Rihanna's 'We Found Love' Video Sets Tone For Talk That Talk

Clip 'sets up the imagery for the album and [is] in line with what they're doing,' director Melina Matsoukas tells MTV News.
By Jocelyn Vena

Rihanna on the set of her video for "We Found Love"
Photo: Photopress Belfast/Splash News

Rihanna always seems willing to try something new from album to album when it comes to her image, vision and style. She's been urban chic, pop-star light and dark and edgy. It seems that her Talk That Talk phase will see the singer looking more natural while also trying her hand at punk couture.



The video for "We Found Love" certainly launches a whole new stage for the chameleonlike performer. In it, Rihanna plays a gutter punk addicted to her beau and to drugs. The clip is a montage of the darkness that results when two people, possessed by one another and their personal demons, come together, eventually having to separate or fall apart. The story also comes to life with a specific aesthetic and color scheme: lots of high-end punk and rockabilly looks done up in denim and Americana hues.

The clip serves as the lead image for the November 21 album, and its director, Melina Matsoukas, says that she's excited she got to help set the tone for the highly-anticipated release and hopes that the two will work a bit more on it.

"I mean, we'll see. There's definitely some more music coming out and I'm sure we'll do some more collaborating. I definitely would love to," she told MTV News. "I'm excited that I got to do the first one off her new album, the first single. I've never done that, so that was good."



Matsoukas tells us that from her understanding, the vibe of the video fits in with the Talk That Talk packaging. "I think it sets up definitely the imagery for the album and it's in line with what they're doing," she said. "So that's good, and I'm sure there's plenty more, hopefully. I'm not sure, but [we'll see]. She called me after, and she loves it and I love it."


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L.E.P. Bogus Boys Bring Authentic Street Music On New Tape

'As I listen to the music, I'm like, this is it, this is perfect,' DJ Green Lantern tells Mixtape Daily of Now or Neva.
By Rob Markman

L.E.P. Bogus Boys and DJ Green Lantern
Photo: MTV News

Main Pick

Headliners: L.E.P. Bogus Boys and DJ Green Lantern

Representing: Chicago

Mixtape: Now or Neva

Real Spit: It's no secret that the authentic brand of street music that used to dominate rap isn't as abundant as it once was. That's not to say that there isn't a demand for harder-edge hip-hop, and L.E.P. Bogus Boys prove that with their latest mixtape, Now or Neva.

"I been rocking with them for a while, had them on my radio show a couple of times. I've been living with their music for a long time, been a fan, been a connoisseur of street music for the longest, and it's an honor to be called on to put this joint together. As I listen to the music, I'm like, this is it, this is perfect," DJ Green Lantern told Mixtape Daily.

On its surface, Now or Neva is a tightly woven collection of menacing block anthems. Dig deeper and you'll find heavier results. Beyond the brash boasting, guts and glory is a narrative of a tag-team duo who have vowed to make something out of nothing. "Amerikkka's Worst Nightmare," with its brooding bass and eerie keys, is the perfect 'hood Halloween ode. There's no fictional slashers like Freddy Krueger or Michael Myers — instead, Moonie and G Count lay out a plan to make it out of poverty, even if it involves robbery and murder.

The J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League-produced "25th Hour" touches on the same desperation. "I rather push weight than be pushin' up flowers," G Count spits on the song's hook. The mixtape's title track carries on the same theme, telling the tale of a once-successful hustler striving to get back on his feet. The Meek Mill-assisted "Rush Hour" is a definite standout. L.E.P. and the Maybach Music young gun display a natural chemistry with their edgy bars.

It isn't all murderous however; yes "Click Clack" is a gun ode, but it sounds more like a love song similar to how 2Pac approached his classic cut "Me and My Girlfriend." The sing-along "Closer" is uncompromised but highly relatable to anyone feeling the stress of life. You don't necessarily need street stripes to feel Count and Moonie's emotion.

Make no mistake, Now or Neva is unapologetically street. But more than bullying bars, it is the varying degrees of pain, desperation and ambition that L.E.P. exhibit that make the tape a winner.

Joints to Check For » "Claim My Sh--" - "['Claim My Sh--'] is about the organizations out here, certain rappers out, they claim certain organizations or they wait till their, like, grown men to buy they way in," G Count explained. "This is something you can't buy your way in. This is deep-rooted, it's organic, and as from the streets as we are."

» "25th Hour" - "The title of that song, I just feel like it's overtime for us. It's constantly work for us, we never stop. Team No Sleep. We work all day, we breathe, eat, sleep, use the bathroom, music," Moonie said. "This our life so that's why we're doin' '25th Hour.' We putting in them extra hours to make sure we get to where we want to be."

For other artists featured in Mixtape Daily, check out Mixtape Daily Headlines.

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Katy Perry Talks Tequila And VMAs During Pre-Show

'I had an omelet and shot of tequila,' nine-time nominee Perry tells MTV News before Sunday's big show.
By Eric Ditzian

Katy Perry arrives at the 2011 VMAs
Photo: Steve Granitz/ WireImage

Katy Perry openly fretted just hours before the Video Music Awards Sunday night (August 28) that she couldn't decide between all her many dress options -- "#vmagirlproblems!!!" she tweeted, but in the end she picked out a stunner.

