Jin
Photo: Brian Appio

Rap tracks can definitely lend themselves to strange bedfellows; Nelly and Tim McGraw are a pair that comes to mind.

But battle MC Jin never imagined a song of his would actually lead him to (sort of) become friends with a presidential candidate. Yet that's (sort of) what happened when he posted a freestyle on his MySpace page titled "Open Letter 2 Obama," a pep-rally-like track honoring Democratic presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama.

"I put it up on my page, sent the MP3 out to different Web sites, just the standard protocol," Jin said of the track's origin.

"I don't think I've ever been interested and passionate about an election prior to this," he continued. "So I did the record, we put it out, and as things started growing traction, people from the actual campaign started reaching out to me. At first it started out with the [Obama] MySpace page sending me a message saying, 'Great song, we appreciate it, keep it up.' I wrote back like, 'Thanks, appreciate it.' Then another week goes by and they hit me up again, like, 'Yo, what's your profile address? We'd like to feature you in our top friends.' I'm like, 'Cool.' And next thing you know, I check it and I'm the top friend on that page, which was pretty ill."

Jin has since reciprocated the gesture, placing the Obama page as his top friend. But it's an unlikely connection considering the rest of the Obama friends consist of more conventional pages like "Moms for Obama" and "Oklahomans for Obama."

"If you really look at it on a bigger scope, it's a pretty big look [for me]," Jin said. " 'Cause you look up there, there's a list [with] a lot of various supporters ... [and] you have me up there with my joint playing."

The track — produced by and featuring Brooklyn, New York, rapper Pete Miser — is the first song that Jin put together for his next project, The Voice, a more scripted album, both topically and thematically. "It's a real simple theory," Jin said. "Everybody has a voice, and it's a matter of do you use it or not."

And Jin just happened to be reading about Obama when he decided to begin recording The Voice, which he hopes to release by the end of the year or early '08.

"One of the questions I kept getting asked — and this is before the campaign caught wind of it — was, 'Why did you do this record?' " Jin said. "And in my mind it was like, 'Well, I do this, or the record about the chick with the fat ass in the club.' [He laughs.] And I was like, 'Let me go with the Obama joint.'

"I started analyzing my career and the type of records that I've done," he continued. "At some point as an artist, you want to be able to say, 'All right, I've touched on this, I've touched on that, let me see how far I can go with it.' So I started looking into different candidates and just following the election. It's ill because it's part music and then just part me as a young man growing up. I came across Obama and I started looking into his stance on certain issues, his history and things he's done in the Senate. And I was hooked. This is the dude I'm rocking with."

Over the weekend, Jin even participated in Obama's "Walk for Change" event in Union Square Park in Manhattan. It's not something he planned to do, but it's furthering the reciprocal relationship between the two camps.

"Their campaign is taking a risk [associating with hip-hop], especially with the platform that candidates are on, they get scrutinized for everything," Jin said. "They could easily not recognize me at all. Easily. 'Cause it's a big liability.

"But outside of everything, just removing myself from the equation, and just observing everyone, there is just a sense of excitement and eagerness," he continued. "There's the natural way of donating to the campaign, but it's really about the excitement. I think people just wanna take their excitement and turn it into something tangible and just something that can actually contribute into getting this guy into office."

• Jin

Young Buck
Photo: Jason Campbell

Young Buck's court date in Los Angeles this week in connection with the melee at last fall's Vibe Awards was once again postponed, this time to October 25. The G-Unit rapper has already pleaded not guilty to assault with a deadly weapon. ...

When Burt Bacharach, the famous composer whose credits include "What the World Needs Now Is Love" and "I Say a Little Prayer," announced last fall he was working with Dr. Dre, music fans might've assumed he was just getting senile in his old age (he's 77). Well, the music is now actually coming out. His new album, At This Time, due November 1, features three tracks with drum loops provided by Dre. Elvis Costello, Rufus Wainwright and Chris Botti also appear on the album. ... Attention Bright Eyes fans in the St. Louis area: Your show will go on. Two weeks after he announced he was canceling a show at St. Louis club the Pageant because of the venue's association with Clear Channel Communications, Bright Eyes' main man Conor Oberst has found a new (non-corporate) home for the November 12 gig: the Jesse Auditorium on the campus of the University of Missouri - Columbia. The bad news? Tickets to the Pageant will not be honored (though refunds are available). Tickets for the new show go on sale through Ticketmaster starting Friday (September 30). ...

Here's some good news for any of the almost 57,000 Switchfoot fans who picked up a copy of the band's newest disc, Nothing Is Sound, at a Christian retail outlet and then, after buying the LP, wondered, "Gee, why can't I import these tracks to my iPod?" Turns out you threw money down on a defective album. According to a spokesperson for EMI CMG, which distributes Switchfoot's albums to Christian retail only, a manufacturing defect in the CDs' content-protection technology prevented fans from burning copies of the album or transferring the tracks to portable MP3 devices. Hence, the company's pulled all of the copies that were out there, and is recalling all of those copies that have been sold. Those who bought one of the defective copies (they've got the Sparro Records logo on them) and would like a fresh copy of the disc can return to the point of purchase for a new one. ... New Jersey rock act Thursday, who're currently composing material for the follow-up to 2003's War All the Time, want their fans to help them battle breast cancer — by designing a T-shirt, through the Shirts for a Cure Project. Proceeds from the sale of the winning tee will benefit breast-cancer organizations. It doesn't hurt that the winner will also get a boatload of autographed Thursday swag, too. Designs should be e-mailed to thursday@shirtsforacure.com before October 4. ...

Remember Jin? The onetime Ruff Ryders member declared "I Quit" a year ago, but now the Chinese-American MC is back with Emcee's Properganda (October 25), a 14-track album in which he asserts his love and respect for hip-hop history on songs like "Perspectives" and "Top 5 (Dead or Alive)." ... Alanis Morissette is putting out a greatest-hits album, and for her first single, she's planning to release the cover she did of Seal's "Crazy" for Gap's fall ad campaign, via a video she shot last week in Los Angeles with Meiert Avis. The Collection, due November 15, will include 19 songs, including tracks from her "MTV Unplugged" album and her contributions to soundtracks for "Dogma," "City of Angels" and "De-Lovely." "It was a torturous challenge to come up with the songs," she said. "Rather than seeing my songs as children, I view them as rooms in the big house that is my life. All of them are a snapshot of a period of time and a passage in my life." The Collection will also include behind-the-scenes footage, while a limited-edition two-disc set will feature an hour-long documentary. ...

