JumpinJack AJ

Inside Janet Jackson's Comeback Gamble and the Hurdle of the 'Aging Diva' StereotypeBy Melinda Newman and Gail Mitchell | July 23, 2015 10:30 AM EDT Janet Jackson accepts the ultimate icon: music dance visual award at the BET Awards at the Microsoft Theater on Sunday, June 28, 2015, in Los Angeles. Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP Ageism? hardly. With tour tickets selling briskly and a new album bringing major buzz, the 49-year-old bucks the trend.Time can be cruel to the female pop star rounding 50. No matter how little her talent might diminish, under the spotlight’s glare, critics gleefully count ­wrinkles and listen for pitchy vocals in a way that rarely happens with male artists. Just ask Madonna, 56, or 45-year-old Mariah Carey, whose journeys into middle age have been ­challenging at best. Britney Spears, 33, Jennifer Lopez, 46, Celine Dion, 47, and Shania Twain, 49, already have taken the Vegas route. (Granted, Cher at 69 seems immune, but she’s the exception to most rules.) Can Janet Jackson, at 49, avoid the syndrome? She’s off to a strong start. Since a May 16 online tease of “new music, new world tour, a new movement,” Jackson has rapidly reeled off news about the launch of her own Rhythm Nation Records (a worldwide partnership with BMG), her first studio album in seven years and the initial two legs of a world tour, starting Aug. 31. Jackson’s new single, “No Sleeep,” rose to No. 5 in its second week on Billboard’s Adult R&B airplay chart -- her first top five hit on that tally in 11 years -- and the song will get added sizzle when the album version, featuring red-hot rapper J. Cole, goes to radio on July 23. But most of all, her 65-date Unbreakable Tour is selling tickets at a blazing clip. According to promoter Live Nation, 88 percent of the tickets on the trek’s first leg (Aug. 31 to Nov. 15) were purchased two weeks after going on sale; nearly 80 percent of the tickets for the second leg (Jan. 12 to March 9) were gone in two days. Janet Jackson & J. Cole Team Up for 'No Sleeep' Remix: Exclusive After a long lukewarm period, it seems the world wants Janet Jackson back. Still, by diva standards, the Janet rollout has had a relatively low profile so far. Why? “I think there’s a desperation to a lot of the older divas,” says Jon Cohen, evp of recorded music at BMG US. “They’ve got to hit it out of the park. With Janet, if she doesn’t put out a cross-format smash right out of the box, people think it isn’t a success, but that’s not it. This was completely calculated.” Indeed, initial talk of a “multiple Janet projects occurring simultaneously” goes back at least to 2010, according to one source who was working with Jackson at the time. Back then, she was managed by Kenneth Crear and it seemed that new music was imminent, having built up “so much good will” over the years that “you just had to mention her name, it didn’t even have to be anything of substance, and people would go ape-s---t.” But then, following a 2011 No. 1s tour, Jackson effectively pulled a vanishing act, ­marrying Qatari ­billionaire Wissam Al Mana in 2012 and shelving those very endeavors for what, to longtime fans, seemed like an eternity. Enter Kathy Ireland. The model/­businesswoman took a vested interest in Jackson’s career through Sterling/Winters, Jackson’s ­management company, which is owned by Kathy Ireland Worldwide and run by ­president/COO Stephen Roseberry. Sharing management duties are Jaime Mendoza and Jessica Davenport of JDJ Entertainment, who, as a group, negotiated with BMG to lock down a recording budget for Jackson (to the tune of at least $500,000, according to an insider) along with a sizable marketing spend. Hot 100 Chart Moves: Janet Jackson Returns With 40th Career Hit, 'No Sleeep' Alternative financing models are becoming the norm even for heritage artists once used to grandiose paydays. Jackson herself landed a record-breaking $32 million deal with Virgin Records in 1991. Nine years later, Carey commanded an $80 ­million contract for four albums. But Carey signed to Epic earlier this year for a more modest advance of $2 million, according to sources. Speaking to Billboard in May, Epic chairman L.A. Reid laid out the lay of the land: For Carey "to even be on the radio at this point in her career is a huge accomplishment," he said. "Because radio doesn't cater to veteran artists or legends. Radio caters to in-the-moment stars." So what is a Janet Jackson album worth in 2015? She’s one of the most successful artists in pop history, having sold some 20 million albums in the SoundScan era, which began five years after her 1986 breathrough, Control. During that time, she's also notched 10 Hot 100 No. 1s (through 2001) and 27 top 10 singles overall, tying her with Carey and Elton John. Her last album, 2008’s Discipline, has moved a respectable but hardly blockbuster 456,000 units, according to Nielsen Music. Her Number Ones package released in 2009, meanwhile, has moved 273,000 units. BMG, which is ­providing ­marketing and promotion while the singer retains ownership of the recordings, declines to reveal specifics about Jackson’s ­licensing deal, but an insider familiar with the company’s contracts says BMG tends to favor “small-money, short-term deals.” In Jackson's case: no advance but an attractive back-end (a 50/50 split). Janet Jackson, Miguel & Lauryn Hill: Real-Time Twitter Chart Rewind Ep. 55 The investment saw the singer through the last seven months of round-the-clock production with longtime collaborators Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis for an album that is eyeing a late September release. Adds Cohen: “The project needs a level of money to protect it. Janet and her camp are extremely aware that it’s 2015 -- ­everyone is realistic about what record-selling and streaming mean in this era. Janet was very fair about the deal.” It’s about the long view, says former Virgin president Phil Quartararo, who has a hand in steering Jackson’s current career path as a member of her extended “team,” and that means life for an artist beyond the “pop silo.” Jackson, he says, “has had such a vast career in music, TV and film; she’s not your average pop star. We’re going to work this record for a long time. It’s not something that’s going to come and go.” A version this article first appeared in the Aug. 1 issue of Billboard.

