August 2005 Archives

First things first, let me deal with the A-town representation at last night's VMA's. I think we deserved more nominations and performances but we still represented well. I could have sworn I saw MTV play T.I.'s "You Don't Know Me" for a good three or four months straight. But no nominations? Well, Luda did win for "Number One Spot" but we had to get one.

Or what about Dem Boyz' "Boyz N Da Hood" or Jeezy's "And Then What," MTV still has these video's in rotation and will probably continue to. But it's all good, I guess we are good enough to make money off of but not good enough to be nominated for an afflicted-looking Moon Man. Forgive me MTV, I just call it how I see it.

So now I hear 112 is getting into the mixtape game, yeah the same 112 who dropped Cupid and Peaches & Cream on us a few years back. I guess anybody can get into the rap game now.

Those of us who are true to hip hop need to set boundaries. Mase and Diddy are borderline enough without having true R&B groups enter the game. Afterall, we listen to underground mixtapes to escape the commercial music that we are forcefed on the radio.

Maceo drops his debut CD "Straight Out Da Pot" on Tuesday (8/23)...

Jermaine Dupri remains on top of the billboard charts for the 12th week in a row with Mariah Carey's single "We Belong Together"...

Damon Dash will be the celebrity host of Club Visions' Industry Night on Tuesday (8/23)...

After hearing about Lil Jon's latest venture of developing a cell phone golf game, I was initially impressed with the idea from a business standpoint.

But then I thought about it, after hearing so much about Jon's decision to split from TVT Records following claims of being defrauded out of millions of dollars.

My first thought was... hmmm' I hope he has a decent lawyer this time or better yet, I hope he has learned to READ THE DAMN CONTRACT!

Ladies, the wait is over. Bow Wow and the gang make their way into town on Sunday. Between Bow Wow and Omarion, the show should be a good one. Bobby Valentino, Pretty Ricky, B5 and Marcus Houston will also grace the stage. Tickets are still available for the show so you still have time if you are a last minute person.

I recently spoke with Jermaine Dupri and he reiterated that same thing by saying that we needed somebody in Atlanta to transcend from being more than just a good underground artist to becoming large, as in Ludacris or T.I large.

Well, we might have found that artist in Atlanta's own Noah. Though, only 22 he has been around for a minute, now he is preparing to release his debut album "The Music Man" on Jive.

Many might have heard his single "Dat Boy Chevy" now he has dropped a nice remix of Destiny Child's "Cater to You" with his own version entitled "Decatur to You." Peace to all my Decatur fam.

Last month Ludacris and Kanye West were sued for $10 million for alleged copyright infringement. They are charged with biting from New Jersey Group I.O.F's "It's Only Family" and then dropping Luda's "Stand Up" produced by Kanye. In addition, I.O.F possesses favorable reports from expert musicologists who support the validity of the accusation.

If this is true, I have lost all respect for these two artists. They have broken one of the biggest rules in the game.

Big Boi has bolted for greener pastures it seems, as he will release two albums through Virgin Records on his newly formed Purple Ribbon label. This has no effect on the release of the long anticipated Outkast CD "My Life in Idlewild" which is set to release later this year. Outkast is still a group and will be releasing under their previous label, this is just a Big Boi venture.

The first release will be a compilation from the Purple Ribbon All-Stars on Oct. 4, led by the single "Kryptonite" featuring Big Boi, Killer Mike, C-Bone and Rock D. "I'm going to try to bring the whole family back together like Voltron," Big Boi says. And I hope so, it's been long overdue 'Dre.

BET's Rap City Top 10 host J-Nicks has made his way to Atlanta by way of St. Louis and will be an on-air personality at 107.9.  He can be heard from 6-10 PM every weeknight, and we already know 107.9 has been a launching pad for several DJ's so he should benefit greatly from the A-town exposure too. 

He's one-half of the Dirty Boys duo in the evening, along with E.T the Entertainer.

Don’t hit Maceo on his Nextel if you talking business, you won’t get a response. The ATL Native is blowing up the radio with his new single “Don’t Hit Me On My Nextel Chirp.” Already a club banger for a few months, with heavy rotation Maceo is stepping out of the underground shadow and into the hip hop spotlight. (I witnessed him do it real big at Birthday Bash, I was definitely impressed with his stage show).

