Hip Hop HOT SHOP!

Diggy Simmons Disses J. Cole Again On 'Fall Down'

Mon, 17 Sep 2012 13:32:52 -0400

Apparently a few months of silence following the issue of an diss track doesn’t mean that beef has been laid to rest. Diggy Simmons’ “What You Say To Me” leaked a few months back, taking aim at J. Cole for allegedly fabricating details of a romance with his sister Vanessa Simmons, and it almost seemed like the Roc Nation rapper was fine with ignoring the jab, until he threw shots in a new verse last week. Now, Diggy has a couple more things to say to Cole.

On the new track “Fall Down,” which Diggy premiered on Power 105’s The Breakfast Club Monday (September 17), he dedicated a few lines to his feelings about Cole.

“I guess I rattled you, snaggletooth/You know better/Thought J stood for Jermaine, not Jet Setter/You seen me and shook my hand, coppin’ pleas in person,” he spits, likely addressing reports that they squashed the beef in person. “Now you whack, less than a man, mention me in verses. Sneak disses and jabs, I don’t really see the benefit/But I guess you lame enough, probably keep you relevant.”

The highlight of Cole’s retaliation was this line: “Picture me hating on a young ni—- with talent…caked out on his allowance.” Now we wait to see if he honors this one with a response.

#YoungCalifornia Newest LA Movement ? Weirdo TC ft. Young Maestro "1 Hunnit"

Sun, 02 Sep 2012 18:15:56 -0400

The “#YoungCalifornia” movement has been

taking full control of the west all

summer! Artist such as YG, Starting Six,

IamSU, TayF3rd, Joe Moses, FiNaTTicz

InC. , Weirdo TC, Young Maestro & Jonn

Hart just to name a few, Have been

releasing single after single keeping the

streets locked!

NEW MUSIC FROM FROM Weirdo TC

featuring. YOUNG MAESTRO (creator of

hit single “Make It Rock” ft. YG) currently

has the streets talking! Weirdo TC’s

latest street single “1 Hunnit” Has gotten

everyone talking on twitter & even

gained recognition from thisIs50.com!

Gaining 10,000+ views in only 2 days.

YoungCalifornia seems to be making

positive moves and we SALUTE ALL OF

#YOUNGCALIFORNIA’S ARTIST GETTING THE JOB DONE!

LISTEN TO “1 HUNNIT” BELOW!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R4bJxRyDv44&feature=youtu.be

Twitter.com/WeirdoTC

Twitter.com/YoungMaestro

Twitter.com/HipHopHotShop

Kanye West Catches Heat Over His Choice Of Words

Sun, 02 Sep 2012 17:38:27 -0400

KEVIN MAZUR/WIREIMAGE

Kanye West caught some heat for his term of endearment for girlfriend Kim Kardashain in recent rap. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/WireImage)

TAKE OUR POLL

A bad rap?

Do you think it’s acceptable to use the b-word or n-word in rap, depending on the context?

Yes, it’s part of a culture.No, it’s offensive in any context.

For a guy touting himself as a “College Dropout,” Kanye West is coming across like a thinker with a philosophy degree.

The 35-year-old rapper took to Twitter Sunday afternoon to muse on the use of “bitch” and the n-word, phrases often spouted in his line of work.

“I usually never tweet questions but I struggle with this so here goes… Is the word BITCH acceptable,” he tweeted, sparking a running back and forth with fans.

“To be more specific, is it acceptable for a man to call a woman a bitch even if it’s endearing,” he added seconds later.

“Are you a feminist now,” tweeted one follower.

West’s musings come just three weeks after debuting his romantic ode to girlfriend Kim Kardashian, “Perfect Bitch,” at a New York club, as first reported by the Daily News.

The rapper admitted to be defensive in the face of backlash that branded the song as sexist.

NOEL VASQUEZ/GETTY IMAGES

Kim Kardashian evidently found Kanye West’s song romantic.

Among the highlights of his two-hour stream of consciousness:

“If n***a is such a positive word, why do we feel so uncomfortable for white people to say it, even with a hall pass,” he added, before expounding further: “Here’s the age old question,would we refer to our mothers as bitches? Would’ we call our fathers n****rs or better yet N***S?”

Perhaps answering his own question, West went on to tweet, “Stevie Wonder never had to use the word bitch to get his point across.”

Remembering Chris Lighty

Sun, 02 Sep 2012 17:32:29 -0400

He was a big man, Chris Lighty.  

Wide, and tall. Shoulders that stretched from Hollywood to New York City. But his normal speaking voice ranked just above a whisper. As a teenager he carried records for DJs. As a professional, he carried water for an industry and for a culture. Lighty — who with co-owner Mona Scott ran Violator Records and Violator Management, who founded Brand Asset Management and worked closely with Russell Simmons andLyor Cohen in the early days of Rush Artist Management — died Thursday. He was 44.  

