Rap superstars Eminem and Jay-Z made a joint appearance at Comerica Park (home of the Detroit Tigers baseball team) in Detroit, MI last night during the Tigers vs. Yankees game to announce plans for two massive concerts to take place this September at Comerica Park in Detroit (Em‘s hometown) and at Yankee Stadium NYC (Jay‘s hometown). Here are photos from their appearance/announcement last night and the deets of what went down:

In a summer that’s already overflowing with superstar concerts, hometown rapper Eminem — with some help from an out-of-town friend — is set to deliver what may be the season’s biggest concert event. Eminem and Jay-Z will perform together Sept. 2 at Comerica Park, the pair announced Wednesday during the Detroit Tigers-New York Yankees game at Comerica Park. They will trade off and play Yankee Stadium in Jay-Z’s hometown of New York on Sept. 13. Em and Jay-Z — each sporting their respective team’s logo — made the announcement live on Fox Sports Detroit during the top of the fourth inning, following an announcement on ESPN during the game’s national broadcast. “(We’re) just trying to find ways we can collaborate and stretch the genre out of hip-hop and make it large,” Jay-Z said. “Playing stadiums, that’s new for hip-hop” … The Detroit concert — which Em teased on his Twitter account early Wednesday — will mark Eminem’s biggest hometown show since he performed at Comerica Park in 2005 … Jay-Z, meanwhile, performed a sold-out show at the Palace of Auburn Hills in March. He also performed at Eastern Michigan University’s Convocation Center in October 2009, a month after the release of his “Blueprint 3″ album. The Comerica Park show is the only outdoor stadium concert booked in Metro Detroit this summer. Ticket information is not yet available. Wednesday’s concert announcement coincided with the news that “Not Afraid,” the first single from Eminem’s new album “Recovery,” will debut at No. 1 on this week’s Billboard Hot 100 singles chart. “Not Afraid” marks only the 16th time a song has debuted at No. 1 in the nearly 52-year history of the chart. The song is Eminem’s third No. 1 song on the Hot 100, following “Lose Yourself” and “Crack a Bottle.” “Recovery” is due out June 22.

This is just … fantastic news!! Detroit Rock City always gets the biggest acts to play the biggest shows and this show may be the biggest yet. Eminem and Jay-Z are the biggest rappers in the game, a show where they co-headline is bound to be epic. I’m telling you right now, I’m gonna do everything I can to be at the Detroit show on September 2 … count on it. After the jump, check out video of Em and Jay‘s announcement on ESPN last night to hear the deets straight from the guys themselves …

Earlier today we learned that Taylor Swift made history as the youngest performer to win the Album of the Year award at the 52nd Grammy Awards last night and Beyoncé made Grammy history as the most honored woman in an single night. We also learned that the late Michael Jackson was paid tribute by a group of Grammy performers in a fun 3D performance and his children appeared on stage to accept his Lifetime Achievement Award. But there were a lot of other folks at the Staples Center last night for the Grammy Awards … many of whom made their grand arrivals on the red carpet last night:

I know Imogen Heap is taking a lot of flak for her weird outfit but A.) she always dresses weird so what’s the big deal and B.) her dress was a very special one that was broadcasting a live Twitter feed from her followers so that they could be with her at the Grammys last night. She gets snaps in my book. There was a lot of love, a lot of crazy mess and a lot of divas on the red carpet last night … which is pretty standard fare, I think. After the jump, check out a few photos from the show itself and find out who else took home Grammophone tropies from the 52nd Annual Grammy Awards last night …

Eminem, who has been battling drug addiction for the past year or so, has an ally in his quest to get clean … in the form of BFF Elton John. Elton has admitted that he has been helping Em with his addiction in the past 18 months and claims that he is doing “brilliantly”:

Elton John is there for Eminem, who is battling a drug problem. “I’ve been helping Eminem over the last 18 months and he’s doing brilliantly,” John says, reports the British Press Association. Speaking to BBC Radio 5 in the U.K. on Saturday, Sir Elton, 62, who has freely spoken about his own past issues with substance abuse, said: “I’m there if people want my help. If people ask for help you tell them where to go but there’s no point advising people if they don’t want to do it.” In May, Eminem admitted he’d suffered from a devastating drug addiction that led to him downing as many as 20 Vicodin, Ambien and Valium in a day. “The numbers got so high,” he told Vibe magazine, “I don’t even know what I was taking. Following his first stint in rehab in 2005, the rapper, 37, said he nearly overdosed after an acquaintance gave him unidentified blue pills, which a doctor later told him were actually methadone.