A tribute album to late singer Elliott Smith, To Elliott From: Portland, is slated for release on February 7. Among the acts contributing covers to the set are the Decemberists, Helio Sequence, the Thermals, Crosstide and more. Elliott's former roommate, singer/songwriter Sean Croghan, covers the previously unreleased song "Hard Times." Ten percent of proceeds will go to the Elliott Smith Foundation's Free Arts for Abused Children program. ... Ozomatli, Blackalicious and Fishbone are among the acts that will perform at a Sublime tribute show on October 24 at the Music Box @ Fonda Theatre in Los Angeles. Members of Sublime and other special guests will also take the stage. All proceeds will go to MusiCares' Musicians Assistance Program and hurricane relief efforts. ...

As if MySpace wasn't mind-numbingly addictive enough, the masterminds behind the leading online gathering place have announced several new features geared toward its college crowd. Current students, as well as alumni, will now have the ability to rate their professors, list their courses, link up with classmates and proudly display their Greek affiliation on their user profiles. And for you naughty kids who like to jones on your professor, you can now rate them on a hotness scale. ... Reel Big Fish's Scott Klopfenstein has been hospitalized in New Zealand, where he'll remain for an indefinite period of time. Doctors there have been running tests on the multi-instrumentalist and singer, according to the band's manager. Signs of Klopfenstein's condition first emerged a few weeks back, in the form of partial paralysis and blurred vision. At this point, doctors have determined his illness could be one of two things: Guillain-Barré or Miller Fisher syndrome, both being rare, acquired nerve diseases characterized by abnormal muscle coordination, paralysis of the eye muscles, absence of the tendon reflexes, generalized muscle weakness and respiratory failure — all of which could be preceded by a viral illness. Reel Big Fish will continue to tour Australia and will play in Hawaii on October 10. ...

09.29.2005

Atlanta's Philips Arena was the site of the Heal the Hood charity concert a few weeks ago, and now Usher has announced he'll hit the venue for another benefit show. Usher has named his concert Project Restart and is calling on some of his friends who are major in the game to perform as well. The proceeds from the show, set for October 9, will go to the victims of Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita. Five thousand of the storms' evacuees who have relocated to Georgia will be given free tickets. Usher is also planning to enlist a few corporations to help find homes for 1,000 families who lost their residences in the hurricanes. ...

Britney's done it, Paris has done it, heck, even Beyoncé's done it — and now it's Hilary Duff's turn. The just-turned-18 singer is planning to launch a line of fragrance products next fall in conjunction with Elizabeth Arden, which previously partnered with Britney Spears on her Curious and Fantasy scents. "I love wearing a beautiful fragrance and don't feel completely dressed without one," Duff said. "I love to layer my fragrances with perfumes, body gels and dusting powders." She said she's looking forward to creating a line that is "fresh and innovative," that "everyone will enjoy wearing, including me." ... The leaked Fugees single "Be Easy" has a new name — the group is now calling it "Take It Easy." The trio's upcoming as-yet-untitled album is slated for release in early 2006. ...

Trina is readying her third studio album, Glamorest Life, due October 4. Her rep says it's "all about the best in life" as well as the rapper's "most personal work to date." It's also pretty stacked with guest appearances. Songs include first single "Here We Go" featuring Kelly Rowland, "Sexy Girl" featuring Snoop Dogg, "Don't Trip" featuring Lil' Wayne, "Shake" featuring Lil Scrappy and "Da Club" featuring Mannie Fresh. ... Despite tabloid suggestions to the contrary, Pink insists that she's not pregnant. "I might look like it, but I'm not," she wrote in a letter to fans on her Web site. She also wrote that she's still putting "finishing touches, tweaks here and there" on her new album. "I will settle for nothing less than my twisted perfection. (I think you all won't settle either)." As for her live DVD, she said she plans to release it with the album next year. ...

According to a post on Nine Inch Nails' Web site from frontman Trent Reznor, the group's drummer, Jerome Dillon, is in the hospital — his second stay this month. No further information was available at press time. "Just spent the day discussing touring up through next summer, then played our asses off to the least responsive audience I can ever remember playing to," Reznor wrote. "As I'm walking to the bus to leave Sacramento as soon as I can, I learn Jerome is back in the hospital. I have no idea what this means." ... Rob Zombie, Def Leppard's Vivian Campbell, Alice in Chains' Jerry Cantrell, former Marilyn Manson guitarist John 5, and former Sex Pistols guitarist Steve Jones will join Dave Navarro's covers band, Camp Freddy, on Thursday night (September 29) for a gig at Hollywood's Key Club. Proceeds will be donated to the American Red Cross New Orleans Relief Fund. ...

In what has become a monthly occurrence, the Recording Industry Association of America has announced its latest round of copyright-infringement lawsuits against alleged Internet pirates. This round targeted 757 individuals for illegally distributing music on services such as eDonkey, Grokster and Kazaa. Among those sued are students at 17 universities. In addition to the "John Doe" suits, 163 lawsuits were filed against named defendants earlier this month. ... Ex-Breaking Benjamin drummer Jeremy Hummel is suing his former bandmates, claiming he was unceremoniously booted him from the group and hasn't been paid the royalties he's due. According to the Wilkes-Barre Times-Leader, the suit, which seeks more than $8.25 million in damages, claims that back in March 2004, Hummel asked the band if he could take paternity leave for four to six weeks; he wanted to be with his wife for the birth of their first child. That request was granted, and Breaking Benjamin hired a substitute drummer. Seven months later, Hummel, who was still on paternity leave, got a call telling him he was out. The suit also claims Hummel doesn't receive profits from the band's second EP or for the two tracks Breaking Benjamin recorded for the "Halo 2" and "National Treasure" soundtracks. ...

