Wednesday, February 4, 2009

"UNDERGROUND 2 MAINSTREAM" Your NEW Source For Hip Hop Entertainment!!!

"UNDERGROUND 2 MAINSTREAM" Your NEW Source For Hip Hop Entertainment!!!

JIm Jones "Live @ The Mercury Lounge" Trailer

Posted: 03 Feb 2009 11:54 PM CST

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Luu Breeze "Charge It To The Game" Video

Posted: 03 Feb 2009 09:28 PM CST

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Mysonne Spittin Verses Over 50 Cent Beat

Posted: 03 Feb 2009 09:25 PM CST

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Lil Wayne On LA Gangs In "Crips & Bloods: Made In America"

Posted: 03 Feb 2009 07:49 PM CST

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Producer Araab Muzik Killin it On The MPC In The Club!!!!!!

Posted: 03 Feb 2009 07:42 PM CST

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50 Cent Is The Second Highest Earning African American Star

Posted: 04 Feb 2009 12:16 AM CST


Oprah Winfrey won't be able to ignore 50 Cent any longer. According to a 'Top Earning African American Stars' list released by Forbes Magazine, 50 Cent comes in right behind the popular talk show queen.

The list, which appears as a video report published on January 29, 2009, by Forbes.com lists 50 Cent as the second top earning African American star. The report based its rankings on how much the stars raked in from June 2007 to June 2008.

According to Forbes, 50 raked in $150 million over the aforementioned period via his clothing line, music, video games and the purchase of his stake in Glaceau Vitamin Water by Coca Cola in 2007.

Expect to see 50 on the list in the future. The rapper recently launched a film company and has plans to launch his own line of dietary supplements.

50 is currently gearing up to release his fourth solo album Before I Self Destruct in March. The album will feature appearances from Eminem, Dr. Dre and G-Unit rappers Lloyd Banks and Tony Yayo.

Watch the video report for the 'Top Earning African American Stars' [HERE]

Chuck D Prepares To Give Lecture @ UPS

Posted: 03 Feb 2009 01:47 PM CST


Public Enemy rapper Chuck D will deliver a wide-ranging talk at the University of Puget Sound. Chuck D's is the booming baritone behind Gen-X's most memorable protest songs.

His rap group, Public Enemy, burst onto the scene in the late '80s, decrying racial and economic injustice with a string of hip-hop hits, including "Fight the Power," "Welcome to the Terrordome" and "9-1-1 is a Joke." But when the 46-year-old rap legend speaks at the University of Puget Sound on Wednesday, he'll be discussing at least one indication that racial disparity could be on the decline in this country – the recent election of President Barack Obama.

"It's a significant message to the rest of the world that America wants to get its act together (and) show that it could be a leader because it's actually doing in reality what it promised on paper, as Dr. King said," he reflected during a recent phone interview.

Chuck D – born Carlton Ridenhour – will appear at the Schneebeck Concert Hall at UPS at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday. And he copped to being taken off guard by the Obama phenomenon, as the election of America's first African American president began to seem imminent.
"Yeah, I was surprised by the middle of last year," said Chuck D, who also hosts "On the Real with Chuck D," a politically themed radio show for Air America.

"Also, I was surprised that the Republicans just all fell apart, with the final two that they came up with," he said. "McCain and Sarah Palin ended up being a big joke, sort of, because John McCain was forced to be somebody he wasn't. And Sarah Palin was a last shot of desperation to try and balance out the lack of diversity that the Republicans had. So it was a good opportunity for the best man for the job to seize the position."

Chuck D said he will incorporate Obama into his general topic: "Rap, Race, Reality and Technology."

Though still primarily known for his music – Public Enemy's most recent album was the ponderously titled "How You Sell Soul to a Soulless People Who Sold Their Soul?" – Chuck D has been involved in a number of side projects, from the radio show to his record label, Slamjamz.

Through his label, Chuck D said he will focus on squashing another type of inequality – sexism in hip-hop. One of the groups he's focusing on this year is Crew Grrl Order, a trio that recently released "First Lady," a song about Michelle Obama. (Hear it at www.myspace.com/crewgrrlorder).

"It really is something I want to put my all into," Chuck D said, "because the 'she' movement or the next movement in hip-hop that will revolutionize the marketplace will be women in hip-hop."

And, of course, he talked about Public Enemy hype man Flavor Flav who has enjoyed a huge resurgence in popularity in recent years thanks to his bizarre antics on VH1 reality shows "Flavor of Love," "Strange Love" and "The Surreal Life."

Chuck D calls Obama one end of the spectrum of black portrayals on television. "And you have Flavor at the other end," he said. "I think it's just the diversity of black men.

"He's a one of a kind, and I'm glad we have him," Chuck D said, jokingly adding, "We have one Flavor; we can't afford to have two."

Check the Bring the Noise blog to listen to more of what Chuck D had to say about Flav, protest music and Kanye West.

Ernest Jasmin: 253-274-7389

What: Chuck D lectures on "Rap, Race, Reality and Technology"

When: 7:30 p.m. Wednesday

Where: University of Puget Sound, 1500 N. Warner St.

Tickets: $10

Information: 253-879-3419

Grammy Rap Nominations Are On Point ...For Once

Posted: 03 Feb 2009 01:44 PM CST



Good story here from USA Today about how this year's Grammy nominations for hip-hop -- for once -- are pretty on target ...


By STEVE JONES

The Grammy Awards have had a sometimes checkered relationship with rap, but this year's nominations seem more in harmony with the music that rap fans found important.
Album-of-the-year hopeful Lil Wayne leads the field with eight nominations. He'll join fellow rap superstars Jay-Z, T.I. and Kanye West at Sunday's 51st annual show (CBS, 7 p.m.), performing "Swagga Like Us." Jay-Z and West also have six nominations each, while T.I. has four.

