Each day Complex scours the music blogs for 5 fresh songs that you should listen to in our 5 O’Clock Shuffle post. Instead of going crazy trying to keep up with your RSS feeds everyday, just head over to Complex.com to stay up-to-date on important leaks and releases.

Where else can you get T-Pain’s apology to Jay-Z and his new collab with Shakira in one place? How about rap from Alabama right next to cool-guy electro from Australia? Everything that you need to hear from every genre is our style, and today’s Shuffle is just as thorough as the rest. Start listening and downloading after the jump…

SONG: “More Careful”
ARTIST: T-Pain
DOWNLOAD: [LINK]
• You should know the story by now. T-Pain fixed his mouth like collagen to talk slick about Hov a few weeks backs. Well, he ended up apologin’ on this song (over the “Successful” beat). He comes across sincere and honestly, his raps are kind of nice too. Check it out.

SONG: “When I Grow Old (Bassnectar Remix)”
ARTIST: Fever Ray
DOWNLOAD: [LINK]
• One-man-band Bassnectar is about to drop a remix album, Cozza Frenzy, pretty soon and this is the first leak. He takes Fever Ray’s trippy sound and adds synths, new drums, and bass. Lots of bass. It should be interesting to see what else he adds his touch to when the LP is out.

SONG: “She Wolf (Remix)”
ARTIST: Shakira f/ T-Pain
DOWNLOAD: [LINK]
• We’re not trying to make this the T-Pain Shuffle, but it’s not our fault that everyone is still calling him up for remixes. Surely, some white girls are going to request “She Wolf” at your next party. Put on this version and surprise ‘em.

SONG: “Celebrity”
ARTIST: Rich Boy
DOWNLOAD: [LINK]
• Someone is really going for the pop audience with this one. We would have expected to hear Britney Spears or Beyonce on this beat long before Rich Boy. In fact, dude might want to get one of them on the hook if he wants this song to have a chance of going anywhere.

SONG: “This New Technology”
ARTIST: Midnight Juggernauts
DOWNLOAD: [LINK]
• Australia has earned a named for itself as the place where all the good electro/dance stuff comes from. This trio from Down Under is doing their best to live up to their homeland’s reputation. All that aside, we’re just wondering if they say, “It’s the Juggernauts, bitch!” at shows.

Visit Complex.com every day at 5 PM for your daily “5 O’Clock Shuffle“ playlist.

Each day Complex scours the music blogs for 5 fresh songs that you should listen to in our 5 O’Clock Shuffle post. Instead of going crazy trying to keep up with your RSS feeds everyday, just head over to Complex.com to stay up-to-date on important leaks and releases.

The weekend always goes by so fast, doesn’t it? Well, we’re back to work too if that makes you feel any better. Of course, that means that we’re back with another Shuffle playlist filled with new songs, which we know will make you feel better. Today’s selections come from parties as different as the King of South and Radiohead’s leading man. Keep reading to start listening and downloading…

SONG: “King On The Set”
ARTIST: T.I. f/ Young Dro
DOWNLOAD: [LINK]
• If you missed hearing T.I. talk about guns in the midst of Paper Trail’s motivational anthems, this track should suffice. Look for it on the soundtrack to LeBron’s upcoming documentary.

SONG: “Hollow Earth”
ARTIST: Thom Yorke
DOWNLOAD: [LINK]
• We’re not going to blindly label this “the greatest song ever” like all the hipster blogs will, but there’s no doubt that the Radiohead frontman knows how to crank out a mean tune. This one, in all its paranoid glory, is no exception.

SONG: “Dreamin’”
ARTIST: 50 Cent
DOWNLOAD: [LINK]
• No CDQ yet, but this rip’s quality is good enough to warrant a download (if you can stomach the annoying drops). Well, that’s if you think the song is good to download. Whether you rock with it or not, we can all agree that 50 and Dre can do much better

SONG: “Thunderbird”
ARTIST: The Golden Filter
DOWNLOAD: [LINK]
• This NYC duo is mostly known for their remixes, but this early release from next month’s 12″ is proof that they can make heat on their own. Clearly disco-influenced, this makes for a nice addition to a playlist once its rap songs have worn thin.

SONG: “Dope”
ARTIST: T-Pain f/ Shawnna
DOWNLOAD: [LINK]
• Teddy Pain might want us to believe that “Death Of Autotune” didn’t affect him, but the first leak from Revolver says otherwise. He isn’t using the infamous pitch correction software and the constant talk of haters reeks of insecurity. Decent track nonetheless.

