(ALlHipHop News) Ubisoft has announced that Kendrick Lamar will be the final member of Team Ghost in “Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Future Soldier” video game.
Joining a select group of celebrity gamers as a Ghost, Kendrick Lamar joins the ranks with the most elite soldiers and represents a complete range of skills on the battlefield.
In the game, Lamar and his team members are a team of highly trained, spec ops soldiers. Armed with combat technology and cutting-edge military hardware, Ghost Recon takes gamers through deadly warzones to hunt down the highest value targets.
Kendrick joins NBA All-Star Kevin Love, NFL rookie Justin Blackmon, and reality star Coco as the fourth and final member of the team.
“I’m obviously a vocal guy, so I’m going to pave the way to victory for Team Ghost, and make sure you hear about it the entire time,” said Kendrick Lamar. “Playing Ghost Recon is no different from being a rapper, really going full force against the competition and breaking through the enemy lines, just like I do with my bars.”
In addition to his role in the video game, Kendrick Lamar is giving fans a new song inspired by Ghost Recon: Future Soldier entitled “War Is My Love,” which was released yesterday (May 21).
“Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Future Soldier” will be available Today (May 22) for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft and PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system. It will be also be made available to fans on PC on June 12, 2012.
Editor’s Note: It’s May 22, and David Banner’s new album, “Sex, Drugs, and Video Games”, drops today. The album is available nearly for free on www.DavidBanner.com with a donation of at least $1, and features Chris Brown, Nipsey Hussle, The Game, Snoop Dogg, Tank, Bun B, A$AP Rocky, Big KRIT, and more.
In this two-part interview, AllHipHop.com was happy to talk to David Banner about his new album, the 2M1 Movement, and why he’s excited to be launching a whole new model for the music industry.
Banner also did AllHipHop.com a colossal favor by making a surprise visit to a group of Atlanta’s most determined young people to share his special brand of street wisdom. Read the interview and watch the video below:
One of rap music’s most noted rapper/actor/producers, David Banner is quickly become well-known as the culture’s most influential public speaker. Fresh off his appearance as a special guest lecturer at The L.A. Riots: Twenty Years Later, a symposium at Harvard University, Banner continues to tour the country doing press and public speaking in support of his 2M1 Movement.
Banner stopped by the Atlanta site of Year Up, a youth workforce development program that helps 18-to-24 year-olds learn the technical and professional skills that will prepare them for entry-level jobs in corporate America. The 10-year-old program, founded in Boston, boasts an 85 percent success rate in getting its graduates employed in jobs that pay a livable wage. The Atlanta students were surprised by the celebrity appearance and quickly learned that there is more to a rap star than just their music. Banner spoke bluntly on the trials that the urban young adults will face when entering the corporate landscape. Banner, a graduate of Southern University, also spoke about the importance of reading and self-education. The emerging activist also talked about the death of Trayvon Martin, a subject that he has been far from silent on.
AllHipHop.com: Recently, you were at Harvard University lecturing on the 20th Anniversary of the L.A. riots. So having come from Mississippi, did it occur to you while you were up there, “I’m at Harvard University?”
David Banner: Well, it really did, but what I will say is what God revealed to me afterwards is that if we prepare, there is no reason for you to fear anything. So I prepared myself. It’s crazy because that’s one thing they try to do to our people in general. When I say our people I mean people from urban situations. They try to keep us encased in fear. Honestly, if you truly have your spirit together and you truly have prepared and taking those man hours to do whatever it is in life, it don’t matter what question they ask you. It don’t matter what they do, what they say. Whether it’s Harvard or a street corner, if you are truly prepared it doesn’t matter.
AllHipHop.com: So Year Up, the organization that is hosting us here is about “Closing the Opportunity Divide,” a term coined to really represent the systematic things that keep urban young adults from being successful, with jobs and further college education. So what advice would you give our students in the hip-hop generation about systems change? What is Hip-Hop’s responsibility when it comes to systems change?
David Banner: Ok. When you say systems change tell me exactly what you mean.
AllHipHop.com: Changing the institutions like the educational systems and the prison industrial system.
David Banner: I got it. Alright, first of all, (faces students) I wanna tell y’all something, I’m proud of y’all. I’m proud of everybody that’s sitting in these chairs right now. ‘Cause each and every one of you guys could’ve been somewhere else. One of the problems with our people is that we don’t congratulate each other enough.
