(AllHipHop News) Veteran producer Dr. Dre topped Forbes‘ 2012 list of highest grossing musicians, the magazine announced today (November 29).
According to Forbes, Dr. Dre raked in $100 million and many of the acts on the list earned their money outside of the music industry.
The earnings for the list were calculated from May 2011 through May 2012.
Roger Waters, founding member of Pink Floyd was second on the list, taking home $88 million, thanks to “The Wall Live” tour.
Singer Elton John made #3 on the list, pulling in $80 million, by doing 100 shows in 12 months, while U2 earned $78 million thanks to their “360” tour.
British boy band take that rounded out the top five, earning $69 million, mostly in Europe.
Other acts on the list include Bon Jovi ($60 million), Britney Spears ($50 million), Sir Paul McCartney ($57 million), Justin Bieber ($55 million), Rihanna ($53 million), Diddy ($45 million), Beyoncé ($40 million), Kanye West ($35 million), and Jay-Z ($38 million).
PJ Morton is more than just another crooner, more than a “preacher’s kid,” and more than a Grammy-award winning songwriter. He is also the newest signee to Young Money and the keyboardist for one of the biggest bands in the world, Maroon 5.
Ironically, “PJ” was born Paul Morton, Jr. – the son of a preacher man – to well-known Bishop and Pastor of Greater St. Stephen Full Gospel Baptist Church, a 20,000 member congregation in their native New Orleans. In Gospel circles, young PJ had large shoes to fill – his father is not just a great orator, but an amazing gospel singer with acclaimed albums and a record label to his name.
The younger Morton, however, seemed to bloom in his own musical talent, penning songs for Monica, Jagged Edge, and winning a Grammy for his work with India.Aire. Morton’s influence as a songwriter was cemented with a hit song in his first musical genre, Gospel. “Let Go, Let God”, topped the gospel charts for a record 70 weeks. Now, as a preacher’s kid who is signed to the ever-controversial and influential, Lil Wayne-led Young Money Entertainment, Morton will have to prove himself again to a whole new pool of fans.
Morton’s first musical effort, an EP entitled Following my First Mind, had singles featuring Lil Wayne on “Lover”, and Maroon 5’s Adam Levine on “Heavy”. The introduction was critically-acclaimed and whet the appetite for his yet untitled, full-length debut album. AllHipHop.com sat down with the Young Money crooner to discuss his faith, his deal, and his ultra-cool band gig:
AllHipHop.com: We’ve seen people who are a part of well-known Gospel families go on to sing secular music, and there always seems to be a little criticism and backlash. You wrote a book about that journey – Why Can’t I Sing About Love?. What’s your response to people who criticize you for the choices that you’ve made to sing the type of music that you do?
PJ Morton: I used to get more criticism than I do now, but it did come back some when I signed to Young Money. I think I’m remaining who I am. I don’t compromise who I am to do the music that I do. For me, growing up thinking that secular music was wrong, I eventually found that there was no biblical basis for that thinking. We just, as the Black church, started to create our own rules and culture that secular music was wrong. I’ve seen people fight the argument, from Aretha Franklin to Al Green. But, they never really came at it biblically.
I did the research, I searched the Bible. I came to Song of Solomon which is, basically, a book of R&B songs that started me on my journey. My father wrote the forward to my book and admitted that he had been misled for years. I’ma do me, this is my calling, this is the gift that I’ve been given. I always wanted to talk about more than just God. My life is not limited to just God. So, my conversation isn’t. And songs are just life in music form.
AllHipHop.com: What led you to link up with Young Money?
PJ Morton: It’s always about growth for me. The independent thing worked for so long. I did all I could do on my own for so long, so I started to reach out to people. The Young Money situation, the seed was planted a long time ago, the president of the label (Mack Maine) and I went to high school together in New Orleans. A mutual friend of ours was a fan of my music, and he also worked for Mack Maine and reconnected us.
Mack was just a genuine fan of the music. I think that’s what I like most about the label. People have a lot to say about the label, but they sign artists that they actually believe in, which is a lost artform these days. They’re not looking to recreate the artist that they sign, but they like the artist as is. That was a big part of why I went over there, because they liked me just as is. A lot of people thought I was anti-major and pro-indie, but really no major was really to take me as is. When this Young Money situation came up, I couldn’t pass that up. I’m happy to be a part of it; it’s a beautiful thing.
