The singer releases his first single and it might be where the sound of R&B is headed.
Deon Young, a Harlem-bred R&B musician, has just released his first official single “Mad Respect”.
Young is one of the first artists to be introduced from Epic Records’ Sylvia Rhone, who spearheads the Vested in Culture imprint. After Young performed live in front of Rhone and music legend L.A. Reid, he was offered a deal on the spot.
Listen to “Mad Respect”:
(AllHipHop News) Kool G Rap, one of the early pioneers of the mafioso rap style that was adopted by rappers like The Notorious B.I.G., Nas, Jay-Z, and Raekwon, says he does not take pride in any of the real-life criminal activity he engaged in before embracing a career as an emcee.
“I was never proud to participate in any of the street activities that I was involved in that I did back then,” Kool G Rap tells the Village Voice. “This is why when Eric B introduced me to DJ Polo, and the first time Polo took me to Marley [Marl’s] house, I never went back to the block again to continue what I was doing.”
Kool G admits that he used to sell crack out of a Brooklyn Key Food store and an East Elmhurst motel when he was a teenager, but the Queens native feels that the drug dealer lifestyle is not one that should be glorified.
He takes particular aim at current emcees who he feels inappropriately sells the image of dealing drugs as a badge of honor.
“You get the rappers that brag about it and things like that, because we live in the day where the music scene and the records are cool when the artists are saying that, ‘I sold this and that, I flipped this into that,’ but they get that from us, the cats from my era… I was talking about things that were going on but I wasn’t really glorifying that. I was just saying what I was doing cause I was caught up in the street life, and I was doing this to put money in my pocket.”
[ALSO READ: Lupe Fiasco Takes To Twitter To Address Violence In Rap Music]
Kool G points out his 1989 song “Road To The Riches” as an example of telling the authentic story of life in the inner-city versus celebrating being a criminal.
“You can see in the record ‘Road To The Riches,’ I wasn’t really glorifying it. I was just speaking about my experiences to whoever I thought would listen at the time.”
On “Road To The Riches” Kool G uses the first verse to talk about the struggles of being poor. The second verse centers on the highs of making money from dealing drugs, and the third verse addresses the ultimate results for most people who choose to sell crack- death or jail.
To this day, Kool G Rap says his former life is not one he honors.
“I don’t really regret too many things in my life and too many choices I made, but I don’t take pride in selling drugs and stuff like that.”
Watch the video for “Road To The Riches” below.
(AllHipHop News) New Orleans emcee Curren$y is headed to Atlanta on April 11 to headline the 15th annual Unsigned Urban Showcase presented by BMI, the V-103 radio station, Monster Products, and Uber.
The showcase highlights aspiring R&B and Hip-Hop stars who have yet to sign to major labels. Four artists were selected from a crop of over 200 submissions to compete in the final round.
Finalists Jade Novah, Spree Wilson, Skipper Jones, and Dezzy Yates the Phreshbot will perform in front of a panel of industry judges that includes producer/reality show star Stevie J, Hip-Hop blogger Karen Civil, Atlantic Records Senior Vice President A&R Dallas Martin, Disturbing The Peace Records Senior A&R Paris Kirk, producer Sonny Digital, and Motown Records Vice President A&R Ezekiel Lewis.
The event will be co-hosted by G.O.O.D. Music songstress Teyana Taylor and Byron Wright- BMI Director, Writer-Publisher Relations.
“Providing a platform for unsigned singer-songwriters to showcase their talent is a major priority for BMI,” says Wright in a statement. “The four diverse finalists selected to perform at our event are on the cusp of stardom and we’re honored to showcase them to Atlanta’s music community.”
Curren$y will join a list of previous Unsigned Urban Showcase headliners that includes Nas, Trey Songz, Drake, and Rick Ross. Fans can expect to hear songs from Curren$y’s extensive music catalog like tracks from his The Stoned Immaculate album and his latest mixtape New Jet City.
[ALSO READ: Curren$y Talks New Mixtape, Joey Bada$$ and No Time Off]
General Admission tickets for BMI’s Unsigned Urban Showcase are $20 and only available to purchasers over the age of 18.
