Soulja Boy's 21st Birthday Gift To Self -- $55 Million G5 Jet

by Billy Johnson, Jr

                           
Most young adults would be content celebrating their 21^st birthday with a trip to Las Vegas, but rap superstar Soulja Boy had a grander idea.
For his 21^st birthday Thursday, the Atlanta rapper bought himself a $35 million dollar private jet, a rep from his management team reportedly told TMZ.
But apparently, the G5 jet needed some "Pretty Boy Swag" upgrades. According to reports, Soulja will be spending an additional $20 million dollars to add flat screen TVs, 4 liquor bars, a dozen Italian leather seats, Brazilian hardwood cabinets, and travertine tiled flooring.
The restroom will be remolded and enlarged, and the aircraft will get a new custom paint job featuring his logo.
A spokesperson for Soulja Boy had not responded to our request to confirm the jet purchase by press time.
On Friday, the "Crank That" rapper, will host a birthday extravaganza in Miami believed to cost $300,000. Sean Kingston, Bow Wow, and Dwight Howard are expected to attend. The event will be streamed live from SouljaBoyBirthdayBash.com at 11 p.m. eastern.
In April, Soulja Boy told Hip Hop Media Training that he was planning to team up with MTV for a Las Vegas-based bash. "MTV [is going to] be doing my birthday party. It's going to be in Vegas. I'm going to be in Vegas," Soulja Boy said. "MTV is going to be doing it just like I did my swag eighteenth party. I don't know. It's going to be my first time being 21. So I'm just gonna do me."
Hear Soulja Boy talk Las Vegas birthday plans.
Poll: If you were Soulja Boy and could afford a $55 million purchase, what would you spend the money on? Click here to respond to Facebook poll.

G Sound Musik Presents...D Mo - 54321

Back again....G Sound Musik/Hoodlum Gang Artist D Mo, never letting up on the competition. Setting the records straight with 5 4 3 2 1. Quick Vid shot and edited by the infamous Darren Alexander Cole in Atlanta, GA

50 Cent's empty threat: I'm gonna leak Dre's single

By Liz Kelly Nelson

Follow @lizkellynelson on Twitter

So, here's what happened: 50 Cent, unhappy with a leaked song/perceived lack of support from his label -- Interscope -- started venting his spleen on Twitter on Wednesday (July 26), eventually threatening to leak a single from label-mate Dr. Dre.

Fiddy's song, "I'm On It," was allegedly leaked by Interscope earlier this week. The rapper was not happy and let his fans know in a series of tweets.

"Man I'm not releasing a album i can't believe interscope is this f---ed up right now," he wrote. "I apologize to all my fans."

"I will work with other artist on there projects but I will not put out another album. They dropped the ball with me one time to many."

Then for the coup de grace, the rapper threatened to leak an upcoming Dr. Dre single:

I LOVE DRE but I'm putting his next single psycho out tomorrow at 2:00 #SKless than a minute ago via UberSocial Favorite Retweet Reply50cent
50cent

"Your gonna love it," he continued. "Its a big song I just don't think it deserves a great set up sense they can't seem to get it right when it comes to me." 

"I don't know how I can record 41 song for my album and the one song I give interscope leaks But I don't care its good music."

But less than 24 hours later, 50 had changed his tune, tweeting, "I wouldn't leak dre's record he has done nothing but help me in my career."

It's okay, Fiddy, we wouldn't want to get Dre mad, either.

Uncle Luke Blasts Wiz Khalifa For Relationship With Amber Rose

» by C. Vernon Coleman II

                                      Uncle Luke Calls Out Wiz Khalifa
Former 2 Live Crew front man Uncle Luke has gone from Mayoral candidate to wanna be relationship adviser, calling into question the hookup between Wiz Khalifa and Amber Rose.
In a recent column for the Miami New Times, Luke writes that Wiz violated an unwritten law by dating another rapper's ex saying the Pittsburg MC “broke the bro code” when he started dating Kanye West's old flame.
He also mentioned Soulja Boy (Diamond) and Memphitz (Toya Carter) as other rappers who crossed the line.
Skywalker wrote that the bond between MC's is supposed to be different than those of other celebrities.
“Rappers aren't like celebrity football and basketball players, who pass around exes like mustard,” Luke wrote.
In the end Luke blamed why Wiz would fall for the “spotlight hogging” Amber Rose on a generational gap in standards.
“Wiz Khalifa, like some members of his generation, has gotten soft,” wrote Luke. “They are losing their focus. They can't spot a triflin' woman in the room to save their lives.”