AllHipHop.com: To be playing with Maroon 5, that’s such a big look. How did you link up with them and how, if at all, has it influenced your sound?
PJ Morton: Through they musical director, Adam Blackstone, he introduced me to the band because they were looking for a keyboard player for their live shows. And, the relationship grew and they really just infused me into the band, and it’s been a great two and a half years with the band. The way I think it’s influenced my sound…as a musician, I’m a listener first. I was a fan of Maroon 5, before I was part of the band. They did a good job of mixing Soul with Pop, and I think that was always my thing and something I was reaching for. And maybe they leaned more towards the Pop than the Soul, and I lean more towards the Soul than the Pop; but I think it’s really similar and I think that’s why we click so well.
They definitely put me on to some sounds, some music that I had never been into. As I’m always trying to grow and push my creative boundaries, it’s always good to be around what’s on the pulse. We had four weeks at number one with “One More Night”, went number one with “Jagger”. As a musician, it’s good to be around what’s hot, that can only affect you in a major way. It’s like, “whoa, I’m really a part of what’s happening right now. I’m on the number one song in the country.”
CLICK HERE to watch PJ’s lyric video for the funky “Heavy” featuring Adam Levine.
CLICK HERE to watch the official video for “Don’t Break My Heart”.
(AllHipHop News) Mary J Blige a.k.a. “The Queen of Hip-Hop Soul,” was hit with a lawsuit yesterday (November 28), claiming that she and her husband defaulted on a $2.2 million loan from Signature Bank. According to Reuters, documents were filed in New York State Supreme Court in Manhattan, seeking to recoup the $2.2 million loan that Mary J Blige took out in October 2011. According to the lawsuit, Mary J. Blige and her husband Kendu Isaacs defaulted on the loan in July 2012, resulting in over $58,000 in interest. Earlier this year, Mary J. Blige and Steve Stoute’s Foundation for the Advancement of Women Now Inc., allegedly defaulted on a $250,000 dollar loan as well.
BET Networks is preparing to bring two new original comedies to the network in 2013. Comedian/actor Kevin Hart is expanding on a hilarious skit that aired during the BET Awards in 2011 titled “Real Husbands of Hollywood.” The new show features Nick Cannon, Boris Kodjoe, Duane Martin J.B. Smoove and Robin Thick, in a semi-scripted reality show focusing on their lives in Hollywood. “I haven’t been this excited about a project of mine in a while, there is nothing like this on television,” Kevin Hart said. “The levels of funny that will be reached on this show are endless.” Celebrities like Russell Simmons, Common, Shaquille O’Neill, Nelly, Trey Songz and Jay Leno are among the stars that make appearances in the show, which is slated to debut on Tuesday, January 15. BET is also preparing a new show with Damien and Craig Wayans titled “Second-Generation Wayans” that will debut directly after the premiere of “Real Husbands of Hollywood.”
Producer Ryan Leslie appeared in court on Tuesday (November 27), where he lost a $1 million judgment over a reward offered for a stolen laptop. Ryan Leslie’s laptop was stolen in November 2010, in Cologne Germany. Leslie went to the Internet and offered a $20,000 reward for the laptop, which contained valuable productions created by the producer, on its hard drive. Because of the productions, Leslie upped the reward to $1 million for the safe return of the laptop and the files that were contained on the hard drive. An auto mechanic in Cologne named Armin Augstein found the laptop while he was walking his dogs. According to the New York Post, the pair ended up in a dispute over the loot in Manhattan Federal Court, where a jury ruled against Ryan Leslie, claiming that he was legally obligated to pay the $1 million reward for the safe return of the laptop.
Singer Jeremih has been on the roll lately with the buzz of his mixtape Late Nights With Jeremih. He teams up with Chicago-fast talker Twista and longtime collaborator Do or Die member, AK-47.
Late Nights, hosted by DJ Drama, allows Jeremih to make the music he wants to make.
(AllHipHop News) Actor/producer Jamie Foxx, who is the star of Quentin Tarantino’s upcoming movie “Django Unchained,” has collaborated with Rick Ross and produced a new track for the rapper.
