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Wednesday Fashion Feature: Find Out What G-SHOCK Has In Store For 2010

 

G-SHOCK is a watch brand that has truly stood the test of time – no pun intended! Launched under Casio in 1983, the shock resistant watches “shattered the notion that a watch is a fragile piece of jewelry that needs to be handled with care”, as stated on the company’s official website. Since then, G-SHOCK has become Casio’s flagship timepiece product. Beyond the technological benefits of rocking a G-SHOCK, the brand offers a fun take on telling time with its designs, and has maintained a strong “cool” factor among the urban market throughout the years.

 

Kiki got a chance to catch up with the Assistant General Manager of the brand, Tadashi Shibuya, who is pictured above with renowned tattoo artist Mister Cartoon. Tadashi filled us in on the key ingredients to G-SHOCK’s lasting success, news on upcoming goodies too look forward to and much more:

 

DrJays.com: How did you get your start in the business?

 

Tadashi: “I have been working for CASIO for over 15 years. This is my first and only career! I began at the Casio headquarters in Tokyo, within the timepiece division. I have been involved with international markets, marketing for Casio, and have been in the U.S. since 2006, working for Casio America (a subsidiary of Casio Tokyo). Since I re-located to the U.S., I have been working to build the G-SHOCK brand, a personal favorite of mine here in the US”.

 

DrJays.com: Describe a typical day in the life as the Assistant General Manager of G-SHOCK.

 

Tadashi: “I am the marketing guy. I am always thinking of new product designs and new marketing approaches, even while handling the hectic day to day tasks of emails, meetings, etc. Although every day is a busy day busy, I am constantly trying to meet many different people in the fashion and music industry”.

 

DrJays.com: What is the most exciting project you have worked on with G-SHOCK?

 

Tadashi: “All G-SHOCK models have unique technologies with a purpose and story behind each of them. Whether the concept comes from R&D or through our collaborations with artists, athletes, musicians, etc., the product life-cycle is always an exciting one. Especially if it’s one of personal endeavors, such as the collaboration with Mister Cartoon. “That has been one of my favorite projects thus far, as I had personally seen and marketed it through beginning stages to launch time. At a time when G-SHOCK was increasing in popularity, particularly in street fashion, I wanted to feature another face of G-SHOCK that was street culture, and Mister Cartoon was the epitome of that.

 

 

 

He has such a great personality and amazing design skills. When we had a launch party in LA, he drove me to a nice restaurant with his fine tune 1962 classic Impala SS!”.

 

DrJays.com: Can you fill us in on what to expect from your upcoming spring 2010 collection?

 

Tadashi: “We have a lot of great models coming up for spring 2010. Our “Go Green” collection has it’s roots in the whole eco-movement. The watches are all solar powered and utilize recycled packaging. Of course they come in cool colors, but they’re equipped with eco-friendly solar technology. We want our audience to convey this very important message.

 

 

“Another new collection is the DW6900CB Mirror Face. This series is based on the most popular G-Shock case in the US. We’ve updated the watch face with a mirror treatment and utilized reverse color LCDs to accent the gloss coloring of the case and band”.

 

 

DrJays.com: What keeps G-Shock in the “cream of the crop” when it comes to watches, with rapidly growing competition in the market?

 

Tadashi: “As with every new G-SHOCK release, there is always a re-evaluation of design, treatment and technology to keep the brand fresh. Sure, anyone can make a white, pink or orange watch, but G-SHOCK has stood the test of time and multitude of resistance tests. We’ve been around since 1983 and have been through the highs and lows of the watch market. We have a strong loyal customer base and are so appreciative of our loyalists”.

 

DrJay.com: What is you favorite G-Shock watch of all time?

 

Tadashi: “I like to change it up for weekdays and weekends. For work, I prefer to wear a more classic style G-SHOCK with matte color, like our MTG1500BC-1. It’s a classic analog/digital with Black IP, solar power and atomic timekeeping to keep precise time & date – even for the change of daylight savings time and leap years.

 

 

“On the weekends, my style is more relaxed. My favorite G-SHOCK is the white G-Lide GLX5600-7, designed for action sports. I surf a lot, so the watch’s tide graph gives me the accurate tide information I need”.

 

DrJays.com: Any exciting news/upcoming collaborations in the works?

 

Tadashi: “Everybody wants to know who G-Shock will be collaborating with next. We have an upcoming collaboration with Globe (action sports), T.I.’s brand AKOO and Play Cloths in April. These collaborations have been developed exclusively for those partner brands.

 

 

Only 1,000 pieces of the AKOO x G-SHOCK watch will be producedavailable March 15

 

 

Separately, we have a lot of great models coming this year (sorry, but it’s confidential info). I believe that every collaboration has a unique identity and captures our audience, so I’d expect to see even more growth for the G-SHOCK brand this year”. Shop the latest G-SHOCK watches on DrJays.com by clicking HERE.

E40 Announces Two New Albums; EMI Secures Release Against Leaks

(AllHipHop News) Vallejo, California rapper E-40 has announced he will release his 13th and 14th album on the same date this March.