We’ve been hearing about Eminem‘s on-going battle with drug addiction for some time now but I don’t know that many of us knew that he was getting so much help from Elton John. No matter where he is getting help from, it’s important for him to stay resolute in his effort to get clean and stay clean. I wonder if all this help from Elton, help that may very well save his life, will change the way Em raps about gays and lesbians in his songs. In any event, I hope he is able to save his own life because no matter how much help others are willing to offer him, it’s going to be up to him to ultimately decide his own fate.

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In the seemingly unyielding back and forth battle between Mariah Carey and Eminem, the latest volley attack has been unleashed upon the world. As you may recall, Mimi released a new music video for her single Obsessed wherein she played a stalker in the video that bared a striking resemblance to rapper Eminem who previously put MC on blast after he reportedly hooked up with her a few years back. Now, Em has released a new diss track called The Warning wherein he addresses Mimi‘s attack on him and he levels his own attack/threats on her:

Eminem and Mariah Carey are at it again. On Thursday, the rapper debuted a new song, “The Warning,” slamming his ex and going into full detail about a sexual encounter they once had. “Only reason I dissed you in the first place is because you denied seeing me. Now I’m pissed off,” he says before he starts his rap. “You wanna hear something wick wack?/ I got the same exact tattoo that’s on Nick’s back,” he says, referring to Carey’s husband Nick Cannon. Eminem also blasts Carey for mocking him in her latest music video, “Obsessed.” “Oh gee, is that supposed to be me in the video with the goatee?/ Wow Mariah, didn’t expect ya to go balls out./ Bitch, shut the fuck up before I put all those phone calls out/ When you was wilding out/ Before Nick, when you was on my dick,” he raps. He then threatens to reveal personal pictures he has of the Carey. “Mariah, it ever occur to you that I still have pictures?” he asks. The feud between the two began earlier this year after Eminem namedropped Carey in the track “Bagpipes From Baghdad” from his latest album Relapse. “Mariah whatever happened to us / Why did we ever have to break-up?” he rapped. “Nick Cannon, you better back the fuck up. I’m not playing, I want her back, you punk.” Cannon later shot back on his blog, calling the rapper (who goes by the name “Slim Shady”) “Slim Lamey.” He added that Eminem is “still obsessed with my wife, the same female that wouldn’t let him get to second base from 8 years ago.” A month or so later, Carey got the last laugh by mocking Eminem in “Obsessed.”

Children, can’t you two play nice? I have to say … as embarrassingly juvenile as all of this public fighting is, I have to admit that it’s terribly entertaining. For the life of me, I do not understand why Mariah Carey insists on going up against a diss maestro like Eminem. She will never win in a war of words with him … and if she’s counting on her young hubby Nick Cannon to defend her honor, well, I’m afraid he’s not much of a match for Marshall Mathers. If explicit photos of her do exist and they are in Em‘s possession, they’re gonna get out. Why piss off a person — who has no qualms about taking things too far — with such dangerous ammunition? It’s totally comical. After the jump, hear Eminem‘s new diss track The Warning in full and check out the LULz for yourselves …

Confirming what many folks had already suspected (and one MTV writer had previously confirmed himself), Eminem spoke with Rap Radar and admitted that he was totally in on the ass-in-face gag that comic Sacha Baron Cohen pulled off at the 2009 MTV Movie Awards this past Sunday night. As you may recall, Cohen — while promoting his upcoming new movie Brüno: Delicious Journeys Through America for the Purpose of Making Heterosexual Male — descended from the rafters dressed as an angel and landed in Eminem‘s lap, making sure to thrust his entire bare ass in his face in the process. Eminem, who looked visibly upset, got up and stormed out of the awards show ceremony. Today we learn from him that the whole thing was staged from the start. Here is a pic of Em and Sacha at the MTV Movie Awards rehearsal and portions of his interview with Rap Radar:

Three days ago at the MTV Movie Awards, Sacha Baron Cohen caused a firestorm as “Bruno” when he landed ass first on Eminem. Many speculated for the days whether the stunt was staged or real, with everyone speaking except the man himself. Breaking his silence, Em spoke exclusively to Rap Radar about the entire “ordeal”.

