We were excited to hear that Lil Wayne recently wrapped production on an episode of MTV’s Unplugged — mostly because it marks the show’s first hip-hop performance since Jay-Z’s acoustic concert in 2001 (not because we want to hear a stripped version of “Mrs. Officer”). We hope that Wayne’s appearance will pave the way for a new generation of rappers to grace the show’s stage. This news and Lupe Fiasco’s performance on Sunday night’s MTV Movie Awards got us thinking about our favorite hip hop performances on the network. Our top ten is after the jump.
Here at Flavorwire, we’re seriously going to kill someone if we hear “in this economy” used much more as a catch-all excuse for just about everything. Still, there’s no doubt that we do live in straitened economic times, and with the NME‘s Listomania blog recently posting a bunch of songs about money, we got to thinking about songs about a much more familiar experience these days – not actually having any money. There have been some great songs written about being dead broke over the years, and we’ve pulled together ten of our favorites after the jump.
1. Nate Dogg, the California rapper known for his collaborations with Dr. Dre, Warren G, and Eminem, among others, died yesterday at the age of 41. He had previously survived a pair of strokes in 2007 and 2008. [via Billboard]
2. Exciting news of the day that makes us feel old: TV Land has announced that the cast of The Facts of Life will reunite next month for the first time in 20 years to accept the Pop Culture Award at the 2011 TV Land Awards. [via EW]
3. Playgirl has offered $10,000 to anyone who can get them a naked picture of CNN’s Anderson Cooper. “He’s got this charisma that a lot of our readers are attracted to, plus now he’s all muscled, [so] he’s not only smart but also hot,” explains the magazine’s editor in chief, Daniel Nardicio. “Both our male and female readers love Anderson.” [via PopEater]
4. “This memoir is her story, in her own words. Mary and Keith Hudson have been Christian Evangelists long before the world every heard of Katy Perry.” – the opening line of Katy Perry’s mother’s book proposal which the New York Postreports she is currently shopping around to New York’s literary agents hoping to land a publishing deal.
5. Drew Barrymore will direct the romantic comedy How To Be Single, a film adaptation of Liz Tuccillo’s bestselling novel which “explores the loves lives and break-ups of a group of New Yorkers over the course of ten years”; if Tuccillo’s name sounds familiar to you, it’s because she’s also the co-author of a little piece of self-help poison known as He’s Just Not That Into You. [via THR]
Donald Trump is “seriously thinking about” a run for president because he thinks the U.S. has become “the laughingstock of the world.” Also, he’d sure like to tell China, “You’re fired.” This looks promising. [CNN]
In the year since he was branded “too fat too fly,” Kevin Smith has lost 65 pounds. But that doesn’t mean he isn’t still pissed off about the incident. [Time]
Dr. Dre will join Eminem in a performance at this weekend’s Grammy Awards. Does this mean Detox really is almost ready for release? Bob Dylan will also take the stage Sunday for a collaboration with Mumford & Sons. [MTV News]
Big news, comic fans: Spider-Man is joining the Fantastic Four. Beginning March 23, he’ll replace the Human Torch, who died last month. Here’s hoping he fares better on the page than on the stage. [AP]
Emma Watson has signed on to star opposite Logan Lerman in the big-screen adaptation of The Perks of Being a Wallflower. Stephen Chbosky, the book’s author, will direct the film, and John Malkovich is the executive producer. [Digital Spy]
1. Eminem’s Recovery has been confirmed by Nielsen SoundScan as the best-selling album of 2010, with 3.42 million copies sold since its release in June; Katy Perry’s “California Gurls” was of most popular song of the year, with 4.4 million downloads. [via Vulture]
2. In what may be a move to harness some of Mad Men’s TV magic, NBC has ordered a historical series about Playboy bunnies as its first drama pilot for the 2011–2012 season. We think it should star Lane Pryce’s hot girl friend, Toni Charles. [via Deadline]
3. Some of you know that last night Queen Latifah hosted the 37th Annual People’s Choice Awards. But can you explain to us what was up with the evening’s first presenter, Jennifer Aniston? We had visions of poor Anna Nicole at the American Music Awards… [via Gawker.tv]
4. Robert Pattinson will star in David Cronenberg’s new film, Cosmopolis, which is an adaptation of the Don DeLillo novel of the same name. Marion Cotillard and Paul Giamatti are rumored to co-star. [via THR]
5. J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot is developing Pulp, “an hour-long crime drama set in a slightly heightened reality,” and will start shopping it around to networks as early as next week. [via TVLine]
Admitting we like mainstream pop and cheesy novelty music can be an exercise in shame. But every year, a handful of songs are so good that we have to put our fears aside and declare our fierce love for them. It’s rare that the Top 40 gets anywhere close to bearable, so if we have to suffer through 30 Seconds To Mars, The Black Eyed Peas, and some of this year’s other worst releases, the least we can do is be happy when something undeniably catchy comes on the radio. We won’t tell, but we bet you love a lot of these, too.
