Search Results for: DJs

No disses, no DJs and no drama – just rock. The Los Angeles band Puddle of Mudd, whose current single “Blurry” is a #1 modern rock hit, tore through an hour-long headlining set of blue-collar rock Thursday night at a sold-out Electric Factory. Puddle of Mudd – Wes Scantlin (vocals and guitar), Paul Phillips (guitar), Doug Ardito (bass) and Greg Upchurchperformed on a stage devoid of props or ornate backdrop. Frontman Scantlin wore everyguy clothes: jeans, T-shirt, windbreaker jacket and a reverse baseball cap. But what the band lacked in show-business dazzle they made up for in verve and intensity.… Read more »

The cameraman removed the digital video camera from the tripod and got ready for some hand-held shots of the X-ecutioners at Phat Beats record store in the West Village. A look of concern creased the face of the group’s publicist, who hurriedly approached the producer of the shoot. Her idea was to lead into the television news story with shots of the DJs scratching, but the X-ecutioners, whose new record, Built From Scratch, charted at #15 on this week’s Billboard 200 albums chart, don’t normally perform in retail outlets and their label rep was worried that without their precision equipment… Read more »

Late heroes Notorious B.I.G. and Tupac Shakur are among the icons of hip-hop culture who’ll be honored next week at the inaugural Hip-Hop Hall of Fame induction ceremony. Afrika Bambaataa, LL Cool J, Queen Latifah, Run-D.M.C., KRS-One, Salt-n-Pepa, Slick Rick and Doug E. Fresh also made the cut, along with legendary breakdancer Crazy Legs, DJs Kool Herc and Grandmaster Flash, rap mogul Russell Simmons, and graffiti artist Dondi. The honors will be bestowed at New York’s Puck Building on Wednesday, the opening day of the Hip-Hop Super Conference and Expo. The conference runs through Friday and will feature more than… Read more »

There is no such thing as gut-check time for Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson. He has to be a trooper at all times. Along with the normal artist concerns like squabbles with his label (his 1999 debut, Power of the Dollar, was heavily bootlegged and Trackmasters/Columbia never released it), producers and other rappers (he and Ja Rule have fought on and off wax), 50’s been stabbed, shot in the mouth and had to move away from his hometown to ensure his safety. But the Queens, New York, native says things could not be better. “I’m not bitter at all,” the 25-year-old… Read more »

The record industry’s campaign to wrest consumers away from pirate internet music services has been a failure, with increasing numbers of technology-savvy fans turning their back on legitimate sales and downloading singles and albums free. An report to be published today reveals that sales of legitimate downloads brought in only $1 million last year, despite expectations that music would lead the way in recouping the $4 billion invested across the entertainment sector to capitalise on the expected boom in digital content. In contrast, up to 2.7m people at any one time are now logging on to free file swapping services,… Read more »

Linkin Park’s Mike Shinoda and DJ Joe Hahn have recorded a track with hip-hop turntablists X-ecutioners for the group’s Built From Scratch, which is set for a February 26 release. Linkin Park guitarist Brad Delson revealed that Hahn was instrumental in the track and in directing the song’s video. “The song that we’ve collaborated with them is finished. It’s the X-ecutioners featuring Mike and Joe and it’s going to be in the X-men’s record entitled Built From Scratch,” he said. “The song is called ‘It’s Going Down.’ We’re actually filming a video… It’s going to be a really cool video,… Read more »

Sirius Satellite Radio, the satellite radio broadcaster, today announced the programming lineup for its 100 channels of digital entertainment. Sirius will broadcast 60 original music channels, all commercial-free, in almost every musical genre, from rap to reggae, classical to country, new rock to hard rock, as well as HITS channels playing all the top hit songs virtually on demand. Rounding out its lineup, Sirius will broadcast 40 world-class channels of the best variety of sports, news, talk and entertainment. TOP HITS ONLY ON SIRIUS With distinct channels dedicated to the top hit songs for Rock, Top 40, Country, R&B, Rap… Read more »

The world’s largest record company will be the first of the major labels to release a copy-protected CD in the United States, signaling a new chapter in the industry’s efforts to stem music piracy. When Universal Music Group on Tuesday releases the soundtrack, “Fast & Furious – More Music,” consumers won’t be able to copy the music onto another CD or use their PCs to “rip” tracks in digital MP3 format. The copy-protection technology will also render the disc unplayable on Macintosh computers, DVD players and game consoles, such as Sony’s PlayStation 2. It might not even play in some… Read more »

Versatile soul icon Rufus Thomas, a pioneering radio DJ and a singer/songwriter famed for the R&B standard “Walking The Dog,” has died in Memphis at age 84, his family said Sunday. Over a 70-year career, which took off in a segregated minstrel show, Thomas was a key player in the rise of rock ‘n’ roll and soul. He recorded for the two greatest record labels to come out of Memphis, Sun and Stax, and performed into his 80s. Thomas died Saturday at St. Francis Hospital of apparent heart failure, his family said. He had been receiving treatment at the hospital… Read more »

America Online, Inc. today announced that more than 2.2 million members accessed Radio@AOL in the month of October, according to Nielsen/NetRatings. AOL Music has also introduced new programming to enhance the popular Radio@AOL, which now offers members more than 100 stations of music, news, sports and entertainment. Radio@AOL is AOL’s first built-in radio service and a marquee feature of AOL 7.0, the new version of the AOL Service which launched October 16. “Radio@AOL is a major breakthrough for making online music mainstream,” said Kevin Conroy, Senior Vice President and General Manager of AOL Music. “We are thrilled with members’ enthusiasm… Read more »