 

The veteran rapper has assembled an all-star lineup for the two releases, titled Revenue Retrievin’ The Day Shift and Revenue Retrievin’ The Night Shift.

 

Snoop Dogg, Too $hort, Mistah Fab, Gucci Mane, B-Legit, Messy Marv, Clyde Carson, TurfTalk, E-40’s son Droop-E and a host of others are featured on the 38 brand new tracks from E-40.

 

Producers on both discs include Jazze Pha, YV, J. Valentine and Bobby V.

 

The album is a family affair as well, as E-40 also inked a deal with Heavy On The Grind Entertainment, the record label owned by his son Droop-E, which is distributed by EMI.

 

“I’m excited about this album, it’s been a year since I dropped The Ball Street Journal,” E40 told AllHipHop.com in a statement. “It marks an important independent business venture for me. This way, I am able to go back to the basics and run my own campaign.”

 

Due to the fact that nine songs from E40’s last commercial release The Ball Street Journal leaked prior to that album’s release, EMI is taking serious measures to ensure the security of the rapper’s latest effort.

 

“We are thrilled to have the opportunity to provide commercial services for E-40. He has had a massive impact on Hip-Hop in the Bay area and beyond and we’re extremely excited to partner with him on the next phase of his career,” added Dominic Pandiscia, Senior Vice President & General Manager – EMI Label Services.

 

Revenue Retrievin’ The Day Shift and Revenue Retrievin’ The Night Shift are due in stores on March 30th.

Hip-Hop Rumors: Why Treyz Songz Hired Kevin Liles! Tahiry Calls Joe “Wife Beater!” More Trick Daddy/Plies Rumors!

DISCLAIMER:

 

All content within this section is pure rumor and generally have no factual info outside of what the streets have whispered in our ear. Read on.PARTY TIME! CHECK THIS OUT AND CLICK THE IMAGE FOR THE BIG FLYER!

THE DAILY TWO SENSE

 Lil Wayne got his jail date pushed back to March 2 for an emergency dental appointment.  Click here for the news story and the zillion comments.

 

 WHAT? TAHIRY IMPLIES JOE WAS ABUSIVE?

 “Today, we are killing that tattoo of the wife beater!” says Tahiry. Now, I looked and looked for a response by Joe Budden, but I didn’t find one.

 

Is 50 trying to lure Joe into a beef? But, Joe is cool with Eminem now.

THE REASON FOR TREY SONGZ CHANGE IN MANAGEMENT!

OK, this is the deal. As you know Trey’s manager’s name was Delante who is from VA and from what I understand, a real cool dude. D has already Twittered and wished him well. Moving on. Delante’s road manager is Bobby Fisher, my source’s say. Bobby has been down with Trey for a long, long time as well. Here is how it went down. According to my sources, Trey asked Bobby to get a number from his phone. Trey received an email from the people who handles his money. Apparently, rumors says, these accounting people tried to make some sort of side deal with Trey and somehow offered to cut Delante and Bobby out of the money deal. My source says the accounting people decided to text Trey a proposition and Bobby saw it. So, rumors says Bobby sees the message and sends it to Delante. Dude never deleted the sent message when he did it. Trey sees it and questions the loyalty of both men. From what I understand, both men were very involved in Trey’s success. Suddenly it’s all in question!  Now, Kevin Liles is in the “building” and Trey is touring with Jay-Z. Damn, homey!

MORE ON TRICK V PLIES

Not a lot of people are talking about Trick and Plies, at least they aren’t talking to me. I heard a lil’ bit more even though I can’t be sure if this is true. A stripper hit me up and let me know some things. From the source, one of the gentlemen who are in charge at the King of Diamonds is Trick’s father. Now the rumor goes that Plies was in the club and Trick got a call from his father informing him that Plies was in there that night. Trick was still borthered by the incident in Orlando from some time ago. Apparently, Trick and some of his buddies go to visit the Plies. Yada, yada, yada…somebody doesn’t have their jewelry. We’ll see if these items are traded around like Yung Berg’s chain before we determine who lost their stuff.

THE GAME EXPLAINS WORKING WITH ASHANTI!

“Hey, man, it’s ‘No beef 2010. That’s the trending topic on this interview, man. Dre called me and he was like, ‘You got any current-day problems with Ashanti?’ I was like, ‘Nah. I ain’t got no problems with Ashanti.’ She can sing like m####.”  “A and you put her on a hook, it’s automatically radio. So he was like, ‘I’mma have her come down.’ Dre was going through beats and I picked one. I was like, ‘Let’s try her on this hook.’ Me and Ashanti wrote the hook, I went in on the verses and that was it. The song me and Ashanti did, it don’t even have a name for it yet. It’s crazy. We just did that a week ago and I ain’t even name it.”

ILLSEED’S QUICKIES

To all you Mayweather fans, stop by Floydmayweather.com to get the new exclusive clothing and check out what “Money” Mayweather is up to and see what the Floyd Mayweather Foundation is up to these days.

Getting married, Reggie? They say he got that ring and asked Kim K. to marry him.