Doors at Terminal West will open at 8 pm. The show begins at 9 pm.
To buy tickets visit www.ticketfly.com
Watch a recap video of the 13th Annual Unsigned Urban Showcase at the Havana Club in Atlanta featuring Drake, Birdman, and Travis Porter below.
(AllHipHop News) It was just under two years ago that DJ Big Mike, born Micheal Wilcox, was arrested and charged with music piracy for the illegal distribution of mixtapes burned with copy-written material.
After being investigated by RIAA agents for several years, Big Mike’s operation was raided, as agents and police seized all materials believed to be associated with the burning of mixtapes at three separate residences in Connecticut and New York.
Now Big Mike is striking back after he beat the charges, claiming that both DJ Trap-A-Holics and The Empire helped Danbury Police and other agents in building a case against DJ Big Mike, just days before the raid.
DJ Trap-A-Holics is well-known for his role in both Gucci Mane and Waka Flocka’s mixtapes as a Brick Squad DJ.
The Empire is well primarily known for his mixtapes with Duct Tape Entertainment artists like Alley Boy and Trouble.
To prove his allegations against DJ Trap-A-Holics and The Empire, DJ Big Mike revealed documents from the Danbury, Connecticut police department, showing DJ Trap-A-Holics aka Santos Figueora or “Tos” written statements to police affirming the operation that took place.
Trap-A-Holics statement we given to police just days before DJ Big Mike’s raid.
According to initial reports, Danbury detectives interviewed an associate of DJ Big Mike, whose name was associated with a post office box used by the DJ and whose name was on mail delivered to the Danbury house.
DJ Big Mike has said that he will release documents showing The Empire snitched in the coming week.
More news as details emerge.
Rites-of-passage filled with both rights and wrongs, Jonny “Rittz” Valiant, uses Hip-Hop to share his story. Although the towering, wavy-haired Ginger-kid, is easy to spot amid his melanin-enriched contemporaries, his lyricism never pales in comparison. The Atlanta native’s talent, work-ethic, and luck is ushering Rittz to the masses. Although, his journey to the spotlight has been an arduous one, many blessings have been delivered through life’s challenges.
The critically acclaimed mixtapes, White Jesus and White Jesus: Revival, are a couple of the reasons why Rittz is now signed to Strange Music. “They wanted me to really do me. That’s one of the great things about Strange,” attests the organic wordsmith.
On opening night of Rittz’ first ever Strange Music tour, AllHipHop.com is granted exclusive access:
AllHipHop.com: Last year, you were on Yelawolf’s Slumerican tour. Then you signed with Strange Music. Currently you’re on Tech N9ne’s Independent Powerhouse tour. Plus, your Strange début, The Life And Times Of Jonny Valiant, drops on the 16th of April. How are you really doing?
Rittz: I’m good; I’ve been a little stressed. For a long time I’ve just been rapping. When it finally gets to this point, to where I got my first album coming out—just being on a new tour with a new label, for the first time—it’s been a little stressful. Just under [the] pressure of coming off the Slumerican tour, having to write the album, and not wanting to be wack either, and take my time on it. But I managed it. It’s done; it’s dope. I’m on the bus. Today’s the first day. So, as of this morning a lot of my stress is gone. The anticipation is almost worst than just doing it.
AllHipHop.com: First off, how did you get your moniker?
Rittz: As a kid in high school, when I started rapping I went through different names. I had a homeboy named Shortcut, who was just like, ‘What about Rittz?’ And I just stuck with it. It meant cracker.
AllHipHop.com: I didn’t want to bring it up; because, if you twist your mouth to say n****r, I’m going to feel a way.
Rittz: No, no; it stands for cracker. Now looking back it when people say, ‘Does Rittz mean cracker?’ It’s a little cheesy. It’s like every white rapper has got a name that’s got some kind of white s*it to it. But, you know, it is what it is. That’s definitely where it came from. So, I’m a f**king cracker!
AllHipHop.com: (chuckles) Wow. How are you learning to reinforce your morality when you’re submerged within a profession that celebrates hedonism?
