Doctor's Recommendation: Get To Know Blu

There's not enough I can say about the kid Blu. Just press play.

Just Another Day

Blu - Just Another Day
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[good look itsshake]

So(ul) Amazing

[via nah right]

Music's Dynamic Duo Gnarls Barkley Returns With 'Odd Couple'

Super Tuesday is right around the corner, some campaigns are picking up speed while others are falling off the track, Subway is beefing with Quiznos, and who in the world knows what's going on with the troops overseas. So that leaves me with one question, in the famous words of the Dark Knight's Joker (RIP Heath Ledger): Why so serious?

This April, no matter what is going on in the world, I will (and I hope you will too) be going to the record store to cop the Odd Couple, the sophomore LP from the unified genius of Danger Mouse and Cee-Lo Green known as Gnarls Barkley. The album is not complete yet, but according to their website gnarlsbarkley.com, the follow-up to their incredible debut St. Elsewhere will drop on April 15. This track Run is apparently the first single and it has the similar soulful, funky feel that propelled them into the stratosphere two years ago. Here's Rolling Stone's preview piece:

The new Gnarls Barkley disc won’t be released until April, but we got the chance to hear a few new cuts early. The verdict: Cee-Lo and Danger Mouse have produced another album of super-catchy tunes that veer between retro-soul shakedowns, tricked-out psychedelic rock and trunk-rattling hip-hop. While nothing sounds as indelible as “Crazy,” the first two tracks that the pair are considering for a lead single are pretty ace: one is a funked-up organ groove complemented by French horns, a chorus of “la la la”s and Cee-Lo crooning in his throaty rasp, “Here it comes/Say it loud!” The other track, which we’re told is the duo’s favorite, is drastically different: a sinister ballad featuring intricately strummed acoustic guitar chords. Cee-Lo’s mood turns dark as he repeats over and over, “Who’s gonna save my soul?/I know I’m out of control.” It’s a stylish, spooky take on Robert Johnson’s delta blues—and even that suits them just fine.

Peep their myspace page too.

Erykah Badu - Honey [video]

And here's the video from Ms. Badu's first single, Honey, off her upcoming LP, New AmErykah. Make sure you cop this album on Feb. 26.

Erykah Badu's Dope Album Cover And More

I know this came out a few days back, but I've been away. Anyway, here is Ms. Badu's ill cover [via okayplayer] from her upcoming album New AmErykah designed by this dope artist Emek. I mean, the cover alone is worth the purchase. (I can't wait to "comb" through the picture and analyze each of the images, which without a doubt will resonate all the more given the political climate of the country.)

Her album drops Feb. 26 and I am definitely looking for this one. It's been too long and although Baduizm, Mama's Gun and Worldwide Underground remain timeless classics, I do want to see what Ms. Badu has been cooking up. And judging from the new track that hit the internet produced by Madlib called The Healer, it definitely sounds like she's turned her back on the mainstream completely and I am anxious to experience the end result. But that's not all Badu has coming this year, according to this article from the Jamaica Observer.

"I have three albums coming out this year, the first one will be released on February 26 (her birthday) and it's gonna be called New Amerykah," Badu says, adding that the next, Return Of The Ankh is scheduled for a July release.

"The other one's gonna be called New Amerykah II and it's gonna be a totally digital experience."

Removing an ebony puff of her larger-than-life afro from her face, Badu explains the meaning of "totally digital experience".

"You'll purchase (instead of a CD) a USB stick, each will come with a specific code that you punch in. That way you'll get to upload a new song every month for the next 10 months."

Her digital ideas, however, don't stop there!

"I'll also be starting a magazine called Freaq, it's gonna be dedicated to arts, politics, beauty, fashion, photography and technology," shares the 36-year-old, adding that she also manages her own Myspace page.

Badu, who has done some acting and directing as well, sees branching out as a chance to ensure that artistes like her are well represented in the entertainment industry.Still, she is somewhat peeved about the neo-soul labelling she has received over the years.