Check out Uncle Luke's rant in its entirety below.

"Wiz Khalifa needs to have his head examined. The boy behind the hit "Black & Yellow" has lost his mind over a woman interested only in hogging his spotlight. For months, Wiz has been dating former stripper Amber Rose, whose claim to fame is that her ex-boyfriend is Kanye West. Khalifa even tattooed the girl's name on his hand. Now he's beefing with Kanye because West dissed Amber at Coachella this past April and then, just recently, at the Essence Festival in New Orleans.
But Wiz Khalifa broke a cardinal rule in the rap game. You don't date another rapper's ex-girlfriend.

He is not alone. In Atlanta, Soulja Boy recently snatched Lil Scrappy's girl.
Lil Wayne's ex Toya Carter tied the knot with some rapper named Memphitz earlier this year.

They broke the bro code. See, when a rapper makes a commitment to one girl, he takes the relationship seriously. Rappers aren't like celebrity football and basketball players, who pass around exes like mustard. You got Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Chad Ochocinco dating Evelyn Losada, who was engaged to former Miami Heat forward Antoine Walker. Hell, some of these motherf*ckers don't even wait for a breakup.

Television star Eva Longoria caught her man, San Antonio Spurs point guard Tony Parker, banging his teammate Brent Barry's wife. Orlando Magic star Gilbert Arenas dumped his fiancée and baby mama Laura Govan after he caught her doing the dirty with Shaquille O'Neal. That is some incestuous shit. Despite the stereotypes, you rarely saw this kind of thing in hip-hop.

We rappers have always prided ourselves on not dating someone else's ex-girlfriends or ex-wives. This will come as a shock to some people, but if we have a relationship, it's with just one woman. Look at Jay-Z. He's been committed to Beyoncé for some time. Will Smith, Run-D.M.C., Ice Cube, Ice-T, and I are other examples of loyal, dedicated husbands in hip-hop.
Wiz Khalifa, like some members of his generation, has gotten soft. They are losing their focus. They can't spot a triflin' woman in the room to save their lives."

Big Sean Speaks On Game's Diss On "Otis," The Kanye & Consequence Beef, And Drake Biting His Style [Video]

» by Jason Weintraub                                                                                                                                                                   

Big Sean joined the Breakfast Club to speak on recent shots taken at the G.O.O.D. music family and his future projects.
Although Sean said he has Ye's back, with Consequence lashing out at G.O.O.D. and ‘Ye, the Detroit, Michigan native explains that he's steering clear of the drama.

"Kanye, that situation with him and Consequence, that's way personal. That's not a random dude dissing. That was somebody who was part of the fam, was all in the fam together and then they had their problems."

However, he was quick to clarify, stating that G.O.O.D. music is family, and he will always have his label mates backs.

“We all got each other's back,” he continued. “It's really a family business. There's been times when we got into real arguments about like, ‘Man, this ain't right, this ain't family!' There have been times where people have really crossed the line, it's been times where we had to really check one another. But he's respectful, just like family is.”

As for Game's latest diss “Uncle Otis” that took shots at him and Jay-Z, the “My Last”  rapper shrugged it off. “I didn't even take it as a diss. I took it as him doing what he do. Don't he got an album that's about to come out?” Peep the full interview below to hear Sean talk about beefs, why Charlemagne is making Sean drink muscle milk, and more.

