Maybach Music Group’s latest artist Kris Kelli just dropped some visuals for her new single “Murda She Wrote.”
Kris Kelli, who is signed MMG Digital through Block Enterprises, is currently mid-way through a 44-city-tour with legendary group Floetry.
It’s a good fit for Kris, who has been a longtime fan and supporter of the critically acclaimed group.
“Thirteen years ago I met Floetry in New York in my first year in the music business, not knowing that one day I would be on a 44-city-tour with them,” Kris Kelli explained. “I was and still am a major fan of their music.”
(AllHipHop News) The corporate world and big business has used Hip-Hop since it’s inception to drive business.
From Adidas to Honda to Pepsi, big business needs Hip-Hop’s sales.
There’s no better example of this phenomenon than Common’s most recent role as the voice of Microsoft’s “empowerment campaign.”
Microsoft loved Common’s voiceover so much, that his voice was used in the airing of was a $16 million dollar commercial spot that kicked off Super Bowl Weekend in February.
But how did it all come together? How did Common replace the CEO’s voice on a commercial?
According to GeekWire, Common reached out to Microsoft to explain why he wanted to be the voice of the brand, but the choice to use Common came from the top down as the commercial was being developed.
“I love this spot, but you’re not going to use my voice, right?” the CEO asked after seeing an early version of the commercial with his own voice.
Opting to avoid any sense of narcissism with his own voice, the CEO wanted something different and something fresh that captured the message of the Microsoft brand.
Eventually Microsoft would have Common read from CEO Satya Nadella’s speeches, breathing fresh life into the Microsoft CEO’s words.
Says Microsoft Chief Marketing Officer Chris Caposella,“If you were to listen to the audiotape of Common explaining why he wanted to be the voice, it was just so spot on with the brand of Microsoft, and how excited he was to work with us.”
This isn’t the first time Common has linked up with Microsoft to bolster the brand.
When the company launched their “Softwear” clothing line, Common took on the role as spokesperson for the new gear and contributed designs drawing inspiration from the 1980’s.
(AllHipHop News) From landlords reporting eviction to auto financing companies threatening repossession, Tyga has an alleged history of being late on a number of big payments.
This time the Cali bred rapper, born Michael Ray Nguyen-Stevenson, is said to be holding on to his 2013 Lamborghini Aventador without making the proper payments.
TMZ reported that they have documents stating Choice Motor Credit previously repossessed the Rawwest Alive rapper’s 2014 Bentley Mulsanne.
Just this past week Tyga took to Instagram to show his love of luxury cars after the rapper rode around in a Rolls Royce while touring Australia and New Zealand.
“Nothing less,” the rapper said in the caption.
This is not the first time that Tyga has had issues with making payments.
(AllHipHop News) In 2016 we undoubtably live in a racially charged world where racially motivated incidents make headlines daily.
According KHOU 11, a controversial photo is sparking outrage after a Caucasian high school student at Lamar High School allegedly wore blackface as she tried to impersonate the late Tupac Shakur.
In addition to wearing blackface, the girl is wearing a Tupac Shakur t-shirt to a school initiation party after she was told by upperclassmen to wear a costume for the ceremony.
In the controversial image the girl has her hands together seemingly mimicking the image of ‘Pac on her shirt.
“I thought it was blackface and I was immediately offended,” said senior student Ogechi Anene.
“It was supposed to be a shadow they asked her to bring a black shirt and that happened to be the shirt she was wearing,” one student said defending the student in blackface.
According to the Houston Independent School District, “The Houston ISD Code of Student Conduct governs student behavior while on campuses and while participating in district-related activities. At this time, there is no indication that the activities referenced in your email occurred on campus or during a district-sanctioned event. In addition, the organizations referenced in your email are not recognized by the campus.”
Recently Talib Kweli, Bun B and Scarface spoke out against use of the n-word after a group of Desert Vista High School students posted an offensive photo to social media. When originally posted, the highly inflammatory word “NI**ER,” was collectively spelled out on the smiling group of Caucasian girls’ t-shirts.
