VIDEO: Catch Up On Everything “The Dark Knight Rises” With This New 13-Minute Featurette

We, as the movie-going public, are officially 11 days away from having our beloved Batman trilogy come to a close under director Christopher Nolan. Since we’ve been covering the film’s visual treats for the past several months, it is only right that, with less than two weeks until we get to witness “the legend end” in glorious IMAX (the best way to see this movie), we make sure you have a brand-new 13-minute featurette on your radar.

The purpose of the exclusive behind-the-scenes look is to catch fans up on what they will be getting when The Dark Knight Rises hits movie screens worldwide, and an inside look at how exactly the film was made. Be warned that 95 percent of what is included in the video below has been seen before through various teasers, trailers, and TV spots. However, there are a few new shots and some footage that hasn’t been officially released, so if you’d prefer to stay totally devoid of anything The Dark Knight Rises until you see the film, don’t watch the video.

We are given a good deal of information on the characters of The Dark Knight Rises, their motives, and where they fit into Nolan’s vision of Batman, as well as behind-the-scenes footage of the director and his crew shooting several scenes and exploring how a number of the effects, gadgets, and vehicles were created.

Check out The Dark Knight Rises featurette below:

The Dark Knight Rises opens everywhere on July 20.

Jay-Z Announces Two Additional Barclays Center Concerts; Tickets On Sale This Friday

(AllHipHop News) Brooklyn’s new Barclays Center is set to open on September 28 with a high-profile Jay-Z concert, and the center has announced two additional performance dates on September 29 and 30 for the multi-platinum selling, Grammy Award-winning rapper and mogul.

“Jay-Z is Brooklyn and is the definitive artist to open Barclays Center,” said Barclays Center CEO Brett Yormark. “We are thrilled that such an iconic world-class entertainer, not to mention a Brooklynite, will take the borough’s biggest stage on three consecutive nights for what will surely be a historic experience for all fans.”

Barclays announced in mid-June that Jay-Z, who is also a minority investor of the Brooklyn Nets, will serve as Director of the Brooklyn Arena Firm.

Tickets for all three concerts, which are being produced by LiveNation, will officially go on sale to the general public this Friday (July 13) at 10 a.m. It is being reported that over 7,000 tickets will be available for under $30.

Pre-sale tickets will be available to American Express card members beginning on Wednesday (July 11) from 10 am until 10 pm.

For tickets and more information, visit Ticketmaster.com.

EXCLUSIVE: Legal War Breaks Out Between Newsboys and New Boyz Over Name

(AllHipHop News) The New Boyz are at the center of a legal battle over the name of their group.

Gospel group The News Boys filed a federal lawsuit against the group on July 6, in District Court of Middle Tennessee, Nashville division.

The lawsuit, which was filed by The News Boys and Wesley Campbell, claims that fans are confusing the gospel group with the Hip-Hop group.

Wesley Campbell, who own and manages The News Boys, said that he is invested millions of dollars and years of hard work to promote The News Boys, who have 28 #1 singles.

The gospel group, which was formed almost 26 years ago, has won numerous awards, including Best Christian Rock Band by Readers Choice.

Problems between the groups began into 2009, when Warner Music signed the rap group known as The New Boyz.

The lawsuit claims that “The New Boyz music is sexually charged and the lyrics are sexually explicit in content,” and that “the lead singer for The News Boys, Michael Tait and the members of the Warner Bros. group, The New Boyz are of the same ethnic and Hip-Hop origins.”

According to the complaint, there has already been several instances the fans confused the gospel group with the Hip-Hop group.

“Plaintiff has already documented several instances of actual confusion among its customers, prospective customers and other outside observers who mistakenly assume a connection between plaintiff and defendant and the respective music they offer.”

Check out a copy of the lawsuit below:

CONTEST: Brooklyn Hip-Hop Festival 2012 Final Day Fan Experience Giveaway

Calling all Hip-Hop fans! BK, stand up!

The Brooklyn Hip-Hop Festival (BHF’12) makes it annual, week-long appearance starting TONIGHT (July 9) with the “Show & Prove Super Bowl, and running through Saturday, July, 14.

The all-ages event attracts over 20,000 fans to Brooklyn annually in a celebration of Hip-Hop music and culture. This year, Busta Rhymes is headlining the 8th Annual Brooklyn Hip-Hop Festival final day concert on Saturday, July 14, and he has been working with Brooklyn Bodega to convene “Busta & Friends”, an onstage celebration of his 20+ year career.

In anticipation of BHF’12, Brooklyn Bodega is giving away “The Deluxe Fan Final Day Package”, valued at over $150.

The package winner will receive one (1) pair of Premium Tickets to Final Day and one (1) pair of tickets to the BHF’12 After Party on July 14. All Premium Tickets include a souvenir badge and lanyard, one (1) drink ticket*, and check-in through an expedited line! *This ticket will get you admission to Family Day events & Artist Performances (while supplies last/limited quantities ).

The BHF’12 Contest ends this Thursday (July 12). Only one entry per person. To enter, e-mail Co*****@************ga.com, using the subject line ‘AllHipHop.’

