Spring Break
Ray J, Yung Berg connect with TSU through music
Seth E. Davis
Staff Reporter
Issue date: 4/22/08 Section: Arts & Culture
The press conference and meeting, after TSU's spring concert, with 27-year-old R&B crooner, Ray J, and 22-year-old rapper, Yung Berg, granted student media a rare opportunity to better understand the performers.
The entertainers used this opportunity to talk openly about their love and sex lives as well as their main point for being on campus, their music careers.
Famed singer Ray J is the younger brother of R&B singer Brandy and a successful artist in his own right. Ray J's latest album, All I can Feel, sold over 39,000 copies in its first week and debuted at number one on Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs.
The album also reached number seven on Billboard's Hot 100. His first single, Sexy Can I, featuring fellow performer Yung Berg, has peaked at number three on Billboard's Hot 100.
Yung Berg made a splash on the scene in 2007 with his song Sexy Lady, which featured his then label mate, Junior, on his debut album, Almost Famous. Sexy Lady peaked at number 18 on Billboard's Hot 100 and number 6 on Billboard's U.S. Hot Rap Tracks.
The press party started with members of Student Union Board of Governors and TSU campus media talking about and reenacting moments from the concert, afterwards Yung Berg, Ray J and their entourages walked in. With not so much as a hello, Yung Berg hopped into professor mode and started to teach a class "Swag 101" with Ray J teaching "Sex 101." The crowd seemed shocked yet amused with their colorful instruction on how to be a better lover.
While sipping on what he called Patron out of a mountain dew bottle, Yung Berg wrote on our white board with our markers as if he had a doctorate and spelled out the formula for 'swag sex.'
He then continued to tell SUBG and the campus news outlets that, "Patron plus swag plus sex equals swag sex."
The two of them then began taking questions from the anxious interviewers.
After hearing the lyrics to the song Sexy Can I, which illustrates all the different sexual acts that Ray J and Young Berg wish to do to/with the lady they are talking to, I could not help but ask how they feel about critics that say their lyrics are too vulgar or sexually explicit.
SD: What do you have to say to critics that say Sexy Can I's lyrics are too sexually explicit?
YB: My Balls. (Sexy Can I) is # 1.
Ray J responded in a more gracious manner and said, "Its number one. So I think some people criticize certain things and have their opinions about it but majority rules. We have an explicit version and a clean version."
Yung Berg contends that the fans like the explicit content in his lyrics, "Plus y'all know y'all want to hear that nasty (lyrics) anyways. If (an artist) got up there talking about Graham crackers and (such), y'all wouldn't buy it," Yung Berg said.
There has been a lot of coverage and speculations in the media of Ray J's romantic life. He has been linked to the likes of socialite, Kim Kardashian, video vixen turned best-selling-author, Karrine Stephans, and latest, pop diva, Whitney Houston.
So my next question for the duo was: are they single. When asked whether or not they were single both responded with separate and different positives.
Young Berg responded, "It depends on what day of the week and what city. Right now I'm doggin' it out. I've been waiting for this for a long time and I'm going hard." While Ray J responded simply with, "Yes."
Tiger News reporter Theryn Bond, asked Ray J, "Are any songs on your album inspired by your relationship with Kim or Whitney?"
This question was greeted with a quiet smile and brief silence.
"All my songs have different elements of what I go through. So, it could be," Ray J said.
When asked what his relationship with Whitney Houston is exactly, he responded quickly, "Its Great. She's my homegirl. We went out in Atlanta last night.
"We go out on the romantic sometimes, to dinner. You can call it romantic. I call it expensive," Ray J continued.
Following the same romantic cord when asked when was the last time he talked to Kim, which he responded "Kim who?" Silence fell over the crowd.
When I clarified Kardashian, he confessed that they last talked a month ago and said, "We don't really talk anymore. We both kind of moved on with our lives."
His relationship with former girlfriend Kardashian grabbed media headlines when a sex tape featuring the two of then was released allegedly against their will.
After legal disputes Kardashian reached a settlement for 5 million dollars, the tape was released by Vivid Entertainment March 2007.
