Eminem called into Shade 45 earlier today and chopped it up with DJ Whoo Kid. The two talked about Eminem's recording process, his upcoming album, the Slaughterhouse project, the loss of MCA of the Beastie Boys, Ice-T's the 'Art of Rap' documentary and a lot more.
Jenny Boom Boom caught up with Miguel at the 2012 BET Awards. They talked about his 3 nominations, his new single "Adorn," Usher's influence on his career and how her radio station Connecticut's Hot 93.7played a big part in jump starting his career.
One of the most effective ways for citizens to get their voices heard is to exercise their right to vote. In the hip hop community sometimes that right is taken for granted. To that end The Hip Hop Caucus was founded in 2004. Headed by “Hip Hop Rev” Lennox Yearwood Jr., their purpose is to get young people to be active in elections, policy making, and service projects.
This year The Hip Hop Caucus has called on 2 Chainz to become a spokesperson for the campaign.
“As a youth offender, I spent much of my adult life feeling like I couldn’t participate in the democratic process. Like I had ruined my chances. It’s only recently that I learned that my voting rights could be reinstated. That meant me and many like me had rights we were unaware of. I joined the Hip Hop Caucus‘ “Respect my Vote!” campaign to help inform and empower the minorities and disconnected of this country. And it isn’t just about felons. It’s young people, women, families. Voting effects our communities, schools, jobs. It’s important," he said.
In addition to 2 Chainz, the Caucus has also called upon Travis Porter and DJ Red Alert to help out.
Check out some behind the scenes bloopers from Wiz Khalifa and Snoop Dogg's movie Mac And Devin Go To High School. The movie will be available on DVD July 3rd.
1.Rick Ross Feat Gunplay,Stalley,Wale,Meek Mill & Kendrick Lamar - Power Circle 2.Nas Feat Rick Ross - Accidental Murderers 3.Rick Ross Feat French Montana - All Birds 4.Jadakiss - Nightmares & Migraines 5.Vado - We Out Chyeah 6.Paypa Feat French Montana - Time Zone 7.JadaKiss Feat Wale,French Montana & Styles P - Paper Tags 8.Jadakiss Feat Slim Dunkin,Waka Flocka & French Montana - Back To The Money 9.Jadakiss Feat Acehood & Styles P - Hustle Like A Muh 10.THISIS80.NING.COM Commercial 11.Rick Ross Feat T.I - Bury Me A G 12.Gunplay Feat Ace Hood & Bun B - Black On Black 13.Wale Feat Meek Mill & French Montana - Actin Up 14.Waka Flocka Feat Plies - Lurkin 15.Meek Mill Feat Rick Ross - Black Magic 16.Dyber Feat Chinx Drugz - Green Faces 17.French Montana Feat Murdah Baby,Birdman,Kd Da Beast, Wale, Fabolous, Jadakiss & Waka Flocka 18.Wale Feat Wiz Khalifa,French Montana & Roscoe Dash - I Be Puttin On 19.Omarion Feat Wale - M.I.A [ 20.Chris Brown Feat Snoop Dogg & 2 Chainz - Oh Yeah 21.French Montana FeaRick Ross & Drake - Pop Dat ( Bonus Track )
Meek Mill was one of the performers at the 25th Annual ASCAP Rhythm & Soul Music Awards in Beverly Hills on Friday 9June 29th). Meek rapped his way through his club hit "House Party."
The song appears on Meek's Dream Chasers mixtape which you can download here
Vlad TV recently sat down with Cleveland rapper Machine Gun Kelly. He talked to them about the things he's learned from Diddy since being signed to Bad Boy, his ability to rap while getting punched in the face by fans, the fact that he considers himself a great rapper and the upcoming Warped Tour.
Big K.R.I.T.'s debut album Live from the Underground is in stores now and doing quite well. The Def Jam artist is keeping that momentum going by shooting a video for the Ludacris assisted track "What U Mean."
Check out a few pics from the set below and pic up the album from iTunes.
Kelly Rowland is getting ready to return with a new album and thanks to Rap-Up we get a chance to listen to a snippet of her Lil Wayne assisted first single "Ice."
Grammy winning singer/rapper Lauryn Hill pleaded guilty today to "intentionally and willingly" not paying federal taxes on more than $1.5 million earned over three years.
Hill appeared in U.S. District Court in Newark, New Jersey and admitted failing to file tax returns from 2005 to 2007. Each count carries a maximum penalty of one year in prison and a $100,000 fine.
According to Reuters, Hill was released on $150,000 bail that U.S. District Judge Michael Shipp said included being allowed to leave the country for music tours and a condition she must undergo mental health counseling.
She will reappear in the Newark courthouse for sentencing in November.
For the launch of Anja Rubik's new magazine, 25, photographer and director Barnaby Roper teamed up with Kanye West to make a video dedicated to the issue's theme of eroticism. Rubik knew West from bumping into him at various fashion events over the years, and they became close friends when he started working on his clothing line (she's since opened both of his runway shows, and he rapped about her in "Way Too Cold"). "He’s like a machine, not only with music but also with fashion and videos," Rubik told us earlier this week. "He’s a workaholic, and always talking about all these crazy thoughts and images running through his head."
