Kanye West Gets Snubbed at Grammys; Beyonce Talks About Fake Pregnancy Rumors

December 3rd, 2011 | By

A lot of people would agree that Kanye West was snubbed for an Album of the Year Nomination. Not only did Kanye drop one of the most artistic albums of the year “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy”, but he even collaborated with one of the best rappers of all time, Jay-Z, with “Watch the Throne”. This is what he had to say about his albums getting overlooked.

“Something I figured out earlier today – because you know, everybody came to me last night like, ‘Congratulations!’ because you know I’m leading the Grammy nominations this year. Like we always do it this time,” he said. “But, people focus, they say, ‘You ain’t got Album of the Year or Record of the Year.’ But I figured out, that’s my fault for dropping Watch the Throne and Dark Fantasy the same year. I should have just spaced it out a little bit more. But don’t worry, because me and Hov gon’ keep on making s**t.”

Kanye led the nominees with a total of seven, followed by Adele who got six nominations. Here is the video below:

Remember when Beyonce was rumored as having a fake pregnancy? Well, you know the diva had to come out and say something. In an interview with 20-20’s Katie Couric, she had this to say:

“There are certain things that are so far, that it doesn’t even upset you. My mother, she’s like, ‘Nobody’s talking about my grandbaby! My grandbaby’s not even here yet!’ I’m like, ‘Calm down, Mom. It’s okay. It’s really silly. I’m cool. It’s ridiculous. It’s so over-the-top.”

The R&B singer has been quite busy, even though she’s pregnant, editing her latest concert for a DVD she’ll be releasing called “Live at Roseland: Elements of 4”.

“I learned how to edit for the last DVD…I make all my selects, I sit in the chair…I am an editor as well. I have great editors, thank God. It is a lot of work. Especially when I’m trying to tell stories that are from so many moments of my life.”

Check out the interview below:

Lupe Fiasco Declares Himself King of Rap in Freestyle at UIC

September 3rd, 2011 | By

There’s been a lot of buzz around Lupe declaring himself the best rapper, over Drake, Lil’ Wayne and even Kanye and Jay-Z. Some could agree, depending on their style (commercial or streets). Then there are others who would heavily disagree. This was said during a freestyle he performed at a gig at UIC (University of Illinois at Chicago). Here is a sneak peak of what he had to say:

“When you’re done Watching The Throne, turn around and watch me, when you’re done with the Carter 4 come back to me for more, when you’re done with that Drake, no, I ain’t trying to hate but I’m back up on my grind and I’m about to skaaaaate on these niggas,” he rapped. “Put it on your blog and your tumblrs on your twitters that Lupe said that he’s the best, n***a!”

Lupe Fiasco recently released his Lasers album, which has been doing great in sales. We’ll just have to wait and see how well he continues to do to see if he really reigns supreme in the rap game. He recently announced the dates for his Generation Laser tour. Take a look at this video of Lupe Fiasco’s freestyle gig:

Lupe Fiasco Freestyle at UIC

Phonte Talks About Collabing with Drake; T.I. Not to be Released this Month

August 30th, 2011 | By

There were reports that TIP, aka T.I. was going to be released from his 11-month jail sentence tomorrow. He was originally scheduled to be released on Sept 30^th and it looks as though that will be his release date. His lawyer spoke on the matter, stating that he isn’t kept in the loop about prison releases.

“The Bureau of Prisons makes all the decisions once [someone goes] into the federal system then the federal prisons is the governing body as to when he’s released, the judge has no control over it,” he explained. “And you don’t have any real contact with them, they don’t communicate with you and they don’t tell you when exactly he’s gonna be released.”

On the other end, Phontigallo, aka Phonte, speaks about Drake naming him as one of his inspirations for songwriting. At the BMI Urban Awards over the weekend, Drake was awarded for being “Songwriter of the Year”, and he gave thanks to Kanye West, Phonte and Andre 3000 for inspiring him. This is what Phonte had to say about collaborating with Drizzy:

“To my knowledge, it’s not happening. We’ve made contact with each other but all of my attempts to make something real happen have led to a dead end,” he said. “I saw that he dedicated his BMI award to me and while that was a very noble and thoughtful gesture, I’d much rather he had dedicated himself to finishing a verse for one of me and 9th’s songs. That, to me, seems like a more tangible way of showing gratitude. But with that said, I’m still a fan and I think he’s an incredibly talented artist. When Take Care drops, he’s got my money.”

Looks like there won’t be any collabos with Phonte and Drake anytime soon.

Big Sean Talks About the Pressures of Working with Kanye and Yeezy

August 6th, 2011 | By

Big Sean, a rapper from G.O.O.D. Music spoke in an interview about working with Kanye West and Yeezy. Kanye is always placing a lot of pressure on him to make good music. Big Sean is a native of Detroit, Michigan, but surely nothing in the hood has prepared him for the challenges that faced him in the music industry.

“It’s f***ing pressure like a motherfucker working with him,” said Big Sean. “Especially when I was first started working with him. I used to always be nervous. He’s f***ing Kanye. I used to ride to school listening to him. It’s nerve racking, he’s so harsh and truthful sometimes. He doesn’t hold anything back.”

He then goes on to talk about working with Yeezy and how he was unable to live up to his expectations.

“When I first started, he used to tell me my music wasn’t good enough,” he explained. “I used to be nervous all the time. Now he tells me I’m the greatest, but it’s something that I’ve really had to earn. He pushed me to my limits musically and that made me the artist who I am today.”

But none of this has stopped him from reaching for his goals and acting on his ambitions to become a quality, if not one of the greatest, rappers.

“A lot of me wanting to get better is that I always wanted his approval,” he continued. “And he’s a nerve-racking n***a man. He’s a nice guy though, don’t get me wrong. A lot of people get the misconception that he’s not a cool ass n***a. He’s cool as s**t. Somebody who would ride me around in his Maybach, get me out the hood, sign me, and allow me to do what I love can never be a true a**hole.”

Jay-Z to Release New Solo Album as a Follow-Up to Blueprint 3

July 10th, 2011 | By

How many times have we heard about Jay-Z deciding to retire? Like every time before now, he has announced that he will once again drop another solo rap album — a follow-up to Blueprint 3. This announcement was made by Jigga himself at a listening party for an album he and Kanye West collaborated on. He says that working with West has stirred up his creative juices, so now he’s back in the studio. The album with Kanye West, “Watch the Throne”, is scheduled to be released on August 2nd.

So far Jay-Z has made two tracks, and already has ideas for 4 more songs.

“I know exactly the tone and the whole feel of the album. I think when you experience creativity, you should get it out as much as possible,” he explained, adding that Odd Future singer Frank Ocean features on one of the completed tracks.

You may have already heard of a few singles from “Watch the Throne” like “H.A.M.” and “Lift Off” featuring Beyonce. Those two he said stood out the most and there may be videos in the works for them. It was also noted that he may not be doing any collaborative albums in the near future due to studio arguments between Kanye and he. Even with the slight beef, Jigga said that there is likely going to be a sequel to Watch the Throne album.