"I don't even know what that term means, I mean, I know what the individual words mean but together?" Badu says, explaining that Kedar Massenburg of Universal Records had ascribed the name to the type of sound she and fellow singer D'Angelo employed when they were still burgeoning artistes.

"I guess to Kedar it was a new wave of underground sound. I don't reject it, but I feel like it's just one part of me and my music."

While she doesn't completely reject the neo-soul categorisation, she rejects the view that hip hop is dead.

"Hip Hop lives because people live, it's more than just music, it's a lifestyle," she says, "you,re looking at a product of rhymes and beats; boom boxes and headphones; break dancing and graffiti. I'm from that tribe. Maybe what they mean is that it has become boring and [unimaginative] but it's alive in the people."

Marching Band Plays Kanye's Flashing Lights [video]

Flashing Lights Atlanta Georgia Dome Battle of the Bands 1/26

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You should already know that the Marching 100 from Florida A&M University is the really real deal, but peep this band play Kanye West's Flashing Lights at the Georgia Dome for the Battle of the Bands.

Long Live the King: A Tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

All this week and for the rest of the year, you will read stories linking the dream of Dr. Martin Luther King to the incredible campaign of Sen. Barack Obama (other than the controversy surrounding the remarks of his rival Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton). You will read stories with headlines that read "The Dream Realized" or something like that say Dr. King would be proud of the Democratic Senator from Chicago and that this is the day King spoke about in his famous speech. And maybe it is. But as we celebrate the legend and legacy of the man who dared to stand up for what he believed, let us look beyond the immortalized words of his text book biography. Because what Dr. King really is is a part of each of us, at our greatest potential. Indeed, we have come a long way. But from this point forward, let us dig deeper into ourselves to see the manifestations of everything Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said and stood for.

With that said, I present reallyrealtalk's guest essayist, Jamilla Webb, who wrote a poignant letter titled "For Martin...." about her own personal experience understanding King and put together the following package of references and links. Read it. Absorb it. And live it.

I can still remember being a little girl…growing up and hearing Stevie’s song celebrating MLK’s birthday. He was like this perfect man, this Idol, this figure that should be revered, but yet so distant that I still could not understand how his existence affected my life. As I grew older, I found myself beginning to dislike some of Dr. King’s practices. Seeing “Eyes on the Prize” and watching my elders learn how to crouch and duck during a police beating and other horrific assaults was not my idea of what the fight for justice should look like.

I found myself thinking that he was a passive idealist. It was not until college that I began to become fascinated with who he really was and I began to do my own independent research. From there I found tons of books, speeches and articles about Dr. King. I found his complexity, his militancy and his growing disdain with American Politics (especially during the Vietnam War). It was the vastness of his Dream that was hidden from me as a little girl. It was more than little white girls and boys holding hands with people that looked like me. It was a man who was brave enough to call out a country that dishonored the very principles it was built upon. As we can see, America has yet to answer his call or even attempt to come up with a worthy response.

One night I had a long conversation with one of my friends and I was telling him how I admired Brother Malcolm much more than Martin because he went from a pimp, hustler and thief to becoming one of the most upstanding and outspoken leaders of his time. However, my friend asked me, which quality was more admirable, someone who was at the bottom and found the strength to change his ways, or someone who was born into a middle class family, had a legacy and heritage of leadership, a strong education and family and still among his fortune was empathetic and giving enough to put that all on the line, to see that all men were able to be free and seen as equal no matter what color, situation or economic background they were born into.

It was at that point that I truly appreciated Dr. King and what he stood for. I pray that as we all continue to seek a life of financial comfort and stability, higher education, and build or continue a proud family legacy, that we never forget to reach out to our other brothers and sisters and not be consumed by the selfishness, greed, and coldness that permeates the inner core of this country. Let us celebrate and remember our great elder by remembering what he stood for, living a good life, providing service to others, and leaving our children and future generations with a proud legacy, something to look forward to, and someone to look up to. I love you Brother Martin and I thank you for your life and legacy.

