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Update: This story was an April Fools Day joke.
According to sources close to the situation, former Bad Boy rapper Mase is once again trying to join a new label. This time, it's Suge Knight's new venture, Black Ball Records.
Knight, whose Death Row Records is currently locked in bankruptcy proceedings, has recently been developing a reality show called "Unfinished Business". The premise of the show is to follow Knight as he establishes his new label. At this point, it's not known whether or not any networks have shown interest in the show.
After retiring from rap short of his sophomore effort, "Double Up," Mase returned to music to release "Welcome Back" in 2004. Reportedly disappointed with Bad Boy, Mase attempted to jump to 50 Cent's G-Unit Records in 2005. Only one catch - he was still under contract with Diddy. Diddy, insistent on not letting Mase out of his contract without renumeration, stood firm against 50's advances, including diss tracks and public nonsense.
At the end of the day, Mase did not go to G-Unit. In April of last year, SRC's Steve Rifkind told XXL that Mase was negotiating with Diddy so that he could join SRC. Diddy confirmed these talks, but that was where it ended.
Now, Mase appears to have set his sights on Knight's new venture, Black Ball Records. What are the chances that Diddy would actually negotiate with Knight? I would say nil. But, from what I was told, he doesn't care and neither does Mase, as the pair is set to record and release and make Diddy stop them legally, which they are not sure he is willing to do.
It represents a new level of audaciousness for the rapper turned pastor. After leaving rap behind for religion, he started his own ministry. He returned to Bad Boy, releasing an album with a positive vibe that I personally enjoyed. But, then something went wrong and he aimed to change his image at G-Unit and he started talking about killing people. That situation didn't work out, so he sat back and then tried SRC. Failing again, it seems that Mase, a Bad Boy artist when Biggie died, someone who had called the late rapper a friend, has now become incredibly desperate, attempting to hook up with Knight, a constant subject of rumor and speculation in the death of Biggie.
The discussions between Mase and Knight were recorded as part of the reality show and will, according to a source, be a big part of the push to generate cable network interest in the show. Even so, I doubt they will receive any.
Day 26 will be signing copies of their self-titled debut album on Tuesday, April 1st at 7:00 PM PT at Zia Records on 4225 South Eastern Ave. in Las Vegas, NV. If you have any questions, you can call (702) 735-4942.
The band will also be making an appearance on Wednesday, April 2nd at 6:00 PM PT at the Virgin Megastore located at 6801 Hollywood Blvd. in Hollywood, CA. If you have any questions about that appearance, call (323) 769-8520.
Updating today's story on Janelle Monae's upcoming EP release, the specific date it is slated for release is June 27.
Bad Boy Blog will begin to add a Bad Boy video every Monday for your enjoyment. This feature will include videos from past and present artists and trivia about the video and/or artist featured.
Did you know that this song contains a sample from the Luniz "I Got 5 On It"?
Today, via a press release (full text below), Bad Boy announced that Janelle Monae's first Bad Boy release will be an EP in June, titled "Metropolis Suite". It's unclear whether or not this will be a re-release of the EP she put out on her own (Suite I of IV) or if it will contain new material.
This EP release will then be followed by an album coming in September. Big Boi will co-executive produce the album. The deal reperesents a partnership between Bad Boy, Big Boi and Monae's Wondaland Arts Society.
"Janelle Monáe is one of the most important signings of my career," said Diddy. "Over the years, I’ve been blessed to work with some of the most influential artists in modern music – from Jodeci to Mary J. to Biggie – and there is no doubt in my mind that Janelle is the kind of artist that changes the game. She is a true visionary, with an original sound and a mesmerizing presence. I can't wait to watch the future unfold for Janelle."
Here is the full text of the press release:
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Day 26 and Donnie Klang will be hosting a party tonight at Suite 181 on 181 Eddy Street in San Francisco. See the flier below.
According to her MySpace, Janelle Monae will be performing in New York City on April 3. She'll be at Blender Theatre. The show starts at 7:00 PM. Call (212) 777-6800 for tickets.
DJBooth.net has the remix to "Got Me Going" that features Fat Joe, Rick Ross and Diddy. This is the full version of the snippet I mentioned earlier today. Thanks Theo.
The album insert for "Day26" is two sided, featuring an advertisement for Sean John with Diddy in it on one side. The flip side mentions that you can text DAY26 to 50505 to receive cell phone updates.
It mentions that Cheri Dennis, Danity Kane, Yung Joc and Gorilla Zoe are "also available from Bad Boy", displaying the corresponding album covers. Before the Bad Boy logo and URL, it says that Donnie Klang, Elephant Man, Cassie and Mario Winans are coming soon.
Our Bad Boy release production history page has been updated with the release of "Day26".
Here are the production credits for Day26's debut album.
1. "I'm The Reason"
Produced by Malay. Co-produced by Sean "P. DIDDY" Combs and Mario Winans.
2. "Got Me Going"
Produced by Sean "P. DIDDY" Combs and Mario Winans.
3. "In My Bed"
Produced by Danja.
4. "Silly Love"
Produced by LT Hutton. Co-produced by Sean "P. DIDDY" Combs and Mario Winans.
5. "Come With Me"
Produced by Kwamé. Co-produced by Sean "P. DIDDY" Combs and Mario Winans.
6. "Co Star"
Produced by Mario Winans and Sean "P. DIDDY" Combs.
7. "Come In (My Door's Open)"
Produced by The Runners.
8. "Are We In This Together"
Produced by Bryan-Michael Cox. Co-produced by Adonis Shropshire.
9. "What It Feels Like"
Produced by Soul Diggaz and Mocheddar. Co-produced by Sean "P. DIDDY" Combs.
10. "Since You've Been Gone"
Produced by Bryan-Michael Cox. Co-produced by Adonis and WYLDCARD.
11. "If It Wasn't For You"
Produced by Malay. Co-produced by Sean "P. DIDDY" Combs and Mario Winans.
12. "Don't Fight the Feeling"
Produced by Bryan-Michael Cox.
13. "Ain't Going"
Produced by Bernard Malik (Doss).
"Just Should've Told You" (Target Exclusive Bonus Track)
Produced by Bryan-Michael Cox. Co-produced by WYLDCARD.
The Danity Kane MySpace features a version of the "Got Me Going (Remix)" different from the one that was previously released. It features new adlibs from Diddy, throughout the track. We only get to hear the first two minutes, though.
From Atlantic Records, here is the track listing for "Let's Get Physical" with features. The album is set to be released on April 8.
1. "Drop Dead"
2. "Dem Nah Ready"
3. "Feel The Steam" featuring Chris Brown
4. "Throw Your Hands Up" featuring Rihanna
5. "Five-O" featuring Wyclef and Diddy
6. "Jump"
7. "Back That Thing On Me (Shake That)" featuring Mario Winans
8. "Our World" featuring Demarco
9. "The Way We Roll (Remix)" featuring Busta Rhymes and Shaggy
10. "Sweep The Floor"
11. "Body Talk" featuring Kat DeLuna and Jha-Jha
12. "Who Wanna"
13. "Five-O" featuring Wyclef, Swizz Beatz, Assassin, Yung Joc and Diddy
This differs from the tracklisting that we had previously been given in that there is no 14th track, "Gully Creppa".
The Tampa Tribune reports that B5 will be performing as part of "A Magical Night of Entertainment", co-hosted by Radio Disney, on March 30.
The show goes from 5:00 PM to 9:00 PM at Chasco Fiesta on the Sims Park Amphitheatre stage.
It's just another nail in the coffin for that L.A. Times story today as the AP reports the FBI's response to the situation.
