(AllHipHop News) Rapper Nicki Minaj was the big winner in the Hip-Hop category during last night’s American Music Awards.
The Queens, New York rapper bested both Lil Wayne and Kanye West in two different categories.
Nicki’s album Pink Friday was crowned Album of the Year, while the rapper was named Favorite Hip-Hop Artist.
Nicki was shocked when she accepted both of her awards during the AMA’s, where she also performed “Turn Me On” and “Super Bass,” with two speakers plugged into her curvaceous backside.
“I didn’t think I was going to win it,” Nicki told the crowd before offering some advice.
“Love yourself no matter what. There’s power in your peace,” the philosophizing rapper said.
Other performers during the AMA’s included Pitbull, will.I.am, Mary J. Blige, and others.
Taylor Swift and Adele were the big winner of the evening, taking home three AMA’s each, with Swift landing the coveted Artist of the Year award.
Other winners included Usher, Beyonce, Rihanna, Foo Fighters, Maroon 5, Bruno Mars, and Chris Brown.
Check out some images of Nicki performing and backstage at the AMA’s.
Nicki Minaj performing at AMA’s
Nicki Minaj performing at AMA’s
Nicki Minaj and Taylor Swift at American Music Awards
They say good things come to those who wait. Fans of Young Jeezy have been patiently waiting for the oft-delayed, TM103, and now the wait is almost over.
On Thursday, Nov. 18, Young Jeezy hosted an ultra-private, ultra-exclusive listening party at the legendary Patchwerk Studios in Atlanta. Attended by hip-hop elite, the listening party was a chance for people to hear and pre-celebrate the album. Kevin Liles, Keri Hilson, Common, DJ Don Cannon, DJ Drama, were just some of the celebs in attendance. Ludacris and Nelly walked in halfway through the album and toward the end of the party, Akon came in as well, the listening event, sponsored by Ciroc, quickly became a true party.
But the subject at hand was the album, TM103, which has been delayed for almost two years. But, the album is coming on its scheduled release date, December 20th, which is the same date as Common’s The Dreamer/The Believer; both rappers attended each other’s listening events last week. At first listen to TM103, one can begin to understand why it took time, by the end of the first run through, it is clear that this album is a masterpiece.
Jeezy introduced and described each song beginning with the album’s intro track, “Waiting” Produced by Lil Lodi.
“I’ve had a lot of doubters. But, I’m going to be a leader in this culture and get this city to where it needs to be.”
“Waiting,” is a high energy, bass-driven track that sets the tone for the rest of the album. It is the song that makes you want to get up, get out, and get paid.
Killer Quote: “Bit*h, I was born hot/and that’s how I’m dyin’ nig*a.”
“This is What I Do” Produced by Drumma Boy.
“This is that Jizzle sh*t that y’all have been waiting on, so I had to go back and do it.”
“This is What I Do,” shows that Young Jeezy’s lyrical prowess has just continued to evolve. TM103 is him at his thug-est. This song, in particular, might get you locked up for cracking a hater’s head with a bottle.
“O.J.“ Produced by Lil Lodi. Featuring Fabolous and Jadakiss
“They say this is controversial. But, I figure, O.J. got away with what he was doin’, I got away with what I was doin’: killin’ that white chick like OJ.”
“O.J.” is a very controversial song. While Jeezy has never shied away from his past association with “that white girl,” his comparison of cocaine to Nicole Brown-Simpson is going to raise major eyebrows. However, it is a great song.
“Nothin’” Produced by Midnight Black
“It’s kinda hard, because I ain’t no friendly ni**a, but I ain’t no funny n*g*a. You get to this point where you feel like you just can’t be you anymore. Anybody who is doing something, got a lot of people who feel like you owe them something, this is what you tell them.”
“Nothin’,” is one song that got a lot of crowd response. It is about not owing people for your success, Jeezy tells the listener, “I don’t owe a nig*a nothin’.” Like most of the album, “Nothin’,” is motivational and aggressive.
