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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
Weird Al goes digital and he's starting off with a parody of T.I.'s Whatever You Like available initially only on iTunes.
MySpace: Weird Al
Trailer for Pineapple Express
M.I.A.'s Paper Planes enters the Hot 100 singles chart at no. 55 with 42k downloads. Her album Kala, which includes Paper Planes, reenters the Billboard 200 album chart at no. 182.
Paper Planes is featured in the second half of the Pineapple Express trailer above but is not included on the soundtrack.
Related ProHipHop Coverage:
Anti-M.I.A. Sp@m Games E! Online
Pineapple Express Soundtrack Album Cover Art & Tracklist
DJ Noodles - A Milli (Remix Baby!)
DJ Noodles drops A Milli (Remix Baby!) featuring the following versions of A Milli including the original and a remix by Lil Wayne.
A Milli (Remix Baby!) Tracklist:
01. Original - Lil Wayne
02. Freestyle - Jay-Z
03. Freestyle - Jadakiss
04. Freestyle - Cassidy
05. Original Verse - Cory Gunz
06. Lost Verse - Lil Wayne
07. Freestyle - Fabolous
08. Freestyle - Mims
09. Freestyle - Chris Brown
10. Re-Up Money (Noodles Mix) - Young Jeezy & Rick Ross
11. Freestyle - Kardinal Offishall
12. Freestyle - Papoose
13. Freestyle - Ne-Yo
14. Freestyle - Pitbull
15. Freestyle - LL Cool J
16. Freestlye - Gillie Da Kid ft. Bump J, Meek Mil & Nitti
17. Freestyle - Dolla
18. Freestyle - Lil Mama
19. Official Remix - Lil Wayne
Via The Rap Up.
Related ProHipHop Coverage:
Lil Wayne's World: Marketing With A Milli
Rising and superstar remixes of Lil Wayne's A Milli have been an important marketing element in the success of Tha Carter III:
MTV shares some background.
Status Ain't Hood ranks the flood of celebrity A Milli freestyles.
Bangladesh explains how Lil Wayne got the beat and offers his responses to the remixes.
Lil Wayne keeps it moving with a "victory lap" remix and then performs A Milli live on MTV.
A Milli: the promotional gift that keeps on giving!
Related ProHipHop Coverage:
DJ Noodles: A Milli (Remix Baby!)
I checked out this track from Ced Hughes, The Virus, at Nah Right for obvious reasons but was surprised by what a great track it is and then doubly surprised to hear what sounded like Hughes repping VANC at the end.
So I checked out his MySpace page and he does claim Virginia and North Carolina
It's a funny song if you follow hip hop blogs and web celebrities but it's a nice track even if you don't get the references.
Romeo and Akon have made their next single, Get Low Wit It, available for free download at AmieStreet.com till June 17th.
The only odd thing is that the AmieStreet.com press release is claiming this as an "exclusive" when it was already dropped online for the Get Low Wit It Dance Video Contest.
Hope AmieStreet.com didn't put out too many Web 2.0 promo bucks for an exclusive that was widely available online over a month ago.
The Cool Kids - The Bake Sale
The Cool Kids' EP The Bake Sale is due June 10th from Chocolate Industries/C.A.K.E Recordings though Fake Shore Drive, who's got the Miami Beach single, says May 20th.
Soulja Boy releases a video for She Gotta Donk following the release of iDance and it already feels like a hit singles fishing expedition.
Related ProHipHop Coverage:
Soulja Boy's One-Hit Wonder Label: Does It Matter?
iDance: Soulja Boy's First Single off iSouljaBoy
According to Soulja Boy's YouTube channel, iDance is the first single off Soulja Boy's next album, to be called iSouljaBoy, and he dropped it at, where else?, YouTube.
Update:
Or maybe the new album will be called Back To School.
Related ProHipHop Coverage:
Soulja Boy Drops She Gotta Donk Video
Soulja Boy's One-Hit Wonder Label: Does It Matter?
T.I. has released the first single off the upcoming Paper Trail, No Matter What, via StreetCred.com, the social network with which he is associated.
Update 2: HERE'S THE VIDEO!!!
Busta Rhymes f/Linkin Park - We Made It
Update 1: HERE'S THE SINGLE: Busta Rhymes f/Linkin Park - We Made It
Video Still: Busta Rhymes in We Made It
[Updated w/photos!]
