Strictly hip hop news

Piecing together clues and leaked photos, we try to guess what's in store for Gaga and collaborator Beyoncé in the clip.
By Jocelyn Vena

Lady Gaga in "Telephone"
Photo: Interscope Records

On Thursday at 11:30 p.m. ET, fans will finally get to see the "Telephone" video by Lady Gaga, featuring collaborator Beyoncé and pals Semi Precious Weapons. Shot in California in February and directed by Jonas Åkerlund, the video has Gaga's little monsters salivating in anticipation of its release.

Although we don't know everything that's going to happen, there are certain leaked details that are giving us a few ideas of what we can expect — Lady Gaga is in jail, Beyoncé breaks her out and from there, we imagine, the two have some wacky adventures that include them stopping at a desert diner. So far, here are the clues we've gathered:

Lady Gaga will be wearing some crazy outfits. In leaked photos, she's been seen wearing everything from crime-scene tape to American flag garb to a telephone-shaped eye patch made from hair. She's also been seen in a studded leather jacket and a sparkly strapless dress, with cigarette sunglasses on, covered in heavy chains. Beyoncé also appears to be getting her fashion on in a military-style, jewel-encrusted blue top.

Gaga was inspired by Quentin Tarantino. Uma Thurman's ride from "Kill Bill" appears in the video and Semi Precious Weapons confirmed that the video certainly had nods to Quentin Tarantino, something Gaga and Beyoncé also touched on in their "Video Phone" clip. "It's very Tarantino-inspired," frontman Justin Tranter shared. "Sort of like violent melodrama glamour."

She got "crazy" and "magical" on set with Beyoncé. "It's gonna be so crazy," B said about working with Gaga on the video. And, Semi Precious Weapons added that the girls are kind of "magical" together. "Obviously, Gaga's one of the greatest music visionaries of our time," Tranter said. "And Beyoncé is one of the greatest visions of our time. She is a music visionary too."

This video will leave "Bad Romance" in the dust. Simply put from Gaga herself, "I feel so bad for the 'Bad Romance' video 'cause the 'Telephone' video's so much better. [Beyoncé's] really a great friend of mine. We have a lot of fun working together. We're so very different in our approaches, but somehow when we come together it's really magical. I'm very excited for everyone to see the video."

The clip picks up where "Paparazzi" leaves off. Both Beyoncé and Gaga herself have confirmed that the video picks up where the other Åkerlund-directed clip, "Paparazzi," leaves off. So what exactly does that mean? Well, perhaps the "Paparazzi" heroine has been jailed for the crime of killing her lover (played by "True Blood" star Alexander Skarsgård) and now it takes the one and only Beyoncé to bust her loose.

Are you excited for the "Telephone" video? How will you celebrate the premiere? Let us know in the comments below!

• The Top Secret 'Telephone' Video

'We just gonna wait until he gets out to really get in on that,' he tells Mixtape Daily.
By Shaheem Reid

T-Wayne
Photo: Young Money

The O.D.: A Mixtape Daily Exclusive

Despite naysayers' talk that the duet album between T-Pain and Lil Wayne will never happen, Mr. Pain says the project is very much still alive, just on hold.

"The T-Wayne album, we're actually gonna wait until he gets out," Pain said about Weezy's jail time. "He has so much going on. He has Rebirth out right now. I don't wanna interrupt that. We just gonna wait until he gets out to really get in on that. We recorded a bunch of songs. But, right now, it's time for him and his personal sh--. We definitely got an album's worth of material, but it's only an album's worth. It's nothing to pick from. We just got an album. We can put out whatever we feel like and say, 'Hey, this is T-Wayne's album,' or we can actually try to make it good. Like we're actually trying to make an album and say, 'This is the good T-Wayne album.' Rather than just record 12 songs and say, 'Here you go, mutha----as! I know you want it. You gonna buy it anyway, just 'cause you think it's good.' "

Pain, who always has a joke up his sleeve or in his top hat, had a lighthearted response when asked what he thought of his supergroup teammate having to go to prison.

"It happens, man," the singer said. "People go to jail. That's something he's gotta go through. I'm happy it's not f---ing 10 years. That's just something that's going on. I know his commissary [prison store] is ridiculous. He's got so much money in his commissary. You think Baby is gonna let him sit up in there and eat Doritos? Wayne got [his food] coming with steaks. ... I know what's going on there.

"Young Money is still there also. He's in the studio 24/7," Pain added. "It's gonna be like Tupac. You still gonna get 1,000 songs from Wayne. You ain't gonna miss nothing. It's gonna be like he never went to jail. I'm pretty sure they're gonna put out a gang of songs. I'm pretty sure they're gonna do a 'Free Lil Wayne' campaign. That's how it goes."

For other artists featured in Mixtape Daily, check out Mixtape Daily Headlines.

• Mixtape Daily: Jay Electronica, Notorious, B.I.G., Tyga

Piecing together clues and leaked photos, we try to guess what's in store for Gaga and collaborator Beyoncé in the clip.
By Jocelyn Vena

Lady Gaga in "Telephone"
Photo: Interscope Records

On Thursday at 11:30 p.m. ET, fans will finally get to see the "Telephone" video by Lady Gaga, featuring collaborator Beyoncé and pals Semi Precious Weapons. Shot in California in February and directed by Jonas Åkerlund, the video has Gaga's little monsters salivating in anticipation of its release.

Although we don't know everything that's going to happen, there are certain leaked details that are giving us a few ideas of what we can expect — Lady Gaga is in jail, Beyoncé breaks her out and from there, we imagine, the two have some wacky adventures that include them stopping at a desert diner. So far, here are the clues we've gathered:

Lady Gaga will be wearing some crazy outfits. In leaked photos, she's been seen wearing everything from crime-scene tape to American flag garb to a telephone-shaped eye patch made from hair. She's also been seen in a studded leather jacket and a sparkly strapless dress, with cigarette sunglasses on, covered in heavy chains. Beyoncé also appears to be getting her fashion on in a military-style, jewel-encrusted blue top.

Gaga was inspired by Quentin Tarantino. Uma Thurman's ride from "Kill Bill" appears in the video and Semi Precious Weapons confirmed that the video certainly had nods to Quentin Tarantino, something Gaga and Beyoncé also touched on in their "Video Phone" clip. "It's very Tarantino-inspired," frontman Justin Tranter shared. "Sort of like violent melodrama glamour."

She got "crazy" and "magical" on set with Beyoncé. "It's gonna be so crazy," B said about working with Gaga on the video. And, Semi Precious Weapons added that the girls are kind of "magical" together. "Obviously, Gaga's one of the greatest music visionaries of our time," Tranter said. "And Beyoncé is one of the greatest visions of our time. She is a music visionary too."

This video will leave "Bad Romance" in the dust. Simply put from Gaga herself, "I feel so bad for the 'Bad Romance' video 'cause the 'Telephone' video's so much better. [Beyoncé's] really a great friend of mine. We have a lot of fun working together. We're so very different in our approaches, but somehow when we come together it's really magical. I'm very excited for everyone to see the video."

The clip picks up where "Paparazzi" leaves off. Both Beyoncé and Gaga herself have confirmed that the video picks up where the other Åkerlund-directed clip, "Paparazzi," leaves off. So what exactly does that mean? Well, perhaps the "Paparazzi" heroine has been jailed for the crime of killing her lover (played by "True Blood" star Alexander Skarsgård) and now it takes the one and only Beyoncé to bust her loose.

Are you excited for the "Telephone" video? How will you celebrate the premiere? Let us know in the comments below!

• The Top Secret 'Telephone' Video

mcenroe plays you little bits from the new EP he has been working on. In case you thought he was dead. Look for new Peanuts & Corn records coming from Yy, John Smith and mcenroe this year!

peanutsandcorn.com

Grand Invincible is DJ Eons One and Luke Sick (Sacred Hoop). “The Way We Revolt” is the first single from Cold Hand in the Dice Game, their second albub, out now on Zerofriends. Check out the awesome Ultra Limited Collector Package with hand-screened poster, vinyl, cd, zine, buttons, stickers and more!

grandinvincible.com
myspace.com/grandinvincible
zerofriends.com/store

via asita recordings

New free EP from Z-Man featuring Boac, Bored Stiff, Eddie Def and more. Produced by Boac and Dnae Beats.

Download: http://machetevox.bandcamp.com

via asita

Just a month ago, Walmart was publicly chastised for placing gangsta rappers in Black History Month displays at a number of stores across the nation, now the cheapie retailer is in trouble again — this time for the way its prices Barbie Dolls.

At least one of its stores slashed the price of a brown-skinned Barbie doll to nearly half of that of the doll’s White counterpart, according to ABC News.

A photo posted to Latino-interest site Guanabee.com earlier this month shows packages of Mattel’s Ballerina Barbie and Ballerina Teresa dolls hanging side by side in a Louisiana Walmart. The Theresa dolls are marked as being on sale at $3.00. The Barbies to the right of the Theresa dolls, meanwhile, retain their original price of $5.93. The dolls are identical aside from their color — a fact which has some cynics questioning Walmart’s suspicious price slash.

“The implication of the lowering of the price is that’s devaluing the Black doll,” says Thelma Dye, executive director of the Northside Center for Child Development, a Harlem organization founded by pioneering Black psychologists and segregation researchers Kenneth B. Clark and Marnie Phipps Clark. “While it’s clear that’s not what was intended, sometimes these things have collateral damage.”

My Hot97 big brothers DJ Enuff, DJ Camilo and DJ Cipha Sounds have their web series The Wizards, which is not only on Hot97.com but also airing on MTV2. (Congrats, guys!)

And in this Episode 3….Camilo gets ready for a show with his artist Jugganot, Ciph gets his hair cut, but the headcrack is during DJ Enuff’s segment, when he sits down with Swizz Beats and they get personal, talking about their respective divorces. Swizz tells E that the ongoing split was the toughest thing he’s ever dealt with. Swizz also says that, contrary to tabloid reports, it was not his new relationship with Alicia Keys that caused his divorce…he feels that he was pressured to choose between his relationship with his eldest son and his marriage. There is also footage of the Roc Raida tribute show at BB Kings.

UPDATE: The footage of Enuff and Swizz is from a few months ago. According to one of my legal eagles, Swizz’ divorce has since been finalized. Hopefully this means everyone came to the table and found that middle ground.

Watch the video after the jump….(because the Hot97 player autoplays their videos which is totally unacceptable. I don’t want to do that to you…but trust me, its a really interesting clip, and its worth watching The Wizards)

You can watch Episodes 1 and 2 here