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MICHAEL JACKSON, MC HAMMER, MARY J. BLIGE, AARON HALL, MARSAH AMBROSIUS, CHAMILLIONAIRE NEWS


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Michael Jackson's Posthumous Album Coming in November

Sony Music is gearing up to release the first Michael Jackson posthumous music collection in November.

Rolling Stone confirms that the label will debut a collection of 10 previously unreleased tracks from Jackson's vault. A rep for the Jackson estate revealed that the late pop star left behind over 100 songs that were recorded during the 80s, in addition to more recent collaborations with artists including Ne-Yo, will.i.am and Akon.

Hip-hop producer Rodney Jerkins -- who worked with Jackson on the 2001 single 'You Rock My World' -- also recently announced plans to release an album filled with unreleased MJ material. "I worked with Michael for years," Jerkins said. "It was definitely a goal of mine as a kid." Jerkins has not given a release date for his project, but Sony has remained firm on their November mark.

Video game developer Ubisoft will also debut a new dance-karaoke game featuring Jackson's music, which coincides with the album release. 'Michael Jackson: The Video Game,' will give gamers the chance to sing-a-long with hit songs like 'Beat It' and 'Billie Jean,' while trying to imitate MJ's signature dance moves.

The upcoming Jackson album will be the first in Sony's 10-project, $250 million deal that will eventually include a DVD collection and new greatest hits compilations.

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MC Hammer Launches MMA Management Company

MC Hammer, the rapper known worldwide for his gold parachute pants, has revealed he's making a foray into the world of Mixed Martial Arts.

The 'Can't Touch This' rapper has announced that he has started a Los Angeles-based MMA management and promotional company called Alchemist Management, which he will head up as CEO.

"I've been a fan of combat sports for years," Hammer explained. "MMA is the fastest growing sport in the world and this is a great opportunity for us to launch a full-service management company. Alchemist Management will leverage its relationships and resources for the benefit of fighters, the sponsors, and the industry at large."

Hammer actually has a history of working with respected fighters, having managed heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield back in the early 1990's.

His company currently reps several fighters in both the UFC and Strikeforce MMA organizations, including Nate Marquardt, Tim Kennedy, Vladimir Matyushenko, Jorge Rivera, James McSweeney, Antoni Hardonk, Jared Hamman and Luke Stewart.

Yo Hammer, don't hurt 'em.

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Mary J. Blige Outsells Diddy on HSN

Mary J. Blige made HSN history over the weekend with the debut of her new fragrance My Life. The multi-platinum singer sold 50,000 bottles, making it HSN's fastest selling and most popular fragrance to date.

Not only did Blige's My Life perfume move a record-breaking amount of units, it also pulled in a handsome amount of revenue. Retailing at $55 a bottle, the fragrance grossed an estimated $2.7 million dollars.

Diddy previously held the record with his I Am King scent for the most fragrance sales ever on HSN, but the Queen of Hip-Hop Soul took the crown on Saturday (July 31), out-selling him in sales and revenue.In addition to selling the perfume as a new business venture, Blige's FFAWN (Foundation for the Advancement of Women Now) organization also benefited from the sales of My Life. A portion of the proceeds ($1 per bottle) went to FFAWN, netting $50,000 for the non-profit.

Excited by her success, Mary took to Twitter to express her gratitude.

"Fam!! We did it!! We broke records with My Life fragrance on HSN! And made history once again!!! 50K sold!!!" she wrote. The singer went on to express her gratitude for all those backing her efforts. "Thank you so much!!!!!!! What an amazing support system!!!! You guys are the best!!!!!!... You saved so many lives and dreams tonight with your purchase!!! So many women will be getting the second chance they deserve!!! FFAWN...Thank You HSN for the love and support you showed me and my fam!!!!!! We really appreciate it!!!!!!"

My Life is Mary J. Blige's first signature scent with the Carol's Daughter beauty line. The singer says the fragrance, which took her seven months to create, is "a reflection of her personality," and is for women "who love tuberose, jasmine [and] fruit."


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Aaron Hall Says The-Dream Needs to 'Lose Weight'

Aaron Hall hasn't released any new material in over a decade, but he recently took time to comment on two artists that have risen to fame and have had much success in the R&B world. In an interview with carltonjordan.com, the former lead singer from the 90's group Guy made some entertaining comments about singers The-Dream and Trey Songz.

"Dream is a good writer, but he's gotta lose weight," Hall said. "I'm just going to be straight up... He's got to lose weight... And all that stuff you did with your ex-wife [Christina Milian] is wrong, so you ain't the KING of nothing. As far as Trey Songz, I'm glad he got R. Kelly by the head-lock, copying his style, but the king of R&B - can't nobody touch my vocals..."

Hear more of Aaron Hall's comments after the jump.

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Marsha Ambrosius Returns with Debut Solo Album

Former Floetry member Marsha Ambrosius has remained in the spotlight over the years, performing and collaborating on music despite the split with her groupmate Natalie Stewart in 2007. Now, the British songstress is officially making her debut as a one-woman show with the release of her first solo album, 'Late Nights & Early Mornings.'

