Shyne has given his first press conference to the media since being released from prison after nearly nine years and spoke on the lessons he has learned in his life.Promising to not make any excuses, Shyne took full responsibility for any wrongdoing he has done in the past.
“Nobody’s perfect,” Shyne explained during a press conference. “A lot of us grow up in imperfect situations as myself and our lives continue to be imperfect but there are no excuses. President Obama didn’t make excuses, Governor Paterson over there in New York who’s a blind man and first African American governor didn’t make excuses…I make no excuses, I hold myself accountable for the mistakes I’ve made in my life but that’s the end of me or anyone. You make mistakes and the point is to transform those mistakes and that’s what I’m trying to do…I make music about life.” (World Star Hip Hop)
Grammy-winning rapper Eminem has reportedly been added to this month’s American Music Awards alongside other performers including Jay-Z and Alicia Keys.
Eminem will return to the stage at the forthcoming 37th Annual American Music Awards later this month. The Relapse star, who is also gearing up for the release of Relapse 2, joins an ever-growing list of talent taking the stage during the November 22 celebration of music. Eminem joins a previously announced roster of performers including Lady Gaga, Jennifer Lopez, Adam Lambert, Jay Z, Daughtry, The Black Eyed Peas and Alicia Keys. The 37th Annual American Music Awards air on ABC November 22 at 8/7c (Singersroom)
Eminem has the most nominations of anyone in the hip hop world. Marshal Mathers is up for Artist of the Year (the only hip hop artist up for that award), Favorite Male Artist Pop/Rock, Favorite Male Artist Pop/Hip Hop and Favorite Album Rap/Hip Hop. Newcomer T.I. follows next with three nominations. (Michigan Live)
Rap newcomer J. Cole recently discussed his recent signing to Jay-Z’s Roc Nation label and admitted he feels pressure to generate his own success.
“‘Cause Jay-Z’s shadow is so big, it would be hard for anybody to come out of that,” Cole said about feeling pressured to deliver success. “But I’m the type of person where, A., I look at things as challenges, I like challenges and, B., I truly believe that you determine your own destiny. An opportunity is an opportunity, and one of that magnitude would be dumb to pass up, especially when I truly believe that I make my path and I set my course, and where I land, at the end of the day, or the end of my career, [is] because of me. Of course, you get help along the way, and cosigns and management and opportunities and things like that but overall, the ball is in your court basically. In terms of pressure, I used to say I didn’t feel any pressure ’cause I really wasn’t thinkin’ about it, but now that I’m thinkin’ about it, it’s like a good pressure. I feel the type of pressure that a strong-minded first pick in a draft would feel. ‘Cause I feel like a first pick in a draft could either be like, ‘D*mn, I’m the first pick! I don’t wanna mess up! I don’t wanna f*ck this up, they invested a lot of money in me!’ or he could be like, ‘Yeah, I’m the first round pick, ’cause I worked so hard to be the first round pick. Now I’m gonna show you why I’m the first pick.’” (DJ Booth)
Former Cash Money Records frontman Juvenile has said fans can expect Hot Boys songs even if the highly-anticipated reunion album falls through.
“I like this question, I like this question,” Juvie admitted. “I’ve been talking to Baby, man. I’ve talked to Baby, he’s real behind doing the Hot Boys album thing. He done came at me three times but the whole thing was and I wanna be truthful to everybody, it was me and him talking. Me and Wayne was cool. Me and B.G. was cool, all of us was cool but I really had to talk to Baby. We had to put everything out on the table and settle our differences and that was something we’d never done. And I can honestly say it’s been done now so y’all can definitely be looking forward to that album. It’s coming. It’s confirmed [laughs] I got a check already. I always say that when people ask like, ‘Man, they already paid me on the Hot Boys album,’ so you know, with me, I’m already in. It’s just a matter of everybody else being in. I don’t think it would be right if we left Mannie Fresh out. Don’t you think? He was the producer, he did all the music for Hot Boys, so we gotta have him involved, if he don’t do the whole album [then] he gotta do something on there.” (SOHH)
The tracklisting for Wale’s upcoming debut album, Attention Deficit, has landed online and shows guest appearances by Bun B, Gucci Mane, The Neptunes and more.