Visit Complex.com every day at 5 PM for your daily “5 O’Clock Shuffle“ playlist.

She tried though, and quite frankly, we don’t blame her or Teddy Pain for the way the video turned out. Collaborations between black and white music stars have a history of turning out cornier than a box of Jiffy Mix. Don’t believe us? Revisit Music’s most uncomfortable interracial duets below…

COLLABORATORS: Bone Thugs-N-Harmony x Phil Collins
SONG: “Home”
YEAR: 2002
• Wow. Phil Collins has the least convincing head nod we’ve ever seen. And we know this video is supposed to be “deep”, but PC blankly staring off into space had us laughing. Juxtapose that with four Ohio “thugs” draped in work/sports gear and you have one unintentionally awkward collaboration.

COLLABORATORS: LFO x M.O.P.
SONG: “Life Is Good”
YEAR: 2001
• This record never even got a video and it’s still arguably the most bizarre collaboration ever, race notwithstanding. To make matters worse, the song was terrible. Did the Mosh Out Posse like girls that wear Abercrombie & Fitch? Eh, probably not.

COLLABORATORS: Sting x Twista
SONG: “Stolen Car (Remix)”
YEAR: 2004
• Diddy’s award show duet with Sting was a classic moment in hip-hop history. Twista’s music video with the same guy was just a classic fail. The ’80s icon did look mighty comfortable with the groupies in the club scene though. Go ‘head Sting!

COLLABORATORS: Nelly x Justin Timberlake
SONG: “Work It”
YEAR: 2003
• We don’t know how this disaster happened, considering JT made bangers with Clipse and 50 Cent right before he hopped on this track with the St. Lunatic. Chalk it up to Nelly’s rising cornball status or the god-awful trends at the time, but the two superstars didn’t mesh well at all on this track.

COLLABORATORS: Korn x Nas
SONG: “Play Me”
YEAR: 2003
• Before Lil’ Wayne was rocking with Korn in the video for “Prom Queen,” Nas was collaborating with them and making really, really shitty songs. See? Doing something first isn’t always a good thing.

COLLABORATORS : New Kids On The Block x Nice & Smooth
SONG: “Dirty Dawg”
YEAR: 1993
• This is what a desperate comeback looks like. NKOTB was well past their prime by the time this video debuted and its general lameness combined with corny raps from Nice & Smooth made sure they stayed there. After selling millions of records with prior releases, the Face The Music album that “Dirty Dawg” was featured on was a commercial failure. Shocker.

COLLABORATORS: Hilary Duff x Slim Thug
SONG: “With Love (Remix)”
YEAR: 2007
• Listening isn’t necessary to realize how embarrassing this collab was for both parties, especially Slim Thug. The real loss? That same year, Hilary Duff earned a cool $12 million and Slim Thug probably didn’t earn a quarter of that. Now who’s really the boss?

COLLABORATORS: Paul McCartney x Michael Jackson
SONG: “Say Say Say”
YEAR: 1983
• Ah, the one that started it all. Definitely a classic, but it’s too bad the $500,000 spent on this video couldn’t get rid of the never ending chessiness. Even more awkward than the single’s pause-worthy cover is Latoya Jackson’s role as her brother’s love interest. With all that said, MJ is still a G for snatching up The Beatles back catalog from under Paul, after McCartney allegedly schooled Jacko about the benefits of publishing money.

COLLABORATORS: Celine Dion x R. Kelly
SONG: “I’m Your Angel”
YEAR 1998
• We know “I Believe I Can Fly” was a huge hit and everything, but the homie R. Kelly rode the inspirational ballad train way too hard with this one. And while it was massively successful, that didn’t make it any less awkward. The alternate version of the music video got more spins, but we prefer this one just for the infomercial-esque scenes of Celine and Robert in the studio together.

COLLABORATORS: Jonas Brothers x Common
SONG: “Don’t Charge Me For The Crime”
YEAR: 2009
• Career advice for Common: after releasing the worst album of your career, don’t fuck things up even more by collaborating with The Jonas Brothers. That next album better sound like Be x1000, homie.

Remember Mike Jones? Who? Mike Jones!?! OK, OK, we won’t go down that road. After a four-year absence, the Houston MC is back with a new album, a new look and a newfound appreciation for the limelight. Today, the rejuvenated rapper is finally dropping his second studio album, The Voice, on the strength of two top-ten singles: “Cuddy Buddy” featuring Trey Songz and Twista, and “Next To You.”

