Swizz Beatz Is Venturing Into Korean Pop

Don’t know what K-Pop is? Neither do I……Google it and let me know in the comment section.

“I found that Korean Pop Music is a new expression and the world is open to new things. And I think that right now K-Pop in Korea is leading in that area. I would love to be that one to introduce it to the West,” said Swizz. “The biggest thing about K-Pop is how much its elevated to the next level. Geniuses like Kanye West and others that are smart enough to work with K-Pop groups understand that music is universal. I believe in leadership and setting the pace. I like to be the first.”

Former Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air Actress Exposes Wendy Williams’ Hypocrisy Amid Whitney Houston Death

Great entry by Necole Bitchie. You can check it out here, but here’s an excerpt below:
If you watched the Wendy Williams show last week, you probably witnessed Wendy’s breakdown as she talked about Whitney Houston’s death and their shared history of drug use. She also made a vow to her audience that she would not talk about Whitney on the show in the weeks after she was laid to rest. Well, the original ‘Aunt Viv’ of Fresh Prince Of Bel Air, Janet Hubert, is saying ‘Cry Me A river Wendy’. She definitely hasn’t forgotten all of the years that Wendy has dragged Whitney on her radio show nor has she forgotten Wendy’s infamous radio interview with Whitney. So she decided to give Wendy a piece of her mind in an open letter that she penned after watching Wendy break down in tears on her show.

Allen Iverson Is Reportedly Broke & In Major Debt


Being that A.I. is in fact a rapper, this news has made it onto this website. Check out the full feature over at Forbes:

“The Answer” Doesn’t Have One. He’s Broke.

Allen Iverson – who has earned over $154 million in salary alone over his stellar NBA career — is broke. That number excludes his tens of millions more in non-salary income, including a $50 million lifetime endorsement contract from Reebok. And the player best known as “the Answer” has no easy answer for the bills, including around $859,000 he currently owes to a Georgia jewelry store (too bad he didn’t have Newt’s credit line at Tiffany’s). He made the Iverson equivalent of pilaf to play in Turkey and was offered plantains to play in Puerto Rico. Now comes an insulting offer to play indoor soccer for the Rochester Lancers. It’s a sad and shameful denouement for a man who, pound-for-pound on his six foot, 165-pound frame, is the most gifted and fearless guard to ever play pro basketball.

Nicki Minaj In Vogue


Nicki Minaj makes another feature in another major publication. Excerpt below.

She recounts this from a Manhattan hotel suite, clad in leggings, a custom-bejeweled jacket from the Versace for H&M line (she performed at its extravagant launch), and an early–Marilyn Monroe fuchsia wig. Minaj also reveals a far soberer side than her stage act might indicate. “A huge part of me wanted to be a lawyer! I would do a really good job as a prosecutor,” she alleges. That’s not the singer’s only alternative personality—famous for creating stage alter egos with names like Roman Zolanski, she confesses that she sometimes imagines herself clad in a bikini and high heels, cooking dinner for a breadwinning husband.


RR

Adele Sells 716,091 Copies Of 21 Since The Grammys @OfficialAdele

This chick is nothing short of a monster. From House of Coxhead:

On the same night she picks up two Brit Awards, HITS Daily Double have just announced that Adele has had a massive week of sales following her 6 Grammys last Sunday. According to HDD, the London-born singer/songwriter sold a staggering 716,091 copies of ’21’ over the past week, beating off competition from the late Whitney Houston’s ‘Greatest Hits’, which sold a mere 170,294 in comparison. Worldwide superstar, doing 90s numbers, a year after the album’s release date.

BRIT Awards 2012: The Winners

Obviously, Adele should come as no surprise as far as being a breadwinner in this year’s award ceremony. You can check out the rest below.

