Avril Lavigne
Photo: MTV News

Avril Lavigne was one of the artists announcing Grammy nominees at a Recording Academy press conference last month, so you'd think she missed out on some of the surprise that artists who weren't there got to experience.

But you'd be wrong. "I walked off the stage," she remembered, "thinking I had three (the ones that were announced onstage.) Then my tour manager came up to me and told me that I had five. I was like, 'What? Pinch me.' "

If Lavigne's reaction was disbelief, Charli Baltimore's was outright denial when she heard "Diary ..." was up for Best Female Rap Solo Performance. She couldn't have been nominated for anything, she thought, because her album, The Diary, never came out.

"I was sleeping when they announced the nominations," she said, referring to the 8:30 a.m. ET press conference. "My publicist two-wayed me, like, 'Congratulations on your nomination!' But I thought she had made a mistake, so I wrote back, 'Thank you, wouldn't that be nice? But this is Charli, you sent that message to the wrong person.'

"I didn't even really get that I was nominated until she called me. My album didn't even come out, it got pushed back. But that single was out for a few days before it got pulled back, so I guess that was enough."

The most prestigious awards aren't always the ones that bring the most satisfaction. Of Vanessa Carlton's three nominations, which include Album of the Year and Song of the Year, she's most proud of Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist(s), a category in which she's the only person nominated for work on her own album. Her fellow nominees are all hired producers and engineers.

"I'm most excited for that nomination because it's recognizing the process and something other than the vocal and the song itself. ... I was totally surprised, though. I feel like such a proud mom of that song and of my album. It was really the most beneficial aspect of being a thrice nominee, or whatever you want to call me."

In some cases, the one bearing the good news was even more excited than the recipient.

"My man [Funkmaster] Flex called me and just started screaming," explained Fat Joe, who's up for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration with Ashanti for "What's Luv?" "I thought something was wrong because he never calls that early. He was like, 'Yo, you done it. You got nominated for a Grammy, B.' Just spazzin' on the phone."

When the sleepy-eyed Joe came around and the news sunk in, he couldn't keep the good cheer all to himself. "I called my mom," he said. "I called thousands of people."

Lavigne also had family on the mind. "As soon as I get out of here, I'm going to call my mom," she said at the press conference. "She's going to freak out."

"I have my mom with me, so I have to call my dad," five-time nominee Ashanti enthused after her stint at the press conference podium. "I've got to call everyone. I gotta call [Irv] Gotti and my Murder Inc. family."

As expected, the old "It's a honor just to be nominated" routine ran rampant. "I got nominated! At least I can walk away and say that," Musiq said, pleased to simply be in contention for the Best Male R&B Vocal Performance honor with "Halfcrazy" and for Best R&B album with Juslisen.

Modesty, however, soon turned into competitive confidence for Musiq. "But I'm taking one," he said with a sly grin. "I'm gonna get it."

Fat Joe was a little more excited. "It's a dream come true when people appreciate your music and contribution to the game," he said. "It's just something where I can be like, 'Yo, I've been nominated for a Grammy.' "

Nelly, who was also on hand at last month's press conference, was more upfront about this goal, though his intentions, too, were tempered by humility.

"It's always good to be nominated, especially for something as big as the Grammys," the St. Louis rapper said. "Just the recognition itself is an award. But you want that little gold record player. You just want to take it home."

Best New Artist nominee John Mayer's reaction added a new level to the tired response. In contention for one of the big four awards, as well as the Best Male Pop Vocal Performance honor, the singer/songwriter was simply pleased that he'd been deemed worthy for comment.

"It's an honor just to say, 'It's an honor just to be nominated.' That in itself is an experience; not everyone gets to say that."

For more Grammy news, check out the MTV News Grammy Archive.

— Joe D'Angelo, with additional reporting by John Norris, Minya Oh, Shaheem Reid

• Avril Lavigne
• Fat Joe
• Charli Baltimore
• Vanessa Carlton
• Ashanti

Avril Lavigne, John Mayer, and Nelly announce 2003 Grammy nominations
Photo: MTV News

When nominations for the 45th annual Grammy Awards were announced Tuesday morning, reactions ranged from sincere congratulations to "What were they thinking?" (Click here for the list of nominees.)

Few readers writing to MTVNews.com's You Tell Us forum had sour sentiments about demure Norah Jones, the jazz-influenced singer/pianist who's got a chance to sweep the four biggest categories — Record of the Year, Song of the Year, Album of the Year and Best New Artist (see "Eminem, Avril Lavigne, Nelly, Norah Jones Nab Most Grammy Noms"). Jones is also among the eight artists who garnered five nominations. (Click for photos of this year's Grammy nominees.)

"I'm sooo happy for [Norah Jones]," wrote 18-year-old Lexi, from Seattle. "I know many people haven't heard her music, but those who have know how great it is. Big ups to the critics for giving this girl the credit she deserves."

Jones' Come Away With Me faces stiff competition from The Rising, Bruce Springsteen's return to form, and, to a lesser extent, The Eminem Show. Although the mainstream seems to have embraced the volatile rapper, with hardly a protest over his third major-label album or his fictionalized biopic "8 Mile," the Grammys might not be ready to bestow such a prestigious honor to a man who had a hit with a song that talks about killing the mother of his child and stuffing her in a trunk.

Then again, Eminem already has five golden gramophones in his trophy case (though none in the big four categories), and the Recording Academy did grant an Album of the Year Grammy to Steely Dan in 2001, for Two Against Nature, which featured the song "Cousin Dupree," about incest. But old guards like Donald Fagen and Walter Becker have always had Grammy odds in their favor, which is why Springsteen stands such a good shot. And even if The Eminem Show doesn't win for Album of the Year and "Without Me" doesn't lay claim to Record of the Year, Eminem is likely to make good on at least one of his other three nominations.

