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Snoop Launches Custom Voice Phrases For TomTom GPS

Snoop Dogg has teamed with UK based company VoiceSkins.com to launch the rapper’s GPS voice for users of the TomTom GPS navigation system.

 

The rapper will bring his Hip-Hop flair to the TomTom GPS system with “Snoop Speak” phrases that help users navigate their surroundings.

 

According to a press release, Snoop offers guidance phrases like “Turn around when possible and keep it ‘G’, ya d-i-g?” as well as “Keep left ahead, and you’ll be bonafide.”

 

Additionally, Snoop’s VoiceSkin comes with a “points of interest” file that includes Snoop Dogg’s recommended locations of interest in Los Angeles.

 

“Snoop Dogg has one of the most distinctive and recognizable voices in music,” said Chris Hilton, CEO of Locutio Voice Technologies, the parent company of VoiceSkins.com. “We are thrilled to have Snoop’s VoiceSkin available for use on devices made by TomTom, the world’s leading navigation solutions provider. The Snoop Dogg TomTom celebrity voice is the perfect in-car soundtrack.”

 

Snoop’s VoiceSkin is available for download now.

 

The news comes as Snoop Dogg prepares to release his highly anticipated 13th solo album Malice-N-Wonderland on December 8th.

Men Arrested For Protesting Lil Wayne & Boosie Sentences

The New Orleans Police Department arrested six men yesterday (November 30th) during a protest to free incarcerated rapper Lil Boosie and to contest Lil Wayne’s one-year jail sentence.

 

According to the Times-Picayune, off duty police officers saw the men spray painting the words ‘Free Lil Wayne’ on the side of a building.

 

The same men also placed a banner on another street calling for authorities to free Lil Wayne and Lil Boosie.

 

The group of men also used police barricades and garbage cans to halt traffic on one street during the short lived protest.

 

The suspects fled when officers arrived on the scene, but all six men were quickly apprehended after a brief chase.

 

The men were charged with disturbing the peace, resisting arrest by flight and criminal damage to property.

 

Earlier this month, Lil Boosie, born Torrence Hatch, was sentenced to four years in prison for violating his probation after he was caught with a gun and marijuana in October 2008.

 

Lil Wayne, born Dwayne Carter, is slated to be sentenced to a year in prison on December 15 for carrying an illegal weapon in New York, after a loaded revolver was found on his tour bus in 2007.

Hip-Hop Rumors: Bean’s Ready For Nas & Jay! The Game Disses Lil Wayne, Suge, Gucci, 50, Jay, Jim! Slim Thug’s Got Swine Flu!?!

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 DAILY TWO SENSE

 

Hey, I have something for all the people that gave me a bunch of s**t for having a lil break! AllHipHop has yet another distinction, compliments of yahoo.com. I’m happy to be here and you should too, damnit! Read below and tell me I can’t take a few damn days surrounding Thanksgiving!

 

 

Hello,

 

In 2009, the 24/7 news cycle cranked up to hyperspeeds. Online news and celebrity blogs exploded—it seemed—in inverse proportion to the rate that mainstream outlets were withering away and (in some sad cases) dying out. Then again, the lines between the two were never that solid to begin with. They blurred even more this year with online sites expansions and mainstream media transformations.

 

Throughout all this, a few sites really led the way AND searches on Yahoo!.  Below are the most popular blogs and sites—as determined by search demand on Yahoo! Congratulations!

 

TOP BLOGGER SEARCHES

 

1. TMZ

 

2. Drudge Report

 

3. Perez Hilton

 

4. Media Take Out

 

5. Huffington Post

 

6. Snopes

 

7. Bossip

 

8. All HipHop

 

9. Just Jared

 

10. Sherdog

 

 

Clearly, there is work to do. TMZ! Watch ya back!!!!!!! And, technically AHH isn’t even a blog so they must be talking about illseed!

 

 

SEE SOMETHING?

 

SAY SOMETHING!

 

It really makes my live easier and also far more interesting. I like reading and hearing about other people’s accounts of what happened. Shout out to all of my regulars and alla that!

 

Email me rumors and sightings at [email protected].

 

AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!! I almost gave out all my rumors yesterday!

 

NAS AND JAY-Z – THEY COMETH!!!!

 

So, let me help clear some things up based on what I heard. First of all,I told you last week that sources that were so good to me told me that Nas and Jay were prepping a remix of “Empire State of Mind.” I don’t have A LOT MORE, but I do have a little more. Now, this is touchy, because the source doesn’t want to be uncovered. Lets just say there will be messages delivered on the song, but they won’t be shots fired in the traditional sense. Lets just say that there’s going to be shots, but with a silencer. I think somebody is looking to finish the year off strong. Hopefully, this brings Nas back into the front.

 

BEANIE’S TALKING….

 

Rumors has it, there is a new Jay-Z diss on the way. Beans said he wouldn’t stop until Jay responded. Also, Beans isn’t fearing a Nas/Jay alliance. Here is what he had to say to DJ On & On:

 

“I credit him for the moves he make, but I’m nice at chess too.  They say he got a record [that’s] supposed to come out, the remix to that “New York” sh*t.  He poppin’ shots at me.  He poppin’ shots at 50.” 

 

“I’m not worried about Nas.  I did that already.  I did that already, in defense of [Jay].  I was there when dude was in the studio, on the couch, scratching his head under pressure.”

 

LMAO! At that last line, I actually visualized in my head: Jay-Z scratching his head after “Ether.” Man, you can’t do anything any more. It will comeback and bite you.

 

FREEWAY TO GO AT JAY?

 

I got an almost meaningless email from somebody on the team and the email said something about Freeway doing a Jay-Z song. I don’t really know what that means. I do know what this does not mean. I am pretty sure Free doesn’t have Jay on a new song. I could be wrong. I wonder if Freeway is looking to take a shot at Jigga. I hope Cash Money knows they have a gem in Freeway.

 

THE GAME DISSES JAY-Z, SUGE KNIGHT, AND SAYS…OH BOY…

 

The Game is at it again. He has this new freestyle were he goes absolutely berserk!!!

 

He said, ”Weezy, I made that ni**a a blood, Gucci? I made that ni**a a blood. Jimmy [Jones]? I made that ni**a a blood.”

 

He also said, “F**K SUGE KNIGHT.”

 

And he had a number of well-placed bars to Jay-Z and 50 Cent!

 

Damn – see it here!

 

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BABY IS THE REAL BIG STAR OF CASH MONEY

 

Baby from Cash Money will never be able to run from the cops! The helicopter will be able to see him from the air! Look at his new tat! Just when you thought you saw it all…baby gets a red star on his head. I think The Game may want to reconsider his raps!

 

 

CHRIS BROWN IS SICK IN LOVE-KEEPS BUYING RIHANNA CD’S!

 

I have a source of the source that is within the Chris Brown camp. Well, the source tells me that Chris Brown is truly in love with Rihanna to the point where he’s her main supporter. I heard that CB has purchased her new CD about 15 times already. He cannot do without the CD, they say. In fact, they claim that he has it on repeat and in his iTunes as well. On the other side, they are saying Chris has a new song that was penned to Rihanna, but they don’t know if it will come out or not. Chris reportedly really didn’t diss Jay-Z by calling him “cornball.”  They just want this to go away, I’m hearing.

 

 

TWITTER FOLLIES! SLIM THUG HAS THE SWINE FLU!

 

Check out what Slim Thug had to say on hit Twitter:

 

WTF at the doctor he just told me I got the swine flu wooooowwwww

 

It might not be the swine flu but it’s the type A flu I dnt have a fever

 

Having the swine flu ain’t that bad after all.. I’m bout to get my Lil Wayne on wear pjs and do songs po up and smoke

 

At home by myself nobody wanna f### wit me cause I got the swine flu they treating me like I got the coodies smh

 

4real that’s what the doctor told me today but I’m good I dnt have a fever or nothing

I’m good I dnt even feel that bad

 

He has the Swine Flu! Is it me or is the Swine Flu like in style or something?

 

 

JOE DIDN’T DO IT!!!!

 

If you didn’t read my rumors yesterday, read them here. There is some good stuff on the Trey/Tahiry/Joe stuff. And you know Joe didn’t do it. Here are some quotes from that.

 

“First of all, I was not involved in a fight. Me and Trey Songz are real cool. We did a record on my last album. We did ‘We Need To Roll’ and, you know, I went to show support,” Joe told AllHipHop.com. “That’s my man. I heard he was going to be having a party that night and there was going to be a performance. Nothing happened between him and I.”

 

Click here to read more on this situation.

 

EPIC FAIL OF THE DAY!

 

Oh man! This incident allegedly happened in the back  of Jay-Z’s 40/40 Club in Atlantic City. The bouncers and  security staff beat the mess out of a patron. Not sure what he did to deserve this sort of beating. The sad thing is they really didn’t beat him and he leveled one of them. Fail! Jay needs to get his security and fire these dudes.

 

 

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Shout out to DJ Zeke!

 

IS THERE A PIC OF MARIAH’S C##### ONLINE?

 

There is supposedly some crazy pic of Mariah on the internet, but I don’t believe this one.  I did see the image and it is of “Mariah” spread for all the sun to see. This is the info they are spreading about it:

 

this is a picture leaked on the internet stolen from a virgin records executive laptop in March on a private island owned by the labels president

 

I smell BS and it reeks of Photoshop. Survey says, “FAKE.”

 

SIGNS THE WORLD IS COMING TO AN END

 

Let me see if I can get this right.

 

Pope Benedict XVI has caused another firestorm of controversy over some recent comments he made about AIDS in Africa. Here are the remarks in summary.

 

-He said condoms actually INCREASE the AIDS rate.

 

-The pope said AIDS can only be stopped by “spiritual renewal.”

 

People in African, France and Germany are livid, claiming the Pope is ignorant and out of touch. I am  going to tread lightly, because I don’t want to say anything too stupid. But, I will say this. The Pope’s comments stink and I particularly think it stinks, because these recent comments were spoken in the context of Africa. Now, as far as I know, AIDS is a world epidemic and that the people in Africa are greatly spritual. Also, I think its is insane to think condoms increase AIDS. I think a lot of people will DIE in this way of thinking. I hope the people in general look at AIDS for what it is: population control! And don’t get caught up in what the Pope has to say. Use a condom but don’t have sex irresponsibly.

 

ILLSEED’S QUICKIES

 

Jermaine Dupri is looking to be on Dancing With The Stars! Didn’t he see Mya just get robbed?!

 

Shout out to my homey DBG!

 

Julia Beverly of Ozone mag vs Gucci Mane’s people is heating up. I’m not going  to get into this one. Too much work.

 

I heard the Gays are p##### that Chris Brown was permitted to come on Good Morning America, but their guy Adam Lambert wasn’t. They were like GMA let a woman beater on, but not an oversexed gay person.

 

People that think Dame Dash is broke are likely wrong. I’ve been told Dame is out making some wise investments.

 

I didn’t watch but I am hearing that the Soul Train Awards…didn’t really have any awards.

 

Tiger Woods has hidden his SUV that he crashed after his wife smashed that sucker up with a golf club.

 

Nelly is working on a new album. Why would he do that?

 

Rihanna’s daddy hasn’t spoken to her in over a year. She said she had to kick him off tour and he was offended.

 

DENZEL IS GOING IN AGAIN!

 

Check out his new movie poster.

