(AllHipHop News) Very few producers can claim to have the level impact on Hip Hop culture and music in general as Def Jam co-founder Rick Rubin. Along with Russell Simmons, Rubin helped push rap music onto the international stage with early records by LL Cool J, Run-D.M.C., and The Beastie Boys.
Before Rubin became a recording industry icon he was the rare white guy immersed in a culture of black artists, fans, and executives. During an interview with Eminem’s manager Paul Rosenberg and DJ Whoo Kid on Shade 45, Rubin talks about some of his associates not realizing he was white at first.
“Both LL and Russell couldn’t believe I was white when I met them,” revealed Rubin. “I told [Russell] I made this record ‘It’s Yours’ [by T La Rock & Jazzy Jay], and he was like, ‘You made that. This is the blackest record I ever heard in my life’, and this was at a time when again there was nobody white at that time in this world.”
The legendary producer also speaks on his decision to return to producing rap after a 10 year hiatus. This year he executive produced Kanye West’s Yeezus andEminem’s The Marshall Mathers LP 2. His work on MMLP2 was his first time producing a Hip Hop track since Jay Z’s “99 Problems” off The Black Album.
“I was always a fan of Em, and I thought if the opportunity to do something with Em would come up I would want to do it,” said Rubin. “He was just someone that I always admired and always felt he was particularly unique and different than every other emcee. I felt it would be fun to mess around and try stuff with him.”
(AllHipHop News) “Scott Boras, you over baby. Robinson Cano you coming with me. These n***as like rotary phones. It’s a new day. Hit up KD,” rapped Jay Z on the Magna Carta Holy Grail track “Crown.” Jay was essentially telling established sports agent Scott Boras and the rest of the world that his new Roc Nation Sports agency was going to be major force whether they liked it or not.
While there were many critics who believed that the Brooklyn mogul could not effectively make the transition from music to athletics, the recent 10-year/$240 million contract with the Seattle Mariners Jay secured for Cano seems to be proving the naysayers wrong for the moment. Another one of Roc Nation’s athletes expressed his view that the third largest contract in baseball history was just the beginning for Jay and Roc Nation.
“It’s just a stepping stone,” said New York Giants receiver Victor Cruz. “It’s a true testament to the way [Jay Z] does his business, and the way he goes about it — the right way.”
Roc Nation/CAA is now home to Cano, Cruz, NBA superstar Kevin Durant, New York Jets quarterback Geno Smith, and WNBA player Skylar Diggins. On the music side, there is talk that Jay is about to add L.A. rapper Nipsey Hussle to the Roc Nation roster after recently signing separate deals with Young Jeezy’s CTE imprint and producer DJ Mustard.
(AllHipHop News) From the constant rants about everything to embracing the confederate flag to the highly lampooned video for “Bound 2,” Kanye West’s public perception has taken a few hits over the last several months, but one outrageous claim that was attributed to Ye was actually untrue.
The Twittersphere erupted over the weekend after a link to an article published on dailycurrant.com quoted Ye as saying he was “the next Nelson Mandela.” The problem is The Daily Currant is a satirical blog, but many people took the supposed Kanye comment referring to the late South African anti-apartheid leader as real. The reactions to the fake quote blasted Kanye for being egotistical and disrespectful even though he never made the statements.
This is not the first time articles from TDC have been mistaken as accurate. Previous posts about devout Christian politician Rick S####### using a gay phone app and the Ten Commandments being discovered on Mars where also heavily circulated around the net as factual news reports.
As we’ve previously reported, King Tech, Sway and DJ Revolution have been dropping phenomenal videos of emerging artists over the last few weeks and this week is no exception! The World Famous Wake Up Show recently created a Hip Hop experience like none other. They took Grammy Award Winning musicians who had never played together before and paired them with emerging Hip Hop artists. The result was a day of Hip Hop genius. They are finally rolling out the videos from that amazing day! And as always AllHipHop.com got the exclusives every Monday! The very last videos are dropping today and we’re excited to be the first to bring them to you!
First up is an artist that is no stranger to AllHipHop.com by any means. We’ve been reporting on Jasiri X for years and he’s been a featured artist on our Top of the Underground list for a good reason…TALENT!
He’s not only lyrical he’s a beast when it comes to savagely attacking truth and throwing it in the face of power through verse! Jasiri has become a real life revolutionary in the Hip Hop game and in the Hip Hop culture at large and his spit game is beyond ridiculous. His ability to hit up everyone’s collective truth in a verse and somehow personalize the message for each individual listener simultaneously has been seen rarely since the days of Chuck D and KRS…but don’t just take our word for it…take a look below at how he worked the mic that day in LA!