Rolling Stones guitarist Ron Wood is planning to pen a memoir as soon as he's done with the group's current tour. Wood just inked a deal with Macmillan, after submitting a sample chapter and putting the project up for auction; the final bid reached seven figures. ... Adam Ant is also working on a memoir. Ant recently got a book deal for his autobiography, which he's calling "Stand and Deliver," with U.K. publisher Sidgwick and Jackson, who plan to put it out next fall. ... Now that Sinéad O'Connor's putting out her first reggae record, Throw Down Your Arms (October 4), she's going to head out on the road to support it with her first U.S. tour in seven years. Since her production team of Sly & Robbie were so instrumental in getting her to take on songs by Burning Spear, Peter Tosh, Lee "Scratch" Perry and Bob Marley, she's bringing them along with her as her backing band. O'Connor's 10-day trek kicks off November 28 in Minneapolis and wraps December 10 in Philadelphia. ...

Happy Mondays filmed a show in Barcelona, Spain's Razzmatazz club last December, and now the show is coming out on DVD. "Happy Mondays Live in Barcelona," due October 4, also includes soundcheck footage and an interview with frontman Shaun Ryder. ... Not to be outdone, fellow Brit band the Wonder Stuff are releasing a DVD of their own, called "Construction for the Modern Vidiot," also due October 4. This one includes footage from shows from 2000 through 2002 throughout England, including the Fleadh Festival and the Longest Day, as well as behind-the-scenes footage of "a life of doing the gigs for the very sake of doing the gigs, and nothing else." ...

• Young Buck
• Dr. Dre
• Bright Eyes
• Switchfoot
• Elliott Smith

Big Boi will perform in New York on Thursday (June 3) for the launch of Calvin Klein's new fragrance, "Eternity Moment." The scent may not be Klein's only new offering — the Outkast rapper is in talks with Klein to release a fragrance of his own. ... Andre 3000 is bringing his eccentric sartorial sense to the hip-hop masses. Or at least those with enough moxie to dress in plaids, suspenders and bow ties. The musician is floating the idea of launching a clothing line, Designs by Benjamin Andre, inspired by his own colorful look and the preppy style of Ralph Lauren. Andre says the line could be out next spring, although no plans have officially been announced yet. ...

Almost three years after Aaliyah died, a New York judge has determined that her record label can sue the video producer who booked the private jet that crashed in the Bahamas, killing the pop star. Justice Carol Edmean of the New York State Supreme Court ruled that Blackground Entertainment, of which Aaliyah owned 10 percent, was entitled to sue because the singer and actress was the prime "asset" of the company, and not an "employee." The production company, Instinct Productions, had tried to have a negligence lawsuit filed last November dismissed because Aaliyah was a company employee. The State Court of Appeals has previously ruled that an employer cannot recover damages when an employee is injured in an incident in which a third party is negligent. ...

Michael Jackson's former rabbi advisor, Shmuley Boteach, has blasted Madonna for what he deems a hypocritical endorsement of Kabbalah's Jewish mystic teachings. In an editorial for Something Jewish, Boteach writes that Madonna shouldn't be Kabbalah's most public figure, since she's a "slut." "Is the Kabbalah Center really so desperate that it is prepared to promote itself through a vulgarian whose main contribution to the culture is porn rock?" he wrote. Madonna's spokesperson called Boteach's comments "frightening for someone who professes to be a religious person." ... Three days after guitarist Trey Anastasio announced that Phish were breaking up, keyboardist Page McConnell assured fans that there were no hard feelings with an online post of his own. "As we wind down the Phish career, it is done with both great joy and great sadness," McConnell wrote. "The joy comes from remembering the incredibly good times we've experienced, the successes we've enjoyed, and knowing that even in our closing we are honoring the band." ...

U2's Bono, Coldplay's Chris Martin and several British actors have signed an open letter to Prime Minister Tony Blair requesting more aid money for the world's poorest countries. Jude Law, Colin Firth and Minnie Driver are among the others who signed the letter. ... Mandy Moore's line of vintage T-shirts featuring quotes from '60s, '70s and '80s pop songs is now on its way to stores, including specialty boutiques Fred Segal, Kitson and Theodore's. A portion of the proceeds will go to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. ...

The Hives compilation that launched the band in the U.K. in 2001 will finally be released in the U.S. on July 13, a week before the Swedish band's new album, Tyrannosaurus Hives, hits shelves. The compilation, Your New Favorite Band, features four tracks from both Veni Vidi Vicious and the Hives' 1997 debut, Barely Legal, along with three songs from the A.K.A. I-D-I-O-T EP. The U.S. release will also include a bonus DVD with videos for "Hate to Say I Told You So," "Die, All Right!" and "Main Offender." ... Nickelback, 3 Doors Down and Puddle of Mudd will hit the Wild Rose Ridge Amphitheatre in Bottineau, North Dakota, on July 3 for the third night of the seventh Rockin' the Hills festival. Live, Styx, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Peter Frampton, Firehouse, Tesla, Foghat, L.A. Guns, Warrant, Great White, Dokken and Jackyl are among the other bands performing from July 1-4. ...

Suge Knight got off the hook, but his Death Row Records was ordered to pay more than $162,000 to a man who claimed Knight and his bodyguards attacked him at a recording studio in 2001. Knight testified he was not in the studio at the time. ... Lil' Wayne's upcoming album, Tha Carter, has been pushed back until June 29. When the LP does come out, it will be the second version of the album the young Cash Money Millionaires star recorded. An earlier version was scrapped last year. ...

Twista is getting it all twisted. The speed-flow assassin has teamed up with Mobb Deep for a remix of Havoc and Prodigy's "Got It Twisted." ... Freestyle warrior Jin is finally set to drop his debut, The Rest Is History. Ruff Ryders has set August 24 as the release date for the young MC's LP. ...

If you want to live large like Jay-Z or Missy Elliott, you used to have to drop by Jacob the Jeweler's shop on 47th Street in New York's Diamond District. But now, out-of-towners can visit the king of bling's Web site at www.jacobthejeweler.com to get their custom iced creations. ... Perhaps the Jack White/ Loretta Lynn pairing served as inspiration? In the wake of his album with Neva Dinova and the launch of his own record label, Bright Eyes' Conor Oberst is keeping busy working on a collaboration with country singer Emmylou Harris. ...

