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Jason Derulo Ready To Show Pop Potential

Jeremy Singer — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 04:01:25 +0000

Jason Derulo gets giddy with excitement when discussing his feeling as artist with a hit debut single like Watcha Say.

Not because of the fame that tags along with it’s No. 1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, or 750,000 sold copies, or invitation to join Lady Gaga on her Monster Ball Tour, but the anticipation, knowing that he has so much more potential to unleash.

And the industry doesn’t even realize it- yet.

“I’m just beginning man,” Derulo tells andPOP from Los Angeles. “It’s definitely an interesting feeling. It’s almost as if I feel like people have no idea of what I can offer as an artist, the impact that I can have.”

The Miami-born’s initiation into the music industry is looking promising thanks to Watcha Say- a watered-down upbeat version of Imogen Heap’s Hide and Seek- which has been on the chart for nine weeks now since it’s original no. 54 spot on August 30.

With a sense of humor, the 20-year-old jokes about possibly mimicking Will Ferrell’s character in Old School and going streaking through a quad to celebrate. The thought crosses his mind, “maybe butt naked for a mile,” he says.

But then again in all seriousness, the artist doesn’t feel like celebrating as if a one-hit wonder. He’s aware of all the eyes looking towards his Sophomore single and debut album, and to be honest, he’s eagerly looking towards them too- without hesitation.

“I am so excited,” he says with enthusiasm. His response is so convincing even from three time-zones away.

“The first single was just an appetizer to the main course. That’s the only way I can put it.”

Derulo says he’s had that passion and swagger since he wrote his first song at eight-years-old- as a kid who would admire musical greats like Michael Jackson and Madonna, and always have a knack to pen lyrics.

Eventually at 16, his portfolio would read writing tracks for industry big-hitters like Lil’ Wayne, Pitbull and Birdman- an experience that Derulo describes as “both incredible and nerve-racking.”

“It was a bit intimidating in the beginning,” recalls Derulo, “seeing these guys in person, the guys who you see on TV growing up. But once we started creating and writing the music, it was a blast.”

Chuckles Derulo, “and that kind of cred didn’t hurt while picking up the ladies.”

But he admits the imagination is endless when writing for himself.

“The sky’s the limit,” he says. “I can experiment, try and break barriers, and try and do off-the-wall different things.

“But I remember when I was writing for someone else, you can’t try and do anything different in that situation. I always had to gear it towards that person, and make their voice come out.”

What Derulo really wanted though, was to have his voice come out, and get a chance to display his ability as a solo performer. But the songwriter decided to further polish his raw talent through formal musical schooling at the New York American Musical and Dramatic Academy, where he studied everything from opera and theatre, to ballet and musical genres.

He remembers the long nights memorizing and learning songs at the piano by heart, the perfect standards he had to meet while singing in musical theatre, and also the endurance he learned while working on his dance skills.

But among many hardworking memories, he recalls vividly what he learned about Shakespeare as a writer, and how it helped define himself as a songwriter.

“I remember that in Shakespeare,” says Derulo, “every word is strategically placed to make sure it has a purpose. From that I’ve learned to stay away from having any filler lines in my work.

“All of my formal training helped tremendously.”

Now a bona-fide vessel of talent, Derulo’s discovery would come immediately after mega music producer J.R. Rotem (Britney Spears and Sean Kingston) flew him to Los Angeles to -originally- write music. However when Derulo decided to sing to his own lyrics that he created while in the studio, Rotem realized that the kid could write and sing, and decided to rush Derulo into a sound-booth the same day so the two of them could begin creating music.

“We recorded six songs in about three hours,” recalls Derulo. “That’s how amazing our energy levels were. We were at the exact same pace.”

Derulo compares the chemistry between him and Rotem to guys like Jackson and Quincy Jones. That connection got Derulo signed to Beluga Heights and Warner Bros. Records in 2009, a deal that had Derulo focusing on his debut self-titled album- due out in 2010.

“J.R. has great Pop sensibility,” says Derulo, who admires Rotem’s ability to view the industry as both a musician and a fan.

“As musicians we tend to get caught up with our work and our style or craft, but he’s also able to take the point of view as a fan, and hear the song from that perspective.”

The best part of the deal, according to the artist, is the leniency he was given to write all of his songs. While some artists would cringe at the thought of writing and recording over 300 tracks in eight months, Derulo laughs at the prospect.

“Difficult?” he asks chuckling. “I had the time of my life. I had my own studio, so it was amazing that I could be inside the entire day for hours working on my craft.

“What more could I ask for. I was able to come in and do what I love every single day. And I put my heart and soul into it.”

