XXL Reports
Foxy Brown recently resurfaced, taking shots at longtime rival Lil’ Kim on the new track “Off the Muscle.”
On the song, which popped up on YouTube [listen below], Foxy Brown makes an obvious reference to Kim’s appearance on the ABC series Dancing with the Stars last May. She raps, “Catch me at Marcy at the mall/ But muthafuckas will never see me dancing with the stars/ Never, will I embarrass my borough/ I’m too thorough/ Dark skin bitches, we here now/ I swear now/ Ya’ll bitches wanna be me so bad/ Ya’ll studied my whole swag.”
Although Foxy Brown and Kim haven’t taken shots at each other in a while it seems the tiff might be fueled by the fact that both femcees have reported that they’re working on new albums for next year.
Foxy Brown recently appeared on VH1’s Hip Hop Honors gala in celebration of Def Jam’s 25th Anniversary.
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HipHopWired Reports
“Beanie Sigel is going at Jay-Z, huh? Is that what it's come to in Hip-Hop? Hip-Hop is fucking wack.”
Mr. No Comment seems to have unlocked the key and is speaking his piece once again. As Beanie Sigel has finally aired his grievances on wax, many artists are beginning to throw in their opinions about the situation.
If anyone has had problems with Jay-Z, it would have to be Joe Budden. Depending on how a person perceives it, Jay might have ended his career at Def Jam once he was placed at the president's table so if any hostility is still burning, it would come from the New Jersey rapper.
With JoeBuddenTV back in full effect, the rapper questions the timing behind the Broad Street Bully's attack.
“Why he ain't never go at him before is what I wanna know.”
Showing his admiration for Beans, Joey doesn't feel like shots at Hov are effective enough to the point where they shouldn't be fired. He also clears up some confusion that may have come recently from his lyrics and has assured everyone that he hasn't had words for Jay since Mood Muzik and has no intentions to create any later on.
“Beans is nice and I like Beans. I just feel like niggas dissing Hov is pointless. Mind you, I'm very aware that I dissed Hov countless times. I dissed Hov a bunch of times. I did not diss Hov recently. Contrary to popular belief, I didn't send one line at Hov in that BET Cypher, it's just that now everybody thinks that everything I say is directed towards ‘Too many many blueprints, not enough architects.' That's not a diss to him either. When the fans made it into a diss, I certainly didn't run to correct them because it helped.”
Many such as 50 Cent, Jim Jones, and Cam'Ron have thrown rocks at the thrown, but in comparison, Jay has always reigned triumphant. At the end of the day, all that matter is who is here standing now.
“If you go against Jay-Z, the fight is automatically fixed. I like Jay-Z and I really like The Blueprint III, for the most part. I still enjoy Jay-Z.”
Oddly, Jumpoff added that he is actually rooting for his former foe as he continues to bring some type of needed change to the game and Hip-Hop would essentially fade into nothingness if he was to ever be taken away with the flood of wackiness left to hold down the business.
“If you take him away from Hip-Hop, it's really boring and wack. Think about it. You take Jay-Z away from Hip-Hop and what do you have? Is it the same? No, it's not the same. He definitely dissed me on Blueprint III, I don't care what he says, and he definitely probably blackballed the shit out of my career, but I love Jay-Z the artist.”
This family affair needs to be take care of quickly. As the circle begins to open and more throw in their perspectives, the situation could rise to where it isn't necessary. Too many mouths have too many words and create too many scenarios which only serves in quenching their thirst, but has a negative end result for the actual people involved.
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Rap-Up Reports
Redman’s alter-ego Reggie Noble is preparing his new album Reggie Noble 9 1/2 for a December release and he’s making no excuses for his use of Auto-Tune.
“I got it on my new album—I don’t care,” the unapologetic rapper, born Reginald “Reggie” Noble, told Rap-Up.com about his use of the pitch correction software. “Reggie Noble is doing the album, not Redman. Let’s get that clear.”
