This Week In Music: News and Reviews

Okay so most of you already know that I am a hip-hop music junkie, and that I absolutely love it. Here lately, I been doing some following not only of some of the things going on in the mainstream world, listening and copping great CD's. In addition, here are some of the CD's that you should add to your I-Pod list, and some of the things you should know is happening with your favorite Musical Celebrities.

News:

Nappy Roots & Organized Noize Team Up For New Album

Grammy Award nominated rap group Nappy Roots, the five-man hip hop collective responsible for the multi-platinum smash Watermelon, Chicken & Gritz, is currently at Dungeon East Studios working with the impressive Organized Noize production team on a new CD that will be released on a joint venture with AVJ Records.

Organized Noize is the Atlanta based multi-platinum-selling award-winning trio of Rico Wade, Ray Murray and Sleepy Brown that helped to shape Southern Hip Hop with OutKast’s ground breaking Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik album. “We’ve been credited with creating the “Sound of the South,” and Nappy Roots is considered the “Conscience of the South,” so it’s great that Nappy wanted to work with us,” says Rico Wade of the Noize team. “People are going to be impressed by this album.”

The Nappy Roots project marks the first time the trio has worked on an entire album in quite some time. Nappy Roots rapper Skinny DeVille speaks on the excitement. “It’s an honor to be working with legends like Organized Noize. Nappy Roots is a family and Organized Noize is like our older cousins that we haven’t seen in a while, so the [sessions are] like a family reunion. We stayed true to ourselves, but Organized Noize has pushed our limits and taken the music to the next level.”

The new album will be the first Nappy Roots project on AVJ Records, an urban imprint run by Jason “Boogie” Brown and Shannon Houchins of Average Joe Entertainment (Colt Ford, Montgomery Gentry, Corey Smith). Shannon Houchins states, “We’re happy to be partnering up with Nappy Roots on the next stage of their career. They are an important part of Hip Hop history and we are honored to continue their legacy.”

NEWS:

Billboard Music Awards Air Live On ABC, May 22nd

The 2011 Billboard Music Awards Airs Live on ABC at 8PM, and amongst the artist looking to capture the Billboard Music Artist of The Year award are Eminem, Rhianna, Drake, Nicki Minaj, Lady Gaga, Justin Beiber, Taylor Swift, and Lady Antebellem. Amongst the Top Billboard Newcomer Charts are Nicki Minaj, Adele, Bruno Mars, Taio Cruz, and Ke$ha. It will be an interesting one to see who comes home with the hardware.

News:

Nas and Prodigy of Mobb Deep Make Up After Accusations in Prodigy's New Book

Photo: MTV News

The relationship between Queens rappers Prodigy and Nas has had its fair share of ups and downs. There have been collaborations and dis records over the years, and in the new book "My Infamous Life," Mobb Deep's Prodigy touched on his relationship with God's Son, starting with the first time they met during a battle in New York's Queensbridge housing project.

In a recent interview, Prodigy told MTV, how he called Nas to make peace after he was released from his jail term this past March.

During an exclusive sit-down with Sway of MTV, the Illmatic rapper spoke about P's call. "He called me as soon as he got out of jail; he got in touch with me. We talked about some things," Nas said. "I didn't know he had a book. He didn't tell me that. I guess he just wanted to clear the air on some past things that don't mean anything today."

After patching things up, Nas agreed to collaborate with Prodigy on the Mobb Deep record "Dog Sh--," which was leaked onto the Internet in April. "I just jumped on the record; put that to the past or whatever ill feelings he had towards me," Nas told Sway. "I think he was misinformed about things, like I was a negative guy or like I was trying to harm him in any kind of way. I think maybe he just grew up a little bit."

