andPOP » Wale

Daniel Merriweather – He Is Not Giving Up The Secret Recipe

@jordans_life — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 03:02:44 +0000

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Daniel Merriweather’s music career is on a roll, but this did not happen overnight. The R&B singer was once a starving artist working at KFC. Yes KFC. And as much as Jordan prodded him, he is not giving up the secret KFC Recipe. We spoke about that and of course music during a Toronto stop.

Wale Interview – Thanks White Guys!

@jordans_life — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 18:11:04 +0000

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Here is a little trivia about hip-hop. What is the largest demographic consuming hip-hop music? You ready? White guys aged 15-35. That’s the people keeping Wale in business. Jordan spoke to Wale about that and more during a recent stop in Toronto.

Interview: A Four Beat-Count With Jason Derulo For MTV’s ‘Turn The Beat Around’

Jeremy Singer — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 06:18:21 +0000

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Jason Derulo is like one of those multi-purpose Swiss Army knives that presents a new feature every-time you use it.

At any moment he can be a well-rounded singer, songwriter, dancer, and actor, and would technically boast a quadruple threat, but you can’t be too sure with a guy like this.

You never know when he’s going to show you another part of his versatility.

His most recent example of those surprise features, was his role in MTV’s made-for-TV-movie Turn The Beat Around which premiered on February 26. Derulo shows off his skills by playing a recording star, and also delivers a high-energy dance performance.

But his role on the TV screen is just a small ripple effect of the Miami-born’s overall talent- which people have begun to take note of.

It’s the reason why he’s been the opening act for Lady Gaga during her Monster Ball tour since November 2009. And it’s the reason why his two singles so far -Whatcha Say and In My Head- have both ranked in the top ten on a bunch of music charts across the globe. Whatcha Say has made the most headlines, grabbing the no. 1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100, and gaining double-platinum status in the U.S.

Oh yea, and this is all been accomplished before the release of his self-titled debut album, which drops on March 2.

Considering that GQ Magazine’s December 2009 issue dubbed Drake, Kid Cudi and Wale as Hip Hop’s next torch-bearers, it can definitely be argued that Derulo is part of the next chosen ones to fill the shoes of Pop.

andPOP managed to speak to Derulo about his love for acting and his secret method for songwriting. Also make sure to check out our original interview with Jason Derulo!

andPOP: You seem to be a jack-of-all-trades. How did you get into acting?

JD: I actually grew up acting. I was in a few theatre productions at AMDA in New York, so I don’t think I’m one of those actors who has a career just based from a previous music career. I actually got offered something from Broadway a while ago, but it just wasn’t a good fit because I was focused on music, so I had to turn it down. But I do really love this craft. Right now, all I can be is thankful that my music and acting careers are slowly taking off at the same time.

andPOP: Tell me about the audition process for this MTV movie?

JD: Well, I went into the auditions totally normally. It was way before Whatcha Say gained hype. I just went into MTV without any ties to anybody, and just read the lines like it was a regular gig. It made landing the role that much more of a personal success. In the beginning, I was just drawn to the whole vibe how the movie had the same idea of the dance movie Step It Up. And I’m really thankful to MTV for letting me have the opportunity to do this.

andPOP: Any ideal guys you’d like to work with?

JD: Definitely Steven Spielberg. Quentin Tarantino. They’re just amazing. I’ve always wanted to do the superhero film thing too, just got work up to it!

andPOP: When you’re thinking about your music career, what’s your routine to get the creative juices flowing before writing a song?

JD: Honestly just put me in the sound-booth. Once I’m in there I’ll just be messing with everything. The light turns on in my mind, and I’ll turn the music really, really loud in my headphones. If you were to listen you’d think I was trying to make you deaf, but for me, I begin to pen lyrics on the spot, develop rhythm and sound. I dance to the music, mumbling words. That’s how I start the song, I don’t use pen or paper at all.

