“Crooks and Crack”
“Crooks and Crack”
“Came A Long Way”
“Not My Love”
Criminal charges against Kanye West and his manager Don Crowley have officially been dropped, after the pair fulfilled their community service obligations.
According to TMZ.com, West and Crowleys attorneys appeared in a Los Angeles court this morning (January 29) and provided proof that the pair worked 50 hours at the Red Cross and completed an anger management class.
The rapper and his managers attorneys struck a deal with a judge to dismiss the charges if they successfully completed the court mandated services.
West and Crowley were hit with criminal charges after they smashed two photographers camera equipment during an altercation inside of LAX on September 11, 2008.
They were originally charged with vandalism, battery and grand theft but all charges have officially been dismissed.
“Tipsy Texing”
“Go Crazy”
Sean Diddy Combs, Queen Latifah and Pharrell Williams are teaming with BET, Pepsi and Procter & Gamble to present Saving Ourselves – Helpfor Haiti telecast.
The two-hour concert will be held at the AmericanAirlines Arena in Miami Florida and aired live on BET, Centric, MTV and VH1 on Friday, February 5 at 8:00 PM.
Proceeds from the event will go to Yele Haiti, CARE, Project Medishare and Childrens Safe Drinking Water.
“The devastation that has occurred in Haiti has broken my heart, Pharrell Williams said in a statement today. My hope is that we can raise enough money to sustain a few of the relief organizations for quite some time as there is a lot of work to be done over there. The goal is not only to bring immediate relief to Haiti but to also rebuild the country and help the country move forward.”
Wyclef Jean, who has raised tens of millions of dollars to help his native land, will give a special performance during the telecast. “We have all been profoundly affected by the suffering in Haiti, while being moved by the faith and optimism of the Haitian people,” said Frank Cooper, Chief Consumer Engagement Officer, PepsiCo Americas Beverages. “Now is the time for action, for raising awareness and inspiring people to give to Haiti.”
A variety of artists and celebrity hosts will take part in answering the phones and taking donations during the telethon.
Tickets for the benefit concert are available for purchase at www.ticketmaster.com, the AmericanAirlines Arena ticket office (www.aaarena.com) or 1-800-745-3000 (toll free).
CLICK HERE FOR THE LIVE STREAM ACROSS AMERICA.The staff of AllHipHop.com will be joined by Styles P, Naughty By Nature, Saigon, and NY Oil for the first ever Hip-Hop 4 Haiti Benefit Relief Concert Series.
For 3 hours, a myriad of Hip-Hop artists past and present will grace the stage to raise funds for the Haitian Support Project Relief Fund.
The requested minimum donation is $20, and all proceeds will go to Haiti.
Other confirmed artists for the event include Emilio Rojas, ESSO, Ron Browz, DJ J. Ronin, and DJ Webstar.
A little over 2 weeks have passed since Haiti was devastated by a 7.0 earthquake.
To date, relief agencies continue to struggle in preventing child trafficking/molestation, shelter for the displaced, and removal of the excess debris from destroyed structures.
The goal of the concert series is to utilize Hip-Hops inclusive power to address the moral obligation of the international community in Haitis revitalization.
The concert will be held tomorrow (January 30) at the National Black Theater, located on 2031 5 Avenue, New York, NY 10035-1503.
Pictures and footage will be posted on AllHipHop.com following the event.
Atlanta has always been a city with artists that has had strong movements that seemed to willingly put the streets on their backs. Rappers like Young Jeezy, Gucci Mane, Boyz n tha Hood, Shawty Lo and numerous others hold hip-hop down in the city and have transformed it into a breeding ground for great talent. Well if your ears are close to the streets, then you might be familiar with a new movement called Duct Tape Entertainment (DTE), founded by Big Bank Black and Alley Boy.
Hailing out of East Atlantas Zone 6, this family owned company has built enough buzz that the two main rappers finalized 50/50 deals with Atlantic in a 3 month span last year, with no Internet buzz or radio airplay. Impressive to say the least. While attaining numerous notable features on songs from Gucci Mane, CTE, Maino, Wacka Flocka and Rocko to name a few, they have also received cosigns from radio DJs across the nation. Its clear that (DTE) is right around the corner from national success with a movement as strong as we have ever seen in Atlanta.