But about systems change. I created a movement called 2M1. What 2M1 is…I started looking at not just urban music but movies, television, all of that. We have been degraded to nothing. No movies that depict us, you know, all of our music is so negative. The name of my album is called Sex, Drugs & Videogames. And everybody was like “Sex, Drugs, Videogames? What does he mean by that?” What I meant is if all you ever give our children is sex, drugs and videogames what do you think they’re gonna regurgitate? And that’s all we ever see on television.
System changes also come in the way that we think about ourselves. The American system only teaches us in most cases, they don’t teach us before slavery. They never tell us that we kings and queens. They never tell us that the Pythagorean Theorem comes off the walls of Egypt. And imagine me figuring out all this n the middle of “ay yo, see the Chevy with the butterfly doors,” and I was like wow. That’s why I took off, if y’all were wondering why I disappeared for a while.
I disappeared for a while because I got an opportunity to go overseas. And I got an opportunity to see how they looked at our people, and I was embarrassed. I was really, really, really embarrassed and it messed with me mentally because not only am I a rapper, I’m a producer too. I’m an actor, too. So I was like, man, I had a lot to do with that, but then God revealed to me that it’s nothing wrong with what I do. I just have to bring some balance. We can do what we do in the club. That’s all a part of us, but we need some balance. So to answer your question about the systems changes, the only way the systems are gonna change is when you guys get into power and we start opening up our own situations.
AllHipHop.com: So what are some of the ways that we start changing our situations?
David Banner: That is what 2M1 is for me. I wanna get two million people to donate at least one dollar, and everybody thinks it’s about the dollar. It’s not about the dollar. That’s why I did 2M1. I’mma implement this system, and I’mma teach people how to make money. Instead of begging record companies to come and help us we start our own situations and provide and feed our own people.
AllHipHop.com: In a room full of young people who in about two/three months will earn the opportunity to go on internship in Corporate America. Now being that they come from Atlanta urban environments and are going into corporate America, and we know some of the challenges that they will experience, it’s somewhere that they need to go. They need that opportunity to be able to get into entry level jobs, to be able to work their way up through corporate America. How do we prepare them knowing some of the systems that they’re going into?
David Banner: There’s this double consciousness theory that says that Black people to be three or four people. Like you are one person in the ‘hood, you’re one person when you come to school, another person at the job. What I’ll tell you guys going into the corporate system, just be prepared to have to adjust for a little while. Because again I truly believe that you guys are the future and I feel like I’m not just saying this. That you have the power to create.
So, you go into these corporate structures to learn. To be a sponge. Not to be an employee all your life. But what I will ask you guys is that in whatever you do be the best. Literally be the best. You’re gonna have to be the best anyway. But be the best. Articulate yourself as well as you possibly can and as much as you can and I know it’s hard. Keep as much of you as you can in the inside and talk to somebody, but be the best.
Check out Part 2 of our exclusive interview with David Banner tomorrow, where he talks about Trayvon Martin, the biggest risk he ever took, and how he has diversified his music industry career and set himself up for longevity.
Wingo, member of famed ’90s R&B quartet, Jagged Edge, has stepped out on his own and released his first solo mixtape, appropriately titled, Life of the Party. The mixtape features appearances from Slim (of 112) and Atlanta’s own, Gucci Mane.
AllHipHop.com had a chance to chop it up with Wingo about his solo debut, and he gave us first dibs on Jagged Edge’s upcoming eighth studio album. On the release of his first mixtape, an excited Wingo reveals:
“I’m just giving them a ‘lil piece of Wingo! Still doing the whole Jagged Edge thing. I’m gonna be Jagged Edge forever. That has paved the way for a lot of stuff. I’ve been doing a lot of music of that for the past couple of years. I’ve signed a couple of artists to my record label, younger cats who are very talented. At the end of the day, it’s time to put it out. It’s not gone do no good in that Mac! [laughs].”
Life of the Party chronicles the life of Wingo, who admits he hasn’t picked a single yet, because he values the opinions of his fans:
“Every time someone goes out with me and hangs out with me, they really enjoy themselves. That’s why I named it Life of the Party. I haven’t even picked a single yet, I want the DJs and the fans to let me know what’s hot and what’s not. Those are the opinions I really trust. I think everything I do is awesome [laughs], but everybody’s not going to like everything that you do.”