Rittz: It’s hard. On the relationship aspect, I’ve been in a relationship for a long time. I’ve been playing the balancing act trying to be a rapper and trying to live a home life. It’s capable of being done. It’s just really hard. It’s rough to be with anybody and leave for a long time. At the same time it’s hard out here. I’ve had a lot of experiences with drugs; I drink like hell anyway. So, it’s kinda hard to not allow that to take over you. When I came home after the last tour I wasn’t making complete sentences. I went too hard.
It’s like trying to balance out the road life, and turn it into a healthy lifestyle, to where it doesn’t kill you. On this tour I’ll be playing a nice balancing act. I’m going in with a different attitude; I’m not going to party as much. As far as the relationship sh*t it’s a challenge. When the girl’s at home looking at online [posts] the [impact of the] internet makes it hard. I’ve been balancing my morale and keeping standards to what I do; whether, it’s that or the partying aspect, or even getting affected by the negative sh*t you read, or fans, or anything like that.
AllHipHop.com: It takes strength to challenge the status-quo. Who or what circumstances motivated you to fully embrace your dreams?
Rittz: It’s crazy because it’s really luck, honestly. I’ve always considered myself a good worker. I dropped out of high school. I never really focused on a real job. I always thought I’m going to be a rapper. Then one day, reality finally started sinking in like, ‘Wow, I might not make it. I’m f#####. What are we going to do with our house? We don’t have any money.’ Now it’s up to me and go work. I was like, ‘F### this sh*t!’
So, when I was about to quit rapping, I really started focusing on work. Right then is when, Yelawolf, came along and hooked it up. I think the fact that I got that opportunity, you know, made it a lot easier; because, I was about to break and lose that [motivation to continue]. For a long time though, I did have the backbone to keep driving for years. That was came from knowing that I was talented. Plus, knowing that I didn’t have anything else to fall back on, you know, that was it.
AllHipHop.com: What youthful habits or tendencies did you have to relinquish in order to grow into the man that you are today?
Rittz: Partying is probably my main thing, I’ve had a lot of it. From age 16 to 28, I’ve spent a lot of my years just on drugs. And, that has to go. You have to let that go; you can’t be wasted all the time. At some point you have to focus and make something happen. I’ve always had parents who instilled in me the importance of just being a decent person, and being responsible as well. It’s real easy to fall off into the bullsh*t and get caught up.
AllHipHop.com: As an MC does your ethnicity ever hinder you, or does it help?
Rittz: It always hinders you a little bit. Then it also helps you, too. If you’re good at it you’ll stand out a little bit, because in this business you’re the minority. Nowadays there are so many people rapping, of all ethnic backgrounds, that it doesn’t matter as much anymore. I think it’s hindered me. To me, you got to work extra hard. I don’t listen to any white rapper that I don’t think is dope. If you’re going to be a white guy rapping you have to be a little bit better than the average. It’s hard; you have to push harder. But, it’s not as bad as it used to be.
AllHipHop.com: In an interview that you did with HipHopDX you spoke candidly about your insecurities regarding your lyricism.
Rittz: Yeah.
AllHipHop.com: With understanding how meticulous you are with completing a track have you learned to better manage your time?
Rittz: Not really, it’s still the same. During the time I was working on this album, was the first time in my life, that I ever had a deadline; that was the good thing about this album. With having that deadline, I didn’t have the option of over-critiquing myself. Then it was like, ‘If you think this sh*t’s wack, too bad, muthaf*cka. It’s a song now.’ My whole thing is I’ve been critical of myself during the actual writing process. Once the rap is physically written, and I rap it to the beat, I like it. I think it’s dope. It’s while I’m writing it that I’m not liking it. It’s like, ‘This word is not interesting enough, or whatever.’ Working under a deadline made that a lot easier to me; because, I didn’t have the luxury of having the time to over-critique myself.
AllHipHop.com: You’ve been hailed as a poignant storyteller. When you’re writing, what’s your ultimate goal; do you want us to hear what you’re saying or to feel what you’re saying?
