The Compton native has revealed that Rick Ross is considering signing him. Game is set to complete his fifth album with Interscope Records. When Jesus Piece hits the streets in December, his contract with the label will be finished. In a recent interview with MTV RapFix Live, Game revealed that none other than the Teflon Don had considered signing him

J. Cole’s time on hip-hop’s sideline is almost over.

More than two years after being hand-picked by rap impresario Jay-Z as the first artist on the music mogul’s fledging Roc Nation imprint, the 26 year-old Cole hopes to repay his mentor’s faith in him when his long-awaited debut “Cole World: The Sideline Story” is released on September 27.

Thanks to the high-profile endorsement and several critically lauded free albums released online, Cole has established himself as a leading voice in a new generation of hip-hop talent that includes artists like Drake, Big Sean and Wale. The North Carolina-native told Reuters the album balances different styles and lyrical content that reflect his meticulous approach towards crafting music.

“Like some rappers have, on my debut I could have gone super commercial,” said Cole of the album, which features appearances by Drake, Missy Elliott, Trey Songz (who appears on the single “Can’t Get Enough”) and, of course, Jay-Z.

“I could have just filled the album with eight or nine potential singles and hope that some of them work. Or, I could have gone the other route and been super stubborn, using only the personal material and not even worry about selling any records. What I ended up doing was the perfect balance of both. I have a number of all of those styles; the personal, deep records that are almost tear-jerkers and the fun, carefree records and super lyrical songs.”

MENTORED BY JAY-Z

Cole began pursuing a career in hip-hop while attending college at St. John’s University in New York City. Eager to prove himself in 2007, he waited for Jay-Z outside a Manhattan studio for hours in hopes of passing a demo CD to the legendary Brooklyn emcee, who initially brushed him off.

But two years later, upon hearing the song “Lights Please” from Cole’s first mix tape “The Come Up,” Jay-Z made the young artist the centerpiece of his new Roc Nation venture, and Cole credits his boss for contributing to his growth as an artist.

“He gave me a long leash to try and figure this thing out, make mistakes along the way, do the right thing,” said Cole. “He was always there overseeing and looking over my project and giving me advice on what direction I could take.”

Cole said that for a six-month period, he would bring his mentor potential singles, play songs for him and try to prove his worth.

He said he learned not to wait before he had a full song to pitch, but to take Jay-Z ideas that could be fleshed out by working with the head man.


“You get advice just through conversation,” Cole said about their relationship. “It’s not always about music. It’s about personal stories that happened when he was coming up, like when he realized he was on another level, when his fan base changed and how he handled it.”

Jay-Z’s advice for dealing with fame should be particularly useful to Cole, who’s own celebrity status is on the rise.

Earlier this month, he had his first brush with the tabloids when rumours began to swirl that he recorded a sex tape with fellow Roc Nation artist Rihanna while serving as an opening act on the singer’s Loud tour. Cole quickly denied there was any tape.

Even with the new found attention and pressure of high expectations, Cole is confident his debut will satisfy both his fans and his critics.

“I just want to win for everybody,” he said. “I want to win for myself, I want to win for my fans, I want to win for Jay-Z and the label and my management. Even more than myself, I want everybody else — the fans and the people I’m in business with — to be rewarded. I want them to know that they were right and they were dealing with something special.”

Posted: Friday – September 17, 2010

Kid Cudi and Wale are at odds and the fray has spilled into the public.

The bulk of the beef manifested itself in an interview with Complex magazine, where Kid Cudi explained that he was “unfuckwittable.” He said that Wale, a former friend, made reference to him where there was a comparison to various genres of sports.

“Did you see that Wale interview that he just did, comparing us to sports? Let me clear this up: I’m incomparable to anybody. I don’t care how people take that. No one can compete with me. I’m unfuckwittable; no one can knock me off my shit. I’m an unstoppable force, I’m a bullet. My trajectory is to the sky. Niggas got to do something really spectacular to fuck with me and my realm, and niggas be so bitter that you hear it in their voice.”

The freestyle from Wale made reference to an incident where Cudi punched a man that got on stage during his performance. Cudi also said that Kanye West, who signed the Cleveland rapper to G.O.O.D. Music, doesn’t like Wale’s music.

On Twitter, Wale responded “niggas lettin that liquid cocaine get to them…..lets go then.” The remark is a slight to Cudi’s arrest in June on charges that he was using the substance. Cudi has since admitted to using it.

Cudi said he would no longer tolerate disrespect his interview with Complex.

“The last album, I let people dis me, throw out those jabs in their verses and have their little slick remarks. This time around, I’m not fucking around. I have no time to think about other niggas. These other motherfuckers like feeding off another nigga’s energy, so they mention their name. You hear me talk about niggas? I don’t even talk about Kanye, and that’s my homeboy! They talk about Kanye like they’re bosom buddies with this nigga. Talking about “I be in Hawaii”—man, shut the fuck up, why you got to tell everybody everything? Then people like Wale get mad that ‘Ye ain’t give him no beats—’Ye ain’t give you no beats because we ain’t fucking with your raps. It’s not a conspiracy theory. We don’t f*ck with you musically, so we’re not going to provide music for you. The shit is a service, it’s a quality of a certain standard. Niggas are just so thirsty it’s ridiculous. I’ve been eating humble pie forever, and people still call me an a**hole. These people don’t know my fucking life—now I’m going to give them something to talk about.”

Wale has not commented further.

Source

Posted: Thursday – September 9, 2010

Waka Flocka Flame will release his debut LP on October 5th. The album, which is titled Flockaveli, will feature his hit singles O Let’s Do It, Hard In Da Paint, and No Hands featuring Roscoe Dash & Wale.

The southern rapper is a part of the Gucci Mane-led 1017 Brick Squad along with OJ Da Juiceman, but neither Gucci nor OJ make a guest appearance on the album. The collaborations instead include the likes of Slim Dunkin, Pastor Troy, YG Hootie, Uncle Murda, French Montana, and Gudda Gudda, amongst others, while Hard In Da Paint collaborator Lex Luger mans most of the production on the album. Despite rumors of problems between Gucci and Waka though, the former showed up at a recent listening session for the project.

In other news, Waka was nominated for the title of Hottest Breakthrough MC by MTV and also received two nods from the BET Hip Hop Awards in the categories of Rookie of the Year and Best Club Banger.

The Georgia rapper will release the music video for No Hands soon and according to him, “The concept is just girls, sexy women. No hands, we in the club, we in our party, we in our zone. It’s about the women. She’s sexy, she’s elegant. We just went from there.”

Check out the tracklisting for Flockaveli below:

1. Bustin’ At ‘Em
2. Hard In Da Paint
3. TTG (Trained To Go) Ft. French Montana, YG Hootie, Joe Moses, & Baby Bomb
4. Bang Ft. YG Hootie & Slim Dunkin
5. No Hands Ft. Roscoe Dash & Wale
6. Young Money/Bricksquad Ft. Gudda Gudda
7. Fuck The Club Up Ft. Pastor Troy & Slim Dunkin
8. Homies Ft. YG Hootie, Popa Smurf, & Slim Dunkin
9. Grove St. Party Ft. Kebo Gotti
10. O Let’s Do It
11. Karma Ft. YG Hootie & Popa Smurf
12. Live By The Gun Ft. Raw Diggs & Uncle Murda
13. For My Dawgs
14. G Check Ft. YG Hootie, Bo Deal, & Joe Moses
15. Snake In The Grass Ft. Cartier
16. Smoke, Drank Ft. Mouse & Kebo Gotti
17. Fuck This Industry

Source

Posted: Friday – January 1, 2010

10. Mixtape for Honorable Mention – J. Cole: Warm Up

With all of this frenzy about Drake, there hasn’t been much space for other up and comers to breathe and get their own spotlight to showcase what they had to bring. As some people wait, others grab for their shine and North Carolina’s own J. Cole made sure that his trip to New York wouldn’t be for nothing. Finding his way into the office of Jay-Z and leaving under the Roc Nation’s label, the young rapper delivered this mixtape as a sample of things to come in the future, hence the title The Warm Up. Although it was a mixtape, the release was treated as an album as Cole didn’t just attack instrumentals, he actually made developed songs which had substance to match his lyricism.

Bringing effective verses for The Blueprint III and Attention Deficit showed a rapper on a mission to put himself at the forefront and outshine those beside him, even his own boss if necessary. In preparation for his actual debut Lights Please, Cole has promised that he has saved the best for the grand entrance. The impact of The Warm Up with The Next Up on the way only creates high expectations for Roc Nation’s first artist, but his ability and potential so far only makes the debut something to definitely look forward to.

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9. Rick Ross: Deeper Than Rap

When news of his past as a correctional officer sprang, Ross’ credibility as a rapper was placed in front of a firing squad. His whole career now came off as a lie. With 50 Cent adding fuel, the Bawse’s tales about a criminal background and dealing drugs was denied by the fans as all they saw was a man with a badge. Upon the actual release of the record, there was speculation as to how he would go about the project with his past placed in the forefront, but the rapper was able to deliver a third number one album in the end. No matter what his past was, not even 50 Cent could take away from the fact that Ross has always been able to deliver good music with phenomenal production. Outside of production, Ross was able to establish the fact that he is more than a Florida-based Young Jeezy as he has gradually stepped up his lyrical presence with each new record.

