You may remember internet sensation, Jade Novah, from her popular “if Beyoncé did commercials” skit that had the media going crazy this summer, but did you know Jade can sing too? Long before Beyonce let us know that girls ran the world (duh), JEM AND THE HOLOGRAMS were the original girl power movement. Now “Jade and the Holograms” have channeled their inner rock stars to empower young women to be creative and go for it!
The new JEM AND THE HOLOGRAMS film offers millennials a fresh, modern take on the classic cartoon. With a new generation of teens who may not be so familiar with JEM AND THE HOLOGRAMS, Jade is delivering a lively performance that will offer excitement and connect a new audience to Jem’s unique story. Fans of the cartoon can appreciate that this film, although different from the original, will be a musical journey highlighting themes that are very prevalent for today’s young adults.
In anticipation of the new JEM AND THE HOLOGRAMS film, hitting theaters this Friday, October 23rd, watch Jade’s original music video covering its title song “Youngblood.”
In case you missed her spot on Beyonce impersonation, check it out below.
(AllHipHop News) Nearly two decades ago, No Limit Records was one of the premier music companies in Hip Hop. Between 1998 and 1999, founder Master P had the label’s artists putting out projects on nearly a monthly basis. The constant releases and the highly publicized distribution deal with Priority Records made The Tank an appealing option for many performers.
Besides C-Murder, Silkk the Shocker, Mystikal, and Romeo, West Coast representative Snoop Dogg even signed with the New Orleans based label. According to Master P, other eventual Hall of Fame level rappers were interested in partnering with No Limit as well.
“Anybody you can think of called me for advice or thinking ‘What can I do to get with No Limit?’ From Eminem to T.I. to anybody you could think of, we done had that conversation where they wanted to be with No Limit,” P told HipHopDX. “It was a sad tragedy, but [2Pac] was trying to get is life together, thinking ‘What could I do?’ Same thing with Snoop. People started checking for us, because they knew we was making money. They knew we was printing money.”
Rhymefest, Kanye West’s longtime songwriter, has recently opened up to The Daily Beast about the industry, being snubbed, and whether Yeezy has been writing all of those raps. It seems like Rhymefest is fed up! Rhymefest has Golden Globe, Grammy, and Oscar statuettes, however you never really see him onstage accepting these awards, and he’s hardly mentioned alongside these successful tracks. Rhymefest seems to suggest that he’s having financial problems as well as he stated,
“It does kind of bother me that I go to my friends’ $20 million houses, and last year I was trying to figure out how to pay my mortgage. It’s not their fault, totally. When you look at the way artists get paid now, streaming has decimated the income of the writer, so the writer doesn’t really have a career anymore. My ASCAP royalty checks went from a lot to almost nothing.”
Rumor has it that Rhymefest accepted a reduced contribution percentage on songs that he wrote on the front end, and he made a mistake by not viewing his songwriting as a business. Apparently a lot of his agreements were made on a friendship tip too!
He went on to say,
“I’ve written for all of Kanye’s albums with the exception of 808s & Heartbreak,” he says, adding, “There are a lot of songs that my name isn’t even on.”
Rhymefest seems to be looking to get his dues in all forms. Rhymefest also explains that he gave several songs to Ye because he had the clout and rapped better on the songs at the time, and he should get credit for that. Apparently he can’t help but to feel that Ye wouldn’t have had all of that (success) without his words. Interesting enough Kanye claimed that all of his lyrics off his first four albums were off the dome. He says he didn’t start writing anything down until ‘My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy.’ But were those all of Ye’s lyrics? What are your thoughts?
Read more about Rhymefest views on The Daily Beast. Click HERE.
After Wale’s appearance on Power 105’s “The Breakfast Club” morning show yesterday, Meek Mill took to Instagram to post an emotional tirade against his label mate. In turn the, “trigger fingers turn to twitter fingers”, rapper was given the honor of “Donkey of the Day” yet again. The hosts of the show then opened up the phone lines for callers to give their opinion on the issue. Unsurprisingly, no one agrees with Meek.
(AllHipHop News) We The Best head DJ Khaled has built a career off of combining different artists on a single track. Songs such as “We Takin’ Over,” “I’m On One,” and “They Don’t Love You No More” featured rappers like Lil Wayne, Birdman, Drake, and Meek Mill. But how does Khaled handle it when his regular collaborators are feuding in public?