There have been a bunch of videos that I would consider classics coming out of the A-town, even the dirty south as a whole.  A couple that come to mind are "Smile" by Scarface, "Benz or a Beamer" by ‘Kast and the the list could go on.  On 107.9 they have been pubbin’ up there Vote for the All-Time Best Dirty South Video contest.  I’m interested to see who wins this honor.  You can click here to vote.

P.S. Is Nelly’s “Tip Drill” considered a Dirty South video.  If so….definite CLASSIC.

Atlantis Music Conference
August 10-13, 2005 - Downtown Atlanta

On the West Coast they have the SXSW Festival...here in Atlanta, we have the Atlantis Music Conference - the largest gathering of National & International Music Industry Insiders, Press, and popular 'up and coming' artists of the Southeast.

Has anybody gotten a chance to check out Ludacris' Red Light District DVD? If you are a cannabis fan then this is the DVD for you. And the ladies are off the chain in here....Definitely recommend this for your viewing pleasure.

WARNING: This DVD contains footage of sexy ladies, excessive drug use and blazing live performances straight from the heart of the Red Light District in Amsterdam! Check out Luda's Red Light District DVD in a mom and pop or bootleg store NOW!!!

After selling over 172,000 units during the first week of his Thug Motivation 101 CD, I have to wonder what is next for Young Jeezy at this point. Well, his next major task will be deciding which single to release as a follow-up to his first single "And Then What" produced by Mannie Fresh and "Soul Survivor," a collabo with Akon.

After listening to a very strong, well put-together CD, this could be tough. I also had a chance to hear "Go Crazy," a collabo with Jay-Z over the weekend (Gangster Grillz Radio) and the audience feedback was real good. However, this song is not on the Thug Motivation CD.

Jeezy will be giving back to consumers who've already purchased the album. Anyone with an official copy of Lets Get It: THUG MOTIVATION 101 on CD can use their copy of the album to unlock the new version of "Go Crazy" at www.youngjeezy.defjam.com. The track will be commercially available through all major digital music retailers on August 16th.

First off, big ups to everybody that got out this weekend and participated in the voting rights march. That was major.

Next, I had a chance to hear T.I.’s interview on Gangsta Grillz Radio this weekend in which he made references to himself being the King of the South numerous times, he even went so far as to refer to PSC as All The Kings Men. I mean, I like Tip but this has gone way too far (pimpin).

Sell me anything why don’t you. My question is. If T.I is the King then who is the Prince? Or for that matter, who really is the King of the South?

With The Anger Management Tour having passed through Atlanta this past weekend, I do have a few thoughts for Em and the gang as they proceed into the final stages of the tour.

First off, if Lil Jon is going to bring Ice Cube out as a surprise guest, make sure the Dom Dada remembers the lyrics to the song. That's my manz but that's unacceptable Cube. But whatever, he's still a legend.

John Legend, Common, and De La Soul will be performing Saturday at The Tabernacle, located at 152 Luckie Street in Atlanta. The concert has been slated to start at 8PM. John Legend is the headliner for the event along with Good Music labelmate Common. Knowing this, we could get an appearance from Kanye West, who recently made a surprise visit at Birthday Bash 10 with Ludacris.

I would expect Common to be the best performer at this event due to him having the latest album release as well as witnessing him perform well in the past. Tickets are $26 and seating is general admission. You can get tickets at (404) 659-9022.

Don’t you wanna taste of this Georgia Peach…Tell me you wouldn’t, you know how we talk…I won’t even go there on this blog but Rasheeda is in there with this joint. She has come back looking good and blowing up the clubs with her new single “Georgia Peach.” Click here to hear it.

With the discussion of Outkast sparking so much debate, I wanted to devote this week to my ATL Hall of Fame picks. Below is my list of top 5 Atlanta-based solo lyricists. Weigh in as well as provide your own list if you want. We all know that the great element of hip hop is that it allows for individuality meaning everyone has grown to acquire different tastes. So here's my breakdown of the all-time dirty emcee's past and present...