Tag Archives: Club Paradise

MTV Jam Of The Week: Meek Mill Ft. Drake

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Meek Mill’s Dreamchasers 2 cut “Amen” has rubbed one Philly pastor the wrong way, but better believe that’s not holding back the MMG rapper. On Sunday Meek dropped his new video for the single and he made sure that all of his boys got in on the fun. The video begins after hours of partying, but eventually flashes back to debauchery from the previous night with Drake, and also includes footage with his Club Paradise tourmates Waka Flocka, J. Cole and French Montana.

Last week a Philly pastor launched a boycott against “Amen” claiming that the track was blasphemous, but Meek said his peace during a radio interview where he went in on the pastor for being a hypocrite. “This looking like you trying to get famous, or you need some attention, because you could have came to me and said anything you wanted to say,” Meek told him. “I might’ve helped you. If you needed money for your church or whatever I might’ve woulda gave you that money. I might’ve even remixed the song ["Amen"] with Kirk Franklin or anything you wanted to do. You went about it… like you looking for attention and fame.”

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Drake Wants To ‘Bring People Together’ With Third Album

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Every once in a while, Drake will remind us that he “got rich off a mixtape,” but now that the YMCMB rapper is coming up on his third album, he’s focused on sharing his evolution as an artist. Some of that change is a result of his experiences over the past couple of years, and his headline-making club brawl with Chris Brown this week should certainly factor in.

The two entertainers clashed in a messy fight at a New York City nightclub on Wednesday after exchanging heated words. It seems fair to say that Drake, who tends to address the ups-and-downs of fame in his music, will have plenty of new material when he starts recording this third album.

“I feel like with every project we do there’s growth and with every project I do, I become more comfortable with the artist I am,” Drake told MTV News’ Sway Calloway backstage at a recent stop on his Club Paradise tour. “Take Care solidified a lot of things for me. [It's] a list of things that would probably be too immense to go through, but it solidified a lot of things and let me know what I want to do, and who I want to be.”

The Toronto rapper, who has clearly reflected on the scope of his music, added that he’s pushed boundaries way past the standards. “The music that I make is bigger than the box people try and put rappers [in],” he said. “People always try to draw me back to just rap. And — nah, I’m good. I like what I do. Period. That’s how I feel. Nobody can really do what I do or what we do, including 40 and all the producers that I’ve worked with.”

Drake has already revealed that his third album will be very much influenced by recent events in his life, including his move to Los Angeles, but he also hopes it will have a lasting effect on people.

“[It's interesting] to see artists that have a real impact on the world,” he said. “We live in a generation where there is nothing necessarily to fight for politically, whereas in the Marley documentary [for example] he was fighting for peace in Jamaica. [There's] nothing necessarily for me to step up and say I want to fight for, but there is a way for me to give moments to the world, and to bear my emotions and hope that I’m remembered as that guy who was able to bring people together. I want to be that guy. I want to bring people together.”

The Weeknd, Dipset Join Drake At Club Paradise New York

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6e271 drake The Weeknd, Dipset Join Drake At Club Paradise New York

After a few days of making headlines for his fight with Chris Brown‘s entourage, Drake got back to the music on Saturday night, hitting the Nikon Theater in Jones Beach for his Club Paradise tour. In addition to his usual lineup, he along brought along a few surprises in the form of The Weeknd, Busta Rhymes, A$AP Rocky and Dipset.

Following opening sets from French Montana, 2 Chainz, Meek Mill, Waka Flocka Flame and J. Cole, Drake kicked things off with his Take Care tracks “Lord Knows” and “Underground Kings.” He formally introduced his crowd to the “greatest club in the world,” and assured them that no afterparty could measure up to what he had in store for the night, since he’d brought out “every single n—a that you wanna hear.”

Cue “Crew Love” and an appearance from Drizzy’s Toronto pal the Weeknd, who momentarily sent the crowd into a frenzy, as the first in a chain of surprise guests. In addition to summoning Waka, Meek, 2 Chainz and French Montana back to the stage for features, Drake also brought out his Cash Money labelmate Busta Rhymes to perform the throwback “Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Can See” plus A$AP Rocky and his mob to perform “Pretty Flacko.”

It wasn’t until Drake performed his soul-baring single “Marvin’s Room” that he finally made a blatant reference to the controversy surrounding the Chris Brown incident. He told the audience that he was in a great mood, despite the last few nights being difficult. Once he got that off his chest, he continued the show with an appearance from Jamaican dancehall star Mavado, who performed his own single “I’m So Special.”

