Jodeci & R&B/ neo-soul lovers will appreciate the interlude entitled “DeVante Swing” by songstress Joyce Wrice.
Wrice paid homage to the legendary super producer, DeVante Swing, of the iconic R&B group Jodeci. Winning us over with her soulful vocals she delivers an intriguing interlude. She samples Jodeci’s classic “Freek N U.” The track is both sensual and sexy and as soothing as neo-soul tracks like the classic “Nothing Even Matters” by neo-soul torchbearers Lauryn Hill and D’Angelo. Check out the song above.
The summer anthem of 2014 arguably may be Iggy Azealea’s “Fancy,” but Roc Nation artist and producer DJ Mustard has provided the season’s soundtrack.
His stage name is a play on his birth name, Dijon McFarlane, and it’s hard not to hear the Los Angeles native’s infectious brand of west coast trap music on the radio.
The 24- year old’s ad-lib to introduce his songs, “Mustard On The Beat,” has become a staple.
From Tinashe’s “2 On,” and Kid Ink’s “Main Chick” to executive producing YG’s debut album, DJ Mustard is dominating.
Since producing Tyga’s X-rated hit “Rack City,” Mustard and his services have been in high demand.
“The game is about evolving,” DJ Mustard said to theGrio,com’s Kyle Harvey during the #BriskBodega tour stop in Chicago. “That’s what Timbaland always told me keep in my head. I like the music that I make, but I listen to Drake and Kanye. I listen to so many different types of music.”
Other genres on his list include EDM and pop. Mustard said he wouldn’t mind getting into the studio with super producer Calvin Harris (We Found Love), or with hip-hop’s favorite guitarist John Mayer.
“I don’t know why but John Mayer,” Mustard said. “He would be dope to work, and both he and Calvin know how to make good songs. I’ve been making the hood songs for so long … and I’m not tired of it, but I wanna do everything. I don’t know what he’d do but play that guitar, but we could take it from there.”
Mustard and Mayer? We’d pay to hear that.
You can follow DJ Mustard on Twiter and look out for debut album 10 Summers to drop later this year.
R&B icons Boyz II Men have released a new promotional video in conjunction with Wendy’s, celebrating the fast food restaurant’s return of the pretzel burger.
The legendary R&B group, who was just named R&B group of the century, brought their impeccable well known harmony to the campaign by singing lyrics derived from customers’ social postings. The video, entitled “Yes, Yes, Yes!,” combines pop with Boyz II Men’s classic a cappella. The group also performed wearing a suit and swimsuit while singing “It will improve my summer lunch game” and “Can my New Year’s kiss be with a pretzel burger?”
The trio stated, “We know all about romance, heartache, love lost and found, but we have never had the chance to sing sweet harmonies about, of all things, a pretzel bun.” Check out the video below.
(AllHipHop News) God works in mysterious ways and sometimes blessings are disguised. Today (July 14th) Andre “Christ Bearer” Johnson addresses his infamous penis-cutting incident and claims he was not attempting to commit suicide.
On April 17th, Johnson was rushed to the hospital after he attempted to cut his penis off in his Los Angeles apartment building. In a recent interview with New York Daily News, Johnson states that he “definitely has some penis left” and reveals his penis removal was to prevent him from having sex:
I always say a penis is a penis. And the sensation is still there. I definitely still get extremely aroused if I see a beautiful woman. That being said, I definitely believe sex is for mortals, and I am god. So this is a blessing, not a curse.
Johnson, whom had an eight-year old daughter as well as a two year old daughter at the time of his injury, became the father of a third daughter, two weeks after the incident.
Johnson also states he plans to record new music in the future.
(AllHipHop News) When contracts combats opinions, the contract usually wins, but the opinions do not die. A little over a week after Opie & Anthony star Anthony Cumia was fired by SiriusXM over a tirade of racially charged tweets, his co-host Gregg “Opie” Hughes voiced his displeasure with Cumia’s firing.
On the first Opie & Anthony show, co-star Hughes stated that he did not agree with SiriusXM’s firing of Cumia and even stated that SiriusXM was “kind of even ok with the tweets in general.” Hughes states that the show will be renamed to “SiriusXM Talk” and explained why he and fellow co-star Jim Norton did not leave with Cumia:
It needs to be said that we’re under contract. I don’t think people understand fully what being under contract means and what breach of contract means. We can’t just walk away. Breach of contract is a real issue. … We could be sued for millions. … It would be a big f—ing problem.
Hughes claims that SiriusXM’s main problem with Cumia’s racist tweets were that he amassed a large amount in a short period of time and a few of the tweets involved violence.
