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Hip-Hop News Plus Tupac Shakur Info |
Bentley's Greener f/Anthony Hamilton
Interesting. I've only seen bootlegged singles being released as audio-only on YouTube. Is this a new marketing maneuver for a label or have I just been ignoring the obvious?
It looks like Bentley's awkwardly titled album, CoolOutrageousLoversOfUniquelyRawStyle, will be released on E1 Entertainment. Kanye West's executive producing and that's a huge cosign but that's not the same as signing to his imprint, which is what we were hearing about back in the day, if I recall correctly.
No disrespect to E1 but I guess life still ain't easy for the former butler to a pimp named Diddy.
This week The Black Eyed Peas' Boom Boom Pow entered its eighth week at no. 1 on the Hot 100 singles chart while Pitbull's I Know You Want Me (Calle Ocho) began its second week in the top 10 and Kid Cudi's Day 'N' Nite enjoyed week eight in the top 10.
Top 10 Singles on the Hot 100:
1. The Black Eyed Peas - Boom Boom Pow
2. Lady GaGa - Poker Face
3. Jamie Foxx - Blame It feat. T-Pain
4. Glee Cast - Don't Stop Believin'
5. Pitbull - I Know You Want Me (Calle Ocho)
6. Linkin Park - New Divide
7. Kid Cudi - Day 'N' Nite
8. Beyonce - Halo
9. Jeremih - Birthday Sex
10. Katy Perry - Waking Up In Vegas
Queen Latifah is set to drop the Cue the Rain single, said to be her return to hip hop, tomorrow on her website* and via iTunes.
Persona, her next album, will be released July 7th. I hope this really is a hip hop album. I would love to see what she'd do at this point in time.
She's also set to appear Wednesday on American Idol.
*Currently the website says it's under construction. We'll see what's up tomorrow!
The single I'm Legit by DMC and rock musician Zara Phillips, intended to support legislation to open up confidential adoption records to adoptees, is discussed and made available in the NY Times.
A video is said to be on the way.
I don't usually post audio or MP3s and related whatnot, largely because there's a limit to what I can post and I'm generally holding out for finished music videos, but:
a) I'm into supporting women in hip hop;
b) I'm digging this song and Rye Rye;
c) It's a good chance to add an Imeem widget to my out-of-date Widget collection.
Fader: Rye Rye Webisode with Super Pregs MIA
MySpace: Rye Rye
Lil Jon's I Do, featuring Snoop Dogg and Swizz Beats, is said to be the first single off Crunk Rock.
Answering the musical question, "does anybody represent anymore?"
Related ProHipHop Coverage:
Lil Jon & The Orchard Make a Deal
Michael Wright aka Wonder Mike of Sugarhill, Guy O'Brien aka Master Gee of Sugarhill, Boomer Esiason of WFAN, Henry Williams aka Hendogg of Sugarhill, Tracy Temple aka T Dynasty of Sugarhill and Craig Carton of WFAN
Original Sugarhill Gang Celebrates 30th Anniversary of Rappers Delight with WFAN
Though Rapper's Delight was not the "original hip hop and rap music release", as the above press release claims, it was the single that introduced myself and so many others to the existence of hip hop.
[Photo Courtesy PRNewsFoto/UBA-TV]
Jasiri X launches his new blog, Real Talk Xpress, with a track called Blogs and ProHipHop is included:
Inspired by another banging beat by "King Sym" that reminded him of a classic Wu Tang production with a 2009 Swag to it, Jasiri X flips Gza's legendary song "Labels" and brings it into the new millennium with "Blogs".
It's great to be included with all the hot shots as I claw my way back to relevance work my way back into the game!
Janelle Monae and Cee-Lo Green
Coke's publicists are calling this a Super-Group and, for a change, that's not hype.
Cee-Lo Green, Patrick Stump [Fall Out Boy], Brendon Urie [Panic at the Disco], Travis McCoy [Gym Class Heroes] and Janelle Monae have recorded the single Open Happiness, to be released today, for the third of Coke's Happiness Factory campaign commercials pictured above and below.
Butch Walker cowrote the song with Cee-Lo Green and he share production credits with Polow Da Don.
Travis McCoy [in LRG?] and Brendon Urie
From the press release:
"Music will be embedded into the Open Happiness campaign. The track will appear as the soundtrack to the new Happiness Factory TVC and be utilized as a vehicle outside of traditional advertising. In addition, a percentage of the single sales will be donated to charitable causes through the Company's 'Live Positively' platform..."
"Open Happiness builds on the award-winning Coke Side of Life campaign and will serve as the platform for all integrated marketing for brand Coca-Cola globally. The campaign launched first, in the US in January, with print, outdoor and TV. The fully integrated campaign – including new point of sale, promotions, outdoor and print advertising, digital and music components and more – will roll out throughout the first half of 2009 in markets around the world."