While Jones stands as the artist with the smallest presence at radio compared with fellow new-artist nominees R&B songbird Ashanti, singer/songwriter Michelle Branch, sensitive guy John Mayer and pop-rocker Avril Lavigne, most of you think the latter stands as her fiercest competition.

"I think Avril Lavigne definitely deserves Best New Artist," wrote 14-year-old Ashley of Thief River Falls, Minnesota. "She's worked so hard and accomplished so much this year."

"There is no doubt that Avril Lavigne should win Best New Artist," echoed 14-year-old Danielle, from Somerset, New Jersey. "She writes her own music, had three top 40 songs in 2002, sold over 4 million copies of her debut, Let Go, and hates Britney Spears. What more could you want in a Best New Artist?"

While statistics may garner gold records, they don't necessarily translate to a Grammy. Awards are (theoretically) doled out to those who demonstrate genuine artistry in their work. And that's Avril Lavigne, isn't it?

"Avril has no business being nominated for as much as she was," disagreed 19-year-old Andrea. "As far as music and creativity go, Britney is more creative — and you know that's a stretch, especially since Britney is nothing but manufactured bubble gum. Avril may have had something going with her and her ties but let's face it, MTV, that's all she has had."

After yesterday's announcement of the nominations, Lavigne has a lot more attached to her, namely a monumental mistake when she mispronounced David Bowie's last name. When reading the list of artists up for the Best Male Rock Vocal Performance, she mispronounced Bowie as "bow-wie" (rhymes with oh, wowee!). An unnerving hush immediately enveloped Madison Square Garden.

"Am I the only person who realizes what a poser Avril Lavigne is?" queried 22-year-old Kim, from Denver. "First of all, she botched the pronunciation of David Bowie, one of the most influential musicians of our time. ... Does Avril know anything about music? ... My point is, although everyone seems to be touting Avril Lavigne as some new prodigy, the fact is that she is not a true musician or artist and is just as fake and untalented as Britney Spears."

And here we thought Avril was the anti-Britney.

While Mayer's the only guy among the gals in the Best New Artist pack, his fans warn not to count him out just because he's outnumbered.

"John Mayer deserves to win the Grammy for Best New Artist," declared 18-year-old Tiffany Johnson, from Austin, Texas. "He is just on a different level from the rest of the nominees. The guy is brilliant."

Nelly, who's up for Album of the Year, Best Male Rap Solo Performance and Best Rap Album honors, among others, is feeling the brunt of haters. For the nearly 5 million copies of Nellyville sold, the St. Louis rapper seems to have just as many, if not more, detractors.

"I want to know what the Grammy folks see in Nelly," demanded 19-year-old Jason Curtis of Seattle. "Everyone is hypnotized by his so-called 'skills,' which are by no means good. As far as I'm concerned, Nelly doesn't deserve a Grammy."

It wasn't all trash talk directed at the St. Louis rapper, however. Many have their fingers crossed that the Band-Aid bearing MC will leave with even more gold than he came in with.

"I'm really anticipating seeing Nelly take home the Grammy for best album," wrote 14-year-old Linzi, from Sandusky, Michigan. "I mean, his music is totally hot, and I'm pretty sure that I don't know anyone who isn't into Nelly."

Linzi, meet 21-year-old James, from New Haven, Connecticut.

"It is clear once again that the awards honor what is popular, not what is good," James began. "Nelly has sunk so far down in the talent pool that he's left rapping about sneakers and some sort of heat wave that has apparently swept Nellyville. Talk about meaningless music. Seriously, if it's that hot in 'herre,' then drink a glass of water. Don't make a freakin' song about it."

Fellow hip-hopper Petey Pablo, up for Best Rap Album with Diary of a Sinner: 1st Entry, faced some harsh reactions, with fellow nominee Mystikal also catching some heat.

"I am very upset to see that Pete Pablo has been nominated for Best Rap Album," expressed 25-year-old Curtis, from Tallahassee, Florida. "Also, Mystikal's Tarantula album was very disappointing. How come someone like Trick Daddy or Cee-Lo never gets nominated? He is pure trash, and I understand why people like Jay-Z protest the Grammys. If we want to make it mainstream for all these old white people, let's nominate Will Smith. Even though his album sold probably 200 copies, he does not curse."

Such outrage over those who were nominated couldn't rival the furor over those who were left out: uber-producers the Neptunes and anyone from the neo-garage school, such as the Hives, the Vines, the Strokes or the White Stripes.

"How did Dr. Dre get nominated in the Producer of the Year category, while the Neptunes were ignored?" wondered Venni, 18, from Blacksburg, Virginia. "Dre didn't do anything in 2002. Every single song on the radio was produced by the Neptunes."

OK, Venni may be exaggerating a bit, though Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo are responsible for Justin Timberlake's "Like I Love You," Nelly's "Hot in Herre" and Mystikal's "Bouncin' Back (Bumpin' Me Against the Wall)," all of which are Grammy-nominated.

"I'm surprised the new 'the' bands didn't get major nods," typed an aghast CJ, 18, from Newmarket, New Hampshire. "I'm sad that the White Stripes were shafted, when overrated Avril Lavigne gets all the credit. Well, the Grammys are pretty lame either way."

If the nominations aroused such fervent feelings in these folks, they'd better be prepared for the shock of February 23. While some surprises can be expected with the nods, utter jaw-droppers like the over-the-hill Jethro Tull winning for Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance in 1988 are unmatched.