Looks like Matthew Knowles new son is going to be named Nixon Knowles. Hope he gets the same love as Juelz. But, TMZ is saying that Mr. Knowles knows nothing of a child’s birth.

Vanity Fair sucks. Zoe Saldana, we got your back..and your front too.

I thought this was a joke, but apparently Nicki Minaj is offering $50k for a stuffed animal that she lost while on the David Letterman show.

 Louis Gossett Jr. has cancer…pray.

 EPIC WIN OF THE DAY!

 Ronny Turiaf Blocks Kobe Bryant and gets the best blocked shot of 09 honors! LMAO! I know this is old, but this is epic!

 MAIA CAMPBELL IS LOOKING GOOD AGAIN!

 Fresh out of rehab! YEAH!

 

 

TRAILER: MAFIA MUSIC 2

BEYONCE IS BRAZIL!

The fans in Brazil are serious! They were up mad early and waited for Beyonce to get up. This is what they saw:

 

MAYA’S LOOKING EXCELLENT!

 

 

SIGNS THE WORLD IS COMING TO AN END

 

Peep this mess from Philly.com!

 

 

A 33-year-old man from the city’s Logan section was arrested yesterday and charged with murder, accused of killing a 20-month-old toddler with Drano drain cleaner.

Aaron Pace, a longtime friend of the mother’s family, was babysitting the boy, Suliaman Orrell Kirkland, on Feb. 2 when he doused a rag with Drano and rubbed it into the child’s skin, police said.

“Why did he do it? Because the child, in the defendant’s view, was uncooperative and crying, doing what 20-month-old children do,” Homicide Lt. Philip Riehl said.

The child’s great-grandmother, Connie Kirkland, 74, called the boy “a jewel.”

“To see that he went through all this agony, I can’t understand,” she said.

Neffateria Kirkland, 24, the child’s aunt, said that Pace had told her family the boy mysteriously got hurt when he was giving him a bath.

Family members said they learned only yesterday from police about the alleged circumstances that led to the murder charge.

Several of Pace’s relatives were in the house, in the 4500 block of North 18th Street, but did not witness the alleged killing, Riehl said. Both families live on the same block.

When they discovered the injured boy, one of them called the child’s mother, who then called for medical help, Riehl said.

MAIA CAMPBELL & LOU GOSSETT, WE LOVE YOU!!!

They keep us talking, but if we stop talking about them then they should worry!

-illseed

WHO: illseed.com

WHAT: Rumors

WHERE: AllHipHop.com, MySpace.com/TheIllseed

HOW: Send your rumors and ill pics to illseed at [email protected].

Lil Wayne Jail Term Delayed For Oral Surgery

(AllHipHop News) Rapper Lil Wayne appeared before a New York judge this afternoon (February 9) where his sentencing date was officially postponed, so he could receive oral surgery on his teeth.

 

The rapper, who was supposed to begin serving the one-year sentence today, appeared in court flanked by his lawyer and members of the Cash Money/Young Money Records entourage.

 

Supreme Court Judge Charles Solomon gave the rapper almost another month of freedom to receive dental surgery and postponed his sentencing date, which is now slated for March 2.

 

In October, Lil Wayne pleaded guilty to attempted criminal possession of a weapon, over a July 2007 incident.

 

NYPD officers stopped and searched Lil Wayne’s tour bus in July of 2007 after a performance in New York and found marijuana and a loaded .40-caliber semiautomatic gun.

 

Sources told AllHipHop.com that if he avoids any major incidents, Lil Wayne could be free in as many as eight months.

 

Lil Wayne is also facing gun and drug charges in Arizona over a January 2008 arrest by border agents.

 

In that incident, his tour bus was stopped by border patrol agents, who searched the bus and found three firearms, including the .40 caliber pistol registered to Lil Wayne in Florida.

 

Two of the other weapons were legally registered various individuals on the bus.

 

But police also found over an ounce of cocaine, four ounces of marijuana, 42 grams of ecstasy and drug paraphernalia.

 

In that case, Lil Wayne is charged with one count of felony possession of a narcotic drug for sale, possession of dangerous drugs, possession of drug paraphernalia and misconduct involving weapons.

 

He has pleaded not guilty in that case, which is scheduled to start on March 30th. Lil Wayne immediately became a trending topic on Twitter.

 

Young Money artists Mack Maine and Nicki Minaj, rapper Talib Kweli and singer Erykah Badu weighed in on his sentencing.

 “Extension till march 2nd!” an excited Mack Maine Tweeted. “Thanx for da prayers LOVE y’all…and Wayne said thanx for da prayers too..ym!”

 

“God Bless Dwayne and those who support him,” Nicki Minaj Tweeted.

 

“Hold ur head,” Talib Kweli Tweeted. “We hate seeing our brothers in the prison industrial complex. We need them in the world.”

 

“I hear anybody on here sayin one Ill word toward my brother Wayne,” Erykah Badu Tweeted. “That’s a great brother. Growing just like us. Salute. I WANT YALL TO BLOW Twitter UP tellin Dwayne Carter how much we love him! That’s our brother !! May his time away bring lessons & peace. Wayne is a great human being.”

