homepage
Yakki Divioshi "D.R.A.K.E."
T.Parris Ft. GS400 "We Be Like"
The Recording Academy/ Grammys Celebrate R&B During Essence With Panel
Photo credit: Sean Griffin
I recently had an amazing journalism experience as I attended The Recording Academy’s “Where is the Love?” The Future of R&B” panel during Essence Music Festival. I also got a chance to share my AllHipHop article about the current state of R&B with those in attendance. Click HERE to read it.
The Essence Festival celebrated its 20th Anniversary this year from July 3-July 6,2014 in New Orleans! While the night was owned by electrifying performances at the Mercedes Benz Superdome, the day belonged to amazing inspiring and informational events around the city. During Essence Music Festival, The Recording Academy® hosted a super R&B panel entitled “Where is the Love? The Future of R&B” at the Tomas Bistro in New Orleans,LA. Media and music industry professionals gathered to converse about the R&B genre, its legacy, current shifts, what is necessary to keep it alive, as well as to share information about the politics of the music business.
Passion, experience and insight were shared by — Myisha Brooks (VP, Creative Relations & Marketing, Motown Records), Carl Chery (Head of Hip-Hop/R&B Programming at Beats Music), GRAMMY®-nominees Raheem DeVaughn and Tank, and moderator, Ms. Johnnie Walker (Executive Director, Memphis and Shelby Country Music Commission, former Sr. VP of Promotion at Def Jam).
The panel also included discussions on how The Recording Academy could shine light on the R&B genre, R&B on major labels vs indie labels, and the pivotal role of importance the Essence Festival has for fostering and keeping the R&B genre alive.
Tank talked about how R&B has been mixed with other genres, and how R&B doesn’t stand along in today’s world as Hip Hop is always added to get any play. “Every genre has “their own”, but not today’s R&B and we need to reclaim it,” said Tank. The panel even agreed that it’s going to take a collective effort from radio, artists, labels, and the fans to bring R&B back to the forefront!
“Where is the Love? The Future of R&B” was sponsored by ASCAP, the OMBI Group, the Onyx Channel, and Miss Jessie’s hair care products.
We would also like to send a major shout out to NABFEME, Black Pearl Entertainment, Nicole Day, NABFEMESF, Kimberlee Howard, Paula Tensley Jeffrey, and Jeanette Bartholomew!
Check out more photos by photographer Sean Griffin below
Wale To Meek Mill: I Don't "Fit The Mold" Of MMG, But I'm Not A Hater
(AllHipHop News) SHOCKING NEWS ALERT: Wale has been revealed to be a bit different than Rick Ross and Meek Mill. Hours after Meek Mill took to his personal Twitter account defame Wale for not supporting Meek’s latest album news, Wale went to his personal Instagram account to respond to the allegations.
On his personal Instagram account, Wale wrote a lengthy message explaining how he has always supported Meek’s releases on his social media accounts and it was actually Meek who was not reciprocating. According to Wale, he recently supported Meek’s latest single “I Don’t Care (Suicidal)” and did not receive the same support for his latest songs “Razor Freestyle” or Mariah Carey collaboration “You Don’t Know What To Do”:
Few weeks ago (7 weeks). I posted this .but ok. Movin along . My Avi always changed when it’s THAT time .. Ok that’s not enough y’all see “razor ramon ” post on his no. But I don’t care.. I wrote a long ass post day before his single dropped .. Mariah record dropped nobody said a word I didn’t care .. I still don’t… I carry myself with confidence and humility ., I always try to have a lighter side to MMG.. Cuz I understand I don’t “fit the mold” so if I’m tryna spruce an interview up to show that we not tryn be “serious tough guys” on the red carpet Or try to be a bit more engaging to broaden our audience forgive me
One of Meek’s allegations were that Wale does not respond to his private text messages. Before stating he may be bipolar, Wale went on to explain how he has been the one receiving a lack of communication from Meek:
I text n##### happy Father’s Day and get no reply .. I laugh it off .. I laugh at how I write songs about “chain music” and y’all get lost or “600benzz” i like to have fun with our culture. Because I beleive I add THAT to a “gangster rap” faction. I made my opportunity work for me that way. I write poems . I watch wwe . I collect kicks. I’m sensitive ok. Maybe bi polar. But one thing I’m not is a hater.
Check out Wale’s full response to Meek Mill’s Twitter rant here.
Hip-Hop Rumors: Uhmmm…Did Meek Mill Jump The Gun In Wale Beef?
It seems like Wale has been supporting Meek in some form or fashion – at least outwardly. I do recall a long long time ago, when MMG had a big press release there was a weird energy with Wale and Meek Mill. Honestly and real talk-wise, it seemed like it because the crowd was sporadic in their cheering. I don’t know, but the seeds could have been planted back then.
Peep this though:
What’s Rozay gonna do about this????
“They keep us talking, but if we stop talking about them then they should worry!” -illseed.
Illseed, Out.
GET INTERACTIVE WITH ALLHIPHOP.COM!
Follow us on Twitter! Like us on Facebook!
Email illseed rumors: [email protected]
Meek Mill: Wale Been Hating On Me For A Long Time
(AllHipHop News) Maybach . Earlier today (July 8th) Meek Mill went on Twitter to vent his frustrations with Wale’s lack of promotion of his upcoming album Dreams Worth More Than Money.
Meek Mill referred to his Maybach Music Group as a “cornball” and “Not MMG”. According to Meek, Wale’s lack of social media promotion of Meek’s Dreams Worth More Than Money is not surprising due to past issues between the two:
Beyonce's Father Hit With Second Paternity Suit In Four Years
(AllHipHop News) While Beyonce was Destiny’s Child, her father may have been flirting with disaster. Yesterday (July 7th) reports surfaced involving former lingerie model TaQoya Branscomb alleging Matthew Knowles fathered a child with her back in 2010.
The current 30 year old real estate agent Branscomb claims Knowles fathered her daughter whom lives in Harris County, Texas. Branscomb is filing a paternity suit against Knowles in Texas. Branscomb is requesting a DNA test, child support and for financial compensation for lawyer fees.
This is the second paternity suit Knowles has incurred in the past four years. In 2010, Knowles admitted to fathering Alexsandra Wright’s son and in 2013 was ordered to pay child support to her.
Hip Hop Rumors: Fan Questions Mya About Hov in the House of God!
Sometimes people do a little too much to try to get the answers they want…
A few days back Mya chose to address rumors of her alleged affair with Jay-Z, and she shot all of them down. Most people wondered why she even said anything, but NY Daily News reported that she had a very good damn reason to do so.
“Mya broke her silence this week and forcefully denied a long-term affair with Jay Z after the rumor turned to death threats, her manager told the Daily News on Friday.
“Someone walked up and asked her about it while she was accepting an award at a church,” her manager, Mike Killmon, told The News.
“At first it was just ridiculous, but then some die-hard fans start making threats.
She really couldn’t care less about the rumors, but she wanted to set the record straight when the after-effects started to become troublesome.”
Really though? You gonna approach somebody about a rumor like that in church? SMDH.
Anthony Cumia Responds To Being Fired By SiriusXM Over Racist Twitter Rant
(AllHipHop News) Anthony Cumia does not think he was being racist for questioning the effectiveness of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 in connection to being allegedly assaulted by an African American woman. SiriusXM did not care and fired him for his public tweets which made racially-charged and demeaning claims.
[ALSO CHECK OUT: Opie and Anthony Host Goes On Racist Rant After Being Assaulted]
The former co-host of Opie & Anthony was given his walking papers by SiriusXM on Independence Day (July 4th), a day after publicly releasing racially charged comments on his personal Twitter account. In a statement, SiriusXM found Cumia’s “hate-filled remarks” to be “abhorrent to SiriusXM, and his behavior is wholly inconsistent with what SiriusXM represents.”
Recently rumors have surfaced that SiriusXM is offering months of subscription service for free due to rumored decreases in subscription numbers as a result of Cumia’s firing. Cumia not only addressed this allegation but also attempted to explain his racist comments:
“animal & savage” were directed at people, like the one who attacked, who resort instantly to violence. It was far from a generalization.
— Anthony Cumia (@AnthonyCumia) July 7, 2014
My buddy is canceling his Sirius service in front of me right now. They offered free service. Lol. Just to keep the sub #s there. Unreal.
— Anthony Cumia (@AnthonyCumia) July 7, 2014
Cumia’s former Opie & Anthony co-host Greg “Opie” Hughes responded to his former colleagues’ comments and stated that him and Opie & Anthony co-host Jim Norton are meeting to decide on the show’s future:
Yes, I’m devastated. Yes, I’m meeting with @SIRIUSXM on tuesday.