RR: Can you clear up the Bruno stunt at the MTV Awards? Was it staged or planned?
Eminem: Sacha called me when we were in Europe and he had an idea to do something outrageous at the Movie Awards. I’m a big fan of his work so I agreed to get involved with the gag.

If it wasn’t planned the way you agreed to, do you hold MTV or Sacha responsible and will you take any kind of action?
I’m thrilled that we pulled this off better than we rehearsed it. It had so many people going “nuts” so to speak. Everyone was blowing me up about it.

After you left the ceremony, where did you go?
After the ceremony I went back to my hotel and laughed uncontrollably for about 3 hours. Especially after I saw it on air.

And that, folks, should settle matters. I am very glad to know that Eminem is a good sport and that he can take a joke, especially being the prankster that he is. The producers of the 2009 MTV Movie Awards (headed by Mark Burnett Productions) should deffo be commended on pulling off a great awards show this year. They managed to put on an entertaining show and pulled off a gag that got a lot of buzz for days to come after it was all said and done. Staged or not, you’ve got to admit that the gag was pretty funny. Well done, MTV, Eminem and Sacha Baron Cohen.

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Eminem, née Marshall Mathers, decided to venture out in public for the first time since he was humiliated on live, national TV Sunday night at the 2009 MTV Movie Awards. As you may recall, Em was involved in a hilarious gag orchestrated by Sacha Baron Cohen and MTV (it remains to be seen if Eminem was in on the joke) that forced the rapper to get a faceful of Cohen‘s bare ass. After storming out of the awards show, Em was nowhere to be seen … until yesterday. He met up with his BFF Travis Barker and the pair went shopping at Barker‘s clothing store Famous Stars and Straps:

Perhaps Travis was trying to cheer up his friend with free swag or mebbe Em isn’t as pissed as we might’ve thought cuz he seemed just fine yesterday. I, personally, still contend that he was in on the joke to an extent … and wasn’t privy to just how far the gag would go. Then again, being the prankster that he is … Eminem is no stranger to using bare ass to get some laughs. Whatever the case may be, it looks like Eminem is over it already and can move on … but I wonder if we should be on the look-out for some retaliation.

[Photo credit: X17]

Clearly, the folks who voted for the 2009 MTV Movie Awards were BIG Twilight fans because they chose to heap numerous awards on the film and its actors over bigger movie blockbusters like Batman: The Dark Knight and the Academy Award winning film Slumdog Millionaire. The show should’ve been renamed the 2009 MTV Twilight Awards cuz, really, that’s what the whole thing turned out to be. Here are a few pics of some of the red carpet arrivals at the Gibson Amphitheater at Universal Studios in Hollywood, CA, a run-down of what went down last night and some pics from the show itself:

The MTV Movie Awards were a blood bath Sunday night with “Twilight” taking five trophies, including best movie. But it was Sacha Baron Cohen who gave the show its trademark bizarro moment when he landed upside-down on the lap of Eminem, who may or may not have been deeply offended. “Twilight,” the popular vampire drama starring Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart, sucked up golden popcorn trophies for best movie, best fight, best kiss, breakthrough male performance and female performance during Sunday’s freewheeling and often-bleeped ceremony at the Gibson Amphitheatre in Universal City, Calif. “The fans are the ultimate driving force,” Stewart said while accepting her best female performance trophy (which she promptly dropped on the floor, breaking off a chunk of the golden popcorn). Awards were decided by fan votes. Other winners included “High School Musical 3: Senior Year” star Zac Efron for male performance and his co-star Ashley Tisdale for female breakthrough performance. Miley Cyrus accepted the best song from a movie prize for “The Climb” from “Hannah Montana: The Movie,” preventing “Twilight” from sweeping all six nominated categories. An award new to this year, the “WTF moment,” went to Amy Poehler’s scene in “Baby Mama” where she urinates in a sink. But even that was upstaged by Baron Cohen, who flew in on a wire, hanging above the audience. Dressed as flamboyant character “Bruno” in a pair of feathery white wings and his rear end mostly exposed, the comedian crashed into an overhead obstacle and was lowered headfirst into the lap of Eminem, his bare hindquarters in the rapper’s face. “Is the real Slim Shady about to stand up?” chirped Baron Cohen. Eminem seemed visibly upset by the encounter, and members of his entourage roughly removed Baron Cohen as the rapper struggled to get out. But had the rapper’s self-styled homophobic character been punked by Baron Cohen and MTV, or was he in on the elaborate stunt? Free of the scene, Eminem stormed out with his entourage in tow — and cameras rolling — and hit the exits. Baron Cohen’s descent to the audience was included in rehearsals, but Eminem — who performed Sunday night — didn’t take part in that piece of the run-through. As the rapper stormed off, it sounded as though he was wearing a microphone, and cameras were in position to record his fast exit, but he was not seen or heard from again. Baron Cohen’s publicist, Matthew Labov, had no comment when reached after the show. A spokeswoman for MTV would not confirm whether Eminem was caught by surprise, and representatives for the rapper did not immediately return requests for comment Sunday night … Besides handing out awards for movies from the past year, MTV debuted new footage from the upcoming films “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen,” “Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince” and “New Moon.” The highlight of the “Twilight” sequel clip: A newly buff Taylor Lautner transformed instantly into a giant, menacing canine, fans’ first look at one of the storyline’s werewolves.

LOL. I was surprised that Twilight only won 5 awards … from watching the show, it seemed like the movie won every category announced. It’s very clear that the Twilighters have spoken … and they love their vamps! They also love their awkwardly, fidgety starlet Kristen Stewart … who fumbled and itched her head thruout her acceptance speech for Best Female Performance (she looked like a crack addict pheenin’ for a hit) — and then dropped her award trophy onto the ground. In case you missed it the first time or just wanna watch it again, you can watch the full video of her onstage acceptance speech (and fumble) after the jump …

The 2009 MTV Movie Awards, held in LA last night, were chock full of fun and memorable moments (which I’ll get to in more detail a little later on today) but none more memorable or more buzzed about than the Sacha Baron Cohen gag played on Detroit rapper Eminem. As he introduced the nominees for Best Male Actor, Cohen in character as the very flamboyant Brüno descended from on high into the lap of Eminem and managed to thrust his bare ass in Em‘s face. An obvs pissed off Eminem stormed out of the audience, causing uproarious laughter from the crowd. Some contend the whole thing was staged, I personally think that while Em was in on the initial joke, Cohen and MTV might’ve really got him with the ass in face thing. Here are a few pics of the incident:

Eminem apparently has flown the coop from the MTV Movie Awards after a close encounter with Sacha Baron Cohen. In character as flamboyant fashion reporter “Bruno,” Baron Cohen flew in above Sunday’s award show audience on a wire — and in a pair of feathery white wings and his rear end mostly exposed. But the comedian crashed into an overhead obstacle, and he was lowered into the audience — right into Eminem’s lap, his bare hindquarters in the rapper’s face. Eminem seemed visibly upset at the mishap. Or was it a joke he was in on?

See … Eminem is such a prankster, he made a career of lampooning other celebrities … but he does have a pretty solid track record for not being able to take a joke himself. My guess is that he agreed to be part of a gag but prolly was not let in on the full extent of the final punchline. It’s hard to be sure but he really did look pissed off. After the jump, check out video of the gag and judge for yourself …

Marshall Mathers a.k.a. Slim Shady a.k.a. Eminem is back with a new album and, with the help of XXL magazine, has teamed up with the Marvel Comics hero The Punisher in a new digital comic book where the men battle the forces of evil in Detroit, MI. This special edition issue of The Punisher is titled Kill You and part 1 will be released inside the May 5th issue of XXL magazine, part 2 will be released online HERE. Here is what the cover of the Kill You issue of this comic book looks like and some deets on its creation:

Slim Shady — yes, the real Slim Shady — is now riding shotgun with Frank Castle. Above you see the cover for a digital comic book that teams up mercurial rap superstar Eminem with the heavily armed hard-case from the Marvel Universe, the Punisher. The issue was written by Fred Van Lente and drawn by the sublime Spanish artist Salvador Larocca, and the process came with a lot of guidance from Eminem and his manager, Paul Rosenberg, both of whom had intense interest in the project. The gun-toting partnership started with an XXL magazine photo shoot where the editors suggested that Eminem be presented as a character in the Marvel Universe, which is so red-hot in Hollywood. Mr. Mathers, being an intense comics fan and collector, liked the idea a lot, as did Marvel. The comics company expected Eminem would take the predictable route and ask for claws. “We thought he might want to do something as Wolverine since the movie is coming out right now, or maybe Spider-Man or one of the classic big names, and we were pleasantly surprised when he said he wanted to do a story with the Punisher,” said Michael Pasciullo, vice president of merchandising and communications at Marvel Entertainment. “He’s a true fan, and it showed throughout the process” … No word yet on if there are plans for a print edition of the collected story, which is set in Em’s hometown of Detroit. Back from a three-year hiatus, Eminem has a new album, “Relapse,” which hits stores on May 19. This is not the first time he’s revealed himself as a fan of comics — he memorably dressed up as Robin the Boy Wonder for his music video “Without Me,” although he couldn’t coax mentor Dr. Dre to don the cape of Batman. The 36-year-old rapper asked that either John Romita Sr. (who had a hand in designing the character way back in 1974) or the stylish Larocca handle the penciling for the issue, which “really showed how much he knows and cares about Marvel and its history,” Pasciullo said. “He also requested that the villain be Barracuda, and that’s when we knew we were dealing with a real fan,” Pascuillo said. “How many people know Barracuda? I think this was really fun for him, and I know it was fun for us.”

This is a very fun little tie-in, one I’m sure that Eminem got a huge kick out of. I know that I would *love* to be drawn into a comic book, that would seriously be the coolest thing ever. That this story is set in Detroit is just icing on the cake. I’m not a reader of XXL magazine but I deffo plan on picking up this issue for the express purpose of getting this special edition comic book.

And speaking of comic books, don’t forget that TODAY is FREE COMIC BOOK DAY! Folks here in the US (and in some participating countries) can visit their friendly neighborhood comic book store to pick up one free comic book today. Click HERE to find a participating comic book store near you and get your ass out there and get a free comic book today. I’ll prolly be heading out to The Golden Apple on Melrose Ave. here in LA (I hear William Shatner will be there in person this afternoon). I’m not sure which book I’m going to get yet … what are YOU planning on picking up today?

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Cleveland, OH — the official birthplace of Rock and Roll music — was hoppin’ last night as the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inducted the class of 2009 into its hallowed institution. Grandfathers of rap Run-DMC, heavy metal forebears Metallica, guitarist Jeff Beck, R&B group Anthony & The Imperials, rockabilly queen Wanda Jackson and doo-wop singer Bobby Womack were all inducted into the Rock Hall of Fame last night in an event that celebrated these musicians’ talents and contributions to the genre of Rock and Roll. Here are a few photos from the backstage press room and some deets about the event itself:

One of the most diverse classes in the history of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, which included Metallica, Run-DMC, 1950s rockabilly queen Wanda Jackson and guitar legend Jeff Beck, were inducted into the Hall at a wild four-hour show Saturday night, April 4th. Held at Cleveland’s historic Public Hall, the event was open to the general public for the first time in the 23-year history of the Hall of Fame. The result was a show that felt more like an actual rock concert than any previous ceremony. One of the most anticipated speeches of the night came from Eminem, who inducted Run-DMC and has rarely been seen in public in the past four years. Dressed like the fourth member of the group in a leather jacket and a fedora, an emotional Em spoke passionately about their influence on him and the world at large.

