Author: hhns

Nelly featured Nicki Minaj on “Get Like Me,” a single from his recently released M.O. album.

The St. Louis rapper says that despite Nicki Minaj’s success, female rappers still face significant challenges.

“It is definitely harder for females in this business,” he said during an interview on “Chelsea Lately.” “It shouldn’t be, but it is. They have just as much talent, just as much creative ability as anybody else to make great music. So, I don’t know why it’s like that.”

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Nelly released the “Get Like Me” video, which also features Pharrell, July 31.

Last week, Nelly defended singer Miley Cyrus, who has been criticized for rapping and twerking.

“Miley’s great,” Nelly said in an interview with IN:DEMAND with Alex James, as per Perez Hilton. “She’s a great talent. She’s young and ambitious and wants to do it her way. When you’re 20-years-old and you’ve been under a machine your whole life and been told what to do, when you get to a certain age you’re like, ‘I want to do it my way’…Whatever mistakes she makes, she’s gonna have to deal with them. She understands that…I always ask, ‘Who’s she hurting?’ She’s just doing it her way. We’ve had a lot of people doing it their way.”

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It appears that if you say anything remotely negative about Drake, you will be excommunicated. According to The New York Post’s Page Six, Drake reportedly has kicked Future off of the upcoming Would You Like A Tour? after Future’s comments in a recent Billboard interview.

In the Billboard  inteview, Future claimed Drake had an “album full of hits” that did not “make you feel the way I do” with his new album Honest. According to a source with Page Six, following those comments Drake informed his touring agent “either Future gets fired, or he’ll fire him” and subsequently took him off the tour.

Future’s reps attempted to say Future was misquoted in the Billboard interview and negotiations to bring Future back on to the tour commenced, however with the caveat that Future take less money. Allegedly in response to the new provisions of the contract, Future not only denied their offer but is now suing Drake for $1.5 million of lost wages.

It is reported that Future was set to make upwards of $40,000 per show.

Months after his release from prison, and Queens emceeJa Rule has announced that he is now drug free. ThePain Is Love 2 rapper made the announcement during this week’s appearance on “The Wendy Williams Show” as he stated, “I don’t do any drugs or anything of any nature anymore.”

Ja Rule has made numerous references to drug use on past records, among them the Jodie Mack-assisted “Smokin And Ridin.” Amidst a hook heavy with numerous “smoking and ridin” mentions, Ja Rule raps, “Yo, nobody leaves nobody breathes until I enter the party… Who’s ridin and smokin tonight with players.” Similar mentions from Ja Rule have been made on “So Much Pain” and “6 Feet Underground.”

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The Inc. rapper also addressed the popularity of drug culture in music and stated that although artists are allowed to practice freedom of speech, they should keep in mind that they are in fact role models.

“I mean, I think sometimes it’s taken out of context. We as artists we have the right to express ourselves,” said Ja Rule. “That is our first amendment, freedom of speech. But I also believe that we have an obligation to the youth to be somewhat responsible in what we say on records. But I think that comes with age. I think that comes with artists growing up and becoming assured of who they are as people. Then they start to realize that we are role models and they do have a responsibility.”

Ja Rule later touched on education as he revealed that he earned his GED (General Educational Development) while in prison and spoke on dropping his oldest daughter off at college this year.

“It’s funny because it’s kinda the same as being on the streets,” said the rapper. “I thought it was gonna be a lot different, but when I got there people actually had a lot of admiration for me, a lot of love for me. So, it was a really different experience…Yes, I just dropped my oldest daughter Brittney off to college…She’s at Hampton U.”

Although it’s only been a matter of months since Ja Rule’s release from prison, the rapper is already set to appear in I’m In Love With A Church Girl, a film directed by Steve Race.

“A lot of similarities. A lot of parallels between me and Miles,” said Ja Rule when asked if there are any similarities between him and the character he portrays. “He went through a lot of things. It’s an actual true story about a good friend of mine, Galley Molina, who’s also producer of the film and everything. But it’s a true story and he goes through things. He’s trying to become a better man and live a better way. His past keeps bringing him back to a dark place.”

Ja Rule was released from New York’s Ray Brook Federal Prison in May of this year. His two-year prison sentence stemmed from a criminal weapons possession charge he received in 2007. The rapper was also sentenced to 28 months in prison for tax evasion.

