Hip Hop Soda Shop Slips Into Dead Pool

H3 Enterprises has announced the closing of their Tampa, Florida-based Hip Hop Soda Shop which is, in fact, their only physical location.

That leaves H3Gameline.com, which has no presence on Compete or Quantcast, suggesting a total absence of web traffic.

Considering H3 Enterprises' flatlined stock, this entity seems to have sunk to the bottom of a dirty pool at a cheap Tampa motel.

Official Site: Hip Hop Soda Shop

Related ProHipHop Coverage:
H3 Enterprises Stock [HTRE.PK] Under Ben Chavis
Looking Back: Dr. Ben and the HipHopSodaShop
Ben Chavis Out at H3 Enterprises [HipHopSodaShop]
Jordan Edelson New CTO at H3 Enterprises
H3 Enterprises Releases Sales Report w/Few Numbers

Hollis Famous Burgers & Hip Hop Museum Opens

Corey Kilgannon covered the grand opening of Hollis Famous Burgers and the Hollis Hip Hop Museum in Hollis, Queens on Thursday.

DMC attended and donated memorabilia. Click through for video coverage.

Ludacris & Chef Chris Yeo Discuss Straits Atlanta

Ludacris and Chef Chris Yeo are interviewed regarding the Atlanta outpost of Yeo's Straits restaurant which opened Thursday night.

The Atlanta Peach discusses various issues with the location.

The Palazzo Las Vegas Opens w/Jay-Z's 40/40 Club

The Palazzo Las Vegas Hotel

Though Jay-Z's 40/40 Club started celebrating back around New Year's, The Palazzo Las Vegas Hotel officially opened for business last week.

From the photo credits:
Fireworks light up the sky during The Palazzo Las Vegas grand opening, Thursday, Jan. 17, 2008 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The 50-story $1.9 billion, 3,066 room hotel-casino is the first new hotel on the Las Vegas strip in nearly three years and features an 85,000 square-foot Barney's New York, 60 luxury boutiques, Jay-Z's 40/40 Club, and restaurants by award-winning chefs Mario Batali, Wolfgang Puck, Emeril Lagasse and Charlie Trotter. (PRNewsFoto/The Palazzo Las Vegas)

Press Release:
The Palazzo Las Vegas Celebrates Grand Opening

Kenwood Vineyards Lounge to Open w/Vegas 40/40 Club

Kenwood Vineyards is not only sponsoring the New Year's Eve 40/40 Club Grand Opening in Las Vegas but they're also sponsoring a permanent VIP room called the Kenwood Vineyards Lounge.

On the 40/40 Club:

"The new $20 million 40/40 Club Las Vegas is the third location of Jay-Z's renowned upscale sports bar and lounge...The multi-level venue features 85 plasma screen televisions, five bars serving "top-shelf" wines and libations, and leather couch seating for ultimate sports enjoyment, plus a luxurious dining area offering all-American fare with a Latin accent and five VIP rooms -- including the Kenwood Vineyards Lounge -- for private events."

On the 40/40 Club opening event in Vegas:

"A throng of "A-List" celebrities will walk the red carpet in front of fans and the press before heading inside for an evening to include a welcome and ceremonial ribbon-cutting by Jay-Z, dancing to live celebrity DJs and a midnight toast. A one-hour television special, "Live on the Red Carpet at the 40/40 Club Las Vegas Grand Opening," is scheduled to air on "Extra" and "E!"."

On the Kenwood Vineyards Lounge:

"Literally a "club within a club," the intimate Kenwood Vineyards Lounge -- which can accommodate only 70 guests -- blends wine country accents with leather wrap around couches, hardwood floors, wood paneled walls, a sunken living room and an 8-foot pool table. This private space also is equipped with two 65-inch plasma screen televisions, an independent sound system, wireless internet access, Xbox, Playstation, chess boards and a complementary Ms. Pacman arcade game."

"One of the Kenwood Vineyard Lounge's most distinctive amenities is a private outdoor terrace, with views of the famed Las Vegas Strip and the Las Vegas fireworks. Befitting a private, "by reservation only" lounge, VIP servers assigned exclusively to the Kenwood Vineyards Lounge will take care of guests' food and beverage needs. A superb selection of premium Kenwood Vineyards Sonoma County wines will be available in the Kenwood Vineyards Lounge by the glass and by the bottle."