Rittz: Well, both, because if you can’t hear it, you can’t feel it. At the end of the day, there’s really nothing like listening to any kind of music and getting that Goosebump-feeling—to where it touches you. So, those are my favorite raps to write. That’s the type of rapper that I want to be known for. I got regular rap songs like “High Five,” but on this new project I got songs like “Nowhere to Run,” and “Wishin.” They’re deep and come from the heart. The ones that come from the heart are always something you’ll feel. I definitely want to be felt, but I rap so fast a lot of people can’t pick up on that sh*t.
AllHipHop.com: (laughs) You gotta rewind it a couple of times before you decide, ‘Oh he is dope.’
Rittz: (chuckles) Yeah, he’s saying something in there. He ain’t just saying, ‘Muthaf*cka, muthaf*cka.’
AllHipHop.com: (erupts with laughter and shouts) N***a, n***a, n***a!
Rittz: Exactly.
AllHipHop.com: But he got put on. That’s crazy. Going from White Jesus: Revival to your Strange début The Life And Times Of Jonny Valiant, in conjunction to your overall creativity, what aspect has grown the most?
Rittz: Just knowing the direction to go in with my music. I really know who I am. As a rapper, for years I tried to find my niche.—who I am, what I sound like, what type of vibe my overall sound has—I knew it when I made White Jesus and White Jesus: Revival. Since those came over and I got a little feedback on the songs, I figured out what people like from me, and more importantly, what I like.
So, now I know exactly what type of music that Rittz makes. Not to speak of myself in third person, but I know what type of music that I make. When I’m picking out tracks, I just know. I can rap on anything, but I know what type of track is a me track. That’s probably the main difference, because before I was kinda fishing on what people would like from me. Now I have found my niche, 100%.
AllHipHop.com: Until the next time, what would you like to share?
Rittz: Make sure everybody goes and checks out the album. I’m super appreciative to be in the position I’m in. You know, I always remind myself, I just had a f*cking job. So, I’m super appreciative to everybody who gives me a chance to listen to my music. I’m happy to be here.
(AllHipHop News) Gucci Mane stands accused again.
A couple days ago a soldier alleged that Gucci Mane hit him in the head with a bottle after he tried to get a picture with the rapper. Now, another man claims the rapper assaulted him in Philadelphia two nights later.
“I haven’t ever been so humiliated in my life and disrespected,” said the man, only known as TJ, told Local Amy Napier Viteri of Atlanta’s WSBTV late Monday evening. TJ said that Gucci Mane punched him in the jaw on March 18 at Club Onyx in Philadelphia, two days after the alleged assault on the soldier.
RELATED: Gucci Mane Is Wanted By Police For Striking Soldier With Bottle
“He punched me on the left side of my face, right here in the jaw, knocking off my glasses,” he said. “I sustained a chipped tooth in the back. I sustained also swelling on the left side.”
He said he wasn’t clear on why Gucci Mane attacked him. He said he only tried to shake his hand and say hello.
TJ said there was very little he could do, as Gucci was present with his crew. ”I was totally outnumbered. Them guys they would have dogged me if I tried to swing back,”
TJ said. The former fan said he’s disappointed in Gucci. “You just don’t go around hitting your fans.”
Despite an open warrant in Atlanta, Gucci performed in Evansville, IN over the weekend.
(AllHipHop News) Traditionally, Hip-Hop has not been inclusive of those that choose to live a homosexual lifestyle, but these notions are changing, especially with the younger artists.
A$AP Rocky, one of the prominent rappers from New York, conducted an exclusive interview with Interview magazine speaking on how he changed his own personal biases.
“So now that I’m here and I’ve got a microphone in my hand and about 6,000 people watching me, I need to tell them how I feel. For instance, one big issue in hip-hop is the gay thing,” he said in excerpts published in The New York Daily News. “It’s 2013, and it’s a shame that, to this day, that topic still gets people all excited. It’s crazy. And it makes me upset that this topic even matters when it comes to hip-hop, because it makes it seem like everybody in hip-hop is small-minded or stupid — and that’s not the case. We’ve got people like Jay-Z. We’ve got people like Kanye. We’ve got people like me. We’re all prime examples of people who don’t think like that. I treat everybody equal, and so I want to be sure that my listeners and my followers do the same if they’re gonna represent me. And if I’m gonna represent them, then I also want to do it in a good way.”
