Real Music People

Kanye West is definitely a raging diva over the weekend. It started with his rant on Entertainment Weekly for their shitty review of his concert and then there’s that bit of technical malfunction at his concert in Houston on Friday night. The rapper actually ended up walking off the stage in a tantrum. The side screens that the venue had to show Kanye weren’t working and they weren’t the screens that were part of his show. Kanye told the venue to “Turn the fucking screens off” but when no one did anything, he stopped the show and said “If the shits not working just turn it off” before storming off. After around a minute, he came back on stage to finish the show.

Rapper Pimp C’s cause of death has just been revealed. It seems that the rapper died as a result of a pre-existing condition of sleep apnea, combined with an elevated amount of prescription codeine in his blood. According to spokesperson Ed Winter of the LA County Coroner’s office, his Pimp C’s death has been ruled accidental.

33-year old Chad ‘Pimp C’ Butler was one half of the rap duo UGK, best known for appearing on the Jay-Z track ‘Big Pimpin’ in 200 and more recently with Outkast on the song ‘International Player’s Anthem (I Choose You)’. Pimp C was found dead in his bed at the Mondrian Hotel in Hollywood last month.

When you hear pretty much the same thing from a certain artist over and over again, you get tired of it. But that’s not the case with Missy Elliot.

The female rapper has done a couple of things here and there but she has been gone from the solo scene for a good while now. But not anymore. The rapper/producer has finally come out of hiding and has dropped a new single ‘Ching a Ling’. And it’s hot! It’s the typical Missy sound and it’s what we’ve come to expect from her. If it had been anyone else, I would have listened to something else but with Missy – if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

It is being reported that Eminem was rushed to the hospital over the holidays. Sources from the Detroit-area hospital say that the rapper was there to be treated for a serious heart condition and severe pneumonia. Now that he’s not bashing everyone on the planet and touring the world, Em has really let his self go and weighed in at 212 lbs.

Eminem’s publicist confirmed the news saying “Over the holidays, Marshall Mathers, aka Eminem, was under doctor’s care at a Detroit-area hospital for complications due to pneumonia. He has since been released and is doing well recovering at home.”

Yung Joc is a fugitive! The rapper failed to show at his arraignment on felony gun charges which just earned him that title.

Cops had arrested the 27-year old rapper whose real name is Jasiel Robinson last Saturday after he tried to go through a Cleveland airport security with a semi-automatic weapon in his carry on bag. Cuyahoga County assistant prosecutor Gayle Williams told the AP that she plans to request a warrant for him. The rapper’s lawyer Stanley Jackson Jr., was apologetic and said that Joc was out of town on “personal and family obligations”. It’s what we can call being afraid of the law.

Remember the ‘Grey Album’? It’s the one where Gnarls Barkley’s Danger Mouse took Jay-Z and mashed it up with the Beatles and became one of the most downloaded bootlegs of all time. Now, a DC-based DJ named DJ Doc Rok has made a CD which mixed Jay-Z’s new album ‘American Gangster’ with some classic Led Zeppelin tracks. It’s a pretty cool mix.

Jay-Z is proving to be one hot commodity for these remixes. And it’s not just with new bands like he did with Linkin Park. Even when you mix his stuff in with some of the best known classics, it still turns out great.

Rapper Lil Bow Wow, oh wait, I meant Bow Wow. He’s not so little anymore. Anyway, the rapper was rushed to a Cincinnati hospital on Thursday night after he came from a performance there.

His record label issued a statement saying that the 20-year old rapper is suffering from ‘stress and exhaustion’. They also said that while his tour with Chris Brown, Sean Kingston and Soulja Boy prepares to take the stage in Chicago, he won’t be able to make it. The Sony rep does say that “He loves them and will be sure to come back to Chicago soon!”

Rapper Spice 1, a legend in the Bay Area, is in critical condition after being shot in the chest. The Hayward California Police Department is saying that the rapper, whose real name is Robert Green Jr., was seriously injured but that the injury is not life threatening.

Police are saying that there is currently no suspect regarding the shooting and no arrests have been made. Investigation on the who’s, how’s and why’s regarding Spice 1’s shooting is currently going on.

Spice 1 has collaborated with some of the biggest names in the rap industry, including Method Man, 2Pac and Ice-T.

The last time that hip hop artist Lil Wayne was supposed to host an event, he failed to show. But this time, he actually made it. The problem is, it’s not really that much of a good thing.

The eyelid-tatted, blinged-out rapper showed up to perform his hosting duties at Pure Nightclub in Atlanta this past week but he was pretty much out of it. ATLpics.net put up several pictures of Lil Wayne spending most of the night struggling to keep his eyes open.

Whether that’s because of the glare from all his bling or that he’s way beyond drunk, I don’t know and I don’t really care.

It’s always annoying when a rapper says that he’s retired then comes back only to retire again and then come back again. But in Jay-Z’s case, no one should care as long as he’s number 1.

The rapper may have flashed two fingers when he passed paparazzi on his way to TRL on Monday. But as of the middle of the week, he hit number 1. As it was projected by music insiders last week, his American Gangster-inspired album took the top spot on the Billboard charts and knocked the Eagles down a notch.

Congratulations to Jay-Z. This is his 10th #1 album!

Eminem is refusing to embark on any future U.S tour in fear of upsetting his young daughter, according to rapper 50 Cent. The In Da Club hitmaker says his pal’s daughter Hailey, six, dislikes him being away from home - and Eminem is adamant fatherhood comes before his career. Now isn’t that such an inspirational thought from a cult singer and doesn’t it inspire the likes of David Beckham and Brad and all the other’s to give up a little on the hectic lifestyles to spend some time with their kids and if this speak doesn’t then I don’t know what will. Man come on after you have the millions in your bank account what is there that is stopping you from taking a early Christmas break and going on a vacation with the family. What are you all filthy rich dads waiting for, till when you retire at that time the kids would have left the nest and shall be free birds. This is the time to enjoy with the kids. Eminem has his priorities all right and this makes him my idol.

50 Cent has promised that should his rival Kanye West beat him in record sales for their newest albums, he would retire. But the rapper is finding more and more loopholes after finding out that Kanye did beat him. First, he said that he beat Kanye in the UK charts and now this.

It seems that 50 doesn’t believe in retirement as he is quoted in saying “I don’t know if it’s possible for a rapper to retire, rappers are like fighters. They condition themselves to be the best. All rappers think they’re the best. And they are just waiting for everyone else to recognise they are the best. You’ll see them come back and back.” He just can’t admit that he got beaten.

The embattled rapper T.I., real name Clifford Harris, is currently under house arrest for weapons charges. But since Thanksgiving is just around the corner, he has asked a judge to allow him to host Thanksgiving at his Atlanta home.

T.I. is currently out on bond but a judge has ordered him to home confinement and that he can only have no more than three visitors at a time. Said visitors must also be approved by the court.

On Tuesday, the rapper’s lawyers asked that a list of family members be granted ‘approved visitation to have dinner with the defendant’ on turkey day.

If you are a fan of R. Kelly, and let’s face it, he does have a wide array of fans located all throughout the world, then you are undoubtedly going to want to take this chance to see R. Kelly perform live as he tours all throughout the United States and beyond.

Highlights of this hip-hop performer’s tour includes stints at such locales as the Columbus Civic Center in Columbus, Georgia on November 14, Philips Arena in Atlanta, Georgia on November 15, The Wachovia Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on November 21, Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale, New York on November 23, American Airlines Center in New Orleans, Louisiana on November 30 and Sprint Center in Kansas City, MIssouri on December 7 as well as Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana on December 8 and FedExForum in Memphis, Tennessee on December 9. OF course these dates are merely a handful of the slew that R. Kelly is embarking upon for this tour of the United States.

You know you aren’t going to want to miss out on the fun that these concerts will be sure to bring to life

When you’ve built up a back catalog of eight studio albums and walk the earth as one of the biggest, most high-profile artists of the ’90s and 2000s, you’re bound to get some mixed signals from those who pay attention to you.