“I still remember being in 9th grade when Tougher Than Leather came out,” he said. “I skipped school to go get it on cassetete. As soon as I heard ‘Run’s House,’ it was pretty much a rap for me. Marshall Mathers became Eminem.” The evening began with 1950s R&B group Little Anthony & The Imperials performing their hits “Tears On My Pillow” and “Hurts So Bad” backed by Paul Schaffer and the CBS Orchestra. Lead singer is Anthony Gourdine is 69, but he still hit the high notes like he did 50 years ago. Longtime friend Smokey Robinson inducted the group, calling it a “long overdue event.” Gourdine seemed to agree. As he stepped up to the mike he beamed and said, “Amazing grace, how sweet it is!” Wanda Jackson was inducted by Roseanne Cash, whose father Johnny toured in the 1950s with Jackson, Elvis Presley and Jerry Lee Lewis. “I’m not standing here alone,” Jackson said. “I want to thank Elvis Presley for the push and encouragement I needed.” Jackson is said to have briefly dated Presley in the 1950s. Later in the evening Presley’s original bassist Bill Black and drummer D.J. Fontana were inducted by E Street Band members Garry Tallent and Max Weinberg. “This is the greatest honor of my life,” said Fontana. Black died in 1965, so his children accepted on his behalf. Cleveland native Bobby Womack, who hadn’t been in his hometown in over twenty years, was inducted by his longtime Friend Ron Wood. Womack brought much of the audience to their feet with a medley of “Across 110th Street” and “It’s All Over Now” (famously covered by the Stones in 1964), featuring Wood on guitar. “He brings me to tears,” says Wood. “That voice has always killed me.” Soon afterwards the evening turned into an unbelievable guitar orgy. It began when Jimmy Page inducted his former Yardbirds bandmate Jeff Beck. “Jeff’s guitar style is totally unorthodox,” said Page. “He just gets better and better.” After a hilarious speech by Beck, where he flicked off everybody who in his life that ever stood in his way, Page and Beck played a blazing version of “Beck Bolero” — the 1967 Beck solo track originally recorded with Page, John Paul Jones and Keith Moon. “Ladies and gentlemen, a big chunk of Led Zeppelin right here,” Page said in the middle of the tune before Page played a segment of “Immigrant Song.” The first few notes caused the capacity crowd to go into absolute hysterics. If that wasn’t enough, Metallica came onstage next. Flea — sporting blue hair — gave the intro. “Metallica is fucking rad and their music is bitching,” he said, causing James Hetfield to cover his young daughters ears. “They did more to bring people together than any other peace-and-love band ever did,” he added. This was literally true at the ceremony: Metallica flew in 150 of their friends and family for the event. Former bassist Jason Newstead, who hasn’t performed with the group since he quit in 2001, was around for the weekend’s festivities. If there’s any bad blood, he certainly hid it well. “I’ve been levitating all weekend,” he said during his speech. He later performed with the band and his replacement, Robert Trujillo, on “Master of Puppets” and “Enter Sandman.” Both musicians played bass and often shared a mic on back-up vocals. Earlier, original bassist Cliff Burton’s father gave a moving speech about his son, who died on a tour bus accident in 1986. The traditional all-star jam was a two-parter. First was “Jailhouse Rock,” featuring Fontana, Beck, Little Anthony & The Imperials, Bobby Womack, Wanda Jackson and pianist Spooner Oldhman — who was inducted earlier in the night as a sideman. The night wrapped up with a guitar jam that will surely go down in history. Metallica played the 1965 Yardbirds staple “Train Kept A-Rollin” with Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page, Flea and surprise guest Ron Wood. Yes, that’s six guitarists and three bassists. Unlike previous Rock Hall jams, this was one rehearsed the previous night and didn’t sound the least bit sloppy. In previous years such an event would only be seen in person by a handful of people at a hotel ballroom. Saturday night, thousands of Clevelanders got to see it, bringing together the legends and the people whose lives they have truly touched.

As you may recall, last year the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony was pretty much all about Madonna. This year it sounds like the ceremony was more like it was intended to be. I am always impressed with the diverse acts that annually get recognized and honored for their amazing contributions to Rock and Roll. Each induction ceremony is a music lesson for me because there are honorees like Wanda Jackson who I’m not familiar with but will now seek out because of this honor. This year’s class is a good one, Run-DMC are truly pioneers not only in rap but in rap/rock fusion as well (I am very proud that my Detroit homie Eminem was chosen to have the honor of inducting them this year). They most assuredly deserve this honor. Much congrats goes out to all of this year’s inductees. I can’t wait to find out who’ll get into the Rock Hall next year.

[Photo credit: Wireimage; Source]