Grand Hustle's Young Dro Finishes my sentences

Dro's album "Best Thang Smokin" is in stores now. That dude that taught a nation how to Shoulder Lean, finishes my sentences.

My girl… got a girlfriend

“Shoulder Lean” is one of the biggest songs in the country because… I believed in it

If Young Dro is about to star in a big budget film, his leading lady has to be… Cindy Crawford

The last drink that tore you down for the night was… Patron

Some of Young Dro’s favorite clothing designers are… Ralph Lauren

The first meal that you’d have a personal chef cook for you would be… Scrabbled Eggs with cheese (he laughs after that statement)

The song that inspired you to be an emcee was… One More Chance by The Notorious B.I.G.

The emcee that influenced your style was… Raekwon and Nas

The last book that you’ve read was… Dirty Game

I would put all of my money on… I’d put all my money on my daughter

Photo by Michael Blackman
You can read the entire interview in October's Issue of XPOZ magazine (myspace.com/XPOZ)

Don't forget to leave your comments...

Ringtones, Ringtones, Ringtones, Jay-Z's Back, Jay-Z's back, Ringtones

Quote of the Week: The Battle scars of Cassie

Next, you’ve received a lot of negative press which stemmed from your in-studio interview with Hot 97. Do you have any regrets on how you handled the press you received from Vibe.com, through placing your thoughts on your MySpace page?

Cassie: Oh, no, not at all. I don’t have any regrets about expressing my feelings on my page. That’s my theme: never to live with regrets. Especially in situations like that, where I have the ability to redirect what people think about me. People still don’t think that I actually run my page, but everything that’s on that page was written by me. It’s real when you get in contact with me. I don’t know how many other artists actually run their pages, but I do. I receive so much love and enthusiasm from my friends so I wanted them to know how I felt about that situation. The real thing that happened was when I was on the radio with Angie Martinez we were talking about guys in a sense. Then Hot 97 turned it into, “Cassie said that Pharrell can get it,” when all I said was Pharrell was cute. They misconstrued a lot of the words that I said and from there people started blasting me. This was a very important week in my career. But I was checking out forums with people saying that, “Cassie hates Ciara,” this that and a third, but I respect Ciara… people saying that I’m a skinny white girl with no talent. It’s like, say what you want, but you haven’t even given me a chance. I only got one single out… ONE. So it is my belief to just let it all out; to express how I feel. I feel that people really need to know what I’ve been through. My career has gone from 0-100 mph in 3 seconds. I went from modeling to performing on National Television. My TRL performance was actually my seventh performance on stage. People just don’t understand that I’m through the fire with this. I love what I’m doing right now. I also know that a lot of the hits that I’m taking are because I’m associated with Bad Boy. A lot of people don’t want to believe in Bad Boy and they don’t want to associate nothing good with Bad Boy. But we’re doing it right now and that can’t be denied.

What do you think of what Cassie had to say?

Interview done by: Will "Deshair" Foskey of Diligence Magazine ww.Deshair.blogspot.com / XPOZ magazine
To read the full interview, pick up a copy of XPOZ magazine's October Issue

Mtv VMA's: The Documentary

Out of the gate, I must express how relieved I am sitting in one place after a week of partying, elbow rubbing, red carpeting, networking and open bar(ing) for the past 5 days. For some, the VMA’s may have lasted only 3 to 4 hours, but for myself, the VMA’s started on Monday night on the rooftop of Club Bed at 27th Street.

With the anticipation of Beyonce’s new album, “B-Day” to be released a week away, the invite fell in our laps to join Sony/BMG for what was to be a sneak preview of the album. The atmosphere was electric, the weather was perfect, the bar was endless, the ladies were exquisite and if I must say so myself, “I was fresh to death.” We got to hear a few, and I do mean a few new tracks from Bee’s new album. But like Sunshine Anderson once sung, “I’ve heard it all before.” The event was extra live, but I had to leave early; 1:30am to be exact. But the party looked to be just getting started with Bad Boy artist, Yung Joc coming out of the very same elevator I was walking into. I can’t help but say this, but just like my elevator, “It’s going down!”