Despite earlier rumors that Drake might be arrested before the end of the night,  the YMCMB rapper was calm and cool, focused only on delivering a night to remember. He saved his biggest stunt for the final minutes of the show, bringing Jim Jones onstage to perform his hit “We Fly High,” followed by Juelz Santana with “Dipset (Santana’s Town)” and finally, Cam’ron. If having A$AP’s crew on the bill wasn’t enough shine for Harlem, Drake managed to get all three members of Dipset on stage with him for a memorable moment as they performed “Salute.”

While details are still being revealed about the club altercation Wednesday night, Drake did his best to brush off the drama and stay focused on the music. This weekend, MTV News caught up with Cash Money CEO Birdman in Atlanta, where he threw his full support behind Drake. “To me, Drizzy ain’t did nothin’ wrong, he ain’t done nothin’ wrong to nobody,” Birdman said.  ”He just doin’ great music. He’s not a reckless guy out there just wildin’ out; he’s a humble kid makin’ great music.”

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Drake Will Outshine Summer Jam At Club Paradise Show

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YMCMB‘s brightest young stars, Drake and Nicki Minaj, hit a few rough patches recently thanks to that Summer Jam fiasco and a club brawl, but they’re set to make a strong showing when Drake brings his Club Paradise tour to New York on Saturday (June 16).

On Wednesday night, Drake visited Sin City Cabaret in the Bronx, New York, for Maybach Music Group’s Self Made Vol. 2 listening session, after which he revealed exclusively to DJ Scoob Doo’s new website BreadOverBed that he had a few surprises in store for his New York show.

“They f—ed up Summer Jam, so I’m just gonna do Summer Jam how it’s supposed to go,” Drake told Scoob, referencing Lil Wayne‘s decision to pull Young Money out of the show’s lineup after offensive remarks were directed toward Nicki Minaj. “I’ve got everyone you would want to see, plus people that you wouldn’t expect to see.”

Thus far, Drake’s tour roster includes Meek Mill, 2 Chainz, J. Cole, Waka Flocka Flame and French Montana, not to mention guest appearances from T.I., Rick Ross and Future, so it seems likely that additional members from his YMCMB family will join him on the bill Saturday.

During a heated radio interview with Hot 97 DJ Funkmaster Flex following her canceled Summer Jam set, Minaj promised fans that she would do a free show in New York to make up for the disappointment. Could an appearance at Drake’s show be on her agenda as well? Before Minaj and crew pulled out of the lineup, Lil Wayne was rumored to be one of her guests, along with surprise appearances from Nas and Lauryn Hill.

As Drake gears up for his concert, he’s still dealing with some fallout from a club brawl with Chris Brown in New York on Wednesday night, but the show must go on. Stayed tuned to MTV News and RapFix.MTV.com for continued coverage on Drake’s Club Paradise Tour.

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Drake Approaches Club Paradise Tour ‘Like An Athlete’

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Club Paradise isn’t just about what you see onstage. Drake wanted to create a tour vibe that could be felt in the crowd and backstage as well. Take his posh dressing room, with its candles, wine-colored couches and matching OVO throw pillows or his branded Club Paradise Styrofoam cups. For Drizzy, it’s all about the detail.

“Everywhere you turn, there are different rooms, different vibes. It’s kind of like I wanted to create a real atmosphere before show and after show,” Drake told MTV News correspondent Sway Calloway during his May 17 tour stop in Houston. “We paid very close attention to detail this tour, but all just for the greater good of the energy and the vibe.”

Still, most fans don’t get to experience Club Paradise‘s backstage magic, where on any given day tourmates J. Cole, 2 Chainz, Meek Mill, Waka Flocka Flame and French Montana can be found milling about. So while out onstage, Drake gives each show his all. The hour-and-a-half set is very taxing. “I think going onstage for me now, it’s a very physical thing. It’s 90 minutes, and I like to deliver records so that they sound like the actual song,” the Young Money shining star explained. “To be able to maintain that stamina is very difficult, and it’s become a profession in its own for me, as far as mastering my breathing, working out every day, eating different, not drinking as much, just taking my life a bit more serious.”

Drake came a long way from his first headlining tour in 2009. “So Far Gone Tour was just a blast. We were young, we were going place to place; now it’s very much like I treat my mind and my body in this whole approach like an athlete. I think that’s maybe the evolution that we’re talking about,” he explained. “Along with working with my vocal coach, just trying to get better, watching great performances and special moments.”

During his Houston stop, Drizzy brought out Rick Ross, and while in Atlanta on May 20, Drake welcomed hometown hero T.I. to the stage. “I feel like we’ve been pretty consistent on this tour with giving each city their own special moment,” he said confidently. “The performance is another element to my career that I want to challenge myself and get better at.”

What’s your favorite Drake performance? Tell us in the comments!