Rumor has it that Meek Mill is dropping his ‘Dream Chasers 4’ the same day Drake’s plans to release his ‘Views From The 6’. Wow! Now this would certainly be a ‘L’ for Meek. They have been going in on Twitter about this! Did anyone else hear anything like this?
Well, It looks like the Desiigner version of Young Thug, Kyng, has dropped a visual to accompany one of his own version of ‘Slime Season 3’ tracks. There’s one problem, the song as well as the visual are both garbage. What happened to Hip Hop? The rap game is looking more and more like ‘Single White Female’. Isn’t it ironic that Kyng is trying to do to Thug was Thug was doing to Lil’ Wayne?
So often do we feel bad for the kids of this generation as they have no idea what good music is. It makes complete sense why they don’t know who many artists are as the artists clearly aren’t in or from their era, however Erykah Badu’s recent visit to a high school was just sad. The children had no idea who she was and they didn’t know or like her music. They didn’t even try to give it a chance.
Most kids have no idea what good music is as they are subjected to the music of today. They don’t even know about great music of the past unless someone decides to sample a classic, and even then that’s if they do their research. These high school kids weren’t paying Badu any attention at all. As we know most kids will only openly hype music that’s popular right now though. Hey, at least it was a lucky day for the staff.
With only a few days to go until “Barbershop: The Next Cut” opens nationwide in theaters on April 15, 2016, All Hip Hop’s Los Angeles correspondent Kylie Krabbe was able to catch up with some of the cast and crew on hand for the star studded premiere at the TCL Chinese Theatre on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in Hollywood, California.
In keeping with the highly communicative vibe that has come to define the whole “Barbershop” franchise, both the stars and the creators of “Barbershop: The Next Cut” had a lot to say to All Hip Hop’s cameras when it came to both the premiere and their experiences working together on this latest foray into the world of Calvin ( Ice Cube), his barbershop and his community. See it all here in living color:
“Barbershop: The Next Cut” starring Ice Cube, Cedric the Entertainer, Regina Hall, Anthony Andersn, Eve, JB Smoove, Common, Nicki Minaj, Deon Cole, Utkarsh Ambudkar, Tyga, Michael Rainey Jr. and Torion Sellers opens nationwide in theaters on April 15, 2016.
(AllHipHop News) As the Future, Ciara, “Baby Future” saga continues on, so does the legal battle.
According to TMZ, Future is suing Ciara back after she filed a $15 million defamation suit against the What A Time To Be Alive rapper.
In the countersuit, Future calls Ciara’s last project a “flop” and says that her career is over despite her “reasonably large” fanbase.
The two have been involved in an ongoing public feud that appears to be primarily based on the custody of “Baby Future.”
“This btch got control problems. I gotta go through lawyers to see babyfuture…the fckery for 15k a month. I jus want babyfuture that’s all,” Future vented back in January.
As Future’s image came across the screen Ludacris had to fill in for Ciara, as she apparently skipped over or refused to mention her ex and father of her son.
No comment from either artist at the time of publishing.
Lil’ Kim wants to remind you that she has been using auto-tune long before the musical processor and effect dominated the music industry. In an interview with Rolling Stone, Lil’ Kim shared that she was using auto-tune 16 years ago. The Queen Bee also recently sat down with Elias Leight to discuss ‘Lil Kim Season,’ her latest mixtape. She says she was using auto-tune heavy as she wanted her songs to sound different and because she was ahead of her time.
