Author: hhns

The day after MTV revealed the nominees for this year’s Video Music Awards, someone decided to remind the world about perhaps the most infamous moment in VMA history. Who can forget when Kanye West ran on stage and interrupted Taylor Swift during her acceptance speech in 2009?

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Kanye had a lot to say that night live on television. Apparently, he didn’t get out everything he wanted to express, because Gawker got access to an audio recording allegedly of Kanye later that night still ranting about Taylor, Elvis, Pink, MTV, and Eminem.

He also makes a reference to his mother’s passing and his own chasing of fame.

The conversation is said to have been recorded at a West Village bistro the same evening of the awards show. There is no verification that voice on the tape is actually Kanye, but going by his past public rants it sounds very similar to the Chi-town rapper.

Listen to the conversation in the video below.

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In the third part of his interview series with BBC Radio 1,Jay-Z discussed politics. He explained why he respects President Obama so much and why he believes the Trayvon Martin death and George Zimmerman case showcase an example of how racism still exists. He also expressed some disappointment with sexism in this country adding that “we have to deal with sexism.”

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“Everyone outside of America was like, ‘Wow.’ There was a time when people were getting this sort of aversion to America like, ‘You preach these ideals but you don’t really practice them.’ You know? That was a major turn for us to be like, ‘Maybe it is the things that they profess, the land of the free and the home of the brave. Everyone’s getting a shot, any color or creed.’ We dealt with racism in America, in that way, that there’s a Black president,” he told BBC Radio 1. “It still exists, as we see with Trayvon and Zimmerman trial that’s going on. Of course it exists but we’ve dealt with that in some way. We have to deal with sexism of course. That’s the next thing.”

Jay further explained that while he backs President Obama, he is not fond of politics.

“My thing is about hope, hope that a person like Obama inspires in an entire nation and even outside of the nation,” he said. “What I support, other than Obama is a great guy, a more than capable president, is the hope that he represents to a generation of kids who grew up like me, that they can achieve this American dream. I’m pretty much into that idea. The politics part really bothers me because, for the most part, these people are putting up arguments against each other and there’s ego and there’s all these things and it’s about everything but people.”

Jigga also offered a bit of a solution with a smile.

“The government’s too big. Let’s shrink that,” he said. “Let’s get rid of all of these fuckin’ assholes and shrink it to the people who really care and get things done.”

More of their conversation, including Jay’s discussion about Kevin Durant, Roc Nation and J. Cole can be found below.

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In late May, police found $8,000 in cash on Chief Keef during an arrest for speeding. Now in June, Chief Keef’s estranged baby mother has taken legal action against the star rapper over unpaid child support payments.

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According to TMZ, the mother of Keef’s daughter Kayden claims he has only paid $1,900 in child support. Weeks before his speeding arrest, the rapper born Keith Cozart was court ordered to pay $3,100 a month (including $500 for daycare).

A judge has ordered Keef to appear in court in September to explain the missed payments and an arrest warrant may be issued.

This week has been a real test of the father skills of the Finally Rich rapper after his 1 year old daughter was hospitalized after being in a car accident. Kayden was placed in a neck brace.

My Kayden Is TheOnly Thing I Got To Live For In This Life Of Mine !

— AlmightySo (@ChiefKeef) June 14, 2013

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Detroit rapper Eminem has always been one to show love to his hometown of Detroit, Michigan and his love for the Motor City reportedly resulted in the rapper not being chosen for the leading role in the upcoming, sci-fi flickElysium.

The lead role in the film was ultimately given to Matt Damon, an actor who was Elysium director Neil Blomkamp’s third choice. According to Rolling Stone, top priority was given to South African rapper Ninja who also turned down the role due to location.

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Despite being eyed by Blomkamp, Eminem has not expressed terrible excitement in returning to the world of Hollywood. In a recent interview with Rap Fix, the Recovery rapper stated that it would take a very “dope” script or role for him to take a break from rapping and return to acting.

“There are some things in the [works], a couple of scripts,” Eminem revealed. “I guess it’s more so of just waiting now to see how they come together. Obviously it’s gotta be something that I feel is dope enough to make me want to say, ‘OK, let me put the mic down for a second and go do this movie.’ There are some things that are in the works. I guess we’ll just see how they come together.”

Em shocked both fans and naysayers alike with his role as Jimmy “B-Rabbit” Smith Jr. in the Curtis Hanson-directed film 8 Mile. The film, released in 2002, received high praise and went on to secure a number of award nominations.

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This warrants a “hip hop hooray” chant from the South Bronx all the way to Alaska.

