Each month, Boris Kachka offers nonfiction and fiction book recommendations. You should read as many of them as possible.A Manual for Cleaning Women: Selected Stories, by Lucia Berlin (Farrar, Straus & Giroux, August 18)May we never run out of great, unsung authors to unearth after they die, as Berlin did in 2004. Her 76 stories, more than half of them collected here, range widely in location and technique: a post-funeral Mexican vacation introduced via tourists' chorus; an Oakland cleaner's life meted out in bus routes; a woman remembering, in local twang, her journey across the El Paso border for an abortion. Together, they make up the mosaic of Berlin’s thinly fictionalized, widely traveled, and traumatically eventful life, a Knausgaardian journey by other means. Street Poison: The Biography of Iceberg Slim, by Justin Gifford (Doubleday, August 4) Before there was rap, there was pulp — mainly the work of Robert Beck, a.k.a.
- 8/5/2015
- by Boris Kachka
- Vulture
Living in La is enormous fun. Or at least, the potential for enormous fun is always there, provided you actually pay attention and go to things and get out of the house and actually take advantage of the various amazing opportunities that are around. The Ucb Theater is a place I should spend more time. No two ways about it. There are all sorts of things that happen there that I would love to see. Some of those, I hear later or see later, and thank god they make the effort to record so much of it, because I just listened to two of the funniest hours I've heard this year, and it is well worth your time to seek it out. Here's something from the official website of "The Dead Authors Podcast": 826 National is a nonprofit organization that provides strategic leadership, administration, and other resources to ensure the...
- 7/19/2015
- by Drew McWeeny
- Hitfix
Phase 4 Films has set a Us theatrical debut for Jorge Hinojosa's Iceberg Slim: Portrait of a Pimp, for this Friday, July 19. Directed and executive produced by Jorge Hinojosa, his first filmmaking credit according to imdb, Iceberg Slim features interviews with the notorious pimp-turned-author himself, as well as the likes of Chris Rock, Ice-t, Snoop Dogg, Quincy Jones and others. Here's the full synopsis: 'Iceberg Slim: Portrait of a Pimp', examines the tumultuous life of legendary Chicago pimp Iceberg Slim (1918-1992) and how he reinvented himself from pimp to author of 7 groundbreaking books. These books were the birth...
- 7/16/2013
- by Tambay A. Obenson
- ShadowAndAct
Bad Influence: Godfather Of Modern Hustle Still Leaving Back Handed Impressions
Leaving a legacy of pimp ideology behind, the legendary pimp and author Iceberg Slim wrote numerous culturally influential books that showed the underbelly of urban society with a raw authenticity and conversational style that continues to shape life on the streets to this day. Jorge Hinojosa’s directorial debut, Iceberg Slim: Portrait of a Pimp, draws on his hip hop managerial roots to seek insight into Slim’s significance in not only rap culture, but the literary and comedy worlds as well, all the while delving deep into his widely unknown upbringing through family discussions and a few rare interviews with the legend himself.
Slim, born Robert Lee Maupin and later changed to Robert Beck, grew up during the Great Depression in a broken home with less than dazzling career prospects, but thanks to his own empowered charm...
Leaving a legacy of pimp ideology behind, the legendary pimp and author Iceberg Slim wrote numerous culturally influential books that showed the underbelly of urban society with a raw authenticity and conversational style that continues to shape life on the streets to this day. Jorge Hinojosa’s directorial debut, Iceberg Slim: Portrait of a Pimp, draws on his hip hop managerial roots to seek insight into Slim’s significance in not only rap culture, but the literary and comedy worlds as well, all the while delving deep into his widely unknown upbringing through family discussions and a few rare interviews with the legend himself.
Slim, born Robert Lee Maupin and later changed to Robert Beck, grew up during the Great Depression in a broken home with less than dazzling career prospects, but thanks to his own empowered charm...
- 7/15/2013
- by Jordan M. Smith
- IONCINEMA.com
Phase 4 Films has acquired Us and Canadian rights to Jorge Hinojosa's Iceberg Slim: Portrait of a Pimp which made its premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival earlier this fall. Directed and executive produced by Jorge Hinojosa, his first filmmaking credit according to imdb, Iceberg Slim features interviews with the notorious pimp-turned-author himself, as well as the likes of Chris Rock, Ice-t, Snoop Dogg, Quincy Jones and others. Here's the full synopsis: 'Iceberg Slim: Portrait of a Pimp', examines the tumultuous life of legendary Chicago pimp Iceberg Slim (1918-1992) and how he reinvented...