Jones not only seems like a whole new person, he looks like one, too; during his time off, he managed to drop over 100 pounds from his once chubby frame. While promoting The Voice, Jones dropped by for another round of The Complex 7 and also discussed his workout regimen and his current relationship with T-Pain…

Interview by Reginal Thomas

#1: WHAT’S YOUR NUMBER ONE DEAL-BREAKER FOR A POTENTIAL GIRLFRIEND?

Mike Jones says: The nagging, not understanding this job keeps me away on a consistent basis. I can’t be up under you like a regular dude, I gotta stay on the go.

#2: WHAT’S THE WORST WAY YOU’VE BROKEN UP WITH SOMEONE?

Mike Jones says: Going through one of those “Back Then” situations with this person I was cool with a long time ago, I was trying to make it right with her and she broke it off. She wasn’t trying to do it. That was the worst feeling. Then when I blew up, she was trying to come back and that was my reason for making “Back Then.” So that was my worst experience at that time but I turned it into a fortune by expressing myself through the music.

#3: WHAT’S YOU FAVORITE SNEAKER OF ALL TIME?

Mike Jones says: I like Jordans—I’m going to forever like Jordans. I like Supras and Air Force 1s; I like the ones people go waiting on line for. I will support Kanye and grab his [Air Yeezys]. They’re fly, I’m definitely going to grab those.

#4: WHAT’S THE MOST EMBARRASSING PIECE OF CLOTHING YOU’VE EVER WORN?

Mike Jones says: To be honest I’ve never worn anything embarrassing. As a kid, I was always allowed to wear what I wanted and I still wear what I like so I’ve never been embarrassed.

#5: IF YOU HAD A WEEK-LONG HOLIDAY, WHAT WOULD YOU DO?

Mike Jones says: Make more music, you have to stay on it. Especially with them taking me away from the game cause they wasn’t feeling the music that I had back then that the world loves right now. I got a lot of catching up to do. I came out in ‘05 and took over the game and in ‘06 they didn’t like “Cuddy Buddy” and “Next To You”…I had those records back then. Now the world likes them and everybody back on me.

#6: WHAT HAS TO BE IN YOUR FRIDGE AT ALL TIMES?

Mike Jones says: Water, fruit drinks, snacks…as long as it’s full. I drink a lot of water lately, and Gatorade and Vitamin Water. I’m in the gym as much as I can get in there. When I’m on my down time, I go in the gym for about 20-30 minutes and just run, grab a Subway sandwich, instead of eating all the fat foods I used to eat. Right now I’m putting something together with Subway.

#7: WHEN’S THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED?

Mike Jones says: When I lost my grandma. I had to just try to move on without her. That was super hard cause I wouldn’t be here without her. She gave me the game and the guidance. I’m happy I took the time that I did have to chill with her and get to listen. Cause you know kids never listen to their grandma but I was one who came in there and if she said, Don’t touch the stove, I didn’t touch the stove. She passed before I came with Who Is Mike Jones?—that’s why I dedicated that album and every album to her.

BONUS QUESTIONS:

Complex: So what’s your regimen when you’re in the gym?
Mike Jones: Cardio—that’s how I lost the weight. I went from 295 to 190. It’s a mental thing: Make sure it’s what you really want to do. When they wasn’t feeling my records, I had nothing but time to get into the gym. It took me about four to five months. I was just thinking, damn if I just drop this weight down and come back with this music and get it to the world, they’re going to love it and say wow to the new look. I made the best of it and started working out cause I knew I was going to be back on top.

Complex: Some rappers encounter doubt when their buzz dies and choose to retire, but you’ve hung in there. Where does that drive come from?
Mike Jones: It’s in me and it’s from my grandma, too. She always taught me to make the non-believers believe. That’s why “Back Then” was so big, because back then they didn’t want me, now I’m hot they all on me. Everyone can relate to that. When I made “Back Then” I didn’t think I would have to go through that again. When they turned the screen off I started to see people for their true colors. Now I lost the weight and I’m back on T.V. with “Cuddy Buddy” and “Next To You,” people all on me again—it’s like I can repeat that same song all over again.

