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Posts tagged as “Hip Hop”

J. Cole Keeps Promise to Attend Fan's High School Graduation, Offers To Help with College Tuition

By goodblacknews on June 26, 2015

J. Cole and fan Cierra Bosarge at her graduation (Photo via Instagram)
J. Cole and fan Cierra Bosarge at her graduation (Photo via Instagram)

Rapper J. Cole took a break from his national tour in order to attend a fan’s high school graduation and follow up on a promise he made a full two years ago. Teen fan Cierra Bosarge says she reached out to J. Cole in 2013, writing him a letter (which she later summed up in a tweet) about how he had inspired her to persevere in school, despite having a hard time academically.
Cierra’s note prompted the hip hop artist to send her a direct message on Twitter and then follow up by phone. J. Cole agreed to attend the high schooler’s graduation to watch her accept her diploma, but only if she got admitted to a four-year school.
Two years later, they both followed through on the commitments they made — Cierra kept her grades up (sending updates via Twitter), and J. Cole’s manager sent Cierra a message confirming that the star would be there to watch her graduate. According to her Twitter account, when J. Cole showed up to the ceremony this week, he not only gave Cierra some of his “favorite books” as a grad gift, but also offered to help pay for her tuition.
article by Carly Steyer via huffingtonpost.com

Common Delivers Commencement Speech, Receives Honorary Doctorate at Winston-Salem State University

By goodblacknews on May 15, 2015

The rapper known as Common, (Lonnie Rashid Lynn, Jr.), delivered the commencement address at the WSSU graduation in Bowman Gray Stadium.
Common delivered the commencement address at the WSSU graduation in Bowman Gray Stadium. (Photo: David Rolfe)

WINSTON-SALEM — Award-winning hip-hop recording artist and actor Common encouraged nearly 1,000 graduating students from Winston-Salem State University to follow and trust in their paths to achieve their dreams.
“You want to surround yourself with people who believe in your path,” Common said Friday. “Belief is contagious. As you climb up the mountain, it will be difficult at times.”
Common, who was born Lonnie Rashid Lynn Jr., was the keynote speaker at WSSU’s graduation ceremony, which was held at Bowman Gray Stadium before about 12,000 people.
During his 27-minute speech, Common talked about his career as an actor, author and a hip-hop artist.
He mixed humor with his remarks that elicited laughter from the crowd. Some women in the audience screamed as he spoke.
He told the graduates that he was inspired by NBA star Michael Jordan, media mogul Oprah Winfrey, President Barack Obama and Jesus.
Common said he learned as a youth playing for a basketball team in Chicago that he had to practice and work hard to achieve greatness.  Common said he dropped out of college to pursue a career as a hip-hop artist over the objection of his mother.
“I had found my path,” he said. “This voice of hip-hop would take me around the world.”
Common released his first album, “Can I borrow a Dollar,” in 1992, and he has since recorded nine others.
Common, 43, won a Grammy Award in 2003 for his song, “Love of My Life,” with singer-songwriter Erykah Badu.  Common won a second Grammy for his 2007 album, “Southside.”  He’s also a noted social activist.
During his speech, a young woman yelled to Common from the grandstand: “Here’s your wife.” Common replied, “Where are you; I want to meet you.”
The crowd laughed at the exchange.
Common told the graduating students they will face challenges in their lives, and they will not achieve their goals as quickly as they want.  “If you see the mountaintop, you know you will get there,” he said.
After his speech, the WSSU Choir and Symphonic Band performed the song “Glory” from the 2014 movie “Selma.” The song, by Common and singer John Legend, won the Academy Award in February for Best Original Song.
Afterward, WSSU Chancellor Elwood Robinson presented Common with an honorary doctorate of humane letters.  Common said he appreciated receiving the degree.  “This is one of the best days of my life to get this honor for you all,” Common said. “I’m grateful. I got a doctorate.”
article via news-record.com

MUSIC: Kendrick Lamar on His New Album and the Weight of Clarity

By goodblacknews on March 17, 2015
Kendrick Lamar is working to purify hip-hop, a genre he hopes to ground in his true experiences growing up poor in Compton, Calif.,  the son of a former gangbanger. (Credit: John Francis Peters for The New York Times)

LOS ANGELES — Following the success of his major label debut, “good kid, m.A.A.d. city,” in 2012,  Kendrick Lamar did not indulge in earthly luxuries. Instead, he got baptized.

