Rapper Common and video vixen Rihanna have both landed opportunities to show-off their acting skills in a new television pilot and upcoming movie.
Common has been cast for a lead role in a new AMC show called "Hell on Wheels."
Common will star as a half-black, half-white freed slave in "Hell on Wheels," a show about the building of the Transcontinental Railroad in the 1860s. The role of Elam is Common's first leading role on television, according to AMC's press release. The two-time Grammy winner has also had roles in the films "Just Wright," "Date Night," "Terminator Salvation" and "Smokin' Aces." The pilot will be shot in Alberta, Canada, next month.
An AMC executive has confirmed the network's decision to tag the rapper-turned-actor.
AMC's senior vice-president of programming Joel Stillerman said: "Common brings a layered intensity to a very complex role. This part required someone who can transcend the stereotypes of the period and bring the character to life in a truly unique way, and he brings that."
Rihanna will make her move into Hollywood in a blockbuster set to drop in 2012.
The 22-year-old pop star is set to make her film debut in Peter Berg's "Battleship" movie, set for release in May of 2012. Variety reports that Rihanna's deal was closed on Monday, though her role has not yet been confirmed. Filming on the summer tentpole will begin shortly in order to meet its release date. "Battleship" offers a fresh take on the classic board game, where naval forces unite on the high seas to battle an alien armada. Taylor Kitsch ("Friday Night Lights") and Alexander Skarsgard ("True Blood") have already been cast as two sailor brothers who partake in the fight.
Common's last movie, Just Wright, opened in theaters last May.
"Iron Man 2" has fought off all competition at the box office for a second weekend, boasting new earnings of $53 million. Ridley Scott's epic "Robin Hood," starring Russell Crowe as the legendary British outlaw and Cate Blanchett as Maid Marian, settled for second place with $37.1 million on its debut weekend. Amanda Seyfried and Vanessa Redgrave's romantic comedy "Letters to Juliet" debuted at three with nearly $13.8 million in earnings, while new basketball comedy "Just Wright," starring Queen Latifah and hip-hop star Common, debuted at four with takings of $8.5 million.
Eminem and Rihanna’s chart-topping collaboration “Love the Way You Lie” touches on an issue close to home for both stars—domestic violence. Despite the song’s content, Rihanna had no second thoughts about jumping on it.
“It’s something that we’ve both experienced on different sides, different ends of the table,” she told “Access Hollywood.” “[Eminem] pretty much just broke down the cycle of domestic violence and it’s something that people don’t have a lot of insight on.”
A victim of abuse herself, Rihanna knew the rapper reached out for reasons other than the obvious. “Eminem is an artist of class and I knew if he sent me a record there must be something to it. It couldn’t just be, ‘Oh, duh! She was in that relationship so we have to get her.’”
The words resonated with the pop star, plus it didn’t hurt that she thought the track was a hit. “The lyrics were so deep, so beautiful and intense. It’s something that I understood, something I connected with, which made me think it was a hit and I want to be a part of a hit, so of course I couldn’t say no to Eminem.”
The video for “Love the Way You Lie” was shot last week in Los Angeles and co-stars actors Megan Fox and Dominic Monaghan. It is expected to premiere sometime this week.
Grammy-winning singer Rihanna has revealed her interest in linking back up with Drake to record some new music.
Rihanna recently said she was impressed by the rapper's emcee skills.
While Rihanna may have broken Drake's heart, she still has love for his music. The pop superstar says the Young Money rapper is on her playlist. "Right now I'm listening to Drake, Jay-Z, Kings of Leon, Ke$ha," she told E!'s Ben Lyons during her recent trip to Israel. When asked whether she foresees a collaboration with Drizzy, she said, "I hope so 'cause he's really, really talented, and I think he's one of the illest lyricists out there right now, so I would love to work with him.
Recently, Drake talked about feeling inferior during his short-lived relationship with Rihanna.
"She's just such an overwhelming and incredible person," Drake said in an interview. "And such a talented person and someone that I was like, 'I can't believe I'm here talking to this individual,' that she just gave me that feeling like when I was 17 years old trying to take Nikki Ramos, this girl from Toronto, out on a date and she never wanted to go with me. She never would go; she would have a million excuses why she couldn't talk to me. That's how [Rihanna] made me feel, she made me feel small; she made me feel nervous. It just put me back to the Acura in Toronto, feeling like Aubrey Graham, not Drake."
