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In case you missed this on Deco Drive or Idolator, things went haywire on the set of Rick Ross' recent video shoot for his upcoming single, "Here I Am," featuring Nelly. A tiger hired to add some menace or flair or whatever to the set apparently wasn't a fan of the boss, and bit his trainer in protest. Wild animals, especially big cats, aren't props -- and karma is a bitch. Here's the news clip from Deco Drive. -- Arielle Castillo

The video with Latarian Milton, the 7-year-old badass/hood rat enthusiasts that stole his mother's SUV in Palm Beach Gardens is definitely making the rounds of the blogosphere right now.
So there's no surprise that a remix of the footage has surfaced on YouTube set to music.
Initially, that sounds cool and there's definitely some hilarious viral remixes like
Bubb Rubb "Whistle Tip" remix or the Leprechaun "Gimme Da Gold" remix that are just as fun as the originals.
But whoever posted this shit below gets the gas face. It's the laziest, sorriest, and weakest excuse for a YouTube remix that I've ever seen.
I know somebody can make a better reworking of Latarian's stellar quotes than this.

Here's the original in case you haven't seen it.

--Jonathan Cunningham

How intriguing are the NBA playoffs this year?
Every night, brand new drama unfolds. It's more like a soap opera with athletes than anything and the latest clap-back diss song aimed at rapper Jay-Z proves that.
If you're late to the party...Washington Wizards star DeShawn Stevenson and LeBron James don't get along. LeBron might be banging his girl (rumor)...DeShawn has already taken multiple swipes at LeBron's face (real)...and rappers Soulja Boy (Clown) and Jay-Z (the Honeymooner) have gotten involved in the process.
That part is mostly comical. But the city of D.C. has gotten the worst end of this feud without a doubt.
Thankfully, a D.C. rapper named Proverb with beach balls for gonads has stepped up out of nowhere and aimed a diss track straight at Jay-Z.
In my opinion, it was well needed...and you can click on this link...
...to hear the track.
For a rather funny visual to accompany that song...click here.

-Jonathan Cunningham

Washington Wizard forward DeShawn Stevenson is finding that out the hard way. In what seems like a feud that was on it's way toward being a nonstory, Stevenson's war of words with LeBron James just went to an unexpected level. Over the weekend, Jay-Z recorded a (rather funny) diss track about Stevenson and suggesting that he's been hating on Lebron because LeBron is dating Stevenson's ex-girl.
It's a rare moment for Jay to jump into a battle between two other people and this article delves into the back story on this a bit more.

But here's a link for the track. It's not that big a deal, but it is random and the Oakland, hyphy, Too Short, "Blow the Whistle" vibe to it is enjoyable regardless of the lyrics.

Some people vacation during their honeymoon's. Jay-Z writes diss tracks. Go figure.

--Jonathan Cunningham

The Smoking Gun recently reported in a long, investigative entry that R&B singer Akon, who has built a career on making a huge deal out of his alleged criminal past, is not as bad as he says he is.

Since the release of Akon's 2004 debut, Trouble, the singer has claimed that he did hard time in a Georgia prison for being "ringleader of a notorious car theft operation" and that he owned four chop shops frequented by celebrities and drug dealers.

The Smoking Gun reports that while Akon has been arrested a half-dozen times, he's only received one felony charge, for gun possession in New Jersey in 1998. He got three years probation for that. That same year, in suburban Atlanta, Akon was arrested for driving a stolen BMW. He was held in DeKalb County jail for several months before all charges were dropped.

Says the Gun:

Akon's invented tales appear to be part of a cynical marketing plan, but one that has met with remarkable success. Few press interviews conclude without Akon being asked about his criminal exploits and his prison days. He obliges with canned and well-rehearsed claims, false as they may be, and compares his supposed nationwide operation to those depicted in the movies "Gone in 60 Seconds" and "New Jersey Drive." And in interview after interview over the years, he always makes sure to point out the "notorious" nature of his theft ring (as if the adjective's inclusion makes him sound even more felonious). Akon repeats the phrase "notorious car theft operation" so frequently it seems like he is reading it from a sheet of talking points.

It's no secret that I've long considered this guy to be a phony. He's practically throwing it in our faces. His name is Akon. Turn the K into a C and that's exactly what you get: A Con Artist.

--Jason Harper

It's no secret that Khia, of the famous 2002 cunnilingus anthem "My Neck, My Back" is not the biggest fan of Miami's top female rappers. Early on, there was the debacle involving Jacki-O over her status as the self-dubbed "Queen of the South."