That album was the story of his redemption, not just from street gangs through rapping but from a life of sin by embracing Jesus Christ. His long-awaited follow-up, “To Pimp a Butterfly” (TDE/Aftermath/Interscope), which was made available online Sunday night, ahead of a planned March 23 release, is about carrying the weight of that clarity: What happens when you speak out, spiritually and politically, and people actually start to listen? And what of the world you left behind?

Mr. Lamar, who grew up in Compton, Calif., had previously been saved as a teenager in the parking lot of a Food 4 Less, he said, when the grandmother of a friend approached him after a tragedy, asking if he had accepted God. “One of my homeboys got smoked,” Mr. Lamar recalled. “She had seen that we weren’t right in the head. That was her being an angel for us.”

On his new album, “To Pimp a Butterfly,” Mr. Lamar is an evangelist for black power. (Credit: John Francis Peters for The New York Times)

Nearly a decade later, having found that fame and riches did not offer additional salvation, or happiness, he “wanted to take it to the next level — being underwater,” he said. “I felt like it was something I had to do.”

Whereas “good kid, m.A.A.d. city” zoomed in on a day in the old life of Mr. Lamar, a gifted but wayward high schooler in a neighborhood filled with death and temptation, “To Pimp a Butterfly” brings listeners up to his present day, from world tours to the B.E.T. Awards, and the separation he feels from his past. Rather than relief, his escape from Compton has brought only more opportunities for sin and self-doubt, an internal chaos reflected not only in Mr. Lamar’s intricate stories but also in vigorous jazz- and funk-inflected production that builds on the smoother West Coast sounds of his debut.

R.I.P. Henry Jackson AKA "Big Bank Hank" from The Sugarhill Gang

By goodblacknews on November 11, 2014
Big Bank Hank (center) of The Sugarhill Gang
Big Bank Hank (center) of The Sugarhill Gang

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — Big Bank Hank, one of the members of the pioneering hip-hop group the Sugarhill Gang, has died at the age of 57.

The performer, whose real name was Henry Jackson, died from kidney complications due to cancer, according to reports.
Jackson formed the Sugarhill Gang with Master Gee and Wonder Mike, having a big hit in 1979 with “Rapper’s Delight.”  The record sold several million copies worldwide and helped establish rap as a vital genre of music.
The full version of “Rapper’s Delight” ran nearly 16 minutes long and was recorded in a single take.  A shorter single version was also released and became a radio staple in the early 1980s.
http://youtu.be/ljUnyv5XUA8
Jackson’s death was reported by website TMZ and confirmed to Fox News by David Mallie, who manages the two remaining band members.  “So sad to hear of our brother’s passing,” said Wonder Mike and Master Gee in a statement. “Rest in peace Big Bank.”
article via bbc.com

Dr. Dre is Forbes’ Highest-Paid Hip-Hop Act at $620 Million for 2014

By goodblacknews on September 28, 2014

Dr. DreDr. Dre tops Forbes list of highest-paid hip-hop acts with a total of $620 million earned this year. This is the most money ANY entertainer that has been evaluated by the magazine has earned in one calendar year.
What makes this even more incredible is that Dr. Dre alone made more than all 24 of the people combined on the 2014 list.  Two second-place entries, both tied at $60 million, made 10% of what Andre “Dr. Dre” Young did. But, with that total, Shawn ‘Jay Z’ Carter and Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs won’t be cashing any unemployment checks any time soon.
Cash Money claims a large stake in the money game as well, with Drake in fourth place at $33 million, Birdman (Co-CEO of Cash Money) at No. 7 with $24 million, Lil Wayne a hair behind him with $23 million and Nicki Minaj, the only female artist on the list, at No. 11, with $14 million.
The complete “World’s Highest-Paid Hip-Hop Acts” list follows:
1. Dr. Dre: $620 million
2. Sean Combs: $60 million
2. Jay Z: $60 million
4. Drake: $33 million
5. Macklemore & Ryan Lewis: $32 million
6. Kanye West: $30 million
7. Birdman: $24 million
8. Lil Wayne: $23 million
9. Pharrell Williams: $22 million
10. Eminem: $18 million
11. Nicki Minaj: $14 million
12. Wiz Khalifa: $13 million
13. Pitbull: $12 million
14. Snoop Dogg: $10 million
15. Kendrick Lamar: $9 million
16. Ludacris: $8 million
16. Tech N9ne: $8 million
16. Swizz Beatz: $8 million
16. 50 Cent: $8 million
20. Rick Ross: $7 million
20. J. Cole: $7 million
20. DJ Khaled: $7 million
20. Lil Jon: $7 million
20. Mac Miller: $7 million
article by Cedric “Big Ced” Thornton via blackenterprise.com

