Slash on Recording With Ozzy and Lemmy, Plans for Summer Tour

Slash spent more time navigating red tape than laying down guitar lines for his self-titled solo disc, due in stores this April. "It took four months to make the record," he says. "I had to write all the material then I had to make demos to send to all the singers. And then the thing that made it take the longest was getting releases from all the different artists' record companies." But the paperwork was well worth the effort since he got to settle into the studio with two of his heroes: Ozzy Osbourne and Lemmy Kilmister.

"Sitting next to Ozzy while he's writing lyrics and practicing the vocal is really fuckin' a trip," Slash says, explaining that Osbourne recorded his vocal parts at his own house. "I've been listening to Ozzy since I was like 13 years old." Slash calls Lemmy "the embodiment of rock & roll" and adds, "Before we went into the studio I got a call from his guy saying, 'OK, so we need potato chips and we need Jack Daniels, and it just reminded me of myself. And he came down with his bass and it was great."

The disc also features Iggy Pop, Kid Rock, Adam Levine and the Black Eyed Peas' Fergie, who Slash recently teamed with at Clive Davis' Grammy party. "I think people are gonna trip when they hear do the stuff that Fergie is capable of doing," he says. "I really wanted to do something with her so people could hear what her rock chops are like."

Slash is currently assembling a rhythm section for his summer tour, but he's hired Alter Bridge singer Myles Kennedy to handle the vocals. "He can sing anything," says Slash. "It's songs off this record and songs from Velvet Revolver and songs from Guns n' Roses and Snakepit and his band. It'll be a really cool show." So will fans be permitted to don Axl Rose T-shirts at Slash's solo gigs? (A rumor that Rose vehemently denies claimed Slash-wear was banned from Guns n' Roses shows.) "Yes, go ahead!"

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Song Stories

“My President”

Young Jeezy | 2008

Young Jeezy teams up with Nas on this track, in which he compare his own success with the idea of an African-American winning the Democratic Party's nomination in the 2008 presidential election. "When I pulled up in my car, that s--- was unbelievable to people in my neighborhood because they were like, 'We grew up with him. How the hell did he accomplish this?'" he told Rolling Stone. "I feel like it was the same way with Obama. I grew up all this time, but I've never seen a black man this close to running this country."

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