Prodigy was proud to continue the Nas/ Mobb Deep legacy. "When we make songs together, man, it's another level, it's incredible music. It just gives you that feeling, like nostalgia almost," Prodigy said of the Mobb and Nas' past collaborations. "The music is just real powerful when Mobb Deep and Nas work together. So I said, 'We gotta keep that feeling going, man. We would be fools to stop doing that because of whatever petty bullsh-- that was going on.' "

With "Dog Sh--" in the can, Nas wasn't sure if and when any more Mobb Deep collaborations would surface. "At the moment, I just got back into the studio, and my focus right now has been just starting to work on the album, so who knows?" he said.

As far as Prodigy's book, Esco didn't even know it existed, though he is mentioned in it quite a bit. While Prodigy insists that all of his accounts of Nas were in a positive light, the QB MC doesn't seemed bothered either way and gave general advice for any would-be authors. "Tell the truth if you're gonna write a book. Tell the truth to the best of your ability, that's all I would say to anybody. Just tell the truth," he said.

News:
Lil Wayne "Unplugged" Perfomance Unveils Alot About The Carter 4's Direction, Performs New Songs

According to MTV News Online, Lil Wayne had run through a string of hits during the taping of his “MTV Unplugged” special Thursday night before he took on a rather serious tone.

“A few months ago I was in a dark place that I don't like to really shed light on,” he said referring to his time behind bars last year. “Everyone always asks, 'How was it?' I figured I'd find a way to answer that question.”

The rapper then launched into a cover of 2Pac’s "Hail Mary" –- the last single from his final studio album, “The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory.”

Wayne was incarcerated for attempted gun possession, from a 2007 arrest following a Manhattan concert.

During his time behind bars -- which included a month of solitary confinement as punishment for possessing "music contraband" (headphones and a charger for an MP3 player) -- he released his last disc, “I Am Not a Human Being," and it debuted at No. 2 according to the Billboard 200 chart, with 110,000 downloads in its first week.

With lyrics like “penitentiaries is packed with promise makers … institutionalized I lived my life a product made to crumble,” Wayne said he dug around for the perfect song to describe how he felt during the eight months he spent at Rikers Island.

He’s aware going forward that people are going to continue to ask, and he said he'll do more than offer the 2Pac classic -- he previously spoke about his experiences for Rolling Stone's February issue.

“I think I’m going to have to open up more because of this social world we live in now,” he said backstage after the taping. “People are going to think I’m an alien if I don’t say anything about it. You know this world we live in now you can find out anything about everybody.”

During the concert he also treated the hundreds of fans who packed a soundstage at Sony Studios to a track off his highly anticipated disc, “Tha Carter IV,” with a performance of “Nightmares of the Bottom,” where he reflected on his troubles -- with a bit of humor.


He’s tight-lipped about the disc, which was pushed back to a June 21 release, but did offer a cryptic teaser when asked about it.

“Just know that I have a pleasant surprise. A very pleasant surprise for this album when it comes out,” he said. “I’m only doing this for the fans. Which I do every … thing for.”

Wayne joins a small roster of hip-hop acts to have gotten the “Unplugged” treatment, including LL Cool J, Jay-Z, Lauryn Hill and B.o.B.

There is no set date to when “MTV2 Presents: Lil Wayne Unplugged” will premiere.

Album Reviews:

I know usually I am on my Hip-Hop tip, but this time I thought I'd cover what is in rotation when I am chilling doing some relaxing or occupying the time of a lady. These Albums are definitely mood setters. Fellas, Take notes.

Marsha Ambrosius: Late Nights and Early Mornings

A woman’s heart is a bevy of different things: emotions, stories, regret, truth, lies, secrets, and love. It’s her nucleus and defining fiber. And since it is so valuable, it is somewhat of a secret society because you never truly leave. You uncover all kinds of treasures that are an abyss of unknowns and only available to a small few while women like Marsha Ambrosius have the world examining her central point. But Marsha and her heart are no strangers to most as we knew them both as half of the astonishing group Floetry. And even though it was a great introduction, we have surpassed membership selection and moved on to the divulging of information with Late Nights & Early Mornings.

