MTV2 revives "Yo! MTV Raps" for one night only (Reuters)

NEW YORK (TheWrap.com) – For one night only, MTV2 is bringing back "Yo! MTV Raps!," the show that turned on a generation of MTV viewers to a mysterious new musical form called hip-hop.

The show, which originally aired from August 1988 through 1995, helped bring once little-known acts like Ice-T, N.W.A., A Tribe Called Quest and Public Enemy to households across America as hip-hop exploded in popularity. The return comes after the revival of such MTV shows as "Beavis and Butt-head" and "120 Minutes."

The show will return as a 30-minute retrospective called "Yo! MTV Raps Classic Cuts," and will on MTV2 immediately after the first-ever "Sucker Free Awards" on December 4.

The awards will air at 11 p.m., followed by the "Yo!" special at midnight. The special will feature the artists behind three hip-hop classics: A Tribe Called Quest's "Scenario," Geto Boys' "My Mind's Playing Tricks on Me," and Ice Cube's "It Was a Good Day." ("Good Day" just happens to mention "Yo! MTV Raps" by name.)

The special will feature former hosts Fab 5 Freddy, Ed Lover and Dr. Dre, and hip-hop stars from the past and present. They include A Tribe Called Quest's Q-Tip, Geto Boys' Scarface, and Ice Cube, in addition to well Wiz Khalifa, DJ Khaled, Questlove, Busta Rhymes, Mac Miller, Machine Gun Kelly, Young Jeezy, Ali Shaheed Muhammad, Phife, Fat Joe, Common, Mike Epps, Ice T, Meek Mill, Tyga, and Naughty By Nature.

DJ Premier will remix the iconic "Yo! MTV Raps" theme song for the special.

"It's a great moment to be reconnected with Yo! and examine the music that had a role in introducing hip-hop to music lovers globally," Ed Lover said. "By looking back at these classic songs in hip-hop it becomes clear that hip-hop would inevitably transcend distance and generations."

"In this Classic Cuts special, people will go back to a seminal time in hip-hop which many have called the 'Golden Era' -- resulting in records that are as meaningful today as they were back then," said Fab 5 Freddy, the original host of the show. "In order to appreciate how far hip-hop has come, you have to pay respect to the songs and artists that helped catapult the genre from a small community of fans to world domination."

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MTV2 revives "Yo! MTV Raps" for one night only

By Tim Molloy

Thu Nov 17, 2011 1:45pm EST

NEW YORK (TheWrap.com) - For one night only, MTV2 is bringing back "Yo! MTV Raps!," the show that turned on a generation of MTV viewers to a mysterious new musical form called hip-hop.

The show, which originally aired from August 1988 through 1995, helped bring once little-known acts like Ice-T, N.W.A., A Tribe Called Quest and Public Enemy to households across America as hip-hop exploded in popularity. The return comes after the revival of such MTV shows as "Beavis and Butt-head" and "120 Minutes."

The show will return as a 30-minute retrospective called "Yo! MTV Raps Classic Cuts," and will on MTV2 immediately after the first-ever "Sucker Free Awards" on December 4.

The awards will air at 11 p.m., followed by the "Yo!" special at midnight. The special will feature the artists behind three hip-hop classics: A Tribe Called Quest's "Scenario," Geto Boys' "My Mind's Playing Tricks on Me," and Ice Cube's "It Was a Good Day." ("Good Day" just happens to mention "Yo! MTV Raps" by name.)

The special will feature former hosts Fab 5 Freddy, Ed Lover and Dr. Dre, and hip-hop stars from the past and present. They include A Tribe Called Quest's Q-Tip, Geto Boys' Scarface, and Ice Cube, in addition to well Wiz Khalifa, DJ Khaled, Questlove, Busta Rhymes, Mac Miller, Machine Gun Kelly, Young Jeezy, Ali Shaheed Muhammad, Phife, Fat Joe, Common, Mike Epps, Ice T, Meek Mill, Tyga, and Naughty By Nature.

DJ Premier will remix the iconic "Yo! MTV Raps" theme song for the special.

"It's a great moment to be reconnected with Yo! and examine the music that had a role in introducing hip-hop to music lovers globally," Ed Lover said. "By looking back at these classic songs in hip-hop it becomes clear that hip-hop would inevitably transcend distance and generations."

"In this Classic Cuts special, people will go back to a seminal time in hip-hop which many have called the 'Golden Era' -- resulting in records that are as meaningful today as they were back then," said Fab 5 Freddy, the original host of the show. "In order to appreciate how far hip-hop has come, you have to pay respect to the songs and artists that helped catapult the genre from a small community of fans to world domination."

View the original article here

Jeff Bridges revives music career with new album (Reuters)

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Add Jeff Bridges to the long list of Hollywood actors who fancy themselves rock stars.

