On this episode of Geek Girl Riot we talk the internet #showdowns happening on the internet and share some new TV shows we’re loving.
NEW YORK – Jay-Z will bring his “Empire State of Mind” to the West Coast for Coachella this year.
The collaboration that had been in the works for over a year between Drake and Jay-Z, “Light Up,” has finally been completed, according to the Toronto-based lyricist.
When Jay-Z performed at the Yankees’ World Series victory parade, it definitely seemed like “Empire State of Mind” was the biggest song in the country. Last Thursday it became official: Jay-Z has his first no. 1 song on the Billboard Hot 100.
Lenny Santiago has a rich history in the rap game. His hands have been in almost all Roc-A-Fella Records releases (sans Kanye West’s), and now he is running things over at Def Jam as vice president of A&R. He signed DJ Khaled and also spearheaded the A&R work on Jadakiss’ The Last Kiss and Fabolous’ upcoming Loso’s Way (due July 28th), and his big fall project is the new one from Ghostface Killah. But hold up: There’s been some controversy over whether Ghostface will really live up to early descriptions that the record that will be an R&B album. Tony… Read more »
A picture is worth 1,000 words. But that’s apparently nothing compared to what a whisper is worth. A peeved New York rapper is suing Jay-Z for $88 million, claiming the superstar MC appropriated the other artist’s “whisper rapping” (aka rapping softly) technique and subsequently earned himself a whole lot of money. Mitchell Rose says that he gave Jay-Z, whose real name is Shawn Carter, a CD containing his lyrics on May 13, 2001, during a Felix Trinidad fight at Madison Square Garden, according to the one-page complaint filed May 23 (of this year) in U.S. District Court and obtained by… Read more »
It appears that Jay-Z and Beyonce have finally tied the knot. There was a swirl of activity Friday at the rap mogul’s Tribeca apartment. Delivery trucks funneled in and out of the building, dropping off silver candelabras and white flowers. A white tent was set up on the roof, and stars including Beyonce’s former Destiny’s Child bandmates, Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams, along with Gwyneth Paltrow, were spotted arriving. A swarm of media camped outside the building was in a state of frenzy, snapping and shouting at any sport-utility vehicle that drove down the cobblestone street. The Web sites of… Read more »
BoyGeniusReport revives earlier rumors that Apple and Jay-Z will be forming a record label around iTunes. They now expect this new record label to be launched at Macworld Expo 2008. This incarnation of the rumor, however, eliminates Beyonce’s involvement. The new report claims that a “high-up person” associated with Jay-Z has confirmed that plans are “a go”. BoyGeniusReport had previously discounted the July rumors based on a source close to both Jay-Z and Beyonce. Jay-Z recently stepped down as president of Def Jam records after his contract expired on December 31st, saying that “it’s time for me to take on… Read more »
Universal Music Group said on Monday that rap artist and hip-hop mogul Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter is stepping down as president of its Def Jam Records unit, effective by the end of the year. Carter, 38, has been president of the rap label since 2005, and has signed acts including R&B singers Rihanna and Ne-Yo. Universal said Carter, a top-selling rapper who performs as Jay-Z, will continue recording for its Roc-A-Fella/Def Jam label. But the company did not give a reason for his decision to quit the executive suite. “Now it’s time for me to take on new challenges,” he said… Read more »
To record what is shaping up to be their heaviest album yet, P.O.D. have spent the past three months living and brainstorming in the former Palm Springs, California, home of sunny ’60s folk-rock quartet the Mamas and the Papas. The area, which now mostly houses retired couples, would probably rather have had the “California Dreamin’ ” singers as neighbors than the dreadlock-waving, guitar-thrashing writers of “Boom” and “Youth of the Nation,” but the San Diego rockers were gracious residents. “We had to go to all the neighbors’ houses and tell them that we were a rock and roll band and… Read more »