Here are some literary, audio, and other resources for you to delve into if should choose to do so. Peace and love everybody. Sankofa! (and may we never forget!)

With sincerity always,

Jamilla

Music (Songs)

Eddie Kendricks – people (hold on)
The Temptations - A message from a black man
Curtis Mayfield – we the people who are darker than blue
Curtis Mayfield – move on up
The Impressions – Choice of colors
James Brown – Say it Loud!

(I’m Black and I’m Proud)
Stevie Wonder – Happy Birthday (of course)
Chi-lites – Yes I’m Ready
Donny Hathaway – Someday we’ll all be free
Spinners – Ghetto Child
Marvin Gaye – What’s going on
Temptations – Take a look around
Aretha Franklin – Wholly holy

(if you take the time to listen, you will be amazed, as I, that these songs are still just as relevant today – can this fact be used to measure our so called “progress,” regression, or stagnation?)

Books

Strength to Love by Martin Luther, Jr. King


I Have a Dream: Writings and Speeches That Changed the World, Special 75th Anniversary Edition (Martin Luther King, Jr., born January 15, 1929) by Martin Luther King


Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X, and the Civil Rights Struggle of the 1950s and 1960s: A Brief History with Documents (The Bedford Series in History and Culture) by David Howard-Pitney

An Act of State: The Execution of Martin Luther King, New and Updated Edition by William F. Pepper

Other Links, etc….
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Luther_King,_Jr..
http://www.thekingcenter.org/
http://www.martinlutherking.org/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b80Bsw0UG-U&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mT0yfnbpfc8&feature=related
http://www.mlkonline.net/
http://www.mlkonline.net/speeches.html

Doctor's Note: Lupe Fiasco's Gonna Really Confuse You On This One

In this Entertainment Weekly Q&A with Lupe Fiasco, the Chi-town emcee talks about his parents, his skateboard fans, the Grammy nods, LUPEnd (his alleged final album) and how he would rather pay Atlantic to get out of his contract than do anymore albums. But therapup.rawkus.com pointed out this "gem" later down in interview when Margeaux Watson asks Lupe this question: Did you get picked on a lot when you were a kid?

When the gangbangers would try to pull it, I was like, ''Yo, I will f--- you up. And if you wanna call your cousin, call him. I'll call me! I'll call me right now.'' We were shooting TEC-9s when we were babies, so the whole gangsta image, that ain't nothing. When I was growing up, there was a crack house next door to us and they were trying to expand. My father was like, Are you serious? He took his gun, walked next door, and said, ''You're done,'' while I aimed my gun out of the window. I was 13 or 14 and to see that, a lot of the facade and the upkeep [of trying] to impress people was eliminated very early for me.

Hip Hop Is In The Building (Let's Keep It That Way)

The house that hip hop built (or, more accurately, built from) may fall into the wrong hands.

At least according to the tenants of 1520 Sedgwick Ave., the apartment building on the outskirts of the Bronx where hip hop is said to have started with Clive Campbell aka D.J. Kool Herc spinning records at parties back in 1973. The future of the working-class building remains a mystery and a fitting metaphor for the music industry.

Picture this: an apartment building that has maintained its position all these years, not by chance, but by tenants who have worked hard and lived for about $1,000 under the state’s Mitchell-Lama affordable housing program, according to this story from NY Times' cityroom blog (thanks TC!).

The building has 100 units rent for an average of $1,000 a month under the state’s Mitchell-Lama affordable housing program, in which private landlords receive tax breaks and subsidized mortgages and, in turn, agree to limit their return on equity and rent to people who meet modest income limits. The landlords are allowed to leave their contracts after 20 years, and the rate of those choosing to do so has accelerated since 2001. Last February, tenants were told that the owners planned to leave the program.