With his newfound release from prison, Ja Rule says he’s now more focused on acting than music. He revealed that particular news during a recent interview with USA Today.

“I love music. It’s my passion,” said Ja Rule. “This is my second wind right now and I’m happy to be home, but I think as I’m getting older, my passion is leaning toward doing more television and film. Music is my heart, but I see television and more movies in the next stage of my life.”

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Taking a bullet is a moment in a person’s life that definitely alters them in some way. Speaking with R&R Productions, Waka Flocka touched on how getting shot changed him and his career.

“It made me richer, sad to say. Made you popular, sad to say. It just made me as a man and as a person more wiser, clever, stronger, devious in situations,” says Waka. “It just makes you a stone cold thinker. Honestly, it just really turned me up more.”

Waka was shot in the shoulder in 2010 after being approached by an armed man at car wash in Atlanta. Several months after the shooting, the BSM member released his debut album Flockaveli which featured the hit songs “O Let’s Do It” and “Hard In Da Paint.”

Waka dropped his DJ Scream hosted mixtape From Roaches To Rollies earlier this month.

Watch the full interview below.

The Game cemented his new affiliation yesterday at the annual How The West Was Won show, when Tyga gave a Cash Money chain to be put on the Compton-bred rapper’s neck.

The pair had just finished performing Tyga’s song “Faded” when Tyga did the deed, certifying what the Birdman had said earlier in the day.

BIRDMAN        ✔ @BIRDMAN5STAR

S/O 2MY@thegame Westcoast makit Official.RICHGANG.YMCMBusine$$

BIRDMAN        ✔ @BIRDMAN5STAR

S/O 2MY@thegame Westcoast makit Official.RICHGANG.YMCMBusine$$

Handsome Ass Nigga        ✔ @thegame

@BIRDMAN5STAR time to close the door on these niggas !!!! R$CHGANG

It has been apparent that The Game would eventually since to the iconic label. The Game and Birdman even have a “phone call” about it on The Game’s Jesus Piece album.

Pharrell Williams and long-time girlfriend Helen Lasichanh were married in Miami yesterday (October 12).

The newlyweds were joined by family and friends, including music colleagues Usher and Busta Rhymes, who, according to Us Weekly, shared their talents and performed at the ceremony. Justin Timberlake and recent collaborator Robin Thicke were reported to be rumored performers, as per the Daily Mail.

The couple opted to wear non-traditional attire. The Grammy Award-winning record producer and 2005 winner of Esquire‘s “Best Dressed Man In The World” wore a red-and-green tartan tuxedo and his model wife wore a dark blue-and-green plaid gown.

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According to the Daily Mail, wedding guests were spotted also wearing plaid attire.

The wedded couple have a 4-year-old son, Rocket Man Williams.

Pharrell holds an American Music Awards nomination for “Song Of The Year,” along with T.I., for Robin Thicke’s “Blurred Lines.” The Pharrell-produced single peaked at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, making the Virginia native the twelfth artist in Hot 100 history to hold the #1 and #2 spots at the same time, a feat he accomplished with “Blurred Lines” and Daft Punk’s “Get Lucky,” respectively.

In a recent interview with Juan Epstein, Pusha T revealed that Pharrell and Kanye West have expressed in working on a new Clipse album. As a part of The Neptunes, Pharrell produced the Clipse’s early material.

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The extremely successful roll out of Grand Theft Auto V may have hit snag. Former Death Row Records rapper Daz Dillinger is accusing the game’s makers, Take-Two Interactive Software and Rockstar Games, of using his songs without his permission.

According to TMZ, a cease and desist letter sent by Daz and his attorney claim that the songs “C-Walk” and “Nothin’ But the Cavi Hit” were included in GTA V even after Daz declined the supposed $4,271 fee offered to use both songs.

Daz now wants a bigger pay out or demands that all remaining unsold copies of the game be recalled and destroyed. He has given the game makers 14 days to comply to either request.

Grand Theft Auto V reportedly grossed $800 million in its first 24 hours of release and has gone on to earn over $1 billion in sales. That was one of the biggest initial launches in entertainment history.

Kanye West says he was set up by the paparazzi at Los Angeles International Airport, as per a new video of the rapper posted on TMZ.com.

“What I didn’t get to say on Jimmy Kimmel, that’s the day I found out that my grandfather was not gonna make it.” Kanye says in the clip, referencing his appearance Wednesday (October 9) on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” “He passed two weeks later. But when I’m comin’ out the airport, because it’s Kanye, whatever, ‘We’re gonna [mess] with him. We’re going to antagonize him.’ I tried to stop his camera and stuff. He fell down, faked it. Then people were talkin’ about, ‘Oh. Yo, why’d you hit that guy?’ Obviously [I] didn’t hit the guy.”

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Kanye West is likely referring to a July 19 altercation at Los Angeles airport that was caught on tape. The rapper-producer was shown trying to take a camera from a photographer who spoke to West as the rapper exited the airport.

Kanye West was charged with battery and attempted grand theft after the incident.

More recently, West has had both positive and negative interactions with the paparazzi. A few days after a video was posted of West cursing out paparazzi in his driveway last month, he said that he respects the French paparazzi.

West says in the new TMZ clip that he and the paparazzi should work in unison.

“We’re in this together,” Kanye West says. “You guys help me influence. You help with the family. You help [my wife] Kim [Kardashian]’s power and everything, so I’m not trying to…be at you guys [in] any type of negative way. I don’t want you guys to be negative to me. I would prefer that we just have a decent relationship.”

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Shortly following his recent success, Atlanta rapper 2 Chainz has become one of a handful of artists whose names have been brought up in regards to the ever-present Illuminati conversation. The word “Illuminati” allegedly refers to several secret organizations, which are said to have been created to control world affairs through a handful of individuals in government and through various aspects of popular culture. Among the artists frequently brought up in modern-day Illuminati conversations are Jay Z, Beyonce and Kanye West.

According to 2 Chainz, the perceived Illuminati symbols, which are sometimes seen in music videos, are the work of the video’s director. The Def Jam spitter, who previously rejected Illuminati rumors, stated that directors learn these symbols and icons in school and then use them to create an increase in views.

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“Anytime I even talked about Illuminati, I would try to make people think about when and where it really became poppin’ popular in things like that,” the B.O.A.T.S. II: #MeTime rapper said during an interview with DJ Vlad. “In my opinion, I feel like directors or people that do imagery, who went to school the past last 10 years, these are some things that they learn. Which is symbols, different icons, different things—whether they be negative or positive, just to get us talking. So if I shoot a video, Vlad, and I look behind you, I have these statues behind you. You don’t know these two statues behind you…I’m the director. I’m shooting this shit. You don’t know that’s fuckin behind you…You don’t know what the fuck I’m doing. I’m shooting this shit right here. Boom, you leave. Boom, people go online and say, ‘Vlad is in Illuminati.’ And guess what happens? The views go up. The views don’t help Vlad. The views help me, the fuckin director.”

2 Chainz later questioned why the Illuminati debate only surfaces when it concerns those in the Hip Hop community. He then alluded to the debate being brought up when an act begins to gain fans from another race.

“In rap, you fuck around and get white fans, nigga you did some crazy shit that I can’t even thank of fam,” 2 Chainz says. “And it’s slick ignorant. And if it is something that I don’t know about, I’m cool with just not being [in it]. But in my opinion, my theory of this stuff is something that basically the last…10 years.”

In the time since the Illuminati debate began to generate popularity, a number of rappers have shared their opinion on the matter. Most recently, Talib Kweli offered his thoughts as he commented on the fanaticism surrounding talks of the Illuminati, distracting people from real issues.

“The Illuminati was a real organization and quite possibly could be a real organization now, but the amount of power that people allow it to have on their lives is based on them,” Kweli said. “We have the International Money Fund, the World Bank. We have rich families that are conspiring and getting together to have one currency, to have one world order to make shit easier for them. These things are dangerous and catastrophic for millions of people, some of these decisions that these rich people make. But when you start adding a boogieman, ‘Oooh, mysterious, secret society’ aspect to it, you really distract it from the real issue and you’re not giving enough props and credit to how dangerous and how evil some of this shit really is.”

Jay Z also shared his thoughts on Illuminati rumors as he referred to them as “crazy” and “ridiculous” during a 2010 interview with Ed Lover.

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Tavache “Trife” Kizer becomes the latest rapper to be killed in Chicago. The 38-year-old father and husband was murdered in South Dorchester on Monday afternoon. Kizer was shot in the head while getting his car repaired by an alley mechanic.