“Superfreak” Produced by D. Rich and Shawty Redd
“I wanted to make a street record that the chicks would like but the ni**as would love.”
“Superfreak,” is a good song, it isn’t incredibly impressive. Wikipedia credits the song as featuring Lupe Fiasco and Wale, however, Jeezy didn’t mention that specifically, and the song didn’t play in its entirety.
“How We Do” Produced by Cardiak
With a hook that says, “All we do is smoke and fu*k/smoke and fu*k/smoke and fu*k,” this song is freaky and sexy. “How We Do,” will make Jeezy’s female fans blush and his male fans take his advice.
“Leave You Alone,” Produced by Warren G. Featuring Ne-Yo
“I got this chick but she real corporate. This song is for the chicks who love that thug motivation, but at the same time, fear it.”
As two important members of the Atlanta music community, any time Ne-Yo and Jeezy come together, it’s a celebration. With Warren G providing that perfect G-funk inspired smoothness, “Leave You Alone,” is another great song for fans will relate to.
“Way Too Gone,” Produced by Shawty Redd
“This song is about when things were good and great. It’s about how Atlanta was.”
“Way Too Gone,” brings up memories of the late 90’s and early 2000’s when there was nothing but money to be made and BMF ran the streets. “Way Too Gone,” is classic Jeezy with lines like, “What I spent last night/I coulda bought a Range Rover.”
“Trapped,” Produced by J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League. Featuring Jill Scott
“When I was coming up, It was my mission every day to get out of the trap, to get my family out of the trap.”
“Trapped,” is deepest and most introspective song on the album. It will tug at your heart. An amazing song, this song and therefore this album, will define Young Jeezy and make him a superstar. Jill Scott is singing and rapping on “Trapped,” which is so impressive that the only thing that the only thing you want to do when you hear it is grab your head.
“Higher Learning,” Produced by Lil C . Featuring Snoop Dogg and Devin the Dude
A smoker’s anthem; there are no two bigger representatives for smoking than Snoop and Devin. The song is good.
“I Do.” Produced by M16. Featuring Jay-Z and Andre 3000
“I hope y’all know that this really puts me on boss status,” Jeezy stated to the crowd, who laughed, “I had to make two phone calls. In this game, sometimes I really feel like it’s my wife. When I wake up, I gotta deal with her, when she get mad, I gotta buy her things.”
Dropped as a single on the same day as the release party, “I Do,” was the song that officially kicked off the party portion of the event. It played on repeat as guests mingled. The song features great verses from Jeezy, Jay, and 3000, the song is clearly a single and a great song.
“I came from a 2 bedroom trailer. It was so small, I could hear my momma thinking at night.” Young Jeezy told the crowd. Those days have long been in Young Jeezy’s past, and Thug Motivation 103 is the album that will define his future.
Sway DaSafo, not be confused with Sway from Sway & King Tech/MTV USA is one of the biggest rappers to come out of the UK, he has broken down doors with his witty word play, crazy double time flows and his signing with Akon in 2008.
He was one of the first rap artists to make a serious impact on an independent label and charted in 2004 with his debut single ‘Little Derek’ with no help from any major label. He has since toured with Dizzee Rascal and The Streets and has worked with a wide variety of artists in the UK from Giggs to Wretch 32 to Mr Hudson and the list goes on and on. In 2006, he won the BET award for ‘Best UK Hip Hop Act’. He has recently recorded with Talib Kweli artists and is intent on setting the bar very high with his new LP, The Deliverance.
AllHipHop.com was very lucky to hear a few tracks off the new LP – which is sounding massive to say the least. Stand out tracks include ‘Reign Dance’ produced by DJ Ink, ‘To Be Frank’ produced Raptor and ‘Table For One’ featuring up and coming vocalist Ed Sheeran and produced by Turkish. All of the tracks were lyrically dazzling and astute. However, the track which will be Sway’s biggest hit to date is ‘Century’ featuring Mr. Hudson and produced by dance floor goliath Tiesto.