Diddy's Former Artist Shyne Says He's Celibate, No Longer Cursing In His Raps

» by Randy Roper

                               
Shyne Talks Religion and Living In Jerusalem
Former Bad Boy artist and ex-con Shyne has a new leash on life.
After serving nearly 10 years in prison, the rapper was released in 2009, signed a new deal with Def Jam that didn't start off so well and was deported to Belize.
Nowadays, Shyne who once made a living rhyming about sex, drugs and murder has decided to leave those lyrics in the past.
According to reports by TheJC.com state:

For the past nine months, the 32-year-old rapper has been living in Jerusalem under the name Moses Michael Levi and spending 12 hours a day studying religion with Chasidim from the Belz sect.
He is planning a world tour and the release of two albums by early 2012 but promises that the lyrics will be clean, and his shows, like forthcoming videos, will be without female dancers in deference to Jewish modesty laws.

"While some people might call it a religious epiphany and say 'he found God', I say no, I'm just smart,"  told The JC.

Shyne, who found relationship while in prison, and moved to Jerusalem as a way to get closer to God, also talked about his current views on women and sex.
The JC states:
He says that he had asked for divine help in bringing the world his debut album in which he sings about "b*tches walkin' topless with G-strings".
In return, he promised to adopt a lifestyle alien to the world portrayed in his music - one without any sexual activity whatsoever.
In 2000, as his trial loomed and he feared that the album, Shyne, would be shelved due to negative publicity, he declared to God: "You know what? You know how much I love women, I'm going to be shomer

BET Cancels The Mo'Nique Show?

» by Sha Stimuli

                                               BET Cancels The Monique Show
Rumors that BET is ending The Mo'Nique Show have been surfacing recently but BlackmediaScoop confirmed that the show is still on.
But don't get too excited yet, BET insiders are giving the word that the show is on "production hiatus."
Rodney Perry, Mo'Nique's sidekick on the show talked with Mo'Nique's husband earlier today who told him this…“I was told indefinite hiatus.”
With no new season on the books, the word "cancelled" might be premature but appropriate.
Perry hasn't spoken to the host of the show yet but he suspects the financial responsibility of the program may have been too much of a burden on the network.
“We did 300 shows over two seasons. That's a huge investment.”
We'll keep you posted.

Moguldom Digital Network: Bossip.com Logo | 24 Wired.TV | Atlanta Post | Style Blazer | Madame Noire Home Features Video News Politics Wired Mixtape Bangin Candy Meet Bishop Eddie Long's 5th Accuser Cetino Kemp [Video] [Photos]

by Jason Weintraub
                                             
AtlantaFOX 5 has uncovered that there was a fifth accuser in the Bishop Eddie Long sexual misconduct case.

He never filed a lawsuit and his name was kept a secret, but Centino Kemp's allegations of sexual misconduct against Bishop Long has exposed him to the recent settlement negotiations.

The well-known sex scandal involving Bishop Eddie Long, began when four young men, all former members of New Birth Missionary Baptist Church, filed suit accusing the bishop of lavishing money, trips and gifts on the young adults, while having sexual contact with them.

The case was finally settled in secret back in May, but now we have learned that Centino Kemp came forward with similar allegations of sexual misconduct against Bishop Long.

According to various social media posts, Centino Kemp is 22 years old, single, tattooed, and always sporting different looks. He tweets openly of gay rights, and dreams of taking the recording world by storm.

One source says Centino Kemp, who was raised in the Bahamas, met Bishop Eddie Long years ago during a visit to New Birth while he was a teenage student in a Florida college.

The relationship meant enough for him to tattoo Eddie Long's name on his wrist, followed by the words, “Never a Mistake, Always a Lesson.”

Peep the video below for the full exclusive report from FOX 5 Atlanta

Kimbo Slice’s son is a rising high school football prospect in Florida

By Steve Cofield

Kevin Ferguson always wanted to be an All-American linebacker for the University of Miami. It didn't work out for the man better known as Kimbo Slice, but he may have a second lease on life with his son Kevin Ferguson II.
Kimbo was a great football prospect in the early '90s at Palmetto H.S. in the Miami area. His football career was derailed when his house was destroyed by Hurricane Andrew.
Kevin, a 16-year-old at Booker T. Washington H.S., is the spitting image of his menacing dad (pictured below) all the way down to the trademark facial hair. He's got a big bushy beard, but doesn't have to go with the bald head like his father. Kevin II has a tall mohawk. He looks slightly older than a junior in high school.