All of a sudden in comes some big-time real estate mogul, Mark Karasick, and no one really knows what he's up to. But it can't be good. This is the guy that flipped the Bank of America Center in San Francisco and sold it for $1.05 billion to Donald Trump an' nem.

So we can bet big money that he's not coming in with the intention of helping out a brotha or two. And if he does get it, he definitely won't be turning it into some kind of hip hop landmark as D.J. Kool Herc wants. According to the Times blog, "Mr. Karasick has said his interest in the building has nothing to do with the building’s status as the birthplace of hip-hop."

So the tenant group (which has setup a website at save1520.org), with support from United States Senator Charles E. Schumer, are looking at buying the building themselves. But the asking price is a whooping $14 million, even though advocates say it is "way beyond the $5 million or $6 million they have calculated based on the future rent stream." And what would they do with it you ask?

Mr. Campbell thinks the building should be declared a landmark in recognition of its role in American popular culture. Its residents agree, but for more practical reasons. They want to have the building placed on the National Register of Historic Places so that it might be protected from any change that would affect its character — in this case, a building for poor and working-class families.

So let us hope that this building, the birthplace of hip hop, doesn't suffer the same fate of so many music industry artists and fall victim to ravenous capitalists willing to flip and sell our culture for cold, hard cash.

Making the Band 4 - Season 2 [preview]

You can't keep Diddy down for long.

So of course, in his relative absence, you knew he was cooking up something new, or should I say reheating the leftovers. This time around, he's taking the dudes he picked for the band from Season 4, that one cat Donnie who he gave a solo deal and the Making the Band 3 female group Danity Kane and putting them in one house in Miami to make their respective albums. I can't lie, MTB, as recycled as it is, has its moments and despite Diddy tendency to overdo everything, the show does bring in some talented people. But of course, we probably won't ever see any rappers on the show again. I guess he learned that lesson a few seasons back.

MTB 4 Season 2 premieres on MTV January 28th @ 10 p.m.

Soulja Boy: Download King or Downright Disgrace?

As far as history books go, Soulja Boy is up there with Randy Moss an' nem.

On a much smaller scale, of course, but still a record is a record. And as the New England Patriots continue their pursuit toward perfection with Tom Brady and Randy Moss stuffing the league's offensive record books down the trash compactor, Soulja Boy became the first artist ever to rack up 3 million digital downloads with his ubiquitous Crank Dat (Soulja Boy). (The track also earned him a Grammy nomination for Best Rap Song.)

But the comparison is unjust. The Patriots are an undisputable dynasty whereas Soulja Boy is a lesson in minstelity, a one-hit wonder who will be forgotten by this time next year. And he's already biting the bullets of stardom. He recently flashed on mediatakeout and a few other sites via his myspace page for spreading a rumor about a woman claiming he got her pregnant:

Wuz hannan dis ya folk Soulja Boy I just wanna let all my fans know that rumor about me having a baby on the way is not true.. So FUCK that site Mediatakeout And FUCK Bet Black carpet for lying on me! lol

And Oh yeah this is my only Myspace page all the others is fake. And FUCK D.O.B. for lying and saying im joccin them I never heard of them in my life if I leave a comment on ya page and say yo music tight u should take that shit as i compliment DUMBASS! And when I come to Ohio I wish yall niggaz would try some shit I will beat the shit out of yall niggaz myself

I look around and see alot of haters.. Even famous people who don’t know me. Steve Harvey hating? I mean Damn.. STEVE HARVEY? wtf I grew up watchin this nig*a on TV and he wanna get on radio saying my songs are vulgar and trying to stop me from gettin my paper. I mean damn dude if yo son was out here trying to provide from his family you wouldn’t wont someone trying to stop his success and making up shit.

How you gone say some shit on Radio where ALOT of people will believe just because of who you are leave your mouth if you didnt make sure it was true? I got old ass niggaz from Wu-Tang dissin me. Some dude named GZA from Wu-Tang Clan dat was born in 66′ lol, who I never met in my life.. I’m like wow..