She sauntered onto the black carpet inside the JW Marriott in downtown Los Angeles on Sunday dressed in an anime-inspired kimono-esque dress, an umbrella over her pinkish hair and husband Russell Brand by her side.

"He is a gentleman," she told MTV News of Brand. "Chivalry isn't dead."

Hey, she deserved the attention. Perry is not only the most-nominated artist of the evening, with nods including Video of the Year, Best Female Video and Best Pop Video, but the only artist in VMA history to be nominated for four different videos.

"It just means that all my hard work has been recognized by the people of MTV and the fans that are voting, which is really, really important to me," she said. "Otherwise, I'm here to have a good time. I already had a shot of tequila at 12. I had an omelet and shot of tequila."

Things were already going her way by the time she'd headed onto the carpet. Perry won one professional award for Special Effects based on her "E.T," beating Kanye West's "Power," Linkin Park's "Waiting for the End" and Chromeo's "Don't Turn the Lights On."

Before she made her way into the Nokia Theatre for the VMAs, Perry took time thank her fans for their support. "Thank you so much for everyone who voted," she said.

The 28th annual MTV Video Music Awards are live now! Stick with MTV News for winners, photos, video and behind-the-scenes stories about everything going down. Visit VMA.MTV.com for the latest.

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Run The World (Girls)

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• Label: Columbia
• Director: Francis Lawrence
• Album: Run the World (Girls)

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Lindsay Lohan's Probation Revoked

Actress could serve 18 months in jail for failing to perform her court-ordered community service.
By James Montgomery

Lindsay Lohan arrives in court on Wednesday
Photo: Robyn Beck/ Getty Images

Lindsay Lohan may be headed back to jail following a "blistering" hearing Wednesday (October 19) in a Los Angeles courthouse where a judge revoked the troubled actress' probation and had her led out of the proceedings in handcuffs.

According to TMZ, Judge Stephanie Sautner ruled that Lohan had violated the conditions of her probation — stemming from a 2011 arrest on theft charges — and set a hearing for November 2, at which time Lohan could receive a sentence of up to a year and a half in jail. Lohan, dressed in a flowing white Fendi dress with matching scarf tied around her neck, was placed in handcuffs and exited the courtroom, where she was processed by the L.A. County Sheriff's Office. TMZ reports that she has already been bailed out.

According to the conditions of her probation, Lohan was placed on house arrest and ordered to perform 480 hours of community service, which included working at a Los Angeles Women's Center and the Los Angeles County morgue. She was also told to undergo psychological counseling and participate in a shoplifters alternative course.

But according to Judge Sautner, Lohan failed to show up at the Women's Center on at least nine different occasions, and she added that she doubted the actress was attending counseling once a week, as the court had ordered. Before she was taken away in handcuffs, Judge Sautner told Lohan that she must complete 16 hours of service at the morgue before appearing in court again November 2.

Sautner said Lohan's eviction from the Women's Center for not showing up violated the terms of probation and she explained to the sometime actress' lawyer, Shawn Holley, that the time spent at the Red Cross did not count toward her community service obligation. "No one has the power to change my sentence," Sautner said. "Not the volunteer center and not probation. She is not getting credit for any time at the American Red Cross." According to reports, Holley was unable to provide the judge with a count of how many hours Lohan had completed at the Women's Center. "The way I look at it, Ms. Lohan has created an impossibility to perform the sentence that was given to her by her own actions," Sautner told Lohan. "I certainly find that cause to revoke her probation."

And though she said Lohan could receive 18 months in jail, Sautner added that new laws and overcrowding would make such a lengthy sentence unlikely.

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'Hobbit' Cast Is A 'Little Family,' Luke Evans Says

'Peter [Jackson] and the team create a very warm atmosphere on set and off set,' actor tells MTV News.
By Kara Warner

Luke Evans
Photo: Michael Buckner/ Getty Images

The last time we caught up with "Hobbit" actor Luke Evans — who is playing dragon slayer Bard the Bowman in Peter Jackson's two-part big-screen adaptation of the J. R. R. Tolkien classic — he had yet to descend on New Zealand and Jackson's Middle-earth, but he was excited to dig into his meaty new role.

Now, almost three months later, Evans has finally begun work on the highly anticipated film, and when MTV News sat down with him as he promoted the upcoming sword-and-sandals flick "Immortals," he revealed he's become much better acquainted with a bow and arrow and that there's a lot of warm-fuzzy bonding happening between the cast and crew.

"It's been fantastic, the training before we started shooting 'The Hobbit,' " Evans said when we asked how his archery skills were progressing. "I'm fully into it now, and it's great. I'm having a fantastic time. Living in New Zealand, it's like a different world — it is a different world. It's very, very cool."

When asked if there might be any particularly cool scenes or scene partners he's been working with he could tease or talk about, Evans admitted that he's barely scratched the surface of what is scripted for his role.

"The thing is, I've done about 10 percent of what I'm going to be doing, shoot-wise, so I can't really say, but the cast are fantastic. We're so far away from home. We have a little family," he said. "Peter [Jackson] and the team create a very warm atmosphere on set and off set. We all socialize, it's really special. I just feel very lucky to be a part of it."

Does that off-set bonding include group activities like "Hobbit" game nights? "No!" Evans laughed.

Check out everything we've got on "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey."

For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com.

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