(AllHipHop News) Rachel Jeantel’s testimony during last year’s trial over the murder of Trayvon Martin drew attention for the wrong reasons. Jeantel spoke about George Zimmerman’s acquittal for the first time since the decision was made and assumes some of the culpability for the decision.
Jeantel’s phone conversation with Trayvon Martin on February 26th, 2013 was the last time Martin would be recorded speaking to another person. According to Jeantel in an interview with CNN, “a little bit” of the blame for Zimmerman’s acquittal is placed on her due to her manner of speaking during her cross examination in late June of last year. Jeantel alleges that the jury invalidated her testimony by assumptions made about her based on her speech and attire.
At the time, Jeantel could not read or write past a third grade level. Attorney Rod Vereen claims Jeantel was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder following the death of Martin and enrolled her into The Village, a program which provides counseling and tutoring. This past May, less than a year after her controversial testimony, Jeantel graduated with a High School diploma.
Check out Rachel Jeantel’s full interview with CNN below:
Kirko sets his sights on his dreams and shares his with the world as August Alsina lays down an smooth hook along side Kirko’s robotic auto-tuned verses. This gonna jam in H-Town this summer.
New Orleans rap artist Devious teams up with Kevin Gates on his new single “You Sleep Out Here” off his upcoming mixtape Life Is What You Make It. Produced by BlaqnMild.
6FO’s song “Bout My PayPuh” speaks of the adversity that many people in the struggle can relate to; losing a close friend, family members facing health issues and finding a way to provide for your family. 6FO plans to bring it home in the coming week as he will be releasing visuals filmed in his ancestral home of Ghana.
Viewers can expect raw visuals that showcase the struggles of people on the other side of the Atlantic and provide a rugged backdrop for the struggle that 6FO represents coming from New Brunswick, NJ.
In recent months, buzzmaking Florida emcee Will Brennan has released three consecutive EPs in the form of Three Act Plays, all presented by Grooveshark and Dim Mak Records. Now, he has liberated the previously-released Young Man Blues, Laws of Motion and Lies, Love & Lust for streaming and download in album form, along with a fourth installment courtesy of DJ Booth, Fear Form Function. All in all, the set boasts 12 original jams, including reader-approved single “Inner Child.” Andre Gifft Brown, Miloh Smith, OpenMic, Scotty ATL and SL Jones make guest appearances throughout the set, joining Brennan over beats by Day G (of After the Smoke), DJ Burn One, Ethnikids, Fel Prezidente and iNDEEDFace.
(AllHipHop Feature) The state of Ohio is riding high right now. The prodigal son LeBron James is returning home to play for the Cleveland Cavaliers, and the drafting of Johnny Manziel is bringing attention back to the Browns. With the sports side of the Buckeye state gaining steam, rising rapper Dub-O is looking to help shine a light on Ohio’s musical talent as well.
The member of Machine Gun Kelly’s EST 19XX imprint is taking a step forward toward that goal with the brand new Zac Facts’ directed video for “Doing Numbers.” The clip off his Old Lights New Lights EP. Dub-O is also giving his fans more exclusive content with the release of a BitTorrent Bundle featuring songs, videos, merchandise coupons, and lyric sheets from 2013’s Do I Know You mixtape.
While Old Lights New Lights is Dub-O’s first official EP, he has been influenced by music his entire life. Dub grew up in a family of gospel singers, and later tried his hand at recording raps when he was about 16 years old. It was a close friend that encouraged the young rhymer to lay his vocals down on wax.
“Actually rapping was just another hobby like playing basketball, kicking it with my friends, having fun in the house,” says Dub. “Once my friend introduced me to instrumentals and freestyles, he said ‘Why don’t you rap something.’ I liked hearing myself. I liked hearing the cool things I could do with my voice.”
The home studio would spark another important moment in Dub’s life. His relationship with Machine Gun Kelly was also born from a random session in the lab.
“Me and Kelly linked through a mutual friend, a homie of mine named Lil Mike. Him and Kelly ended up going to the same school,” explains Dub. “Mike brought him to the studio house in the hood. They were working on a project in school that had something to do with music. That’s where I first met him. Then him, me, and my little brother Slim just started kicking it on the daily. One thing led to another as far as the music, and now we’re here.”
EST 19XX’s Dub-O + Machine Gun Kelly + Slim Gudz (via Facebook)
Fast forward to 2014 and Dub-O is now putting in hard work to spread his music to as many people as possible. The BitTorrent Bundle package provided a great opportunity for Dub to connect with consumers in an unconventional way. According to him, the partnership has been a win for him and his supporters.