BHF ’12 tickets are on sale for the general public – visit Eventbrite.com. Follow @BrooklynBodega and @BKHipHopFest on Twitter.

 

VIDEO: Marsha Ambrosius Performs New Song “Friends and Lovers”

R&B singer and former Floetry member, Marsha Ambrosius, is back on the grind – and in the studio – working on her sophomore solo follow-up to 2011’s Late Nights & Early Mornings.

Ambrosius’ solo album debuted at #2 on the Billboard 200, with 96,400 copies sold in the first week, and yielded two well-received singles, “Hope She Cheats On You (With A Basketball Player)” and the popular “Far Away”.

Check out a video performance of her new song, “Friends and Lovers”.

She just oozes soul, doesn’t she?

VIDEO: Behind-The-Scenes of Brother Ali and Jake One’s “Mourning in America and Dreaming in Color”

AllHipHop.com has some behind-the-scenes video as Brother Ali and Jake One discuss the creation of the forthcoming album, Mourning in America and Dreaming in Color.

Brother Ali talks about the concept behind the album, and the duo discuss how Jake One ended up producing the project from cover to cover.

Watch the video below:

Mourning in America and Dreaming in Color is set for release on August 21 on Rhymesayers Entertainment – pre-order it HERE.

 

DOWNLOAD: New Mixtape Releases From Cassidy, Trick Daddy and Charles Hamilton

(AllHipHop News) Three years after releasing the second installment in his Apply Pressure series, former Ruff Ryder and Swizz Beatz protege Cassidy has dropped a brand new mixtape in the form of Apply Pressure 3: Mayhem MusicThe mixtape, which is presented, hosted, and mixed by DJ Thoro, features 22 tracks and appearances from the likes of Fred the Godson, 50 Cent, Chubby Jag and Jadakiss.

Apply Pressure 3: Mayhem Music includes production from Butter Beatz, Bubz Ramos, T-Dot, Duane DaRock, Spaid and more. This is the first full-length release from Cassidy since he dropped his fourth studio album, C.A.S.H., via Krossover Entertainment and eOne Music in 2010. Download Cassidy’s new mixtape here.

Before he drops the sequel to his gold-certified 1998 album, www.thug.com, Miami native Trick Daddy has unleashed a new mixtape, Dick and Dynamite. The 21-track mixtape features appearances from MCs like Young Jeezy, Kasino, Geechie, and many more.

Trick’s last album, Finally Famous: Born A Thug, Still A Thug, was released in September 2009 on Dunk Ryders Entertainment, and received mostly positive reviews. Download Trick Daddy’s new mixtape here.

After gracing the cover of XXL’s 2009 “Freshman Class” alongside Wale, Kid Cudi, Asher Roth and Ace Hood, Charles Hamilton experienced numerous setbacks in both his personal and professional lives, yet still managed to released over 50 projects since 2006.

Hamilton, who will be making his first headlining performance in quite a while at New York City’s S.O.B.’s on August 7, dropped a new mixtape, Ill Doesn’t Meen Classic, over the weekend. The 11-track project features tracks like “Here We Go,” “Pinkington” and “I Don’t Care” which was reportedly co-produced by Eminem. Download Charles Hamilton’s new mixtape here.

Hip-Hop Rumors: Is 50 Cent Turning On G-Unit? Says Yayo And Banks “Need To Get Themselves Together”

Back in May, 50 Cent admitted that he hasn’t spoken to Lloyd Banks in nine months and even called him “a baby,” Now, the G-Unit general has made some suspect comments about his group mate, Tony Yayo. Check out what he told Big Boi from Big Boy’s Neighborhood below:

 “They (Lloyd Banks and Tony Yayo) need to get themselves together.” 

“I’ve enabled them to a point where they feel like they don’t have to do anything.”

50 also expressed his frustration with Banks and Yayo in a recent interview with XXL Mag:

“I end up doing their job, too. They haven’t had a manager. I’ve been managing them for their entire careers.”

“That $8.7, $9 million a piece. I did that for them. I’m telling them since the top of last year, ‘Yo you got to find managers.'”

“Yayo has to do a lot more. He just doesn’t do what he’s supposed to do.”

50 Cent kept it all the way real expressing his frustrations. How much longer do you see 50 Cent and G-Unit staying together? Do you think Banks and Yayo have a reason to be upset with 50’s comments?

Hip-Hop Rumors: Did Nas Burn Kelis’ Wedding Dress?

Nasty Nas recently revealed that he knew right away that he wanted to use Kelis wedding dress for his next album cover, after she cleaned him out and left only the dress for him to discover. Well, there was something else that crossed Nas’ mind when he saw the dress – burn it! Check out what Nas told The Guardian below:

”I found it in my house and thought, it’s going somewhere. Either on the cover of my album, or burning in a garbage can.”

”I was angry when I first found it. Hurt and angry – but I don’t think she left it deliberately to hurt me.”

“It’s just part of the dress, so I don’t know where the rest of it is. But it made all the sense in the world for me to hold on to that. I guess that’s just my personality.”

Wow, Nas almost went Angela Bassett on Kelis! I’m glad he decided to use the dress for the Life Is Good cover, versus burning it to ashes in a garbage can.