I chose to make Tuesday my day to regroup. I have an hour and a half commute by train to NYC, and with Wednesday and Thursday locking down my schedule, Tuesday became very helpful. I made a long list of phone calls to make and sent out emails to keep my momentum at its maximum.

On Wednesday afternoon, I was back in NYC with a visible swagger and a take no prisoner’s mindset. I was on my way to check out The Style Villa. It was held at the Bryant Park Hotel, just a few blocks away from where the VMA’s took place (Radio City Music Hall). I know that you’ve heard about those amazing gift bags that celebrities receive when they go to award shows. Well, The Style Villa was 5 floors of relaxation and, “I’ll have that entire rack of clothing right there.”

Each celebrity that walked through the door from 50 Cent to Gabrielle Union was escorted through 3 full floors of sponsors from all over the city: New Era Fits, Apple Bottoms, Marc Ecko, Herbal Essence, DJ Big Rich of Sophist Productions was on the one’s and two’s blending videos, Hanes, Beauty Addicts, Vespa, Haspro and so many more. Clothing, specialty sneakers, Smart Water and smiling representatives were everywhere allowing for the celebrities to fill up his/her bag with goodies.

Now this is where it gets crazy. You know that your boy (yes, me), was fly as fuck in my Money green/Camel striped Adidas warm-up, topped off with the wheat colored Phillies fitted and bottomed by the tan/black “spider-webbed” Timberlands. So this is where racial profiling takes a turn for the better. Even though they had different colored wristbands in place so that the representatives could tell the Press apart from the Celebrities, why was a representative from the new project that Trump is having built in Miami trying to sell me a 13 million dollar condo? Representatives were giving me bags and I almost walked out of there with some serious blingage, but I walked out of that room quickly. You’re damn right I kept the bags I already had in my hand. The fitteds were seriously exclusive.

Well after I left The Style Villa, bags in hand, I headed over to the Grammy winning, 3x platinum artist, John Legend’s Pre-VMA party. Up until his 9:30pm performance, which was on time, I was hanging out with a colleague of mine, sipping on some sips and eating some mini-cupcakes that must was baked in Red Bull sauce because that high shouldn’t have been legal in 48 states. Southern Kool-Aid had nothing on these cupcakes sugary intake. On the other side of the planet, Pharrell Williams was having his Pre-VMA party which I’ve heard was the best party of the entire week’s festivities. Since I couldn’t be in two places at once, here is the lowdown on John Legend’s performance that took place in the Bowery Ballroom on Delancy.

If you close your eyes and envision how John Legend would look taking the stage, you’d probably be on-point. One of the best dressed men in the world was par for the course and the ladies loved every bit of it. This was John’s first opportunity to perform new music from his new album, “Once Again” for his fans as well his peers within the industry. Here is a rundown of his performance:

1. Save Room
2. Heaven Only Knows
3. She Don’t Have to Know (from his debut album, Get Lifted)
4. Each Day Is Better
5. Where Did She Go? (I think that was the title)
6. PDA
7. I used to Love you (from his debut album, Get Lifted)
8. Show Me
9. Ordinary People (from his debut album, Get Lifted)

John Legend has been quoted that his music has matured since he first hit the scene. I believe that his diehard fans will be the true judge of that. They’ll have that chance on October 24th.

After that party, I shot over to the Nick Lachey Pre-VMA party back at the Bryant Hotel. Yes, I said, “Jessica’s ex-husbands party.” It was an eye opener; people were having a splendid time and the drinks were once again, endless. The Nick party wasn’t the official Jump-off but it had a little kick to it.

