Ruff Ryders Reveals Tracklist For "Past, Present, Future," Features Eve, DMX & More Ruff Ryders Reveals Tracklist For "Past, Present, Future," Features Eve, DMX & More

Source:  http://www.hiphopdx.com/index/news/id.16765/title.ruff-ryders-reveals-tracklist-for-past-present-future-features-eve-dmx-more

by Sean Ryon

posted November 16, 2011 at 3:15PM GMT+0100 | 33 comments

UPDATE: Jadakiss, Swizz Beatz, Sheek Louch, Styles P and more contribute to the project.

Although DMX may have only earned his freedom from jail this past July, that hasn't stopped the Ruff Ryders team from staying on the music grind. Now, the Yonkers-based rap label is planning to release its latest project this fall with a familiar face at the helm.

According to a recent press release, Ruff Ryders will drop its latest compliation project this October 18. The as-of-yet untitled mixtape will feature the Ruff Ryders' latest member Mook fronting the project's first single "You Know," an update of DMX's 1998 hit "Ruff Ryders' Anthem."

Mook first gained notoriety on the rap battle circuit as Murda Mook, famously battling Fight Klub champion and one-time Disturbing Tha Peace signee Serius Jones. He signed to Ruff Ryders' independent extension Ruff Ryders Indy back in 2009.

The video for "You Know" can be seen below.
[September 6]
UPDATE: The tracklist has been announced for the upcoming Ruff Ryders compilation, Past, Present, Future. Check the tracklist below (via RR).
01. World`s Greatest – Mook (feat. Sheek Louch, Styles P and Swizz Beatz)
02. Get Your Money Up – DMX
03. Hot Steppa – Eve
04. Hip Hop – Drag-On
05. Beat and a Microphone – Mook
06. You Know – Mook
07. Freaky – Mook (feat. Jadakiss, Shella and Akon)
08. I`m Gone – Shella
09. Want Me – Shella
10. Off the Cuff – Swizz Beatz
11. Showtime – Lil` Waah
12. Watcha You Gonna Do – Swizz Beatz (feat. Cassidy)
13. Love Potion – Hugo
14. What To Do – The LOX (feat. Shella)

Pete Rock Reflects On Heavy D's Death, Says They Recently Recorded A Song Together

source:  http://www.hiphopdx.com/index/news/id.17541/title.pete-rock-reflects-on-heavy-ds-death-says-they-recently-recorded-a-song-together

by Steven J. Horowitz

posted November 09, 2011 at 4:26PM GMT+0100 | 3 comments

PR says that he recently stayed with Heavy D in Los Angeles, California and cut a song together.

Following the unexpected death of Heavy D, his first cousin Pete Rock spoke to Hot 97’s Peter Rosenberg and Cipha Sounds about hearing that his relative passed away.

“A couple of SKYY vodkas last night, just trying to fathom the thought of all of this. It’s very hurtful. This man, he gave me everything, you know?” he said. “It’s unbelievable. I didn’t expect this to happen so fast. I was just with him, two weeks ago at his house. I spent the night. He didn’t even want me to leave, he didn’t want me to go. I laughed at him, it was crazy.”

PR said that while visiting him in Los Angeles, California, Heavy D was interested in getting back to his Hip Hop roots and they recorded a song together.

“We did something. I finished something with him like two weeks ago, finished. When people call you that don’t call you and then your phone is just blowing up with those kind of calls, my stomach got kind of weak. DJ Scratch called me first because that’s my homie, and he let me know,” he continued.

“I felt like he was my guider, the person who put me in place. He was my number one believer.”

Heavy D Reported Dead, Hip Hop Mourns The Loss

source:  http://www.hiphopdx.com/index/news/id.17533/title.heavy-d-reported-dead-hip-hop-mourns-the-loss

by Allen Jacobs

posted November 08, 2011 at 11:20PM GMT+0100 | 18 comments

The veteran rapper passed away in Los Angeles, California earlier this afternoon.

Mount Vernon, New York emcee-turned-actor Heavy D (born Dwight Myers) has been reported dead today. He was 44 years of age. TMZ.com reports that Heavy D was found unconscious near the entrance to his Beverly Hills, California home and rushed to the hospital. Details are still emerging regarding the longtime Uptown Records rapper's cause of death, however peers and loved ones including rapper-turned-deejay/photographer D-Nice and author/activist dream hampton have publicly mourned the rapper's loss just moments ago.