Stay tuned and stay calm.

For a look back at previous big Grammy winners, red carpet photos and much more, visit our Grammy News Archive.

• Eminem
• Norah Jones
• Nelly
• Dixie Chicks
• Bruce Springsteen

Nelly
Photo: Universal

With eight artists grabbing five nominations each, this year's Grammy Awards looks to be one of the most competitive in the ceremony's 45 years. (Click here for the list of nominees and for photos of this year's Grammy nominees and performers.)

Three relative newcomers, Ashanti, Norah Jones and Avril Lavigne, join Sheryl Crow, Eminem, Nelly, Raphael Saadiq and Bruce Springsteen as the artists with the greatest chances of leaving New York's Madison Square Garden on February 23 with the most golden gramophones in their arms.

All eyes will be on Norah Jones, who stands to reign supreme on Grammy night with four of her five nominations arriving in the big four categories: Best New Artist; Album of the Year, for Come Away With Me; and Song of the Year (given to the songwriter Jesse Harris) and Record of the Year for "Don't Know Why." Jones and her full-length debut album also received nods in the categories Best Female Pop Vocal Performance, Best Pop Vocal Album, and Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical, while the LP's producer, Arif Mardin, scored one in the Producer of the Year, Non-Classical category to give the Norah Jones camp a whopping eight nominations combined.

Eminem, Nelly, Springsteen and Lavigne received two nods apiece for the big awards. Em's "Without Me" is up for Record of the Year, along with Nelly's "Dilemma" (which features Kelly Rowland), Nickelback's "How You Remind Me" and Vanessa Carlton's "A Thousand Miles." The Eminem Show will vie for Album of the Year honors against Come Away With Me, the Dixie Chicks' Home, Nelly's Nellyville and Bruce Springsteen's The Rising.

Springsteen was also nominated in the Song of the Year category for "The Rising." The Boss' tune, which resonated with many after the events of September 11, 2001, will face off against another song inspired by the tragedy, Alan Jackson's "Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning)."

The Best New Artist category finds John Mayer the sole male amidst a quartet of ladies, Ashanti, Michelle Branch, Jones and Lavigne, whose single "Complicated" is also up for Song of the Year. (Last year, Alicia Keys walked off with the prestigious honor. Who do you think should win Grammy's equivalent to Rookie of the Year? Take our poll.)

"Chauvinists unite!" Mayer joked at Madison Square Garden, in a half-hearted attempt to strum up support for his cause. "I'm just going to go to sports bars and lobby.

"It's cool," he continued sincerely. "I look at the list and say, 'It makes sense to me.' "

While Ashanti is likely to have her fingers crossed for the big Best New Artist win, she'll be doubly excited when the Best Rap/Sung Collaboration category is awarded. Besides receiving a nod for assisting Fat Joe with "What's Luv?" the songbird with the second-best-selling debut album of 2002 has increased her chances of winning with "Always on Time," her collaboration with Ja Rule. Ashanti likes both songs, but she looks to the phrase "blood is thicker than water" when deciding whom to root for.

"I don't necessarily have a preference, but it I had to choose, it would have to be my brother Ja," she said. "That's my family, Murder, Inc. Records."

Nominations for the 45th annual Grammy Awards were announced Tuesday (January 7) at a press conference held in Madison Square Garden. Among the artists on hand to read the roster of those hopeful for Grammy gold were Ashanti, country singer Kenny Chesney, '80s faceplate Cyndi Lauper, Avril Lavigne, John Mayer, Justin Timberlake, Nelly and producer Jimmy Jam, who filled in for a previously scheduled but absent Sean "P. Diddy" Combs.

The artists each took the podium in turn to announce the contestants for two of the categories, which made for some interesting pronunciations. Ashanti (pronounced a-shan-tee) became the faux-fabulous sounding "A-shan-tay" whenever most on hand mentioned her name; and Lavigne, in announcing the nominees for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance botched David Bowie's name, pronouncing it 'Bow-wee" (as in the dog sound "bow-wow"). The flub is not likely to go unnoticed among Lavigne's critics, and it just might go down in pop-star infamy, the way Britney Spears' remark that suggested Pat Benatar sang "I Love Rock 'N Roll," a song Joan Jett made famous, did in a fall 2001 interview.

Four nominations fell on the Dixie Chicks, Alan Jackson, R&B singer Remy Shand and Chad Kroeger, who scored one with his band Nickelback, and three others for his song "Hero," penned for the soundtrack to "Spider-Man."

Besides two in the big four, Vanessa Carlton's other nomination came in the Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist(s). While most categories in the Composing/Arranging field are often overlooked in favor of more artist-specific ones, the 21-year-old pianist doesn't consider her third nod to be any less important. In fact, considering that she's the only nominee who's also an artist in that category, she said she's perhaps most proud of that honor because it shows her as the well-rounded artist she is.

"I am most excited for that nomination because it is recognizing the process, something other than the vocal and the song itself," she explained. "It kind of acknowledges how the puzzle fits together. I think [Be Not Nobody] is a beautiful record and I'm really proud to know that people recognized that. I was totally surprised, though. I really was."

India.Arie, Erykah Badu, Johnny Cash, Elvis Costello, Dr. Dre, Randy Newman, Arif Mardin and No Doubt also nabbed three nominations each.

Touting over 100 categories, the Grammys is the most comprehensive music awards show, but even with classifications such as Best Polka Album (for which Jimmy Sturr's Top of the World looks to be the odds-on favorite) and Best Remixed Record, Non-Classical, there just aren't enough designations for some folks.

