Kanye West ‘Inspired’ By Lady Gaga’s ‘Poker Face’ For Kid Cudi Single

Kanye West says he’s been there before. “I’ve had girlfriends who had girlfriends,” he said. So when he discovered what Lady Gaga was actually singing about on “Poker Face,” he was attracted to the record. Then when he saw her perform a different version of the song on the Internet, he was hooked. Kanye sampled the song for Kid Cudi’s next single, “I Make Her Say,” which was formerly titled “I Poke Her Face.”

“It’s a single for Cudi,” Kanye explained. “Due to radio, the name of the song is called, ‘I Make Her Say.’ When I saw that YouTube, that’s what made me fall in love with the song — when I saw her play it the acoustic version. I could hear all the melody lines. On the ‘Poker Face’ single, she sings it straightforward, almost, like, ripping it or chanting it. But this [acoustic version], you hear the Broadway melodies run up and down. I was inspired by that. I wanted to sample it. I thought it was really dope — just on some hip-hop, ‘Say when I p-p-poke her face.’

“All the backstory to the song is really controversial,” he continued. “When I found out that her actual song is about her making love to her boyfriend but really thinking about her girlfriend, I was like, ‘Oh, that’s crazy.’ For us to even flip it to another level and challenge people’s opinions, that’s it.”

[via MTV News]

Heartless and Pinocchio Story Live on SNL

Here’s the second clip of Kanye’s performance on SNL this past Saturday, December 13.  In this clip he performs Heartless and Pinocchio Story.

Love Lockdown Live on SNL

Here’s the first of two clips of Kanye performing on SNL last night, 12-13-08.

Kanye in Melbourne

So while Kanye was performing in Melbourne, someone decided to throw a penny on the stage at Kanye.  Well he went off on them and did a little freestyle… Eat Shit Die…

Kanye Moving To London?

Reports claim that Kanye has applied for apprenticeships at leading fashion houses…

Kanye West is heading East!

The rapper has revealed that he is heading to our capital city, London to pursue a career in fashion and introduce his new fashion line Pastelle.

Believe it or not, reports claim that Kanye has applied for apprenticeships at Louis Vuitton in Bond Street, Raf Simons and others.

“I’m going to go and take an internship and just do something that’s like completely normal, and just rap at the weekends or something,” he said.

A source told The Mirror: “Everyone is surprised at just how seriously Kanye is taking his fashion dream.

“He is always in the front rows during the Paris and Milan fashion weeks, chatting away to the likes of Lily Allen.”

“He absolutely loves London and wants to absorb the fashion over here.”

Reports in The Mirror also claim that the face of Pastelle will be Brit newcomer Mr. Hudson.

If this does all materialise, Kanye will probably be the wealthiest intern around, with more people coming to see him then the shops!

[via 'n © MTV, UK]

Vegas Show Recap

Here’s a recap of the Vegas show.  This clip features excerpts from Lupe’s set, N*E*R*D’s set, and of course, some of Kanye’s set.

Kanye’s 808’s Tops Charts

The numbers are in… Kanye’s new album, 808’s & Heartbreak, topped the charts selling 450,000 copies.

[via NY Times]

Jay-Z Song to Make “Notorious” Album

The new Jay-Z Song titled “Brooklyn (We Go Hard)”, Produced by Kanye West, will make the album for the upcoming Notorious B.I.G. film soundtrack.  The song also features Santogold.

[via MTV News]

Kanye West Press Conference on Album Release

Kanye West holds a press conference in New Zealand and answers questions about his new album, 808’s & Heartbreaks and his new clothing line, Pastel.

Heartless Piano Cover

Check out Ryan Leslie’s piano skills on his cover of Kanye’s “Heartless” off the new album, 808’s & Heartbreaks.  [v93]