The Hip-Hop Archive and the W. E. B. Du Bois Institute at Harvard University announced today the inception of the Nasir Jones Hip Hop Fellowship. According to the press release, the fellowship will help fund future exceptional Hip Hop artists:

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The Fellowship will provide selected scholars and artists with an opportunity to show that “education is real power,” as it builds upon the achievements of those who demonstrate exceptional capacity for productive scholarship and exceptional creative ability in the arts, in connection with hip-hop.

Nas’ penchant for social commentary and intellectual analysis has ”helped usher in an original form of hip-hop debate and analysis that reflects on and represents urban youth angst and conflict as well as intelligence, confidence and ambition” according to the press release.

The recepients of the fellowship will be selected by members of Harvard University.

Recently, Harvard University has begun honoring Hip Hop and Nas has been integral in that prior to the fellowship’s beginning. In 2012, highly acclaimed Hip Hop producer 9th Wonder became a Harvard Fellow and engaged in an academic projecte called “These Are The Breaks” where he tracked down all the original samples from a few classic Hip Hop albums to archive them permanently in the Harvard Library. One of those albums was Illmatic.

Check out a clip from 9th Wonder’s documentary “The Harvard Fellow” which documented his time at Harvard from the moment he received the acceptance letter in March of 2012 to when he engaged in the research project:

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In the last two years, Def Jam Records star 2 Chainz has appeared on hit singles from Drake (“No Lie”), Nicki Minaj (“Beez In The Trap”) and Wale (“Rotation”). When Kanye West publicly outed the Playaz Circle co-founder as now a member of the G.O.O.D. Music family last May, ‘Ye said that verses from the veteran were $100,000.

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In a new interview with BBC Radio 1xtra, 2 Chainz confirmed the rate for his appearances. “Let me start, man, ’cause I know there’s people out here listening: Look, I’m enjoying life, okay? You would be doing the same thing. Don’t look down upon me,” said the 35-year-old Atlanta, Georgia native. “[You might ask,] ‘Who’s gonna pay that for a verse?’ Your favorite rapper paid it. Don’t even worry about it.”

The rapper formerly known as Tity Boi continued, stressing the added value of the six-figure fee. “The thing is, when it comes to your video, I’m gonna change clothes twice. They’re never gonna see that outfit again,” he said, mentioning Givenchy and Alexander McQueen as possible designers he would wear. “I’m gonna give you bars. I’m gonna wear fancy glasses and a bunch of chains you’ve never seen. I mean, I could help you.”

With that appearance on the song and video, 2 Chainz stressed that he can affect a hopeful rapper’s sex-life. “You get me. You get charisma. You get girls that’s gonna come to your video shoot ’cause they know I’ma be there. So this [is] your chance to get in!”

Asked if the $100,000 price-tag is negotiable, the gold-selling solo artist waved off bargaining rappers. “I’m not doin’ deals. I’m tellin’ what I give you, for that number. These are the services that I offer.”

2 Chainz’ sophomore solo album, B.O.A.T.S 2 (Based On A T.R.U. Story 2) is planned for September 10 release on Def Jam Records.

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The Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) is calling on the Federal Trade Commission to investigate the Jay-Z/Samsung “Magna Carta” app for inappropriate data collection. The Los Angeles Times is reporting that EPIC filed a complaint with the FTC that states the app “accessed substantial information, including data about users’ location, telephone numbers dialed, networks and other applications on the phone.”

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The compliant also says:

Samsung failed to disclose material information about the privacy practices of the App, collected data unnecessary to the functioning of the Magna Carta App, deprived users of meaningful choice regarding the collection of their data, interfered with device functionality, and failed to implement reasonable data minimization procedures.

Owners of Samsung’s Galaxy smartphones who downloaded the app were given early access to Jay-Z’s new album Magna Carta Holy Grail and other exclusive features on July 4th. The reported $20 million deal Jay signed with Samsung was viewed by many observers as groundbreaking and capable of changing the way music is consumed in the future.

The app also drew criticism from some, including rapper Killer Mike, for being too invasive since users were required to agree to several phone permissions before downloading. The ‘Magna Carta’ app also asked for authorization to post to social media sites and made users provide status updates in order to access certain features. EPIC says these requirements were unnecessary for the app to function properly.

Samsung issued a statement that read in part:

Any information obtained through the application download process was purely for customer verification purposes, app functionality purposes, and for marketing communications, but only if the customer requests to receive those marketing communications… Samsung is in no way inappropriately using or selling any information obtained from users through the download process.

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Prior to the July 4 release of Magna Carta Holy Grail, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) was left to change its certification policy due to Samsung’s purchase of one million digital copies of Jay-Z’s twelfth studio album. The RIAA’s updated policy consequently sparked some debate in regards to album sales and among those to share their thoughts on the policy change was LL Cool J.