Put a fork in the production of "What We Do Is Secret," the flick about the life of Darby Crash and the Germs. "A Walk to Remember" star Shane West was cast as Crash, Bijou Phillips plays Lorna Doom, and Lukas Haas portrays Don Bolles. The fate of the film — and its distribution — remains in limbo. ... Thursday and Funeral for a Friend have both covered Far, and now fans of the influential post hardcore/emo band can get the original version, along with new material. Far are re-releasing their 1998 album, Water & Solutions, with a DVD on June 22. ...

06.02.04

Missy Elliott, Outkast and Mary J. Blige were big winners at MTV Japan's Video Music Awards over the weekend. Missy won Video of the Year for her theatrical clip "Pass That Dutch," Outkast won Album of the Year for Speakerboxxx/ The Love Below, and Blige took home an award for Most Impressive Performance. Other winners included Asian favorites Kick the Can Crew, Japanese pop singer Ayumi Hamasaki and Janet Jackson, who nabbed the Inspiration Award. ...

Paula Abdul, who penned "Spinning Around" for Kylie Minogue in 2000, plans to continue writing for other artists while she works to get her comeback record off the ground. "I might as well do that if I can't get out and perform," she said backstage at the "American Idol" finale. "Idol" is still the singer's first priority, however, as she enjoys nurturing the contestants during and after the season. "I'd probably breast feed all of them if I could," she joked. ... After years of keeping it real, Lil' Kim might be sporting something that isn't quite genuine. The rapper's signature line of Queen B Royalty Watches, which are expected to be in stores at summer's end, features a face framed by faux diamonds. ...

When the Ozzfest tour isn't causing terror, destruction and mayhem, second-stage bands Lamb of God, Atreyu, Unearth and Every Time I Die will attempt to approximate that effect with a series of dates known as the "Off-fest." Their trek begins in Richmond, Virginia, on July 7, three days before the actual Ozzfest begins, and includes 13 dates before wrapping up August 3 in Tallahassee, Florida. ... Fountains of Wayne will release "Hey Julie" as the third single from their breakthrough third album, Welcome Interstate Managers. The band is touring through mid-July, after which Adam Schlesinger will focus on writing music for a Broadway musical based on the 1990 John Waters movie "Cry-Baby." ...

Sheryl Crow, Jack Johnson and G. Love & Special Sauce are among the artists scheduled for the Jazz Aspen Snowmass festival September 3-6. Lucinda Williams, Steve Miller Band, David Byrne featuring Tosca Strings, Lyle Lovett and Donavon Frankenreiter are also performing at the event, at Colorado's Elk Mountain Range. ... British experimental pop band Blur have started working on their eighth studio album, which they're basing on singer Damon Albarn's limited self-released Democrazy. Blur have spent a week recording in the studio and plan to return for another two weeks of recording in September. No release date is set. ...

Flamboyant English rock band Manic Street Preachers have finished recording four tracks for their seventh studio album with producer Tony Visconti, and they're working on the remainder of the disc with Goldfrapp mixer Tom Elmhirst. Tentative track titles include "A Song for Departure," "1985," "The Love of Richard Nixon" and "To Repel Ghosts." The band hopes to have the album out by the end of the year. ... Mars Volta guitarist Omar Rodriguez-Lopez will release his debut solo disc, A Manual Dexterity - Soundtrack Volume 1, on August 16. The Mars Volta are currently working on the follow-up to their 2003 album, De-Loused in the Comatorium. ... Danzig have bumped the release date of their new album, Circle of Snakes, to the last week of August. The track "1000 Devils Reign" will be serviced to radio in June. Other tracks include "Skincarver," "Netherbound," "Hellmask" and "When We Were Dead." ...

• Aaliyah
• OutKast
• Madonna
• Phish
• Twista

Christina Aguilera was forced to cancel the final two nights of her British tour due to a case of acute bronchitis. The singer, who was ordered to rest for 10 days, missed Monday's show at the Telecast Arena in Newcastle and Tuesday's at Manchester's MEN Arena. ...

Linkin Park celebrated the upcoming release of their Live in Texas CD/DVD with a special screening at Los Angeles' Regent Showcase Theatre on Monday for fans and friends, including members of Taproot. "Welcome to our big Hollywood premiere!" singer Chester Bennington said, greeting family at the door. ... Chinese-American rapper Jin was involved in a scuffle early Sunday morning in New York's Chinatown that resulted in one man being shot. When an argument erupted at the Yellow Bar between an unnamed man and Jin — an MC who earned respect in rap battles on BET and MTV's You Hear It First Tour and had a cameo in the film "2 Fast 2 Furious" — another man, Christopher Louie, attempted to intervene and was shot once in the back with a .40 caliber gun. The gunmen fled and Louie was taken to a local hospital, where he's expected to fully recover. ...

Not to be confused with James Garner's '70s shoot-'em-up series "The Rockford Files," Jay-Z and Dame Dash's record label is releasing The Roc Files on December 16. Included on the compilation of some of the Roc's noise-making singles will be Jay and Memphis Bleek's "It's Alright" and the classic "Full of Smoke," from the now defunct R&B duo Christion. ... A Los Angeles U.S. Court of Appeals judge has determined that the Beastie Boys won't have to pass the wallet to composer James Newton, who sued the band in 2000 for looping his flute recording "Choir" in the 1992 song "Pass the Mic." Last year, the Beasties won the original case when a California court determined that the group paid ECM Records sufficiently to sample Newton's six-second, three-note sequence, and was therefore not guilty of copyright infringement. The appeals judge upheld the decision. ...