The track “100 Black Coffins” features Rick Ross and Jamie Foxx, who produced the song for the Miami rapper.
Also featured on the “Django Unchained” soundtrack will be singer John Legend and musical icons James Brown and Tupac, who appear together on the mashup track “Unchained (The Payback/Untouchable).”
The “Django Unchained” soundtrack marks the first time that Quentin Tarantino has partnered with artists to produce original music for use in a film and/or soundtrack.
“I want to thank all the artists who contributed original songs (a first for me) to the picture,” Tarantino said in a statement. “Most of these contributions came out of the artists’ own inspiration and their illustration of the film’s soul is invaluable. In addition to the new original songs I am also using a lot of older recordings on the soundtrack – many of which came from my personal vinyl collection. Instead of having the record companies give me new digitally cleaned up versions of these recordings from the 60’s and 70’s, I wanted to use the vinyl I’ve been listening to for years – complete with all the pops and cracks. I even kept the sound of the needle being put down on the record. Basically because I wanted people’s experience to be the same as mine when they hear this soundtrack for the first time.”
Music from artists like Ennio Morricone, Jim Croce, Jerry Goldsmith featuring Pat Matheny, and others are featured on the “Django Unchained” soundtrack, which is due in stores on December 18.
The “Django Unchained” movie will premiere in theaters nationwide, on Christmas Day.
The track listing for the soundtrack is below:
1. WINGED
2. DJANGO (MAIN THEME) – LUIS BACALOV, ROCKY ROBERTS
3. THE BRAYING MULE – ENNIO MORRICONE
4. IN THAT CASE, DJANGO, AFTER YOU…
5. LO CHIAMAVANO KING (HIS NAME IS KING) – LUIS BACALOV, EDDA DELL’ORSO
6. FREEDOM – ANTHONY HAMILTON & ELAYNA BOYNTON
7. FIVE-THOUSAND-DOLLAR N####’S AND GUMMY MOUTH B######
8. LA CORSA (2ND VERSION) – LUIS BACALOV
9. SNEAKY SCHULTZ AND THE DEMISE OF SHARP
10. I GOT A NAME – JIM CROCE
11. I GIORNI DELL’IRA – RIZ ORTOLANI
12. 100 BLACK COFFINS – RICK ROSS
13. NICARAGUA – JERRY GOLDSMITH FEATURING PAT METHENY
14. HILDI’S HOT BOX
15. SISTER SARA’S THEME – ENNIO MORRICONE
16. ANCORA QUI – ENNIO MORRICONE AND ELISA
17. UNCHAINED (THE PAYBACK/UNTOUCHABLE) – JAMES BROWN AND 2PAC
18. WHO DID THAT TO YOU? – JOHN LEGEND
19. TOO OLD TO DIE YOUNG – BROTHER DEGE
20. STEPHEN THE POKER PLAYER
21. UN MONUMENTO – ENNIO MORRICONE
22. SIX SHOTS TWO GUNS
23. TRINITY (TITOLI) – ANNIBALE E I CANTORI MODERNI
“Busy” is a term that couldn’t begin to describe the current life of legendary beatsmith 9th Wonder. Traveling week-to-week between Duke and Harvard, the Durham, North Carolina native has to balance school and music as if he were a college musician, barring this being on a much larger scale. It wasn’t long ago that 9th Wonder became a Harvard Fellow and now settled in with somewhat of a routine for his new job, the Hip-Hop scholar hopes to bring more to the classroom, teaching the how’s and why’s, rather than then the who’s and what’s.
In the realm of music, 9th recently released his third collaborative album with Buckshot, The Solution, and his fifth joint venture with Murs entitled The Final Adventure. The collective efforts spawned by each of the two MCs when working with the Jamla headman offer a similar goal with two very different final products.
AllHipHop.com recently talked with 9th Wonder about music, education, and how the two provide valuable lessons for those wanting to learn from them:
AllHipHop.com: Musically you just released The Solution with Buckshot – this is the third one you’ve done with him. Every time I hear him on your production, it’s perfect because he fits so well with it. What makes you come together with him time and time again to put these out?
