bigted

Pop star Beyonce Knowles has sparked controversy by saying she only makes records for black people. www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,3805965a1860,00.html Since the Deja Vu singer made the astonishing statement sales of her new album, B'Day, have fallen by 70 per cent in the US. Beyonce, 25, said in an interview with Blender magazine: "I make black records. I write records like I speak, and I don't try to change my songs so everyone else likes them." The singer has also admitted she can relate to celebrities who attack the paparazzi. Beyonce said: "It must be really scary to have your children in front of all these people. That's your kids. That's when Mama Knowles is gonna be punching some photographers!" Meanwhile, Beyonce was booed at the MOBO awards in London on Wednesday night when she failed to turn up to collect her three prizes. The Crazy In Love singer received the most awards after her single Deja Vu won the Best Song and Best Video categories and she was named Best International Female at the ceremony - which recognises music of black origin.

Thanks for this, I'm looking forward to checking her album this week

Yeah hopefully he's able to get his life together, this is shocking news

Some good stuff. :iagree: If less people complained about how hip-hop's dead and gave support to artists like them then hip-hop would be where they'd want it to be, there's a lot of stuff to look forward to

My thoughts go out to Rev. Run and his family

Well I didn't mean it as a diss to them but I was just saying that they're not as active as they used to be so it's cool for them to be in the spotlight for a minute with being honored, I think it'd be an even better honor if major labels and networks gave more support when these legends release new material, I seen VH1 play Rev. Run and DMC solo videos quite a bit when they came out, it's good to see them show love to real hip-hop, there's no doubt thatJJFP will be honored one day, they're a big part of hip-hop history, in fact there's so much more in store for them that I think when it's all said and done that they're gonna have to dedicate a whole show to them...

:iagree: That'd be the best thing for them to do, real hip-hop could still sell if it gets out there, they've been in the buisiness long enough to know how the industry is and they could do something big with the right intentions on it, obvious Jay-Z ain't one of them so it's time for the real mcs to "Takeover", I think that's why people are starting to slow down buying commercial rap 'cause they see that it's wack, people are fiending for the essence to be back on top....

Well ain't Will filming a movie at the moment? He's too busy to be involved in anything music related right now it seems

Yeah I agree with that JJFP ain't finished yet, no offense to anybody there but a lot of those who get honored basically are finished with their careers it seems, except for like Ice Cube, LL, KRS, and a couple others that did get honored

That they missed out on a lot of great music between "Code Red" and "Lost and Found', FP never fell off, the fans sold out on him and left the bandwagon, he didn't sell out on them, he still "All That" you could say....

Janet Jackson Gets At Justin On Oprah Show By: Mariel Concepción September 26, 2006 While promoting her 20 Y.O. album, Janet Jackson stopped by the very-selective Oprah Winfrey Show yesterday (Sept. 25th), and lightly lashed out at former "Nipple-Gate-er", Justin Timberlake. Comment Janet told Oprah that Timberlake left her to fend for self after the infamous "wardrobe malfunction" during the Superbowl. "Justin has reached out, but we haven't spoken," she explained. "Friendship is very important, and certaint things you just don't do to friends. In my own time, I'll give him a call." Janet's 20 Y.O. album hits stores today.

VH1 showing no love for JJFP again? They played "Switch" a lot more than BET and MTV combined it seemed

