The entertainment industry’s young elite provide a buzzworthy performance and event at Dream at Tru Hollywood Nightclub. The wall to wall packed affair garnered a special live performance by Def Jam Records rap star YG and Roc Nation’s DJ Mustard, commemorating a welcome home celebration after being on the road across the country for months. Today will also mark the premiere date of release of YG’s new video “My N####” featuring Jeezy and Rich Homie Quan.
Celebrity guests in attendance included Atlantic Records artist TY Dolla $ign, Rap Artist/Songwriter Bobby Brackins, NBA player Charlie Villanueva, Comedian Red Grant, VH1 Basketball Wives LA favorite Brooke Bailey and Video Vixen Michelle Game.
Dream at Tru continues to be the hottest spot for young Hollywood every Monday night hosted by The Game, Too $hort, Yo Gotti, Rosa Acosta, DJ Drama, DeSean Jackson, Brandon Jennings, Problem, Somaya Reece, DJ Don Cannon, Taj Gibson, Ray J and more. The event is made possible by Champagne Boyz, NoOtherEvents and Echoing Soundz.
(AllHipHop News) In the final part of AllHipHop.com’s exclusive interview with OTF/Coke Boy Lil Durk, the Chicago Native touched on his growing buzz an how it impacted his recent trip to Miami.
The rapper hit Club Dream and popluar recording studio Circle House , as he prepares for his first mixtape “Signed to the Streets, which is being released under French Montana’s Coke Boy imprint.
“It feels good, this is my second time in Miami,” Lil Durk told AllHipHop.com. “My name wasn’t really like it was the first time…this time it’s poppin’. I can go in the club , do an appearance rocking out and everybody showing me love, it’ll be the same way when they come to Chicago.”
Lil Durk also touched on some of the artist’s he’s been recording with in the lab.
“I been working with Reese, Cash Out, French, Meek, Ross, Chinx, Gotti,” Lil Durk told AllHipHop.com. “I been working with everybody. I worked with Lil Snupe too…RIP Snupe. We have a song it go crazy. That’s about it. Probably some more I’m just forgetting. But you know it’s better, it’ll be a surprise for the mixtape”
Check out the exclusive interview with Lil Durk:
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(AllHipHop Features) J. Drew grew up in a family of gospel singers. He is the son of Grammy winner Karen Clark-Sheard and the sister of top-selling performer Kierra Sheard. With that lineage many expected Drew would continue in the family business whenever he decided to start recording his own music, but the 23-year-old producer/singer has taken a different route embracing the sounds of R&B and Hip Hop instead.
“I really have a strong passion and love for R&B music as a whole,” says Drew. “I’m really a fan of Hip Hop more than anything. I love rap music.”
Drew’s love for Hip Hop currently includes the work of Jay Z, Kanye West, Kendrick Lamar, J. Cole, and Drake. On the R&B side he mentions Beyoncé as a favorite, but it is Stevie Wonder who Drew names as his musical idol. He even refers to himself as a “Steviehead.”
Besides Wonder’s undeniable legacy in music, it is even more understandable why Drew holds the Motown legend in such high regard when looking at the young entertainer’s own life. Both singers were raised in Detroit, Michigan. Like Stevie, Drew is also a multi-instrumentalist who plays piano, bass, and drums. His connection to the creator of Songs in the Key of Life also revolves around the fact both performers have had to carry the “child prodigy” label.
“I actually started at a very young age. I remember I really started taking it seriously when my mom and dad bought me my first drum machine,” Drew explains. “It was an MPC 2000 XL, and I still use it to this day. I think I was about 9 or 10 when they bought that for me.”
By his teen years Drew was officially a professional producer. Before he was even old enough to drive he was contributing to his sister Kierra’s albums, and eventually became the first and youngest producer signed to Pharrell Williams’ Star Trak label.
“[Pharrell’s N.E.R.D.] band members are like my big brothers, and they were playing my songs on this tour bus. Pharrell came on the bus, heard it and was like, “Who’s this kid?’” says Drew. “He was like ‘I want to meet him. Tell him to come to the next show. We’ll be in Detroit next week.’ I met him, gave him a CD, and then a couple of months later he was like ‘I want to sign this kid.'”
Drew has now started his journey from behind the boards to in front of a microphone. His current single “Strip” featuring Rocko is a trap rap influenced ode dedicated to the hard-working women of night spots like Magic City and King Of Diamonds.
To go from creating tracks suitable for praising dancing to recording songs celebrating pole dancing may seem like it would be too big of a transition for the son of one of the members of the legendary The Clark Sisters gospel group, but according to Drew his parents are understanding of his decision to pursue R&B music.
“My parents’ reaction? They were pretty much supportive for the most part. They were cool,” says Drew. “Their only issue is just me getting too far, and their concerns come from the lifestyle that comes with being in the R&B world. They just have their concerns, which all parents have, about their children going into that realm of music.”
Drew insists he is not chasing his musical dreams for the party lifestyle that often surrounds being a celebrity. He is focused on his goal to shift the state of R&B music.
“It is very important to me that a new sound is born in this music industry. Particularly in the R&B world,” states Drew. “I see Hip Hop making it’s change, especially with the Kendrick Lamar verse that he just came out with, so I’m very exciting about that. I just kind of want to be that new wave for R&B music.”
The star-on-the-rise recently released his Never Coming Back EP. Up next Drew plans to drop a video for “Strip,” and one or two more EPs before he releases his first full studio album. He also may be working on a second season of BET’s docu-series The Sheards or perhaps some other projects on his own. His immediate future centers around picking up the contemporary R&B torch held by another teenage phenom-turned-soul singer.
