Real Music People

It was reported a while back that Missy Elliot would be the focus of the June 29th season premiere of VH1’s Behind the Music. Executive producer Brad Abramson said back then “Missy was great and very candid. She talked for the first time about her [near fatal bout with] Graves disease, which she’s been battling for the last few years, and spoke in detail about the sexual abuse she experienced as a child.” Now, the rapper has opened up further about her battle with Graves and why she’s been MIA for the past few years. Missy said “You live with it the rest of your life. I couldn’t write because my nervous system was so bad. I couldn’t even use a pen.” Despite her health issues, Missy said she’s lost 30 lbs and is currently in the studio with Timbaland. I’m in awe of her strength and perseverance. I can’t wait to hear her new music.

Chris Brown recently posted a message on his website saying that he was recording some music with MIA. The R&B singer wrote “Was in the studio with the incredible M.I.A and Polow!! Amazing artist! Real talent.” Producer Polow da Don also confirmed the collaboration on Twitter, saying “In the lab with the great @ChrisBrown THE LAB WIT THE GREAT @chrisbrown and the incredible @_M_I_A_ Thank you, Dear Lord! I’ve waited on this moment my whole career!!!! It’s happening. Magic is upon us. Let’s go!!!!” That’s one collaboration that I never saw coming but I can say that I’m intrigued, especially with Polow’s enthusiasm.

MIA recently announced via her Twitter that she will be releasing a new mix tape, called “Vicky Leekx”, which is set to drop on New Year’s Eve. The rapper wrote “vicky leekx mixtape coming new years eve! layin bad minds to rest 2010!” I hope that MIA returns to form with this mix tape and won’t serve us any of that obnoxious pretense that her last album was filled with. I’m cautiously optimistic about her new music offerings. What do you think? Can MIA come out with some great hits or do you think she’ll give us more duds? Bring in 2011!

It looks like someone isn’t too pleased with MIA. But then again, with how the female rapper usually acts, who’s impressed? MIA recently released a new song called ‘Bedroomtothehallwaytotheroadtotheworld’ via her website last week, which didn’t make her former producer Diplo too happy. Apparently, the song wasn’t exactly paid for. Diplo later went on Twitter to call MIA out, saying “@_m_i_a please stop leaking the songs you didnt pay me for…” That has to be embarrassing. Though I have to say that he shouldn’t want to take credit for mediocre music. He should have just settled this matter privately and saved himself from critical reviews.

MIA performed at the Big Chill Festival in the UK this past Saturday but the rapper had to cut her set short by 30 minutes because hundreds of fans began climbing on stage. She invited a couple of people from the audience up on stage for her song ‘O Saya’ but more people came up than expected, forcing security to shut down the show. An estimated 500 people managed to climb up and a spokesperson for MIA said that the rapper “thanked the wonderful audience at the Big Chill for the fantastic reception and apologized for having to cut the set short due to overwhelming demand for fans to come on stage when only a few were expected.”

MIA is featured in the July 2010 issue of GQ magazine. The 34-year old rapper shared details on her dream wedding outfit as well as what her life was like as a child. MIA talked about what she wants to wear in her wedding saying “I’ve always wanted to get married in a white suit. I used to work at a Kodak lab in England, cutting photos after they’d come out of the wash, and in one I saw this couple getting married on a beach in white suits, and their kid was there.” That would definitely save some money instead of getting a dress that you only get to wear once.

It seems that MIA was very mad about her cover story in New York Times Magazine that she went on her Twitter and posted writer Lynn Hirschberg’s phone number. The article tackled the rapper’s crazy political views and that even though she is married to the son of a billionaire, MIA is still ghetto. The writer spoke about MIA’s actions saying “It’s a fairly unethical thing to do, but I don’t think it’s surprising. She’s a provocateur, and provocateurs want to be provocative…[it's] infuriating and not surprising.” Lynn also said that she has no plans on changing her number even after MIA’s Twitter post.

MIA is never one to shy away from controversy. The rapper has recently taken a stand against websites Google and Facebook, claiming that they’re owned by the CIA and used as a means to monitoring the public. She said “Anybody who is called the government is right. And anybody who isn’t called the government is not right… And you know, all governments are connected to Google, and all governments can shift their search engines so only what they want you to see comes up… I want kids to be aware of this digital circumstance… Everyone on the Internet is like, ‘Oh my God, come and join Facebook!’ They’re all so optimistic… and really, everyone is fucking you up behind the screens. And I don’t like that. It makes it difficult for me to interact with my fans knowing that. Google and Facebook were developed by the CIA, and when you’re on there, you have to know that.” Talk about conspiracy theories.

The redheaded kid who was fake-executed in the controversial MIA music video is paying a price for his participation. Sources are saying that Shakira’s people had edited out his close ups from her new project due to the gruesome scene he did. Ian Hamrick was slated for a feature role in the Latin singer’s new video for the song ‘Waka Waka’, the official tune of the 2010 World Cup. Ian had already shot several scenes for Shakira’s video but most of it has ended up on the cutting room floor. It’s being said that producers don’t want World Cup fans thinking about an execution. Ian will still appear in the video but only in a crowd shot.

MIA has a new music video out that’s making its rounds on the internet. For many, the footage may be hard to watch but it’s still surprising to find out that YouTube has officially banned the video because of the graphic violence that it displays. Give me five minutes and I’m sure to find dozens of videos on the site that are worse than MIA’s video. Beside, doesn’t YouTube have parental controls? The rapper posted a message on her Twitter suggesting that her label bosses UMG were behind the band but later went back on to clarify that they weren’t.