Although the songwriter did find some difficulty, but ironically it was while trying narrowing down those prospects to a CD selection. Yet, he understands and accepts the fact that “as a songwriter you may have certain connections to certain songs for different reasons. But you have to put that aside, you can’t choose a song because it was sentimental to you.”

With his debut record about to boast strong Pop roots, Derulo assures fans that it won’t just be watered down tracks like Watcha Say.

“It’ll emphasize each side of the Pop genre,” he says. Among his favorites is a tune that features Bitter Sweet Symphony by The Verve, and is dubbed “a singles anthem.”

“I think that there’s a lot of quality stuff on it that’s going to show my versatility and potential as an artist. I can’t wait.”

Lil Wayne’s Rebirth To Be Released December 15

Stephen Baldwin — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 20:27:12 +0000

Universal has announced that Lil Wayne’s long overdue rock album, Rebirth, will be released on December 15th.

The announcement comes just a few weeks after the release of his new mixtape, No Ceilings, and a week after the release of Weezer’s Raditude album, on which he makes an appearance on the song Can’t Stop Partying. He told Billboard.com that he plans to maintain the consistent rock vibe that he intended.

“I play guitar on 80 percent of the songs, and there’s a lot of rock influences and rock beats. I also have Travis Barker on the album.”

While working with two rock giants like Travis Barker and Rivers Cuomo should give Wayne the right idea, there is still no certainty about the outcome of this album. Based on the mild response generated by Prom Queen and Can’t Stop Partying, the anticipation will be filled with more curiousity than excitement.

But you can be certain that Weezy will stay true to his free-for-all roots. “I say what I want, how I want. That’s what this album is: a freedom album.”

The album reportedly includes appearances by Drake, members of Fallout boy and Lenny Kravitz, and may be released alongside the Young Money album, We Are Young Money.

Lil Wayne Sued for Copyright Infringement

Vanessa Baker — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 20:13:39 +0000

Rappers Lil Wayne and Birdman are being sued by Thomas Marasciullo, who claims they used his voice on several tracks without permission, reports CBC.

Marasciullo recorded some spoken word recordings for Birdman’s label Cash Money Records in 2006. He claims they were used without his knowledge on four tracks on the pair’s joint album Like Father, Like Son and five tracks on Birdman’s 5 (Star) Stunna. He claims when he asked for compensation, he was fired as a recording engineer at the record company.

Last week, Lil Wayne pleaded guilty to attempted criminal possession of a weapon. He will be sentenced in February and faces possible jail time.

Chris Brown Transforms His Image With New Single

Stephen Baldwin — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 18:52:29 +0000

The music video for Chris Brown’s new track “I Can Transform Ya” was released on MTV this morning. The song features two versus form Lil Wayne and chorus and beat contributions from Swizz Beatz. The track will appear on Brown’s new upcoming album ‘Graffiti’.

The original yet still catchy song is a great debut to launch the singer’s comeback after serving community service time for assaulting Rihanna earlier this year.

The video is filled with Brown’s characteristically cool modern dance sequences on a classic white background, and quick, colourful transforming graphics.

“I Can Transorm Ya” coincidentally debuts less than a week after the release of Rihanna’s “Russian Roulette” premiere.

Graffiti is set to release on December 15.

Lil’ Wayne Faces A Year In Prison

Joelle Tomlinson — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 23:43:34 +0000

What is this prison place, and why is it stealing all of our rap artists?

This time, the culprit is Lil’ Wayne, the beloved Grammy winner, and unfortunately, the second major rapper (the first being T.I.), in the span of a year to be faced with weapon charges. According to perezhilton.com, the rapper pleaded guilty to attempted weapon position and is expected to be sentenced to a year in jail. Wayne admitted to having a .40 caliber semi-automatic loaded gun onboard his tour bus back in 2007.

This isn’t the only charge Wayne is facing either. According to Rolling Stone, Wayne is also facing a trial for felony drug possession and weapons charges in Arizona as the result of another tour bus search in 2008. In that case, Wayne’s bus was reportedly holding 105 grams of marijuana, 29 grams of cocaine, 41 grams of ecstasy, drug paraphernalia and a handgun. He is pleading not guilty to these charges.

Sentencing isn’t until February so he remains free on his bail until then, but it’s unclear whether the guilty plea will affect the planned December 15th release of the rappers oft-delayed Rebirth.

Jay-Z Wraps Up Hottest MC list

Stephen Baldwin — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 16:53:50 +0000

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.