Complex: What’s your current relationship with T-Pain?
Mike Jones: I still got love for T-Pain, I just didn’t like how the situation with “Cuddy Buddy” turned out. When I came out I took over the game and when T-Pain came out he was new. He was with Konvict but he was new to the world. When he came out with “I’m N Luv (Wit A Stripper)” and I was the heavyweight in the game, I showed him love by doing [the song] because my label didn’t want to clear the record—no one liked it. I know how it feels when no one likes your shit ’cause I been through it myself, so I told him I got you—just make sure you got me cause I know you’re going to blow. Jive was calling me—I guess the record was for Bun and Bun didn’t do it—so it came to Mike Jones. When you watch the “Stripper” video [T-Pain] rocking the Ice Age chain cause he was representing. But when I went through turbulence with my label cause they didn’t believe in “Cuddy Buddy,” we all made that song—me, T-Pain, Lil’ Wayne and Twista. “Cuddy Buddy” went top-ten so I was like I have get the video shot and didn’t nobody come through.

Based solely on their looks, we here at Complex are a little torn about who we should co-sign, so we dug a little deeper into each lady (owww) and came up with bios and fun facts for each member of two groups. Read on to learn about the members of each group and vote for which one you’re riding with at the end…

FIRST UP: MEET THE MEMBERS OF SOPHIA FRESH

SKYE

HOMETOWN: Houston, Texas

FUN FACT: Skye signed her first major deal, alongside Cole Rose, with J Records through Underdog Entertainment in 2005. After a couple years of an unfruitful partnership with J Records, Skye and Cole left to reunite with original member Crystal.

—————————————————————————————————————————————————————-

CRYSTAL

HOMETOWN: Georgia

FUN FACT: Known as the black Barbie (Lil Kim fall back), Crystal used to be a Houston Texans cheerleader. Being limber is definitely a plus in our eyes.

—————————————————————————————————————————————————————-

COLE ROSE

HOMETOWN: Houston, Texas

FUN FACT: As the founding member of Sophia Fresh, Cole is known as the bold in-your-face girl of the group. Which means, she’ll smack a bitch if she has to.

—————————————————————————————————————————————————————-
CLICK NEXT TO MEET THE MEMBERS OF ELECTRIK RED AND VOTE!

T-Pain grants Diddy access to the Auto-Tune for Puff's next album. In turn, Diddy gives him .5 of a point. [Nah Right]

Face Off: Dustin Pedroia vs Joe Pesci. Who wins the tale of the tape. [SI]

If only we can score one of these DayBeds for the office. [Like Cool]

Oh sick, Blazer SBs you can wear to match your motorcycle jacket. [KicksOnFire]

The single that leaked today features production by the Runners, and Kanye back on the auto-tuner. It’s nothing like the celebratory G.O.O.D. music anthem, “Grammy Family” from Listennn: The Album, but ‘Ye seems a little more into it than the time Khaled held him hostage backstage on the Glow In The Dark tour. Listen to the track below.


DJ Khaled feat. Kanye West & T-Pain “Go Hard” (2008)

Previously: We Depressed! DJ Khaled’s Most Annoying Moments

But let’s not forget the real black guy in the mix'newcomer Brandon T. Jackson. His name may not be on the marquee, but the comic caught our eye with a spot-on portrayal of a rapper-turned-actor in Stiller’s war-movie troupe. We heard the role was originally supposed to go to Mos Def, but there’s no way he could’ve done a better job. We caught up with Brandon to go over five YouTube clips related to the film and his career…

CLIP 1: “Blackface Montage from Spike Lee's Bamboozled“

BRANDON: “They had us looking like monkeys back then. You look at the things and it's like, that don't even look like black people. Looking at the way they had us portrayed back then, and it's like, do you really want to call Tropic Thunder blackface? I am very sensitive to how blacks are portrayed in the industry, because I'm black [laughs], you know what I'm saying? People are getting me and Robert mixed up like, 'Man, you did an excellent job with that line at the end of the movie,' I'm like, 'Nah, that was Robert. I'm the real black person in the movie.'

People are saying it's just like Soul Man; no, the difference is Soul Man, that was blackface. But I wouldn't call Tropic Thunder blackface'Robert became a black man. Like, I'm not used to seeing Robert white, right now I might not recognize Robert. When I see him on TV, I'm like, 'This dude is really white.' I told my momma that Robert was Don Cheadle when she was getting his autograph. [Laughs.] And Robert like, 'Uh, uh, no. I'm uh…''he didn't know what to say to her. I said, 'No, momma, that's Iron Man.'