The Jamaican-born emcee was leader of Heavy D & The Boyz, a late 1980s Hip Hop group which released five albums, all on the Uptown label. The group included G-Whiz, DJ Eddie F., and the late "Trouble" T. Roy, who helped inspired Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth's "They Reminisce Over You (T.R.O.Y.)." Between 1987 and 1994, Heavy D & The Boyz worked with the likes of Notorious B.I.G., DJ Premier, Marley Marl and longtime affiliate and fellow Mount Vernon native Pete Rock.

As a solo artist, Heavy D remained close with Uptown Records executive Sean "Diddy" Combs and the mogul's Bad Boy Records imprint, despite never releasing a Bad Boy album. Recently, Heavy D released Grammy-nominated Reggae album Vibes on the Stride label in 2008. Previously, D had released Waterbed Hev in 1997 and a self-titled 1999 album.

The group performed the title track to FOX's In Living Color show, and appeared on the program. As an actor, Heavy D would appear in films such as Life.

At the time of his death, Heavy D was at work on an album called Love Opus, set to feature Anthony Hamilton and Carl Thomas. Just weeks ago, Heavy D performed at the 2011 BET Hip Hop Awards. It was days after Heavy D had performed his hit Michael Jackson collaboration, "Jam," alongside LaToya Jackson.

Consequence Says He's The Reason Q-Tip Placed Beats On "Watch The Throne"

source:  http://www.hiphopdx.com/index/news/id.17527/title.consequence-says-hes-the-reason-q-tip-placed-beats-on-watch-the-throne

by Andres Vasquez

posted November 08, 2011 at 4:29PM GMT+0100 | 7 comments

the interview, check the video below.

The Cons discusses his reasons behind refusing to talk about Q-Tip, saying he wants to move in a positive direction before saying he's the reason Tip placed beats on "Watch the Throne."

After his public feud with Kanye West and Q-Tip, Consequence has been asked about how his relationship with the two has progressed. During a recent interview with Street Disciplez Radio, Cons explained that his beef with Kanye has been squashed but that his problems with Q-Tip have continued. He also added that he is the reason Q-Tip had beats placed on Watch the Throne.

At first, Cons was apprehensive to speak on Q-Tip and West.

"We just gotta do next question with that," he said. "Next question. I'm only here to talk about positive things...I'm making a valiant effort to move in a positive direction. I had a couple public discrepancies with a few folks that I had relationships with in the past. I just think it's more healthy at this point to stay away from certain questions because I do have a blackout switch. So, when you start saying today's secret words like certain peoples' names, that's where I just have to stop you."

When asked if his beef with Pusha T had been settled, he said that did not happen.
"I ain't never do nothing with nobody," he added. "Only person I squashed things with was Kanye West."

Later, though he originally refused to speak on Q-Tip, he began to talk about how his relationship helped Tip land beats on Watch the Throne.

"Q-Tip knows what time is it with me. He knows I been thorough from the day he brought me around his situation. I been thorough and ain't nothing change about me. And I'm a positive energy person.

That's why Q-Tip has three records on Watch the Throne. And you can tweet that. Tweet that and say I said it." 

Lloyd Banks Enlists Styles P, A$AP Rocky & Prodigy For "The Cold Corner 2"

"The Cold Corner 2"

source: http://www.hiphopdx.com/index/news/id.16875/title.lloyd-banks-enlists-styles-p-aap-rocky-prodigy-for-the-cold-corner-2

by Steven J. Horowitz

posted November 07, 2011 at 5:30AM GMT+0100 | 90 comments

UPDATE #2: The G-Unit member reveals the tracklist for his upcoming mixtape.

Lloyd Banks previously cancelled his mixtape Cold Corner 2, but had a change of heart back in August. Now, the G-Unit member explains that the tape will arrive in the next two weeks and that he’s already got 18 to 20 tracks recorded for the follow-up to  H.F.M. 2 (Hunger For More 2).