Seminal hip-hop group Brand Nubian are reuniting for a fifth album, to be released by the indie label Babygrande Records next year. All the original members — Grand Puba, Sadat X, DJ Alamo and Lord Jamar (fresh from lockdown on the TV show "Oz") — will be included on the album. ... Motörhead frontman Lemmy Kilmister is working on a solo album between commitments with his main band, and planning to release it late next year or early 2005. So far, he's recorded five tracks; two feature the Reverend Horton Heat and two were created with the English punk group the Damned. ...   After six studio albums and 13 years together, Face to Face have reached the decision to cap their career. The band's final album, How to Ruin Everything, was released last year, and the Southern California trio played the Vans Warped Tour this past summer. Singer/guitarist Trever Keith is planning a CD/DVD retrospective, while he and bassist Scott Shiflett are working on the second album for their side project Viva Death. ... Perhaps the only thing cooler than starting the new year with the Strokes is doing it in the city of sin — the New York quintet is slated to play Las Vegas' Cox Pavilion on New Year's Eve. ...   This year's Take Action Tour was the annual trek's best year ever. The 27-city outing, which featured headliners Poison the Well as well as the Dillinger Escape Plan, Further Seems Forever, Avenged Sevenfold and Shadows Fall, took in more than $367,000, of which $37,000 benefited the National Hopeline Network 1-800-SUICIDE, a suicide prevention hotline. ... Dillinger Escape Plan, meanwhile, will tour with experimental screamers the Locust starting January 14 in Sauget, Illinois, and running through March 3 in Denver. ...

A four-song EP, 'Merican, will drop two months before Southern California punk pioneers the Descendents release their first studio album in seven years. The as-yet-untitled LP is due in March, while the EP is scheduled for January. ... Ex-Dokken bassist Jeff Pilson took the stage with former Dio drummer Vinny Appice, Warrant guitarist Erik Turner and Bonham singer Chas West at the Key Club in Hollywood on November 7 to raise money for the Station Family Fund. Great White also performed. ...

11.10.2003

Police in Gwinnett County, Georgia, have issued an arrest warrant for 28-year-old rapper Juvenile on charges of failing to pay child support to the mother of his 6-month-old daughter. The Cash Money Millionaires member neglected to show up for a hearing in August on the matter but the warrant was only obtained this week. ...

No longer content with making a splash on cable and in theaters and record stores, 16-year-old Hilary Duff is coming to network TV. The "Lizzie McGuire" star struck a deal with CBS to star in a family-oriented comedy for the 2004-05 season. ... At their London show Sunday, N.E.R.D. were joined by Justin Timberlake for nearly their entire set. The same thing happened at the band's Edinburgh, Scotland, show immediately following last week's MTV Europe Music Awards on November 6. ...

Linkin Park are releasing a single for fans only on their Web site on Monday (November 10) — a live version of "From the Inside," which will appear on the band's upcoming Live in Texas CD and DVD. ... Hoobastank and Story of the Year have been added to the upcoming Linkin Park tour, which also features P.O.D. The trek will start in the beginning of January and run through the end of February. Hoobastank's new album, The Reason, comes out December 9. Story of the Year's debut, Page Avenue, came out September 16. ...

A maker of diet pills has filed a federal lawsuit against Britney Spears, seeking relief from accusations made by the pop star that they improperly used her image in the promotion of Zantrex-3, after she was reportedly seen spilling a bottle from her bag while at Heathrow Airport a few months ago. A spokesperson for the singer called the ad unauthorized, but Zoller Laboratories continues to promote the link between the singer and its product on a Web site for the pill, at www.zantrex.net/britney.htm. Zoller, along with DG Enterprises and Basic Research LLC, said in their lawsuit filed in Utah's Federal Court on Friday that they have never used Spears' image in advertising. ... Meanwhile, Britney wants to meet you — well, if you buy her new album, that is. She's staging a signing on November 18 at New York's Virgin Megastore in Times Square, where the first 500 people who purchase In the Zone that day at that store (beginning at 9 a.m.) will have the pleasure of the singer personalizing it for them. ...

System of a Down will play their only North American show of 2003 on Saturday with the Red Hot Chili Peppers for a benefit at the Palladium in Los Angeles. Proceeds from the concert will go to the Warshaw Center for Prostate Cancer Research and the Silverlake Conservatory of Music, a school founded by the Chili Peppers' Flea. ... Viggo Mortensen, who plays Aragorn in "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy, is working on a solo album called Pandemoniumfromamerica. The disc will feature guest appearances by head Hobbit Elijah Wood, Guns N' Roses guitarist extraordinaire Buckethead and Travis. The record will be available later this month through Percival Press, and will include songs, instrumentals and spoken-word performances. ...

A Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, couple is suing Justin Guarini for rear-ending them on March 12, 2002, before he became well-known as the first season "American Idol" runner-up. The lawsuit, filed Friday, seeks more than $100,000 for injuries Louis Maiatico suffered to his back, neck and side. Guarini was originally cited for following too closely and paid a $100 fine. ... Kelly Rowland, Tori Amos and Seal are among the artists who have contributed remakes of 1950s songs for the soundtrack to "Mona Lisa Smile," due November 25. Rowland covered Duke Ellington's "I'm Beginning to See the Light" for the movie, which stars Julia Roberts, Kirsten Dunst, Julia Stiles and Maggie Gyllenhaal and opens December 19. ...

Who better to launch his own line of lingerie than a man who's probably seen as many panties as a Victoria's Secret stock boy, Tommy Lee. The former Mötley Crüe drummer and renowned ladies man will reportedly start his skivvies venture in the spring. ... No Doubt and Sting are the first two performers announced for the 2003 Billboard Music Awards, taking place December 10 in Las Vegas. Additionally, the former Police frontman will receive the Billboard Century Award in recognition of his body of work. The ceremony airs live on FOX at 8 p.m. ET. Award finalists are expected to be named soon. ...

Marilyn Manson's song "Use Your Fist and Not Your Mouth" will be featured in the upcoming "Spawn Armageddon" video game. The track was featured on Manson's most recent album, The Golden Age of Grotesque. The game is being produced by Todd McFarlane and is scheduled for release on November 26. ... Soulfly frontman Max Cavalera has hired Terry Date to mix the band's next record, which will be produced by Cavalera. The group, which has had a revolving door lineup recently, will consist of Cavalera, guitarist Marc Rizzo (ex-Ill Nino), bassist Bobby Burns (ex-Primer 55) and drummer Joe Nunez (ex-Stripping the Pistol). The band recorded nine songs at the Saltmine Studios in Mesa, Arizona. Tracks include "The Prophecy," "Living Sacrifice," "Defeat U" and "Mars." ...