Busta Rhymes Aims To Give Fans ‘Chemo’ On July 4th

Rapper Busta Rhymes has revealed the tentative release date for his upcoming 9th solo album, titled The Chemo.

 

According to Busta, the album will hit stores as The United States celebrates Independence Day on July 4th.

 

“When it’s sizzling in these streets, I think that is the most appropriate time to let go of this heat that I’m sitting on,” Busta Rhymes told HipHollywood.com. “I been cooking in the kitchen and it’s been feeling good. We about at the point were we about to take it out of the oven from baking add a couple of the final additive and preservatives and seasonings and feed people the full course meal.”

 

According to reports, Busta Rhymes has tapped artists like Dirty Money, Trey Songz, Wyclef and others on his upcoming release.

 

“I called the album The Chemo because it seems like the industry and music overall is dying slowly,” Busta told Billboard in late 2009.

 

“The cancer that’s stricken the business is killing the music, not only from a business standpoint, but also the value of the content and the creativity behind it. I just want to start the first stage of chemotherapy treatment that needs to take place and hopefully inspire others to do their part and contribute to different stages of the cure.”

 

The Chemo is the follow-up to Busta Rhyme’s May 2009 album Back on My B.S. which debuted at #6 on Billboard’s Top 200 Chart.

How To Market (and Protect) Jay Electronica (Part II)

Continuing from last week’s part one, it’s important to understand where I’m coming from on this. I appreciate Hip-Hop lyricism and am a strong advocate of consciousness in rap. When that consciousness includes any of the Six Written Lessons that Registered Members of the Nation of Islam receive, out of which come the ‘120 Lessons’ which the Nation Of Gods and Earth revere and study; and when that is combined with wit, style, street credibility and a mathematically precise beat, for me, then, knowledge, understanding (wisdom is when it is applied) in artistry have reached their apex.

Therefore, when I hear Jay Electronica, I get the Holy Ghost.

However, that isn’t enough, for me to start speaking in tongues, yet.

Why?

Because I have already lived through the Conscious era of Hip-Hop where the Lessons, history, progressive philosophy and great quotes and teachings were weaved into music (and no one ever did that better than Big Daddy Kane) only to see that golden era end, because that consciousness lacked something.

It did not have an economic or business foundation associated with it, that would protect and institutionalize it.

I wrote about this in a very provocative piece at BlackElectorate.com a few years ago: “The Consciousness Of Wu-Tang Clan, Suge Knight, and Jay-Z.

Business acumen, institution building, and shrewd political maneuvering are the only way to protect conscious artistry.

Now, add to this my professional background and my focus on Jay Electronica becomes clearer.

As a former personal manager (Wu Tang Management); political strategist (Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney); economist (African Union); and journalist (The Final Call and Wall St. Journal) I never simply operate in the world of data, information, and knowledge for its own sake.

Those potential forms of power must be applied to influence reality for the better.

That’s the Hip-Hoppreneur ™ worldview that I apply to the promise and challenges of making Jay Electronica an incredible success (beyond what he already is) on more than one level.

Convert The Political Progressive Hip-Hop Fan Base Into A Constituency. This is coming from a successful political strategist (Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney’s 2004 Campaign). If Jay Electronica can accept a leadership profile (which is something he will have to search his own heart on and be at peace with) a major key to his success will be to court Hip-Hop’s independent political underground and convert them into his “supporters” rather than as simply fans. He has to allow people to see him as more than just an entertainer and give them reasons to “vote” for him as a change agent. This is part of the basis of my caution about how closely he aligns himself with certain conscious artists who are really only rhetorical lyricists. I want Jay Electronica to do tracks with them, and I want this segment to be enthusiastic about him creatively, but the real marginal utility (best function) of this group is to mobilize them around issues (and song concepts that highlight them), that result in a fiercely independent political mainstreaming of him. What do I mean?

Two examples come to mind – Jadakiss in 2004 with Why?”; and Nas in 2009 with “Sly Fox.” Both songs opened up each artist to new audiences, or significantly changed the way they were perceived by certain segments of existing audiences. I want the same to happen for Jay.

This is the key to what I call the credible crossover – when an emerging fan base claims you, without you losing your current or core group of supporters.

“Why?” had a lot of intangibles working for it – like an election year which polarized major radio companies around political parties and an anti-Clear Channel sentiment over the corporation’s perceived favoring of President Bush – which contributed to so many competing stations being willing to play a song that included the explosive charge, “Why did Bush knock down the towers?” The net result was the temporary crossing over of Jadakiss from the street credible rapper category to a voice for political change, embraced by the so-called “backpakers,” who previously had little use for him.