Okay, I'm not sure why the interview and the pictures overlapped like that. You can read this article/interview here: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/features/dr-dre-ice-cube-break-810256?facebook_20150722

Dr. Dre, Ice Cube Break Silence on N.W.A Movie, Suge Knight's Murder Charge and a Reunion Tour (With Eminem)By Tatiana Siegel - Photo by Eric Ray Davidson This story first appeared in the July 31 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. To receive the magazine, click here to subscribe. I'm mustering the nerve to ask Dr. Dre and Ice Cube about the slaying that happened during the shooting of a Straight Outta Compton trailer — about the day in January when Suge Knight turned up on the set and allegedly plowed his pickup truck over two men, including a technical adviser on the film — when the lights go out. We're in a photo studio in Hollywood in mid-July, a month before the release of Universal's $29 million movie telling the (mostly) true story of N.W.A, the groundbreaking hip-hop group that Dre, Cube and three other rappers — Eazy-E, MC Ren and DJ Yella — formed during the 1980s. Dre, now 50, is sitting on a comfy sofa, fussing with the cuffs of his designer jeans. Thirty years ago, he was producing N.W.A's signature song, "F— tha Police"; today, he's a headphones tycoon who lives in Tom Brady's former mansion in the Brentwood section of Los Angeles. Cube, now a 46-year-old comic action actor-producer (Ride Along, 21 Jump Street), is leaning against a wall, sipping a cappuccino with extra sugar. A few others are picking around the Caesar salad with grilled chicken at a snack table when suddenly — wham! — there's a loud popping sound and the place goes completely dark. From left: MC Ren (Aldis Hodge), DJ Yella (Neil Brown Jr.), Eazy-E (Mitchell), Ice Cube (Jackson Jr.) and Dr. Dre (Hawkins) in 'Straight Outta Compton.' "What the f— just happened?" asks a voice that sounds like Dre's. "This is the zombie apocalypse," says another. "It's The Walking Dead: The N.W.A Edition." It turns out a transformer has blown on nearby Cole Street, and the whole block is without power. It will remain so for the better part of an hour. Which is how my interview with Dre and Cube and some of the actors who star in Straight Outta Compton — Corey Hawkins (who plays young Dre), O'Shea Jackson Jr. (also known as Cube's son) and Jason Mitchell (as Eazy-E) — takes place entirely in the dark. With the only flicker of light coming from Dre's gleaming Rolex, the producers and stars of the film talk thoughtfully — sometimes angrily — about the difficult 13-year journey it took for Straight Outta Compton to get to the screen. How it went through two studios, overcame decades-old feuds, underwent countless rewrites — not to mention an alleged vehicular homicide ("a really tragic incident," says Dre) — and still was filming in North Hollywood as little as three weeks ago to finally emerge intact for its Aug. 14 opening date. "It's crazy how we were getting criticized for this years ago," says Dre of N.W.A's provocative songs about inner-city life. "And now, it's just like, 'OK, we understand.' This movie will keep shining a light on the problem, especially because of all the situations that are happening in Ferguson and here in Los Angeles. It’s definitely going to keep this situation in people’s minds and make sure that everyone out there knows that this is a problem that keeps happening still today." The seminal 'Straight Outta Compton' album cover. Read More Why There's Still No Tupac Shakur Biopic In 1986, it was morning in America. Ronald Reagan was in the middle of his second term. Top Gun was breaking box-office records. Bill Cosby was the most beloved TV star in the country. But in Compton, Calif., five black kids, including Andre Young (Dre), O'Shea Jackson Sr. (Cube) and Eric Wright (Eazy-E), were inventing gangsta rap in South Central clubs, creating a wholly new form of music made up of shockingly raw stories of police brutality and other urban blights. Their incendiary lyrics ("a young n—a on the warpath, and when I'm finished, it's gonna be a bloodbath of cops, dyin' in L.A.") landed N.W.A (which stands for "N—az With Attitude") on FBI watch lists, incurred the moral wrath of media crusaders like Tipper Gore and got their music banned from scores of radio stations and record stores. Still, their first album, 1988's Straight Outta Compton, managed to sell 3 million copies and go double platinum. If hip-hop had one Big Bang-like birth, an explosive moment when it first emerged as a serious, sustainable art form, this was it. "It was always about free speech, being able to express yourself, whether