Rhapsody is making it possible for Facebook users to stream full versions of their favorite songs to their sites. For non-existing Rhapsody members, they will be limited to 25 streams a month, while existing members will be allowed access to endless streams. In addition Rhapsody will be including 150,000 artist profiles to Facebook as well. The beta-app will be upgraded in the very near future.
PMoor
While Americans were busying snatching up the last items on their Christmas shopping lists, the U.S. Senate was one step closer to protecting various cellphone/wireless carriers who allegely collaborated with the US Goverment in their illegal phonetap/spy program. They are passing legislature that will protect these companies from any further legal action. The greenlight not only extends to wiretapping of phone services but also internet connections. Here’s what they had to say: “The language is crafted broadly enough to shield not only traditional telephone companies and Internet service providers, but e-mail providers, search engines, and instant-messaging services too. And the legal shield would apply not only to corporate cooperation with programs run by the National Security Agency, but also any activities at the CIA, the Defense Department, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the Defense Intelligence Agency, the State Department, the Treasury Department, Homeland Security and other intelligence-related organizations.” To read the full story about this invasion of your privacy read HERE.
PMoor
While some would consider it an honor to share some TV time with America’s most infamous gangsters, Rap-A-Lot CEO James Prince is taking exception to his depiction in a recent episode of BET’s hit-show American Gangster. The segment dedicated to Gangster Disciple’s leader Larry Hoover featured Prince and an associate with Hoover during a prison visit. During the commercial for the episode the word “killer” was flashed across the scene when this picture appeared. Prince is disputing the use of the decade old photograph and accusing BET’s parent company, Viacom of trying to align him with the negative portrayal of Hoover. For the full story on this, click HERE.
PMoor
A crop of new Hip Hop themed social networking sites are popping up all over the place. The latest site is www.URBNLEGEND.com, the latest venture from entrepreneur George Nivkor. Not only is this a social networking site but they are offering aspiring artists up to a $500, 000 towards a recording contract. The site is being described as, “URBNLEGEND is an evolved web 2.0 appliance that specializes in networking the entertainment industry. Stay current in your digital environment, promote your agenda, and capitalize on your ideas!” Next up is Goldmic, located at www.goldmic.com. The site’s bio reads “Goldmic’s mission is to provide online products and services that empower the independent hip-hop community. Goldmic stimulates the development of authentic underground hip-hop music by providing a platform, that brings together emcees, producers, DJs, record labels and fans to collaborate and network.
Goldmic has a patent-pending for its unique MC battling application and has had over 150,000 battles take place at Goldmic.com, uniting emcees from over 20 countries.” Make sure you make it over to these new sites and get involved!
PMoor
Wesley Snipes, who is due to stand trial next month for eight counts of tax-evasion charges, spoke out against what he feels is systematic racism. He ruffled some feathers a few years back when he sued a major movie studio, and has not had a major movie role since. Can we all say blacklisted? He tells Entertainment Weekly, “It was easy for people to jump on the ‘Wesley’s the bad guy’ bandwagon. That’s where I think the systematic racism comes in. We’re conditioned in this country to believe that if there’s a problem, the black man is the culprit.” Wesley also speaks on why Blade:Trinity tanked at the box office, and yes you guessed it, racism was the cause of this travesty to. To get some further insite into what Wesley has on his mind these days, click HERE to read the full article.
PMoor
The embattled attorney Alton Maddox recently wrote a very introspective piece about the Jena Six and the apparent fix that was in by his attorneys and Civil Rights collaborators. He posed a lingering question that none of the leaders have been poised to answer, “Why not argue double jeopardy on Michael Bell’s account?” Several other points were made that would argue that any capable lawyer would be able to mount an effective defense, instead of allowing Michael Bell to cop a plea and agree to become state’s witness against his co-defendants. Maddox defines thhis as the “one of the worst sellouts in our 400 years in North America as enslaved Africans.” To get more of an insight on these claims being made, click HERE.
PMoor
Update :
Source: Nahright
Here is the cover of the book due to drop next week.
According to Debbie Nelson, the exiled mother of Marshall Mathers aka Eminem, the majority of the story that Eminem based his career on was fradulent. She writes in her latest book, ‘My Son Marshall, My Son Eminem’ that his claims to being white trailer trash was all a lie and initially she played along with the marketing scheme once his first album, Infinite bombed and he had to adopt the new identity. She says she doesn’t hold any personal feelings against Marshall for lambasting her even though she has become the object of contempt by his legion of fans. To see what else she had to say about Slim Shady, click HERE.