Then there was her beef with Trina, played out over a series of public diss records. In fact, in 2006, Khia spilled this to the Miami New Times: "For a lot of artists, music isn't really their life. It isn't really their dream. I mean, Trick got Trina out of Club Rollex. She was a dancer. It went from low-price tricking to high-price tricking.... This is what a man wants you to say, that they skeet down your throat, and these [rappers] just read it off a piece of paper like that's cool. So men are just looking at you, and they wanna fuck. They're not respecting you as an artist. And your female fans don't wanna hear that. You come onstage dancing with girls and y'all kissing. We don't wanna see that!"

Zing!

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Just got an email from overseas about champion British soundclash veteran David Rodigan's time in the studio with our own Walshy Fire from Black Chiney. A week and a half ago, Roddy was in town doing a show at Studio A and before he hit the club, he and Walshy chopped it up Mixx 96 style.
Rodigan played a slew of brand new dubplates, some that are just bananas. We're talking exclusives on top of exclusives on top of exclusives. To listen to the show, click this link and enjoy.

And if you want to check Rodigan in action, check the video below.

-- Jonathan Cunningham

Ok, maybe not.

You hate to see the part-time Miami resident in such an uncompromising photo but this is just too funny to pass up. I don't know where this shot came from or if it's even real but it is NOT a good look for Joey Crack. But I still dig him though and can't help but give his latest video, "Make it Rain" some blog love.

The more you think about it though, why the hell is making it rain so damn popular? You've got money. And I guess you don't need it. That's cool--when playing Monopoly. It's rather juvenile in real life and creates an uncomfortable situation for those of us with 50 dollars in our pockets that want to just snatch up all that floating bill money but don't want to look broke in the process. I don't know. I've seen some grown men hit the ground and dive for all that cash and get laughed at in the process, but when you think about it, so what. It's probably pride that keeps people from grabbing all that cash and shoving it in their pockets. I bet the janitors at these clubs are making a fortune!! Just a thought.
Enjoy the video.

-- Jonathan Cunningham

Uh...yeah. And Amy Winehouse is the most sober singer in England.
Neither statement could possibly be true but according to MTV...Soulja Boy puts himself ahead of Jay-Z, Lil Wayne, Kanye, and whoever else is out there right now as the hottest rapper alive.

If we were talking about looks, maybe, just maybe, he'd have an argument in the 13-18-year-old bracket for most attractive young MC's. His babyface and Southern drawl has probably won him some tail...or "cut up" as they call it in Atlanta since his hit song, "Crank That" started selling ringtones by the millions.
But Soulja Boy, legitimately, wants to argue that he's the best rapper alive.

Umm, on what planet?

The dude rhymes like he was born with an extra chromosome.
He's got one hit. Alright, one and a half. "Soulja Girl" isn't bad.
But that's it.
I don't know. If anybody seconds his notion that he's better than:
T.I.
Nas
Jay-Z
Mos Def
Lil Wayne
Ghostface
My Grandmother
Kanye
Black Thought
Dynas
Talib Kweli
Garcia...etc, then please chime in.
Confidence is one thing but he's stepping on a lot of people with that comment.

- Jonathan Cunningham

1. Worst Album: the Arcade Fire, Neon Bible

This cerebral garbage entertained about 100 people, none of whom didn’t either live in Canada or work as a music critic. Speaking of critics, it’s hard to agree with Sasha Frere-Jones about anything, but he was right that the Arcade Fire lacks soul. This is true in both the musical and metaphysical senses.

2. Worst Single: Bow Wow & Omarion, “Girlfriend”

Worse than Avril Lavigne’s “Girlfriend” and much worse than ‘N Sync’s “Girlfriend,” this slow, pandering drivel is the kind of thing that makes you wish Bow was still a pup and Omarion was still with B2K.

3. Worst Wu-Tang Song: “Sunlight”

Wu’s new album is amazing, and I support RZA’s production on it, but on “Sunlight” he falls off the deep end. “And as you play all day like the grasshopper who work and toil like armies of ants carrying stones of soil,” he chants in a series of run-on sentences, “building a home for themselves and storing food. At night we praise Allah and adore the moon in sync like the flow of the Nile, the growth of a child.” Cool!