Official Site:
Kenwood Vineyards

Related ProHipHop Coverage:
Jay-Z to Perform in Las Vegas New Year's Weekend

19) Robert Cummins aka Don Pooh Opens Brooklyn IHOP

Robert Cummins aka Don Pooh, a producer who's worked with Foxy Brown and Mary J. Blige, opened an International House of Pancakes in Brooklyn on Tuesday.

HipHopSodaShop Plans Celebrity Packed Opening

Looks like the HipHopSodaShop is having a celebrity packed opening in Tampa, Florida today.

Hip hop celebs include Busta Rhymes, Cassidy, Jim Jones, Juelz Santana, Aqueelah McCummings, JT Money and Pretty Ricky.  The event will include a performance by Doug E. Fresh with Andre Harrell playing host.

The press release includes this ambiguous line:
"Microsoft Joins Launch As Official HipHopSodaShop Supporter"

Event sponsor with onsite advertising perhaps?  Microsoft is doing something but it's unclear what.

In any case, best of luck with the opening!

Hip Hop Grub Spot Opens w/Rick Ross Turkey Give Away

Rick Ross Turkey Give Away at Hip Hop Grub Spot

YouTube is acting up at the moment so I'm posting this video without seeing the whole thing, not something I'd normally do, but I have the feeling after the pics of Rick Ross greeting people that eventually he gives some turkeys away.  Hopefully the beat changes by then.

This is one of a whole series of promotional videos from the Hip Hop Grub Spot about which I've previously posted.

They all are rather rough edged but do a nice job of providing an alternative to endless press releases about minor steps along the way.  However there's plenty of time for the traditional penny stock pr approach if they do go public in such a manner.  Wikipedia's entry on penny stocks, whose details may or may not be accurate, gives one a sense of the downside of such stocks.

Press releases for such companies often become a way to attempt to turn minor announcements into positive investor response.  The Hip Hop Soda Shop's press releases [for H3Enterprises/HTRE] managed to mostly avoid that fate until Ben Chavis showed up and a brief period that included some fairly ephemeral news ensued most likely to spur investor interest.  However they've general stuck to real announcements.

As Hip Hop Grub Spot moves forward it will be interesting to see how their marketing approach changes as they attempt to go public.

Note:
I had to close comments on my previous post due to folks attempting to boost one company over another in the traditional manner of attempting to influence investor opinion..  I'll probably have to do that with this post and, knowing that, I'm reminded of the fact that I would never take a company public in this manner because the penny stock sector is way too vulnerable to scams that can make the company look responsible for outside attempts to game the stock.

Frank White Cafe Opens in Biggie Smalls' Hood

Frank White is opening in Brooklyn on October 5th near where Biggie Smalls used to roam.  The cafe/gallery/social spot will feature Biggie's photograph to "honor...his memory."

Frank White was one of Notorious B.I.G.'s pseudonyms taken from the lead character in Abel Ferrara's King of New York.  And that's the connection to Biggie but the movie and the drug trade are also references.

My first reaction was somewhat negative but it's a hot name and they don't seem to be overreaching their connections to that history so it sounds like a winner in that regard.

Brownstoner has a pic of the front of the shop and a few notes about the neighborhood.  There are some interior shots through the window at ClintonHillBlog.

Official Site:
Frank White NYC

Diddy Closes Manhattan Justin's, Seeks Larger Setting

Diddy's "neo-soul food restaurant", Justin's, has closed its Manhattan location in order to seek a larger setting for the venue:
The company sees the larger Justin's Restaurant in Atlanta, which takes up most of a city block, as the prototype for the new New York City location. Bad Boy representatives are evaluating a number of options for a larger space in some of New York City's prime traffic areas.

Club Systems International & The Nightclub Industry

I've been finding some music industry resources that were new to me while gathering the first round of sites for Music Biz Search and one that I want to pass along is Club Systems International which describes itself as the "only magazine devoted to the look, sound and feel of nightclubs".

Jay-Z's 40/40 Club in Atlantic City

Shaheem Reid reports on the opening of the newest branch of Jay-Z's 40/40 Club in Atlantic City.

A third opening is being discussed for Los Angeles with Magic Johnson as a partner.

New Ventures: Trina's Modeling Agency, J's Southern Xpress, Big Pun Clothing Line

Trina is starting a modeling agency called Diamond Dolls to "uplift women with self-esteem issues." She also has an upcoming album, plans for a perfume line, a clothing line and a role in a sitcom.