He said his upbringing helped him change his views.
“I came up in a world that was just crazy — and it was hectic and kind of radical at the same time. For me, growing up in Harlem and then migrating down to SoHo and the lower East Side and chillin’ down there and making that my stomping ground . . . That was a big thing, because I’m from Harlem, and downtown is more artsy and also more open-minded,” he explained to the Daily News. “So I got the best of both worlds. It was like being on the streets and then being in school at the same time, and I tried to keep my hands in everything just so I wasn’t missing out on any fun. I just always wanted to be knowledgeable of my whereabouts, my surroundings, and what was going on with our generation.”
The full interview appears in the April issue of Interview magazine. Click here for more.
Editor’s Note: Dee dee cocheta is an industry vet that has had a long tenure in music. Her career spans PR & Social Media Professional, digital content producer, blogger and more. She writes an open letter to Rick Ross after a recent song seems to advocate date rape. Rick Ross has not commented. While rape, real or suggested, is horrific and completely objectionable, the views in this open letter are dee dee’s.
Greetings William,
I am writing you a letter because I have sat back and observed long enough. I am coming to you as a ‘sister’ of the human family we all belong to. WE are connected! AND you my brother, I am tired of hearing negative things about you and now I am mad at how you are treating yourself. So please do not take this wrong or feel I am coming at you to scold or beat you up with my words. I am coming to you because I CARE and LOVE YOU!
What brought me to the point of writing this open letter was after reading ALLHIPHOP.com Hip-Hop Rumors on your new song, “U.O.E.N.O.” (you ain’t even know it) titled: YOWZA! New Rick Ross Lyric Will Upset Smart Women! So yeah I’m a little upset and rightfully so as the lyric you wrote about refers to ‘date rape’ and is exactly how I lost my virginity; someone STOLE it at the age of 14 before entering in high school. I take responsibility for being at a party I had no business being at but I want you to know how scary this now 41-year-old woman felt to wake up to blood on the sheets with an aching pain and empty feeling, that your heart is sunken where you feel you lost something. Well I did, I lost the right to choose whom I wanted to share that special moment with because I was knocked out and taken advantage of. See William, your lyric doesn’t educate it only further glamorize what fools like that man did to me 27 years ago. I happen to believe in karma and I know that man got his without me having to lift a finger.
William, I’m concerned about your health and your life messing with the wrong people and feel you are not listening to the GOD in you. I believe things that are happening to you now is because it’s GOD saying SLOW THE EFF down, get control of your life, you are not on the path destined. William, that means not at the expense of yourself or others. I understand this entertainment industry with expertise of over 20 years and can impart wisdom as I just shared my experience with date rape. Additionally, in my youth, I have been associated with gang members, dealt with being a borderline diabetic so weight/eating has always been an issue for me most of my life and basically led a self-destructed life. Why? because I really did not love myself. Additionally, I have 7 children and 3 grand babies (known to many as the Hip-Hop Mama) where I was recently diagnosed with breast cancer… So William, I’m not the type of mom, sister or friend that judges let alone condone certain things, I take accountability for my actions, I take responsibility for how I live and educate my children; making them aware of as much as I can in life – good and bad, never hiding truth and the ugliness this world has to offer. Right now though I am in the process of healing self and fully loving me. I believe this may be something missing in your life. I am sure you are trying to work on your health issues?!!? I am not sure what’s going on with all this gang/gun/court mess but I do not like it and I have been praying and meditating on you for a while.
“You must choose your battles wisely.” Words I have heard and keep hearing because I did not learn my lesson until now…
William, those lyrics on date rape to your actions all say to me you need help and healing yet we cannot take that first step for you. YOU MUST CHOSE A SIDE and not at the expense of your health, your life or to further perpetuate the hurt and pain of others.