Go-go is something Wale is heavily influenced by, but not something he is going to force on people,” Kleinman explained in an interview. “Still, the same way he introduced them to go-go, he wants to introduce to his fans all of the other sounds he’s been influenced by. Although I wish radio would have embraced the track in a bigger way-and we were disappointed it didn’t get to the place on the charts we thought it would-we just wanted to put out the track that felt right now. Wale’s the kind of artist that does what he wants when he wants to. That’s why the album is titled that way-it’s like a focused confusion or an organized mess. People usually think, ‘What’s good for the brand?’ But he isn’t that type of artist. He realized he was ready to work with mainstream producers and artists but will never lose the backbone of who he is. And although he wants to be a star, he won’t sacrifice his fans for it.” (Billboard)
Timbaland will no longer go head-to-head against 50 Cent and Birdman as his new album Shock Value 2 has reportedly been pushed back to December.The new release date will now have him going up against rappers Snoop Dogg, Game and Gucci Mane.
I mentioned that what I was hearing is greater than the stuff on BP3, and he said “of course I’m not going to give Jay my best material.” He wasn’t joking…So here are some exclusives of who will be on the Shock Value 2: Estelle, Danja, Keri Hilson, Jonas Bros, Daughtry, Hollywood Undead, Jim Beanz, Amar, Justin Timberlake, Jay-Z, Usher, Chris Brown, Missy Elliot, Drake, Pharrell, Sebastian. (The Timbaland Buzz)
Baby and Rick Ross’ rumored joint collaboration album has been finished according to the Cash Money Records’ co-founder.Despite confirming the album’s completion, Baby said an exact release date has not been penciled in.
Plans are still on the table for a Birdman and Rick Ross album. The rappers’ collaborative effort is in the bag and just waiting a release date. “Ross and I finished the album already. It’s called The H,” Birdman revealed to Rap-Up.com. “We’ll probably put it out in the summer.” The Cash Money Records CEO has a lot of admiration for his fellow paper chaser, who’s currently promoting his group Triple C’s debut Custom Cars & Cycles. “I respect Ross. He gets money and his music is hot.” (Rap-Up)
In this week’s Sales Wrap, Jay-Z once again leads the pack at No. 1, The Black Eyed Peas move up nearly 20 spots back into Top 10 and new releases from Snoop Dogg and Mario debut on the charts.
Grammy-winning rapper Jay-Z’s The Blueprint 3 has continued to stay atop its R&B and rap contenders by sliding down two spots to No. 5 with 54,900 records. Michael Buble’s Crazy Love which stayed at No. 1 with 203,400. After six weeks in stores, Hov’s latest No. 1 debuting album has sold 1,116,500 records to date.
Padron Thomas, 41, pleaded guilty Wednesday to manslaughter, tampering with evidence and five counts of felonious assault. Thomas admitted he was driving a vehicle north on Interstate 75 in a May 3, 2006, incident when his younger brother, Hosea Thomas, fired several shots into vans carrying TI and his friends. The rapper, whose real name is Clifford Harris, wasn’t hit but his friend Philant “Big Phil” Johnson was killed and three others wounded. The official sentencing date is Nov. 17 but the judge indicated Wednesday he will impose the 10-year sentence and allow it to run at the same time as Thomas’ federal prison sentence. Hosea Thomas was upset he’d been hit in the head with a bottle at a Roselawn party attended by TI and his posse following a concert. Enraged, he got in the vehicle and the brothers chased the rapper’s van up the interstate before Hosea Thomas opened fire. Hosea Thomas is eligible for parole in 2074 when he is 100 years old. (Cincinnati News)
Usher and Gucci Mane ‘s new video for “Spotlight” is not out yet but you can catch sneak peeks at the video shoot here.
From the looks of the video, there may be a new star to emerge as well. Super actor Eddie Murphy will see his youngest daughter, Bria, co-star in the video, as Gucci’s main chick.
Watch Here For The Video Drop, We Will Do Our Best to Host It Here First!
