Chuck D. Gets Down With ESPN
Chuck D. recently composed a rap themed jingle for ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball. Recorded with Public Enemy associate Gary "G Wiz." The intro theme has already drawn praise from Sunday Night Baseball broadcasters Jon Miller and Joe Morgan. "I know baseball, so my whole thing is to make a lot of metaphors, don’t go too […]
Khia Alive And Well, Readies New Single
Contrary to a rumor that has floated across the nation, Tampa Florida’s Khia is alive. Her song, "My Neck, My Back" has been burning up radio airwaves across the country and gossipers have been spreading the rumor that she was dead. According to the rumor, Khia was shot and killed after she passed HIV to […]
Mos Def Acts, Protests U.S. Government
Mos Def will star along side Isaiah Washington and Wood Harris in the feature, "From The Outside Looking In." According to Billboard, the movie is a coming of age story of a young man who chronicles the past twenty years of his life growing up with his four best friends in Brooklyn, New York. The […]
Ekaya Institute and Hip-Hop Art Gallery To Promote Health
Ekaya Institute (see http://www.takeafruitbreak.com on the web) has teamed up with Stormcrow Studios’ "The House of Talifero" (see http://www.stormcrow.com on the web), a brand new online hip-hop fine art gallery, to raise money for the "Take A Fruit Break" Campaign. The campaign aims to get people to eat more fruit as a simple step towards […]
Hip-Hop Heavy Hitters T-Off
Heavy hitters in the hip-hop industry are gathering Sunday (June 23) to play golf, helping to raise money for the National Minority Junior Golf Scholarship Association, which supports minority students through college. Luke (Luke Records), Lyor Cohen (Chairman of the Island Def Jam Music Group) and Kedar Massenberg (CEO of Motown) will be among the […]
Dre Remixes The Stones, Wins Award
Dr. Dre has remixed a cut for legendary rock group, the Rolling Stones. The remix to the Stone’s 1978 hit "Miss You," will be featured on the new Austin Powers movie "Goldmember." The soundtrack hits the stores next month while the movie, which also stars Beyonce Knowles, hits theaters September 19th. The album also features […]
50 Cent Signs With Eminem’s Shady Records
50 Cent has inked a deal with Eminem’s Shady Records. Best known for his "How To Rob" song in which he robs various rappers, 50’s 2nd major label release will be distributed by Dr. Dre’s Aftermath Entertainment. "I am at the best place I could possibly be," 50 Cent said. "Creatively this is the spot." […]
Swollen Members Clean Up At MuchMusic Awards
Canadian hip-hop group Swollen Members topped the MuchMusic Video awards in Canada on Sunday (June 16), taking home four awards. The group won awards for best director, best rap video, best independent video and a VideoFact Award. The group also won a Juno award last year, Canada’s equivalent to a Grammy. The show was not […]
Victory For Hip-Hop: Mayor Vows To Help NY Schools
New York City Mayor Bloomberg signed a deal with the United Federation Of Teachers last week, granting 80,000 New York teachers pay raises of 16% to 22%. The deal came on the heels of the 100,000 strong protest staged by the Hip-Hop Summit Action Network and the UFT. The mayor had originally planned to cut […]
Houston Rapper Big Mello Killed
Houston rapper Curtis "Big Mello" Davis was killed Saturday (June 15th) in a traffic accident. According to officials, Big Mello’s car left the road at about 8 P.M. and hit a pillar. A passenger in the car, Jerry Louis Jett Jr., died on the way to the hospital. Big Mello had released 1992’s Bone Hard […]
3rd Annual Hip-Hop Theater Festival Taking Off
The 3rd annual New York City Hip-Hop Theater Festival will take off June 18th-29th. Produced by Danny Hoch’s Caseroc Productions and Hip-Hop Theater Junction, the festival will feature some of hip-hop’s brightest actors, playwriters, performers and dancers. Taking place at PS 122 and The Nuyorican Poets Cafe, the festival will showcase 20 plays and over […]
Audiogalaxy Halts Downloads, Settles With Music Industry
Audiogalaxy reached a settlement with the Recording Industry Association Of America (RIAA) and the National Music Publishers Association (NMPA), agreeing to obtain permission from copyright holders before allowing users to swap songs. The agreement halted all trading of songs yesterday (June 17). Audiogalaxy had already started filtering songs in an attempt to avoid the same […]
Wyclef To Launch Caribbean Label, Speaks On Lauryn Hill
In addition to his Clef Records, which is distributed by J Records, Wyclef Jean will be launching a new record label. Sak Passé (Creole for "what’s up) will focus on releasing Haitian and other Caribbean music. Describing a Caribbean form of music called Compas, Clef is highly confident the masses will catch on. ”Compas can […]
North Carolina Reverend Calls For Boycott
Durham based Rev. Paul Scott has called for a boycott of "Gangsta Rap" music, urging fans to demand positive rap and hip-hop that doesn’t promote negative images against African-American men and women. Scott chose Fathers day (June 16th) to start the boycott, targeting men, but is also calling on the women who have lost sons […]
Hip-Hop Documentary Premiers In San Francisco
Hip-Hop documentary "The World Famous," debuted at the San Francisco Black Film Festival on Saturday (June 15). The 45 minute documentary focuses on the impact the ground breaking radio show, "The Wake Up Show," had on the hip-hop community in the Bay Area, and the influence Sway, Tech, Carmelita and Revolution had on the culture. […]
Dr. Dre Second Highest Paid Performer
Dr. Dre has clocked in on Rolling Stone magazine’s Top 10 Pay Chart for 2001. Dre, who was topped only by Irish rock band U2, reportedly received an estimated $35 million dollars last year when Vivendi boosted their stake in Aftermath Entertainment, the label he heads. Aftermath is home to such chart topping acts as […]
Queen Latifah Starring In Two New Flicks
Queen Latifah is executive producing and starring opposite Steve Martin in the comedy, "In The Houze." The movie centers around a man (Martin) who meets a female (Latifah) on the internet, who happens to be in prison. In a strange twist, the female inmate escapes prison and proceeds to wreak havoc on Martin’s life. The […]
Will I.Am Launches Clothing Line, BEP Readies New LP
Black Eyed Peas member Will.I.Am recently launched his own clothing line, dedicated to showing off his unique clothing designs. I.Am clothes, which was founded 6 months ago with co-designer Lor-E Phillips, is geared toward "the higher end trendy spots," and will be available for both men and women. Each design will not exceed 500 pieces […]
Jay-Z, N.E.R.D., Talib Kweli Hit The Road
In addition to teaming with Def Jam for the Sprite/Def Jam University, the soft drink announced today the creation of a new music festival, Sprite Liquid Mix The festival is billed as "an expression of the urban experience featuring a fusion of music, street sports, artistic demonstrations, fashion and entertainment The Sprite Liquid Mix will […]
Public Enemy Prepares New Album, World Tour
To commemorate their 15th year anniversary, Public Enemy is preparing to release their latest LP, "Revolverlution." The album, which features 14 tracks, 8 of which are new songs, also contains four new versions of classic Public Enemy hits, produced by winners of a contest that Chuck D. had on his label’s website, http://www.slamjamz.com. In addition […]