Got this interview from the homeys over at Worldstarhiphop. It is an in depth-interview with box-office king Will Smith, who explains the key-points in his success. Willing to work harder than anyone and focusing his aspirations globally instead of just the United States. This interview is powerful and should be a lesson to us all. Props to Tavis Smiley.
Majesty
Ja Rule has decided to create his outlet for his music by starting his own online radio station. With terresterial radio still acting luke warm to his recent singles, it makes sense to cut out the middle man and go direct to his fanbase. Hopefully this will teach other rappers to set up their own stations if they feel they are being ignored by the big radio stations and companies.
Majesty
The Always On Time hitmaker, real name Jeffrey Atkins, fronts the ambitious new venture and hosts a weekly hip-hop show every Friday.
The hip-hop star launched the network in March (07) and he’s delighted with his first months as a radio mogul.
He says, “It’s the best because we’re not censored, and you can log in from anywhere and hear my station.
“As technology is going forward… if you go on the iPhone, you can go to a website that has audio… It’s becoming easier.
“It’s even easier than satellite radio because we’re not making you pay for it.”via Pr-Inside.com
With the Air Jordan series of signature shoes hitting the iconic 23 next year, a series of Countdown Packages are slated to drop.The premise theme behind each pack are to include Air Jordans which together add up to 23.
The first release will include the Shadow X Retro and the White/Black XIII. With the end of retro’s perhaps in sight, this may prove to be a hot commodity. This first pack will release January 1st at Niketowns and Jordan Urban Accounts with a suggested retail of $310 USD. However Japanese retailer essense has offered a pre-order.
From the workaholics over at Hypebeast
The peeps over at Ghetto Braggin Rights got this on-point article about King Magazine’s Man of the Year. Check out the full article…
Latin music has gone from just being a niche market to making serious waves in the digital marketplace. With the advent of social networking sites, podcasts, and blogs Latin artists are selling music online and gaining traction toward their peers in the music industry. Click here for the full article…
Majesty
After airing out Super Head on MSNBC Irv Gotti hit up radio personality Kendra G.’s YouTube channel to give her the lowdown on what makes Ms. Karrine Steffans tick. Acknowledging that the segment probably won’t air on the MSNBC website, Irv gave Kendra a full, graphic description of what kind of relationship he maintained with The Queen of Brains (pun intended). Click HERE for the full article.
PMoor
Will Smith continues his uncontested reign as the Blockbuster King. After carrying the summer consecutively Smith was the hottest thing this winter weekend with an astounding $76.5 million debut for “I AM LEGEND”– an apocalyptic epic about Smith being the last “human” on Earth. Not only did he shatter box-office records for the highest debut in the month of December but he’s so nice he did it twice! Last year this time he pulled in $26.5 million with “The Pursuit of Happiness.” A year later five million more people turned out to see Will save the planet from genetically mutated Night Walkers. “It’s nice to be in the Will Smith business,” said Dan Fellman, head of distribution for Warner Bros. “He is just the No. 1 box-office star in the world today.” Click HERE for full story, and other Box Office numbers.
PMoor
Editor’s Note: Wow, who would’ve ever thought…The Fresh Prince, a rapper from Philly would reign on the top of the Hollywood Hills as the number-one man in the business?
Rolling Stone hands the coveted #1 song of the year to Jay-Z for Roc Boys
And the winner is. . . Hov! This is black superhero music, circa 2007: Jay-Z goes to the movies and comes back with an even better film in his head, with a song that plays like the Copacabana scene in GoodFellas translated into hip-hop. The most triumphant sound anyone came up with all year, this track makes you fly in more ways than one. After thanking his drug connection and tipping his hat to God, Jigga toasts the high life over a gritty Brooklyn funky-horns riff from the Menahan Street Band. It’s a celebration, bitches. Drinks is on the house!