"I get that a lot. [People ask] 'Are you 35? Let me see your birth certificate.' I'm only 16. Come on dude! I just turned 16," [Ferguson told the Orlando Sentinel in the video above].

Kevin II is one of nine kids. When his father's in town he stays with Kimbo and the rest of the time he's at Mom's. He has a close bond with his Dad, who fought professionally for both EliteXC and the UFC. Said Ferguson:

"He's a cool dad. He's more like a brother to me, but you also have to keep the respect there because he's also our father ... not just our friend."

Ferguson is a 6-foot-1, 195-pound running back with some extra pressure on his shoulders. People around Miami know Kimbo very well.

"It's a motivation. Kimbo Slice being my dad is a motivation to not be as good as him, but to be better than him. So, when dudes criticize me about who he is, that just let's me know that they know who I am, and I just go out there and try to make my presence known. I don't try to be Kimbo Slice's son, I want to be Kevin Ferguson the second."

It's still early in Ferguson's development. He was backup at Miramar H.S. last year, but still decided to roll the dice by transferring to Booker T, a Florida superpower. If he wins a starting job during his junior or senior year and puts up numbers, he's almost guaranteed a Division I scholarship. On a positive note he also sports a 3.2 GPA.

Kendrick Lamar Recalls Seeing Death In His Neighborhood, Talks Responsibility

by Danielle Harling

                                  

Rapper Kendrick Lamar says there aren't many things worse than seeing death, reveals that he has a "great responsibility.”

In a recent radio interview with the Femme Fatale Mixshow, Compton rapper Kendrick Lamar revealed a more personal side as he spoke on seeing death in his community and hopefully shining a positive light on his city through music.
The rapper revealed that growing up in his neighborhood he constantly heard about death before seeing it first-hand.
“I think nothing can get worse than just seeing death. I don’t like to speak on it a lot because it plays back in your head over and over again,” Lamar explained. “I’ve been in a lot of situations where I’ve seen [cats I’ve] known personally get killed in front of your face. It’s a trip because as a kid you grow into this environment where you think that you supposed to see that all the time because you’re so used to hearing people talk about it. You’re so used to seeing it from a distance. Then when you see it close up it’s like, ‘Damn, that’s what it really is?’”
After speaking on his experience, Lamar was asked if he felt a sense of responsibility to his community since he was able to make it out.
“I definitely have a great responsibility. I have a greater responsibility for the people that weren’t blessed with the blessings that I have. I didn’t have the roughest life, but I know cats who did who didn’t have they father in they life. I had my pops in my life and my mother. And they was both active,” said Lamar. “I mean they weren’t perfect. My pops was still in the streets doing his stuff, but at the end of the day I had them there to pick my battles and tell me ‘Don’t do that, cause that got a consequence’…At the end of the day I feel it’s only right for me to, if I have some type of positive light, I can shed through my music however it comes for the city I’m gonna do that.”

Young Jeezy Brings Out Kanye West, Jay-Z & More At "Let's Get It: TM101" Anniversary Show

by Jake Paine

                                  

UPDATE: The Snowman enlisted a group of famous friends that also included Jadakiss and Fabolous.

On July 25, Atlanta, Georgia emcee Young Jeezy is celebrating the sixth anniversary of his solo debut Let's Get It: Thug Motivation 101 in New York. The CTE leader will perform the album in its entirety at New York City's Highline Ballroom.
TM101 will be six years old on July 25. The 2005 Def Jam release featured appearances by T.I., Jay-Z, Trick Daddy, Young Buck, Bun B, Lil Scrappy and others. The album, backed by hit single "Soul Survivor" was certified platinum by the RIAA. Jeezy released two subsequent solo albums, 2006's The Inspiration, and 2008's The Recession.
Similar anniversary performances have taken place of Jay-Z's Reasonable Doubt.
(July 20)
UPDATE: Young Jeezy brought out a gang of rappers last night at his Thug Motivation 101 anniversary show. The full concert can be viewed below.