9th Wonder: I just feel like it’s a brand of Hip-Hop that people want to hear, and it may not be for the masses so to speak and we’re talking about the general root of Hip-Hop anyway. It was never meant for the masses anyway so that’s what it is. There’s a certain amount of the population that want to hear the music that we make, and we don’t want to keep those people underserved. They’re underserved enough, and so that’s who we go for and we’re concerned about the 3,000 or the 300,000 that’s listening rather than the three million that’s not and that’s what keeps us happy, that’s what keeps us in the place of making the music that we want to make, and that’s what it’s all about. And that’s why we continue to do the records with me and Buckshot and me and Murs, too – same deal.
AllHipHop.com: How did you and Buckshot originally meet?
9th Wonder: It was a series of people that approached me. The first person that approached me was Mr. Walt. Mr. Walt was the guy that contacted me outside of Duckdown, and then the next person to call me was (DJ Evil Dee), and then the next person to call me after that was Dru Ha, and then I remixed some songs with Dru Ha. That was in 2004, and we was like, “Man, you’ve just got to come down.” And so he came down, and we went from there.
AllHipHop.com: Right, and Jamla and Duckdown have always been intertwined especially with the Justus League. Earlier you mentioned Murs and you have the album with him that just dropped too, The Final Adventure. You have such a deep catalog with Murs as well, and it’s always dope, too. What are some of the distinctive qualities this one has from maybe the other ones you’ve done with him?
9th Wonder: Um, you know it’s hard to say, I think that the distinctive quality that this album has is that Murs’ subject matter. If you listen to him through out the album, you can tell that he’s growing up, you know what I mean? 316, it was a harder record. It sounded hard, and what he was talking about was hard and some of the stories but now, like first he was saying “Walk Like A Man” and all that, but now he’s got the joint “Walk Like A Woman”. It’s showing his growth and that’s the difference.
AllHipHop.com: Something else that you are involved in is academia, and you teach through music and you teach how to produce as well. But teaching through music, do you think there is a need for an increase in music pedagogy in not just universities, but schools in general?
9th Wonder: Yeah, but I think more so from a Hip-Hop standpoint is just the fact that the art taught people how to think outside of the box whether that be art class or shop or wherever, and it really just taught you how to think outside of the box. Instead of just learning a math problem and that was it, it taught people how to be creative and that always needs to be a part of it. Now if we’re talking about Hip-Hop history I think that’s something that really needs to be taught on a collegiate level only because we’re not talking about Hip-Hop and how to become a rapper or a producer, we’re not talking about that, we’re talking about a culture that has affected our society in the past 30 years, you know?
AllHipHop.com: Right and Hip-Hop is often times a subject that comes up during the course of teaching an African American studies course at a university, I know that firsthand. But I also think African Americans or anyone often times have to wait until college to learn at a major extent about the positive leaders and past that their culture shares and a lot of those leaders have been through Hip-Hop. Do you believe that is the case?
9th Wonder: Yeah, I think it does but more so at Historically Black Colleges and Universities, they need to take pride and they need to take more of a leadership role in the teaching of it and the reason that they don’t is because most Historically Black Colleges and Universities are run by people who are from a different generation, so it’s hard to sell to them the fact that we need to learn about this culture on a university campus when the only experience of knowing about the culture is through the media; it’s just hard.
The media teaches you nothing about the culture; they teach you about everything else like society in America, but it doesn’t teach you about the actual culture of the people so that’s the whole tide and bind. It’s just trying to get those universities to understand we’re not talking about that; we’re talking about something else.
AllHipHop.com: Finally, what’s next for 9th Wonder in your immediate future?
9th Wonder: Well, you know, next year will be the first time that all of Jamla will become artists in the stores. We started out as free virals and then we went straight to iTunes with a few of us putting out hard copies but then next year all of us will have hard copies and that’s the gradual build that I wanted and that’s a program that a lot of artists can’t deal with. You gotta flow, and the end result will be a whole lot better and the end result just turns into a stones throw so that’s number one.
I’ll be releasing my compilation album, Dream Merchant Vol. 3, next summer, happy about that. I’ve got to do my colloquium talks in February at Harvard in front of a room; there’ll probably be some artists in there, but there’ll probably be a whole lot of people who don’t understand the culture. Everyone won’t enjoy [laughs]. So those are the three things I’m working on right now, but I’m working on the colloquium speech right now, man.
Check out 9th Wonder and Murs’ The Final AdventureHERE.
Check out 9th Wonder and Buckshot’s The SolutionHERE.
Welcome to the day you finally take back the key that is driving your life! Today’s Daily Word is dedicated to taking responsibility! Imagine for a second that you need to be at an important meeting at a certain time. You have many options on how to get there, and you have calculated all the best scenarios. Now continue to imagine that as you go out on your journey, you bump into someone who tells you that they can help you get to your meeting faster.
Even though you are doing just fine by yourself, you decide to hitch a ride. As the car is driving, you are noticing that it’s going the wrong way. You stop the car, get out, but instead of going your original way, you hitch another ride, and the same thing happens.. Now you are late for
sure, and anxiety is kicking in, but once again, instead of going with what you know is the best way to get to your destination, you continue to let others guide you!
How crazy would that make you?… Wait…Don’t Answer that!!! The truth of the matter is that this is exactly what happens everyday with our goals and aspirations! We know where we
want to go, we know the best way to get there (whether its through planning or instinctively), but we allow others to take control and tell us which way is the best way!
It is imperative that you stop this IMMEDIATELY!! YOU are the ONLY person RESPONSIBLE for YOUR LIFE!!! Stop depending on and allowing others to dictate how you get to your destination! Others may be there to guide you, but at the end of the day, the journey is YOURS!!! The moment you take back control of the car that is driving your life is the moment you set yourself on the right path! Accept Responsibility for YOUR LIFE!! Anything else would
be uncivilized!!
-Ash’Cash
“Accept responsibility for your life. Know that it is you who will get you where you want to go, no one else.” -Les Brown
“Stop expecting people to do for you what you can or should do for yourself! Remember, it’s your Dream-not theirs. TakeOwnership!!!” -Eric Thomas
“Remember always that you not only have the right to be an individualmyou have an obligation to be one.” -Eleanor Roosevelt
“There are two primary choices in life: to accept conditions as they exist, or accept the responsibility for changing them.” -Denis Waitley
“The only limits to the possibilities in your life tomorrow are the buts you use today.” -Les Brown
“When it is obvious that the goals cannot be reached, don’t adjust the goals, adjust the action steps.” -Confucius
“As for the journey of life; at some point you will realize that YOU are the driver and you will drive!” -Steve Maraboli
“If you own this story you get to write the ending.” -Brené Brown
TO HEAR THE AUDIO VERSION OF THE DAILY WORD – CLICK HERE.
Ash’Cash is a Business Consultant, Motivational Speaker, Financial Expert and the author of Mind Right, Money Right: 10 Laws of Financial Freedom. For more information, please visit his website, www.IamAshCash.com.
(AllHipHop News) Queens, New York rapper 50 Cent is among the celebrities taking part in CNN’s annual special, “CNN Heroes: An All Star Tribute.”
50 Cent will join celebrities like Harvey Keitel, Maria Bello, David S####, Rainn Wilson, Susan Sarandon and others, during the special, which will be hosted by CNN anchorman Anderson Cooper.
R&B star Ne-Yo has been tapped as the performer during the one hour presentation, which will air live on CNN this Sunday.
“CNN Heroes: An All Star Tribute” honors 10 every day “heroes,” who do extraordinary work in their communities.
This year, the “CNN Heroes” initiative received over 45,000 nominations from over 100 countries around the world.
“CNN Heroes: An All Star Tribute” is slated to air live from the shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles on December 2.
(AllHipHop News) Super-producer Rick Rubin is sharing in on the success of Adele, who was recently named the first artist of the 21st century to receive a Diamond Award in less than two years.
Adele’s critically acclaimed album 21 was officially certified as having sold 10 million records, landing a Diamond Award certification from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).
“We are thrilled to honor Adele with an RIAA Diamond Award marking her enormous 21 sales success,” said RIAA chairman/CEO Cary Sherman. “Selling more than 10 million albums in the United States, in less than two years, is an achievement unparalleled by any other artist in the past decade, let alone just a few in all of history. Adele’s unique talent is a gift to music fans, and her success is certainly cause for a celebration of Diamond magnitude.”
In the digital realm, eight of Adele’s songs have already amassed over 19 million downloads in the United States.