"Actually, one they didn't mention was best haircut-changing-style every year,' a near-bald Timberlake kidded. "I'm hoping I get the Victrola for that."

Maybe next year, Justin. In the meantime, the 'NSYNC star must be content with just one nomination, for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration, for the Clipse-featured "Like I Love You," the first single from his solo debut, Justified.

Super production duo the Neptunes were puzzlingly absent from the Producer of the Year category, which instead found Dr. Dre, Nellee Hooper, Arif Mardin, Rick Rubin, and Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis attempting to stake their claim to the title. After producing a number of Grammy-nominated tracks, including Timberlake's "Like I Love You," Nelly's "Hot in Herre" and Mystikal's "Bouncin' Back (Bumpin' Me Against the Wall)," it's a mystery why Chad Hugo and Pharrell Williams didn't receive any love from the Recording Academy.

"For the second year in a row, can you imagine that?" Williams said of his Grammy dis. "All the work we've done? For whatever reason, nobody thought to put us on the ballot."

The 45th annual ceremony marks the Grammys' return to New York, after Los Angeles hosted the previous four events. The show will be broadcast live on CBS at 8 p.m. (ET/PT). Before the show, catch MTV's pre-show telecast "Backstage at the Grammys," airing at 7 p.m. ET.

MTV's parent company, Viacom, also owns CBS.

For more Grammy news, check out the MTV News Grammy Archive.

• Nelly
• Avril Lavigne
• Norah Jones
• Eminem
• Vanessa Carlton

Irv Gotti
Photo: Murder Inc./Def Jam

While he probably won't be wearing the Gumby haircut or dancing in biker shorts, Bobby Brown will soon be back up to his old tricks.

Brown is set to make a full-blast return in front of the cameras alongside Ja Rule in the video for the rapper's "Thug Love," which is shooting next week in Los Angeles and Las Vegas. The clip, which is the first from Rule's The Last Temptation LP, due November 19, will be directed by Murder Inc. head Irv Gotti.

I.G. is looking to make the most of his time on the West Coast and keep his director's chair extra warm and cozy. Right after shooting wraps on "Thug Love," he'll helm the video for "Hey Charli," the lead cut off of Charli Baltimore's December 3 release, The Diary ... You Think You Know (see "Charli Baltimore's Working All Night And Needs Pink").

All this comes in the wake of the completion of production on the remix video to "The Pledge." According to a spokesperson for the Inc., that video features Nas and Ja Rule trading verses while standing at a podium in a mock conference. Clips of Ja's next movie, "Half Past Dead," are also shown in between shots of the two rappers.

"The Pledge" remix appears in the film as well as on Irv Gotti Presents ... The Remixes, which drops October 29.

For a feature interview with Irv Gotti and Murder Inc., check out "Murder Inc.: In Gotti We Trust."

Irv Gotti Presents ... The Remixes track list, according to Def Jam:

• Big Remo - "The Remixes" (Intro)
• Ashanti - "UnFoolish"
• Ashanti, Charli Baltimore, Young Merc and D.O. Cannon - "I'm So Happy (Remix)"
• Ashanti, Ja Rule and Nas - "The Pledge (Remix)"
• Caddillac Tah and Ja Rule - "O.G. (Remix)"
• "Boss" (Skit)
• Toni Braxton and I.G. - "No More Love"
• Caddillac Tah, Ja Rule and Ashanti - "Come-N-Go"
• Caddillac Tah - "Poverlous"
• "Spanish Dancing" (Skit)
• Mary J. Blige and Ja Rule - "Rainy Days (Remix)"
• "Moreno" (Skit)
• Scarface - "Baby (Remix)"
• Young Merc, D.O. Cannon and Black Child - "Hard Livin' "
• Caddillac Tah, Black Child and Ja Rule - "No One Does It Better (Remix)"
• "Remo Back" (Skit)
• Young Merc and D.O. Cannon - "We Dem Boyz"
• Crooked I - "Baby (Remix)"

• Ja Rule
• Ashanti
• Charli Baltimore
• Nas

Charli Baltimore
Photo: MTV

NEW YORK — When Teddy Pendergrass sang "Turn Off the Lights" decades ago, you could bet the crooning legend was thinking about a more romantic scenario than this.

A bunch of dudes wearing bandanas were scrambling around in the dark. No one at the Crack House, Murder Inc.'s home studio, could seem to get the lights — or any other thing that requires electricity — to work. Much to the dismay of Murder Inc.'s next artist up to bat, Charli Baltimore, the studio had an unexplained power outage.

"We had some technical difficulties," Baltimore said a few hours later, sitting next to her album's producer Chink Santana and studio engineer Milwaukee Buck at the controls in Soundtrack Studios, located not too far from the Crack House in Manhattan.

"A typical evening for me usually consists of me coming around 8, 9 ... 10 [p.m.]," Baltimore started to explain.

"Twelve! Keep it straight," interjected Santana, who also sings, blowing up Charli's spot.

"Twelve?" Baltimore answered back, blushing. "OK, 12, but I work all night. I don't leave. We in here sometimes 'til 9, 10 the next morning, mashing it out."

A few months ago, Baltimore started on her long-awaited debut album, The Diary (You Think You Know) (see "Post-Biggie, Post-'Un,' Charli Baltimore Finally Ready To Make Debut"), with Santana and Irv Gotti. The trio worked at a feverish pace, knocking out six songs in three days. Things slowed down a bit after that, and Charli was rhyming almost faster than her camp could make beats. She ran through all the soundscapes Gotti and Santana sculpted for her.