“Everyone needs to go back and remember my older music. I even used auto-tune back when no one even was touching it – I used it on The Notorious K.I.M., on a song called “I’m Human.” I sang on all my albums; this is nothing new to me. It’s just that people haven’t heard from me in a while, so they only remember most of the singles that were put out. People need to remember how different every song I put out [was]. “Kitty Box” sounds like something that would be out now. I was ahead of my time, all the time,” said Kim
Photo credit: Marcus Ingram for Warner Bros. Pictures
Atlanta’s own “King of the South” T.I. recently hosted a special VIP screening of the new film KEANU at Regal Cinemas Atlantic Station. Hundreds packed the theater for a chance to preview the highly-anticipated comedy. Cast members Jordan Peele, Keegan-Michael Key, Method Man and Jason Mitchell were on hand to thank the crowd for their support. Special guests included Keri Hilson, Kelly Price, Egypt Sherrod (HGTV), Robert Riley (VH1 “Hit the Floor”), Clifton Powell, Demetria McKinney, Headkrack (Dish Nation/“Rickey Smiley Morning Show”), DJ Fadelf, D’iallo Thompson (Barbershop: The Next Cut), Beautii J (“Cutting It: In the ATL”), Jasmine Burke (Bounce TV’s “Saints & Sinners”) and more.
Following the screening, T.I. invited guests and the cast to an after-party at his restaurant Scales 925. KEANU is in theaters April 29.
Visit www.keanumovie.com for more information. Join the conversation on social media by following @KeanuMovie and use hashtag #KEANU.
With all of the Afrika Bambaataa child molestation allegations spreading like wild fire, there are now choruses within the Zulu Nation rising up to dethrone Bambaataa. Rumor has it that they are planning to remove Bam internally from his position as the head of the Zulu Nation. While this is merely a rumor, the idea of a coup is gaining legs and is thus impossible to ignore.
Does it shed light on the Zulu Nation’s true feelings about Bambaataa’s former actions? WE DON’T HAVE THE ANSWERS SWAY! Could this be the cure for the sickness that is child molestation within the Zulu Nation? It seems like a start. Its going to be tough to forget this one though.
No matter if you are a creator or were influenced by this genre’s movement, some things are NOT acceptable. It seems like the Zulu Nation carries this sentiment and its only a matter of time before Bam is no longer holding the crown for a movement that spans decades.
Shouldn’t the no snitching rule be revoked for child molestation? Wouldn’t you want that for your kid? Someone ask Cam’ron.
(AllHipHop Features) Back in October of 2015, Usher Raymond used his celebrity status to bring awareness to the issue of racial injustice through an interactive music experience. The 8-time Grammy winner premiered the visuals for his song “Chains” featuring Nas and Bibi Bourelly on the Tidal streaming platform.
The “Chains” video honored different victims of police violence such as Oscar Grant, Rekia Boyd, Michael Brown, Sandra Bland, and others. The “Don’t Look Away” application forced viewers to keep their eyes on the screen (and the faces of the deceased) in order to hear the entire song.
Earlier this year, Usher returned with a second “Chains” video. That Film The Future created clip presented an alternate version of the same powerful message about the need to build an effective social movement to combat inequality.
Usher ensured the conversation about police brutality continued by addressing Georgia State University students for 30 minutes on Tuesday. The R&B legend visited the institution in his adopted hometown of Atlanta for a Tidal sponsored event.
Check out some of Usher Raymond’s quotes from his Georgia State University appearance below.
This is just a drop in the bucket. It’s a major shift in the direction for my career, and I’m so thankful and happy that I had Tidal to support me in making sure I put this message out there.
In order to address the issue, we have to face the issue. So I took faces of victims of police brutality, and in order to hear the song when I first released it, you had to look into the eyes of the victims on your computer.
The idea was “don’t look away.” A lot of times we see something and then we take our eyes off of it to move on to the next thing. You can’t look away from this issue. To fix it, we have to face it.
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On what young people can do to bring awareness to the issue of police brutality:
First, educate yourself about the reality. Don’t just get mad about it because other people are [mad]. Really understand where the issue starts. [Understand] what is the issue in America, this stereotype that African-American people may pose a threat.
Not every police officer is a bad one, but there are a ton of men and women who may be moving in fear for the fact that you could potentially take their life or a fear that you pose a threat to them. They have the ability to cause you harm, and for a situation that should very simply be addressed with communication, it being completely taken in a direction that could potentially cause you to lose your life.