Rick Rubin, who is co-chairman of Columbia Records produced five of the songs on Adele’s#### album 21.
“She’s the real thing, and at a time when so much music is made through a more manufactured process, she is a self-contained, real artist who writes her songs and sings her songs and uses her vocal instrument in way we don’t get to hear a lot,” Rick Rubin told Billboard in June of 2011.
According to data released by the RIAA, Adele is the only British or European female solo act in history to earn an RIAA Diamond award.
Now, I think its time we do something more than march! And I think its time for the President of the United States to send some of those drones to strike down these cowards! Speak out against these, scumbags and make an example of them! An old White man shot a teen that was sitting in his parked car listening to music that the chump deemed too loud.
The news is claiming this is not Trayvon Martin Part 2, but I’m not so sure. Peep what Global Grind is saying:
After killing an unarmed teen at a gas station over the weekend, Michael Dunn’s lawyers say that he will plead self-defense and possibly use the controversial Stand Your Ground law to justify his murder. Dunn, a 45-year-old software developer from Florida, shot and killed 17-year-old Jordan Davis in a parking lot on Saturday after he asked him to turn down his music. The two exchanged words before Dunn pulled out a gun and fired eight to nine shots at Davis, who was sitting in the back seat of a parked vehicle. Dunn left the crime scene and checked into a hotel before cops found him and took him into custody. The facts in this case draw an eerie resemblance to the Trayvon Martin case that happened earlier this year. Both victims were 17 years old, unarmed, African American teens who were gunned down in Florida. However, Dunn’s lawyer claims that there are no similarities between her client and George Zimmerman, the man who killed Trayvon. “There are no comparisons to the Trayvon Martin situation,” said Robin Lemonidis, Dunn’s attorney. “He is devastated and horrified by the death of the teen.” She added that he is not a “vigilante” and instead shot Davis out of “self defense.”
Anyway, they are evoking this freakin’ “Stand Your Ground” law so they can get away with murder, per CNN.
(CNN) — The attorney for a Florida man who shot at a car of teens over the weekend, killing one, says the incident bears no resemblance to the Trayvon Martin case. Her client, Michael Dunn, is no “vigilante” but did feel threatened and shot out of “self defense,” the attorney said. “There are no comparisons to the Trayvon Martin situation,” said Robin Lemonidis, Dunn’s attorney. “He is devastated and horrified by the death of the teen.” Dunn, 45, was denied bond Monday on a murder charge stemming from the weekend shooting in Jacksonville. The violence was sparked by a confrontation about loud music at a gas station, the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office said.
Dunn told authorities that he had asked the teens to turn down the blaring music from their vehicle adjacent to his, as he waited for his girlfriend to return to the car.
Michael Dunn, 45, was denied bond earlier this week on the murder charge. He heard threats from the teens, Dunn told police, he felt threatened and thought he saw a gun in the teens’ car. He grabbed his gun and fired at least eight shots, authorities said.
Man, if the smoking gun was in the hand of a Black teen AND he left the scene there would be a statewide manhunt! Death! He’d be dead man.
This is sad and pathetic that this is the way it goes down in AmeriKKKa. Its the same sh!t our parents and parents’ parents had to deal with, just different forms.
(AllHipHop News) Two mixtape DJs in two different states are battling it out in court over the name “DJ Haze,” according to documents obtained exclusively by AllHipHop.com.
County Bound Records of Miami, Florida filed a lawsuit against Street Product Entertainment and Infamous DJ Haze.
The lawsuit claims that Infamous DJ Haze is infringing on County Bound Records’ trademark for the name DJ Haze.
According to the lawsuit, County Bound Records is an independent record label based out of Miami Florida, owned and operated by Jean-Paul Perez, who registered the trademark for the name DJ Haze in 2008.
The lawsuit claims that the Infamous DJ Haze started offering similar services to Dj Haze and has even started marketing himself simply as DJ Haze.
County Bound Records claims Infamous DJ Haze and his company Street Product Entertainment have distributed numerous songs and mixtapes that are being sold on various music downloading sites, including iTunes and Amazon.com.
The Infamous DJ Haze is being sued for trademark infringement, false designation of origin and federal cybersquatting.