“I got a couple mixtapes done. I had the Cold Corner done for a second, but I just put it off because I could. I needed more time to work on everything else,” he said while at MTV’s RapFix Live yesterday. “I didn’t want to keep giving them a day and day and pushing it back like it’s an album. It’s a mixtape at the end of the day. [...] It’ll be the best mixtape, hands down, that comes out this year. It’ll be coming out within two weeks, Cold Corner 2, definitely.”

He also updated on his next studio album, stating that he has fulfilled his contract with EMI and looking for a new label home.

“Right now, I’m between situations now. I completed my situation with EMI, and going right back to the drawing board. I been working just constantly, making music for my mixtape series and at the same time for my next album. So I’m about 18 or 20 records into my next album already.”

Redman And Method Man Working On New Production Company & "Blackout! 3"

source: http://www.hiphopdx.com/index/news/id.17517/title.redman-and-method-man-working-on-new-production-company-blackout-3

by Danielle Harling

posted November 07, 2011 at 9:01PM GMT+0100 | 10 comments

Redman says he and Method Man plan on releasing "marijuana related" film, working on both "Blackout! 3" and "Muddy Waters 2."

While rappers Redman and Method Man have no plans on releasing a sequel to their 2001 movie How High due to rights owned by Universal they do have another film-related project in the works.
During an interview with Montreality, Redman revealed that he and Method Man plan on releasing their own production company in the near future.

“Red and Meth is opening their own video company, production company rather. We wanna call it Blunt Brothers Cinema. We’re working on a name for that. We’re having a little bit of problems with solidifying the name but we’re trying to do a movie under our own company now,” Redman explained. “Doing How High 2 the company Universal owns that name; they own the characters in the movie. So that means we can’t take How High to another company and use them characters…So what we gonna do is probably work on shooting our own movie. Call it something else. It will be marijuana related.”
Despite working on opening a production company Redman is still working on various music projects. In fact, the rapper plans on releasing both Muddy Waters 2 and then Blackout! 3 with Redman.
“Blackout! 3, Red and Meth, we coming. We coming with an album, Blackout! 3. We don’t know when it’s gonna drop, but we’re gonna try and put a single out next year. I’m working on Muddy Waters 2 right now,” said Redman.

Dr. Conrad Murray Found Guilty For Involuntary Manslaughter In Michael Jackson's Death

source: http://www.hiphopdx.com/index/news/id.17518/title.dr-conrad-murray-found-guilty-for-involuntary-manslaughter-in-michael-jacksons-death

by Steven J. Horowitz

posted November 07, 2011 03:25:00 PM CST | 9 comments

The 58-year-old faces a maximum of four years in a state prison, and is currently being held without bail.

Following Michael Jackson’s death in 2009, Dr. Conrad Murray has been found guilty for involuntary manslaughter in connection with his passing.

According to LA Times, a jury of seven men and five women decided on the verdict over two days. Murray was charged with the lowest possible homicide offense, facing a maximum sentence of four years in a state prison and a minimum of probation.

Murray, whose medical license was suspended by California authorities, now faces the probable loss of the license. His sentencing date is set for November 29th and will be held in custody without bail.

Amber Rose Talks About Being A Judge On BET's Deejay Competition, Reacts To Kanye West's "Runaway" Dedication

Source: http://www.hiphopdx.com/index/news/id.17488/title.amber-rose-talks-about-being-a-judge-on-bets-deejay-competition-reacts-to-kanye-wests-runaway-dedication

by Nadine Graham

posted November 04, 2011 at 2:39PM GMT+0100 | 39 comments

The irony of a glittering socialite judging deejays head-to-head isn’t lost on Amber as she boldly notes that she knows nothing of the technicalities and only what makes the party jump. However, there’s something to be said of the bravery it entails to step into opportunities, all the while, wise to the venomous criticism it will yield. Unfazed by naysayers and (still) floating on the love of her current boyfriend, Wiz Khalifa, Amber Rose is ready for whatever comes and whoever dishes it out.
HipHopDX was able to speak with Amber about her upcoming move into music, “Master of the Mix” and Kanye’s dedication of "Runaway" in Philly earlier this week.

HipHopDX: What’s the most important element that you’ll be judging for in Masters of the Mix?