Platinum-selling R&B group Jagged Edge saw their biggest selling album in 2000 with J.E. Heartbreak, and they’re in talks to release a sequel. Wingo exclusively revealed to us what they’re working on:
“We’re getting ready to work on the eighth album for Jagged Edge. The twins want to do J.E. Heartbreak 2; that’s our biggest selling record to this day. Only way that would make sense is if we go back to the roots. Go back to who did the first J.E. Heartbreak. Bryan Cox, Jermaine Dupri.”
So, there is hope in a huge Jagged Edge reunion! Until then, enjoy the sounds of Wingo, one who has always held us down on many of our favorite Jagged Edge tracks. Who can forget the runs at end of “Let’s Get Married”? Just saying.
Check out the tracklist for Life of The Party and see the download link below:
1. Keep It Cool (Intro)
2. Bust It Down (Feat. Gucci Mane) [P###. By Midnite Black]
3. Film A Movie [P###. By King David]
4. Girls In My Pocket (Feat. K.C)
5. Take A Load Off [P###. By King David]
6. Turn Up The Radio (Feat. Treyon)
7. Irrestiable (Feat. Lil Will) [P###. By King David]
8. Mohawk Shawdy (RIP) (Vontae Of WMB)
9. Too Many Girls [P###. By King David]
10. Video Girl (Feat. Trap Boiz & Roc De Carlo) [P###. By King David]
11. Gangsta Boo (Feat. C-Bone & K.C) [P###. By K.C]
12. X’s (Feat. WildMoney Boiz)
13. Out Of Love [P###. By Midnite Black]
14. Ain’t No Lovin’ Tonight
15. My Own 12 Play [P###. By King David]
16. Computer Love Song (Feat. Bossman) [P###. By Burcast]
17. Model For Me [P###. By King David]
18. Movie Star [P###. By Burcast]
19. Ain’t Givin’ Up (Feat. B.I.G)
20. Like Us (Feat. Charlay & K.C) [P###. By Dj Wiz]
Editor’s Note: “Feel Rich” is our partnership with QD3, the talented son of music legend Quincy Jones. “Feel Rich” is all about creating a healthy lifestyle for Hip-Hop culture – both the artists and the fans. Enjoy!
Even with the ripped 50 Cent by his side, Tony Yayo still struggles with making the right choices for his health. He talks to Feel Rich about quitting smoking, what life is like on the road, how 50 Cent drives G-Unit to get healthy, and getting himself back on the health tip.
To set some goals for yourself, read this:
If you’re serious about getting healthy, it’s time to set some goals. Nothing feels as good as reaching a goal you’ve set for yourself. Whether you want to lose weight, gain muscle, eat healthier, or just remember to take your vitamins, setting achievable goals is the first step on the journey to a healthier you.
There are many ways to set your goals. One way to do it is to ask yourself a basic line of questions: “Who, what, when, where, and why?” The answers to these questions will help you create a framework for your goal, and make it less likely for you to make impulsive decisions.
Who? When it comes to changing your habits, you want a partner in crime. Find someone who wants to make similar goals, whether it’s a boyfriend/girlfriend, cousin, friend, co-worker, etc. Their support and companionship will help you stay on track. Starting or finding a support group is a great way to have people who can not only relate to you, but also help you pull through a rough patch.
What? Set specific, achievable goals. Be realistic. An achievable goal is one you can measure. “I want to have a banging’ body” is not a good goal, because you can’t measure that. How do you know when you’ve achieved it? “I want to be able to run 5 miles without getting winded” is better, because it’s measurable.
When? Ask yourself how much time you can realistically spend working toward your goal. For example, if you work a 9-to-5 job, making a goal to do cardio four times a week for 30 minutes makes sense, where spending three hours strength training every day might not. If your goals are diet related, plan your meals ahead if possible, and try to make mealtime consistent every day.
Where? Figure out where you are going to work towards your goals. Do you have the extra money to spend on a gym membership? Are you more of an outdoorsy type? Do you need a lot of variety in your workout environment so you don’t get bored? Is there an organic supermarket that sells produce at affordable prices? Map out where you will go on your hunt for health.