Lee Daniels’ Hip-Hop Drama ‘Empire’ Gets Series Order at Fox

By goodblacknews on May 6, 2014
empire-lee-daniels-danny-strong
According to Variety.com, “Empire,” the drama project from Lee Daniels and Danny Strong set in the world of hip-hop, has been picked up as a new series at Fox.
The family drama from Imagine TV and 20th Century Fox TV stars Terrence Howard as industry heavyweight Lucious Lyon, a tough but wise patriarchal figure. The cast also includes Taraji P. Henson, Gabourey Sidibe, Trai Byers, Kaitlin Doubleday, Grace Gealey, Bryshere ‘Yazz the Greatest’ Gray, Jussie Smollett and Malik Yoba.
The project reteams “Lee Daniels’ The Butler”‘s Daniels and Strong, who co-wrote this pilot with Daniels directing. Grammy Award-winning Tim “Timbaland” Mosley wrote the music for the pilot — marking the first time Mosley has worked so closely on a drama pilot. Executive producers are Brian Grazer, Daniels, Strong and Francie Calfo.
article by Lori Lakin Hutcherson

John Singleton Back as Director for Tupac Shakur Biopic

By goodblacknews on February 17, 2014
John Singleton Tupac Movie
Director John Singleton (Lester Cohen/WireImage)
After falling off the project two years ago, all eyes are on John Singleton to return to Morgan Creek’s untitled Tupac Shakur biopic — a film he’s long wanted to make.  Singleton has closed a deal to rewrite, direct and produce the biopic about the iconic rapper, which would follow his rise to being one of the most popular hip-hop artists as well as his murder following a boxing match in 1996 in Las Vegas. Morgan Creek is co-financing the film with Emmett/Furla/Oasis.
“Tupac was the guy who I planned to do a lifetime of films with,” Singleton said. “His passing deeply affected my life as well as countless people in this world. His life story is as important to my generation.”  The next move is to find the actor to play Shakur. Singelton will soon dive into rewriting the script, with hopes of beginning production sometime this June.
Singleton had once been linked to the project, but the deal fell through and the film has been in limbo ever since. James G. Robinson and David Robinson, along with Program Pictures’ L.T. Hutton, are also producing the pic.  The film’s long history also includes a legal battle between Morgan Creek and Shakur’s mother, Afeni Shakur, over the rights that eventually led to a settlement and Afeni becoming an exec producer on the project. Training Day director Antoine Fuqua attached himself after Singleton’s original flirtation, but bowed out after he couldn’t get the right script in place or find a lead (Morgan Creek tried an open casting, but that didn’t pan out).

