We all know Nelly as being the rapper from the Mid-West, dropping hot tracks like “EI”, “Country Grammar” and “Hot in Here”. He has become one of the nation’s top rappers and that’s exactly why the Palace Theater in Branson has decided to use him for their grand opening. It is said that he will be performing there on August 21 (tickets will begin selling on July 12th). We haven’t heard a lot from him lately, but he is set to release an album this Fall.

“It’s important to Branson to get a spark. In the economic situation the world is in right now, people will pay for great entertainment,” said theater manager Paul Dunn.

What’s funny is Branson strip is a town that is used to having country, gospel and blue-grass concerts. So having a hip hop concert should be a bit interesting. Not sure how many of its town’s residents will show up, but there may be some out-of-towners who may swing by just to see Nelly.

“The shows are getting a little monotonous. They each have a comedian, they sing, they have female singers, they bring their kids on. It’s entertaining, but when each show is exactly alike, you need a little variety,” said Kimble.

“We are going to modernize our entertainment here. Branson has the best shows, but we are going to bring entertainers that are hot now, everywhere, even worldwide,” said Dunn.

There’s been a lot on the plate of Lil Wayne, dealing with everything from court dates, hip hop albums and his new rock album (yeah, he’s dipping in pretty much everything these days). You may not have heard a lot from him this year, but we have heard from others like Gucci Mane (who’s been sentenced to 12 months in jail for violation of probation) and Drake who have been said to have taken Lil’ Wayne’s template for their own use. So far, it looks like it’s working. In some songs, Drake even sounds like Lil’ Wayne, like in the song “You the Best” (I thought it was Lil’ Wayne when I first heard it). The Carter came back to release “We are Young Money”, which features various artists. It was created by Cash Money, Young Money and Universal Motown. Lil Wayne has been working with various artists, piecing together the group Young Money– two of them being Drake and Nicki Minaj. Nicki is taking charge in the female rapping industry and is known as today’s hardest working female rapper. Other artists in Young Money include Gudda Gudda, Jae Millz, Tyga, Lil Chuckee and Lil Twist.

Also on Lil’ Wayne’s plate is his rock album, called “Rebirth”, which was accidentally leaked onto the internet when Amazon shipped out 500 or so pre-ordered CDs to customers. Rebirth was made by Universal Motown and Cash Money Records. Next year, Lil’ Wayne is scheduled to appear in court on Feb 9th for a gun possession charge that occurred in 2007. He is also set to start his sentence the same day. So far, his new group Young Money has produced two hits, “Every Girl in the World” and “Bedrock”. Hopefully Lil’ Wayne’s absence won’t slow down their productivity.

Hip hop has long since been related to the violence in African American communities and artists like Lupe Fiasco has been tooting the same note. Not sure if you heard about the Derrion Albert murder in Chicago — he was a teen walking home from school and got caught up in a gang fight and was beaten to death.The young man was not a gang member and he was a good student in school. Lupe Fiasco was on the Chicago radio station WGCI saying that it was a possibility that hip hop influenced that incident. Lupe is from the Windy City and says that it has to take some credit for it. He claims that there is a lot of violence in hip hop itself and it attributes much of the negativity that is found in the hood.

But this isn’t the only hip hop artist that thinks this way. Others like Nas, Twista and Common have the same views. They all condemn the “culture of violence” hip hop has established and is believed to have led the group of teenage gang members to commit that horrendous crime that day. Lupe also argues that the artists themselves are partially responsible for inciting various influences, from poverty to violent films. It’s true that hip hop does have some positive songs and messages out there, but the negative far outweigh the good. And the negativity in hip hop is a lot more popular because it is considered more “hard” or “gansta”. The communities are too at fault for taking hip hop too seriously and trying to implement them into their own lives.

We’ve heard those words before,”I’m going into retirement”, from sooo many different hip hop artists, such as Jay-Z, Master P, Eminem and so forth. But for some reason, they just can’t leave the game alone. They all come back one or two years later with a debut album. Jay-Z is by far the worst, if you ask me. He has retired like 4 times, but just keeps coming back. I don’t and won’t believe it anymore if he says it again. Now, it just seems like a big publicity stunt to get people to buy their CDs because it’s the last time they will hear from them.

Now, Lil Wayne is claiming that he will retire, but no time soon. His retirement plan says that he will stay in the game no longer than 8 more years.Wayne claims that he always said that he wouldn’t rap anymore after the age 35. Ha, he says that now. A lot of people agree that rappers and hip hoppers shouldn’t be old and should retire to allow new game to come into the industry. But Jay-Z being an old head, of course, doesn’t agree. He says that it shouldn’t be made easy for the youngsters coming into the hip hop game. If they want to be on top, they’re going to have to work hard for it. Heck, it wasn’t made easy for Jay. Back then, there wasn’t as much competition as there is now, even if a lot of them are low-level rappers. People like these stars because they make good club bangers. After Lil Wayne retires, he’s looking to own a basketball team.

As you may have all heard, Def Jam has been sold and taken over by none other than Jay-Z. Now, this may sound very nice, especially to all of you Jay-Z fans, but not everyone is feeling the same glory. KRS One, for instance, isn’t too thrilled about the news. He is known for always going against the system and big corporations that neglect and abuse the little people. So nothing is stopping him from targeting Def Jam. The record company was established by Russell Simmons and Rick Rubin back in the day when hip hop was fresh and new. Today, KRS One complains that hip hop has been damaged and that the Jay-Z take over of Def Jam may down it some more. I guess he figures someone like Jay isn’t the solution to hip hop’s ordeal.

Def Jam is the father and mentor of a lot of artists in R&B, pop and rap. It brought and still is bringing out lots of artists and many of the same artists are still signed under their label. KRS One told XXL Magazine that Def Jam single-handedly destroyed hip hop. According to KRS, everything from the lyrics, commercialized music and one artist being played on the radio all day is all thanks to Def Jam. There’s really no competing with Def Jam, so everyone else had to respect what the record label was doing. Hip hop groups like X-Clan and Public Enemy used to be with Def Jam, which were also against the system and big corporations, now Def Jam is a big corporation — how ironic.

After six years, Lumidee is back with another possible smash hit. She’s known most for her single in 2003, “Never Leave You”, and will now be rapping a few bars in the song “Kandi”, sung by Arash Labaf. The video is taking place in Havana, Cuba — this is Labaf’s third video shot here. It may seem strange to some that a New Yorker is walking the streets of Havana, especially if their familiar with the politics involved. It seems as those Cuba has forever had a barrier regarding Americans passing its borders, but since Obama has been negotiating with the president of Cuba about lowering the restrictions, things are seeming to be a bit more lenient. So far it looks like things are working out pretty well. Especially when you see rappers and singers filming their videos in its streets.

At first, when Lumidee heard that the film would take place in Havana, she was a bit panicky. She wasn’t sure how it would be or what to expect, but she came to find out that Cubans are pretty happy and laid back. In this particular video, Labaf plays himself and three other goofballs trying to captivate the same girl, or should I say eye ‘Kandi’. You will find scenes shot of the beach on the east side of Havana. Twenty-four year old Lumidee, born as Lumiana DeRosa Cedeno, is Puerto Rican by blood and born in Spanish Harlem. She’s married to her manager, who also came along with her on the Cuban trip.

the game album LAX

KingIce.com is a huge fan of The Game. This page is created in support of his latest album, LAX. Click on the album cover page to visit the official website of The Game.

Our favorite songs are LAX Files, My Life with Lil Wayne, and Let Us Live with Chrisette Michele.

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