 

SUN, WE LOVE YOU!!! KEEP SHINING!

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].

AZ: From Brooklyn to Hollywood

Known as one of the most influential artists to ever grace the mic, AZ takes a step back from music, and tries his hand at acting. “Envy” is his first leading role in a film outside of his cameo in “Belly.” The cast of the movie includes Ray-J, Lisa Raye, and Maia Campbell.  AllHipHip discussed the details of the film, but also deferred to the topic to music. AZ hustles, and prepares for the artform of music to return.

 

AllHipHop.com: So tell me how this “Envy” project came about?

 

AZ: Actually we shot the movie like 5 years ago. I was called to the set by the club owner, and when I got there they told me I had one of the leading roles…and I just ran with it.

 

AllHipHop.com: What’s the synopsis of the movie?

 

AZ: Well in the movie you got Ray-J (AJ in the movie) playing my little cousin following in my footsteps…I can curse and all that right? Just making sure…we recording?

 

AllHipHop.com: Yup!

 

AZ: Ok well I was a street dude doing all this b#######

 

 [Both laughing)]

 

AZ: My little cousin was following me, and as I got tired, I wanted to pass the game to him and all the guys that was with me through the whole struggle, they felt like it was there time to come up so why should I be passing it to him. That’s when the movie goes a little crazy. But when you in the streets it breeds jealousy and envy…so you know it’s a good hood movie.

 

AllHipHop.com: How easy or hard was it for you transitioning into acting mode?

 

AZ: It wasn’t hard because playing the part I was playing was kind of me just being me….just turning it up a little bit more that’s all. It was an easy transition so I don’t consider that totally acting…but give me more parts that’s fine!

 

AllHipHop.com: How was it working with the cast?

 

AZ: It was new for me. This was my first movie even though I did a little snippet in Belly which was cool. Having a leading role was cool because everybody on the set was already doing it like Ray J, Lisa Raye, and Maia Campbell so it was a smooth transition.

 

AllHipHop.com: Recently Maia Campbell has been struggling with addiction…have you reached out to her?

 

AZ: Back then I had a direct line but its year’s later .I do wish the best of luck for her. At the end of the day I don’t wish bad on nobody like that, she was a talented person, pretty young lady.

 

AllHipHop.com: Is there a soundtrack for this movie?

 

AZ: I’m not executive producer; if I was it would be a soundtrack. Nobody came to me and said nothing and I don’t hear no music….but no soundtrack.

 

AllHipHop.com: So any Hollywood Stars for you in the future?

 

AZ: If it happens I’m with it! I’m with it!

 

AllHipHop.com: Let’s talk music….you released “Legendary” early June of this year…..tell me about that project.

 

AZ: That was just a mixtape, as you can see I didn’t promote, no videos…..it was just a mixtape I put out. The last album that I put out was “Undeniable” in 08. Right now I’m working on Do or Die 2. Just that fact that I see all the sequels get a lot of love. Like Cuban Links Part 2, The Blueprint 3, and Carter 4. So I said let me add my sequel on and see where it takes me.

 

AllHipHop.com: The majority of people I know, and people period have you on their Top 5 dead or alive. How does that make you feel?

 

AZ: Oh that’s real talk. I appreciate it. I mean with the game being so saturated with so many things going on and so many sounds, I appreciate it. I’m definitely gonna keep on delivering, but I been delivering, so I’m not gonna let nobody down.

 

AllHipHop.com: Coming from an era when music had a real message and wasn’t being made just to pacify the masses, how do you feel about the state of the game right now?

 

AZ: It needs a facelift. With the downloads it became more of a hustle. Its not even an art form anymore. I understand because at the end of the day, society don’t leave us too many things and its kind of the easy way out if you can’t shoot a ball, or catch a ball. Like with anything else music has its ups and downs, but I feel the art form is coming back; its mandatory.

 

AllHipHop.com: How long do you think it will be until it gets back that way?

 

 (Both laughing)

 

AZ: I know its working its way back, that’s all I can say. It will take a while, a couple for years 3, 4 maybe. Everything is 360; it’s just the science of life , so I know its coming back because of that fact.

 

AllHipHop.com: Any advice for newcomers to this game on longevity?

 

AZ: Stay true to yourself, try not to follow the fads, and keep your sword sharp. Keep your head and the business on point, and you’re looking at longevity.

 

AllHipHop.com: What’s next for you?

 

AZ: Right now I’m working on the Doe or Die 2, getting the label off the ground, and I’m working with a few artists.  With this movie hopefully I get a few knocks at my door from Hollywood and turn it up! Its all a hustle, so I’m gonna keep moving and do what I do.

Bouncers At Jay-Z’s 40/40 Club Face Assault Charges

Security guards at Jay-Z’s 40/40 Club in Atlantic City, New Jersey are facing assault charges after a wild altercation took place at the popular sports bar on Saturday (November 28th).

 

According to club managers, two men from New Jersey began causing trouble inside of the nightclub, scuffling with bouncers, before being thrown out.

 

The altercation spilled outside where it was video taped by DJ Zeke, who was celebrating his 25th birthday at the sports bar.

 

The shocking videotape captures the bouncers kicking punching, and striking two men identified as Tyrell Durant and Leonard Clark.

 

The brutal clip starts with as many as 10 men punching and striking Clark, who is already on the ground when Durant attempts to intervene.

 

The group of bloodthirsty men immediately swarm Durant and proceed to assault him as well.

 

Durant is struck several times in the face and head during the altercation, even though he is clearly subdued by the bouncers, who were in control of the situation at that point.

 

Even as Durant is subdued, bouncers can be heard yelling “put him down! put him down! [knock him out].”

 

To add insult to injury, Durant had to be treated at the scene by an ambulance after the rabid security guards sprayed him with a fire extinguisher, before making off with his watch and an undisclosed amount of money.

 

The manager of the 40/40 Club filed complains against Durant and Clark, who were initially charged with disorderly conduct.

 

Those charges were later dropped after Atlantic City Police saw a copy of the clip.

 

Police are seeking the public’s help in identifying the security guards who were involved in the vicious attack on Clark and Durant.

 

 

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“Viva La Vevo! A Re-Birth For The Music Business?

Editor’s note: The

views expressed inside this editorial aren’t necessarily the views of

AllHipHop.com or its employees.History has a way of using significant events that mean tragedy to some and triumph to others as markers by which time is measured and eras are distinguished. For example most of us know what ‘BC’ and ‘AD’ stand for, or the more politically correct ‘BCE.’ And a large but probably smaller number know that ‘AH’ stands for anno hegirae “in the year of the hijra”. The Hijra is the escape of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) from a death plot, moving from the city of Mecca to the city of Medina.

Could December 8th be another significant date by which the music industry will mark the future calendar of its history – as triumph or tragedy?

Yeah, the Christian and Islamic reference are a bit much, but now I have your attention.

I don’t think 100 years from now we’ll be running around using ‘Bvevo’ and ‘Avevo’ to mark this transition period in the music business – which to some feels more like chaos. But I do think the potential impact of what is scheduled to take place next week is hard to overestimate.

On Dec. 8 Vevo, a music video service partnership between Vivendi Universal Music and Sony Music, and powered by Google’s YouTube is launched. It is the music industry’s effort to market their visual content similar to the way HULU markets shows. On that date all videos by artists under contract to these music labels will be available only on Vevo websites or sites that utilize Vevo players. The videos will be higher quality than those currently on YouTube. Artists, managers, and publicists in recent weeks have been encouraged to transfer all video streams from YouTube over to Vevo’s site. They’ve even been asked to hand over their YouTube log-in information so that Vevo can more quickly transfer the videos over to their site.

What does this all mean for the future of the music economy, the Internet, Artists, Fans and consumers?

Let’s take them one at a time.

The Music Economy. Vevo came about largely because of the determination of the major record labels – and there are only 4 left – Universal, Sony, EMI, and Warner – to get their hands on more income streams as music sales continue to decline since the demise of the CD. The labels are trying everything, from making 360 deals mandatory in contracts with new artists (to learn more about this see my October 28th Hip-Hoppreneur ™ commentary: ‘360 Deals and Dumb Artists’ ) which would give them a percentage of revenue previously off-limits: endorsements, merchandise income, and concert appearance fees; to becoming more aggressive in the licensing fees they charge website to play their music and videos. Vevo is an attempt by the industry to make money from something it never could: music videos that were previously only used for promotional purposes – given away to record stores or shown on video channels to make artists more visible and popular. In either case the goal was the same – to sell more records. With Vevo the goal is not to make money from selling records, but from charging advertisers dollars to associate themselves with the playing of videos. With YouTube’s nearly 400 million users and a YouTube channel that receives nearly 4 billion views, Universal Music Group (UMG) recognized that there is a considerable amount of money to be made through online advertising.

With Vevo it is changing its previous business model of making money from charging licensing fees to sites that were attracting viewers by playing its videos and sharing in the ad revenue. The record labels believe that YouTube is not skilled enough at attracting advertisers and Vevo is an effort to have the best of both worlds – YouTube’s traffic and technology, which will power Vevo, married with the record label’s ability to attract advertisers willing to pay higher rates to them. Antony Bruno of Billboard magazine explained it well earlier this year when he wrote, “UMG executive VP of the label’s eLabs division Rio Caraeff earlier this year told Billboard that advertisers pay an average of only $3-$8 for every thousand views [known as ‘CPM’s] that their ads receive. While that has resulted in “tens of millions” in revenue, UMG and other labels would like an ad rate on par with the CPMs that TV and movies command online—upwards of $25-$40.The idea behind the Vevo plan is to create a scarcity of advertising inventory for the purpose of driving up rates. To date, labels licensed their music videos to multiple online services, such as YouTube, Yahoo, MTV and others in return for a cut of the advertising revenue sold around these videos. With all these services competing for many of the same advertisers, simple supply-and-demand drove down advertising rates even as views rose. The hope is that Vevo will command these rates by creating a single point of negotiation for advertisers who wish to buy space on music videos. Both Vevo and YouTube will host the videos, and both companies will split the profits from the ads they sell around them.”

Yes, Vevo means more consolidation to an industry that many feel already has too much.

The Internet. Vevo continues the shrewd business strategy, or big boy gangsterism (depending upon who you talk to) of the major labels muscling their way in on technological platforms and networks (MySpace, Napster, Imeem) by threatening to sue them or actually taking legal action, then ‘forcing’ or ‘inviting’ these platforms or networks to ‘settle,’ or ‘partner’ with the label through licensing arrangements, joint ventures. This obviously makes many cringe. But what all of these episodes expose is the continuing challenge of Internet Entrepreneurs to monetize (make money) their web traffic. Facebook and Twitter continue to struggle with this and Vevo emerged in part because the enormously popular YouTube while making progress, continues to struggle to make more than it loses. Many believe YouTube was ‘forced’ into the Vevo ‘partnership’ because it simply could not afford to pay the licensing fees the record labels were charging. Some say high licensing fees will eventually be a factor in forcing MTV and AOL to join Vevo. A top Wall Street analyst, Credit Suisse’s Spencer Wang created shock waves earlier this year with analysis he published (another reason why I beg music moguls, artists and even activists to read financial and investment materials as much as industry and celebrity gossip blogs) that brought some harsh realism to the dreamy view most of us have of YouTube. Barron’s Magazine’s ‘Tech Trader Daily’ blogger Eric Savitz broke it down well when he wrote on April 3, 2009:

“Here’s the thing: the site [YouTube] by Wang’s estimates continues to lose an enormous amount of money. He calculates that YouTube in 2009 can generate $240.9 million in revenue, through a combination of home page ads, in-video overlay ads, banner ads, sponsored videos and sponsored links. That would about a 20% increase from the $200 million in revenues he estimates YouTube generated in 2008. But he also estimates that the costs of running the site – bandwidth, content acquisition and licensing and other costs – this year will be about $711.3 million. Ergo, he estimates the site this year will lose a whopping $470.6 million.

Wang says that while the losses appear staggering, there is some hope; the key, he says, will be to increase the percentage of videos monetized. There certainly is room for improvement: he calculates that the site is now generating an average 0.4 cents per video watched, or $2.23 per unique visitor per month

What is becoming clear is that while these entrepreneurs are successful at creating the technological platforms and networks that people use to socialize, dialogue and share, they are not so good at creating the content that the people want to socialize around, dialogue about, and share with each other.

Until the Internetpreneurs figure this out and become content producers there will always be a need for, or dependency on the major corporations who still seem to have a monopoly on generating what people what to see and hear the most.

The smaller-size American music industry entrepreneurs and activists concerned about the growing dominance of certain companies would do well to compliment their blogging and rallying with more content creation (including signing established artists), lobbying (to influence the politicians that make laws that favor their larger competitors), and by internationalizing their playbook (the real growth opportunities are overseas, just ask Warner Music whose revenue just dropped 9.4% with overall music sales down 15% in the America, but rising 16% internationally).

They also could use an important business lesson about how value is created where information is concerned. Years ago I discussed this with my friend, economist Reuven Brenner, the REPAP chair in economics at McGill University’s Faculty of Management (http://people.mcgill.ca/reuven.brenner/). He explained to me that there are 5 ways to classify information: by location; category, alphabet, time and hierarchy [the world of Hip-Hop big on acronyms like KRS-One (Knowledge Reigns Supreme Over Nearly Every One) and Wu-Tang (Witty Unpredictable Talent And Natural Game) can remember these five elements as LOCATH]. Location, Time and Alphabet are “mechanical” so to speak and as an entrepreneur you really can’t add value there. Category and Hierarchy are more open to human innovation. The big value an entrepreneur or business can add by innovating or building something unique is through Hiearchy and the way we are able to help people choose or prioritize.

In my mind, the value that Vevo adds is that it categorizes and places in hierarchies for the masses something that was previously unavailable to them in high-quality and organized fashion: music videos. This is one of the reasons why a subscription music service like Rhapsody is valuable because of how it categorizes/places in hierarchy, music across genres and eras in unique ways. But subscription services like Napster and Rhapsody probably will not survive the tidal wave coming next decade from Europe in the form of a popular free service called Spotify – which surpasses their ability to categorize and place music in hierarchies with an incredible search engine.

Because music videos have never been available to the public in an organized fashion (even music industry professionals have never been satisfied by how they receive music videos through servicing companies) and because Vevo promises to organize them in unique ways, it does offer something unique.

If it does so while maintaining the sense of community produced at YouTube it will hit a real home run.

Artists. As Reuven Brenner explained in a 2005 op-ed, “The Thieving Ants and The Serenading Grasshoppers – Toward A Legal Solution For Downloading Music and Movies”(http://www.blackelectorate.com/articles.asp?ID=1363), “The more entrepreneurial artists will change their “business models,” using their talent as loss leader, and leveraging it toward clothing (Puff Diddy, J. Lo), jewelry and perfume lines, children books (Madonna), amusement parks (Dolly Parton). Others will work harder and perform live more often (Celine Dion). New technology always brings about commercial opportunities, though it requires occasionally drastic restructuring and much resistance

As was the case with Napster (see how nearly 10 years ago I recommended how artists should mobilize to benefit from it before it was too late, ‘How Hip-Hop Artists Could Marry the Internet’ at: http://www.blackelectorate.com/articles.asp?ID=78), Vevo arrives with most artists and their managers asleep at the wheel. In Hip-Hop with the exception of a few artists including 50 Cent (Thisis50.com), Joe Budden (JoeBuddenTV.com) and Soulja Boy (http://www.youtube.com/user/SouljaBoy) few artists seem to grasp the amount of money that is awaiting them online through video content and community.

It is not clear yet how many artists will really profit under Vevo’s ad sharing arrangements. Again, with the usual artist mentality (geared only toward making music) and clueless managers it is likely that only the strong will survive. Those with good relations with their labels and the ability to move the masses of their fans to action, will generate the kind of traffic that will pay off. For generating 100 million hits for her video at YouTube, ‘Girlfriend,’ Avril Lavigne’s management claims she earned $2 million. Personally I doubt this. And if it happened once, I don’t believe it will happen again because of the variety of ways that people can artificially inflate traffic and viewer statistics that YouTube will hip the labels to. The record labels mastered how to jerk artists on their royalty payments, and this tradition will surely continue with ad revenue. The Lox may have to update their classic ‘Rape’n You Records’ skit.

Fans and Consumers. As already mentioned, Vevo promises to be a convenient innovation on the way most of us have been able to watch music videos or enjoy live interviews and performances. But if the site doesn’t reproduce the freestyle feel of YouTube; or its ads are distracting and interfere with viewing pleasure, and if it doesn’t succeed in bringing EMI and Warner on board, it will fall short of its potential.

In that sense it is a double-edged sword. The more powerful Vevo is the more likely it is to bring in more revenue for a struggling industry which could lead to more artists being signed. But it also risks the potential of turning off fans. By moving the music business model away from selling and more toward advertising, there is a good chance that certain kinds of artists will be considered too controversial for advertisers’ tastes and sponsors will put their dollars only behind those artists that are less threatening and which support the kind of image they are looking for. This means that even if more artists are signed, they may only be of a certain type (in terms of look, politics, lyrical content).

In addition, Vevo will allow record labels and advertisers to profile those enjoying the service and this may lead to some interesting controversies regarding where advertising dollars go guided by race, class, sex, and creed (religion, political ideology) and continued Internet privacy issues.

****

In conclusion, it will be interesting to see how Vevo balances the reality that people have been conditioned and accustomed – for a full decade now – to getting music for free, with its own tradition of selling and the temptation to charge for things in a recession.

I expect that it won’t be long before we see Vevo offering music videos

for free but charging for concert pay-per-views and even resurrecting

potentially lucrative fan club and online community arrangements for

its artists, like that which Prince established with his NPG Music Club but failed to maintain.

If so, the labels – through Vevo – may be picking a fight with Live Nation (which just announced it will make video and audio from concerts available in Apple’s iTunes store), perhaps intentionally so.

This could get real interesting.

Prince’s community charged just under $8 per month and $100 for its annual membership but complaints about how the site was managed and the way it provided benefits resulted in Prince lowering the membership fees dramatically. A friend of mine – a big Prince fan – told me she became an NPG member because of the privileged access it gave her to concert tickets, merchandise discounts, and exclusive music.

I expect that Vevo will open the door for labels to do what entrepreneurial-minded and independent artists like Prince couldn’t, and what Live Nation is already doing, without a Vevo in its life.

The result could be class divisions in music like we now see in sports where the most interested fan can’t always afford live entertainment tickets (funneled into subscription services like cable and satellite TV) while the wealthy fan and corporate sponsor gets exclusive access.

Are sports fans better or worse off because of this?

Instead of selling music, Vevo may open the door to the industry selling only access and events, for better and worse.

The historic significance of December 8, 2009 is still not clear, but I’m convinced it will be a day that will be remembered for quite some time.

Cedric Muhammad is a business consultant, political strategist, and monetary economist. 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

Joe Denies Rumors Of Fight With Trey Songz Over Tahiry

R&B crooner Joe vehemently denies rumors and reports that he was embroiled in a fight with Trey Songz that evolved into a huge brawl at a New Jersey concert over the weekend.

 

On Saturday November 28, Trey Songz celebrated his birthday with a party and a concert at the 501 Lounge in Montclair, New Jersey, a show that brought out Joe, Tahiry, the ex-girlfriend of rapper Joe Budden and a throng of fans.

 

Joe gave his account of what happened that night, saying he had nothing to do with any violence.

 

“First of all, I was not involved in a fight. Me and Trey Songz are real cool. We did a record on my last album. We did ‘We Need To Roll’ and, you know, I went to show support,” Joe told AllHipHop.com. “That’s my man. I heard he was going to be having a party that night and there was going to be a performance. Nothing happened between him and I.”

 

However, Joe did say that the fracas could have been from an associate, even though he had left the venue prior to the melee.

 

“It could have been where my man had a problem with security just for a quick second and they were trying to clear the V.I.P. It was really, really crowded up there. It wasn’t anything like they didn’t want me there [or] they didn’t want the other guests there, like Tahiry. Everybody was cool.”

 

Joe said that an associate of his attempted to prevent a young lady from getting kicked out and that might have sparked the whole fracas.

 

“So, security had him hemmed up in the corner and I told them. ‘That’s my man. He’s with me’ and [security] was like ‘Cool, no problem.'” Joe explained. After that, he said he left the club.

 

“After that, I was bouncing, getting ready to leave anyway so I told Trey [I was leaving] and we made a couple of toasts with some Patron and then I left.”

 

The singer said that he could not fathom how attending an event under the auspice of support would result in widespread unconfirmed reports of a fight between friends.

 

“Its just crazy…for it to go from us just hanging out to..maybe Trey got into a fight and people thinking it was me. Before anything popped off, I was already out of the building.”

 

Lastly, of the evening, Joe briefly dismissed that the ordeal could have been a lover’s quarrel over Tahiry.

 

“I just met her that night for the first time. Its nothing going on between me and her and definitely no fights between me and Trey,” he concluded.

 

These day, Joe says he is more focused on his Christmas album,Home Is The Essence Of Christmas, that is currently available on Apple iTunes.

 

“I just got that Christmas album out. Its just an incredible album,” he said. “I’ve always been a fan of Christmas. I play Santa Claus every year…with my nieces and nephews…[I enjoy] seeing how happy they are.”

 

Joe released Signature in July. It is his eighth studio album. “We Need To Roll,” which features Trey Songz, is a bonus song on the album.

 

AHH Stray News: Gorrillaz, Norah Jones/Beastie Boys, K’Naan

Blur front man Damon Albarn has revealed the guest appearances for the Gorillaz upcoming album, which is titled Plastic Beach. Albarn told the UK’s The Guardian that the album will feature guest appearances from a variety of acts, including Snoop Dogg, Bobby Womack, the Bee Gee’s Barry Gibb and rapper Mos Def. Plastic Beach is the follow up to the virtual group’s 2005 #1 album Demon Days, which was produced by Danger Mouse and featured guest appearances by MF Doom, De La Soul, Neneh Cherry and Dennis Hopper.

 

Grammy Award winning singer Nora Jones has teamed with The Beastie Boys and Santigold to remix tracks from Jones’ brand new album The Fall. Beastie group members Mike D. and Ad Rock remixed one of the three remixes being released for sale by Jones this January. The Beasties remixed the song “That’s What I Said,” Santigold and Snotty remixed Jones’ track “Chasing Pirates,” while the third single is also a remix of the song “Chasing Pirates” by Droogs. The remixes will be released for sale digitally and on vinyl worldwide on January 12th 2010. The tracks will premiere on the Internet this week. Jones is currently gearing up to launch a 36-date tour in support of The Fall this March.