Amber Rose: Me judging in Masters of the Mix, I solely place my opinion and judgment on the party aspect of it. I’m not a deejay, obviously, I don’t know how to scratch. I don’t know how to mix but I do know how to party, and when a deejay is playing a dope record and everybody’s going crazy and everybody’s dancing and the deejay messes up and plays a bum-ass song, everyone leaves the dance floor and goes to get a drink or just goes home, that’s when I intervene like, "You were doing so great and then you just messed up the party." That’s exactly why I’m there.

DX: So, by your standards, that’s the worst thing a deejay can do on there to get eliminated...

Amber Rose: Yeah. I mean, I’m very fair, these are young and up and coming deejays, competiting for a quarter of a million dollars. That type of money can just totally change your life so I really think long and hard when we have to do eliminations and stuff like that. I take it very seriously because this is someone’s livelihood.

DX: Can you speak on the music that you’re working on for yourself?

Amber Rose: I’m in New York, in the studio all freakin’ night [Laughs]… I’m really, really working hard. My music is Dance, House, fun, up-beat music. Just happy music. Right now, I’m working with two really big names, but I can’t say them right now because I want it to be a surprise but it’s really huge.

DX: What’s the style of it going it be? Are you singing? Rapping?

Amber Rose: My inspirations would probably be… Definitely Missy Elliott, definitely, Fergie - when she’s rapping and Pitbull. Just big, big music - Dance music that just makes you happy.

DX: How long have you been interested in making music?

Amber Rose: Well, I’ve always loved music. I grew up in Philly and my mother… Before school, there was always music, after school, music and during dinner we had on music. So I know music that a lot of people my age probably don’t know. I’ve always really been into music my entire life and um, it was just waiting for the right time to do it. Now is the right time, I just feel so inspired now, you know?

DX: What would you say was the primary part of that inspiration?

Amber Rose: Definitely Wiz [Khalifa]. He’s definitely a part of that influence. Just seeing how he works, how he is in the studio and just how talented he is. He really… Like, I write all my own stuff, I’ve been writing music for a period of time, and it’s always been personal for me. I never really opened up about it but you know Wiz is  the love of my life, so I told him: "Babe, I wrote all this stuff…" and he’s like, "Baby… You have pure talent. You can do this." So I just took what he said and I feel so inspired to do it, and when I’m in the studio, you know, just the reaction I get from my peers, and the engineer and the producers and stuff, it’s really good. It’s definitely great feedback.

DX: So you got that deciding vote of confidence from Wiz and made the jump.

Amber Rose: Yeah! I’m really quiet. I’m to myself and you know I’m the only child from my mother so I was always like, just a loner, and I always liked to just do shit alone, but just opening up to Wiz… And Wiz’ll tell me the truth, like, "Baby… music just isn’t for you sweetheart. I love you to death but let’s just take a different lane." You know? We’re just like that. We’re very honest with each other. Not in a mean way, but he would definitely let me know. And just having him really, really believe in me makes me just wanna do better.

DX: Is it true that you’ll be producing on his upcoming LP?

Amber Rose: Me producing? No. No. No. Like, I said, we inspire each other. We help each other with music but I’m not producing anything.

DX: On this past Wednesday evening, the Watch The Throne tour stopped in your hometown. And your ex actually dedicated “Runaway” to you. His words were: “To the city of Philly, I wanna thank y’all for making the person that this song was made for…” Do you have any comment on that?

Amber Rose: You know… [long pause] My past is my past. You know, obviously, me and Kanye [West] were together and I know that he wrote that song for me. I knew when it came out because he told me, um… I know a lot of the songs on that album [My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy] were about me, and inspired by me but you know… There’s no hard feelings. I think a lot of people think like, just because you’re not with somebody anymore and you’ve moved on to a different relationship and you’re happy that you’re just supposed to hate that other person and… I don’t hate Kanye at all, I just… You know, I guess I, uh, appreciate it.

Amber Rose has been in the public eye since Kanye West pulled her from the shadowed corners of Sue’s Rendevous  and into the spotlight in 2009. But Yeezy’s influence stops there. Instead of disappearing back into the abyss of oblivion after their 2010 break up, Amber has taken the reigns of her fledging brand going further than most celebrity girlfriends to take advantage of what has been laid out on the Givenchy platter for her indulgence which includes her own career in creating club bangers. The Philly bombshell is also preparing for a spot on BET and Smirnoff’s deejay competition Master of the Mix.Exclusive: Amber acknowledges her role as an inspiration for much of "My Beautiful Twisted Dark Fantasy." She speaks on her own music, but waves off reports that she's co-producing stuff for Wiz.

