Travis Barker
Photo: Tim Mosenfelder/ Getty Images

While the status of Blink-182's much-discussed "Up All Night" — the new song they didn't play on their just-wrapped reunion tour — remains unclear, drummer Travis Barker isn't letting that stop him from talking up another new Blink tune, one that will appear on his upcoming solo record.

"There's some stuff on my record that's not going to have a bunch of guitars, that are just straight-up hip hop records. Everything's going be real different. It's going to be really well-rounded," he told MTV News on Wednesday. "We got a new Blink song on there, I think I'm going to do something with Chester Bennington from Linkin Park. Hopefully a guest appearance from Slash, I'm doing his big fundraiser that happens this month. I think there's going to be a collaboration with [Kanye West's touring DJ] A-Track, so it's gonna be really in all directions."

Barker didn't have many details about that new Blink tune — mostly because the band hasn't written it yet — but he's clear about one thing: The song most definitely isn't "Up All Night." Blink have other plans for that.

"No, 'Up All Night' will have its own home, and it won't be on my record. That will continue to be part of a new Blink record or will be released through Blink182.com or something, it's going to be a surprise," Barker said. "The new song that we record for my record is just going to be something from scratch, and just us doing our thing."

The plan, according to Barker, is to have work on his solo record completed in "January or February," and he hopes to support it with a tour. But that's a pretty loose thing. After all, he and his Blink mates are taking it easy these days, recharging from time on the road.

"We're kind of taking the rest of the year off, for everyone to finish up other stuff they have going on," Barker said. "We want to re-group next year and start getting together once a week or once every two weeks to start doing the beginning work on our record."

Of course, Barker's also been hard at work remixing tracks — he premiered his brand-new version of the Drake/ Eminem/ Kanye West/ Lil Wayne collaboration "Forever" on MTVNews.com on Wednesday.

• Blink-182 And Fall Out Boy Heat Up Madison Square Garden
• Blink-182 Reunion Tour Kicks Off In Las Vegas

• Travis Barker
• blink-182
• Linkin Park

Travis Barker
Photo: Kristian Dowling/ Getty Images

Apparently, Travis Barker doesn't sleep. At all. Which is how he's able to keep cranking out remixes while simultaneously working on a new Blink-182 record, his own solo album, and rehearsing for an upcoming show with none other than Slash (a November 22 benefit for the Los Angeles Youth Network). And that's not even getting into his business ventures, or his role as a rock-and-roll dad.

"Yeah, I wake up at 6," he laughed. "I'm a busy man, I guess."

Seriously, the guy never rests. And as if you need further proof of this, check out his brand-new remix of Drake's "Forever" (with video of Travis drumming), which Barker emailed to MTV News Wednesday (November 11) morning. It's just the latest in a long line of hip hop tracks he's remixed (earlier this year, he took a stab at Eminem's gory "3 A.M." and his take on Soulja Boy's "Crank That" has already established itself as a YouTube staple), and it just proves that he can't leave a good beat alone.

"This song gets played so much — whether it be on TV or on the radio or XM — and I think songs like this that you can't escape, you start to get ideas in your head about how you'd want to flip it," Barker said. "And this song is awesome; every verse is crazy. Who could ask for a better lineup as far as rappers? And everyone's going in on their verse. So I was excited about it, I didn't have to think twice about getting on it."

Working strictly off an a cappella track, Barker crafted his "Forever" mix from the ground up, spending a week tinkering in the studio with his production partner, Sweatshop. The main goal, he said, was to build a drum line that matched the constantly shifting mood and tempo of the song, which famously features verses from Kanye West, Lil Wayne and Eminem, even if that meant showing a bit of restraint on the remix — something he's not used to doing.

"Remixes are hard, because some of my critics will be like, 'Trav, you shoulda gone bananas on it,' but going bananas on it will sometimes take away from how cool a song is — it's a happy medium," he laughed. "With this one, I see a gradual crescendo — it just gets bigger and bigger and bigger, all the way up until the last chorus, where I crash out and there's a big Phil Collins moment, with a drum-fill solo underneath Drake's chorus. It was a tough one, man."

So is Drake happy with the end result? Barker has no idea — seems Drizzy hasn't even heard the remix yet. No one has. Until now, that is.

"No one's heard this!" Barker said. "Actually, Marshall [Mathers, a.k.a. Eminem] heard it, and he loved it — but no one else has."

• Travis Barker
• Drake

Lil Wayne
Photo: Bryan Bedder/ Getty Images

The wait is ova. No, not that one. After months of delays and rescheduled street dates, Lil Wayne's new album, Rebirth, finally has an official release date. According to Billboard.com, the disc long rumored to be Wayne's "rock" album will drop on December 15.

The album will come on the heels of his just-released No Ceilings mixtape. And while there has been some confusion about just how much actual rocking Wayne will do on it— he does appear on the new Weezer album — the rapper recently told Billboard that he does indeed bang his head on Rebirth.

"Yes, the album is still rock," he said. "I play guitar on 80 percent of the songs, and there's a lot of rock influences and rock beats. I also have Travis Barker on the album. But I don't want people to think I'm trying to do something I can't do. Don't think you're going to put on the album and hear me screaming and singing.

"When I said I was doing a rock album, it was about doing a freedom thing," he continued. "This album isn't hip-hop. When I do my Carter albums, I know I've got to rap, I know I've got to spit. I know the words I've got to say and the subjects I've got to talk about. I also know the things I shouldn't say, the things I shouldn't talk about. There's none of those limits on this album. I say what I want, how I want. That's what this album is: a freedom album."

Wayne has suggested that he might release Rebirth and the Young Money crew album as a double disc. Because a few of the songs from Wayne's album have leaked online during the past few months, he said he went back to the lab to cook up some new songs to throw off fans who thought they knew what he was up to.

"I had to add new cuts, because a lot of things leaked, making people think they had an idea of what I was doing with Rebirth and what it would sound like," he said. "And I hated that, because I never want anybody to think they know what I'm doing until I present it. So what I did was make it totally different. I flipped it."

In addition to protégé Drake, the album is slated to include guest spots from members of Fall Out Boy and Lenny Kravitz. It's unknown if Rebirth will be the last full-length album Wayne will release before he is scheduled to go to prison in New York for at least eight months after pleading guilty to a felony charge of attempted criminal possession of a weapon.

A spokesperson for Wayne did not return requests for comment at press time for confirmation that the Young Money album, We Are Young Money, will be packaged with Rebirth.

• This Week's Biggest News

• Lil Wayne
• Travis Barker

Travis Barker (file)
Photo: Jordan Strauss/ WireImage

On Wednesday, during a tour stop in Atlanta with blink-182, Travis Barker stopped by the Joseph M. Still Burn Center, which treated him last September after he survived a plane crash with his friend DJ AM, who passed away in August. The drummer wanted to thank the doctors who helped save his life.

"I'm here to say 'thank you' to everyone who took care of me after the accident," he said in a statement to "Extra." "I was sort of unconscious the last time I was here, and I felt like I owed them a big 'thank you.' "

Barker also met with patients who are currently being treated at the center and signed autographs for them. In photos from his visit, Barker is seen showing a doctor the arm that was burned and chatting with a patient.

"This was a great opportunity for our staff and our patients to see someone who is truly a success story," Dr. R. Fred Mullins, who helped treat Barker's wounds, said in a statement. "Travis was gracious with his time today, and his presence was a nice surprise and boost for everyone here.

After the visit, Barker later tweeted how great he felt visiting the burn treatment center. "Just leaving the JMS burn center here in GA. Amazing talented people over there, angels is what I like to call them," he wrote. "Wouldn't be here today if it wasn't for them. Glad I was able to go by and say thank u. I'll never forget them or what they did for me."

When he wrapped up the band's show that night at the Atlanta Lakewood Amphitheater, he tweeted, "ATL went off, f---ing amazing tour, amazing crew & the most amazing crowds. Thank you guys. Driving back to LA. In 37 hrs I will be reunited with my humans and my son will be 6 years old. I'm the happiest dad in the world right now."