Brendon Urie and Cee-Lo Green
From the press release:
"The single release will be supported by a huge global push, including:
* A global MySpace premiere of the track will allow consumers all over the world to access this unique collaboration for the first time beginning March 16th at www.myspace.com/openhappiness.
* The track will be released for sale on iTunes, with an exclusive bundle featuring a "making of" video.
* 200 million Coca-Cola packs in Great Britain and France alone will include mention of the Open Happiness single.
* A music video of the track, featuring the artists and directed by award winning director Alan Ferguson, will premiere globally in May.
* The track will be integrated into Coca-Cola brand marketing efforts on radio and online, including with the 3.2 million fans of Coke on Facebook.
* World famous Coca-Cola signs in London's Piccadilly Circus and New York's Time Square will be utilized to promote the Open Happiness single."
MySpace: Open Happiness
Eminem's Crack a Bottle, with the assistance of Dr. Dre and 50 Cent, establishes a new "Nielsen SoundScan record for opening week download sales" with 418k downloads and a number 1 spot on tomorrow's Hot 100 singles chart:
"The first-week sum outpaces the prior mark of 335,000 downloads shifted by T.I. featuring Rihanna in the Oct. 18, 2008, issue. Among all weekly totals, "Bottle" ranks third behind Flo Rida's "Low" (467,000 on Jan, 12, 2008) and Lady GaGa's "Just Dance" (419,000 on Jan, 10, 2009)."
Apparently Low and Just Dance outperformed after their digital debut weeks.
The combined force of Eminem, Dr. Dre and 50 Cent is a mighty thing. Just what 50 Cent needs to not be calling it a comeback.
Busta Rhymes: Arab Money Video
I'm pretty fried on rap songs about conspicuous consumption but I'm still digging Busta Rhymes' Arab Money video directed by Rik Cordero.
Off Back On My B.S..
Available at iTunes:
Back On My B.S. (Bonus Track Version)
First Kanye West tried to sing, though his unmelodic rapping should have told him that was a mistake, and now Lil Wayne decides he wants to be a singer who plays at the guitar.
Problem: they suck at singing.
I've only heard Prom Queen from a live video. At least Lil Wayne didn't use a vocoder for that, cause Phonte is right about Kanye's use, but this killed my interest going forward, that's for damn sure.
One of the producers, Infamous, says:
"He's done everything he can with hip-hop and has proven himself...Now he's about to prove himself as a rocker and we're excited to be a part of it."
But he'll come back to rap cause he's going to hate not being a superstar and he might just realize that he's still got a long ways to go with hip hop.
However, if he doesn't, that means he'll go out with much of his best work being mixtape appearances and features on other people's singles with no seriously great album to his name. And that's kind of sad.
New Zealand Rapper Savage
New Zealand rapper Savage breaks a million combined digital/mobile sales of Swing, the first single off his debut album, Savage Island, due December 23rd on Universal Republic.
MySpace: Savage
Soulja Boy - Turn My Swag On Video
Soulja Boy recently dropped the video for the single Turn My Swag On which apparently came out a couple of months back.
I haven't been checking for every Soulja Boy single but I have noticed that most of them lack the anthemic quality that characterized both Crank Dat and, from a different angle, Turn My Swag On.
As I've mentioned before, watching Soulja Boy drop singles on YouTube gives one the impression of a "hit singles fishing expedition".
Soulja Boy confirmed that notion and expanded on his hit singles [and dance] research methodology for Shaheem Reid:
"We'll be at the studio...I'll make a beat. I got my own club in Atlanta called the Excalibur. We go to the club and play new Soulja Boy music. We watch what they do. We take little bits and pieces back to the crib and YouTube it. That's it. Take your own songs to the club. That's how you know it's hot."
"All you artists out there, shipping your songs to the radio and you ain't getting the response you want and your album only does 10 or 20 thousand the first week, go out there yourself. Play it, and watch the reaction. You ain't gonna find no hit through the label."
That's as straightforward and simple as research needs to be and you don't need to own your own club to make it happen though that would certainly facilitate things!
On a related marketing note, the appearance of both pre- and post-roll ads for 50 Cent's flick Before I Self Destruct on the official Turn My Swag On video caught me by surprise.
I've been out of the video loop for a week or two now. Is 50 Cent dropping such ads on a lot of videos or is he targetting Soulja Boy's audience more specifically?
Related ProHipHop Coverage on Strip Club Research & Marketing:
Jermaine Dupri's Strip Club Research
Hip Hop Research & Marketing in Atlanta Strip Clubs
Hip Hop Research & Marketing in Strip Clubs, Pt. 3
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