The Breakfast Club asked Khaled that very question. The creator of the upcoming I Changed A Lot album explained why he remains neutral in the beefs.
“From the beginning of me coming in the game, I’ve always promoted unity by my records. If it becomes a situation where it gets a lot of heat involved, I’ll be the guy trying to resolve it. You’ll never hear me on both sides diss somebody. I don’t do that. I show love to both sides,” said Khaled. “Y’all are amazing artists. I don’t want to see none of this. If it goes down, it’s the game. It’s Hip Hop. It’s part of what we do.”
Slaughtering the BET Hip Hop Award cypher on national TV in addition to trending on Twitter the night of it’s airing has already put artist Joyner Lucas in a prized positioned. Iconic Rap veteran, Busta Rhymes officially co-signs newcomer Joyner Lucas on lyrically episodic track titled, “Jumanji”.
(AllHipHop News) Lee Daniels already has a hit television show with Empire, but he is ready to take on another music centered series. The director of Precious and The Butler is teaming back up with Fox for a new drama called Star.
Production for the pilot of Star is scheduled to begin in December in Atlanta. Daniels has also launched an international casting search for the show. Performers interested in trying out for parts can submit a two-minute video featuring the artist singing and doing a short monologue here.
TAR: “Character is a Caucasian female, 18 years old (actor must be 18 years of age or over). She’s a tough chick with a badass attitude.”
ALEXANDRA: “Character is an African-American female, about 20 (actor must be 18 years of age or over). She’s an elegant yet classic beauty. Alexandra wants to put this material world behind her so she can make real, authentic music.”
SIMONE: “Character is half African-American, half Caucasian, Star’s younger sister, 16 years old (actor must be 18 years of age or over). Tragic and adorable.
COTTON: “Character is a half African-American and half Latina transgender woman with a stunning look, 20 (actor must be 18 years of age or over). She has an especially keen eye for fashion.”
It seems that Fetty Wap’s sister and baby mama, Lezhae, have gotten into a full out feud. Fetty remained quiet as his sister came for his baby mama on Facebook. Fetty’s sister, Divinity, took to Facebook to address a few issues between her brother and his baby mama. She talked about how money is really being spent, custody, and whether or not the mother of Fetty’s daughter even really wants the child. It got really nasty between the two. We hope Fetty and Lezhae can get an agreement together for the sake of the child.
(AllHipHop News) Abel “The Weeknd” Tesfayecould easily be crowned the biggest breakout artist of 2015. The Canadian singer’s Beauty Behind The Madness sold over 300,000 copies out the gate and spent three weeks at #1 on the Billboard 200. His singles “Earned It,” “Can’t Feel My Face,” and “The Hills” have all cracked the top 3 on the Hot 100.
Before topping the charts this year, The Weeknd grabbed the attention of music followers with his 2012 compilation Trilogy. The project took repackaged songs from his three critically acclaimed 2011 mixtapes House of Balloons, Thursday, and Echoes of Silence. The Republic Records artist told Rolling Stone he believes Trilogy sparked a trend that inspired two of the most successful music stars on the planet.
“I probably could have toured off Trilogy for the rest of my life,” stated The Weeknd. “It definitely changed the culture. No one can do a trilogy again without thanking The Weeknd. A lot of artists started doing things faster and quicker after that: Justin Timberlake dropped two albums in a year, Beyoncé dropped a surprise album.”
He added, “I’m not gonna say any names, but just listen to the radio. Every song is House of Balloons 2.0.”
(AllHipHop News) Chief Keef has often come off as awkward in interviews. It is not clear whether the “I Don’t Like” performer is just shy, not interested in media attention, or something else. But one fellow Chicago rapper has diagnosed Keef with a developmental disorder.
The Daily Beast interviewed longtime Kanye West collaborator Cheland “Rhymefest” Smith. The article included the Oscar/Grammy winner discussing the press coverage of Keef and other young rap acts.
“I think many rappers these days have afflictions, such as Asperger’s, bipolar disorder, or autism. They need advocates, but we turn it into entertainment. The media is turning autism into entertainment,” said Rhymefest. “When I look at Chief Keef, I clearly see someone who has autism. Look at the way his face is structured, or his insensitivity to violence. He needs an advocate. But someone put him out there and exploited that child.”
