Lil Wayne Album Sets New Record

June 18, 2008 By admin 12,234 Comments

Lil Wayne’s Tha Carter III sold 1.01 million copies last week, the first album to top the million mark in a week since 50 Cent’s The Massacre in 2005.

Lil Wayne \"Tha Carter III\"“He has figured out what the record industry is struggling with,” says Vibe editor in chief Danyel Smith. “Lil Wayne has been giving away songs for the last two years,” expanding his audience in the process.

“This whole album leaked two weeks before it came out, and people still bought it like crazy.”

Signs abounded that the New Orleans rapper was about to break big. Last week, the album sold 423,000 copies its first day. Hit single Lollipop has sold 2.14 million downloads and is the year’s top-selling ringtone at nearly 2 million, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

Filed Under Hip-Hop Albums, Hip-Hop News Tagged With Hip-Hop Albums, lil wayne, tha carter 3

Sean Combs Extends Hip-Hop

June 17, 2008 By admin 659 Comments

Sean CombsWhile his nicknames may be ever-changing, Sean Combs himself is immediately recognizable as one of the richest and most influential people in hip-hop.

In the past few years, the rapper-turned-mogul has found two new projects to juggle in addition to producing records, designing clothing and managing restaurants: acting on Broadway and rocking the vote with his “Vote or Die” campaign.

Combs starred in the stage revival of A Raisin in the Sun in 2004. A television adaptation was released on DVD in May.

Combs talks to Terry Gross about his almost obsessive rehearsal process for that show, about losing his father — an associate of reputed druglord Frank Lucas — in a shooting when Combs was 3 years old, and about the influence his mother and grandmother have had on his life and career.

Filed Under Hip-Hop News Tagged With entrepreneur, Hip-Hop, Puffy, rapper, Sean Combs

Hyphy Exclusive Interview with Tech N9NE Part 2

June 17, 2008 By admin 21,117 Comments

Hyphy.com’s Caliber interviews Tech N9NE, one of the most talented independent Hip-Hop artists around.

Tech N9ne will sell his one millionth album independently with the release of his forthcoming Killer album. The double-disc release is due in stores July 1 and features guest appearances from platinum rappers Ice Cube, Scarface and Paul Wall. An indication of the anticipation for Killer: lead single “Everybody Move” has already enjoyed more than 215,000 plays on Tech N9ne’s myspace page, myspace.com/techn9ne. Another Killer cut, “Drill Team,” has more than 145,000 plays.

Tech N9NE Interview Part 2

2008 has already been a banner year for Tech N9ne. In March, Tech N9ne embarked upon the Fire And Ice 2008 tour with Paul Wall, which hit more than 50 cities across North America.

Hip-Hop Lifestyle at Hyphy.com

In April, Tech N9ne’s second DVD, The Psychumentary, arrived in stores. The hour-plus DVD follows Tech N9ne during a hectic day in his native Kansas City and features exclusive interviews with the Kottonmouth Kings, Cool Nutz and Strange Music artists Krizz Kaliko, Skatterman & Snug Brim, Kutt Calhoun and Prozak, as well as Tech N9ne’s wife, among others.

Filed Under Hip-Hop News Tagged With Hip-Hop Album, Hyphy, Independent Hip-Hop, Paul Wall, Strange Music, Tech N9NE, Tech N9NE Interview Part 2, Techn9ne

Lil Wayne Lyrics Speak to All

June 15, 2008 By admin 36,080 Comments

Some rappers aspire to keep it real. Lil Wayne, it seems, aims to keep it surreal.

The New Orleans rapper opens his extreme right and extreme left new album, “Tha Carter III,” with a manifesto about the deep divide that everyone knows separates us but yet never speaks or writes or reports about it.

As with many Lil Wayne songs, “3Peat” isn’t really about something specific. Instead, it’s a wild, winding showcase for Wayne’s spontaneous non sequiturs that make up his life. How does one explain growing up in the projects of Louisiana, having to sell drugs to eat and cuttin freestyles on answering machines at age 14.

Lil Wayne is only 25 years old and has become the biggest entertainer in the United States of America in terms of searches, records and mixtapes released not to mention the biggest album of 2008.


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Over strings and synths and a booming drum track, the king of meandering metaphors rattles off a string of free-form lyrics about shooting grandmothers; babies being kidnapped; his own greatness; a near-death experience; Viagra; Adam Sandler; the new house he bought for his mother; ESPN; and (again) his greatness.

“I know what you watchin: Me !” he boasts in that distinctive raspy croak. “You watch me, you watch me/’Cause I be Weezy/Must-see TV.”

As an album-opener, it’s completely bizarre. It’s also utterly compelling, which more or less sums up Lil Wayne’s appeal.

In an interview with Blender, Wayne revealed that one of his favorite bands growing up was Nirvana, including their song “Smells Like Teen Spirit.”

Filed Under Hip-Hop Lyrics Tagged With Hip-Hop Lyrics, lil wayne, lil wayne lyrics, lyrics, tha carter 3, tha carter III, tha carter lyrics, weezy

Tech N9NE Strange Noize 2 Tour Dates

June 13, 2008 By admin 33,599 Comments

Kottonmouth Kings & Tech N9ne Headline Strange Noize Tour, America’s Biggest Underground Music Festival, Alongside (Hed)p.e, Sen Dog (Cypress Hill), X-Clan

The biggest and most notorious underground rock and hip-hop festival, Strange Noize, has returned as this summer’s hottest ticket. This year’s festival will be co-headlined by rip-hop hybrids, Kottonmouth Kings, and Kansas City’s Tech N9ne, with support on all dates coming from (Hed)p.e., Sen Dog (Cypress Hill) and hip-hop legends X-Clan.

