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MC Hammer Promotes Twitter, Facebook at Harvard

Posted Sep 1st 2009 7:00PM by Nadeska Alexis

If you haven't been keeping tabs on MC Hammer recently, rest easy knowing that in addition to his current A&E show, 'Hammertime,' the energetic 90s rapper has kept busy by ruthlessly promoting his "brand" and simultaneously teaching others how to promote their brands just as efficiently.

Hammer, real name Stanley Kirk Burrell, appeared before a crowd of professionals at Harvard University yesterday (Aug. 31) to offer his input on the benefits of social media platforms. His involvement with the Gravity Summit conference on social media marketing gave him a chance to explain why sites like Twitter could be profitable in the market place.

"I'm both an entrepreneur and a brand,'' he said. "Being in the center of my universe is important to me. That's what Twitter lets me do. . . . I want to get out in front of the conversation.'' Hammer, who wasn't able to present an actual strategy for finding the profit margin in social networking sites, seemed to believe that his sheer enthusiasm was enough to sell the crowd. After declaring that he got involved with sites like Facebook and Twitter early on because of the number of users the sites attracted, he firmly declared to the crowd that there must be a way to "sell those people something!'' Prolific.

And when a curious member of the audience asked Hammer to weigh in on whether or not all musicians should make it a priority to use Twitter, the reality TV star responded with a -- er, well thought out answer, explaining that being in the public eye could be a bad idea for artists who lack credibility. "I happen to know that a lot of guys who are known for their love songs don't actually know anything about love,'' he said. Although it's unclear exactly what bit of knowledge Hammer bestowed upon the patient crowd, we can certainly derive from his Twitter account that he enjoyed his visit to the Ivy League school. "Wheels up !!! Leaving Boston.....Harvard.... loved it!" he wrote.

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Jay-Z Says 'In My Lifetime, Vol. 1' Was the 'One That Got Away'

Posted Sep 2nd 2009 10:30AM by Latifah Muhammad

Jay-Z has millions of fans, but there is one album in the Brooklyn-bred rapper's collection that even he won't listen. On the cusp of his highly-anticipated 'Blueprint 3' release, Jay stated that his career hasn't been all good decisions; noting that his work on his 1997 sophomore studio album, 'In My Lifetime, Vol.1,' was riddled with missteps.

"What I did with '[in My Lifetime] Volume One' was I tried to make records. I had just made 'Reasonable Doubt' ... it wasn't successful in music industry terms," he said in an interview. "It was a cult classic on the streets, but it wasn't successful in the music business and I tried to blend the two. If you look back on 'In My Lifetime,' there were songs on there that were brilliant. I don't listen to that album because I think I messed it up.

"You got 'Where I'm From,' 'Streets Is Watching,' 'You Must Love Me,' and 'Lucky Me.' It's so many incredible records on there that I think I missed having two classics in a row [by] trying to get on the radio. It really hurt me because that album was so good; I can't listen to it. When that record comes on it just erks me. I don't have any regrets but musically, the album [is] the one that got away."

Another sharing the same sentiment was the late Biggie Smalls who, according to Hova, immediately took a liking to the album. "The first song I made for it was 'Streets Is Watching,' which was the last song that Biggie Smalls ever heard. He made me play the record 30 times. We played it so much I just gave it him. I was like, 'Just keep it."

Next Tuesday, Jay will hit the stage at New York's Madison Square Garden for the "Answer the Call" tribute concert, marking the anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Jay's 'Blueprint 3' will also hit shelves that day, eight years after the exact release of the first album in the trilogy.

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Jay-Z Wants Hip-Hop to Be More Like Indie Rock

Posted Sep 1st 2009 6:15PM by Michael D. Ayers

Jay-Z has some advice for the future of hip-hop: become more like indie rock. With the internet a flutter yesterday about his and Beyonce's attendance at a Brooklyn Grizzly Bear concert, MTV caught up with the rapper yesterday who was taken a bit back that anyone would even question his taste for good tunes. "I don't understand why people are always surprised to see me at shows!" Jay told MTV News. "I've always said that I believe in good music and bad music, so I'm always at those type of events. I like music."

His time spent at these shows clearly is giving him some food for thought and he seems to be noticing a sense of community within the indie rock world that hip-hop has struggled with retaining over the years.

"The thing I want to say to everyone -- I hope this happens because it will push rap, it will push hip-hop to go even further -- what the indie-rock movement is doing right now is very inspiring. It felt like us in the beginning. These concerts, they're not on the radio, no one hears about them, and there's 12,000 people in attendance. And the music that they're making and the connection they're making to people is really inspiring. So, I hope that they have a run where they push hip-hop back a little bit, so it will force hip-hop to fight to make better music, because it can happen, because that's what rap did to rock."

Such push and pull mentality would be great to see, but of course there are a handful of other factors that go into making a successful indie band or hip-hop act succeed underground or become a movement. In this instance, maybe it's just the spaces that Jay's referring to; places regularly book free shows for indie bands and their fans these days with the help from corporate sponsors -- 12,000 people is a lot -- but the price is right too. But we do agree with his sentiments: having a place to perform is key in this day and age.

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Lil Wayne Impregnates Third Woman for the Year?

Posted Aug 31st 2009 11:30AM by Sharks

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According to reports, Lil Wayne has been really busy this year and may be the father of yet another child. An exotic dancer at Los Angeles strip club Spearmint Rhino, has made claims that she's been impregnated by the New Orleans mega-star, making her the third woman Weezy has allegedly knocked up this year.

Wayne recently confirmed that actress Lauren London is currently several months pregnant with his child, while singer Nivea has claimed to be pregnant by him as well.

The 26-year-old (though his birth certificate reportedly says otherwise) rapper has a daughter with ex-wife Toya Carter (star of popular BET reality show 'The Tiny & Toya Show'), and an 10-11month-old son with an unnamed Cincinnati woman.

The purportedly preggo exotic dancer, whose identity has yet to be revealed, is said to be of East Indian descent, and says that she has informed the Wayne of her pregnancy, and that he's assured her in turn, that he wants her to have the child.

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DJ Unk Suffers Heart Attack, Promises to Change Lifestyle

Posted Aug 31st 2009 7:00PM by Nadeska Alexis

Tweny-six-year-old ATL rapper, DJ Unk was rushed to the hospital on Saturday (Aug 29), after he complained about having trouble breathing. Doctors determined that Unk, real name Anthony Platt, had suffered from a mild heart attack and the rapper was treated and released from the hospital.

As Unk left the emergency room, he informed fans via Twitter that he was in good shape and "still walkn it out," but that the incident had been a wake up call and had given him immediate motivation to adopt a healthier lifestyle. "Never and don't wanna go threw that again," he wrote. "Got to change my diet and slow down! Scared the s--- out of my family and friends luv life."

Unk immediately brushed off rumors that his heart attack was triggered by drug use, blaming it entirely on a bad diet, but still he promised to cut back on everything. "No more Kush, Purp, Piff, Haze, Sour desiel for me! No more drinks! Got to do this for my health," he wrote. After his jarring experience, the rapper/DJ continued to post several Twitter updates maintaining his dedication to changing his lifestyle, even probing fans for advice on fruits, vitamins and colon cleansers. "No more hot wings, no fried food, no more seafood! Dam what must I eat?(air) and (water) lol .. What's sum good heathy food anybody?" he wrote.

Unk, who made his big break with the 2006 hit single 'Walk It Out,' admitted that after being released from the hospital his strength was only at 45 percent, but still, he kept plans to perform at an upcoming show in Germany this Thursday.

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