people like it or not," recalls Cube of N.W.A's early raps (the group made four albums before they broke up in 1991). "That's the great thing about being in this country, is to be able to speak your mind and not be censored." Clockwise from top left: N.W.A’s Dr. Dre, Laylaw from Above the Law, The D.O.C., DJ Yella, MC Ren, Eazy-E and Ice Cube posed for a photo before their performance during the Straight Outta Compton tour in Kansas City in 1989. Of course, a lot has changed in three decades. America has an African-American president; Cosby no longer is so beloved (nor lecturing rap stars on how to behave). Yet a lot has stayed the same. There's still police brutality and race riots; Tom Cruise is developing a Top Gun sequel. But the world has changed enough, it seems, that a major Hollywood studio could decide to spend $29 million on a film about a musical group that once rapped in favor of violence against the police and wrote songs with titles like "One Less Bitch." Somewhere between the '80s and the 2010s, N.W.A went from being public enemy No. 1 to marketable mainstream entertainment in multiplexes in every neighborhood in the country. Read More How Leonardo DiCaprio's 'The Revenant' Shoot Became "A Living Hell" 'Straight Outta Compton': Exclusive Portraits of the Cast With Dr. Dre, Ice Cubenext slide "I've always been very intrigued by the [N.W.A] story," says Universal chief Donna Langley. "It was really just about finding a rational business model with which to greenlight it." Long before Universal was on board, one of the obstacles to a rational business model was the fact that the N.W.A members aren't always on speaking terms, let alone willing to collaborate. They've been involved in feuds upon feuds, the biggest dating back to 1996, when Dre walked away from his ownership stake in Death Row Records at the height of its ascent, leaving a reported $50 million on the table and infuriating his Death Row partner Suge Knight — bad blood that clearly lingers today. N.W.A founding member Eazy-E, who started the group's label, Ruthless Records, and controlled the rights to N.W.A's music, died in 1995 at age 31 of AIDS. He left his wife, Tomica Woods-Wright, in charge of the group's musical legacy as well as his own life rights. Anybody inter­ested in making an N.W.A movie would have to get her on board first, then the rest of the gang. ("Ultimately, I’m very pleased with the film,” says Woods-Wright, who is a producer on Compton.) Tipper Gore spoke at a Washington hearing aiming to put warning labels on content with explicit lyrics. Read More Amazon's Hollywood Shopping Cart Secrets The first ones to try were a writer named Alan Wenkus and documentarian named S. Leigh Savidge. They began writing a Straight Outta Compton screenplay together in 2002, focusing mostly on Eazy-E's story, got Woods-Wright to sign on and sold it to New Line in 2006. Cube joined the project in 2007 as a producer, but wanted the character based on his life to have a bigger role in the plot (naturally). Cube hired a new writer (Andrea Berloff, who wrote Oliver Stone's World Trade Center), brought Dre aboard and turned it into a drama with three equal leads — Eazy-E, Dre and himself. (DJ Yella and MC Ren, the fourth and fifth members of the group, are in the film but only as peripheral characters.) F. Gary Gray, director of The Italian Job — and a South Central native who had been collaborating with Cube since his 1991 solo video "True to the Game" — was hired to direct. It looked for sure as if a green light was imminent. "I sat with Dre for hours, sometimes days, going over what happened," says Gray. " 'Tell me the story again. Tell me who was there. Tell me why this happened and what were you thinking and what was your motivation and what do you think Eazy was thinking.' I didn't want people to watch the movie and feel like they didn't learn anything beyond what they could find on Google." But just as it was all coming together, New Line ceased to exist as an autonomous studio. In 2008, its distribution operations were absorbed by parent company Warner Bros. And the guy who was then running Warners, Jeff Robinov, didn't want to make an N.W.A movie for more than $15 million. The prevailing wisdom at that time was that movies about African-Americans didn't play well overseas. Cube told Robinov where he could put his $15 million. "It wouldn't be worth doing," he says of New Line's budget. "We wouldn't be giving the project the justice it needs." Eazy-E died of AIDS in 1995. Warner Bros. decided it wouldn't make Straight Outta Compton at the budget Cube and Dre were envisioning. But it turned out Langley at Universal would. "I