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The Queens rapper didn’t mention Magna Carta Holy Grail or Jay-Z by name during his interview with Revolt TV, but he did allude to the project as he stated that selling millions of album copies to a major corporation will never compare to selling an album to a fan on an individual basis.

“It’s not anything different,” said LL. “I mean, if Wal-Mart buys a million records, they bought it. I mean the difference is…If I go sell five million records to Bill Gates or if I sell 10 million records to Bill Gates, I guess I’m diamond. I may not touch 10 million people, but I’m diamond. Numbers are numbers, but I think that in the numbers is truth. But in terms of touching the people it’s a little different.”

LL Cool J went on to stress his “numbers are numbers” notion as he showed his support for the policy change, but also expressed that he would rather touch people “directly” when it concerns his albums.

“I think that for me as an artist, I still want to be able to touch the people individually,” the Authenticrapper revealed. “It still matters to me that people individually went out and bought my record. Although I do think a million records sold is a million records sold, there’s no question about that. You can’t argue with math. It is what it is and that’s truth. For me, I like to touch the people directly. I like to know that a million people went out and bought my album. Not that I sold a million records to a company. That’s different…But that being said, I think it’s definitely the right move for the RIAA. I agree with that move.”

The RIAA announced their policy change in early July, stating that, “…sales of albums in digital format will become eligible on the release date, while sales of albums in physical format will still become eligible for certification 30 days after the release date.”

 

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The legal woes for Glory Boyz Entertainment artists continue. The Chicago Tribune reported that yesterday (July 13) that local artist Lil Reese was arrested for possession of marijuana. The 20-year-old Glory Boyz/Def Jam Records artist was arrested on a sidewalk in the Englewood section of the city with a reported four grams of the controlled substance. According to the Trib’s reports, this violates Reese’s probation.

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A police report added that the major label MC had over $2,000 cash on his person. The report quoted Reese’s explanation of the cash as “It’s mine, I got a little Fire. So what?” He was said to add: “There’s serious crime out there. This ain’t a big deal. I’m gangsta.”

In April of this year, Reese was cuffed by police when he was found sleeping in his car. At the time, there was an outstanding warrant for the rapper’s arrest. Earlier that month, Reese was stopped and taken in for driving without a driver’s license or car insurance. He was initially charged with grand theft auto due to his failure to provide information on the car. He was ordered to be held in lieu of $10,000 bail.

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The United States House of Representatives Appropriations Committee is attempting to enhance travel restrictions to Cuba as a result of two musicians recent trip there.

It has been four months since Congressional Republicans called for an investigation into Jay-Z and Beyoncé’s sanctioned excursion to the communist nation. Since that time Jay released the response record “Open Letter” and the White House Press Secretary Jay Carney even had to address the song during a formal press briefing.

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Politico is reporting that on Wednesday Republicans on a subcommittee approved the Cuba provision into a larger $17 billion spending bill that funds the Treasury Department. Treasury is responsible for approving travel to Cuba. The department granted Jay and Beyoncé permission to visit the island nation as a cultural trip.

One Democratic member of the Appropriations Committee who opposes the restrictive provision believes it is just a reaction to the superstar couple and nothing more than politics to appeal to Cuban defectors in South Florida who typically vote Republican.

“This is the Jay-Z, Beyonce Bill,” said Rep. Jose Serrano of New York. “Absolutely [it’s a response to the trip], and it’s playing to the audience in Miami.”

President Obama closed the Cuban voting gap in Florida in 2012. Mitt Romney won 52% of the Cuban vote in the state compared to Obama’s 48%, but the President won 53 percent of Cubans that voted on the day of the election.

The subcommittee’s chairman Ander Crenshaw (R-Fla.) stated that he felt Jay-Z and Beyoncé where an example of how following the proper policy regarding travel to Cuba was being neglected.

“I think that if we’re going to say that we have this policy in place that relates to travel in Cuba that it ought to be enforced and that becomes a grey area where they’re probably not really following the guidelines,” said Crenshaw.

If the bill passes the full Congress and signed into law it would only allow travel to Cuba for educational exchanges that are connected to achieving an academic degree.

The new proposed travel restrictions come the same week Jay-Z releases his latest albumMagna Carta Holy Grail.

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Juicy J was scheduled to perform in Midland, Texas Saturday night however the show never even happened.

According to Juicy J’s videographer, Ted Cadillac, a police officer was mobbed, hit with a bottle and then beat up while on stage before Juicy was to perform. At least 10 police cars were on scene as the situation was subdued. The show was cancelled upon the Three-6 Mafia member’s arrival. Juicy’s performance was to happen at Cabana Sports Bar, an outdoor venue.

