Astro Dedicates New Mixtape To His 'Deadbeat' Dad

Former 'X Factor' contestant tells Mixtape Daily his Deadbeats & Lazy Lyrics is a shoutout of sorts to his father who 'was never around.'
By Rob Markman, with additional reporting by Ade Mangum

Astro
Photo: MTV News

Main Pick

Artist: Astro

Representing: Brooklyn, NY

Mixtape: Deadbeats & Lazy Lyrics

Real Spit: There is a certain competitive spirit that fuels most MCs, and Brooklyn's Astro is no different, but the one-time "X Factor" contestant finds motivation in more than just the beats and rhymes. The teenage spitter uses his recently released mixtape, Deadbeats & Lazy Lyrics, as a bit of payback to his first detractor.

"My biological father was never around, and in the black community we call fathers that aren't around deadbeats," Stro explained to Mixtape Daily of the tape he dropped online for free on February 18. "I said when I get big, when people ask me about stuff, because I know he's listening to me, I'ma antagonize him and I'ma name the mixtape Deadbeat, because he knows he's a deadbeat."

Astro added the Lazy Lyrics part to the title simply because it had a nice ring to it.

Sonically, Deadbeats & Lazy Lyrics is a return to the brand of jazz-infused hip-hop that dominated the 1990s. On the opening "Stro is the Name" the rap prodigy delivers boastful raps over a well-layered boom-bap, but on the very next track "Dead Beat" he takes a different approach. In the spirit of the genre's top story tellers like Slick Rick, Astro weaves a tale of his absentee dad. "Sometimes I thought my maker was mistaken/ How you hatin' on your own creation, behavin' as if there's no relation," he questions before spewing even more venom. "Daddy gave me a name and walked away/ But if he knew that I'd be paid he probably be right here today."

With "He Fell Off," Astro addresses his critics over a beat backed by the Honey Drippers' famous 1973 "Impeach the President" drum sample, and on "Catchin Wreck," the young MC revisits the Notorious B.I.G.'s 1997 "The World Is Filled..." instrumental.

It's obvious that despite his age, the 16-year-old Astro is well-versed on his hip-hop history, a quality that many rap rookies lack. We're not sure how his dad feels about it all, but every rap pioneer who came before him should be proud.

Joints to Check For

» "Catchin Wreck" -"It's a term from the '90s meaning you got the juice, you getting props, you getting respect. And when I heard the beat, it was so Brooklyn and I always wanted to do something to it, but I never knew exactly what. So I listened to a few Biggie songs, kinda modeled the flow I used on a song off of his joints and I put it on there."

» "Flow" - "I wrote it all in my head too, that's the special thing about this song. I called it 'Flow' because I switched up my flow so many times."

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Harry Styles Gets Nailed In The Crotch By Sneaker-Tossing Directioner!

'I didn't mean to hit him where I hit him. I'm really embarrassed,' guilty concertgoer confesses.
By Jocelyn Vena

Harry Styles [file]
Photo: Getty Images

The guys of One Direction are currently taking their act all across the globe on their recently launched Take Me Home tour. And while they are used to being showered with love and accolades, on Tuesday night Harry Styles was pelted with something a little less warm and fuzzy.

When the guys played the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre in Glasgow, Scotland, one of Styles' fans threw a pair of shoes at the floppy-haired heartthrob — twice. The first time, the sneaker landed onstage mid-banter and Harry picked it up. But the second time, the Directioner had better (or worse) aim, and the shoe landed right in Styles' crotch. In footage posted on YouTube, after he was struck, Styles half-jokingly fell over in pain.

Liam Payne and Zayn Malik came to Styles' side, and a few seconds later he was back on his feet, doing some deep lunges and stretches (which we assume he also does when he hits the gym) as the banter continued. He then spoke to someone offstage before the show went on as planned. The fivesome are slated to play the same venue Wednesday night (February 27).

