It’s an average Saturday in downtown Los Angeles: The streets are clogged with one-way traffic. Shopkeepers sweep their storefronts and beckon passersby with deals on cheap gold watches and wholesale denim. Pedestrians zigzag across the sidewalks to avoid the gaze of hustlers, the bark of street-corner evangelists and the stop-go swarm of bargain shoppers. Past the historic core and into the industrial district, a crowd of guys in hoodies and women in skin-tight dresses and even skinnier jeans has been waiting to get into an unmarked club in an alleyway off Seventh and Alameda for more than an hour. Impatience ripples through the line; forget that it’s 4 in the afternoon — they really want to get into this club.
Some of the more aggressive women try pushing their way to the front of the line, making desperate calls on their cell phones as they cram against the metal barricade, trying to get the attention of the completely unimpressed bouncer guarding the entrance. Their maneuvers are interrupted as a black Town Car pulls up to the entrance. The car doors open and slam shut as Chris “Cage” Palko, Shia LaBeouf and F. Sean Martin are hurried through the mob and toward the club entrance. Heads turn, jaws drop, the VIPs are quickly ushered inside and the door closes behind the crowd.
“Cut!” a man shouts. “Back to one! This time I don’t want anyone on their cell phones.”
The crowd disperses, wardrobe and set decorators quickly move in, and Cage, LaBeouf and Martin stumble out of the building, laughing.
Fliers and newspapers stenciled with Weathermen logos plaster the dingy, brown-stained exterior of the makeshift club, and the intoxicating scent of spray paint and glue hangs thick in the afternoon air. The alleyway borders the American Apparel warehouse parking lot and is the second location on day one of the “I Never Knew You” music-video shoot, the first single off rapper Cage’s upcoming album, Depart From Me, and the directorial debut for actor LaBeouf.
On set is a who’s who of Cardboard City — a collective of artists, actors and musicians, including some of hip-hop label Definitive Jux’s finest. Besides Cage and LaBeouf, there are El-P, Aesop Rock, Yak Ballz, Chauncey, F. Sean Martin and Alex Pardee, who have all turned out to support their friends, and all of whom have cameos in the video. Inside jokes run high among the tight-knit group. Aesop glances up at the American Apparel building, laughing that he only made the trek down from San Francisco for free underwear.
Cage stands, hands in pockets, intently examining the scene on the playback monitor with LaBeouf, while the video’s other lead actors, Scarlett Kapella and Dan Byrd, relax in a trailer.
Off camera, I stand with Def Jux label head El-P, who shares his opinion of Cage’s video concept: “It’s a loneliness motif ... someone projecting beauty and life-saving attributes onto a girl that he doesn’t know. He follows her as though she’s headed somewhere that’s better than his life. That’s kind of what the song is about, the idea that there is some sort of saving grace in a stranger, the twisted perspective of thinking that someone you don’t even know was put there as destiny for you, to save you and draw you out of your miserable life. Cage is an observer to the story.”
Back at the monitor, LaBeouf takes off his baseball hat, flips it with the hand that’s not in a cast (the result of extensive hand surgery the actor has undergone since his July 2008 car accident), and jogs over to hug his mother, who has arrived on set.
“The whole [narrative] is being imagined as I’m performing in the club, so this is all in my head,” Cage explains. “The idea of the song is you’re sitting on a curb, you’re bummed out and suddenly the girl of your dreams walks around the corner and completely changes your life. You’re so taken by this woman, you just start following her. It’s obsession.”
Cage says that there were a lot of potential singles on the record, but they went with “the more powerful song rather than the catchiest one. It’s interesting to throw an emotional curve ball at everyone. There’s a really sad vibe, and there’s also a really angry vibe.”
In person, Cage is reserved, shy even, though there is a flicker of madness behind his eyes, a wisdom acquired from years spent overcoming physical abuse, drug use and the psychological turmoil that inevitably followed, chillingly explored in his previous two albums, Movies for the Blind and Hell’s Winter.
“When I’m writing a song I go into a weird depression cocoon, and when I come out I’m not a beautiful butterfly; I come out a fucked-up, tattered moth,” he continues, half-smiling. “But I desperately want to not feel this way, so I put it all out there. I want to play shows. I want to throw tantrums onstage and just let it all out, hence the title of the album, Depart From Me.”