Zakk Wylde will begin recording material for the next Black Label Society album next week. The follow-up to The Blessed Hellride, which dropped in April, is expected to surface in the spring. ... If you've ever wondered what English pop star Damon Albarn does while touring the U.S., you're about to find out. The Blur/ Gorillaz frontman's first proper solo album, Democrazy, is a scattered collection of demos and ideas that were roughly recorded in hotel rooms while on the road this summer in support of Blur's latest, Think Tank. But this kind of insight is only for the diehards. Only 5,000 copies will be pressed on vinyl and released in the U.K., via Albarn's own Honest Jon's label, on November 24. ...

Guy Speranza, 47, the original singer of Riot, died on November 8 from pancreatic cancer. Speranza performed on the band's first three studio records, 1977's Rock City, 1979's Narita and 1981's Fire Down Under. Speranza's replacement, Rhett Forrester, was murdered in Atlanta in 1994. After leaving behind his career in music, Speranza worked as an exterminator in Florida. He was diagnosed with cancer last spring. ...

Deck the halls with boughs of emo — Conor Oberst is putting out a Bright Eyes Christmas album for sale only on the Web site of his label, Saddle Creek Records.

Starsailor will launch a 16-date North American tour on January 15 in Detroit. The outing, in support of their LP Silence Is Easy, wraps February 12 in San Diego. ... Anthrax have added two more weeks to their tour. The first new show is November 29 in Leominster, Massachusetts, and the final scheduled date is December 14 in Clear Lake, Iowa. ...

• Christina Aguilera
• Linkin Park
• Jin
• Jay-Z
• Beastie Boys

Common
Photo: Walik Goshorn

NEW YORK — After getting the requisite questions out of the way — "Is Brooklyn in the house?" and "Where my ladies at?" — Jin, the diminutive 20-year-old Chinese rapper and the latest addition to the Ruff Ryders camp, asked a question to the crowd at B.B. King's, there to see MTV's You Hear It First Tour: "Where the f--- are my Asians at?"

Those in the crowd screamed to make their presence known. "Yeah," Jin said, "shout out to all nine of ya'll."

Jin, dressed in a white Ruff Ryders warm-up jacket with his name embroidered in green on the front said, "Hip-hop is all about interaction. I talk to you, you talk to me." And he started his set with a call-and-response song called "Oh No!" from his forthcoming debut album, Almost Famous (October 7). Shortly after that, he brought out his "big brother," fellow Ruff Ryder Drag-On. The two of them performed a freestyle, which ended with the classic hip-hop the "song's over" sound: shattering glass.

"Who's drinkin' tonight?" Jin asked as a segue into the next song, the one where Jin and Drag-On promote Drag's new material by performing "Put Your Drinks Down," the first single from his upcoming album, To Hell and Back, due on September 16. "What we gon' do is party right now. So get out your seats and put your drinks down," the two chanted.

Next up came "Peel Off" from the "2 Fast 2 Furious" soundtrack, the movie in which Jin appeared as "a fake-ass mechanic." "Who saw the movie?" he asked. The crowd applauded faintly. "Who's gonna rent it at Blockbuster?" Another lukewarm reply. "Who's gonna watch it on UPN when it comes on [on a] Saturday?" The crowd erupted into applause.

After "Peel Off," Jin took a moment to introduce himself to the crowd. This was, after all, a You Hear It First moment. So Jin gave his 30-second autobiography: "I wanted to get a record deal. No one would give it to me. So I went on [BET's] '106th and Park' [where he won the freestyle competition on Freestyle Fridays for seven straight weeks]. And I got a deal through Ruff Ryders. It's the good old-fashioned American way."

Then he urged the audience to scream "f--- you!"

Not because of the way he got a label deal, but because he was going into his next song about the "haters," "I Don't Know," which led him to his last song of the night.

"If you like Chinese food, make some f---in' noise!" he said, and the beat dropped on "Learn Chinese," the first single from Almost Famous, which features Wyclef Jean. On the song he assures us that we're "all gon' learn Chinese" and we'll even want to be Chinese.

When Jin finished his set, he said, "You know what? Ya'll gon' learn Chinese." Then, as he was leaving the stage, he joked, "but I barely speak that sh--."

Next up, as signaled by the banjo music, came a slimmed down Bubba Sparxxx, wearing, but not for long, a black button-down shirt and a white T-shirt underneath.

He opened with "We Ready" and went right into "Lovely" before talking to the crowd. After reminding everyone that he was from the backwoods of Georgia, he said he had a very special announcement to make: "My father is in town tonight. He came from a dirt road in Georgia. And he been drinkin' too!" He asked that the audience say a special chant to bring his father out: "Jimmy Mathis please come out he-ah!" "That's simple enough even for New York," Bubba cracked. When the crowd called for Johnny, an overweight, overalls-and-aviators-clad man wearing a straw hat and swilling a beer emerged from backstage and the new song "Johnny Mathis" from Bubba's upcoming album, Deliverance (September 16), began playing as Bubba's "father" roamed the stage. To prove his southern roots once again, Bubba ended his songs not with shattering glass, but with the crow of a rooster.

Then things started getting ugly. Bubba ripped off his shirts and threw them into the crowd as "Deliverance" began playing, on which he lovingly talks about his "fishing pole and bottle of 'shine" before handing the stage over to DJ Scientist, who is also a country boy and was wearing a Rolling Stones tongue-logo T-shirt. Bubba asked, "Hip-hop started in New York, right? I'm just a simple-minded country boy so I do be forgetting stuff sometimes." Then he offered a "buffalo nickel to anyone can find a better DJ."

DJ Scientist dropped the "Ruff Ryders Anthem" and cut it up into a drum-and-bass song, which got the crowd cheering and dancing immediately. The DJ did a little breakdance move and then put on the Notorious B.I.G.'s "Hypnotize," to which Bubba, still shirtless, started belly dancing. Then DJ ScienTIST turned "Hypnotize" into "Mary Had a Little Lamb" with fancy fader tricks. When he put "Good Times" on by Chic, he started mixing not only with his hands, but with his feet and knees as well, while he spun around, played backwards, licked his fingers and pushed his glasses back up at the same time.

