Search Results for: Ice-T

Perhaps he got the inspiration from cleanin’ out his closet? Eminem has become the latest artist to break into the fashion game, having recently signed a deal with the Nesi Apparel Group, according to a company spokesperson. Em’s line, a sportswear collection called Shady, reportedly will be modeled after his personal style and is expected to be available in late summer, just in time for back-to-school shopping sprees. Slim Shady joins a crowded list of artists-turned-clothiers, including P. Diddy (Sean Jean), Jennifer Lopez (J. Lo by Jennifer Lopez), NSYNC’s Chris Kirkpatrick (FuMan Skeeto) and Creed’s Scott Stapp (Screamline). Recently, Ice-T… Read more »

Mark Cerami, co-founder of groundbreaking hip-hop imprint Priority Records, has launched a label called M.S.C. Music & Entertainment. The Los Angeles-baed label, which will focus initially on rap artists, has signed seven new acts. The first release on M.S.C. will be “Absolute Power” from Kansas City-based rapper TECHN9NE. The disc is due out Sept. 10 and will feature an hourlong bonus DVD. Cerami said he is in talks with three major label groups about a distribution deal for M.S.C. He has a long pedigree in hip-hop. Priority was home to some of the biggest stars of rap in the late… Read more »

Bad-boy rap artist Eminem has lobbed a four-letter word at Vice President Dick Cheney’s wife on his upcoming album, but the second lady is hardly running away to a secure, undisclosed location. The Detroit-based recording star, a favorite target of Lynne Cheney in her criticism of the recording industry, unleashes the offensive word against her on the “White America” track to his soon-to-be released LP, “The Eminem Show.” She fired back through her spokeswoman, again condemning his lyrics as a “glorification of violence” against women and homosexuals. Eminem, whose real name is Marshall Bruce Mathers III, won three Grammys last… Read more »

The tagline for “Still Not a Player,” a documentary on fallen rap star Big Pun, reads: “At 26 he became the first Latin solo hip-hop artist to go platinum. At 28 he was dead.” But as the movie shows, there was more to Pun than most ever knew. Family members, such as his wife, Liza Rios, and peers like Nas, Noreaga, Ice-T and his mentor, Fat Joe, all give firsthand accounts of their dealings with the lyricist, helping to paint his biography. “To hear other people talk about him, it helped me out,” Rios said. “It was therapy. [There were]… Read more »

Turnout was thin Saturday for the second day of an event organizers promoted as a hybrid of music festivals and extreme sports. The Beyond 2002 Super Festival offered five stages of hip-hop and rock music, as well as motorcyclists, snowboarders and skiers. Organizers Todd Ross, 24, and Justin Moss, 23, said they tried to include the most popular elements of youth culture in one event. But by late Saturday afternoon, the second day of festival, only about 2,000 people were attending the event they had hoped would draw at least 20,000. “It’s not quite what we would have expected,” Moss… Read more »

Alicia Keys, Michael Jackson and Jill Scott lead the pack of music artists receiving nominations for this year’s NAACP Image Awards. Sultry R&B chanteuse Keys is at the top of the list with seven. She picked up nods for Outstanding Album for Songs in A Minor, Outstanding New Artist, Outstanding Music Video (directed by Chris Robinson) and Outstanding Songwriter for “Fallin’,” Outstanding Female Artist and Outstanding Songwriter (with Erika Rose) for “A Woman’s Worth” and Outstanding Performance in a Variety Series/Special for her showing on the 2001 MTV Video Music Awards. Jackson received five nominations: Outstanding Album and Outstanding Male… Read more »

In the latest sign of consolidation within the embattled recording industry, EMI Group Plc said on Friday it was merging its Priority and Capitol labels, resulting in about 100 job cuts. The move comes as several industry experts predict further job cuts in the world’s major labels, who are currently negotiating among themselves to combine CD manufacturing operations as a way to shrink costs. EMI has said it and other major music companies are looking to exit manufacturing and distribution to cut expenses and focus on nurturing and promoting stars. EMI’s consolidation and these ongoing negotiations within the industry reflect… Read more »

Rob Cavallo, Hollywood Records senior vice president of A&R, announced late last week that Geoffrey Weiss has been appointed to the position of vice president for the label. Based in the company’s Burbank headquarters and reporting to Rob Cavallo, Weiss will be responsible for the discovery and development of new musical talent. Commenting on the appointment, Cavallo said, “Geoffrey has a keen sense of what works in the modern music marketplace as both an A&R man and a marketing executive. We look forward to having his expertise here at Hollywood. Also, he makes a great soufflé.” “I look forward to… Read more »

Once a punk rock outcast who was locked up in a psych ward, Iggy Pop is now a celebrity, a Reebok model who rubs shoulders with the cream of society. But his elevated status does not stop him from noticing the absurdity of the situation, as he told Reuters in a recent interview: the kid raised in a Michigan trailer park is often the center of attention at various phoney-baloney shindigs. “Occasionally I’ll go to one of these VIP affairs or parties, and I always sorta look around thinking, ‘My God, how shallow and crass these people are! Not like… Read more »