We hooked up with Sway – in North London – for a chat about the development of the scene here in the UK, his background and how he got into music, his eventual link up with Lupe for ‘Break The Chain’, the Akon connection, the difference of styles here in the UK and London, and why someone from the UK is going to break North America:
AllHipHop.com: When and why did you start emceeing?
Sway: I started emceeing because I have always had a love for music, I have always known that I wanted to get into the music industry, and I have always had a love for English as well.
I was quite good in school, I was good in most subjects but English in particularly – creative writing, poetry, I used to spend extra time analysing that. I had a love for words – that with my love for music was just combined.
Originally, I wanted to just become a producer – produce records and help other people to rap. Because in the beginning, all of the rappers that I was looking up to at the beginning were all in America (when I was really young) and all I was being influenced by, was what was going on in the charts. All that I was being influenced by was American Hip-Hop.
AllHipHop.com: Which American Hip-Hop?
Sway: Oh, man! Back then (really far back), from the Vanilla Ices’ to the MC Hammers’.
AllHipHop.com: Kriss Kross? [laughter]
Sway: Exactly! I was a huge Kriss Kross fan. At the end of the day – these were good, decent pop songs that are all I had access to. It just didn’t sound right the whole English rap thing. So I was just always under the impression that I was going to produce beats, because the beats don’t have no accent.
AllHipHop.com: So you started producing first?
Sway: I started producing first – then freestyling over my own beats. Then the thing was I couldn’t really find rappers the way I wanted them to sound on my own beats. So I started rapping and funnily enough the rapping took the forefront over the production.
AllHipHop.com: What style of production was that – was that Hip-Hop, was that influenced by any other (genre)?
Sway: It was Hip-Hop, but it was influenced a lot by the Hip-Hop I was into when I was younger which the West Coast style of Hip-Hop was.
AllHipHop.com: Was that mid-90s?
Sway: Yeah, around that time. It was one of my favourite groups of all time Bone Thugs N Harmony. They were revealed to me through Crossroads, and then I went back through their back catalogue and their first album became one of my favourite albums of all time. I liked that sound, I liked the fact it was still musical but Hip-Hop at the same time.
AllHipHop.com: The double time flow as well?
Sway: I was brought up in the drum and bass era, the jungle era – I had a lot of family in the jungle game. My cousin is DJ Ink, Loxy is family – they were part of Metalheadz. I used to go round to his house and they would be DJing drum and bass. I was into Heartless (a UK garage crew), Skibadee all them guys, those were the people I was like ”woah – we can actually rap in our (London) accents and it can sound good”. My style was kind of like a mesh between the Bone Thugs N Harmony thing going on and also the UK double time.
AllHipHop.com: How much has the jungle/rave scene been an influence to your style?
Sway: It’s been a massive influence to me because I started messing around with drum and bass, I started freestyling over it, it developed my ability to be able to rap fast.
AllHipHop.com: Did you chat (rap) with (DJ) Ink at all?
Sway: Yeah, we actually formed a group called Fifth Element.
AllHipHop.com: That was around 2002, I remember that – that was when all the Adam F ‘Kaos’ stuff was going on?
Sway: Exactly, I mean it was quite early for that – to mix like lyrical Hip-Hop/raps with drum and bass beats – we were really ahead of the time for that. People just didn’t get it at that point. So we kind of called it a day on that and I just went back to my solo stuff.
AllHipHop.com: How much has pirate radio been an influence to your style?
Sway: Pirate radio in the early days was very influential.
AllHipHop.com: What pirate radio stations?
Sway: Heat FM, De Ja Vu, there was one radio station called – Raw FM, that Skinnyman brought me on. It was the first time that I was on radio and he brought me onto his show that he used to do every week – It was called ‘The Mud Show’. I was brought up there by Tibbs who was a member of my group and was also a member of The Mud Family which was Skinnyman’s collective. It enabled us to get heard, that along with the open mic sessions.
I’m not a grime MC and I would never consider myself a grime MC so I never came through the ranks strictly through pirate radio. I got my name through freestyle sessions in conjunction with some of the pirate radio stuff. It has been a great help to my career and definitely a great help to the scene.