Don’t hate. INHALE IT IN NIGGA BREATHE IT IN! BASK IN IT!

Don't ask. In any case, his shine time should be over with any day now. It seems they've already got somebody lined up to fill his spot anyway. Flo Rida, whose smash hit Low, just set a single week digital sales record with 470,000 looks to be right on time. And with this Travis Barker co-sign on Low, Soulja Boy will be out of the game like the Dallas Cowboys in no time.


[via nah right]

Pump It Up

You have probably heard about the Albany-based steroid investigation by now. You know, the one story, which was published yesterday in the Times Union citing unnamed sources and stating that 50 Cent, Mary J. Blige, Timbaland, Wyclef Jean and award-winning producer Tyler Perry have received or used performance-enhancing drugs.

Blige’s camp has denied the claims and other entertainers have declined to comment. The report claims that these big names are just the tip of the iceberg, a handful among the tens of thousands of people who in recent years may have used or received prescribed shipments of steroids and human growth hormone (HGH). It’s a strange story that seems too premature to print because “law enforcement officials said they don't have evidence that musicians and other customers violated any laws.” (None are actually accused of breaking the law. Investigators are taking aim at the clinics and doctors that provide the drugs.) But, of course, anytime you have black people making serious moves, there always has to be someone trying to flush them down like Evilene with bad news.

But it also is a sign of how big the entertainment industry has become. As you read this, the steroid scandal is sweeping through the ranks of America’s pastime. Barry Bonds, the new homerun king, will be clouded by controversy over the matter for the rest of his life, no matter what you believe. Of course, you could look at Fitty and Timbo and could easily claim they’ve been popping those ‘roids. But Wyclef could use an extra veggie burger or two. And the alleged anti-aging benefits wouldn't do much for Mary because black don’t crack. (Plus, there is no evidence that says steroids make you look younger.) And I don’t know what to say about Mr. Medea.

But let’s examine another underlying fact about the stars mentioned in the report: Each of them have had big projects come out in the recent months. Mary J. had the No. 1 album in the country with Growing Pains and Wyclef just released Carnival II. Timbo’s pop collaborations have been constant chart-toppers and his groundbreaking album Shock Value is still going strong, especially Down Under. And Fitty released Curtis and was everywhere in 2007. Not to mention Tyler Perry. He’s a millionaire, cranking out bestsellers, plays and movies like it’s nothing and it has recently been confirmed that he will appear in JJ Abrams’ new Star Trek movie.

These aren’t random black celebs that wouldn’t even recognize the limelight if it hit them in the eye. These people are at the top of their respective games right now so the report comes as no surprise. Not to dismiss the seriousness of the investigation (disclaimer: steroids are bad for you), but without cold, hard facts, it’s difficult to see it as anything more than an attempt to wreck a few relatively good reputations.

Obama: Hip Hop is an Educational Tool

Peep this [via exclaim]:

Senator Barack Obama plans to make use of hip-hop artists to educate the American people if he manages to win the Democratic candidacy and become President.

Obama, who lost to Hillary Clinton in yesterday’s New Hampshire primary, says he is a huge fan of hip-hop and has already talked with two of his favourite artists, Jay-Z and Kanye West, regarding ways in how to use their music and the genre in a positive way.

"I’ve met with Jay-Z; I’ve met with Kanye. And I’ve talked to other artists about how potentially to bridge that gap. I think the potential for them to deliver a message of extraordinary power that gets people thinking (is massive)," Obama told Jeff Johnson during and interview on What’s In It For Us?.

The Democrat showed he was also aware of hip-hop’s negative side too, acknowledging the themes that tend to hinder the music’s message at times.

"There are times, even on the artists I’ve named, the artists that I love, that there is a message that’s sometimes degrading to women, uses the N-word a little too frequently. But also something that I’m really concerned about is (they’re) always talking about material things about how I can get something; more money, more cars.”