“It was just a cool connection. It was an idea from my homie Jos. I hadn’t collaborated with anybody on anything yet. This is only my second project. The idea was brought to them, and they were just as excited as I was. I think they helped us get to number 22 on iTunes with that,” says Dub. “When you do stuff like the bundle package [the fans] feel special. There’s a big, big difference when you’re interactive with your fans, so I try to be as much as I can. I don’t think too many artists are doing things like that. They’re just dropping a mixtape like, ‘Here you go fans.’ But when you put sprinkles on that cupcake, they appreciate that more and keeps them more involved with you.”
Dub-O’s future could also include signing the dotted line with a major label, but he is committed to building his brand through an independent hustle first. Dub cites as his inspiration another indie performer that has managed to work his way to the Forbes list.
“I would love to see any offers [from major labels] in the future. More so, I’m feeling that Tech N9ne formula. He has no major label, and he’s doing better than the majority of rappers that are signed,” Dub says. “That’s how I feel this ‘G4G (Guilty For Grinding) Tour‘ is right now. We’re not really working with no budgets. It’s all independent. We’re going to make it work. So then we know what we can do when a major label offers. We know what upper hand we got.”
For now, Dub is keenly focused on his projects, concerts, and EST 19XX crew, and when his run is complete, his next goal is to spur other artists to live out their dreams as well.
“Besides getting all my music out, I just want to empower our label. I really want to help build the EST 19XX,” says Dub-O. “I just want to build the label and get them out there like how Cash Money got Baby and Wayne – and make our music tight to help present quality music.”
Dub-O will be appearing at the “EST Fest 2014: The Year Of The Circus” along with Machine Gun Kelly, Juvenile, Nipsey Hussle, and more. The festival is scheduled for July 31 – August 3 in Garrettsvile, Ohio. For more information visit est-fest.com.
Metta World Peace returns with another new release “Only One Left,” a painful reminder of where he is from in the Queensbridge section of New York. Metta touches on two fallen friends in verses one and two, the stories of those tragedies are below. Verse three of the referred to three players will be added for Metta’s upcoming album. Produced by Humbl Sohl.
(AllHipHop News) Tracy Morgan is no longer rehabbing injuries sustained by his auto accident with a Wal-Mart truck back in May, but the battle has just begun. Today (July 14th), Tracy Morgan spoke out about his current health for the first time and pursues legal action against Wal-Mart.
Morgan was involved in an auto collision on the New Jersey Turnpike on June 7th when a Wal-Mart truck rammed into a limousine Morgan was in with four others. According to the New York Daily News, Morgan spoke to reporters outside of his Cresskill, N.J. home yesterday (July 13th) about his health stating “I’m OK. I feel strong.” Morgan does have a scar across his right temple.
Morgan’s friend 62-year-old comedian James McNair was killed as a result of the accident. 35 year old Kevin Roper, driver of the truck that collided with the limo, was charged with death by auto and assault by auto charges. McNair, who admitted to have been traveling for over 24 hours at the time of the crash, alleges that he did not fall asleep at the wheel. Morgan filed a lawsuit last Thursday in U.S. District Court in New Jersey (July 10th) against the retail giant Wal-Mart claiming criminal negligence:
As a result of Wal-Mart’s gross, reckless, willful, wanton, and intentional conduct, it should be appropriately punished with the imposition of punitive damages.
Wal-Mart representatives have not addressed the impending lawsuit.
(AllHipHop News) A reality show could have prevented Kanye West from flipping out on a photographer, or at least helped the photographer know what was coming. Today (July 14th), unreleased footage from a scrapped reality TV show featuring Kanye West surfaces with the rapper explaining why he hates airports and how he avoids people at those places.
West’s travel agent Brett Grolsch, whom is “the ultimate travel agent to the stars” according to him, filmed a pilot for a 2010 reality show about his life. After Frankfurt to Los Angeles, West explains why people at airports cause him to avoid airports at all cost:
I try to avoid airports at all cost, because people like to say really stupid stuff to me. But, I’m fine. Wait, that’s completely, politcally incorrect. I really like being in airports. I like people walking up to me saying sh*t like ‘are you Kanye West?’
Kanye West was sentenced to anger management therapy this past March after pleading no contest to misdemeanor battery after assaulting a photographer at LAX airport back in July 2013. West recently compared paparazzi attention to sexual assault at his July 5th concert at the Wireless Festival.
Check out Kanye West explain why he avoids airports from Brett Grolsch’s unreleased reality show pilot below:
