A new short film featuring rapper Kanye West is slated to be released this September. Spike Jonze, who directed West’s “Flashing Lights” video, directed We Were Once A Fairytale. The short was originally supposed to be the video for “See You In My Nightmares,” but ended up becoming a bit lengthier. We Were Once A Fairytale debuted at the Los Angeles Film Festival, features Kanye West as himself, drunk in a club. The 15-minute clip will be released through iTunes on September 8.
Jay-Z will be the headlining performer along with Lady Gaga at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards. Jay-Z will take center stage in an evening that also features performances by Green Day, Pink, Muse and others. Jay-Z’s single “D.O.A. (Death of Auto-Tune) is up for three awards this year for Best Male Video, Best Hip-Hop Video and Video of the Year. Nelly Furtado, Miranda Cosgrove, Ne-Yo and others have already been announced as presenters during this year’s ceremony, which takes place September 13 in New York.
Ludacris continues to diversify his business portfolio with the launch of a new cologne. Ludacris recently entered a deal with Tag to produce a scent for its Signature Scents line. In addition to creating his own scent, Ludacris, born Christopher Bridges, will also design the can for the fragrance. Ludacris recently revealed to AllHipHop.com that he is working on Ludaversal, the follow up to his 2008 album Theater of the Mind.
Lil Wayne’s lawyers were busy this week, as two high profile cases involving the rapper were in two separate courts. On Tuesday (August 11), Lil Wayne appeared in a Manhattan court for a hearing in relation to his gun-posession case. Lil Wayne has pleaded not guilty to second-degree felony count of criminal posession with a weapon. The charges stem from a 2007 incident when police searched his tour bus and found a .40 calibre handgun. Prosecutors claim DNA evidence links Lil Wayne to the gun. Yesterday, Lil Wayne and his attorney Stacy Richman disputed the evidence and claimed the gun is legally registered to the rapper’s manager, Cortez Bryant. In related news, a copyright infringment case involving Lil Wayne was postponed today (August 12). Lil Wayne is accused of illegally sampling Karma-Ann Swanepoel’s tune “Once” for his song “I Feel Like Dying.” The trial, which was scheduled to start October 26 but has been pushed back. A new date has not been set.