I mention how Pitchfork Media leaked “I Never Knew You” in February, ahead of its scheduled release. Cage pauses and smirks, “Saboteurs. Whenever something like that happens, I think sabotage.” He holds my gaze, squinting against the sun. Trust is important with Cage, and having his closest collaborators as his closest friends certainly helps. He explains how LaBeouf came to direct this video, the beginning of a bigger partnership that will result in a feature film about Cage’s life, starring the young actor.
Todd Westphal
Cage performs "I Never Knew You" during the club scene.
Todd Westphal
Shia LaBeouf and Cage enjoy a moment off set.
“When I’m collaborating with someone, there’s a lot of trust involved. [It’s that way] with Shia.... The thing with Shia started off business, and then a friendship developed from it. He followed me around on tour with a camera in 2005, which is interesting because he’d never be able to do that again now, you know? He filmed a documentary on me to get the movie going, to get his team behind what he was trying to do and educate them on the story.”
Cage recalls how LaBeouf would often wake him from a dead sleep to further his character study and gather background information for the upcoming biopic. “I’d get phone calls at 4 in the morning and Shia would be, like, ‘Did I wake you up?’ I’d say, ‘Oh, yeah, but it’s cool,’ and he’d go, ‘All right, tell me about your dad,’ the things people usually don’t talk about. With me and Shia becoming closer ... I took my guard down. Anything he wanted to know, I went there.”
LaBeouf showed his Cardboard City colors in 2007 when he threw up the crew’s CC hand sign during his first Saturday Night Live hosting gig. Seemingly overnight, everyone wanted to know more about Cage and LaBeouf’s friendship and the status of the biopic.
At first glance, LaBeouf and Cage seem unlikely friends — the New York–based indie rapper and the Echo Park–raised child actor turned Hollywood star and tabloid target. The trust factor Cage emphasizes is also important for LaBeouf, and there is a protectiveness between them that reveals two friends who both know what it is like to live under media scrutiny.
“So,” LaBeouf says to me when we meet at the video wrap party at West Hollywood’s Bar Lubitsch, “are you going to be good to my boy?”
I attempt to properly introduce myself before he cuts me off.
“I know who you are,” he says all matter-of-fact as we sit over cocktails on the bar’s smoking patio, overgrown with ivy.
With the “I Never Knew You” shoot finished, I ask LaBeouf how he’s feeling. Suddenly, the new director’s wildcard enthusiasm for his venture with Cage emerges.
“I’m 22 and I’m directing my favorite rapper’s music video,” LaBeouf says excitedly. “This shit is better than riding unicorns.”
The video for “I Never Knew You” premieres May 18 on MTV2. Depart From Me will be released on July 7 on Definitive Jux.
Source : LA Weekly
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Just over a week after leaked photos of Rihanna and Cassie hit the Internet, statistics have shown both R&B singers' recent sales have not increased.
Maintaining a fairly unchanged average, the young singers' nude pictures have not turned into a sales boost for the duo.
According to Nielsen SoundScan figures, the unwanted publicity served no purpose as far as Rihanna single sales figures are concerned. On the week ending May 3rd, she had 45,000 total downloads on songs by her or with her as a guest. The week ending May 10th, her numbers dropped to 44,000. For Cassie, just two days before the Rihanna pictures appeared, Cassie's own computer was hacked and topless photos of her hit the net. The next day, more explicit photos leaked, this time of Cassie fully unclothed. Still, Cassie's numbers stayed flat with 2,000 downloads both weeks. (Billboard)
Cassie's images were previously confirmed by the singer to her disbelief.
"The recent personal pictures that have been leaked on the internet of me were hacked and stolen out of my computer," a statement read. "These photos were obviously never intended for the world to see and it's sad that people would really take time to steal and post them, it's just evil. At the end of the day breasts are breasts, mine weren't the first you've seen and they won't be the last... people need to grow up. Let's move on." (Rush PRNews)
Bad Boy CEO Diddy resorted to his Twitter to playfully poke fun and downplay the images.
Meanwhile, Diddy, who has been romantically linked to Cassie in past and has mentored the singer throughout her career, came out in support of the singer. "Turn this one up real loud and dance on dem bi---es!!!!" he wrote to Cassie on Twitter, linking to a music video for the song "I'm Still Standing" by Elton John. "Let's Go!!!" (MTV)
Rihanna's alleged photos emerged which prompted her to reportedly leave the country.
