Article - Kanye West

Kanye West is continuing his new found love for all that is ‘Artistic’ by releasing a 32 minute long film for his new single ‘Runaway’. The ‘film’ features all the songs he has been releasing on ‘Good Friday’ as he likes to call it.

Not only does he direct the film but he also does a little bit – of rather poor – acting alongside former Victoria Secret model, Selena Ebanks, who plays what I think is some sort of phoenix.

Her costume consists of huge wings and discreetly placed feathers and I must say she looks pretty good.

But none of this really works for me. I don’t get why Kanye feels the need to do this. I, like many other people, miss the days of the old Kanye who hit the scene with ‘college dropout’ and ‘The graduation’.

I’ve always liked how different his videos were compared to other rappers. But it doesn’t look like the days of ‘Jesus walks’ and ‘Blood diamonds’ will be back in our lives anytime soon….neither will the tradition of 3 minute videos, the way everyone is going!

I wonder what Lady Gaga will do now Kanye’s taken the throne for both longest and shortest music video…

 

Published: www.thenewcurrent.com

Article - Willow Smith

For those who don’t know, Will Smith’s nine-year-old daughter, Willow, has just released the official video for her first single, Whip My Hair.

I personally love the song and I think it will become a huge hit. It’s already getting requested frequently in nightclubs and now Willow is signed to Jay Z’s label, ROC Nation, the single is going to have the best platform to become an international hit and help her make her stamp on the music scene.

But a lot of people are already voicing their concerns about her age. While it is clear that she is extremely talented for her age, is it really necessary for her to be put into the spotlight this early?

It does seem to be a trend in the Smith household considering her 12 year old brother -Jaden Smith -was the boy on everyone’s lips after he featured in the hit summer remake, The Karate Kid.

I personally think it wouldn’t have hurt to wait till Willow turned 15 before getting her to start her music career but at the end of the day she is Will Smith’s daughter. She’s going to be in the spotlight either way so why not do something productive rather than become yet another waste of space Hollywood child. As long as her parents and Jay Z keep her grounded then she has the potential to take the throne from her idol, Rihanna.

At the age of nine, I personally think she’s already better than Rihanna. Must suck to know a child can sing better than you!

It wont be long before you hear girls, old and young, singing ‘I WHIP MY HAIR BACK AND FORTH’!

 

Published: www.thenewcurrent.com

Article - Penelope Cruz Married!

The pair had a top secret ceremony at the beginning of July at a friend’s house in the Bahamas. Cruz’s representative confirmed the nuptials saying the ceremony was a small one that only family members attended.

The actress, who was once engaged to Tom Cruise, had her dress designed by long time friend, fashion designer John Galliano. The couple both starred in the Woody Allen romantic comedy Vicky Cristina Barcelonain the 2008.

UPDATE: According to Life & Style magazine, the pair is also expecting their first child!

An insider says the pair wanted to get married before their baby arrives next year!



It seems secret marriages are in style at the moment.

Last month transformers star Megan Fox secretly married her fiancé of two years – not two weeks like some people are saying – and long time lover Brian Austin Green. The couple got married in Hawaii at the Four Seasons Hualalai at Historic Ka’upulehu on the big island of Hawaii, which is known for throwing A-list weddings.

An insider said:

“They had a fairly large wedding, and there were nearly more security guards than guests. They wanted so much security that they had to call in local security because the hotel security alone couldn’t do it. It was very hush hush. Everyone was sworn to secrecy. Megan and Brian had already been there for a few days. It seemed like a spur of the moment thing. I don’t think it had been planned long.”

 

Published: www.thenewcurrent.com

Feature - Advice for LiLo

Poor poor Lilo, sent to jail again because she couldn’t follow the rules. How unfair is that? She is clearly the only celebrity in the history of Hollywood to be facing such unjust treatment. It’s not like rapper Lil Wayne is in jail right now as we speak, serving a one year sentence. No, 90 days is much worse than that.

One can only imagine the advise she must be getting from others who have been in her position.

Paris Hilton –

If you actually have to serve more than a week ,start having panic attacks and claim your chlosterphobic, that helped make my time easier. Oh and claim you’ve found Jesus! Become a Christian and tell everyone you’ve been saved. It’s the cool thing to do when you come out of prison and you’ll get a Larry king interview as soon as you get out. And don’t forget to have a fabulous outfit planned for when you go in and come out. It’s a perfect time to promote your legging line!