And last but definitely not least was an artist that rolled into the spot that day and had not a care in the world! He sat down to do the interview with me and his confidence in Hip Hop and in himself had to be one of the brightest spots of the day. He knew what he came there to do and he went for it wholeheartedly! Hist spit game was reminiscent of the fun times of Hip Hop when it was about the metaphorical ability of an artist and not the gimmick.
Simply put he was a freakin joy to listen to! You wanted to hear the next punchline and joke. He was just FUN to watch! The Saurus proved that Battle Rap doesn’t just mean a dude who raps without music…he brought it to a place where many have long since forgotten it could go! And he did a great job of moving the crowd with his wit and candor! So take a look at our friend The Saurus!
This project has been a blast to cover and it was an honor to be one of the few in the room that day. I was tasked with not only interviewing the artists in the pre-interviews that you’ve seen in each video but also with getting the various emcee’s to the mic and watching each and every one of them blow the set up in their very own ways! It was a pleasure to meet the band members and to get to hang out with the King Tech , Sway and of course DJ Revolution during this amazing project that no one knew a thing about! Thanks to all who let me take part and to those who felt I should be there! Again…it was like Hip Hop church up in there! And I hope we get the opportunity to save more Hip Hop souls one day soon!
Check out www.wakeupshow.com for new updates on both the “Wake Up Show Unplugged” project and to keep up with Tech, Sway and Rev about what’s going on with their show on Sirius XM/ Shade 45! You can also follow them on Twitter at @wakeupshow. Don’t forget to tune in Monday nights, Shade 45 on Sirius XM at 8 PM ET/ 5 PM PT!
(AllHipHop News) Brand Nubian’s Lord Jamar has been very vocal recently about some of the major headlines happening in Hip Hop, and he addressed another constant subject of the media – Chicago rapper Chief Keef. During a recently uploaded interview with VladTV, conducted before some of Keef’s latest legal problems, the rapper/actor expressed his belief that Chief Keef’s street music should not be the only representation of Chitown.
“There has to be that contrast,” said Jamar. “If [Keef] represents that and all the wild s**t that’s going on in Chicago, well I know damn well there’s youth out there trying to counteract what’s going in Chicago, but we’re not hearing people like that.”
The creator of The 5% Album also goes on to point out that Chicago has been home to some of the country’s most well-known revolutionary thinkers like Fred Hampton and the Black Panther Party, but he feels that side of the city had not been showcased nearly as much as Chief Keef.
“Chicago is place that a lot of revolutionaries came from, but these people are not being heard right now,” added Jamar. “So we need more voices to counteract the Chief Keefs of the world, because they’re just crying out for help.”
Kanye has been going super hard recently. There’s been this underdog situation that exploded with “YOU AIN’T GOT THE ANSWERS, SWAY!”
Now, Sway had some fun with it and even sold a few T-shirts after Kanye went off. But, has Kanye been totally forthcoming in his portrayal of how the fashion industry has treated him? I’m being told no. A source with me has told me that the industry has been blackballing Kanye because of how he acted when they gave him all that access a few years ago. If you didn’t know, Yeezy has been pushing in the fashion game for quite some time. But, I am getting somebody spilling all the beans. It seems ALL the luxury brands have issues a mandate not to invite Kanye to anything.
Why?
It seems that Francois Pinault – the billionaire retailer – gave Kanye a lot of advice and resources early on. The rumor is that Kanye really didn’t treat the people with respect when he had them. Now, these people were designing and all that, from what I was told. (Note: I will say this is contrary to what we heard back in the day, which is Kanye was a diligent “intern” that humbled himself to study the craft.) But, the word is Kanye just treated those people terribly! When it didn’t work out, they withdrew support. Kanye then started taking out loans and putting his own money into it. That didn’t work as you heard in the famous rant. Welp. This is what we’re hearing.
“They keep us talking, but if we stop talking about them then they should worry!” -illseed.
(AllHipHop News) The well documented financial troubles of MC Hammer apparently are not over. TMZ reports the “U Can’t Touch This” performer and his wife still owe the IRS $798,033 in taxes from 1996 and 1997, and the government is seeking to garnish any profits from Hammer’s LLC to pay off the debt.
