The former D4L member goes into detail on how his operations have changed since signing with Fif.

Shawty Lo and 50 Cent recently went into partnership with the former’s D4L label and the latter’s G-Unit Records. Speaking with Vibe.com, the former D4L member explained that 50’s offer was one of seven deals on the table, and that after meeting with Fif, the choice was clear.

“When I met with 50, we had the longest meeting I had out of anyone else. We had a seven hour meeting and when I came to meet with 50 Cent he thought he was going to sign an ‘artist deal’, but when listening to all my material, seen all the videos, and how long we had the meeting, he said, ‘I can’t sign this dude to any regular type of deal. He’s a boss,’” he explained. “I guess he felt like I needed to be my own brand and attack G-Unit with it.”

Echoing 50’s earlier statements, Lo will scout for talent in the South and help local artists develop their artistry. “I’m going to be the outlet in the south and everywhere else. A lot of artists had to come when they’re down in the bottom and they had to come to New York or either California to get a deal, then it could it takes months to hear back from anything. I’m going to be the outlet in the south, where they want to go there for.”

As for changing his current operations at D4L, Lo says that he had to hire more staff, but that he’s ready to focus on his artists Stuntman, La Costra Nostra, Zone 6 and Jai-Jai. “G-Unit is a big deal. They told me to play with it, they told me to go recruit artists from everywhere. I’m not just going to sign any artist, it takes more than just rapping; I want to create a movement. I want them to create a movement by themselves.”

via-hiphopdx

"You can't stick with one thing forever," T-Pain explains.

Auto-Tune really is dead for T-Pain on his upcoming album, “rEVOLVEr.”

The Atlanta MC tells Billboard.com that he’s ditching the audio production software that dominated his previous three albums in favor of technology of his own invention — The T-Pain Effect, a joint venture with Boston-based iZotope that has just gone on sale to the public. “You can’t stick with one thing forever,” T-Pain explains. “After you figure out how stuff works, you’ve got to start making your own. When everybody talks about (Auto-Tune), they pretty much say T-Pain. So what simpler thing to do? It’s supply and demand. You want the T-Pain sound? I’m gonna give you the T-Pain effect.”

The T-Pain Effect, which lists for $99, gives users access to the rapper’s “whole vocal chain” of effects, along with 50 beats and a full complement of recording and distribution software. “They can sonically sound like me,” T-Pain notes, “but nobody’s ever gonna be able to write songs like T-Pain. There’s only one of those.”

T-Pain says the new recording technology makes “rEVOLVEr,” which he plans to release in late September or early October, “a real crazy mix of things” that was drawn from “seven albums’ worth” of material. “There’s so much different stuff on it. I almost confused myself on what I wanted to do because I’ve gotten such a completely different audience from…the Taylor Swift stuff and the Bud Light commercial and Toshiba…I’ve just gotten so many other people and so many different audiences. I had to make different kinds of music for everybody but still keep it classic T-Pain at the same time. That got kind of confusing and hard, but it all worked out.”

Guests on the album include Ke$ha, Pharrell, Pitbull and Bei Maejor, according to T-Pain, while Chris Brown duets on the Top 40 single “Best Love Song.” “I didn’t even write that song; once I named it, I just went in the booth and blurted out whatever came to my head,” T-Pain explains. “Chris came to the studio while I was doing it, and he refused to NOT be part of the song, so I told him to go in the booth and do the same thing I did, don’t try to write nothin’ down, just go in there and let’s get it done. And he just blurted out lyrics and it came out really nice.”

via-billboard.com

Self-Made is loaded with street references and gun-toting anthems, in Mixtape Daily.

Rick Ross’ Maybach Music Group has become a hotbed for rap talent. Not only is there Meek Mill, Wale and Pill, who are all prominently featured on the recently released MMG-compilation Self-Made, day-one Maybach fam like Miami rapper Gunplay continues to hold it down for the streets. On his latest, DJ P-Cutta-hosted mixtape, Off Safety, GP keeps it extra-grimy.