Ray J looks back on the negative exposure and realizes, "It is what it is," Ray J said. "I could've went real x-rated but I didn't."
He further explains that lyrics in the song "Sexy Can I" do not refer to the sex tape but rather to his love of cameras in general even disposables.
From that point, Young Berg takes the interview and started to regale.
"At first I wasn't really feeling it," Yung Berg said.
After reassurance from Ray J, the duo came up with the lyrics while walking down the street in Miami and then went to L.A. to record it.
The duo watched soft-core pornographic films while recording the single in order to get the feel of the song. Ray J believes that it was important to get the feel of the song. He relates it to heartbreak songs saying,
"Sometimes you get heart-broke and you want to go into the studio all alone," Ray J said.
Amid the interview, Yung Berg then asked the audience how they felt about Ray J's album. After a couple "I liked it," he then asked how many people bought it and after slow responses he says if you have not bought the album, "You need to take your right finger out and poke yourself..."
The crooner comments on the use of Limewire file sharing services by saying, "Its something you can't get away from." Yung Berg said, "It is what it is. You can't stop it. We'd appreciate it if you would go cop (the album)"
The interview then took a slight turn when Young Berg was asked about singer Junior, who sung the hook on his single Sexy Lady.
He told the crowd that when he used to be asked about Junior he typically says he is home working but now he says, "F*ck Junior," and that he is not going to censor himself or sugar coat anything to fit into a cookie cutter image.
"The nigga went on to work with a bunch of other motherf*ckers, so I dropped him and now he has no record deal," Yung Berg said.
"If you really want to do this, go hard like I did," Yung Berg said.
He then told of how he had a hard time getting signed because record executives were not interested in his music, this prompted him to sell it to the radio stations himself.
"What ever you want to do keep God first, pray on it, go hard on it and it's going to happen," Yung Berg said.
When asked whom the two of the artist were listening to now,
Young Berg responded first. "Me and Ray J."
"Go get Ray's album its good music and we to the time to sit here and get to know y'all so the least y'all could do is get that shit because my man put his heart and soul into that project." Yung Berg said.•
The entertainers used this opportunity to talk openly about their love and sex lives as well as their main point for being on campus, their music careers.
Famed singer Ray J is the younger brother of R&B singer Brandy and a successful artist in his own right. Ray J's latest album, All I can Feel, sold over 39,000 copies in its first week and debuted at number one on Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs.
The album also reached number seven on Billboard's Hot 100. His first single, Sexy Can I, featuring fellow performer Yung Berg, has peaked at number three on Billboard's Hot 100.
Yung Berg made a splash on the scene in 2007 with his song Sexy Lady, which featured his then label mate, Junior, on his debut album, Almost Famous. Sexy Lady peaked at number 18 on Billboard's Hot 100 and number 6 on Billboard's U.S. Hot Rap Tracks.
The press party started with members of Student Union Board of Governors and TSU campus media talking about and reenacting moments from the concert, afterwards Yung Berg, Ray J and their entourages walked in. With not so much as a hello, Yung Berg hopped into professor mode and started to teach a class "Swag 101" with Ray J teaching "Sex 101." The crowd seemed shocked yet amused with their colorful instruction on how to be a better lover.
While sipping on what he called Patron out of a mountain dew bottle, Yung Berg wrote on our white board with our markers as if he had a doctorate and spelled out the formula for 'swag sex.'
He then continued to tell SUBG and the campus news outlets that, "Patron plus swag plus sex equals swag sex."
The two of them then began taking questions from the anxious interviewers.
After hearing the lyrics to the song Sexy Can I, which illustrates all the different sexual acts that Ray J and Young Berg wish to do to/with the lady they are talking to, I could not help but ask how they feel about critics that say their lyrics are too vulgar or sexually explicit.
SD: What do you have to say to critics that say Sexy Can I's lyrics are too sexually explicit?
YB: My Balls. (Sexy Can I) is # 1.
Ray J responded in a more gracious manner and said, "Its number one. So I think some people criticize certain things and have their opinions about it but majority rules. We have an explicit version and a clean version."