"After that, me and Chink formed our bond and knew where he could go with me musically," she explained. "We just been going somewhere else with the music. I wanted to bring a whole new flavor to female rapping, like nothing that's ever been done, nothing that people would expect, but keep in the whole theme of The Diary — 'You think you know but you have no idea.'

"People don't expect me to spit how I spit," she continued. "When I was on a different label they wouldn't let me be me. This is what you get in a Charli Baltimore album for real."

Guys trying to get at Baltimore is the theme of her album's new first single, "Hey Charli." (The title track was originally announced as the lead cut but the Incsters changed their minds.)

"I'm more complex than dinner and movie/ N---a, you gotta move me/ A bitch kinda moody," B-More's recorded voice blasted from the studio speaker as she nodded, live and living color, vibing to her verses. As the chorus came in, all in the room could detect why she gave the song its name. "Heeyyy, Char-leeeyyy," a man's voice said on the hook.

"That was inspired by all the trash men that always pull up on me like, 'Heeeyyy Char-leeeyyy,' " the redheaded rapper said of the track. "People be doing that all the time to me, the trash men, the people that clean the streets, 'Heeeyyy Charl-eeeyyy.' I was like that's funny. I was playing with my flow [on the song]. That's something I grew into. When I first got signed I didn't know how to play with my voice and play with flow. Just being down with Murder Inc. the past couple of years I learned a lot."

For the video, which she plans to shoot at the top of October in her hometown of Philadelphia, Baltimore is hoping to get a host of guest appearances from cats who always represent the City of Brotherly Love, including Allen Iverson and Bill Cosby.

"It's definitely going to be a Philly video," she insisted. "All 'bout Philly. The artists that are doing videos in Philly, I don't think they're bringing all the different flavors of Philly out."

Before her album — which has been pushed back to December 3 — wraps production, Chuck is hoping to wrangle in another colorful-haired mic rocker, one with a penchant for voicing her pain.

"I'm trying to find Pink," she said. "Only because I have this crazy record for her. When I listened to her album I was like, 'She's the one.' The record [on my album] is called 'Still Waiting.' I let one of my friends listen to it, who was going through something with a guy, and she was crying. I thought for a while who I would want on it, because I knew I wanted somebody to sing on there.

"It's about a girl who, when you first listen to the record, you think she's talking about her boyfriend," Charli continued. "She's actually his booty call, his mistress. He already has a girlfriend, and when she finds out, she's already so caught up in him, she's kinda gone. That's why it's called 'Still Waiting.' He's leading her to believe he's eventually gonna leave this girl. Pink just has that tortured element, then when I went to the VMAs and saw her perform I was like, 'Oh, I gotta get her.' But I felt funny going up to somebody and being like, 'Hey I got a record for you.' "

For a feature interview with Murder Inc., check out "Murder Inc.: In Gotti We Trust."

• Charli Baltimore

• Ja Rule
• Ashanti
• Charli Baltimore
• Vita
• The Inc. Records

Ashanti and Ja Rule
Photo: Walik Goshorn

"Where's Ja?" Ja Rule screams, imitating Clarence Williams III, one of the detectives chasing him in his video for "Down Ass Chick." "That's my dog right there."

In the clip, Ja and song co-star Charli "Chuck" Baltimore play cat burglars and Williams and partner Eric Roberts are on the case. During one of their heists, Baltimore gets caught and goes to the big house. The cops let her out of jail, hoping she'll lead them to Ja. The hunch pays off and the clip ends cliffhanger-style with the cops closing in on the unsuspecting thieves as they lounge on a beach.

"Part two is fun," Ja said of the clip's sequel, which is the video for the song's remix. "We get away. You're really not supposed to get away with crimes when you're doing a video. It's not that we're getting away, but we made a spoof on [the idea that] you can't do the crime and get away. The 'Down Ass Chick' remix video is us just balling out, having a blast. It's paradise. We're just having a good time, partying, showing the good side of life and not showing us getting caught."

And why wouldn't Ja have a joyous time? In the song and the video he's surrounded by nothing but women — Chuck, Vita and Ashanti.

"The remix is crazy, featuring all the ladies of Murder Inc.," Ashanti said. "You know, your down-ass chicks. We're talking about the Murder mommies being Ja's chicks."

• Ja Rule
• Charli Baltimore

Almost a year after he revealed he was making "sexier" songs, we'll get to see how much of a love daddy Wyclef Jean really is when he releases his third solo album, Masquerade, on June 18. ... Q-Tip and Spike Lee have been hard at work shooting what will be a 12- to 15-minute short film/video for Tip's second solo album, Kamaal the Abstract, due April 23. Filming began in December and will resume shortly. ... Beck will perform two shows in the Los Angeles area this week to warm up for his February 26 Recording Artists Coalition benefit with Eddie Vedder and Mike Ness. Beck's official Web site, www.beck.com, is giving away five pairs of tickets to each of the gigs in San Juan Capistrano (February 21) and Hollywood (February 24). ...

Ginuwine joined P. Diddy as the mogul shot the sequel to his "I Need a Girl" remix video this weekend in Miami with director Benny Boom. It will be the second release from Diddy's P. Diddy and the Family Present: This Is the Remix, which is now set to drop May 7. ... No Doubt's Adrian Young and his wife welcomed a son, Mason James Young, into their lives on February 16. The Mohawked drummer, dressed in hospital attire at Thursday's Love Rocks concert, said he had been in the hospital with his newborn son all week and was going to bring him home after their show. ...

