bigted

:paperbag:

Grammy Award Winning Rapper Chamillionaire Profanity Free; Ditches 'N' Word On New LP By Danielle Harling and Dove Date: 4/27/2007 6:15 pm With the debate over the use of language in Hip-Hop gaining momentum by the day, few rappers have spoken on the issue until now. Houston rapper Chamillionaire has garnered much success with No. 1 hits like "Ridin" and has risen to prominence on the Houston mixtape circuit, but what most people may not know is that Chamillionaire rarely sacrifices lyrical content for profanities. “On my new album I don’t say the word n***a, I don’t curse nowhere on my whole album,” Chamillionaire told AllHipHop.com. “People are not even gonna know it. I guarantee if I don’t go out and say it in the media they’re not even gonna realize that. People go back and listen to all of my old mixtapes and don’t even realize that I wasn’t even doing all that type of stuff. I was saying n***a, but I wasn’t saying the 'f' word or [the] 'b' word. I was never saying those types of things...I hear that so much and it restricts your creativity and how far it can go.” Chamillionaire, who was recently certified by the RIAA as the first multi-platinum Mastertone artist in history, is the son of a Muslim father and Christian mother. The Grammy Award winning rapper, born Hakeem Seriki has sold millions of records. He said that Hip-Hop is the art form that seems to be targeted the most when it comes to language, but other mediums will still promote the use of profanities. Chamillionaire also said that the recent criticism and finger pointing at Hip-Hop was only creating a bigger generational gap. "People going to get rap CDs and rolling them over with steamrollers, what is that doing? That aint doing nothing but creating rebellion and people need to realize that," Chamillionaire explained. Chamillionaire recently released the single "I'm Not A Criminal" featuring Kelis and a remix to the song featuring Snoop Dogg and Busta Rhymes. The singles are the first releases from Chamillionaire's upcoming album titled Ultimate Victory. “I don’t get caught up in the actual ‘This word is bad’ because with everything you take away there’s gonna be something there to replace it,” Chamillionaire told AllHipHop.com. "Everybody needs to focus their direction on these younger kids that are looking at them. If we help raise them right this is gonna be the new generation and this new generation is gonna be more like me maybe and just don’t curse or brag about being a gangster." Ultimate Victory is slated to hit stores this summer. The album features appearances by Snoop Dogg, Pimp C, Slick Rick, Lil' Wayne, Busta Rhymes, Devin The Dude and others.

:3-laugh3:

Dope interview

Music Execs Discuss Rap Lyrics By MARCUS FRANKLIN Associated Press Writer NEW YORK - In the wake of Don Imus' firing for his on-air slur about the Rutgers women's basketball team, a high-powered group of music-industry executives met privately Wednesday to discuss sexist and misogynistic rap lyrics. During the furor that led to Imus' fall last week from his talk-radio perch, many of his critics carped as well about offensive language in rap music. The meeting, called by hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons' Hip-Hop Summit Action Network, was held at the New York home of Lyor Cohen, chairman and chief executive of U.S. music at Warner Music Group. The summit, which lasted several hours, did not result in any specific initiative. Organizers billed the gathering as a forum to "discuss issues challenging the industry in the wake of controversy surrounding hip-hop and the First Amendment." Afterward, they planned to hold a news conference at a Manhattan hotel to discuss "initiatives agreed upon at the meeting." But by early afternoon, the news conference was postponed, because the meeting was still going on. After the meeting ended, it was unclear whether there would be another one. Simmons' publicist released a short statement that described the topic as a "complex issue that involves gender, race, culture and artistic expression. Everyone assembled today takes this issue very seriously." Although no recommendations emerged, the gathering was significant for its who's-who list of powerful music executives. According to a roster released by Simmons on Wednesday, attendees included: Kevin Liles, executive vice president, Warner Music; L.A. Reid, chairman of Island Def Jam Music Group; Sylvia Rhone, president of Motown Records and executive vice president of Universal Music Group; Mitch Bainwol, chairman and CEO of the Recording Industry Association of America; and Damon Dash, Jay-Z's former Roc-A-Fella Records partner. Top-selling rapper T.I. also attended, organizers said. Simmons declined to comment through a spokeswoman. But he appeared this week with others at a two-day town hall meeting on "The Oprah Winfrey Show" to discuss the issue. While Simmons, Liles and the rapper Common agreed "there is a problem," Simmons cautioned against trying to limit rappers' free-speech rights. He said that "poets" always come under fire for their unsanitized descriptions of the world. "We're talking about a lot of these artists who come from the most extreme cases of poverty and ignorance ... And when they write a song, and they write it from their heart, and they're not educated, and they don't believe there's opportunity, they have a right, they have a right to say what's on their mind," he said. "Whether it's our sexism, our racism, our homophobia or our violence, the hip-hop community sometimes can be a good mirror of our dirt and sometimes the dirt that we try to cover up," Simmons said. "Pointing at the conditions that create these words from the rappers ... should be our No. 1 concern." Common said criticism of rappers and their music should come with love. "When I talk to the cats, regardless of rap, when I talk to cats on the street, they don't wanna be in that situation," the rapper said. "We don't wanna be in this painful situation. We want it to heal. And we are apologizing for ... the disrespect that does come from the mouths of men to women whatever color." Meanwhile, the Rev. Al Sharpton, who said he planned to challenge the recording industry on denigrating lyrics, announced he had suspended plans to honor Def Jam's L.A. Reid during this week's convention of his National Action Network in New York. Sharpton was among Imus' most vocal critics and demanded his firing. Several rappers under Reid's label frequently use racial and sexual epithets. Imus was fired last week by CBS, which owned his radio show, and MSNBC, which produced the TV simulcast, for having referred to the Rutgers players as "nappy-headed hos."