The album opens with a sultry intro entitled “Anticipation.” The lightening and rain set the mood over a lush piano that blends exquisitely with Marsha’s succulent voice. Her vocal sense of urgency captures the tone of a woman craving love. Immediately after her plea, her desire intensifies and she gives us a step by step of her journey to satisfy her love below on “With You” (co-written with Alicia Keys). This illustrious track is what Marsha’s fans expect from her—an experience in song that places you in your own unique moment while sharing a striking resemblance to hers.

On “Far Away,” produced by Just Blaze, Marsha delivers the most poignant song of her career. Inspired by true events, this track has an anti-bullying message while telling the tale of a friend who commits suicide and the aftermath of that loss. Marsha’s vulnerability and sorrow throughout this song is uncanny and has the potential to force one to revisit their own personal loss of a loved one.

Overall, I-Tunes rating census gave it 5 stars, and in my opinion, it is an excellent pick up. Something to mellow out with and get you intune with a woman's emotions and thought process.

Review:

Musiq Soulchild- MusiqIntheMagic

Musiq's Highly Anticipated album " MusiqintheMagic" is one of the most profound bodies of work that Musiq has created thus far, easily capturing the essence of emotions, dilemmas, and any thought a man could ever conceive to tell his lady. Alot of times, just listening to this CD, it was almost like I was within a parallel scenario of some my own personal experiences, and Musiq was speaking artistically for me.

On " Medicine" Musiq sings of having the right remedies to change the way a woman feels inside, and how being with him will be good for her; soulful, yet simple. Basic instructions on exactly what he would do step by step and how he relates to her needs. LISTEN BELOW:

For all the men out there trying to save or rekindle the love, he wrote a song entitled, "BackToWhere", that confesses to a woman that he is willing to go back to where he was in love with his last love, because He can't stand being without her. LISTEN BELOW:




Lastly, one of my favorite songs on the album is "LoveContract", which pays homage to the 60's style soul music of Greats like Frankie Lyman, Stevie Wonder, Charlie Parker, and so on, adding a modern, yet classic twist to the song. Smooth and Timeless, and great song to vibe or listen to for any generation of love. LISTEN BELOW:




Overall, Its a timeless, well produced album that is a must have for any R&B, and Neo-Soul lover; Because it could put the love back in you. Now that you got to great CD's that tell both sides of the love spectrum, male and female, listen and love your other half as much as you will spending time occupying each others time while some of this is playing in the background. You can thank me later.

Countdown to Your Album

HERE ARE 10 THINGS THAT I FOUND TO BE THE PERFECT CHECKLIST FOR ANY ASPIRING ARTIST LOOKING TO PROPERLY BREAK THEIR MUSIC INTO THE MAINSTREAM MUSIC INDUSTRY, AND GET THAT INITIAL LISTEN AND LOOK:

10 Things To Do For Your Next Release

It’s easier than ever to release your music to the world. And there is now a wealth of online services that will help you promote, distribute, and share your music. But even though musicians can release material whenever they want – and many fans are happy with the idea that they can download singles – the press, fans, radio stations, podcasts, and even digital distribution stores still ask the same question: “When’s your next album coming out?”

Of course, an album in today’s music world is more than just a physical object. It’s a concept that helps promote your music; it gives everyone something to focus on. Having an album enables events such as a record-release party, gives you a story to tell to help get you reviewed or mentioned in the media, provides you with a group of songs for sale in a digital music store, and gives you something tangible to sell fans after a live show.
No matter what you plan to do with your album, you want to put out the strongest product you can. While many articles in EM delve into the recording and mixing aspects, here we’ll focus on what happens after the mixing is done, but before you actually release your project. We’ve put together a list of steps – presented roughly in the order you’re likely to deal with them during the process – that will help make your album release successful.


