Popular New York DJ/personality Funkmaster Flex is up for The National Broadcaster Association’s prestigious Marconi Award. Flex is one of only two other New York personalities up for an award at this year’s ceremony, which takes place in Philadelphia on September 24. Flex is up for the Major Market Personality of the Year for his show “Funkmaster Flex Show”, which airs on Hot 97 Monday-Thursday from 7PM to 12AM and on Friday’s from 10PM-2AM. In related news, Steve Harvey will battle Rush Limbaugh for Network Syndicated Personality of the Year.
The Black Eyed Peas set the record for the longest successive time spent at #1 by a duo or a group Billboard reports. The group broke Boyz II Men’s run of 16 weeks at #1 with two different songs yesterday (July 30) when their single “I Gotta Feeling” notched it’s fifth week at #1. “I Gotta Feeling” replaced the chart’s previous No.1 single, The Peas’ “Boom Boom Pow” which spent 12 weeks at the top of the chart. The Black Eyed Peas are currently planning a world tour in support of the album The E.N.D. In related news, The Black Eyed Peas’ Peapod Foundation will unveil two state-of-the-art music and multi-media academies in Oakland and Redwood City, California. The group will be present during a ribbon cutting ceremony for the Peapod Adobe Youth Voices Academy on August 1.
DMX will headline the first annual Summer Showdown ‘09 Concert and Car Show at Cohen Stadium in El Paso, Texas, this Saturday (August 1). In addition to DMX headlining the concert, the day will include a DJ battle, local rap artists and a car show featuring some of the best cars in El Paso and the surrounding areas. The car show starts at noon, while DMX gets on stage at 9:00 PM. In related news, producer Swizz Beatz revealed that DMX was half of his double CD, Walk With Me Now and You’ll Fly With Me Later. You’ll Fly With Me Later, the gospel half of the album has been scrapped. On DMX’s gospel album: “I’mma let him do his thing later,” Swizz said told MTV. “Now we gotta stay focused on what we gotta do…we gonna do the gospel later. But if we do the gospel album, it’s gotta be with the official gospel people: Mary Mary, this one, that one. I want it to be something that even in the gospel realm is respected.”