William, we are all survivors, KINGS and QUEENS! I hope you make your way back to being able to show us that courage and strength. Being vulnerable is not a sign for weakness; it shows you are a man. I will continue to pray yet this is a call for you to take some other type of action before you will be another fallen Hip-Hop artist like so many others we lost. I believe and LOVE YOU WILLIAM. Please show me something different good!
RESPECTFULLY, your sister
dee dee “Hip-Hop Mama” cocheta
KAPOOOYA! KABOOYOW!
I guess we gonna have to deal with a million and one remixes to this song. And, I gotta say this. I think this chick is fakin’ the funk on this video! She saw what happened to Sweet Brown and that other dude Antwoine….”hide yo kids” guy. Can’t even remember his name! Anyway, she is just trying to re-create that magic so she can get cleaned up like Ms. Brown.
Nevertheless, peep this.
Black people lost.
Twerkin in the super market?
So, this is what we fought for?
What say you MLK?
Black people lost.
By, the way, that King “middle finger” pic is a fake.
They keep us talking, but if we stop talking about them then they should worry! -illseed.
Illseed, Out.
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Email illseed rumors: ki*********@***il.com
What do you get when you mix the new ratchet sounds of South Central LA with a singer that sounds like The Dream or The Weeknd? The answer is Tee Flii and his new genre of music he calls “Flii & B” – not R&B. It works too, with posts across the net and California clubs going crazy, Tee Flii sits atop the ratchet movement of LA with Problem, YG and host of other artists that are quickly defining the “New California” movement of artists.
Not only can Tee Flii sing, but he also produces his own music and he can dance having learned moves alongside Chris Brown in the flick Stomp the Yard. It’s only a matter of time before Tee Flii gets his deal, the only question is how much are the labels going to have to fork over the get this kid on the team?
As showcased on ANNIERUO’TAY I and II, its clear Tee Flii will be setting the standard for hooks and melodies on songs for a long time. Fans of his Flii & B style can look forward to features with YG, Nipsey Hussle, Badd Lucc, Problem, Skeme, Pooh Bear and many others on his ANNIERUO’TAY projects.
Until then take a look at his new video for the song “Act a Fool” below:
TeeFLii “Act A Fool”
People are still wondering if Kanye West and Kim Kardashian are breaking up. While they ponder this, new rumors have sprouted up. The latest is that perhaps Yeezy has moved on from one pretty light-skinned chick to another one. The latest – Iggy Azalea, the Aussie down with T.I. The crazy thing is Iggy is the one doing the talking according to The Guardian.
She said:
“I was at [Kanye’s] house last week and he was playing me his ‘scriptures’, as he calls his spoken-word interludes, and there was one about McDonald’s: ‘Those fries/ Those fries/ I have them in my eyes/ That smooth apple pie…”
What the hell?
Hold up. Forget the possibility that Iggy and Kanye have a thing. What is up with those interludes?
LOL! Ye wild for that. Hoping that the rumor is a rumor! I’m sure we are being punked.
Maybe Not.
They keep us talking, but if we stop talking about them then they should worry! -illseed.
Illseed, Out.
GET INTERACTIVE WITH ALLHIPHOP.COM!
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Email illseed rumors: ki*********@***il.com
As the NCAA tournament rolls into the Sweet 16, one of the most impressive stories of March Madness has been the small 15 seed, Florida Gulf Coast University. Surpassing the hyped up #2 seed Georgetown and beating San Diego State University to move on, FGCU is undoubtedly the Cinderella story of the tournament. Now as the Eagles are set to face the University of Florida, a rap song has surfaced by FGCU fans, flipping Tyga’s “Rack City” into “Dunk City,” aka Ft. Meyers, Florida.
Before the tournament, the MGM in Vegas gave 2,000 to 1 odds for FGCU to win the tournament. Now the Eagles’ gave 40 to 1 odds. According to ESPN, The Las Vegas Hotel said it has one person who placed a $10 bet on FGCU to win its region at 1,000 to 1. Take a look at the video below and check FGCU this week against the University of Florida in the Sweet 16.
Black Magic feat. Bambi – FGCU “Dunk City”
