Area exclusive interview with Cee Lo Green, who opens for Rihanna at the Borgata July 17.
Rihanna performs at the Borgata July 17 with opener Cee Lo Green. It is the only show on Rihanna's current tour when Green will be on the bill.
ATLANTIC CITY — You couldn’t help but feel good for Cee Lo Green when Gnarls Barkley broke in 2006. The offbeat pop-rock, neo-soul act, which included Danger Mouse (aka Brian Burton) enjoyed success and acclaim, particularly in the United Kingdom, a land and people which completely got Gnarls Barkley and its quirky sensibility.
“I really thought that was the greatest,” Green tells Atlantic City Weekly. “You’re around for a number of years and you finally have something to show for it.”
Green, who has been on the scene since 2005, has finally broken out of the box, first courtesy of the monster smash hit for Gnarls, “Crazy,” and now with the follow-up smash from Green’s recenlty released solo album “Forget You,” which is also known, and is a lot funnier as “Fuck You,” a far less radio-friendly moniker.
The bouncy, soulful pop tune is arguably the song of the summer.
The tune emanates from cars, stores and is featured at ballparks. Gwyneth Paltrow covered it — the clean version — during a Glee performance. It’s a fun, feel-good song that has given Green’s career an ever bigger boost than the Gnarls Barkley project has.
“Anytime you have some success, that’s a good thing,” Green says. “You never take that for granted. You have to appreciate it. You look at a lot of recording artists and their success was so fleeting. Anytime it works out for you, you have to hold on to that time because it goes quickly.”
Spoken-word artist/punk rocker Henry Rollins once said that success is wasted on the youthful because they haven’t paid their dues.
Green, who will open for Rihanna Sunday, July 17, at the Borgata, has been through a lot, not just during his career.
While growing up in Georgia, the son of two ministers, Green had a tough path. His father died when he was two and his mother was paralyzed after a car accident.
“Life wasn’t always so easy for me,” Green says. “I had faced some adversity when I was a kid, but you have to do your best to overcome things.”
It helped that his childhood friend was Andre 3000, who went on to form Outkast. The two like-minded creative minds had music on the brain.
“It’ll be fun since it’s in New Jersey. It’s just down from where I’m from. The shore is a very important place for me. I guess that’s just the way it is wherever you’re from. There is no place like the Jersey shore. It’s a comforting place for me. I go back whenever I get the chance to visit my mom and dad.”
We have pulled out some of the best music we raved about this year in our “Raves & Faves” section, plus, we’ve added a few albums we loved this year, but didn’t have the space or time to rave about. Check the videos at the bottom!
Here’s just a brief taste of the varied traditions and attractions that make up the Atlantic City and southern New Jersey shore area, from A to Z.
Here, off the top of my head, a few memorable moments of the decade — some terrific, some tragic: September 11th; global terrorism; war in Iraq and Afghanistan; Hurricane Katrina disgrace; the boom and bust of the real estate bubble; global economic collapse; the advent of YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, iPods and iPhones; BlackBerrys; Barack Obama — our first African-American president; the collapse of the recording industry; the national trend of the shutting down of mom and pop stores; Al Qaeda; the Red Sox (and Phillies) finally win a World Series; the Swine Flu; reality TV; Radiohead, Kanye West and the return of the single (albeit in MP3 format); the Bush era (urgh); Bob Dylan’s triumphant return; downloads; Mac vs. PC; Britney Spears smooches Madonna; the death of Michael Jackson; layoffs, plane delays and increased airport security; hybrid cars; credit card debt;The Wire and The Sopranos and Curb Your Enthusiasm on HBO; the Coen Brothers; Lost; Atlantic City’s boom...
This Is Reggae Music On Sunday, Aug. 20, the Hilton brings Reggae Sunsplash, Jamaica's biggest party, to town. Since 1978, the event has been to Jamaica what Mardi Gras is to New Orleans. Much of the country's culture and cuisine will be flying in to AC, including art and craft work, as well as almost any type of animal that you can eat jerked or curried. The music line-up will feature Maxi Priest, Toots and the Maytals, Third World and England's UB40. Longtime UB40 band member Terence "Astro" Wilson explains how the band's reggae music came out of Birmingham, U.K. back in the late 1970s. "Where we lived the clubs, pubs, dance halls kept reggae music in the air non-stop from Friday to early Monday morning," he says. "We would sneak out and hear those bands. When we started our band there was no question about playing reggae; there was no second choice." Astro says he's excited about the new emerging reggae stars like Sean Paul, but would like to see more "new bands coming out," too. Maybe one will form at the Hilton on Sunday. -- Raymond Tyler DJ Expo Returns to AC The International DJ Expo is heading...
Among the A.C. Debuts: Barbra Streisand, Paul Simon, Madonna, the Who, Mariah Carey, The Pier at Caesars, Gnarls Barkley, Shakira, Cirque du Soleil Delirium, the Strokes, Chris Brown, Wolfgang Puck, ...
The Flaming Lips are holed up in their Oklahoma City "compound" building a life-size UFO from scratch when bassist Michael Ivins phones in to chat about the group's upcoming gig at the House of Blues...
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