1. The nominations for the 53rd Annual Grammy Awards were announced last night. Eminem is up for ten awards, Bruno Mars has seven nods, and Lady Gaga has six. We were also happy to see Robyn, Janelle Monáe, and Cee Lo Green get recognized.
2. NBC has bought a new comedy from Steve Carell that “centers on a small-town post office frequented by a quirky but tight-knit group of local twentysomethings” and is based on his own experience working as a mail carrier in Littleton, Massachusetts. He plans to both write and executive produce the project. [via Deadline]
3. At last night’s Friars Club Roast for Quentin Tarantino, both he and Uma Thurman drank wine out of a pair of her Christian Louboutin heels. [via Page Six]
4. Big news for the New York dance scene: Yesterday the boards of Dance Theater Workshop and the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company voted unanimously to merge their organizations, forming a combination producing and presenting entity to be called New York Live Arts. [via NYT]
5. Taylor Swift is Entertainment Weekly’s Entertainer of the Year — the youngest ever honoree in the magazine’s 20 year history. Check out the cover here.
1. Did you miss last night’s MTV Movie Awards? Spoiler: Teenagers think Twilight was the best movie made last year. But as for what you really care about, you can still check out a preview of Jersey Shore‘s new season online. [via MTV]
2. Nerds, rejoice: Apple‘s Worldwide Developers Conference takes place today at 10 am PT/1 pm ET. And you know what that means — most likely an official iPhone announcement. [via Wired]
3. Simon Cowell is looking to take his Got Talent franchise global, with winners from all 36 (count ‘em!) countries who air the series competing for world domination. [via Deadline]
4. Sir Elton John performed at Rush Limbaugh‘s wedding Saturday. Let’s hope he donated his $1 million fee to America’s fight for same-sex marriage, eh? Also, where can we find video of Ann Coulter rocking out to “Tiny Dancer”? [via Movieline]
5. Devo is slated to guest star on an episode of Futurama. They’ll be campaigning for mutant rights. Natch. [via Clash Music]
Still reeling from the Academy’s decision to cut the Best Song performances out of this Sunday’s ceremonies, we’re fighting back with a list of Oscar-nominated movies that arguably have been eclipsed by their music. (Note: We’re not including any material from musician biopics or musicals, because that would be way too easy.) Chime in with your favorite theme song, backing track, or Oscar-winning tune in the comments.
In a music world where cross-genre dissemination is the norm, it takes truly incongruous pairings to raise eyebrows. That’s exactly what happened when it was announced this past week that legendary black-metal artist Xasthur is working with the sweet coos of freak-folkie Marissa Nadler on an album to be released later this year. It remains to be seen if the combination will yield creative dividends; plenty of other odd projects have done nothing but inspire awkward hilarity.
And then, there are a few that are pure magic. After the jump, find some of our favorite musical collaborations from the most unexpected of pairings. Leave a comment and let us know which ones we left out.