:thumbsup:

HSAN Chairman Russell Simmons Calls For Closed Door Meeting To Discuss The Status Of Hip-Hop By Danielle Harling Date: 4/16/2007 12:20 am Russell Simmons will be holding a ‘closed door’ meeting with artists and executives from the Hip-Hop/urban community for a discussion on the future of Hip-Hop and how the genre can be moved forward in a positive direction. Sources told AllHipHop.com that the invitation only meeting takes place on Wednesday (Apr.18) at Lyor Cohen's Manhattan residence. The meeting comes shortly after the ousting of talk show host Don Imus and the heightened criticism of Hip-Hop’s representation of women. Imus was fired after making sexist and racist remarks about the Rutgers University basketball team. A number of activists are now shifting their focus to Hip-Hop, including Reverend Al Sharpton, who has received a number of death threats over the past few days due to his involvement in the Imus controversy. On Friday (Apr. 13), Sharpton announced that he would turn his attention to the music industry, specifically Hip-Hop music. Sharpton said his National Action Network wants to also meet with performers in the industry about lyrics that he claims are racist and demeaning to women. Sharpton may have many followers on his side, but some activists aren’t quite receptive of Sharpton’s stance on Hip-Hop. “Language can be a powerful tool. That is why one's intention, when using the power of language, should be made clear,” said Dr. Benjamin Chavis, president of the Hip-Hop Summit Action Network and Russell Simmons in a joint statement released on Friday (Apr. 13). “Comparing Don Imus' language with Hip-Hop artists' poetic expression is misguided and inaccurate and feeds into a mindset that can be a catalyst for unwarranted, rampant censorship." Russell Simmons is also scheduled to appear on Good Morning America and an episode of The Oprah Winfrey Show later this week.

Well this was a great article, Skillz is a dope mc, now personally I also don't feel that point about how it was obvious Will didn't write "Mr. Nice Guy", now the way I view it is that well it don't matter if that song came out or not 'cause Eminem hasn't recorded anything hot since 2000 on the mostpart while Will has 20 years of classics with Jazzy Jeff, I don't think Eminem would ever be man enough to ever contest JJFP on stage anytime soon

April 15th seems a bit difficult time for me too, gotta some important things to do that week but I'll try my best

So when is this KS music video being shot in Brooklyn? I might be able to make it if I know when, I still have a lil' freetime on my hands till I start working soon so I could easily take a ride there

R.Kelly "Ignition Remix"

Yeah really that's what sums it up

As the famous words of Chuck D's song with Ice Cube and Big Daddy Kane would say: "Burn Hollywood Burn", I'm happy to see that record sales are way down, the true artists will always release material no matter what, those who don't love what they do will leave

