Search Results for: rise records

The family of Jimi Hendrix is suing a recording company over the rights to recordings the rock guitarist made before he became famous. Experience Hendrix, the family firm that controls the rights to all Hendrix’s work except some early recordings, is suing PPX Enterprises over recordings Hendrix made with a group called Curtis Knight and The Squires in PPX’s New York studios. There was no comment from either party Thursday. In the action, set forth at the High Court in London on Wednesday, Experience Hendrix claims that PPX breached a 1973 agreement with the English administrator of Hendrix’s estate. Experience… Read more »

Universal Music is in talks with its best-selling rap artist Eminem to deploy copy protection technology on all upcoming CD releases of “The Eminem Show,” marking the biggest move yet to protect its top acts from music piracy, a label official told Reuters Wednesday. Discussions are under way between Universal, a division of French media conglomerate Vivendi Universal, Eminem and his Universal-owned label Interscope Records to make the anticipated top-selling release copy proof, thwarting the industry’s biggest concern – piracy. Universal and Eminem would need to strike an agreement on whether or not to release the security-enhanced CDs in the… Read more »

New Jersey natives Midtown debut at number 90 on the Billboard Top 200 album chart this week with over 11,153 units sold of their debut major label release LIVING WELL IS THE BEST REVENGE (Drive-Thru/MCA Records). The band is currently touring the country opening for Face To Face and will appear on this summer’s Warped Tour. Comprised of singer/bassist Gabe Saporta, drummer Rob Hitt and guitarists Tyler Rann and Heath Saraceno, Midtown formed in the Fall of 1998 while all were freshman at Rutger’s University in New Jersey. They have since enjoyed an unexpected and exceptionally fast ascent. In February… Read more »

British pop trio BBMak have a six-string surprise in store for their fans, as their second album promises to be more of a guitar-driven affair. BBMak, known for being one of the few pop groups to play their own music and write their own songs, have spent the last two weeks putting the finishing touches on the follow-up to 2000’s Sooner or Later, according to a Hollywood Records spokesperson, who described the effort as being laced with guitar throughout. The as-yet-untitled LP is expected to be released in September, and a single – a video for which is being planned… Read more »

When the Florida Marlins won the 1997 World Series, it was No Good’s remix of Luke Campbell’s “Raise the Roof” that blasted from the system at Pro Player Stadium. When the Miami Hurricanes won the national college football championship earlier this year, No Good’s “Ballin’ Boy” served as their theme song. As if that wasn’t enough to cement this particular sports-and-hip-hop connection, ESPN picked up “Ballin’ Boy” to play over its March Madness spots during this year’s NCAA hoops tournament. And No Good capped things off by performing the single – already a club staple in their hometown of Miami… Read more »

Eminem is portrayed as a homosexual in a new song by the Pet Shop Boys. “The Night I Fell in Love,” from the synth-pop duo’s Release, due April 23, tells the story of a homosexual boy who falls in love with a rap star backstage at his concert and follows him to a hotel room for a “private performance.” The slow-grooving song does not reference Eminem or his Slim Shady or Marshall Mathers monikers, but the lyrics clearly spell out the star’s identity. “I said we could be secret lovers/ Just him and me,” Pet Shop Boys’ Neil Tennant sings… Read more »

The Island Def Jam Music Group (IDJ) continues to make history this week with the highest debut of a first-time female artist as Ashanti sells 502,524 copies of her self-titled debut album to be the #1 sellingalbum in the country, on both the Top 200 and R&B charts, while her single, “Foolish,” tops the nation’s Hot 100 Singles and R&B Singles & Tracks charts. Moreover, The Island Def Jam Group scored four records in the Top 10, achieving one of the biggest market shares of current new albums by any record label so far with 14.3% for the week ending… Read more »

Murder Inc. Records star Ja Rule revealed that he isn’t surprised that his labelmate Ashanti landed at Number One on the Billboard 200 albums chart, but he was shocked by how well Ashanti’s album sold. “I’m not surprised, you know? It kinda shocked, you know, the number 503 (503,000), you know, but we knew she was going to do pretty well, so we’re all very happy and she’s crushing them right now,” he said. “I really think it’s the biggest first-week debut ever for a female R&B artist, so we’re holding some weight over here right now, definitely.” Ja Rule… Read more »

When the creators of the upcoming WWF album Tough Enough 2 asked Cold to contribute a track, frontman Scooter Ward was baffled. He thought, what did his music – riddled with gloomy, nihilist imagery and creepy underpinnings – have in common with the muscle-bound, over-the-top world of pro wrestling? Then it occurred to him that being in a band on the run and flying off the top turnbuckle night after night had some similarities after all. “I was writing a song for my kid at the same time,” Ward said last week. “Leaving home all the time, never being here… Read more »

Ja Rule knows what it’s like to be in the shoes of Ashanti, his Murder Inc. labelmate and “Always on Time” co-star. He can remember when not too long ago he felt the pressure of being a star on the rise. Now that he’s a bona fide hitmaker, Ja still feels pressure. But keeping the songs coming that help his star hover in the stratosphere is the least of his worries. Lately he’s been feeling some heat from below the heavens. “I’ve rethought a lot of things,” he said Tuesday about his work in progress, The Last Temptation. “I have… Read more »