He has managed (among others) the careers of 50 Cent, Missy Elliott, LL Cool J, Mariah Carey, Busta Rhymes and Foxy Brown. Those who dislike the commercialization of hip-hop may see only money signs in Lighty’s move to brand the game: Long before he negotiated what would become 50 Cent’s $100 million deal with Glacéau’s Vitamin Water, Violator worked out LL’s commercial with the Gap in the late 1990s, as well as Busta andA Tribe Called Quest’s early deals with soda companies.  

For those of us who remember when it was near, or actually, impossible to get hip-hop booked into nightclubs and arenas, who remember when pop radio stations would not play rap, who remember that pitching a rap act to a mainstream publication or late-night TV show was like pushing a boulder up a hill, for those of us who lobbied for and explained hip-hop — for many of us, to see LL rapping in the Gap commercial, “How easy is this?” was a thrill, it was recompense, it was, dammit, fairness. And integration. And it was not fried chicken! It was the Gap when the Gap was hot. Somebody had to make the deal go — LL was bold and unapologetic! Not a hint of pandering! It was not corny! Somebody was behind the scenes, huffing and puffing, signing papers, negotiating — lobbying. Getting paid and getting folks paid. It was Lighty’s Violator.  

It was the kind of work that moved Lighty and his team around the globe in first class and on private jets. Chris himself moved through life with a smooth, mean grace cultivated with his siblings, the notorious Lighty Brothers, in the rust and rubble of the ’70s and ’80s Bronx. This during an era when crack was only wack if you were doing it (as opposed to selling it) and when hip-hop was learning to walk in the Sedgwick Avenue apartment of DJ Kool Herc. Chris Lighty has been down with hip-hop since Day One. He comes from a generation of entrepreneurs — Russell Simmons, Sean “Diddy” Combs, Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter — who dared act a part close to their actual selves in corporate America. They studied Berry Gordy and Ahmet Ertegun. They told each other tragedy-laced stories about black artists of the ’30s, ’40s, ’50s and ’60s who “died broke,” or “didn’t keep their publishing,” or just plain old got played by a business that used and abused them. Lighty — and I know this because he’s told me — wasn’t having any of that. He wanted to, and did, win.  

He started young. There was Boogie Down Productions with Derrick “D-Nice” Jones, Kris “KRS-One” Parker and Lighty’s best friend, DJ Scott “La Rock” Sterling. They were always together. But at the top of Lighty’s legend is that he, known as “Baby Chris,” carried crates of records for pioneering NYC DJ Red Alert. Red is related to Afrika Baby Bam and Mike G of the Jungle Brothers (they founded the Native Tongues collective and set-up the larger successes of De la Soul and A Tribe Called Quest) and soon, Lighty was road-managing the trio. He came then to the notice of Russell Simons and Lyor Cohen. He worked for Def Jam Recordings for a while. One of Lighty’s biggest scores there was delivering recording artist Warren G (who would go onto multiplatinum status) to Def Jam. Lighty had to go head to head with Death Row’s Suge Knight to make it happen. It can’t have been a picnic.  

But soon after the release of BDP’s Criminal Minded in 1987, La Rock was shot to death while seated in a jeep outside of the Bronx’s Highbridge Projects. To many only a ghost from rap’s past, La Rock remained always at the forefront of Lighty’s mind. He tweeted about La Rock on the anniversary of his death—August 27. Three days later Chris Lighty — a man who smiled often but who was still wary enough that he didn’t like a door at his back — was dead by his own hand, outside an apartment he kept in the Bronx. A valiant attempt at sorting the whys will be made. Those, and the wherefores, will likely never be truly known.   

To imagine right now Lighty’s brothers and children. To imagine Mona and Lyor. Busta and Q-Tip. Mariah Carey. Red Alert. Even myself. The police say he shot himself with a 9mm. This — like any sudden death, but particularly with suicide — is a shiv to the heart. I spoke to him last when I was still editor of Billboard, around the time his company, Violator, was to merge with music publisher Primary Wave. Chris said he’d rather I interview him, that he had a lot of respect for the reporter I’d assigned. But he’d rather I write about him. We laughed about it. He pressed. I pressed back. He spoke to the reporter. I’m writing about him now.

  Lighty, like so many black men, was not given the luxury of being understood as a multifaceted being. He has been called, I’m sure more times than I’ve heard myself, a manipulative son-of-a-b——. He had a knack for getting money. He could be intense, and surly. I recall Mariah Carey speaking of him as one of the few gentlemen she knew. The ladies did love Lighty. His charm — man! — even (perhaps especially) for business meetings, he could turn it on. In a life filled with hotel lobbies, backstages and restaurants of the moment, Lighty was always reading situations. Anticipating. Strategizing. And then dinner was on him. If you were on his mental list of people whose calls he’d return, he was faithful and frank. To say that he remained streetwise even as he moved in rooms where the discussions were about the global branding of superstars, of big movies and world tours, is an understatement. The Bronx River projects die hard. People may say they’re “still that same person” from the block, but Chris truly was. His Armani suit life was still ragged at the edges with wickedness. A gentleman of course — and then of course not. 