Unlike Redman, Reggie doesn’t care what anyone thinks. “Reggie Noble don’t give a fuck! He wanna do Auto-Tune. He wants to do a pop record. He just wants to do music because he loves music.”
He explained the difference between Reggie and Redman backstage at his show with Method Man and Snoop Dogg last week. “What’s the difference between Reggie Noble and Redman is that this Reggie Noble album is more conceptual. It got concepts on it, it got Auto-Tune on it, it got a pop record on it. I had fun on it. I’m just throwing it out, giving it to Def Jam.”
He will return to rapping under his stage name with his next album, the sequel to 1996’s Muddy Waters, due next year. “I’m taking it back on Muddy Waters II with the hard lyrics, so I’m not losing nothing or missing anything. I’m gaining.”Read more…
BallerStatus Reports
Although former Roc-A-Fella Records artist, Beanie Sigel, seems to be on the outs with the label's head Jay-Z -- thanks to a diss track he released last week -- it looks like he's got another deal on the table ... with 50 Cent's G-Unit.
50 Cent appeared on Philadelphia's Power 99 radio station on Tuesday (November 3) with Beanie Sigel, and made the announcement. "Beans is coming to G-Unit," 50 said.
While this deal is brand new, 50 revealed that he tried to sign the Broad Street Bully in the past, but Jay-Z blocked it. The G-Unit General said Beanie was so hot at the time, he was willing to drop some big money to get him.
"It was at least $800,000 at that point. At least, with the heat that was around him at that point," Fif' explained. "I'll tell you what I paid for Mobb Deep -- that was at least $800,000 at that point. There's no way [Beanie Sigel] would'n't have got that.
"I thought that [Jay-Z] felt that he would be losing something to me, when they wouldn't do the deal," he continued. "... I get him out and go right away with the actual music. I was aware of Beans at that point, because I was going to the joint he was in."
At press time, it wasn't clear if the deal was official yet, or if they were still ironing out the details. But one thing is clear, 50 is interested and Beans seems to be as well.
As the interview continued, Beanie went in, responding to Jay-Z's recent comments, in which he said Sigel was given many opportunities to succeed despite not earning them. During a Canadian press conference, Jay said that Beanie was given a record label, clothing line, and even at one point, was driving two Bentleys -- all of this without a platinum plaque under his belt.
Beanie says those statements are false. He claims that Roc-A-Fella Records co-founder, Kareem "Biggs" Burke, placed the down payments for both vehicles as a birthday gift, his only obligation being a monthly car note of just $5,100.
"It's not like I had all this wealth and I bought ... like you helped me obtain all this wealth and gave me me these two Bentleys," Sigel explained. "They just gave away monthly plans. The issue with the Bentleys, you shot yourself in the foot with that.
"You didn't give me a record label. It only cost a couple hundred to search the name, State Property Records. I think I paid another couple hundred dollars and I patented the LLC company. My record label only cost me $700 ... maybe $750. I did that on my own. You didn't give me that," he continued.
In fact, Beanie Sigel says the Roc-A-Fella heads didn't give him much. He did admit that the State Property Clothing line was given to him like Jay stated. However, the deal was in Jay-Z's favor and not his. In the end, the profits were taken from him anyway.
"What did you give me? The clothing line that you gave me? I had 20% of State Property Clothing. It was me, Jay, Dame, and the two other Russians that had the Rocawear, owned State Property," Beans explained. "... even on the clothing line ... the same reason why you and Dame broke up -- Jay-Z -- because he was taking all the money from Rocawear and putting it into all his other lil companies. He did the same thing to State Property."
Still, despite all the behind the scenes scheming, Beans said he was in Jay-Z's corner. He even went to bat for him in a battle against the Ruff Ryders and Jadakiss in the early 2000s. But, according to the rapper, things changed when Jay turned his back on him during his highly publicized weapons trial in 2004. Jay was ordered to take the stand in his trial, and while he did say nice things about the Philly rapper, he didn't back him when it would've helped him most.