Interscope announced that Linkin Park is joining Busta Rhymes on the first single, We Made It, from his upcoming album Blessed and they're shooting a video today.
That's a reasonably fitting combination for a song about which Busta Rhymes says:
"It ain't just about the 'hood, it ain't just about the suburbs, it's about everybody. This is one of those songs that can't be described better than touching the souls of the common people."
Though that sounds like a bit of a reach, Linkin Park should help Busta Rhymes connect with folks that might not automatically be checking for him at a time when a rock influence is reemerging in rap.
Video Still: Busta Rhymes & Linkin Park in We Made It
Blessed is due June 17th and the video for We Made It will be released in May.
On a related note:
Busta Rhymes lashes out at journalists during a listening session for Blessed, or is it I'm Blessed?, for not showing some enthusiasm on the job for his work.
And that's one of the main reasons listening sessions with the artists are something in which I have no interest. Don't ask me to dance around and act happy when I'm working. Let me be me. Know what I mean?
[Photos via ThinkTank Marketing]
Over at The Rap Up:
More pics from the video shoot.
Related ProHipHop Coverage:
Busta Rhymes: Blessed Cover Art
Flo Rida - Mail On Sunday
Not only is Flo Rida's Low featuring T-Pain no. 1 on the Hot 100 for the 7th week, it's making some strong moves on other charts [note, most of this is contingent on being the debut rap single rather than simply being a rap single]:
"'Low...has hit #1 on this week's CHR/Top 40 national airplay chart...'Low' is officially the first-ever debut single by a rap artist to reach the top spot in chart history, as well as only the fourth rap title to ascend to #1 since 2005...'"
"'Low' continues to light it up at Rhythmic outlets nationwide, maintaining the #1 airplay ranking for 8 uninterrupted weeks and counting. The track's success marks the longest-reigning debut track from a male artist since Nelly's classic '(Hot S**t) Country Grammar' held the top spot for 10 weeks in 2000..."
"The 'Low' companion video...[comes] in this week as the #1 most-played clip on both BET and MTV. 'Low' -- which also topped the countdowns on BET's '106 & Park' and MTV's 'TRL' -- is now in 'Heavy' rotation at BET, 'Big 10' rotation at MTV, 'Elite 8' rotation at MTV2 (where it is the network's #2 most-played video), 'Summa Cum Laude' at mtvU, 'Blazin'' at MTV Jams, a top 5 'Power' rotation smash at MTV Hits, and the #1 ranked clip on MTV.com...'Low' is also a top 10 success on Fuse."
"Flo Rida...is currently MySpace's #2-ranked Top Indie Artist, logging a remarkable 8.5 million total streams thus far at his www.myspace.com/officialflo page. At YouTube, the video for "Low" has received more than 6 million views via Flo's official channel, www.youtube.com/user/officialflo."
It's certainly helped Flo Rida that Low is included on the Step Up 2 The Streets soundtrack.
Given that Soulja Boy's Souljaboytellem.com has done much better than expected, one wonders if Flo Rida's Mail On Sunday, due March 18th will fare as well without it's own special dance craze.
On the other hand, being part of the Step Up 2 The Streets dance lover's craze is clearly having a strong effect. I guess it's one of those wait-and-see things.
Del the Funky Homosapien - Eleventh Hour
Del the Funky Homosapien has dropped Bubble Pop off his upcoming album Eleventh Hour due March 11th from Definitive Jux.
Press Release:
Del the Funky Homosapien Prepares for New Album on Def Jux
Pete Rock - NY's Finest
Pete Rock is expected to release NY's Finest, his first album in four years, on February 26th via Nature Sounds.
Multiple tracks are available for your listening pleasure:
We Roll featuring Jim Jones
Till I Retire
914 featuring Styles P and Sheek Louch
Press Release:
Legendary Hip Hop Producer Pete Rock Prepares for New Album
Official Site:
Pete Rock @ MySpace
Soulja Boy's Crank That (Soulja Boy) has passed 3 million downloads.
