Rap Radar

John Lennon fans cried bloody murder following Cee-Lo’s cover of “Imagine” on New Year’s Eve. Cee-Lo responded via Twitter to the outrage, but later deleted his tweets.

Yo I meant no disrespect by changing the lyric guys! I was trying to say a world were u could believe what u wanted that’s all.”

Over at Times Square last night, Drake performed a medley of hits for Carson Daly’s yearly NYE special. After the jump, Mr. Cee-Lo Green takes the stage and The Roots do the same at Rockefeller Center.

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2011 was a busy year for Cee-Lo and from the looks of it, 2012 will be just as hectic. In a feature from the NY Times, it’s revealed that Cee-Lo will be part of a UK reality show and a string of Las Vegas shows dubbed “Loberace”.

More television is on its way. Backstage at the last night of “The Voice” last June, he signed a contract with Mr. Burnett for a reality show on British television, “Cee Lo Takes the U.K.,” on which his old group, the Goodie Mob, records a reunion album in London and soaks up the local customs. And next year Cee Lo will follow Celine Dion and Prince to Las Vegas with “Loberace,” a theatrical show to be presented at Planet Hollywood.

Although Cee-Lo’s The Lady Killer is already out, he’s re-releasing it next Monday anyway. Here’s his new video for one of the project’s latest tracks. Pre-order The Platinum Edition on iTunes now.

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Keeping the lyrics on the small screen, Cee-Lo lets go of his new tune, which will be one of the three songs off the upcoming The Lady Killer re-release.

Cool and Dre hipped me to their new artist a few weeks ago and I finally got a chance to check out this video he made about a year ago. As you’ll soon see, dude has passion, strong subject matter and he can spit. Look out for a new visual this week. But in the meantime, get familiar with one of hip-hop’s much-needed new voices.

UPDATE: A message from Dre after the jump.

Rap music is a mirror of our community. This mirror has been an instrumental tool to the empowerment of our culture. It also has been a tool to shed light on our struggle as a people. It is arguably one of the most important achievements this country has ever produced. An artform which has transformed ghetto youth into moguls, pioneers, entrepreneurs, activists, editors, A-list actors and so forth. History teaches us that when this mirror we call rap music no longer depicts the true image of our community and circumstance, the people holding the mirror are held accountable and indicted by the people. Once again we are in a moment of time where this mirror does not truly reflect the plight of our people. We are now living in what historians have named THE GREAT RECESSION, and the people are seeking a voice to speak to the pain being felt across this country. The voice they are seeking, i believe, belongs to this young man Don Trip. Cool and I have recorded over 20 songs with him and he is truly blessed with a gift. That gift is to articulate the ills of our society and put it in words/poetry for all to understand. Every 10 years or so, some1 comes along and presses the reset button on pop culture. The time for reset is upon us and his name is Don Trip. We are honored to present his body of work on a grand scale and shed light on his amazing talent. And to those who have become frustrated with the state of our music, I leave u with his own words…”HELP IS ON THE WAY!” Dre Cool&Dre Epidemic

UPDATE 2: Eight months later, here’s the official video.

UPDATE 3: Four months later, official video now with Cee-Lo.

Saw this while watching the boob tube yesterday. For 7 Up’s latest ad campaign, the soft drinker commissions Cee-Lo Green and his 2002 hit “Closet Freak”. Perfectly imperfect.

Cee-Lo Green puts his pen to the pad and adds his vocals to Don Trip’s sentimental track. Sounds good. Sincerely, us.

Don’t make promises you can’t keep and for Mr. Cee-Lo Green’s latest track, he practices what he preaches. Lady Killer in stores now.

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No, Mr. Green did not jump off the ropes half-naked, but he did perform “Bright Lights, Bigger City” and “Forget You” during WWE’s SummerSlam in L.A. Lady Killer in stores now.

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