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  • #freshpresslive – feb 10/12

    Natalia brings you the latest news on Adele’s interview with Anderson Cooper, Kristen Bell’s interview on Ellen is auto tuned, Ladyhawke’s latest music video and much more!

  • #freshpresslive – Feb 8/12

    Natalia discusses what’s new with Pharrell Williams and her thoughts on Karl Lagerfeld’s mean comments towards Adele’s weight. She also shows a roster of animals behaving like humans and, wait until you see the new size of coffee available at Starbucks!

  • #freshpresslive – Feb 7/12

    Natalia dishes the latest news on the Juno Awards nominees, the upcoming Spiderman 3D film starring Emma Stone and Andrew Garfield and is Katy Perry hooking up with Tim Tebow? Watch today’s episode to find out.

  • Small Talk – The Kooks (2 of 2)

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  • Small Talk – The Kooks (1 of 2)

    The Kooks released a new album called “Junk of the Heart,” and you would think Hugh and Luke would be very excited about it. Well, they seemed rather indifferent to be honest. We spoke about that and why they don’t care about critics.

  • #freshpresslive – Feb 2/12

    Natalia dishes the latest in entertainment news on Joan Rivers, Lana Del Rey and a brand new trailer for the movie Hunger Games.

  • #freshpresslive – Feb 1/12

    Natalia talks about how Snooki might be pregnant, Nicolas Cage’s Cage Rage, Elisabetta Canalis is dating Steve-O and more for Feb 1, 2012.

  • #freshpresslive – Jan 31/12

    Natalia dishes the news on Miley Cyrus breaking her tailbone, a 100 year old woman who plays the Nintendo DS to stay young and Houston, Texas contemplating a statute of Beyonce.

  • #freshpresslive – Jan 30/12

    David Beckham debuts a new line of underwear, the worst dressed celebrity – Shy’m and Matthew Broderick is back as Ferris Bueller with a brand new commercial airing during the Super Bowl on Feb 5th 2012.

  • Small Talk – Daniel Radcliffe (1 of 2)

    Daniel Radcliffe is back with his new movie The Woman In Black. It’s a bone chilling remake of a film from the ’80s. Ironically, Daniel actually scares very easily but he’s not afraid of ghosts. In this interview he tells us what really gives him the creeps.

  • Small Talk – Graffiti6 (2 of 3)

    Next time you’re struggling to make conversation, try asking this question: “If you could invite anyone (living or dead) to the perfect house party, who would it be?”

  • Small Talk – Graffiti6 (1 of 3)

    Graffiti6 is starting to make their North American invasion, and they are hitting up the Tonight Show. Does this sound familiar? Well the Beatles made the exact same journey over 40 years ago. Naturally, @jordans_life had to make some comparisons.

  • Small Talk – Nick Carter (3 of 3)

    Nick plays World of Warcraft. Not only that, he’s the head of his guild, demonstrating that it IS possible to juggle being a hardcore gamer with being a top-selling recording artist.

  • Small Talk – Nick Carter (2 of 3)

    During a LIVE interview on andPOP.com Nick Carter gave out a number and took phone calls from his fans. These were real phone calls from real fans who we gave exclusive access to one of the biggest recording artists of our generation.

  • Small Talk – Nick Carter (1 of 3)

    There were great questions about music, fitness, the backstreet boys but the most popular question, however, was about his underwear. In this clip Nick talks about his his ‘Haynes’ and covering his fans with glow in the dark paint.

  • Small Talk – Hedley (2 of 2)

    When releasing new music today, half the battle is online promotion. However, contests, signed merch and giveaways aren’t always the best solutions. When working on their latest album, Hedley came up with a brilliant idea, they decided to make trailers.

  • Small Talk – Hedley (1 of 2)

    It’s hard to prepare for an interview with Hedley. So in this interview, we threw caution to the wind, got a 24 of beer and broadcast the interview live on our USTREAM (andPOP.tv). Eventually Jacob, Dave and @jordans_life ended up talking about hairy legs, their newest music video and more.

  • Small Talk – Marina and The Diamonds (2 of 2)

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  • Small Talk – Neverest

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Will Smith: Rap Needs A Makeover

Posted by andPOP Staff on June 28th, 2005

Tonight, actor-rapper Will Smith will be hosting the BET Awards alongside his wife, Jada Pinkett-Smith. It will be a star-studded night of revelry with the biggest names in music – Mariah Carey, Ciara, John Legend, Missy Elliot, just to name a few ? all hitting the stage at Hollywood’s Kodak Theatre. But Smith doesn’t simply want to draw attention to the year’s hottest black entertainers. He’s also got a message for the show’s artists and audience: the impact of U.S. black culture is felt all around the world, with celebrity rappers being role models for today’s youth.

“The kids that are making these trends, making these songs, don’t understand the level of effect that black Americans have around the world,” Smith said in an interview with The Associated Press. ” … Black Americans are so elevated, it’s almost worship.”

Smith said he first noticed the trend while touring a village in Mozambique. He was surprised to find the name of slain rapper Tupac Shakur scrawled across a shack. When he asked the African children why it was there, “they were saying we want to dress like you dress, wear all the things you wear, talk how you talk,” he recalled.

Smith has brought up an important issue. But it’s clear that the children of Mozambique are not the only ones who look up to American rappers and who crave to imitate their way of life. Just take a walk on the streets of any major North American city and you’ll see mini-Eminems and mini-50 Cents everywhere ? teens wearing G-unit wifebeaters strutting down the street, bling flashing off necks, fingers, and ears.

Rappers are like royalty to today’s youth. So what happens when these rappers glorify violence, sexism, and drug use in their songs? Suddenly, it’s cool to have been shot five times like The Game ? or nine times if you’re 50. The more the better.

While I don’t deny that rap is infectious and hip hop is great music to dance to, it also can’t be denied that the genre doesn’t exactly have much depth. When was the last time you listened to a rap hit that had any sort of significant meaning? 50 Cent’s latest top 10 offering consists of him telling the ladies to “go shake that thang, yeah work that thang; let me see it go up and down.” Yeah, sure, I’ll get right on that. The kids who idolize these rap stars are only getting the impression that guns are cool and a woman’s sole asset is her ass.

Rap needs a makeover, and it looks like the “Fresh Prince” is on to something. Smith, one rare artist who doesn’t have so much as a parking ticket to his name, believes that youth strive for the gangster lifestyle because it’s “the image of survivors. What I’m trying to present and what a lot of other artists are presenting is a different approach to survival and a more sound approach to survival. It’s a more long-term approach based on intellect and skills that can’t be taken away from you: The smartest dude survives the best.

“It’s real important to have balance of the imagery. Yes, there are people who fire guns in the street, but there’s also doctors who go to work in those areas to feed their children.”


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Categories: Hip Hop/Rap