If you're into numbers:
"Grammy nominated for Best Rap Song and the #1 song on the Hot 100 chart for seven weeks, "Crank That (Soulja Boy)" has also sold more than 3,000,000 ringtones and its music video has been viewed an incredible 28,000,000 times on YouTube. In addition, the instructional dance video has been viewed 22,000,000 times and the video for the single "Soulja Girl" (featuring I-15) 11,000,000 times. Not surprisingly then, his website is also the #1 most viewed artist site on the Web, with more than 1,000,000 unique hits per month. His MySpace page has recorded 27,000,000 profile views and 31,000,000 audio streams."
On the album tip:
"With his debut album, Souljaboytellem.com (ColliPark Music/Interscope Records), rocketing past its gold certification -- having sold more than 658,000 copies to date -- Soulja Boy is the biggest selling new hip-hop or R&B artist of 2007."
Wait a minute! Isn't it common knowledge that Soulja Boy is only a singles artist?
Reality. It really messes with your fixed assumptions, don't it?
Related ProHipHop Coverage:
Yahhh! Soulja Boy to Rule '08
To Understand Soulja Boy's Success Go Beyond the Web
You didn't like all those Crank Dat videos? Well what are you going to do when every other teenager and wanna be teenager you encounter goes "Yahhh!"
School teachers are going to have a sucky 2008 with this one as Soulja Boy continues to hack consciousness and invade our daily lives.
It's a good thing for Mr. Poole [R.I.P.] that this kind of music didn't exist back when he was directing our church choirs. We'd have been making him much madder with "Yahhh!" than we ever could with our silly behavior.
And that's part of how you move beyond worrying about record sales and becoming a highly monetizable phenomenon. You enter not only the lives of your fans but the lives of your haters.
Check it at Writer's Block Media.
Small World f/Ludacris: Mr. Magnificent/Put It In Reverse
"Raleigh, Raleigh"
Just reppin' my block!
I think it's hilarious that I found out about the Mr. Magnificent video featuring my home town and ProHipHop's current world headquarters via Nah Right.
Mr. Magnificent Video Shoot in Raleigh
The store in this clip is right around the corner from my friend's house.
That's the most excitement we've had since the State Fair!
Kia Shine - WOW
Love the Krispy jacket.
SkeeTV: Behind the Scenes at the Sensual Seduction Shoot
Snoop Dogg kicks off promotions for the anticipated March 2008 release of Ego Trippin with the startling single/video Sensual Seduction and the above behind the scenes look from SkeeTV.
Video Trailer for Common - I Want You
If you'd ask me if I thought a trailer for a music video would be worth watching, I would have asked you to please move along before I caused a scene.
But I'm finding music video trailers like the above for Common's I Want You and the trailer for Jay-Z's Blue Magic are worth watching, maybe not multiple times or after the actual video comes out, but totally in keeping with the microchunked nature of successful web entertainment.
Unlike the snippet previews of Jay-Z's Superbowl ads, these trailers are complete in their own right, though the big draw occurs prior to the release of the video. And that's why they exist, to help create an enviroment of anticipation while functioning as an entertaining microchunk good enough for the passing moment.
Via Nah Right.
Jay-Z - Blue Magic
Nice work everybody! The clip from American Gangster at the end with Denzel talking about Blue Magic being a brand is just too perfect.
This is a really beautiful video but I'm totally disappointed to see that effing Ace of Spades is back! More on that soon.
Related ProHipHop Coverage:
Pharrell Mobbed on Way to Blue Magic Shoot
Jay-Z's Blue Magic Highest[?] Debut by a Rap Single
Real Talk NY has the streaming audio of Jay-Z's new single Roc Boys plus audio of a conference call with Jay-Z.
Nah Right has a downloadable version of Roc Boys.
Further Reputable Vendors:
The Rap Up
1xtralarge
Sit Down Stand Up
Further ProHipHop Coverage:
Listening Session w/Jay-Z, Next Single: Roc Boys
According to Billboard, Wu-Tang doesn't have a Beatles sample. They have a Beatles "interpolation". I'm not even sure what an interpolation is exactly but it's something to be proud of when it's an interpolation of While My Guitar Gently Weeps.
Wu-Tang has claimed in a statement that George Harrison helped them secure a reuse license for the following:
The Clan's "The Heart Gently Weeps" actually features an "interpolation" of the track, with new recordings by George Harrison's son Dhani, the Red Hot Chili Peppers' John Frusciante and soul vocalist Erykah Badu.