Yung Berg contends that the fans like the explicit content in his lyrics, "Plus y'all know y'all want to hear that nasty (lyrics) anyways. If (an artist) got up there talking about Graham crackers and (such), y'all wouldn't buy it," Yung Berg said.
There has been a lot of coverage and speculations in the media of Ray J's romantic life. He has been linked to the likes of socialite, Kim Kardashian, video vixen turned best-selling-author, Karrine Stephans, and latest, pop diva, Whitney Houston.
So my next question for the duo was: are they single. When asked whether or not they were single both responded with separate and different positives.
Young Berg responded, "It depends on what day of the week and what city. Right now I'm doggin' it out. I've been waiting for this for a long time and I'm going hard." While Ray J responded simply with, "Yes."
Tiger News reporter Theryn Bond, asked Ray J, "Are any songs on your album inspired by your relationship with Kim or Whitney?"
This question was greeted with a quiet smile and brief silence.
"All my songs have different elements of what I go through. So, it could be," Ray J said.
When asked what his relationship with Whitney Houston is exactly, he responded quickly, "Its Great. She's my homegirl. We went out in Atlanta last night.
"We go out on the romantic sometimes, to dinner. You can call it romantic. I call it expensive," Ray J continued.
Following the same romantic cord when asked when was the last time he talked to Kim, which he responded "Kim who?" Silence fell over the crowd.
When I clarified Kardashian, he confessed that they last talked a month ago and said, "We don't really talk anymore. We both kind of moved on with our lives."
His relationship with former girlfriend Kardashian grabbed media headlines when a sex tape featuring the two of then was released allegedly against their will.
After legal disputes Kardashian reached a settlement for 5 million dollars, the tape was released by Vivid Entertainment March 2007.
Ray J looks back on the negative exposure and realizes, "It is what it is," Ray J said. "I could've went real x-rated but I didn't."
He further explains that lyrics in the song "Sexy Can I" do not refer to the sex tape but rather to his love of cameras in general even disposables.
From that point, Young Berg takes the interview and started to regale.
"At first I wasn't really feeling it," Yung Berg said.
After reassurance from Ray J, the duo came up with the lyrics while walking down the street in Miami and then went to L.A. to record it.
The duo watched soft-core pornographic films while recording the single in order to get the feel of the song. Ray J believes that it was important to get the feel of the song. He relates it to heartbreak songs saying,
"Sometimes you get heart-broke and you want to go into the studio all alone," Ray J said.
Amid the interview, Yung Berg then asked the audience how they felt about Ray J's album. After a couple "I liked it," he then asked how many people bought it and after slow responses he says if you have not bought the album, "You need to take your right finger out and poke yourself..."
The crooner comments on the use of Limewire file sharing services by saying, "Its something you can't get away from." Yung Berg said, "It is what it is. You can't stop it. We'd appreciate it if you would go cop (the album)"
The interview then took a slight turn when Young Berg was asked about singer Junior, who sung the hook on his single Sexy Lady.
He told the crowd that when he used to be asked about Junior he typically says he is home working but now he says, "F*ck Junior," and that he is not going to censor himself or sugar coat anything to fit into a cookie cutter image.
"The nigga went on to work with a bunch of other motherf*ckers, so I dropped him and now he has no record deal," Yung Berg said.
"If you really want to do this, go hard like I did," Yung Berg said.
He then told of how he had a hard time getting signed because record executives were not interested in his music, this prompted him to sell it to the radio stations himself.
"What ever you want to do keep God first, pray on it, go hard on it and it's going to happen," Yung Berg said.
When asked whom the two of the artist were listening to now,
Young Berg responded first. "Me and Ray J."
"Go get Ray's album its good music and we to the time to sit here and get to know y'all so the least y'all could do is get that shit because my man put his heart and soul into that project." Yung Berg said.•
Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 1
youtube.com/freddiebtv
posted 5/05/08 @ 8:24 PM CST
The interview then took a slight turn when Young Berg was asked about singer Junior, who sung the hook on his single Sexy Lady.
He told the crowd that when he used to be asked about Junior he typically says he is home working but now he says, "F*ck Junior," and that he is not going to censor himself or sugar coat anything to fit into a cookie cutter image. (Continued…)
Post a Comment