He was a fixer, after all, a manager of people, a crisis negotiator. And he had a habit, at least with me, of calling, when professional beefs escalated, to utilize me as a referee of sorts, a woman, who could be called upon to mediate, to do her best to convince folks to keep things civil and human. We were the kind of friends that so many of us are in and around the music business, who battled to get the music heard, make it respected, to make a living and have some power in it. There have been longish oases, but it’s been, actually, a difficult road. It has hardened us as it has refined us. And now, as the whole industry creaks along toward its own transformation, the going has gotten even more tough — different reasons, but people are feeling the pain.   Catastrophically, the crisis Chris could not negotiate his way through was his own.

And as far as those of us on the outskirts of his life? We show up for each others’ brunches and baby showers and weddings and pick-up basketball games, like the ones Chris used to have on his backyard court in New Jersey. We throw tribute concerts. We write obituaries. We show up to funerals. We shake hands with the “real” family in the front pews. And they stare back with resentment, or maybe with some old and tired gratitude, but mostly they stare through us. Yes. Chris Lighty made history. He helped make hip-hop. He was a success story. He was a sweet and brilliant man. But there will be no more knowing of him — the complexities, the simple s—-, nothing. The man in the liner notes, the kid backstage, the dude counting the show money, the father with his children. It’s beyond tragic. Everybody’s Baby Chris is gone

THE THRONE TAUGHT ME! Frank Ocean Talks "Mirroring Jay & Ye" By Releasing "Channel Orange" Early

Fri, 13 Jul 2012 18:40:34 -0400

Frank Ocean has been at the epicenter of music over the past two weeks.

NEW MUSIC: Frank Ocean & Andre 3000 “Pink Matter”

After coming out the closet as a bisexual man and then releasing his debut album Channel Orange digitally a week early, Frank Ocean has been the talk of the blogosphere.

Frank Ocean called into BBC Radio 1’s Zane Lowe to discuss the method behind the Channel Orange madness, including how he created the album and why he decided to digitally release his album a week before it hit store shelves.

Unbeknownst to everyone, Frank Ocean revealed that his plan to release Channel Orange was part of the plan all along.

There was no last minute decision to release the album digitally like most people thought, and Frank even attributes Jay-Z and Kanye as the reason why he decided to take an exclusive deal with iTunes.

“It was actually the plan all along, I kind of wanted to mirror what Jay and Kanye did with Watch the Throne preventing the leak by staggering the digital and physical dates. My thing was, I wanted all the promotional elements to be. I don’t know if the word is retroactive, but kind of follow the album with the videos and the tour and do everything after. And kind of just let the music speak for itself for a second and not be in a situation where the record leaked. It was always my plan to drop it ahead of physical.”

Releasing Channel Orange digitally is a brilliant plan, but the digital release pissed off Target, who now refuses to carry the album.

EXCLUSIVE BLOG: Open Letter To Target: Relax!

There has been a little controversy surrounding Target’s decision, and rumors swirled that Frank’s decision to digitally release the album on iTunes a week in advance isn’t the “real” reason why Target refuses to carry the “Bad Religion” singer’s debut album.

Target maintains their story, stating his digital release wouldn’t benefit their sales of the album in stores. This claim would be great if Target didn’t carry Jay-Z and Kanye’s Watch The Throne album, which was released digitally on iTunes four days before it hit store shelves.

Whatever the case may be, Frank Ocean’s Channel Orange will be available at all music retailers (except Target) on July 17.

Frank Ocean also revealed that he’s working on a special vinyl edition of Channel Orange, which he plans to release July 31.

© HipHopHotShop, Inc.

DJLowkeyy Presents: #YoungCali : The Mixtape

Fri, 08 Jun 2012 01:34:00 -0400

WestCoast Certified DjLowkeyy drops phenomenal “YoungCali” mixtape with featuring artists Young Jinx, Bad Lucc, Jonny McFlyy feat. Jaray, Joe Moses, Weirdo T.C, Jonn Hart ft. IamSu, Young Sam, KillaRich ft. Mistah Fab, Young Maestro, Reem Riches, Quiz, FinAttic iNC., AD, & The Rangers.

We briefly caught up with DJLowkeyy during production of the #YoungCaliMixtape. DJLowkey told us “These are all HUNGRY artists from the westcoast that are catching the attention of the public by grinding there a** off. Almost half of these artists caught my eye because I consistently hear other people either talking about them, or bumping there music. Thats the kind of people I want to build my empire around! Young Hustlers! The whole mixtape Bang!” -DJLowkeyy

We Look forward to seeing more work from DJLowkeyy & tons more independent/underground WestCoast artist!

