Blogs

Video After The Jump

Canada and the U.S. collide as Toronto rapper K'naan recruits Queens MC Nas for his latest video "Nothing to Lose" filmed in support of his new EP More Beautiful Than Silence. 

The project is now available via iTunes.

Video After The Jump

With his fifth studio album Fortune on the way Chris Brown drops off visuals for it's lead single "Turn Up the Music."

The clip co-directed by Brown and Godfrey Tabarez is a very high energy joint like the song itself, featuring plenty of Brown's signature dance moves.

Fortune will be released March 16th.

Video After The Jump

Jay-Z's legacy in rap is unparalleled. Hov probably best summed up his career on 2003's "What More Can I Say" when he spit, "There's never been a n*gga this good for this long/ This 'hood or this pop, this hot or this strong."

But were the God MC's past accomplishments enough to rest on in 2011? Over the past year he continued to raise the bar, teaming up with "little brother" Kanye West to drop the groundbreaking Watch the Throne album and earning himself the #6 spot on MTV News' Hottest MCs in the Game VII list.

"If you talk about the Throne, yeah, top five, no question. But Jay himself? From January to August, what was going on?" asked Rahman Dukes, MTV News' director of hip-hop news, pointing out Jigga's inactivity apart from WTT. "Kanye was moving."

Indeed, Yeezy was rolling creatively after the November 2010 release of his critically acclaimed My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, while Jay hadn't dropped a solo effort since 2009, when his triumphant Blueprint III made him our #1 Hottest MC. When it came to recognizing Jay for the recent success of the Throne, however, many members of the Hip-Hop Brain Trust argued that much of the credit should go to Kanye, not Jigga.

"You can't divorce [the album] from Kanye. It really feels like Jay rode shotgun on it," said Rebecca Thomas, an editor/writer at MTV News. "That project has Kanye's footprints and handprints all over it."

The truth is, outside of WTT, Hov didn't do the kinds of things that help an MC bolster his stats. Instead, the rap mogul was focused on his many business ventures — from his Brooklyn-bound Nets to re-launching the 40/40 Club in New York. Although few could argue that when he released "Glory," days after the birth of daughter Blue Ivy Carter, he created quite the musical moment.

And it was hard to ignore the impact and cultural significance of Watch the Throne, even if Jay's contribution was collaborative, not solo. Bypassing a traditional album rollout, the Throne serviced only two records to radio prior to their LP release: "H.A.M." and "Otis." They also went with a digital-only release initially, electing to postpone sending physical copies of WTT to stores until four days later. The pair placed a premium on their music — and it paid off. They avoided an album leak, a near impossibility in the digital era. When the joint LP was finally released on August 8, it seemed as if the entire hip-hop community was listening at the same time, dissecting it on Twitter and spawning multiple trending topics. It hit #1 on iTunes in 23 different countries a day later.

"At the end of the day, that album is an 'event album.' You're never going to get an album like that ever again," said Yomi Desalu, MTV's senior director of music and talent.

When first-week sales were tallied, the Throne had sold 436,000 copies and landed at #1 on the Billboard 200. The album's third single (second, if you don't count bonus track "H.A.M.") proved to be its biggest. "N---as in Paris" not only topped Billboard's Rap chart, it became a quick fan favorite that prompted the Throne to perform the track multiple times at each stop on their tour.

So when it comes to the "Hottest MCs" criteria, Hov largely hits the major points. He has proven his impact on the game is enduring and maintained a buzz in the streets, even if he didn't make as much noise in early 2011. Jigga was a lock in the sales department and, at 42 years old, he remains among rap's top lyricists. On "Otis," he reminded fans who invented swag, so style wasn't a problem, and Jay had enough side hustles that you could write a book about them. (Seriously, you could: check Zack O'Malley's "Empire State of Mind: How Jay-Z Went From Street Corner to Corner Office.")

Perhaps a solo LP would've given Jay that extra push. Makes us wonder what might go down on Hottest MCs VIII if Hov does drop that tentatively planned 12th solo album and a second Throne LP. Who gon' stop him then?