Why? This is possibly the most important question of all. Why are you setting goals to improve your health? There could many reasons: overall well being, improving self-confidence, creating good habits, reducing a health issue, or training for a marathon. Guess what? They’re all totally valid! Having a clear picture of why you’re doing what you’re doing will help you to accomplish it.
Staying on Board
Sticking to your goals should be a goal in itself. Falling off the wagon is easy, especially if you are creating new habits. So reward your milestones as you go. Get a massage or treat yourself to a nice dinner. When you find yourself slacking, remember your reward, and you’ll find inspiration pronto.
Tying your reward to your milestone helps you focus better, too. For instance, if you’re trying to lose weight, reward yourself with new (smaller!) clothes that fit. Having a reward that specifically relates to your goals will help make achieving them even more fantastic.
Also, track your progress. Buy a journal or make an excel spreadsheet. Doesn’t matter; just record your advancement. Recording your progress will help prevent you from being too lenient with yourself. You will also have a record of what you did on any given day.
Preparing for the Future
As you work toward your goal, think about how you will maintain your goals. Knowing what you need to do to stay on top of your game will save yourself a lot of trouble. In general, plan ahead and your chances for success will be great! Good luck!
Today’s Daily Word is dedicated to taking the first step towards your success! If we surveyed all of the 7,014,961,850 people living in the world today, I can almost guarantee that each and every one of them (including you and me) are aspiring for something greater in life. Whether it’s the baby wanting that next bottle, the kid who wants more junk food, or the adult who is looking
for love and a great career….. Whatever the goal or aspiration, it is IMPOSSIBLE to attain any of it if you don’t take the first step!
I don’t care if you are the most talented and most skillful being on the planet – if you are not putting yourself out there, then you will NEVER be successful! What we need to realize sooner than later is that success is a process! It doesn’t happen at a blink of an eye, and there isn’t one big thing that makes someone successful! Success is the result of small steps put together over time to create a greater piece!
A friend once told me that “It takes at least 10 years to become an overnight success.” Think about that for just one second, and once you truly understand that saying, you will then understand why it is imperative that you begin your journey TODAY!!! Now is the time that you begin to put the wheels in motion in order to begin living the live you have imagined! You are in total control so take what you deserve!!
-Ash’Cash
“There’s no process that guarantees success. But taking the first step ups the chances.” -Jim Tamm
“It’s always easy to do the next step, and it’s always impossible to do two steps at a time.” -Seymore Cray
“The first and most important step toward success is the feeling that we can succeed.” -Nelson Boswell
“The vision must be followed by the venture. It is not enough to stare up the steps – we must step up the stairs.” -Vance Havner
“Believe that it’s possible. Once you get a taste of success, you start to believe in it a little more.” -Jarome Iginla
“Making a success of the job at hand is the best step toward the kind you want.” -Bernard M. Baruch
“It is important to expect nothing, to take every experience, including the negative ones, as merely steps on the path, and to proceed.” -Ram Dass
“Four steps to achievement: Plan purposefully. Prepare prayerfully. Proceed positively. Pursue persistently.” -William Arthur Ward
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.
Engaging a group of students in a conversation about today’s Hip-Hop music, I asked them to quote for me lyrics from some artists who are presently deemed hot MCs. It goes without noting that when most names were mentioned, I immediately opined, “What is he talking about”?
To which one youth responded, “Does it have to make sense?”
Truth be told, I’m becoming an old man. Now granted, I haven’t started wearing the black shoe polish in my hair to compensate for the lack thereof. Nor am I wearing super-sized headbands to hide my receding hairline (which, might I add, would look ridiculous with me dressed in a shirt and tie, standing at a chalkboard teaching Math). My oldness is appearing in other debilitating forms. My stamina isn’t what it used to be, and my memory is fading, quickly.
But probably the worst indication of prolonging the inevitable is the fact that I have not the slightest clue what many of these rappers are now talking about. I guess that wouldn’t matter if I still didn’t have an infatuation with the music that I fell in love with as child. I find it easier to fall in love than it is to fall out of it. However, I’m getting old, and I know it because I am now starting to quote the words my parents used to say to me when I was a child.
Words such as, “I don’t know what this garbage is y’all are listening to today.”