The documents purported to be an FBI agent's reports on interviews conducted in 2002 of confidential informants linking Sabatino and associates of Combs to the 1994 shooting of Shakur in New York City. The shooting triggered a feud between East and West Coast rappers that later led to the killings of Shakur and Notorious B.I.G. None of the shootings have been solved.
"We have no record of these documents in our system," Agent Stephen Kodak said. "They don't appear to be legitimate." He said no decision has been made on whether to investigate the documents and their origin.
You have to wonder how much damage Sabatino did to his suit against Diddy with this stuff. It may not be directly related, but he's getting killed on this story and, if he did forge the documents, rightfully so.
The Vanguard has an interview with Danity Kane and Day 26.
Cheri Dennis will be on Showtime at The Apollo on March 29 at 1:00 AM on Sunday, March 30th on NBC channel four in New York.
The Rochester Democrat & Chronicle has a feature on Qwanell Mosley of Day 26. Mosley is from Rochester.
Well, it does in the testosterone-soaked world of R&B. But the truth is, Que had to become the man in the family quickly. As he tells the story, his father was riding a bicycle to work when two brothers in a nearby house began arguing. One pulled a gun and fired, the bullet went through an open window and struck Tony Mosley-Mays in the head.
"I remember it all," Que says, even though he was only 4 at the time. "He used to go to work at one of those corner stores, one that my granddad owned. I was supposed to meet him down there that day."
"He has a huge love for his family, for his sister, for his mom," Dewey says. "He's just very family-oriented. He has a good sense of who he is. He has his religion. I don't think I ever saw him complaining. If he had problems, he always talked them out. He didn't bottle them up. Everybody has problems; he worked them out."
From Reuters:
The "apology is, at best, a first step, but it doesn't undo the false and defamatory nature of the story, or the suspicion and innuendo that Mr. Combs has had to endure due to these untruthful allegations and the irresponsible conduct of this particular reporter," Combs' attorney Howard Weitzman said in a statement.
On the April 5 edition of The Billboard Hot 100, Danity Kane's damaged jumped from 67 (it's debut) to a new high of 27.
After launching their own probe into Chuck Philips' story, where he claimed that Diddy and Biggie knew that 2Pac would be assaulted in 1994 at Quad Studios in New York, the L.A. Times has concluded that the story was based on documents that were likely falsified.
Chuck Philips released a statement saying that, "In relying on documents that I now believe were fake, I failed to do my job. I'm sorry."
"We should not have let ourselves be fooled. That we were is as much my fault as Chuck's," said Philips' editor at the paper, Marc Duvoisin. "I deeply regret that we let our readers down."
The Times probe had started on the back of a report by The Smoking Gun that asserted that they had been fooled by James Sabatino, who they claim to be a person who inserts himself into the lives of celebrities and important events, where he really had little to no involvement.
In the article, the Times says that Diddy's lawyer, Howard Weitzman, believes that the paper's actions reached the required legal standard for "actual malice", giving a celebrity like Diddy an opportunity to persue damages from them.
The lawyer also spoke with TMZ and they have a copy of the letter that he sent to the publisher of the times, dated March 18.
In the letter, he claims that the allegations levied in Philips' original article are "false and defamatory". He goes on to suggest that the article was published with "no reliable information to support it" and urges the paper not to print the article in their newspaper (this was after it was made available online, but before it was in the print edition).
One of the more interesting parts of the three page letter is when Weitzman reveals that Philips' reached out to a publicist for Combs on January 17 of this year. In response, Weitzman says, the publicist asked Philips, to explain his "angle on the story? Do you have some new information? And is there anything new that pertains to Combs?" Philips response painted a picture notably different from the one he ended up conveying in his article.
combs is not a central character in the story, but he is discussed.
according to my sources, shakur was wrong to accuse combs and wallace of ordering the attack. they did not order it. my sources allege, however, that a handful of individuals at the studio for the Junior MAFIA session that night were notified beforehand of what to expect.
With this in mind, Weitzman says that this is why Diddy declined comment for the article. If he had been told of what he would be accused of, he says, Combs would have issued a "strong statement" denying the claim.
"We question whether Mr. Philips should continue to report on the subject of Messrs. Combs, Wallace, and Shakur," the lawyer says in the letter. "His past reporting on these subjects has already been called into question by other media organizations."
Via Times Online and HHE.
The Smoking Gun tears apart the L.A. Times report that claimed, among other things, that Diddy and Biggie knew that 2Pac would be attacked at Quad Studios in 1994.
TSG claims that the FBI documents that writer Chuck Phillips used in his story are the creation of James Sabatino; who, in October, sued Diddy for $19 million dollars. In the picture they paint of Sabatino, he's a liar who embellishes or flat out creates his association with celebrities and noteworthy events, out of his need to get attention.
Last week's bombshell Los Angeles Times report claiming that the 1994 shooting of Tupac Shakur in the lobby of a Manhattan recording studio was carried out by associates of Sean "Diddy" Combs and that the rap impresario knew of the plot beforehand was based largely on fabricated FBI reports, The Smoking Gun has learned.
The Times appears to have been hoaxed by an imprisoned con man and accomplished document forger, an audacious swindler who has created a fantasy world in which he managed hip-hop luminaries, conducted business with Combs, Shakur, Busta Rhymes, and The Notorious B.I.G., and even served as Combs's trusted emissary to Death Row Records boss Marion "Suge" Knight during the outset of hostilities in the bloody East Coast-West Coast rap feud.
TSG says that they have learned that the FBI has no record of the documents cited in Phillips' report and that there are similarities between these documents and documents that Sabatino has submitted in court. Namely, words that were incorrectly spelt, like "durring". They claim to have consulted with FBI agents who confirmed inconsistencies in the formatting of the documents.
The article also serves to illustrate Sabatino's checkered past. Read the full document for more.
In response to the report, the Times has launched a probe into the matter.
The Times said on Wednesday that Editor Russ Stanton "will launch an internal investigation into the authenticity of (the) documents."
A Times spokeswoman said the paper was "taking this very seriously."
Finally, MTV has comment from a Diddy spokesperson:
"Sean Combs is pleased that the Los Angeles Times is conducting its internal investigation. He has said all along that their story was a lie."
Mike Reynolds reports that MTV has given the go ahead to a third season of Making the Band 4. As Diddy said, the season will focus on the Making the Band tour featuring Danity Kane, Day 26 and Donnie Klang.
The ten episode season is expected to air this summer.
Marc Malkin reports that Diddy has switched from the Endeavor agency to the William Morris Agency, for acting representation.
During the "Making the Band 4" Finale, Diddy announced that Danity Kane, Day 26 and Donnie would be filming season 3 of the show while on the "Making the Band Tour". Some of the dates have been made available on the House of Blues website via Aubreyoday.us. As stated on the finale, the tickets will not go on sale until Friday, March 28th. Mark your calendars, this is going to be a great show. Be sure to visit the Official Bad Boy Records website on Friday for all of the tour dates.
According to Billboard.com, Danity Kane's sophomore release "Welcome to the Dollhouse" is the #1 Album in the country. This is the second #1 album in as many records for the ladies. This album, according to Nielsen SoundScan has sold 236,000 copies in the first week of release.
Congratulations the the girls of Danity Kane. Beating the first week sales of their self-titled debut in 2006, which sold 234,000 copies. Also, "Welcome to the Dollhouse" celebrates the second biggest sales week of the year, second to Jack Johnson's "Sleep Through the Static". This is a very impressive feat, being that album sales have been tough to come by for major artists.