Earlier this month, Drake explained referencing their relationship on his Thank Me Later debut.
And on "Fireworks" there's a verse about Rihanna, who asked him last year to write a song for her new album; the two soon began seeing each other regularly, though they never publicly confirmed their brief relationship. "I was a pawn," Drake said. The song he wrote for her never got released. "You know what she was doing to me? She was doing exactly what I've done to so many women throughout my life, which is show them quality time, then disappear," he said. "I was like, wow, this feels terrible."
He previously spoke on working with Rihanna for her Rated R album.
"Rihanna has a great album," Drake said in an interview. "She's got great records that she's using, she's got great records that she's not even using that she has for a later date. I'm excited for her. She deserves everything that she gets...We did do some great work together and hopefully it'll find it's place on some project one day. The record we have is great. It's a special record, so for it not to make it, I know something had to click. It's all good. I think the project's gonna be great no matter what."
R&B singer Rihanna's rider, or list of items requested, for her Last Girl on Earth world tour has hit the Internet and includes specific demands pertaining to her dressing rooms.
Each item has been described in released contractual documents.
With the U.S. leg of Rihanna's 2010 world tour scheduled to kick off next month in Auburn, Washington, concert promoters are preparing to deal with the singer's very specific backstage demands. According to her tour rider, excerpted below, Rihanna (real name: Robin Fenty) is rather particular when it comes to candles, flowers, and seating in her dressing room. A six-foot couch needs to be "White, Cloth, Plush (No leather)" and "wide enough for her to stretch out on and sometime take a nap." Animal print throw pillows ("Cheetah, Leopard") cannot have sequins. Since Rihanna's arena digs are often locker rooms normally occupied by basketball and hockey players, the spaces need to be spruced up with "Icy Blue Chiffon" placed atop drapery and "Archipelago Black Forest Candles." The bathroom, of course, must be "spotless," and the toilet has to be deep cleaned before the star's arrival. Rihanna, 22, also requires a large throw rug (plush, with an animal print) in her dressing room. The rug, her rider notes, "must be CLEAN, as she will walk on it barefoot." Though perhaps shower slippers or flip-flops are advisable considering the sweaty occupants who normally fill these spaces.
Her nationwide tour is scheduled to begin in early July and run through late summer.
The tour will begin in Seattle on July 2 and make 25 stops, including Los Angeles on July 21 and New York's Madison SquareGarden on August 12, before concluding on August 25 in Chicago. Tickets go on sale at LiveNation.com on Friday (April 9). Additional dates will be announced.
Rapper Nicki Minaj was initially slated to join the tour before removing herself last spring.
"When I first heard about the possibility of touring with Rihanna, I was thrilled to be included on the ticket. I admire Rihanna as an artist and I know it would've been a killer line up. I'm disappointed that the timing won't work, but I hope we'll be able to revisit the opportunity in the future."
She has since been replaced by Gym Class Heroes' Travis McCoy.
Travie McCoy is one lucky guy. The Gym Class Heroes frontman has been invited to spend the summer with two of pop's hottest stars, Rihanna and Ke$ha. Travie, who released his solo debut album Lazarus last week, will be the sole male act on Rihanna's "Last Girl on Earth" tour, with supporting act Ke$ha, when it kicks off on July 2 in Auburn, Wash. He fills in for Nicki Minaj, who pulled out of the trek a couple days after dates were announced, so she could focus on recording her debut album.
Young Money's Drake has revealed a conversation he had with incarcerated rapper Lil Wayne this month and said his boss made some unexpected comments.
The YM emcee claims Wayne suggested that Drake was a better artist than him.
"To him, there's a whole world moving out there that he hasn't seen for so long. He was just like, he told me something I never thought I'd hear him say, which was, 'You're the ultimate artist. You're better than me. You don't have the tattoos, you don't cause any trouble. People like you.' He was like, basically, 'Look at me and look at you.' He was like, 'Man, listen. You know what I think you're about to do? You're about to do 2 million.'You're about to do two million the first week. Whatever, man, whatever you do, do not get no tattoos never in your life. They gonna think you got it because you came around me.' He said the same thing to me [during the Rikers visit]: 'Don't change yourself, please. You got it. I've never met a young dude that has it figured out, but you got it. Don't mess it up. Just be you. Sing! Rap! Be you. Don't stop smiling.' That's what he said."