Nicole Richie –

I only served 82 mintues so I don’t actually have advice to give you. You can follow my example and made it a bad girl gone good situation. Ditch your mum as a manager, lose all the fake friends, settle down and have a baby and everyone will love you again. Then you’ll be living the simple life.

Robert Downey Jr. –



Suck it up and serve the time like a man. Use this sentence to plan how you are going to get back into Hollywood. Before you know it you’ll be in the next Iron man movie with me.

Boy George –



Keep claiming your innocent and it wasn’t your fault. Kiss up to everyone and anyone you can and before you know they’ll be letting you out for ‘good behaviour’.

Khloe Kardashian –

I only spent a few hours in jail so I cant really help with that but I think you accept the sentence, do the time and then come out with a reality show, marry a sportsman and open up a fashion store. Prison is the best thing that could happen to your career! Just use it to make you even more famous like I have.

 

Published: www.thenewcurrent.com

Article - MTV or RTV?

So MTV is looking for 16-24 year olds who might be considering abortion and want to share their experience with the world! Their Tweet was as follows:

mtvuk Are you pregnant, 16-24 and considering an abortion? Are you willing to share your experience? Contact mtvstories@mtvne.com in confidence

Why?

I’m guessing that the success of the MTV show 16& Pregnant (which has now been picked up by LivingTV) has led to the producers wanting to take this type of reality show to the next level.

But this is MTV…. MUSIC Television! Do the producers even remember this?



Probably not seeing as the new MTV logo has got rid of the ‘music television’ that was always written underneath it. MTV is only known now for its reality shows. Starting in the late 90’s reality shows steadily started to take over from the music videos. We’ve seen shows like The Osbournes, Jackass, Punk, Newlyweds: Nick and Jessica, The Ashlee Simpson show and 8th & Ocean.

And let’s not forget the gems such as South Park, Cribs, Pimp My Ride, Laguna Beach, NEXT, My Super Sweet 16, Viva La Bam, The Hills, The City and the controversial Jersey Shore. The list of shows that have nothing to do with music are endless.

If it wasn’t for death of stars such as Micheal Jackson and the Video Music Awards, you would be completely right think that MTV no longer has any involvement in the music world. There are sister channels such as MTV Base and MTV hits that still provide music but I think I’m not the only one who would like to see MTV go back to what it used to be.

Somehow I doubt this will ever happen! Oh well, we have a show about teen abortions to look forward to. Who needs music eh?

As I write, Gossip Girl is being shown on the channel and a quite look at the line up for the rest of the day shows that the only show that will even feature music is the dance contest ‘America’s Next Best Dance Crew’.

I suggest the logo should be changed again. In fact, let’s have a whole revamp and call it RTV, Reality Television. Maybe that way someone can just start MTV again and so it can do what it was originally created for no so long ago!

 

Published: www.thenewcurrent.com

Article - Mel Gibson

The once loved actor and director Mel Gibson has gone on a downward spiral since 2006 when he harassed a female police officer while being arrested for a DUI. We thought ‘sugart*ts’ and his claim that ‘Jews’ were responsible for all the wars in the world were shocking but he has been caught out once again. This time the victim of his abuse is his ex girlfriend and baby mama, Oksana Grigorieva.



Gibson is still finalising the divorce with his ex-wife of over 20 years whom he cheated on to be with Oksana but he seem he couldn’t stay faithful to her either and they have now split following rumours he had an affair with a porn star.

And this is all from a man who is a ‘devout catholic’ and directed the record breaking ‘The Passion of Christ’!

Now Gibson and Oksana are going through a bitter custody battle for their 9 month old daughter, Lucia. Oksana is revealing evidence that shows why Gibson is not fit to be around his daughter let alone look after her and Gibson’s action are infuriating just about everyone in Hollywood!

Radaronline claim to have heard a message that Gibson left Oksana and report that they heard him say abusive and racist comments such as:

“You’re an embarrassment to me. You look like a f*cking pig in heat, and if you get raped by a pack of n*ggers, it will be your fault.”

“How dare you act like such a b*tch when I have been so f*cking nice.”

“I am going to come and burn the f*cking house down… but you will blow me first.”