KB Morge Music: Brother Ali Confirms Album With Freeway, Promises Release In February

Source: http://www.hiphopdx.com/index/news/id.17496/title.brother-ali-confirms-album-with-freeway-promises-release-in-february

Brother Ali Confirms Album With Freeway, Promises Release In February

by Sean Ryon

posted November 05, 2011 at 1:09AM GMT+0100 | 1 comments

Brother Ali says that he and Philly Freezer are dropping an LP and that fans can expect it to drop in February.

OnMilwaukee.com recently chopped it up with local indie phenom Brother Ali. During the interview, the Minnesota Rhymesayer discussed his rumored upcoming project with Philadelphia emcee and frequent collaborator Freeway. Ali confirmed that the two emcees have a project in store for fans this upcoming February. He also discussed how he and Philly Freezer first ended up meeting through their mutual acquaintance producer Jake One.

"Honestly, I think Freeway kind of jumped the gun on talking about it. Like I said, I'm just now starting to talk about an album with Jake. I don't like rushing things. I don't like to start the excitement to try to get people excited about stuff way early because then it feels like, 'Come on, you're taking forever,' and it's like, 'No, I'm just taking the time that I need to take.' My solo album is almost done, like mixed and ready to go, but we're going to release that [project with Freeway] early next year."

He also added, "Me and Freeway have been friends for a while too. We actually met through Jake. I just threw a big event in Minneapolis at my mosque there where we did a combination day of service and block party and me and Freeway performed for free. He ended up staying for a week at my house and hung out with my kids and made a bunch of music. I think we're actually probably going to go to Seattle and then finish the project together."

The full interview with Brother Ali can be read at OnMilwaukee's website.

DJ Premier Says "I'd Love To Work" With Justin Bieber

source:  http://www.hiphopdx.com/index/news/id.17494/title.dj-premier-says-id-love-to-work-with-justin-bieber

by Steven J. Horowitz

posted November 04, 2011 at 9:13PM GMT+0100 | 22 comments

Preem says he'd hit the lab with the teen pop star as long as he wrote his own rhymes.

After DJ Premier allegedly banned Justin Bieber from rhyming in the 2011 BET Cyphers, the veteran producer is willing to hit the studio with the teen pop star. Speaking with MTV’s RapFix, Primo said that he would work with the singer/rapper as long as he penned his own rhymes.

“I’d love to work with him, just as long as he writes it,” he said. “He’s gotta sit there in front of me and write it. I’d love to work with him and it would be dope.”

He also touched on the BET Hip Hop Awards controversy of supposedly banning him from the cyphers. Preem says he was all for Bieber participating, but only if he wrote his verse on his own.
“At the cyphers, I said yo, I’m down for him to spit it, but if somebody writes your rap, you can’t do it. That was my only comment. Even thought I said, ‘Write your own rhymes honey and all that’—I’ma jokester, I could do that and it wasn’t even a diss,” he said. “I was all for it, for him to be in the cypher. [...] Just make sure you wrote your own verse. The cypher is the purest, most original form of our culture.”

Michael Eric Dyson Talks Teaching Sociology Class On Jay-Z

Source: http://www.hiphopdx.com/index/news/id.17486/title.michael-eric-dyson-talks-teaching-sociology-class-on-jay-z

by Slava Kuperstein

Michael Eric Dyson explains what it's like teaching Hov 101.

As Hip Hop continues to expand, its reach finds its way into undergraduate classrooms.
One such classroom is Professor Michael Eric Dyson's Georgetown course, SOCI-124-01 or "Sociology of Hip-Hop - Urban Theodicy of Jay-Z."

"This class is about the politics, the culture, the racial dimensions, the class dimensions, the economic dimensions of Hip Hop culture seen through a figure like Jay-Z." said Dyson an an interview with The Washington Post.

“This is not a class meant to sit around and go, ‘Oh man, those lyrics were dope,’ ” explains Dyson, who penned the book Know What I Mean? Reflections on Hip-Hop, which features an introduction from Jay-Z and an afterword from Nas. “We’re dealing with everything that’s important in a sociology class: race, gender, ethnicity, class, economic inequality, social injustice.... His body of work has proved to be powerful, effective and influential. And it’s time to wrestle with it.”