• Travis Barker, DJ AM Escape Plane Crash

• Travis Barker
• blink-182

Wale in Times Square in New York City on Monday
Photo: Ben Hockin/ MTV News

In the wake of the untimely passing of DJ AM on Friday, musicians, DJs, friends and fans alike have been paying tribute to his memory — and his formidable skills behind the turntables, which earned him and Travis Barker the spot as the house band at the 2008 Video Music Awards.

This year, the house band will be Wale and his band UCB (which stands for the Uncalled 4 Band), and the Washington, D.C.-reared MC had great things to say about DJ AM, and the legacy he hopes to live up to at the awards, which take place at New York's Radio City Music Hall on September 13.

"AM was one of the greatest DJs I've ever seen play," Wale told MTV News on Monday (August 31). "Him and Travis had such a chemistry."

Wale said he and AM were both part of the underground-sneaker scene, and that he knew him through his friend and mentor, Amy Winehouse producer Mark Ronson (who led the house band at the 2007 VMAs).

"[AM was] definitely one of the greater ears in music," Wale said, "and he's definitely underrated [as a DJ]."

Wale said he's honored by the opportunity to perform as the house band at such a big show.

"It's really cool that MTV notices that me and my band have chemistry, because we've been playing together for four years now," he said. "The chemistry is definitely there."

When asked how his band's set will be different from the two previous years, well, he had a joking remark for Ronson, who took Wale under his wing a couple of years back.

"Mark [Ronson] is not as cool as me, obviously," he laughed, "and Travis is cooler than me, so we're somewhere in the middle right now! We're going to bring that young energy and that D.C. style to the table."

• DJ AM And Travis Barker's Full 2008 VMA Performances

• Wale
• DJ AM
• Travis Barker

DJ AM
Photo: Chris Weeks/ WireImage

Despite reports that DJ AM (born Adam Goldstein) might have been depressed over a recent breakup with model Hayley Wood before his death on Friday, law enforcement sources believe the celebrity DJ's death was an accidental drug overdose, not suicide.

Citing unnamed police sources, TMZ reported that recovering addict AM had developed a dependency on Xanax and a number of other anti-anxiety drugs after the fiery plane crash he and Blink-182's Travis Barker survived last year. Both men were seriously injured in the accident, which took four lives and resulted in Barker and AM receiving a number of painful skin grafts to treat the second- and third-degree burns they suffered.

TMZ reported that AM had developed a serious anxiety about flying, something he had to do frequently for his many DJ jobs all over the country. The site, citing unnamed sources, said AM's doctors prescribed Xanax and other anti-anxiety medications to relieve the fear of flying, but that those drugs helped trigger a "recent" relapse, noting that AM was not abusing the drugs for very long before his death.

Among those weighing in on what might have killed AM was addiction specialist Dr. Drew Pinsky, the host of VH1's "Celebrity Rehab." Pinsky told The Associated Press that he believes the pain medications AM was taking to treat the injuries he sustained in last year's plane crash in South Carolina might have led him to relapse after more than 11 years of sobriety.

"It very slowly and subtly reawakens addiction," Pinsky said of pain medication. "I'm not saying it was inappropriately prescribed; I'm saying he didn't know the risks."

AM, 36, was found dead in his Soho apartment in New York on Friday evening, reportedly with a crack pipe and prescription pills nearby. Like a number of friends who expressed grief over AM's death over the weekend — including musical partner Travis Barker, ex-girlfriend Mandy Moore and a host of fellow DJs — Pinsky said he was upset by the loss of someone he considered a "very close" friend. The doctor said AM had been a model for people going through addiction and praised him for his selflessness in helping others get clean.

"He [sponsored] other people, and in his words, [would] go to the mat supporting people on their recovery," Pinsky said. "He was someone I referred people to to learn about recovery."

On Saturday, the New York medical examiner's offices said the results of an autopsy were inconclusive, and further toxicology and tissue tests were necessary to determine a cause of death. Those tests will take several weeks to complete. TMZ reported that its sources said the evidence in the case strongly indicates that the cause of death will be a combination of crack cocaine and the anxiety drugs.

AM was set to star in an MTV special in October called "Gone Too Far," in which he stages interventions with other people battling addictions and discusses his own struggle with drugs; the network has not yet announced its plans for the show.

• Remembering DJ AM
• DJ AM And Travis Barker's Full 2008 VMA Performances
• DJ AM's Last Interview With MTV News

• DJ AM: A Life In Photos

• DJ AM
• Travis Barker

DJ AM
Photo: Chris Weeks/ WireImage

DJ AM was one of the biggest marquee names when it came to the turntables for a reason: talent. He could hold down the duties for Jay-Z at a concert or play records to keep clubgoers dancing all night.

"I saw DJ AM play in a mansion in Miami, and he amazed me with his skills and the music he picked to make the crowd move," DJ Khaled told MTV News following DJ AM's sudden death Friday. "He made sure everyone — I mean everyone — had a good time!"

"AM was really dope," DJ Green Lantern told MTV News. "He was dope on another level. He innovated the live DJ experience a bunch of ways. His transitions from song to song were clever to the point you might be like, 'Damn, why didn't I think of that?' He did that while rocking the crowd."

Lantern said one of AM's strong points was that he didn't get lost in his mix while rocking those crowds. "It only got crazier when he linked with Travis Barker and had that extra element to add to the mix: a world-class drummer! You can watch clips of them online to see the routines they created. DJs definitely started pairing up with musicians for live shows after that. He was an innovator and inspiration to a whole generation of DJs that saw the success you could achieve if you stepped your game up and thought outside the box. With AM, It wasn't a party; it was an experience."

"AM just brought a crazy energy to his parties," Just Blaze agreed. "The way he'd put together the perfect blends of hip-hop, rock, dance and so many other genres is what gave him such a mass appeal. He was one of the few DJs that knew how to cross genres and boundaries without losing the crowd. That's one of the hardest things to do as a DJ. You please one part of the crowd, and then end up losing another. He knew how to keep the energy at 10 for the entire night. And while his team-ups with Travis weren't the first time a DJ teamed up with a musician for live sets, it was their common understanding of knowing how to blend genres that made their combination so great and easy to appeal to the masses. You've got to play for the people but separate yourself from the thousand other DJs out there. And he'd mastered that."

DJ Rich Medina, who is from Philly like AM, said the late DJ was a huge inspiration, not just because of his skill, but because of his business acumen. "His popularity in celebrity circles often overshadowed the fact that he was an absolute animal on the turntables and at the negotiations table," Medina said. "The charmed life of getting paid well to do what you love to do is something that we all strive for as entertainers, regardless of discipline. He nailed that consistently and always with truly individual style and grace. No one who has ever seen him DJ can deny his place among the very best to ever put the needle to the groove. He wasn't a coddled Hollywood tabloid dude. He was a beast of a DJ who really made it because of his skills, rather than nepotism or luck. People need to understand that fact."

	DJ AM: A Life In Photos

Even DJ Drama, who's one of the top three biggest names when it comes to spinners in the hip-hop genre, was amped to see AM do his thing when they spun together a few years back. "I was so excited to meet him, him being who he is," Dram said. "I heard so much about him. I was a fan. I remember when I got to the party, he was so hype. He told me he was excited to meet me. He called me 'the man,' and I'm looking at him like, 'Nah, you're the man.' He was down to earth and very humble. I was opening for him, he had top billing. He didn't come in on no Hollywood sh-- or nothing like that. He told me he'll get on when I finish. I appreciated that, coming from somebody that accomplished what he accomplished and was doing what he was doing."

DJ Stretch Armstrong said AM's success won't soon be duplicated. "There won't be anyone that can step into his shoes for the foreseeable future," he told MTV News. "I mean, maybe never, in terms of his skill level, his cleverness, his dexterity, the way his mind works, his depth of music knowledge and his ability to take ... his extremely high level of turntablism, battling ability and put that together into a package that's entertaining for not just DJs that really understand what he's doing, but anyone that's going out. Across the board, he could entertain and transfix anybody."

