Your dude, Drizza…

covers the February/March issue of Complex Magazine & he had some of this to say…

As smooth as your entry to the rap world was, you only stumbled when people questioned your choices, like the video for “Best I Ever Had.”

Drake: You can do something you believe in and people will still say, “This [bleep] is terrible!” But I still believe in Kanye’s vision. Maybe we didn’t do a great job with getting the point across—it was supposed to be a humorous video. When I read the comments, I was like, Man, I guess no one wants to laugh anymore. Everybody wants the fairy tale, you know?

How’s the atmosphere at Young Money now that Wayne is about to go to jail?

Drake: We don’t really talk about it. It’s surreal to me still. I guess on the day that it really happens, I’ll start thinking about what I gotta do. I wanna have a talk with Wayne and ask him what he needs from me.

You and Wayne share an ability to cross over to diverse groups. What do you think it is that attracts polar-opposite groups to enjoy your music? Is it the Young Money affiliation alone?

Drake: I’m not talking about a thousand rounds in a chopper or payin’ 24, 23. It’s just delivery. One of my favorite rappers in the world, Jeezy, is somebody who loves my music. For him to not only co-sign what I’m doing but also to want to make music with me is crazy. Wayne had this conversation with me like, “You’re in a position where you could be a star. Not just a rapper star. A true star.” Me being biracial, me being from Canada but having success in the States, I have all these moments in my life where I’m jumping roof to roof. Black to white. Singing and rapping. My mom’s friends listen to my music and don’t feel weird about it. They feel weird listening to Wayne.

At the moment, you’re in Atlanta working on Thank Me Later, but mentioned you still need to get in the studio with Wayne.

Drake: Me and Wayne have done so much already, but if anybody has a repeat feature on this album, it’d probably be Wayne. We have a formula, a musical bond that works when we come together. I just wanna do it super-big—bigger than “Every Girl,” bigger than “Best I Ever Had.” I’d love to have a number-one record with Wayne. That’s the only record on the album that I think that way about.

Peep the behind-the-scenes footage of the photo-shoot!

You can read the entire interview with Drake at Complex.

Is he the best rapper you’ve ever heard? Sound off peeps! Leave your comments below!

Heart ya for it!

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Guys & dolls,

Allow me to re-introduce to you….DUNCAN DANIELS! The Sho Stoppah!

Hotness!

So I first met Duncan in New York City at the Amebor launch party where he performed. BANANA’s! He definitely had the crowd rocking and the ladies…well [smile]!

Duncan is an American musician, producer, and song writer of Nigerian origin. He was born in the U.S., in Boston, Massachusetts to be exact. but was raised in Europe and Nigeria. He later moved back to the U.S. and attended the Berkley College of Music in Boston Massachusetts, earning a graduate degree in Music Production & Engineering.

He recently released the highly anticipated music video for his hit song “LIKE THIS” featuring super talented rap artist and 2009 MTV Best New Act & Best Hip Hop winner, M.I.

Peep the hot new vid below…

What I am loving about Duncan is that he brings to life a very diverse mix of Pop, Rock, and R&B. As an artist, he brings a unique style of musicianship into the industry to suit the modern urban radio era. In short, brother is sweet, musically!!

So we caught up with Duncan to chat about his new video…

FaraiToday.Com: Tell us how the concept for the video came about – it is hot by the way!

Duncan Daniels: Yeah, the song is definitely that “feel good” music! I wanted simple yet artistic, hot look & feel to the video to go with the song. So I thought of the things are showcased in a magazine and in a way I wanted to showcase myself as an artist to my audience, to my fans given that this is the first official music video I have put out…

FaraiToday.Com: Nice! So what was the set like and how did the M.I. collabo come about for the music video?

Duncan Daniels: The set was on point! It was shot in a studio in green screen. We had all the right people working with us, from the director to the make-up artists, ward-robe people to the models. The entire video crew, everyone knew what they were supposed to do and they made it do what it do, you know what I mean?

FaraiToday.Com: Yeah, definitely is reflected on your music video…very nice!

Duncan Daniels: Thanks! Also, since I produced the track and I wanted a rap artist that could represent Africa in the international scene the best. No other person came to mind except M.I, “Mr. Incredible” himself!  Chocolate City was wonderful in making it possible for M.I to record his part of the song and sent it to me via the internet. Thanks to modern technology too [laughs]…

FaraiToday.Com: Wow! So was the entire video shot and post-produced in Nigeria?

Duncan Daniels: Yes the entire video was shot in Lagos Nigeria. The visual and graphic editing was handled in Port Harcourt, Nigeria. I handled the audio and the final picture color correction here in Boston, Massachusetts.

FaraiToday.Com: I have to say, I love the way you portrayed the African models in your video. Was it a conscious decision to keep them classy but in a sexy way? And not degrade women as most western music videos do, especially the hip hop videos?

Duncan Daniels: Most certainly it was! Glad that you picked up on that because just a few people have noticed that too. I had watched alot of music videos and in most cases, the Black lady models come on looking all artificial, lusty and almost nude…not the look I wanted for my music video. I wanted to take a different approach in how I portrayed the models. I wanted the ladies in my video to look sexy, natural and classy. My aim was to sell the African Natural Beauty to the audience and not sex. So I was involved in choosing the models and I also picked out the wardrobe, jewelry and other accessories. Oh, hair and make-up was handled by Linda Denis and her sisters. They are up-and-coming make-up artists in Lagos, Nigeria and I think, they did a magnificent job on the set too.

FaraiToday.Com: Awesome job man! Tell us a little about “Sho Stoppah” and what should music lovers and fans expect?

Duncan Daniels: Well this album is kind of an invitation for fans to get to know Duncan Daniels, the artist better. There will be lots of surprises, music wise and …I will keep the suspense on that…[wink]

FaraiToday.Com: [laughs]….in other words, GET SHO STOPPAH when it comes out people! Thanks for allowing us a sneak preview of it….LOVING IT! You pretty much have everyone covered on it…Ok, when does Sho Stoppa drop and where can people support and buy your CD?

Duncan Daniels: Sho Stoppah drops in Febuary 2010 and will be available world wide via iTunes and also in music stores in Africa, USA, UK and Canada.

FaraiToday.Com: New Year is coming up…what is some of your goals for 2010?

Duncan Daniels: Expanding Dunkishrock Productions which is my production company. I definitely wanna reap the fruits of my labor because I really went hard in 09! Fans should expect more music and videos.

FaraiToday.Com: 2010 is around the corner, any shout-outs to your fans out there?

Duncan Daniels: Thanks for all the support!! I wouldn’t be where I am without y’all. I will need all your support in the new year cause we have lots of stuff up coming up. Look out for the new Dunkishrock.com website coming January 2010 and join the Duncan Daniels Fan Page on FaceBook. Thank you.

FaraiToday.Com: Thank you! Gracias! All the best in 2010! Sho Stoppah for real!

Pick up your copy of Duncan’s Sho Stoppah CD when it drops in Feb 2010! This is the album cover.

Hope you enjoyed our convo with the Sho Stoppah himself, Duncan Daniels…tell us what you think of his new video featuring M.I. “LIKE THIS“…leave your comments below!

Toodles!

Mary is making her rounds, pushing her album, “Stronger with Each Tear” which drops this coming Monday…

Hearting this new single of hers, ‘I AM”…check her performance & interview below!

TV Host Jimmy Kimmel had the Queen of Hip Hop herself on his show yesterday…MJB looked uber fab in that one shoulder dress!

She discussed Christmas shopping for her children, her wardrobe malfunction, guest-judging on American Idol and co-executive producing on the soundtrack to the movie Precious…

Drop us a note, we love to hear from you!!!

Toodles!

Hola guys & dolls,

Celeb couple Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith hosted the Nobel Peace Prize Concert this past Friday in Oslo, Norway. The couple was joined by their adorable children, Jaden (11) and Willow (9)…those kids are just so adorable! Too cute! Love the Afro on Jaden!

The Nobel Peace Prize Concert, which was held at the Oslo Spektrum, honored this year’s Nobel Peace Prize winner, President Obama.

Artists from all over the world — included Westlife, Natasha Bedingfield, Lang Lang, Toby Keith, Donna Summer, Alexander Rybak, Luis Fonsi, Esperanza Spalding, Amadou & Mariam, and Wyclef Jean — gathered to help spread the message of peace and celebrate this year’s Nobel Peace laureate.

Host of concert, Will Smith

Host of concert, Jada Pinkett Smith [not fond of this look for Jada]

Jaden Smith

Willow Smith

The Nobel Peace Prize Concert will be televised early next year.

Will & Jada also interviewed President Obama…

Part One

Part Two

Cheers!

Photo: Getty Images / Zimbio

Hey there!

So the music video “Do you think about me?” featuring Fif & Viv premiered on Vevo, the premiere destination for premium music video and entertainment.

Oh boy! The song is great! Love the beat but do we have to be so “self destructive” in how we portray our relationships with one another? [pun intended!] I mean smashing the room, slashing tires, voodoo dolls and blowing up the building? That serious? What message does this send to little girls…in particular little Black girls? That this is how you react when you are let down in love?…not good!

And I do adore and love Vivica A. Fox but not sure if this vid is a good look for her…or Tamala Jones for that matter….just sayin’! Let us know what you think of the video, yeah?