For me, the most important part about it is educating yourself about what’s going on and the history of the issue. Education from the aspect of knowing on a state-to-state level what actions you can take to address this issue. What outlets do you have? You all have social media or social outlets where you talk about stuff all day. Are you using these social outlets to highlight the issue and focus on some of the things that are affecting all of us?
On interacting with police:
This officer has a weapon and the authority to use that weapon in the event that I pose a threat to him. The reality is you may not know what that officer is dealing with, so you have to proceed with some integrity.
A lot of these situations we’re seeing – they’re wrong – but they were completely taken in another direction as a result of maybe a person not necessarily acquiescing to the authority. Not every officer should have that authority. We need to address the issue and break down what we can do to begin to change the opportunity for things to get out of control.
For my children, I hope that I’m raising them to understand that as a man of integrity and respect, you give respect in hopes to be able to receive it. To be angry or arrogant in the situation where an officer asked you to do something and you say, “F-ck you. I’m not doing that.” You’re putting yourself in danger.
A photo posted by Georgia State University (@georgiastateuniversity) on
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On the importance of African-Americans knowing their history:
Part of the reason I even started this pursuit was because I really wanted to know my history. I wanted to know where I was from. If I’m an African in America, where did I come from? What tribe did I come from? What place did I come from? If I look at the legacy of who I am as a person, where does it start?
I look at other cultures of people from other areas in the world, and there is a preservation of who they are. Their family continues to keep their lineage, because that helps them recognize who they are and what they are entitled to in life. Unfortunately, a lot of that was taken from us, and we’re like nomads in America trying to find our identity.
And we also have to work upstream because there is not an even plane to start off on. We all had to go through something to get to something. But being able to have that history gives you a sense of entitlement, a sense of pride to know “I’m West African.” When you think of the culture of people from Haiti, Cuba, and the islands, I want the same for Africans in America.
On critics calling Beyoncé’s “Formation” anti-police:
To be perfectly honest, I think that ridicule comes with reality. If you say something that makes someone uncomfortable, they may try to find a way to discredit the purpose behind it. That wasn’t the point, and let’s not distort the issues and the reality of what has happened in our country.
There’s a system that obviously has been put in place to trap a lot of us. A lot of us who may not necessarily understand it fall victim to it. I don’t think that it was the most comfortable place for her or any artist who dealt with ridicule, but the reality is that’s what comes with it.
Change feels uncomfortable. Especially if you grow accustomed to staying one way. I think it was courageous of her and others to be able to use their voice. There needs to be more of us. There needs to be more support for what we’re doing, so that we can begin to change that reality.
(AllHipHop News) Last week, Christian Combs announced he signed a new label deal with Bad Boy Records/Epic Records. The youngest son of Sean “Puff Daddy” Combs is grabbing the baton from his father as he steps into the role of being a music artist.
Puff Daddy stopped by Hot 97’s Ebro In The Morning, and the native New Yorker spoke about adding his own child to his Bad Boy roster.
“I never been in the studio with my son and I never gave him a beat… He’s been wanting to be a rap artist since he was three,” said Puff Daddy. “It was like a bidding war for him. I told him where I was going. I said you have a decision. You could go and meet with these people, and he decided to go with me over at Epic.”
Puffy added, “[Christian is] the only person I know that’s flyer than me. He’s my hero. I have to watch him sometimes to get my swag back. He’s such a gentlemen, works hard, and his records are undeniable. He represents New York.”
Christian is likely to be in attendance for the highly anticipated Bad Boy Family reunion concert taking place at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center on May 20 and 21. Puff Daddy revealed Faith Evans, Lil Kim, Ma$e, The Lox, Total, 112, French Montana, Jay Z, Mary J. Blige, DMX, and more will be hitting the stage that weekend.
(AllHipHop News) Kanye West already earned the #1 album in the country thanks to his The Life Of Pablo being streamed over 99 million times in the first week after its wide release. The Hip Hop superstar is now dominating the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, and he has a great showing on the Hot 100 chart as well.
Billboard reports 11 tracks from TLOP debuted on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart this week. They joined “Famous” on the list bringing Kanye’s total to 12. In addition, 8 TLOP songs are now currently on the Hot 100.