Spankin' Free LP Preview: Snoop Reunites With Dre, Improves Macking Mojo On Tha Blue Carpet Treatment 09.26.2006 6:01 AM EDT Collaboration with cousin Brandy also on November 21 LP. Snoop Dogg at his Crippin' Kitchen studio Photo: MTV News HOLLYWOOD — Call it Tha Doggfather: Part II. When Snoop Dogg returns to record stores November 21, the rapper will be back in full-on gangsta mode. "There's a certain fanbase that really loves the Pacino in me, the "Normally, I don't make records for the ladies because I like being real derogatory towards the women, but I've been getting a little older and wiser." — Snoop 'Scarface,' the Michael Corleone," Snoop explained recently. "They love that role. And I gotta give them what they love." And how does he know? "I just started asking people, 'What do y'all like from Snoop?' " he said. "And everybody just liked that gangsta sh--. Not that they don't love when I do venture and try different things, and do pop singles and do songs with Pharrell ... but they prefer me to be that [gangsta] character." And so for the official follow-up to 2004's R&G (Rhythm & Gangsta): The Masterpiece, Snoop is returning to his roots. "I'm back in the game again, as far as aggressively representing West Coast music, because I feel like we invisible right now," Snoop said during a break from work at his Crippin' Kitchen studio ("That's where we be cooking that gangsta music," he explained) in Hollywood. "So what I did was make a record where we could actually, like, open up a blue carpet for the young rappers and the old rappers from the West Coast to walk the lane and to be a part of my record," he said. Hence the album's actual title, Tha Blue Carpet Treatment. "I went to an awards ceremony and they was like, 'Snoop, we want you on the red carpet, '" the rapper said. "And I was like, 'I'm tired of walking on the damn red carpet.' "I want to walk on some blue carpet.' And it just came to me." The album introduces a couple of new groups Snoop has put together — Westurn Union and the Warzone — but also unites him with some of the West Coast's top rappers, including the Game (on a track called "Gang Banging 101"), Ice Cube and Cypress Hill's B Real. Most noteworthy, however, is that mentor Dr. Dre is back behind the boards on a few tracks. "I need him to be there for me," Snoop said. " 'Cause the people, they become addicted to hit records, and when I'm with Dr. Dre, we make hit records." This time, though, their partnership was different. "I'm focused on making songs, and back then I used to just rap," Snoop said of earlier collaborations with Dre, like his 1993 debut Doggystyle. "And now when I work with Dre, he don't let me do that no more. He don't just let me go in there and freestyle anymore. It takes, like, three days to make one song with that n---a, 'cause he be wanting every word to be right. I can't knock him, but sh--. I remember when I used to come in here and just la la la la boom bam and just do it." One of the tracks the two worked on together is called "Imagine," which envisions what their lives would be like if their hip-hop careers never took off. "It's deep; it's heavy," Snoop said. "We just wanted to make a record that wasn't such a party record or a dance record. We wanted a record that makes you think." Tha Blue Carpet Treatment's first single, "Vato," featuring B Real, is also a thoughtful tune, "trying to unite the black and the brown on the West Coast," Snoop said of the track that addresses violence between blacks and Hispanics in Los Angeles (see "Snoop Reclaims His Old Doggystyle, Goes Gangsta For 'Vato' Video"). "Pharrell brought that idea to me," Snoop said of the song's producer. "He's also got a song on my record called 'Special' that he did for me with Brandy. Brandy's my first cousin. We never really told the world because we weren't trippin' off of that, but that's my family." Other unexpected collaborators include Young Jeezy and Ne-Yo, who produced a track called "Put This Thing on You." "Normally, I don't make records for the ladies because I like being real derogatory towards the women, but I've been working with Pharrell and getting a little older and wiser," Snoop said. "So what I did on that record was I went and got one of the specialists at making songs for the ladies, 'cause I'm kind of, like, lacking on my macking." Along with Dre and longtime collaborator Battlecat, Tha Blue Carpet Treatment also reunites Snoop with Timbaland. The pair first worked together on a remix of "Doggfather" in 1996. "I played him 'Vato' and he was like, 'Ah,' and he put headphones on and he went into a little mood and came up with something," Snoop recalled of the Timbaland-produced "I Need a Light." "I went outside [of a Miami studio] and was chillin' with Method Man and Lil Wayne. I came back in there and he was like, 'I got something.' So I freestyled to it and the first thing I said was 'I need a light/ Get it right.' " The track Snoop is most excited about, however, is one with up-and-coming producer Frequency and called "Think About It." "I rap like before I got with Dre, before I got in the game," Snoop said. "I didn't really trip off no concept. I don't really, like, focus on making no hooks, I don't really want no singing on it, I don't really wanna say anything that's too political, or say anything that's too fun. "I just wanna express what's on my heart." — Corey Moss, with reporting by Liz Hernandez