March 26, 2008 is officially "Danity Kane Day" according the The Wild 94.9, a radio station in San Francisco. The girls will be in the studio celebrating the success of the new album, "Welcome to the Dollhouse". The festivities begin at 6pm Pacific with a live chat with the girls at Wild949.com. There will be a signing to follow at Best Buy, an on-air interview and a CD release party at Club Aura. For more information on Danity Kane Day click here.
Entertainment Weekly's Simon Vozick-Levinson reviews Danity Kane's "Welcome to the Dollhouse", check it out here. You can also leave some feedback for the review.
EURweb.com has an interview with Day 26.
“Diddy was real hands on,” Will said. “We didn’t see a whole lot of him, but when we cut something, we had to cut it three or four times because it had to get approved by Diddy. He definitely didn’t let anything go out of the studio that he didn’t like. He has made us better artists by putting us in the studio and not letting us come out. It can sound good, but if it doesn’t have any emotion in it – I don’t care how many riffs you do – if you don’t have a connection emotionally with the song, you will stay in the studio until you do.”
“It’s kind of like how Mary J. Blige’s story is,” he continued. “She may not be the best vocalist in the world, but you’re gonna leave the performance crying because you felt the emotion. I think we all appreciate him for that.”
Bad Boy has put a release date on Donnie Klang's upcoming debut album: June 10. No title, yet.
Both Danity Kane and Day 26 will appear on the "Tyra Banks Show" tomorrow March 26th. There will be an interview as well as a performance by both acts. Check out the preview here for tomorrow's show.
Despite what was on the 106 & Park website and I had been told, Day 26 was a no show for today's episode of 106 & Park.
Update: Just to be clear, I do know they were on, on Monday. But, they had said they'd be on, on Tuesday. So, I think there was just a miscue. They had a nice performance on Monday, though.
We have a new blogger here at Bad Boy Blog. Her name is Nikita Warren. Welcome aboard, Nikita.
For more on her, please check out her bio.
The iTunes site has updated to show what the "Album Only" tracks are for Day 26 and what I was thinking last night was confirmed. "Got Me Going (Acapella)" is the only "Album Only" track on the deluxe iTunes version of the album.
If you missed Donnie's performance on the second season finale of Making the Band 4, you can check it out below.
Via Donnie's MySpace.
Finally, the day is here. After two seasons of Making the Band 4, and the selection and development of Day 26, their album arrives in stores today. The tracklisting is as follows:
1. "I'm The Reason"
2. "Got Me Going"
3. "In My Bed"
4. "Silly Love"
5. "Come With Me"
6. "Co Star"
7. "Come In (My Door's Open)"
8. "Are We In This Together"
9. "What It Feels Like"
10. "Since You've Been Gone"
11. "If It Wasn't For You"
12. "Don't Fight The Feeling"
13. "Ain't Going"
14. "Exclusive (No Excuses) (Bryan Michael Cox Uptempo Version)"
The iTunes version looks like this:
1. "I'm The Reason"
2. "Got Me Going"
3. "In My Bed"
4. "Silly Love"
5. "Come With Me"
6. "Co Star"
7. "Come In (My Door's Open)"
8. "Are We In This Together"
9. "What It Feels Like"
10. "Since You've Been Gone"
11. "If It Wasn't For You"
12. "Don't Fight The Feeling"
13. "Exclusive (No Excuses) (Live Finale Ballad)"
14. "Got Me Going (Acappella)"
15. "Ain't Going"
16. "Exclusive (No Excuses) (Bryan Michael Cox Uptempo Version)"
17. "Going Me Going" (Video)
And the Target exclusive version looks the same as the regular listing, except for a bonus track titled, "Just Should've Told You".
You can pick up the regular version of the album at Amazon.com.
Day 26 will be appearing at "The Official Season Finale Celebration" for Making the Band 4 at Mars 2112 at 633 Broadway in New York on March 27.
Diddy has posted a video announcement about his upcoming appearance at the Winter Music Conference.
Danity Kane will be appearing at the Best Buy at 1717 Harrison Street in San Francisco on March 26. The event starts at 6:30 PM.
So, I'm getting ready to head to bed. It's just after 11:02 PM here (Eastern Time) and I get an e-mail from iTunes saying that my Day 26 pre-order is ready. So, I went ahead and downloaded it and I can say that it is exactly what I expected. "Got Me Going (Acapella)" appears to be the only exclusive. They still have the album marked as pre-order in the iTunes store, so we can't see what the actual "album only" tracks are, but we should know tomorrow.
TMZ is reporting that, according to a court filing, the long running dispute between Diddy and Gerard Rechnitzer is over. It's been settled.
Rechnitzer had claimed that Diddy had punched him after the Oscars last year.
One less distraction, I guess.
The insert in the "Welcome to the Dollhouse" release features an ad for Sean John's womens line, featuring the Sean John Angels. On the other side is a mobile offer: text DK to 50505 to "get news, contests, inside info and more."
It says "Also Available From Bad Boy:" and features the album covers from Cheri Dennis, Day 26 and Danity Kane's first album are featured. Coming soon, it says, are Donnie Klang, Elephant Man, Cassie and Mario Winans.
Here is the producer list for "Welcome to the Dollhouse". Our release production history page is now up to date with this album.
1. "Welcome to the Dollhouse"
Produced by Antwan "Amadeus" Thompson.
2. "Bad Girl"
Produced by Danja.
3. "Damaged"
Produced by Stereotypes. Co-produced by Sean "P. Diddy" Combs and Mario Winans.
4. "Pretty Boy"
Produced by Danja.
5. "Strip Tease"
Produced by Danja.
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Day 26 will be on BET a couple of times this week. They will visit 106 & Park on Tuesday, March 25 and they will be performing on the Spring Bling extravaganza on Friday, May 28.
Day 26 is on the current cover of Right On! Magazine, according to a press release put out by the label.
Here is the single cover for "Take You There", Donnie's new single.
SOHH.com has a quick interview with Day 26.
"We had a little contest on MTV.com so people can log in and put in names and try to come up with our name," Robert explained. "The list went on and on and on from 'Diddy's Boys'..."
"They wanted to name us 'Bad Boy,'" Que interrupts.
During our liveblog of the season finale of Making the Band 4, I announced the winners of our "Welcome to the Dollhouse" giveaway. Congrats again to Anthony R., Nikita W. and Bryant T.
Thank you to everyone who entered and thank you for visiting Bad Boy Blog.
Diddy's big announcement on the season finale of Making the Band 4: on the Bad Boy official site on Friday, you will be able to purchase tickets for the Making the Band tour.
As part of this announcement, he also revealed that they will be shooting the next season of Making the Band while they are on tour.
As announced during the season finale of the second season of Making the Band 4, you can now buy a "No B****a**ness" t-shirt from the Sean John site.
If it's slow to load, try back later. They are going for $30 each. Shipping appears to be $5 each. Womens sizes are not yet available, but they are "coming soon".
Welcome to the liveblog of the season finale of the second season of Making the Band 4. If you entered our giveaway for a copy of "Welcome to the Dollhouse", the winners will be announced inside of this entry, during the show, at (around) 8:30 PM ET, 9:00 PM ET and 9:30 PM ET - good luck.
The beginning of the show is a quick recap (by Aundrea) of some of the more memorable moments of the season thus far. She ends by saying that they are all back in New York now for the season finale.
After the opening music, Diddy welcomes you to the two hour event. When he goes out, he does it in a big way, he says. It's now time to hit the road and promote the album with a promo tour. He claims that this is going to be one of the biggest years in Bad Boy history.