When Rubik was putting together the first issue of 25, she and West discussed how she wanted the magazine to approach sex. "It’s funny. We talked about porn looks these days, and he agreed with me that there's no porn out there that is beautiful aesthetically and integrates fashion to make a beautiful image," she explained. "We were on the same page about a lot of things." He agreed to work with Roper in a video that explores some of the sensual imagery from the magazine. "I thought it would be really interesting to make it seem like we were entering Kanye's head," Rubik said. "It's not pornographic, but it's very sensual."
Watch the full video on BooBooTV and let us know what you think of it.
Noisey recently let the cameras roll while Danny Brown and A$AP Rocky chilled in Barcelona and talked about every topic under the sun. One subject that came up was their attraction to older women. Both Danny and A$AP said they chop down comedian Kathy Griffin.
Someone sent the clip to Kathy and she responded on her show along with Anderson Cooper and two other guests.
Check it out below.
Kathy Griffin responding to Danny Brown and A$AP Rocky
Danny Brown and A$AP Rocky's original video conversation about smashing older women
Coming soon to a theater near you is the biopic about the West Coast rap crew that changed hip hop forever. 'Straight Outta Compton' will chronicle the rise to fame of Ice Cube, Dr. Dre, MC Ren, DJ Yella and Eazy E, known together as N.W.A.
The Boombox recently caught up with Cube to talk about the movie, which is currently in pre-production.
"I'm full-in. I'm producing it along with a few other people," Cube told The Boombox. "We got [F.] Gary Gray to direct it and it's cool because he does good work. We don't have to teach him what N.W.A. is about; he lived it."
Cube added that there is a lot of work being done right now on the script to ensure that the film is authentic as possible.
"I'm excited," he continued. "A lot of it is about the pre-production of the movie since it's a period film. Even though it's just the '80s, you gotta make sure that we have the flavor. But it's full steam ahead."
The casting directors won't have to look far to find the person who will portray Cube in the movie. Cube has someone in mind who is close to home.
"I want my son to play me," Cube said. "I'ma give him a shot, see what he can do."
Cube has two sons, OMG (OhMy Goodness) and Doughboy. While he didn't say specifically which one he had chosen for the role, OMG bears a striking resemblance to his father.
Cash Money Records owners Bryan "Birdman" Williams and Ronald "Slim" Williams have built a record empire down in New Orleans and they show no signs of slowing down. The two brothers grace the cover of the latest Billboard magazine's Urban Power issue, which is out now. You can cop an issue for yourself HERE.
Check out an excerpt below from the issue via Billboard below.
Spend any time talking to Bryan "Birdman" Williams about his business these days and you'll quickly come to understand that he has two immediate goals: Releasing 100 albums in one calendar year and growing Cash Money Records Group, the company he founded with his older brother Ronald, aka "Slim," in 1991, into the record industry's first billion-dollar independent brand. Talk to those around him, like Cash Money's longtime business manager Vernon Brown, say, or even the elder Williams, and you'll get the sense that one of those goals may be just a bit out of reach, at least at the moment. And it might not be the one that you'd think.
"He's not putting out 100 albums per year," Brown says while sitting in his office high above Midtown Manhattan. "I'm putting that on the record: No, he is not."
Slim's initial reaction is different only in tone. It arrives, first, with a whistle. "That's wild," he says, his towering frame folded into a rolling chair in the control room of Studio E at the Hit Factory in Miami, which has served as Cash Money's de facto home base since the label relocated there from New Orleans in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Two smartphones rest on the edge of the mixing board to his right, at least one of them set to a ringtone of the "Godfather" theme song that rattles off every five minutes or so. "If I could get 16, something like that, I'll be great. But 100? I don't think that'll happen. But, you know, he's got big goals. Has it ever been done?"
Certainly not by the likes of a label like Cash Money, meaning that no rap-rooted label has ever released anything even approaching 100 albums in a calendar year. The closest any similar operation is believed to have ever come is when Percy "Master P" Miller's No Limit Recordsdropped 23 albums in 1998. And just to put that number in perspective: Last year Cash Money released a grand total of three albums. Universal, the global music conglomerate and Cash Money's longtime distributor, released 700-plus albums in the United States across all of its brands.
Not that the younger Williams has any interest in backing down from his goal.
"It's a challenge, and I love challenges," he says while riding through the streets of South Beach in the back seat of a black SUV. It's a Friday afternoon in early June. The Miami Heat, the local NBA franchise he's adopted as his own, aren't yet world champions, and one of his marquee artists, the chart-topping rapper Aubrey "Drake" Graham, is still days away from being implicated in an incident involving Chris Brown that left several injured and turned a New York nightclub upside down. The streets are flooded, the South Florida skies are open, and it's pounding rain.