The day has finally arrived. Mtv’s Video Music Awards is less than 6 hours away, yet I just can’t keep myself away from The Style Villa. I ran into Charlie Murphy for a brief moment. It’s a shame that I couldn’t say his name without thinking about his Dave Chappelle, “Rick James skit.” Tyrese and I almost had the Battle of the Chocolate Brotha’s, as he was coming off the elevator and I was getting on it. Black Ty would have won that battle, because I’m just a smidge lighter than he is and he’s bald-headed. So after I grabbed a few more bags, I headed over the Radio City Music Hall to stand in line for a good 2 and a half to 3 hours because I decided that I wanted to be seated with the audience for a different perspective.

From opening to closing, I thought that this VMA’s was one of the better overall “shows” in years. The opening was epic; but what else would you expect from the CEO of Hip Hop himself, Jay-Z? I’m just wondering if Diddy had a probably with not being called to open the show in such a way. I’m sure that if he does, he’ll YouTube it.

Justin Timberlake killed his performance in a good way with his seemingly boneless dance moves that will have you practicing until you pull something. Timbaland got Pop music on smash right now. If you don’t want to place Timbalands production skill on the same plateau as a Dr. Dre, I’m sure that with Top 10 hits like “SexyBack” and “Promiscuous” by longtime friend Nelly Furtado, Tim isn’t going to lose any sleep over it.

Beyonce rang the alarm in a very sleek way. Bee knows that she can perform at the highest level on any given night and even when she’s catching her breath at the end of her number, that’s a powerful show within itself. And if an artist can speak through her performance, you should check out the beige trench coat dance breakdown. Didn’t it look and feel a little Rhythm Nation(ish) to you? It can be mere coincidence or a sheer show of respect to her supposed rival, Janet Jackson. Whatever the case, Beyonce was an inferno on stage.

And every time I get a chance to watch T. I. perform, it’s almost as if he is assuring me that he is the #1 emcee in the game right now. Maybe it’s just his hit single, “What You Know” that has me convinced that he is beyond the truth. He is a lion on stage and he is working the “King” angle to a T. What do you think? Should he stop at just wanting to be known as the King of the South, and want to be King of the entire genre? Give us your opinion.

Overall, I had a great time at the VMA’s. And now that Radio City Music Hall is behind me, it’s now a little more than 350 days in my near future if MTV decides to bring it back to NYC for another year. I want to thank Tiffany Vinas, Matt Heien, Victoria Harvie and Pamely Lipshitz for their gracious hospitality leading up to the VMA’s. I’d also like to thank Adidas for making me look fly enough that people wanted to take pictures with me outside of the hotel because they thought I had an album coming out. I love what I do.

JohnLegend, John Legend, MTV, Beyonce, Nick Lachey, Adidas, B-Day, Sony, Sony/BMG

Monica takes the trip of a Lifetime... in her own words

Monica gives me the exclusive

I think that it was one of the most memorable experiences of my entire career. As an entertainer we get to see things when we travel but we don’t often get to experience them. It was a 21 hour flight to Brunei. The sultans’ son Azim (the Prince) invited me out there for his 24th birthday party. One of Azim’s favorite songs was, “Angel of Mine” which was an extreme compliment. You just never know how far your music makes it. We rode around on the Empire in vans that played, “The Boy is Mine”, it was just a crazy experience. The trip was well worth it. I surprised Azim by performing at his party. And for the next 3 days we just walked through the Empire and took in the experience.

Being on the Empire
It is such a tremendous difference from the United States. For number one, there is really no crime. This is a place where they are still beheading people. So you can walk around however you wanted to and just enjoy the scenery. People were very respectful of each other and it was a pleasant reality check. In the U.S., when you’re wealthy people tend to take on certain roles. But the people there were so humble; you’re talking about people whose allowances could be up to a million dollars a month. It was nice to see them so humbled and appreciative. I love the way the great their mother; they kiss her a certain amount of times and greet her with a large amount of respect every time she walks into the room.

Business becomes a true friendship
At first, it was more of, “Here is her check and this is when she should get here.” But once I got there and began to converse with the Sultan and the Prince’s we’ve built a friendship. I didn’t pay for anything while I was there. They would start of with a series of gifts. I was given this incredible 12 karat ring with a mixture of diamonds and colorful jewels. It just blew me away because here in the states, you just get your check and that’s it. They brought in masseuse, manicurist and pedicurist. I didn’t have to lift a finger for anything.