You can find Download the #YoungCaliMixtape here:

#YoungCali :The Mixtape Hosted by: DJLowkeyy —» http://piff.me/c1ea49e via DatPiff.com

~~Contacts:~~

http://www.twitter.com/DJLowkeyy

http://www.twitter.com/HipHopHotShop

http://www.datpiff.com/profile/DJLowKeyy

© HipHopHotShop, Inc.

RGLND WHO'S HOT SHOP INTERVIEW !

Thu, 24 May 2012 16:25:38 -0400

RGLND WHO’S HOT SHOP INTERVIEW !

HHHS: Yo! We finally get a chance to interview RGLND! We recently peeped you on the YouTube hit “Ashley”. What’s your relation to Adrian Per & T-ran?

RGLND: Me and adrian go back. we met through mutual friends years ago. thats my bro. as for t-ran.. we’re a part of the same family.. LifeBeforeTime.

HHHS: What does your name “RGLND” stand for?

RGLND: It’s pronounced (Ragland) or R.G.L.N.D.. . Rglnd is my last name.. .Anthny Rglnd

HHHS: In your YouTube video “Motto(remix)”, we noticed you were repping the Bay. Where are you from? How did residing there influence your music?

RGLND: yeah man. I’m from east oakland. lol. you gotta be specific since oakland is so big. but um.. i don’t real think being from oakland has a influence on my music. i think its more so the ear i have for music and my energy that has the most influence on my music

HHHS: How long have you wanted to be a artist? How would you describe your musical style?

RGLND: i don’t really see myself as an “artist” or a “rapper” or anything of that sort. i hate all them fucking categories and labels and shit. i just do what i feel. my “music style” isn’t a style.. .its just me being me

HHHS: If you could describe yourself in 3 words, what would they be?

RGLND: raunchy mutha fucka

HHHS: How do you feel about hiphops current state?

RGLND: fuck hip hop

HHHS: Who are your Top 5 artists in the game right now?

RGLND: dylan dylan dylan dylan & dylan!!!

HHHS: We look forward to hearing more from you!! Tell our readers where they can contact you!

RGLND: lifebeforetime.com or google search RGLND.. . I’m the only one

"Who's Hot?" Interview w/ BOWTurtle:

Sun, 11 Mar 2012 17:50:00 -0400

~~HHHS:~~ What’s the deal Turtle? To our readers that are not familiar with you, can you let them know why they call you turtle?

~~Turtle:~~ What’s The Deal, I Got The Name Turtle When I Was A Youngsta. I Always Was A Skinny Cat In School And Just So Happened Wore A Big BackPack So After A Few Jokes Were Cracked I Stook With It .

~~HHHS:~~ You captured our attention with the latest mixtape “Once Upon a Swisher”. What exactly does the name of this mixtape mean?

~~Turtle:~~ The Whole “Once Upon A Swisher” Concept Is Basically Stating A Different Type Of High Not Just As A Drug , But As Music As Well . I Like To Consider Music As A Drug, Im Real Picky. And Also Just Introducing Myself At The Same Time , Speaking On Subjects I See , I Do , And I Know .

~~HHHS:~~ When did you first decide you wanted to pursue rapping?

~~Turtle:~~ Whenever You Decide To Rap It Never Works , So I Really Didnt Decide To I Always Was A Talkative Kid And Had A Quick Back For Every Thing So I Just Started Recording Myself Made A Few Funny Songs Not Knowing People Really Loved Them,And Here I Am .

~~HHHS:~~ We see you rep the phrase “Bow”, what does this mean? Is this a new movement ?

~~Turtle:~~ BOW Means Broadies Ova Woadies. Which Basically Is A BrotherHood More Then Music More Then A Movement , Its The Label , But Also Means Bros Before These Hoes lol.

~~HHHS:~~ What would you call the genre of your music? How do you feel about hip hop’s current state?

~~Turtle:~~ I Consider My Music As More So Hip Hop But Also Can Touch On A R&B Side As Well As ah Little Ghetto Sound To Get The Clubs Turnt Up . I Feel Hip Hop Is Getting Back To How It Should Be , Especially The WestCoast .

~~HHHS:~~ If you could collab with 1 established artist who would it be? why?

~~Turtle:~~ Hands Down Nipsey Hussle . Id Nipsey Because Not Only Can You Hear His Music You Can See It, He Paints Pictures Lyrically . And Rick Ross And Kanye Too lol

~~HHHS:~~ Where do you reside? Would you say your music is supported by your community?

~~Turtle:~~ I Reside In The IE In Rialto City (Aka) “The Toe” . My City Behind Me I Gotta Good Circle And A Solid Camp They Stay Showing Love And Giving Good FeedBack

~~HHHS:~~ Our favorite track from the mixtape would have to be “Do it all night”. How long did it take you to finish this mixtape?

~~Turtle:~~ Yeah Shout Out To My Brother Oktane He Killed That Track . This Being My First Project I Didnt Want To Rush It, So I Basically Fished Around For Beats For Six Months Looking For Just That Right Sound That I Felt The Fans Deserved To Hear .