"When he was on the stand, he spoke good things about me -- I'm an incredible artist, this and that," Beanie began. "So, she said, 'So, if I was to release him today to continue to go on the Roc The Mic Tour together, would you be willing to be responsible for his whereabouts?' And it was silence ... and he said 'No.' That's when my relationship with Jay was tainted. This ain't a money issue, like 'No?' ... everything you told this lady I was, it meant nothing. Jay was really never down with me."
As the interview went on, he revealed several shady behind the scenes incidents that went on during Roc-A-Fella Records' heyday, and promised to continue his onslaught against Jay-Z until he gets a response out of him.
"He is a crumb. I'm gonna put my foot on his neck until he responds. Please make a record," Beanie concluded.
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SixShot.com Reports
Barely a week after his deportation back to his home country of Belize, former Bad Boy rapper Shyne paid a visit to a local school over the weekend to advise students to stay in school and stay out of trouble.
According to 7 News Belize, Shyne gave his words of wisdom to the entire Wesley College student body on Saturday (October 31) along with Professor Charles Ogletree, a mentor to US President Barack Obama.
"I came up on the streets with guys that gang banged and were into criminal activity and those tools never worked," Shyne revealed. "Those tools, you either end up spending the rest of your life in prison or sleeping in a grave for the rest of your life. But with the tools that you are getting here as far as education is concerned, that is the ultimate tool and with that tool you can transcend any situation because I am just like you, you dig."
"I grew up on Curassow Street. When I was coming up we didn’t even have toilets," he continued. "But one of the things my uncle Finnegan and my father Prime Minister Barrow implored upon me was education, education, education, education. And I didn’t really get that, I was like, ‘yo well education whatever.’ But as I came up, my music, being Shyne and being able to go from Curassow Street and United States and sell millions of records, the only way I was able to do that is because I used to be at my uncle Denys’ house and I used to be in the corner reading a dictionary"
"I was very into my English. I would fail my other classes but when it came to English, I would pay attention. And if it wasn’t for that, I would have never sell any records. I wouldn’t have been able to call Jay-Z on my Iphone and I wouldn’t be able to live the life that I live and so education is very important," he added.
During his eight years behind bars, Shyne converted to Judaism and changed his name to Moses Leviy. The rapper revealed that his conversion to the religion wouldn't change the content of music that he plans to record in the future.
“I would like to make that type of contribution, that kind of Marvin Gaye contribution, you dig, but at the same time we curse, at the same time life is violent, life is troublesome sometimes so don’t expect my music to be sanitized," Shyne divulged. "I am just going to talk about what’s going on in the world.”
Shyne also hinted that signing to a record label in the United States may not be one of his priorities.
"People sell tens of millions of records outside of the States. Quite frankly the Euro is stronger than the dollar right now," he explained. "So I will make far more money in Europe and in Japan and throughout the world than I would make in the States.”
7 News Belize added that Jay-Z might be visiting Shyne in Belize before the end of the year.
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Video After The JumpRosa Acosta, is one of the hottest names in the modeling/rap video vixen business right now. She made her twitter followers a promise that she would make a new stretching video if she reached her goal of 20,000 plus followers and she kept her word. You gotta love it.