- 12/18/2012
- by Tambay A. Obenson
- ShadowAndAct
Iceberg Slim made his name by writing the autobiographical book "Pimp: The Story of My Life." Released in 1969, it was an eye-opening account of how pimps persuade, cajole and beat women into agreeing to sell themselves. Director Jorge Hinojosa (long time manager of Ice-t) doesn’t just concern itself with his seminal book, but looks at how the author turned himself from a seller of women to a seller of words. The mix of talking heads and archive photographs works better than some clunky use of pulp-style animation. Hinojosa goes to the usual suspects to chat about black culture, Ice-t, Snoop Dogg and rent-a-quote Chris Rock, who wax lyrical about the books import to their lives. Snoop even talks about the year he spent working as a pimp (something he also does in his own documentary, "Reincarnated"). Judiciously talking up the fashion and lifestyle, Hinojosa saves his trump card, an...
- 9/15/2012
- by Kaleem Aftab
- Indiewire
Ah, Marilyn Monroe! Deep down, we know that we don’t know her, not really, yet we also think that we know everything about her. We certainly believe that we know who she was on-screen: the bubblehead bombshell, the flirt angel who wiggled and cooed and batted her Bambi eyelashes, who turned sex into pure sugar. And off-screen, we have that whole tabloid sense of Marilyn, of her lousy childhood and her crumbled marriages and her off-the-set breakdowns and her on-the-set diva tantrums and, ultimately, her self-destruction. Her death by an overdose of pills was sort of like the death...
- 9/13/2012
- by Owen Gleiberman
- EW - Inside Movies
Here's your first look at the feature documentary Iceberg Slim: Portrait of a Pimp which is scheduled to make its premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival next month. A recap from Vanessa's initial profile of the film... Directed and executive produced by Jorge Hinojosa, his first filmmaking credit according to imdb, Iceberg Slim features interviews with the notorious pimp-turned-author himself, as well as the likes of Chris Rock, Ice-t, Snoop Dogg, Quincy Jones and others. Here's the full synopsis: 'Iceberg Slim: Portrait of a Pimp', examines the tumultuous life of legendary Chicago pimp Iceberg Slim...
- 8/28/2012
- by Tambay A. Obenson
- ShadowAndAct
Here’s a first look at Iceberg Slim: Portrait of a Pimp, the documentary which makes its World Premiere at the Toronto Film Festival on Saturday, September 8. It’ll be a big night to dress up, because the film will be followed by an after party that will feature a live concert by Ice-t, who produced the film with director Jorge Hinojosa. The film examines the tumultuous life of legendary Chicago pimp Iceberg Slim (1918-1992) and how he reinvented himself from pimp to author of seven groundbreaking books that birthed Street Lit and explored the world of the ghetto in gritty and poetic detail. The books made him a cultural icon. UTA is selling domestic rights on the docu.
- 8/28/2012
- by MIKE FLEMING
- Deadline
Toronto – On July 31st, the 37th annual Toronto International Film Festival announced its second wave of features and documentaries to be added to this year’s already promising lineup.
The ‘Midnight Madness’ programme, which showcases up and coming genre films, will return for a second year, with The Raid winning the inaugural audience choice award in 2011.
Tiff Programmer Colin Geddes says that the audience should expect “everything from outrageous horror comedies to mock-doc-eco-apocalypse thrillers, featuring trans-dimensional bugs, lewd Catholic priests, meat monsters and dog-snapping psychopaths that will animate the Ryerson Theatre when the clock chimes 12.”
Returning for its fourth edition this year is the ‘City to City’ programme, which puts a spotlight on filmmakers working and living in a certain city, introducing audiences to local independent films from around the world. This year’s city of choice is Mumbai.
Artistic Director Cameron Bailey says, “Mumbai’s cinema today is entirely...
The ‘Midnight Madness’ programme, which showcases up and coming genre films, will return for a second year, with The Raid winning the inaugural audience choice award in 2011.
Tiff Programmer Colin Geddes says that the audience should expect “everything from outrageous horror comedies to mock-doc-eco-apocalypse thrillers, featuring trans-dimensional bugs, lewd Catholic priests, meat monsters and dog-snapping psychopaths that will animate the Ryerson Theatre when the clock chimes 12.”
Returning for its fourth edition this year is the ‘City to City’ programme, which puts a spotlight on filmmakers working and living in a certain city, introducing audiences to local independent films from around the world. This year’s city of choice is Mumbai.
Artistic Director Cameron Bailey says, “Mumbai’s cinema today is entirely...
- 8/1/2012
- by Justin Li
- SoundOnSight
Toronto – On July 31st, the 37th annual Toronto International Film Festival announced its second wave of features and documentaries to be added to this year’s already promising lineup.
The ‘Midnight Madness’ programme, which showcases up and coming genre films, will return for a second year, with The Raid winning the inaugural audience choice award in 2011.
Tiff Programmer Colin Geddes says that the audience should expect “everything from outrageous horror comedies to mock-doc-eco-apocalypse thrillers, featuring trans-dimensional bugs, lewd Catholic priests, meat monsters and dog-snapping psychopaths that will animate the Ryerson Theatre when the clock chimes 12.”
Returning for its fourth edition this year is the ‘City to City’ programme, which puts a spotlight on filmmakers working and living in a certain city, introducing audiences to local independent films from around the world. This year’s city of choice is Mumbai.
Artistic Director Cameron Bailey says, “Mumbai’s cinema today is entirely...
The ‘Midnight Madness’ programme, which showcases up and coming genre films, will return for a second year, with The Raid winning the inaugural audience choice award in 2011.
Tiff Programmer Colin Geddes says that the audience should expect “everything from outrageous horror comedies to mock-doc-eco-apocalypse thrillers, featuring trans-dimensional bugs, lewd Catholic priests, meat monsters and dog-snapping psychopaths that will animate the Ryerson Theatre when the clock chimes 12.”
Returning for its fourth edition this year is the ‘City to City’ programme, which puts a spotlight on filmmakers working and living in a certain city, introducing audiences to local independent films from around the world. This year’s city of choice is Mumbai.
Artistic Director Cameron Bailey says, “Mumbai’s cinema today is entirely...
- 7/31/2012
- by Justin Li
- SoundOnSight
No stills or trailer have yet been released, but today's press release disclosing this year's Toronto International Film Festival's lineup mentioned the feature documentary Iceberg Slim: Portrait of a Pimp as making its premiere. Directed and executive produced by Jorge Hinojosa, his first filmmaking credit according to imdb, Iceberg Slim features interviews with the notorious pimp-turned-book author himself, Chris Rock, Ice-t, Snoop Dogg, Quincy Jones and others. Digging for more info, I found this blog entry by one of the doc's 2-min animation segment director, Carly Veronica, in which she says that Iceberg Slim's director Hinojosa, "blends pulp fiction...
- 7/31/2012
- by Vanessa Martinez
- ShadowAndAct
The Toronto International Film Festival released their documentary lineup today and the list of films, ranging from bizarre to heartbreaking, tell stories that extend around the globe. (Arguably even beyond, if you count the film on Jared Leto's band Thirty Seconds To Mars.) These are the five films you cannot miss at Tiff this year.
As if We Were Catching a Cobra
Hala Alabdalla, Syria/France
Although originally meant to depict the lives of caricaturists in Egypt and Syria, the film's vision gained new momentum during the Arab Spring. Syrian director Alabdalla portrays the bravery and heart of artists who aim to create a better world through political art.
The Central Park Five
Ken Burns, David McMahon and Sarah Burns, USA
This documentary examines how five black and Latino teens could be wrongly accused of raping a Central Park jogger in 1989 and how the police, public and justice system were blind to the truth.
As if We Were Catching a Cobra
Hala Alabdalla, Syria/France
Although originally meant to depict the lives of caricaturists in Egypt and Syria, the film's vision gained new momentum during the Arab Spring. Syrian director Alabdalla portrays the bravery and heart of artists who aim to create a better world through political art.
The Central Park Five
Ken Burns, David McMahon and Sarah Burns, USA
This documentary examines how five black and Latino teens could be wrongly accused of raping a Central Park jogger in 1989 and how the police, public and justice system were blind to the truth.
- 7/31/2012
- by Priscilla Frank
- Huffington Post
In terms of documentary film servings in the fall (pre Idfa in November), in the hands of Thom Powers, Tiff’s former Real to Reel section now simply known as Tiff Docs is the equivalent to riding the gravy train. To be housed at the new spanking brand new Bloor Hot Docs Cinema, this year’s docu items included such names/titles as Ken Burns and what looks to be the Telluride preemed The Central Park Five, Julien Temple’s London – The Modern Babylon, Marina Zenovich’s sequel Roman Polanski: Odd Man Out, another hot topic subject for Alex Gibney with Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God and an exec produced item from Errol Morris with Joshua Oppenheimer’s The Act of Killing side by side with with the latest from Crossing the Line helmer Daniel Gordon (9.79*) and Operation Filmmaker helmer Nina Davenport (First Comes Love). Here...