Watch live streaming video from youngjeezy at livestream.com

Trina Speaks On Past & Future Work With Rick Ross

by Andres Vasquez

                                  

Miami's Trina opens up about the mutual support between her and Rick Ross and adds that she's "done with the label."

During a recent trip to Los Angeles, Trina spoke to DJ Skee about upcoming work with longtime friend Rick Ross as well as her new label situation. The Miami rapper said she's excited to get back in the booth with Ross and added that she's always been a supporter of his.
"I'm very excited. I love him," she said of Ross. Trina explained that she had love for Ross' music before he took off to chart-topping success. While he was still making a name for himself, Trina says she would take his mixtapes out on tour and promote his work.
"I was on tour and I was taking his mixtapes on tour, promoting, pushing him before people knew who he was."
The favor has been returned. According to Trina, Ross is heavily involved with her projects, lending his ear and advice when needed in the studio.
"He's so supportive. Whenever I'm in the studio, he comes through...I always feel safe when he's around, especially when it comes to music. I feel he has that ear."
Trina also added that she's in a transition period as she changes her label situation.
"I'm actually done with the label. I'm having a new situation, which is a secret," she added.
For more from the interview, check below.

Wiz Khalifa Earns Gold Certification For "Rolling Papers"

by Steven J. Horowitz

                                           

The Taylor Gang leader gets another plaque, this time for shipping 500,000 copies of his debut.

Wiz Khalifa has earned gold certification for his debut album Rolling Papers, released March 29, 2011. The Taylor Gang leader celebrated crossing the 500,000 units mark with a celebration at Rostrum Records and Atlantic Records.
So far, Wiz has several platinum plaques thanks to the success of the album. His smash “Black and Yellow” has been certified triple platinum for sales of over three-million units, while his follow-up “Roll Up” earned platinum status in June.
Rolling Papers bowed at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 with 197,000 copies sold in its first week.

Nicki Minaj Fined For Using Expletives At Concert In Jamaica

by Steven J. Horowitz

                                         

The Harajuku Barbie absently paid the fines for cussing up a storm during her recent performance.

Following her performance this past weekend at Jamaica’s Reggae Sumfest, Nicki Minaj has been fined for using expletives during her set and pleaded guilty to the charges (via RR). The Harajuku Barbie absently paid the J$1,000 fine, which roughly equates to $11.70.
Minaj, who was not in court, sent her local attorney Hugh Thompson to handle the case. He entered an ex parte guilty plea on behalf of his client, who may or may not have been on the island while court was in session.
The Young Money rapstress was handed the summons as she exited the stage early on Sunday

Game Says He Will Sign With Cash Money Records After Interscope

by Steven J. Horowitz

                                           

Chuck Taylor shares that he's been thinking about making moves to a different label.

Game has revealed that he is considering signing with Cash Money Records after his Interscope Records contract is fulfilled. With only one more album left on the plate following the August 23rd release of R.E.D. Album, the Compton, California native explains that he plans on abandoning Interscope and signing with the house that Birdman and Slim built.
"We been playing with the idea of going over to Cash Money or trying to marry that and Black Wall Street,” he told XXLMag.com. “So, we’ll figure it out before the end of the day. I definitely think that’s where I’ll probably end up. Cause they winning, they want to win and I been winning and want to continue to win.”
Game, who explained that his relationship with Birdman dates back to before he dropped his debut The Documentary, has collaborated with Cash Money's Lil Wayne several times throughout his career. On an unreleased track from R.E.D. Album titled "All I Know," Chuck Taylor speaks on the label proposal.

Ray Don - Fast Flow

G Sound Films is back for the 7th consecutive week with another quick vid from Ray Don. This time around Eastchester's finest is showcasing his fast flow. Check It Out. For video inquiries email Jay G at contactgsound@yahoo.com

A Quick Six with David "Prophetic" Baldwin

by JC Poppe

David "Prophetic" Baldwin is attacking the local, regional and national rap game from all sides.