~~HHHS:~~ Are there any new projects your working on that we should know about?

~~Turtle:~~ Yeah I Did A Track With Audio Push On There New #TruthBeTold Mixtape Look Out For That #BlueMagic Look Out For That Ans As Far As My Music Im In The Studio Working On The Next Tape .

~~HHHS~~: Tell our readers where they can find you!

~~Turtle:~~You Can Find Me On Twitter @BowTurtle Follow Me #BOWENT.

BOW TURTLE’S LATEST MIXTAPE LINK: http://www.hotnewhiphop.com/turtle-no-joke-once-upon-a-swisher-mixtape.43657.html#

"WHO'S HOT?" INTERVIEW WITH SUM:

Wed, 07 Mar 2012 15:04:00 -0500

~~UP CLOSE & PERSONAL W/SUM:~~

HHHS: Yo Sum! How’s it going? We at Hip Hop Hot Shop are VERY impressed by your artistry! Where did you get the name from?

SUM: Peace, and thank you for the kind words! Everything is well, and life is good. The name “Sumkid” fell on me in a freestyle back in the mid 90s. I called myself that because I’m an everyman who represents lots of different walks of life and can blend into just about any crowd. I always remind people of someone else….I get mistaken for other people all the time. The name has evolved over time and taken on different meanings at different points in my life. Now, I just call myself “Sum” and most simply put, it’s Cantonese or Mandarin for “heart”. Romanticism, bravery, love, sincerity, loyalty, family, faith, creativity….all those things I represent and spill from the heart.

HHHS: Where do you draw inspiration from? Your style is just so unique.

SUM: I draw inspiration from countless things. Strangers I meet at the bar. Fables and folktales. Misery and heartbreak, victory and perseverance. My creative process is a pretty spiritual thing for me, so I always look to nature and the spirit to kind of “guide me”. Also I put alot of pressure on myself to emulate the spirit and work ethic of legendary songwriters, and be unique whenever I can. I am also very thirsty, and my thirst drives me to keep reaching deeper with every outing.

HHHS: We first stumbled upon your music on reverbnation. We noticed you go by the phrase “Keep it MIlky”. What does this mean?

SUM: ”Keep it Milky” is actually a song by my band, The Milky Way (http://themilky.com). I just put it up on my Reverbnation page to have something there while my new solo material is still coming together. That’s a great question though….”Keep it Milky” is kind of our mantra for staying adaptable and not sweating the small shit….and just about everything is small shit. Plans are made to be broken. Keep it milky.

HHHS: Where are you from? Do you usually work with local artist in your area?

SUM: I’m from North Carolina, but I call a few places home. Atlanta, New York and Los Angeles are all homes of mine. I have artist families and collaborators in all of those cities that I work with frequently.

HHHS: How much support would you say your community gives your music? What tactics do you use to build your buzz?

SUM: My community is very supportive, when they can be. It’s tough to grab people’s attention and keep it. The curse of what I do is that I don’t make music for short attention spans. It’s always some epic, vast experience that requires you to kind of immerse yourself in my world for a while, and these days that’s asking alot. But that’s what I do, so the trick is figuring out how to do what I do and keep people’s attention. The best way to build buzz I’ve learned is good old fashioned shakin babies and kissin hands out in the streets. You make human connections out in the world and at shows, it spreads to every other aspect of your brand(s). I also try to keep my style of social networking as consistent with my musical style as possible….mature, unique, colorful and heartfelt. That resonates pretty well. There’s no substitute for being genuine, and there’s no way around buzz building that doesn’t require hard work, consistency and patience.

HHHS: If you had to relate yourself with a vegetable or fruit what would it be and why?

SUM: I came up blank on this, so I asked my wife. She said “mango”, which initially sounds kinda fucked up, but it’s a strong, versatile, hearty fruit, with a thick skin. It’s rich with a sturdy core. I’ll take that.

HHHS: Dead or Alive, If you had the chance to work with a musician who would it be? Why?

SUM: I want Nigel Godrich to produce an album for The Milky Way. Need I explain why?

HHHS: What new projects do you have in store for the future?

SUM: My first solo project in over six years is set to release later this Spring. It’s called DRAGON, it will be a two volume epic (somewhat of an album, nothing like a mixtape) and it will feature a shit ton of producers that I will announce very soon. The producers are really the stars of the show….lots of names that the hip-hop world is familiar with, and lots of rising stars that will be household names in the next couple of years.

The Milky Way is also working on a project for release in the late months of the year….in the meantime, we’re about to rain singles on Spring from stuff we recorded last year.

HHHS: Tell our readers where they can find you.

FB Fanpage: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Sum/215948985089801
Twitter: @Sumkilla
Tumblr: sumkilla.tumblr.com
Blog: http://thegoodlook.net
Youtube Channel: youtube.com/sumkilla

Soundcloud: soundcloud.com/sumkilla

Bandcamp: sumworld.bandcamp.com (all my old music is up there)

Peace and blessings to you all, and thanks for giving me the chance to interview with you….hopefully we can talk again after DRAGON drops….