Lupe Fiasco on Tavis Smiley [video]

[via nah right]

Common Trinity Freestyle

I can't believe I missed this. My homie Sheema just sent me this video of Common doing his this at Trinity's Night Watch Service in Chi-town. This is how you bring in the New Year.

Lupe Fiasco vs. Rhymefest On Election 2008

It's officially on now.

With Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton defeating Sen. Barack Obama yesterday in the New Hampshire Democratic primary by a nose (or a tear, depending on your angle), the race for president just got real.

This is the stuff that hip hop eats up: beef. So it comes as no surprise that the debate over which Democratic hopeful should win the nomination would seep into the realms of rap music.

On one side, we have Mr. Fiascogate himself, who has said, in this SOHH interview, he won’t vote and even if he did, it wouldn’t be for the junior United States Senator from Illinois, Obama.

"I'm not voting for anybody," Lupe told SOHH. "I don't believe in voting on that level. But I want Hillary [Clinton] to win. Obama doesn't really impress me like that. It's not a shot at him but some of his agendas, the bombing of Iran and all that stuff. He ain't gonna do nothing but perpetuate the nonsense that all the Presidents before have done, and what Bush is doing now. It's to the point now where the world is so twisted and so messed up that we need somebody to come in."

On the other side, we have fellow Chi-town emcee Rhymefest who jumped in the ring quick to give his opinion on the matter via his myspace blog. If you don’t yet have a clue who he is supporting, just check the title of the post: Don’t Let Your Arrogance Fuel Your Ignorance (SUPPORT BARACK!):

"Now, I'm not one to judge a person's political, religious or [even] artistic views; however, the reasons that this artist gave were so fucking erroneous and outrageous that it compels me to speak out, even if only to give fans the right information so that we are not following uninformed-ass rappers down the hole of 'abstract nothingness.'"

Then Fest goes into the facts about Obama's political views, never exactly calling Lupe by name, but it's obvious who the post is about. The debate has gone back and forth with Lupe claiming he would call Fest to settle it and Fest denying that Lupe even had his number on the Okayplayer message boards on the thread titled And furthermore nigga!!!!...:

I'm responding to your post because you don't have my number.

Please fam...don't let some of these people on the boards get the situation twisted for you. I'm not dissing or coming at you on any level. In fact, I love the song "Go Go Gadget Flow" off of your new album, and I encourage everyone to purchase The Cool. Chitown is on the rise! However, Barack Obama also lives in Chicago, and at the very least we have to not put out information that is wrong or can be misconstrued by people on the outside OR the fans that love, listen, and follow what we say.

As a brother, all I'm asking you to do is tell the people that you really don't know what Barack Obama's position is on Iran, or at least not when you did the SOHH interview.

Lupe goes on to say that he wasn't Obama bashing, but that his issue is with the Democratic process as a whole as...

"A system that he said "has shi**ed on us for over 400 years using principles that our precious politicians and candidates still hold dear to this very day ... a contract of social equality written by slave owners...that deserves so many 'f--k outta here's' it ain't even funny.

"I have no faith in it...never have, never will..."

Peep the whole exhange here.

This is the second time in just a few months that a hip hop artist has gone out of his way to blast Lupe's "arrogance as ignorance." There's no love lost between the two Chicago rappers, but I believe this is good. This is what it's all about, artists debating about the issues that (whether they believe it or not) affect them. And as the presidential hopefuls battle on across the country, I hope to see more of this because hip hop has a voice too and it goes way beyond 16 bars.

Estelle - American Boy ft. Kanye West [audio]

Download American Boy here.

This new chick Estelle is sick.

Well, she's not new, per se. She's been down with Kanye and 'nem for a minute. She's an English singer, producer, hip hop artist. She had an album, The 18th Day, that dropped back on 04 and her follow-up LP, Shine, is supposed to come out this year (it was just pushed back to May). She also popped up in John Legend's Save Room video, which makes sense because she was eventually signed to Legend's label, Homeschool Records, through Atlantic Records. Watch for her. I'm predicting she'll be a breakout artist of 2008 given UK's heavy recent influx of good music and both Kanye and Legend on top of their games. Last year, according to the label's site, "Music Week cited her as the one UK rapper most likely to challenge the mainstream."