4. Worst Concert: White Williams (well, in NYC)

White Williams tries his hardest to avoid melody in his songs, and in his concerts he tries his hardest to avoid playing music. This was the case, at least, at his December 10 show at New York’s Bowery Ballroom, in which Williams’ inane, hipster banter dominated the set. During long pauses between songs, we were treated to views of (what I believe was) his MySpace page.

5. Worst Year End Critic's List: The Onion’s AV Club

Topped, of course, by Arcade Fire, the AV Club’s best 25 albums of the year list also featured past-their-prime bands like Wilco and Modest Mouse. I do agree with some of the choices, like Band of Horses and Amy Winehouse, but the main problem is that it includes not a single hip hop album. An online commentator called “Murk” put it best: “You guys are almost as eclectic as Time magazine!”

6. Worst Idolator Feature: Worst Album Cover Of The Year Tournament

It seems that whenever Idolator isn’t bashing Village Voice Media papers for shoddy music writing or dishing out shoddy music writing of its own, it is subjecting us to this never-ending “Worst Album Cover Of The Year Tournament.” It's not at all funny (Vice magazine has been doing this to greater effect for years), but I mainly hate it because they've been subjecting us to it -- and its preliminaries -- since fucking February.

7. Worst Genre: Indie Rock

It’s been fun guys (well, no not really), but it’s time for indie rock to go gently into that good night. Irony, self-consciousness, and beard-stroking aren’t what we need in our music – that’s what we have the McSweeney’s franchise for.

I can't remember what set it off now, but I've been on a massive shoegaze-revisiting kick lately, diggin' up the lovely space-rock extravaganzas I first zoned out to as a teenager. True fans of this stuff in Miami can probably be counted on my and maybe a friend's fingers and toes. (Hopefully some new people got schooled at PS14's recent Sunday-night shoegaze tribute gig featuring local acts like Map of the Universe.) Anyways, Slowdive, Spacemen 3, Swervedriver (and other bands that do not start with "S") -- bring 'em on. But one of my favorites has always been another S-band, the noodling, orchestral Spiritualized (ok, also an offshoot of Spacemen 3, helmed by the genius Jason Pierce).

So, while wasting time on YouTube the other day, I punched in "Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space," both the title of the band's 1997 near-hit album, and its title track. You've possibly heard it in soundtracks for TV, film, etc. (most notably stateside in the remake of Vanilla Sky).

My favorite weird YouTube fan-created video for the song was the one below, a creepy but affecting pastiche of melancholy imagery from various movies -- mostly French, but also the Bjork-helmed musical tragedy Dancer In The Dark. (Seriously, that movie traumatized me, and I hadn't thought about it in a couple of years until this clip brought back that same creepy nausea).

Dig it: (the complete list of source films for the clip can be seen by visiting the video's URL):

But then I decided to read the video's comments (a great way to squeeze even MORE time-wasting out of YouTube). And then I realized -- no wonder I instinctively liked this song so much....

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What do the band and the burger have in common? This hungry scene kid loves them both, and he's pissed off when one goes missing! KEEPIN WHOPPERS BR00TAL D00D! (Okay, I feel silly passing on an ad, but this is kinda ridic.) -- Arielle Castillo

Booze and music trivia sometimes go hand in hand. Imagine that you're half way sloshed at your favorite speakeasy and (true to form) the tongue starts loosening up. The jukebox across the room sucks, and to pass the time, you start talking about your favorite bands.
Talking Heads (right on)
U2 (debatable)
Poison (alright I'll give you that)
REM (Dude, what's the name of that one song?)
B-52's (What are you gay?)
The Smiths (Oh okay, that answers the question)
Bad Brains (Nice!)
Prodigy (hell yeah)
Amongst mixed company, the conversation goes like this: "Dude, the Prodigy were like best fucking band out of Britain in the 90's."
A guy puts down his Henny and Coke and says, "Huh? Yo, son, the Prodigy aren't a band douchebag, it's homeboy from Mobb Deep!"
Offended, the first guy sets his La Fin Du Monde down on the table to defend his musical wit. "What? Naw buddy, you're confused, Prodigy is a group, not one person. Anybody should know that."

And then you're stuck. Here's some help
Prodigy:

The Prodigy:

Hope that clears things up.
-- Jonathan Cunningham

This picture of Amy Winehouse surfaced from across the pond yesterday:

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In a weird twist, if you want to see why the Sun-Sentinel needs to police it's on-line section more often, check out some fairly ridiculous comments to the story about the death of Kanye's mom on their website. Some folks apparently think her death is hilarious. -- Jonathan Cunningham