Looks like Bobby Brown has officially reunited with the rest of New Edition and the group is working on new music. Oddly, they will be filming a reality show to chronicle their return to the game.
AMBER ROSE CELEBRATES 29th BIRTHDAY!
Her birthday isn’t until next week, but she celebrated this week. This is an apparent way to get a double shot of press.
I see Wiz back there. Oh, you all may find this one interesting. Kelly Rowland reportedly wants to shave her head.
SPEAKING OF AMBER ROSE….
Amber Rose, Rocsi Diaz, Teyanna Taylor and others will star in Gang of Roses II. I think Lil Kim was in the first. Here are some clips.
(AllHipHop News) Rap star 50 Cent continues his philanthropic work and has started a new initiative to fight hunger worldwide, through his new Street King energy shot that he recently released.
Today (October 17), the rapper kicked off a new initiative called “Hustle With 50 Cent,” which has a goal to provide 1,000,000 meals in one week, using popular social networking site Facebook.
Every time someone likes the Street King Facebook page, 50 Cent will fund one meal for one child. His goal is to get 1,000,000 likes in one week, to provide 1,000,000 children with a meal.
The rapper is even going above and beyond the responsibilities of his initial program.
If his Facebook page reaches the goal of 1,000,000 likes in one week, 50 Cent will match each donation and provide 1,000,000 more meals for a another million children.
The rapper’s initiative is timed to coincide with the World Food Day, which is run by the United Nation’s World Food Programme.
Check out 50 Cent’s Street King Facebook page and like it to help feed children by clicking here: bit.ly/Hustleto1MM
Ever heard the phrase, “if you believe this, I have a bridge for sale…” Well, a pair of schmucks stole a bridge and tried to sell it!
The Associated Press reports out of Western Pennsylvania that two brothers have been arrested in the theft of a bridge in a wooded area of Lawrence County along a railroad line about 60 miles north of Pittsburgh. Authorities said the thieves apparently wanted to sell the corrugated steel for scrap. Arrested were 24-year-old Benjamin Arthur Jones and 25-year-old Alexander William Jones, both of New Castle. They allegedly used a blowtorch to break up the Covert’s Crossing Bridge sometime between Sept. 27 and Oct. 5. They face felony charges of criminal mischief, theft, receiving stolen property and conspiracy.
Unreleased Song Featured in Tupac Sex Tape Gets Big A$$ Offer!!
As TMZ first reported, an anti-hangover drink company called NOHO has offered to pay $1 million for the rights to the unreleased song Tupac was rapping along with … while he was being “tended to” by a very friendly female in the 1991 footage. Sources connected to the negotiations say the offer was big enough to catch the estate’s attention, because a rep for Pac’s people reached out to NOHO, and the two sides are trying to work out a deal. There’s only one problem… the estate doesn’t have possession of the sex tape and aren’t even sure which song is playing on it.
So to clarify… $1 million is being offered for the rights to a song that no one knows what it is, or who it’s even by…they’re just “banking” on the possibility that it’s a never before heard Tupac song from a sex tape that hasn’t been released. I call bullsh*t. What about you?
Rick Ross: From Jet Life to Bus Life…
After the two seizures that rapper Rick Ross suffered over the weekend, good friend and producer DJ Khaled picked up his boy in Alabama where he was being hospitalized and transported him to Memphis on his luxurious tour bus, where they apparently checked out a new chicken wing spot. Their next stop is Atlanta. Stay healthy, Ross, and lay off that hot sauce!
P(AllHipHop News) Despite a busy schedule of performing as the house band on the Late Night with Jimmy Fallon and also taking part in the Pre-Emmy Awards jam session, the Philadelphia based hip-hop band, The Roots, are releasing a new album on Island Def Jam.
The project, which drops on December 6th this year, is titled undun.
The release is the first conceptual album for The Roots.