All 3 acts have a meeting at Atlantic Records to discuss the marketing plans for the albums. A ton of people are there, from producers to label people to marketing people. The VP of Pop Promotion says that the feedback for "Damaged" has been great. The guys will have the same sort of marketing scheme as the guys. Harve Pierre encourages the guys to pick the brains of Danity Kane to learn from their experience.
The promo tour starts in NYC on Hot 97. Danity Kane is first on with Miss Jones, a host on the station. D. Woods mentions that this is the third time that they were on her show. The first two times didn't go well and Miss Jones was pretty nasty, really. But, the girls from DK took it in stride.
They ask Aubrey if she was sleeping with Diddy and if she's Bad Boy for life. She says he's Bad Boy for life, but not in that way. They sing a quick part of "Damaged" and they do well - Miss Jones approves. Aundrea comments on the fact that she was nice to them. The guys are up next with her, for the first time.
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Just an aside: judging from the single cover for "Take You There", it looks like Donnie's official artist name is going to be Donnie Klang.
Listen to it on Donnie's MySpace. It features a verse from Diddy. You can buy it on iTunes now.
Mirroring very closely my report in February, the iTunes tracklisting for "Day 26" has been revealed.
1. "I'm The Reason"
2. "Got Me Going"
3. "In My Bed"
4. "Silly Love"
5. "Come With Me"
6. "Co Star"
7. "Come In (My Door's Open)"
8. "Are We In This Together"
9. "What It Feels Like"
10. "Since You've Been Gone"
11. "If It Wasn't For You"
12. "Don't Fight The Feeling"
13. "Exclusive (No Excuses) (Live Finale Ballad)"
14. "Got Me Going (Acappella)"
15. "Ain't Going"
16. "Exclusive (No Excuses) (Bryan Michael Cox Uptempo Version)"
17. "Going Me Going" (Video)
Circuit City has the exact same tracklisting for the regular version up to track 12. After that, it has "Ain't Going" and what sounds like the B. Cox uptempo version of "Exclusive (No Excuses)". So, what is the iTunes exclusive? "Got Me Going (Acappella)" is the only thing on there that is, for certain, an exclusive. If the live finale ballad is from the season 1 finale, that one has been available on iTunes for a long time. Could it be from the finale airing tonight? Doubtful, but you never know.
Regarding the Target exclusive version, when MTV released the album on The Leak, they included "Just Should've Told You". I mentioned this, pondering what exactly the Target exclusive would be. However, if you listen to The Leak, you'll see they simply have the track mislabeled as "Ain't Going" plays when you click "Just Should've Told You". This leads me to believe that "Just Should've Told You" is still the Target exclusive.
I just wanted to post a reminder: I will be doing a liveblog of the two hour season finale of the second season of Making the Band 4. The show starts tonight at 8:00 PM ET on MTV.
During the show, I'll be giving away three copies of Danity Kane's new album, "Welcome to the Dollhouse". Entries must be received by the start of the show. If you are interested, check out the contest information and read carefully to ensure that your submission is valid.
Good luck!
L.A. Times writers Chuck Phillips spoke with MTV News about his methods of reporting. He's the writer who recently claimed that Diddy and Biggie knew about the attack on 2Pac at the Quad Recording Studios in New York in 1994, before it happened.
On sourcing: Philips often uses anonymous sources, referencing nothing about a source's physical description and rarely citing just how close the source is to the story. His reliance on FBI-informant information in his most recent story leads many to question how he could trust someone who is "snitching." He said he has to protect his sources from death and that even a slight clue could ID them.
"When you talk to people who are involved with the crime, which is what I do, they're either directly involved or peripherally involved," Philips explained. "Probably the farthest I've ever gotten is the best friend of the guy that was involved, and was told everything. ... In this one, and in many other stories, I've had direct contact with people who I believe are the criminals. And the deal I work out with them, I don't go with 'the guy with green eyes and he's from Brooklyn.' I don't think that matters at all. It doesn't help identify the individual. But these qualifiers to me, the issue is, do you have the right source? I don't think it leads to more trust. Because it doesn't matter where he lived or what position he had. I think the problem with that is that the people who would like to kill them, it matters very much. But when you're writing about a murder, some of the people who talked to me would be killed if they were identified in any way. Frankly, no one has any idea but their family members that they're talking to me. Now I'm at the point where I can give my old stories to the people I approach and say, 'This is how I write, and this is how it will happen. I've never burned anybody, and I'm not gonna burn you.' And most people still won't talk to you. But in this case, I was a lot luckier than that."
Yung Joc is featured on "U Can't", the new single from R&B group One Chance. You can listen to it on their MySpace.
Janelle Monae has been added to the cast of "big" a theatre production that will be featured at the Fox Theatre in Atlanta from April 10 through 13. She joins Boi Boi, Sleepy Brown and others.
Her songs "Sincerely Jane" and "Metropolis" will be included in the performance. There is a free sneak peak scheduled for this Saturday, March 22 at 8:00 PM at the Rialto Center for the Arts in Atlanta.
Update (12/30/08): Listen to "Letter to B.I.G." now.
Def Sounds has a quick interview with Def Jak A&R Lenny S, discussing Jadakiss' upcoming album. "He’s got a record on there called 'Letter To B.I.G.' and he’s telling B.I.G. everything that has happened since he’s been gone. Very hot," he said.
Via Theo in the forums.
Bad Boy's back on the Hot 100 with "Damaged" by Danity Kane, debuting on the chart at 64.
You can listen to a snippet of "Spank Me" by Donnie on Seven's MySpace.
During the Winter Music Conference in Miami, which runs from March 25 through March 29, Diddy will be participating in some sort of mixing (dance DJ) contest, individually taking on Steve Angello, Claude Vonstroke and The Martinez Brothers. It's sponsored by Ciroc and Mixmag.
The event will be held at Cameo on 1445 Washington Avenue in Miami Beach on March 28. You can purchase tickets through Cameo and wantickets.com. See the flier for the event below.
Day 26 will be doing an in store appearance at the BEst Buy on 526 5th Avenue in New York on March 25 at 7:00 PM ET. You have to buy a copy of the album to receive access to the event.
Update: Actually, if you listen to the entry on "The Leak" for "Just Should've Told You", it actually plays "Ain't Going". So, it would appear the track is still the Target exclusive.
If the tracklisting on MTV's The Leak is any indication, a change has been made with the Target exclusive. It will no longer be "Just Should've Told You" as had been previously indicated to us.
So, what could it be? Well, one track missing from The Leak is "Exclusive (No Excuses)". Could "Exclusive" be the... ahem... exclusive? Of course, they could go in an entirely different direction and do a DVD or something. We'll know soon.
Edit: Actually, if you let The Leak play until the very end of "Ain't Going", it starts playing "Exclusive (No Excuses)", even though it's not listed.
Here is the track listing of the April 8 release by Elephant Man, titled "Let's Get Physical", according to a source at the label.
1. "Drop Dead"
2. "Dem Nah Ready"
3. "Feel The Steam"
4. "Throw Your Hands Up"
5. "Five-O"
6. "Jump"
7. "Back That Thing On Me (Shake That)"
8. "Our World"
9. "The Way We Roll (Remix)"
10. "Sweep The Floor"
11. "Body Talk"
12. "Who Wanna"
13. "Five-O"
14. "Gully Creppa"
It's reasonable to assume that that second "Five-O" is the remix. It appears as though there will only be one version of the album, as well.
Digital Arts has an article on the redesign of Bad Boy's website.
Rokkan's New York-based CEO John Noe commented on the execution, "This project stretches our boundaries as a branding and digital firm in that we created a site that not only showcases core content, but encompasses a way of life. Bad Boy's image is already well established, and we were careful to maintain it. That being said, we pushed to create a site that was brushed with nuances of Bad Boy's company messaging while respecting the end users experience."
DJBooth.net has a review of "Welcome to the Dollhouse".
MTV reports that L.A. Times writer Chuck Phillips is defending his report yesterday that Diddy and Biggie knew 2Pac would be ambushed in a recording studio in New York in 1994. He goes on to say:
"It has never been proven that Christopher Wallace was not in Las Vegas on the night Tupac was shot," Philips wrote in response to a reader's question. "Bad Boy produced some computer-generated documents purporting to place him in a recording studio in New York, but they were not time-stamped. Bad Boy said it was going to produce video of Biggie there. They never did that. I have since learned that federal officials conducted interviews in Las Vegas to determine whether Wallace was present. My sources were there and say he and other East Coast figures were in Las Vegas on the night the Southside Crips killed Tupac." ...
Philips ... also revealed he would publish two more related stories by the end of the year, although he didn't specify the topics. One is believed to be a report on who is responsible for the death of the Notorious B.I.G.
Check out video from Danity Kane's appearance on the CW11 in New York. They sang a little bit of "Damaged".
In honor of the Making the Band 4, Season 2 finale (Sunday, March 23 from 8-10 PM ET on MTV), we're going to give away 3 copies of "Welcome to the Dollhouse" during the show! We'll give them away at 8:30 PM, 9:00 PM and 9:30 PM (all times Eastern). It'll be a random draw. How can you get your name in that drawing? It's not hard... but, read carefully. First, take a look at these questions:
1. What rapper is featured on the remix to "Got Me Going" by Day 26?
2. What is the bonus track offered on the Target exclusive version of "Welcome to the Dollhouse"?
3. What track on "Welcome to the Dollhouse" is Missy Elliott featured on?
4. Who is "Got Me Going" produced by?
5. What is the 8th track on Day 26's self titled debut?
You have to answer these correctly. But, that's not all. You also must link to a Bad Boy Blog article where I mentioned the answer. This is pretty easy, really (hint: look at the categories in our menu to the right and go to the ones that make sense). After you get all of this information together, you must send it to me via e-mail at patrick@ifroggy.com with the subject "Welcome to the Dollhouse Giveaway". Please do not leave it in a comment as it will not be entered. So, let me give you an example of what this should look like.
If one of the questions was "What is the release date of Day 26's album?", I could offer this answer:
What is the release date of Day 26's album?
March 25
http://www.badboyblog.com/item/2008/2/13/day-26-album-pushed-back
I included the correct answer and a link where it was mentioned in an article on Bad Boy Blog. Do that for the five questions above, send it in and you are entered.
Here are some basic rules:
One entry per person. Repeat entries will be thrown out. Bad Boy Blog staff members are ineligable as are their immediate families. Winner's first name and last name initial will be displayed on Bad Boy Blog. Entries must be received by 8:00 PM ET on Sunday, March 23, 2008. Once a winner is e-mailed, he or she will have 72 hours to respond to the initial e-mail. If they do not, another winner will be selected from the remaining entries.
Good luck!
Check out the video for "Got Me Going" at MTV.com. Great video.
I've noticed that we've been getting a number of visitors who are finding us by searching for things like "Is Donnie on Bad Boy?" or "Is Donnie Still on Bad Boy?". In light of this, I thought I'd write a quick post simply to say that he is. You're watching Making the Band, right? He's working on an album. He's working with Seven. I'm looking forward to his album.
Personally, I'm thinking it'll come later this year, once Danity Kane and Day 26 are well out the door. But, yes, he's still on Bad Boy. He basically just signed to Bad Boy not all that long ago. Don't get too impatient. The groups are coming first because of the girl/boy group angle that was so nicely packaged on the show (among other factors, I am sure), but Donnie will get his time.
According to this press release:
On Tuesday, March 18th, Dawn, Aubrey, D. Woods, Shannon, and Aundrea will appear live on "TRL" to herald the arrival of "WELCOME TO THE DOLLHOUSE." The week will also see visits to MTV's "The Big Ten" and "Sucka Free," as well as BET's "106 & Park." Additional upcoming TV performances include the nationally syndicated "Tyra Banks Show" and Fox's "The Morning Show with Mike and Juliet" (check local listings).
Via So Hood Magazine.
Danity Kane's sophomore effort, "Welcome to the Dollhouse", has been released today. Though it didn't get added until the last minute, the iTunes exclusive version (that we reported exclusively on earlier this month) is now available. The Target exclusive features another track called "Make Me Sick". If you want to get the regular version, you can pick it up at Amazon.com.
Sorry to do this, but I will not be liveblogging Making the Band 4 tonight as something has come up. However, I will be liveblogging the live season finale on Sunday (not Saturday) from 8:00 PM ET to 10:00 PM ET. Please stop by as we find out what Diddy's big announcement is...
From MTV:
After nearly two years, Sean "Diddy" Combs completed his deposition last week in the $130 million civil lawsuit stemming from the 1999 Club New York shooting that sent the Bad Boy CEO's former protégé, Shyne, to prison, MTV News has learned.
Natania Reuben, who filed the suit, claims the Bad Boy CEO and Shyne (Jamal Barrow, who changed his name in 2006 to Moses Michael Leviy in honor of his Jewish heritage), among others, are responsible for the injuries she suffered that night as a result of the gunfire. Reuben was shot in the face during the melee.
The article notes that Combs attorney, Kenneth Meiselas, issued the following statement: "Mr. Combs was acquitted by a jury of all charges related to this 1999 incident and we are confident that he will prevail in this civil lawsuit."
Programming note: we'll have a Making the Band 4 liveblog tonight. The show starts at 10:00 PM ET. Thanks.
Cheri Dennis is in at 149 on this week's Billboard 100 chart, down from her debut of 74, for "In and Out of Love".
Diddy has released a statement about the L.A. Times article by Chuck Phillips, which claims that Diddy and Biggie were aware that 2Pac would be attacked in 1994 at Quad Recording Studios.
"This story is beyond ridiculous and is completely false. Neither Biggie nor I had any knowledge of any attack before, during, or after it happened," Diddy said. "It is a complete lie to suggest that there was any involvement by Biggie or myself. I am shocked that the Los Angeles Times would be so irresponsible as to publish such a baseless and completely untrue story."
Yesterday, news broke of a Chuck Phillips story for the L.A. Times that would claim that both Diddy and Biggie knew that 2Pac was going to be attached in '94 at Quad Recording Studios in New York. Today, that that story went live.
In it, Phillips claims, thanks to anonymous sources and FBI testimony, that both Diddy and Biggie were informed of the attack a week in advance, though they didn't have a hand in it. The articles claims that Jimmy Rosemond orchestrated the attack on Shakur. Rosemond currently manages Mario Winans, The Game and others.
I already gave my thoughts on this, so I won't rehash them. It's an interesting story, but I don't know that I can put stock in it. If you follow Phillips' reporting, you are left with this: Diddy and Biggie knew about the '94 attack, but didn't participate. Then, in '96, Biggie paid for Shakur to be murdered and provided the gun. Biggie's not here to defend himself, but Diddy is, so I expect we'll hear from him in time.
MTV picks up on a part of tomorrow's Chuck Phillips story that had been neglected: he claims that Biggie knew, as well.
Los Angeles Times journalist Chuck Philips has more surprising allegations concerning musical icons Tupac Shakur, Notorious B.I.G. (born Christopher Wallace) and Sean "Diddy" Combs. In an article that the Times will be publishing Monday morning (March 17), Philips alleges that Combs and Wallace were aware, a week in advance, that Tupac would be ambushed in the 1994 shooting at New York's Quad Recording Studios, two years before he was shot and killed in Las Vegas.
"They were advised in advance of what was going to happen," Philips told MTV News on Saturday. "They did not know the assailants were going to be shooting. In fact, [the assailants] were told no shooting. But Tupac pulled a gun, and it went haywire. It was supposed to be a severe beating."
From Allan Starbury:
It's been nearly 15 years since Tupac Shakur was shot for the first time in what appeared to be robbery attempt inside the lobby of New York's Quad Recording Studios in 1994. Although the shooting has remained unsolved, much like his murder in Las Vegas in 1996, new evidence has surfaced that links Diddy to the shooters.
Via a web-only presentation that will appear on LATimes.com on Monday (March 17), staff writer Chuck Philips -- who has been covering the murders of Tupac and the Notorious B.I.G. for the paper for years -- deconstructs the 1994 ambush of the superstar rapper, which he calls the first shot of a lethal, bi-coastal feud that culminated in the killings of both rappers.
According to the report, the article will go live on Monday at http://www.latimes.com/tupac. Phillips alledges that James Sabatino (who sued Diddy in October, claiming he had not been paid for Biggie audio and video he had recorded) was the one who told Diddy of the planned attack on 2Pac.
Phillips spoke with AllHipHop.com and had the following to say:
"One of the people involved in what happened to Tupac has family associated with the mob. It wasn’t by them; it didn’t have anything to do with the mob," Phillips continued. "This person was at Quad studios that night, and this person knew Puffy and Biggie and Jimmy Henchmen and Haitian Jack. A white Italian guy; he’s now in jail. He’s involved in this and frankly I never knew anything about this situation." ...
"I don’t believe that Biggie and Puffy set Tupac up [to be shot]," Phillips said. "According to these people I have interviewed and according to these documents, they knew about it," he said. "But they didn’t know they were going to get shot. They knew he was going to get beat up. Then it kind of went haywire when it all happened."
It's an interesting story. I think it should be taken with a grain of salt, though, at this stage. For context, it's important to note that Phillips reported back in 2002 that Biggie paid $1 million dollars to have 2Pac killed and supplied the gun that was used to murder Shakur. Back then, he said:
"The revelation of Biggie was shocking to me," Philips told MTV News on Thursday. "When this came up, I was just, ... 'I don't believe it.' So I went about trying to disprove it in various ways with various sources and that's not what happened. What I ended up writing is what happened."
So, I suppose, if you really want to believe that Biggie and Diddy killed 2Pac, this is fuel for you. But, otherwise, consider it carefully. This is serious stuff because of what it can cause. For example, a crazy 2Pac fan trying to take "revenge". The report shouldn't just be taken as gospel. Let's see the evidence. Whatever happens, you can expect some sort of statement from Diddy will follow, even though he's probably already spoken on this matter in the past. After the Biggie report in 2002, Bad Boy made available studio logs showing that Biggie had been at Daddy's House that day and even furnished an audio tape of the recording.
The Philippine Daily Inquirer has an interview with Diddy, talking about his acting.
You grew up with your grandmother. How did that shape you?
My life has more in common with this role than people realize. My father was killed when I was 3 years old. I grew up in a family with three women—my mother, grandmother and sister. It’s a very unique dynamic to grow up with three women. It shapes and moulds you. It slows down your transition into being a man because they take care and baby you. But they taught me morals, work ethic and the importance of taking care of one’s family. I was brought up to believe I could do anything.
Watch below for a video interview from Cielo Lounge in San Antonio.
Today marks two years of Bad Boy Blog. It's been a great two years as we've grown to become the top source of Bad Boy Entertainment related news and information. I'd like to thank you and all of our readers and supporters for everything that you have done and for supporting and positively contributing to the site. Thank you.
The San Francisco Chronicle has an interview with Aubrey O'Day.
Q: This album includes the songs "Striptease," "Ecstasy" and "Lights Out." Were you feeling frisky in the studio?
A: We wrote six songs on this album and a few of the ones you mentioned are the ones that we wrote. We're very proud of that fact because we took control over the way we wanted this album to come out. Is it heavily sexual? Absolutely not. You happened to mention the songs that are a little more edgy, but nothing is a blunt sexual statement. It's more of a tease. Everything is like, "I'm a woman, hear me roar. And if you want to hear me roar, you may have to come prove to me you're worthy." I think that's a good message to send to women.
MTV has announced plans for the two hour season 2 finale of Making the Band 4, airing on Sunday, March 22 from 8 PM to 10 PM ET.
Danity Kane will perform "Damaged" and more from their upcoming album, "Welcome to the Dollhouse". Day 26 will perform "Got Me Going" and Donnie will be performing some material, as well. They will be doing this in front of a live audience in the MTV studio at Times Square in New York.
Everyone from the show will answer fan questions, such as:
"Are Dawn and Qwanell more than just friends?"
"Can Robert and Brian ever stop fighting?"
"Did Donnie and Aubrey ever hook-up?"
"Did Donnie ever finish his album?"
Watch below for Diddy hyping up the episode. Adding to what we already know, he says that he has a big annoucement that he will be making. What could it be? What the next season of Making the Band will be about? Something to do with Donnie? We'll see.
Watch below for the video to Danity Kane's "Damaged". You'll notice that it features a longer version of the song than has been previous released, with a little more from Diddy as well as a producer tag at the end. This is the album version of the song.
SixShot.com has an interview with Cheri Dennis.
You’re being marketed as the goddess of Bad Boy. Do you really feel that is an accurate title for yourself?
I think that my personality is very goddess like. I wouldn’t necessary say that I’m a glamour girl all the time. I’m kind do of like a sexy tomboy. I like being comfortable. If I wake up in the morning and I feel like sneakers I put sneakers on; if I wake up in the morning and I feel like flats I put on flats; or if I feel like heels I wear heels. I didn’t self-proclaim myself that either. It started out as a joke. A friend of mine who works at Daddy’s House, the studio—they kept saying the princess of Bad Boy. He was like “Everybody’s the princess of something. I think you should be the goddess,” and it kind of just stuck.
When I met you at BET’s Rip the Runway event you had braces on which is so cute. What made you get the braces?
I’ve actually had them on for the last four years. I was at the last stage and they gave me Invisalign. The fact that I was able to take them out I never put them in. So my teeth stated to shift back. Now I have to wear them for like seven months again just to fix what I messed up.
Us Weekly is reporting that Diddy wants to launch a car service for top celebrities, so that they can get home safe, sound... and not in police custody. He says that one of the objectives is "making sure nobody gets arrested!" while a rep commented that, since he has partnered with Ciroc, Diddy "wants to make sure everyone's partying responsibly".
Via TMZ.
From a press release:
The Stay Strong Foundation unveiled its plan today to launch a national campaign entitled "Healing Starts With Us." On the heels of Terrie M. Williams' latest book, BLACK PAIN: It Just Looks Like We are Not Hurting, emerges a powerful movement aimed to provide a support network that encourages open dialogue about emotional distress within the African American community. The "Healing Starts With Us" campaign kicks off at The Malcolm X & Dr Betty Shabazz Memorial & Educational Center, formerly known as the Audubon Ballroom, on Tuesday, March 18, 2008 from 6-8 pm. ...