So, who managed to make contact with Styles during the gig? Jade Anderson, a local East Kilbride teenager, who was almost escorted out of the show before the band stepped in. "I just wanted him to touch something belonging to me. I didn't mean to hit him where I hit him. I'm really embarrassed," she told a local radio show, according to The Daily Record. Not only did she get to stay for the remainder of the show, she also got her shoes back.

Now, considering that the guys are also filming their 3-D film while on the road, we wonder if cameras were rolling during the incident. That could look quite interesting in the final cut of the Morgan Spurlock-directed flick.

One Direction will play shows in Europe and Mexico through June, when the tour will circle around to the States, with the first show taking place in Sunnyside, Florida.

It's not the first time that Directioners have thrown items at the guys onstage. Last June, when they played Los Angeles on their Up All Night tour, fans threw bras at the fellas, specifically Zayn and Harry. The bottom line is, 1D should always be prepared for anything and everything.

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• One Direction

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Acoustic Routes – review

Billy Connolly shows good folk knowledge in this winning documentary on the works and influence of guitarist Bert Jansch

This is a 20th anniversary reissue of the documentary about folk guitarist Bert Jansch (who died in 2011), a pioneering musician who was to be an influence on Neil Young and Bob Dylan. It's a film that is preaching to the converted, and probably best savoured by those with a connoisseurship of folk, but I found myself won over by the music's melancholy beauty, and by Jansch's matter-of-fact modesty. This is not a music star who is after wealth and bling; in this film, he looks as if he lives just like the rest of us mortals. Billy Connolly introduces us to his work, and the comedian's love and expertise in all matters relating to folk music in general, and Jansch in particular, are very engaging. Jansch's musicianship and mastery of the acoustic guitar are quietly impressive.

Rating: 4/5

• Documentary
• Bert Jansch
• Folk music

Peter Bradshaw

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Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2013/feb/27/acoustic-routes-review

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Breaking Dawn – Breaking Dawn: Part 2 DOMINATES Razzies

Taylor Lautner broods a bit here as Jacob Black. He’s hanging out with Kristen Stewart as Bella, of course.

Breaking Dawn – Breaking Dawn: Part 2 DOMINATES Razzies - The not-so-critically-below Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2 was the big “winner” at the 33rd annual Golden Raspberry Awards, a.k.a. the Razzies.

The awards, given out the night before the 2013 Academy Awards, celebrate (or call out) Hollywood’s worst achievements of the cinematic year.

Breaking Dawn Part 2 was recognized in seven categories, including worst picture. Congratulations to the entire cast and crew on that dubious honor!!

Other Razzies racked up by the final Twilight Saga film:

• Worst sequel
• Bill Condon, worst director
• Kristen Stewart, worst actress
• Taylor Lautner, worst supporting actor
• Lautner and Mackenzie Foy, worst couple
• The entire cast, worst screen ensemble

The film, of course, made $828 million at the box office and its big three stars are now world famous, so the Razzies can sort of suck it in that sense.

Adam Sandler, who last year monopolized the Razzies with his “comedy” Jack & Jill, this year got only two awards for That’s My Boy. Progress, man!

Rihanna, as worst supporting actress in Battleship, won by a landslide, while worst screenwriter Sandler beat the authors of Breaking Dawn by a single vote.

Nothing like a true awards season nail-biter.

 

Source: thehollywoodgossip.com

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Source: http://www.zimbio.com/Robert+Pattinson/articles/hTQ4g71wRZK/Breaking+Dawn+Breaking+Dawn+Part+2+DOMINATES

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L.A. Film Festival: Socially conscious short docs

Focus Forward is a series of three-minute documentaries that shed a light on innovative individuals who are shaping the world through acts or inventions. The program boasts a roster of 30 international filmmakers and since its inception in September, nine of its films have been shown at festivals (five premiered at Sundance and four at Tribeca). Four more will premiere at the Los Angeles Film Festival, which kicked off Thursday (in all, The Times-sponsored fest is showing 52 short films). GE has put up more than $1 million to underwrite the program, which is administered by Cinelan.