The Heart Gently Weeps is allegedly dropping tonight on Loud.com. Looks like you'll have to sign up to check it out.
Billboard also states that Ja Rule claims to have gotten a clearance sample for Eleanor Rigby which I find rather disturbing:
Rapper Ja Rule obtained permission to sample "Elanor Rigby" for the song "Judas," which will appear on his Nov. 13 album "The Mirror."
I find that truly hard to believe even though it's apparently old news. If it's so difficult to even get an interpolation, much less an actual sample, how the heck could Ja Rule get one?
Update:
The Wu-Tang track, The Heart Gently Weeps, is out at Loud.com and bloggers are having their way with it.
Related ProHipHop Coverage:
Wu-Tang Clan's 8 Diagrams Pushed Back, Beatles Sample Cleared, Still Not on SRC Site
According to Billboard, Jay-Z's Blue Magic is this year's highest debut by a rap single on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart at no. 35.
Actually the quote is:
Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, on which Jay-Z has the year's [something missing here, ed.] debut by a rap single with "Blue Magic" at No. 35.
So I'm going with "highest" until something better comes along.
They really buried that nugget way down in the top 10 article. Don't they know that Jay-Z Fever is again spreading the land?
Related ProHipHop Coverage:
Jay-Z's Blue Magic (Trailer) Video Featuring Pharrell
Jay-Z f/Pharrell - Blue Magic (Trailer)
This video is described as a "trailer" for Blue Magic, the first single off Jay-Z's upcoming American Gangster album. The fact that I'm posting it shows that I have totally capitulated to a breaking news, celebrity watch model, fitting for coverage featuring a Kanye/50 faceoff followed by a Jay-Z concept album [with the Jena 6 for human interest]. Enjoy!
Update:
Apparently this is a trailer for the actual video for which they were shooting Friday night.
Related ProHipHop Coverage:
Jay-Z - Blue Magic f/Pharrell Williams [Video]
Jay-Z's Blue Magic Highest[?] Debut by a Rap Single
Bloggers raining links:
Notes from a Different Kitchen
Nah Right
MissInfo.tv
The Smoking Section
The Rap Up
Related ProHipHop Coverage:
It's Official: Jay-Z's American Gangster Album Due Nov. 6
Jay-Z to Release American Gangster Concept Album, Future With Def Jam Uncertain
Lil Mama - G-Slide (Tour Bus)
Team Lil Mama, the network of masterminds behind the Lil Mama phenomenon, have shown they can execute flawlessly two times now, first with Lip Gloss, second with this video, G-Slide (Tour Bus). It's really an amazing match between an artist's abilities and a team of music industry professionals, whoever you guys are.
If readers can consider this topic without getting sick to your stomach, please read on. If not, just wait and see if you're going to be able to escape it without turning off the tv and radio or giving up dance clubs.
I'm blown away but not by the technical achievement of these two videos because that's what big music biz is supposed to do. If they can't do that then they're dead. What I'm blown away by is the mix of elements that look like they were designed using focus groups and committees but actually ended up working together.
Kyle Anderson says:
How is it possible that Lil' Mama (who is listed as 18 but is probably 11) can combine a silly dance, a playground-song sample, and a chorus of kids and still remain unbearably great?
Obviously a silly dance is a simple dance that people will have fun doing. That's a major part of many artists' debut at this point in time and that alone is powerful right now.
But there's a complex mix of simple elements at work here:
snap-like music, serious rapping skills (whether or not you like the lyrics), throwback elements such as the breakdance pad moment, High School Musical, Transformers, great dancing by real dancers, marked & unmarked product placement (perfume, lip gloss, clothing, maybe more), West Side Story, visions of the hood before crack, no guns or profanity, sparkles like you'd find on a MySpace profile, etc., etc.
There are so many trends being referenced here, some that have already broken out, others that are just building now, that it shouldn't really work but merges flawlessly. That's much much harder than just getting expensive pros together to create a polished product.
And what perfect timing for Lil Mama and Team Lil Mama. She comes along as gangsta rap is on its last legs, hip hop content is under incredible scrutiny and bubblegum is taking over the charts. Don't forget that Disney is ruling the album game without serious radio play. Lil Mama doesn't have that obstacle.
Hip hop purists, keep your heads up, the water is rising and Talib Kweli in the top 10 ain't gonna change that.