To the kids, be kind to each other, and by any means, do something different and timeless.

HHHS INTERVIEWS Warchyld aka "MR. MTV"

Fri, 17 Feb 2012 12:15:13 -0500

~~WHo’S HOTT INTERVIEW:~~

HHHS: Seeing as we found you on Twitter, can you describe yourself to our readers in 140 characters?

WAR: What’s up Hip Hop Hot Spot? I’m Warchyld the next rap artist to sale records like Michael Jackson [laughs].

Some call me MR.MTV If you really want to get to know me or my music check out my single (Google Me Now) on Itunes!

HHNS: So, What inspired you to create the new single “Mr. Mtv”?

WAR: MR.MTV is more than just what it sounds like, Meaning it represents struggle and achievement!

MTV is a huge and reputable company. To make a song that say’s “hey I’m the dude you need to check for” coming from an indie/underdog artist to a company like MTV which has covered some of the best in music in all genres takes a lot of balls lol!

Therefore I created that song because I love a challenge and “when” MTV co sign’s the single than my job was well done!

Notice I said “when” you gotta have confidence rule number one [laughs].

HHHS: Can you tell us a bit about where you’re from? Name three things you love and hate about it.

WAR: I am from Philly I love my city it’s a very tough city and a very musical city!

Philadelphia is very tough on any artist they will boo you at a show in a heart beat. I saw it happen to Mary J Blidge and many others I appreciate it though, it made me a tough artist!

Three things I hate about my city: One is the judicial system instead of dealing with us as individual’s they treat us all like animals.

The second is how we have been getting categorized in hip hop lately saying all rappers from philly sound alike! I don’t sound like anyone so that is already politically incorrect!

The third is how every body has a gun now but not everyone can aim so innocent people get killed everyday!

Three things I love are, one: cheese steaks if you ever had a real Philly cheese steak you know what I mean [laughs].

The second is our style philly we have a style and swag like no other city!

The third is our unity we are called the “city of brotherly love” but we kill each other everyday!

If we ever decided to come together we would be one of the most powerful communities on earth real talk!

HHHS: What do you feel you will cater to the hip hop community that has yet to be served?

WAR: My original contribution will be a variety of sounds and what I like to call “feel Good music”.

I mean the first thing I hear people say is “oh that’s catchy” but I feel like when they hear my singles they say “that was a great song”.

So I will be serving the public that fell good hip hop! Even my commercial tracks have a splash of feel good in them!

HHHS: How do you feel about current artists in the game right now? Who are your top 3?

WAR: I like a few artist doing there thing right now a lot of artist I love are not getting much air play right now!

If I had to pick three I would say T.I.P, Rick Ross and Geezy!

If I had my way it would be Jada kiss, Styles P and Beans!

HHHS: The phase ‘Hip-Hop is dead’ seems to be surfacing again, how do you feel about Hip-Hop’s current state?

WAR: That’s a real touchy situation because I come from the Hip Hop era! No disrespect to some of today’s artist but I feel like what do we stand for?

Some of these songs on the radio, “I’m sure we all agree” are pathetic! I remember when Hip Hop songs made you feel good.
Now a song comes on in the club and it seems like we are zombies programmed to bop our head because we have been brain washed and force fed music that is horrible. “Hip Hop is dead” but I’m here to resurrect it!

HHHS: What’s next from you? Are you currently working on any new projects we should be looking out for?

War: Most definitely! I’m dropping one of the hottest street albums of all times in the next 2 to 3 months titled (Graffiti City) its a straight classic for the streets!

It will be available for free download all over the net but make sure to keep checking my site for updates on the release!

HHHS: Tell our readers where they can find you!

WAR: You can find me on twitter (@warchyld_ent) or visit my site warchyldmusic.com every where I am online is there! And you can definitely catch me on HHHS!

WE ARE CURRENTLY LOOKING FOR UPCOMING INDIE ARTISTS TO FEATURE IN OUR 1ST "WHO'S HOTT??" SHOP!! IF THAT IS YOU SHOOT US A EMAIL ASAP! HIPHOPHOTSHOP@GMAIL.COM

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 01:51:12 -0500

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Schoolboy Q on Kendrick Lamar, How Rappers Influence Kids to Gangbang and the One Question He Hates

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 01:39:54 -0500

Schoolboy Q’s Questions and Answers: He Didn’t Know What to Do With His Life. Rap Was the Last Resort

~~Schoolboy Q~~. Lounging on a couch in his manager’s house in Carson, the rapper told us about transitioning from stuffing a baggie of crack in his cheek to selling out headlining shows across the city. Q, who often adopts a slightly unhinged, snarling rap persona, was relaxed and spoke openly about his spirituality, why he won’t spend more than 15 minutes in his old hood and the one question he hates. Below are excerpts from our conversation that didn’t make the story.