Anchored by Gunplay’s street single “Rollin’,” which features Ross and Waka Flocka, Off Safety is drenched with drug references and gun-toting anthems. On “No Arm and Hammer,” Gunplay employs some humorous wordplay on the song’s hook when he shouts, “No arm and hammer in my Hannah Montana,” using the Miley Cyrus character’s name as newfangled slang for cocaine (or “white girl” as the drug is so often called). “Mask On” is another murderous track. On it, producer Lil Lody uses a gun’s click and clack as a sound effect within the beat. Gunplay means business with his booming voice and hard-hitting flow as he raps, “Looking like I’m about to hold the whole world hostage.” Sounds like it too.

The Carol City, Miami, rapper slows things down on “Skrate Up Menace” as he contemplates his standing with God after doing so much dirt in the streets. The island-tinged “Herbalist” is a marijuana ode with a twist. Starting out with a reggae sample, the Kino Beats-produced track is then peppered with kinetic drums that raise the song’s energy as GP spits his verses. Lil Wayne protégé Gudda Gudda makes an appearance on “She Knows Wussup,” and “Wut They Yellin’,” produced by Schife, is a Dirty South tear-the-club-up-type track reminiscent of Three 6 Mafia.

By the time the 12-track Off Safety draws to a close, the rapper’s hunger is apparent. Gunplay has quite a few shots in the chamber, and he isn’t afraid to let them off.

via-mtvnews

In a heated interview, Wale talks about why it's okay to be confident

Over the past 12 months, Washington D.C. rapper Wale has taken a lot of flack from fans for signing with Rick Ross’ Maybach Music Group. Despite the criticism, Wale proved that he could hang with Rozay, Pill and Meek Mill on May’s Self Made Vol. 1 without having to sacrifice his artistic credibility. Now, in a lengthy and explosive interview with Culture VI, Wale addresses those who doubted him switching to Rick Ross’s label.

Wale first talked about the perceived cocky streak in his music and personality. He explained that as a rapper, it’s important to maintain a higher level of confidence about his music.

“Human beings, that’s what we’re here for. We’re supposed to misunderstand each other. If everybody understood each other, we’d have wings…and we’d be able to talk to God,” he explained. “Now, I say that and say this, my music is based on reality and artists are supposed to almost accentuate all of their qualities for better or worse. I’m sure the most depressing song ever written by the most depressing person on Earth wasn’t as depressed as they depicted it to be. A song is supposed to accentuate human emotions. So, I put those things and emotions on the genre, Hip Hop, where we are praised for how we say rather than what we say. So if I exude confidence on a Hip Hop record and I’m really good at exuding confidence on it, you’re gonna call me cocky? Well, what should I tell you? I woke up at 8 o’clock this morning, ate a bowl of cheerios, went to the studio, made a mediocre song, and went to sleep? Is that what people would prefer you think? Because I’m sure if I said I put on some $400 Jordans, a Moschino shirt, and some PRPS’s and I went to the studio and killed every nigga in Hip Hop on a song…motherfuckers would check for me. I’d get close to a million [Twitter] followers quickly.”

He added, “It’s the ‘Sanders Theory.’ Deion or Barry, pick one. People love Barry Sanders for doing what? For damaging his body for the Detroit Lions for 10 years. Then when he walked away from the game with both of his knees intact, I heard the worse things from people of that area, the Lions fans, about him. Deion, put it all out there. I’m gonna high step. I’m excited. I’m gonna put it all out there. I don’t get to score that many touchdowns, so I’m excited. Come enjoy this joy with me. Music is a drug, my nigga. Be happy with me, be happy for me. I sold 28,000 records my first week, with no push from my label. My mother couldn’t even buy my album from across the street from my house. You don’t think I’m supposed to be excited to still be here? Working with Rick Ross, one of the hottest rappers in the game? You don’t think I’m excited to have a double platinum record with Roscoe Dash and Waka Flocka? Them same people who was talking about this, that and the third, hip-hop blah blah blah, are the same people in the club singing ‘No Hands’ verbatim. Same people saying ‘Wale, he’s selling out, blah blah blah,’ those are the same people rocking when ‘No Hands’ came out. ‘Why is he doing this, what’s going on?’ Hip Hop. This is Hip Hop music. And my mission statement is to never dumb it down, but never over-think it.”