article courtesy of Rolling Stone
For the full list of The Top 100 click HERE
We continue to bring you proof that Hip Hop is alive and well all across the globe! The recent clip shows how Hip Hop is being embraced in China…by the Hip Hop Grannies, a 30 member dance troupe consisting of elderly Chinese woman. Checking in at over 60 years old, these grannies depend on their passion for Hip Hop as exercise and expression. The troupe leader, Wei Ling is the oldest Hip Hop dancer at 71 years, and she just found her groove. The older members find Hip Hop therapeutic and the artform of dancing, compared to Tai Chi has kept members of medication and far away from hospitals. So it goes to prove that Hip Hop in its truest form is not only healthy for the soul but it continues to steamroll its own path globally. Click on the clip above for the full story. PMoor
Nintendo has tried to satisfy its customers by offering rainchecks to those who cannot get their hands on the elusive Wii, argubably the holiday’s hottest item(that hasn’t been recalled). Customers have been going crazy trying to find the hottest video game player since the PSP. Check out the full article…
Update: Smash Bros Smashes Records
Nintendo has broken records with the recent release of their mega hit Super Smas. Bros. Pushing 1.4 million copies the first week in North America alone. Nintendo states via their press release, that this is the “fastest selling game” in their history. This certainly great news for Nintendo after the recent resurgence of PS3 which had been selling considerably less than the super popular Wii.
Full story and pics@ Joystiq
Recently Nintendo of America has confirmed the release date of Mario Kart Wii as being April 27th… just a mere 16 days after the European release.
CVG has some information on why the release dates are so staggered…
Previously Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime cited the reason for a staggered release schedule on a disc duplication issue, claiming that it would be unfeasible to produce enough discs to meet international demand.
The same production problem is what’s keeping Nintendo from confirming an SSBB release for Europe… so with this same staggered logic.. should European gamers expect SSBB by the end of March, since it was released in the U.S. at the beginning of the month?
So, should Europe be seeing Brawl shortly all powerful Nintendo?
(Via CVG)
DEALERSHIP USES WII TO SELL CARS
[via Go Nintendo]
Heck, we can’t think of a smarter way to market your product. With the Wii being the hottest item on the planet, this is sure to bring some folks in, with the hopes that they’ll hit some homers and knock the price of their car down
Joe Buddens recently delivered on the long-awaited, highly anticipated Mood Muzic 3, and slipped in a little gift hidden in the (w)rapping. On track 3, titled, “Talk 2 ‘Em” Joe cuts straight to the point and opens a barrage on Sean Carter: “Campaign’s going full throttle like a race/if you’re feelin’ Funktafied, get a bottle to the face/for you the times are rough too/cuz ain’t nobody buying your albums but you/from the sounds of everything/ i hear you lost it/still rap alright but your ear’s exhausted/fuck your bunch of money/put your ego to the side/and maybe it’s time to study your understudy/i mean, are we hustling or are we grown up/every time i hear you you’re changing your tone up”
Ugly…but that’s not all folks…“when the new generation think about Jordan/all they remember is when Iverson crossed him/take off the blazer, loosen up the tie/n*gga fell in love and super man died!” Ooch! Joey must’ve been holding on to some emotional luggage for a minute now,whew, he continues…”the new generation won’t forget you we promise/we’ll always pay homage/but lets get one thing understood son/every encore ain’t a good one”
Review:
Sprinkled throughout the CD are other lightweight subliminal shots taken at Jay. It’ll be interesting to see if Hov bites this time, especially with the highly contested outcome of their last “silent” war leaned in the favor of Jump-Off Joey. Click HERE to get to full mixtape, which is definitely worth a listen. PMoor
We all know Hip Hop’s fascination with gold, platinum and rare gems. Well, the latest luxury treatment on the market has Hip Hop written all over it. Diddy might use ProActiv for clear skin, but once he hears that they are using 24 karat gold for facials, for only $400 a pop I’m sure he’ll reconsider. That’s cheaper than a bottle of Cristal! Spa owner’s are raving the use of gold, saying it tightens the skin and helps with pigmentation. I’m sure the tanning salons will be all over these treatments in a minute! In addition to gold doctors have been using copper and diamond dust which acts as an exfolient. So before you see this treatment pop up in your favorite artist’s video click HERE and say you saw it here first.
PMoor
Hold the press! Hip Hop can’t be dead because traces of its influence continue to pop up all over the world. In an attempt to resuscitate a failing tradition, several dozen Japanese nuns and monks relied on Hip Hop to spruce up a Temple ceremony with the hopes of attracting younger members. They also held a fashion show, with Hip Hop acting as the backdrop while monks strutted down the catwalk. And you thought only the Wu was repping Shaolin! Click HERE for the full article.
Check out the first 5 minutes of the NYC disaster film Cloverfield. From our favorite geeks@ AINTITCOOLNEWS.COM
Source : Defsounds
Okay just reporting the facts. Don’t know the circumstances but it seems hip hop artist Plies has more to worry about that just a violation from his P.O.(probation officer). It seems his manager was caught with enough coke to make a slalom.
“100 Years”
“Hypnotized” ft Akon
PLIES HIT WITH $10 MILLION LAWSUIT
[Source: Allhiphop]
An incident from 2006 is coming back to haunt Florida based artist Plies in the form of a $10 million lawsuit. The plaintiffs, totaling five in number, are alleging that Plies, his record label Slip-N-Slide Records, 283 West, a Gainesville club and others are all responsible for a shooting that took place at a Plies show. They claim that members of Plies entourage started firing pistols into the crowd after Plies microphone was cut off so Lil Boosie can take the stage. The following events took place in regards to the incident:
Two members of Plies’ entourage – his brother Ronell Lavatte, 31 at the time, and then 21-year-old Tory Carnegie – were accused of firing at least three rounds and charged with attempted murder. Upon completing a search of their vehicle, police found five loaded firearms and additional rounds of ammunition. Plies and another member of his entourage, Keon Mc. Rae, were then charged with illegal possession of a concealed weapon. Plies later pled no contest to the charge.
Chi-town rapper gets ready to give his fans his second album “The Cool”. Lupe has had an up and down year, maybe his true fans will give him a reason to end on a high note. Click here for his new video from the homey Clyde Prohiphop.com
Roc-a-Fella recording artist Beanie Sigel made a STOP THE VIOLENCE PSA which is currently airing in his hometown of Philly. The Broad Street Bully speaks in depth about his intentions on curbing the rampant crimewave that has registered 300 plus murders this year in the City of Brotherly Love. For the critics who claim Beans is the inspiration for the teen’s violent ways, he offers this PSA as a solution. He also speaks on his recent Roc-a-Fella/Def Jam release, The Solution. Coincidence, you decide…click HERE to see the interview with Mac Mittens. Shout out to the homie Nahright
PMoor
Testify” was the fourth single from rapper Common ’s 2005 album Be. The original song clocked in at just above two and a half minutes, it was the second shortest track on Be (after the albums intro). It is produced by Kanye West, whose beat heavily utilizes vocal samples from “Innocent Until Proven Guilty” by Honey Cone. A short film was directed by Anthony Mandler and produced by Boxfresh Pictures. It stars Taraji Henson, Wood Harris, Steve Harris, Kenny Burns and Kevin Black. The full length video premiered during a Making The Video segment and all subsequent airings were a scaled down to a three minute version. The song’s story is about a woman who manipulates a judge and jury to find her partner guilty of a crime she committed. After the case is settled, she starts laughing and reveals that she is the criminal. 2] The song was a critical hit garnering a nomination for Best Rap Solo Performance at the 48th Grammy Awards.
The Bush Administration was dealt another embarassing blow at the hands of a Miami jury who voted to acquit one of the so-called Liberty City Seven, a supposed home-grown terrorist cell. The case for the other six defendant’s ended up in a deadlock. The government failed to show that the defendants planned to blow up the Sears Tower or declare war on America. According to the prosecution, the defendants were members of the Moorish Science Temple, described as a “sect” that blends Christianity, Islam and Judaism into one doctrine. All defendants are “black” and the government set out to prove that this was the “new” face of terrorists, who planned to collaborate with Al Qaeda operatives to blow up national monuments like the Sears Tower. Ironically enough the government plans to re-prosecute the defendants on January 7th, coinciding with the Moorish doctrine which adheres to the number 7 as being divine. Each defendant faced a multitude of 70 years in prison. For the full article click HERE
PMoor
An actor has come out and said that the Criminals Gone Wild Dvd is a fraud and that he basically robbed his friends in the vid. Check out the vid jacked from Celebully.
Majesty
Go check out the homeys at Datpiff and get this fire from Nas and check out a bunch of ill mixtapes while you are there..
Majesty
Download Mixtape | Provided by DatPiff.com
Famed UGK rapper was put to rest and many of his peers came by the pay their final respects. Click here for more coverage from the homies over at S.O.H.H
Check out his final performance with Too Short…
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The city of Montreal is playing host to the first annual Montreal Brazil Film Fest. The festival will showcase the hottest films to come out of that oasis below the equator. The movie making the most noise at this fetival though, is about four extraordinarily beautiful women trying to pop off their Hip Hop group on the grimey streets of Sao Paulo. This fictional account of the emerging Brazilian Hip Hop scene is being touted as a “must-see” at this festival. For info on more of the movies being shown, or if you just wanna know more about the festival click HERE or log onto http://www.cinemaduparc.com/
On New Year’s Eve the party of the year will be held in Atlanta, thrown by Jermaine Dupri and featuring the highly touted reunion of the Jackson 5. The only fireworks won’t be provided by Randy, Tito, Janet, Mike & Jermaine…Dupri will be providing a full-fledged fireworks show at the stroke of midnight. Get full story HERE
Shout out to the homies atHipHop.PopCrunch.com!
Embarking on a comeback, Lil Kim is gearing up to drop her latest mixtape ‘Ms. G.O.A.T’ and in addition releasing a line of customized furs called Royalty Fur to the ire of the folks down at PETA. Let’s hope she doesn’t get drenched with a bucket of blood, strutting her stuff down the red carpet. I know the Queen Bee gonna pop off ‘Brooklyn Style!’
Link HERE for the full story by the homies over at Time Square Gossip
Despite Hip Hop’s declining CD sales stateside, the artform continue to galvanize a global audience. The latest locale to embrace Hip Hop as the voice of the youth is Morocco, where it’s used as a political tool as opposed to the United States where rapper’s use Hip Hop as a platform to declare their love for the Almighty Dollar. Blended in with traditional religious calls to prayers, speakers are blaring Diddy and Eminem classics. The contrast caught the ear and eye of Josh Asen, a self-described Brooklyn Jew who caught the dynamic on film, in a documentary called “I Love Hip Hop in Morocco.” This doc shows the powerful force Hip Hop has become in the Northern African country, who played host to their “first” Hip Hop concert. To continue reading how Hip Hop is doing it big in Morocco click HERE
BET made out like bandits with the finale of KEISHA COLE: THE WAY IT IS. The controversial reality show pulled in 2.9 million views and 2.0 million homes tuned in. The blockbuster show now stands as the #1 series in BET history! Next to BET’s 2007 Hip Hop Awards the final episode stands as the second highest rated show in BET history, period! Damn, New York better watch her back…Keisha’s coming for that number one spot! For more on this story, click HERE
PMoor
On his quest to become a member of the exclusive Billionaire Boys Club, Jay-Z has thrown his hat into another enormous business venture. Jay, along with co-developers Charlie Blaichman and Abe Shnay have chosen 510 West 22nd as the location for the J-Hotel, a 150,00 square-foot luxury hotel that will be the flagship spot for a chain of hotels popping up in select cities across the country. Click HERE for the full story.
PMoor
Say it ain’t so…a recent poll by New America Media has revealed that most American “minorities” mistrust one another more than they mistrust “white” Americans. In this classic case of divide and conquer, Hispanics and Asians are afraid of Blacks who they claim are responsible for most crime, while Blacks and Hispanics ain’t feeling Asians because they treat them with little respect whenever they patronize Asian establishments. The poll says Blacks take exception with Hispanics because they’re displacing them from available work while the “Man” is in the cut laughing his ass off at all of them. Hispanics and Asians claim that Blacks are bitter because they’ve missed the boat in regards to the “American Dream” while they all agree that things would be more balanced if minorities were more active in roles of power. To read more of this disturbing report click HERE.
The folks over at Blender threw the emerging genre of low-budget videos under the bus, choosing to target Mike Jones latest clip. Due to the rapidly deteriorating music industry which is quickly slashing its video departments, artist have been forced to finance their own clips, which they post directly to YouTube since BET Uncut got cut. Problem is, these joints fail to live up to the heydays of the mega-video. “Tip Drill” these ain’t! For the rest of the article click HERE
PMoor
To see Mike Jone’s video “Drop and Give me 50” click below
For somebody who got beat down, sliced, and put in the hospital, the homey Papoose sure looks good and doesn’t show any of the wounds the hip hop blogsphere has been reporting for the last couple of days.
STREET KNOWLEDGE 