Yeah I agree with that, there's no reason for me to check the mainstream radio for good hip-hop since they don't play it, I'm happy with playing my CDs and tapes, I love digging through ebay for stuff, plus I enjoy online radio stations, you could see a lot of cool videos from that pc as well, the internet really has become the new underground source for hip-hop to exist, Chuck D from Public Enemy calls MP3s the new 45 inch records, it's much more convienant now, even when you see Jazzy Jeff doing shows he has less stuff to carry than he'd 20 years ago with Fresh Prince, technology is the rebirth to me... Word of mouth travels far around the worldwide web, now as a friendly reminder we gotta get that JJFP.com radio back again one day Tim...

Hey nice to have you back 3cookies, well really it's been a long month and a half for me, I was dehydrating from the IVs I was given while I was in the hospital last month but everything's all good now though, I feel better than ever at this point. I met a lot of nice peeps that helped me out, one security guard I met there knows a producer for me to get some of my hits out there and i made friends with some of the workers/patients there, the experience made me stronger, i really think there's brighter days ahead, really it goes back to that post about positive thinking, definately needed, one love

The Album, a Commodity in Disfavor By JEFF LEEDS Published: March 26, 2007 Correction Appended LOS ANGELES, March 25 — Now that the three young women in Candy Hill, a glossy rap and R&B trio, have signed a record contract, they are hoping for stardom. On the schedule: shooting a music video and visiting radio stations to talk up their music. Skip to next paragraph Tony Cenicola/The New York Times Monica Almeida/The New York Times Acts like Candy Hill — made up of Vatana Shaw, seated; Casha Darjean, standing left; and Ociris Gomez — face a new music economics. But the women do not have a CD to promote. Universal/Republic Records, their label, signed Candy Hill to record two songs, not a complete album. “If we get two songs out, we get a shot,” said Vatana Shaw, 20, who formed the trio four years ago, “Only true fans are buying full albums. Most people don’t really do that anymore.” To the regret of music labels everywhere, she is right: fans are buying fewer and fewer full albums. In the shift from CDs to digital music, buyers can now pick the individual songs they like without having to pay upward of $10 for an album. Last year, digital singles outsold plastic CD’s for the first time. So far this year, sales of digital songs have risen 54 percent, to roughly 189 million units, according to data from Nielsen SoundScan. Digital album sales are rising at a slightly faster pace, but buyers of digital music are purchasing singles over albums by a margin of 19 to 1. Because of this shift in listener preferences — a trend reflected everywhere from blogs posting select MP3s to reviews of singles in Rolling Stone — record labels are coming to grips with the loss of the album as their main product and chief moneymaker. In response, labels are re-examining everything from their marketing practices to their contracts. One result is that offers are cropping up for artists like Candy Hill to record only ring tones or a clutch of singles, according to talent managers and lawyers. At the same time, the industry is straining to shore up the album as long as possible, in part by prodding listeners who buy one song to purchase the rest of a collection. Apple, in consultation with several labels, has been planning to offer iTunes users credit for songs they have already purchased if they then choose to buy the associated album in a certain period of time, according to people involved in the negotiations. (Under Apple’s current practice, customers who buy a song and then the related album effectively pay for the song twice). But some analysts say they doubt that such promotions can reverse the trend. “I think the album is going to die,” said Aram Sinnreich, managing partner at Radar Research, a media consulting firm based in Los Angeles. “Consumers are listening to play lists,” or mixes of single songs from an assortment of different artists. “Consumers who have had iPods since they were in the single digits are going to increasingly gravitate toward artists who embrace that.” All this comes as the industry’s long sales slide has been accelerating. Sales of albums, in either disc or digital form, have dropped more than 16 percent so far this year, a slide that executives attribute