While an initial autopsy proved inconclusive, police say AM was found in his apartment with drug paraphernalia.

"Some people say he was given a second chance at life with surviving that plane crash [last year]," Medina said of his friend's passing. "Who knows what he was going through after that really, aside from him. I just wonder if his demons decided to disrespect his second chance, or if he was suffering so badly that he needed to escape."

Regardless of the way he died, AM will be remembered primarily for his skill and humility.

"I will always remember AM for his prodigious talents, his positive and respectful demeanor and for his template for success as a fellow DJ," Medina said. "We lost one of the best in the game. I am proud to say that I knew him and that I learned a great deal from him, despite his never giving me a formal lesson. Rest in Peace, Adam. We will miss you."

• Remembering DJ AM
• DJ AM's Last Interview With MTV News

• DJ AM: A Life In Photos

• DJ AM
• DJ Green Lantern
• Travis Barker
• Just Blaze
• DJ Drama

DJ AM and Travis Barker
Photo: Kevin Mazur/ Getty Images

Just over 24 hours after DJ AM was found dead by police at his New York apartment, his friend and collaborator, Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker, commented on his death via Twitter.

Barker, currently on tour with Blink, issued a series of tweets that read:

"Don't know how i am gonna play 2night but i am for AM. My brother is gone.i love u and miss u, i'll never forget all the good times we had. ...

"I'll never forget everything we've been thru and every time i play the drums i'll think of you. U were an amazing friend/DJ/human being. ...

"Rest In Peace my brother, this really f---s me up."

The pair, of course, performed together as TRV$DJAM in an unusual but highly effective DJ/drummer format, and were the house band at the 2008 MTV Video Music Awards, performing with Katy Perry, LL Cool J and Lupe Fiasco. Just weeks later, the two were the sole survivors of a fiery plane crash in South Carolina that killed four; Barker and AM (real name: Adam Goldstein) were returning to Los Angeles after a show.

Both were seriously injured in the crash but recovered, and made their first post-accident performance at the Lot in Los Angeles this past New Year's Eve.

In 2005, the pair told MTV News how they first got together. "Travis actually hit me up ... and was like, 'I dig what you do, I saw this drummer with a DJ [performing], and let's get down and try it out and try to make something funky;' " AM said.

"It's crazy, I saw [that performance] in a jazz club, [it was] like, mellow playing hip-hop stuff with a DJ," Barker recalled. "And I said, 'I'm gonna find the best DJ and do this right.' "

• Remembering DJ AM
• DJ AM's Last Interview With MTV News
• DJ AM And Travis Barker's Full 2008 VMA Performances

• DJ AM: A Life In Photos

• Travis Barker
• DJ AM

DJ AM and Travis Barker at the 2008 MTV VMAs
Photo: Jeff Kravitz/ FilmMagic.com

Before his untimely death, DJ AM rose through the ranks to become one of the most sought-after and respected turntablists in the music game. He then took his talent to new heights when he partnered with rocker Travis Barker to form TRV$DJAM, a unique hybrid act consisting of the Blink-182 drummer's skills and AM's mixing ability. They released several mixtape projects under the TRV$DJAM banner, including Fix Your Face Vol. 1and Fix Your Face Vol. 2.

The duo took their act to TV when they were tapped to serve as the official house band of the 2008 MTV Video Music Awards in Los Angeles. They weren't exactly the Max Weinberg 7, but that was exactly the point. The two dynamic musicians united to deliver a fresh take on an old formula, with AM creating a new standard for what it means to be a bandleader. They pulled off the gig with gusto and, more importantly, a passionate enthusiasm for the performances.

Katy Perry, Lupe Fiasco and LL Cool J all took to the stage with Barker and AM backing them. Their sets were unique and filled with the energy of a late-night jam session. AM immersed himself into each set; you would catch him mouthing the words to LL Cool J's tracks during the hip-hop legend's performance.