On why he hates some of his songs:
“I hate all the real true songs I have, like ‘Birds & the Beez,’ ‘Blessed.’ I haven’t listened to ‘Blessed’ since I made it. All the real true, true, true songs, no lies in them? I make those ‘cause I feel like I have to make them. It needs to be done. You have to do certain records so people won’t categorize you as this [rapper who talks about nothing]. To make sure they don’t say that, you gotta make ‘em cry at least once on the album.”

On his jail time:
“I got sentenced to 180 days, but I finished it on house arrest. Jail house judges was like, ‘Don’t take it, it’s a trap,’ but I’m like, I’m with it. Get some pussy, smoke weed, eat, take a shower. I had my peoples make me a fake workers’ [document], ‘cause if you have a job you can leave the house. I said I worked at the studio. I had it made! I made my baby on house arrest. I told my girl we were gonna have a baby as soon as I got outta jail and to stop taking her birth control pills. Got out, we had Joy-Joy. One try.”

On spirituality:
“One of my homie’s uncles was talking all this God stuff, and this nigga was a pimp, beat on his wife. I thought he was one of the worst dudes, ugh. I came up with ‘Sacrilegious’ because of him. I hate people that beat on they wife and shit like that. Trying to preach to us, about what we doing, and we come in and hear you beatin’ on your wife? [But] I believe in God. I found myself. I’m happy with myself. My daughter and her mom showed me God. My mom and I just started getting back cool again. I went like two years without seeing her. We were beefin’ and shit. She never noticed what was really goin’ on. She didn’t know I was gangbanging till I went to jail.”

On why first-time offenders’ records should be clean:
“You can change your life in a month. I hate that they give you a record after you go to jail. You don’t even give me a chance to start over. You gonna let everybody know I fucked up before. After your first time getting out of jail your record should be clean. After the second time, you can’t be mad at ‘em giving you something on your record. But the first time? Hey, some people make mistakes! Some people was down on they last; they had to go in and do what they had to do to make they daughter or they son feel better. Some people HAVE to do bad cause they’re put in fucked-up situations.”

On why he stays away from his old hood:
“Why would I still be going to the set? Stupid. I won’t be over there more than 15 minutes. Niggas be bragging about how much they be in the hood, but when you really really, really, really from your block, and really been over there doing shit? Your goal is to try to stay away from it, ‘cause you know what goes on. I got a strike. I got a daughter that’s 2 years old. Last thing I need is to be hanging with one of my homies, and be playing around, and police come by. We got gang injunction over there. My name is in the gang file. My homie’s name is in the file. You gone three or four years. Just for hanging out. Then my daughter’s 6 or 7 years old.”

Kendrick Lamar, ScHoolboy Q Talk Upcoming Albums, Working with Pharrell & More

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 01:35:21 -0500

Kendrick Lamar and ScHoolboy Q took last year by storm. Both West Coast rappers debuted highly-praised independent albums last year: Lamar’s “Section.80” and ScHoolboy Q’s “Setbacks.”

Kendrick Lamar Talks ‘Section.80,’ New Album & Upcoming Videos

Not only winning high notches on several media outlet’s top 2011 lists — Kendrick and ScHoolboy Q’s projects peaked in the top 25 of the R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. “Section.80” debuted at No. 25 on July 16, 2011 and peaked at No. 22 on July 23, 2011. It’s currently at No. 68. “Setbacks” debuted and peaked at No. 25 on Jan. 29, 2011.

ScHoolboy Q’s most recent project, “Habits and Contradictions,” debuted on Jan. 28, 2012 at No. 25 and currently sits at No. 45.

While continuing to promote their projects, both Kendrick and ScHoolboy Q are in the studio working on new albums. Kendrick has been seen in the studio with the legendary Dr. Dre and most recently Pharrell Williams.

“Pharrell really does this music like this is his first time in the studio. He still got that hunger,” Kendrick Lamar told The Juice. “He’s one of the producers that pulls out his keyboard and pulls up the session and make a crazy beat right front of you.”

“We knocked out six records in two days. Just by off the vibin’ [and] creating from scratch. To hear all the music that he’s making and reminisce all the music that I love to listen to, he’s making it right in front of me now is a crazy feeling,” Kendrick said.

While visiting NYC this past week, Kendrick met up with Q-Tip. “We ain’t lock in on the music side yet. Sometimes its best to feel the energy first before you go in the lab with a person.”

For his yet-to-be titled project (2012) (not titled “Good Kid in a Mad City as rumored), Kendrick plans to go off the vibe from his last projects and keep it local as far as collaborations, “I’m just sticking with a niche that’s been working for me.”

ScHoolboy Q plans to give his “input” on Kendrick’s album but his sole focus is his own yet-to-be titled debut album (2012), which he is three records in. “I’m going to give them the whole Q,” ScHoolboy Q tells The Juice. “I’m about to put them both [“Setbacks” and “Habits and Contradictions”] together and give you the whole Q.”