10. Put Your Best Song on Track 1
There’s more music out in the world than ever, which means that musicians have to fight even harder for the 30 seconds of consideration that they get from any media outlet, radio programming director, or reviewer that gets their album. In a recent interview in EM, Bob Boilen, the music reviewer for NPR’s All Songs Considered, said that the show receives 200 to 300 CDs per week. Their review method: toss the press release in the recycle bin, slot the disc in the player, and listen to track one. If that doesn’t grab them, they put it on the giveaway pile and move on to the next disc.
Don’t lose the opportunity to reach far more people by leading with a weak track. The rest of the music on the CD won’t matter if no one hears it. Although the actual sequencing of the song order for your CD will likely happen during mastering (see step 8), it’s something you want to decide on before that point.
9. Get ISRCs for Each of Your Tracks
Your songs may make it onto webcasts, ringtones, and all kinds of other electronic distribution methods. Because of this, before you distribute your music to anyone, get an International Standard Recording Code (ISRC) for each of your tracks. This is an international serial number that will uniquely identify each song and can be digitally embedded in the disc subcode (you can do this with many 2-track editors and some CD-burning applications, or your mastering engineer can do this for you) or even into the ID3 tag of an MP3 file. The ISRC code is widely used in digital commerce sites and by collecting societies, so it may affect the royalties that you get for your music.
Note that you need an ISRC for each track separately. In fact, if you have multiple versions of the same song, each of those tracks should get its own ISRC code, as well. ISRC codes are included FREE with Mastering Services from the SoundLAB at Disc Makers or when getting Digital Distribution from CD Baby.

8. Get the Album Mastered
Many musicians are tempted to save money by skipping the critical mastering process before sending their music off to be reviewed, played on the radio, or replicated 1,000 times. Don’t make that mistake. Mastering is a critical and very specialized process, and it is best done by an experienced engineer with the right gear in an acoustically treated studio. Evening out volume between tracks, smoothing out EQ, adding compression and limiting, and getting the benefit of an experienced pair of ears with a fresh perspective on your project is key. It will add that critical polish to your album and help it stand out from the crowd. Listeners and reviewers will look negatively on problems such as jarring volume changes between songs, too much bass, or overly bright or dull mixes, and these problems can’t easily (or cheaply) be fixed once the CD is made and the songs have been put up for sale at digital music stores. To learn more about Mastering services, visit the new SoundLAB website to see and hear all of the ways our mastering experts can make sure your music is ready for commercial release.

7. Legally Protect the Music
Although U.S. copyright law doesn’t require that a work must be registered with the government to get copyright protection, you can get statutory benefits, such as the ability to recover your legal costs if you prevail in a lawsuit, if you register it within a few months of publication. For musicians, that publish date is usually when a CD is released. Take a little time before the album is released to register both the music (form PA) and the recording itself (form SR) with the U.S. Copyright Office as a collection so you get the full benefit of registration as it is more cost-effective to register them as a whole than each song separately.
Also, before the album release, register the songs with a Performance Rights Organization (PRO) and the sound recording with SoundExchange so that if it’s played and picked up in their surveys, you can get paid for it. If you wait until after it’s been released, you might miss out on their surveys if it’s played.

6. Obtain a Bar Code
Although getting a bar code sounds like a trivial commercial step, it’s more important than some musicians think. Music sales are tracked within the United States through Nielsen Soundscan, which uses the bar code as the unique identifier for the album. Without it, the album sales won’t be counted. Also, some musicians forget that bar codes are also part of the album art. They usually need to be obtained ahead of time or it slows the entire process down while waiting for it. Click here for more information on obtaining a Bar Code.