“Look what every part of you is… f*cking fake… f*cking fake. You are the most synthetic person… who the f*ck are you?”

“This is my last message. I might be the father. Well, f*ck you. You psycho c***. Because I don’t care.”

While no other site has heard or seen this evidence, most people are accepting that this could easily be real recordings of Gibson on yet another insulting verbal attack. The star’s outburst has infuriated civil rights leader Rev Jesse Jackson, who has asked for Gibson to get ‘help’.

He told RadarOnline that this leak “demonstrates once again that we are far from a society that is beyond race and racism. His penchants for anti-Semitic and racist diatribes reveal the actor’s fundamental character flaw.”

There are also rumours that he hit Oksana, knocking out two of her teeth and giving her a concussion. While we are yet to find out what it actually true I think it’s fair to say that Mel Gibson’s career is definitely over because I doubt anyone in Hollywood will want to be associated with this man!

Glenn Selig, founder of PR firm The Publicity Agency, said:

“The public can overlook a lot, but this is not something they will tolerate or stomach. This will spell the end for Mel Gibson. If true, not only will he be rejected by the public but by Hollywood.”

A studio boss has said: “Last time he just managed to claw back his career. This time he will be a pariah. He offended not only women but a huge swathe of the public. Any Hollywood exec will fear a backlash if they use him.”

 

Published: www.thenewcurrent.com

Article - Belly Button Piercings

Belly button piercings – sexy or a silly trend?

Ever since I was 14 years old, I’ve wanted to get my belly button pierced. Not just because celebrities and everyone else had them, but because I don’t like my stomach that much and wanted something to make it look more feminine. Weird I know.



But I have very strict African parents who would have happily ripped it out if they ever found out. It doesn’t help that my mum is a nurse who has to deal with the people who don’t take care of their piercings and then run to her with infections and all sorts of horror stories.

That then got me thinking, what if I did get some horrible infection that messed me up forever? Maybe it was best that I gave up this silly dream and keep my belly button away from any needles. But despite my best efforts, I found myself still wanting to get it done

So I told myself that I would get it when I got to university. In my second term as a first year to be precise, because after spending all that time at home for Christmas I would be in no rush to go back and so my piercing could heal nicely by Easter.

But Easter has come and gone and my belly button is yet to be pierced. I admit that it is partly due to the fact that my parents would probably make my life hell if they ever found out but it is also because once again I have started to question whether I really want to get it done anymore. I’m not worried about the risk of infections anymore. I’m worried about the views of society.

It seems to me that getting your belly button pierced has become a thing that little teenage girls do, not mature young women. That could be a problem because surely I need to grow up and put all things teenage behind me.

So is belly button piercing becoming a teenage fad, with tweens getting it done because Miley Cyrus has one? Or are belly button piercings still nice regardless of what age you get it done.

Summer is fast approaching and I have a feeling I will finally give in to temptation, if i figure out how to hide it from my parents. Or will seeing so many other girls with thier piercings just put me off joining such a popular trend.

All I know is that I’m going get mine done someday, even if I end up taking it out an hour later. It is just something I have to do; I just hope it’ll still be socially acceptable when I eventually go through with it.

Published: www.multimediamouth.com

News Article - Pay to pray

Members of City Gate Church, Bournemouth were enraged to discover that they will have to pay to go to church.

New parking meters were placed on Gervis Road, Lansdowne, charging 60p an hour from 9am till 5pm, every Monday to Sunday.

The meters were put on the roads surrounding St Swithuns’ Centre two weeks ago, but had been covered with black bags saying ‘Not in use’, so members assumed that the meters would charge on Mondays –Fridays as most others do.

On Sunday 6th December, the members arrived to their morning service unaware of the new charge and had to be informed by the welcome team at the door so they would not be fined £60.

As some members can be at both the 9:30am and 11:30am service every Sunday morning, they will now have to pay an additional £125 a year just to go to their church. This could cause problems for those who have already been hit hard by the recent financial crisis as well as all the students and elderly members of the church.

Jurgen Kusel, 45, a regular member, states “I don’t understand why the council would put meters here and charge on a Sunday morning when they know that there is a popular church in the area”. He then went on to comment that maybe the council are exploiting the fact that the church members can be a regular source of money and he claimed that if that is true he would be very disappointed that the council think like that.