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Posted by Mr.I Get It on November 3, 2009 at 5:58pm
Curtis Jackson known as 50 Cent will present his first perfume created in cooperation with Lighthouse Beauty this autumn. Name of the perfume is Power by 50 Cent, and Curtis himself participated in design. The fragrance will arrive in exclusive sale at Macy's in autumn 2009.The composition starts with accords of lemon leaves, black pepper and artemisia, a heart of dark wood, coriander and nutmeg and base notes full of patchouli, musk and oak moss. The flacon was created of dark, blurry glass, with a silver, metal stopper inspired by design of 50 Cent's favourite watch – Piguet.11/5/2009New YorkMacy’s Herald Square5-7PM__11/7/09AtlantaMacy’s Perimeter Mall12-2PM___11/9/09ChicagoMacy’s State Street12-2PM___11/10/09San FranciscoMacy’s Union Square5-7PM____11/11/09Los AngelesMacy’s Lakewood5-7PM
Posted by Mr.I Get It on November 3, 2009 at 5:41pm
50 Cent will launch his Fragrance "Power" on November 5th exclusively at Macy's all across the USA. And as you can see above, 50 Cent is showing off his sexy side for the ad.50 Cent said about Power: “For me, power isn’t just something you learn on the street or in the boardroom — it’s a way of life.”The Fragrance is a mix of notes from lemon leaves, black pepper, coriander and nutmeg.“I really wanted to bottle up the rush it gives you so my fans can make it a part of their lifestyle.”Prices will be ranging from $50.50 (for a 1.7 oz. eau de toilette) to $68.50 (for a two-piece gift set of eau de toilette and after shave).Also don't miss the launch of "Power" this Friday, November 6th 2009 if you are in the area.
Rap-Up Reports
Rihanna is speaking out publicly for the first time about what happened that unforgettable night in February between her and ex-boyfriend Chris Brown.
“This happened to me. … It can happen to anyone,” she tells ABC News anchor Diane Sawyer in a three-part interview airing Thursday and Friday morning on “Good Morning America,” and culminating on Friday’s “20/20.”
She also reveals that Brown, who plead guilty to assaulting her, once had her heart. “He was definitely my first big love.”
The media attention from the incident turned the 21-year-old pop star into a household name overnight. “I went to sleep as Rihanna and woke up as Britney Spears,” she tells Glamour magazine in the December issue. “That was the level of media chaos that happened the next day. It was like, ‘What, there are helicopters circling my house? There are 100 people in my cul-de-sac? What do you mean, I can’t go back home?’”
As for the infamous photo of a battered and bruised Rihanna that leaked online, she says, “It was humiliating; that is not a photo you would show to anybody. I felt completely taken advantage of. I felt like people were making it into a fun topic on the Internet, and it’s my life. I was disappointed, especially when I found out the photo was [supposedly leaked by] two women.”
Rihanna’s fourth album Rated R, due November 23, has already cracked the top 10 on iTunes albums chart based on pre-sales alone. Her single “Russian Roulette” is currently the No. 12 most-downloaded song in the digital store.
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AdAge.com Reports
As they try to bring Vibe magazine back from the dead, its new owners and editor have chosen a provocative subject for the new incarnation's first cover: Chris Brown, who could use a little resuscitation himself.
The cover with Chris Brown, who is attempting a comeback after pleading guilty in June to felony assault on fellow performer and now ex-girlfriend Rihanna, actually shares the print run with covers featuring Drake, another hip-hop artist. But it's the Chris Brown cover that's more likely to get people talking.
And if the choice succeeds in generating the buzz that's intended, Vibe's cover will show off the power that print can still wield. Putting a feature about the tarnished pop star online alone, by contrast, probably wouldn't stand to get the same attention.
But Vibe and its fellow music magazines still face more challenges from digital media than, say, fashion magazines do. Music, not to mention its devotees, works better with digital than glossies focused on visuals. That's why you now see Vibe magazine recast as just one arm of the Vibe Lifestyle Network, why Rolling Stone is bringing its website back in-house, and why, to some degree, Blender lies in the magazine graveyard.
"Here, Vibe.com is really the hub," said Jermaine Hall, editor in chief of the new Vibe and Vibe.com. "That's where everything needs to go back to. Whether it's the magazine, or we decide to do some kind of TV programming down the line, everything needs to come back to Vibe.com."
Beyond music
Vibe will also return to print with a wider editorial focus encompassing not only music but fashion, politics, culture, arts and sports. "It's always been a very broad book that's covered the culture of hip-hop, not just hip-hop music," Mr. Hall said. "It needs to get back to that."
