MARIAH’S BIGGEST BALLADS ON ONE DISC December 11, 2008

 

A collection of Mariah Carey’s best-selling slow songs are now available on one CD.      

       “Mariah Carey: The Ballads,” due Jan. 20 from Sony, features 18 of her biggest hits, including nine No. 1s – among them “Hero,” “Vision Of Love,” “One Sweet Day” and “Dreamlover.”      

       The disc marks the first time that all of Carey’s most popular ballads have appeared on one CD.  Below is the track listing:

Hero 
One Sweet Day (Mariah Carey & Boyz II Men) 
Vision of Love 
Without You 
Can’t Let Go 
Love Takes Time 
I’ll Be There (Featuring Trey Lorenz) 
Thank God I Found You – Make It Last Remix (Featuring Nas & Joe) 
Endless Love (Featuring Luther Vandross) 
I Still Believe 
My All 
The Roof 
When You Believe (Mariah Carey & Whitney Houston) 
Anytime You Need A Friend 
Always Be My Baby 
Dreamlover 
How Much (Featuring Usher) 
Reflections

NAS RUSHES OUT OBAMA SONG November 5, 2008

 

While in Oslo, Norway on tour, Nas went into a studio early Tuesday and recorded a new track called “Election Night,” in honor of then presidential candidate Barack Obama. [Listen to song below.]  

 

       The Queens MC and first-time voter laid down vocals “in the wee hours of the morning,” reports MTV.  DJ Green Lantern produced and sent MTV News a copy of the record within hours of its completion.       

       “I’m currently on tour in Europe with Nas and we were at dinner last night talking about how crazy it is that we’re not in the states on Election Day,” Lantern wrote in an e-mail. “Someone quoted his verse from ‘Black President,’ when he said ‘What’s the Black Prez thinkin’ on Election Night?’ And Nas said, ‘Set up the mic — I’m gonna speak on that.’ And the result is ‘Election Night.’”       

       Like “Black President,” from Nas’ recent “Untitled” LP, “Election Night” samples Obama’s voice and touches on Monday’s passing of his grandmother, the long early voting lines and more.       

       “I’m a first-time voter,” Nas raps. “How can I front?/ Barack been campaigning like 21 months/ The whole country needs answers / While he has to deal with grandma dying from cancer/ He ain’t even got time to weep/ And we standing on line when we normally don’t/ People claim black people too lazy to vote.”       

       Further along in the 90-second-long record, Nas predicts a win for Obama and says he’ll be at the inauguration.

 

Nas “Election Night — Barack Obama”

Jay-Z Honored For Glastonbury Diss November 3, 2008

 

Jigga snags “Most Memorable Moment” prize at the UK Festival Awards

Rap star Jay-Z was honored on Thursday with the “Most Memorable Moment” award at the UK Festival Awards. According to WENN, Jay won for his headlining mocking performance at June’s Glastonbury festival. 

It was all in the intro: Jay-Z stepped out in dark shades on a dark stage lit up by a ray of red and blue. Instead of his one mic, he had a guitar slung around his chest. He leaned into the microphone with a sneer and bellowed, “Today is going to be the day that they’re going to throw it back to you!” 

The line was quite familiar…it was, ironically, the opening to Oasis’ hit song “Wonderwall.” It came right on the heels of Oasis songwriter Noel Gallagher, calling hip hop at Glastonbury “wrong.” 

“They say you don’t want me here, Glastonbury,” Jay-Z told the elated audience, “Now tell me, where is the love?” 

EX-SOURCE EDITOR OSORIO RELEASES TELL-ALL November 3, 2008

 

In her new tell-all memoir “Straight from the Source,” Kim Osorio describes the sexual harassment she encountered as the first female editor of The Source magazine.     

      The book also details the historic court case that netted her a million dollar judgment and the music industry a legal precedent for gender discrimination, defamation and retaliation in the workplace.

 

       A press release states: “From her corner office, Kim got the goods on hip-hop’s hottest names: Jay-Z, Nas, 50 Cent, Lil’ Kim and more. She developed close — and sometimes intimate relationships with the artists she worked with.       

       “But behind the scenes; the magazine’s volatile owners would puppeteer every issue. The Source even declared war on hip-hop’s highest selling artist Eminem and began the notorious assault that would send the magazine into swift decline.       

       “After it all came to a head, Osorio was fired, but resurfaced in 2006, filing a sexual harassment, gender discrimination, defamation and retaliation lawsuit against the Source. She details the drama in this tell-all, and provides the context for a lawsuit that has shaken up the entire music industry.”

Q-Tip’s Renaissance, Drops Early Due to Consumer Demand November 1, 2008

 

Rapper will also premiere in upcoming VH1 “Soulstage” special

Q-Tip’s first Universal Motown album, The Renaissance, will be out in stores November 4, but is available now for digital download due to overwhelming consumer demand. 

iTunes, Rhapsody, Amazon MP3, Walmart MP3, MySpace, and Napster are all now selling the album. 

“The online demand to hear the new Q-Tip album was so high that we worked with all of our digital retail partners to make the album available for purchase to their consumers before the planned street date,” Cameo Carlson, SVP of Digital Business Development for Universal Motown Republic Group, said. “We’re excited to be able to have the flexibility to respond so quickly to Tip’s fans and allow them the opportunity to purchase.” 

The early release hasn’t stopped the former A Tribe Called Quest star from promoting though. The rap star recently did a 30-minute set for VH1 Soul’s “SoulStage,” set to air next week. Past “Soulstage” performers included Jill Scott, Raphael Saadiq, and Erykah Badu. Tip joked with the audience, extolled presidential nominee Obama, and performed old and new hits with a three-piece live band. 

“VH1’s Soulstage: Q-Tip presented by Infiniti” will premiere November 3 at 9 p.m. eastern time. 

Nas, Nia Long & More Celebrate Q-Tip In NYC October 28, 2008

Stars came out to celebrate the release of Q-Tip’s The Renaissance at the Bowery Hotel in New York City last night (10/28).

Nas, actress Nia Long, Talib Kweli, model Tyson Beckford, Consequence, A Tribe Called Quest producer Ali Shaheed Muhammad, Farnsworth Bentley, former Juice Crew standout Craig G, 88 Keys, Universal’s executive VP Sylvia Rhone and December XXL Cover Boy Kid Cudi, were among the celeb in attendance.

The evening turned into a roast of sorts as some of the aforementioned guests took turns praising and poking fun at Q-Tip onstage. The former Tribe frontman then took the stage to perform verses from classics like “Check The Rhyme,” “Scenario,” “Award Tour” and “Electric Relaxation.”

Tip’s been a mainstay on stages as of late. As previously reported, the Abstract taped an episode of VH1’s Soulstage last week. The Renaissance, featuring guest appearances from D’Angelo, Raphael Saadiq and production from J Dilla, is scheduled to hit stores November 4th.

NEW JAY-Z ALBUM GETS A RELEASE DATE October 1, 2008

Rapper Jay-Z is said to have chosen Dec. 2 as the release date for his new CD “The Blueprint 3,” the last in a trilogy of albums that began in 2001.

 

      According to reports, the set will include a sequel to the M.I.A.-sampled hit “Swagger Like Us,” a track on rapper T.I.’s new album “Paper Trail.”

 

       Jay-Z’s “Swagger Like Us: The Sequel” includes verses from Young Jeezy, Andre 3000 and Nas.      

       Kanye West is the main producer on “The Blueprint 3″ alongside Timbaland.

Swagger Like Us Pt.2?? September 27, 2008

I guess there’s enough swagger to go around, huh?

Rumors, nah, I don’t do those, but when this rumor slid across my desk, I just had to pump some more oxygen into it. And the only reason WHY I’m applying pressure to this particular anecdote is because on the original version, T.I. mentions Jeezy during his verse, so there actually might be some truth to this. Regardless if this rumor is true or false….wait, before I continue on, let me first address the issue at hand.

According to a little birdie, President Carter is looking to recruit some new soldiers for a “Swagger Like Us” sequel. Participants include; 50 Cent, Nas, Andre 3000, and of course, Young Jeezy. What to make of this new revelation, I have no idea. BUT, if this were to become a reality………GOOOD LORD! It’s bad enough the original was like, one of the BEST tracks in the last 5 years, but to make a sequel that just might surpass the original…..ahhhhhhhhhhhh sh*t!

It was also noted that Hova wanted the sequel to live on his new offering, The Blueprint 3. Word to everything I love, if Mr. Beyonce Knowles chooses to release BP3 anytime after December….*makes mean face and punches computer screen*.

Oh, Hova also scored a cover over at TimeOut, a popular NYC publication. Check out the interview here…… 

Nas And N.E.R.D. Roll Into NYC September 11, 2008

Performers will celebrate hip hop’s past, present and future

For 90-minutes, Nas and N.E.R.D. will hold a stage hostage in what may be one of the biggest shows in Smirnoff history. On Oct. 7, both parties will perform at Capitale in celebration of the spirit of hip hop. Smirnoff Experience, which hosts annual thematic showcases including a popular “Mix Series” tour, will be announcing other special guests for the Nas/N.E.R.D. private show in the days ahead.

CHRIS BROWN WRITING SONGS FOR BRITNEY: He hopes tunes will be included on pop star’s upcoming album September 9, 2008

Chris Brown, 19, says he’s been busy writing material for pop star Britney Spears to consider using on her upcoming album.

 

      “I actually wrote a couple songs for her now,” Brown told the Associated Press, noting that Spears has yet to hear them. “We’re on the same label, so all the executives heard the records and they love the records, so hopefully she’ll cut it. But if she doesn’t, oh well, we’ll go back in the studio and still do some more records for her.”

 

      Brown, who won best male video for “With You” at Sunday night’s MTV Video Music Awards, wrote “Disturbia,” the current single from his rumored girlfriend Rihanna.

 

      As a vocalist, Brown will appear on forthcoming tracks from rappers Nas and Ludacris.