Campaign sponsors include The Dixon Group, Inc.; Forest City Ratner Companies; Macy's; Coca-Cola; The River Room; Columbia University Office of Government and Community Affairs; Jonathan Tisch Foundation, CareerPeeks; The Malcolm X & Dr. Betty Shabazz Memorial & Educational Center; The Loreen Arbus Foundation; Moet Hennessy USA; The Middleton Law Group; Shabazz Fish & Grill; The Terrie Williams Agency; Bad Boy Entertainment Worldwide; The Artis Connection; Planet Hollywood; BET; Sean Jean; National Cares Mentoring Movement; Alpha International Travel; and Sean John.
Listen to the remix to "Got Me Going" in our audio player. It's exactly the same as the original, with a new intro and verse from rapper Fat Joe.
In a follow up to his first video about what happens to demos, Bad Boy A&R "Skid" Mitchell returns with "What Happens to Demos? Part 2". Watch below.
Listen to "Adagio" by Marina Chello on Harve Pierre's MySpace.
Watch below for a commercial for Elephant Man's April 8 Bad Boy debut, "Let's Get Physical".
GAK CITY (video) followed Cheri Dennis around for a day as she promoted her album by making appearances, giving interviews and performing. Visit their index page and click "Cheri Dennis is a bad girl?" toward he left, middle portion of the page.
If you pre-order "Welcome to the Dollhouse", "Day 26" or both from Atlantic Records, you'll get a double sided poster along with your order. The first 100 orders (to all 3 links, I am guessing) receive an autographed poster. Most likely, it is already too late to do that. But, the poster is still cool. Here is what it looks like:
SOHH.com reports on a Biggie tribute track released by rapper H.B. (Hav Boy) Monte in honor it being 11 years since Big passed.
The track features Biggie vocals on the chorus and contributions from 50 Cent, Bizzy Bone, Maino, Chingy, Monte, Bobby Valentino and Chris Notez. 50's contribution is on the intro where he starts with "Yeah, what up, Big? It's your main man, 50 Cent". I'm going to choose to look at this as a term of endearment as a fan rather than anything else. Overall, it's a cool track.
The Jamaica Observer has an interview with Elephant Man, centering around his upcoming album, "Let's Get Physical".
Unlike the hardball impresario Diddy portrays to his all-female and all-male groups (respectively) Dainty Kane and Day26 on his MTV reality series Making The Band, Elephant Man says, to him, he's nothing like that.
"Him just flex 'round we, 'cause him know Jamaicans no 'frighten'. Him professional man, if him no like a song, him a go mek you know. Him never show me no bad vibes yet." Ironically, rumours of an Ele vs Diddy 'beatdown' surfaced around November, the initial release month of Physical.
The New York Daily News reports that the most important casting decisions for the upcoming Biggie biopic have been made. Brooklyn rapper Gravy will play Biggie. This isn't a surprise by any means as his name has been mentioned time and time again by various writers.
Angela Bassett will play Voletta Wallace, as previously rumored. Also of note, Anthony Mackie will play 2Pac and Diddy will be portrayed by Derek Luke. You can get a better look at Mackie and Luke on their IMDB pages: Derek Luke, Anthony Mackie.
Via Molly Chesterton.
Fashionista reports on the awards for the latest iteration of the CEW (Cosmetic Executive Women) Beauty Awards. In the "Men's Skincare: Men's Grooming" category, Sean John's "Unforgivable Sensual Body Spray" is nominated.
Also, in the "Scent: Women's Scent - Prestige" category, Unforgivable Woman is nominated.
Via The Cut.
Beat Factor reports that Felix Da Housecat has put together a double disc compilation called "Global Underground 34". It features a "Jack U (Angelo & Ingrosso Remix)" by Felix Da Housecat vs. Diddy.
According to her MySpace, Janelle Monae will be performing at Smith's Olde Bar in Atlanta on March 21 at 9:00 PM.
Danity Kane's MySpace reports that Danity Kane will be making an in store appearance at Best Buy in New York (529 5th Avenue) on March 18. ou have to buy the album to receive a wrist band that will get you into the event.
I'm back from SXSW, so things will return to normal. Sorry for the lack of posts. I have a ton of news to post about and that will follow.
Through March 14, posting figures to be light (perhaps, there will not be any posts) as I will be attending South by Southwest (SXSW) Interactive in Austin, Texas. I have a book reading for my upcoming book, "Managing Online Forums" on the Day Stage at the Austin Convention Center on March 11 at 11:00 AM. So, by some odd chance, if you happen to be attending - please stop by.
I'll be around, but I am guessing that I will not find much time to post. I apologize, in advance, for this slow time. This does mean that there will be no liveblog for the March 10 episode of Making the Band 4. Sorry.
Thank you for visiting Bad Boy Blog.
Cheri Dennis' MySpace mentions that Cheri is featured in New York Beacon this week as the "Go Girl".
Our release production history page has been brought up to date with the release of the physical version of "In and Out of Love".
Of note, with "In and Out of Love Interlude", Mario Winans reached 100 tracks produced on Bad Boy releases and then made it 101 with "Dropping Out of Love". Diddy and Winans are the only two producers to reach the three digit mark, with the next closest being Stevie J. at 59.
The album insert for "In and Out of Love" features an advertisement for the Sean John women's line featuring Cassie, Lauren London and Asia Nitollano. The other side says that you can text Cheri to 33133 to get ringtones, wallpapers and more. It also features another phone number and says "Call Cheri Now at (XXX) XXX-XXXX". Upon calling this number, I'm greeted with a voice saying there is not an account at the number.
Below the mobile ad, the covers of "Hustlenomics", "Welcome to the Zoo" and "Don't Talk, Just Listen" are featured below "In Stores Now:". "Coming Soon From Bad Boy:", it says, are Cassie, Elephant Man, Danity Kane, Making the Band 4 and Donnie Klang.
You can listen to snippets from all of the tracks on "Welcome to the Dollhouse" over at Amazon.com.
Via kingofny2000 at UKMIX.
The Bad Boy Publishing MySpace has posted two videos from last Monday's episode of Making the Band 4. They feature the parts I discussed where Diddy introduced Seven Aurelius, one of The Hitmen, and basically said he was a little out there. Some funny moments between Diddy and Donnie.
The videos also feature Seven working with Donnie and you can listen to a small part of Donnie's "Dr. Love".
BallerStatus.com has an interview with Day 26.
BallerStatus.com: What was going through your minds when you got word that your album had to be recorded in five weeks?
Will: We thought it was a lot of pressure. Usually people take years to record their album. They have a huge catalogue to go from, but we notice people have been submitting songs for a long time to Bad Boy for us and we knew Diddy was going to somehow pick the best songs that were submitted. We're really happy with our project now. At first, it seemed like the impossible, but right now it's done. We love it and we're looking for great things on March 25th. ...
BallerStatus.com: Q, you actually got to know one member of Danity Kane pretty well. Ss there something there between you and Dawn?
Q: It's crazy chemistry between me and Dawn. She's a wonderful woman. I think any man would be lucky to have Dawn and to have a girl like Dawn in their life. I'm really happy we're friends. We're not together, but hopefully in the future, she is my woman.
DJBooth.net has an interview with D. Woods of Danity Kane.
You can listen to the instrumental from this track on Seven's MySpace. Seven is the producer of the track. It has an interesting sound. I'm curious to see the final track.
I just finished watching BET's Rip the Runway, co-hosted by Sean John spokesmodel Lauren London and featuring performances from Cheri Dennis and Day 26. Sean John was part of the show. This is Bad Boy Blog, so let's skip to the Sean John part.
Cheri Dennis opened the segment a no rap version of "Portrait of Love". BET's Terrence was one of the models for Sean John. After Cheri, Day 26 came out as Lauren London and Cassie walked the runway. They performed "Got Me Going". Both Cheri Dennis and Day 26 were solid in their performances.