Its seems like Meek Mill may be killing his own career. From the social media rants to the less than satisfactory disses, it’s not looking good right now. Meek started with Drake and lost, has threatened to kick Wale out of MMG only for Rick Ross to remind him that he isn’t the boss. Then he decides to hop on Drake’s “Back To Back” beat how many months later. Fans also let him have it in on social media saying,
“All of his music sounds the same.”
“Meek Mill telling Wale that he is no longer MMG is like your co-worker trying to fire you.”
and
“How many times is Meek going to say Lil’ Snupe was 18 & only wanted a coup”
Meek stop before it’s too late. Or is it already too late?
At the dawn of the culture, the disc jockey was a vital component to the presentation of Hip Hop music, even more so than the emcee. Groundbreaking teams like Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince, and Eric B. & Rakim even put the man behind the turntables as the lead on the marquee.
Eventually all the emphasis was placed squarely on the rapper, and the deejay was marginalized as an accessory. But the person controlling the pulse of live shows is starting to get recognized as a legitimate performer once again. A prime example of this transition is the Jamaican born DJ named Genius.
The rise of Atlanta’s new crop of rap stars such as Travis Porter, Migos, and Sy Ari Da Kid can be directly connected to Genius (born Carson Clarke). However, in the tradition of the DJ/rapper tandems of yesteryear, Genius has established a strong working bond with the Northside’s K Camp.
“I have that chemistry with Camp. He’s King Slum and I’m Prince Slum. We’re both springing this Slum Lord movement,” Genius informs AllHipHop.com. “When you see us live, it’s a Slum show. I have my parts that I do, and he has his parts he does.”
Camp and Genius have maintained a successful partnership and friendship ever since the Georgia Southern University graduate co-hosted Camp’s 2011 Become A Fan mixtape. The two A-town representatives collaborated for several other projects including K.I.S.S. Pt 2 and SlumLords.
“We just developed a friendship back then, even out of the studio,’” Genius states. “I was really f*cking with him before a lot of the stuff was happening. I was playing his records in the club. I was doing his mixtapes. So we linked up during that period.”
After spending time on the road with Verse Simmonds, Genius hooked back up with Camp to serve as his official DJ. The close association recently spawned the new single “Po’ Up & Go Up” off Genius’ forthcoming album Prince Slum.
Like all of his releases, Genius essentially takes on the role of an A&R for Prince Slum. His hands-on approach to crafting the tracks is more in line with a movie director putting the various necessary pieces together to form a completed film.
Genius recorded over 150 songs with in-house producers Bobby Kritical, Big Fruit, Flair Fifth, Beat Attikz, and Musik MajorX. He is narrowing the list of potential cuts down by testing the music with his peers, and his experience as a deejay has provided him with the uncanny skill of selecting the songs that will likely resonate with club-friendly fans.
“Listeners can expect some dope ass music. As a DJ, all you play is hit records. You’re not playing interludes off n*gga’s album. You’re playing hit records all night long. That’s all I’ve been doing for years,” says Genius. “So I feel like over time my ears have been trained to hear great music. During this whole creative process, I’m really in the studio with the producer like, ‘No, take that sound out. Put this sound in. Do the beat this way. Sequence it this way.’”
Before he became DJ Genius, Carson Clarke was an immigrant from the Westmoreland Parish in Jamaica. He originally lived with his farmer father and teacher mother in a rural section of the Caribbean nation. At 13, Clarke relocated to live with his aunt in Decatur, Georgia. The teenager raised on reggae and dancehall instantly became the recipient of a major culture shock.
“All I had seen on a little black-and-white TV was a commercialized America,” he explains. “They don’t really show the hood on TV, so in my mind I’m coming to this suburban neighborhood with white kids. But none of that happened. I moved into the hood.”
By 14, Clarke had bought his first turntables and the Virtual DJ software. This was the initial steps into his other passion. The self-described “computer nerd” picked up the tag “Genius” for his ability to build computers without any formal training.
Genius also used his technological knowhow to burn music onto CDs for his classmates. After graduating from Towers High School, he earned a degree in Information Technology & Information Systems at Georgia Southern in Statesboro.
