Vancouver, Canada
rap group Swollen Members’ album Black Magic took home a Juno Award for
Rap Recording of the Year last night [Apr. 1] at the 36th Annual Juno Awards.
Black Magic, which is the group’s fifth album, hit stores in Sept 2006.
The acknowledgment marks the fourth time the group has won a Juno Award, which
Canada’s equivalent to a Grammy Award. Nelly Furtado hosted the event, which took
place at the Credit Union Centre in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Furtado won the most
Juno Awards with five, for her album Loose, which also won Album of the
Year. Furtado, who is an artist on Timbaland’s Mosley Music Group, only briefly
mentioned the producer, despite his contributions to the album.Reports
that Hip-Hop group The Youngbloodz are suing Sony BMG for $50 million because
of unpaid royalities have turned out to be the result of a mixup in group names.
While there is a $50 million dollar lawsuit against Sony BMG, the rock
group The Youngbloods brought the suit against the label. The Youngbloods are
best known for their 1969 hit record "Get Together" and have brought
the suit against Sony BMG over ringtones and downloads.Former
Cash Money Records producer Mannie Fresh has inked a deal with Def Jam that will
allow him to sign and produce new artists for the label. Mannie Fresh appeared
on New Orleans’ Q 93 during The Wild Wayne Show and revealed that in addition
to finding talent, he will produce for Southern acts on the Def Jam label. The
platinum-plus producer also has the freedom to continue to produce for artists
outside of the Def Jam label as well. "Dude [Jay-Z] reached out, flew me
up, we talked about it," Mannie Fresh said. "It was a nice little proposal
and that’s where I’m at now. He gets this era of Hip-Hop…What made me take the
deal was they didn’t want me to do this exclusive thing with them, they was like
you can do what ever it is you do." During the interview, incarcerated former
Hot Boy member Turk called in and revealed he has written seven albums worth of
sentenced to 10 years in prison
, after being convicted of three weapons chargesstemming from a Jan. 2004 shoot-out with Memphis, TN SWAT Team members. "I’m
working on my appeal. I should be home this year," Turk said. "They
not expecting the last Hot Boy to be coming the way I’m coming."Russell
Simmons’ "Get Your Money Right" tour will hit the Max M. Fisher Music
Center on Apr. 14 in Detroit MI. The free event will feature Mike Jones, Layzie
and Krayzie Bone, Trick Trick, Congresswoman Carolyn Kilpatrick Remy Ma and others.
The "Get Your Money Right" tour is presented by Simmons’ Hip-Hop Summit
Action Network (HSAN) and is sponsored by Chrysler Financial and Anheuser-Busch,
Inc. The tour, now in its third year, educates students and community members
about the importance of financial literacy. "One of the most urgent issues
facing young adults today is the issue of having a firm financial foundation,"
emphasized Russell Simmons. "Hip-Hop is about transformation. The theme ‘Get
Your Money Right,’ is not some rhetorical gesture. This is a real issue and we
are talking about providing real solutions that attendees at the Hip-Hop Summit
can use for the rest of their lives." For more information log on: http://www.hsan.org.
