Posted: Sunday – October 18, 2009

T-Pain recently arrived at an event driving a hearse and blasting Jay-Z’s “Death Of Autotune” single. The Grammy Award Winning singer held a “funeral” during the album release party for DJ Khaled this week.

Pain stood around his car rocking out for all the photographers, video cameras, bloggers and other media outlets then walked to the back of the hearse and pulled out a coffin with a skeleton dressed in jeans and a white t-shirt inside wearing his infamous “Big Ass Chain.” After parking, T-Pain walked down the red carpet and entered the club. In related news, Lil Wayne was recently interviewed backstage by Europes top DJ, Tim Westwood. When asked about the Death Of Autotune, first Weezy joked about putting out “Rebirth 2: The Rebirth Of Autotune” before saying “There is no such thing as the death of Auto-Tune, T-Pain is my dude.”

Source: Drewreports

Posted: Monday – July 6, 2009

Armed with a renewed focus and an all-star list of collaborator, West Coast rap star/actor Mack 10 plans to wrap up the summer in grand fashion with his forthcoming album Soft White.

The release is the follow-up to the Inglewood, Ca. native’s previous offering, 2005’s Hustla’s Handbook, which included the Nate Dogg-assisted single “Like That.”

For Soft White, Mack 10 admitted to having “fun” while working on the project as he explained the meaning behind the album’s name.

“I went with that title because this album right here is just raw and uncut, it’s just me,” Mack 10 stated. “We had fun on this one and I had to bring them all out, I’ve been smiling all year.”

Among those on hand to craft Soft White are music producer Jazze Pha and R&B crooners Anthony Hamilton, J. Holiday and Akon.

Rappers Jim Jones, Birdman and Glasses Malone have also been recruited for the album as well as Lil Wayne and Rick Ross, who both appear on Soft White’s first single, “So Sharp.”

The release of the album is the latest chapter in the music career of Mack10, who has sold nearly 3 million albums.

The rap veteran first emerged on the scene in 1995 with his self-titled debut album, which charted at number 2 on Billboard’s Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart.

The following year, Mack 10 aligned with fellow West Coast rap artists Ice Cube and WC to form Westside Connection.

The trio released their critically acclaimed platinum debut, Bow Down, in 1996.

Following Bow Down’s release, Mack 10 remained a fixture on the rap scene with a string of albums like Based on a True Story, The Recipe, The Paper Route and his 2003 Cash Money Records release Ghetto, Gutter & Gangster.

Mack 10’s Soft White is slated to hit stores on August 25. A video for “So Sharp” will be released in the coming weeks.

Source: Allhiphop.com

Posted: Friday – July 3, 2009

Veteran rapper/actor Busta Rhymes is going beyond the borders of the United States to give fans a lively dose of hip-hop with his upcoming tour of Canada.

The outing, which kicks off July 16 at the Ottawa Blues Fest in Ottawa, ON, will be in support of Rhymes’ latest album Back On My B.S.

The release, which features the T-Pain-assisted hit “Hustler’s Anthem,” includes appearances from Lil Wayne, Jadakiss, Ron Browz , Mary J. Blige, John Legend, Akon and Jamie Foxx as well as production from DJ Scratch, Jelly Roll, Cool and Dre, the Neptunes and Mr. Porter.

In addition to Rhymes, fans will also be treated to opening sets from Juno and MMVA award-winning rapper Belly and Toronto-based rhymesayer Peter Jackson.

Belly, who is currently enjoying the success of his latest single “Hot Girl” and featured appearance on Danny Fernandes’ “Private Dancer,” will appear on Western Canada tour dates.

The outing’s August shows (Aug. 10-21) will be supported by Jackson, who is garnering a buzz from his debut single, “Come on Over.”

The Canadian tour is the latest achievement for Rhymes.

The Grammy nominated entertainer is noted for his work in films such as Shaft, Higher Learning, Finding Forrester and The Rugrats Movie. Rhymes also has a catalog of hits, including tracks like “Whoo Hah!! Got You All In Check”, “Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Can See”, “Break Ya Neck”, “Make It Clap, “I Love My Chick,” “Arab Money” and others.

The following is a list of dates for Busta Rhymes’ Canadian tour:

July 16 Ottawa, ON Ottawa Blues Fest
Aug 10 Kelowna, BC Level Nightclub
Aug 11 Medicine Hat, AB Cypress Centre
Aug 12 Calgary, AB Flames Central
Aug 13 Edmonton, AB Edmonton Events Centre
Aug 14 Saskatoon, SK Ryly’s
Aug 15 Regina, SK Evraz Place
Aug 17 Winnipeg, MB (venue TBC)
Aug 19 Toronto, ON The Phoenix
Aug 20 Montreal, QC Metropolis
Aug 21 Barrie, ON The Roxx Nightclub

Source: Allhiphop.com

Posted: Friday – July 3, 2009

BET has expressed remorse over a performance by Lil Wayne, Drake and Young Money Records that involved underage girls during songs “Best I Ever Had” and “Every Girl.”

The songs, which have overt sexual references, were performed during the Sunday BET Awards ’09 show as a bevy of young girls danced on stage. The group of girls consisted of Lil Wayne’s daughters and her friends.

In an exclusive statement, BET has responded to the criticism and the public outcry over the segment.

“BET Networks deeply regrets the performance by Young Money at the BET AWARDS ’09 (featuring Lil Wayne, Drake, Gudda Gudda and Mack Maine),” a BET representative told AllHipHop.com exclusively. “Elements of the performance were unplanned and should not have happened.”

In the aftermath of the show, many have expressed outrage over the outing by Young Money, which was set amid a show dedicated to the late Michael Jackson.

Activist and filmmaker Byron Hurt lambasted the network earlier in the week in an open letter to Debra Lee, the President and Chief Executive Officer of BET Holdings, Inc.

“In a culture where one out of four girls and women are either raped or sexually assaulted – and where manipulative men routinely traffic vulnerable women into the sex industry – it is not okay that BET allowed this to happen,” Hurt said. “BET owes its entire audience – particularly girls and women around the world – an apology for its failure to intervene.”

A representative said generally the company has found such opinions useful.

“We value and appreciate the feedback from our viewers and have edited Young Money’s performance for all BET Awards ’09 encore presentations.”

Drake has apologized and taken responsibility for the performance, admitting it was in poor taste.

“That…was a terrible idea that I’ll never do to myself again. But I was being pressed from different areas to perform, and I think what really happened at the BET Awards is with the passing of Mike, the climate really changed, as far as the award show goes,” he told Complex. “I don’t think it called for us to perform “Every Girl” and “Always Strapped,” and I think it was an award show filled with tributes and music and these genuine heartfelt speeches. And to sort of climax out of a very tongue-n-cheek point, and then people misconstruing Wayne’s daughters and her friends coming out on stage — it was just timed very poorly and it definitely wasn’t planned like that, but with that being said, it is what is. I believe in Wayne and myself and it’s nothing we can’t bounce back from. To anyone who was offended, my personal apologies, it wasn’t intended to offend anybody.”

An edited version of the show will re-air on Monday July 6. The BET Awards saw a 61-percent increase in viewers this year fueled by the sudden death of Michael Jackson. Ten percent of all turned on television sets watched the show Sunday, a remarkably high number.

Source: Allhiphop.com

Posted: Wednesday – July 1, 2009

Sunday’s BET Awards may have scored its largest audience for the network, but the event’s producers are coming under fire for a performance featuring Grammy winning rap star Lil Wayne.

The entertainer’s set, which featured fellow rapper Drake and a troupe of teenage dancers, was met with criticism from Columbia University clinical instructor Dr. Janet Taylor, who questioned BET CEO Debra Lee for green lighting Lil Wayne’s performance of his hit song “Every Girl” despite the risqué dance from the teens on stage.

“Perhaps, they are what our kids are used to. I have teenagers, girls no less, who have heard the song and like it,” Taylor told MomLogic.com while referencing the song’s lyrics. “My problem was with the preteens who were proudly onstage, shaking their groove thang to this misogynistic, disrespectful song. It was ridiculous. Debra Lee, the CEO of BET, also the mother of two children, should be asking herself who approved this and how these young girls were allowed to be a part of this ‘act.’”

Taylor’s comments come days after an emotional night at the BET Awards.

Nielsen Media Research shows the Jamie Foxx-hosted show, which was dedicated to the memory of music icon Michael Jackson, was a ratings success by drawing the cable channel’s largest audience on record with an average of 10.65 million viewers.

As a result, the viewership of this year’s BET Awards was more than any other cable broadcast this year and more than any prime-time show on the major networks.

Despite this, the scholar stated how her daughters thought the rapper’s performance “‘was strange’ and inappropriate.”

“They were embarrassed for the girls. I agree,” Taylor added.

Representatives have not responded to the criticism as of press time.

Source: Allhiphop.com