Investing in a music career is very much like gambling. There is never a guaranteed return on any money dedicated to it, but there is always the hope that it will come back so that one can break even or even make a profit.
In the game of blackjack, a good player knows that when you have the hot hand, with every successive win, you up your ante.
This is the way that David "Prophetic" Baldwin is attacking the local, regional and national rap game.
Since his co-sign several years ago by Pharrell Williams of production team The Neptunes and rap group N*E*R*D, Baldwin has launched a steady stream of content. With a handful of webtapes, a better name for what's become known as a mixtape these days, double-digit high quality music videos or video snippets, there is no question that the man known as Proph is continually betting more chips on himself to beat "the house."

Recently, Baldwin opened for popular rapper Wiz Khalifa at Summerfest in front of an estimated 23,000 people, launched a new website – prophpeezy.com – and released a new webtape called "Purgatory."
I caught up with Prophetic for a "Quick Six" about his recent endeavors.
OnMilwaukee.com: What makes "Purgatory" different from your other webtapes?
David Baldwin: I think every webtape is different. I like the production on this one. It gave me a platform to show a diverse sound. I don't really think about it like that, I just try to catch the emotion of the production.
OMC: You've put out a constant stream of music and videos, and of course had large success with "Green and Yellow." You've opened for N.E.R.D. and now Wiz Khalifa, both at Summerfest. You've licensed music to ESPN for the X-Games. What is it going to take to push you to the top of that hill where touring and a deal of some sort can be found?
DB: A lot more of what we've been doing internally as a unit.
OMC: What is the rest of the year looking like for you? What are your plans musically?
DB: I'll stay recording new music. Well work to continue a steady release of visuals. Build the resume. Build the fan base and work with my partners.
OMC: Why have you chosen to stay in Milwaukee all these years?
DB: I don't think it's about moving as much as building some worth to your name or brand. I move around but I'm trying to make it beneficial.
OMC: You seem to be smiling a lot more lately. Are you enjoying the ride and the experience?
DB: Yeah I try to. We always think about the future. Sometimes you should just enjoy the present. I just learned that so I've been saying that to people a lot.
OMC: Speaking of opening for Wiz Khalifa, how did it go this year? I heard there were 20,000+ in attendance.
DB: Yeah the crowd was OC bro. Very memorable experience.

The Creators Of “Yonkers” Video

                
It didn’t take long for Tyler, The Creator’s “Yonkers” video to hit a million views. In fact, it is currently sitting at 14 million. In this online exclusive, RESPECT., goes behind the lens and talks to the creators of the critically-acclaimed viral.
Previously: RESPECT. Interview