No Malice Supports Pusha T In Lil Wayne Beef

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3d65c pusha 1 No Malice Supports Pusha T In Lil Wayne Beef

By Sowmya Krishnamurthy

As the beef between Pusha T and Lil’ Wayne heated up musically this weekend, Pusha’s brother No Malice (formerly known as Malice of the Clipse) joined in via Twitter. “Well I LOVE Pusha! That’s my blood and I ain’t never kiss em” he tweeted yesterday, in reference to a controversial past photo of Lil’ Wayne and Birdman kissing that surfaced around a decade ago.

Birdman claimed in 2006 that the kiss was simply a father-son exchange, telling radio station Q93, “Wayne to me is my son – my first-born son – and that’s what it do for me.”

This comes on the heels of Lil’ Wayne’s dis “Goulish.” “F–k Pusha-T and everybody that love him. His head up his ass so i’ma have to head butt him,” Wayne raps on the intro to the record. “N—-s cant see me. Not even a glimpse. Too many banana clips, I feel like a chimps.” Wayne also tweeted “F— pusha t and anybody that love em” before releasing the track.

The cause for tension between Pusha and Wayne appears to stem mostly from Pusha’s “Exodus 23:1″ track that came out on May 23, although Wayne and the Clipse have shared a peppered past. “Contract all f—ed / Explain up I guess that means you all f—ed up / You signed to one ni— that signed to another ni— that’s signed to three ni— / Now that’s bad luck,” Pusha spits on the biblical-inspired cut, which many saw as an attack on Wayne’s YMCMB colleague Drake.

Drizzy himself apparently came back at Pusha on Friday (May 25) with his own two cents during the D.C. stop for his Club Paradise tour. “If you was doin’ 16s when I was 16 and your sh– still flopped and you switched teams don’t talk to me my n—a,” Drake allegedly said to the crowd while he stood on stage at the Verizon Center.

Expect more jabs between Pusha’s G.O.O.D. Music collective and YMCMB to follow.

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Drake Goes At Pusha T During Club Paradise D.C. Stop

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d9d61 drizzy Drake Goes At Pusha T During Club Paradise D.C. Stop

By Rob Markman

Lil Wayne isn’t the only one who took exception to Pusha T’s “Exodus 23:1.” Not long after Weezy dropped “Goulish,” his Pusha dis track fans are buzzing, claiming that Drake had some words for the G.O.O.D. Music MC during his D.C. Club Paradise stop on Friday evening.

“If you was doin’ 16s when I was 16 and your sh– still flopped and you switched teams don’t talk to me my n—a,” Drake allegedly said to the crowd while he stood on stage at the Verizon Center.

“Drake just responded to pusha T in dc,” tweeted @jcudderlife.

@youngking_XVO backed up the claim when he tweeted: “drake said some things about pusha in dc.”

Earlier this week Pusha Ton set things off after he leaked “Exodus 23:1.” On the track, the G.O.O.D. Music MC takes shots at unnamed targets, though fans began to speculate on hip-hop blogs and over Twitter that Pusha was taking aim at Lil Wayne and Drake. The Fear of God lyricist didn’t mention anyone by name, but he spit a line that many thought was a reference to Young Money, Cash Money and Universal’s three-tier business structure. “Contract all f—ed up, I guess that means you all f—ed up/ You signed to one n—a, that’s signed to another n—a, that’s signed to three n—as, now that’s bad luck.”

Back in 2006, Pusha’s group the Clipse and Weezy became tangled in a war of words, but in a 2011 interview with Complex magazine, Push talked about how he had moved past the beef with Tunechi.

“Ever since Lil Wayne went in to jail, that whole little stint [between me and him] is really dead and over with. I don’t have any ill will towards Wayne, Cash Money or any of them,” Push told the mag. “There was definitely a time period when I felt a certain way [about him], but as of right now I don’t.”

Many also believed that Pusha had taken aim at Drake when he dropped his “Don’t F— With Me” freestyle over Drizzy’s “Dreams Money Can Buy” beat last year. During an October interview with WGCI’s DJ Moon Dawg in Chicago, Push shot down any notion of beef. “You’re never gonna hear me say that I was dissin’ Drake or anything like that; I actually like him,” he said.

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Drake’s Says His Critics ‘Let Me Know That I’m Relevant’

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Drake understands that no artist is above criticism. So it’s not that Drizzy doesn’t hear his detractors, he just chooses to ignore them. At least that’s what he told MTV News’ Sway Calloway during a May 17 Club Paradise tour stop in Houston, Texas.
“There will be days when I walk in an arena and people will cheer and then there might be days when I walk in an arena and people might boo, but it all sounds the same to me because it’s all just noise that lets me know that I’m relevant,” Drake said, sharing some words of wisdom that was given to him by boxing champ Floyd Mayweather.

“I don’t get booed,” Drizzy continued. “I don’t face that. I mean he faces that challenge but my challenge is more with social media and open opinions and people just feeling like they need to talk.”