What was it like on the Empire
It was rain season around the time that I was there. And I must tell you that the Empire was up against the beach and you couldn’t even see the end of it. You had separate palaces where each of King Sultan’s children lived. They had their own theatres; not the ones where you walked down into your living room big, they had their own theatre’s, where people actually worked. They have their own Benz dealership on the Empire. So anything that you thought you may have wanted possibly was right there.

Monica's Wish
I honestly hope that they are able to come to the states to see what my life entails, especially now that we’re friends. I think that it would be interesting for them to come and visit me because just like their life was a shock for me, I’m sure that my life would be a shock for them.

Tell me what you think about Monica's trip of a lifetime...

Interview done by: Will "Deshair" Foskey of Diligence Magazine ww.Deshair.blogspot.com / XPOZ magazine
Photo taken by Brian Mapp of Fire Magazine and Allhiphop.com
Full feature of this interview will be in XPOZ Magazine

Justin Timberlake: FUTURESEX/LOVESOUNDS - Album Screening

In a career that hasn’t even reached its ten year mark, Justin Timberlake former co-lead singer for the overwhelmingly successful boy band N’Sync, and now Pop/R&B frontrunner will release his sophomore album “FUTURESEX/LOVESOUNDS” on September 12th. You can leave the, “Sophomore Jinx” to the artists with less experience and flaky fan bases. Justin will move a minimum of 300,000 units in his first week without dropping a single. So you can only imagine what he’ll do now that he has scored his first #1 on the Hot 100 thanks to the Timbaland produced, “SEXYBACK.”

Speaking of SEXYBACK, I know that I’m not the only one who can’t understand what the hell Justin is saying at times. So in this exclusive, I’ll walk you through Justin’s track list for his new album and leave it up to you to say whether his lyrics are, “Creative (beautiful penmanship) or Suspect (what the hell was that?).


FUTURESEX/LOVESOUND

Verse 2
You can’t stop baby
You can’t stop once you turn me on
And you’re an enemy of your thoughts baby
So just let’em go
Cause all I need is a moment alone
To give you my tone
And get you out of control
After you let it in and we’re skin to skin
It’s just so natural
Wait a second…

SEXYBACK featuring Timbaland

Verse 1
I’m bringin’ sexy back
Them other boys, don’t know how to act (Yea!)
I think you’re special
What’s behind your back (Yea!)
So turn around and I’ll pick up the slack.

SEXY LADIES

Chorus
I’ve got sexy ladies
All over the floor
You’re talkin’ to one of the greatest
Who did it before
Now I’m back with one of my latest
Just letting you know
That I’ve got sexy ladies
So back up some more
And let me take it off

MY LOVE featuring T.I.

Verse 1
If I wrote you a symphony
Just to say how much you mean to me
(What would you do?)
If I told you, you were beautiful
Would you date me on the regular
(Tell me would you?)
Well baby I’ve been around the world
But I ain’t seen myself another girl
(Like You)
This ring here represents my heart
But there’s just one thing that I need from you
(Say “I do”)
Because…

LOVESTONED

Verse 1
She grabs the yellow bottle
She likes the way it his her lips
She gets it to the bottom
It sends her on a trip so right
She might be goin’ home with me tonight
And…
She looks like a model
Except she’s got a little more ass
Don’t even bother
Unless you got that thing she likes
Ooh, I hope she’s goin’ home with me tonight…

WHAT GOES AROUND…

Hook
Is this the way it’s really going down
Is this how we say good-bye
Should have know better when you came around
That you were gonna make me cry
It’s breaking my heart to watch you run around
Cause I know that you’re living a lie
But that’s okay baby, cause in time you will find

What goes around, goes around, goes around
Comes all the way back around (4x)