My deepest respect to Lil Mama and Team Lil Mama. I will never spend a cent on any of your products but you guys are going to get so rich.
Notes from a Different Kitchen:
Lil Mama's VYP - Voice of the Young People album - in stores 10/23 (probably). And wait til you hear the likely next single "Shorty, Get Loose" produced and featuring T-Pain....
Make money, money!
Trunk Boiz - Scraper Bike
I'm in a weird mood so I'm just rolling with that. Check back later for real hip hop business news. There's plenty of it!
I waited a couple of days before mentioning the Trunk Boiz' Scraper Bike, a video I discovered via 1xtralarge. I intend to follow up in a professional manner and get some official sounding information and come up with something to say that reminds everyone of how deep I can get.
Till then, check out my daring textual experiment at Ski Mask Way:
Yeah, I'd Snitch!
[while it lasts]
Fan Vid Using Chamillionaire's Ridin' f/Krazie Bone
I couldn't find a cool example on YouTube of the Cingular Lip-Sync Battle with Chamillionaire's Ridin' f/Krayzie Bone so I tossed up this cute homage featuring little kids.
Weird Al - White and Nerdy
Between the fans, the lip-sync battle videos and Weird Al, Chamillionaire's single Ridin' is getting some nice promotion. And Chamillionaire is smart enough to recognize that being parodied by Weird Al is a unique and useful honor:
"He's actually rapping pretty good on it, it's crazy," Cham said last week. "I guess [Al's camp] reached out to my management and asked if they could do it. He's Grammy-nominated, man. He goes platinum. It's really an honor when he does that...Weird Al is not gonna do a parody of your song if you're not doing it big. You gotta be a big dog. He shot the video, and people will see it pretty soon. It's crazy...Just when you think 'Ridin' was gonna stop, something happens to make it bigger".
Trailer for Got My Vans On Video
Michael Miraflor declares the Pack's Got My Vans On to be the "summer single of the year" which, to be perfectly frank, was a surprising reminder that New York hip hop bloggers can write about successful artists from other regions without having to question their own status.
Miraflor also makes a telling point about why hyphy may not be taking off like many in the Bay had hoped:
If I were a label head, I would NOT have had E-40 introduce the Hyphy Movement to the rest of the country. Yes, 40 water is a Bay Area legend, but outside of California his credibility takes a hit. No disrespect, but dude must be pushing 45 years old and does not look like the Bay kids whose culture and style he is supposedly reflecting and perpetuating. Hyphy needs something younger, more authentic and representative.... like The Pack.
Although I can understand why e-40 got pushed first, his age, his shifting identity, and his odd mixture of respect for and dismissal of hyphy kids undermines the role of spokesperson. Eric K. Arnold's hyphy article for Vibe's July issue reveals 40's perspective on ghostriding and similar automotive stunts that are similar to his comments on the newness of hyphy more generally:
According to 40, the only thing that's new is the extra enthusiasm the younger generation brings to the scene. "Now they're on top of the hood, they're on top of the trunk, and they're on top of the roof. And, you know, they got all the doors open. But it ain't really nothing new; it's just new to the world."
While it's true that elements of hyphy may have a variety of precedents, youth movements tend to operate under the shared perception that what they are doing is totally new and without precedent. So E-40's statements aren't conducive to becoming a champion of hyphy. What 40 doesn't seem to understand is that the newness in contemporary youth trends and movements often reveals itself in how received culture is taken, remixed and renewed via unexpected combinations and juxtapositions, a process that cannot simply be reduced to variations on the same old thing.
In any case, comparing the Pack's video for Got My Vans On at the start of this post to E-40's Tell Me When To Go which follows, it's quite clear that the Pack's video displays youth movement energy while E-40's makes a strong regional statement, further support that the Pack might be the ones to break hyphy in ways that recent attempts by the music/media industrial complex couldn''t manufacture.