— opie radio (@OpieRadio) July 6, 2014
Had a long talk with @SiriusXM me and @JimNorton will be back on the radio next monday to start to figure this out. https://t.co/ZQk35lUyGJ
— opie radio (@OpieRadio) July 7, 2014
Rico Love "Freak No More (Remix)"
Meek Mill Ft. Lil Snupe & All Steezy "Summertime"
Killa Kyleon "F**k Out My Face"
Omarion Ft Shad Moss "Need That Love"
Johnny Cinco "If They Askin"
Cris Streetz "On & On" (P###. By J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League)
Ty Farris Ft. Kuniva (Of D12) "Hog Tied 2 Hard Times"
Ty Farris drops a new joint with Detroit’s very own Kuniva Of D12 over a classic Nas “No Ideas Original Remix” instrumental. The 2 exchange some menacing bars to set the bar for Ty’s new mixtape “The Barcode” dropping June 21st
Hip-Hop Rumors: Did Chris Brown Reverse Propose To Karrueche?
I didn’t know this but there were rumors that Chris Brown Karrueche Tran got engaged. Well, those rumors are back in full effect – IN REVERSE. There are subliming each other on social media. He posted some girl’s fatty. And she posted a bunch of other stuff and removed all images of Chris Breezy from her Instagram.
Peep what Karrueche put on Instagram.
“They keep us talking, but if we stop talking about them then they should worry!” -illseed.
Illseed, Out.
GET INTERACTIVE WITH ALLHIPHOP.COM!
Follow us on Twitter! Like us on Facebook!
Email illseed rumors: [email protected]
Common Discusses The Power Of The "Badu Box"
(AllHipHop News) A running joke in Hip Hop circles is that Erykah Badu has some unexplainable power to radically transform any emcee by just being involved with her. Common, one of Ms. Badu’s former boyfriends, addressed the mystery surrounding why men seem to emerge from a relationship with the singer-songwriter a changed man.
[ALSO CHECK OUT: Common’s Releases “Kingdom” (Short Movie / Video) Ft. Vince Staples]
During an interview on the Combat Jack show, Common was asked about the “Badu Box” and the Chicago emcee gave credit to Erykah’s whole aura as a woman.
“Yeah, the ‘Badu Box’ is real,” said Common. “It can take you to another universe. But seriously that’s when you meet somebody that’s real special and you’re like, ‘Man, this woman got… she got something else man.’ It ain’t just the sex. It ain’t just the looks. It’s like something that’s kind of like spirit-wise where you’re like, ‘This woman got something else.'”
Despite what many observers may think Common adds that Badu was not fully responsible for his change in clothing style during the Like Water for Chocolate/Electric Circus era.
“She definitely was not like, ‘wear this,'” said Common. “Moving to New York I had the aspirations to do something new, to change, to grow, just try new things. She definitely was an influence… She introduced me to certain people that were creative artists, but as far as my choice – it was my choice to say, ‘I want to do this. I want to do that.'”
Common is set to drop his tenth studio album Nobody’s Smiling. The project is scheduled for release on July 22.
[ALSO CHECK OUT: Common Ft Big Sean “Diamonds”]
Listen to Common’s interview where he also talks about his new album, Chicago rappers, and more below.
Katt Williams Says He Helped Make Kevin Hart (VIDEO)
(AllHipHop News) Katt Williams was arguably the top comedian in the game at one point in his career. He eventually took a break from the public, and during that time Kevin Hart rose to become a superstar.
Williams sat down for an interview with Bishop Don “Magic” Juan and talked about how his decision to step away opened the door for Hart.
–
[ALSO READ: Katt Williams Being Investigated For Allegedly Pulling A Gun Following Comedy Show]
Speaking on taking a hiatus and Hart’s ascension, Katt said:
We understood when we did that that was the potential of what may happen. The only question is who is going to benefit from that. So if some outside entity or some enemy of mine or somebody I had a threat with was the person who was pretending to be the king, then that’s what it would be. But it was only going to be Kevin Hart, and I told Kevin Hart’s people how to make him Kevin Hart. Because I don’t mind competition. I’m really the greatest of all time. So I can build you to fight me boy, boy. You don’t want it.
The star of the stand-up movies The Pimp Chronicles, Pt. 1 and It’s Pimpin’ Pimpin’ also claims he created the BET Hip Hop Awards and gets paid regardless of whoever serves as host for the event.
[ALSO READ: Pilot For Kevin Hart Based Sit-Com Heading To Production]
Watch Katt Williams’ interview below.