Source: MTV

Follow Me

New leak off of Frenchie 1017 of Brick Squad Monopoly's upcoming mixtape French-Elo Anthony. This track is produced by Ju Money Bagzz and features Cook Tha Monster, Chipz Ru and Zoe Ba11A

Download Here

Clinton Sparks returns with a brand new mixtape packed with features and remixes. Get familiar with the man who is bringing fun back to the DJ booth!

Download Here

Video After The Jump

All Papoose needs is a mic and a beat to get down to business. The Brooklyn MC visited the Shade 45 show of his good friend DJ Kay Slay recently and dropped an in-studio video for "Guns & Roses."

Filmed by Street Heat TV

Follow Me

Scott Storch has once again been popped for cocaine possession. The man behind hits like "Lean Back," "Just A Lil Bit" and "Candy Shop" was caught February 4th in Las Vegas according to TMZ.

Cops found a baggie containing 2.7 grams of coke in a trash can after receiving a tip from security at the Cosmopolitan Hotel that Storch tried to hide his stash in there.

Police were initially called to the hotel after receiving a complaint that the producer wouldn't pay for his room. After his arrest he was booked and released on $5000 bond.

Storch has been in recovery since 2005 when he blew his entire $30 million dollar fortune on drugs, cars and cribs.

Follow Me

Video After The Jump

DJ Drama caught up with A$AP Rocky and his crew while they were in Atlanta recently and Barack O'Drama had plenty of questions lined up for Pretty Flacko.

A$AP's birth name is Rakim Mayers. He recently got a chance to meet the man he was named after, rapper Rakim.

"I don't know if words can express it, I was just happy to be meeting him," he said. "I knoew it would happen eventually someway, somehow. I was just happy it happened."

Because of his style of music most people assume A$AP only listens to rappers from Houston. He said that's not the case and cited rap and rock influences ranging from UGK to Red Hot Chili Peppers.

He also clarified a rumor that he had been asked to be on the 2012 XXL Freshman cover and passed.

"Nah, not even...I was busy," A$AP explained. "I don't know who they spoke to 'cause we was busy. I wouldn't have minded doing it."

Peep the rest of the interview below. A$AP goes on to talk about fellow Harlem rapper Azealia Banks and rumored girlfriend Iggy Azalea.

Shouts to HipHopWired

Follow Me

Stories about a Drake/Common confrontation have been trickling in over the last day or so. The two had been involved in a dispute on record that was supposedly deaded after Drake said he wouldn't respond to Common's "Stay Schemin" diss. But according to Billboard and a witness the two came face to face backstage at Sunday's Grammy Award show in Los Angeles and a shouting match ensued.

Publicist Robert Santini of consulting firm PKM*BNC was backstage when the two rappers saw each other for the first time since their war of words started. He tweeted about what he saw.

Drummer Questlove of The Roots also tweeted that he saw Common and Drake backstage in the same area.

On Wednesday Santini took to Twitter once again to clarify his previous comments.

"You heard it on this man's twitter first. I was backstage. No physical altercation, just a good verbal one," he wrote. "I threw it up Sun on twitter before any news broke, check the time line. It was just a bunch of hootin & hollering."

Obviously this situation isn't squashed yet. It will be interesting to see if either Common or Drake writes a diss song about what went down.

Follow Me

Redman tackles a classic in Eminem's "I Just Don't Give A F*ck" to freestyle over. Mr. Noble is is prepping the release of Muddy Waters 2. Hopefully he'll keep blessing us with freestyles or even better a mixtape while we wait.

Spotted at The Sermon's Domain

Download Here

Video After The Jump

"And the people can't believe that Gucci Mane got jungle fever/And I think I love this girl because her price is hella cheaper." - Gucci Mane

Gucci Mane and Yo Gotti drop visuals to the Zaytoven and Fatboi produced "In Love with a White Girl" off of Gucci's mixtape, Trap Back.

