I bring you more proof that Justin Bieber has unseated Shia LaBeouf as the world's luckiest boy (TRANSFORMERS? Indiana Jones? Come on, that was a good run!). Here is a gallery of Bieber posing with every beautiful woman in the music industry. Game over. (Rap Up)
+ Facebook has been rife with regular people comparing themselves (and occasionally deluding themselves) with their celebrity doppelgangers. (Sorry. But NO ONE'S ever mistaken you for Megan Fox.) But who will think of the celebrities, themselves? Do they not need doppelgangers? Looks like Ke$ha found hers... (Spinner)
+ Taylor and Taylor sitting in a tree... Though their real-life love story has come to an end, you can get a peek at the lip-locking Taylor Swift and Twilight's Taylor Lautner do in the film Valentine's Day, with this surreptitiously snapped pic from the set. (E! Online)
+ Oh I see you, rapper. You are really stunting out there with your futuristic car sitting on 32" rims. Congratulations. You've made it. Except, you haven't. Because until you have a cake that is made in your likeness, you will never be the Bawse, better known as Rick Ross. Meet Cake Bawse. (Crunk + Disorderly)
+ Marc Jacobs is suing Ed Hardy designer Christian Audigier. I thought perhaps this was a class action type of thing where Jacobs is suing on behalf of humanity but no, apparently this is over some tote bag beef. Keep it on the runway, boys. (Pink Is The New Blog)
The Take Action Tour -- featuring We The Kings, Mayday Parade, A Rocket To The Moon, There For Tomorrow, Call The Cops, and Stereo Skyline, with proceeds benefiting Driving For Donors, which seeks to save lives by finding a match for bone marrow donors and those in need -- is well under way and about to swing into your town or hopefully some place that's near your town so you can go.
The other night, My Life As Liz's eponymous star Liz Lee checked out the Take Action Tour and caught up with Derek Sanders of Mayday Parade. Check out Liz and Derek's video. If that doesn't encouraging you to catch a Take Action show, then I don't know will. Plus get the Take Action Tour dates and buy the Take Action Tour Volume 9 double-disc album, which comes (February 9), featuring all of the band on this year's tour, plus This Providence, All Time Low, Cobra Starship and more.
Obsessively blogging about pop music, pop videos, pop stars, and pop culture from inside the MTV headquarters in Times Square. We also have a slight Jonas Brothers problem. And a little fixation with Tokio Hotel.