Police suspect that Kizer was not the intended target of the shooting. His killing comes just weeks after teenage rapper Leonard “L’A Capone” Anderson was killed near a recording studio in the city.

Trife had recently shot a video for the song “Respect The Youth”. He had been working on the final edits to the visuals with his brother Larry “Shaciaren” Kizer before he was killed.

“He wanted to show the true pain of the violence. He wanted it to be a tribute to Hadiya Pendleton, Trayvon Martin and the kids at Sandy Hook,” said Shaciaren about his brother’s vision for the video. “It was ironic that the last thing he wanted in that video were scenes of emptiness — empty playgrounds, basketball courts, swings and school hallways. Now, he has become a victim of the violence.”

No arrests have been made in the case.

Legendary Hip Hop DJ Jam Master Jay of Run-DMC was gunned down at a Queens recording studio on October 30, 2002. Over a decade later the case is still unsolved and no suspects were ever charged for the murder, but PIX 11 spoke with the NYPD lead detective on the case. Detective Vincent Santangelo provided some new details about Jay’s killing.

According to Santangelo, the surveillance tape that was supposed to record people who entered the Merrick Boulevard studio was “useless” adding that it was not clear if the tape found when police arrived was either improperly set-up or tampered with.

“When we went to go and take that tape and view it, it was an old tape,” said Detective Santangelo. “It looked like spring time.”

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Jay (born Jason Mizell) was killed in late October, so police believe the images on the tape do not match that day’s  weather. The television monitor used to display visitors entering in the studio was located right next to video game system that Jay and Uriel “Tony” Rincon were playing at the time. Rincon was also shot in the leg.

Santangelo also confirmed that Jay’s assistant, Lydia High who was present during the shooting, did identify Ronald Tinard Washington as the “look-out” for the unnamed shooter. Washington was never charged for Jay’s murder and is currently serving federal time for unrelated burglary charges.

Jam Master Jay’s brother, Marvin Thompson, added he believes both Rincon and High know he killed his brother. Thompson says he was never able to speak to the two eye witnesses to the crime, because they both had security surrounding them at Jay’s gravesite and later relocated from the city.

Thompson also says that he is does not think, Curtis Scoon, one of the names that has been implicated as being the person who ordered a possible hit, was not involved in Jay’s murder.

Watch the Pix 11 news report below.

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Whoa Nelly! There should be no taxes until the government goes back to work, says the Rap star known as Nelly. That is hardly a radical sentiment and others have said it too. Still, Nelly–born Cornell Iral Haynes, Jr.–does it with style. His campaign is reported here: Nelly For President! The M.O. Rapper Says No Taxes Until Government Shutdown Is Over. Whether you like Hip Hop, Rap, Jazz, Folk, Soul or Classical, it’s easy to embrace Nelly’s message.

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“I’m trying to campaign, since the government ain’t working, we shouldn’t have to pay taxes,” Nelly told VH1. “Because, you know, paying taxes is supposed to pay for the government, which in turn is not working. So if they’re not working, I shouldn’t have to pay taxes. And me being in the upper echelon of the tax bracket, feel that the money I could be saving over these next couple of days could be very vital to my survival…So y’all keep banging.”

Republican or Democrat, it seems hard to argue with this logic. It’s also nice to hear someone admit that they are paying considerable taxes, or as Nelly put it, in the upper echelon of the tax bracket. But high or low, everyone is a little tired of theatrics, of no service at the IRS and elsewhere. And yet taxes and filings are coming due like a freight train.

In fact, want to add insult to injury? Nelly is telling all of us we shouldn’t have to pay until the federal government reopens for business. At the same time, the IRS is expressing the opposite, warning us all that we’d better keep on filing and keep on paying. The IRS announced that:

• “The current lapse in federal appropriations does not affect the federal tax law, and all taxpayers should continue to meet their tax obligations as normal. Individuals and businesses should keep filing their tax returns and making deposits with the IRS, as required by law.”

Yes, the IRS issued a reminder that the Oct. 15 deadline remains in effect for filers who requested a six-month extension to file their tax return. Reminder: Oct. 15 Tax Deadline Remains During Appropriations Lapse. IR-2013-80, Oct. 8, 2013.

And that reminder makes Nelly’s musical message all that much more poignant. Of course, Nelly has featured in tax stories before, but none as downright sensible as this one. Back in 2006, around tax time, the story surfaced that Nelly should be deducting his  jewel-encrusted teeth.