CHOP ME UP featuring Timbaland & Three 6 Mafia

Verse from Juicy J
They call me Juicy J, Straight up out the Three 6 Mafia
Ghetto fab player all these freaks, and I’m tryin’ to holla’ at ya’
Quit playin’ games girl, you got my head spinnin’ ‘round
I ain’t gonna’ chirp your mobile phone and chase you all over town
I just want to pick you up and take you to a wrestling match then
(Is it good, is it good)
And have a little smack fest
So if you never call me I’ll be somewhere down in Tennessee
Washing away my sorrows in a cold cup of Hennessy

DAMN GIRL featuring Will.I.Am

Verse 1
I’ve been around the world
Seen a million honeys
Really special girls
Gave all my time and money
But there’s somethin’ ‘bout ya’
Something that’s kind of funny
I think it’s what you do to me
Owwwoh!
Don’t need no Maybelline
Cause you’re a beauty queen
Don’t need no L’Oreal
Cause bitch you’re bad as hell
If I’m Casanova
Then you’re a supernova
Girls it’s what you do to me that got me saying… (Damn girl)

SUMMER LOVE

Verse 1
Ridin’ in the drop top, with the top down
I saw you switchin’ lanes girl
Pull up to the red light, lookin’ right
Come here let me get your name girl
Tell me where you’re from, what you do, what you like
Let me pick your brain girl
And tell me how you got that pretty little face
On that pretty little frame girl
But let me show you round
Let me take you out
Bet you we could have some fun girl
Cause we could do it fast, fast slow
Whichever way you wanna run girl
But let me buy you drinks
Better yet, rings, how you want it done girl
And who would have thought you could be the one…

UNTIL THE END OF TIME

Chorus
Cause if your love was all I had in this life
That would be enough until the end of time
So rest your weary hear and relax your mind
Cause I’m gonna love you girl
Until the end of time
You got me sayin’
Oh, Yeah
Oh, Yeah
Everybody say oh, Yeah
Everybody say oh, Yeah

LOSING MY WAY (Entire Song)

Verse 1
Hi, my name is Bob and I work at my job
I make forty-somethin’ dollars a day
I used to be the man in my home town
Until I started to lose my way
It all goes back to when I dropped out of school
Having fun I was living my life
But now I got a problem with that little white rock
See I can’t put down the pipe, and

B-Section
It is breaking me down
Watching the world spin around
While my dreams fall down
Is anybody out there?
It is breaking me down
No more friends around
And my dreams fall down
Is anybody out there?

Chorus
Can anybody out there hear me
Cause I can’t seem to hear myself
Can anybody out there see me
Cause I can’t seem to see myself
There’s gotta be a Heaven somewhere
Can you save me from this Hell
Can anybody out there feel me
Cause I can’t seem to feel myself
Losing my way
Keep losing my way
Keep losing my way
Can you help me find my way
Losing my way
Keep losing my way
Keep losing my way
Can you help me find my way

Verse 2
Now you gotta’ understand I was a family man
And I would have done anything for my own
But I couldn’t get a grip on my new found itch
So I ended up all alone
I remember where I was when I got my first buzz
See I thought I was living the life
And the craziest thing is I’ll probably never know
The color of my daughters eyes

Bridge
Oh my God, please forgive me (Father hear my prayer)
Cause I know I’ve done some wrong in my life
If I could do it all again
Have just one more chance
I’d take all those wrongs and make them right… oh



(ANOTHER SONG) ALL OVER AGAIN

Verse 1
You’ve been alone
You’ve been afraid
I’ve been a fool
In so many ways
But I would change my life
If you thought you might try
And love me

Chorus
So please
Give me another chance
To write you another song
And take back those things I’ve done
Cause I’ll give you
My heart
If you would let me start
All over again

Now that you have bits and pieces of the lyrics from Justin’s new album, you tell us whether his choice of lyrics are Creative or Suspect.

FUTURESEX/LOVESOUNDS IN STORES ON SEPTEMBER 12, 2006

Sexyback, FUTURESEX/LOVESOUNDS, Justin, Sophomore Album, Cameron Diaz, My Love