Before the Chicago Bulls were eliminated from the National Basketball Association (NBA) playoffs, Bulls player Carlos Boozer released a rap record, "Winning Streak (I'm Not Losin')" featuring Mario Winans and Twista, presented by Begr8er, which was founded by Shannon "Slam" Lawrence, who previously spent some time with BAd Boy and was featured on "Making the Band," and Katrina Campins. The song was produced by Winans and Lawrence.
You can listen to some of it in the clip below, care of Campins' Twitter profile, and buy the song on iTunes now.
Producer Sonny Digital, who Gorilla Zoe says will produce around half of his upcoming "King Kong" album, revealed to MTV that Zoe was "probably" the first person to hear the beat for YC's "Racks," which Digital produced, and was among those who passed on it.
Check out the official video for "Racks" below to listen to the record.
On Wednesday, we shared the news of the Diddy/Dirty Money-created MYMAG, a custom once off magazine focused on the group, their tastes and interests.
A press release issued by MYMAG has more details on what you'll find inside and on all of the creative talents that came together to provide that content.
Kalenna and Dawn called upon Flaunt magazine to provide an insightful feature on the late fashion designer, Alexander McQueen (whose work is currently the subject of a major exhibit at New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art), a Tank Girl comic (Dawn's pick) and a feature on Marilyn Manson (chosen by Kalenna) adorn the pages of Diddy's MYMAG.
Other content includes Vibe magazine's first-ever magazine feature on Diddy, as well as tributes to Biggie Smalls, Mary J. Blige and Hype Williams. One of the UK's top music magazines, NME provides content for one of Diddy's idols, music innovator and icon, David Bowie. Rare Frank Sinatra and Rat Pack photographs are also featured in the magazine, the late Hollywood legend inspires Diddy's style and is another one of his all-time idols.
Esteemed photographer Jean-Paul Goude lends his celebrated Grace Jones imagery; shots emblematic of a style trend that courses through Diddy Dirty Money.
"I've always loved art magazines and dope books," Diddy says in the release. "The DDM magazine gave us a chance to illustrate some of our personality and share pieces of some of the elements and people who have inspired our collective journey. Diddy/Dirty Money features some of our all-time favorite articles, photographs mixed in with some of our own content... it's an accurate glimpse into our respective lives."
You can buy the magazine directly or pick it up at select Barnes & Noble stores and newsstands on May 31.
The estate of The Notorious B.I.G., led by his mother, Voletta Wallace and widow Faith Evans, has signed a licensing deal with brand management and development form Brand Sense Partners (also known as bsp), under which the company will oversee licensing and merchandising for Biggie's name and likeness.
Specifically, the Biggie brand will be managed by Theresa Brown, which has represented the states of Albert Einstein and Steve McQueen and currently lead's the first celebrity and estate initiatives, including Sheryl Crow, Marlon Brando and Jimi Hendrix.
"Christopher Wallace was a pioneer in the hip-hop and rap music movement, paving the way for a countless number of today's talent and we are excited to leverage the untapped equity in his brand," bsp President and CEO, Ramez Toubassy said via press release.
"The family and I are excited to move forward with the exceptional team at bsp," said Wayne Barrow, formerly Biggie's manager who currently advices Ms. Wallace. "Their understanding of Christopher's cultural impact, as well as their vision for our brand mission made them the best partner possible for the task. We look forward to working hand in hand with them to build on Christopher's unique legacy."
FADER has a great pictorial taking you to various places that were significant in the life of The Notorious B.I.G., complete with quotes and stories from people like Andre Harrell, Mark Pitts, Matty C, Wayne Barrow, dream hampton, "Hypnotize" video director Paul Hunter and more. Check it out.
FADER founder Rob Stone, who previously worked at Arista Records and helped to promote The Notorious B.I.G.'s "Ready to Die" album recently penned a great article reminiscing about time spent with Biggie during the marketing of "Ready to Die." A worthy read.
Here's a small teaser:
We’d been running around all day like lunatics and back at the hotel, no one showed up for a midnight run to the radio station, except Big. So I went from miserable to HOLY S*** very quickly. It was pouring outside, so I ran to pull the car around and pick Big up in front—not that he requested it, but he had a way of making you want to do right by him. Because it was just us, we talked about a lot of things: our families, our moms, friends, girls, the business, Puff. He was curious about my life growing up in Long Island—how I’d gotten into hip-hop and proud to hear that I was born in Brooklyn and impressed that my dad went to Erasmus High School and still owned a trucking company in Brooklyn. He talked about recording his new album in the Caribbean, away from everyone. Things were getting complicated with way too many distractions. And he made a point to say, “I can’t front: Puff made Ready To Die great, and he’s gotta be there with me.” I asked how and he said Puff was the one who told him to paint the picture and tell stories. He’d designed tracks to fit Big’s style. It was pretty amazing to hear and to be let in on what felt like a secret.
In the article, Stone mentions that he was one of the few allowed to listen to "Ready to Die" early on and that he was trusted with an unmastered cassette tape of the album that featured "two dramatically different songs." On Twitter, I asked him what these records were and he was kind enough to respond. They were "Come On" and "Respect."
In an interview with Rap-Up.com, Dawn Richard has announced that her upcoming solo debut will be titled "GoldenHeart" and to expect it in late 2011 or early 2012.
Not only that, but the album will be the first of a trilogy, followed by "BlackHeart" and "RedemptionHeart." She played a couple of records for Rap-Up.com, including "Hollywood Story," which was produced by Rob Holliday, and "Running from Sane," produced by D'Mile. She says that the second track was inspired by Phil Collins and Meat Loaf.
Here are Bad Boy's positions on the most recent Billboard U.S. album and single charts, released today. Nothing to write home about. Small gains by Dirty Money's "Your Love" and a debut for Red Cafe's "We Get It On."
Albums
Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums
43. "Last Train to Paris" by Dirty Money (down from 39).
Singles
Hot Singles Recurrents
12. "Coming Home" by Dirty Money (down from 7).
Hot 100 Recurrent Airplay
17. "Coming Home" by Dirty Money (a new high, up from 18).