AllHipHop.com: How did the ‘Lasers’/’Break the Chain’ (Lupe Fiasco) link up come about?
Sway: I’ll take you back that story goes quite deep – I was in South By Southwest about 4 or 5 years ago. I never knew too much about Lupe, I had heard about him and I had heard a few tracks here and there, I had heard he was a great rapper. Someone said to me ‘Lupe Fiasco is in town and he is a big fan of your music’. I thought “that’s really cool, because this is the same time ‘Touch The Sky’ came out and this is the guy on the Kanye West record and he is interested in me!
We went up to the Hilton hotel in Texas and I met up with Lupe and we clicked straight away, he is my kinda guy. He was excited about his music; he knew about my music, he played me the album (Food & Liquor) before anyone had heard it. He said “Jay Z is gonna get behind this”. He had just shot the video for ‘Kick-Push’, there was just great synergy between us, we chilled, we had a laugh.
You know, we have both had a lot of good moments and bad moments within the industry and we relate on a lot of different levels.
My Mum’s Christian and my Dad’s Muslim – he’s a Muslim as well; we speak about that, different aspects of life. We’re very similar and we click.
When it came to ‘Lasers’ – he hit me up Twitter, even though he’s got my number, saying; “Sway, I wanna get you on a verse for the album” (‘Lasers’). I was like “cool lets do it!” no questions asked. Whatever the tune was going to be about I was going to do it, because it’s Lupe and he’s my people and I respect him and I respect his judgement musically. He gave me the record and it was produced by Ishi and features Eric Turner.
(ED: this is the same production/vocal combination as the Billboard 100 top 20 hit and UK number 1 smash for Tinie Tempah, ‘Written In The Stars).
I was like; “It’s got me written all over it” and he said the same thing. “You are the only person I could think of to be on this record”. I didn’t even know that I was the only (other) rapper on the album – it was only until he made the press release that I was like “woah!”.
AllHipHop.com: What is going on with the Akon situation?
Sway: I am always gonna have a lot of love for Akon and I am still affiliated with the Konvict family and they have done so much great stuff for me. I was caught up in a crazy catch 22 scenario, where I was never actually signed to Akon in the UK – it was just in America. It kind of back fired on me and I kind of shot myself in the foot with that situation. Akon and ourselves had announced that I was in his camp and I still had this independent release pending to be released here.
Now I had this album that was more or less ready to go, now all the press was asking for Akon “Is he going to be on the album?”. If he didn’t feature on the album we would’ve had ‘egg on our faces’. You know, you can’t announce a signing and not have the person who is trying to push you throughout the world. That was a fight to get that record (‘Silver & Gold’) first of all, because obviously Akon has people he has to answer to.
They were like, “Why are you giving this record worth £150,000 – when you could sell that record for £150,000 – why you giving to a guy, who is going to make money away from you? You’re not entitled to anything he has got in the UK”.
But through hustle, bustle and belief with people like Georgio Tuinfort and Babs pushing it, people from that camp saying; “You know what, we’re looking after Sway”. We finally got the record. By the time we got the record, the momentum of the album, started to die down – because we waited so long for the record.
When we did finally put it out there, it was actually the same time that Akon was putting out his album (‘Freedom’). So the lead single we were putting out (‘Silver & Gold’) was competing with Akon under a major and Akon under our little label, so we didn’t get any support from radio, not much support from TV and the song went under the radar. People judged me off the back of that song – when I never got any support on it. But the song has gone onto sell over 40,000 copies/units with no radio and has collectively over 5 million youtube views. That song had the potential to be really big at that time when it was released. But people never heard it and things weren’t promoted in the right fashion.
It opened a lot of doors for me, being affiliated with Akon because he is a worldwide household name, he was on my mix tape and I met Georgio Tuinfort (who is under Akon) and he is now one of my co-publishers, I signed a deal in Japan and Australia off the back of my worldwide acclaim.