Well that clears it up, that'd be weak for them to do that since it was their fault that he didn't sell, hopefully this is a wake up call for them to get it together and give their artists promotion if they want to profit, if they want to keep Method Man, they need to promote him, and basically like it was said earlier they're getting rid a lot of the artists that basically brought them big profit for many years for a bunch of one hit wonders, I don't think any of these artists that're signing there are gonna have that long careers, it's watered down music, not smart buisiness...

I think DMX outsold Ja Rule between '98-'03,all 5 of his albums on Def Jam debuted at #1 and they all went at least platinum, Ja Rule's first few albums sold platinum plus but his last couple went around gold, Columbia ain't really helping DMX much either but at least he got his album out there now which Def Jam didn't want to do, he left there and got his album out, if he was still there he probably wouldn't come out yet, ... I think going independent might be the best for a lot of these rappers, it's working for Ice Cube, his album went gold recently through his own imprint, maybe The Roots and Method Man would have more success doing that...

AAAAHHHH!!!!! I hate you! At first I could just see "JJFP (title TBA)", Not the year or "just Playing"! I did that to see if anybody was reading my post :interesting:

Yeah Rakim needs to put the past behind him, if he's such an all time mc, he needs to bring some heat in the present, he's more just a '80s/90s hip-hop legend, it's sorta unfair that more active mcs from his era like Chuck D, LL, KRS, FP, and even Freddie Foxxx here are still going strong today and they don't get the credit that Rakim does when he hasn't done anything in such a while, people talk about Rakim like it's still '86 but he ain't untouchable, he needs to quit talking trash in interviews and just drop his damn album already, he needs to drop a hot album now to show that he's the rap god that people claim him to be

Snoop Dogg Helps LA Youth "Get Their Money Right" Monday - September 25, 2006 by Jolene "foxxylady" Petipas Snoop Dogg, Too $hort, Tyrese, and Bone Thugs-N-Harmony will all come out to support Russell Simmons' "Get Your Money Right" financial literacy and empowerment tour when it holds its summit in Los Angeles this weekend. Simmons, who serves as chairman of the Hip-Hop Summit Action Network (HSAN), launched the national tour in 2005 to speak to young adults and community members about the importance of financial literacy. This year's "Get Your Money Right" tour kicked off in April in Detroit and has already made stops in Miami, Atlanta ,and New York. The Los Angeles Summit will take place on Saturday, September 30 at the University of Southern California's Bovard Auditorium on 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. PST. The aforementioned artists along with financial experts will gave attendees advice on home ownership, budgets, credit cards, home ownership and other financial matters. "Hip-Hop on the West Coast is as strong as ever," explained HSAN President/CEO, Dr. Benjamin Chavis via a statement. "The Los Angeles Hip-Hop Summit focuses on the opportunities to better understand the importance of financial literacy and empowerment. We will celebrate all of the good work being done throughout the city by many grassroots organizations, as well as pay tribute to the growth and expansion of hip-hop culture throughout Los Angeles." Other artists and celebrities excepted to attend the summit include MC Lyte, Melyssa Ford, Yo-Yo, Chingo Bling, Kid Frost, actress Taraji Henson and NBA Los Angeles Lakers forward Lamar Odom. Sponsored by Chrysler Financial and Anheuser-Busch, the tour will also be making stops in Dallas on October 14 in and October 28 in Toronto, Canada.