The overall concern from the church members was how this is going to affect their Christmas events. They feared that it would hinder the attendance levels for the carol service they were having the next week as well as the Christmas services later in the month.

We contacted the local council and they are yet to make a statement about the matter.

 

Article - A life in the day

The 18 -year- old Nigerian girl preparing to study journalism at university, she lives with her mother, father and younger brother in Kenley, Surrey.

It’s fun to just sit and laugh with my family - it’s my favourite moment of the day.

I usually wake up at 8am to say goodbye to my parents before they leave for work. Then I lie in bed for about an hour reading a book. I’ve always loved reading - a habit my dad says I got from my mum.

Around 9am I finally get out of bed. I’m a very fussy eater and I hate cereal because I can’t eat it when it gets soggy, I physically cringe at the thought. But there are a few exceptions like Frosted Shreddies and Crunchy Nut. If not, it’s bagels or toast.

I watch The Daily 10, which is all about celebrity gossip, while eating breakfast. I blame my mum again for my interest in celebrities but I also try to blag that I only watch the show because it will help me to become a good journalist.

I recently discovered an amazing exercise channel on Sky. I’m naturally skinny but I’ve been warned that my addiction to KFC could do some damage. So at 11:30 I do the ‘Caribbean workout’ which is a clever mix of Aerobics, Pilates and Yoga.

I usually go on my laptop around noon and check my E- mail, Facebook and some news so I don’t feel like I’m wasting my life away on the internet. My 14 – year - old brother, Babatunde, will normally goes on his Playstation or Nintendo Wii as soon as he sees I’m done with the TV. I tend to join him for a few games. I grew up around a lot of male cousins so I love playing video games and watching anime.

At 2:30 there’s another workout show called ‘Dance and be fit: Brazilian body’ and it’s much more dance based which I prefer. I think I got my love for dance from my culture. Although I was born in UK, I lived in Nigeria, West Africa from the ages of four to eight. Dancing is a big part of our culture and tradition. One of my earliest memories is trying to dance like my grandma - my Dad’s mum - at her 60th birthday. She was swinging her hips to the beat, slowly lowering to the group then back up again. However my imitation was to bend my knees and stick my bum in the air. Even at 80, she can still dance better than me.

Around 3pm, we get together some sort of lunch and watch Sky Sports News. I love football. My dad is a big football fan but he doesn’t support a team, he just likes the sport. Whereas, my brother and I are very big Arsenal supporters.
From 4pm, my brother watches the Disney channel which I happily watch with him. I’m still a kid at heart even though I’m the eldest child.

Dad gets back from work at 6pm and we all eat a Nigerian meal for dinner. You can’t really make the meals fresh like you could in Nigeria, which is something I miss the most about living there, but you learn to live with it. My favourite Nigerian meal is pounded yam, a seasoned tomato stew and meat. I remember we would always buy some from the Gbagada market on my way home from primary school.

While we eat, we watch the news together as a family. My parents always like to make sure that we know what is going on in the world. We are all very opinionated so there tends to be some heated discussions, usually about how much my mum and I don’t like the Tories.

I only really go out to a club called ‘Tiger Tiger’ on Thursday nights with my close friend Katy, but otherwise I spend the evening watching TV together with my family. We like to watch ‘Mock The Week’, it’s fun to just sit and laugh with my family - it’s my favourite moment of the day.

By around 10pm, we turn everything off and pray as a family. Most Nigerians are very religious and that, like dancing, is a big part of my life too. It’s comforting to have your family praying with you.

Usually I’m in bed by 11, with my book back in my hand to send me to sleep.

 

Article - Cheryl Cole

Why I'm not obsessed with Cheryl Cole

After another series of the X factor, my dislike for Cheryl Cole and the public obsession with her has reached new heights.

The show is meant to be about talent, finding someone with the potential to be a star.

But this latest season, all people have really cared about is Cheryl. What will Cheryl Cole wear this week? What will she do with her hair? Oh wow, look how amazing she was when she performed. Oh isn’t she such a nice mentor?

Well no, she isn’t. If she was such a nice mentor then she wouldn’t release her single one week after Alexandra Burke did. While JLS had the chance to stay at the top of the charts for weeks with their first single, Alexandra wasn’t allowed that luxury.