AllHipHop.com: Going back to what we were talking about earlier, how much do you think So Solid had to do with the evolution of grime and UK emceeing in general?
Sway: They have a great deal to do with the success of today’s market, they showed that there was a demand out there for British rap. There was others as well, you know Estelle she did her thing. She had ‘1980’ which was a big record over here before she went over to America, you had More Fire crew, you had Pay As You Go, you had So Solid. Even when you take it back to the London Posse and The Demon Boyz, Roots Manuva, Blak Twang. There just wasn’t a scene then, a collective (like there is now).
I could go on, the list is endless – but it shows, they are examples that there is a market for this and if we push it and we get the support it could blow up – like it has today.
AllHipHop.com: This leads onto my next question, what sort of effect did the original UK hip-hop (London Posse, Demon Boyz, Skinnyman), have on you but also the UK scene in general?
Sway: If it wasn’t for people like them, there wouldn’t be people like me, if it wasn’t for people like me there wouldn’t be people like Chipmunk. It is a domino effect. People have to open the doors, then people have to open it wider, some people run with it. People can say, Kool Herc is not making any money – but he was doing it when it wasn’t about money. He was opening doors for people like Jay Z. So that is why he still gets the recognition he so deserves. Not to say he was the only one, but he’s the name people seem to call out.
AllHipHop.com: How much do you think the grime scene has opened up the market for MCs in this country?
Sway: I think what the grime scene did was give the streets a voice, people from the council estate communities. They love Tupac, they love Biggie – but them guys are ‘over there’. That is the mentality for the people on the streets, these boys when you watch ‘Lord Of The Decks’ or ‘Lord Of The Mics’, these boys are ‘over here’ – people can relate to it more!
It started expanding and expanding – UK Hip-Hop didn’t really have that. UK Hip-Hop was kind of like ‘a sister Hip-Hop’. The fact that you even call it a UK version of something that exists, you are already making it second best, so with grime – it was the first of it’s kind. The great thing about grime and hip- hop is that they are actually the same thing but people like to differentiate it.
AllHipHop.com: Similar sort of thing, like crunk?
Sway: Exactly, nail on the head, mate!
AllHipHop.com: How do you think from a lyrical perspective or a sound perspective the grime MCs differ from the ‘road-rap’ MCs (K-Koke, Giggs) to the original UK Hip-Hop MCs?
Sway: I think it is down to individuals because you have people from the road, people like Wretch 32 who are very intelligent lyrically. Or Giggs – if you listen to the way he puts his words together. Yeah he might be talking about a lot of street s### most of the time, but he is intelligent the way he puts it together. It’s not ABC, he has a lot of clarity – he leaves a lot of space the way he puts it together, it’s intelligent music. It’s not a case of the Hip-Hop guys have got all the lyrics, it’s all about the individual artists. You know, you have guys in the Hip-Hop side of things, which are not as lyrical as Wretch. But then you have guys in the grime scene that can be as lyrical as Akala – it’s an individual situation.
AllHipHop.com: On that note, where do you see the London/UK MC going from now? What do you think can be achieved on a global level?
Sway: I think one of us is going to break America! I am not talking breaking, being about pop or being a member of a band, I am talking about standing their ground next to J.Cole, Lupe Fiasco, Jay Z, Jay Electronica on a record and become accepted like in the same way Slick Rick was accepted. Like in the same way people would love to do a track with Jay Z, because he is respected. Not for what they can gain in the UK, not because; “I wanna work with this guy, because I heard he has got a crazy buzz in the UK and I have never been to England before and I am trying to go out there and get English girls”. Someone who gets the respect – I have been fortunate enough to get that quite a lot. It just shows that there is room for that to happen.
AllHipHop.com: What artists are you feeling from the UK and globally?
Sway: I am feeling what Lupe is doing obviously, I like Rick Ross. UK wise, I have always respected what Akala has been about. I got some new artists I am working with who I think are hot – Klayz, Raptor and DC. There are so many people.
AllHipHop.com When was the new LP released – The Deliverance?
Sway: The new LP came out in September.
AllHipHop.com: What label – is it still independent?
Sway: Dot, dot, dot.
AllHipHop.com: I am gonna go for a generic Hip-Hop question – Top 3 MCs of all time, dead or alive?
Sway: Wow, you’re killing me. Tupac, Eminem and, I don’t want to but I am going to have to – Jay Z. His (Jay Z) catalogue is similar to Tupac and Eminem, so you can judge them equally. We don’t know what Biggie would’ve done if he was left to his own devices, after ‘Life After Death’ and the path he was going towards that real commercial route, anything could’ve been possible.
Sometimes it’s like a football player. (ED: Soccer player for the American audience) You can score one great goal or you could score a couple and if you can do that over years, continuously score goals there is something special. But if something happens and you damage your leg nobody is really able to know (what you are capable of). I am probably gonna get killed in New York for this, like I love Biggie and everything but he doesn’t stand up against Tupac, Eminem and Jay Z based on that.
AllHipHop.com: I got one more, top 3 LPs of all time?
Sway: DJ Quik – ‘Balance & Options’, Bone Thugs N Harmony – ‘E.1999 Eternal’ and Sway ‘This Is My Demo’
Be sure to check out the below links on Sway to keep up to date with his goings on and download all of the latest mixtapes on his site. Follow Sway on Twitter at @Sway_Dasafo or on the Web at www.sway.uk.com.
Jamie B-C is a writer and online music marketer, who has been passionately involved inUKunderground music since the late 90’s. He currently writes a blog which followsUKrave and Hip-Hop culture. Follow Jamie B-C on Twitter at @beatcultureldn or on the Web at www.beatculture.net.
(AllHipHop News) Jay-Z, recently named one of GQ’s “Men of the Year,” attended the 16th annual party held to celebrate the honor this past Friday night in West Hollywood along with his pregnant wife, Beyonce. The Hip-Hop power couple is expecting their first child in February.
At the party, Jay-Z spoke to People magazine, reflecting on his own childhood, specifically his father walking out on him when he was 11 years old. He made it clear that he wanted to raise his child differently to his father, telling People that, “It makes me a little paranoid because no matter what, I don’t think any person, or any male, goes into a relationship thinking that they’re going to leave or wouldn’t be there”.
Hov also went on to say how he plans on not making the same mistakes as his father, saying that in comparison to his father, he is “just a different kind of guy” and a “highly principled person.” Jay also made it clear that he plans on giving his child all of the luxuries that he never had growing up, reminiscent of his verse on the song “New Day”.
On this track from, Watch The Throne, he addresses not wanting to be like his father, most powerfully through the lines, “Cause my dad left me and I promise never repeat him / Never repeat him / Never repeat him.” With the experience of his father walking out on him, it appears that Jay-Z has learned a great lesson from it and is ready to raise his own child the right way.
(AllHipHop News) CNN’s newsman Wolf Blitzer will re-team with rap legend Doug E. Fresh at this year’s Soul Train Awards, sources have confirmed with AllHipHop.com.
Wolf Blitzer, who hosts CNN’s top rated news show “The Situation Room With Wolf Blitzer,” unexpectedly popped up on the stage with Doug E. Fresh during last year’s ceremony.
Blitzer’s appearance was a hit, when the beatboxing legend taught him how to do the popular “Dougie” dance.
“CNN’s Wolf Blitzer and hip-hop pioneer Doug E. Fresh had such a great time teaching everyone how to do the ‘Dougie’ at last year’s awards that they have both decided to return to the 2011 Soul Train Awards with another surprise,” a source said.
Organizers for The 2011 Soul Train Awards have announced that Common, Cee Lo Green, Chrisette Michelle and Marsha Ambrosius have been added to the lineup of performers.
Cedric The Entertainer is hosting the Soul Train Awards, which will take place at the Fox Theatre in Atlanta, Georgia.
During the awards, The Roots’ Amir “Questlove” Thompson will debut a new revamped version of the iconic “Soul Train,” theme.