Too $hort, another older figure who's pushing hyphy, seems much more clued in to what members of various older generations can do to help the spread of hyphy. As he told Tamara Palmer while referring to himself in the third person:
I think 40 and Too $hort are going to endorse it, and I think that if 40 or Too $hort tried to take it to the masses we’re almost just like perpetrating a little bit. . . It shoulda been Mac Dre to be the one bringing it to the masses, but his life was cut short. I think it’s on the next generation. Me and 40, all we can do is help. It’s an endorsement, that’s all. 'Cause me and him sat around and talked about the youngsters and how much our songs influenced them, but me and 40 don’t jump out of cars and ghost ride the whip and go stupid hanging out of windows. We don’t do that s**t. Somebody who does that needs to lead it. Mac Dre did that stuff. Keak da Sneak does that stuff. Mistah F.A.B. does that stuff. They need to lead the moment. 40 and me just need to be the Bay Area ambassadors we are, just stayin up on the throne or whatever and just overlook the masses and just say, "Handle your business." I’m trying to be a guiding light.
Obviously, it's not like Too $hort thinks any less of himself than does E-40, he just generally seems to understand the larger game much better than most folks and he also knows that he can benefit from hyphy without having to act like the kids are just following in his footsteps.
Since I opened with a reference to a current New York cliche, I think it's fitting to close with Too $hort's response to the typical Bay Area complaint that everybody else in rap music steals from the Bay:
I’m really not condoning all these Bay Area muhf**kers running around talkin’ bout, “Man, they’re stealing from us, they’re stealing from us!” Steal it back muhf**ker, s**t! Quit complaining!
Related ProHipHop Coverage:
Got My Vans On: Programming The Sneaker Freak
A Quick Note About The Pack's Vans
Update:
Eric Arnold, author of the Vibe article discussed above, weighs in with an extended contribution in the comments section. Don't sleep!
Since I would not normally pay attention to what Shakira's up to, I hadn't caught the Machiavellian sequence of album release, Hips Don't Lie featuring Wyclef Jean partial release (initially held back from digital downloads), followed by the follow-up album release with the single, followed by the digital download release of the single in stages from V-Cast to iTunes.
Now that's working an album/single combo to filth. Talk about hustling!
The above linked NY Times article goes into more detail regarding how the single was made available on various platforms, including as an initally exclusive download on Verizon's V-Cast service.
Machinations aside, the release of an edited video of fan footage may be the most useful takeaway from this textbook case of marketing as mass manipulation:
At the same time [as the V-Cast release], Epic asked Yahoo Music to stream the song over the Internet. While Shakira finished production on the single's official video, Yahoo invited fans to submit footage of themselves dancing to "Hips Don't Lie." Yahoo then cut the samples together and posted the "fan video" on its site on March 8.
The fan video "went straight to No. 1 and became extraordinarily viral," said Jay Frank, the head of programming and music relations for Yahoo Music. Mr. Frank said the fan video was viewed more than a million times in the first few weeks of its release.
I definitely have a lot of mixed feelings about this approach, one that relies on the feeding frenzy aspect of pop music, but I do think it's a great example of how release strategies are an integral part of marketing.
According to a publicity release DMX's new album that was entitled Here We Go, Again has been retitled Year of the Dog, Again and is expected for release this summer from Ruff Ryder/Sony Music.
There's a new single produced by Swizz Beats called We In Here which I think is the name of an earlier track but the lyrics are definitely different. This is more of a we're back track than a diss/revenge/threat track.
We In Here:
WM Hi
WM Lo
RM
MOV
I just listened again and realized that it's probably only with DMX that I would describe a track with these lyrics as not a diss/revenge/threat track because it's definitely violent and really coming for the current crew defining rap. Anyway, you long time DMX fans can respond in the comments about the song but my deal with DMX has never been one where I was particularly impressed by the specific acts of violence described or implied.
There's something about DMX's tragic, troubled persona that's just so much bigger than any of the other gangsta types and has nothing to do with guns, dogs, crews, big muscles, fast punches and other paraphernalia of machismo that's now a part of hip hop for better or for worse. This will sound ridiculous to many but, energetically speaking, he's channeling energies much stronger than most rappers could handle. Perhaps that's why he has so many problems handling it himself.
Last month it was announced that DMX was leaving Def Jam for Sony Urban/Columbia and that the delayed album was back on track.
Instead of the summer anthem we kept waiting for, we got Mariah Carey's We Belong Together.
The most popular single of the summer, Mariah Carey's We Belong Together is in its tenth week at the top of the Hot 100, the longest of any single for the year. It's also in its 11th week at no. 1 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart and in its 2nd week at no. 1 on the Hot Ringtones chart.