Canadians may be excited, though, to see young Toronto native Aubrey ‘Drake’ Graham crack the top three. The MC has been one of the busiest in the music industry this year, quickly building relationships with the most powerful names in Hip Hop. Names like Lil Wayne, Kanye West and most notably Jay-Z.

While his new album, The Blueprint III, isn’t considered by Jay-Z fans as his strongest album, his ranking at the top of Hip Hop is long overdue. He was even given a stamp of approval from New York Governor David Paterson: “I can personally attest to his commitment to New York and the impact he has on New Yorkers of all ages,” he said.

If the list surprises – or angers – you, you’re not alone. Comments on the MTV website aren’t very supportive of the compiled list, and a few fans were especially vocal on omission of Eminem. While the MCs that made the list are deserving of recognition at this point, expect the list to be drastically different next year.

Weezer-Weezy Collaboration

Stephen Baldwin — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 19:19:22 +0000

Weezer will include a track featuring hip-hop star Lil Wayne on their new album, MTV News reports.

Raditude, scheduled to debut on November 3rd, is the seventh studio album by the rock group, and front man Rivers Cuomo said it was a chance, “to do something totally different.”

If you’re familiar with Weezer’s edgy, upbeat rock sound, urban music is far from characteristic of their style. Cuomo told MTV News that he wrote the song, titled “Can’t Stop Partying,” with music industry dynamo Jermaine Dupri. “It was a real challenge for me, taking his ideas, which are very slick, R&B party [ideas], and giving it some kind of edge, some darkness, making it work with rock, making it work with Weezer,” said Cuomo.

But Lil Wayne is no stranger to Rock. He appeared on Fallout Boy’s last album, and is continuing to pursue his own solo rock-inspired project named Rebirth. Experience, though, doesn’t necessarily imply success. His rock endeavours have been praised for their daring ingenuity, but not necessarily their sound. Ingenuity is one thing that the music pair share though, so it will be interesting to hear the final product of their collaboration.

It wasn’t stated whether Weezer got the idea from the A Millie-Say it Ain’t So mash-up put together by American sampling and mash-up artist Girl Talk. The mix of arguably the two most popular songs by both artists is actually a pretty good blend, but it wasn’t necessarily received as well by fans of either camp as it was by Girl Talk fans.
The same can be said of Mash-up artist Mole Star with their 10-song Weezer/Weezy album he cleverly named Weezyer. The horrible blend of the two names is comparable to the album itself; it just doesn’t sound right. While he does make a strong attempt at blending oil and water, the mix lacks the natural flow that a rock/hip-hop mash-up requires (See a few tracks from Jaydiohead, a Radiohead/Jay-Z mash-up album by Minty Fresh productions, or Jay-zeezer, or even emineezer – ok, I made that last one up)

What’s worse about the Weezyer album is that Weezer fans who visit the official Weezer website absolutely hated the mash-up. Among the comments are a “Fu** that sh**,” followed later by a, “Why bother?” But it’s too early to get cynical, especially in this musical age of samples, mixes and mash-ups – you can never predict which sounds will work together.

Thinking about a room full of Weezer fans joined by a group of Lil Wayne fans is almost cataclysmic: the two groups are bound to fundamentally different music and lifestyle philosophies. But in this era of musical innovation, this combination shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone. Hardcore fans in each group will need to bite their lips and adapt to a changing music schema. If the song is a complete failure though, they’ll have plenty to bitch about for the next little while.

Entourage Season 6×10 Review: Berried Alive

Jeremy Singer — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 21:46:13 +0000

This Week On Entourage:

Having relationship woes with jealous girlfriends, Eric and Turtle discuss with Vince how to solve it.

The boys meet up with a stressed out Drama who is afraid he’ll get cut from Five Towns. Although when he runs into a Melrose producer who offers him a part in the new show, Drama strongly considers dropping out of his current show.

He discusses the possibility with the boys about somehow getting out of his contract, and the boys advise him to call his agent.

Lloyd, feeling nervous after leaving Ari, tries to convince Drama to stay with him as his client at the new agency. Drama says if he gets out of the contract, then he’ll consider signing with Lloyd.

Meanwhile, Turtle gives Eric a lift to Ashley’s house, to settle some relationship trust issues. She’s suspicious about the identity of “Rupert Pupkin” (the name she saw on his cell phone), which happened to be Vince’s alias name. Ashley suggests that she have access to all his e-mails- this has Eric a bit sketched out.

When Ari finds out the news that Lloyd left the agency, he flips out, promising that he will destroy his life.

As this results in a tug-o-war over Drama, Ari ends up bribing Dan Coakly out of Drama’s contract.

On the way to school, Jamie senses that Turtle is acting odd and confronts him about it- realizing that it might be the sorority whores.

Making a final stand, Lloyd preaches to Drama his un-dying loyalty to him and the promise that he will be his no. one client. After Drama confronts Ari and questions his actual interest in his talent, Drama decides to sign with Lloyd.

Elsewhere, Eric meets Ashley for dinner to break-up with her over her paranoia. He and the boys then meet up to party with his assistant and her friends. And Turtle then gets a call from Jamie who informs him she got a part in a series that films in New Zealand.

Hookups:

Eric and Ashley

Celeb Cameos:

Jamie-Lynn Sigler

Overall:

Eric dumps Ashley. Ari plays tug-o-war with Lloyd. Not too bad of an episode. But nothing great.

It’s clear that this episode was done to have some closure on the theme of relationships. The problem with Ashley has been dragging on for way too long, it’s about time that Eric finally dropped her. But with Jamie going to New Zealand, leaving Turtle with those “sorority whores” will he manage to stay loyal? Who knows. He’s already thinking about it, apparently.

But I think that this season is closing pretty well. Assuming that Drama will get the Melrose part, next season will boast Vince’s new movie, Drama’s new show, Lloyd being an agent, Turtle in business school, and Eric being a full-time manager (with some possible big clients).

And hey, Eric might even consider Sloan, who knows.

That sounds like a pretty interesting beginning for season seven. So in a way, this character development season story arc was more crucial to the show’s existence than ever.

It was an investment. An investment for the writers to say:

“Hey let’s take a season off of the Vinnie Chase block-buster films, let’s deepen the other characters, expand their development, and then switch back to a Vince story line the following season- with the rest of the crew already having fresh arcs.”

So we’ll see what happens with two episodes left. All I can say is next week will be interesting. The issues will be plentiful.

And with the finale supposed to be featuring Lebron James and Lil’ Wayne, there’s still tons of wicked stuff ahead.

—> andPOP’s insider secret: Ari having another massive therapist meltdown.

Rating:

3.5/5

Best Line:

1) Lloyd trying to convince Drama to sign with him-

“I’ve seen everything from Viking Quest to the New New Love Boat…you were a tremendous young Merrill Stubing.”

2) Ari talking to Lloyd on the phone from Dan Coakley’s office-

“Why would he (return your phone call) when you’re a dead man? I’m everywhere Lloyd!”

Best Moment(s):

1) Ari going ballistic at Lloyd, after finding out he left the agency to work with Adam Davies.

2) Eric breaking up with Ashley.

Next Week:

Scared Straight- Suspicions arise when Terence wants to sell Ari his share of Ari’s old agency. Drama goes on an audition for the new “Melrose Place.” Eric goes to the doctor after receiving some disturbing news.

Twista’s Category: F5, A Vicious Vision

Jeremy Singer — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 05:49:01 +0000

In life (and in the hip-hop industry especially), there’s an unwritten code: as you approach the veteran years of your career, you’re expected to lose a step in your game.

Twista did not get that memo.

In fact, with 18 years of experience in the business so far, the Chicago hip-hop legend doesn’t see a career decline anytime soon. Nope, on the contrary. He says that some of his best work is yet to come.

Think about that for a moment.

This is coming from the guy who’s had two of his past six studio albums go platinum and crack the top ten list on the U.S. Billboard top 200, collaborations with some of the music industry’s finest talent including Kanye West, Snoop Dogg, Mariah Carey, T-Pain, Lil Wayne, T.I, and Akon, and not to mention, this is also the former Guinness World Record holder for the fastest rapper in the world.

But despite all of his accomplishments, the 35-year-old is still confident that there’s room to improve, and has thus named his seventh studio album Category F5, the term for the most severe and dangerous Tornado level known to mankind on the Fujita scale.

“When all is said and done,” Twista tells andPOP, “I want everyone to see Twista as a timeless artist.

“I really want people to see that ‘this n***a came into the game a while back and was blowing away people with his lyrics from the beginning all the way until the end, and still at 35, he’s still competing with some of the hottest n***as in the game now.”

With stakes so high and something planned to be so colossal, the rapper thought it was necessary to be more involved in the production of this record.

“There were a lot of things hands-on this time,” recalls Twista. “I used to have some people do some stuff for me, but this time I really dove into the mixing and listening to the first cuts.

“But this hands-on thing really challenged me, so it was like I was sitting somewhere in the basement going crazy like mad scientist, hard at work, trying to get the album the way I wanted it to sound.”