When the DJ set was over, Bubba's hype man asked the audience if the in-shape Bubba looked pretty. Bubba answered before anyone else could. "I know I'm pretty, but I sure do see a lot of ugly sons of bitches in the crowd tonight." And then Bubba's first single "Ugly," from his debut album, Dark Days, Bright Nights, kicked in with its Timbaland-produced bounce beat. When the song was over and Sparxxx ripped his set, he kindly told the crowd, "Bubba loves you."

Anthony Hamilton, the epitome of a neo-soul singer with his dreadlocked, trucker hat-clad band, and wearing his own camouflage version with the word "obey" on it, opened his show with theatrical singing by him and his three backup singers. Hamilton ran through his collaborations, which included Tupac Shakur's "Thugz Mansion" and the Nappy Roots' Grammy-nominated "Po' Folks" before moving on to his own new material. From his debut album, Coming From Where I'm From (August 26), he performed "Charlene," a song "about a relationship gone wrong." He finished the set by raising his right fist in the air and walking quietly off the stage.

Everyone was ready for the headliner, Common, by the time the hour after he was supposed to be off the stage finally rolled around.

Common got to the mic and welcomed the crowd. "We gonna party tonight like we in the basement of your mother's house ... all you see around you is family. I'm going to be your host tonight. My name is Common."

Also wearing a camouflage hat and a khaki shirt, Common, who sported a bushy beard and a diamond earring, opened the hour-long set with "Soul Power" and then moved into "Time Travelin' (A Tribute to Fela)."

At the end of "Nag Champa (Afrodisiac for the World)," Common barely spat the lyrics while doing the Robot.

"Me and Mos [Def] were on the horn [one day]," Common explained of the next song, and applause broke out when Mos' name was mentioned — either because it was a crowd of his fans or because they knew what song was coming. "He said that when you rock that sh-- in New York, you know you got to be live." Then, he said, he got call-waiting. "Ya'll know Talib Kweli?" The crowd cheered again. When he was on the phone with Kweli, also apparently getting performance advice from him, Common asked, "What do you want me to say?" His answer? The opening line to "Respiration."

At the end of the song, strobe lights came on and Common started doing the Pogo. "Scream!" he yelled as "Electric Wire Hustler Flower" began. The frenetic energy got the crowd nearly moshing and had Common thrashing about on the stage, banging the mic stand on the floor so much and so hard that it bent in half.

Then, calming down a bit and taking a page from his friends the Roots' concert playbook, Common, backed by a live band, started singing Nas' "The World Is Yours" as he began a selection of old-school rap songs. From that, he went into an initials medley: the Notorious B.I.G.'s "Big Poppa," and then the Wu-Tang Clan's "C.R.E.A.M." From there, he went into his own early-'90s song "I Used to Love H.E.R." He then played what could be called the follow-up to that song, his collaboration with the Roots, "Act Too ... The Love of My Life." Common moved straight into Run-DMC's "Sucker MCs" and then the Pharcyde's "Passin' Me By" before Audio 2's "Top Billin.' " He concluded the trip down memory lane with his own recent hit, the collaboration with girlfriend Erykah Badu, "Love of My Life."

"We like to kick it, but we like to slow it down, too. Show a little love," Common said. "People love cars or chains or rims. But we're here to love ourselves, the Most High, and our mates as reflections of ourselves."

With that he chose a woman from the audience to come onstage to serenade for "Come Close." The woman, Kristin, knew every word to the song to sing back to Common and didn't even mind when Common, drenched in sweat, gave her a big bear hug.

Of course, it was after he escorted Kristin off the stage that Common mopped himself off and told the audience, "This is one love that I can't shake," as his shoulders twitched. "Hip-hop, hip-hop, hip-hop," he repeated as the lights came up and down. "The foundation of hip-hop is the DJ," he said as he introduced DJ Dummy.

DJ Dummy played Rob Base and DJ EZ Rock's "It Takes Two" as he spun with his back to the turntables, his eyes closed, and even with a woman all hugged up on him.

Common performed a freestyle rhyme with the chorus, "Girl, It's a freestyle," before going into "Funky for You," during which he jumped into the crowd and danced for fans.

He ended the show with an extended version of "The Light," so he could introduce the Electric Circus players and thank everybody for attending the basement party.

Funked-up circus music played for about 10 minutes, until Common, standing center-stage, flashed a black power fist and then a peace sign before the lights came up.

For more sights and stories from concerts around the country, check out MTV News Tour Reports.

• Common
• Jin
• Bubba Sparxxx
• Anthony Hamilton

Alicia Keys has set a November 18 release date for her as-yet-untitled second album. "You will be hearing some new music by the beginning of September," she wrote on her Web site, referring to the first single. "The album is bangin'! And wait till we hit the road again!" ...

Drag-On's second album, tentatively titled Hell and Back and featuring the first single "Put Your Drinks Down," is due September 16 via a new partnership between Ruff Ryders and Virgin Records. The labels' second release together, Jin's Almost Famous, is due October 7. ...

Staind and Godsmack lead the pack with four nominations apiece for the 16th annual Boston Music Awards, while respective lead singers Aaron Lewis and Sully Erna pulled in additional nominations for Best Male Vocalist. Other nominees for the September 4 event include John Mayer, Aerosmith, American Hi-Fi and Powerman 5000. ... Metallica frontman James Hetfield has contributed the track "Don't You Think This Outlaw Bit's Done Got Out of Hand" to the Waylon Jennings tribute album I've Always Been Crazy, which comes out August 19. Other tracks were recorded by Kid Rock and Kenny Chesney ("Luckenbach, Texas"), Ben Harper ("Waymore's Blues") and John Mellencamp ("Are You Sure Hank Done It This Way"). ...

Josh Groban has recorded a version of the Linkin Park B-side "My December" for possible inclusion on his next album, according to the Los Angeles Times. The classical singer is also collaborating with ambient techno group Deep Forest and producer Walter Afanasieff (Mariah Carey). ... The All-American Rejects will drop a DVD, Live From Oklahoma ... The Too Bad for Hell, on September 30. Live footage for the disc was captured at a May 30 show in Tulsa, and bonus material includes the bandmembers showing off the sights of their hometown of Stillwater. ...

Sevendust will showcase material from their upcoming album during a five-week tour that begins July 19 in Nashville, Tennessee. Dates run through August 28 in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. The tentative title for the group's new record is Seasons, and it's scheduled for release in October. ... Coal Chamber have finally thrown in the shovel. In a post on the Web site for his new band Pinata, guitarist Meegs Rascon wrote, "My time with Coal Chamber was one of the most fun and rewarding times in my life. However, it was time for everyone to move on." Coal Chamber vocalist Dez Fafara has a new band called Devildriver, whose debut record is due later this year. ...

Rare studio tracks and concert cuts, including a cover of Cole Porter's "Night and Day," can be found on Norwegian troubadour Sondre Lerche's Don't Be Shallow EP, due September 23. Lerche begins a North American tour with Liz Phair July 30 in Denver. ... If a band called the Finger, with members Warren Peace, Irving Plaza, Rick O'Shea and Jim Beahm, and with a debut album entitled We Are F--- You/Punk's Dead Let's F---, sounds too cool to be real, it is. The Finger is really the goofy, but SST-style punk side project of Ryan Adams and Jesse Malin. The album is set for release September 23. ...

07.11.2003

Scott Weiland was due in a Burbank, California, court to face drug charges Friday (July 11), but the case was continued until July 18 because the Stone Temple Pilots/Velvet Revolver singer is still in rehab in Florida, according to a court clerk. ... Though Marion "Suge" Knight remains in custody pending the scheduling of his parole revocation hearing, his sure-to-be-controversial memoir is moving forward. "American Nightmare/American Dream" promises to dish not just about the rap mogul, but also on Dr. Dre, J. Lo and Snoop Dogg. It's due in November through Riverhead books. ...

Gwen Stefani's L.A.M.B. clothing line for LeSportsac has quietly launched, with handbags and accessories available online and in stores. Check out the items — some with woven guitar-strap handles — at LeSportsac's Web site. ... Puddle of Mudd, Trapt, MXPX and Damone will perform a the Nokia T-Mobile Ramps & Amps Invitational July 19 at Randall's Island Park in New York. The free event will feature top athletes in freestyle motocross (including Pink's boyfriend, Carey Hart), vert skateboarding and BMX. ... Björk will perform with Matmos and the Icelandic String Octet on a nine-date North American tour beginning August 8 in San Francisco. The Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Will Oldham (under the moniker Bonnie Prince Billy) and the Matthew Herbert Big Band will open on various dates. ...

The members of Simple Plan stood dazed and spattered in blood in a Los Angeles building on Wednesday, but they weren't injured. They were taking part in a photo shoot for the most graphic anti-fur ad yet from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. The campaign, titled "From Her Back to Yours," features the group standing behind the carcass of a dead fox hanging from the ceiling. ... Master P's 13-year-old son, rapper/actor Lil' Romeo, will be starring with his dad in the TV comedy "Romeo," which debuts September 13 on Nickelodeon. Victoria Jackson, best known for her years with "Saturday Night Live," will play the family nanny. ...

Uh-oooh! Lumidee's joining Bow Wow on tour in August and DMX on a college tour later this year. Dates and other details have yet to be ironed out. ... With the Rolling Stones as headliners, tickets have neared the half-million mark for the star-studded Molson Canadian Rocks for Toronto Concert on July 30. The event — organized with the hope of boosting morale in Toronto, where tourism slumped due to a SARS outbreak — will also include Justin Timberlake, AC/DC, Rush, the Guess Who, Sam Roberts, the Flaming Lips and the Isley Brothers. ... Trapt will headline the 29-date Jim Beam Tour, set to get underway on July 22 in Boston, according to Pollstar. Rockers Smile Empty Soul and 3 Days Grace are also on the bill. ...

Jermaine Dupri and Da Brat are featured on "Miss P," the first single from Dupri's latest protégés, Cherish. The artists shot the video Monday in Los Angeles with director Darren Grant (Destiny's Child). "They have tremendously raw talent — sisters who each have the potential to be lead singers," Dupri said of the group, whose debut, The Moment, is due in the fall. "They are the new Xscape." ... Mandy Moore has set an October 21 release date for Coverage, which will feature interpretations of classics by Joni Mitchell, Carly Simon, Elton John and more. "I could've done a whole Elton cover record," Moore wrote on her Web site. ...

• Alicia Keys
• Jin
• Godsmack
• Metallica
• The All-American Rejects

Common
Photo: MCA

Common and Bubba Sparxxx are teaming up with up-and-comers Kenna, Anthony Hamilton, Jin, the Exies and Fiction Plane to take the emerging artist showcase You Hear It First on the road.

The artists, most of whom have been featured as part of MTV News' weekly new-artist series, have signed on for the first MTV You Hear It First Tour. The trek's rock leg — featuring sets from Kenna, the Exies and Fiction Plane — will kick off July 15 at the House of Blues in West Hollywood, California. An urban leg — featuring Bubba Sparxxx, Common, Anthony Hamilton and Jin — gets rolling on July 27 in New York.

Since its launch in early 2000, the YHIF franchise has spotlighted a steady stream of artists who were relatively unknown at the time, including Sean Paul, T.A.T.U., the Vines, Ms. Dynamite, Rooney, the Mooney Suzuki, the Distillers and others. Bubba Sparxxx, the Exies, Fiction Plane, Anthony Hamilton and Jin are all YHIF alums.

Here's how the MTV You Hear It First Tour breaks down:

Kenna, the Exies and Fiction Plane

• 7/15 - West Hollywood, CA @ House of Blues
• 7/18 - Anaheim, CA @ House of Blues
• 7/21 - Las Vegas, NV @ House of Blues

Common, Anthony Hamilton, Bubba Sparxxx and Jin

• 7/27 - New York, NY @ B.B. Kings
• 7/28 - Washington, DC @ 930 Club
• 7/29 - Philadelphia, PA @ Trocadaro
• 7/30 - Boston, MA @ Roxy

• Common
• Bubba Sparxxx
• Kenna
• Anthony Hamilton
• Jin

• Jin

MTV.com LIVE: Jin Photos 10.04.2004

• Jin

MTV.com Exclusive: Jin

• Jin

Jin: You Hear It First Photo Gallery

• Jin