5. Choose an Appropriate Method for Making Your CDs
When you’re ready to make CDs, there are lots of options for manufacturing them. To choose the right one, estimate how many CDs you’ll need for each of these categories: CD sales at live shows, physical CD sales online, PR campaigns, free CD giveaways, college or commercial radio campaigns, and CD review campaigns. Each of these can affect the size of your run, as well as help you determine the quality of disc that you’ll want. If you need a rough guide, just assume that you’ll need at least 100 for each of the aforementioned uses.
Once you know how many and what you’re going to do with them, you can choose the best method for you. Consider one of these options:
- Make It Yourself. You can always use your own computer to burn CDs and print covers and liner notes. This method is certainly easy for demos but very time-consuming. (Think of using scissors to cut perfectly square fold-outs for the CD case 20 times in a row.) Also, it usually results in a low-quality product that is not appropriate for PR campaigns, radio, and CD reviews. It costs approximately $2 per disc if you buy in bulk, use color ink for your cover, and buy empty jewel cases. These prices get closer to $3 to $3.50 if you get a printer that can print on the CD itself and you use higher-quality paper for the insert.
- Buy a Duplication Machine. If you need to be able to make a large number of CDs on demand, bulk-duplication machines may be an option. These machines will usually both duplicate CDs and print reasonable-quality images on the CD face itself. On average, a decent machine costs approximately $1,200; the lower-priced ones aren’t worth buying as they don’t last as long. Figuring in the insert, the toner, CDs, CD case, etc., your cost is around $1.80 per CD once you’ve paid for the machine. This option is probably best if you need to be able to handle a lot of different CD runs on short notice. If you have just a few albums, you’re usually better off going with one of the other methods.
- Duplicate It. There are two major methods that are often confused for making a large number of CD copies: replication and duplication. The latter is for short runs between 100 and 500 CDs. It creates CD-Rs that don’t last as long as replicated CDs do (although they’ll usually last a couple of years or so), and they don’t play in some of the very oldest CD players. The final product looks just as good as a replicated disc, however, because it’s usually made using the same printer for the insert and on-disc images. The result is perfectly good for publicity, music reviews, and submitting to radio stations. The cost per CD is typically between $4 and $5 if you add in the shipping costs to get the discs delivered to you.
- Replicate It. Replicating CDs involves making copies from a glass master disc, and creates the highest-quality product. Most CD manufacturers don’t even offer replication unless you’re going to make 1,000 copies or more (Disc Makers offers replication at quantities of 300). Although this method has the highest up-front costs, it also has the lowest cost per CD with the best result. The prices are usually around $1 to $2.50 for each disc after shipping costs are figured in.

4. Clear the Rights
When you hire a CD manufacturer to duplicate or replicate your CD, the company will ask you to sign a form that you’ve cleared the rights to the music on the disc and the art on the disc and inserts. As always with copyright law, this is more complicated than it seems. If you want to do it right, you need to spend a little time tracking down the info and clearing the rights.
For cover songs, you are required to pay a mechanical royalty for every single copy of the music that you make. This royalty is due when you make a copy, regardless of what you do with the music: sell it, give it away, or even just leave it in your basement. This is why CD houses are required to ask about clearance when they make your discs rather than when you sell them. To clear the rights, start by going to Limelight or Harry Fox. Otherwise, you’ll have to contact the copyright owner directly. Click here for more information on clearing your cover songs.
There are only two pieces of good news about this process. First of all, the maximum rate is capped by law, currently at 9.1¢ per copy. Second, cover songs usually are a great way to get people interested in your music as people search for them in popular online music stores. A purchase of a cover that you recorded can turn into a purchase of your entire album.
For any art that you don’t create yourself, you’ll have to negotiate separately with the owner. Often forgotten is that photographers own any photographs they take unless you hired them under a “work for hire” contract. If you don’t have such a contract, it might be necessary to pay the photographer for the use of his/her work in your album.