BRIT Awards 2012 – Winners List:
Critics’ Choice Award – Emeli Sande
Outstanding Achievement Award – Blur
Best British Female – Adele
Best International Male – Bruno Mars
Best British Single – One Direction
Best International Female – Rihanna
Best British Male – Ed Sheeran
Best British Group – Coldplay
Best International Group – Foo Fighters
British Breakthrough Act – Ed Sheeran
International Breakthrough Act – Lana Del Rey
Best British Album – Adele ’21′

Murs To Release Yumiko: Curse Of The Merch Girl Graphic Novel & Album



The album and novel unite to tell the story of Yumi Morales, a girl living the fabled tour life working the merchandise table for her boyfriend Dominick’s band Murder Acts. The 124-page graphic novel is illustrated by Jose Garcia, written by Josh Blaylock and the ten-song album – whose lyrics are printed in their entirety throughout the novel – is produced entirely by DJ Foundation. Yumiko is available only via the project’s Kickstarter page, where a range of different pledge options will get you everything from the novel and CD to exclusive apparel, custom download cards illustrated by David Mack and Jim Mahfood, and a personal thank-you note and Twitter follow from Murs. Followed by the release of the album and book, an animated music video will officially be unveiled at Murs’ party during the Comic-Con convention in San Diego. “Yumiko is hip hop and comics done correctly,” says Murs of the project. “Comics have always been a huge inspiration to me. And having the chance to publish my own comic is truly an honor. Working with my partners to create this book was a lot of fun and we are looking forward to making our dream a reality with the help of the fans.”

Inspectah Deck, 7L & Esoteric Officially Combine To Form CZARFACE

Not that most of you reading will give a shit (hell, half of you probably don’t even know who I’m talking about right now)….but for those that do:
“The industry doesn’t need another well packaged, put together ‘act,’ instead fans are once again gravitating to the seasoned vets and newcomers that are still true to the game. We are CZARFACE because they know our faces and they know us for being dope rhyme suppliers, like Tony Montana we are known for our balls and our word; lyrically we will conquer the world and everything in it” states Deck. Esoteric explains further, “CZARFACE is a vigilante, anti-hero character who serves as the face of the project, and his focus is on annihilating the media darlings that the mainstream caters to.”

Diddy Officially Announces REVOLT Music & News TV Network (Video)

Sean “Diddy” Combs announces REVOLT, his new cable TV network. REVOLT is a revolution in music on television, a place where artists and their viewers come together and engage with technology and social media. It’s a channel where new artists can share their work in the way it was meant to be: raw, uncut, and uncensored. REVOLT was selected by Comcast to be the first music network to truly leverage the power of social media, fueling the live music dialogue and influencing the music culture for the video-centric generation.

Los On Resigning With Bad Boy

Now that Los is back with Badboy and recently sat down with AHH to speak on signing and returning to the label. Guess it really is Bad Boy for life.

  “You know I had a relationship with Puff from the past. In 2005, I was signed to Bad Boy and things didn’t work out. Non-musical factors affected us, and we went our separate ways, and I just continued to work and build my brand and put my own thing together. It just so happened I started to get the attention of the masses. And, we had a vested interest and he gave me a call, and we just started talking and communicating and we re-built the friendship and we just sat back and saw where it would go. It all ended up coming full circle, and here we are now, you know?

Watch The Throne Announce International Tour

The show must go on. Jay and Ye will be bringing their tour to the UK  starting on May 20 at London’s O2 Arena. Check the dates below:

MAY

Sunday 20 O2 Arena London
Thursday 24 Zurich Hellenstadion, Switzerland
Saturday 26 Herning Arena, Denmark
Monday 28 Oslo Telenor Arena, Norway
Tuesday 29 Stockholm The Globe, Sweden

JUNE

Friday 1st – Paris Bercy, France
Saturday 2nd – Paris Bercy, France
Sunday 3rd – Antwerp Sportpaleis, Belgium
Tuesday 5th – Frankfurt Festhalle, Germany
Friday 8th – Dublin O2 Arena, Ireland
Monday 11th – Manchester, UK – MEN Arena
Wednesday 13th – Birmingham, UK – LG Arena<br />

  Livenation

Diddy To Launch Cable Channel


From the New York Times:

Like Oprah Winfrey and Ryan Seacrest before him, the music mogul Sean Combs wants a spot on the cable channel lineup.

Mr. Combs will unveil on Tuesday his plans for a music-oriented cable channel called Revolt, a public relations agency managing the announcement said Monday. The channel may start by the end of the year.

Mr. Combs will bill Revolt as a music and news television channel influenced by the nonstop chatter of social networking Web sites. It is the latest of several challenges to MTV and BET, both owned by Viacom.

More after the jump.

Comcast, the nation’s largest cable television provider, will carry Revolt on some of its local cable systems, although the total number of homes is unclear. Comcast declined to comment Monday.

When it was lobbying the government to approve its proposed acquisition of a majority stake in NBCUniversal, Comcast pledged to carry several new channels owned by minorities. The channel from Mr. Combs, who is African-American, was one of the pitches Comcast picked last year.

Time Warner Cable, the nation’s second-largest cable provider, has also held discussions about carrying Revolt. Maureen Huff, a spokeswoman, said Monday that the talks were continuing.

Mr. Combs’s plans for Revolt were first reported by Broadcasting & Cable magazine last month. When interviewed by a reporter for MTV recently, Mr. Combs said little about the proposed channel, except that “we’re coming with a new energy, we’re coming with something that people are going to want to tune in to see.” Mr. Combs, also known as Diddy or P. Diddy, praised MTV and BET for “paving the way” and making him a global star.

Best known for his rap hits, Mr. Combs, the chief executive of Bad Boy Entertainment, has also produced hit cable television shows, including “Making the Band” for MTV.

It is unclear how big an on-camera role he would have on Revolt. Ms. Winfrey, who partly owns the year-old channel OWN, appears on it regularly. Mr. Seacrest, who recently became a stakeholder in AXS TV, a channel that will replace HDNet this summer, will not be the face of that channel. But the arrangements show the interest among A-list celebrities in planting a flag in cable television.

Shakira Signs to Roc Nation

XXL has revealed that the Colombian songstress has signed to Jay-Z’s Roc Nation for management. Joining  Rihanna, No I.D., Santigold, S1 and Melanie Fiona.
 The news definitely marks a coup for Roc Nation. With worldwide appeal, Shakira has sold more than 60 million albums and won 12 Billboard Latin Music Awards, eight Latin Grammy Awards and two Grammy Awards.

You May Be Seeing A Nate Dogg Mixtape On The Market Soon….Or Not


I think I’m not crazy when I say a lot of us aren’t really checking for this. From TMZ:

A 5-minute sex tape featuring the late Nate Dogg and an unidentified female lover has surfaced … and it’s being shopped to various media outlets … TMZ has learned.

We’ve seen the tape — shot several years ago — and it’s pretty much what you’d expect … a lot of sex … two different positions … and a sexy Luther Vandross soundtrack.

Sources tell us … the person in possession of the tape is currently shopping it around to the usual porn studios. So far, no takers.

Aretha Franklin Calls In Sick To Whitney Houston’s Funeral But Performs In NYC Hours Later


I don’t really have an opinion on this one, but if you’re interested….from TMZ:

Aretha Franklin canceled her scheduled appearance at Whitney Houston’s funeral service in New Jersey yesterday afternoon … but was well enough to perform at Radio City Music Hall that night.

Aretha said she had been suffering from leg spasms and wanted to rest up for her show, rather than travel for the funeral. She released a statement, saying in part, “heart goes out to my dear friend Cissy, Dionne, Bobbi Kristina and the rest of the family. May God keep them all.”

The Queen of Soul dedicated a portion of her show to Whitney, and also to Nick Ashford, who passed away last August.

Tyga’s Careless World Reportedly Removed From Stores Over Martin Luther King Sample

Damn. I guess we’ll know for sure when Tuesday comes around and it’s not for sale…setting up for failure. Check out the alleged proof after the jump…..from SoulCulture:
After a ton of delays, spanning well over 18 months, it seemed as though this February 21th Tyga‘s debut long player Careless World: The Rise Of The Last King was finally going to see the light of day. However, the “powers that be” have thrown a spanner in the works as it is now being reported that Californian’s album has been removed from U.S stores due to the use of an unauthorised Dr. Martin Luther King speech.

A segment of Martin Luther King’s speech in question is featured on project’s title track “Careless World” and according to Kings’ estate, Cash Money Records and their distribution and licensing label Universal Music Group did not seek authorisation nor were unauthorised to use it, allegedly resulting in representatives from the estate sending notices to music retail outlets asking them to remove the body of work from their stores and return it back to Universal.

A new version of the album is currently being put together and will be ready for release sometime within the new two weeks.