AWFUL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This performance drained ALL the credibility this dude has earned over the past year. He came up so hard and had every reason to slay this award show but instead he embarrassed himself MISERABLY!!!
Kanye West is facing legal action now that a songwriter claims that he stole his idea to make his 2007 hit single “Stronger.”
Songwriter Vincent “Vince P” Peters filed a federal copyright infringement lawsuit Friday saying that Ye ripped off his original song under the same name and profited from it.
Peters claims that he gave a copy of the track to Kanye’s business manager John Monopoly in 2006 before it was featured on Ye’s Graduation album.
According to the lawsuit, Ye’s version is almost an exact replica of the song writer’s and it “copies significant and important parts of Peters’ lyrics identically or almost identically.”
More specifically, the lawsuit claims that both versions of the song reference model Kate Moss and state “that which does not kill me makes me stronger” and “can’t wait much longer.”
Rocafella Records and Universal Music Group are also named in the lawsuit.
The suit asks that West and the record labels stop the distribution, performance and selling of the copyrighted song and asks for an unspecified amount of damages.
Source: HipHopWired
That’s crazy, hope this isn’t true. Kanye samples MUCHO but I don’t think he would straight up steal music from someone else..
I think this was the best one since 2006!!! Kanye West returned, Tyrese channeled Teddy Pendergrass, Trey Songz embarrassed the sh** outta himself, Prince was honored by Alicia Keys & Patti Labelle and the Michael Jackson tribute performed by Chris Brown made me cry!!! I was so pleased with this years show!
I’m sure y’all remember last year was a complete mess, partly because MJ passed away a week or 2 before the show was scheduled to air and they had to blend tribute with what they had already come up with… The show was ALL over the place but this year it flowed soooo smooth!!! The only thing the show was missing was a fire performance from urban music’s Queen B, aside from that void, WELL DONE BET!!!
Most of the vids have been removed from youtube but I did manage to pull the Prince and MJ Tributes:
SLAYYY!!!
Ms Patti and Alicia DID THAT!!! Chris Brown had me crying like MJ died yesterday… I think that tribute was the best one thus far and exactly what Chris Brown needed to make things right with the industry. He has my unwavering forgiveness. I had forgotten how emmensely talented he is! WELCOME BACK CHRIS BROWN!!!
Very good! I‘m surprised anyone is putting him on paper after his behavior on the Gaga tour (punching a fan) and his rumored behavior at industry parties. He’s like Kanye on SPEED! Hopefully The Cuddler behaves himself for the time being…
HipHopWired reports the following:
Legendary brand Converse has linked up with Cleveland bred emcee Kid Cudi for the latest installment in the Converse Short Film series.
The short film, which follows Cudi in his home town of Cleveland, Ohio, traces Kid Cudi’s rise to stardom as he walks down memory lane with fans.
“I remember when I first started rhyming,” Kid Cudi states. “I didn’t know what to talk about and everyone said, ‘just talk about what you know’ and I did and it was on from there.”
The new couple was scene out and about at the at&t store the other day buying the all new iPhone 4! I haven’t decided to upgrade just yet but I watched the promo vid and IT SLAYS!!!
It’s been a whole year since the King of Pop was taken from us! He can never be forgotten! Love you sooo much Mj!!!
Here’s one of the best videos he ever created, “Remember The Time”, it’s going on two decades old but still somehow slays!!!
Yesssssssss!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It dawned on me while watching the “Alejandro” music video! There I was putting away the eggs and sausage ::yummmyyy:: and then the epiphany came; Lady Gaga’s sold millions of copies of her first and second albums, all her singles have reached the Billboard top 10, two of those became #1′s and not since Michael Jackson has the world awaited a new music video from ANY artist!
The only artist that remotely comes close to her market value, radio potential and chart worth is The Black Eyed Peas! Only they have replicated nearly every feat listed above. “Boom Boom Pow”, “I Gotta Feeling”, “Imma Be”, “Meet Me Halfway” and “Rock That Body” have ALL entered Billboard’s top 10 and the first 3 went on to become #1 singles. They have sold just as many or more albums then Gaga but no single, solo artist can match her. Not even former Queen B, Beyonce comes close… That’s the mess right there!
Beyonce’s last album sold more then anything else she’s put her name on but her chart, radio and commercial numbers don’t stand up to Gaga’s… No matter how much satan she worships, it appears he has his favorite and so does the industry!
Drake’s “Thank Me Later” bows, as expected, with an eye-popping 447,000 copies at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart according to Nielsen SoundScan. It’s the third-best sales week of the year for a single album.
Source: Billboard
I’m proud of the him! Congratulations Drizzy!
Lady Gaga has finished her new album, after her debut “The Fame” topped charts around the world.
The 24-year-old, known for her flamboyant costumes as much as her records, plans to release the album early next year, according to Rolling Stone magazine.
“I think I’m gonna get the album title tattooed on me and put out the photo,” she told the publication.
“I’ve been working on it for months now, and I feel very strongly that it’s finished right now. It came so quickly. Some artists take years; I don’t. I write music every day.”
The “Poker Face” singer, whose real name is Stefani Germanotta, hinted that her new music was likely to be more serious than her hit debut, which turned her into one of the pop world’s biggest stars.
“I have been for three years baking cakes — and now I’m going to bake a cake that has a bitter jelly,” she said.
“The message of the new music is now more bitter than it was before. Because the sweeter the cake, the more bitter the jelly can be.”
Source: Billboard
OMG! This female is a hard worker. She’s been going nonstop since late 2008 and shows no signs of stopping. It’s nice to see someone with a work ethic like Ms Carey!
The music is suppose to be even darker then what she’s let us hear thus far, kinda scary but I’m sure it’ll be brilliant. The fact that she’s recorded it in the middle of her current albums promo campaign means that the new music will likely sound much the same. That’s completely fine with me. Every single this girl’s sent to radio has seen Billboard’s top 10! She’s a absolute beast and at this point, only rivaled by The Black Eyed Peas!!!
J Cole is the first artist signed to Jay-Z’ newly founded RocNation imprint! His debut album has been named yet and I don’t know much about the project but expect there to be a long list of cameos.
This young MC is extremely talented, hope he makes the right choices in this game though! Get em J!
A year after declaring Drake the Number 3 on their arguable “Hottest MC’s in the Game” list, MTV in collaboration with Radical Media, who were involved in the production for Jay-Z’s “Fade to Black,” have put together a film documenting Aubrey “Drake” Graham’s road to success culminating with the release of Thank Me Later.
MTV brought together the same influential bloggers and industry insiders for a private screening, curated by MTVV’s own Sway Calloway.
The film will highlight life on the road, vocal training between shows, and his recording process which includes his preference for writing lyrics on Blackberry’s so much so that his managers and producers carry dummy Blackberries around as backups.
He also speaks on his mother’s unconditional love and support, his desire to improve his stage presence including highlights from his performance opening for Jay-Z in Manchester, as well his place among Hip Hops upper echelon.
The 1-hour documentary entitled “Drake: Better Than Good Enough,” airs Wednesday, June 23rd at 10p.m.
Peep the preview:
When the singer Mariah Carey and her husband, the actor and rapper Nick Cannon, appeared on “The Oprah Winfrey Show” last September, Mr. Cannon told of how he proposed in 2008: he presented Ms. Carey with a Ring Pop, the gem-shaped lollipop on a ring. Inside the package was a proper engagement ring. Upon hearing the story, executives at Elizabeth Arden, the cosmetics company that since 2007 has sold a Mariah Carey fragrance collection, began to develop a proposal of their own.
Mariah Carey’s Lollipop Bling, three fragrances that Elizabeth Arden based on candy flavors and that will appear in stores soon, is the product of a partnership with the Topps Company, which makes Ring Pops. Print advertisements for the perfume in August issues of publications like Cosmopolitan, Elle and People Style Watch will show Ms. Carey wearing three Ring Pops.
Early next year, before Valentine’s Day, when romantics flock to both the perfume and candy aisles, the fragrances will be available in mass retailers like Wal-Mart and in drug stores. There, stand-alone display racks will feature both the fragrances and Ring Pops, with the candies in a special “Bling Collection” three-pack that promotes the fragrances. Ms. Carey was not available for comment.
A one-ounce bottle of the perfume will retail for $35, the 1.5-ounce candy three-pack will cost about $1.50.
“Topps sells tens of millions of units of candy,” said E. Scott Beattie, chief executive at Elizabeth Arden, which also has fragrance licensing deals with celebrities including Britney Spears, Danielle Steel and Elizabeth Taylor. “Combining their customer base with Mariah Carey’s fan base and our fragrance base is a great way to cross-promote all the brands.”
Since its introduction three years ago, the Mariah Carey line, with three fragrances, has grossed more than $150 million, Elizabeth Arden said.
Source: New York Times
With his career starting alongside Eazy-E and Ruthless Records, the work of Will.i.am has paid off and is being recognized as he has been selected to receive a revered star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Now as the front man of the Black Eyed Peas, one of the top-selling acts ever, he will join names such as Muhammad Ali, Ronald Reagan and Sonny Bono in having his name etched in history.
Along with the producer, the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce announced a total of 30 stars Thursday that will be part of the 2011 ceremony, including Oprah Winfrey.
Other big names such as Gwyneth Paltrow, Donald Sutherland, Reese Witherspoon, Penelope Cruz, Danny DeVito and Tina Fey will be recognized for their work in movies and televison, according to the Associated Press.
Source: Billboard
He’s earned it!!! With the success of “The E.N.D” and numerous production credits from some of the biggest artist in the game, Will.I.Am has definitely become worthy of such an honor! If you don’t have that Peas album, COP IT IMMEDIATELY!!!
CLICK THE PIC TO PEEP THE NEW VID!!!
Young Money’s Harajuku Barbie is moving on from the drama surrounding her name and preparing to release her new album.
As previously reported Nicki Minaj pulled out of Rihanna’s “Last Girl On Earth” tour to work on her debut project and although there’s still no set release date, she’s giving fans a preview of what’s to come.
Minaj has released promo pictures for her upcoming album that show her donned in colorful wigs and a kimono with a samurai sword.
Source: HipHopWired
One of these pics will likely be her album cover, SLAY!!!
Even though Drake’s debut album “Thank Me Later” has set a record for being one of the most anticipated albums of all time (hard to measure we know), Billboard.com is forecasting first week sales to be in the 425,000-470,00 range. It’s a stellar debut for a relatively new artist and it will rank as one of the best debuts of 2010, but it falls slightly short of the overly-hyped expectations for the Young Money king.
Sure, Drake’s album was leaked about two weeks ago but in a time when some record companies and marketers actually leak albums themselves to generate good publicity, who is to say that someone within Drake’s camp didn’t leak it as part of a marketing ploy?
Steve Raze of AllHipHop.com had a slightly different take: “Leaking an album, depending on who you are, usually has a negative effect on sales,” he said. “The leak could hurt his sales slightly but the release of the singles helped him because he had so many good singles and big names on his album that the music created more buzz and anticipation for his album.”
Drake’s album sales are especially interesting because they could serve to shed light on the health of the recording industry. If the most anticipated album of the year can’t go platinum in a week, what does that say about the future of paying for music.
“It’s a different time and space,” said Gail Mitchell of Billboard.com “The last rap album, according to Nielsen Soundscan, to sell a million in its first week was Lil Wayne’s The Carter III in June of 2008. In that two year time, the industry has changed a lot and sales aren’t where they used to be overall so for Drake to be doing anything in the 400,000 range despite a leak says something to the whole fact that if you got a strong album and you got strong songs on an album, people will buy it.”
Drake’s sales can also illuminate consumer consumption of music. “It would be more interesting to see his digital sales and how that compares with the CD sales,” said Raze. “The hope for the recording industry is that it can successfully sell digital units in this changing landscape of music.”
The last rap albums to go platinum in their first week include:
Lil Wayne’s Tha Carter III (2008) sold 1 million
50 Cent’s The Massacre (2005) sold 1.4 million
Almost platinum:
Kanye West’s Graduation (2007) sold 957,000
All-Time Record Holder:
Eminem’s Marshall Mathers (2000) sold 1.8 million
Source: HipHopWired
Wowwwwww!!!! This is crazy! I had no idea that Eminem had the biggest HipHop first week ever, almost 2 million copies in just 7 days, SLAY!!!
I’m proud of Drake but of course the game was expecting him to do a million copies, ranking with the MC’s above but I knew better. The industry is in a very different, very dark place now. Computers and sites like BearShare and Limewire have sliced profits for labels and muscians in more then haldf. Artists that can’t pull there weight are being dropped left and right. This is a game where only the most talented, most popular artist are going to be successful!
Lmaooo… She’s had 10 years to develop her voice, to train it and gain control of what she has. Every real singer should be able to rock this song, especially a singer with as massive a range as her… There is no excuse for this talented American Idol contestant performance, especially given the extremely weak first week sales of her newest album, “Bionic”! She should have tore this song a new a**, should have channeled Whitney but instead she confirmed everything I’ve been saying from jump street. Christina Aguilera is a talented girl that just DOESN’T HAVE IT!!!
In another instance of summer tour plans gone awry, platinum-selling and Grammy-winning soul singer Maxwell has postponed a portion of his summer tour until 2011.
The singer’s label issued a statement today citing venue scheduling conflicts on the latter part of the tour, which was to feature Grammy-nominated R&B artist Melanie Fiona. Those dates had been added onto Maxwell’s ongoing arena tour with Jill Scott earlier this month.
Internet rumors suggest that the cancellation is due to ill will between Maxwell, Jill Scott and featured artist Erykah Badu the female artists have allegedly been running over their allotted time, upsetting the headliner. In an attempt to quash the gossip, Jill Scott’s publicist released a statement today including the following phrase: “Jill has enjoyed every moment on stage with Maxwell, whom she calls a consummate gentleman and tour mate. She looks forward to sharing the rest of the tour with all of the supportive followers.”
No word regarding the rumors has been issued from any of the other parties.
LiveNation has issued refunds to ticket holders of the postponed dates, which start Jun. 28 in North Carolina’s Greensboro Coliseum. All prior dates will run as planned, including the Jun. 25 and 26 shows at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Rescheduled dates will be announced later in the year.
Source: Billboard
Hmmmmm interesting… Well I know that Jill and Erykah are pretty good friends, maybe there ganging up on Max. It’s ultimately his tour, they shouldn’t be going over there time…. I’d be pissed too!
I think this group’s popularity is only rivaled by Lady Gaga! Every single from the album has been a top 10 hit and 3 have gone on to land at the charts pinnacle! “Rock That Body” cracks the top 10 this week at #9!
“The E.N.D” is there most successful album to date and I’m so proud of The Peas!!!
