An album of unreleased music from Tupac Shakur will be among a series of new releases coming from WIDEawake Entertainment Group, the owner of Death Row Records.
The Canada-based development company will allow music publisher EverGreen to serve as the worldwide administration company of Death Row via a recently signed deal.
Under the long-term agreement, EverGreen will administer and handle licensing for all Death Row music catalog compositions and master recordings.
In addition, the company will process all mechanical and performance royalties in the catalog. EverGreen’s rights to market, promote and collect royalties on all copyrights and master recordings in the Death Row catalog will be extended from the joint venture.
Among the material affected will be more than 10,000 released and unreleased songs by Shakur, Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg and Tha Dogg Pound, Kurupt, Daz Dillinger and Nate Dogg as well as never-before released albums by Crooked I, Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes, RBX, The Lady of Rage, Warren G, K-Solo, Danny Boy and DJ Quik, among others.
The WIDEawake/Evergreen alliance comes after WIDEawake's $18 million purchase of Death Row in January.
In the coming months, the resuscitated label will release new music, including Shakur’s unreleased work.
The release of the late rap icon’s material will commemorate Shakur’s birthday in 2010.
Unreleased material from Shakur will not be the only music to surface from Death Row’s return.
The label is gearing up to re-release Dr. Dre’s classic album The Chronic.
The Chronic re-release, titled The Chronic Re-Lit, will include four unreleased bonus tracks as well as a DVD of never before seen video footage of Dr. Dre and other artists.
The Chronic Re-Lit is slated to hit stores on September 1, while the Death Row box sets will arrive in time for the holidays.
Source :ALLHIPHOPRead more…
Producer Scott Storch has signed on to star in a new reality show that will chronicle his return to the music business.
The producer, who has earned an estimated $70 million through his production, fell on hard times earlier this year, when he missed payments on his $10 million Miami mansion, cars and child support payments.
In addition to owing the IRS almost $1 million dollars in back taxes, Storch became a wanted man, when he missed back child support payments to the tune of $46,000.
According to reports, Storch blew over $25 million during a three-year period, during which he was allegedly addicted to cocaine.
Storch’s untitled show will be produced by Bunim/Murray Productions.
Bunim Murray has produced hit series like MTV’s The Real World, Road Rules, Project Runway, Keeping Up With The Kardashians and others.
“This is a monumental moment to see a producer of his caliber let the cameras into his world and see how hit records are made,” Weintraub said. “A lot of people have tried to get Scott to open up the curtain to this process but have never been successful."
Storch’s show will take place in Miami, Florida, according to Weintraub.
Source : ALLHIPHOPRead more…
On Monday night, some of Hollywood's biggest stars descended on the Mann Village theater for a huge premiere, celebrating the summer's biggest, loudest, most high-profile movie. But on the "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" red carpet, moments before the film was unveiled, the day's news involving Chris Brown and Rihanna was on everyone's lips.
"Violence is never the answer — even if provoked," reasoned Aubrey O'Day, the former Danity Kane member and "Making the Band" star who had just heard the news that Brown accepted a plea deal. "But with bigger issues like war, we just need to let go and forgive. Let people move on."
Look Back At The Timeline Of The Case Here
"I just wish they were here," "Transformers" co-star Tyrese said of Chris and Rihanna, explaining that the escapism of a film like "Revenge of the Fallen" is helpful during difficult times. "[It would help them] to embrace this energy at this premiere."
Sure enough, a huge crowd had poured out for "Fallen" — but as the stars tried to promote their Friday release, it was hard to ignore the news that had broken just a few hours earlier.
"I wish [Chris Brown] luck," confessed "Gossip Girl" actress Taylor Momsen, who was doubtful that the plea deal was the final chapter in the Chris Brown-Rihanna drama. "People like to obsess over personal lives — so I'm sure it's not the end."
"I support both artists," said Ciara, who has toured and recorded with both Brown and Rihanna. "It's a very personal process."
All-American Rejects member Nick Wheeler, however, was a bit less diplomatic. "If it was just a regular dude, would [the sentence] have been the same?" he asked, posing a question on the minds of many who believe Brown's celebrity helped him in the courtroom. "No one should turn a blind eye to [abuse]. He should get what he gets.
"We did a show with Rihanna a couple years ago," Wheeler added. "And she was nice."
"I wish them well," explained Anthony Anderson, a star of the original "Transformers" film, who said that he'll continue to buy Chris Brown albums whenever the troubled singer decides to move forward. "I'm not going to let a personal instance taint my opinion of someone musically."
"He's incredibly talented," Aubrey O'Day agreed. "Regardless of his personal decisions, I will always support his music."
Source: MTVNEWSRead more…
The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation has asked Perez Hilton to apologize for slurs he hurled at Will.i.am of the Black Eyed Peas.
GLAAD was responding to a video posted by the celebrity blogger, whose legal name is Mario Lavandeira, in which Hilton gave his version of events after Will.i.am posted a video describing their recent confrontations at and after the MuchMusic Video Awards. Said Hilton in his video: "I made the split-second decision -- that I was gonna say what I thought was the worst possible thing that thug [Will.i.am] would ever want to hear" -- which was a handful of assorted F-bombs.
Rashad Robinson, GLAAD's senior director of media programs, said: "These are vulgar anti-gay slurs that feed a climate of hatred and intolerance toward our community. For someone in our own community to use it to attack another person by saying that it is, quote, ‘The worst possible thing that thug would ever want to hear,’ is incredibly dangerous. It legitimizes use of a slur that is often linked to violence against our community. And it sends a message that it is OK to attempt to dehumanize people by exploiting anti-gay attitudes.”