Hammer’s tax issues first became public in 2011, but the Oakland native claimed to have paid off the back taxes tweeting at the time, “700k … Don’t get too excited .. I paid them already and kept my receipt. Stamped by a US Federal Judge.” He took to Twitter again to address the recent reports.
Render unto Cesar what it Cesar’s .. Owe No man but to love him. Suing me from 18yrs ago ? If they win, I’ll pay them. Life is good.
The entertainer born Stanley Burrell famously had to file for bankruptcy in 1996 after amassing an estimated $33 million dollar net worth. Hammer has since gone on to make appearances on television shows like I Married… and The Surreal Life. His most recent music releases include the Jay Z response track “Better Run Run” in 2010.
(AllHipHop News) Disgruntled former employee or confident venting? Hard to tell which one Freddie Gibbs fits under after his mini Twitter tirade that resulted in him sending more inflammatory remarks at his former boss, Young Jeezy.
Yesterday (December 8th) Gangsta Gibbs hinted to his 109.000+ Twitter followers that he may have written a diss song towards Jeezy:
I blow jeezy f kennedy head off one one of these new records. #ESGN
Gibbs has voiced his distaste for Jeezy numerous times this year after their business relationship soured. Back in July, Gibbs claimed Jeezy lied to him about getting the Gary, Indiana a deal with Epic Records.
Less than a week after Justin Beiber hinted at a collaboration with Chance The Rapper, the song, “Confident” surfaces. On the last song of Beiber’s Music Monday series, the two trade verses about a particularly confident woman over a frantic dance beat that sounds like it was left off 20/20 Experience.
The man Spin Magazine dubbed “Rapper of the Year” delivers his usual unorthodox, pocket-bending flow and witty lines like”never forgets to ride like a bicycle”.
The song will be available to be purchased on iTunes now. Check out the stream of the first collaboration, “Confident” below:
DJ Efeezy celebrated his birthday in Miami during the annual Art Basel festival.
The party was hosted by Diddy and Cassie at South Beach hotspot Dream.
Music industry execs and celebs like Bu Thaim, Big Teach, Keenan Jasper, Busta Rhymes, Torch of MMG and rising sensation Travis Scott attended Efeezy’s party, which was sponsored by Varsity LG.
Troy “TLz” Lyons out of Gardena, California by way of South Central LA. Raised in South Central, Los Angeles by his mother on Crenshaw and Slauson. TLz’s grandmother stayed in Gardena where he spent most of his childhood.After graduating High School in 2007 he attended Santa Monica Community College where he originated the TLz sound with DJ Diggity. During TLz’s first semester of college he met hit producer and engineer G Major of Major Artist Entertainment. G Major and TLz meshed well and began to record music. He began to heat up in the summer time of 2010 when he met Money Madd Entertainment CEO Shawntey Lopez. TLz has shared stages with many Los Angeles artists including Marc Payne, Skeme, Casey Veggies, Tyga, Hope, C-San and Overdoz. With exciting delivery and a comprehensive flow he became well know as a lyricist everywhere he went.After moving to Las Vegas and Atlanta TLz finally settled in Miami gaining a valuable network of fellow artists and industry executives along the way. With this backing, he started Exekutive Music Group along with his long time friend and producer Chibuzo “All Blk Buzo” Ndpu.Under the direction of SUPA Starz Entertainment President, Jimmy “Jimmy Mak” Makoso, TLz’s is releasing his first official mixtape entitled “SKYWALKER”. With two self released mixtapes under his belt already, SKYWALKER is his third and most anticipated project to date.SKYWALKER Coast2Coast Mixtapes Download:https://coast2coastmixtapes.com/mixtapes/mixtapedetail.aspx/tlz-skywalkerSKYWALKER Download it at Datpiff:http://www.datpiff.com/TLz-Skywalker-mixtape.557011.htmlSKYWALKER AudioMackhttp://www.audiomack.com/ album/coast-2-coast-mixtapes/ skywalkerSKYWALKERDIGIPROZS.COMMixtape Downloadhttp://goo.gl/UNQFFH
I ain’t even gonna play with y’all. I heard that the boy Nipsey Hussel is now ROC NATION! I’ve got very little else to say about it. But, stay tuned. Its Sunday. We chillin hard…but, there’s more.
You might remember, Jay Z bought 100 copies of Nipsey’s Crenshaw album, which was priced at $100. That’s $10k. That’s love and respect.
“They keep us talking, but if we stop talking about them then they should worry!” -illseed.