He can plant a house, he can build a tree: A cover of Nirvana's "Breed" is among the nuggets featured on roots rocker Steve Earle's rarities collection, Side Tracks, due April 9. The LP also features Earle's new single, "Some Dreams," which will be featured in the Dennis Quaid movie "The Rookie." ... Rancid's Tim Armstrong and New Found Glory's Jordan Pundik provide guest vocals on a track tentatively titled "Don't Leave Her" on the debut album from Blink-182 guitarist Tom DeLonge's side project, Boxcar Racer. Blink bassist Mark Hoppus also sings on the record. ... Chaos Comics will launch a Static-X comic book series in July. In other Static-X news, the band announced they will hold meet-and-greets with their fans on the remaining dates of their current tour. ...

"Scratch," a turntablism documentary from director Doug Pray ("Hype!"), will be screened to hip-hop audiences before Dilated Peoples take the stage each night on their upcoming tour, which kicks off March 5 in San Francisco and is running through the Winter Music Conference in Miami later in the month. Turntablists GrandWizzard Theodore, Z-Trip and Jazzy Jay are scheduled for all of the dates, while Mix Master Mike, DJ Swamp, DJ Craze and Q-Bert will perform in various cities. ... Back and Forth, the first full-length studio album from English DJ Tall Paul, will feature the hit club single "Precious Heart," which samples INXS's "Never Tear Us Apart." The album is due April 23. ...

02.19.02

Ja Rule and Charli Baltimore are setting out to be the hip-hop version of Mickey and Mallory — the clip for Ja's "Down Ass Chick," featuring Charli B-more, will be a takeoff of Oliver Stone's "Natural Born Killers," according to a source close to Ja. Over the course of the three-day shoot, which begins February 22 in L.A., he'll also film the remix video with Baltimore, Vita and Ashanti, according to Def Jam; Murder Inc. CEO Irv Gotti will direct both. ... If you're dreaming of becoming a professional DJ, it's time to take your skills out of the bedroom and into the classroom. For the next two months in New York City, celebrity DJs including Jam Master Jay, Kuttin' Kandi, Mista Sinista and Evil Dee will lead courses in disciplines such as battle, mixtape and performance (visit www.scratch.com for more information). ...

Indie music festival Noise Pop 2002 takes place next week (February 26-March 3) in San Francisco with performances by the Dismemberment Plan, New Pornographers and Big Star, among others, and to commemorate its decade-long tenure, a double-disc Ten Years of Noise Pop will be available locally and through the festival's Web site (www.noisepop.com). A portion of the proceeds from the album, which features cuts from past performers including Guided by Voices, the Flaming Lips and Creeper Lagoon, benefits the Popular Noise Foundation (www.popularnoise.org), a nonprofit charity that provides aid to the Bay Area music scene. ... Dixie Chick Natalie Maines will appear in the first celebrity edition of the TLC series "Trading Spaces," according to The Associated Press. Maines will race to redecorate a room in her mother's home (and vice versa) in 48 hours for $1,000 or less in an episode airing April 20. ...

P. Diddy, Rah Digga and female R&B quartet LovHer were among the guests who came out to support Jay-Z and the Roc-A-Fella family at a Roc-A-Wear fashion show in New York Thursday night. Jay and company partied up at the Metropolitan Pavilion while the men's and women's fall 2002 lines were introduced. ... "Rush Hour" star Chris Tucker will host the 33rd annual NAACP Image Awards on February 23 at the Universal Amphitheater. The ceremony, scheduled to air March 1 on Fox, will feature music-world appearances by Alicia Keys, India.Arie and the Isley Brothers as well as Steve Harvey, the Rock, Jamie Foxx and Angela Bassett. ...

There's nothing funny about the popular appeal of crossover heavyweight Jennifer Lopez — she'll be crowned Female Star of the Year by the film industry's power elite at the ShoWest convention in Las Vegas. She and previously announced Male Star of the Year Will Smith will be honored at a banquet next month in recognition of their drawing power at the box office. ... The soundtrack for Martin Scorsese's "The Last Waltz" — a filmed concert by the Band which featured a cavalcade of special guests including Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Eric Clapton, Van Morrison and Muddy Waters — will be remixed and released with bonus tracks on April 16. The movie will be released on DVD May 7. ...

Liverpool's arty synth-poppers Clinic will support their second album, Walking With Thee (due February 26), with a three-week Stateside jaunt that begins March 13 in Atlanta. The tour includes a showcase at music-biz conference South by Southwest on March 15. ... El Meswy, Spain's best-selling hip-hop artist, was in the studio recently recording Se Habla Español, his follow-up to 2000's Nadie. M-1 and Stic.man of Dead Prez were on hand to lend lyrical support to the as-yet-untitled project. ...

My Bloody Valentine founder Kevin Shields has recorded "Outro," an instrumental, for the compilation album You Don't Need Darkness to Do What You Think Is Right, which comes out April 1. Other artists who will appear on the LP include the Pastels, Future Pilot AKA and Jesus and Mary Chain partners Jim and William Reid recording as Sister Vanilla. ... Sting, Elton John, James Taylor and Ravi Shankar comprise the first wave of artists announced to perform at the Police-man's annual Rainforest Foundation Benefit Concert, which will take place at New York's Carnegie Hall on April 13.

• Wyclef Jean
• Q-Tip
• Beck
• Ginuwine
• Diddy

Ja Rule and Charli Baltimore are setting out to be the hip-hop version of Mickey and Mallory — the clip for Ja's "Down Ass Chick," featuring Charli B-more, will be a takeoff of Oliver Stone's "Natural Born Killers," according to a source close to Ja. Over the course of the three-day shoot, which begins February 22 in L.A., he'll also film the remix video with Baltimore, Ashanti and Ashanti, according to Def Jam; Murder Inc. CEO Irv Gotti will direct both. ... If you're dreaming of becoming a professional DJ, it's time to take your skills out of the bedroom and into the classroom. For the next two months in New York City, celebrity DJs including Jam Master Jay, Kuttin' Kandi, Mista Sinista and Evil Dee will lead courses in disciplines such as battle, mixtape and performance (visit www.scratch.com for more information). ...