would argue that everybody knows hip-hop," says Langley, explaining why she's convinced Straight Outta Compton will fill theaters overseas as well as at home. "There probably isn't a culture in the world that doesn't engage with [rap] in some way. We were looking through that lens, as opposed to handicapping it as an 'urban' film." Langley put her money where her mouth was, ponying up a budget of $29 million for the R-rated film and keeping Gray on as director. But she did have a problem with the script: It wasn't edgy enough. She brought in another writer, Jonathan Herman, to do a major overhaul. Ironically, it was Herman, a 42-year-old gay Jewish scribe from Greenwich, Conn. -- seemingly a background as far as one could get from the Compton origins story -- who finally cracked the story. He spent weeks with Dre and Cube, coaxing out their memories and learning their speech patterns. Dre, for one, took the additional research in stride. "It had a great potential of being done wrong and f—ing up our legacy," he says. "Our legacy is something that's very important to me." Dr. Dre (left) and Ice Cube Filming began even before Gray had found his cast. To qualify for California tax breaks, Gray had to shoot at least one day of footage before April 2014. So he shot an interview with Cube and Dre in South Central (it plays over the film's closing credits). Of course, many hip-hop biopics cast the rappers themselves in the lead roles — Eminem in 8 Mile, 50 Cent in Get Rich or Die Tryin' — but by 2014, Dre and Cube were too old to play themselves as rising stars. Instead, Gray held a nationwide search for an unknown to play Dre; the role went to Hawkins, a classically trained Juilliard actor from Washington, D.C. But to fill the part of Cube, they didn't need to look far: "I know a lot of people thought I was just throwing him in there 'cause I could," says Cube of the casting of his 24-year-old son. "But that wasn't the case. I knew he was right for this." Says Jackson: "My father would call me before each scene to let me know what he was thinking. A lot of it was getting me to not act. I have so much of his mannerisms and things already in me that I wouldn't want to be onscreen doing an impersonation. You can do an impersonation or you could become the character. I really was trying to break down those acting walls and just let everything flow." Ice Cube’s son, O’Shea Jackson Jr., plays his rap star dad (picture here in his younger days) in the film. Principal photography — with actual actors, not just the producers interviewing one another — began in August 2014 in Compton. "I haven't lived in Compton for quite a while, but it felt great," says Dre, who was on the set as a producer nearly every day of the production. "Everybody was really excited about the fact that we were not only making a movie but making it in Compton. It feels like Compton is another character." Sometimes an unpredictable character: Although production went smoothly for the most part, there apparently was a random drive-by shooting early on in front of the set that left one civilian injured. One of the biggest challenges of making Straight Outta Compton, it turned out, was cramming three decades' worth of N.W.A's struggles, triumphs, infighting and eventual breakup, as well as Eazy-E's death, into a two-hour, 22-minute film. Initial cuts clocked in at more than three hours. A scene referencing Cube's sister, who was killed by her police-officer boyfriend in 1981 — a fact that adds some con­text to his anti-police lyrics — ended up on the editing-room floor. "We had to make sure we wasn't going off into those nooks and crannies," says Cube with a shrug. But even as important B-stories were being sliced from the final cut, it became clear to Gray and Cube and even Universal that something was missing: Test audiences were confused by Dre's big split with Knight's record company in 1996. Why did Dre leave Death Row and spark the historic, still lingering feud? It was not made clear. So, in late June, with two weeks before the movie had to be locked for its August release, Gray filmed a scene in which Dre walks into a room and witnesses Knight (played by R. Marcos Taylor, a stunt man turned actor with a strong resemblance to the real Knight) calmly smoking a cigar as he uses a vicious pit bull to terrorize a cowering man in his underwear. "I was like, 'What the f— is going on?' " recalls Dre of the actual event that inspired that last-minute scene. "I was ready to leave anyways. This was the extra push. The guy in the underwear — all this **** actually happened." A young Dr. Dre A judge recently declined to lower the $10 million bail for