Wale Speaks With andPOP – Yes He Actually Does Have ADD

andPOP Staff — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 03:56:02 +0000

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So Wale’s album is called Attention Deficit, and we at andPOP couldn’t agree more with his choice of title A little backstory about this interview. When we first entered the room to do the interview, he was reading a shoe magazine. It took a few minutes for him to put it down and then throughout the interview he kept playing with his Blackberry. Did he not like us or did he have serious ADD? You tell us. Otherwise a very cool dude and most importantly he likes Seinfeld

Under The Rock: The Long Way ‘Round To Lady GaGa

Emma Renda — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 02:56:02 +0000

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They say if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em. I don’t know who “they” are but I’m going to assume they were talking about Lady GaGa. After all, it seems the entire musical universe is clamouring for a piece of her instant stardom.

It started with Kanye, Common and Kid Cudi, or at least that’s where I first caught on. They roughed up her acoustic version of “Poker Face” to the point of making it tolerable, even enjoyable. (I’m not even going to touch the fact that she has gone acoustic, except to say that watching the video is possibly more painful than the hangover of the drugs she has to be on.)

Despite the very obvious gibes at GaGa’s not-so-double entendres, “I Poke Her Face” is actually an incredible step up from anything the songstress has released on her own.

“Just Dance” was nearly my demise last summer as it somehow circulated more frequently than Sarah McLachlan on the soft rock radio station I listened to at my 9-5 desk job. So I made it my mission to publicly rally against her budding career for the rest of 2008, hoping she would have drifted off the airwaves come December. But now it’s June, and she has three more singles revving up for a summer of heavy rotation.

I could feel my protest deteriorating as 2009 wore on. I found myself joylessly bashing the ridiculous rhyming in “Disco Stick” while flinging my hair around to its beat at the club. Just the other day, someone asked me if I’d heard “Paparazzi”.

“Never!!!” I nearly shouted. Little do they know, I had listened to it on MySpace earlier that day. And now here I was, humming the chorus to a song called “I Poke Her Face.”

It was about this time I officially gave up the ghost. Perhaps not all angles of Lady GaGa are quite as horrible as originally perceived, and there commenced the hunt for more gems. And more. And more. Because my god, it seems that everyone and their dog has taken it upon themselves to spin their own take on GaGa. There are mash-ups and electro-house remixes and syncs with just about every Britney Spears song in recent memory.

It was one day when I wasn’t hunting, though, rather glibly perusing the Interweb for some new gym music, that I came across my old pal Skratch Bastid. I caught him opening for Buck 65 last year and was impressed to the point of paying $10 for his burned CD of remixes. It served me well for a month or so before Mstrkrft and Girl Talk caught my eye. (Sorry, Bastid.)

But the man is back, and guess who he’s back with? GaGa. Yep, right there on his brand new website at the top of the page he has posted a remix of “Chillin” by Wale ft. Lady GaGa. I should have known, but I guess I was in denial that such a stand-up Canadian would stoop to the low of our Southern neighbor’s tasteless ways.

In the name of research, I played the song. And in the name of all things holy, I loved it. This was my first brush with Wale, who also seems to have spread like wildfire. (“Chillin” popped up as a suggested listen when I was YouTubing Eminem’s “3 A.M.”) At this point, though, I wasn’t sure what to expect. Wale has received rave reviews from every hip-hop lover I know, and my relationship with Lady GaGa was now so complicated even Jerry Springer couldn’t sort it out. By default, then, I ended up listening with an open mind.

And to be honest, if I hadn’t seen her heavily-banged blonde head bobbing in the background, I wouldn’t have know it was Lady GaGa. She is all non-chalance, waiting patiently behind Wale - instead of air-humping the camera like usual - allowing him to spit a sick verse about his shoes, his cars, and, somehow, McLovin’.

I could say Lady GaGa has grown on me, after all these months in denial, but I would rather say this was my first crack at her. Either way, I’m officially hooked.

My name is Emma Renda and I listen to Lady GaGa. Whew, that felt good. Thanks for listening.