While several tracks connected to specific scenes are also rooted in productions trading in the regal grit that made up so much ’70s soul, the album is not a straight narrative, broken up by tracks like the boom-clap of “Hello Brooklyn” (produced by Bigg D) and the glitzed-out pair of “I Know” (a half-icing Neptunes layer cake) and “Ignorant Shit” (where Just Blaze transforms the Isleys’ quiet storm staple “Between the Sheets” into a high-gloss anthem). And while Jay mentions American Gangster and protagonist Frank Lucas directly, and intersperses some tracks with dialogue, the connection does not overshadow the album. It’s not like he’s yelling “Shaft’s Big Score 2K7!” or “Leonard Part Six, Part Two!” It’s all as natural as Scarface riffing off Scarface.

And that might be the most common complaint about the album — it’s really just another case of Jay-Z being Jay-Z, albeit with different presentation. Unless you know each verse from Reasonable Doubt through Kingdom Come, it might sound like he’s dealing with no variation on well-worn themes, the exact same thoughts and emotions, that make up older tracks about his past as a drug dealer — the rise, the arrogance, the conflictedness, the fall, and all stages in-between. One could say that’s not really saying much, but regardless of context, this is a very good Jay-Z album. He is, for the most part, doing what he has done before: what he does best.

50 Cent has picked a new feud with rap rival Lil’ Wayne - just because the Louisiana hitmaker is a terrible songwriter. The tough-talking rapper lost out to Wayne - real name Dwayne Carter - in a recent MTV poll, which credited the Shooter singer as hip-hop’s most important name. When is this guy going to learn to behave at least if not always then at least sometimes, I hope he can manage to behave that much or am I asking for too much. First he lost to Kanye West in the battle of album releases and as a consequence he did not make his tour to Europe. Kanye is not too good either after saying that he is not going to attend MTV bashes after not received any awards at the MTV VMAs. Now 50 Cent is such a waste and a person without work that he can keep finding ways to get into some lame fight so that he is written about in the blogs. Once there should be someone who tells him on his face that he is all things that he tells other are.

Lil Wayne hasn’t released a major-label album in two years, an awful long time in today’s here-today, gone-tomorrow rap market, yet in that time he’s ascended to the top of his field, to the point where his next album, Tha Carter III, is among the industry’s most eagerly awaited. His stock has risen partly because of his innumerable guest features, but more so because of the steady stream of mixtapes he’s released — one after the other, month after month, none of them available at your local big-box retailer. In an age where the Internet is seen by some in the music industry as a threat to be contained with lawsuits and other forms of deterrence, Lil Wayne is one of an increasing number of artists who are using the Internet to their advantage, feeding his fan base all the music it can download and, in the process, inspiring a dedicated following.

Like recent mixtapes by Jay-Z, Kanye West, and 50 Cent, these Lil Wayne mixes circulate freely on the Internet and are promotional in nature, intended to drum up interest for forthcoming commercial releases.

Jay-Z, that one-time retired now very much back-with-a-vengeance rapper who holds as arm candy that divalicious diva herself Beyonce Knowles formerly of Destiny’s Child before she broke free into a solo career, is going on tour and you had better believe that you are not going to want to miss out on seeing him perform live!

Highlights of this mega-brand performer’s touring schedule include gigs at such locales as the House of Blues in both West Hollywood, California on November 6 and in Chicago, Illinois on November 7 and Rams Head Live! in Baltimore, Maryland on November 9 as well as Hammerstein Ballroom in New York, New York on November 11, and the Fillmore - TLA in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on November 12.

You had better believe that you are not going to want to miss out on this chance to see this rapper-entity do his thing live so get yourself tickets today.

Lil Wayne was a no show for a show at a high school in North Carolina a few nights ago. TMZ got an exclusive with Charles ‘Duke’ Lineberry Jr., the attorney for Mitchell Entertainment Group who promoted the concert in hopes to shed some light on why the rapper flaked.

The concert was promoted as a ‘Stop the Violence’ event and was set up because of 8 gang-related murders in the small community of Wilmington, North Carolina. Lil Wayne was the so-called headliner with ministers and local celebrities taking the stage to speak out against violence.

A crowd of around 3,000 was expected but only about 1,000 people showed up. There are multiple reasons for the small crowd which includes Lil Wayne’s recent legal troubles and that the rescheduling of the concert made people lose interest.