We all know that thanks to the nation’s undying love for Mrs ‘Oh she’s so perfect’ Cole, anything she touches will turn to gold. It was inevitable that her first single and album would go straight to number one. So the nice thing to do would have been to release her single weeks after Alexandra’s. Why make yourself the main competition for your own act? And now it looks like they will both be trying to break America at the same time.

I’m sure Burke is thrilled.

All Cheryl has shown me this year is that she is a hypocrite. She started this series by attacking contests, Kandi Rain, a group of former strippers. She said she didn’t like the way they dressed on stage, as they looked like slutty and that they should have dressed more demurely so that people would focus on their singing. She makes a slightly valid point.

However, I would just like you to think back to that ‘military’ themed outfit she wore when she performed ‘Fight for this love’ the following week and look at the ridiculous amount of flesh she was revealing.

Why did she get away with it? Some argue it is because she is already an established act but to me she just looked like a complete hypocrite. As my mother said, she was the one who looked like a stripper.

And this is meant to be the woman voted as most 11-16 year olds role model. She had to go to court for attacking someone in a club. How inspiring. Plus she has now revealed that she lost her virginity at the age of 15, after waiting a whole 3 months. She was really proud she waited so long because it allowed her to get to know the person first. The scary part is that girls will be saying, ‘If Cheryl lost it at 15 then it’s okay me for to do it as well’.

Everywhere we turn all you see Cheryl, on magazines, newspapers, radio, TV, bus stops. I know I’m not the only one who thinks her L’oreal adverts are really tacky. It’s so cheesy I physically cringed. Plus it’s not even her real hair anyway.

I’m so bored with people talking about how Cheryl is going to break America. I don’t think we realise just how little Americans care about a pretty northern WAG with no real singing talent whatsoever. America is full of average singers and even with the backing of Simon Cowell, the American idol winners find it hard to last more than 2 years before fading into the distance.

We all seem to forget that Girls Aloud could never even try to make a name across the pond and Cheryl wasn’t even the lead singer so you can’t argue that her ‘talent’ will help her break the States.

Unfortunately for me, 2010 is going to be an even more annoying year because the nation obsession doesn’t look like it’s going to be fading anytime soon. Great, her stupid song, ‘3 words’ has just come on the radio.

 

Interview with Melvin Odoom

Melvin Odoom is co-presenter of Digs on MTV with Ricky Williams. They also present the popular breakfast show on London radio station Kiss100. We spoke briefly about university and life after graduation...

So what do you think of Bournemouth nightlife?

It was a really good night. I’m surprised at how vibrant Bournemouth is down here. Everyone’s representing, the girls are looking good and people enjoy their music. Everyone’s been really cool.

So you met actually met Ricky at university. Was it helpful to have someone with you when you were trying to get into the industry?

It was kind of an accident you know! I was studying a slightly different course to Ricky at first. I’ve got a really strict African mum and she wanted me to do a theory based subject and so when I met Ricky he was like ‘Look Melvin you’re very animated so I think you should be on the kind of course I’m doing’. So that’s how I switched over. We became good mates and started doing local and student radio...

I was going to say you both started working together on the student radio at Luton University - now called Bedfordshire Uni.

Yeah and that’s how it kinda happened and that’s how we found out that we work well together. It wasn’t like we planned to do stuff together. It just sort of happened by accident.

Any tips for about how to find jobs once students graduate?

Work experience is the key. The one thing I would like to change about how to went about things after uni is that I should have got into work experience earlier. When we left uni, Ricky worked for literally every radio station and well, I like money, so I started working straight away. Teaching dance and drama and working in youth clubs. So he got into radio before me and then he got me into it.

So get as much work experience as possible?

Even if you’re still at uni, work experience is the key because it gives you a taste of real life. There is no module, no course that will really teach you real life. That’s what you really need.

Do you still get nervous or embarrassed when you’re interviewing celebrities?

Yeh definitely, it’s good to have nerves, to have nervous energy. It can create good energy.

Who has your favourite interviewee?

Loads...we done too many.

Could you choose a top three?

Will Smith, Rihanna and Alicia Keys.

You can watch Melvin every day from 4pm till 7pm on MTV ONE.
You can also listen to Ricky and Melvin every weekday morning from 6 till 9 at totalkiss.com

 

Film Review - Avatar

Avatar is worth the hype. More than just a pretty movie, it is the journey into a new world that came from the creative mind of director James Cameron.

