http://www.sixshot.com/ Hip-Hop and Music News info@sixshot.com (sixshot.com)Sat, 04 Jul 2009 07:45:04 PDTFuzzyRSS 1.0.1http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss http://www.sixshot.com/newsfeed/logo.gif http://www.sixshot.com/ http://www.sixshot.com/articles/14088/ The 2009 BET Awards will be dedicated to the life, legacy and legend of music icon, Michael Jackson. Jackson’s impact on our lives has been significant. Whether exhibited by his humanitarian efforts, his ability to reshape the concept of a music video, or his engaging star power, “The King of Pop” is unlike anyother artist, defining the very fabric of what popular music is today. MichaelJackson’s influence is undeniable, as traces of his style are prevalentin a number of today’s top artists. But his significant impact on this network will also forever be etched into the history tablets of Black Entertainment Television.   "Michael’s influence is felt every day in so many ways at BET Networks, and it’s been that way through out our network’s entire 29-year history. We watched him grow up, and he truly feels like he is a member of ourfamily," Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of BET Networks, DebraLee, said in a statement. “He will be missed more than we can say…but his legend and memory live on in the artists, musicians, producers,dancers, fans, and everyone else who looks to him for inspiration.”       Who could forget that one of the most memorable milestones in BET history was Michael Jackson's surprise appearance during the tribute to James Brown at the 2003 BET Awards? His impromptu performance with the“Godfather of Soul” left everyone breathless.It is hard to believe that both the “Godfather of Soul” and “The King of Pop” are now both gone – but never, ever forgotten.Jackson has done more for music and popular culture than any other artist; his influence crosses generations, races, genders and even continents. That incredible global reach matched with decades of musical integrity and genius is why Jackson was the very first artist inducted into the BET Walk of Fame back in 1995. Takingall of his monumental contributions into consideration, the 2009 BETAwards will be dedicated to the unparalleled “King of Pop” and we will spend the evening paying tribute to the legacy of Michael Jackson. MICHAEL JACKSON R.I.P.Sixshot.com info@sixshot.comhttp://www.sixshot.com/articles/14088/#commentsMon, 29 Jun 2009 13:11:07 PDT http://www.sixshot.com/articles/14086/ In a recent interview with The Las Vegas Journal, MC Hammer recalled his relationship with late rapper 2Pac Shakur. Hammer was signed to Deathrow Records between 1995 and 1996 but never officially released an album via the label. During his time with Deathrow, Hammer established a bond with 2Pac and recorded various songs with him. "He was one of the hardest workers I knew. Over the course [of] seven months, I was in his studio while the man did over 100 songs. It was unbelievable," Hammer recollected. "You come in the studio. Pac sits down, cracks open a bottle, rolls him up a joint, tells the producer, 'Play some tracks.' They play a track. They might play 20 tracks. He'll say, 'All right, now, I like track number three, eight, nine and 14, so put back on number nine' ". "And he would say, 'Anybody in here who wants to collaborate on this -- get a verse. You're welcome to join with me.' They play the track, and everybody gets their pen and pad out. And 15 minutes later, Pac would say, 'I got a verse.' He would go in and rap his verse and come back out and say, 'Anybody got a second verse?' And everybody would say, 'I'm working on it.' "And Pac would sit down, take a couple hits of his joint, take another drink, and 10 minutes later, he'd pop up: 'I finished the second verse, let me go spit this one. If y'all got a third verse, let me know.' "So in the course of an hour, Pac would have written all three verses and recorded them. And you're still trying to be technical on your prolific first verse that you're gonna write. And he'd be so nice about it," Hammer says. Hammer also recalled when 2Pac wrote and recorded a song for him which was inspired by the Ohio Players. "He had literally done the whole song -- rapped like he was me. So it's Tupac rappin' like he's Hammer off an Ohio Players record. He did vocal arrangements, he had the women sing the background, he did the whole thing, it was done," Hammer said. "Literally, the only work for me to do was for me to come in (and rap). He knew we had similar vocal tones. He said, 'Hey Hammer, when you come in, if you like it, I would love for you to do this song. It's a gift.' "I cherish that," Hammer emphasized. “I don't know of anybody else period that he wrote a song for." Hammer revealed that he got along with 2Pac because they had instances where they showed their true characters to one another.   "[Pac] knew where I stood and I knew where he stood," said Hammer. "We were both stand-up cats. And we liked that about each other."   Hammer also revealed that he last spoke to 2Pac minutes before he was shot on the Las Vegas strip on September 7th 1996.   Hammer said he had driven to Vegas for a night out with 2Pac and they met up at the Luxor hotel. Before meeting with Hammer at the hotel, 2Pac had gotten into a brawl with a Crip at the lobby of the MGM hotel after a Mike Tyson fight. "Pac came up to my Hummer and told me what had just happened with the fight he just had at the MGM," Hammer recalled. Hammer said he asked 2Pac to wait for him to change clothes but when got back down, 2pac had taken off but left a message for them to meet up at a club. Minutes later, 2Pac was shot and rushed to a hospital, where he died six days later. Prior to coming to Vegas, Hammer said that 2Pac had given him a song. "He said, 'Hammer, I wrote this song. I need you to rap it. It speaks about some things. ... It's better for you to address as my "big brother," than it is for me to address them right now, and it's called "Unconditional Love". It very well could be one of the last songs he could have written," Hammer said. "When I heard it, it blew me away," Hammer added. "And you gotta know it blew me away more listening to it with him laying in a hospital bed, as I drove around the hospital. ... I got the song on repeat. And it was fresh from his heart. ... It'll always be something that lives deeply, deeply in my soul."Sixshot.com info@sixshot.comhttp://www.sixshot.com/articles/14086/#commentsSun, 21 Jun 2009 09:03:00 PDT http://www.sixshot.com/articles/14084/Rapper Trina has slammed online reports suggesting she once romanced Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant behind his wife’s back.MediaTakeOut.com claims the Here We Go rapper, real name Katrina Taylor, had enjoyed a sexual relationship with the married Lakers star, referencing lyrics from her 2004 track Heated.In the song’s lyrics, she raps, “I was the first B***h Kobe cheated on his wife with.”The Web site alleged Trina clashed with Bryant’s wife Vanessa over the affair at a recent NBA game when the Lakers went head-to-head with the Denver Nuggets - the team Trina’s boyfriend Kenyon Martin plays for.But the hip-hop star has blasted the allegations, insisting there was no truth to her song words and denying claims of a fight.Her representative says, “Trina does not know Kobe Bryant in either a personal or business manner.”“Any basketball or NBA sports event Trina is seen at she is there in full support of her boyfriend, Denver Nuggets basketball player Kenyon Martin, and for no other reason.”             “The 2004 Trina song, entitled Heated, was for ‘entertainment purposes’ only. As (with) other rapper/raptresses (sic) in today’s society, Trina’s rap lyrics are a result of entertainment and a fabricated ‘image’ and not real life experiences or (subject) matters.”Bryant was caught up in a sex scandal in 2003 when an 19-year-old employee of a Colorado hotel he was staying in accused him of assaulting her. Bryant denied the charges but confirmed he had cheated on his wife.Sixshot.com info@sixshot.comhttp://www.sixshot.com/articles/14084/#commentsTue, 16 Jun 2009 13:05:03 PDT http://www.sixshot.com/articles/14079/ Super producer Pharrell Williams recently revealed to Billboard that he is helping Usher put together his latest solo album titled Monster. The beatmaker divulged that Usher has chosen a new direction with his latest project. "The Usher album is crazy. His album is the review of the mind of a  monster," said Pharrell. "He's somewhere else right now...like a whole different kind of R&B," he added. "Its really great, its super edgy. He's taken alot of time to really sit and study and we really built something that is like...it's just...it's mean. Pharrell is also working on Rihanna's upcoming album as well forthcoming projects from Shakira, Incubus, The Clipse and N.E.R.D.Sixshot.com info@sixshot.comhttp://www.sixshot.com/articles/14079/#commentsSat, 06 Jun 2009 10:57:18 PDT http://www.sixshot.com/articles/14077/Kanye