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Wednesday, October 8, 2008
BET Hip Hop Awards Performers Announced
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Top nominee Lil Wayne, Atlanta’s Ludacris and Young Jeezy (pictured above, together, at a rehearsal from an earlier BET Hip Hop Awards) and T-Pain, along with The Game, Common, N.E.R.D. — and get this — Lady of Rage, are on the just-announced list of artists scheduled to perform at the BET Hip Hop Awards Oct. 18 at the Atlanta Civic Center.
Jadakiss will be the “celebrity announcer” (what E-40 did last year) and our own DJ Drama will return to the turntables for the program; which will be taped to air Oct. 23 at 8 p.m. .
Now why Lady of Rage, you’re probably asking? (After all the one and only album she released was in 1997).
Well, BET is planning a tribute to female pioneers in hip-hop. Also, as previously announced, Katt Williams is back as host and Russell Simmons will receive the “I Am Hip Hop” Icon Award.
Looking forward to the awards show’s return to Atlanta? Did you watch it last year - and if so, how do you think it went?
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Rate The New Ne-Yo Video
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Guess we should just go ahead and call this Ne-Yo Wednesday.
Earlier today there was a post about the Atlanta R&B singer appearing on “The Tyra Banks Show” this afternoon; now we offer up a YouTube video for the new remix of his current Top 10 single on Billboard’s R&B/Hip-Hop chart, “Miss Independent”. It’s called “She Got Her Own,” featuring Oscar winner Jamie Foxx and rapper Fabolous. See it BELOW - and tell us what you think.
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T.I. Has No. 1 Album AND Single
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Atlanta rapper-actor T.I. told us when his new CD was released last week that “I am doing everything I can these days to ensure success” — and today it paid off.
The official results are in from Billboard magazine, and T.I.’s latest CD “Paper Trail” has debuted atop The Billboard 200 charts; making it the No. 1 album in the country.
“Paper Trail” is his third straight No. 1 on The Billboard 200. And it is his biggest sales week ever — with a reported 568,000 copies sold in the U.S., according to Nielsen SoundScan. It also marks the third-highest first-week sales this year. Plus it is his record label, Atlantic’s, biggest sales week since Nielsen SoundScan began tracking data in 1991.
But the good news doesn’t stop there: T.I. also broke a record on the Hot 100, where he made the largest leap to No. 1 — a record he set himself only six weeks ago. “Live Your Life” featuring Rihanna, the latest single from “Paper Trail,” jumped from 80 to 1, replacing the T.I. single “Whatever You Like”.
And since we’re talking hometown, here’s another interesting factoid for you: T.I. is the first artist to replace himself at No. 1 since Atlanta R&B superstar Usher switched out “Burn” for “Confessions Part II” in July 2004.
Are you among the hundreds of thousands who bought “Paper Trail” its first week? How would you rate it? Surprised it didn’t do the debut week numbers Lil Wayne did (a million plus)?
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Ne-Yo On “Tyra” Today
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
PHOTO CREDIT: Michael Loccisano
Atlanta R&B singer Ne-Yo has the No. 3 album in the country (“The Year of the Gentleman”), a Grammy in his new multimillion-dollar penthouse (featured recently on VH1) and still, apparently, a few things to complain about.
At 1 p.m. today on “The Tyra Banks Show” he discusses…
The music industry: “It’s kinda sad the way the music industry is now. Back in the day it was about your talent. It was about your accomplishments. Now-a-days it’s about what celebrity you’re dating or what drug you’re doing or how many times you get arrested in a year… that’s what a lot of the press is making people pay attention to…”
The press (or more specifically, his lack of): “I’m on my third album, I won a Grammy with my second album. I’m not trying to pat myself on the back but these are a lot of really big accomplishments but you’ve never seen me on the cover of Vibe magazine.. People magazine, Rolling Stone… I’ve heard that when somebody say’s ‘Ne-Yo is a great singer, Ne-Yo is a great songwriter. There’s nothing else to say about him’ …. I’m like why is that not enough?”
And that ill-fated tour with R. Kelly (again): “This is my personal opinion - I feel the reason he kicked me off the tour is maybe he was thinking I was stealing a little bit of his shine. Which I was not trying to do. My intent was not to outshine nobody. It was nothing like that… I actually tried to go to him and thank him for letting me get on the tour and his security people shoo’d me off like I was an annoying fan…
It was a lot. You heard about the “Code Blue” thing?
Tyra: What’s “Code Blue”?
Ne-Yo: OK “Code Blue” is if R. Kelly is moving through the hallway.. if you’re in the hallway when R. Kelly is moving through the hallway you have to get out of the hallway. Get into the closest room to you and stay in that room until R. Kelly gets all the way down the hall.”
The folks at the “Tyra” show add that his “telling and fun” interview ends with him performing “Miss Independent” and “Closer”. Will you watch? Agree (or disagree) with any of his points?