The Focus Forward debuts in L.A. include shorts by two Oscar nominees, Liz Garbus and Eddie Schmidt. Garbus, producer-director of “The Farm: Angola, USA” and “Bobby Fischer Against the World,” has made a short called “Robot,” which looks at the benefits well-developed robots can provide. Schmidt (“Twist of Faith”) has made a short called “Good Bread,” a story about L.A.’s Father Greg Boyle, who teaches job skills to ex-cons through Homeboy Industries.

Source: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/movies/2012/06/la-film-festival-focus-forward-filmssocially-conscious-short-docs.html

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Identity Thief steals opportunity to top US box office in Oscar week

Oscar weekend means a quiet week at the box office – and a chance for independent movies to take some of the limelight

Box office is usually dead in the water on Oscar weekend and this year was no exception. A particularly weak session that fell roughly 22% against the same period in 2012 enabled the Melissa McCarthy comedy Identity Thief to creep back up to number one as Summit's crime drama Snitch failed to capitalise. The latter stars Dwayne Johnson, the versatile former wrestler. The man occasionally known as the Rock plays a small business owner who cuts a deal to infiltrate a criminal organisation in order to free his son who got caught up in a drug deal.

Snitch is a classic example of how the increasingly influential independent space can make, acquire and distribute movies that, at the right time, can compete with anything the traditional studios have to offer. The movie was produced by Exclusive Media, the ambitious US-based operation led by British veterans Nigel Sinclair and Guy East. Exclusive produced the project and financed it alongside Participant Media and Imagenation, two significant funds backed by big money. Exclusive's international sales arm raised a big portion of the production costs by pre-selling international distribution rights at Cannes back in 2011, when the parent company also licensed US rights to independent powerhouse, Summit Entertainment.

The top 10 contains more independent stories. Safe Haven is released by the "independent studio" Relativity Media and would not have come to light were it not for the participation of New York-based FilmNation, which oversaw the licensing of international rights. FilmNation did the same on Steven Soderbergh's Side Effects, which is released in the US by the fledgling distributor Open Road Films. Warm Bodies is another independent production generated by the mighty sales operation run by Summit International and distributed in the US by its counterpart, Summit Entertainment. The aforementioned sales company also licensed territories on Beautiful Creatures, which Warner Bros distributes in the US.

And let's not overlook The Weinstein Company, whose far-reaching financing, production and sales nous single-handedly brought Oscar-nominated Silver Linings Playbook to life, as well as the animation Escape from Planet Earth. The Weinsteins' genre label Dimension Films was behind the weekend's new release Dark Skies, produced by genre specialist Jason Blum. All told, there are only two movies in play this weekend that hail from the traditional studios – Universal's Identity Thief and Fox's A Good Day to Die Hard.

It won't be like this in the heady summer months of blockbuster season, although don't be surprised if a few big independent movies sneak in there. Without them the US distribution landscape would look quite anaemic at a time when the major US studios are cutting back their annual distribution slates to focus on tentpoles.

North American top 10, 22-24 February 2012

1. Identity Thief, $14.1m. Total: $93.7m

2. Snitch, $13m

3. Escape from Planet Earth, $11m. Total: $35.1m

4. Safe Haven, $10.6m. Total: $48.1m

5. A Good Day to Die Hard, $10m. Total: $51.8m

6. Dark Skies, $8.9m

7. Silver Linings Playbook, $6.1m. Total: $107.5m

8. Warm Bodies, $4.8m. Total: $58.3m

9. Side Effects, $3.5m. Total: $25.3m

10. Beautiful Creatures, $3.4m. Total: $16.4m

• Oscars
• Comedy
• Oscars 2013

Jeremy Kay

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Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/filmblog/2013/feb/26/identity-thief-us-box-office

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Blondes With Pixies Clearly Have More Fun!

We've noticed a big Hollywood hair trend right now - the blonde pixie haircut. Celebrities all ages love cutting off their long curls to look absolutely smashing in a short blonde haircut instead. Click on the pics for great hair inspo - and maybe get the curage to try it yourself?

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Style Icon: Carey Mulligan

Source: http://www.posh24.com/hairstyles/blondes_with_pixies_clearly_have_more_fun

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