He convincingly played a washed-up country singer in "Crazy Heart," winning an Oscar last year. In real life, Bridges is just as credible promoting his first album for a major label.

He took the stage at the Troubadour nightclub in Los Angeles on Tuesday to perform an hourlong set of folk-oriented material drawn mostly from his self-titled release, due out August 16 through Blue Note Records.

"This is surreal, man," he said. "This is very rewind."

Indeed, the 61-year-old actor is no newbie on the music scene, and the album is no vanity project. He recalled that the last time he played the hallowed venue was during a "hootenanny" in his early teens.

He went on to collaborate with film composer Quincy Jones, who introduced him at Tuesday's industry showcase and described the young Bridges as "stone Haight-Ashbury," a reference to the then-prevailing hippie scene.

While Hollywood beckoned in the form of a breakthrough role in the 1971 film "The Last Picture Show," Bridges found an outlet for his musical talents in such films as 1989's "The Fabulous Baker Boys." He also recorded an album, "Be Here Soon," for an independent label in 2001.

His turn in "Crazy Heart" as whiskey-swilling Bad Blake brought him a whole new level of musical recognition. The producer of that film's soundtrack, his long-time friend T-Bone Burnett, also produced the new album. Bridges wrote two of the album's 10 tracks himself.

He appeared to be having fun on stage, at one point treating the crowd to a funny anecdote about filming "Heaven's Gate" as he tried to tune his guitar before giving up and handing it to his roadie.

Backed by a four-man band, and alternating between an acoustic and electric guitar, Bridges played a mix of songs from the new album and from the "Crazy Heart" soundtrack. Some were funereal, like the new "Slow Boat." Others were more rockabilly like the "Crazy Heart" tune "Somebody Else."

"I wish my mom and dad could be here tonight," he said, referring to late acting couple Dorothy and Lloyd Bridges. "They would have dug this a lot."

But he had plenty of support from his family, including his wife of 34 years Sue, to whom he dedicated a cover of Bob Dylan's love song "The Man in Me," and elder brother Beau. Hollywood stars in the crowd included Pierce Brosnan, Ryan Reynolds and Olivia Wilde.

(Reporting by Dean Goodman, editing by Jackie Frank)

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Jeff Bridges revives music career with new album

Actor Jeff Bridges performs during his sound check ahead of his concert at Troubadour club in West Hollywood, California, June 28, 2011.

Credit: Reuters/Mario Anzuoni

LOS ANGELES | Wed Jun 29, 2011 8:41am EDT

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Add Jeff Bridges to the long list of Hollywood actors who fancy themselves rock stars.

He convincingly played a washed-up country singer in "Crazy Heart," winning an Oscar last year. In real life, Bridges is just as credible promoting his first album for a major label.

He took the stage at the Troubadour nightclub in Los Angeles on Tuesday to perform an hourlong set of folk-oriented material drawn mostly from his self-titled release, due out August 16 through Blue Note Records.

"This is surreal, man," he said. "This is very rewind."

Indeed, the 61-year-old actor is no newbie on the music scene, and the album is no vanity project. He recalled that the last time he played the hallowed venue was during a "hootenanny" in his early teens.

He went on to collaborate with film composer Quincy Jones, who introduced him at Tuesday's industry showcase and described the young Bridges as "stone Haight-Ashbury," a reference to the then-prevailing hippie scene.

While Hollywood beckoned in the form of a breakthrough role in the 1971 film "The Last Picture Show," Bridges found an outlet for his musical talents in such films as 1989's "The Fabulous Baker Boys." He also recorded an album, "Be Here Soon," for an independent label in 2001.

His turn in "Crazy Heart" as whiskey-swilling Bad Blake brought him a whole new level of musical recognition. The producer of that film's soundtrack, his long-time friend T-Bone Burnett, also produced the new album. Bridges wrote two of the album's 10 tracks himself.

He appeared to be having fun on stage, at one point treating the crowd to a funny anecdote about filming "Heaven's Gate" as he tried to tune his guitar before giving up and handing it to his roadie.

Backed by a four-man band, and alternating between an acoustic and electric guitar, Bridges played a mix of songs from the new album and from the "Crazy Heart" soundtrack. Some were funereal, like the new "Slow Boat." Others were more rockabilly like the "Crazy Heart" tune "Somebody Else."

"I wish my mom and dad could be here tonight," he said, referring to late acting couple Dorothy and Lloyd Bridges. "They would have dug this a lot."

But he had plenty of support from his family, including his wife of 34 years Sue, to whom he dedicated a cover of Bob Dylan's love song "The Man in Me," and elder brother Beau. Hollywood stars in the crowd included Pierce Brosnan, Ryan Reynolds and Olivia Wilde.

(Reporting by Dean Goodman, editing by Jackie Frank)

View the original article here