It was the video that changed everything for Tyler, the Creator; his barfing silhouette is already iconic.  To create ”Yonkers“, Tyler had a little help from his friends, industry folk far too old for an Odd Future membership.  RESPECT. talked to the team behind “Yonkers”: the producer Tara Razavi, the director of photography Luis “Panch” Perez, and Tyler’s “creative godfather” Anthony Mandler.  After the jump, find out what went on behind the scenes — like, did he really eat that bug?
Tyler, and the Creators of Yonkers
Tyler, the Creator gave three days warning; “YONKERS Video Drops Friday. oddfuture.com GOBLIN ; April; 2011” he tweeted on February 7 of this year.  Three days later, as promised, the OFWGKTA YouTube account uploaded the music video that would rocket the young rapper into popular consciousness and solidify his place in hip-hop history.  The brief and shocking clip — three minutes of contorting, hurling, and hanging — was Odd Future’s tipping point, the moment when fame became inevitable.  Coupled with the infamous Jimmy Fallon performance a week later, it was a one-two knockout.
Yet “Yonkers” sticks out from the group’s prior homemade repertoire.  Notorious for his strictly in-house regimen, Tyler had newfound money to his name since signing a deal with XL Recordings after endless negotiations.  His manager, industry vet Chris Clancy, assembled a team of professionals to translate Tyler’s vision to the screen for his big label début.
Clancy put in a call to Anthony Mandler, one of today’s most popular music video directors, who is no stranger to pop culture controversy.  His latest clip is Rihanna’s “Man Down,” which has drawn heavy critique from the Parents Television Council for its depiction of a violated woman who murders her offender in vengeance.  Mandler served as Tyler’s “directing godfather,” guiding him into a “world of possibilities where we have equipment, we have cameras, we have tricks, we have techniques….  It’s just about presenting him with options and putting things in front of him, and then he goes, ‘I like this.  I like that.’”
“He comes to me with six lines….  ‘I’m sitting on a chair rapping, I’m playing with a bug, I eat it, I throw it up, my eyes go black, and I hang myself,’” Mandler says, “That was his treatment.”  In his mind, Tyler had each spectacle timed to the exact moment in the song.  Once everything was in place, he led Mandler, Clancy, and the production team at Happy Place, Inc. down his morbid checklist on a conference call.  “It was really low budget, like it’s probably something we usually wouldn’t touch,” says Tara Razavi, owner of and executive producer for Happy Place, “but I don’t know…  I just learned immediately that Tyler is a creative genius….  Now, he’s new as a director, so as far as the lingo of explaining the shot, or understanding — there’s a lot that goes on behind the scenes that people don’t know.”
Other than Wolf Haley, only one name is tagged to the “Yonkers” video on YouTube.  That’s Luis “Panch” Perez, the seasoned director of photography who got his start working under Hype Williams in the early ‘90s.  Tyler is outspoken in his disinterest in old school rap, but Perez spent the golden era working in its “nucleus”: New York City.
As a “hip-hop head…I was like, thank God somebody’s thinking a little bit out the box and giving us something nice,” he says, “Creatively, we came together almost like it was a laser beam sharpness.”
Once on set in downtown Los Angeles, Perez showed Tyler different lenses and lighting techniques until they agreed on a formula.  He suggested the tilt-shift lenses that anxiously throb in and out of focus, aiming for an aesthetic reminiscent of “if Nine Inch Nails and Ol’ Dirty Bastard had a baby.”  “I think the objective was to try to sell a piece that had no gags,” says Mandler, “We didn’t want you to feel like we were cutting at all, we were doing stunts at all, there were effects or no effects.  It was all clever old school filmmaking, and the tilt-shift is a really nice way of making people feel unsettled.”
Then came the cockroach.
“It came in a box with holes in it.  It shows up to set, and he was like, ‘Oh my God, I can’t do this,” Razavi says, “It took him 30 minutes.  We were like, ‘Why don’t you just go sit with the bug, hang out, get used to the bug, just get comfortable.  And the funny thing is Hodgy [Beats]…just walks in, doesn’t say a word, picks up the bug, puts it on his face…and I was like, This kid is crazy.  And Tyler was jumping around, and finally he got used to it, and it’s hard to make a bug cooperate — so that time, we had to do a few different takes.  Sometimes it would just sit there; sometimes it wouldn’t walk.  Sometimes it walked too fast, and Tyler would be like ‘Oh, shit!’”  The production team, of course, won’t divulge if Tyler actually consumed the creature.  “All I know is when he bit into the roach, he actually gagged.  That’s the take you see,” says Perez.
The shoot was briefer than usual, spanning a few rehearsals, around 15 takes, and 10 hours.  Post-processing work was minimal, says Razavi.  Tyler’s puke was enhanced, and the footage (which was shot in color) was reverted to black and white and colorized.  “Really what you’re looking at is very simple: you’re looking at a 19-year-old kid sitting on a stool rapping to the camera,” says Mandler, “but what we did with the lighting, and what we did with the tilt-shift, and the way the camera moves, and the chaos of him — the whole thing puts you on the end of your seat, and it creates a horror movie without doing much.”
Immediately, the crew knew they had something special.  Perez says, “It was such an interesting moment in my career and in Tyler’s career, period.  Even management was looking around; we were all looking at each other like, I don’t know how this is gonna be received, but everybody was excited, and that was beautiful.  When we started doing some of the technical things that were needed to allow him to puke, to eat a cockroach and hang himself, it never felt like we were doing something silly.  It felt momentous, in the sense of — here’s a guy who had an idea and for the first time in his young life, he was doing something that he knew that was exactly what he wanted….  It was like the genesis of a moment — and I hate to sound über-romantic about it, but that’s how it felt.”
“When we were making it, we turned around and said two things,” says Mandler, “One, this video’s gonna piss a lot of people off.  Two, Kanye West is gonna be jealous as fuck.”  Sure enough, on February 23, Kanye tweeted a link to the video followed by a cogent co-sign: “The video of 2011.”  15 million views later, “Yonkers” is still a contentious conversation piece.  “We can talk about all kinds of ways to intellectualize the piece,” says Perez, “but he himself said it: it’s like, Stop trying to fucking find meaning into it.  I just wanted to fucking do it.”
Tyler, the Creator’s co-creators are all but effusive about his artistry, and the team reassembled to shoot the clip for Goblin’s second single, “She.”  “I think he has a really powerfully creative mind and his kind of ADD chaos allows him to not get hung up on things,” says Mandler, “and that sort of rambling style of creating, that free-flowing creation, can be really beautiful, harnessed the right way.”  Yet Razavi admits, “It’s so weird jumping from Odd Future into all these other artists.”  For Perez, “No matter what happens for the rest of my career, I can always look at [“Yonkers”] and say, you know what?  That was a moment where a few people put something together that forever will be ingrained in pop culture.”
Though MTV refuses to play “She” without a slew of edits, Tyler is still dreaming of a VMA.  “I had a private conversation with him when we were shooting ‘She’,” says Perez, “and he was talking about concepts he wanted to do the next video with.  And the funniest thing — he kept talking about a talking ostrich.  And I’m like, Dude, we have to do it.  I can’t wait.”