- 7/31/2012
- by Eric Lavallee
- IONCINEMA.com
Following up an already stellar initial line-up, the Toronto International Film Festival 2012 has announced additional sections including Midnight Madness, Documentaries and Vanguard. When the clock strikes 12, some titles one will be able to see include the highly anticipated Seven Psychopaths, from In Bruges director Martin McDonagh. There’s also the world premiere of the horror anthology The ABCs of Death, as well as Dredd and Eli Roth‘s Aftershock and new films from Rob Zombie and Barry Levinson.
The documentary section brings new films from Alex Gibney, Ken Burns and an interesting one titled How to Make Money Selling Drugs, featuring interviews with 50 Cent, Eminem and more. Rounding out the Vanguard section is many titles screened elsewhere, including the excellent documentary on The Shining, Room 237, as well as the next from Kill List director Ben Wheatley, Sightseers (Cannes review). We also have Luis Prieto‘s Pusher remake, and Michel Gondry...
The documentary section brings new films from Alex Gibney, Ken Burns and an interesting one titled How to Make Money Selling Drugs, featuring interviews with 50 Cent, Eminem and more. Rounding out the Vanguard section is many titles screened elsewhere, including the excellent documentary on The Shining, Room 237, as well as the next from Kill List director Ben Wheatley, Sightseers (Cannes review). We also have Luis Prieto‘s Pusher remake, and Michel Gondry...
- 7/31/2012
- by jpraup@gmail.com (thefilmstage.com)
- The Film Stage
Welcome back after our week’s break! I hope everyone who celebrated either Passover or Easter (or both!) had a happy holiday, with a liberating seder for the former and plenty of yummy chocolate eggs for the latter.
Have you all been missing Stephen and the ReporT? With the hiatus giving me some extra time, I’d hoped to get this Fcl up much earlier. But at the moment I am suffering from some sort of back injury–don’t know how I got it–and sitting for long periods has been a bit agonizing. I’ve avoided it for the most part. Chiropractor, here I come…several times a week. I know what will make me happy, though, and wash away the pain: four new shows! So here goes…
Monday, 4/25: Ron Paul
Oh, I know that from time to time, faux-conservative Colbert has to welcome real conservatives on his show.
Have you all been missing Stephen and the ReporT? With the hiatus giving me some extra time, I’d hoped to get this Fcl up much earlier. But at the moment I am suffering from some sort of back injury–don’t know how I got it–and sitting for long periods has been a bit agonizing. I’ve avoided it for the most part. Chiropractor, here I come…several times a week. I know what will make me happy, though, and wash away the pain: four new shows! So here goes…
Monday, 4/25: Ron Paul
Oh, I know that from time to time, faux-conservative Colbert has to welcome real conservatives on his show.
- 4/26/2011
- by Karenatasha
- No Fact Zone
Before there was a Shannon Holmes, a Vickie Stringer or a Wahida Clark, there was a woman many consider the Queen of Urban Fiction, Sister Souljah. A pioneer of modern-day "street lit" in the spirit of legendary scribes like Iceberg Slim, Donald Goines and Claude Brown, Souljah, nee Lisa Williamson, helped to jump-start the genre's most recent incarnation in the late 1990s with her first, hugely popular novel, "The Coldest Winter Ever..."...
- 4/14/2011
- Essence
First announced last September… F. Gary Gray acquired the rights to the debut novel from New York City-based writer Frank Matthews, titled, Respect The Jux.
The novel was published on September 21st, with a synopsis that reads as follows: “Meet Cat; In Jamaica, he learned the art of the “jux”: robbing people by studying their everyday movements. By the age of eight, Cat was shoplifting and purse-snatching. By ten, he had his first gun. At fifteen, he committed his first murder. In New York City, he created The Order – a secret society of thieves who played by Cat’s rules. He taught his crew how to pull off the perfect jux. Made them swear on a bible and a bullet. Robbed dealers, pushers, thugs. And raked in millions. Then Cat was betrayed by one of his own men. Cat has to watch his back and remember the rules: Never trust a thief.
