"Imma Let You Finish"

Sunday night's MTV Video Music Awards were such a blast, they've gotten us thinking! What is the most infamous VMA moment of all time? Here are a few reminders...

There are many moments to choose from, like Michael Jackson and Lisa Marie Presley's onstage kiss to Diana Ross grabbing Lil Kim's boob but we've picked a couple more popular favorites...

No VMA highlight real would be complete without a visit from Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera or Madonna; and in this case it's all three. Back in 2003 the trio opened the show with a three-way rendition, of Madge's Like A Virgin and Hollywood. In an interview Britney later confessed: "I didn't know it was going to be that long" and “I've never kissed a women before" adding that Madonna's pre-show advice had been that they would "just feel it out and see what happens".

And, of course, there was that infamous incident in 2009 when Kanye West stormed the stage to interrupt Taylor Swift's acceptance speech for defeating Beyonce's All the Single Ladies video exclaiming "Yo, Taylor, I'm very happy for you, I'mma let you finish, but Beyonce had one of the best videos of all time!” OF ALL TIME! Classic Kanye.

VMA Round-Up

This Sunday night was the 2011 MTV Video Music Awards. It was officially the biggest audience in MTV history and you could see why!

You either love her or hate her but Lady Gaga was her usual effervescent self, or more literally, she wasn’t. Gaga showed up in drag as her new alter ego Jo Calderone, oddly enough, to complain about his ex’s (Gaga) high-heeled shower habits. We know it’s weird, but Gaga is one hell of a performer regardless.

Jay-Z and Kanye West debut awards show performance as the rap-duo The Throne was extremely well received. Only to be outdone by Adele’s heartfelt performance forcing everyone to their feet. Jay-Z shouldn’t mind though, considering his wife Beyonce, confirmed after her own performance, that she was pregnant by rubbing her stomach as the camera cut back to her husband.

Britney Spears received Best Female Video to her surprise as well as the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard award, essentially a Lifetime Achievement Award.

The night wouldn’t have been complete without a tribute to the late Amy Winehouse. With a touching introduction by Amy’s close friend Russel Brand, Bruno Mars did a rendition of Valerie. Biggest ever you say? We agree.

Gimme all your Money

Band members always claim that money isn’t the reason they’re suing a fellow member, but rather the need to make things right. With money.

Liam Gallagher says he just wants an apology from Noel Gallagher, and the truth revealed. Yeah right. They are known for their small incidences of sibling rivalry but now Liam is taking it to the courts. He’s suing Noel over a comment he made last month that the reason they cancelled a show two years ago was because Liam was hung over. Who knows why they’re bringing this up now but they felt it was necessary.

The cancelled show was during the 2009 V Festival with the split of Oasis a mere week later. Liam says the reason he withdrew was because of laryngitis and he even has a doctor’s note to prove it. That was until this picture of him partying the night of the concert surfaced.

A fan that was there said, “He didn’t seem to have anything wrong with his voice.” We think this court proceeding is going to be a very long (pointless) one indeed, with many petty fights and Twitter profanities.

Shady Performs for Millions

Eminem hasn’t played in the UK for several years, so when V Fest 2011 rolled around he decided that a festival would be more worth his time than a stadium show. Walking away with £2 million pounds after a performance a day over the weekend, Slim Shady is back. Not bad for two days work.

The event was held in Staffordshire and Essex. Eminem was paid £1 million a day on a 25 track set, which means he charged £40 000 for one song.

In each of his 90 minute performances he gave the crowd a trip down Shady lane, with some of his well known hits including ‘Cleanin' Out My Closet’, ‘Stan’, ‘My Name Is’ and ‘The Real Slim Shady’. Rihanna also appeared, receiving £500 000 for each of her turns on the stage, including their collaboration on last year's hit ‘Love The Way You Lie’.


His rendition of 'Stan', released over a decade ago, was a standout performance, inciting mass chanting and approval from the crowd. Follow the link for for a sampling of Em's V Fest performance.

The Prank

Some musicians’ statuses get retweeted on Twitter, and some result in criminal charges. Rapper, The Game, may face charges for delaying and obstructing officers from doing their duties.

Last week, the genius posted a tweet with a number to call regarding a musical internship. His tweets are seen by over 590 000 followers. The number was the official help line for the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. One of the officials compared the phone traffic to that after an earthquake or a mass shooting; one referred to it as a phone flash mob (but no, this is a flash mob). That’s how Twitter destroys a sheriff’s department.

The rapper’s followers were unaware whose number it was until they called. Most hung up after realizing it was a prank. But some smart ones stayed on to inquire about the special internship. After some investigations, The Game was unveiled as the culprit and was asked to take it down. Which he did, without apologizing, and blamed a friend. He did respond later with an intellectual tweet, mocking the department. Who knows why celebrities use Twitter to mock each other, but they do.

During the few hours The Game’s followers terrorized the department, there were calls about a missing person, a stolen car, domestic violence and robberies. No report on whether the department solved those mysteries.

Trey Songz Coming to SA

South Africa is bracing itself to welcome American rapper Trey Songz to celebrate women with two Me & My Girls concerts at the end of August.

The 26-year-old will be in Durban and Johannesburg performing tracks from his latest album ‘Passion, Pain & Pleasure’. The shows will be held in celebration of Women’s month, and will be hosted by a community called Me & My Girls who hope to present fun, outrageous and seductive evenings.

Songz real name Tremaine Aldon Neverson. He's been nominated for numerous awards and won the BET Award for Best Male R&B Artist in 2010.



His recent nominations were for BET's Best Male R&B Artist 2011 and the Coca-Cola Viewer's Choice for Bottom's Up, featuring the crazy female rapper Nicki Minaj. He didn't win, but he did leave the crowd awed by his electrifying performance with  Kelly Rowland. 



The Concerts will be held at Wave House, Gateway in Durban on Friday 26 August and the following night at the Coca-Cola Dome in Johannesburg on Saturday 27 August. Tickets are available at Computicket.

Whether you're a fan, dating a fan and looking to score some brownie points or on the prowl, the concerts should be worth a look.

Hip Hop Cashes In

We asked the question and it took just a week for the answer. We’re talking about the Forbes Hip Hop Cash Kings List. Once again Jay-Z has topped the list, for the fourth time in the last five years, with $37m. Was there ever really any doubt. Perhaps?

In second place, and breathing down Jigga’s neck is another Forbes List favourite P. Diddy, just edged out with a close $35m. Followed at some distance by Kanye West ($16m), Little Wayne, Eminem etc, etc. A very impressive debut on this years list has to be that of Wiz Khalifa, who exploded onto the rap scene last year with his chart topper Black and Yellow. Wiz made up half his $11m, to earn him 11th place, by touring an impressive 133 shows.

But the biggest surprise on this year’s list is Nicki Minaj, gracing us at no. 15 with a very respectable $6.5m, becoming the first female rapper in history to do so, thanks to her platinum selling CD and as the opening act for Britney Spears’ Femme Fatale tour. Even more impressive is that she beat out list veterans such as Rick Ross, Pitbull, 50 Cent & T-Pain.

Oppikoppi vs Lollapalooza

Two festivals. Two countries. The same weekend. Which was better to attend?

Oppikoppi is a South African favourite. It’s in Limpopo and this year took place from the 5th to 7th August. 16 000 people were expected to attend the 17th Oppikoppi, which was also streamed worldwide. With Sum 41 (who cancelled their Durban show due to bad weather) and The Used as the international headlining bands, tickets sold out quickly. Approximately 65 bands played, which is commendable.  But then we took a look at Lollapalooza.

Lollapalooza was created by Jane’s Addiction lead singer, Perry Farrell, 20 years ago. It took place the same weekend as Oppi but in Chicago, IL. The grand total of fans expected was 270 000; for one festival, in one place, over three days. That number shoots Oppi down without even taking a look at the bands. And the bands were good. It’s hard to pick just one main headliner, but with the likes of Eminem, Foo Fighers, Muse and Coldplay you’re guaranteed to leave very, very happy. There was also another 100 additional musicians. This debate is starting to seem very one-sided.

Much as we love supporting local festivals, Lollapalooza is definitely a festival you need to partake in before you die. As are these.

I said, “Hip Hop, Hip Hop”

You may consider yourself a bit of a mover and a shaker on the dance floor when the bass kicks in. You may even, on occasion, put a few rhymes together. Heaven forbid, your party trick is a spot of beat boxing.

Rather leave it to the pros: they'll be down at the Annual African Hip Hop Indaba which is taking place in the Mother City this weekend. It's proclaimed as the biggest hip hop event to take place in our country and will feature South Africa's best DJs, MCs, break dancers and artists. And it's a contest, not an expo. They're all competing for a chance to represent South Africa overseas at the World Champs.

Established in 2000 by Heal the Hood, The indaba is a non-profit organisation that fights for youth empowerment and job creation through art and music. The organisation uses Hip Hop to promote self-pride and to offer a better way of life through expressing talents, away from gang membership and drug addiction.

Catch the action this evening at 20:00 at the Platinum Lounge, 88 Shortmarket Street and Saturday from 12:00 till late at the Good Hope Centre. Tickets are R50 per day, and R60 at the door. Check out this week's playlist for some to and from the function beats.

Who Owns The Throne?

Jay-Z or Kanye West? 
Everyone has a favourite. The pair have been friends for almost a decade and are finishing up a collaboration on an album under the moniker The Throne. It's a massively anticipated heavyweight rap duo.

One of the only guest producers on the album, The RZA of Wu Tang Clan fame commented, "With this project, it's the best of many worlds. These two guys have a great chemistry and a great relationship," adding "I'm excited."

Jay-Z has dominated the hip-hop charts going on 20 years, with multi-platinum selling albums such as The Blueprint and The Black Album. On the other hand, West's last album My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy was heralded as a masterpiece (by himself no less), overshadowing Jay’s last couple of efforts.


For our money, The Black Album is the best of the bunch, but Twisted Fantasy is nipping at it's heels.

Kanye is ready to step out of Jigga's shadow and take the helm as Hip Hop's main man. Recent reports indicate they may be having some creative differences. A case of keeping your friends close? Jay, you may be the current champ, but take your own advice and "Watch the Throne".

The Good, the Bad and the Gallaghers

There’s healthy sibling rivalry and then there’s the Gallaghers. There will always be arguments and fights amongst band members, but the Gallaghers always take theirs public and to a whole new level of diabolical.

Other bands have suffered due to siblings out to get one another but they seem mild compared to Oasis. There was the Bee Gees and the fighting between Barry and Robin Gibb (Brothers Gibb, get it?) resulted in Robin leaving the band for a year. The Beach Boys kept it in the family and consisted of three brothers and a cousin. Most of the tension was caused by Brian Wilson’s drug use and mental illnesses but that didn’t stop Mike Love from taking him to court in 2005.

Liam and Noel Gallagher even have a song called Sibling Rivalry. Noel has broken Liam’s foot, Liam has changed song lyrics, cancelled shows and the last fight that caused Noel to leave was Liam wielding a guitar like a weapon. Maybe Noel deserved it but don’t take it out on an innocent guitar! And then of course Liam recently called Noel a little bitch. Even though the brothers split ways in 2009 we’re sure there will be more fights coming in the future, hopefully accompanied by some excellent music.