“I believe that it’s awesome that Justin Timberlake is bringing this real sexy R&B, grown sounding music back,” says Drew. “I think that whole movement is kind of the set-up, and then if you allow me to humbly say this, I’m the one who’s going to carry it all the way to where it’s suppose to be.”
(AllHipHop News) Dave Chappelle was so upset about the “young white alcoholic” crowd at his August 29th stand up performance at Hartford, CT that he said he’d be happy if North Korea dropped a bomb in the city. Hartford mayor Pedro Segarra has a response to Dave: Quit complaining.
TMZ caught up with Segarra and he voiced his disapproval of Dave’s actions and following comments:
Dave Chappelle needs to quit whining, do his job and try some yoga. is recent remarks were immature and inappropriate. [He] should stick to his job, give the fans what they paid for and not disparage the good people of Hartford.
Dave will no doubt have a response to these comments. Stay tuned.
(AllHipHop News) Mississippi rapper/producer David Banner shares a last name with comic book character Bruce Banner, the mild-mannered physicist who transforms into the building-smashing Hulk, so it is fitting that the Southern University graduate would want to venture into making superhero art. Instead of putting his stories on pages, David Banner embraces new media by creating a live action series on YouTube.
Banner’s Walking With Gods centers around the main character Aket Heru. Aket is betrayed by his brother Liel after he discovers that Aket will ascend to the throne when their royal father dies. Aket is stripped of his memory by the evil spirit Setus and becomes completely unaware of his powers. Setus kills Aket’s family and keeps him alive for thousands of years simply for entertainment.
After Aket, now known as Alex Light, becomes awakened to his god-like abilities, he goes on a mission to fully restore his powers and break the age-old curse.
The first four parts to the series have been released so far. Walking With Gods is funded by Banner’s 2M1 Movement.
“The 2M1 Movement represents a grassroots attempt to assert our collective independence by taking control of our movies, our music and our creative content,” said Banner in a statement.
(AllHipHop News) Ceschi Ramos, musician and owner of Fake Four Records, started serving an 18- month prison sentence yesterday (September 4).
The jail time stems from a drug bust on Christmas Day 2010, where Ceschi was charged with purchasing over 100 pounds of marijuana that was shipped cross-country from California to Connecticut, colorfully wrapped as Christmas gifts.
A plea bargain helped Ceschi avoid a 5–7 year sentence for the conviction.
Since yesterday, an IndieGoGo web page started by Ceschi’s brother, David Ramos has raised over $15,000 to help with legal fees and administrative costs for the record label during Ceschi’s prison term.
Ceschi says, “In the end, nearly 3 years later, I’ve been left with nearly $50,000 in legal debt. My best option was to accept a plea bargain compared to the 5 to 7 years I was facing.”
Fake Four records is a popular independent record label specializing in Experimental Hip-Hop which has released dozens of acclaimed albums by artists such as Myka 9, Blue Sky Black Death, Dark Time Sunshine, Open Mike Eagle, and Busdriver.
“Your support over the past 24 hours has been overwhelming. My brother now has an additional government issued number to add to his tax i.d., Social Security, and driver’s license numbers. In other words, he has been processed, now has an inmate number, and hopefully I will be able to see him today,” added Ceschi’s brother David Ramos. “I can’t express the magnitude of appreciation that my family and I have for all of you right now. Beyond the financial support, you have proven that Ceschi has influenced and positively impacted so many people with his music, Fake Four, and just being who he is. He is not just another prison number to all of us.”
Check out this Youtube video of Ceschi speaking on the situation:
“You had a dog house with a dog house in the backyard/Now you live in the doghouse in the backyard.”
Meek Mill has started his proposed “coming at everyone’s head” threat he proposed with a new diss song towards Cassidy entitled “Kendrick You Next”.
Meek raps for over five minutes on an assortment of beats including Junior Mafia’s “Get Money”, Notorious B.I.G.’s “Who Shot Ya?”, Nas’ “Ether” and 50 Cent’s “Wanksta”.
DJ Enuff and the entire #ThatsEnuff crew were in the studio with Meek last night (September 4th) for a listening session of his upcoming mixtape Dreamchasers 3.
Check out a short behind-the-scenes video of the making of “Kendrick You Next” and then stream the song below:
(AllHipHop News) 2 Chainz tells no lies but does have to alter a promise. 2 Chainz has cancelled his scheduled September 15th performance at Williamsburg Park in Brooklyn, NY.
Citing “unforeseen scheduling conflicts” as the reason for the cancellation, 2 Chainz and the show promoters will offer full refunds to ticket holders.
While 2 Chainz will not be hitting the Brooklyn stage, he will leave his mark on New York City as he will appear on Cipha Sounds’ hilarious Hip Hop improv show Take It Personal this Friday (September 6th) at 9pm.
(AllHipHop News) Ruff Ryders have a long and storied history with both music as well as prison. Swizz Beatz stopped by Cipha Sounds’ Take It Personal Hip Hop Improv Show last Friday (August 30th) and told a few stories of himself and formerly incarcerated Ruff Ryder affiliate Sean Cross.
In the video, Swizz explains how he once visited Sean in Rikers Island who was serving time for a conspiracy charge in the second degree. Swizz says it was during the Muslim holiday Eid al-Fitr and after meeting with Sean, he fed all the Muslim inmates.
Cipha Sounds’ Take It Personal is every Friday at 9pm at the UCB Theatre on East 3rd St.
Check out the video below as Swizz also talks about how Sean Cross was arrested for a “kilo of cocaine in the basement”:
