Wu-Tang Clan To Release One Copy Of Their “Secret Album”

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Don’t think that “one copy” will be a regular retail price, either. From Forbes:

Somewhere on the outskirts of Marrakech, Morocco, inside a vault housed beneath the shadow of the Atlas Mountains, there sits an engraved silver-and-nickel box with the potential to spawn a shift in the way music is consumed and monetized.

The lustrous container was handcrafted over the course of three months by British-Moroccan artist Yahya, whose works have been commissioned by royal families and business leaders around the world. Soon, it will contain a different sort of art piece: the Wu-Tang Clan’s double-album The Wu – Once Upon A Time In Shaolin, recorded in secret over the past few years.

Like the work of a master Impressionist, it will truly be one-of-a-kind—in lieu of a traditional major label or independent launch, the iconic hip-hop collective will make and sell just one copy of the album. And similar to a Monet or a Degas, the price tag will be a multimillion-dollar figure.

“We’re about to sell an album like nobody else sold it before,” says Robert “RZA” Diggs, the first Wu-Tang member to speak on record about Once Upon A Time In Shaolin, in an exclusive interview with FORBES. “We’re about to put out a piece of art like nobody else has done in the history of [modern] music. We’re making a single-sale collector’s item. This is like somebody having the scepter of an Egyptian king.”

Wu-Tang’s aim is to use the album as a springboard for the reconsideration of music as art, hoping the approach will help restore it to a place alongside great visual works–and create a shift in the music business, not to mention earn some cash, in the process. The one-of-a-kind launch will be a separate endeavor from the group’s 20th anniversary album, A Better Tomorrow, which is set for a standard commercial release this summer.

You can read a lot more about it here.

Uptown XO – Who (Video)

Shout out to CML Bates…read below for info on the re-release of a classic.

Indie Love Enterprises, in collaboration with Cricket Cemetery, are pleased to announce the release of Uptown XO’s classic, “Takeover 2,” on two 12″ colored vinyl LPs — limited to 100 copies!

In 2008, a unique hiphop movement gained attention in the nation’s capital which was influenced by go-go, the native music genre that originated in the mid-60s. Uptown XO (or “XO”) was one of the first to bring exposure to this new sound when he released his sophomore project, Takeover 2.

Using a mixture of go-go, soul and jazz infused hiphop instrumentals, XO expresses a strong sense of pride for his community and dedication to preserving the authenticity of D.C. culture. Washingtonians consider this project to be the archetype of modern day hiphop in D.C.

As years went by, many came and went in the local hiphop scene, but XO stayed planted in Washington to help the city flourish as a potential platform for popular hiphop music. Today, XO is a member of the internationally acclaimed hiphop trio, Diamond District, and a star among the Mello Music Group roster. He is currently working on his next solo project, which is due at the end of 2014, as well as Diamond District’s sophomore album entitled March on Washington.

Uptown XO’s “Takeover 2” 2xLP Colored Vinyl Deluxe will be shipping out in May.

You can pre-order XO’s Takeover 2 re-release here.

ALBUM STREAM: Mobb Deep – The Infamous… Mobb Deep

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Technology (and the companies that move it forward) always inspire me. With that said (and it probably had nothing to do with this, really), Pandora gets the green light to premiere Mobb Deep’s long-awaited reunion project, The Infamous… Mobb Deep, which comes with a lot of features and appearances (Busta, The LOX, Juicy J, Nas, etc, etc). Just hit the link in their tweet below to see what all the fuss is about

Lyor Cohen’s 300 Entertainment Signs Eric Bellinger

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From Billboard:

Lyor Cohen’s 300 Entertainment has signed Grammy Award-winning songwriter Eric Bellinger, Billboard has learned exclusively. Under terms of the new deal, the Warner Music Group-distributed 300 Entertainment will release, market and promote Bellinger’s debut solo album, “The Rebirth.”

Best known as the songwriter behind hits for Chris Brown (“Love More,” “Fine China”), Usher (“Let Me See”) and Justin Bieber (“Right Here”), Bellinger initially released double-CD, 32-track “The Rebirth” digitally in February through YFS (Your Favorite Song), the indie label operated by Bellinger and his manager/business partner Nieman Johnson. The set’s buzz single, “I Don’t Want Her” featuring Problem, currently stands at No. 35 on Billboard’s Rhythmic chart.

“300 will be the umbrella; they have so many resources that we can plug into,” Bellinger tells Billboard about the new alliance. “Lyor told us, ‘We really like ‘I Don’t Want Her’ — you just need help pushing it. That’s where I come in.’ Nieman and I are still going to push YFS, signing artists as well as other writer/producers.”

You can heck out more on the story here.

Lady Gaga Breaks Down ‘G.U.Y.’; Akon Speaks On Parting Ways With Gaga

Lady Gaga was recently on Sirius XM’s Hits 1 (above), where she spoke on her latest visual for the single ‘G.U.Y. (Girl Under You)’. Changing the time and the station, Akon was recently spoke on Shade45’s Sway In The Morning, where he got fairly candid about how he and Lady Gaga’s relationship ended (he claims that he simply cashed out at the point where he felt she had peaked). Check that interview out below.