That number of simultaneous songs on the respective charts are new personal bests for Kanye. Previously, the Chicago artist had a personal high of 9 for the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs in 2013 and 5 for the Hot 100 in 2011.
Kanye’s tally for the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs at the moment includes: “Famous” (13), “Father Stretch My Hands Pt. 1” (14), “Pt. 2” (18), “Ultralight Beam” (22), “Waves” (24), “FML” (30), “Real Friends” (34), “Feedback” (36), “Wolves” (39), “Highlights” (41), “Freestyle 4 (43), and “I Love Kanye” (48).
For the Hot 100, Ye’s tally includes: “Famous” (34), “Father Stretch My Hands Pt. 1” (37), “Pt. 2” (54), “Ultralight Beam” (67), “Waves” (71), “FML” (84), “Real Friends” (92), “Feedback” (99).
(AllHipHop News) It has been nearly 15 years, but the classic battle between Nas and Jay Z is still brought up in discussion to this day. Recently, Fat Joe spoke with ThisIs50 about his part in the beef, and the Terror Squad leader expressed his frustration over Esco eventually joining Hov at Def Jam without informing him.
“Nas was my man since day one,” said Joe. “So when Nas caught beef with Jay Z, they threw the battery in my back like we got beef with this man.”
He added, “There was bad blood between Roc-A-Fella and Terror Squad for a long time, and next thing I know I seen Nas with Jay Z. It was peace, but it left me in the outskirts. [Nas] didn’t pick up the phone and say, ‘Yo Joe, I’m about to squash it with this man which I would have told him, ‘Go get money’… Now me and these n-ggas are feeling a certain way, because I was repping you hard. I felt abandoned.”
Fat Joe also showed love to Jay Z and Roc-A-Fella Records for their contributions to Hip Hop culture. The Bronx representative made it clear he no longer has any animosity toward the Brooklyn rapper-mogul.
(AllHipHop News) Metro Boomin clearly trusted Kanye West enough to have his famous tag lace Ye’s “Father Stretch My Hands Pt. 1” off The Life Of Pablo. It appears the G.O.O.D. Music boss was interested in working even closer with the Atlanta-based producer.
In a new cover story for Fader, Metro recalled a phone call he had with Kanye. According to the 22-year-old St Louis native, Yeezus was interested in forming an official alliance with Young Metro.
The publication reports:
Metro recaps the conversation. “This n-gga ‘Ye was talking about a lotta sh-t. He said he was in some country I never heard of. I was like, ‘What you doing there?’ He’s like, ‘I’m in a IKEA.’” Also, he told Metro: “We really should do a production group together.”
By this, clearly, Metro is honored. But he’s also taken aback. Someone asks, politely: So’s Kanye trying to sign you? Metro scoffs at the thought. “Never. I’m a boss n-gga.”
Metro also addressed his place in the feud between two of the rappers he works with regularly – Future and Young Thug. The ATL representatives got into an online squabble in February which put Metro in the middle of the beef.
He stated:
Yeah, it’s some crazy sh-t… You can’t have either one of them feel like you f-cking with the other one more than them. Either one of them would be offended. You gotta remain neutral as much as possible. It’s no bias. Atlanta, man—everybody’s a male, there’s a lot of ego. Somebody gotta be number one. Neither one of them are the type to settle for number two. I feel like they both motivate each other, and it’s good for the culture and the music—just as long as it stay at that.
(AllHipHop News) Is Birdman reconnecting with Lil Wayne and the rest of the Cash Money Records roster for another Rich Gang release? Or is the CMR head teaming back up with Young Thug and Rich Homie Quan for a sequel to Rich Gang: Tha Tour Pt. 1? Or could Birdman be recruiting a whole new team for his next music project?
Fans of the New Orleans native will find out the answers to those questions soon, because Birdman announced on Instagram he is dropping the Rich Gang 2 album this summer. He did not give a lot of details about the forthcoming effort, except that it is expected to arrive in July.