CLIP 2: “Apocalypse Now Original Trailer”

BRANDON: “We had to watch a bunch of war movies. Over and over and over. Too much. You know, Ben is a very intense director. So he likes everything perfect. Apocalypse Now was the main one. And I don't know if you know, a lot of crap happened on that set'people were dying and stuff. I'm like, 'What the hell? Nah, nah, what we doin' here Ben?' Because he was like, 'It's gonna be a lot like Apocalypse Now.' I'm like, ‘Who's dying in this movie, Ben? Hell no.' So, of course, there's a lot of stuff that they cut out that would be like Apocalypse Now. There's a scene where we're sneaking into the compound, where we come out the river real quick. It's so quick, but I was in the river for hours. And you know, it was just like'we had to go through gun training, and we had to go through all this stuff and I'm like, 'Come on, Ben. We went through all this gun training and now you're gonna cut it out?' It was Ben Stiller's Comedy Death Camp. He's the Spielberg of comedy.”

CLIP 3: “Tip Drill – Nelly”

BRANDON: “My character Alpa Chino was based mostly on Nelly and a little bit of Lil Wayne. I know Nelly and Weezy from doing stand-up on their tours. Lil Wayne, was always'I'ma do the HBO special, I'll tell y'all that dude smokes too much weed. I'ma say it. They cut some stuff that's not in the movie that you'll see on the DVD. There's a big ole' party scene where you get more of a chance to see Alpa Chino's personality. I hate to say it, but I wrote the 'Pussy Song' from the film''I love that pussy, hell yeah, I love that pussy.' I'm from a very Christian home and kind of a strict family, but it's like, at the same time you got to look at what I do is like I'm an entertainer. My job is to entertain. So, that's what I chose to do and I got to take it, the good the bad and the ugly. Alpa Chino is the total opposite of my character in real life.”

CLIP 4: “Funny Shit – Chris Tucker”

BRANDON: “Chris is one of my inspirations. He really taught me a lot in the industry. Will Smith, too, and also Sinbad. Those three guys have really been mentors to me. (Roll Bounce director) Malcolm Lee deemed me the next Chris Tucker just like, Chris Tucker was the next Eddie Murphy. I don't mind it if we're talking about $20 million a movie. I will be the next Chris Tucker. Because right now, when I make it rain, I pick the dollars right back up. I'm the only one doing that. I'll make it drizzle, man.

But you know what? I really do look up to Chris and I think that hopefully, I have a successful career like him, I mean, but opposed to him, I really want to do a lot more movies. And that's where I look at Will. A lot of people say, 'You’re a cross between Will and Martin.' I pride myself in being a comedian. Like, people pride themselves as being a rapper or actor and I really pride myself as being a comedic actor. But the thing is, they don't write good roles for us. They just don't. And you got to go and write it yourself, which I'm doin' now. I'm writing things now, it's middle-age comedy that I think the urban and suburban culture would love to see.”

CLIP 5: “Top 8 – Brandon T. Jackson”

BRANDON: “I was on tour with T-Pain when MySpace was just kind of breaking and I was like, 'T-Pain, we got to do a song.' This is before T-Pain was'I won't call him Robot Man, but you know before he got into his sound and when he was trying to figure out if he was gonna be a rapper, singer, whatever. So we was down in the studio that night and just randomly cut it and we put it up on T-Pain's site and it got like two million hits. And you know, people were just making their own videos to it and I sung it on tour with me and Chris Brown, Lil Wayne, Juelz, and Franchize Boyz'man that was a hell of a tour. So yeah, we just did the song out of fun and it blew up out of nowhere. People loved it. I don't know if I'll ever re-release it. I'm a comedian, man. You don't want to see Chappelle rapping, you know what I mean? Eddie Murphy tried to sing and we saw what happened with that. I'll do funny songs all day, like 'No sex in the champagne room.' You gotta just make sure you're that funny.

For the past year, T-Pain has seldom been seen without a top hat. At this week’s BET Awards, the rapper turned singer made another spectacle of himself, this time draped in paisley print from head to toe. Oversized hats have been seen in the urban music world before'let’s not forget Busta’s massive fluorescent Dr. Seuss caps'but never like this. Will the top hat trend take off? Vote “hump” or “dump” below.

Pioneered in the hip-hop world by D4L’s Fabo, the trend has risen to absurd heights in the last year thanks to Soulja Boy’s white out glasses and Kanye West’s shutters. Actually “seeing” has apparently taken a back seat to forging a unique style. Will this trend make it through the summer or die a much deserved death? “HUMP” or “DUMP” the white shades look after the jump.

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