AllHipHop.com: What good wit ya man?
Big Bank Black: Out here getting a tattoo, we out here killin it.
AllHipHop.com: What kind of tat are you getting man?
Big Bank Black : Im getting a cross on the back of my head man, so God can watch my back man. You feel me? What you got going on?
AllHipHop.com: Chillin on it man. So where you from man?
Big Bank Black: Im from Atlanta. Originally born in Atlanta. Edgewood, Zone 6, East Side of Atlanta.
AllHipHop.com: Ok, Zone 6, thats familiar, a lot of people talk about Zone 6.
Big Bank Black: Yea, yea a lot of folks, Gucci, n***as like that, all them n***as from out that way. Im from Mason, they from the Bouldercrest. Im from Mason Avenue, like the slum part of Zone 6
AllHipHop.com: Right, so tell me a little about how you got your name?
Big Bank Black: Well you know Jade gave me the Big Bank s**t, but you know I been Black, rap name, street name forever. Like n***as been calling me Black since I was 20 years old or whatever. That comes from my skin color. But you know my street name, just raised up with me and you know Alley and Jade were just playing around, Big Bank Black, playing around, so and I came in the studio and did a record and when she said my name on the administration papers, she said the name on the papers is Big Bank Black instead of Black, and thats how the name came about.
AllHipHop.com: Now when did you first start recording records?
Big Bank Black : Last February, almost a year ago.
AllHipHop.com: So I heard the Try It Out joint, that sounds tight and it got a lot of response, I saw you were at Club Body Tap in the video. That looked tight.
Big Bank Black: Yea, I just received the first copy of my newest mixtape out n***a Reckoning. Its a classic!. I received it and its got all kinds of s**t on there. Street s**t, club s**t. Its really stuff you can play in the beauty shop or the trap, you know what Im sayin? Either way we hit both sides of the mixtapes.
AllHipHop.com: Youve signed Alley Boy right?
Big Bank Black : Yea thats my brother.
AllHipHop.com: How did you guys build the buzz and get signed to Atlantic with no real radio airplay or Internet presence? How did everything start so quickly?
Big Bank Black : It was the streets, like the streets backed us up 100%. Like at the end of the day we just killed the streets, stayed on all the street corners. Alley had a big buzz because you know hes real lyrical. Like everybody knows of him. All the big artists and s**t know of him and he was just Atlantas best-kept secret. n***as tried to hide this s**t. Then when I dropped the Try It Out, it brought their eyes over to Duct Tape [Entertainment] and once they started looking over here, they looked up under the leaves and saw Alley, know what Im saying?
AllHipHop.com: Right.
Big Bank Black: He was locked up, got out and signed to Atlantic less than two weeks from his release, signed to Atlantic on a 50/50 joint venture. We got buzz instead of budget, so that means thats money that we get to keep. You know they really blessed us, shouts out to Julie out there. They really blessed us over there.
AllHipHop.com: What is one thing that you feel Duct Tape is bringing to the game, what would you say is it?
Big Bank Black: Real s**t.
AllHipHop.com: Real s**t? (Laughs)
Big Bank Black: Authentic. You can put authentic. Because I dunno, you know? Just put authentic. However you say it. Authentic s**t. Know what Im saying. None of that knock off Gucci s**t, you know that real s**t. n***as got that knock off Prada s**t. You know how you have that knock off fake s**t?
AllHipHop.com: Yea
Big Bank Black: This is aint the knock off fake s**t. This the real s**t. You gonna get 100% Black. 100% Alley Boy. You gonna get 100% Duct Tape s**t. Like we put our lifestyle on wax. You know what Im saying? Give it to them raw, uncut. You know America loves gangster s**t. They like gangster movies. You know what Im saying? The biggest box office movies be gangster movies. We bringing that gangster s**t back really. I do music and what I always tell people is that my music is gonna whats gonna keep their attention. Alley do music that is whats gonna keep us there. You know what Im saying. Like thats the difference. Im gonna pick up all the little s**t that Alleys music dont pick up, and he gonna pick up all the s**t I dont pick up and the two work hand in hand. You feel me.
AllHipHop.com: I wanted to ask you, who are some of the artists that you are working with right now?
Big Bank Black: Well Alleys been doing s**t with Wacka, Gucci, n***as like that. He did some s**t with CTE, Slick Pulla. You know just all the real n***as. Alley is doing a lot of s**t with n***as on the West Coast. I just got most of my people. I got Rocko, Rasheeda, Cannon, Young Ralph, you know. We f**k with everybody that f**ks with us, you know what Im saying, you either with us or against us, thats how we kick it, know what Im saying. Either way it dont matter.
AllHipHop.com: So who has been doing the production.
Big Bank Black : We got in house producers. I do beats too. Me and my in house producers. We try to build everything from the ground up. We arent no bandwagon dudes. They wouldnt f**k with us then so why we just gonna jump on the bandwagon. Our s**ts about to break and we are gonna bring our own sound to the game, know what Im saying. We really f**k with underground producers to help people come up.
AllHipHop.com: So the All-Star Game is coming up soon out in Dallas this year, are yall gonna make it out this year?
Big Bank Black: We are gonna flood the s**t down there man. s**t we are gonna decorate the whole town, you gonna see Duct Tape everywhere! (laughs) They f**k with me hard down there in Dallas. I f**k with Bay Bay, Tape Masters Inc., I know a couple of dudes down there. I f**k with them. Its nothing, we gonna be home in when we go for All Star weekend.
AllHipHop.com: Tell me a little bit about Duct Tape Entertainment and how it started. Tell me about the movement, all about that.
Big Bank Black: Originally, me and Alley, we had caught a case together, but in the case Alley ended up going to prison. When he went to prison we caught us a case with pistol charges and weed charges, it was my first case so I ended up getting probation time. But it was Alleys fifth offense so he went to prison. So when he went in to prison I was like f**k it, I started the company Duct Tape, so when he got out he could do his thing. I just took really, mainly people out of the neighborhood. Its a neighborhood, like a family thing. Changing a lot of lives and turning everything on. I went out to the West side to get my partner Ricardo, my business partner, along with S6, thats another one of our partners and we put everything together. The whole Atlanta, West, East, South, pushing for the real n***as. Its really just a family affair. In the video on 106 and Park, thats all family. I known all those people 10 years or better. You know what Im saying? We just wanna bring a whole new movement to the world.
AllHipHop.com: Thats what up I definitely checked out a lot of the videos on YouTube and it sounds like yall got a nice movement going.
Big Bank Black: Is the biggest and realest movement to come out of Atlanta. They can mark my word. You can mark my word. These aint no n***as I just met doing this music s**t. Like its n***as mommas, aunties, all my n***as locked up in prison, its just one big family. We never did contracts until it was a major deal. Thats when it came because it was all loyalty in the family. We aint worried about that over there. Some people try to ask about working with my brother. Is there any competition? Its no competition because if he won I won. If I win he won, know what Im saying?
(AllHipHop News) The murders of Tupac Shakur and The Notorious B.I.G. will be subjects of a new VH1 documentary series that will premiere next month.
The new documentary series, titled Famous Crime Scenes, will look into the murders or deaths of a number of famed celebrities.
Shakur was gunned down on the Las Vegas strip in September of 1996 and died from his wounds on September 13 at University Medical Center in Las Vegas, Nevada.
His rival, Christopher Notorious B.I.G. Wallace, was gunned down just six months later, in front of the Peterson Auto Museum in Los Angeles, California, on March 9, 1997.
Their murders have been extensively reported on and investigated, yet no one has ever been charged in the deaths of either superstar rapper, both of whom are among the top-selling Hip-Hop artists of all time.
Five other artists who died violently will also be featured in Famous Crime Scenes, which includes pieces on John Lennon, Anna Nicole Smith, Selena, Marvin Gaye and Michael Jackson.
The show is part of VH1’s new programming lineup, which features the debut of nine new series, including Famous Crime Scenes.
Other shows set to debut in February include Transform Me, a series about for trans gendered women who give fashion tips to one of their friends.
Another is Don’t Forget the Lyrics, which is a game show that challenges contestants to remember the words to various songs.
Famous Crime Scenes will debut on VH1 February 12.
DrJays.com and DJPremium.com held theShop 4 Haiti event last night at La Pomme nightclub in New York City. Thanks to incredible donations from some of the sites’ favorite brands, it turned out to be a SUPER sample sale, with prices for product starting as low as $5.00.
Aleesha Smalls and Monee Perry (Rocawear/Roc4Life.com) and Boss Lady
Edmund Hon (Marketing Director, Eight 732)
Happy shoppers scoopin’ up deals
The amazing DJ Miss Saigon, who donated her time on the night (check out her Louis Vuitton slipmats!)
Boss Lady with Datwon Thomas, Editor-In-Chief of GlobalGrind.com
Bags from Rocawear and rows of sneakers from FILA
The club was turned into a pop-up shop for one night only!
Ebonne Jones (“Eb The Celeb”) going through the racks
DrJays.com’s Laurrell Smith and Ericka Mitton help Kel Spencer package up his goods
Lovely ladies of DrJays.com: Kiki and Laurrell Smith
Def Jam’s Jamal Jimoh scanning the racks
Rikers (Blue Route/Stall & Dean), Karen Civil (DrJays.com Live contributor/KarenCivil.com) and Boss Lady
Boss Lady with the inspirational Martine Cauthen, survivor of Haiti’s earthquake, who spoke on the night and reminded everyone of the night’s purpose. 100% of proceeds on the night were made into money orders that were sent to UNICEF today (see the image below) to assist their efforts with victims of Haitis devastating earthquake.
There were clothes left over on the night and we’re currently looking at the best way to ship them to Haiti to those who need them. A huge thank you to those who came out and shopped, those who promoted the event on Twitter, Facebook, etc, and most of all, thanks to the amazing brands for allowing such a special event to take place: Flud Watches, Blac Label, Eight 732, Rocawear, Ed Hardy, Apple Bottoms, FILA, LRG, Frank 151, MilkCrate, Live Mechanics, Blue Route, DimePiece, COOGI, Les Halles, Hello Drama, William Rast, Siwy Jeans and LaROK. Check out just some of the fly gear that went for next to nothing:
You’re Gonna Get Yours by DimePiece
Timeout Scoreboard Watch by Flud
Haiti needs us now more than ever…we must continue to show them we’re here to do what we can.
(AllHipHop News) Rapper Mystikal is heading right back to work since being freed from jail after serving 6 years in a Louisiana prison or sexual battery and extortion.
The Grammy Award winning rapper has been tapped to headline the Mystikal and Friends Mardi Gras concert at the Mahalia Jackson Theater for Performing Arts.
The rapper, who was released from prison on January 11, will perform hits like Danger, Shake Yo Ass, Bouncin Back (Bumpin Me Against the Wall), and Move B**ch.
Im back. It almost feels like a dream, he said in an interview with New Orleans radio station Q93 FM after his release on January 11. Six years off the scene for most rappers, it would be over with, but its a new beginning for me .we cant be foolish especially when you are blessed and successful. We gotta tighten up
Sources told AllHipHop.com that during his incarceration, Mystikal, born Michael Tyler, wrote hundreds of songs, which he plans on recording for a new, untitled release.
The Mystikal and Friends concert is slated to take place February 16 at 7:30 PM. Tickets range from $36-$63.
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.
LIL WAYNE AND EMINEM ARE RECORDING A VIDEO!!!!!!!
Well, as Lil Wayne gets all set and ready for jail, we understand that he’s got to handle his business so that is seems he is still with us in the free world. Well, as you can see in the title RIGHT NOW…Eminem and Lil Wayne are shooting video for their song called “Drop The World.” Yeah, this is going down in Los Angeles. I love how artists make it work and get their schedules all merged together. So, Em and Wayne are also doing a version of Drake’s “Forever” and including Travis Barker. AHHH…this is dope. So, you heard about the videos, but illseed’s here to tell you that Eminem and Wayne are doing this! YAY!!!!!!
KANYE AND TAYLOR SWIFT TO REUNITE!
Ahhhhhh! That would have been a great moment in music history – YEAH RIGHT!? Well, They were big time rumors that Taylor Swift and Kanye West were going to get back together for the looming remake of “We Are The World.”When the word went out, it was recanted by Access TV, because it was soon realized that Taylor had a conflict in her schedule. She is on tour overseas. Kanye is still slated to be involved so that’s cool.
MIKE VICK IS TALKING REALITY
Mike Vick and his fiance Kijafa checked in with “LIVE with KENDRA G” and talked New BET Show, Prison, Football and MORE~!
PLEASURE P’s POPPIN GRAMMY PARTY
From what I hear, Capitol City in Hollywood is the hotspot for Grammy weekend. I hear 3x Grammy Nominee Pleasure P is having his Official Grammy Party there Sat. Word is Trey Songz may come thru after his House of Blues performance invited by his celebrity friend and video director, Taj Mahall. I mean this supposedly is the same place Kanye and Amber rose had sex in the VIP bathroom! This might be the sleeper party of the Grammys.ILLSEED’S QUICKIES
I wonder if this is true. The Game and Ashanti? You think?
So Fabolous really is dating Adrienne, the former Cheetah girl.
A tranny in New York has filed a $10 million sex assault suit against Eric Green, an NFL player. Says dude rapped them…..
JAZZY F.’s RUMORS
Mike Tyson is not bankrupt or at least he may have been frontin on the how much money he has. He takes his wife shopping in Milan at Hermes with a entourage so I don’t know. They say Mike has some serious papers is what I’m hearing.
Barack Obama was talking some smack about Magic Johnson. They said it was good smack but no smack is good smack if you ask me.
Diddy Mr. Preserve ya sexy himself was seen rocking them plastic clog shoe things. I don’t even know what they are called but that’s not sexy Diddy and not fly. I wonder where you were wearing them ugly things.
Remy Ma is still trying to get out of jail I’m hearing. Sources say she is steady trying to get that sentence down sized. I say at this point she might as well do the time because she damn sure did the crime.
Word is Rihanna and Matt Kemp are not claiming one another because they don’t want people all in their business but too late for that. Word is they are really together though. The two are just frontin.
LIL WAYNE, 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].
(AllHipHop News) Rappers Nelly and Bow Wow will host their own celebrity basketball game this weekend in Chicago to foster peace and unite in the community. The pair will be on hand with various representatives of Nelly Derrty Ent as well as reps for the Cash Money Millionaires. Nellys team will play Bow Wows and the losing team will have to donate $100,000 to a charity. The event, which takes place January 31 at the UIC Pavilion on January 31, will also feature Nelly and Bow Wow speaking the students and children during halftime about the importance of education.
Reverend Run of Run-DMC is offering a fan the chance to be married on Valentines Day as part of the Ultimate Rock-N-Roll Wedding. The Borgata Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City is offering couples to share their love stories, with the grand prize being a wedding officiated by Reverend Run. The winner will receive the once in a lifetime wedding on February 14 at the Borgatas Gypsy Bar. Additionally, the couple will receive rock star treatment at The Borgata, a custom cake designed Executive Chef Thaddeus Dubois and an post-celebration at MIXX nightclub for the official Kid Rock concert after party, where Rev Run and DJ Ruckus will perform.
Fabolous will join a number of rappers this weekend as part of Nikes Lace Up, Save Lives Concert. The concert will features performances by Fabolous, Pac D##, Asher Roth, All American Rejects and others. Nikes Lace Up, Saves Lives raises millions by selling specialized (NIKE)RED laces. The proceeds are donated to The Global Fund, which helps fight AIDS in Africa. The concert takes place at The Montalban Theater in Los Angeles from 4:00 PM to 6:00 PM. Admission is $4 with a high school ID.
(AllHipHop News) Hip-Hop Summit Action Network (HSAN) Founder Russell Simmons and CEO Dr. Benjamin Chavis have partnered with several organizations to create the Music 4 Peace Initiative and Tour.
HSAN will team with the Music4Peace Foundation, Tribes of the Worlds, SwaggMedia and The Gandhi Tour to promote a global message of peace, using music, artists and global resources.
Under the new partnership, Simmons and Chavis will launch an international extension of their Hip-Hop Summits, which have been active in every major city since its inception in 2001.
A Hip-Hop Summit will take place in South Africa in conjunction with the World Cup and FIFA this June, while another Summit is being planned for India in November.
Additionally, HSAN will support The Gandhi Tours International day of Peace in Brazil.
Hip-Hop music artists are leaders in the youth movement, Russell Simmons told AllHipHop.com in a statement. Were excited about the potential these diverse organizations have in coming together to harness music as a transformative and unifying power to promote peace throughout the world.
Music4Peace has also announced a contest to raise funds for HSAN and Haiti with the Film 4 Peace contest.
One filmmaker will be awarded a trip for two to South Africa to attend The Hip Hop Summits inaugural concert and event during The World Cup this June.
For more information visit http://www.music4peacetour.com for more details.
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.
THE GRAMMYS – WILL THEY DISS HIP-HOP?
I think it is quite possible that there is a worldwide conspiracy against Hip-Hop music and life. The rappers are getting locked up in droves, the music is castrated at radio and the videos get no play on outlets that should support. With that opinion, I offer this rumor to you. I have been told from a very small birdie that the Grammys will not be televising the rap/Hip-Hop portion of the awards. What I mean is, all the “best Hip-Hop” categories may not get any burn during the ceremony. They cut the female rapper part a ways back and now it seems like they may be getting slick. Remember when the rappers boycotted the Grammy’s back in the day for this reason? Sure you don’t. Read below:
In 1999, Jay-Z boycotted the Grammys:
“I am boycotting the Grammys because too many major rap artists continue to be overlooked,” Jay-Z said in a written statement. “Rappers deserve more attention from the Grammy committee and from the whole world. If it’s got a gun everybody knows about it; but if we go on a world tour, no one knows.”
In 1989, the whole rap movement at the time boycotted:
Three of the five nominees in what was then the brand new Rap Performance category announced they would boycott the event: LL Cool J and DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince were the first acts to pull out of the show, angered by the fact that the rap awards would not be part of the live, televised ceremony but would be part of the less prestigious pre-show proceedings instead. They were joined by the rap duo Salt-N-Pepa, who bowed out with a statement saying, “If they don’t want us, we don’t want them.” Rap and metal both got their own separate categories in the 1989 Grammy lineup for the first time, but while the metal awards were to be part of the live broadcast, rap was given second-class citizen status. Show producers said they had limited air time, and viewers “want George Michael,” not rap.
Source: MTV
POLL: WHAT WILL RAPPERS DO IF THIS RUMOR IS TRUE?
ILLSEED’S QUICKIES
I am hearing that Big Tigger is going to be replacing Donnie Simpson on the radio down there. Whoa…I know that’s got to be bitter sweet.
Oh man, Lil Duval…now I know why he said he won’t be going to Detroit soon. This dude apparently said, “Detroit is worse than Haiti.” OH BOY! Scream at me Duval! My sources tell me Duval is “on the list” and cannot do anything in Detroit.
Pepa better be ez! I heard Treach has new reality show called ” A Tribe Called Treach.”
A big shout out to Pitbull and E Thugsta!
NAUGHTY BY NATURE GIVES LOVE TO APACHE
THE GRAMMYS, 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].
(AllHipHop News) Convicted drug lord Freeway Ricky Ross will celebrate his 50th birthday tomorrow (January 29th) and he has vowed to continue to educate youth about the perils of drugs and gang culture.
Ross served over 20-plus years in prison for running a massive crack-cocaine operation that was grossing almost $3 million dollars per week.
He was also catapulted to international infamy, when the San Jose Mercury Times exposed a link between Ross suppliers and the CIA, DEA, which lead to the Iran-Contra scandal.
Now, Ross spends his time reaching out to youngsters who might glorify the previous life he lead, which took two-decades from his life, in addition to acknowledging that his actions helped destroy his own community.
“We have to stress early the importance of leadership, finances, credit, entrepreneurship, and an improved vocabulary, a reformed Freeway Ricky Ross told AllHipHop.com. Becoming an active mentor is the first step to everything in this process.”
Freeway Ricky Ross is currently traveling the country for speaking engagements with organizations like Unity One, Amer-I-Can, Hip Hop Detox and his own non-profit, The Freeway Foundation.
Ross, who was released from Texarkana Prison in early 2009, will celebrate his 50th birthday at Westside Stages in Los Angeles, California.
The nationwide Sprite Step Off competition will be the focus of a new docu-series hosted by rapper/actor Ludacris.
The six-part series, titled Sprite Step Off, will follow six step teams from fraternities and sororities across the country as they prepare for the regional rounds of the Sprite Step Off competition while learning steps and beats as well as juggling round-the-clock rehearsals and family, friends and school demands.