At the same time, Clarke started DJing local parties and promoting events while also creating official mixtapes. He teamed with Robert Graham and Curtis Williams to form Hu$$le Hard Entertainment. As his notoriety in Southeastern Georgia grew, Genius’ music/computer crossover continued when he returned to Atlanta to provide tech support to law firms in the city.
“DJing and music was always my first love, so I said I got to be in the clubs, I got to do these mixtapes,” says Genius. “When I got off work, I went to the studio. I went to different events to network. I met DJ Teknikz who’s over at Street Execs. He’s really the one that showed me direction in the game.”
From there, Genius made moves to become one of the most sought after music creators in Atlanta. Within two years, he was putting out buzzworthy full collections with features from Camp, Sy Ari, Simmonds, Gucci Mane, Waka Flocka Flame, Scotty ATL, Two-9, and Jody Breeze. Some of the top production minds in the ATL – Zaytoven, Sonny Digital, K.E. on the Track, TM88, Key! – were lacing him with beats.
“At the end of 2012, I put out my first real A&R project called Virtuoso. That’s the brand that we’ve been pushing since 2012 – virtuoso, constantly chasing perfection. I’m always trying to get to the top and be perfect at whatever I take on,” Genius declares.
The music director continued the story of Virtuoso with 2013’s Virtuoso: The Man. The compilation was virtually a Petri dish for the rising rap talents that are springing from Atlanta at the moment.
“I had records with K Camp, Sy Ari Da Kid, Gucci – if you look at that project’s tracklist it had a lot of artists that are popping now in Atlanta,” says Genius. “It just shows them in earlier stages when we were just trying to get up out the mud.”
Genius is now back in album mode. He has been grinding out studio sessions for over 2 years in preparation for the Prince Slum LP. This project is set to include more of his voice. A good number of hooks were written and performed by the album curator – an illustration the space between Genius the DJ and Genius the recording artist is shrinking.
“It’s a thin line between being a DJ and an artist in today’s society. Everything in today’s society is covered by how you market things,” conveys Genius. “I realize to take it to the next level as a DJ you have to be marketed as an artist. Your social media, your videos – whatever you’re doing, you have to do so much more as a DJ now.”
That extra effort from Genius is not only about establishing himself as a brand, but it also includes putting on for his city. He does not surrender to the criticism often placed on Atlanta’s love for 808s, trap references, and strip club-ready tunes.
“What people from the outside looking it don’t see is that in Atlanta this music is a culture, it’s a lifestyle. We’re not making music to try to please somebody that don’t live here,” Genius states. “We’re portraying what’s really going on in the culture in Atlanta. If you’re not from Atlanta or live here, then you wouldn’t really understand it.”
Despite the national perception of Atlanta Hip Hop, Genius has firsthand knowledge of the real diversity in Georgia’s capital city. Whether it’s the radio friendly style of K Camp, the alternative offerings of Raury, the lyricism of Cyhi Da Prynce, the cool guy vibe of Scotty ATL, the street sound of Tracy T, or the virtuosity of Genius, the cast of A-Town’s current rap drive is vast. And the DJ/artist is open to embracing all sections of the ATL scene.
“Music is art. There is no right way to do music, there is no wrong way to do music. I feel like that’s the number one stigma in Hip Hop,” expresses Genius. “Kendrick [Lamar] is one of the dopest, but everybody doesn’t have to make music like Kendrick. Everybody doesn’t have to be super-lyrical.”
A Los Angeles Superior Court judge dismissed the “Big Pimpin'” copyright infringement case against Jay Z and Timbaland earlier this week, but the lawyers for the plaintiff, Osama Fahmy, plan to continue this court battle. Attorney Pete Ross feels that Judge Christina A. Snyder throwing out the case before it reached the jury was “completely wrong,” according to Billboard.
“We disagree strongly with the ruling, and we fully intend to appeal,” Fahmy’s other attorney Keith Wesley told The Hollywood Reporter. “We haven’t fully formulated our appeal strategy, but certainly we believe the court committed legal error in failing to restrict the license under Egyptian law.”
Fahmy sued Jigga and Timbaland in 2007 for using a sample from his uncle Baligh Hamdi’s 1957 song “Khosara Khosara” for “Big Pimpin'” without permission.
Master P and his estranged wife, Sonya Miller, are in the middle of a bitter divorce and now their son, Romeo Miller, has been brought into it. According to TMZ, Romeo’s mother has filed a lawsuit against him claiming that his father is using him to hide assets.