TRV$DJAM hit the road following the VMAs, and shortly after, they were involved in a plane crash that took the lives of the other passengers on their chartered flight out of South Carolina.

Four months after surviving the crash, Barker and AM reunited as an act for a New Year's Eve party in Los Angeles. They both remained close after the accident. Barker even recently tweeted about an upcoming trip to New York, sounding excited to arrive, perhaps to hang with AM, who was also in town.

"I look forward to playing tonight and then getting in some trouble later in NYC," he wrote on Twitter. "Got a studio in the city tomorrow, can't wait."

• DJ AM And Travis Barker's Full 2008 VMA Performances
• Remembering DJ AM
• DJ AM's Last Interview With MTV News

• DJ AM: A Life In Photos

• DJ AM
• Travis Barker

Travis Barker
Photo: Mark Sullivan/ Getty Images

Travis Barker has never been one to sit still. And when it came to his role in the reunited Blink-182, that wasn't necessarily a good thing.

"We all got together and met up and, almost immediately, we got inspired. So it went from just playing around together to being like, 'Let's lay down demos! And tour!' " Barker told MTV News. "And, to be honest, it was crazy. I was still recovering from all my surgeries [from his September plane crash], and was way out of it when we first got back in there. I was in no shape to be in the studio, and we were kinda held back a bit. We decided to just get used to playing with each other again."

So the trio scaled back their expectations — sure, there'd still be a record, but let's just get this massive, laser-packed arena tour out of the way first. And once they got that sorted, it all started clicking again.

"We just started practicing for the tour, going through the old sh--, playing the greatest hits — only we'd start experimenting on them a bit, working on different versions," Barker said. "So, it ended up that some of the old songs have new flavor to them, and then we also got around to making four demos, including one song that's pretty much complete."

That new song is called "Up All Night," and Barker said Blink fans can expect to hear it out on the road this summer. He calls it both "a logical step" from where the band left off [their darker, more mature self-titled 2003 album] and a hint as to where they might be headed in the future.

"When we do go in [to make the new album], it's gonna be like that. You can't help but have everything on the table ... all the stuff we've done — like +44 and Angels & Airwaves — since we last played and recorded, it will influence the new stuff," he explained. "In the case of 'Up All Night,' it feels like it could've been on the last record, or right where the last one left off. It's kind of heavy, if you mixed Box Car Racer and Blink. It all makes sense. The pieces are all together."

So just when can Blink fans expect to hear that new album? Well, there are no firm dates just yet, though Barker did say the band plan on entering the studio after they wrap their tour. Oh, and they'll also be working on it while they're on the tour too, because, once again, Barker refuses to sit still.

"I'll have the studio out on tour with me, and I think Mark will too. I wanna work on it while we're on tour," Barker said. "But that's just me. I'm taking it day-by-day. Loving life. Working."

• blink-182
• Travis Barker

Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Travis Barker, DJ AM, More At KROQ's Weenie Roast 2009

• Kings Of Leon
• Rancid
• Weezer
• Yeah Yeah Yeahs
• Travis Barker

M.I.A., The Killers, Lupe Fiasco, More At Coachella 2009

• The Killers
• M.I.A.
• Yeah Yeah Yeahs
• Franz Ferdinand
• Public Enemy

DJ A.M., Travis Barker Spin In Sin City

• Travis Barker

MTV News' Year In Photos: Britney, Heath, Twilight, More

• Beyoncé
• Jay-Z
• Mariah Carey
• Nick Cannon
• David Archuleta

People Magazine Features DJ AM

• DJ AM
• Travis Barker

The Game And Travis Barker On The Set Of The "Dope Boys" Video

• Game
• Travis Barker

Paris Hilton, Diddy, Timbaland, Janet Jackson, More Hit The Vegas Party Scene

• Britney Spears
• Justin Timberlake
• Timbaland
• Nick Cannon
• Lil Jon

The Game, Tyrese, Travis Barker, More At The Premiere of "Waist Deep"

• Game
• Travis Barker