Even though, she's not spitting on this track (definitely peep the myspace for the other two joints), I am feeling its vibe and her voice drifts kite-like over the melody in the celestial tradition of English R&B soul duo Floetry.

Don't know about that Yeezy accent though.

Oh, For The Good Ol' Days

Planning Jay-Z and Beyonce's Wedding Is No Piece Of Cake

XXL Editor-In-Chief Gets The Boot

Apparently, Elliot Wilson, the long time XXL editor-in-chief, was fired yesterday. The deputy editor, Vanessa Satten, has been appointed interim EIC, according to SOHH.

Wilson started out his career doing freelance journalism for independent rap publications. He helped start Ego Trip Magazine in 1994 and joined The Source two years later. Then, of course, there was all that beef between Boston-rapper Benzino and David Mays and the rest of them (James Bernard, Robert Marriott and Reginald Dennis) and a rival was born in XXL, which, at least in my opinion, has far surpassed The Source as hip hop's magazine.

No one has said yet why he was fired, but of course, gossip giant, mediatakeout, has (someone to say) something about it and a more disheartening rumor about the future of hip hop print journalism. Only time will reveal the real.

Sidebar: Here's a cover shot of XXL's 100th issue (March 2008):

Nas Previews N*gger Lyrics [video]

• MTV
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Marriage Rumor: Jigga & Jobs

This rumor that Jay-Z will be starting a new record label with Steve Jobs' Apple has been swirling for some months now. But with Jay-Z officially out of that Def Jam corner office, it is looking more and more like it might become something real.

And that would be a really really big deal.

Boy Genius Report revived the old rumor, stating that a "high-up person attached to Jay" said it's official. According to 247wallst.com, iTunes currently represents 70 percent of music downloads and the industry figure hit 844 million in 2007 with revenues that make sales of most music store chains look like peanuts. A number of sources have been reporting that the new label could be announced as early as Macworld Expo. Here's the CNBC report:

5ED2-TC-ApplesMusicalAmbitions
Uploaded by skaybn

A separate CNBC post by Jim Goldman broke it down like this:

While the deal is interesting, it faces some extremely steep hurdles, not the least of which is how other traditional recording labels would view Apple's move onto their turf. The company's relationship with them is already tenuous. Steve Jobs has been a vocal critic of digital rights management and the labels' traditional role as music-material gatekeeper.

Still, if Jobs can figure out a way to control content AND distribution, artists could flood his way and he might find himself in the catbird seat. Again.

Apple already assumes many of the roles enjoyed by traditional labels, most notably distribution. And that's why this becomes so interesting: big name artists with a strong fan base don't need "development." They need distribution. Look at Radiohead, Nine Inch Nails, and Madonna.

Traditional labels would cry foul but it's not clear they'd be able to do anything about it. Apple would be in the unusual position of using established acts from established labels to attract customers to iTunes, as it does already today, and then leverage all those eyeballs to sell its own music from its own artists. That'd be a neat trick, but it would sure anger some Hollywood heavyweights.

When Jay-Z stepped down as the Def Jam prez, he said "it's time for me to take on new challenges." Well...

CRS - Us Placers [video]

I should have put this video up a while ago but I wanted to wait and see if there would be an official word on this supergroup. The song, with its Thom Yorke sample, was No. 43 on Rolling Stone's list of the 100 Best Songs of 2007.

CRS (Child Rebel Soldier) is perhaps the best idea since Andre 3000 decided to do his own thing on the Love Below/Speakerboxxx joint. Consider this: Kanye West, Pharrell Williams and Lupe Fiasco in one group. It is a creative tour de force, which has the potential to take hip hop even higher as a collective than they've done individually. Maybe.