The photos that are taken are missing some of Rihanna's tattos, and it isn?t certain that these are the R&B singers naked body, but her record company has took legal action to get these pictures removed of the websites. The photos consist of a naked Rihanna in front of a mirror naked with words written on the mirror with soap. Only 2 of the photos clearly show her face the other 4 you can?t tell. There have been rumors that Rihanna is so embarrassed and overwhelmed with the postings that she has left the country to get away from Hollywood. She has not commented on the photos herself. (CMR News)
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Harlem rapper Jim Jones has pleaded not guilty in an assault case involving a 17-year-old fan in Panama City, Florida.
Damion Johns is accusing the former Dipset capo of punching him in the face at a March 13 MTV Spring Break concert.
According to Johns, Jones struck him immediately after ordering him to move out of the way during the show.
Johns stated he hit the rapper back, but was then outnumbered when two of Jim Jones bodyguards jumped in.
Johns was allegedly slammed to the ground and again punched in the face.
Jim Jones faces one count of misdemeanor battery for the alleged assault.
On June 4, Jones will be in court for another assault charge stemming from his December 2008 brawl with NeYo manager Jayvon Smith at a New York Louis Vuitton store.
In addition, Smith has filed a $7 million dollar civil suit against the Harlemite.
Jones’ latest album, Pray IV Reign, was released on March 24.
Source : AllHipHop.com
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Let the hype for Floyd Mayweather vs. Juan Manuel Marquez begin.
The two fighters are launching an official press tour, beginning at noon Sunday in Los Angeles, to promote their July 18 matchup in the ring at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
It does not include a stop in Mayweather's hometown of Grand Rapids.
Instead, the tour is scheduled to span two continents in six days, including appearances Monday in Los Angeles, Tuesday in New York and both Thursday and Friday in London.
"Now that Floyd is back, we need to let the world know about it," Leonard Ellerbe, CEO of Mayweather Promotions, said in a press release. "The fight against Marquez will be one to remember, and I am looking forward to getting on the road so the media and the fans can really get a sense of how great July 18th will be for the sport of boxing."
The bout, which is being billed as "Number One/Numero Uno," is scheduled for 12 rounds.
HBO Pay-Per-View is providing live telecast coverage, beginning at 9 p.m. The suggested retail price is $49.95.
"Mayweather and Marquez are two of the best, therefore it is fitting that they will be making appearances in three of the best cities in the world," said Richard Schaefer, CEO of Golden Boy Promotions.
"This fight has universal appeal with Mayweather stepping back into the ring and accepting the challenge of the great Juan Manuel Marquez. I know fans around the country and around the world will want to be a part of this unprecedented night of boxing," he added.
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(CNN) -- A 3-year-old boy who was taken at gunpoint from his California home nearly two weeks ago has been found, authorities said Saturday.
Briant Rodriguez, 3, was taken during a home invasion on May 3 in San Bernardino, California, police say.
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Briant Rodriguez was found wandering the streets of Mexicali, Mexico, by a police officer late Thursday, said San Bernardino County Sheriff Rod Hoops.
After clearing paperwork with Mexican officials, California authorities reunited the boy with his mother Saturday in the border town of Calexico, Hoops said.
"We're very happy that he's alive," Hoops said. "A 3-year-old goes missing in this country for two weeks -- sometimes it has an unhappy ending.
"This one did not." Watch portion of sheriff's news conference »
The boy had been missing since May 3, when two men armed with handguns burst into his family's home and tied him up -- along with his mother and four siblings.
The men ransacked the home before leaving with Briant, a small amount of cash and some personal property, San Bernardino sheriff's spokeswoman Cindy Beavers said.
Authorities had not caught the suspects as of Saturday evening. Hoops said authorities have information about at least two suspects -- who were captured on video at a home-improvement store near the Rodriguez home buying tape like the kind that was used to bind the family.
He said the names of the suspects, and what authorities believe was a motive, are not being released because they could jeopardize the investigation.
He also declined to say what relationship the suspects may have had with the family or whether the kidnapping is linked with drug crime that has run rampant in Mexican border towns in recent months.
Members of drug cartels in the border region have been known to use kidnapping as a means of quick cash.
"If you take a look at the case, I'll let you do your own homework on it," Hoops told reporters.
Authorities from San Bernardino flew to Mexico late Friday to get Briant. Hoops said he appears to be in good health. His hair, which is shoulder-length in photographs that authorities had released, had apparently been shaved, Hoops said.
Hoops said Briant's mother is "a Mexican citizen living here in the United States," but that he is unsure of her immigration status. He said Briant was born in the United States.
Sgt. Doug Hubbard, who was in Calexico when Briant and his mother were reunited, called the meeting emotional.
"Tears even came to Briant's eyes," he said. "It was a beautiful thing.
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}