 

A remixed version of Canadian rapper K’Naan’s track “Wavin Flags” has been selected as the official song of the 2010 World Cup, which takes place in South Africa in 2010. The track is taken from the Somalia born, Canada raised artists’ 2009 album Troubadour. The new version, “Wavin’ Flags: The Celebration,” features new lyrics with references to soccer. The new track will be used in all official advertisements and at each officially endorsed event by FIFA, including the World Cup Trophy Tour. K‘Naan is currently on a tour of Africa.

Freeway: Live From Detroit

There are so many things to ask Freeway and you can get all your questions tonight at 8pm EST!

 

There are so many things to ask him, we decided to give up an opportunity to interview him and pass the “roc” over to our loyal readers.

 

Freeway will be doing a live chat on AllHipHop.com to answer any and all questions about his life and times.

 

And, you know, there are a lot of things to talk about. Recently, he released a new song about Beanie Sigel and Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter. On top of it all, he has been traveling around the country as a member of Cash Money Records. Last, but not least, he’ll be in the studio with staples from the Detroit rap scene. Check it.

 

Streaming Video by Ustream.TV

 

 

Nivea, Lil Wayne Welcome Son

R&B singer Nivea and rapper Lil Wayne celebrated the birth of their son today (November 30).

 

The child, reportedly named Neal, is the second son to be born to Lil Wayne in 2009. The rapper also welcomed a son in September, with actress Lauren London.

 

Inaccurate reports surfaced last week that Nivea had given birth to the baby boy, who was delivered today.

 

Young Money President Mack Maine expressed joy at Neal’s birth in a series of Tweets from the hospital.

 “Thank god,” Mack Maine Tweeted. “Baby Neal was born healthy to Nivea Nash and Dwayne Carter!!!! Thanx 4 all the blessings n support!!!! Love ya heard me!!”

 

The child is Lil Wayne’s third son and fourth child in total. He also has a ten-year old daughter named Reginae, with reality star Toya Carter of BET’s reality show Tiny & Toya.

 

Nivea also has three children from a previous relationship with hit producer The Dream, who is currently married to R&B singer Christina Milian.

 

In related news, Lil Wayne’s highly anticipated rock album The Rebirth will finally hit stores on December 15, the same day as the release of Young Money’s compilation, We Are Young Money.

 

Additionally, Lil Wayne will appear in a New York court on December 15, where he is expected to formally sentenced to a year in prison for Wayne pleaded guilty to a felony gun possession charge.

DJ Envy Resigns From Hot 97

Popular Hip-Hop personality DJ Envy resigned from his position at Hot 97 today (November 30) AllHipHop.com has confirmed.

 

DJ Envy worked at the popular New York Hip-Hop station for over 8-years.

 

He most recently served as the host of Hot 97’s “New At 2,” a successful afternoon show that played new music from 2:00-2:30PM each day.

 

While at Hot 97, DJ Envy also served as co-host of Miss Jones’ morning show, before Jones left to head up a new show on WUSL Power 99FM in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in July of 2008.

 

“Hot 97 was one of the best experiences in my life,” DJ Envy told AllHipHop.com. “I will definitely miss that place. It was like my second home….Nah I really had a air mattress there.”

 

As part of Miss Jones’ morning show crew, DJ Envy was involved in a number of controversial incidents.

 

In 2005, Miss Jones, DJ Envy and personality Tasha Hightower were suspended for two weeks for their part in promoting an off-color song titled “The Tsunami Song” that outraged Asian-Americans.

 

Additionally DJ Envy feuded with rival DJ Star, who was eventually fired from Power 105.1 in 2006 and arrested for making sexually threatening remarks about DJ Envy’s wife and his 4-year-old daughter.

 

DJ Envy is the CEO of his own company, Blok Entertainment company.

 

He has produced tracks for a number of rappers, including Fabolous, DMX, Foxy Brown, Juvenile and others.

Hip-Hop Rumors: 50 Cent’s Final Mixtape! Tahiry & Joe: A Witness SPEAKS! Joe & Trey Didn’t Fight!

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.COUPLE ALERT: TREY SONGZ AND TAHIRY!

and

JOE DIDN’T FIGHT TREY!

I didn’t want to believe it, but I am forced to see it how the streets see it. One of my contacts hit me with this full run down of what happened at that club in New Jersey. So, basically, the first thing I want to say is that there was no fight between singer/crooner JOE and TREY SONGZ. All the blogs are wrong about that one. Sorry Blogs! It was local guys from the NJ area fighting Trey’s security after one of his security punched a local guy in the face for trying to get too close to Songz. They must not know about Jersey! All HAIL broke loose and a lot of Newark, NJ cats were in the place to be. Whoever got hit, had a LOT of friends. And, after somebody threw a bottle at Trey Songz, it was over! The night went to hell. BOOM! BASH! CRASH!!!!!

Here is the other part and they speak on the Tahiry and Trey Songz part of it.

Seed, I don’t know HOW u get your info so quick, but i was in 501 VIP section that night. The info u have is 100% correct. Tahiry was with Trae all night…and they DEFINETLY left together after the brawl. Almost like they were a couple, they were both huddled up in the midst of Trae Song’s security until the floor was cleared out. They were literally held hostage on stage for about 15 minutes. Dudes AND girls were getting messed up, It was almost like a prison riot. The other websites were wrong in saying it was with Joe’s people.

But Tahiry was DEFINETLY huddle up with Trae during the fracas surrounded by his security team in a protective wall. And they DEFINITELY left together after the crowd was dispersed. He dod say the amazing birthday sex tonite thing. But during t he brawl, Trae looked scared as HELL dog…thats no bulls**t. I was so shocked by his expression that I tried to take a picture but it was too damn dark…lol No cops were inside, so no one was really sure how it was going to end up!! Luckily no one got any firearms inside.

TIGER WOODS SAID…

After Tiger Wood got his butt beat down with a golf club by his doting European wife, the golf champ reportedly stated, “She’s gone ghetto.” This is way too funny! Now, I never regarded Tiger as nothing but a puritan type of dude, but if she got “ghetto,” what does that make him? SMH at him. I don’t think she got ghetto, I think she got VIKING on his tail!! Anyway, Tiger has a lil’ ghetto on him too, because he’s not trying to talk to the cops. The cops WILL get to the bottom of this.

J-LO’S SEX TAPE IS ON THE WAY….

Check what I jacked off of VIBE.com!

In the tale of Jennifer Lopez‘s intimate home videos, she may have won the battle but her ex-husband and his team is fighting to win the war.

Earlier this month, a Los Angeles Superior Court judge granted J. Lo a temporary restraining order to stop the release of private home videos from 1997 that Lopez’ ex, Ojani Noa, was planning to release.

The movie, How I Married Jennifer Lopez: The J. Lo and Ojani Noa Story, featured Lopez in “sexual situations,” her attorney claimed in court documents. Lopez, who reportedly got a confidentiality agreement with Noa years ago, sued for breach of contract, where she sought $10 million in damages. In court documents, Lopez says she’s suffered “shame, mortification, hurt feelings, embarrassment, (and) humiliation.”

Now the film’s executive producer, Ed Meyer, is threatening to put photographs and 11 hours of footage into court files accessible by the public, the New York Daily News reports.

“It’s time for someone in Hollywood to stand up to [Lopez’s attorneys], and I’m that person,” Meyer said. “If the judge finds me in contempt on Tuesday, then the world media will be there to see me led out of the courtroom in handcuffs.”

Noa originally threatened to release a tell-all book, accusing Lopez of cheating on him with her current husband Marc Anthony, in 2007 but a judge killed his plans due to the confidentiality agreement. —Linda Hobbs 

50 CENT TALKS ABOUT HIS FINAL MIXTAPE

For those that musta forgot, 50 Cent and G-Unit used to be the premier mixtape monster many year ago. Now, he discusses the LAST mixtape he’s going to do. On top of it all, he’s got some movie stuff in the works.

Interesting. 50’s got no interest in working with Mase. How he said it was kind of crazy. No beef, just honest.

THE NEXT 48 HOURS: RICK ROSS AND TRIPLE C’S

video platform

video management

video solutions

free video player

SIGNS THE WORLD IS COMING TO AN END PART 2

The suspected gunman in the slaying of four police officers was categorized as mentally unstable from people that knew him. YA THINK? The cops are after a man named Maurice Clemmons and they are certain he was wounded in the melee that ended up with those four cops dead. They thought they knew where to find him, but they didn’t find him there…somebody’s home. Authorities allege he killed Sgt. Mark Renninger, 39, and officers Ronald Owens, 37, Tina Griswold, 40, and Greg Richards, 42, as they worked on their laptop computers at the beginning of their shifts, the Huffington Post said. The cops said Clemmons is so mentally sick, they don’t think there is any motive of note.

EPIC FAIL OF THE DAY

Peep this news story from the Associated Press!

FLINT — Six Flint-area party stores and gas stations paid drug users for food stamps the retailers used to stock their shelves and, in some cases, buy steak and crab leg dinners, police said.

The scheme drew drug dealers and crime into neighborhoods surrounding the businesses, police said.

Detective Trooper Stacey Moore of the Flint Area Narcotics Group told the Flint Journal that most of the sellers used the cash to buy drugs. The retailers often paid just 20 cents on the dollar for government cards intended to provide food for needy households, he said.

The drug unit had an undercover officer go into the stores and sell a fake food stamp electronic benefits card, often to the owner or owner’s relatives, Moore said. The stores often paid just $50 for food stamps intended to buy $250 worth of groceries.

Drug dealers set up shop outside the stores because the cardholders often used the cash to buy drugs, she said.

“It brings in crime, it brings in guns and drugs — stuff you don’t want in the neighborhood,” she said.

Each store is accused of more than $1,000 in fraud during the undercover investigation, which lasted more than a year. Stacks of cards were found behind counters in some stores, Moore said.

People are gone! Using people’s food stamps to STOCK THEIR BODEGAS? They have lost it completely!WIC CHECK THIEVES, 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].

Giant Magazine Folds

Radio One, owner of urban publication Giant Magazine, has announced that the print edition will cease publication after the upcoming issue is released to newsstands.

 

Sources told AllHipHop.com that factors in the magazine’s demise included the economic downturn, as well as media dollars being shifted away from print magazines to Internet properties.

 

The Giant brand will continue to operate under Radio One’s subsidiary company, Interactive One.

 

Interactive One was launched in 2008 to compliment Radio One’s portfolio of digital properties, which include BlackPlanet.com, NewsOne.com and Hellobeautful.com.

 

Giantlife.com will launch with an exclusive video series featuring Alicia Keys.

 

“Suspending the print vehicle marks the end of an era, but I am thrilled with the opportunity to bring more Celebrity, Style and Culture to our audiences through my exclusive video series, and other integrated rich media opportunities,” said Interactive One’s Chief Content Officer, Smokey Fontaine. “In the coming months consumers can look forward to more exclusive content from trend-setter and celebrity bloggers and active user participation and dialogue through TheGIANTList.”

 

Giant was a bi-monthly publication that was acquired by Radio One in 2007. The magazine published a total of 33 issues.

 

Alicia Keys is featured on Giant Magazine’s final cover of the print edition, which lands on newsstands December 15th.