andPOP - Pop Culture With Substance

Think you’ve heard enough about the Taylor Swift-Kanye West MTV Awards stage crash? Well, apparently not everyone does.

In a promotional shoot on Tuesday for Swift’s upcoming role as both host and musical guest on “Saturday Night Live,” Swift and “SNL” cast member Bill Hader poke some fun at the now-infamous event, according to MTVnews.com.

The promo opens with Swift and Hader standing in a 30 Rock corridor. Hader is on his cell phone as Swift says, “Hey, I’m Taylor Swift, and I’ll be the host and musical guest this week on ‘SNL.’” As she finishes her line, Hader gets off the phone and tells the young country star, “Whoops, Kanye just called. He thinks Beyoncé should host instead.” As Swift looks at him in disbelief, Hader goes, “Funny joke, right?”

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Charges filed against Kanye West and his road manager and bodyguard, Don Crowley, have been dropped by a Los Angeles court, reports CBC. The pair faced misdemeanour charges in connection with a fight that broke out with two paparazzi in an airport last September. The incident resulted in some broken equipment and minor injuries to one of the photographers.

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Kanye West teamed up with Oscar-nominated director Spike Jonze this summer to create a unique, mind-bending and often confusing short film. We Were Once a Fairytale was shown at the LA film festival in August, and was intended for A September 8th iTunes release, but it made its international debut on Monday, Oct.19.

The release comes less than a week after the premier of Spike Jonze’s fantastical big-screen rendition of Where the Wild Things Are. This may alleviate some confusion over the video’s bizarreness.

The short film parallels the tone of West’s 808s and Heartbreak album. It’s strange and even boring at first, but when you understand its direction, you understand its art. It’s dark but ultimately moving…not to mention catchy as hell.

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Sorry Kanye West, but Lady Gaga has some of the best tour dates of all time.

Lady Gaga has announced the dates of her headlining tour, “The Monster Ball,” which CHARTattack describes as ”a multimedia artistic experience in the style of a pop-electro opera.”

Gaga will headline this tour alone – no Kanye West for her this time. The West-Gaga Fame Kills tour was allegedly cancelled due to West’s crazy Taylor Swift acceptance speech takeover at the MTV Video Music Awards last month.

Opening for Gaga on the tour will be Kid Cudi, a protege of West’s, who recently released his debut album, Man On The Moon: The End Of Day.

The tour will start in just over a month in Montreal on Nov. 27, and end in New York on Jan. 21.

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After a party at an abandoned Atlanta suburb house had Soulja Boy running from the police, the rapper told fans on Monday that he was in studio under the production of Kanye West, MTV.com reports.

The unusual pairing was enhanced by a previous rumour that West had fled to India after missing the BET hip-hop awards last weekend.

Soulja Boy was reportedly booked during the filming of the music video for his new track “Gangsta Muzik.” After spending a night in prison he was released on $550 bond.

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Lady Gaga and Kanye West shocked fans on Thursday when they announced they would be canceling their much-anticipated Fame Kills tour without explanation.

But on Friday at an event in New York City, Gaga, who didn’t get into specifics about the cancellation, did say West would be taking some time off and she would be hitting the road on her own.

“Well, actually, it was a mutual decision to cancel the tour,” she told MTV News. “But I’m not taking any time off, so I’ll be leaving just a week later than I was supposed to on my own solo tour. IT will be the same places. So I will see you guys there. I’m putting out my re-release as well – The Fame Monster on November 24.”

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Last night MTV’s expert panel capped off their top ten “Hottest MC’s” with long-time heavyweight Jay-Z coming out on top. The controversial list was compiled by Hip Hop critics and enthusiasts, and for the first time included the opinion of fans across North America. The criteria: lyrics, flow, impact, buzz, sales and intangibles.

The final list: 1. Jay-Z, 2. Lil Wayne, 3. Drake, 4. Kanye West, 5. Rick Ross, 6. Gucci Mane, 7. Young Jeezy, 8. Fabolous, 9. 50 cent, 10. Raekwon

A few names are mysteriously absent from the list, most notably, Eminem. The rapper should not only have appeared on the list, he should have been in the top five. His recent album wasn’t his best of all time but its popularity continues to grow, and his verse on Drake’s new ‘Forever’ remix was the best on the track.

Kid Cudi’s name has spread like wildfire in the music industry, and TI continues to maintain his popularity; yet neither of them appear on the list.

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Kanye West and Lady Gaga’s co-headlining tour “Fame Kills” has been cancelled, according to MTV News.

No reason for the cancellation has been given. The tour’s promoter, Live Nation, issued a press release that stated ticket refunds are available at the place of purchase, and tickets bought online or over the phone will be automatically refunded.

While the tour has been generating hype, rumors of its cancellation have been surfacing for days. A large amount of the negativity has stemmed from West’s interruption of Taylor Swift’s acceptance speech at last month’s MTV Video Music Awards.

The tour, which West announced unexpectedly at an appearance on The View last June, and was scheduled to kick off in Phoenix on Nov. 10, was not confirmed by either of the artists’ reps until mid-September.

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Kanye West may have a big ego, but the rapper/producer has enough modesty to recognize a future superstar when he sees one. Last year West told MTV News that one of the new artists he was working with, Mr. Hudson, had the potential to be a bigger star than himself. And, with Hudson’s first single (which features West) now released, the British pop singer could very well be on his way to fulfilling that prediction.

The song, “Supernova,” is already generating buzz with its unique beats and catchy chorus. The single is off the unreleased album, Straight No Chaser, which is due out in the UK on October 19, according to mrhudson.com.

Hudson has gained some recognition for his collaboration on West’s hit song, “Paranoid,” off the most-recent album 808s & Heartbreak. Recently he also appeared on Jay-Z’s new album, The Blueprint III. But now the singer/songwriter is beginning to make a real name for himself.

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While Kanye West may have claimed to Jay Leno to be keeping a low profile on things after his Taylor Swift-MTV Video Music Awards debacle, the new video clip he posted on his blog begs to differ.

The promo video released on Wednesday, Sept. 23 for his new “Fame Kills” tour with Lady Gaga is anything but low profile, according to MTV News.

The video clip, posted by West under the headline, “What Happened to All the Rock Stars? Fame Killed Them!” is a slow motion film featuring a topless Gaga covering herself and wrapped in the arms of a black man while soft, moody music plays in the background. When 30 seconds of this pass, the name of the tour appears on the screen along with a voice that says, “Fame Kills!” and then “West + Gaga” flashes across.

West first made an announcement about the tour earlier this summer at an appearance on “The View,” but it wasn’t a sealed deal until last week. The “Fame Kills” tour is set to begin on Nov. 10 in Phoenix and wrap up Jan. 24 in Dallas.

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