Nas’ “Sly Fox” aimed at Fox News Channel had some of the same dynamics (though Nas is as much Poet-Novelist as street credible) and was a stroke of genius converting him into the kind of griot (singers in African societies who rallied armies) that the great Cheikh Anta Diop wrote about. Nas was already respected by the political underground but his respect for Islam, reverence for Black nationalism, and even a stream of Pan-Africanism – three areas that at times make the more socialist-oriented progressives uncomfortable – had placed a ceiling on his popularity with this group. That changed with “Sly Fox.” The political ‘mainstreaming’ was complete when Nas appeared on The Colbert Report. If I were quarterbacking the gameplan I’d judge it a success and know that Jay Electronica had hit the right tone when he had appeared on The Daily Show, The Colbert Report or to a lesser extent the Real Time With Bill Maher program (Maher’s political edginess could make a strong appearance by Jay the stuff that legends are made of) and a select group of other talk shows.

With the right song concepts and promotion (viral, street, and guerilla) I believe Jay could surpass what either Jada or Nas did. The key would be his ability or those around him to make political noise in respected political forums. Here is where the data, information, and knowledge he feeds from needs to be translated into media deliverables and publicity in the form of op-eds, press releases, open letters, blogs, his signing of petitions (carefully, though, only for the right causes) and stimulating intellectual performances in interviews. Here I strongly suggest Jay E. absorb six people when it comes to delivering hot interviews that always reinforce a brand, image, and reputation: Jay-Z, Muhammad Ali, Immortal Technique, Star of Star and Buc Wild, 50 Cent, and Minister Farrakhan. Very few music industry publicists can navigate this kind of substantive and strategic terrain, as most of them primarily rely upon ‘industry’ networking and spinning a Rolodex. What I think is required for someone like Jay Electronica is the industry-standard people-skills schmoozing, combined with a reading of historic and topical books, staying on top of local and international news, and briefings in a way he prefers and can digest. Yes, you are reading me correctly – Jay Electronica deserves power brokering and morning memos, like Obama, and on a regular basis from his team. He needs fuel for his intellectual fire, consistent with his image, and which allow him to credibly speak the different languages of his audience segments (current and emerging). I can count on one hand, the marketing and PR professionals in the business capable of reinforcing the kind of brand Jay needs – a non-industry leadership profile with an interesting storyline of celebrity and reality.

But I do have great respect for Helio PR (www.heliopr.com) and Sasha Brookner for their consciousness, shrewd strategies, ill Rolodex, and ability to energetically work both grassroots and high-profile audiences – qualities this challenging era requires. In one of our recent building sessions, Sasha made some points that I thought were critically important for keeping Jay’s brand, image and reputation in alignment: “Electronica should be careful not to conduct interviews with promiscuity. Each piece of press should serve a purpose and rationale. He should 1) go minimal and not over-saturate 2) fight for Q&A formatted stories 3) Do some Op-Ed pieces for Huffington Post, New Yorker, etc. where his voice isn’t filtered 4) Target unexpected media outlets to build a contrasting fanbase. You got people on the sidelines eager to say ’see it was all hype.’ He should dismiss the hype himself in order to take it out of their hands – music speaks for itself. Many rap artists with the greatest career longevity moved into this genre gradually without being a product of initial buzz so it’s important not to get caught up in the ephemeral rapture. Souljah Boy will never have the career span of a Mos Def. Electronica got a lot of rap icons co-signing for him and it doesn’t hurt he has a ride or die chick with a cult-like female fanbase that are going to be checking for her love life.”

Ensure International Appeal. I love the trailer for Exhibit A  and its international appeal. Now, let’s take it a step further. Let’s do some mixtapes, remixes and collaborations with the powerful artists affiliated with the Hip Hop Revolucion collective (http://www.hiphoprevolucion.org/blog). Or, Jay Electronica could do a track saluting different cities and their “street” histories and traditions – Toronto, Canada; Kingston, Jamaica; London, England; Johannesburg, South Africa; Nairobi, Kenya; Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; Tokyo, Japan; and Beijing, China. All he might need is a researcher and historian who could contact individuals on the ground in these countries (easy because of the fan base) and a few scholars and experts who would be happy to provide details on life on the ground and the culture of the people. Or, they could talk to immigrants living here from all of those hot spots, and get a feel for the culture. Jay Electronica’s grasp of the streets, strategic philosophy and principles could be weaved together with these details. He could speak about local life, connect it to similarities in Philly, New York, Atlanta, New Orleans, Chicago, Houston and Los Angeles. He could make fun of rappers here, who wouldn’t know how to find these places on a map. Diddy could arrange the musical production team to mix in instruments in the tradition of these countries. As advisers, perhaps, Diddy could call in Quest Love of the Roots (who I’m sure appreciates Jay Electronica’s nods to Philly as much as I do) to work with him on the arrangements. This one track alone could open Jay Electronica to concerts worldwide, remixes with popular local artists, and international sales abroad in places no other rapper has enjoyed. If he needs help with Africa I have A&Rs in Southern Sudan and Nairobi ready to go (smile). Any Hip-Hop artist who is just depending on, or trying to eat off of record sales in America is hustling backward. The real money is overseas and its time for an artist with street credibility here to expand their marketing and go get it. Jay Electronica could easily qualify.

In addition, with the right song concepts and political stances, Jay-Electronica’s grasp of the language of Islam, could give him a Muhammad Ali type appeal/effect but, I won’t utter how or why in public, right now.

Remember, the successful marketing of Electronica is partially a military maneuver. I’m functioning right now as a spiritual rear echelon.

