Noah ’40′ Shebib Distances Himself From Posthumous Aaliyah Album

January 8, 2014 JUKEBOXDC Staff Interviews No Comments  

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Remember that Aaliyah album that Drake was supposed to work on? Remember the backlash that came from that? Well, Drake’s producer Noah Shebib has decided to move away from the project. From his interview with VIBE:

Many of your collaborations with other artists have come through Drake. Maybe you could be the conduit for his bucket-list collabo with Sade.
Well, I was that for Aaliyah. Aaliyah’s label Blackground—the Hankersons, her uncle and cousin—came to me and said if she was around she’d want you to do this [posthumous] project. I’ve been obsessed with Aaliyah forever, and I know Drake has his relationship with her. But that opportunity was mine. Drake said, “Can I do it with you?” and I was like, “Of course, we’ll do it together.” The world reacting to Drake’s involvement so negatively, I just wanted nothing to do with it. That was a very sad experience for me. I was naïve to the politics surrounding Aaliyah’s legacy and a bit ignorant to Timbaland’s relationship and everybody else involved and how they’d feel. Tim said to me “Don’t stop, make the album.” I think that was Tim taking the position of, “I’m not going to stop you. If you’re not going to do it, that’s your decision.” But ultimately, I wasn’t comfortable and didn’t like the stigma. We released [“Enough Said”], but I was seven songs deep. [Aaliyah’s] mother saying “I don’t want this out” was enough for me. I walked away very quickly.

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Troy Ave – TheNEHipHop Interview (Video)

January 5, 2014 JUKEBOXDC Staff Interviews No Comments  

In our first interview with Troy Ave the up and coming NYC emcee starts off talking about the extremely high praise he’s been receiving for his latest project “New York City: The Album”. From there he immediately get’s into how he feels about other artists explaining that when he called Kendrick Lamar “a weirdo rapper” it wasn’t a diss and that they actually dig each others music. He also tells us how he initially felt disrespected when he heard Statik Selektah chose Chance the Rapper for a Complex Magazine “Best New Artists” list, but that the two have since patched things up.

After telling us how he plans on signing to a major label, Troy Ave talks about performing in the RapFix Live end of the year cypher with tons of other rappers and 50 Cents SMS boxing event. – TheNEHipHop

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Boi-1da Speaks On Producing For Upcoming Mobb Deep Album

January 5, 2014 JUKEBOXDC Staff Interviews No Comments  

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From VIBE (written by John Kennedy):

The last couple of years have been shaky for Mobb Deep’s legacy, as petty and public tiffs have put the Queens duo’s future in question. But with the drama put behind Havoc and Prodigy, they are ready to spit some more dunn language—together—for their fans.

As they craft the group’s eighth album, The Infamous Mobb Deep, Hav is getting some assistance on the boards from Boi-1da for an update on Mobb Deep’s gritty sound.

“It’s new-age with that old Mobb twist to it,” says the Toronto producer of the new material. “I was a big fan of Mobb Deep and Havoc’s production, so I just reached out and me and him have been producing records together, sending stuff back and forth. I can say that I have some records on the new Mobb Deep album that me and Havoc did together. It’s something I knocked off my bucket list.”

Boi-1da’s contributions to The Infamous Mobb Deep is just a portion of his 2014 mission statement to bring “real hip-hop” back.

“I’m not with that jiggy stuff,” he says. “I want people to hear my music and be like, ‘Wow that’s hip-hop, but that’s not like fucking backpack.’ Not crazy down-south trendy music—I’m not about trendy. I’m about making legendary and timeless music.”

As for longtime collaborator Drake, Boi-1da says he’d love to hear him drop an all-rap project but the ultimate direction will be determined by Drizzy and Noah “40” Shebib.

“I’m already working on it,” says 1da, who produced “The Language” and “Pound Cake” for Nothing Was the Same. “I’m ahead of the game. I took a small break and I’m going right back at it.”

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Lord Jamar (& Star) Continue To Threaten Yelawolf (Video)

December 29, 2013 JUKEBOXDC Staff Interviews No Comments  

From Vlad TV:

The controversy surrounding comments made by Yelawolf in response to Lord Jamar’s views on whites and gays in hip hop has been raging for some time now, and in a sit-down with VladTV, Lord Jamar and radio personality Star don’t mince words about their thoughts on the whole thing.

“I will slap the sh*t out of you…just watch your f*ckin’ mouth. That’s all, man.” said Star.
“That’s all,” agreed Lord Jamar.

The interview continues, with both Lord Jamar and Star going on a passionate rant against Yelawolf and what they perceive as the racist, aggressive, and hypocritical response of his fans.

They conclude the interview by weighing in on the acclaimed film “12 Years a Slave,” praising it for keeping the painful history of slavery on the nation’s conscience.

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