The thing is, they're all busy and there has not been any word that CRS will have any more material outside of Us Placers, which appeared on Kanye's Can't Tell Me Nothing mixtape.

Who knows what is to come of CRS? But imagine the possibilities.

The Return of Yeezy

Ye is back with his first blog post on his website KanyeUniverseCity.com since early November when his mother passed from cosmetic-surgery complications. In the past few months, he hasn't made very many public appearances. But yesterday, he put up a post thanking everyone for their support and co-signs Beyonce's undisputed Connect 4 Queen status:

When I was in Europe I would play this game for hours and hours... it helped me zone out. Everybody would get envolved... Derrick Dudley (Common's manager) and Consequence were the best other than me... I beat Lexi... Don C beat Jay... Tony Williams beat Common... but every now and then people would speak of this legendary connect 4 champion........... BEYONCE!!! I had 2 play her!...so last night at Jay's new 40/40 club in Las Vegas (which is sidebar, crazy big w/ 24krt gold flooring, Black Jack tables, $500 slot machines,the biggest projection screen in the universe and the best turkey burgers I've ever had in my life) she beat me 9 times in a row! (and I didn't even spaz lol) here's a photo of the only game I won!

DMX Goes Gospel?

Let me take your hand/Guide me, I walk slow, but stay right beside me/The devil’s trying to find me, hide me/Hold up, I take that back/Protect me and give me the strength to fight back. --DMX, "Lord Give Me a Sign"

The Dog looks to be turning it around and going to God.

DMX’s next album will be gospel album, according to MTV. Well, partly. The double-disc project, his seventh studio album, will be called Walk with Me Now and You’ll Fly with Me Later and is set to be released this year through the independent label Bodog Music. The Walk with Me Now side is raw raps while the Fly with Me Later will be all gospel and will be released some time in 2008.

It sounds like a step in the right direction for one of rap’s biggest names. He has said the album will be a response to how much the game has changed and how he doesn’t want to associate anymore with what it has become. In the article, X says the gospel side will be completely clean. (“how 'bout that one? No songs about b----es, no songs about robbing, just straight 'Give God the glory.'")

Real talk, it’s not that hard to believe. For much of his career, X has put his conflicted soul on display, dousing his verses in thuggish imagery and then spending at least one track on his knee asking for forgiveness. "I want to leave a mark/But it won't be the mark of the devil," he rapped on One More Road to Cross. He has walked and stumbled on that line between his own rage and redemption.

"It's a war," he told MTV back in May 2006. "It's always a war going on between good and bad, you know. I've said it on one of my songs: 'Deep inside I've got something that's working against everything I know is right/ ... That's when God replies to me, "That's why you got to fight/ Harder than you ever fought before/ That's what you got going on inside you, that's a war/ Between good and evil, be careful of those who want to be you/ They smile but they're not really happy when they see you/ Be careful of the ones that always want to get you high/ Because when the time comes, that one will let you die." ' "

So personally, I think it’s positive. Here is a man who is the 6th highest selling rapper of all time and the only rapper to have five consecutive number one albums on the Billboard 200 Album chart. He has one of the most recognizable voices in music (frequently imitated by comics ironically in ministerial roles.) Of course, some might look at this and say, "he’s only doing this for publicity since he’s been falling off in the past year or two" and I can’t really call it. I don’t know him. What I do know is that X has always come across as a bruised and battle-tested veteran, fresh from the trenches of life and nearly dying of thirst. So whether his motive is legit or not, I believe the ends could help him turn it all around regardless.

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Kanye West & John Mayer - Bittersweet [noncommissioned video]

peep this pretty good noncommissioned video (where artists had nada to do with the production) directed by Kamal Robinson & Jameel Saleem of roguelionfilms.

The Day-Late 07 Rap-Up Video

Happy Official New Year!

I know it's 2008 and anything from before today is old news but soveryfresh.com just released this 07 Rap Up video from Skillz so here you go.