Do It Yourself – Jay Electronica TV. One of the things that I’m so glad that Jay Electronica appreciates, from what I have learned about his thinking, is that being “signed” to a major record label is no longer the height of success. Let me be blunt – the record label is fading as the premier platform for the marketing, promotion, and branding of an artist, and rapidly as music’s most powerful sales and distribution point. That’s why its dangerous for Jay Electronica’s fans to wait on Sony, Warner, Universal, or EMI as record labels; or New York, Atlanta, Los Angeles, Chicago and Houston radio stations; or MTV and BET as video outlets; to suddenly embrace him and give him shine and burn. What we need is Jay Electronica TV – a place where we can get that daily blog, weekly verse, and celebrity and reality footage. Jay could sell his music directly to the masses from the website, right now. He could write a short book, or release a chapter from an upcoming Jay Electronica autobiography. Let’s put up the footage of all public and community-oriented events Jay Electronica is involved in online (like the recent touching benefit on behalf of raising awareness on diabetes: https://allhiphop.com/stories/news/archive/2010/01/14/22096541.aspx). Relying on rap blogs, urban radio, and mainstream video outlets to get the story out and make news is too slow when you are a phenomenon like this. The key is controlling the message and projection of image as much as possible.

To that end I was surprised to see that two domain names were available still – jayelectronica.tv and jayelectronicatv.com. So knowing I was going to put this out there, I secured them in advance. I intend to transfer them personally or professionally to Jay Electronica’s control, free of charge, word is bond.

The ‘We Need Something Realer!’ Campaign. Jay Electronica (The Leader) Meets Jay Electronica (The Artist). This, again, is potentially the most difficult of all of the dynamics to navigate. I’ve yet to meet an artist who wanted to be a leader as much as they wanted to be an artist, deep down. That’s fine, I don’t believe in trying to make a person do what they don’t want to do. I’ve had these discussions with influential political leaders, “gang” members, rappers, and entrepreneurs. Although I have seen potential in them as leaders beyond their current profile, I’ve come to realize that if a person doesn’t see themselves in that light or want to pursue it, you are better off leaving them alone on that subject, being patient, and appreciating them for what they currently are – otherwise they will only eventually undermine whatever you may set in motion with them. Sometimes you can think more of a person than they think of themselves. Sometimes you can believe more in a person than they believe in themselves. But no matter how bad you want them to do more, you have to respect their free-will to be less, if they choose. It is their life, not yours.

I say that to say to all of us who may want Jay Electronica to assume the responsibility of Saviour of the culture, Street Consciousness rap Messiah, or the Divine Reconciler of North and South rap music; unless Jay Electronica wants that, it ain’t gonna happen, and its not fair to expect that of him.

In addition, building a leadership profile out of an artist or celebrity status, is the work of a professional team. An artist simply can’t do it by themselves (although they can guide the group effort). Most artists fail in making the evolution because they simply don’t have the right people around them capable of developing concepts and plans that balance culture, politics, and business, nor do they have the ability to execute them. In addition, because tedious administrative and management work kills the creative spirit, artists don’t pay attention to certain areas as much as they should.

I call balancing all of this the challenge of the Hip-Hoppprenur ™.

The Hip-Hoppreneur ™ challenge is not just helping an artist mature and develop as a leader, but to do it in a way that is good for their personal development and career as artists. I don’t believe one has to pick between commerce and the community, especially if one has knowledge of self and the science of business.

We can make money and make moves that benefit the individual and collective.

To that end, and if Jay Electronica wants to do it, a campaign around developing him as a leader could be achieved easily because his image, brand, and reputation, so far, have all the necessary elements and are still in alignment.

One could develop a whole marketing campaign around one phrase, which Just Blaze shouts out on ‘Exhibit C,’ ‘We Need Something Realer!’

Jay works out the campaign theme, before Just Blaze amplifies it for us, by spitting, “That’s why when you talk that tough talk I never feel ya/ You sound real good and you play the part well/ But the energy you given off is so unfamiliar/ I don’t feel ya.

Judging by the unanimous head-nodding reaction to these lines, Jay Electronica has practically presented a political slogan for those of us in Hip-Hop who are tired of the era of “keepin’ it real gone bad.”

We now want to vote for Jay Electronica as the leader of this badly-needed movement.

And the “we” is a powerful bloc. It’s gang-bangers – real live Latin Kings, Crips, and Bloods etc… – who think that most of these flag-claiming rappers are perpetrating a fraud. It’s young single parent mothers struggling against the negative influence of rap on their children. It’s older fans who don’t understand how acting dumb and ignorant became a successful marketing strategy. It’s fans who feel we shouldn’t have to choose between political consciousness and street credibility. It’s the edgy, radical and independent-minded who don’t think rappers should be this non-threatening. It’s the youth who are ready for a message but want us to admit there is nothing wrong with packaging it with a catchy hook, sense of humor, and innovative video. My good friend and genius Bomani Armah (http://www.notarapper.com/) proved this with his 2007 ‘Read A Book’ phenomenon.