Video directed by Mr. Boomtown

Video After The Jump

Diddy hosted a Grammy after party at the Playboy Mansion Sunday (February 12). Ticket prices were through the roof, topping out at $50,000. It was all for a great cause because the event's proceeds benefited the Angelwish Foundation for children afflicted by HIV/AIDS.

Diddy talked to Jimmy Kimmel about the event, and 5 to 1 female to male ratio which made it the best party he's ever thrown. He also talked about what inspired him to executive produce the movie 'Undefeated,' and a lot more.

Diddy interview with Jimmy Kimmel pt. 1 of 3

Diddy interview with Jimmy Kimmel pt. 2 of 3

Diddy interview with Jimmy Kimmel pt. 3 of 3

Follow Me

Video After The Jump

Yelawolf is still hard at work promoting his latest album Radioactive. Wednesday (February 15) the Alabama MC was the musical guest on The Late Show with David Letterman where he performed "Let's Roll" with an assist from Kid Rock.

Follow Me

Video After The Jump

Lil Kim was a guest on Bravo's "Watch What Happens Live" Wednesday (February 15) and the Queen Bee had quite a lot to say about her arch nemesis Nicki Minaj.

When asked who she thought was the most overrated artist at this moment, Kim didn't say Nicki's name directly but made sure you knew who she was referring to by doing an impersonation of the "In Living Color" character Fire Marshall Bill.

Kim also had disparaging remarks to say about Nicki's song "Stupid Hoe," a track that a lot of people perceived as a Kim diss.

"I'm pretty sure I feel the same was everybody else feels right about now," Kim said. "If you have to make a song called 'Stupid Hoe' you must be the stupid hoe."

Follow Me

Video After The Jump

Album sales aren't the only measure of a hot MC. Meek Mill doesn't have a solo LP on the shelf, but the Philadelphia flame spitter has made his presence felt in a variety of other ways.

Thanks to "Ima Boss," his inescapable single with Maybach Music CEO Rick Ross, Meek has maintained a deafening buzz on the streets and impacted the game like no other MC in his class. Meek Milly meets all of the criteria to be considered one of the "Hottest MCs in the Game." His in-your-face lyrical delivery and fresh-off-the-block style have all helped earn him the #7 spot on the "VII" edition of the list.

Meek started off his year right, landing a spot on XXL's 2011 Freshman cover before most rap fans could even pick him out of a lineup. But those unfamiliar with Milly quickly learned who he was when Ross signed him to Maybach Music Group. And then his single "Ima Boss" began to catch fire in the streets. From the song's opening bars, Meek separated himself from other rap rookies by putting his gangsta on full display, daring his adversaries to come for him ("They say they gon' rob me, see me never do sh*t").

"For me, Meek is that real, real street music," MTV News editor/writer Rebecca Thomas said. "As much as I'm a Drake fan, a [Big] Sean fan, all those people, I just think there are days you wake up and you need to hear 'Ima Boss.' If you didn't feel 'Tupac Back,' if you didn't feel 'Ima Boss' all last year, you're dead."

It wasn't just the fans that felt Meek either. Everyone from Fabolous to Jim Jones repurposed the "Ima Boss" beat for their own freestyle needs. The omnipresent single peaked at #17 on the Billboard Rap chart, but its run in the streets and the clubs made it seem so much bigger. Mill didn't ride just the one single, though: On "Tupac Back," he resurrected the spirit of the fallen rap legend, and with "House Party," from his Dreamchasers mixtape, Meek has created quite the track record.

Last year alone, Meek signed a deal with Ecko Clothing to launch his own Dreamchasers line, was named one of MTV Jams' Fab 5 artists, won MTV2's Sucker Free's Who Got Next award and snagged a #1 rap album with his appearance on MMG's Self Made, Vol.1 compilation.

"You need dudes like Meek to hit the reset button every now and then on the game just to let them know like, 'Yo, this comes from the streets,' " said Rahman Dukes, MTV News' director of hip-hop news. "He's just as responsible for building that MMG Empire as Ross is."

Source: MTV

Follow Me