Indie music festival Noise Pop 2002 takes place next week (February 26-March 3) in San Francisco with performances by the Dismemberment Plan, New Pornographers and Big Star, among others, and to commemorate its decade-long tenure, a double-disc Ten Years of Noise Pop will be available locally and through the festival's Web site (www.noisepop.com). A portion of the proceeds from the album, which features cuts from past performers including Guided by Voices, the Flaming Lips and Creeper Lagoon, benefits the Popular Noise Foundation (www.popularnoise.org), a nonprofit charity that provides aid to the Bay Area music scene. ... Dixie Chick Natalie Maines will appear in the first celebrity edition of the TLC series "Trading Spaces," according to The Associated Press. Maines will race to redecorate a room in her mother's home (and vice versa) in 48 hours for $1,000 or less in an episode airing April 20. ...

P. Diddy, Rah Digga and female R&B quartet LovHer were among the guests who came out to support Jay-Z and the Roc-A-Fella family at a Roc-A-Wear fashion show in New York Thursday night. Jay and company partied up at the Metropolitan Pavilion while the men's and women's fall 2002 lines were introduced. ... "Rush Hour" star Chris Tucker will host the 33rd annual NAACP Image Awards on February 23 at the Universal Amphitheater. The ceremony, scheduled to air March 1 on Fox, will feature music-world appearances by Alicia Keys, India.Arie and the Isley Brothers as well as Steve Harvey, the Rock, Jamie Foxx and Angela Bassett. ...

There's nothing funny about the popular appeal of crossover heavyweight Jennifer Lopez — she'll be crowned Female Star of the Year by the film industry's power elite at the ShoWest convention in Las Vegas. She and previously announced Male Star of the Year Will Smith will be honored at a banquet next month in recognition of their drawing power at the box office. ... The soundtrack for Martin Scorsese's "The Last Waltz" — a filmed concert by the Band which featured a cavalcade of special guests including Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Eric Clapton, Van Morrison and Muddy Waters — will be remixed and released with bonus tracks on April 16. The movie will be released on DVD May 7. ...

Liverpool's arty synth-poppers Clinic will support their second album, Walking With Thee (due February 26), with a three-week Stateside jaunt that begins March 13 in Atlanta. The tour includes a showcase at music-biz conference South by Southwest on March 15. ... El Meswy, Spain's best-selling hip-hop artist, was in the studio recently recording Se Habla Español, his follow-up to 2000's Nadie. M-1 and Stic.man of Dead Prez were on hand to lend lyrical support to the as-yet-untitled project. ...

My Bloody Valentine founder Kevin Shields has recorded "Outro," an instrumental, for the compilation album You Don't Need Darkness to Do What You Think Is Right, which comes out April 1. Other artists who will appear on the LP include the Pastels, Future Pilot AKA and Jesus and Mary Chain partners Jim and William Reid recording as Sister Vanilla. ... Sting, Elton John, James Taylor and Ravi Shankar comprise the first wave of artists announced to perform at the Police-man's annual Rainforest Foundation Benefit Concert, which will take place at New York's Carnegie Hall on April 13. ...

02.15.02

Post-adolescent punks Sum41 are expected to begin working on the follow-up to last year's All Killer No Filler in late April, after their Tour of the Rising Sum sets in Texas on April 21, according to their publicist. The album is expected to surface late this year or early 2003. ... Eve, who's currently in Chicago filming "Barbershop" with Ice Cube, is ready to devote some time to her day job. Murder Inc. CEO Irv Gotti and his beatmaking cohort, 7, said they're gearing to go in the studio with Ruff Ryders' first lady at the end of the month. ... Nickelback, Default and Injected will head out on the spring 2002 incarnation of MTV's Campus Invasion Tour. An itinerary has yet to be announced. ...

Megaproducer Megahertz (P. Diddy, R. Kelly & Jay-Z, Nas) just completed a remix with P.O.D. of the band's "Youth of the Nation," the producer's rep said. ... FenixTX have dropped off the SnoCore Rock Tour due to scheduling conflicts, according to MCA Records. They have been replaced by Apex Theory. ... Face to Face will launch a national tour in April to support their new album How to Ruin Everything, which hits stores April 9 through Vagrant Records. The jaunt starts in Salt Lake City on April 4 and runs through May 3 in Scottsdale, Arizona. ... Industrial icons Ministry will release Sphinctour, a live album recorded during their 1996 tour, on March 19. The 11-track LP, which had been a widely circulated bootleg, includes harrowing cuts such as "Psalm 69," "Filth Pig" and "Thieves" and can be previewed at ministry.advancelisten.com. ...

Innovative prog-rocker Peter Gabriel is apparently "down wit' OPP" — he hooked up with Jersey hip-hoppers Naughty by Nature on a track called "Fight Back" for the group's guest-filled April 23 release, Iicons. ... Speaking of Naughty, the group's Treach was among the celebrities who hit New York hotspot Spa on Tuesday night to support Joi (Lucy Pearl), who performed songs off her next LP, Star Kitty's Revenge. The Goodie Mob's Cee-Lo (bandmate of Joi's husband, Big Gipp) and Kelis were also in attendance (click for photos from the performance). ...