Each team will compete for a chance to win one of two $100,000 scholarships at the events national final. The Sprite Step Off is regarded as the largest national step team competition in history as it celebrates the creativity and originality of the multicultural college experience through stepping, scholarship and service.
The combined prize pool of the Sprite-sponsored event amounts to $1.5 million in scholarships. In addition to the competition, the Sprite Step Off competition promotes a national program called the Sprite Step Off Challenge, an effort designed to inspire youth nationwide to help their communities by donating a collective total of 1.5 million hours of volunteerism and service between September 12, 2009 and September 12, 2010.
For Ludacris, the chance to showcase teams in the Step Off as well as the merits of stepping provides a win-win situation for viewers and step enthusiasts.
“I love that MTV2 and Sprite are giving a Step competition national exposure and introducing this creative dance form to an audience outside of the urban college landscape,” the entertainer said about the half-hour series, which was shot on location at college campuses around the country. “The teams competing on the show are not only dedicated but diverse and will take Step competitions to a new level.”
Fraternities and sororities featured on Sprite Step-Off include Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc.; Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.; Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc.; Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.; Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.; and Zeta Tau Alpha.
We are thrilled to be partnering with Sprite to bring these student performances to television as part of our new original series lineup for MTV2 and to provide a platform for the rich and historic tradition of college stepping,” added Chris McCarthy, senior vice president of Strategic Development and Digital TV Networks, MTV.
The Sprite Step Off docu-series featuring Ludacris will premiere Sunday (Jan. 31) on MTV2.
Memphis rap group 8Ball & MJG will release a new album titled Ten Toes Down via a new deal between T.I.s Grand Hustle and E1 Music.
The groups 12th official album will feature an all-star lineup of rap artists that includes Snoop Dogg, David Banner, Young Dro, Bun B. and Grand Hustle CEO, T.I.
“Im happy to be working with Americas #1 independent, E1 Music, T.I. told AllHipHop.com about the new deal in a statement released today (January 29).
Grand Hustle co-CEO Jason Geter was excited to be working with the veteran Memphis-based group, who have been signed to labels like Suave House and Sean Diddy Combs Bad Boy imprint, since their debut with 1993s Comin Hard.
“T.I and I were thrilled to have the opportunity to work with Ball & Gee from the very beginning, Geter stated. We’ve both been fans, and this new album is classic Ball & Gee material & we’re excited for the world to hear it.”
The album features production by Drumma Boy, Nitti, Nard & B and former No Limit Records in-house hit maker, Mo. B. Dick.
Ten Toes Down, in my opinion, is one of the best 8Ball & MJG albums ever, 8Ball told AllHipHop.com. It’s a heart-felt, soul-filled, portion of the lives of 8Ball & MJG. 8Ball & MJG sounds and feels like 8Ball & MJG on this album 4sho!”
8Ball & MJG recently shot an album for the title track to the album, which was directed by Gabriel Hart.
Ten Toes Down is due in stores on April 6th.
(AllHipHop News) Internationally acclaimed DJ Irie and Miami Dolphins All-Pro Jason Taylor begin a new after-school initiative for children interested in the discipline of deejaying tomorrow (January 29).
Iries DJ Spiniversity will be held at the Miramar Youth Enrichment Center in Miramar, FL.
Its location is strategic, with the goal bridging the students predilection for music and their educational skills needed to excel in school.
Iries debut seminar is set to include an exhibition, a DJ battle, and teaching Jason Taylor turntable skills.
In addition, students will be taught the history of the DJ, music theory, scratching, and mixing.
Even as a DJ thats traveled the world and received much acclaim, Irie holds his new educational endeavor as one of his most important career ventures.
“The Irie DJ Spiniversity is one of the greatest achievements of my career, Irie told AllHipHop.com. Being a performing DJ has afforded me a wonderful & fulfilling life and to be able to spearhead an establishment for our youth to learn the art and the business is the absolute best. I expect to see some great talent come out of the Irie DJ Spiniversity.”
The class is free every Friday for the remainder of the 2010 school year.
The subsequent classes will be taught by DJs from the Scratch DJ Academy of Miami, known as the first DJ school in the world.
The first class commences at 4PM tomorrow in the Miramar Youth Enrichment Center, located at 7000 Miramar Parkway, Miramar, FL 33023.