Knight (left) for the January slaying of a 'Straight Outta Compton' adviser near the set of a trailer for the movie. It was “a really tragic incident,” says Dre. As far as anyone knows, Knight never tried to get onto the set of Straight Outta Compton. But the 50-year-old rap mogul did show up during filming of a promotional trailer being shot in Compton on Jan. 29, a few months after production had wrapped on the movie. Knight was ushered away from the premises by security. But he didn't go far. A few blocks from the set, he got into a confrontation with Cle "Bone" Sloan, a technical adviser on the trailer. At one point during the argument, Knight allegedly climbed into his pickup truck, turned over the engine and deliberately ran over Sloan as well as Terry Carter, a former business associate of Cube. Sloan was hospitalized but eventually recuperated. Carter was killed at the scene. "I was there. But I was just leaving, so I didn't know what happened until I was halfway home," says Dre, who shares his Brentwood mansion with his wife of 19 years, Nicole Young. "I heard about it over the phone. Everybody was supportive everywhere we went, and we didn't have one issue throughout the entire filming of the movie. It's crazy that this happened during the f—ing filming of the commercial." Cube, who wasn't on the set, takes a more philosophical view. "It's the dangerous part of living in South Central," he says. "Some people don't care if you're making a movie or not. It's unfortunate because the movie is so good, so creative, so many talented people involved." Knight, who has clashed with the law many times in the past — including serving a five-year sentence for parole violations — claims he accidentally ran over the men while attempting to flee the confrontation. He's currently being held in L.A.'s Men's Central Jail, awaiting trial on murder and attempted murder charges, with the possibility of life in prison if convicted. His most recent hearing was July 17, when a judge refused to lower his bail from $10 million. His next hearing is Sept. 17. No trial date has been set. "It's just a really unfortunate incident," says Dre. "Maybe [Knight] was looking for trouble. I don't know." From left: Jackson will play Ice Cube, Mitchell will play Eazy-E and Hawkins will play Dr. Dre. The tragic episode under­scores what a delicate line Universal must walk with Straight Outta Compton. The founders of N.W.A may be respectable members of society now­­adays — indeed, one earned $500 million for selling his headphone company, Beats, to Apple, another is a movie star who has shared the screen with George Clooney and Kevin Hart — but the rap group they created 30 years ago still carries echoes from its violent past. And that past reverberates with today's headlines, from the Ferguson unrest to Eric Garner in New York to Ezell Ford in Los Angeles. "It shows that we were not only ahead of our time, but right on time," says Cube. "It’s a constant situation between the powers that be and the neighborhoods we’ve come from. And most of the time you look and you see that it’s a thing where someone is abusing their authority or abusing their power and they’re ****ting around." Langley agrees "there are things in the movie playing themselves out in the news today." But she's quick to point out that "the movie is not a call to arms against the police or anything like that. It's a very classic story. You fall in love with these boys. You love the characters. You're so on their side. You see that the music was born out of a frustration about their surroundings and environment." Asked if members of law enforcement will find the film controversial, Cube responds sarcastically, “Oh, they're gonna love it. True story. Inspired by them. I mean, why wouldn't they love it? It's what they do. They're not misrepresented. True that.” Ice Cube Dr. Dre Controversy or no controversy, Langley is so gung ho about the film that her studio is planning on doing something nobody in the rap world thought was possible — reuniting N.W.A for a European tour to promote the movie, with Eminem (who performs on the film's soundtrack, along with Dre and Kendrick Lamar) sitting in as an honorary member. "We don't have anything settled yet with everyone's schedules," she says. "But we think it can create a lot of buzz." After the lights finally flicker back on in the photo studio, Dre marvels about the past, about where he comes from and how remarkably far his music has traveled. "We were just trying to entertain our neighborhood, just us trying to be hood stars," he says. "It just became something that was much, much bigger than we ever thought, than I ever imagined."