In other singles chart action, Busta Rhymes appears in the no. 1 spot in the Pop 100 via a featured appearance on the Pussycat Dolls' Don't Cha.
No giant hip hop singles debuted in the Hot 100 this week though The Black Eyed Peas' Don't Lie entered at no. 81, Trey Songz' Gotta Make It featuring Twista entered at no. 89 and Akon's Belly Dancer (Bonanza) squeezed in at no. 98.
Billboard reports on the singles charts and the album charts, cause that's what they do best. In related news on which I've slept, Akon's kicking ass in the UK.
Jay-Z's Just Summer track, that started life over a Green Lantern beat for a tennis shoe commercial, is getting widespread attention. In addition to a live radio debut and a mixtape release, the track will be the intro for Memphis Bleek's upcoming album 534.
Luke Campbell has signed a deal with Urban Box Office for its new hip hop label Insurgent Records. The first release planned, Luke Campbell’s Soup for the Freaky Soul: The Sexploits of Uncle Luke, is described as a "four-disc set consisting of a two-disc audio book of choice autobiographical moments, compilation soundtrack CD and a DVD featuring stimulating footage of his notorious Luke Girls."
Rhino Records is scheduled to release an ODB compilation, The Definitive Ol' Dirty Bastard Story, on June 21st. And, though Damon Dash is said to be leaving Universal, ODB's A Son Unique is still expected in July.
Busta Rhymes is currently working on The Big Bang with production by Dr. Dre and Timbaland. The album is schedule to drop July 19th. Busta Rhymes also recently provided descriptive narration on a Stevie Wonder video as a special audio feature for blind and visually impaired folks.
Approximately 19 tracks of collaborative material from Trent Reznor and Zack de la Rocha, former Rage Against The Machine frontman, look like they'll stay in the vault. Reznor feels that the work was "excellent" but that Zack just isn't sure of what he wants to release right now. Reznor also recently recruited Saul Williams to open for Nine Inch Nails on their European tour.
DMX's new album Here We Go Again is due out in June or July. I hope he's doing well but that title sounds phoned in when you consider a discography that includes It's Dark and Hell Is Hot.
R. Kelly has an album due in July that should include a track featuring The Game. I haven't heard the single Trapped in the Closet, which is doing ok on the charts, but ProHipHop wants Mr. Kelly to know that we support you coming out in all your freakishness, oh troubled one.
I'm sure you already know, but even though Mariah's topping the album charts, 50 Cent's single Candy featuring Olivia is in its 9th week at no. 1. 50 also appears at no. 2 in The Game's Hate It or Love It (why only two choices?), a single that's now at no. 1 on Billboard's Hot Rap Tracks, at no. 9 with Disco Inferno and at no. 86 on Mary J. Blige's MVP featuring 50 Cent and The Game.
Other hip hop related tracks in the Hot 100's top 10 include Akon's Lonely at no. 4, Frankie J's Obsession (No Es Amor) featuring Baby Bash at no. 6 and Ciara's Oh featuring Ludacris at no. 8.
In related singles news, Kanye West debuted Diamonds, the first single off his upcoming album Late Registration, at NY's Hot 97 this week.
With Mario at no. 1 on the Hot 100 Billboard singles chart with Let Me Love You, rappers and R&B artists are scrapping for lower rungs, except when they're working together. Most of the top 10 held firm with T.I.'s Bring Em Out rising to no. 9. 50 Cent's Candy Shop entered the charts at no. 53 becoming the top debut for the week and giving 50 Cent presence in four songs in the Hot 100.
Ciara's single Goodies featuring Petey Pablo debuted at no. 1 in the UK singles charts.
English hip hop act The Streets made the shortlist for the BRIT Awards in the best song category for the single Dry Your Eyes and was the only hip hop act to do so (unless I'm missing one). This is an impressive achievement given that the 25 singles for which BBC Radio 2 listeners will vote come from hits recorded by British acts since 1977. For more on the British equivalent of the Grammies, see the BRIT Awards homepage.
NPR honors the 25th anniversary of Rapper's Delight, the hit that began the process of music labels taking hip hop from the streets, tarting it up and marketing it to the masses.
Allison Keyes talks with Yvonne Bynoe, author of the new book Stand and Deliver: Political Activism, Leadership and Hip-Hop Culture.
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