Fuel have issued a cease and desist order to Toyota, corporate sponsors of the Fuel the Music Tour, demanding Toyota stop using that title for the rock outing. The band, who says it has fought to make a name for itself and wants it protected, was alerted after confused fans began emailing its Web site inquiring about the outing because a magazine ran an ad for the event on the same page as a picture of the group, who are not involved. ... A London High Court judge has ruled that Robbie Williams will have to pay 25 percent of the royalties from his "Jesus in a Camper Van" — around $75,000 — to Woody Guthrie's publisher, Ludlow Music. Williams, who admitted to parodying Guthrie's "I Am the Way" on the track, will also have to pick up Ludlow's legal fees, which amount to another $75,000.

• Ja Rule
• Charli Baltimore
• Ashanti
• Jam Master Jay
• The New Pornographers

Charli Baltimore
Photo: Murder Inc.

Tiffany "Charli Baltimore" Lane's rap career has been filled with as much drama as her movie character namesake saw in "The Long Kiss Goodnight." She was discovered by her boyfriend the Notorious B.I.G. in 1996, who named her after Geena Davis' gun-busting heroine. He then put her down as a faux Faith in the video for "Get Money."

After his death in 1997, B.I.G.'s friend and business partner Lance "Un" Rivera signed Baltimore to Untertainment. Along with Cam'ron, hot new femme fatale Charli was supposed to put the label on the map. And while Cam's debut, Confessions of Fire, went gold in 1999, Charli's Cold as Ice was never released, even though it had been heavily hyped for over a year. Creative differences with Un had led to delays, then Rivera severed ties with his distributor, Sony, and it was over for Baltimore.

Like the silver screen Charli, the rapper changed her life and is now a domesticated newlywed wife (she was married in July). Last week, though, the Philadelphia native said that she's about to delve back into the circle of self-proclaimed gangstas, thugs and killers with a new record deal.

"I'm a Murderer now," Baltimore said of her new contract with Murder Inc. Records. Baltimore showed just how loyal she was to her new musical fam, more specifically Murder Inc.'s biggest seller, Ja Rule, by playing the "Bonnie to his Clyde" in the video for their duet, "Down Ass Bitch." The clip was shot last week in Los Angeles.

"The concept of it is bananas," said Charli, who rhymes in the song about going so far as to donate organs to her man if he needs them. "I don't want to give up the plot of the video, but I will say that it's not a performance video. It's almost like a movie. If you listen to 'Down Ass Bitch' it damn near reads like a movie. Listen to the song, you'll sort of see where the video is going."

The signs of her indoctrination into "the world's most dangerous label" have been apparent for a while. She appeared in Ja Rule's "I Cry" video earlier this year, then later jumped on Caddillac Tah's underground cut "Get It Right" and Ja's "Down Ass Bitch," which appears on Ja's Pain Is Love album.

Joining the professed musically homicidal collective wasn't easy, though. Although she and Murder Inc. CEO Irv Gotti have been close ever since he produced two tracks for her permanently shelved LP Ice in 1999, it took some time for him to become a believer.

"He was sort of doubting my skills as a rapper," she admitted on the set of the "Down Ass Bitch" video last week. "It was just a slow process and me proving myself to Gotti. Every time I spit for him, he just got more and more impressed and we built a relationship that way.

"But in the process of that, he sort of became like a mentor to me," she added. "He taught me a lot of things about the game and we had this ill chemistry where he just knew how to bring that side out of me. He was really impressed that I was a girl and wrote all my own material."

Charli, who said she instantly clicked with the other Murderers, including the first female to be down with the crew, Vita, remembers a time when she put down her pen and almost closed her rhyme book for good. It was when things went sour with her first label a couple of years ago.

"When I found out, it was two weeks before [my album] was supposed to come out," she said. "So I'm still on the promo tour, I'm doing shows, I'm doing interviews, I'm like, 'Yeah my album is out in two weeks.' Next thing I know, nothing's jumping. It was almost heartbreaking. 'What the hell is going on?' I went through a whole period of being depressed and just not focusing, not writing."

A brief gig with Company Models and acting as one of the militant Mau Maus in Spike Lee's "Bamboozled" and in the upcoming "Snipes," which stars Nelly and Dean Winters from "Oz," helped take her mind off the past while she contemplated a new career. Friends like Gotti and Noreaga eventually helped her work her way back to the mic.

"I don't really have any negative feelings towards that situation because I feel like I had to step back and look at it for what it was," she said. "I think when I came in the door, I sort of almost had an easy ride. I never really appreciated it.

"On top of that I wouldn't have wanted to come out under the circumstances that they would be putting me out under," she added. "I was 'Biggie's girl.' It never seemed to be about talent to the press. That's not how I want to be presented. I would read my own interviews and see my own pictures and be like, 'Yo, this isn't me. This isn't how I wanna be seen or how I want people to take me as.' "

Baltimore said she just wants to start anew and finally see her career take off.

"It's my second shot," she said. "It's not too many people that went through the f---ed up sh--- I went through in this game. I don't have no grudges or gripes. I'm not coming out with the ill vendetta or nothing. I'm the type of person that takes all the negativity and I build and grow from it. I'm like Mary [J. Blige] — no more drama."

• Charli Baltimore
• N.O.R.E.
• Ja Rule

Avril, Pink, Nelly, No Doubt, More On 2003 Grammy Red Carpet

• Nelly
• Kelly Rowland
• No Doubt
• Foo Fighters
• Avril Lavigne

• Charli Baltimore
• Ashanti
• P!nk
• Busta Rhymes
• Sheryl Crow