So what “We need somethin’ realer!” must translate into is real actions and deeds, projected properly through the community and media that demonstrate that Jay Electronica is the one who is realer than the rest.

Right now, before an album drops under the ‘We Need Something Realer!’ campaign Jay Electronica could be on a tour speaking at and building with those in homeless shelters (how obvious is that considering he was once homeless), prisons, street organizations (gangs) community town hall meetings, colleges, professional and civic conferences and conventions, Nation of Islam Saviours’ Days and the Parliaments of the Nation Of Gods and Earths. The available honorariums would pad his pocket and the networking would open up non-music industry opportunities as well as strengthen his connection to several different segments in the marketplace, who would adopt him as their own as soon as they hear him.

Electronica could be sitting down with community leaders, building with Members of Congress similar to how I arranged for David Banner to meet with his Congressman, Bennie Thompson in 2005.

When I hear that phrase, “We need something realer!” I know what it can mean, and so do others: a marketing campaign that’s good for Jay, good for the community, and good for business.

Right Place, Right Time, Right Team. First, things, first – we aren’t having this conversation if Just Blaze doesn’t produce one of the most powerful instrumentals any producer has ever made, in ‘Exhibit C.’ This is important because Jay Electronica, in my opinion (as is the case with the handful of truly special artists) requires a master song arranger and ‘debut’ concept/theme album. He needs a sound that lends itself to almost a movie soundtrack feel, which Just Blaze can deliver. But let’s take it a step further. I’m not sure that Just Blaze is an arranger like a Diddy is. Puffy (please let me call him that) is a genius and maybe the greatest arranger in Hip-Hop (he is not a producer) history (50 Cent is a very close second). One of the things that makes the Notorious B.I.G.’s debut album, ‘Ready To Die’ a classic is that Puffy resisted the temptation to make it an album filled with hits. Rather, he built it as a hit album. Puffy is the best I have ever seen in Hip-Hop at mastering song placement (RZA is a very close second) – the order in which songs appear on an album, and he is the only arranger I would trust in making a theme or concept album for a rap artist using multiple producers. I believe that if Diddy was the executive producer of a Jay Electronica album he would know how to place Just Blaze in the lead producer’s position and bring in a few others like Drumma Boy, Mannie Fresh, DJ Premier, No I.D. and maybe Kanye West and Dr. Dre. I even trust Puff to find the right R & B producer to do the right kind of track for Jay E. Don’t you think Puffy could kill a collaboration between Jay Electronica and Erykah Badu, or say Jay Electronica and Keyshia Cole, and what about Jay Electronica and Rihanna? Hell, Puff (more spiritual and conscious than you think) could even make a Jay Electronica-Queen Yonasda (http://www.queenyonasda.com/) collabo go places no song has ever gone before!

I do not believe anyone could have planned the stars being in alignment around this one artist as they have been thus far – except the Divine Supreme Being (bear with me dear atheists, you already know I love you). Just Blaze making the beat; Diddy getting behind it; DJ Enuff searching his heart and deciding to play the record on New York radio’s most influential station; and Tolu Olorunda’s important early cultural interpretation of ‘Exhibit C’ at AllHipHop.com – everything kind of ‘on its own’ has been happening naturally and according to universal order.

To conclude this marketing plan on that point – while the first law of the universe is motion, its second law is order. The right team has to help Jay Electronica (and any artist) make the right moves in business and in the broader culture – bring order to the phenomenal energy and motion that lyricism and hot beats originate. This has to be about more than making hot records. There are just too many factors at work. Technological and demographic change alone make it necessary for artists nowadays to have a team that can go places they can’t, and protect their creative spirit from the draining influence of paperwork, administration, management and strategic planning. Jay Electronica needs to be put in a comfortable position where he has ideas, concepts, and opportunities flowing his way in a manner that doesn’t overwhelm him but empowers him to make final decisions and not get robbed.

I hope my public effort is only a sign of what he eventually receives in this regard.

He’s in a profound creative and spiritual place right now and he needs and deserves for things to happen and fall in place for him, in perfect timing.

We just can’t leave this up to a Mystery God, or a music industry establishment that insists on doing things ‘the old way’ – especially when the implications of what this artist represents become more clear to the worst enemies of the culture.

We really do need something realer.

Cedric Muhammad is a business consultant, political strategist, and monetary economist. He is also a former GM of Wu-Tang Management and a Member of the African Union’s First Congress of African Economists. He is author of the book, The Entrepreneurial Secret (http://theEsecret.com/). His talk show, ‘The Cedric Muhammad and Black Coffee Program’ can be viewed every Wednesday from 12 to 5 PM EST (USA) at: http://www.cedricmuhammad.com/media/. He can be contacted via e-mail at: cedric(at)cmcap.com

Melyssa Ford Launches Play About Video Vixens

(AllHipHop News) Video model Melyssa Ford has revealed details about an upcoming play that she developed with the director/writer of Jim Jones’ play.

 

 The play is titled For Vixens Who Have Considered Homicide When the Video Became Too Much.