"It's nice to see that Lil Wayne is the darling of the Grammys this year," says Danyel Smith, "Vibe" editor in chief. "It's an acknowledgement of his talent and the huge impact he's had on music this year."

Lil Wayne's "Tha Carter III" has sold close to 3 million copies and was 2008's biggest-selling album; he has had or been featured on nearly a dozen hits.

This year's nominations are a far cry from two decades ago, when the Grammys first recognized rap by honoring crossover acts like Will Smith and nominating Vanilla Ice while more respected or edgier artists were ignored. Acts like Public Enemy boycotted the event.

That changed as rap became more mainstream. Lauryn Hill's R&B-heavy "The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill" won album of the year in 1998, and Outkast's "Hey Ya"-fueled" Speakerboxxx/The Love Below" won in 2003.

"Fifteen or 20 years ago, Hammer and DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince were among the few really commercially viable artists," says Chuck Creekmur, CEO of the news site allhiphop.com. "Now hip-hop is still commercially viable, but it's not as clear-cut who is crossover and who is underground."

He points to the diversity in the rap album race, in which Lil Wayne's "Tha Carter III" faces Jay-Z's semi-autobiographical "American Gangster," T.I.'s hit-laden "Paper Trail," Lupe Fiasco's inventive "The Cool "and Nas' controversial racial treatise "Nas." Arguably, Lil Wayne's album isn't the best among them, but "its impact is undeniable."

Smith sees the category's glaring omission as Young Jeezy's "The Recession," which has proven prescient. "He was saying we were in a recession long before anybody would admit that," she says. "And he was rapping "My president is black' long before we knew that then-Sen. Obama was going to be elected."

Overall, though, Grammy's rap picks were solid, she says. "Clearly, there are more rap fans in NARAS (National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences) than there used to be."

Young Jeezy did get his first nomination this year for "Put On" with West in rap duo/group performance. That same category yielded a nod to longtime rivals T.I. and Ludacris for their beef-squashing "Wish You Would. "Nominations for Nas's incendiary "N.I.*.*.E.R. (The Slave and the Master)" for rap solo and Big Boi's "Royal Flush" featuring Raekwon and Andre 3000 for rap duo/group also point to voters' increased sophistication.

"I'm shocked that [Nas] song got nominated," Creekmur says. "It's very honest hip-hop. And then there's Big Boi. The only way to know about a record like "Royal Flush" is to be listening in the grass roots."

Belo From Do Or Die Ordered To Pay $8 Million In Damages To Victims Family

Posted: 03 Feb 2009 01:39 PM CST


A Chicago judge yesterday (February 2) ordered Do Or Die rapper Belo to pay $8 million in damages to the family of a man he murdered in 2002.

Belo, born Darnell Smith, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in 2007 for shooting and killing Raynard "B-Dog" Pinkston during a dispute in 2002.

Belo pleaded guilty as part of a plea agreement and is now serving 10 years behind bars. He was initially facing first-degree murder charges.

Belo's girlfriend, Felicia Hamilton, was also convicted in the case in 2007 for paying witnesses to change their testimony. She is currently serving a five year sentence.

According to Chicago's WBBM 780, the $8 million was part of a settlement in a wrongful death lawsuit that was filed against Belo by Pinkston's brother, D'Angelo Dixon.

The Game Preps For US Tour

Posted: 03 Feb 2009 12:42 PM CST



Interscope Records has announces date, via their website, for The Game's upcoming U.S. tour, in support of his recently released third album, LAX.

The coast-to-coast trek will hit nearly 30 cities, beginning in California on February 18, hitting Phoenix, Idaho, Houston, and New Orleans, before it wraps in late March in New York City.

LAX opened on the Billboard 200 at no. 2, selling over 238,000 copies its opening week.

While the rapper has repeatedly said that it would be his last album, he's hinted at a fourth album called The DOC: Diary of Compton, which would feature the original N.W.A. roster and DJ Quik. However, nothing has been confirmed.

Confirmed tour dates are as follows:

2/18 - Anaheim, CA @ The Grove of Anaheim
2/20 - Los Angeles, CA @ Club Nokia
2/21 - Phoenix, AZ @ Celebrity Theatre
2/22 - Ventura, CA @ Majestic Ventura Theatre
2/23 - Bakersfield, CA @ Fox Theater
2/25 - Sacramento, CA @ Avalon Sacramento
2/26 - Portland, OR @ Roseland Theatre
2/27 - Seattle, WA @ Showbox Sodo
2/28 - Eugene, OR @ McDonald Theatre
3/1 - Medford, OR @ Main One Center For The Arts
3/2 - Boise, ID @ Knitting Factory
3/4 - Idaho Falls, ID @ Civic Auditorium
3/5 - Missoula, MT @ Wilma Theatre
3/6 - Magna, UT @ Great Saltair Theater
3/7 - Albuquerque, NM @ Sunshine Theatre
3/8 - Denver, CO @ Ogden Theatre
3/9 - Aspen, CO @ Belly Up Aspen
3/10 - Boulder, CO @ Fox Theatre
3/12 - Tulsa, OK @ Cain's Ballroom
3/14 - Dallas, TX @ House of Blues
3/15 - Houston, TX @ House of Blues
3/16 - New Orleans, LA @ House of Blues
3/18 - Norfolk, VA @ The Norva
3/19 - New Haven, CT @ Toad's Place
3/20 - Providence, RI @ Lupo's Heartbreak Hotel
3/21 - New York, NY @ Blender Theater

at 4:56 AM