to an unusually weak release schedule and shrinking retail floor space for music. Even though sales of individual songs — sold principally through iTunes — are rising, it has not been nearly enough to compensate. Many music executives dispute the idea that the album will disappear. In particular, they say, fans of jazz, classical, opera and certain rock (bands like Radiohead and Tool) will demand album-length listening experiences for many years to come. But for other genres — including some strains of pop music, rap, R&B and much of country — where sales success is seen as closely tied to radio air play of singles, the album may be entering its twilight. “For some genres and some artists, having an album-centric plan will be a thing of the past,” said Jeff Kempler, chief operating officer of EMI’s Capitol Music Group. While the traditional album provides value to fans, he said, “perpetuating a business model that fixates on a particular packaged product configuration is inimical to what the Internet enables, and it’s inimical to what many consumers have clearly voted for.” Another solution being debated in the industry would transform record labels into de facto fan clubs. Companies including the Warner Music Group and the EMI Group have been considering a system in which fans would pay a fee, perhaps monthly, to “subscribe” to their favorite artists and receive a series of recordings, videos and other products spaced over time. Executives maintain that they must establish more lasting connections with fans who may well lose interest if forced to wait two years or more before their favorite artist releases new music. A decade ago, the music industry had all but stopped selling music in individual units. But now, four years after Apple introduced its iTunes service — selling singles for 99 cents apiece and full albums typically for $9.99 — individual songs account for roughly two-thirds of all music sales volume in the United States. And that does not count purchases of music in other, bite-size forms like ring tones, which have sold more than 54 million units so far this year, according to Nielsen data. One of the biggest reasons for the shift, analysts say, is that consumers — empowered to cherry-pick — are forgoing album purchases after years of paying for complete CD’s with too few songs they like. There are still cases where full albums succeed — the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ double-CD “Stadium Arcadium,” with a weighty 28 tracks, has sold almost two million copies. But the overall pie is shrinking. In some ways, the current climate recalls the 1950s and to some extent, the 60s, when many popular acts sold more singles than albums. It took greatly influential works like The Beatles’ “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” and the Beach Boys’ “Pet Sounds” to turn the album into pop music’s medium of choice. But the music industry’s cost structure is far higher than it was when Bob Dylan picked up an electric guitar. Today’s costs — from television ads and music videos to hefty executive salaries — are still built on blockbuster albums. Hence the emergence of scaled-back deals with acts like Candy Hill. Labels have signed new performers to singles deals before, typically to release what they viewed as ephemeral or novelty hits. Now, executives at Universal say, such arrangements will become more common for even quality acts because the single itself is the end product. With Candy Hill, Universal paid a relatively small advance — described as being in “five figures” — to cover recording expenses. Ms. Shaw, who formed the group with Casha Darjean and Ociris Gomez, said the members had kept their day jobs working at an insurance company and doing other vocal work to be able to pay the rent at the house where they live together. If one of their songs turns into a big hit, they hope to release a full album, and to tap other income sources, like touring and merchandise sales. But turning a song into a hit does not appear to be getting any easier. Ron Shapiro, an artist manager and former president of Atlantic Records, asked, “What are the Las Vegas odds of constantly having a ‘Bad Day?’ ” — referring to a tune by the singer Daniel Powter that sold more than two million copies after it was used on “American Idol.” While music labels labor to build careers for artists that are suited for albums, he added, “You have to create an almost hysterical pace to find hits to sell as digital downloads and ring tones that everybody’s going to want. It’s scary.”

Well I actually been bumping quite a bit of New Edition lately so it's actually cool this topic came back to me, they put out so much classic material it's amazing, just hope they get a new label/album sooner rather than later knowing how the music industry is

Donell Jones "Cry"

Yeah really imagination carries me far in writing songs, a lot of times i write from personal experience but really i let my mind wonder, that's a passion of mine, it gets my mind away from all the drama of life, god willing i'm gonna have a career as an mc or a songwriter but really when it comes to other careers like julie said it seems like they require more knowledge, i'm pretty smart though too, i had a B+ grade point average graduating high school in 2003 and in 2005 i graduated an online college majoring in C++ computer programming with a B average but with the way the economy is right now where i live there's no opening for me, i ain't sweating it though 'cause the knowledge is there for me, i've been putting more time into my passion of music lately, i really feel that's what i'm meant to do at this point, when i was in the hospital feelin' sick i ran into somebody i knew from school who remembered me rapping in the hallway and he asked me if i still rapped and i told him yeah and i freestyled a couple lines for him and he smiled, it calmed me down too, that made me happy too music is something that makes people happy and i feel that i do it well, i believe it's a message that god told me that day, now that i'm back to full strength i've been talkin' around to see if i could perform at any spots around my way

Oh definately I agree with that point, amen brotha, like Big Will said in 'Mr. Nice Guy': "Don't mistake nice for being soft", I don't let anyone walk over me, now really if girls don't appreciate a mature brotha with an edge then they truely are immature, now it works the other way too if brothas are just looking for a girl with a nice ass that shows that they're immature 'cause there's more to a real woman than just a nice ass, immature brothers appreciate a woman with a head on her shoulders, and of course if she got a nice ass that wouldn't hurt either, lol

Beastie Boys Eyeing Summer For New Album Beastie Boys March 05, 2007, 10:20 AM ET Jeff Vrabel, Bluffton, S.C. An uncharacteristically short three years after their last disc, 2004's "To the 5 Boroughs," the Beastie Boys are putting the finishing touches on a new record. "Hopefully that'll be out this summer, too," group member Adam Yauch tells Billboard. Though he remained characteristically tight-lipped about details, Yauch says the Beasties plan to air out some of the new material in a series of dates this summer, including a headlining slot at the Sasquatch Festival, to be held May 26-27 at the Gorge Amphitheatre in George, Wash. From there, the Beastie Boys head to Europe for a series of festival dates. The band also plays a headlining set in Paris on June 26. As first reported here Friday, Yauch has also produced a new record by the original lineup of Bad Brains, "Build a Nation," due in late May or early June via Megaforce. Here are the Beastie Boys' tour dates: May 27: George, Washington (Sasquatch Festival) June 10: Lisbon (Alive! Festival) June 17: Istanbul (Efes Pilsen One Love Festival) June 22: Scheessel, Germany (Hurricane Festival) June 24: Neuhasen, Germany (Southside Festival) June 26: Paris (Le Zenith) June 28: Werchter, Belgium (Rock Werchter Festival) June 30: Gdynia, Poland (Heineken Festival)

Yeah it's time for these suckas to step their game up or look for a new career

I'm surprised that DMX sold more in his career than LL Cool J has, never would've expected that