The novel was published on September 21st, with a synopsis that reads as follows: “Meet Cat; In Jamaica, he learned the art of the “jux”: robbing people by studying their everyday movements. By the age of eight, Cat was shoplifting and purse-snatching. By ten, he had his first gun. At fifteen, he committed his first murder. In New York City, he created The Order – a secret society of thieves who played by Cat’s rules. He taught his crew how to pull off the perfect jux. Made them swear on a bible and a bullet. Robbed dealers, pushers, thugs. And raked in millions. Then Cat was betrayed by one of his own men. Cat has to watch his back and remember the rules: Never trust a thief.
- 3/31/2011
- by Tambay
- ShadowAndAct
Every day a multitude of stars wander through the halls of MTV News to talk about their latest projects and goof around with our intrepid correspondents. But sometimes we catch stars elsewhere, and that's why we put together Spotted!, a daily compendium of stars in the wild.
If any mainstream music star seems indestructible, it's Jay-z. The guy often calls himself the best rapper alive and nobody bats an eyelash, and even when his albums are hit-and-miss (like his 2009 opus The Blueprint 3), they're still much better than most everything else on the radio (in this way, Jay-z is a lot like the latter seasons of "The Simpsons," undone only by the perfection that came earlier in its run). But Jigga has been taking some lumps recently, most notably at the hands (or rather, by the tongue) of Hammer (of all people). Jay dropped a pair of lines about Hammer's notorious...
If any mainstream music star seems indestructible, it's Jay-z. The guy often calls himself the best rapper alive and nobody bats an eyelash, and even when his albums are hit-and-miss (like his 2009 opus The Blueprint 3), they're still much better than most everything else on the radio (in this way, Jay-z is a lot like the latter seasons of "The Simpsons," undone only by the perfection that came earlier in its run). But Jigga has been taking some lumps recently, most notably at the hands (or rather, by the tongue) of Hammer (of all people). Jay dropped a pair of lines about Hammer's notorious...
- 11/3/2010
- by MTV News
- MTV Newsroom
F. Gary Gray has reportedly acquired the rights to the debut novel from New York City-based writer Frank Matthews, titled, Respect The Jux.
Scheduled to be published later this month (September 21st), the synopsis for Respect The Jux reads as follows: Meet Cat; In Jamaica, he learned the art of the “jux”: robbing people by studying their everyday movements. By the age of eight, Cat was shoplifting and purse-snatching. By ten, he had his first gun. At fifteen, he committed his first murder. In New York City, he created The Order – a secret society of thieves who played by Cat’s rules. He taught his crew how to pull off the perfect jux. Made them swear on a bible and a bullet. Robbed dealers, pushers, thugs. And raked in millions. Then Cat was betrayed by one of his own men. Cat has to watch his back and remember the rules: Never trust a thief.
Scheduled to be published later this month (September 21st), the synopsis for Respect The Jux reads as follows: Meet Cat; In Jamaica, he learned the art of the “jux”: robbing people by studying their everyday movements. By the age of eight, Cat was shoplifting and purse-snatching. By ten, he had his first gun. At fifteen, he committed his first murder. In New York City, he created The Order – a secret society of thieves who played by Cat’s rules. He taught his crew how to pull off the perfect jux. Made them swear on a bible and a bullet. Robbed dealers, pushers, thugs. And raked in millions. Then Cat was betrayed by one of his own men. Cat has to watch his back and remember the rules: Never trust a thief.
- 9/14/2010
- by Tambay
- ShadowAndAct
This weekend's edition of "Saturday Night Live" not only features the first "SNL" appearance by 88-year-old actress and comedienne Betty White (who scored the gig thanks to a swell of Internet support following her instant-classic Super Bowl commercial) but also the third career "SNL" performance for Jay-z. Hip-hop has not had a long history on the show, but the past decade has opened up the gates for performances from the likes of Dr. Dre, Eminem, the Black Eyed Peas, Lil Wayne and Kanye West. In fact, with his third appearance, Jigga ties Slim Shady as the rapper who has notched the most performances on the "Saturday Night Live" stage.
He made his "SNL" debut on December 16, 2000. "Ally McBeal" and "Charlie's Angels" star Lucy Liu was the host, and Iceberg Slim not only performed "I Just Wanna Luv U (Give It 2 Me)" and "Is That Your Chick" but also appeared in...
He made his "SNL" debut on December 16, 2000. "Ally McBeal" and "Charlie's Angels" star Lucy Liu was the host, and Iceberg Slim not only performed "I Just Wanna Luv U (Give It 2 Me)" and "Is That Your Chick" but also appeared in...