 

According to Ford, who was recently featured in Chris Rock’s movie Good Hair, the “theatrical experience” is based around her life and her ten years in the music industry, as one of the top video models.

 

“When I saw Jim Jones play I was really inspired by it,” Ford told TeamYee.TV at the Belvedere Lounge in Miami during Superbowl weekend.. “That night I had to meet the director/writer/producer of the play… and we created a theatrical experience based on my life.”

 

Vixens Who Have Considered Homicide will feature Ford singing and dancing in the upcoming play.

 

In related news, Ford stated she was working with 51 Minds and VH1 on a new reality show with actresses Elise Neal and Claudia Jordan.

 

“51 Minds bought the show, so did VH1,” Ford revealed. “We shot the pilot, myself Elise Neal and Claudia Jordan. I just saw a cut of the first episode and I was blown away… it wasn’t even mastered and it looked amazing.”

 

According to reports, the series is titled Single, Sexy and Starving.

TOP 5 WACKEST DEAD OR ALIVE: illseed

I know many of you are like me in some ways.

You love Hip-Hop and yet you are sick of these wack a** rappers!

Honestly, they are everywhere! I don’t know about you, but I have had to live with roaches in my lifetime and these wack rappers are the new roach! They just won’t go away no matter what you do. You spray the Raid and they eventually are immune to the bug spray.

What is even worse is the people get used to living with the roaches and accept them in their homes instead of trying to do away with them. Sucks to love Hip-Hop these days, eh?

But if you love this culture the way we do, you are forced to work it out – til death do us part! That’s why we are here, right?

Anyway, I thought I’d have a lil’ fun at the expense of rappers that we deem wack. Now, I have to allow you, the people, to speak for me. Because, I am unable to partake in the festivities. (I would get fired or killed!) However, I would like you to craft your own Top 5 Wackest Dead or Alive list and post them below in the comments section. Obviously, we want to be fair to the dead, since they are unable to defend their gate.

To be clear, this is not to specify a particular type of rapper or region, because wackness lives and resides everywhere. It can stand on any block and be safe…until now!

If you want, you can “tweet me” at twitter.com/illseed and also let me know that way.

Top 5 Wackest Dead or Alive

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Sade to Make First Appearance on 106 & Park

(AllHipHop News) Today (February 9), revered singer Sade will begin her TV promotional appearances for her new album with an introduction to younger fans via a performance and interview on 106 & Park.

Today also marks the U.S. release on her highly anticipated sixth studio LP Soldier of Love, the first album in 10 years following 2000’s multi-platinum Lover’s Rock.

Sade Adu and her band burst onto the music scene in 1984 with the release of Diamond Life. With the singles “Smooth Operator” and “Your Love Is King,” the project was an international success and sold over 6 million copies.

Two more multiplatinum albums followed in the 80s with Promise (1985) and Stronger Than Pride (1988). In 1992, Sade released what many consider her magnum opus and one of the greatest love albums of all time in Love Deluxe.

To date, she is one of the most successful artists in music history, selling over 50 million albums throughout her 26 year career.

While younger fans who were children at Sade’s last release may not be familiar with her work, many mature Hip-Hop fans and artists are celebrating the British singer’s return.

“This is why I still have a blog,” Kanye wrote on his personal site when Sade first announced her return. “To be part of moments like this….new Sade…how much better [is] this than everything else?”

“Sade is unbelievably incredible,” added Busta Rhymes on his Twitter. “Soldier of Love in stores Feb. 9th…Watch what happens.”

Drake is also excited about the new album, and is hopeful to secure Sade for his own anticipated LP.

“I had a wish list for my managers of everybody I wanted involved that stem beyond Hip-Hop,” explained Drake to MTV News about his forthcoming debut. “I’m really trying to work with Sade.”

Sade guest appearances have been an extreme rarity, with most of her work being confined to her 3-member self-named band. But the songstress has made her love of Hip-Hop known recently when asked about her personal favorites.

“I like songs with sort of more heavy rap. I like Raekwon’s album [Only Built 4 Cuban Linx II], you know from the Wu-Tang Clan,” Sade explained to radio host Tom Joyner. “I listen to just about anything that speaks to me, and anything that’s sort of got a bit of soul and a bit of real feeling in it.”

Touched, Raekwon reciprocated the praise by recording a humorous, lip-synching video of Stevie Wonder’s “Overjoyed” for the singer.

Additionally, Hip-Hop fans learned last week that Sade and legendary Queens lyricist Nas quietly worked together in 2000 for an expected remix single to “Lover’s Rock.” According to producer Salaam Remi, the singer’s label Sony has possession of the track.

Over the years, Sade has allowed her music to be sampled and covered by numerous artists including Mobb Deep (“Where Ya Heart At”), Lil Kim (“Single Black Female”), Inspectah Deck (“Trouble Man”), AZ (“Pay Back”), Krayzie Bone (“Hard Time Hustlin’”), and Les Nubians (“Sweetest Taboo”).

Sade’s 106 & Park appearance will be today at 6PM EST.

This evening, she will appear on the David Letterman Show at 11:35 EST.

AllHipHop.com’s review of Soldier of Love can be viewed HERE.