3. Proof Your Discs
It’s embarrassing if you have discs made that have text mistakes on them. There is no reason for such errors to get through. The best way to avoid such a problem is to get a proof copy from the CD manufacturer and hand it to as many people as possible. Although it’s tempting to skip this step because it usually costs extra, it’s worth it.
No matter how much checking you do on your computer screen before you submit it, there’s something about having a physical proof that forces you to truly look at every word. You will also get a chance to see the alignment of all of your images and the overall effect of the art. These types of mistakes are the kind that can lead to the music being ignored, no matter how good it is.

2. Make Sure Track Names Automatically Come Up In Music Players
When you pop a CD into iTunes or other computer-based music players, the track and artist names usually come up. This makes it easy for listeners to know what they’re hearing, and it is used for the titles in MP3 files when people rip the CD. But for new CDs, all that comes up are generic titles such as Track 1 and no artist name. Fortunately, this is something that you can fix yourself before you send it out to anyone.
The track information is stored in two services: Gracenote MusicID and FreeDB. Both do the same thing: They get a fingerprint of the CD (based on the combination of length and order of the songs) and compare it to their databases. If they have an entry, the track names come up. If they don’t, you will need to fill the track information out yourself, and then use the Submit button in your player. For example, in iTunes, choose Advanced/ Submit CD Track Names after typing in the names, which submits the information to the services. [Note: Disc Makers' Mega Distribution Bundle includes registry with Gracenote and AllMusic.com.]

1. Build In Appropriate Lead Time for Publicity and Promotion
Although some musicians like to release their album the instant that they get it in their hands, that can sometimes interfere with a coordinated media campaign. If you are planning to promote your disc through traditional media (newspapers, magazines, and radio), new media (blogs, podcasts, and websites), and social media (MySpace, Facebook, and Twitter), you need to build in the right lead time to coordinate these campaigns.
Traditional media outlets typically need lead times of three months to schedule their articles. They expect press releases and sometimes require a lot of callbacks to get their attention, which can be time-consuming. If you plan a traditional media campaign to have articles coming out around the same time you release the album, have your discs in hand and ready to go before you even start the campaign.
For social media, it’s best to make it an ongoing communication through the entire process. New media needs just a week or so of lead time for news about a release show. And for the album release itself, you should approach them just before or just after release to announce the news.
As for social media, it’s best to make it an ongoing communication through the entire process – including during the album’s recording – so that your fans feel connected to you and your latest work. By the time the album comes out, they’ll be excited to see the final product. Putting together a street team and finding ways to get them involved is a great way to keep the excitement going while you build up to a release party.


Fade Out
Imagine you’re a music reviewer holding two CDs in your hand: One is a burned CD in a sleeve with magic marker written all over it, and the other is a professional-looking replicated CD. Better still, once the professional-looking CD is played, it’s mastered and the band’s name and song titles automatically pop up in your music player. Which would you pay attention to? Which artist do you think put in the time to want to be reviewed? Considering that most artists only put out a handful of albums, it’s worth the effort to follow through on all of these steps. After all, your music is worth it.

Celebrities @ The Metropolitan Museum of Art Gala, Plus Beyonce and Jay-Z Gets Booed

In honor of Alexander McQueen, The Metropolitan Museum of Art Gala was held in NYC and celebrities stepped out in their best outfits. Many celebs were in attendence including Beyonce, Jay-z, Kanye West, Keri Hilson, Alicia Keys, Swizz Beatz, Jennifer Hudson, Ciara, Rihanna and more. During the Gala famous couple, Beyonce and Jay-Z, stepped out for photos. After Beyonce had difficulty with her Emilio Pucci dress and decided not to take anymore pics the press began to boo her and Jay-Z.


Here are More of Your Favorite Celebrities Photoed at The Art Gala:

Long Time Coming

Hey Everyone,

I know that it has been a long time coming since I wrote a Blog onto my Page, But I am about to revamp and restart posting things on my blog for recent events and continue to do so as much as possible with new found opportunities, new articles, and new video content that you will only find here of myself, and these exclusive events. Enjoy the Rebirth of B-Needams World.