"I look at the charts," he continues, taking a piece of gum from the center console. "On iTunes' top 25, we have 13. On the top 10, we got six. I figure if I can get half of [the chart], I can get all of it. If I can get the top 10, I can get the top 20. If I can get the top 20, I can get the top 50 . . . It's an exciting challenge for me because I know we can do it."
Birdman is dressed all in black. Black on black YMCMB hooded sweatshirt (the logo represents his label's core brands, Young Money and Cash Money; the "B" is for "Billionaires") and black sweats. His shoes, a pair of Air Force 1 mids, are icy white. Among his many tattoos, the word "Pricele$$" floats above his left eye. He smiles with conviction as he talks.
"We have so many acts and, at some point, everybody is going to be popping at the same time," he says. "We've got rap, rock, we're expanding into the R&B area. We just signed our first reggae artist. We're also opening a YMCMB West Coast [operation]. I need more acts. We know that.
"We're going to put out more music. We'd like to be able to put out 35 albums in one year. It's like putting a pyramid together. I'm trying to figure out how we can put out 100 albums. I ain't even done 20 yet, let alone 100. I'm trying to figure that out."
As for that billion-dollar business?
It's been 21 years since the Williams brothers first founded Cash Money Records, and 14 years since they signed their initial pressing and distribution deal with Universal. Widely reported to be valued at $30 million with $3 million in advance, the P&D deal, finalized in May 1998, gave the label 85% of its royalties, 50% of its publishing and ownership of all masters. In the rap community, the stakes and the terms were regarded as unprecedented.
"I refused to let them take anything from us-that's how we got my deal," says Birdman, who credits Rap-A-Lot CEO James Smith for bringing the label to Universal. (Before the deal, Cash Money had been relying on independent regional distributors like Houston's Southwest Wholesale.) "I wasn't one of those people coming to Universal trying to live off their money. We wasn't really tripping on being with a major. I was making a million dollars a month, shipping 100,000 each album-that's at $10 [each]. And I dropped three or four of them a month."
But the terms of the deal proved too good to ignore. Once in the Universal system, Cash Money's success continued and any doubts about the deal's viability, on all sides, were quickly put to rest. Building on New Orleans' musical tradition and the Southern gangsta rap blueprint laid by crosstown rival No Limit, Cash Money strung together a rope of platinum hits led by the label's first release through the Universal system, Juvenile's "400 Degreez," which rode a pair of singles, "Ha" and "Back That Thang Up," to the top of Billboard's 1999 year-end rap chart and sold 4.8 million units, according to Nielsen SoundScan.
A series of significant releases immediately followed, including B.G.'s "Chopper City in the Ghetto" (released in 1999, it has sold 1.1 million); the Hot Boys' "Guerrilla Warfare" (1999, 1.5 million); Lil Wayne's debut, "Tha Block Is Hot" (1999, 1.4 million); and the Big Tymers' "I Got That Work" (2000, 1.5 million). But even that early success couldn't forecast the label's growth during the past four years. That growth has been propelled by the breakout success of Lil Wayne, who famously took to the mixtape circuit in the mid-'00s to stoke a demand that exploded into a firestorm of commercial success. When his sixth studio album, "Tha Carter III," bowed in June 2008, it posted the first million-plus sales week since 50 Cent'sThe Massacre in 2005. Since that tipping point, Cash Money has grown from regional rap curio to R&B/hip-hop (and increasingly pop) radio powerhouse and retail juggernaut. The label's core roster of young superstars -- led by Wayne and including the Canadian actor-turned-rapper Drake as well as Billboard's 2011 Rising Star Nicki Minaj (both signed to Cash Money through Wayne's Young Money imprint) -- is in the middle of such a dominant run on all of the major charts that most any comparison falls well short.
"I don't think anyone in the urban field is on par with them now," says Sony Music Entertainment chairman/CEO Doug Morris, who as Universal Records chairman/CEO (1995-2011) oversaw the original Cash Money-Universal pact.
To read the full cover story pick up Billboard's Urban Power issue now HERE
After five years of marriage Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes are calling it quits according to PEOPLE.
"This is a personal and private matter for Katie and her family," says Holmes's attorney Jonathan Wolfe. "Katie's primary concern remains, as it always has been, her daughter's best interest."
The soon-to-be-ex couple are parents to 6-year-old daughter, Suri.
Cruise, 49, and Holmes, 33, were married in an Italian castle in November 2006.
This was the first marriage for Holmes and the third for Cruise, who had previously been married to Nicole Kidman and Mimi Rogers
**UPDATE**
Looks like the straw that broke the camel's back in Katie and Tom's marriage was her fear that he would raise their daughter in the Church of Scientology according to TMZ. Katie is filing for sole legal custody because she does not want Tom to control decisions relating to religion.
TMZ is also reporting that despite the fact their marriage certificate was filed in California, Katie filed divorce papers in New York because it would be easier to win sole custody of their 6-year old daughter Suri there.
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