“We have reached out to Hilton and asked him to apologize for promoting this anti-gay slur, and we would ask media outlets to avoid repetition of the slur in their coverage of this story.”
Source : LATIMESRead more…
Beyoncé’s star is shining brightly right now and she attributes much of her showbiz success to her long-term partner and husband, rap star Jay-Z, 39.
Such is their deep love for each other that Beyoncé, 27, recently revealed that they plan to start a family before she turns 30. But behind the apparent happiness lies a secret that Beyoncé carries with her: the claim that Jay-Z has already experienced fatherhood without her.
Now can reveal that the fiercely private rapper – who’s worth an estimated $400 million – reportedly has a secret 7-year-old son who he’s amazingly managed to hide from the limelight all this time. The boy apparently bears a striking resemblance to his father and is the result of Jay-Z’s romance with Trinidadian model Shenelle Scott which ended in 2001, before he met Beyoncé.
Jay-Z has gone to great lengths to distance himself from the claims, despite reports that he’s privately admitted paternity. Beyoncé, whom he married in April 2008, is now apparently accepting of the boy and is even said to have gone on holiday with her stepson in the South of France.
Although Jay-Z’s spokesman denied that there was any truth in ‘these ridiculous rumours’, the rebuttal falls short of a denial that the rap star is the boy’s father. Despite approaching Jay-Z’s representatives repeatedly last week, they refused to comment.
Sources say that Shenelle and her son live a quiet life in Trinidad at a $2.5 million home that Jay-Z bought for them after paternity tests revealed a positive match. It’s also thought that Shenelle, 28, brings her son to see Jay-Z in New York, where he’s based, whenever she flies there for modelling assignments.
This isn’t the first time Jay-Z has tried to keep his personal life out of the public eye. Even though he and Beyoncé have been together since September 2002, they kept the relationship under wraps for many months – and it wasn’t until six months after they married last year that they officially confirmed they were man and wife.
Source : NOWMAGAZINERead more…
Radio station KBXX-FM 97.9 is hosting their annual Hip Hop For HIV Awareness concert next month, a free concert aimed at promoting HIV/AIDS awareness in the city of Houston, Texas.
KBXX 97.9 teamed with The Houston Department of Health and Human Services, Aids Foundation Houston, the NAACP in Houston and Amerigroup Community Care to produce the campaign, which kicked off today (June 22).
The city-wide event, which ends July 10th, is aimed at spreading awareness about HIV and STD’s.
The goal of campaign is to get over 15,000 youth and young adults between the ages of 15-40 in the city of Houston, tested for a variety of STD's.
Each person tested will receive a ticket to a star-studded concert that takes place July 11 in Houston.
The line up for the free concert includes Plies, Pleasure P, Day 26, Melanie Fiona, Bobby Valentino, LeToya Luckett, Twista, Yung Problemz, Yung L.A., G.T., Gorilla Zoe, Bun B and Ginuwine.
Only those tested for HIV and receive their results will be eligible for the free ticket.
For testing dates and locations or for additional information concerning this event go to www.kbxx.com.
Source: ALLHIPHOPRead more…
I don't know what to make of this story. But let's follow the sequence of events.
This is the full series of Hilton's tweets starting from most recent first:
The Toronto police are here now. Thank you. Please stop calling them.34 minutes ago from Sidekick
I spoke to my lawyer. I really need to talk to the authorities. Please come to the SoHo Met Hotel. Have called the police. Need them here.about 1 hour ago from Sidekick
Still waiting for the police. The bleeding has stopped. I need to document this. Please, can the police come to the SoHo Met Hotel.about 1 hour ago from Sidekick
I was assaulted by Will.I.Am of the Black Eyed Peas and his security guards. I am bleeding. Please, I need to file a police report. No joke.about 1 hour ago from Sidekick
I'm in shock. I need the police ASAP. Please come to the SoHo Metropolitan Hotel now. Please.about 1 hour ago from Sidekick
Is there a gay bar that we can go to with GaGa now that like has a balcony or some place to have fun but be safe?about 4 hours ago from Sidekick
Mission accomplished! I just got a picture with Taylor Lautner!!!! That one is for my fellow fangirls! Xoxo
The rapper said that it started at an event after the MuchMusic Awards in Canada where Fergie of "The Peas" came up to the blogger and asked why he didn't like their music. Hilton explained it was just the record, but according to Wil.I.Am was "up in her face" and rude to her.
Later, Wil.I.Am encountered Hilton at another club and requested that he not treat the group in such a rude way as he did on his website. But rather than apologize, Hilton said "I don't respect you" to Wil.I.Am, who said "OK. That's cool." But then Hilton, who's Gay, called Wil.I.Am a faggot but even then the lead lyricist for the Black Eyed Peas held his cool and backed off; but an unknown fan didn't and accordind to Wil.I.Am "got all up into him". So it was the fan that assaulted Hilton, not Wil.I.Am; if Wil.I.Am's story is accurate, Hilton lied about the incident.
Hilton didn't stop tweeting. His last posts as of this writing said..
I won't be talking about this any further. It is in the hands of the authorities.22 minutes ago from web
Thank u all from the bottom of my heart for ur concern. The police are investigating the assault now. I did the right thing by reporting it.22 minutes ago from web
For his part Wil.I.Am said "It's all cool; it just got a little crazy."
Source : SFGATERead more…
}