The album’s first single will feature Big K.R.I.T. and will be available on iTunes November 1st.
undun is a re-telling of the short life of one Redford Stephens (1974-1999).
Using Redford’s dialogues, the legendary hip-hop group attempts to tell how free will and destiny affects the life ‘on the corner’ of Redford Stephens.
Adding to the hype of the new concept album, The Roots also announced that they will be peforming in New York City on November 29 and 30, as well as December 5 at the Highline Ballroom.
“At this point in our career we’d like for our work to have a unifying theme, and an experiential quality,” said Ahmir “?uestlove” Thompson, 40. “We’ve been intentionally making our albums shorter in length so that they can be experienced as a continuous work. The music is band-oriented with an eye on the moody cinematic. As a DJ, I am the King of playlists, but I don’t want our albums to feel like a playlist or a mixtape for that matter. We want to tell stories that work within the album format and we want the stories to be nuanced and useful to people. undun is the story of this kid who becomes criminal, but he wasn’t born criminal. He’s not the nouveau exotic primitive bug-eyed gunrunner like Tupac’s character Bishop in “Juice”… he’s actually thoughtful and is neither victim nor hero. Just some kid who begins to order his world in a way that makes the most sense to him at a given moment… At the end of the day… isn’t that what we all do?”
TRACKLISTING:
1) Sleep
2) Make My
3) One Time
4) Kool On
5) The Jump
6) Stomp
7) Lighthouse
8) I Remember
9) Tip The Scale
10) Redford
AllHipHop affiliate Ms. Drama talks to legendary activist Angela Davis on the red carpet of Black Girls Rock about Occupy Wallstreet and its impact. In the interview, Davis acknowledges the importance of the people coming together to call out the inequalities of the nation and that “corporate companies are destroying our economy.” In the interview, the 60’s revolutionary explains why it’s important for the “people” to support Obama and why this war in Afghanistan needs to end.
For the past seven autumns, A3C has been a staple of the Hip-Hop festival circuit. Featuring over 200 artists, dozens of panels, film screenings and one-on-one interview opportunities, A3C is one of the most hands on and interactive music festivals, and an amazing networking opportunity for all in attendance.
This year, performers included Freeway, Random Axe, Ying Yang Twins, an entire evening presented by 9th Wonder including a screening of his film, The Wonder Year, and a showcase by Jamla artists. Panels featured topics about the media, women in hip-hop, leveraging the European market, and much more. A3C, on the whole, is a productive and fun weekend.
But one of the biggest highlights had to be the AllHipHop.com Breeding Ground Showcase which took place on the last night, Saturday Oct. 8th.
Hundreds of hip-hop fans stood under a cool, clear sky at the outdoor stage for the show which featured performances by Issa, Killa Kyleon, Termanology (who was celebrating his birthday), Reks, Ras Kass, Elzhi, M.O.P. and dead prez.
Video Recap of Breeding Ground Showcase:
The Breeding Ground is a feature of AllHipHop.com which hand picks artists who are often considered “underground,” up-and-coming, independent or just plain hot and introduce them to the site’s larger readership. The Breeding Ground Showcases puts these artists on stage to introduce live audiences to their music. “We always combine bigger names to bring out the people,” says Steve Raze, AllHipHop.com Executive Vice-President, and Editor of The Breeding Ground section of the website, he also managed the stage on Saturday, “M.O.P is doing their 2nd show with us, this is our first time with Ras Kass and dead prez.”
Breeding Ground Showcase has also been going on for 7 years. It started in New York and has moved around the country to Austin for SXSW as well as showcases in Dallas, Miami, Myrtle Beach, and its second year at A3C in Atlanta.
I sat down with several Breeding Ground artists to discuss their upcoming projects and why A3C is so important.
AllHipHop.com: How does it feel to be out at A3C?
Lil Fame (M.O.P.): I mean, I love hip-hop. I love working. So, it’s always good to be out working.