But hard work isn’t foreign to Twista. Born and bred on Chicago’s West Side, Twista- real name Carl Mitchell -is quite familiar with the feeling of grinding through the ranks, networking, and continuing to push forward. In fact, it’s safe to say that Twista is one of the best networking artists in the entire industry.

Case in show, at the time he released his third album Adrenaline Rush in 1997, Twista’s services as a rapid-tongued lyrical speed-demon were constantly desired by the majority of the biz. Kind of like the way someone requests a special hot sauce to give their food that extra spike, Twista was indeed that secret sauce, and the industry couldn’t get enough of him.

Timbaland, Ludacris, P. Diddy, Kanye West. The list goes on and on.

“Everyone knows I’m happy to help them out anytime,” explains Twista. “I put my heart and soul into everything, and the tracks that they ask me to jump on. So it feels good to know they have my back and can return the favor.”

And the original favor returned was well worth it. His 2004 album Kamikaze attracted, upon many, the likes of longtime Chi-town friend Kanye West and actor/singer Jamie Foxx, who all together created the album’s Grammy nominated star pupil Slow Jamz. The album’s popularity was so hot that it not only reached platinum status, but also earned the No. 1 spot on the U.S. Billboard top 200.

Ever since Kamikaze, however, Twista has yet to generate as much success.

The following two projects, The Day After (2005), and Adrenaline 2007 (2007) did do fairly well- the first going platinum and the second going gold – but somehow their growth was stunted.

It’s one of Twista’s main hopes that F5 will break that trend, and help reclaim his spotlight.

“When people hear this album,” says Twista, “I just want them to see me, and how I’m still a part of what’s going on.”

Helping him hopefully meet that goal are the A-listing cast that he attracted once again- no surprise there. Throwing out big names such as Kanye, Akon, Busta Rhymes, R. Kelly, and longtime friend on the production side, The Legendary Traxster, the cast can only be assessed as simply more fire power for this already machine gun rapper.

“I’m still so phased by it now,” says Twista. “It’s a great group to have in the studio, such top artists all working together to achieve excellence- nothing better than that.”

Dig deeper, and you’ll find that his allegiances with some of the guys go further than just past one-time gigs. Take him and Trax for example. Like peanut butter and jelly, they both go all the way back to when Twista first began spitting out beats on records. Or R. Kelly, who was a guest at Twista’s original release party in 1991. Or even Kanye, who Twista recalls spending tons of time with, at his house, while they were younger.

“Man, I was chilling with him when he was still getting into trouble with his mother,” Twista says laughing. “But overall, I guess I’m just lucky to have a great relationship with everybody.”

F5 also gives Twista a chance to put his career on a path towards “longevity”- a dream and word that he cannot repeat enough throughout the interview. Almost like a four syllable mantra.

“Hip-hop artists’ careers end way too quickly,” says Twista. “It’s sad, and it would be great if they can last as long as the way R&B artists do. Just like James Brown.”

Then he pauses.

“You know what, I wanna be like the Jason Voorhees of rap,” he adds, chuckling, referring to the machete-wielding hockey-masked fictional character in Friday the 13th who just never dies.

And for someone who has seen it all over the years- from the CD to the MP3 era -Twista points out the evolution of his playground, and the current “impure” state of the industry.

“Right now,” he explains, “everyone’s trying to make money off of it. It’s more impure than it has been in a long time.”

“But I think that everything has the potential to do a 360. Like there’s a lot of negatives that have come from the whole technology aspect in the music industry, but there’s also a lot of positives. You’ll hear a lot of raw talent from the internet.”

Adds the rapper, “I guess it’s that I like being a true artist, so I like when a person can really play an instrument, or is really talented to put together a release, or someone who can really rap their ass off. I would like to hear more of that. I’m not against the fans view, because that’s what they love. But I wanna even it out a little bit.”

New Lil Wayne Album Delayed Again

Eva Lam — Sun, 24 May 2009 22:39:24 +0000

Fans of Lil Wayne will have to wait a little longer for the rapper’s rock-influenced album, “Rebirth.”

The record, which was originally slated for release in early April before being moved to May and then to June, has now been pushed back to July 21.

The latest delay is reportedly to give Universal Records more time to get permission for the samples used on the album, Lil Wayne’s seventh solo effort. Confirmed guest stars on “Rebirth” include Avril Lavigne, Aubrey “Drake” Graham, Fall Out Boy and Lenny Kravitz.

The album, which has already spawned lead single “Prom Queen,” is being touted as Lil Wayne’s experimental foray into rock music.

His last album, “Tha Carter III,” won the best rap album prize at this year’s Grammy Awards, where the rapper picked up a total of four awards.