I'll check for it but I doubt it could compete with here

http://board.okayplayer.com/okp.php?az=sho...21277&page= OkayWriter CANDACE L. sat down with K-OS last week and exchanged words. Here's the OKP exclusive. Somewhere off the southern coast of Spain lies a land of milk and honey, an oasis of endless greenery, an abundance of precious metals, rolling mountaintops, hyper-intelligent superbeings - a veritable Paradise regained. Or is it somewhere south of Cyprus? Or still ebbing in the middle of the Atlantic? Wherever it is, was or could’ve been, the lost city of Atlantis still captures the imagination of scholars and armchair philosophers alike. The possibility that a wealthy, technologically advanced society could veer so deeply into the dark recesses of excess to warrant destruction by God is a solemn reminder for many living under certain modern world powers. But morals/schmorals - that’s depressing and really hard to dance to. It is this storied world Toronto rapper K-OS ventures to on his latest album, Atlantis (Hymns for Disco), not to play the role of lyrical archaeologist, but hip-hop explorer, uncovering gems in a variety of genres and musical styles. “Sunday Morning,” the first single off the album, embodies a hand-clapping, party-starting mixture as every Toni Basil wannabe is compelled to grab her pom-poms and join the fray. The pep rally quality is definitely one missing from hip-hop, but k-os isn’t on a crusade to please any particular crowd. On “Born To Run,” he says, “If you can’t dance to this, it doesn’t matter,” yet he effectively creates the most danceable tune on the album. Perhaps it was a challenge to find something wrong with this song, too. Often accused of being too preachy (read: says ‘God’ too much) on his previous albums, Exit and Joyful Rebellion, Atlantis finds K-OS reaching out to all the world of music has to offer and digging out MTV-friendly hits, obscure bangers and yes, still saying ‘God’ whenever he feels like it. Balanced between metaphysical metaphors and the sincere demands of a rap fan in turmoil, K-OS walks the fine line between artist and preacher without making any compromises. A strong sense of identity is clear on Atlantis, as K-OS continues to forge a singular style that captures the eclectic experimentation of Electric Circus, the pop accessibility of The Love Below and the electronic space rock of George Clinton. “I’m like a voyeur that watches MTV and then watch what’s going on in London, then I see what’s going on in Spain, then I take all that and put it into my music. So my image is really in art, postmodernism, which is the idea that you take from a whole bunch of things to create something new.” Back in 2003 when K-OS declared an end of ‘The Jiggy Era,’ on “Superstarr Pt. Zero,” one might assume he was picking sides, proclaiming himself the ambassador to all things new and officially hip-hop ordained. “I think up to that point I had accepted a lot of the music that was out because I could relate to it; I could relate to the struggle within it, but I kind of got tired of the struggle. People talk about struggling all the time instead of coming up with ideas of how to face that struggle. So the end of the jiggy era wasn’t necessarily the end of that type of music. It was an end, for me, in sympathizing with it and trying to create something new that was like an alternative to that.” Mission accomplished. No one hearing the playful storytelling of “CatDiesel” or the forceful melancholic singing of “The Rain” could mistake it for anything remotely jiggy or readily familiar. K-OS has incorporated more of his singing on this album, making him possibly one of the best singer/rappers doing it right now, mainly because his vocals actually sound good, but also because the blend between the two is seamless. His lyrical prowess is never sacrificed for a pretentious ditty nor does he cheapen a sincere vocal demonstration with a token verse, just to make sure he doesn’t lose the rap purists. As if his unique style doesn’t set him apart enough, how many OkayArtists readily admit getting pummeled by Al White himself, Justin Timberlake? “Music’s very competitive, so a song will come out like a Justin Timberlake song…and I’m not feeling that. It’s not necessarily that you don’t feel it, it’s just so good, it’s kicking you’re a-s so much that you’re like, ‘I’m not feeling that.’ So I usually end up liking songs six months after they’re popular because I’m like, ‘Yo, this is kind of brilliant, actually’ after the people have liked it.” Maybe we all can’t relate to the delayed appreciation of “Senorita,” but it’s that kind of open-mindedness that keeps K-OS so fresh. “Born To Run,” for example, utilizes so many energizing elements, not just K-OS’ vocal gymnastics (one minute singing, the next talking or rhyming), but also his musical ADHD as he switches from fast-paced disco dance tune to whipping out ye olde acoustic guitar to remix his opening verse. The schizophrenia works well for him. He attributes this to having no strict image to which he must adhere. “The image of L.L. Cool J was a very honest image for him, but it was also very powerful and influenced other people to sort of become his image. The image of Big Daddy Kane was a very powerful image for him, but it doesn’t mean that everybody can be that…You can take from other people. You can amalgamate other people’s styles, but it’s important to know who you are.” Though he’s not averse to playing a part, K-OS is more interested in honest, self-exploration through his music. “There’s a lot of acting going on in music…It’s good to play roles, but it’s also good to speak what’s from your heart, too.” After seeing the floodwaters rise in New Orleans almost two years ago, K-OS followed his heart and called his mother in hurricane-prone Fort Lauderdale. After a discussion of Noah’s flood, the seeds were planted for the theme of his next project. “My whole thing came from understanding how important that element is…how important water is, but at the same time how we kind of abuse it in a way. Human beings are not really environmentalists by nature; we take a lot of things for granted.” Taking a cue from fellow OkayArtist Mos Def, K-OS found inspiration in “New World Water” when setting on his own high seas journey for Atlantis. “I think my water theme was more just respecting that element…In Canada, we happen to have the most pure water source on the planet in Montreal, they still buy water from outside Canada when in fact we have the largest water source. So even the fact that people buying water becomes a trendy thing, too, it’s hard for people to respect it and not just glamorize it.” Water isn’t the only thing commanding respect on Atlantis. Already a chart-topping, record-breaking, platinum-plus star in his homeland, no one could mistake this album as too spiritual, too thinky, too this or not enough of that. What we hear is the impressive evolution of a contemporary artist, the prototype of today’s postmodern rapper, influenced by a rich palette of sounds and ideas and meshing them into something revolutionary. With each album, the proof of K-OS’ depth of talent only grows. This lyricist/producer is well on his way to being more than ‘that Canadian rapper.’ If we’re lucky, he’ll be hip-hop’s Atlantis, no mere enduring myth, but a living, breathing escape from the darkness. Candace L.