Reks: I love A3C. The people are real nice, that southern hospitality is real.
AllHipHop.com: So, what are you working on right now?
Ras Kass: I released my first fully indie CD, a double CD, called A.D.I.D.A.S (All Day I Dream About Spitting), I’m having fun with that. I’m doing the follow up to that which is called F.I.L.A. (F**k It, Lose it All). I’m actually doing three projects at the same time. I’ve got a group with Cee-Lo and a guy named Jack Splash, we’re called Oxymorons, we’re almost finished with that project, and I created a group with a group called Doc Hollywood, they do more pop and dub step, so I’m having fun with all of that. I’m multi-tasking.
Lil Fame: We just did a joint on Nature Sounds with a production team called Snow Goons from Europe. We’re just working, the new project, Sparta, comes out November 2nd.
Reks: I’ve got an album out right now called R.E.K.S, Rhythmatic Eternal King Supreme. The album came out March 8th, and we basically wanted to pay homage to the late great Biggie Smalls, and dropped it at a time when we could celebrate him and the fact that hip-hop is still alive. The album has DJ Premier, Pete Rock, Alchemist, Styles P is on the joint. Lil Fame did a beat and rocked out with me on the record. It’s a who who and I’m just humbled to have them be a part of it.
AllHipHop.com: Last weekend, in Atlanta, was the BET Hip-Hop Awards. Where last weekend was dress-up, this weekend is totally dress-down. A3C is like “anti-VIP,” it’s one of the only festivals where you can be standing shoulder to shoulder with artists all night. What makes this kind of festival important to hip-hop music and culture?
Reks: It keeps the music that I find the most important, it keeps it current and available to the public and it gets it out to a new breed of kids who don’t regularly get an opportunity to see how much amazing talent goes global. You got cats here from all over the country and artists who tour all over the world. Everybody is coming out in the A, and getting together in the name of hip-hop. It’s a great thing.
Lil Fame: This is home right here, this is what I’m used to. I like to keep it like this, I can stay in touch.
Ras Kass: This is big. This is my first time coming. I am thankful to be invited, I had nothing but a good time. I would say that hip-hop is all of it. I’m not mad at the person who wins a BET Hip-Hop Award. I may not like his music, but that would be my aesthetic opinion. I don’t lump everybody up together. I like songs or I don’t. I live this s**t, I love it. I analyze, I have it down to a science. I’m a connoisseur, I’m not a consumer. Festivals like this? I’ve heard a lot of different kinds of music, All Three Coasts, and the Midwest, a dude’s background, his coastal background, may tell me some s**t that I ain’t never heard. I like hearing what a ni**a from somewhere else has to say, if he says it good, if it’s wack, then I’m not interested. These events are dope. My homeboy kind of related it to New Music Festival, which was a long time ago. I remember Jay-Z outside in a cipher, battling ni**as, it was dope, hip-hop s**t. Hopefully it doesn’t get too political and kind of just stays like this. Evolution obviously and more success, pay ni**as to rap (laughs) but that’s a whole different story.
Catch up with these Breeding Ground Showcase artists via Twitter:
(AllHipHop News) A legendary recording studio that is steeped in Hip-Hop folk lore will reopen this weekend in New York City.
Quad Studios will reopen their doors to unveil a brand new recording studio next weekend, in a newly renovated space in Times Square.
The recording studio is the site where legendary rap star Tupac Shakur was originally shot in 1994, setting off a chain of events that would eventually lead to the deaths of both Shakur (1996) and Biggie Smalls (1997).
Outside of the infamous incident involving Tupac, the Quad Studios was already historical studio that produced dozens of gold and platinum album over the past 30 years.
Artists like Rihanna, Coldplay, Whitney Houston, Jay-Z, LL Cool J, Shabba Ranks, Gerald Levert, Bob Dylan and others have recorded in the studio.
An invitation-only event will take place Friday (October 21) from 7:00PM-10:00PM.
