S. Samuel
Rap mogul Jay-Z may have the hip-hop game in a chokehold but his name alone has helped increase the street credibility of former Disney star-turned-singer Miley Cyrus.
According to Miley, name-dropping Hovi on her past “Party In The U.S.A.” anthem has helped branch out her image.
“He’s like one of my favorites,” Cyrus said, referring to Jay. “Actually, when I first did the [‘Party In The U.S.A.’] song, I wasn’t really a big fan of Jay-Z. I was younger, I didn’t care. And now I’m like, ‘Yeah!’ I’m happy [I got] introduced to Jay-Z because now I get, like, street cred for that song. There’s been so many videos, so many funny videos. You should Google it right now, ‘Party In The U.S.A.’ campaign videos on YouTube, so many people have made [President] Obama sing it, moving his mouth to sing it and singing it to each other, it’s so funny. I’m like, that’s so weird.” (Global Grind)
On the record, Miley credits an unnamed Jay song for helping get her party on.
“This is all so crazy, everybody seems so famous/My tummy’s turnin’ and I’m feelin’ kinda homesick/Too much pressure and I’m nervous/That’s when the taxi man turned on the radio /And the Jay-Z song was on/And the Jay-Z song was on/And the Jay-Z song was on/So I put my hands up, they’re playin’ my song/The butterflies fly away/I’m noddin’ my head like “Yeah!”/Movin’ my hips like “Yeah!” (“Party In The U.S.A.”)
Despite the now-infamous mention, Cyrus later admitted to lying about the line back in 2009.
It appears that a Jay-Z song wasn’t on! Miley Cyrus — whose hit song, “Party in the U.S.A.” includes a line about her nodding her head to one of the rapper’s tracks — says she doesn’t know which of his songs inspired the lyrics. “I’ve never heard a Jay-Z song,” the singer, 16, said in an interview before her Halloween concert — in which she was dressed as Pocahontas — in Louisville, Kentucky this past Saturday. “I don’t listen to pop music.” (Us Magazine)
After getting spotted with producer Pharrell Williams and Odd Future’s Tyler, the Creator a few weeks ago, Miley said she hoped to inject a new solo album with some hip-hop contributions.
“A lot of the beats are produced hip-hop beats,” she said, “but the vocal is very raw and my voice is kind of on top of all the tracks, which is what I wanted.” Cyrus said she is working with producer Pharrell Williams and “a lot of hip-hop producers that are actually from the South, because I wanted more of that dirty-South vibe, a little ATL in there.” While she loves performing on camera, music matters most to Cyrus. “I want people to remember me for things that are great,” she said. “Much bigger than the comedies that I do, but more about the music that I write and the songs that you leave for the world to think about.” (Billboard)
Check out Miley Cyrus’ interview:
