AllHipHop

homepage

Rapper/Actress Queen Latifah Sued By Stylists For $1 Mil

By: Grouchy Greg Watkins (@GrouchyGreg)Category: News

Hip-Hop icon and Cover Girl spokeswoman Queen Latifah is being sued by two former employees over allegations of breach of contract.

 

The two suits claim that Latifah, real name Dana Owens, employed both Roxanna Floyd and Susan Moses for work on her Queen Collection Cover Girl and Curvations lines.

 

Floyd alleges that she was employed by Latifah for over 10 years, and was responsible for “developing, producing, and marketing defendant’s Queen Collection make-up line for Cover Girl.”

 

Because she was allegedly never compensated for her work, Floyd is seeking $700,000 in damages on the grounds of unjust enrichment and breach of contract.

 

Moses’ lawsuit states she worked for 3 years on Latifah’s Vanity Fair Curvations line as a stylist and developer.

 

She claims that even after her services tab exceeded $150,000, Latifah “continues to completely fail to pay plaintiff for her services and a large portion of her expenses relating to Curvations.”

 

Moses is now seeking $300,000, also on the ground of breach of contract and unjust enrichment.

 

Although the two federal lawsuits were filed separately, both plaintiffs are being represented by Carmen Giordano.

 

In addition to herself, Owen’s Queen Latifah Inc. was also named in both suits.

 

At press time, Queen Latifah could not be reached for comment.

EXCLUSIVE: Pitbull Signs With Polo Grounds Music/RCA Music Group

By: Grouchy Greg Watkins (@GrouchyGreg)Category: News

Miami Hip-Hop star Pitbull has inked a deal with Bryan Leach’s Polo Grounds Music, a source has confirmed with AllHipHop.com.

 

Pitbull, who released his debut album and all subsequent releases under the TVT deal, had a public falling out with label head Steve Gottlieb.

 

Pitbull, born Armando Perez, accused the label and its executives of sabotaging his career due to the lack of promotion for several of his albums, including has last, The Boatlift.

 

Rapper Lil Jon made similar accusations against TVT Records before the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in February of 2008.

 

In June 2008, TVT Records was sold to The Orchard in bankruptcy court for $6 million dollars.

 

According to a source, Pitbull’s new album will be released by Polo Grounds, which was founded by former TVT executive, Bryan Leach.

 

Leach spent 11 years as Vice President of Urban A&R at TVT, where he discovered and helped develop artists like Lil Jon, Ying Yang Twins and Pitbull.

 

Artists on Polo Grounds include Hurricane Chris, Nina Sky, Avery Storm, Boxie and others.

Wale & B.O.B. Rip Down Atlanta

By: Grouchy Greg Watkins (@GrouchyGreg)Category: Reviews / Music

In an era oversaturated with Myspace and Youtube rappers, a talented upcoming emcee has to be exceptional lyrically, production, and image-wise to stand out. And of course, having a competent machine behind you doesn’t hurt. Enter Grand Hustle member B.o.B., and buzz-heavy Interscope signee Wale, who both last weekend (March 27) brought their energetic stage shows to Atlanta’s Loft venue.

 

After a seemingly endless 2 hour stream of opening acts, the 20-year old B.o.B. hit the stage. Backed by a raucous drummer and handling his own guitar duties, Grand Hustle’s youngest star breezed through his catalogue highlights “I’ll Be In The Sky” and the frenetic “Haterz Everywhere.” A witty, affable showman, Bobby Ray kept the crowd upbeat with his self-deprecating humor and acrobatic stage antics.

 

The Decatur native also used his set to showcase his various comrades from the Grand Hustle family. Killer Mike set a good tone with selected cuts from his Grind series, but the crowd’s energy began to wane as numerous lesser known Grand Hustle artists devalued and took up the bulk of B.o.B.’s set.

 

However, all was forgiven when T.I., who was sentenced to a year in prison hours earlier, joined B.o.B. on stage for a surprise performance of “On Top Of The World.” Showing no signs of exasperation at his recent fate, T.I. held regal court during his brief appearance and was genuinely pleased with his camp’s performances.

 

Over 4 hours after the doors opened, D.C.’s Wale finally blessed the patient but drained crowd. Still, the go-go rhythms of acclaimed band UCB were irresistible, and the show reached fevered pitches courtesy of Wale tracks “Breakdown,” “Ice Cream,” and “Dig Dug.”

 

Wale also dished out history lessons, quizzing fans on their knowledge of go-go bands like EU and the Junk Yard Band, and even delivering a smoothed out, go-go rendition of A Tribe Called Quest’s timeless “Electric Relaxation.”

 

UCB’s own catalogue was on display, as the band answered the calls from PG County ladies in attendance by performing “Sexy Lady,” which the uninitiated may recall based on similar rhythms to the System’s 80’s#### “Don’t Disturb This Groove.”

Surviving UGK member Bun B was the final surprise appearance in an inspired rendition of “Back In T?he Go Go.” To end, Wale implored the tired but game crowd to give one last effort for his closing hit “Nike Boots.” The audience obliged, giving the D.C. native a rousing sendoff as he mingled with fans afterward.

 

Even without the star power of their veteran peers, B.o.B. and Wale have proven to be capable performers with songs that will always translate well in a live atmosphere.

 

 

B.o.B & T.I.

“On Top Of The World”

 

Wale

“Electric Relaxtion”

 

Wale Featuring Bun B, UCB

“Back In The Go Go”

 

Wale & UCB

“Sexy Lady”

How to Make a Hit: The Age of Songwriting

By: Grouchy Greg Watkins (@GrouchyGreg)Category: Alternatives

While income streams for artists in the music industry have become less and less, the amount of money made by songwriters and music publishers has not seen that drastic of a decline. This is not to say that the decision to be just an artist cannot still be a lucrative one. However, it would seem there are more pronounced cons.“If you don’t feel like your song is hotter than the #1 song in the country, then it’s not even worth it.” says Dre McKenzie from G-Unit records during BMI’s “A Conversation With The Industry”, a panel discussion on March 18th regarding the state of music from a publishing perspective. The world of songwriters is just as competitive if not more so than that of artists. There are a multitude of songwriters on any given day who are working towards achieving the next chart topper. However, where an artist may have to wait a small eternity to amass riches even after chart topping hits and a platinum selling album (especially given the current state of the music industry) the pay off for a songwriter is much more immediate. With the collection of royalties and writer fees, a songwriter can see a six-figure income after penning only one song if it becomes a massive hit.“Producers and songwriters have definitely become more popular in the past couple of years,” legendary producer Kwame explains about the increase in visibility of those “behind the scenes.” There are definitely songwriters who have achieved a certain level of visibility and even fame. However, most will never see it to the extent that an artist does. An artist has a marketing machine behind them whose sole purpose is to drill them into the consciousness of as many people as possible, whereas the machine behind a songwriter (if they have one) is to drill them into the consciousness of as many people in the Music Industry as possibly. Penning hit songs helps this cause, but in most cases does nothing in terms of creating fame in the most general sense for the writer. In fact, it only makes the artist more popular. The retention of their anonymity can be a blessing for many songwriters as they get all the perks of a music industry lifestyle without the intense scrutiny that fame can bring. However, there are many who crave the spotlight as there are many songwriters who are simply artists waiting for their time to shine.“I love what I do. It’s the best profession in the world. Nothing compares to it,” gushes songwriter Frankie Storm about her job. So what is better: being an artist or a songwriter? The lucrative compromise would be to do both. Keyshia Cole, Ne-Yo, R.Kelly and many others have all made money on both sides of the fence. However, the more definitive answer probably depends on where you sit full-time.Which would you rather be?Poll Answers**To get the latest AllHipHop Alternatives Features, follow us on Twitter @ www.twitter.com/AHHalternatives**

T-Pain Talks Accident; Resumes Tour

By: Grouchy Greg Watkins (@GrouchyGreg)Category: News

Days after reportedly losing teeth in a golf cart accident, rapper/singer T-Pain set the record straight regarding the incident, with a return to the stage Sunday (March 29) as part of Lil Wayne’s I Am Music Tour.

 

In a video posted on VladTV.com, the entertainer is seen with his dancers performing his hit DJ Kahled collaboration “I’m So Hood.”

 

Following the performance and an urging to buy his latest album, Thr33 Ringz, T-Pain confirmed that that he was involved in the accident.

 

Media sources report the producer lost four teeth in the accident, which occurred Friday (March 27) and resulted in cuts and abrasions on T-Pain’s face.

 

“So check this out. There’s a lot of talk goin’ round about how T-Pain flipped over a damn golf cart. That’s f****n true,” T-Pain admitted to concertgoers at the Gibson Amphitheater in Universal City, California. “Ladies and gentleman I bust my a**. I would show you the marks but I do not want to pull my pants down right now.”

 

Because of the accident, T-Pain was unable to perform Friday at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, California as one of the acts billed for the I Am Music tour.

 

In addition, the hitmaker missed a video shoot for the video to Lil Kim’s latest single “Download.”

 

Although reps for HP Pavilion and Lil Kim confirmed the accident, Sunday’s concert marked the first time T-Pain has spoken out about the incident.

 

“My a** is on fire right now. My s**t is hurtin’ so bad right now it’s crazy,” said the beatmaker, who confessed to having his teeth worked on moments after the accident. “My side hurt. My mouth hurt. I lost some teeth. I got that fixed the next day. Rich n***a teeth. Yes, I got that fixed the same day,” T-Pain said.

 

Despite coming out to perform, T-Pain acknowledged he may have fell short of fan expectations as he apologized for not being able to give his all to the show.

 

“If I was any less of a showman today than I usually am I am so sorry. I did not mean to Britney Spears y’all a**,” he stated. “I appreciate y’all comin out to see us. I’ma always keep it hood. No matter what man I’ma get on this stage. I don’t give a f### how many golf carts I flip over… I’ma always stay hard for y’all. I’ma always stay true. I’ma keep it real for my fans everyday and every night.”

Camp Lo: Caught On Tape

By: Grouchy Greg Watkins (@GrouchyGreg)Category: Features

When you hear the phrase caught on tape, many things come to mind. Dressing room hi jinx, botched gas station robberies, and dumb criminals come to mind.  In Stone and Rob: Caught on Tape, Camp Lo returns to the music scene caught in the midst of a Hip-Hop landscape that is probably more prepared for their original steez than it ever was. Here’s the problem: they are going left and hitting the road a bit harder than they used to.  Is this another case of bad timing, or is the Camp immune to these Romper Room tunes?AllHipHop.com: Stone And Rob, that’s a reference to

Stone and Robert from Cooley High, correct?

Camp

Lo:

[Laughter]…It’s ill that somebody just got it…just got the connection like

that.

AllHipHop.com:

So you’ve continued with your connection the Blaxploitation flicks like Cooley High with this new title.  What about that era do you connect with and

how does it inform your music?

Sonny

Cheeba: Probably how cats was talking, what they had on.  Cooley

High wasn’t corny either. The style, the slang, everything that cats do,

those flicks had in it.

AllHipHop.com:

This time around you got artists like Styles P and Pete Rock. A mini-departure

from your previous albums. Why the change?

Cheeba:  Pete Rock is not a 100% percent departure,

cause if you listen to Pete Roc and CL Smooth, if you listen to what they was

rapping over back in the days we were fans of that.

Geechi

Suede:  My

first allowance I ever got, that’s the first Hip-Hop record I ever bought in my

life was Mecca & The Soul Brother.

I got my allowance for sweeping the front porch and the hallway of my

grandmother’s house. First album ever

Cheeba:

And as far as Styles P is concerned, it’s not way to the left cause your man

still stay true to the art you know what I’m saying? We’re dealing with cats

that stay true.

 

AllHipHop.com:

Your first album was very slept on but ironically, when you look at present day

Hip-Hop you were probably about a decade ahead of your time. Were you too ahead

of the curve?

Cheeba:

You would rather be ahead instead of running with the crowd. At certain times

cats might say that being ahead of your time, you know, that s**t don’t really

translate.  But to me it translates.  Cause everything coming outside of the vein

is gonna be a little ahead of its time. Plus when people hear that, they know

that they can only get a certain style of music coming from them. You getting

mixed in with the pot and cats ain’t checking for you period.

Suede:

Well I appreciate that first and foremost, and second of all me and Cheeba

don’t think time with anything you know? 

Especially not fashion or music related. So I guess that where the

classic essence of what we do comes from. Time is not a factor in what we do.

AllHipHop.com:  I think a lot of these cats like say a Kanye

or a Mikkey Factz inform their style from the stuff that you did a while back. I

don’t really think it’s out of pocket to say that.

Suede:

Wow. See me and Cheeba are humble dudes so we don’t really…wow, I appreciate

you for saying that man. I guess we just gotta keep pushing that bar so that

the cats that don’t know who Camp Lo is know that, and those that do, keep

knowing. But I really appreciate you saying that.

AllHipHop.com:

The game is really different from when you initially released a record.  How do you feel about the theatrics

surrounding the music?

Cheeba:

It’s like how these TV shows like reality TV. You get your little quick fix you

laughing and you good for the day. So that translates over to the music.

Instead of it being straight good music you hearing who’s beefing with whom.  I don’t know how that started but I’m a fan of

the music, before a fan of the drama.

Suede:

My son he has a real good diverse taste. He loves the “Stanky Leg” but then he

love Wu. He love Nas, Hov whatever the case may be.  I like where he’s at with it. If the rest of

the world could be where he’s at with it where he can appreciate the “Stanky

Leg” but he appreciates Big Daddy Kane, too. I think that’s important that we

know it’s not just “Stanky Leg,” it ain’t just “Lookit Boy.”

If there was more diversity with s**t it would be a

good look.  You can only check them on

BET J or VH1 Soul.  Not everyone has

those channels. There aren’t a lot of outlets for that real creative stuff

anymore.

AllHipHop.com:

Tell us a bit about Stone And Rob: Caught

on Tape.

Suede:

We been wanting to do Stone & Rob. Stone & Rob is like an alter ego.

Cats always look at [Camp] Lo as martini music, you know? I mean we are always

gonna give you that martini, the sparkle, the Black connection, but there is a

Stone & Rob dimension to us because we are from the Bronx. We just wanted

to get people more in touch with that side of us; that we do have that

side. 

The die-hards know because they remember the “Krystal

Karrington’s” and the “Killing Them Softly’s” and all that, but we just felt

like it was time to bring Stone & Rob to the forefront because we had been

wanting to bring them out of the bag for a minute. That’s where we went with

this record right here. We kinda went Uptown with it.

AllHipHop.com:

Lightning Round. Superfly or Shaft?

Suede:

Shaft

Cheeba:

I’mma go with Superfly.

AllHipHop.com:

Creeper

(Dolomite) or Ned The Wino (Good Times)?

Camp

Lo (in unison): Ned The Wino!

AllHipHop.com:

Thelma (Good Times) or Foxy Brown(Pam Grier)?

Cheeba:

I’mma have to go Thelms. It might be neck and neck though.

Suede: I

can’t go Thelms, you gotta go Fox, yeah I’m going with Fox.

AllHipHop.com:

Muhammad Ali or Mike Tyson?

Camp

Lo:

Ali all the way.

AllHipHop.com:

Jay-z or Nas?

Cheeba:

Your man Nas’ bars is better, but I partied more to Jay-z over the years.

Suede:

Oh Nas! I love Hov, don’t get me wrong, but Nas? I know more of his lyrics.

AllHipHop.com:

If Ski had given you the beats that he had earmarked for you on that first

album instead of putting them on Reasonable

Doubt, do you think Uptown Saturday

Night would have been held in the same esteem as Reasonable Doubt?

Suede:

Honestly, I dug “Feeling it” but I wasn’t crazy about it. So I don’t really

feel that we lost anything by that record not being on Uptown because I thought it was cool but I wasn’t back-flipping

over the s**t. I thought it actually made a better fit for his record than

ours. We didn’t have no singing joints on that first record, so I didn’t really

think it would have been a good fit.

And I feel like, in its own right, Uptown is held to the same esteem as Reasonable Doubt as far as just being some classic s### that came

out in a classic time. And it has a certain association with it based on the

producer and everything but nah I never felt no kinda way.  But he was trying to get “Luchini!” Now that

would have been some ol’ other s**t! That woulda been like…that’s fighting!

That’s war s**t right there. Something would have had to come back for that.

AllHipHop.com:

Any last words?

Suede: I

love AllHipHop. I always check you guys out so it’s always a pleasure to be a

part of this s**t.

Cheeba:

Me personally, as far as the [Camp] Lo go, you can always come to us to get

that fresh new boutique kind of music that you can’t get no place else. Keep

checking for that new music.