Roc Nation's signature artist, J. Cole, has just dropped a teaser video for "Who Dat," the first single from his as-of-yet untitled debut album, due in August . Directed by BBGUN, the video is shaping up to be pretty cool. Cole has worked with BBGUN previously for the video to "Simba" off of his mixtape The Come Up. Cole has been building a steady buzz for himself, through freestyles, guest verses, and the occasional mixtape leak. Though he hasn't been flooding the internet with material like many of his peers, what he does put out there is always high quality. The full "Who Dat" vid is set to premier on Monday, June 21, so be sure to check back here.
Eminem rocked out a crowd at Activision's E3 event at the Staples Center in L.A last night. Eminem brought out superstar songstress Rihanna out to perform "Love The Way You Lie" which will be released on Eminem's seventh studio album Recovery. The rapper also performed his first single "Not Afraid" off of the anticipated album alongside other tracks such as "Won't Back Down" featuring Pink. The mini concert showed Em at his best and proves that the rapper is ready claim his spot back in the rap game, this time even more determined and better than ever. Check out performances below.
Birdman's got his hustle on with Tyga and Lil Wayne in his new video "Loyalty", a track left out of his 2009 Pricele$$ album. Without a doubt, the track is hot, and as usual Birdman collaborates with the right players in the game. Birdman, Lil Wayne and Tyga lay down some sweet rhymes about dreams, paper chasin' and loyalty, soon to be heard in a club nearby. The video is out on the curb now, check it out!
Beyonce and Alicia Keys hit Brazil to record the video for Alicia's latest single, "Put It In A Love Song". Shooting for the Beyonce and Alicia video has been going on throughout Rio, and I don't know about you, but I'm excited to see how it's going to turn out! The outfits look incredible.
This afternoon's new music update begins with some big news that is going to shake the industry. Sources say that Lil' Wayne will plead guilty for a 2007 gun charge and serve 8 months(UPDATE: 1 Year Expected) in prison. Official story below:
The rapper is expected to accept an 8-month bid in jail over his alleged involvement with a loaded .40-caliber pistol gun found on his tour bus in 2007 while in New York.
The 27-year-old now faces 15 years in jail for each count of criminal weapons possession and criminal possession of a loaded weapon.
"Wayne is going to plead guilty," a source close to the case told AllHipHop.com, stressing that this was definitely going to happen. The rapper pleaded not guilty at press time and has yet to make any such public declaration. "The date is coming up and he's going to do it tomorrow."
Wayne is rumored to be willing to accept the deal to avoid a long term in jail over the gun. The same source said the term will begin in February of 2010 under the terms of the deal. "If he doesn't plead, he goes to jail for a long time," the source said.
"They told him that if he doesn't plead tomorrow, it will go to trial and then he faces a far longer jail term," the source continued.
A small amount of DNA may have changed the landscape of the case, according to a report by the Associated Press. There is a "minuscule" amount of the rapper's DNA on the gun, reports say, and that has strengthened the case for the prosecution.
So there ya have it. Another one of the game's biggest stars is being taken away behind bars for an extended amount of time. Sure, 8 months(UPDATE: 1 Year) isn't going to kill Lil' Wayne's star completely, but it will still have a profound effect on the industry, specifically on artists on his label. However, if he follows the solid precedent from T.I., Lil' Wayne can schedule to release music and videos while he is behind bars. Definitely an interesting development that deserved more than just a link. Love him or hate him, Lil' Wayne is arguably the biggest name in the game today and when the biggest name in the game today is sentenced to prison, that's a big deal.
As for the music, Lil' Wayne (on cue) has a couple new leaks off his upcoming mixtape, No Ceilings, (shouts 2 X) which lead off a heavy mainstream update that also features the Timbaland, Keri Hilson, & Jay-Z collabo (shouts 2 Legend), a new Mikkey Halsted joint (shouts 2 Andrew), and some R&B featuring Brian McKnight and Ne-Yo. I was especially feelin' the new hip hop from Tech N9ne, Mickey Factz, and Lloyd Banks' touch on the Amerie & Trey Songz collabo "Pretty Brown Eyes". Check all those out along with a trio of videos including an in-depth Really Doe interview, Jay-Z and Pharrell performing live (shouts 2 DC), and a Rakim interview. Enjoy!
Lil Wayne may have gotten some bad news, but the great music is coming daily! Check out some new tracks off of 'No Ceiling', Weezy's upcoming mixtape. He covers "Wasted" & "Swag Surfin"
Last week Jay-Z and Alicia Keys filmed their " Empire State Of Mind" video in the heart of NYC. There were a few sneak peeks on the net but here is a better look brought to you by AK herself.
Looks like Jay-Z was serious about the all black everything....It's a good look. What do you think?