- 5/7/2010
- by Kyle Anderson
- MTV Newsroom
The issue of relationship "exploitation" has been on my mind lately. There must be a way that "interdependence" can exist between a man and a woman where no one is getting "exploited." Our culture comes up with models to address the exploitation factor, but more often than not, these models miss the mark. I'm thinking in particular of this relatively new glamorization of pimping, which is a misguided notion. Today's pimp goes beyond the stereotype popularized in mainstream culture by men like Iceberg Slim and Harvey Keitel. In recent years, the controversial term "pimp chic" has emerged as a catch phrase generating buzz by mainstream media outlets and their renegade counterparts. But what exactly is pimp chic, and is it a problematic concept or one that can assist the evolution of the way our culture classifies relationships? Generally defined as the...
- 3/16/2010
- by Jill Di Donato
- Huffington Post
Complex magazine has compiled a list of 7 films that the Hughes brothers almost made.
The one that stood out most to me was that, before Chris Nolan rebooted the Batman franchise, the brothers were offered the opportunity to adapt Frank Miller’s comic-noir classic The Return of the Dark Knight. The kicker? They wanted Clint Eastwood to play Bruce Wayne! Imagine that – Dirty Harry in a Batman suit.
No surprise that studio executives didn’t think much of the idea, and the project was eventually shelved!
As Complex noted, I think I’d have liked to see what they had in mind, because, quite frankly, it couldn’t have been any worse than the piece of shit that was Joel Schumacher’s Batman And Robin in 1997, which starred George Clooney as the caped crusader.
The age thing comes into question, when one considers Eastwood in the role. The Return Of The Dark Knight,...
The one that stood out most to me was that, before Chris Nolan rebooted the Batman franchise, the brothers were offered the opportunity to adapt Frank Miller’s comic-noir classic The Return of the Dark Knight. The kicker? They wanted Clint Eastwood to play Bruce Wayne! Imagine that – Dirty Harry in a Batman suit.
No surprise that studio executives didn’t think much of the idea, and the project was eventually shelved!
As Complex noted, I think I’d have liked to see what they had in mind, because, quite frankly, it couldn’t have been any worse than the piece of shit that was Joel Schumacher’s Batman And Robin in 1997, which starred George Clooney as the caped crusader.
The age thing comes into question, when one considers Eastwood in the role. The Return Of The Dark Knight,...
- 1/26/2010
- by Tambay
- ShadowAndAct
As we noted earlier, today is Jay-z's birthday. The man also known as Hova, Jigga and Iceberg Slim (but born Shawn Carter) turns 40 years old today, and he's celebrating with a big party in the Dominican Republic. The big question for anybody invited: What do you get the guy who seemingly has everything? Jay already has access to cars, clothes, homes and bling, so it seems like he'd be a difficult guy to buy for. (We would get him noise-canceling headphones, which are nice and useful and never something people buy for themselves.)
Of course, it's a little late to start shopping now, but Jay will probably accept belated gifts. So we hit the street to ask what fans would give Jay-z to commemorate turning the big 4-0.
Not surprisingly, most people were as stumped as we were (though at least one person suggested "a scarf"). Most couldn't fathom how...
Of course, it's a little late to start shopping now, but Jay will probably accept belated gifts. So we hit the street to ask what fans would give Jay-z to commemorate turning the big 4-0.
Not surprisingly, most people were as stumped as we were (though at least one person suggested "a scarf"). Most couldn't fathom how...
- 12/4/2009
- by Kyle Anderson
- MTV Newsroom
No matter what you call him (Mr. Carter, Hova, Iceberg Slim or Jigga), be sure to raise a glass to Jay-z today, as he'll be turning 40 years old. At this point, it's almost a given that the man born Shawn Carter is one of the two or three greatest rappers of all time, but he's also the first Mc to age gracefully. Most rappers lose their edge by the time they hit 40, but Jay might be at the top of his game right now. He put out one of the best albums of the year in The Blueprint 3, had his first Billboard Hot 100 chart-topper in "Empire State of Mind," just got nominated for a Grammy (for "D.O.A. (Death of Auto-Tune)" and was selected as the hottest Mc in the game. In fact, when you consider he also has a successful clothing line (Rocawear), his own label (Roc Nation...
- 12/4/2009
- by Kyle Anderson
- MTV Newsroom
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