Author: phayde

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N.E.R.D. Pharrell Williams

N.E.R.D. – Seeing Sounds out today

An incredible album. Also be sure to check out my new piece on N.E.R.D., which will be in the new issue of Pound magazine, but you can check out in full here. An excerpt:

While the trio says that the first two albums, In Search Of… and Fly or Die, were experimental and “without a real, true purpose,” every aspect of this third album has been meticulously calculated to a scientific degree.

“There was a thing – it’s pretty controversial – but I was reading how when Hitler spoke, one of the things that made him compelling and super charming to these people is that when he wasn’t speaking, he kept a high-frequency noise going on,” says Pharrell. “[When he’d turn it off and speak], they were totally at ease. It really felt like he brought them peace. I did the opposite; I did things that, frequency-wise, would get you tuned up and make you feel like it’s more energetic than what it is.”

And, on his new blog, the Audacity of Dope, the homie DJ Hyphen explains the story behind “Yeah You,” a song based on a stalker that Pharrell has:

Apparently P met a super wealthy Japanese girl who went to college in Boston backstage at one of his shows. She had a rep for being crazy (”Niiiiiigo told me don’t do it”), but he figured she could be that night’s jumpoff. Little did he know that she was completely psycho, and afterwards, she ended up calling/emailing/texting him literally a hundred times a day…for months. The assistant stepped in, thinking she could handle the situation (”my friend asked me for your email address, she said she’d take it from here”), but the girl just moved on and is now stalking her. As of a month ago, they were still getting annoyed by the girl. I’m not sure writing “Yeah You” about her will help though, but at least it makes for an interesting story. Just like in the song, she’ll just hit pause and give him a call.

Peep the blog for bonus tracks, too.

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P. Diddy

BREAKING NEWS ALERT


Diddy is now once again Puff Daddy.

We now return to your regularly scheduled programming.

Sean Paul causes seizures

From MSNBC:

GARDEN CITY, N.Y. – Now that surgeons have operated on Stacey Gayle’s brain, her favorite musician no longer makes her ill. Four years after being diagnosed with epilepsy, Gayle recently underwent brain surgery at Long Island Jewish Medical Center to cure a rare condition known as musicogenic epilepsy.

Gayle, a 25-year-old customer service employee at a bank in Alberta, Canada, was suffering as many as 10 grand mal seizures a day, despite being treated with medications designed to control them. The condition became so bad she eventually had to quit her job and leave the church choir where she sang.

Eighteen months ago, she began to suspect that music by reggae and hip-hop artist Sean Paul was triggering some of her seizures. She recalled being at a barbecue and collapsing when the Jamaican rapper’s music started playing, and then remembered having a previous seizure when she heard his music.

Her suspicions were confirmed on a visit to the Long Island medical center last February, when she played Paul’s hit “Temperature” on her iPod for doctors. Soon after, she suffered three seizures.

“Being that the seizures could be triggered by the music, this was a very interesting opportunity to study Stacey’s brain,” said Dr. Ashesh Mehta, the hospital’s director of epilepsy surgery.

During the first surgery, doctors implanted more than 100 electrodes in the right side of her brain to pinpoint the abnormal area of her brain.

The surgeons followed that procedure with a second surgery to remove the electrodes, along with parts of her brain suspected of causing the seizures.

“We used the latest techniques, including image guidance, to pinpoint the areas of abnormality, and the operating microscope to perform the procedure during a four-hour operation,” Mehta said.

Within three days, the woman was released from the hospital and has not experienced a seizure since.

“I always live each day like it’s my last,” she said. “I want to show others that life does not end at epilepsy. I know I have what it takes to succeed.”

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Soulja Boy

“Crank That” is biggest-selling digital single of all time

Seventeen-year-old Soulja Boy has sold more than three million legal downloads of “Crank That (Soulja Boy)” — the first song ever to do so. It has also sold more than three million ring tones, was nominated for a Grammy (for Best Rap Song) and stayed at No. 1 on the Hot 100 chart for seven weeks. The accompanying music video has been viewed 28 million times on YouTube, and the instructional dance video has been viewed 22 million times.

“I can’t thank my fans enough,” says Soulja Boy. “Without them, all of this wouldn’t have been possible. The support they give me is beyond incredible. I have so many Soulja Boy Tell’em projects ready and I will continue to give them what they need in 2008. Yuuuuaaaa!!”

Source

Lily Allen suffers miscarriage

Lily Allen, 22, has suffered a miscarriage, the Sun is reporting.

The singer had just returned from a vacation with boyfriend Ed Simmons, 37, of the Chemical Brothers, when she lost her baby.

““Lily and Ed are in a state of shock,” a source told the Sun. “The bad news has been really difficult for them to take and they are absolutely heartbroken.”

Says her spokesman: “We can confirm that Lily Allen has suffered a miscarriage. She and her partner Ed Simons will be making no further comment and we ask that their privacy be respected during this difficult time.”

Source

Scott Storch is a shitty father

TMZ has obtained documents filed by Storch’s baby mama, Dalene Daniel, claiming that the genetically disadvantaged producer missed the last two months’ payment. She says that he is “habitually late” in paying support, and some checks even bounce, despite the fact that Forbes estimated he made more than $1.4 million per month in 2006.

Click here to see the documents.

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Erykah Badu

Hm.


Erykah Badu in NYC on Tuesday.

Related post: Living With Baduism

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Wu-Tang Clan

U-God sues Wu-Tang for $170k

TMZ and AllHipHop are reporting that U-God (real name Lamont Hawkins) is suing Wu Music Group–which is licensed to Universal Music–for $170,000 in back royalties.

The rapper filed the papers on January 8 at the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, claiming that he is owed money from the 8 Diagrams album advance (around $40k), last fall’s Rock the Bells tour (at least $50k) and a European record contract, among other things.

Inverse – So Far: The Collection [FREE DOWNLOAD]

Here is the free download link to the very (very) long-anticipated pre-album album by the homies Tunji and Toby, who collectively make up the group Inverse. It is the appetizer to the entree that is Long Day’s Journey, their official debut LP, due out later this year.

Spice 1 seriously wounded after shooting

Rapper Spice 1 is in hospital after being shot in the chest Monday (Dec. 3) while sleeping in his car in the driveway of his parents’ Hayward home.

“He said he dozed off in his car,” said Hayward Police Lt. Reid Lindblom to InsideBayArea.com. “He guessed he had been in his car for about 30 minutes.”

The shooting occured at about 12:30 a.m., when the rapper, real name Robert Green, noticed that someone was standing next to his car. A shot was fired through the window and Green was hit in the chest. The suspect was described as being a Hispanic male, around 5’7, dressed in all black. Nothing was stolen from the car. Police do not have a suspect or a motive.

Anyone with additional information is asked to call the Hayward Police Department at 510-293-7000.