Juicy J tweeted an Instagram video of his disappointment. The video also includes footage of numerous police cars near the venue.

George Zimmerman, the man accused of killing 17-year-old Trayvon Martin, was found not guilty by a jury of six women today.

The verdict is the culmination of a polarizing case that has forced the nation to discuss race, class, brutality against youth and other matters.

The jury deliberated for 16 hours and 20 minutes before arriving at their verdict.

Many expressed outrage at the decision.

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New Orleans rapper Lil Wayne may be at the top of Young Money’s musical empire, but at one time the I Am Not A Human Being II emcee was very close to signing with Jay-Z and Roc-A-Fella Records. Up until now the reason behind the deal never coming to fruition was not quite known, but during a recent interview with Power 105.1’s The Breakfast Club, Jay-Z spoke on the signing that never came to be.

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According to the Magna Carta Holy Grail rapper, the idea of Lil Wayne becoming a Roc-A-Fella Records signee started to become very bleak when a “torturous interference” letter was received shortly after Jay expressed his interest in Lil Wayne to Birdman.

“This is the first time I ever told this truth,” Jay-Z revealed. “The truth is after I had a meeting with Wayne—I had a relationship with Baby, when I used to go to New Orleans I would meet up with him…So, I felt it was only right to call him. I called him out of respect like ‘Yo, I was talking to Wayne. Just to let you know. Boom boom boom.’ So, after that I think we received a letter at our office for like torturous interference from a lawyer…And it all just went from there. I would rather lose that situation and do the right thing than the opposite. Cause I think I could have signed him. I could have signed him and then told him after. I did the right thing and I’m cool with that decision.”

Jay-Z continued to speak on Lil Wayne after being questioned about the rapper’s reference to his wife Beyonce on Tha Carter IV’s “It’s Good.” On the song Weezy raps, “Talkin’ ’bout baby money, I got your baby money/Kidnap your bitch, Get that ‘how much you love your lady’ money.”

The Brooklyn spitter didn’t seem too concerned with Wayne’s line, stating that he didn’t take the mention seriously or see it as “a threat.”

“It was aight. It’s part of the sport and the competition. I didn’t take it serious. I didn’t view it as a threat. I thought it was just a flip of a line that I said…I didn’t take it as a real threat. I took it as a flip of a line,” said Jay-Z.

Jay-Z’s interview with The Breakfast Club can be found below (via XXL Magazine).

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Brooklyn rapper Jay-Z is continuing to push boundaries with the release of his 12th studio album, Magna Carta Holy Grail. Most recently, the Roc Nation founder appeared at New York City’s Pace Gallery yesterday (July 10) to take part in what’s described as a marathon performance of his album cut “Picasso Baby.”

According to Pitchfork.com, Jay-Z performed the record for six hours straight and will use video from the lengthy performance for the official “Picasso Baby” music video.

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Among those in attendance at Pace Gallery during Jay’s unique performance were DMV-based emcee and The Gifted crafter Wale and director Judd Apatow.

On the Timbaland-produced “Picasso Baby,” Jay-Z makes reference to a handful of artists both new and old as he raps, “It ain’t hard to tell, I’m the new Jean Michel…Leonardo Da Vinci flows, Riccardo Tisci Givenchy clothes.”

As of now it’s unclear when the “Picasso Baby” music video will be released, but video of Jay-Z performing “Picasso Baby” and interacting with fans at Pace Gallery can be found below (via Miss Info).

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On July 9, Compton, California’s Guerilla Black pleaded guilty to a series of charges dealing with fraud and theft. The rapper, mainly known for his Beenie Man-assisted hit, 2004’s “Compton,” was reportedly facing charges of aggravated identity theft, access device fraud, bank fraud and federal conspiracy as well as unauthorized access to a protected computer to facilitate fraud.

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While the total amount has not been officially noted, it has been reported that Black had access to over $150,000 of stolen money through a credit card fraud scheme. Black allegedly purchased credit card numbers from hackers in Seattle, Washington.

Others involved in the scheme have been sentenced. David Schrooten, a hacker, received 12 years of jail time for his role and Christopher Schroebel received 7 years.

Black could also face years of incarceration. According to Shoreline.Patch, the charges he’s facing carry up to 2, 5, 15 and/or 30 years of prison time for the various charges. The charges could also lead to financial penalties of $250,000 and/or $1 million. Black will be sentenced on October 10.

When Guerilla Black’s “Compton” hit reached outlets, he was critiqued and applauded by detractors and fans alike for a style and voice that looked and sounded similar to Notorious B.I.G.’s. His debut album, Guerilla City, featured Nate Dogg, Mario Winans and Jazze Pha. “Compton” can be seen and heard below.

 

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