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“We realized the extreme force that was created after last year’s Strange Noize Tour,” says Kottonmouth Kings frontman Daddy X. “It was the intensity and electricity that I haven’t seen at a show in years. I don’t think there were any fans leaving dry or unhappy. The second year will be a big middle finger to the detractors and haters in the industry that fail to recognize the magnitude of this underground movement.”

“The first tour was a wild and crazy party – the second one is gonna be a madhouse,” says an excited Tech 9Ne. “I can’t wait to get back on tour with my family. I hope we keep doing these because they’re off the chain!”

The Strange Noize music festival debuted in 2007 and quickly became one of the summer’s hottest tickets. The tour united two of America’s biggest independent record labels – Suburban Noize and Strange Music – for one summer music festival that sold out over 40 dates across the country. The tour was a powerful message to the music industry that underground music could infiltrate the masses on a large scale with a sound too loud to be ignored any longer.

The KOTTONMOUTH KINGS are deep into the recording of their tenth studio album, “The Green Album” in Burbank, CA. The album is due for release in Fall 2008 through Suburban Noize Records.

TECH N9NE’s newest release, “Killer” hits stores July 1, 2008 through Strange Music. The album is the highly-anticipated follow-up to “Everready (The Religion)”, and features guest appearances from some of rap’s most compelling artists including Ice Cube, Scarface, Kottonmouth Kings, Dirtball, Mista Fab and Paul Wall.

The innovators of G-punk, (Hed)pe are gearing up to tour in support of their first ever live album and DVD release, “The DIY Guys”, which is set for release July 8, 2008 through Suburban Noize Records. The CD portion will contain three brand new studio recordings, a live performance captured at Hollywood’s legendary Key Club, and previously unreleased songs.

After nearly two decades as co-emcee of the seminal rap group Cypress Hill, Sen Dog is poised to attack hip-hop’s jugular with the release of his first solo album, “Diary Of A Mad Dog.” The album marks an untethered opportunity for Sen Dog to again gnaw away at genre lines and conventionalism – on his own terms.
Since making a triumphant comeback with the critically acclaimed “Return From Mecca”, X-Clan has been hard at work on their upcoming studio album “Mainstream Outlaws“, due for release in late 2008. One of the genre’s most influential crews of all-time, X-Clan continues their legacy of conscious and uplifting hip-hop wisdom.

Exclusive Fan V.I.P packages will be made available through www.KottonmouthKings.com and www.TheRealTechN9ne.com. Packages will include tickets to the show, meet and greet with the artists before the show, limited edition t-shirt, posters and CDs. The tour will be sponsored by FYE, SRH Clothing and Havoc TV.

STRANGE NOIZE 2 TOUR DATES:
July 30 Tempe, AZ @ Marquee Theatre
July 31 Las Vegas, NV @ House of Blues
Aug 01 Anaheim, CA @ The Grove
Aug 02 San Franciscio, CA @ Grand Ballroom
Aug 04 Portland, OR @ Roseland Theatre
Aug 06 Seattle, WA @ Moore Theatre
Aug 07 Post Falls, ID @ Greyhound Park
Aug 08 Bozeman, MT @ Gallatin County Fairgrounds
Aug 09 Magna, UT @ The Great Salt Air
Aug 10 Denver, CO @ Fllmore
Aug 12 Fargo, ND @ The Venue
Aug 13 St. Paul, MN @ Myth
Aug 14 Milwaukee, WI @ The Rave
Aug 15 SAUGET, IL @ Pop’s
Aug 16 Chicago, IL @ House of Blues
Aug 17 Chicago, IL @ House of Blues
Aug 19 New York, NY @ Grand Ballroom
Aug 20 Philadelphia, PA @ Electric Factory
Aug 21 Worcester, MA @ The Palladium
Aug 22 Baltimore, MD @ Rams Head Live
Aug 23 Cleveland, OH @ Agora Theater *** (Hed)p.e will not be performing
Aug 24 Detroit, MI @ The Fillmore
Aug 25 Columbus, OH @ The LC Pavilion
Aug 26 Grand Rapids, MI @ The Orbit Room
Aug 28 Sioux Falls, SD @ Ramkota Exhibit Hall
Aug 29 Tulsa, OK @ Cain’s Ballroom
Aug 30 Bonner Springs, KS @ Capitol Federal Park
Aug 31 Wichita, KS @ Cotillion Ballroom

Filed Under Hip-Hop Concerts Tagged With Hip-Hop, Hip-Hop Concerts, Strange Noize 2, Tech N9NE

Hip-Hop Dance Group to Represent London in Beijing Olympics

June 13, 2008 By admin 31,072 Comments

London-based ZooNation will perform with the Royal Ballet and disabled dance group Candoco at the closing ceremony of the Beijing games.

A London 2012 spokesman said the eight-minute piece will show “London’s creativity, diversity and youth”.

But London Assembly (LA) member Brian Coleman said: “This is not the image we want to send around the world.”

ZooNation Hip-Hop Dance Team

‘Best of British’

London Mayor Boris Johnson will be given the Olympic flag during the 24 August ceremony, watched by up to 100 million TV viewers worldwide.

The dancers will be joined by other performers, with the full line-up to be announced on Monday.

The 2012 spokesman said: “We are in the final stages of planning our handover ceremonies – they will be the best of British, with a range of talent.”

ZooNation incorporates street dance and breakdance into its choreography and is the group behind hit West End musical Into The Hoods.

But Conservative LA member Mr Coleman said: “There are much more positive images of London, whether it is red buses or West End shows, or our diverse culture.”

Filed Under Hip-Hop News Tagged With Beijing Olympics, Hip-Hop, UK Hip Hop, ZooNation