Wale also discussed how he he fits into Maybach Music Group and why he may have switched up from his usual sound for the group’s LP Self Made Vol. 1. He explains that the sonic shift came out of being a versatile artist and experiencing new things in life that have pushed him to experiement with new sounds. He also added that Hip Hop’s blogger culture has also affected the way people listen to music. He claims that instead of giving an artist’s new music a chance, they expect rappers to meet a certain standard that wrongfully dictates whether they’ve sold out or not.

“It’s a slight possibility that we put an album together for the people that appreciate the summer. It’s a slight possibility that we kept all the ideas for the albums, like the real stuff. Maybe,” he said. “I don’t think we’re going to sit around with like Steven Spielberg, Hype Williams, Spike Lee and everyone else to create this big movie compilation for the people. We gave them records this summer! I don’t hear no complaints from [Funkmaster] Flex, [DJ] Envy, none of them…you got to understand who you’re dealing with. My first record, the first verse on there was only 8 bars! That wasn’t no profound shit! ‘Name’s Wale, they probably know me from the Roc.’ What the fuck man?! ‘Shake it, shake it, shake it off.’ That might sound crazy to everyone else, but everybody in DC, they’re going to know that for the rest of their life. So how you going to say, ‘Oh, I’m doing a song “Malcolm X,” and I’m not providing anything for the people?’ You talking about somebody who made a song called ‘Rhyme of the Century’, wrote it when I was like 19 years old, and wanted that to be my biggest record, first song ever! Right? I’m the same person! Listen to Malcolm X. I got a lot of Muslim family members and friends. There’s a lot of gems in that verse. If you can look over the fact I’m rhyming on a quote-unquote ‘Lex Lugar-sounding beat,’ or rhyming with two ex-drug dealers, if you can look past that and listen to the verse…you might hear something, just maybe. If you know anybody who’s into sneakers and collects sneakers, you might understand all the jargon I’m talking about in ‘Fitted Cap.’ And I sound very narcissistic right now, like I’m talking down, but that’s not it. I’m going to defend my music.

“That’s why I take so long to write some of them verses, so I can defend them. Now why don’t you read – somebody got my lyrics up for ‘By Any Means’ – read it! You can Google it, then read it! And then go ask anybody who know the Qu’ran, and who is appreciative of the faith how they feel about that. Because I touched a lot of with that who never really knew. There’s beauty in that, my nigga, like for real. Really. There’s beauty in that 14 year old kid who slept outside to get them new Jordans, but you ain’t heard me talk about them sneakers in two years. There’s beauty in that. There’s beauty in a lot of motherfuckers that cried, begged, screamed, kicked down the door to hear Wale on a Just Blaze record right? I gave that initially. And the first verse was for you, fortunately. ‘They tried to tell me I don’t fit up in this mothafucka/’Cause Rozay be talkin’ white, he think he Uncle Ruckus.’ Well, that might be the case. I can get a Just Blaze beat on my solo album now because of that! That means something to me! ‘Running Rebels’…that’s Hip Hop right there. That’s the same producer [Tone P] that was on my first mixtape who made that beat! Did he change, too? Did he do anything different? Nah, that ain’t gonna say…if I would of put that joint – if I would have made a mixtape 200 Miles Runnin’ and put that song on there, and put [my] ‘By Any Means’ verse and rapped it on something with a sample that I probably could never clear, ‘Oh yeah, Wale so Hip Hop. Yeah.’