Other major celebrities slated to attend include Earvin “Magic” Johnson, Malcolm-Jamal Warner, Jill Scott, Robin Thicke, Melanie Fiona, Keith Sweat, Valerie Simpson and others.
Naughty by Nature and a group of superstar rappers will lead a tribute to the late Dwight “Heavy D.” Myers, while Gladys Knight and Earth, Wind & Fire will be honored with the Legend Award.
The 2011 Soul Train Awards will air on Sunday November 27 at 9:00pm on Centric.
(AllHipHop News) Legendary Staten Island, New York rapper and co-founder of the Wu-Tang Clan GZA has announced that he has re-signed with Babygrande Records.
The most recent deal is the 5th for GZA, who has recorded with Cold Chillin’ Records, MCA Records, Geffen Records and Angeles Records.
“We have a fantastic relationship with GZA, and we are honored to have the opportunity to continue to work with him,” Babygrande’s founder and CEO Chuck Wilson said in a statement about the new deal.
GZA is currently working on the follow up to 2008’s album Pro Tools.
Babygrande is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year and is currently preparing to release M.O.P. & Snowgoons Sparta November 22.
(AllHipHop News) After suffering two seizures on the same day back on October 14, Rick Ross returned to the stage for the first time in over a month. The performance was held at Prairie View A&M University’s homecoming concert, with Ross running through hits like “Blowing Money Fast,” which you can watch below.
The “Bawse” seemed to be fully recovered and ready to continue leading one of the fastest growing labels in the industry. The Maybach Music Group captain will next make a stop in Memphis at his Wingstop restaurant for a meet and greet. Read more in the AllHipHop.com news story HERE.
As the world knows, Rick Ross has had to take it very easy as he seemingly almost checked out after having a pair of seizures. Well, the boss is back to performing and made his triumphant return. Ross rocked it at Prairie View A & M University Homecoming. Here’s the initial footage.
AND….
Rick Ross is working on a full mixtape with Drake. The told MTV RapFIX:
“You know, it’s official, the music is most definitely official. But you know, me being a boss, I’m trying to find a way that we could put that on the shelves for the world, baby. But it’s most definitely official. You know, Drake, I consider him a part of the fam. It’s not just the music,” he said. “We stay in the studio, we stay on Skype.”
(AllHipHop News) Cash Money Records CEO Brian “Birdman” Williams explained his motives behind signing hip-hop star Busta Rhymes to the label
According to Birdman, signing Busta Rhymes was a logical choice, given his consistent popularity in hip-hop since he debuted in 1991 as a member of seminal hip-hop group Leaders of the New School.
“Busta Rhymes is the perfect addition to the YMCMB team. He is one of the strongest artists in the game and one of best lyricists in the history of hip-hop,” Bryan “Birdman” Williams told AllHipHop.com in a statement. “He is a hard worker, knows his sound and together we are going to be making hit records for years to come.”
While some fans of Busta Rhymes may have questioned his signing to the record label, the rapper explained that their business relationship had been developing over the past few years.
Busta Rhymes was featured on Lil Wayne’s Tha Carter III and Tha Carter IV, while Lil Wayne appeared on Busta’s 2009 album Back On My B.S.
Busta was also featured on the hit track “Look At Me Now” featuring Lil Wayne and Chris Brown.
Busta is currently working on his cash money debut at The Hit Factory in Miami, Platinum Studios in New York and a mobile studio.
“Birdman and I have worked together for over a decade. We’ve hustled hard and grown from friends to bosses and business partners. Our recent work together speaks for itself and this partnership shows people the strength of a unified force,” added Busta Rhymes. “I’m going to bring my best to the table, make this move truly gel and rewrite history.”
Busta Rhymes is featured on two new singles, “Turnt Up” by Lil Twist and “Why Stop Now” featuring Chris Brown.
“Cash Money is looking forward to giving the fans the best music of Busta’s career,” Birdman said.
Busta Rhymes’ Cash Money Records debut is due in stores in 2012.
“O.J.“ Produced by Lil Lodi. Featuring Fabolous and Jadakiss