The old Vibe died last June but got a chance at a comeback two months later when InterMedia Partners, the private equity fund, stepped in and bought the brand's assets. Now the print edition is coming back with a reduced frequency, four issues next year compared with the 10 once planned for 2009, and a smaller paid circulation guarantee, 300,000 now compared to 600,000 at shutdown. That partly reflects the tough economy. It's a result, too, of abandoning all subscribers to the old Vibe, who now have to buy new subscriptions if they want the new print edition; InterMedia didn't take on liability for prior subscribers when it bought Vibe's assets.
But the more modest publishing plan is also a reflection of evolving approaches toward media brands in print. "We have a smaller cost basis and a lot of emphasis on digital," said Leonard Burnett Jr., co-CEO and group publisher of the Vibe Lifestyle Network. "Instead of having a website supporting a magazine, we are a digital-influenced business, where the magazine is supporting that."
The return issue, out Dec. 8 in a slightly over-sized format, is expected to include more than 40 pages of advertising, Mr. Burnett said, with participating marketers so far including Nissan, Sean John, General Motors, Crown Royal, Pepsi and State Farm.
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V MagazineStylelist.com Reports
Blackface is making headlines for the third time in as many weeks.
The upcoming issue (#62) of V Magazine will feature model Sasha Pivovarova in dark body and face makeup, in an amorous embrace with relatively pale model Heidi Mount.
The spread is accompanied by the quote, "Black is the new black," from James Kaliardos, Creative Director, L'Oreal Paris International, who created the look as part of the feature "Beauty 2010" for which V asked the world's leading creative directors, makeup artists and hairstylists to define what's beautiful for the new decade.
"2010 sounds like the future, and this is what it will look like," touts the magazine.
This is hot on the heels of last week's "America's Next Top Model" episode which featured the contestants painted in varying degrees of dark makeup to depict bi-racial women, and last month's critically debated issue of model Lara Stone in blackface for the October issue of French Vogue.
Last week, we polled StyleList readers on how they felt about the use of blackface on "America's Next Top Model," and out of nearly 21,000 readers, 53% thought the photos were a beautiful celebration of bi-racial women and only 11% found it offensive.
We're interested to see if readers feel the same way about this instance in V, or if it brings up parallel concerns with French Vogue's use of blackface: Why didn't the magazine use a darker-skinned model instead of painting a white model black?
Video After The Jump
Mariah Carey stopped by The Jay Leno Show Monday (October 2nd) to plug her new album "Memoirs Of An Imperfect Angel" and movie "Precious". On her entrance though, she almost slipped and fell but managed to catch her balance before it became a major disaster.
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AllHipHop Reports
Despite making public appearances together in the past month, Queens rapper Nas’ divorce from his estranged wife R&B singer Kelis continues on.
According to TMZ.com, Nas lawyer Mark Vincent Kaplan filed court papers Monday (November 2), seeking to block Kelis’ request for $72,728 a month in spousal support.
Nas had been ordered to pay Kelis $44,000 in child support payments in addition to a one-time payment of $45,000 to pay Rogers' attorney fees and for a forensic accountant.
In August, Kelis’ attorney Laura Wasser filed a motion seeking to increase amount to $72,728 in income based on the $240,000 the rapper earns per-month.
She also seeks $17,225 a month in child support, $72,728 in spousal support, $29,522 in back child support and finally, retro spousal support in the amount of $281,571.
Kelis gave birth to their son Knight in July of 2009. After six years of marriage, she filed for divorce from Nas in April, citing irreconcilable differences.
In September, the pair were seen together at New York hotspot Marquee and other events, sparking rumors that the reconciliation might be possible.
In October, the IRS filed a lien against Nas, because the rapper owes $2,584,206.31 to the government for unpaid taxes on income earned throughout 2006 and 2007.
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BallerStatus Reports
Radio personality, Charlamagne Tha God, was fired from his post at Philadelphia radio station 100.3 The Beat this week, following an interview with Beanie Sigel where he explained his recent Jay-Z diss track.
Charlamagne revealed the termination via Twitter (@CThaGod) on Monday (November 2) morning.
While he says the station said they wanted to "move in a different direction," many speculate whether Jay-Z may have had a hand in the matter.