I saw this and flipped! My interest in the film spike. I supposed Yella isn't really DJing enough to still be at his peak. It's good to know Dre knows where to go for something of this scale.

...having Jeff's production slightly flatten in a download is a darn shame. lol

I asked the same thing on Dayne's Facebook. Is there going to be a downloadable version with individual track and physical CD release?

I just got off work and I've been listening to it since I got home. All I can say at this point is that while I appreciate multiple styles of Hip-Hop, this is the sound I prefer most. Also, Dayne is the kind of emcee that keeps me hanging on to his next line. I can't remember the last time I listened to any album like this.

LEONA LEWIS - I Am I Am (2015) Sooooooooo good. This has a slight 90's vibe to it.

"I started a project over 2 years ago with a talented brotha from Philadelphia named Dayne Anthony. This has been 1 of the best times I've had creating the soundtrack to his life's story "The Memoirs of Dayne Jordan". We did this all independent to make sure it was pure and true. Anyone who really knows me knows this has been a dream of mine to be totally independent (Long Story) and I'm extremely proud that we get to share it with the world tomorrow 7/21/15. All we hope is people give it a listen and if you enjoy it...share it with someone else. Thank you for sharing in the journey with us! The Memoirs of Dayne Jordan!!!" Here it comes, ya'll.

BRIAMARIE - Respect Leader of the New School (2013)

Good interview. While the subject matter didn't stray too much from other interviews, he fleshed out the Starter deal more than ever and expressed his effort to try and get the "Nightmare On My Street" video out there. Jeff has TONS of music that we've never heard. He's one of those people who works on music nearly every day. There's random stuff he's worked with with all kinds of people. He sometimes doesn't even get credit for it. From the unreleased 1998 album for Columbia Records, V, Ayah, and Rhymefest albums, the Lost + Found remixes, the excess material for Jill Scott's first few albums. I particularly want to hear the Lost + Found remixes and the album he started for Columbia.

You can watch the video of him jumping in the pool here. I love silly stuff like this. http://www.worldstarhiphop.com/videos/video.php?v=wshhN1H7XeRef4E120uO

Tyrese Did What for a Black Rose Plug From Will Smith?See how far Black Ty will go to win his woman back. By Evelyn DiazPosted: 07/18/2015 08:13 PM EDT We gotta hand it to Tyrese, he is relentless when it comes to self-promotion. Over the past few months, we've seen the actor and singer use every platform at his disposal to draw attention to his latest film Furious 7, and his proclaimed "last album." | THE RUNDOWN: TYRESE, BLACK ROSE | Now, Ty is pulling in the big guns to get the word out about Black Rose, his opus dedicated to getting back his ex-girlfriend. He went to his "mentor" for support, but getting a guy like Will Smith to give you a Twitter shout out doesn't come free. Smith didn't want money in exchange for his endorsement — he's got plenty of that — but he did make Tyrese jump, literally. According to the singer, Smith challenged him to jump into his pool wearing a full winter outfit and a pair of Timbs ("This s**t is expensive," Ty points out in the video), in exchange for Smith sharing his album with his 74 million followers. Tyrese accepted, and Smith made good on his promise. "My boy Tyrese has the Summer on lock with his new album 'Black Rose.' Check it out!" he wrote, with a link to the album on Apple Music. Can't knock the hustle Rewind! See Coach Black Ty in the Celebrity Basketball Game at the 2015 BETX. BET.com is your #1 source for Black celebrity news, photos, exclusive videos and all the latest in the world of hip hop and R&B music. (Photo: Kevin Winter/Getty Images) http://www.bet.com/news/music/2015/07/18/tyrese-did-what-for-a-black-rose-plug-from-will-smith.html

BLANCA - Sunshine self-titled (2015)

I've been meaning to do the same thing. I'd love to see the list.

Here's a link with super short videos of Jaden ranting on the unoriginality in Hip-Hop and fashion. http://www.vh1.com/news/39095/jaden-smiths-rant-about-rap-and-the-meaning-of-life/?xrs=MAIN_1pm

KAT GRAHAM - 1991 (2015)

Thank God I'm off work today, because I watched this the second you posted it. Kid 'N Play is one of my favorite groups of all time. Their sound, lyrics, style, comedy, and their vibe was one that was strong with me growing up. As the documentary states, they are very relate-able. This documentary was great and crammed a lot of info in 40 minutes. It moves. I'm determined to catch one of their shows the next time they are in the area and always keep hope alive for more music. The song they did with Chubb Rock a few years ago is the last new song I remember from them. Thanks for posting this!!