“I’m a tweener, man! I couldn’t march with Dr. King and them. And I’m too old to be a Hip Hopper,” added Dyson, who sees his role as bridging the gap between generations of music listeners that often don't see eye-to-eye. “But I’ve been granted honorary status in each generation.... I see my tongue as a bridge over which ideas can travel back and forth.”

RZA Joins The Cast Of Quentin Tarantino's "Django Unchained"

source: http://www.hiphopdx.com/index/news/id.17474/title.rza-joins-the-cast-of-quentin-tarantinos-django-unchained

by Steven J. Horowitz

posted November 03, 2011 at 2:30PM GMT+0100 | 8 comments

The Wu-Tang Clan swordsman expands his acting resume with a role in Tarantino's Western.

RZA is once again expanding his acting resume with the announcement that he's joining the cast of Quentin Tarantino's Django Unchained.

The spaghetti Western stars Jamie Foxx as a freed slave who joins forces with a German bounty hunter to liberate his wife. According to Variety, RZA will play Thaddeus, "a violent slave working on a Mississippi plantation."

RZA, who scored Tarantino's Kill Bill 1 and Kill Bill 2, also teamed with the director to have him present his directorial debut The Man With the Iron Fists. The flick, co-written with Eli Roth, stars RZA, Russell Crowe, Pam Grier and Lucy Liu. He will next be seen in G.I. Joe 2, A Very Harold and Kumar 3D Christmas and the next season of Showtime's Californication.

DMX Explains Mopping Up At Waffle House

Source: http://www.hiphopdx.com/index/news/id.17473/title.dmx-explains-mopping-up-at-waffle-house

by Slava Kuperstein

posted November 03, 2011 at 5:48AM GMT+0100 | 41 comments

Dark Man X gives a humbling explanation for volunteering for clean-up.

DMX recently participated in clean-up duty at a Waffle House restaurant.

But this time, it wasn't a creative punishment concocted by longtime X antagonizer Sheriff Joe Arpaio. Rather, the Yonkers emcee performed the act as a kindness.

TMZ reports that a worker, who was mopping at the time, told DMX that he was a big fan of the rapper.

 "I was in a good mood and felt that I would do that for him since it was 4am and [the employee] had been working all night."

The rapper adds, "The minute you get too big to mop a floor or wipe a counter, that’s the exact minute you have life f**ked up."

"I was in a good mood and felt that I would do that for him since it was 4am and [the employee] had been working all night," explained X.

"The minute you get too big to mop a floor or wipe a counter, that’s the exact minute you have life fucked up."

9th Wonder Talks Label, "The Wonder Year" Documentary

source: http://www.hiphopdx.com/index/news/id.17471/title.9th-wonder-talks-label-the-wonder-year-documentary

by Sean Ryon

posted November 03, 2011 at 2:45AM GMT+0100 | 2 comments

9th talks about his upcoming work with Jamla Records and the documentary one UNC student made about him.

HoodHype recently caught up with veteran underground producer 9th Wonder while attending October's A3C Festival in Atlanta, GA. During the interview, 9th talked about his upcoming projects with his own imprint Jamla Records. 9th said that he's going to focus on promoting his line-up of artists and ensuring that they achieve a greater level of success.

"It's all about my label [Jamla Records] now," he explained. "I want to be promoting them and [helping] them mak[e] it - whatever you call 'making it.' [I want them to] be successful, at least to be paid out here, and that's what's important, man. That's what I want for them."

9th also talked about the documentary that one University of North Carolina student earning his Master's degree made about him, titled The Wonder Year. He explained that the filming took a year to complete and that the film is more than just twelve months in his shoes.

"The movie [The Wonder Year] is directed by my brother Kenneth Price, my brother from another mother and color," he said. "He was getting his Master's at UNC Greensboro, and for his Master's thesis, he wanted to do a year-long documentary on me. When I watched [the first cut of it], I told him I hope you're ready for what you have created because this is bigger than just you getting your piece of paper saying that you got your Master's...it's bigger than Hip Hop."