A lawyer for Lil Wayne says his client missed a court date, leading to his arrest last weekend, because the summons was sent to an old address and the hip-hop star didn’t get it. It got changed, the damn address got changed then it would have been mandatory for him to inform the court that his address has changed from that date onwards his new address was as follows and any further correspondence could be made here. He is plain and simple trying to fool the courts. Man, when I have a new mobile number I just text the new number to all my contacts asking them to note it and delete the previous one as I have discontinued it. I think it was his attorney’s responsibility to inform the courts of the change. The hurricane happened last year and then when ever he found a new address he should have taken the matter seriously as there is a court matter pending against him. No sorry but I do not give him the benefit of doubt.

Rapper David Banner defended his controversial lyrics on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday, as fellow hip-hop star Master P apologized for using the word ‘bitch’ on his past hits. “Drugs, violence and the criminal element were around long before hip-hop existed.” Yeah, and nobody used adjectives like “b*tch, ho, and [the n-word] to describe that criminal element. What a *ahem* douche. What an idiot. Does he think his “hip-hop” is doing anything to eradicate Drugs, violence and the criminal element with his music? Sure they’ve been around a long time…..but why promote it in that fashion? D*ck. All these words existed and many more exist even today and those that do not exist can be created and used as often as one likes, but game on assholes would you ever use those same words to describe your current relations. People use abusive words ok, but if you are a singer then your music release has the words in the lyrics and the album is circulated all over the world, people buy and then they use the lyrics and hurt others. In a way these rappers are highly responsible for young kids violent acts.

Rapper Keith Murray is offering a $7,000 reward to be reunited with his stolen laptop which contains more than a decade’s worth of his work. Oh man! That is heartbreaking to have his work stolen! And the thief had some nerve to even shout what he did. I hope the thieves get what’s coming to them. Or can it be the other way round, look at my mischievous mind. Was the person who stole the work a spy agent hired by the person from whom Keith stole the work and now it has come a full circle? It could have been the successful plot of a movie, a struggling music artist approaches a then rap mogul to help him find a foot in the music industry, he throw the new kid on the blow out of his home. New kid wants revenge for the insult, he somehow manages to steal the great’s work and now that aging icon hires a spy to recover his work. The moral behind this story is – never insult someone who needs your help and never resort to cheating. Blockbuster movie and Keith Murray is willing to pay $7000 for a laptop.

Rapper Chamillionaire has joined the hip-hop heavyweights who have cut the ‘n’ word from their lyrics - because he doesn’t want to put derogatory words into white fans’ mouths. So much for a thinking mind, what else were these rappers doing for so long. These ‘n’ words and the ‘F’ word have been used so extensively that there ain’t a good album out there in the stores that hasn’t used explicit videos and lyrics in the album. I think that’s the best news I heard all day. Except for my Yankees news! But seriously, do children really need to continue making that word something people of all generations still have to hear. Enough already! We have come to a point in our society where words (thru rap) really do carry a lot of power. Why not empower the children of our society with words that can cause an epidemic of conjugation of all generations instead of dissention among them? Someone’s gotta think that how are we going to let the kids get exposed to such horrible things, it’s got to stop now!

If he’s a man of his word, 50 Cent would be announcing his retirement any day now. The votes are in when it comes to the UK because their new album chart says that Kanye West’s new album ‘Graduation’ is the #1 album on the other side of the Atlantic. 50 Cent’s album ‘Curtis’ came in at the runner up position.

50 is also expected to lose to Kanye in the US as Kanye’s album is predicted to outsell 50’s by 200,000 units. But 50 might find a way out of retirement by making up some blatant lie.

But then again, 50 might have also felt the heat from Kanye’s victory as he has cancelled his European tour which was supposed to kick off this weekend. Wow!

Rapper/actress Eve is launching her own film production company later this year - so she can retire from the entertainment industry financially secure Eva and Eve sounds quite similar, well that not the only thing that similar they both want to be rich and successful as quickly as possible, may over night if it could happen. But folks let me tell there’s nothing wrong if she wishes for a secure future, we all want it, a future that’s full of joys and happiness, a future were we do not have to think twice on the kind of vacation expenditure we can afford or what we like to splurge on a Rolex watch, some great golf accessories and hence forth, I am of the view that if at 28 she think a production company would give her the ammunition to forge ahead and zoom her onto a big bank balance the babes go for it, no risk no gain. If the risk pays off then you are one in a million and if not then no need to sulk, not everyone’s a genius born to become some Einstein.

