This month's most delicious music dirt
In the first edition of a monthly feature recapping the music industry's most scandalous happenings, looks back at the leaks, lawsuits, tweets and teleprompters that made the music press spin round and round in June 2011.
When Kanye West performed an acapella version of Oedipal song "Mama's Boy" at Facebook's headquarters last summer, it became one of the most buzzed about cuts from his "My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy" sessions. So when the track leaked earlier this month, fans rejoiced... until that version turned out to be bogus.
In a statement released by Island Def Jam, the rapper's reps said that he was "deeply disappointed that one of the most personal, meaningful and special songs he has ever written would reach people in this way. Needless to say, measures are being taken to identify and prosecute the persons responsible for leaking this material."
So how hard is it to get a hold of this unreleased Kanye vocal? Even "Mama's Boy" collaborator DJ Premier had to jump through several digital hoops before he could lay down a beat to it. Speaking with VIBE last year, he said: "They sent me a private hard drive. I had to know certain passwords and go through all these steps to get the song. Kanye even sent me an email saying 'destroy all the roughs I sent you.'"
The Catholic League has finally figured out the best way to make a pop star it doesn't like go away is to ignore her. When Lady Gaga announced she would release "Judas", the second single taken from her hit album "Born This Way", during Holy Week the group's officials raised the red flag in press interviews. Suddenly the song was the focus of controversy, but rather than fuel it, League president Bill Donohue sought to defuse it. Calling its accompanying video a "mess" he said, "If anyone thinks the Catholic League is going to go ballistic over Lady Gaga's latest contribution, they haven't a clue about what really constitutes anti-Catholicism."
However, officials in Lebanon aren't so savvy. Earlier this month, customs agents in that country reportedly impounded copies of "Born This Way" when they arrived at Beirut's airport apparently on the grounds that it is offensive to religion. According to the Los Angeles Times, the move prompted a reaction from the government's information minister who promised to end all forms of censorship.
With Rihanna's shoot out with a rapist at the beginning of her "Man Down" video, family groups denounced the bloody act and pundits debated the meaning of it all in light of the pop star's domestic abuse case from a few years back. In Canada meanwhile, rock group Broken Social Scene released a grisly video of its own starring Bijou Philips. Entitled "Sweetest Kill", the video depicts a graphic murder and dismembering. MuchMusic and MuchMore promptly banned it from airplay despite the fact that they financed it through the station's MuchFact production fund.
Yet another producer has filed a lawsuit against rapper Lil Wayne over unpaid royalties and production services for work on his 2008 album, "Tha Carter III." According to Billboard, producer David Kirwood filed a $1.5 million US suit against Cash Money Records and Weezy's Young Money imprint in New York Southern District Court. The legal action follows Darius "Deezle" Harrison's $20 million suit for unpaid royalties from the album and producer Bangladesh's 2007 lawsuit over money owed to him for his work on the hit rap song, "A Milli."
Fans waiting for Amy Winehouse to release a follow-up to 2006's "Back To Black" will have to wait a lot longer. The singer's management cancelled her remaining summer tour dates and announced an indefinite hiatus following a concert in the Serbian capital Belgrade that was apparently so terrible it prompted a government minister in that country to publicly denounce her as an addict. In umpteen clips posted to YouTube, she can be seen stumbling around the stage, forgetting lyrics and warbling off key amdist boos and jeers. Sounded like a pretty standard Amy Winehouse concert to us, but apparently the 70-minute show was the final straw for her management team. "Amy Winehouse is withdrawing from all scheduled performances," her spokesperson told The Guardian. "Everyone involved wishes to do everything they can to help her return to her best and she will be given as long as it takes for this to happen."