On random note, we're celebrating 15 years since Jill's debute. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- OKP Exclusive Interview: ‘Who Is Jill Scott?’ — Celebrating the 15th Anniversary of a Stunning Debut If Who Is Jill Scott? was the question when Jilly from Philly made her stellar album debut 15 years ago today, then her new project Woman is the definitive answer. Back then, she blossomed as a beautifully lyrical poet and singer with undeniable talent and depth. A 28-year-old with a magical voice, she dared us to live, love, fight and enjoy the world and our relationships fully, sensually, and without apology. Her introduction on July 18th, 2000 was met with Grammy Award nominations (four total for the album: Best R&B Album in 2001, with “Gettin’ in the Way,” “A Long Walk,” and “He Loves Me” each being nominated for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance in 2001, 2002, and 2003). It’s also worth noting that the LP’s twelfth track, “The Roots (Interlude),” is an excerpt from a live version of The Roots‘ Grammy-winning single “You Got Me” from 1999 — a song that featured Erykah Badu, but was co-written by Jill (as our very own Questlove recently reminded everyone via Instagram earlier this week). Instantly captivating in both presence and spirit — have you seen that smile? — Scott has maintained her place in hearts and ears by being Beatifully Human (2004), The Real Thing (2007), and The Light of the Sun (2007) for the past 15 years. From the beginning, she was more than a stunning voice and brilliant writer — she embodied the essence of what women aspired to be and what men desired to attain (and yet, was somehow still believable portraying the less-than-confident Sheila in Why Did I Get Married?). Now also a busy actress and mother, she’s currently on tour in support of Woman — due on July 24th and available for pre-order here — Scott took a moment yesterday to answer a few questions as we celebrate one of the best R&B debut albums of the past fifteen years: Who Is Jill Scott? Words and Sounds Vol. 1. OKP: Can you tell us what you remember from recording that debut project — who you were as a person and what that experience was like for you? Jill Scott: At the time, what I remember most is definitely how broke we all were. Sharing sandwiches and walking to the studio. I remember going to Great Adventures — we all took a day off, all the producers — with like $12 between us. We even went to McDonald’s to get those bags because they had discounts for [the park] on them. It was just so much fun… I really remember how much fun we had making the record. It was crazy late nights. We all had jobs at the time and were trying to keep our heads afloat while still making the record. It was magic. We would go from one room to the next room and everybody had something different and everybody was excited about sharing what they had with me and it was just fun. I didn’t think twice about anything that I was doing. It was just so much fun. OKP: Is there a song in particular that even now — 15 years later — that song or the experience of how it came to life stands out for you? JS: Let’s see. The way the music happened then was like all music. I just walked into the room and it just kinda clicked. “He Loves Me” was really the same way. I always kept my composition book and pen with me and I was saying the words before I was writing the words. Everyone was like “write it down! Write it down!” There’s no guarantee that it’s gonna come back once it’s spewing out and that’s pretty much the way that everything happened. It was just so easy and so much fun. I tried to recreate the same energy and came pretty close with this new album. OKP: Which leads to our next question: how would you describe the differences between making WIJS and making Woman? JS: It was a little harder this time. In fact, it was a lot harder because I’ve been searching for inspiration. Just really, really trying to dig in and dig in the crates and find music that I love, and voices that I love, and energy that I’m interested in. I went back to Millie Jackson. I went back to country music — I love the simplicity of the stories. I went through my journals — I’ve kept a journal since I was twelve, so I went through my journals, especially over the last ten years and started to ask questions of myself and look at myself clearly. I’ve had son, so I’m more responsible than I used to be. I have to be. So that was a challenge, recording while having a child. In the studio, the night time is the right time. So I’d roll out of there at 4 or 5 o’clock in the morning and then [my son]’s up at 6:30 talking about “what we having for breakfast?” So in the beginning it really hurt. It was really painful just being so tired but wanting to continue both with all my heart. But I knew that I had to get my village in order, so I started to stay in hotels after the studio. My nanny would take my son to school, I’d pick him up, spend the day with him, hang out, put him to bed, and then I’d go to the studio. OKP: So if Who Is Jill Scott? was the initial question and Woman is now a definitive answer, any thoughts on what might be next? JS: I have no idea! We’ll see. There are always ways to define oneself. I look at the girl that I was and I look at the woman that I am and I have far more responsibility now. I have to work harder for simple pleasures, but they’re worth it. Taking walks, hanging out with friends, dancing, being silly — I have to work a little bit harder for those now, but life is good. Life is really good. I’m just really, really enjoying where I am. Take a walk back with us below and listen to WIJS and catch Jill live on tour via the tour dates here. Be sure to pre-order Woman via iTunes today. http://www.okayplayer.com/news/who-is-jill-scott-15th-anniversary-exclusive-interview.html

JASON MRAZ - Love Someone (9 Theory Remix) Yes! (Remix 2015)

The Black Eyed Peas have taken it back to their roots!! This is an answered prayer for me personally, as I felt they were one of the greatest things to happen to Hip-Hop (especially the first two albums) until they went totally pop on the last two records. Fergie isn't in the video or on the song, but their Facebook page still has her listed as a member and she's in their profile picture. I love Fergie, but I'd be okay if she only shows up as a contributing guest. After the last two albums and Will.I.Am's last project, I think most people, other than Top 40 fans thought their music was ruined forever. However, the futuristic, goofy clothes are gone and so are the questionable dance beats. They are back with some straight Hip-Hop and a creative artsy music video like the ones they had in the first few years of their career. The beat flips throughout the song, nodding heavily to the Hip-Hop classics, not to mention their playing with classic album covers. Regardless of your thoughts on BEP, check this video out. It's dope, and hopefully a good representation of the direction of the their music from now on.