Chris Brown and Rihanna’s collaborative performance can easily be labeled as the best performance of the night from the 2007 MTV Video Music Awards.

If Rihanna’s massive hit ‘Umbrella’ wasn’t enough to bring the house down, then maybe you would settle for Chris’ smooth dances moves. From dancing to his songs ‘Wall to Wall’ and ‘Kiss Kiss’ to an inspired homage to Michael Jackson’s ‘Billie Jean’, there’s something for everyone to enjoy.

When asked about what he thought of the performance, Justin Timberlake said “Nobody likes to be reminded that they’re getting older. And whatever Chris Brown just did reminded me of how I’m getting older – ’cause damn. It’s just exciting to see.”

He’s rapped about it, made movies about it and is even nicknamed because of his love about it. But in a shocking turn of events, Method Man is going to educate people about the dangers of using it. What is it? Weed of course!

The Wu-Tang Clan member is ‘thrilled’ at his plans to discuss everything he knows about the evils of weed. He’s going to be speaking to students from 15 New York City high schools as part of a plea deal from getting busted with drugs this year.

Well that figures. It’s all a publicity stunt for the judge.

Producers putting together the biopic on late rapper Notorious B.I.G. are seeking an unknown actor to fill the role. A series of open auditions will be held in currently undisclosed locations. Filming is scheduled to begin this fall. Biggie’s mother and two managers will be selecting the right man for the part. His mother insists she will know the right actor when she sees him. Biggie who’s real name was Christopher Wallace, had been shot to death in March 1997 outside of a party in L.A. It’s always a good idea to find an unknown actor when trying to portray one who had previously been well known. To fill in the role with an actor that everyone knows will just take away from the story being told. Millions of rap fans have been waiting for this biopic and I’m sure the producers are doing all they can to make it the best possible.

Rapper Common has shot straight to the top of the U.S. albums chart with his new disc Finding Forever, holding off competition from rockers Korn’s Untitled. I cannot understand the logic that the youngsters in America follow, the rap music can easily be labeled as pure crap but instead of being at the bottom of the rung it is ruling the roost. What has happened to the lovers of rock and soulful music that warmed the hearts not many years ago. Now the lyrics have the n-word and the f-word in the song in every other line and then you see all these boys and girls swinging and dancing to these horrible songs. They dance as if they have pains in their hip joints and are using this dance form as a therapy just to get relief. Hopefully they don’t get used to the rap songs to much or in the church as well they will be praying in rap songs.

More than 70 Eminem songs are available for download on iTunes. Rap star Eminem is suing computer firm Apple for allegedly selling his music in its iTunes store without permission.
A lawsuit claiming infringement of copyright has been filed on behalf of the singer by his music publishing company Eight Mile Style.

Apple pays Eminem’s record label for each download - but Eight Mile Style argues it has not approved the deal.

“This is a significant issue in the music industry,” said Norman Ankers, a lawyer for the company.

“This occurs with many artists and many record labels.”

A spokesperson for Apple had no comment on the legal case, which was filed in the US District Court in Detroit.

Eight Mile Style said between 70 and 80 songs were affected by the dispute, including tracks from the Grammy award-winning The Eminem Show.

The company holds the copyright, or partial copyright, in all of the tracks.

It is seeking more than $75,000 (£36,900) for copyright infringement, unfair competition and a violation of the Michigan consumer protection act.

It also asks for damages of up to $150,000 (£73,800) per infringement - or each time a song is downloaded.

Apple charges $0.99 (£0.49) for most song downloads in the US. Recording companies get about $0.70 (£0.34) and pass on $0.09 (£0.04) of that fee to publishers.

But many publishers would prefer to receive their share of the money directly from retailers.

“Generally, artists want their music sold,” said Joel Martin, a spokesperson for Eight Mile Style. “We want it downloaded. We request that any provider that’s offering downloads license it through the publisher.”

“Apple is not accounting to us. They are accounting to Universal (Music),” he said.

Martin added that Apple had repeatedly asked Eight Mile Style for permission to use its songs, but the requests had been turned down.

Eminem has locked horns with Apple before. In 2004 he sued the company for copyright infringement, alleging that it had used his song Lose Yourself in a TV commercial without permission.

The case was settled out of court.