(AllHipHop News) Media monolith Ryan Seacrest is developing a new reality show about White female rappers.
The details are scant at press time, however it will presumably chronicle the struggle of several artists as they rise through the rough-and-tumble rigors of the music game.
The show is tentatively called “Girls Of The Game” and will be transmitted on the VH1 network, already know for Hip-Hop-themed programming. None of the participants have been confirmed.
Seacrest already has a number of other shows in the reality realm.
(AllHipHop News) “It was all good until the gunshots rang,” one spectator said.
Four people were shot outside of a Wilmington, Delaware nightclub that housed a Meek Mill concert.
The incident happened at Moodswing Niteclub around 2 a.m.
According to reports, a crowd started to form as the event came to a close when the gunshots rang out. Three men and a female were shot. The men were ages 21, 22, 23, and 24 and the woman was 33 year-old.
Non of their wounds were life threatening.
When the shooting occurred about 700 people were fleeing the scene of the crime to find safety.
Police are looking for several shooters, but don’t have a suspects at press time.
“Yes, Mandela’s day is done. Yet we, his inheritors, will open the gates wider for reconciliation.”-Maya Angelou
(AllHipHop News) The world lost a revolutionary activist on December 5th, Maya Angelou lost a friend of over 45 years. Yesterday (December 6th), a day after Nelson Mandela’s death, the U.S. State Department released a tribute poem written by Dr. Maya Angelou for him “on behalf of the American people.”
The poem, entitled “His Day Is Done” speaks on the Dr. Maya Angelou also reveals a little known fact regarding Nelson Mandela’s 1990 inauguration as South Africa’s President:
When Nelson Mandela took the seat of Presidency in his country where formerly he was not even allowed to vote we were enlarged by tears of pride as we saw Nelson Mandela’s former prison guards invited, courteously, by him to watch from the front row his inauguration.
Back in 2010, in honor of the 20th anniversary of Mandela’s 1990 release from imprisonment, Maya Angelou spoke with The Grioabout the first time she ever met him:
When I first met him I was living in Cairo and I was married to a South African freedom fighter who was with the Pan African Congress and Mr. Mandela of course represented the African National Congress. He came to Cairo and came to my house there and it was so wonderful to hear the ANC and the PACpeople talking out of the country. There was no animosity. There was no rancor. They talked as brothers in Cairo, Egypt and it was so wonderful to see that.
She also revealed that Mandela was able to receive her books in South Africa prior to their initial encounter.
Check out Maya Angelou’s riveting poem “His Day Is Done” in full below:
Compton rapper Problem brought his Separation Tour back home to the city of Angels on December 4 and made a huge statement on his status and where his career is heading. “Diamond Lane n*ggas is a different caliber than a lot of these n*ggas out here and we are going to set that sh*t straight tonight,” proclaimed Problem after he brought out West Coast legend Too $hort, the first of many surprise guests. With a wall to wall capacity at The El Rey Theater, a young and diverse crowd with people coming in as far as Bakersfield, “turned up” with excitement that went against the longstanding notion about Southern California crowds being “too chill” at events. Hosted by DJ Amen and Abby De La Rosa (she’s a cutie by the way) of Young California, The Separation Tour (named after Problem’s latest mixtape hosted by DJ Drama) started off with Bay Area veteran Clyde Carson who capped off his set with his most popular cut, “Slow Down,” which still gets radio play even after 2 years.
The night just didn’t belong to Problem. Young South Central L.A. crooner Tee Flii is a name that you need to remember because this kid is going to make waves in the future. Performing his popular DJ Mustard produced tracks from his AnnieRUO’Tay project and, Tee Flii had all of the young ladies in the palms of his hands, singing word for word, and screaming at the top of their lungs. Nipsey Hussle joined the youngster on stage as the two performed some of their recent collaborations. After Tee Flii’s performance, a young girl next to me told me that she was already starting to lose her voice and she didn’t know how she was going to be able to perform at work the next morning. Her voice seemed to have held up through the night because I continued to hear those ear-piercing screams – especially when Problem took the stage.
Once considered just a mixtape rapper from Compton, Problem has really grown in to his own and is utilizing the potential that’s always been there. I know because I was given his original demo several years back when he was just a producer trying to make beats and I’ve seen the ups and downs of his career. After his single deal with Univeral Republic for 2008’s “Toe Up” was complete and the single didn’t take off as hoped, Problem went back to the drawing board and re-vamped his team and his sound over a period of time. The results have been outstanding because when he took the stage at the El Rey Theater that night, you could feel that a statement was going to be made with this show. His manager Pun had even given me a heads up earlier to be ready for some surprises.