Jay Z’s ‘Magna Carta’ Easily Keeps its Crown

By goodblacknews on July 24, 2013
Jay Z’s ‘Magna Carta’ Easily Keeps its Crown
Lacking any serious new competition, Jay Z’s “Magna Carta Holy Grail” held onto the No. 1 post on the U.S. album chart last week despite a large erosion in sales.
The rapper’s Roc Nation collection shifted 129,000 units, according to Nielsen SoundScan figures for the week ending July 21. Numbers reflected a 76% drop-off from the set’s debut-week sales of 528,000, which was the year’s second-biggest opening to date.
Singer-songwriter Sara Bareilles’ “The Blessed Unrest” (Epic) had to settle for No. 2, arriving with first-week sales of 68,000. Her last album, “Kaleidoscope Heart,” reached No. 1 with a 90,000-unit tally in 2010.
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In at No. 3 was the 24th installment of Razor & Tie’s long-running “Kidz Bop” series, which turned 62,000 copies. The current package contains moppet-friendly versions of hits by the Lumineers, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, Justin Timberlake and others.
Florida rapper Ace Hood attained his best chart position to date with “Trials & Tribulations” (Cash Money), which ascended to No. 4 with 34,000 shifted. His previous personal best came in 2011 with “Blood, Sweat & Tears,” which peaked at No. 8 behind a 26,000-unit frame.
Holdovers for the week included Florida Georgia Line’s “Here’s to the Good Times” (No. 5, 31,000 sold, off 5%), Imagine Dragons’ “Night Visions” (No. 6, 28,000, down 15%), J. Cole’s “Born Sinner” (No. 7, 27,000, off 32%) and Justin Timberlake’s “The 20/20 Experience” (No. 9, 24,000, up 33%). Timberlake’s album sold just 24 units more than Simpson’s debuting collection, according to SoundScan.
article by Christopher Morris via Variety.com

Hip Hop's Historic Priority Records Gets New Life as Electronic Music Label

By goodblacknews on July 22, 2013

DJ Just Blaze
DJ Just Blaze

Historic hip-hop imprint Priority Records has been given a new lease on life, this time as a producer-centric electronic music and progressive urban music label. A joint venture of Insurgency Music and Capitol Music Group, the refurbished label will be headed by Insurgency co-founder Michael Cohen, the two companies announced July 22.
Operating out of the Capitol Records building in Hollywood, the new-look Priority will officially launch in August with single “Higher,” a collaboration between hip-hop beatmaker Just Blaze, “Harlem Shake” creator Baauer and Jay Z.
As Cohen explained in a statement: “We are looking to establish the new Priority as a home for producers. The emergence of the producer as an artist and brand within the global electronic music scene and beyond has heralded a paradigm shift in the way music is created, discovered and spread.  We are firm believers in nurturing artists and scenes that develop in the underground, and we intend to infuse the label with the most progressive artists we can find, wherever they may be.”
51915-655x288Founded in 1985 in Los Angeles, Priority first hit paydirt with novelty releases from the California Raisins, but it was as a hip-hop imprint that it truly made its mark. The label released such landmark gangsta rap albums as N.W.A.’s “Straight Outta Compton” and Ice Cube’s “AmeriKKKa’s Most Wanted,” and later forged a hugely successful alliance with Master P’s No Limit Records in the mid-1990s. Priority pacted with EMI in the 1990s and was eventually merged into Capitol.
Priority releases will be distributed by Caroline in the U.S., with parent company Universal Music Group handling international.
via Priority Records Relaunched as Electronic Music Label | Variety

Jay-Z’s ‘Magna Carta Holy Grail’ Tops Billboard Charts, Without Samsung’s Help

By goodblacknews on July 17, 2013
jAY Z attends JAY Z and Samsung Mobile's celebration of the Magna Carta Holy Grail album, available now through a customized app in Google Play and Samsung Apps exclusively for Samsung Galaxy S 4, Galaxy S III and Note II users on July 3, 2013 in Brooklyn City. (Photo by Larry Busacca/Getty Images for Samsung)
Jay-Z attends JAY-Z and Samsung Mobile’s celebration of the Magna Carta Holy Grail album, available now through a customized app in Google Play and Samsung Apps exclusively for Samsung Galaxy S 4, Galaxy S III and Note II users on July 3, 2013 in Brooklyn City. (Photo by Larry Busacca/Getty Images for Samsung)

NEW YORK (AP) — Jay-Z’s new album has sold more than 500,000 units its first week.  Nielsen SoundScan said late Tuesday that preliminary data shows that “Magna Carta Holy Grail” moved about 527,000 copies. It will debut at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart this week.  The album was officially released on July 7. Samsung bought and gave 1.2 million copies of the album to Galaxy mobile phone users on July 4. Billboard is not counting those sales on its charts.
“Magna Carta” has the second-best first-week debut of the year after Justin Timberlake’s “20/20 Experience.” The album features Timberlake, Beyonce, Frank Ocean and Timbaland.  Jay-Z’s 12th album had more than 14 million streams in its first week on Spotify, beating a record that Daft Punk set in May with “Random Access Memories.”
Copyright 2013 The Associated Press via thegrio.com