We’d like to believe Young Jeezy wasn’t speaking only of himself last summer when he proclaimed that “trappin’ ain’t dead.” We would like to think he was talking about the future generation of rappers who are going to build upon what he and other rappers like T.I. have built. We’d like to think that because one of our favorite new rappers comes from the trap: Tyrone “Pill” Rivers. You may know him as the guy who made the trap anthem of the year, “Trap Goin’ Ham” and the accompanying video which had the viewer riding through his neighborhood, and taking a peek at all that really went down (the clip was also named Complex’s #5 Internet Music Video of the Decade).
We know him as the dude who was co-signed by Andre 3000 and made one of the best mixtapes of the past year, 4180: The Prescription. But that was pretty much all we knew. To learn more, we invited Pill to the Complex offices while he was working on the follow up to 4180, 4075: The Refill (which dropped today, download link after the jump) to find out exactly who the man behind the music was. Read on to learn about how he came up, what he thinks of the rap game now and why he’d rap even if there was no money in it for him…
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In the world of reality TV, ratings trumps all—even love. So it’s easy to understand why we weren’t at all surprised when Ray J and the winner of season 1 of For the Love of Ray J Cocktail (Joanna Hernandez) broke it off amidst rumors that Ray was stepping out with Tila Tequila. Come on, there was no way Vh1 was not going to follow up one of their highest rated shows (over 2.5 million viewers ) with a second season.
And wouldn’t you know it, we were right! Earlier this month, Vh1 kicked off season two of For the Love of Ray J, with Brandy’s brother once again looking for true love among 19 new contestants. If you’ve been following the first two episodes of the season, you have an idea of what Ray thinks of his new stable of women, but we wanted to go a little bit further. We got him to open up about what he thinks of each and every girl. He also hipped us to what he’s now looking for in a women, why a girl can’t just be crazy attractive and just what is going on with his music career…
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It’s been a productive year for RZA. He had his usual place at the boards, executive-producing the critically acclaimed compilation Wu-Tang Chamber Music and Raekwon’s stunning OB4CL2, but added to that another underrated acting role in Judd Apatow’s Funny People and a second go-around as writer, dropping his spiritual mashup book, The Tao of Wu, earlier this month. And in the middle of all that, he took some time to sit down (with writer/musician Noah Rubin, who produced some of the tracks on Wu-Tang Chamber Music) and discuss everything from the stories behind The Tao of Wu to ODB to his continuing quest for enlightenment. Bong bong!
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So by now you’re aware that the 50 Cent of today isn’t the 50 Cent of 2003. Or is he? The “aggressive content” is still there, the issues with other rappers are still there, and the hunger to get rich or die tryin’ is definitely still there. But while there’s a the-more-things-change-the-more-they-stay-the-same feel to it all, there are notable differences between Curtis Jacksons past and present.
He just did a New York reunion show at Governor’s Island where he embraced Jadakiss (whom he’s had problems with in the past), he hasn’t flown off the handle about his placement on the MTV list like he two years ago—and yesterday, as we sat down with 50 Cent in his unfinished new office, his answers to our questions seemed more methodical than ever. While he preps to release his oft-delayed album Before I Self Destruct on November 23, we spoke to 50 about possible tension with Dre, Fat Joe’s first-week sales, pulling a gun on Diddy, and how he really feels about Jay-Z’s “no one is scared of 50 Cent” comment. Yup, some things will never change…
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We have to admit, we’re slightly jealous of you. NBA 2K10 dropped yesterday (as did NBA Live 10) and while most of you broke night playing it, we’re at work. But now it’s your turn to be jealous because while you sat at home enjoying your brand new 2K10 game (and your now weed plate 2K9 case), we were kicking it with 2K rep Derrick Rose of the Chicago Bulls. Rose is not a man of many words, but who needs words when you’re Rookie of the Year? His stats do all the talking.
Since we obviously couldn’t challenge his real-life game, we had to check his gamer credibility. We chatted Derrick up about NBA 2K10, his thoughts on the unlockable player Kanye West, and his team’s plans for next season. If you haven’t already purchased NBA 2K10, peep Derrick’s trailer after the jump. Oh and make sure you’ve got 60 bucks in your wallet, because yeah, it’s that good…
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Oscar-nominated actor Mark Wahlberg has come a long way since his days running the streets of Boston. He's managed to not only stay out of trouble with the law, but make most people forget all about his saggy-pant rapping career with the Funky Bunch. After a series of commercial and critically-acclaimed films like Boogie Nights, The Departed, and The Italian Job, Wahlberg has established himself as one of Hollywood's most bankable stars under the age of 40.
The fact that he's stepping into the role of video game character Max Payne in the new film adaptation from 20th Century Fox says a lot about the game's character and story line. Max Payne was released for PC and PlayStation 2 back in 2001, which speaks volumes about how ahead of its time the shooter was. Sure, he may catch feelings about an SNL skit, but his sensitivity doesn’t negate the fact that Wahlberg can step into any role he wants today. The actor took some time to talk to us about his first videogame role, the future of Entourage and Ludacris’ performance in the new movie…
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Have you still not seen Complex’s hip-hop heavy October 2008 fashion story with The Cool Kids, B.o.B., Charles Hamilton, The Knux and Wale? Check out the full feature or watch a special video version now.
All week long we’ve been releasing exclusive video interviews with each of the artists from “Leaders of the New Cool.” Monday we had The Cool Kids. Yesterday we had B.O.B. And today we have New York’s new hope, Charles Hamilton, talking about the rise of “individuality rap” and the worst hip-hop style trends of all time. Watch it below…
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As you’ve seen on this blog, relying on nepotism can result in an embarrassing failure. However, when the family member or friend being put on actually has talent, you get a Charlie Murphy success instead of an Ashley Simpson debacle. Chris Rock’s younger brother Tony Rock is looking to strengthen the Rock name with the debut of his sketch comedy show The Tony Rock Project tonight on MYNetworkTV.
After performing stand up all over the world and even hosting a short-lived show on Oprah’s O Network, Tony is ready to blow up. We caught up with the Pittsburgh Steelers fan and former star of the Will Smith-produced All of Us to chop it up about his past dreams, his most romantic getaway and why he almost had to whoop another comedian’s ass…
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Yesterday, we revealed “Leaders Of The New Cool,” the magazine’s October 2008 fashion feature that puts the spotlight on 5 hip-hop artists who we think represent the future. Check out the full feature or watch a special video version now.
Each day this week, we’re releasing a new video interview with one of the artists featured in the article. After kicking things off with The Cool Kids yesterday, we’re turning our attention to the kid they call B.O.B. If you don’t know this offbeat Atlanta native, now is the time to get familiar. Watch the behind the scenes video below to hear him discuss his place in hip-hop’s new class…
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