Wale's "Ambition" Predicted To Make Close To 200K In First Week Sales

Source: http://www.hiphopdx.com/index/news/id.17470/title.wales-ambition-predicted-to-make-close-to-200k-in-first-week-sales

by Salima Koroma

posted November 03, 2011 at 1:53AM GMT+0100 | 83 comments

With only one day of full sales, Wale is predicted to sell 190K units of his sophomore effort "Ambition," trailing behind Justin Bieber's holiday album, "Mistletoe."

It has been almost two years since Wale dropped his debut album Attention Deficit. Although the album received positive reviews, the young D.C. rapper felt that Interscope, his label at the time, did not do enough to push sales. 

With a surprise move to Warner Brothers' Maybach Music Group and a team behind him led by Rick Ross, Wale's sophomore album, Ambition, is looking to be a number one contender on the Billboard charts. With only one full day of sales, Ambition, already dominating the iTunes Hip Hop charts, is predicted to sell between 170-190K units, putting him behind Justin Bieber's holiday album, Mistletoe which is trending towards 200-225K.

Solid figures will be released next Tuesday.

Common Speaks On Conception Of "Sweet," G.O.O.D. Music Compilation

source: http://www.hiphopdx.com/index/news/id.17466/title.common-speaks-on-conception-of-sweet-good-music-compilation

Common Speaks On Conception Of "Sweet," G.O.O.D. Music Compilation

by Steven J. Horowitz

posted November 02, 2011 at 8:47PM GMT+0100 | 10 comments

The Chicago, Illinois native says the concept for his latest track came from the sample.

Last night, Common dropped off “Sweet,” a No I.D.-produced cut off his upcoming album The Dreamer, The Believer. During an interview with VIBE.com, Com recalled first hearing the beat and explained that a sample on the track helped him come up with the concept for the track.

“The beat was already hard and I was listening to the sample talking about, ‘Sweet, you look so sweet.’ I was like, the only way I can use this is if I talk about niggas that’s out there that look sweet,” he said.
He also touched on the upcoming G.O.O.D. Music compilation, which Kanye West announced via his Twitter page a few weeks back. While he hasn’t yet contributed to the LP, he’s confident he’ll appear on the album.

“We had talked about it before, but it was actually some new news to me that it was going forward. But I’m definitely looking forward to it and I obviously want to be a part of it. I’m G.O.O.D. Music family forever. Even though my album is not coming out on G.O.O.D. Music, I’m still a G.O.O.D. Music affiliate and artist. That’s my family forever.”

http://www.hiphopdx.com/index/news/id.17453/title.rick-ross-blames-seizures-on-sleep-depravation-reveals-collaboration-with-jay-z

Rick Ross Blames Seizures On Sleep Depravation, Reveals Collaboration With Jay-Z

by Steven J. Horowitz

posted November 01, 2011 at 11:15PM GMT | 5 comments

The MMG chief says he wasn't getting enough rest on account of his hectic schedule.

Rick Ross shook the Hip Hop community when he suffered two seizures in the same day earlier this month, but he assures fans that he’s on the road to recovery. During an appearance on “106 & Park,” Ricky Rozay appeared in good spirits, explaining that his medical emergency stemmed from sleep deprivation and that he has a clean bill of health.
“What it was was I was going about my business as every day. I boarded a flight, and on the flight, I had a seizure and when I snapped out of it, they told me what had happened. I was like, you buggin', call a jet, we finna keep it moving. Because I understand me growing up and hearing about seizures, they can be violent, you bust vessels and bite your tongue up and this and that and in my case, it wasn’t none of that. I felt a little worn out, but I felt I could keep going and that’s what it was.”
He recalled getting on a second plane and having another seizure. When he awoke, he realized the source of his problems.
“I boarded a jet and I had another seizure, and when I snapped out of that one, I woke up in front of a doctor and he asked me basically, ‘When was the last time you slept eight hours?’ and I said ‘It had to at least been five years.’ Being the fastest growing label in the game, it comes with a lot of sacrifices. And in my case, it was sleep. I would get two hours of sleep and keep moving, me being a hustler. And that has to stop.
“I came back totally healthy,” he added. “It was a case of me not getting enough rest, not getting enough sleep.”
He also mentioned that while he was supposed to be on bed rest, he instead netted "the biggest collaboration that we've done for my album" with Jay-Z. Watch the full interview below (via Yardie).