Mrs. Miller says that she co-founded No Limit Records with Master P in 1990 but her son is listed as the co-founder of the new label, No Limit Forever, which she says is the same company, but she is not listed as a founder. Since Romeo is listed as the founder and owner, she has no rights to the label. She said she feels like this is a ploy by her soon-to-be ex-husband to keep her from receiving any monies.
Miller also claims that P is keeping her from getting any of the money received from their reality show, Master P’s Family Empire, which comes to Reelz on Nov. 28th. The hip-hop mogul was paid $750,000 for the first season and Miller claims that she cannot see a dime of it because their son is listed on the payroll documents. According to court documents, Miller does not blame her son and feels like he is being used in her estranged husband’s plan to keep her from getting any of his money.
It looks like Rick Ross confirmed that Wale is still part of MMG despite Meek Mill’s lengthy rant. Rozay also let everyone know to never question THE EMPIRE! Meek Mill wasn’t too pleased with some comments Wale made in a few interviews about his label situation and the Drake and Meek beef. Meek went as far as to call Wale a broke, jealous gossiping rapper. He also said he was making the call that Wale wasn’t MMG anymore. Wale mentioned in his interview with The Breakfast Club that if he didn’t reach a certain level of success he would blow his brains out… basically take his own life. Interesting enough, Meek told Wale to jump off a roof like he had been trying to do. Despite how Meek is feeling, it seems like Ross has expressed that Wale is still in fact MMG!
Many hip-hop artists have been devoted to supporting the youth. MC Lyte is one of them. During her visit to the Steve Harvey show,the hip-hop veteran awarded a 19-year-old with a $50,000 scholarship to attend Dillard University.
The “Paper Thin” rapper is a member of the Board of Trustees at the historically black university. The scholarship was presented through Lyte’s foundation, Hip-Hop Sisters, which is a non-profit that “provides national and international support to women, men and youth around the globe” through mentorship, educational opportunities, financial empowerment and more.
Jay Z and Timbaland have reportedly won the “Big Pimpin'” copyright infringement case. L.A Superior Court Judge Christina A. Snyder ruled that the plaintiff, Osama Fahmy, “lacked standing to pursue his claim,” according to The Hollywood Reporter.
“In light of that decision, it will not be necessary to submit to the jury whether ‘Big Pimpin” infringed ‘Khosara Khosara,'” said the judge.
Fahmy sued Timbo and Hova eight years ago for what he claims was the illegal sampling of his uncle’s song “Khosara Khosara.”
“We disagree strongly with the ruling, and we fully intend to appeal,” Fahmy’s attorney Keith Wesley told The Hollywood Reporter. “We haven’t fully formulated our appeal strategy, but certainly we believe the court committed legal error in failing to restrict the license under Egyptian law.”
Jay’s lawyer Andrew Bart said that the Jigga man “is pleased with and feels vindicated by the decision.”
When Da Youngstas went from a little kid group into grown men, their dopeness grew exponentially as well. What better way to expound on it than to team up with the most infamous rap group at the time. Mobb Deep joined forces with the Philly group, now rechristened the Illy Funkstaz, and pumped out a timeless gem called “Bloodshed & War.” Check it out. 1995 sh*t.
After floating over Big K.R.I.T.‘s recent It’s Better This Way album, Houston’s own DeLorean is back with a new project of his own, releasing a fresh new mixtape titled Perfect Black. While his “Picture Me Swangin” single drew new eyes to the southern emcee, his new tape is already garnering new ears as well, thanks in part to features from Scotty ATL, Big K.R.I.T., Big Sant, Jack Freeman, Bruce Bang, Bam Rogers and more.
Following the release of his well received Hood Politics series and last year’s Look Alive, at 13 tracks the project offers the perfect building block as Delo’s name continues to ring inside the Lone Star State and beyond.
Stream Perfect Black in full below courtesy of Nah Right & Audiomack:
North Carolina’s Colonel Loud caught a smash hit with his Young Dolph and Ricco Barrino assisted left coast anthem, “California“.
The song first exploded on Shazam a few months back, hitting #1 in Atlanta and several other top markets. After taking over the South, the Cali anthem is finally making its way out West, this time with a new verse added from the King of the South, T.I.!
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