Mona Scott of Violator Management is opening J's Southern Xpress, a new restaurant in Manhattan. I'll have another slice of Ma Dell's Red Velvet Cake please! Official Site: J's Southern Xpress

Big Pun's family is launching the Big Pun Clothing Line to be available at Big Pun's Shop.

ProHipHop's Jermaine Dupri Report

Jermaine Dupri: Restaurateur

Yesterday was the planned grand opening of Cafe Dupri, Jermaine Dupri's new joint in Atlanta. According to the release, Cafe Dupri offers a breakfast menu with:
"So So Def specials like Eggs Oscar, Eggs Portobello and Applewood Smoked Salmon. Lunch includes Turkey Burgers, Chicken Kabob's, Veggini's and the signature dish, Tomatoes Dupri (Fried Green Tomatoes w/ Blackened Crawfish). For dinner, guests can dine on Chicken Napoleon, Tuna Carpaccio and Eggplant Roulade, among other dishes. On Sunday, Cafe Dupri offers a Sunday brunch complete with complimentary mimosas."

However, the restaurant actually opened on the 6th and Atlanta Blogger Terrell says his "favorite is already the homemade peach cobbler." His review:
"I have had an opportunity to eat at the cafe already and it's definitely on point. I put it right up there with Diddy's restaurant Justin's. The ambience is cool, laid back with a nice hip hop feel to it. And the food, the food is excellent. Plus, it's open 22 hours a day, a good afterhours spot when leaving the club."

I'm getting really, really hungry right now. Dupri hopes to open other locations including New York and Japan but no mention yet of San Francisco (insert sad frown icon).

Jermaine Dupri: Artist

Dupri, along with The Roots, Fat Joe and other acts, will also participate in a series of Fusion Flash Concerts with a free concert in Atlanta. The concerts are intended to promote the 2006 Ford Fusion sedan and are a joint effort of Ford Motor Company and Sony Pictures Digital with Cingular supplying last minute emails and text messages to alert locals to the location.

This innovative campaign will demonstrate, for better or worse, what can happen when you bring a lot of companies together and combine all the hottest technologies in a marketing effort:
"The Fusion Flash Concerts website also features exclusive video, a tour blog, concert reviews, a "mash-up" remix contest hosted by ACIDplanet.com, 10 music downloads provided by connect.com, and the chance to win prizes including an all-new 2006 Ford Fusion sedan, Sony consumer electronics and VIP access to the shows. In addition, plans are in the works to release a compilation disk of participating artists in the Fusion Flash Concerts that will be available for sale exclusively at Target retail locations at the conclusion of the Fusion Flash Concerts series."

Jermaine Dupri: Producer

Jermaine Dupri recently visited Toronto to promote the "July 19 release of Young, Fly & Flashy, a So So Def compilation of up-and-coming Southern hip-hop acts, including Young Capone, T. Waters, Pastor Troy and Kavious, whom he discovered through his weekly radio show."

JD described his current status and responsibilities to Mary Dickie:
"I have to be a bit more stern than I am usually . . . People forget that I make the decisions now. It's interesting, but I have to be careful -- I don't want to become a power freak . . . I always thought I'd be in this position one day. The hardest part is making sure you pay attention and watch everything, make sure people stay focused."

Dupri also shared what may be a surprising relevation:
"Being a producer and watching an artist blow up is better than being an artist yourself. Being an artist is tough. And I don't know how much people really like me as an artist. I'm always feeling that nobody's really waiting for my next record."

You know, Jermaine Dupri's starting to become my favorite hip hop mogul. He takes care of business without flaunting his ego. His girlfriend's the greatest diva of all time. And I love good peach cobbler!

Dupri's Empire, Def Jam Mobile, Rockers' Merchandising

Jermaine Dupri's empire expands today with the opening of Atlanta's Cafe Dupri. Next up, Hotel D followed by the So So Def store.

According to the New York Post (but I'm linking to CNN cause they don't require registration), Def Jam Mobile has launched as a partnership between Def Jam Enterprises and American Greetings and will feature both music content and "sportz tonez", which are apparently sports oriented ringtones. Sounds like big money to me.

As rappers begin to age, they may want to get some tips from the ongoing merchandising of aging rockers.