That made sense since they were celebrated in his hit single, Grillz. ”I got my mouth lookin’ somethin’ like a disco ball,” Nelly and co-singer Paul Wall rapped in the hit. You can think of it as a rap ode to gem-encrusted dentures. See Celeb Tax Perks: Can Nelly Deduct His Grillz? There’s no evidence to suggest that he deducted them, though he probably could have.

After all, lesser entertainers have claimed bigger tax deductions than that. In fact, sometimes the more unusual and extreme the expense, the more normal it may seem. And in the entertainment world, it can seem that anything goes.

Nelly has sold more than 21 million albums over his career. That makes him one of the top handful of hip-hop artists. But one wonders if he isn’t equally well suited to politics. After all, he is making considerably more sense than many in Washington these days.

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Entrepreneur and recording artist Sean “Diddy” Combs was recently named the wealthiest and the top earning person in Hip Hop by Forbes magazine. The business-centered publication revealed that Diddy has an estimated net worth of $580 million and earned $50 million in one year topping other rap moguls Jay Z, Dr. Dre, and Nicki Minaj.

In an interview with Forbes, Diddy says he recognizes the value of being an example of upward mobility; going from a low-income family to building an immense fortune, but he adds his wealth is not the most important aspect of who he is.

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“I can’t deny how humbling and how proud I am to be from Harlem, New York, to be from the inner-city and be on the Forbes list,” said Diddy. “But it doesn’t define me.”

The Bad Boy Entertainment head said that he defines his success by his ability to help those in need. “Another thing about being number one on the list is that I openly accept the responsibility that comes with that. That economic power gives me the opportunity to give back.”

Diddy’s net worth is likely to jump even higher after his new music channel Revolt officially launches later this month.

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Jimmy Kimmel sent a tweet today (October 8) that said that Kanye West will be a guest on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” tomorrow (October 9).

The scheduled appearance comes after Kanye West took offense last month to a skit Jimmy Kimmel featured on his program where Kimmel’s team spoofed Kanye West’s recent interview on BBC Radio 1.

The skit, which aired onJimmy Kimmel Live!, featured children reenacting West’s interview with BBC Radio 1’s Zane Lowe.

Before airing the spoof, Jimmy Kimmel also joked about the interview.

“You’re not gonna believe this, but he said a lot of weird stuff,” Kimmel said of West’s interview in a monologue. “He said he was the #1 rockstar on the planet, whatever planet he’s on, and a lot of other great stuff about himself. Does Kanye West know you’re not supposed to be your own hype man? I don’t know if it’s a money-saving thing, but I like it.”

Ottawa rapper Corey Charron said he is devastated after learning what he called “an opportunity of a lifetime” to appear on the BET hip hop awards next week has gone up in smoke.

 Charron thought he had won the right to appear on the show’s annual cypher, where a collection of big-name rappers perform alongside up-and-coming performers, after he won the Freestyle Friday battle rap competition on 106 and Park, the flagship program of the Black Entertainment Network.

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“It’s an opportunity of a lifetime because it’s just a platform where everyone’s watching,” said Charron. “It’s kind of like when I was doing BET it was the regular season and then getting a chance to perform [there] it was like the Super Bowl.”

Corey Charron raises his arms in victory after he won 106 and Park’s Freestyle Friday in March. (BET)

But Charron said he didn’t hear from the network leading up to next week’s show and then this week got an email saying this year’s cypher had been scaled down and that there wasn’t room for the show’s freestyle champion.

The network also said the cypher’s direction has changed “towards artists that have huge projects that are current.”

BET did not respond to CBC’s request for an interview.

Charron also received $5,000 for winning the freestyle rap competition last March — where he had to out-duel fellow competitors in a back-and-forth improvisational style of rapping.

But he said he spent close to $3,000 of his own money going back and forth from Ottawa to New York to compete.

Already a touring artist, Charron saw the competition as an opportunity not for the monetary prize but as a chance for more exposure.

“I wanted to show people what I could do, it was a dream,” he said.

He said he thinks he was cut loose from the cypher because he didn’t fit the network’s image.

“I’m a white Canadian [with] kind of like a a baby-faced nerdy look to me and I just really don’t think they thought I was going to win the competition,” said Charron.

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