Mariah Carey and Rihanna attend the launch of VEVO

So a new Hulu – like online portal for music lauched in New York City on Tuesday night! And celebs U2′s Bono, Rihanna, John Legend, the Canons [Mariah Carey & Nick Canon], Ciara, Lady Gaga, John Mayer, Taylor Swift, and Google CEO, Eric Schmidt, music executives, Clive Davis, LA Reid, and Tommy Mottola attended the launch party.

According to PC Magazine, Vevo is backed by YouTube with content partnerships with Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment, EMI Music, AT&T and CBS Interactive Music Group. So far, Vevo offers over 14,500 videos from 5,000-plus artists for more than 20 genres.

50 Cent and Mary J. Blige attended the launch of VEVO

John Legend at the launch of VEVO

Rihanna attended the Vevo launch in NYC

Ciara was there too.

Cheers!

Photo: Getty Images, WireImage, Essence

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Sade is back with a brand new single called “Soldier of Love” from her new album Soldier of Love…check it out below! What do you, what do you think???? Let us know how much you are hearting her new music & how excited you are that Sade is back with some real music!

Her highly anticipated new album will be released in February 2010.

As most of you guys know, Sade is a Nigerian-born singer, song-writer, producer and composer. She was born in Ibadan, Nigeria to Nigerian dad [from the Yoruba ethnic group] Bisi Adu, a lecturer, and a British mom, Anne Hayes, a nurse. Sade’s proper name is Helen Folasade Adu and her stage-name, Sade is taken from her Nigerian name Folasade.

My favorite Sade songs are [in no particular order]; No Ordinary Love; Cherish The Day; Nothing Can Come Between Us; Is It A Crime?; Your Love is King….

Cannot wait for her new album to drop!

Enjoy! Toodles!

Nigeria’s 27-year-old Kevin Chuwang Pam is the US$200,000 winner of the Big Brother Africa “Revolution”. His first teary words after beating the 24 other participants were “I feel like Obama right now.”

The BA English graduate had said that if he won the Big Brother Revolution he would spend his money creating an entertainment empire and share some of it with his family and friends.

According to his profile on the Big Brother website, Kevin has a BA in English Language and has 7 siblings. He’s proud to be Nigerian because Nigerians stand out and survive any situation – “which is why you’ll find a Nigerian almost anywhere. ” A Manchester United fan whose hobbies include rapping, Kevin would like travel to Hollywood to see a movie in the making there.

Bow Weezy was in Africa too and he performed at the Big Brother Finale….

Bow Wow’s exclusive interview about his first time trip to Africa…

Well alright Bow Weezy!

He talks about his experience in Angola…ok someone in his camp shoulda told him that Angola has been in intense civil war from 1975 to 2002, hence some of the imagery he saw there and the tight security for him.

Not sure I would compare Luanda (Angola’s capital) or Angola itself to Johannesburg because Jo’burg is a mega-city that is well established. Also Angola is the fastest growing economy in Africa and one of the fastest in the world, so it is in the midst of major transformation….

Ok, the “mosquito” thing for me is overrated. Like how come when I go home, I do not notice them like that?

Kudos to Kev for the big win! Holla!

Aloha guys & dolls!

Busy weekend no doubt! Kudos to Patience for a SOLD-OUT concert featuring Africa’s best & beloved, Oliver “Tuku” Mtukudzi… They are rocking in Toronto, Canada as we speak!

So celebrity photographer Derek Blanks just twitpic’ed pictures of former Destiny’s Child group member, Michelle Williams’ recent photo-shoot with him…the jacket is BANANAS!

Nice look this…very reminiscent of Lady Gaga! The red boots are absolutely divine!

Fresh! Derek does amazing work! He recently shot singer, Fantasia and actress, Wendy Raquel Robinson for their photo-shoots.

And of course he also recently did Nene Leakes and the other cast members of the Real Housewives of Atlanta…

Derek is also known for doing amazing “alter ego” celebrity shoots. Derek titled this one of Michelle, “judge not” and it is a church setting. Not surprising because Michelle was raised in a Christian family, singing in the church choir before she became back-ground singer from R&B singer, Monica…

She then joined Destiny’s Child & the rest you know already [smile]…All of the above are Michelle portraying different church characters. My favorite is the woman in purple with her hand raised in worship…as if to say “there is something about that name JESUS!”

Fresh look…

Sayonara! Peace!

Photo: Derek Blanks

Jigga whaa!?!!

And Oprah is going to be free-stylin’. What?!?

“Like O to tha P to tha R, ripping rhymes to tha A for tha H….Hov watch out! Holla!” [smile] – where the royalties??!

This South Africa Heritage Day is going to be poppin’…

Glad that they agreed to disagree on the “N” – very tastefully done too!

Ciao!

Goapele Mohlabane, born to an exiled South African political activist father and New York-born Jewish mother, the songstress reveals a more confident, open and sensual side with the video for her new single “Milk & Honey” …

Milk and Honey – Goapele from goapele on Vimeo.