BET is not feeling Nicki Minaj’s latest visual effort. Black...

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 14:29:14 -0500

BET is not feeling Nicki Minaj’s latest visual effort.

Black Entertainment Television has banned Nicki’s “Stupid Hoe” video and is refusing to air it because it is too explicit, sources at the company told TMZ. The entertainment site reached out to a rep for BET, but he/she wouldn’t specify why the network has decided not to broadcast the clip, although the rep did confirm “Stupid Hoe” won’t air.

The video for “Stupid Hoe,” directed by Hype Williams, is indeed lewd, as it features several naked female figures. Not to mention the repetition of the phrase “Stupid Hoe” in the chorus. Check out the clip above:

Wale gets some help from his Maybach Music Group brother Rick...

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 14:23:51 -0500

Wale gets some help from his ~~Maybach Music Group~~ brother Rick Ross as well as Fabolous as they knock it out of the park on this new song “Albert Pujols”.

Tony Hawk Interviews Tyler, The Creator [Video] While out in...

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 14:11:17 -0500

Tony Hawk Interviews Tyler, The Creator [Video]

While out in Australia for The Big Day Out tour, famous skateboarder Tony Hawk interviewed OFWGKTA’s frontman Tyler, the Creator along with fellow members L-Boy, Mike G, Left Brain and Taco for Hawk’s Dissent on Ride Channel…

MGK arrested in Florida for disorderly conduct

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 13:57:15 -0500

When this past weekend, it wasn’t just the police he had to worry about. The newly minted Bad Boy rapper had to answer to an even higher power — Diddy. Speaking to MTV News, the 21-year-old Cleveland native said Puff was thankfully cool about the touchy situation.

“I talked to Puff today, and he’s like, ‘It’s all good. Do what you do. You did what you had to do,’” Kelly said. The Bad Boy Records founder had previously taken to Twitter with a series of tongue-in-cheek tweets that suggested he was freaking out about the arrest.

“@machinegunkelly WtF!!!!!! Call me at miami crib now!!!!! Everyone hit him and tell him to call me NOW!!!!! Pls thanks!!!!,” one read.

“You can tell he’s, like, playful with it, but there’s a serious tone behind [it],” MGK said.

It turns out Diddy was mostly concerned because of a previous arrest that weekend involving a member of Kelly’s entourage. One of the young rapper’s friends was caught in a drunk driving accident, but Kelly was not involved.

“He thought I was in the car too, so he thought I got arrested twice. It was like the first arrest was cool, like, all right, he’ll let it slide. But when he [thought it was two arrests], he was like, ‘What the f***? You got arrested two times? Something is wrong with you, man,’ ” MGK explained, imitating his mentor. “He was, like, spazzing out. I think all the label is on edge about how we rock.”

In a tweet to his fans, Kelly seemed like he was ready to learn from the run-in and move on.

“Thank you Florida for ragin this week. Lookin forward to seeing every state during this spring/summer tour (no more handcuffs tho!),” he wrote.

Soul Train creator Don Cornelius was found dead Wednesday morning in his Sherman Oaks, Calif., home. He was 75.

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 13:39:48 -0500

Soul Train creator Don Cornelius was found dead Wednesday morning in his Sherman Oaks, Calif., home. He was 75.

He “died from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head,” L.A. Coroner Assistant Chief Ed Winter tells PEOPLE. “Earlier this morning, paramedics had responded to his L.A. residence at the 12,600 block of Mulholland Drive. He was transported to the emergency room at Cedars-Sinai Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 4:56 a.m. An investigation is ongoing.”

According to Los Angeles Police Department spokeswoman Sara Faden, Van Nuys police officers responded to his home at 4 a.m. “Mr. Cornelius was transported to the hospital where he was declared deceased,” she tells PEOPLE. “Our detectives are still on the scene.”

Six firefighters reported to the scene, as well, a Los Angeles Fire Department spokesperson confirms.

Born in Chicago and originally an insurance salesman, Cornelius attended broadcasting school in 1966. After a start in local radio, he pitched his TV idea for an African American version of Dick Clark’s American Bandstand, using $400 of his own money to film a Soul Train pilot in 1969. He took the show’s name from a music promotional event that he had recently staged.

The Saturday morning show, which debuted in Chicago in 1970, was popular enough to be syndicated the following year. On it, Cornelius introduced some of the top names in R&B, including Aretha Franklin and Smokey Robinson, and, over time, rock stars and jazz acts also appeared.

In 1987, Cornelius instituted the annual Soul Train Awards, which honored Stevie Wonder the first year. Cornelius remained as Soul Train host until 1993, when guest hosts took over.

By 2005, the show was syndicated to 105 cities and was said to have reached an estimated 85 percent of African American households. The show ended in 2006, when Chicago’s Tribune Company shut down its TV distribution arm.

News of Cornelius’s death was first reported by TMZ.com.