I can barely tune into the local radio station that caters to the Hip-Hop-oriented demographics, because the majority of songs sound as if they were made for a strip club compilation CD. I don’t know about other mature adults, but at this stage in my life, I only want to listen to strip club songs when I am in the strip club. Not when I’m in my car during the day, either transporting my 13-year-old daughter to or from school.
Then if I’m not listening to strip club songs, I’m being force fed songs that I literally need translation for. I understand Hip-Hop is a young man’s sport, but would it be wrong for me to suggest that it doesn’t have to be a genre of music precisely geared towards a specific age group? And would I be inherently stupid not to believe that our young folk only want to listen to strip club songs or songs about trapping?
People oftentimes will say, “There’s a lot of conscious Hip-Hop music out there. You just have to find it.”
Before we go any further, really consider that quote. If I have to seek consciousness, then what am I presently in the midst of?
It pains me that our music has drastically changed the way it has. Truth be told, it wasn’t all conscious then, but various options provided for us diversity. And due to that diversification, conscious Hip-Hop was readily available and made mainstream. Now, we know that it was for the monetary profit for corporations, but it would be remiss to say that our community didn’t profit from it as well. Arguably in a far greater capacity than just dollars and cents. Some would suggest that systematically, it was determined by the powers that be to dumb us down by over saturating our community not with the spirit of Malcolm, but instead the fictitious life of Montana. We’ve replaced the idealization of strong, Black women with only the sexuality of Foxy Brown.
Plainly speaking, we’ve been duped to believe that we don’t have much more to offer to each other than lying *ss street stories and bedroom tales that should remain inside the bedroom of consenting adults. Man, I’m getting old because I do remember the time when I would relish those same stories that are being spoken to our children, by our children today. I done spent many of nights jumping up and down at a club, screaming to the top of my lungs foolishness. I’ve been watching the movie Scarface since it came recorded on two separate VHS tapes.
However, apparently that wasn’t all that I was doing. And more importantly than anything that I must stress, that was not my only alternative. Unlike today’s Hip-Hop oriented entertainment culture, I was given viable options, which lent to my balance. My greatest concern of our culture for today’s youth is that they are not getting the same balance. And what they are being fed is just as unhealthy, dangerous, and detrimental to their well being as foul food or contaminated water.
So, “does it have to make sense?”
Given the impact and influence that our youth allow the music to have on their lives, I reckon that it should.
Cornell Dews is a proud parent, classic Hip-Hop fan, and AllHipHop.com contributor.
Pearl Jam as the headliner? Not sure about that. Nevertheless, click here for the full line up, including a bunch of related rappers. And then Odd Future. But there is more.
The rumors are running. The first one is Beyonce! I mean, this ain’t not thing to the G’z, but its certainly an attraction that will get the women taking. Definitely no confirmation on B’s inclusion, but it makes perfect sense. Beyonce is coming back with some performances at some Atlantic City thing. So, there you go with that.
The festival, while it takes place in Philly Town, is very short on Philadelphia acts. The Roots are not slated to perform. But, here is a tidbit for you. Jay-Z is rumored to play at The Roots 4th of July picnic.
And then there is the notion and rumor that Jay-Z and Beanie will mend their beef formally at the Philly festival. If it doesn’t happen there, i cannot see it happening. From what I understand, Beanie’s people have stepped up their peace offering. I hope it happens.
ILLSEED’S QUICKIES
Eminem is rumored to be working on new music that will coincide with a new Wii video game. The name of the game is “Acid Ghost” and is expected to be revealed the first week in June.
I am hearing Lloyd Banks is now a solo artist. He’s still tied to G-Unit, but nothing else like management. I guess that means he’s got some work to do.
Anybody got any 2 Chainz rumors? Jeez. Oh, by the way, I heard nothing about Ludacris either.
According to the homie Gyant, Ruben Studdard is pushing 400 lbs and in poor health due to pure obesity.
I guess this is worth a mention since it was all over the blogs. Usher and Tameka Raymond’s child custody battle went crazy today. Usher says his ex tried to spit on his new girlfriend, Grace. EW!
Ray-J accuses the Houston family of having his tailbone taken from a seat at the Billboard Awards that was a bit too close to Bobbi Kristina. They deny that notion. But he was removed from the event by the police after he moved from his original seat to a seat down in the front somewhere. I don’t know who Pat Houston is, but she is taking over, they say.