Yeah Method Man said that he wanted to go indpendent, so he got he wish I guess, he wanted to get out of the sinking ship, the Roots will probably be following him out the door soon as well, Def Jam is now a pop label, the real artists are gonna leave there if Jay-Z don't get the pink slip soon enough, he better release Nas' album or else he'll get "Ether"'d again, lol....

I heard that this album might outsell Chingy's album so this is a good sign for hip-hop, about time that a real artist sells

Well the reason why Freddie Foxxx got so upset here is 'cause Rakim was talking slick about him in an interview

Yeah that's what I been saying, it's what the kids want but I think that there could be a more broader audience if there was more balance out there, there are people out there that do want to buy music with substance but they don't know that it's out there 'cause they see a bunch of crap on TV and on the radio and they feel alienated and turn it off, if Jay-Z really wanted respect he'd at least put more effort, that's all I'm asking for, he's in the position as an artist who knows the way the industry works, he shouldn't just cave in and be like "what the hell, this is what sells even though it ain't that good but i'm gonna put it out there" when he promotes somebody like Rick Ross,he should at least get the Roots to release their video to the TV, they went platinum a few years ago, he shouldn't just give in and say "ah the Roots ain't gonna sell so why even promote it?", and dropping a great mc like Method Man throws all integrity out the door, he should be dropping Jeezy, Def Jam has always been a label that had credability for getting classic music to a mainstream level, now it's just another pop label :sick: :sick:

Jay-Z shows that he don't give a damn about the art of hip-hop, why'd he promote garbage rap from Rick Ross and Young Jeezy and not show any support to real creative artists like Method Man and The Roots? Tell me why man, tell me why? As an artist that's been in the game for a while like Jay-Z you figure maybe he'd push a lil' harder to get the type of hip-hop that should be out there to the top where it should be but obviously he don't think like that, he's just promoting the same dime-a-dozen rap that's already out there 24/7, Nas at Columbia couldn't get the shine he deserved 'cause he wasn't promoted that well on the most part, he just puts out music from his heart, he never really complained that much about that, the fans did the complaining for him basically 'cause we wanna see the real artists shine, not these fake rappers... Jay-Z hogs the spotlight but like KRS once said "mcs are just hopeless/thinkin' record sales make them the dopest", his career's hype but there are quite a bit of mcs that could take him on... It's just sad that the one with the most money is considered the best, Jazzy Jeff once said that in an interview about how the rap game went from who has the most skills to has the most riches and that is wack, skills should be what matters most, it ain't all Jay-Z fault, it's the rap industry in general, but Jay-Z ain't using his position to help so he's part of the problem, no matter how much of a fan of his you are, you have to see that....

What Jay-Z is doing is wrong here, now what I said about why he signed Nas is ringing true, to make sure Nas won't outshine him, that's some diva **** if you ask me, I hope that Nas comes out in December, he might just keep getting pushed back like Redman for all we know, one month, two months later, to five years later :damnlorettas: Wtf were they expecting Method Man to do if his video didn't come out with not many people knowing that his album was out? LL didn't really flop either, his video was getting played on TRL and it went gold which is like platinum in most other years 'cause people don't buy albums like they used to, even pop singers are struggling to sell big units, LL made those comments to Jay-Z 'cause he's sticking for real hip-hop, not necessarily 'cause of his album being promoted 'cause he don't care about that really, he cares about the genre of hip-hop, that's what he's doing it for, he's been at Def Jam since the beginning and he sees it going to the toilet... I really thought that when Jay-Z originally signed Nas and The Roots that he was gonna give them the opportunity to get the type of recognition on a major level that they deserved but it appears that he justs wants it all to himself since he gave The Roots promotion that they would've gotten on an underground label and pushes back Nas' album to make sure that his album could sell, Jay-Z has lost all credability to me, he's a selfish sellout...

I started a "Will Smith Appreciation Thread" in the okayplayer board, maybe somebody could start one at the IllCommunity, just to get some peeps to show some love on the legend's b-day