Amy Winehouse Dies; Troubled Singer Reportedly Found Dead in Home

ByDEAN SCHABNER

July 23, 2011

Amy Winehouse, the volatile singer whose career was rocked by drug addiction and alcohol abuse, has died, according to reports in the British media. She was 27.
She was found dead in her northwest London home, London police told The Associated Press.
A Metropolitan Police spokesman told the BBC that it was not yet clear what the cause of death was.
Winehouse, once one of the hottest acts in pop music, was jeered and booed off the stage in Belgrade, Serbia, last month when she was attempting to attempting to launch a new European tour. She cancelled the rest of the events on the planned tour.
In June 2008, the singer was rushed to a hospital after she fainted at home. Shortly afterwards, her father said in an interview that she was suffering from the emphysema and had been warned by doctors that she would die if she continued smoking crack cocaine and cigarettes.
Her representatives played down the severity of the diagnosis, although a spokesman has confirmed that Winehouse had a "touch of" emphysema.

Her battle against drug addiction often overshadowed her recording success. In August 2007, at the height of her promotional tour for her breakout second album, "Back to Black," Winehouse cancelled a number of shows in the UK and Europe, citing exhaustion and ill health.
Soon after, Winehouse and her then husband were photographed, bloodied and bruised, in the streets of London after an alleged fight.
In January 2008, British newspaper The Sun posted a video of Winehouse allegedly smoking crack cocaine and talking about taking ecstacy and valium. The video was later passed onto investigators, who arrested and questioned Winehouse but did not file charges against her.
Later that month, Winehouse finally checked into rehab, but left the treatment program two weeks later. She won five Grammys at February's awards ceremony, including Best New Artist and Album of the Year.
In addition to her health woes, Winehouse often found herself embroiled in legal drama.
In October 2007, Winehouse and her husband, Blake Fielder-Civil, were arrested in Norway for possession of marijuana. They were later released and fined.
She was accused of trying to interfere in the trial of her husband, who was sentenced to a 27 months in prison for charges stemming from his assault of a pub landlord in June 2007.
But Winehouse's health and legal problems didn't hinder her popularity. In May, The Sunday Times newspaper's annual Rich List estimated her wealth at $20 million. According to the same paper, "Back to Black" had sold nine million copies worldwide as of July 2008.