Soul singer and "The Voice" judge Cee Lo Green became the latest celebrity embroiled in a homophobia controversy when he tweeted a retort to a critic that gave his performance at Minneapolis' Target Center on Rihanna's Loud tour a middling review. "I respect your criticism but be fair! People enjoyed last night!" he wrote. "I'm guessing ur gay? and my masculinity offended u?well f**k U!" When a controversy erupted, he apologized to gay fans but later deleted all his tweets related to the incident and then announced, "I'm not tweeting again... goodbye" and then he deleted that tweet. Days later he cancelled the rest of his opening dates on Rihanna's tour, citing a need to focus on "The Voice", writing a book and recording a new album and denying the move had anything to do with his Twitter fight.
Journalists looking for catty comments need only pick up the phone and call Oasis and Beady Eye front man Liam Gallagher, who has practically made a career of publicly dissing bands that he abhors. Asked by a Shortlist writer for his thoughts on the folk group Mumford & Sons, the British singer let loose. "That's not for me, man," he explained.
Back in February, a reporter asked Robyn what she thought of Katy Perry after it was announced that the Swedish pop star would be joining The Candy-Coated One as an opening act on her California Dreams Tour. Instead of answering, Robyn apparently giggled mysteriously and then skipped off into the sunset with a devilish glint in her eye. Naturally, it was assumed, she must hate Katy Perry just like all those embittered gossip bloggers out there that wish they too had gorgeously natural breasts capable of producing whipped dream.
Mass confusion momentarily gripped the 2011 BET Awards when a teleprompter error tripped up Tiffany Green, a Nicki Minaj fan girl that won a contest to present the Coca-Cola Viewers Choice Award. After pressing her mobile tablet to reveal the winner, she looked, wide-eyed with panic, and muttered the winner: "Chris Brown, 'Look At Me Now.'" She quickly retracted, however, and named Rihanna the winner for "What's My Name". Further confusing things, her co-presenter Terrence Jenkins suddenly summoned Drake to the stage, who looked equally confused, to accept the award on behalf of an absent RiRi. "Well, this is awkward," he said.
So which metal band is better: Metallica or Iron Maiden? Just ask Iron Maiden front man Bruce Dickinson, he'll tell you. "I got into trouble for saying that we're better than Metallica... and, it's true!" he declared during an interview with Metal Hammer magazine. "They might be bigger than us and they might sell more tickets than us and they might get more gold-plated, middle-class bourgeoisie turning up to their shows but they're not Maiden.... If I'm going to turn into an a**hole, I might as well, you know, go for it!" Nothing like a good old fashioned metal feud just in time for the summer concert season.
In the first edition of a monthly feature recapping the music industry's most scandalous happenings, looks back at the leaks, lawsuits, tweets and teleprompters that made the music press spin round and round in June 2011.
Kanye denounces bogus Mama’s Boy leak
In a statement released by Island Def Jam, the rapper's reps said that he was "deeply disappointed that one of the most personal, meaningful and special songs he has ever written would reach people in this way. Needless to say, measures are being taken to identify and prosecute the persons responsible for leaking this material."
So how hard is it to get a hold of this unreleased Kanye vocal? Even "Mama's Boy" collaborator DJ Premier had to jump through several digital hoops before he could lay down a beat to it. Speaking with VIBE last year, he said: "They sent me a private hard drive. I had to know certain passwords and go through all these steps to get the song. Kanye even sent me an email saying 'destroy all the roughs I sent you.'"
Born This Way banned in Lebanon
However, officials in Lebanon aren't so savvy. Earlier this month, customs agents in that country reportedly impounded copies of "Born This Way" when they arrived at Beirut's airport apparently on the grounds that it is offensive to religion. According to the Los Angeles Times, the move prompted a reaction from the government's information minister who promised to end all forms of censorship.
MuchMusic bans Broken Social Scene video
Lil Wayne gets sued over Tha Carter III (again)
Amy Winehouse performs 'worst concert ever' in Serbia
Cee Lo denounces ‘gay’ reviewer, drops off Rihanna tour
Liam Gallagher likens Mumford & Sons to unsexy Amish people
Robyn dismisses Katy Perry diss
BET Awards Teleprompter-gate 2011
Metallica vs. Iron Maiden
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