Ambrosius, who was once signed to Dr. Dre's Aftermath Entertainment, joined forces with J Records in 2009 and landed a solo deal. As part of her union with the label, her first project, 'Late Nights & Early Mornings,' is set for release on October 26. Before then, listeners can get acquainted with 'Hope She Cheats on You (With a Basketball Player)'-- the first single off the six-time Grammy nominee's forthcoming effort.

The song, produced by Canei Finch, discusses the truths surrounding a relationship gone awry. According to Marsha, though both parties should act as adults, she's admitting to taking the low road on the track because of her broken heart. "[The song is] the reality of a bad break up," she reveals. "We wanna be decent human beings and say the right thing, you know, 'I wish you well.' But this is 'Everything that could go wrong for him I want it to because my ego is bruised and I'm acting out.'"

'Late Nights & Early Mornings' is set to showcase Ambrosius' skillfull songwriting capabilities as well as the vibrant, soul-baring voice that has garnered her a myriad of fans. Collaborations from the likes of Alicia Keys, Just Blaze and Dre & Vidal round out the opus.

With three Floetry albums ('Floetic,' 'Floacism,' 'Flo'Ology') and several solo mixtapes ('Neo Soul is Dead,' 'Yours Truly,' 'Yours Sincerely') under her belt, the singer has also been tapped by the Centric television network, for their new project, Centric Selects--a campaign which highlights the next generation of R&B artists. Marsha will be featured on the site in exclusive interviews, performance footage and photos starting today (August 2).

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Chamillionaire Talks Digital Marketing with TechCrunch

Prior to last week, it wasn't really a thing for rappers to visit the technology world in Silicon Valley, but now that Kanye West started his official comeback tour with appearances at the headquarters of both Facebook and Twitter, it's quickly becoming all the rage. Last Friday, rapper Chamillionaire attended TechCrunch's Social Currency CrunchUp -- a tech conference that explores the intersection of tastemakers in the digital and real worlds.

The Houston native sat down with reporter Mike Arrington to discuss how he uses the Internet and other digital technology such as smartphones to his advantage. Chamillionaire is considered an early adopter of social networking in hip-hop. He was one of the first to use his own website for fresh content and has been a longtime user of platforms such as Twitter to communicate with fans. When asked about the advantages of the digital age after his panel, Cha had a lot to say.

"Everything," he said. "Access to people through social networks. We don't build these social networks, we don't blog on TechCrunch. People here are like what would a rapper care about TechCrunch for? It's crazy, it's about distribution of information. It's just getting information to people, that's just what major labels are. They've got companies that distribute for us now so it's like cutting the record labels out - I'm doing you a favor, you're doing me a favor and I'm getting to where I need to get to."

Head over to TechCrunch for the full video interview and some excellent pictures of Chamillionaire posing with his BlackBerry collection.

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Will.i.am Doesn’t Support New Michael Jackson Album

A new Michael Jackson album is expected by the end of the year, culled from unreleased material in his vaults. But Jackson collaborator and Black Eyed Peas frontman will.i.am is vehemently opposed to the idea.

“I don’t think that should ever come out. That’s bad,” he said. “He was a perfectionist and he wouldn’t have wanted it that way. How you gonna release Michael Jackson when Michael Jackson ain’t here to bless it?”

Will.i.am collaborated with Jackson on the rerelease of “Thriller” in 2008 with remixed versions of some of the album’s classic songs. He said Jackson was very particular about all aspects of his musical productions, from his vocals to arrangements to instrumentation.

“Now that he is not part of the process, whatare they doing? Why would you put a record out like that? Because he was a friend of mine, I just think that’s disrespectful,” he said. “What’s wrong with what he already contributed to the world?”

The Jackson estate did not respond to a request for comment.

When asked about the high demand for any new Jackson music, will.i.am replied: “So what? You don’t disrespect someone when they’re gone. … How much can you suck from his energy? … Freaking parasites!”

Not much is known about what will be on the album, but Michael’s brother Jackie has said he and brother Marlon were working on the record with John McClain, Jackson’s former manager and executor of his estate.

http://www.accesshollywood.com/tv-one/william-doesnt-support-new-michael-jackson-album_article_35257

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Yeah, that's always a tough call. As fans, we WANT to hear that stuff badly. And most of us understand that under circumstances like this, it's not the artist's vision. At the same time, if the artist never wanted it that way, should is really be released?

They've destroyed the commercial aspect of 2Pac's career, Left Eye's recent album was poorly produce and riddled with weird guests. I know that I want to hear more music. But I know what Will.I.Am is saying.

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Lol, the Dream DOES need to lose some weight! He cannot claim himself the tittle of Love King with all them Love Handles.

Congrats to Mary J. To tell u the truth I havent even seen the perfume, does it come to man too?

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I'm pretty sure it's a female fragrance only. I saw her selling it for a bit. But as much as I love MJB, I couldn't watch the shopping network to see her just sit in a chair and talk about the product.

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