West's 'Thank You And You're Welcome' Makes Philosophy 'Simple'After selling it online, book will hit stores July 7. Kanye West loves to collaborate, whether it's on music, album artwork or tour lighting. Last year, he teamed with marketer/philosopher J. Sakiya Sandifer to write a book of "Kanye-isms" called "Thank You and You're Welcome." After selling it on his Web site, the multi-Grammy winner told MTV News the book hits stores July 7. "He inspired the format of the book, because he wrote a book called 'Think, Think, Think and Think Again,' " West said Friday morning (May 22) about Sandifer. "[He did] bullet points in bold graphics, and he expounded upon them ... whereas books hide the main points chapters in. You have to read so much to get so much out of it. We wanted to make it simple for people who are non-readers, who don't feel like doing all that, and still get the point across." One of Kanye's favorite philosophies in the book is "Get used to getting used." "To use someone is necessary. What's negative is to misuse, overuse or abuse somebody," West said. "To use is necessary. If you can't get used, then you're useless." "That really came from my entrepreneurial journey," Sandifer said. "I would complain when my phone wasn't ringing. 'No, I want to be used.' Being the resident philosopher, I put it in that context." West and Sandifer call working together a "great collaboration." They've also collaborated on some of 'Ye's acceptance speeches and a line from "The Good Life" " 'Having money's not everything; not having it is,' " Sandifer repeated of the line he came up with. "That's where the real problem is — when you don't have it." While West and Sandifer might make another book, it probably won't be a sequel to "Thank You." "It's just gonna be another collection of our ideas and theories," Sandifer said. "It's not gonna be like 'Thank You and You're Welcome Volume Two.' I think that would be limiting." By Shaheem Reid, with reporting by Sway CallowaySixshot.com info@sixshot.comhttp://www.sixshot.com/articles/14077/#commentsTue, 26 May 2009 05:07:45 PDT http://www.sixshot.com/articles/14076/Plus: Pitbull promises 'a lot of surprises' on his upcoming album, in Mixtape Daily. Don't Sleep: Necessary Notables Mixtape: The Last Dragon Executive Producer: Duke Da God Conspicuously Absent: Hell Rell, J.R. Writer and Freekey Zekey are on the mixtape. Would have loved to see Jim Jones and Juelz, but we heard you, Cam — no reunion. Starring: Cam'ron, Lil Wayne and others Essential Info: Duke included the Cam'ron and Jadakiss record "Let's Talk About It" on his mixtape, although you didn't get the duet on Cam's Crime Pays album. At least not yet. Cam is planning to re-release the album in July with a couple of new tracks. The new version will coincide with the release of his movie "The Bakery." This summer, he also says to look for the U.N.'s debut. "U.N. album, it was supposed to come out August 5th, but I wanna come out around the same time as some people I'm in competition with," he explained to us. "I wanna wait for their date and put that [U.N.] album out the same date their album comes out." When asked what rival crew he was talking about, Killa declined to say. "Whatever date you see the U.N. album and somebody else's coming out, you'll get a whiff of [who I'm talking about]. I hear [the other crew's] coming out September or something. If I don't get no whiff of when the album is coming out, then we'll stick to our original date and put the U.N. album out, like, August 5th or August 12th. Then I'm putting out another [solo] album in December, definitely." So far, Cam's prized member of the U.N. is fellow Harlem native Vado. "Vado got a lot of hits. We got a few other acts we working with," Killa said. "To keep it 100, Vado got the streets in a smash, and Harlem, he's got an unbelievable buzz. Everybody in Harlem already know what it is. He's got the 'hood in a frenzy. I'm trying to bring the next new stuff out." Mixtape: Sh---in' on the Industry Starring: Pitbull 100 Percent Fronter Proof: "Watch It Drop," "Cocaine Cowboy" (he raps from the perspective of the coke!) and "Dope Ball" Essential Info: Yeah, Pit's mixtape title is arrogant as hell, but Chico always has a reason to smile. Pit is one of the bona fide kings of the club. Every year, you can expect Pit to drop at least a couple of monsters that reach past the urban soil and crush the Latin and mainstream markets. You heard his songs all throughout "Fast & Furious. Now that he's free from TVT Records, Pit said there's nothing holding him back. Pit's LP Rebelution is set for either August or September. "This album is gonna be just the way I'm seeing things," he said. "Whether it be hip-hop, the world, whether it be just my city in general, you're gonna see I have a lot of different takes on this album. I didn't know if I wanted to do a double album, give them a whole album of different types of records — conscious records on one end, then the whole club, high-energy on one end. There's a whole lot of things I want to say that I been holding back, because I felt the last label couldn't really handle what I had to bring to the table. "It's gonna be a lot of surprises," he added. "I'm not the beef type. I'm not here to catch beef, so some exec can live it up. If I'mma catch beef, I'm gonna catch it with some exec. And it's gonna be the truth." By Shaheem Reid, with additional reporting by Rahman DukesSixshot.com info@sixshot.comhttp://www.sixshot.com/articles/14076/#commentsTue, 26 May 2009 05:02:23 PDT http://www.sixshot.com/articles/14074/NEW ALBUM COMING JUNE 16th, 09!!! # Chicago - Saturday June 27th First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre# Detroit- Sunday June 28th DTE Energy Music Theatre# Toronto- Sunday July 5th Molson Amphitheatre# Washington DC - Sunday July 12th Merriweather Post Pavilion# Boston- Saturday July 18th Comcast Center# New York -Sunday July 19th Jones Beach Amphitheatre# Vancouver- Saturday August 1st Deer Lake Park# Denver- Thursday August 6th Red Rocks Amphitheatre# Los Angeles - Saturday August 8th San Manuel Amphitheatre# San Francisco- Sunday August 9th Shoreline AmphitheatreSixshot.com info@sixshot.comhttp://www.sixshot.com/articles/14074/#commentsTue, 19 May 2009 06:39:44 PDT http://www.sixshot.com/articles/14071/Are Eminem And 50 Cent Touring Together This Summer? G-Unit's Lloyd Banks says 'there's conversations' about an Anger Are Eminem and 50 Cent touring together this summer? For now, fans can only hope — MTV News' requests to label reps for comment had not been answered at press time — but according to G-Unit member Lloyd Banks, there's been preliminary talk about possibly ramping up the Anger Management Tour again. "I'm in and out the office, and there's conversations," Banks told MTV News recently. "I'm just as excited as the fans are. The first Anger Management Tour, I wasn't a part of." Banks said that if Em and 50 do go out, he'll definitely be on the show with the rest of G-Unit. Eminem was recently a guest on BBC's "Friday Night With Jonathan Ross," and he told the host that he hasn't solidified his touring plans yet. "As far as touring, I haven't got that far to really figure it out yet. I haven't got that part," he said. "I'm kinda in album cycle right now and promoting. But we'll see how it goes." Em has been back onstage in promotion of his new LP, Relapse, which officially drops Tuesday. He performed on "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" on Friday, will rock the Kimmel stage again this week, and he announced a special free MySpace concert in Detroit on Tuesday night. Em's new DJ, acclaimed producer the Alchemist, told Mixtape Daily that he really gets a charge out of seeing Em do the Relapse record "Underground." "When I first heard [Relapse], that was the song I said, 'This is gonna shut mutha----ers up.' Straight up. It would not be an issue," Al said. "Nobody would be like, 'I didn't like this, I didn't like the flow.' ... When we perform that song, Em takes a spot on the stage, and that's it. He picks a spot and dumbs out. There's not a lot of moving. "When we're rehearing the song, you know, 'This is gonna be something crazy.' He says, 'Turn the lights down,' they put the spotlight on Em, and it's just snap rap. In the current day and age, you don't hear songs like that. It doesn't seem like any of that other sh-- going on in the world or in the music industry was going on in his mind when he [made the song]. He was strictly into the craft. I don't think anybody is f---ing with that." Source: MTV NEWSSixshot.com info@sixshot.comhttp://www.sixshot.com/articles/14071/#commentsTue, 19 May 2009 06:24:27 PDT http://www.sixshot.com/articles/14070/Don't Sleep: Necessary NotablesMixtape: Swine Flu Starring: Tony Yayo Key Collaborations: The tape is hosted by universal 'hood king Mac-A-Zoe, and Lil Boosie is featured on "My Cadillac." "I met Boosie at Buck's house," Yayo told us of their first encounter back in the day. "Between Boosie and Gucci, them n---as is my favorite in the South." Essential Info: OK, the obvious question: Why? "I think my flow ... everything is serious about me," Yayo said. "I feel my flow is serious; I feel like I'm the most underrated. Swine Flu is an epidemic. I'm about to start an epidemic ... I wanted to use what's relevant right now to get people's attention. I learned that from 50." Another thing he learned from Fif was to never stop the war. Yayo says he got Mac-A-Zoe from the Zoe Pound to host the underground CD via a phone call from prison. G-Unit's personal public enemy #1 shouted out the Zoe Pound on the hit "The Magnificent," and has worked with Pound member Redd Eyezz in the past. "Being all the stuff that's going on with Rick Ross, I had to get Mac-A-Zoe to host the mixtape for me. Mac-A-Zoe said him and Ross used to be cool. ... I got in contact with Mac-A-Zoe through Sha Money. We're all Haitian — me, Zoe, Sha Money and Whoo Kid. Sha Money called me with Mac-A-Zoe on the phone. We're kicking it on the mixtape. He's basically saying Rick Ross is an impostor. I agree with him. This guy is talking about bricks, I'm 'phony Yayo' and I sniff coke and smoke crack. All this delusional sh--. I don't know where [Ross] is getting it from. But you're the n---a that's a cop. I'm gonna make a movie. Don't push my back to the wall where you try to make it seem like I can't eat, or try to destroy my brand." Like G-Unit member Lloyd Banks, Yayo says he's fed up with Interscope Records, but he still owes the label one more album. But Yayo isn't in a rush to drop an official LP — he's just excited about staying relevant on the mixtape circuit. "It's all politics," the Southside Queens native said. "I never thought Interscope cared about me anyway. G-Unit the label pushed me more than Interscope." Swine Flu comes out next week and a part two will follow shortly after. "Me, I don't see myself going to Hollywood and doing all that acting sh--," he said. "N---as know Yayo for wilding out and all types of crazy sh--. I'm going back to my street element." The Last Word on Ross: "This n---a got t---ies, thinking he looks better than me. He's confused. Then the n---a is on the cover [of XXL] with these fake Louis Vuitton glasses talking about swag. You gotta put that on the record. I been fly, I been doing this." Unfortunately, it doesn't look like this beef is going to end anytime soon. Mixtape: Hottest in the Hood.Com, Volume One: Welcome to Bad Boy Starring: Red Cafe and Diddy Key Collaborations: Diddy as the host, with Lloyd Banks, Juelz Santana, Lorel and Busta Rhymes on the "Hottest in the Hood (Remix pt. 2)." Fabolous and Paul Cain on "We In Here." "Take Off Your Clothes." Essential Info: Yup, we told you about this mixtape awhile ago. The Arm and Hammer Man, Red Cafe, is making moves. This mixtape not only celebrates more bread and much-needed promotion coming in with his signing to Bad Boy, but the Brooklyn bruiser has just started his own Web site. (Look at the title of the CD and we'll give you one guess what the name of it is.) While Red serves the curbs and cooks up that Bad Boy debut, he's getting his collaboration game up on everyone from OJ Da Juiceman, Cam'ron, Maino, Jadakiss, Rick Ross and the G-Unit. Yes. The G-Unit. "This project is star-studded," he said of his album. "I don't just grab people and put them on the record just to have a name on the record. If an artist come that I'm thinking is gonna sound good on the record and he don't sound good, even if he's five-times platinum, he can't be on that song. This is a work of art for me. Just for name, I can't have nobody come in and mess up my art. For the most part, that's how I move. I need every record to sound crazy and classic — or as close to classic — as possible." By MTV News, Shaheem Reid, with additional reporting by Rahman DukesSixshot.com info@sixshot.comhttp://www.sixshot.com/articles/14070/#commentsTue, 19 May 2009 06:22:51 PDT http://www.sixshot.com/articles/14067/Rapper 50 Cent has apparently said that he has been told he is not a suspect over a fire which destroyed his New York mansion last year. But Detective Thomas Wieland, of Suffolk County Police, said that the blaze is still under investigation and no one has been cleared. It has yet to be determined what caused the 1.4 million US dollar Long Island mansion to go up in flames.Sixshot.com info@sixshot.comhttp://www.sixshot.com/articles/14067/#commentsTue, 12 May 2009 01:24:35 PDT