"I just got fired from 100.3 The Beat in Philly. Salute to Philly I hope you all enjoyed me the past six months," Charlamagne wrote.
"#cthagodgotfired cause 100.3 The Beat said they want to move in a different direction. God bless them. Thanks for the past six months," he later added.
This isn't the first time the blunt radio personality had been let go from a radio gig. He was previously Wendy Williams sidekick on her popular "The Wendy Williams Experience" radio show, and was dumped last November.
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Lil Wayne's No Ceilings is making a serious argument for Mixtape of the Year right now. Halloween was a great day for music — heck, a bunch of great music dropped last week. This week is off to great start with the new Rihanna and Young Jeezy joints and Game is talking about releasing four mixtapes at once. Check in with us all week for some exclusives — but today, those Cookin' Soul cats bring back one of the all-time best.
Don't Sleep: Necessary NotablesMixtape: Night of the Living Dead Part II
Headliner: Tupac ShakurCo-Starring: Cookin' Soul and DJ Whoo KidKey Collaborations: "The Beyond" featuring Jay-Z; "Halloween Pt. II" featuring Notorious B.I.G.; "The Fog" featuring Notorious B.I.G.
Essential Info: Producers got in on the Halloween action, putting their latest mixtape out on Saturday along with releases from Lil Wayne, Soulja Boy and others. The Soul brothers concentrated on putting a new spin on classics from Tupac Shakur.
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Rolling Stone Reports
November 22nd’s American Music Awards are shaping up to be 2009’s hot ticket. Eminem and Lady Gaga were just added to the lineup of all-star performers at the event, which will air live from Los Angeles’ Nokia Theatre at 8 p.m. on ABC.
The 37th annual show is determining its winners list based on online votes for the third time, and nominees include Taylor Swift (who leads the pack with six nominations), Michael Jackson and Eminem, who each scored five nods apiece. Jay-Z, Alicia Keys, the Black Eyed Peas, Jennifer Lopez and Adam Lambert are also scheduled to perform. Lambert’s fellow American Idol alums Carrie Underwood, Chris Daughtry and Kelly Clarkson will all take the stage, as well.
Lady Gaga’s most recent awards show performance at the ‘09 MTV Video Music Awards saw her hanging from the ceiling in a mock death scene complete with fake blood and and eerie, glassy stare. The singer’s re-release, The Fame Monster will hit stores two days after her AMAs performance. Eminem will be coming off his recent set at New Orleans’ Voodoo Festival, which was one of his only live appearances of the year supporting his latest LP, Relapse.
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AllHipHop Reports
Next Tuesday (November 10), the ImageNation Cinema Foundation will premiere in New York the ODB tribute film Dirty: One Word Can Change the World.
Directed by Dirty’s cousin Raison Allah, the documentary commemorates the colorful rapper’s life though personal interviews with the Wu-Tang Clan, Sunz of Man, Killarmy, the Black Knight, and the Brooklyn Zu.
In addition to the feature film presentation, movie-goers will be treated to a live performance from ODB’s Brooklyn Zu.
Following the film, members of Brooklyn Zu, Wu-Tang, and author Terrie Williams (Black Pain: It Just Looks like We Aren’t Hurting) will chronicle Dirty’s musical legacy along with important information on mental health and substance abuse prevention.
Ol Dirty Bastard, real name Russell Jones, was one of the most popular emcees in the Wu-Tang Clan.
His unpredictable behavior, distinctive voice, and blues-influenced singing style earned him success as a solo artist, where he achieved a platinum debut (Return to the 36 Chambers: the Dirty Version) and a gold follow-up (n***a Please).
In November 2004, he died suddenly of a drug overdose.
Dirty: One Word Can Change World premiers Tuesday (November 10) at the National Black Theatre, located on 2031 5th Avenue (125th and 126th streets).
Tickets are $15 (advance) and $20 at the door.
Interested fans can purchase them online at www.imagenation.us or by calling 212-340-1874.
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