Drake also visited Wayne in early June.
"FINALLY got some time for a visit tmrw to go see my brother...so if you got msgs that need to be delivered write #TellWayne"
Artists like Fat Joe and Diddy have also visited Wayne as he serves a one year jail sentence.
Rap mega-star Lil Wayne - locked up on a gun conviction - brought in at least one more bold-faced name this week: Diddy. The music mogul stopped by the Eric M. Taylor correctional facility to visit Lil Wayne on Wednesday. Diddy, born Sean Combs, even swapped his luxury wheels for the public bus like all the other visitors Wednesday. Diddy was on a pre-approved list to see Lil Wayne, whose real name is Dwayne Carter Jr., and the chat was limited to an hour, sources said.
Despite being behind bars, Lil Wayne recently recorded a verse for Drake's "Light Up" single.
Even behind bars, Lil Wayne stays on his grind. Weezy drops a freestyle over Drake's Jay-Z assisted track "Light Up" from Thank Me Later. The verse was recorded during one of Wayne's phone calls from prison and premiered during Drake's Ustream session on Tuesday night. Drizzy calls it "one of the most incredible Lil Wayne verses [he's] ever heard."
Check out Drake UStreaming Lil Wayne's "Light Up" verse down below:
Young Money's Drake has opened up about how Rihanna made him feel during their short-lived romance.
Drake said their relationship made him remember his teenage days.
"She's just such an overwhelming and incredible person," Drake said in an interview. "And such a talented person and someone that I was like, 'I can't believe I'm here talking to this individual,' that she just gave me that feeling like when I was 17 years old trying to take Nikki Ramos, this girl from Toronto, out on a date and she never wanted to go with me. She never would go; she would have a million excuses why she couldn't talk to me. That's how [Rihanna] made me feel, she made me feel small; she made me feel nervous. It just put me back to the Acura in Toronto, feeling like Aubrey Graham, not Drake."
Earlier this month, Drake explained referencing their relationship on his Thank Me Later debut.
And on "Fireworks" there's a verse about Rihanna, who asked him last year to write a song for her new album; the two soon began seeing each other regularly, though they never publicly confirmed their brief relationship. "I was a pawn," Drake said. The song he wrote for her never got released. "You know what she was doing to me? She was doing exactly what I've done to so many women throughout my life, which is show them quality time, then disappear," he said. "I was like, wow, this feels terrible."
Drake and Rihanna were rumored to be having a romantic relationship last summer.
Rihanna and Aubrey "Drake" Graham have quashed rumors that they're dating after The NY Post claimed the two were seen kissing at a bowling alley in The Big Apple earlier this week. The former Degrassi: The Next Generation star turned rapper insists there's nothing going on. "I have the most utmost respect for her," he told New York's Hot 97 radio station yesterday. "I think she's so talented. It's not like that at all. I'm being honest. [She's] just a friend that's all."
He previously spoke on working with Rihanna for her Rated R album.
"Rihanna has a great album," Drake said in an interview. "She's got great records that she's using, she's got great records that she's not even using that she has for a later date. I'm excited for her. She deserves everything that she gets...We did do some great work together and hopefully it'll find it's place on some project one day. The record we have is great. It's a special record, so for it not to make it, I know something had to click. It's all good. I think the project's gonna be great no matter what."
Young Money's Drake has opened up about his short-lived relationship with R&B singer Rihanna and claimed he was used as a pawn.
Drake believes Rihanna used him during their short affair last year.
And on "Fireworks" there's a verse about Rihanna, who asked him last year to write a song for her new album; the two soon began seeing each other regularly, though they never publicly confirmed their brief relationship. "I was a pawn," Drake said. The song he wrote for her never got released. "You know what she was doing to me? She was doing exactly what I've done to so many women throughout my life, which is show them quality time, then disappear," he said. "I was like, wow, this feels terrible."
Drake and Rihanna were rumored to be having a romantic relationship last summer.
Rihanna and Aubrey "Drake" Graham have quashed rumors that they're dating after The NY Post claimed the two were seen kissing at a bowling alley in The Big Apple earlier this week. The former Degrassi: The Next Generation star turned rapper insists there's nothing going on. "I have the most utmost respect for her," he told New York's Hot 97 radio station yesterday. "I think she's so talented. It's not like that at all. I'm being honest. [She's] just a friend that's all."