Shanti Das and Marlon Nichols introduced the seventh season of ATL Live on the Park to a sold out show on Tuesday night in Atlanta, GA. The dynamic duo proved once again why ATL Live on the Park is Atlanta’s top bill for live music performances. Season openers included performances by Quinn and Jukebox, Crystal Cruz, Candice Nelson and Pepsi’s Artist Spotlight of the Month Ghetto&Blues. The new season also welcomed Boom 102.5/97.5 morning show host Ed Lover as opening night host and one of Atlanta’s premiere deejay’s, DJ E-Clazz to the lineup. The April edition of ATL Live on the Park was sponsored by Gentleman Jack, Pepsi, ChooseATL, Majic 107.5 and Boom 102.9/97.5 and executive produced by Press Reset Entertainment and Pinecone Productions.
Opening season acts, Quinn and Juke, Crystal Cruz, Candice Nelson and Ghetto&Blues proved why Atlanta continues to be a breeding ground for up and coming artists. Quin and Jukebox opened the show with a small tribute to the late Phife Dawg of A Tribe Called Quest. Crystal Cruz showcased her strong vocals by performing two original songs, ‘I’m Yours’ and ‘When You Know’. Cruz closed her set with a timeless cover by Etta James, ‘All I Do Is Cry’. Candice Nelson, known for writing for some of the biggest names in R&B including Mary J. Blige, Beyonce, J-Lo and more performed her original song ‘One Man’ and ended her set with a cover by Mary J. Blige ‘Take Me As I Am’. Ghetto&Blues, this month’s Pepsi’s Artist Spotlight of the Month, earned their title with last night’s performance. Ghetto&Blues kicked off their set with ‘So Here We Go’, followed by their chart-topping hit ‘Maria Maria’, a song Ghetto&Blues collaborated with Carlos Santana in 1999. Ghetto&Blues concluded their huge performance with an original titled ‘Big Poppa’.
R&B singers Demetria McKinney and Keri Hilson were brought to the stage by Ed Lover to sing ‘Happy Birthday’ to all the women who were celebrating their birthday at last night’s event. The impromptu performance mixed with dynamic vocals brought the crowd to their feet.
DJ E-Clazz and Ed Lover closed the night out with an ‘old school’ set that took the crowd back to Lover’s MTV days.
Special guests in attendance included Keri Hilson, Polow da Don, Sarah-Elizabeth L. Reed, First Lady, City of Atlanta, Christopher Riley of VH1’s#### the Floor, WSB-TV’s Jovita Moore, Demetria McKinney, Dedra Allen from WEtv’s Cutting It in the ATL, Tameka Foster, Jason Riddick of Hot 107.9, Teresa Caldwell, Hurricane Dave of Radio One, Greg Smith of SESAC, DJ Fadelf, and more.
The May edition of ATL Live on the Park is a part of the 31 Days of Jazz for the City of Atlanta and will return Tuesday, May 10, 2016. For more information about ATL Live on the Park, please visit: www.atlliveonthepark.com or follow on Instagram and Twitter @atllive_music.
(AllHipHop News) Today (April 12) at 9pm the director, star and producers of the upcoming feature film All Eyez On Me will be presented with a proclamation from Clark County Commissioner Lawrence Weekly.
All Eyez On Me director Benny Boom, Demetrius Shipp Jr. (the actor playing Tupac), James G. Robinson (Chairman/CEO of Morgan Creek Productions), David Robinson (President of Morgan Creek Productions) and LT Hutton, the producer of All Eyez on Me are all set to honored.
The film chronicles the life and legacy of Tupac Shakur, including his rise to superstardom as a hip hop artist and actor, as well as his imprisonment and prolific, controversial time at Death Row Records, where he was steeped in the East coast/West coast rap war.
Filming for the major motion picture about the life and legacy of the beloved artist began in Atlanta in December 2015, and moved to Las Vegas on Monday, April 11, after which they will wrap.
Production in Las Vegas will reenact the hours and events leading up to that fateful night.
September 2016 marks the twenty-year anniversary of the death of Tupac Shakur.