I usually enjoy super hero movies, but there hasn't been one that got me really excited in a long time. I've never really followed Suicide Squad, even when I read comic books. I'm looking forward to it, but not not overly excited. Here's a pic of the main cast of Suicide Squad and Batman V Superman

Outlawz Member Hussein Fatal’s Girlfriend Charged With DUI in Deadly Car CrashJul 15th, '15 • News • by Aicha Forbes-Diaby The driver behind the wheel of the car that was involved in the fatal car accident of Outlawz member Hussein Fatal has been apprehended by police. TMZ reports that Zanetta L. Yearby, who was the driver while Hussein Fatal was the passenger, was arrested for homicide and driving under the influence. Yearby is reportedly the girlfriend of Fatal. AccessWDUN reports, “Yearby’s black Dodge Challenger was traveling south on Interstate 85 at Georgia 15 (U.S. 441), when the vehicle crashed near the exit about 2:30 a.m.” She has been previously arrested for a probation violation in 2010 in Atlanta. Fatal, whose real name was Bruce Washington, and Yearby were driving in a Dodge Challenger when they crashed and Fatal was ejected from the vehicle early Friday morning (July 10) in Gainesville, Ga. When police came to the horrific crash scene, all that was left of the Dodge Challenger were two car seats and a wheel. Zanetta was arrested at the scene and was initially charged with DUI, reckless driving and first degree vehicular homicide. She remains in custody at this time. The news of Hussein’s passing did not initially come with a lot of information. Following the accident, the group’s official Twitter page sent out a message confirming his passing. Outlawz member Mutah “Napoleon” Beale also confirmed Fatal’s death in a recent Facebook post. The N.J. native was mourned by many people who remember him growing up in North Jersey. ”In Montclair, he was the number one rapper. Everybody respected him, everybody wanted to be like him. He had all the pretty girls,” said Young Noble, who is a member of the Outlawz. Fatal was one of the original members of the Outlawz, a New Jersey rap collective founded by 2Pac in the mid-90s. He’s widely known for spitting the second verse on Pac’s “Hit Em Up” and on the All Eyes On Me track “All Bout U.” Washington also dropped four LPs of his own, his latest offering being the 2013 The Interview: It’s Not a Gimmik 2 Me. Hussein was 38-years-old when he passed. http://www.xxlmag.com/news/2015/07/driver-the-outlawz-hussein-arrested/

Read Eminem’s Letter to 2Pac’s MotherJul 14th, '15 • News • by Paul Thompson When 8 Mile was released in 2002, fans and observers could be forgiven for thinking it was the beginning of a long Hollywood career for Eminem. Never a particularly outgoing interview, the superstar was surprisingly serviceable on screen. But after the fever pitch that was that calendar year died down–Marshall also dropped his third album, the diamond-selling The Eminem Show, along with the 8 Mile soundtrack–he went into hiding. One half-finished, drug-addled album (Encore) would be the only dispatch until 2009. And there were certainly no more movies. However, during his period away from the spotlight, Em took on a project on behalf of one of rap’s true crossover stars, and one of the best-acting musicians ever: Tupac Shakur. Mr. Mathers crafted the soundtrack to the 2003 film Tupac: Resurrection and, the following year, co-executive produced Loyal to the Game with Pac’s mother, Afeni Shakur. Now, as Eminem signals his return to the movie world with the Jake Gyllenhaal boxing drama Southpaw, he’s shown his gratitude to Ms. Shakur by sending her a drawing and a heartfelt letter. “You have no idea how much your son and his music has inspired, not only the ‘Hip Hop’ world,” Eminem writes, “but, speaking for myself, has inspired my whole career.” He thanks Afeni for the opportunities she has afforded him by way of access to her son’s catalog and legacy and expresses his gratitude for his earlier recordings. Em helms the soundtrack for Southpaw; the singles “Phenomenal” and “Kings Never Die” have already hit airwaves, the latter featuring No Doubt singer Gwen Stefani. He will also be contributing to the Straight Outta Compton soundtrack. http://www.xxlmag.com/news/2015/07/read-eminem-letter-2pac-mother/