Drake’s music, and just about his every move, is dissected through the media as well as on Twitter and blogs. The fact that he sings as well as raps has made him a target for those looking to take away his hip-hop cred. Still, the “Headlines” MC remains one of rap’s most successful draws today.

Common called him out the OVO general on “Sweet,” a single from his 2011 album The Dreamer/The Believer. Many also believe that G.O.O.D Music’s Pusha T has also been throwing subliminal jabs at Drake, first on last year’s “Don’t F–k With Me” freestyle, then on his “Sweet” freestyle. Pusha has gone on record saying that he wasn’t dissing Drake and he actually likes the Toronto MC’s music, but after Push dropped his new single “Exodus 23:1,” speculation began to swirl that he was again taking aim and Drake and his mentor Lil Wayne. Weezy responded with a poignant tweet: “F— pusha t and anybody that love em.”

It is important to note that when he sat with Sway, Drake did not address Pusha T or any other rappers directly, but he did speak about his detractors in a very general sense. “It’s important for me to let my fans know I really don’t care. I’m confident,” he said sternly. “I love the music I make and the videos I make and the people I associate with and every decision I’ve ever made.”

For Drake, taking the stage on each stop of his Club Paradise Tour is all the assurance that he needs. “Just to let [fans] know that I don’t care about anything else outside of this right here,” he said from backstage at Houston’s Toyota Center, referencing the army of fans waiting for him to perform. “That other stuff, hiding behind computers and yip-yapping all day on radio stations, it’s like that’s cool, man, for points and popularity, but at the end of the day, there is still 15,000 people here.”

Have you seen Drake’s Club Paradise show yet? Let us know in the comments!

Exclusive: Drake Has A ‘Good’ Feeling About Justin Bieber Collabo

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Drake has a jam-packed schedule taking his Club Paradise Tour city to city, but the Toronto rap star still manages to find time to record, especially since he has a studio on his tour bus. Right after Club Paradise‘s last show in Boston, Massachusetts, Drizzy will begin recording new music, possibly for his next album.

“I’m really excited to start working on new music. I start like June 18,” Drake told MTV News correspondent Sway Calloway when the two met backstage in Houston on May 17.

“I got a studio bus out here so me and 40 started working on a couple joints the other night. Just getting warmed up,” he continued. “I did like the ‘Amen’ track for Meek [Mill] and I did ‘No Lie‘ for 2Chainz.”

Fans have already raved over Drizzy’s performance on both “No Lie” and “Amen,” which appears on the Philadelphia MC’s recently released Dream Chasers 2 mixtape. Still, the Young Money star has a few more collaborations that fans will hear in the coming weeks, one of them being French Montana‘s “Pop That.”

“I’m on French Montana‘s single; me, him, Ross and Wayne, which is a crazy lineup,” Drake said. “And then on Justin Bieber‘s record. I wrote a song for him as well.”

At the time of the interview, Drake wasn’t sure of the name of the Bieber record or if the song would even be included on Justin’s upcoming Believe LP. “Awkward Justin Bieber moment,” Drizzy joked after pondering the very slim chance that he wouldn’t make the final cut. “Yeah, we’ll see. It’s a good song though; produced by Hit-Boy.”

Well, Drake doesn’t have to worry. On Monday, the Biebs unveiled his Believe track list, and his fellow Canadian does appear on the song “Right Here.” We have no reason to doubt Drake’s word about “Right Here,” but we’ll all will just have to wait until June 19 when Believe is released to finally hear it.

Are you excited to hear Justin and Drake’s “Right Here”? Tell us in the comments

Meek Mill Gets A Gold Grill From Trae Tha Truth At Club Paradise Houston Stop

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By Carter Maness

Grills! They may no longer be at the top of hip-hop’s trends list anymore, but still, no trip to Houston is complete without getting a new one. Meek Mill, currently on Drake’s “Club Paradise” tour, got a couple new pieces last night as a treat from local rapper Trae The Truth.

MTV’s Sway Calloway was there to capture the magic moment. “Just got my move made. Trae Tha Truth treated me to a grill – a gold one,” the Maybach Music Group rapper said during a lighthearted backstage interview. “End up gettin’ a rose gold one, too.”

Paul Wall, the master of grills, fitted and advised Meek on his purchase. When pressed, he said that he would make sure Sway got his own grill in a style that had never been rocked before. “When we be in Houston, too, we really be in Houston,” Meek said pointing around the room at the local rap royalty. “We really f— with the grills. Somebody might really be on the lean. Trae Tha Truth is in the building. Paul Wall!”

Check out Wall at work as Meek Mill and French Montana get fitted right before they hit the stage for their “Club Paradise” performance last night (May 17).

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