Drizzy previously spoke on working with Rihanna for her Rated R album.
"Rihanna has a great album," Drake said in an interview. "She's got great records that she's using, she's got great records that she's not even using that she has for a later date. I'm excited for her. She deserves everything that she gets...We did do some great work together and hopefully it'll find it's place on some project one day. The record we have is great. It's a special record, so for it not to make it, I know something had to click. It's all good. I think the project's gonna be great no matter what."
Drake and Rihanna's rumored relationship caused her ex-boyfriend Chris Brown to address the matter on his "Famous Girl" record last year.
Singing lyrics including "I never should have written 'Disturbia'" and "I should have known you'd break my heart," Brown appears to be taking aim at the "Rated R" diva. For months there have been rumors circulating about alleged cheating on the part of both Brown and Rihanna. Singing "Since I thought I found the right woman there were other guys who thought the same thing about it, like damn you let me down-down-down you famous girl," Brown sheds light on a relationship just after singing "Drake would say that you're the best he ever had. Rumors come and go but you keep a shadow. Every where you go it follows." Brown later laments "Too much pressure I wish I was frozen. Seems we lost our way. I hope you're happy being famous girl."
Check out Drake speaking about Rihanna on "Fireworks" below:
Grammy-winning singer Rihanna speaks on her new romance with boyfriend/baseball star Matt Kemp and how she felt pain after her public domestic violence incident with Chris Brown in the new issue of ELLE.
Featured as the ELLE covergirl, Rihanna opens up about her private life.
"I have a boyfriend. I'm so happy. I feel really comfortable, and it's so easy," Rihanna gushes in the latest issue of Elle magazine. "I have such a chaotic life, but at the end of the day, that is just my peace. It keeps me sane, really, talking to him and talking to my family ... A year ago, I was very confused. Because he was my best friend. All of a sudden, one night changed our whole lives -- not only our friendship, but our lives. I wanted to wake up one day and just not have that pain anymore. I wanted to be with him again or get over him -- it was either-or. I just didn't want to feel the pain, the confusion."
Speaking to television personality Ryan Seacrest earlier this year, RiRi confirmed having a new love.
"He's my boyfriend," Rihanna revealed when asked about her relationship with the Los Angeles Dodger player. "It's new and it's fun. And it's nothing too serious, I don't want anything that's gonna take up so much of my energy and my time in a bad way, I just want to have fun and that's what it's about."
Rumors of their romance made headlines in early January.
Matt Kemp was spotted at Rihanna's New Year's Eve performance in Dubai, and then photos confirmed the couple was in Mexico together shortly after that. Matt sure is grabbing a handful of RiRi in the pic above. But who is this guy? If you're a baseball fan, then you probably know a bit about Matt, who is the LA Dodgers' sexiest center fielder. But for those of us who don't count baseball as our favorite pastime, find out a few facts about the 25-year-old slugger after the jump.
Speaking with reporter Diane Sawyer last year, RiRi broke down how her February 2009 fight with Brown allegedly was sparked from a text message.
According to Rihanna, the fight started as they were driving away from a pre-Grammy Awards party and Brown received a text message from another woman. "I caught him in a lie, and he wouldn't tell the truth. And I wouldn't drop it," the singer told Diane Sawyer. "I couldn't take that he kept lying to me, and he couldn't take that I wouldn't drop it. It escalated into him being violent towards me. And it was ugly."
Rihanna has taken on the responsibility of planning Katy Perry’s bachelorette party. But she can save money on hiring strippers because her BFF would rather see her shed her clothes.
The “California Gurl” is set to wed actor Russell Brand in India later this year, but first Rihanna will throw her a girls’ night out. “I have to come up with something cool ’cause she’s getting married in India. I’m like, ‘Now what do I do to match that for a bachelorette party?’” RiRi asked Ryan Seacrest in April.
Perry has the answer. “I hope she’s the one stripping at my bachelorette [party] ’cause she’s hot,” she confessed to AMP Radio’s McCabe.
Rihanna’s boyfriend Matt Kemp surprised her at her 22nd birthday party by hiring a porn star midget to give her a lap dance. “[Rihanna] has a lot to live up to,” added Perry. Indeed.
Rihanna is carrying on with her European tour after being briefly hospitalized Monday night (April 19).
According to People, the singer was taken to a private clinic after her concert in Zurich, Switzerland. “[She] had an injured rib and went to have it looked at to be sure it was nothing serious, and it wasn’t,” her rep tells the magazine.
Rihanna is already back on her feet and doing fine. “All is okay and the tour is going great,” she adds.
Her trek through Europe continued on Tuesday night with a stop in Lyon, France. She is expected to play in Marseille tonight, while the North American leg of her “Last Girl on Earth” tour kicks off in July.
This is the Rih-mix. Rihanna wants to make you sweat this summer with Rated R: Remixed, a collection of remixes to tracks from her fourth album. The pop star has enlisted dance remixer Chew Fu to rework 10 songs from last year’s Rated R, including her No. 1 hit “Rude Boy.” The project is due May 25, about a month before she embarks on her “Last Girl on Earth” tour with Ke$ha.
Rap-Up.com has the tracklisting for you below.
1. “Mad House” (Chew Fu Straight Jacket Fix) 2. “Russian Roulette” (Chew Fu Black Russian Fix) 3. “Rockstar 101” (Chew Fu Teacher’s Pet Fix) 4. “Wait Your Turn” (Chew Fu Can’t Wait No More Fix) 5. “Photographs” feat. will.i.am (Chew Fu 35mm Fix) 6. “Rude Boy” (Chew Fu Bumbaclot Fix) 7. “Hard” feat. Jeezy (Chew Fu Granite Fix) 8. “G4L” (Chew Fu Guns in the Air Fix) 9. “Fire Bomb” (Chew Fu Molotov Fix) 10. “Stupid in Love” (Chew Fu Small Room Fix)
Rihanna is celebrating girl power with her first headlining tour. The pop superstar has announced dates for a 2010 North American tour with supporting acts Nicki Minaj and Ke$ha.
The “Last Girl on Earth” trek, which kicks off July 2 in Seattle, will make 25 stops across the U.S. and Canada, playing a mix of amphitheaters and arenas throughout the summer, wrapping August 25 at Chicago’s United Center. The “Rude Boy” hitmaker will be joined by rising stars Nicki Minaj and Ke$ha, who will open all dates on the Live Nation production. Tickets go on sale beginning April 9 at LiveNation.com.
Before the hits the road with her famous girlfriends, Rihanna will embark on a sold-out European tour on April 16 in Antwerp, Belgium, and perform on “American Idol” on April 7.
The fashionista’s “Last Girl on Earth” outing promises to be a visual spectacle unlike anything she’s done before. Pre-sale tickets for fan club members are available beginning Wednesday, April 7, at 10 a.m. local time. Citi cardmembers will also have access to pre-sale tickets starting Wednesday, April 7, at 12 p.m. local time through Citi’s Private Pass Program.
Rihanna’s “Last Girl on Earth” 2010 North American Tour Dates
July 02 – Seattle – White River Amphitheatre July 04 – Vancouver – General Motors Place July 06 – Calgary – Pengrowth Saddeldome July 09 – Sacramento – ARCO Arena July 10 – Mountain View – Shoreline Amphitheatre at Mountain View July 14 – Albuquerque – Hard Rock Casino Albuquerque presents The Pavilion July 15 – Denver – Comfort Dental Amphitheatre July 17 – Las Vegas – Mandalay Bay Events Center July 21 – Los Angeles – Staples Center July 22 – Phoenix – Cricket Wireless Pavilion July 28 – Atlanta – Philips Arena July 30 – Tampa – Ford Amphitheatre July 31 – Miami – American Airlines Center Aug. 03 – Indianapolis – Verizon Wireless Music Center Indianapolis Aug. 05 – Toronto – Molson Canadian Amphitheatre Aug. 07 – Montreal – Bell Centre Aug. 08 – Boston – Comcast Center Aug. 11 – Uncasville – Mohegan Sun Arena Aug. 12 – New York – Madison Square Garden Aug. 15 – Wantagh – Nikon at Jones Beach Theater Aug. 18 – Camden – Susquehanna Bank Center Aug. 20 – Bristow – Jiffy Lube Live Aug. 21 – Hershey – Hersheypark Stadium Aug. 22 – Detroit – DTE Energy Music Theatre Aug. 25 – Chicago – United Center