After opening with some tracks from The Separation, Problem’s first surprise was Oakland’s own Too $hort, the Godfather of all Pimps on the Mic – but that was just the beginning. R & B singer Tank joined in on the action when Problem brought a pretty young lady from the crowd on to the stage and surprised her with personal serenades. At this point another young female nearby began shouting out “oral” favors to Problem whenever he came near our section of the stage. Others joined in, although not as explicit. Girls throwing themselves at you is a sign that you are having a hell of a performance.
Surprise 3 and 4, turned out to be The Game and Tyga, as the YMCMB labelmates came out to rock the crowd and voice their support for their Compton brother. I figured that was going to be it for the surprises and I was kind of glad too because my camera started to let me know that it was going to sleep very soon from all of the footage and pictures from the night. Surely enough as my camera was telling me goodnight, Problem brings out the last huge surprise – none other than T.I. I should have known this was coming especially since Problem has been sharing pictures on social media about working with Tip, including a session not too long ago with Dr. Dre. Thankfully there were others around me kind enough to share their photos with me and of course other video clips taped (Internets to the rescue).
Overall it was an incredible night and I believe we’re seeing the new birthing of a King out here in Los Angeles. After all, there aren’t many that could pull off this kind of a feat. Problem has seen great success this year with his “Like Whaat” single and will be debuting a new one on 106 & Park this upcoming December 10. If he’s going to be the next King of L.A., he’s going to need another hit, so we will see how this new single does. If it does indeed take off as he hopes, watch out, because right now the dude is on fire.
I can’t forget Bad Lucc. The fellow Diamond Lane artist really did his thing that night too as part of the show. I see you Lucc.
Check out our exclusive coverage of the night. Shout out to Montze Rodriguez for coming through with the T.I. shots and @99point1percent for the video clip.
(AllHipHop News) R. Kelly draws inspiration from the most unconventional of places. He compared a woman to his jeep eight years before he sang “let me put my key in your ignition”. During his interview with Billboard’s The Juice, the veteran R&B crooner revealed what flying object inspired his new album Black Panties.
Speaking with Billboard’s Erika Ramirez, R. Kelly explained how one performance during the Love Letter tour left an indelible mark on his mind…and his wrist:
I’m on stage doing the Love Letter tour and I was singing “Seem Like You Ready”. Everytime Im singing “s panties start flying out of everywhere. Seriously. But this particular night, a pair of mediums came out of the sky and they were black and they landed on my wrist. Immediately I looked at that and looked up like “that’s a sign”. Yeah, the idea hit me right away.
Later in the interview he claims he is planning to “start putting out albums like Jordans” and is already six songs deep into an album he says is untitled. According to Kelly, the album will be a continuation of the Black Panties theme.
Check out R. Kelly’s full interview with Billboard’s The Juice below:
(AllHipHop News) There are many different ways to prevent theft from stores that security guards employ. Some racially profile, other , but Brooklyn born MC Necro explained his innovative ways of theft protection at Cipha Sounds’ Take It Personal last month (Nov. 1st).
As a security guard at an unnamed store on Bleeker St and Broadway, Necro used to carry a “24-inch machete” on his hip and one day chased an unsuspecting customer out of the store under the suspicion of theft. UCB improvisers Abra Tabak, Brandon Gardner, Phil Jackson and Sean Diston turned this story into a hilarious sketch on the flaws of incorrectly profiling someone.
Check out Necro’s story and the hilarious sketch below:
Last night (December 6) Russell and Danny Simmons’ Rush Philanthropic Arts Foundation hosted a fundraiser at Soho Beach House during Art Basel in Miami.
The fundraiser was part of the Rush Philanthropic Arts Foundation Series, which was sponsored by Bombay Sapphire.
The event was produced by Common Ground Marketing and showcased the artwork of 20 of the nation’s top urban photography and multi-media artists, the winners of Bombay Sapphire’s Artisan Series contest.
The artists were honored by Russell Simmons and his philanthropic organization, which raised almost $70,000 during the evening.
Celebrities like Paris Hilton, Alex “A-Rod” Rodriguez, Danny Simmons, Angela Simmons, DJ Irie and a variety of movers and shakers from the art world were in attendance.