It was a few minutes or so and then it was over. Diddy came out, joining London and Cassie, bowing to the crowd. Supposedly, there will also be an interview up at BET's Rip the Runway site soon, as well.
During a side interview with June Ambrose, Diddy said that she was the one responsible for the shiny suits, so "let's kill her". heh.
From washingtonpost.com:
... Simmons "dropped some knowledge," the hip-hop term for divulging previously unknown nuggets of information. "I did hear that the Obama camp got a call from Sean Combs," Simmons said. "I did hear from 50 Cent's camp that he didn't know about Hillary anymore."
Via Radar.
Watch below for a performance of "Got Me Going".
Watch below for video from the Sean John fashion show during this year's Fashion Week in New York.
In February, in a Bad Boy Blog exclusive, we revealed the track listing to Danity Kane's "Welcome to the Dollhouse". I cautioned, in the article, that there might be a few changes. But, really, there is only one: an intro from Diddy. We also now have clarity on the iTunes version. Here's the tracklisting on the main version:
1. "Welcome To The Dollhouse" featuring Diddy
2. "Bad Girl" featuring Missy Elliott
3. "Damaged"
4. "Pretty Boy"
5. "Strip Tease"
6. "Sucka For Love"
7. "Secret Place Interlude"
8. "Ecstasy" featuring Rick Ross
9. "2 of You"
10. "Lights Out"
11. "Picture This Interlude"
12. "Poetry"
13. "Key To My Heart"
14. "Flashback Interlude"
15. "Is Anybody Listening"
16. "Ain’t Going (Hidden Track)"
As we reported, the Target version adds "Make Me Sick" as track number 16, before the "Ain't Going" hidden track. I had also mentioned that the iTunes version had three mentions of "Damaged" and two mentions of "Show Stopper" and I guessed that one of the mentions of "Damaged" would be a video and speculated that the others could either be a remix or a placeholder for something else. Well, it turns out all of the song titles were right.
The iTunes version will add:
16. "Show Stopper (Dave Aude Club Mix)"
17. "Show Stopper (Solitaire Club Mix)"
18. "Damaged (Acappella)"
All of these tracks slot in before the hidden track, "Ain't Going" with the two "Show Stopper" mixes being available only if you buy the whole album. Finally, the video for "Damaged" will also be available.
Diddy is having a meeting with both bands and Donnie. He's here to give them an update. He says the guys are in the lead by an overwhelming margin. He's going to up their workload and he wants to work more with Donnie as they don't really have a vibe, yet, but from what he's heard... Donnie's sounding good.
Everybody heads to the studio. Donnie says that they are passed the half way point and he's only got 2 songs done. Between the two groups, he's had a tough time getting into the studio. He sits and watches as the guys record, looking a bit disappointed.
But, he finally gets into the studio with Jim Beanz. He's working on a song called "Beautiful Escape". "Skid" Mitchell, a Bad Boy A&R guy, comes into the room and says that Jim Beanz is needed with the girls. Donnie laments the fact that he's finally in the studio - and they have to stop after one verse. Beanz says he'll be back to finish the song. Donnie remains in the room, by himself, working on the track.
Shannon, Dawn, Q,, Aundrea, Brian are now eating out somewhere. They get on the subject of New Orleans, as Dawn says she can't go back because it's just not the same. Afterward, the girls walk out to the beach and Aundrea and Shannon talk about how Dawn and Q look at each other. Dawn maintains that he's just a friend. But, Aundrea thinks it'll lead to something more.
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From their MySpace:
97.9 KBXX @ 7 AM
93.3 KPTY @ 8:30 AM
106.7 KPWT @ 4 PM
We'll also be on KBBT at 9PM.
MTV's Mixtape Monday has a write up on Gorilla Zoe's mixtape, "Joog Music". He says that he's working on another album due out later this year called "Don't Feed the Animals".
Update: The second track now works.
Yesterday, I reviewed the Bad Boy 08 sampler, which features new songs from Danity Kane and Day 26. Care of Bad Boy A&R "Skid" Mitchell, you can listen to it as well. See the audio player below. For whatever reason, "I'm The Reason", doesn't seem to be working, though. Still, the rest do.
I made this music player at MyFlashFetish.com.
I received a copy of the "Bad Boy Sampler 08" which features snippets of tracks from the upcoming albums from Day 26 ("Day 26") and Danity Kane ("Welcome to the Dollhouse"), along with an intro, interlude and outro from Diddy.
I posted a quick review of the Danity Kane section of the sampler earlier today. Now, I'll take a look at the "Day 26" tracks.
The sampler features "I'm The Reason", "Got Me Going", "In My Bed", "Come In" and "Are We In This Together". "Got Me Going", the lead single, is featured in our audio player in full, so I've heard more than just a snippet of it. I'm definitely a fan of the track - great production from Diddy and Mario Winans and great vocals from the guys.
Another up beat track, "I'm The Reason" is very solid and sounds great all the way around. "In My Bed" is slower, but still maintains a certain excitement. Of the vocals, the chorus is the highlight of the snippet I heard. Not to say the other parts weren't good, though.
Similar to "Striptease", I wasn't sure where I would place "Are We In This Together" when I first heard it. But, after listening to it a few times, it grew on me, as well, especially the chorus.
Again, the track I can't really get into is the slowest track: "Come In". It doesn't have a bad sound or anything, it just doesn't catch my ear.
All in all, "Day 26" and "Welcome to the Dollhouse" both represent albums that I'm excited about. They may have the potential to give Bad Boy back to back number 1's, though that'll be very hard to do.
I received a copy of the "Bad Boy Sampler 08" which features snippets of tracks from the upcoming albums from Danity Kane ("Welcome to the Dollhouse") and Day 26 ("Day 26"), along with an intro, interlude and outro from Diddy.
The Danity Kane portion of the sampler features "Damaged", "Pretty Boy", "Bad Girl", "Striptease" and "Poetry". "Damaged", of course, I've already heard in full as it is featured in the Bad Boy Blog audio player. So, check that out. But, here are some quick thoughts on what I heard.
I really like "Damaged". Very catchy, great vocals - I think it's a terrific single. Really, I haven't been as excited about a single as I am with "Damaged" and "Got Me Going" (from Day 26) since Diddy released "Last Night". A great track.
After that, "Bad Girl" would be my current favorite. Again, very catchy. The track has a unique sound, created by The Runners. The snippet doesn't include Missy Elliott's part. But, what I did hear, I liked.
"Striptease", I was unsure of when I first heard it. But, as I listened to it, it grew on me. Yet another catchy, up beat track. I like the production from Danja behind "Pretty Boy", with it's dramatic (and yet, squeaky) sound, but the vocals on this one don't strike me as much as they do on the other tracks. But, I only heard about a minute of it. It has potential and we'll see what the rest sounds like.
Though it's listenable, the one track I can't really see myself getting into is "Poetry". One of those slow tracks the group was so down on in the last episode of Making the Band, it just doesn't fit within my personal taste.
But, overall, I'm very much looking forward to "Welcome to the Dollhouse". What I heard in the sampler sounds very promising in the group's quest for a worthy follow up to their self titled debut. I'll have my thoughts on the Day 26 portion of the sampler later today.
The Rip the Runway site has a commercial featuring Diddy.
The show will be co-hosted by Sean John spokesmodel Lauren London. Sean John will be featured in the show and they have photos of the line available. During the program, Day 26 and Cheri Dennis will perform.
It will premiere on March 4 at 10 PM ET on BET with encore showings on March 7 and March 9, both at 10:00 PM ET.
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