After his scientist twin brother is murdered, ex- Marine Jake Sully is given the chance to take his brothers place on a mission to the exotic planet Pandora. Only his DNA can bond with the hugely expense avatar his brother had created – a hybrid body that looks like the Na’vi and allows humans to breath the planet’s toxic air. He is sent as a spy to infiltrate the Omaticayu people but soon finds himself falling for the princess Neytiri and her people’s nature loving ways.

The whole movie is told like a Na’vi legend and is simply an upgraded version of Pocahontas. The love story Cameron is telling is as good as titanic, and we know there are some people in this world who don’t like that story at all. He gives his characters a realistic 3 months to fall in love, that’s better than most movies nowadays.

The Na’vi, while being blue deer like humans, are obviously a mix of Native Americans and Africans, shown clearly by the accent of the beautiful language created by USC professor Paul R. Frommer.

The film is about understanding and respecting other races and species, protecting the environment. It was about seeing similarities despite differences. It was pretty clear as the movie progressed that we are meant to see that this ‘savage’ tribe are ten times more human than we could ever be.

You get so into the Na’vi love of nature that it actually hurts when we see humans ruining it. Seeing Netryri cry was actually sad, Zoe Saldana made sounds of pain that only a true actress could ever muster.


It’s not all about the blue people. I felt like the Colonel was the human version of the evil toy in Small Soldiers, his character was the perfect bad guy, scary and funny at the same time. His character provided most of the cheesy lines but I liked it, ‘This is poppa dragon. Let’s make this clean and quick, I wanna be home in time for dinner’.

Sam Worthington is def gna be a big name in Hollywood form now on especially with terminator n avatar under his belt and clash of the titans coming out soon. He made me feel the restriction of being without his legs and how painful it was to come back to his diasbled body after walking in his avatar.

The reason why this film is so special is the graphics and effects. Cameron has taken them to a whole new level. His team has actually created a new world, new creatures, a new language, new rituals, just a whole new cinematic experience. I’ve watched 3D movies before and they always gave me a headache but with this movie I didn’t even think of taking my glasses off.

The mixture of CGI and 3D helped to add a whole new layer of depth to Pandora. When the film starts with the scenes of the landscape of Pandora, I knew that my prior thoughts about the movie were going to be stamped out. Throughout the movie we are shown the most beautiful visuals that where further highlighted on the 3D screen. The problem films like Beowulf had with dead eye is well and truly gone, the Navi people actually looked real for about 90% of the time!Best of all the actor’s performances weren’t lost in the effects but truly enhanced by them. Something the industry has been struggling to get right.

5/5

 

Interview with Trevor Nelson!

 

He is one of the – if not the – biggest R ‘n’ B DJ’s in England, presenting the breakfast show every morning on BBC 1xtra as well as having a show every Wednesday on BBC Radio 2. So it’s understandable that trying to get hold of him is not an easy task.

However, when he came to do a set at V on Friday 30th October, I went along to see if I could grab him for a quick interview.

He began his set at 11pm and definitely lived up to expectations. However, he did play a lot of ‘old skol’ tunes that only a few people in the club had actually heard off. But it didn’t matter because he’s Trevor Nelson and if he wants to play it, you’ll still dance.

When I finally got to meet him towards the end of his set, he greeted me with a big smile and a warm hug. He even proceeded to leave the stage to come down and say hello to my friends when he had 30 minutes left.

We got to spend the rest of the set onstage with him and he pointed out, LJW, the DJ who was on before him dancing and said, ‘There’s nothing I love more than other DJs who can just get down and dance with crowd...just enjoy the music properly’. Then he proceeds to shout out to LJW and everyone cheers.

Though it got quite empty by around 2:30, Trevor took to the mic and thanked all those who were still there because to him, ‘these were the true music fans’. He joked that this was like our own little after party.

He said ‘ He prefers playing to a small crowd of 50 who are really enjoying the music rather than just playing a huge crowd who aren’t all feeling it’. To him, that’s what being a DJ is all about.

As he was signing our posters for us, my friend couldn’t help but whisper to me, ‘He is such a nice person in real life’. I have to agree.

Interview by Nola Ojomu