Pharrell, Snoop Dogg Heading To South Africa For Stadium Performances

Pharrell Williams and Snoop Dogg will headline the the first People’s Celebration in South Africa in April. The rappers are on the bill with a variety of international artists, including South Africa’s leading performers. Sean Paul, Mario, Rihanna and others will perform to celebrate the success of Premier Foods, South Africa’s largest 100% black-owned company. […]

Howard University Hosts First Hip-Hop Symposium

Howard University Graduate School, in conjunction with the Moorland-Spingarn Research Center and several grad student organizations, will host the Inaugural Hip-Hop and Higher Education Symposium on March 30. The event aims to fuse Hip-Hop into the curriculum of Howard undergraduate and graduate programs. Panelists for the symposium include Lil’ Mo, BET Style host Melyssa Ford […]

Pharoahe Monch Album On The Way Via New Deal With Steve Rifkind’s New Label

Pharoahe Monch has joined forces with Loud Records/SRC founder Steve Rifkind to release Monch’s first album since his 1999 debut Internal Affairs, on Rawkus Records. Pharaohe Monch will release his highly anticipated album, Desire, on a new unnamed label Rifkind has founded and runs, after a bidding war which is also distributed by Universal. A […]

Rap Producer Claims He’s Unfairly Linked To Officer’s Murder

Rap producer Christopher Hicks was arrested Friday (Feb. 17) in connection to the murder of a California highway patrol officer. Sacramento’s Modesto Bee reported that Hicks unwittingly became linked to the murder suspect, 30-year-old Columbus Junior Allen II. Hicks, a veteran producer who has worked on movie soundtracks, is best known for his collaborations with […]

Slim Thug Goes Titanium For Energizer Music Contest

Rapper Slim Thug has hooked up with Energizer for the battery company’s Engergizer Titanium Technology Freestylin’ music contest. The contest, which runs through March 24, will give participants the chance to freestyle over a beat provided by Energizer. "I started out by freestylin’ over different beats," Slim Thug said. "Energizer’s providing an opportunity for other […]

Queen Latifah Receives First ‘Rosa Parks Lifetime Achievement Award’ From Newark, NJ

Rapper/actress Queen Latifah will receive the first Rosa Parks Lifetime Achievement award issued by her hometown of Newark, NJ. Latifah, born Dana Owens, will receive the award at Newark’s annual Black History Month Monday tribute on Monday (Feb. 20). The Rev. Keith Marshall of Macedonia Baptist Church will give the keynote address at the ceremony, […]