8. Joe Budden: Padded Room

After Joe Budden released his debut album in 2003, the rapper from Jersey had the appeal to make him a dominant figure in the Def Jam roster. The cards, however, did not play in his favor as his sophomore album was shelved indefinitely along with having his career placed on hold. Keeping himself afloat through his Mood Muzik series, Joey showed fans a side of him established in tracks off of his debut such as “10 minutes” and “Calm Down” where he wore his heart on his sleeve for everyone to see. As 2008 came to a close, the release of Halfway House set off a domino effect for the rapper.

Not only was he able to introduce Slaughterhouse to rap, but it also opened up the gate for him to finally release a second album. Padded Room played off the same vein as his mixtape series, blending his personal thought with exceptional lyricism. He was able to establish the fact that the mind of Budden is only one that he could ever understand, and even he has issues coming to grips with it. Above all else, Padded Room served as a catalyst and brought the return of Jumpoff as he has owned 2009 with subsequent releases alongside Slaughterhouse and especially on the solo tip.

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7. Eminem: Relapse

With a five-year hiatus since the release of Encore, the music game made a transition from hard hitting lyrics and imagery to bubble gum music that was generally geared for the club. Substance was going farther and farther to the way side as fans were striving away from dissecting metaphors and double meanings. When “Crack A Bottle” dropped, there was a glimpse of hope that the blonde rapper was returning. The first appearance, however, showed Eminem with his natural brown hair and as a man that was fighting his eternal demons and dealing with the death of his best friend, another failed marriage with Kim and a drug addiction that found him placed in rehab. As with his previous releases, Slim Shady was willing to share his story with everyone that was willing to hear.

Listening closely to the album, fans will come to feel as though the rapper is still struggling with his addiction and gradually begins to clean himself up as the songs wind down to the end. It’s almost as though Relapse was his own 12 step program to recovery. Transitioning from Slimy Shady to Eminem, the rapper comes off as if he’s going through an identity crisis, but in actuality he’s really getting back into the swing of things. Although most of Black America might not relate to the actual content of Relapse, his skill was still present, even in an unstable state, and only left expectations for what he would offer with Relapse 2 once his head was fully clear.

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6. Jay-Z: Blueprint III

Ever since the curtain “closed” for Jay-Z after The Black Album, fans and artists have continued to question why he keeps coming back. Being his third album since “retiring”, The Blueprint III remains in the same vein as the original Blueprint in 2001 where Mr. Carter sets out not to follow trends, but set a new trend. After shaking up the industry with “D.O.A. (Death of Autotune)”, Jay was able to showcase an album that wasn’t necessarily meant to rehash the same story of his past, but instead step into the future. Think of it a sequel to Kingdom Come. At 40, Hov realizes that he must escape the pitfall of becoming a broken record and uses the third installment of the series to show progression in his artistic growth using a heavy amount of experimentation with production that makes him come off as a European version of himself.

The album marked the return of Jay’s dominance and his grip on the Hip Hop game. You might not be able to teach an old dog new tricks, but clearly a wise man knows how to keep themselves above the pact no matter how long they have been in the game. Why try and keep up with the young crowd when his history already places him at the finish line? With this marking his 11th album, Jay shows that he isn’t going anywhere, anytime soon. The man created an anthem for New York with “Empire State of Mind”. Now what gets better than that?

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6. Ghostface Killah: Ghostdini: The Wizard Of Poetry In Emerald City

As some rappers begin to grow older in a game where youth is deemed as dominant, many try to find ways to adapt to trends going on currently to make sure that they can even last with the new generation of artists. Wu Tang Clan’s own Ghostface Killah, however, has never been an MC to adapt to his surroundings, but more of evolving his own particular talents. Aside from telling street tales alongside Raekwon, Tony Starks is also quite the ladies man and has a career of music filled with material paying homage to the opposite sex.

It is with this that an artist only with the caliber of Ghost that he would be able to create a project such as The Wizard of Poetry which is essentially an album saturated to appeal to women, with the necessary flavor of Ironman to make sure that he maintains his male audience. Ghost makes it clear that no matter who you are, no one can avoid trials of the heart as they deal with chasing the girl, getting the girl and even losing the girl. An individual such as Starks that has kept it real on wax shows that even a gangster can get lonely too.

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4. Clipse: Till The Casket Drops

Proclaiming that the third time’s the charge, the rap duo from Virginia returned in 2009 refreshed and with a more positive outlook than what was left from their dark sophomore album Hell Hath No Fury. This new project has some of the same formula from the previous releases, but unlike the two prior, the duo seems to have a new lease on life this time around and are embracing the finer things in life such as family and friends. Going through countless trials in their career, Till The Casket Drops serves like a confessional as they step forth to profess their sins and strip away of their past troubles.

With a clean conscience, the Thornton brothers are reborn and having already showcasing their talents as rappers, are feeling themselves this go around, but with good reason as their talent has never been denied, they were just never given the proper situation to deliver. To keep it plain and simple, these dudes are living and loving life now. The climb to the top of the mountain has left its bruises and scars for the duo, but the view from above has made everything before worth the opportunity now.

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3. Slaughterhouse: Self Titled Album

As individuals, Joell Ortiz, Joe Budden, Crooked I and Royce Da 5’9” were all established lyricists that were a problem behind the microphone, but were also never given the proper outlet to exercise their skills to the masses. All coming from different parts of the country, they all had one common goal which was to simply rap. Outside of Royce, the other three were dealing with their solo albums facing setbacks and complications. Assembling to form Slaughterhouse, the four rappers showed exactly what it means to be a lyricist. Not worrying about the money or sales and only seeing it as a means to preserve the essence of Hip Hop, the four-headed monster was able to release a project infused with hard hitting lyrics and countless reasons to keep hitting rewind.

The worst part, but best for them, was the fact that it was hard to figure out who was the best as each artist was able to go toe to toe with one another which only made the friendly competition even more entertaining to hear as a listener. Add on the fact that they actually made songs instead of spitting lyrics throughout the whole project, rap’s Voltron is clearly an issue. The album was able to set the bar for MCs to step up their game and to this day, no other album has even reached the bar that these four have been able to establish.

2. Raekwon: Only Built 4 Cuban Linx 2

The problem with creating a sequel is trying to duplicate the original product. An even harder task is to create a new project that finds a way to outdo the first offering. After releasing Only Built 4 Cuban Linx, creating a follow up to such a debut was becoming quite a challenge for Raekwon as the two following releases failed to hold a candle to his first offering. Maybe running out of options, it only made sense to return to what catapulted him to his fame. With Only Built 4 Cuban Linx, Pt. 2, the Chef not only follows in the footsteps of the prequel, it was also a worthy addition as it.

Although nothing can ever truly match the first movie, Part 2 established the fact that Rae still had the ability to craft a masterpiece in today’s climate of music and that presence in the mainstream does not determine the authenticity of a rapper’s project. Since the underwhelming release of 8 Diagrams, some fans may have become doubtful of the Wu Tang Clan, but alongside his partners in rhyme, particularly Method Man and Ghostface Killah, Wu Tang still ain’t nothing to fuck with.

1. Wale: Attention Deficit

First impressions make a grand statement about a person, especially a rapper first entering the mainstream realm. Once people develop an opinion about a rapper, it’s hard to shake it so it is essential that the lasting impression is one that wants more. Known mainly for his work on the mixtape circuit, Wale spent 2009 introducing himself outside of freestyles and over industry beats. Stepping out with “Chillin”, however, might not have been the best foot forward as he was portrayed as a pop act alongside Lady Gaga and could have turned fans away.

Scratching deeper past the surface and actually listening to the album, the young rapper shows versatility that hasn’t been shown by any other new artist or any other rapper in quite some time. Diving into topics such as self-hate, racial barriers and triumph, the album was able to cover most aspects of life that every day people deal with. Although some may feel that it lacked focus, it in fact was focused on establishing himself as a well rounded artist that can cover all sides of life, not just the money, cars, clothes and women.

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Posted: Wednesday – July 1, 2009

Superstar rapper/mogul Jay-Z has officially signed a new distribution deal with Sony for his new label Roc Nation.

According to Billboard, the rapper’s new solo album The Blueprint 3 will be distributed by Atlantic, although that deal is only for the third installment of the rapper’s Blueprint series of releases.

Jay-Z offered to have the Roc Nation imprint be distributed through his longtime home Def Jam over four years ago.

Island Def Jam Music Group (IDJ) also distributes Jay-Z’s Roc-A-Fella imprint, which has such superstar artists as Kanye West, Jadakiss, Beanie Sigel and others.

“You have to figure, this is like four years ago, and to them it was just like, ‘Are you crazy? No! Make a song,’ ” said the mogul, who bought his way out of his Def Jam contract for an estimated $5 million.

The rapper also revealed that executives at IDJ were not fully capitalizing on Jay-Z’s entrepreneurial abilities.

“To me it was like, I’ve sold companies for huge amounts of money. I’m an entrepreneur – that’s what I’ve been all my life,” Jay-Z told Billboard. “I can’t just sit here and make records and not do anything else. Why wouldn’t you want to do this with me? I felt under-utilized.”

On the management side, Roc Nation handles the careers of Wale, Melanie Fiona, Mickey Factz and others.

Source: Allhiphop.com