“These quote-unquote ‘Hip Hop enthusiasts’ don’t – they getting the game fucked up now. Everybody’s an A&R…for the world’s record label. And they signing everybody. You Tube niggas, everybody, everything. You not listening. You stopped listening! You used to listen, you stopped. You know why you stopped? Because you became an A&R like everybody else. They stopped listening, they started. Now everybody sizing up. Nobody want to get in the motherfucking game, but everyone wants to call the fucking plays now. Ya’ll stop listening. The niggas that’s listening is Clark Kent, who called me, say ‘Man, my nigga, you killed that.’ [For] Young Guru to call me. For Fab[olous] to say, ‘Man, you killin’ that shit.’ They ain’t stop listening. It’s the niggas with the computers that sit down there and analyze everything. If you go out and see the world and enjoy the club, and see some women and see some things and read some things, and stop looking at the fact that I’m rhyming over something that might sound like something you heard before and listen to the words, like Hip Hop used to be…niggas might see something.”

via-hiphopdx

Rapper sentenced to more than two years.

Ja Rule was sentenced to more than two years in prison for failing to file income tax returns in New Jersey, according to reports.

The hip-hop star reportedly admitted failing to pay taxes on more than $3m that he earned between 2004 and 2006, while living in the exclusive community of Saddle River, New Jersey.

Ja Rule, real name Jeffrey Atkins, is currently serving up to two years in a New York state prison after pleading guilty to gun charges dating back to 2007.

He will reportedly serve both sentences at the same time.

Drake thanked Universal Orlando Resort and his fans for their continued support.

Plenty of performers cancel concerts due to highly suspicious claims of “exhaustion.” Rapper Drake seems like the only artist who cancels due to “a reason that actually exists.”

Earlier, the rapper officially canceled his Saturday night performance at Universal Studio’s Summer Concert Series after finding out about the death of his uncle.

“We regret to announce that Drake will not be able to take the stage at Universal Orlando Resort due to a death in the family,” Drake’s representation said in a statement. “He hopes that his fans understand the situation he finds himself in and know that he fully intends to return to the area in the future. He thanks Universal Orlando Resort and his fans for their continued support.”

Drake tweeted, “Stay Now…Then Go.” TMZ reports that the rapper is already with his family.

via-vh1thefablife

Even though 50 has championed G-Unit's independence, speculation has swirled about whether Banks would sign to Def Jam

When 50 Cent signed G-Unit artists Lloyd Banks and Tony Yayo over to EMI, the plan was to set up his longtime Queens, New York, cohorts as artists who could work independently, without his help.

Fif told MTV News that Banks’ The Hunger for More 2, which was released last November, was the project that set the trend. “Banks’ project is the beginning of them flying solo, flying without my assistance so much,” 50 said on the Atlanta set of Tony Yayo’s upcoming “Haters” video.

In the past, Fif lent his guidance as well as his voice to his artists’ albums. Back in 2004, the G-Unit General appeared alongside Banks on “On Fire,” the first single from the Punch Line King’s platinum debut. He did the same with Yayo’s first single, “So Seductive,” the following year. “Like on all their other albums and singles, I was featured on their projects to help bring attention to it and get ‘em off into the right space,” he said. “This go-around is, like, for them to go away from me and do it on their own. They’re setting up shop on their own on this project.”

It’s been reported that Banks’ and Yayo’s EMI deal is structured much like an indie. Even though EMI is a major distributor, G-Unit has taken the reins when it comes to positioning both rappers in the marketplace. Even though 50 has championed G-Unit’s independence, speculation has swirled about whether Banks would sign to Def Jam where former G-Unit president Sha Money XL now resides as the Senior VP of A&R.

50, without saying it directly, shot down the notion of a Def Jam deal, citing the label’s supposed-financial woes. Recently, the legendary rap label has gone through a bit of restructuring with former head honcho L.A. Reid leaving and Barry Weiss stepping in as chairman and CEO. Regardless, Fif doesn’t seem too optimistic for a future at the label.

“Well, Def Jam, I’m not even sure what that system — that system is not in a good space right now. They’re like $80 million in the hole,” he said, before laughing, “Don’t tell them I told you.”

via mtv.com

Knowles is unwavering in his claim of innocence. He has been persistent and quite vocal that the theft accusations by Live Nation are completely false.

(singersroom.com) Controversy over Beyonce’s unforeseen firing of father, Matthew Knowles, has been a constantly developing story. According to TMZ, Knowles was relieved of his position after Beyonce discovered he was stealing money from her.

However, Knowles is prepared to defend his name and reputation to the fullest. Documents recently obtained by TMZ, show Knowles insisting that Live Nation Entertainment wanted nothing more than to “sink its fangs into Beyonce’s 2011 world tour.” The documents go on to say that Live Nation falsified information in telling his daughter that he “had stolen money from Beyonce on her most recent tour or otherwise taken funds that [he] was not entitled to.” Acting on the information received from Live Nation, Beyonce requested her law firm to conduct an audit and sure enough they confirmed that Knowles had pilfered money from her. In light of the news, Beyonce then fired her dad.

Knowles is unwavering in his claim of innocence. He has been persistent and quite vocal that the theft accusations by Live Nation are completely false. The ex-manager is now petitioning a judge for the right to take depositions of several individuals employed at Live Nation to determine how they concluded he was swindling funds.

While Beyonce was not available to comment on this recent development, she did touch on the issue in her just-aired documentary, ‘The Year of 4′. She spoke of the split between her and papa Knowles but only revealed that it was time for a change.

“I’ve been managed by my father for a long time and a real change meant separating from him. It was scary but it empowered me and I wasn’t going to let fear stop me. It was very risky for me to step out on my own. Being a young woman I want to set the example that it’s possible for us to own our own businesses and own our own record labels. Sometimes we don’t reach for the stars, sometimes we are satisfied with what people tell us that we’re supposed to be satisfied with and I’m just not going for it,” she stated.

Who can she trust? Did Live Nation Entertainment only want to tear up a happy home or was Matthew Knowles up to some shady activity? Either way, it appears that this issue will get a lot worse before it gets better.

Written By Aleta Watson

Michael "Marlo Mike" Louding will go before a judge first in the slaying of the Louisiana rapper.

Baton Rouge teen Michael Louding has been charged with the murder of Louisiana rapper Chris “Nussie” Jackson and five other men in a series of killings dating as far back as February 2009. He has been charged with 5 counts of first degree murder, one count of second degree murder, and two counts of attempted first degree murder.

Chris “Nussie” Jackson was killed from a gunshot to the head on February 9, 2009. Although never charged, fellow Baton Rogue rapper Lil’ Boosie was initially named the primary suspect after the FBI received information that he had issued a $30,000 hit on Jackson. The two rappers had been feuding prior to Jackson’s murder, with Boosie recording a diss track titled “What Goes Up Must Come Down.” Boosie is currently serving a four-year sentence for possession of drugs.

Louding also faces charges for the murders of Marcus Thomas in April 2009, Terry Boyd in October 2009, and most recently, Charles Matthews and Darryl Milton on April 1, 2010. Three other teens between the ages of 16 and 19 have also been charged with first degree murder for the killings of Matthews and Milton.

Michael “Marlo Mike” Louding will be tried first in the murder of Chris “Nussie” Jackson. According to The Advocate, the 18-year-old is charged with “five counts of first-degree murder, one count of second-degree murder and two counts of attempted first-degree murder.”

Louding is also charged with first-degree murder in the deaths of Jackson; Marcus Thomas on April 25, 2009; Terry Boyd on Oct. 21, 2009; and Charles Matthews and Darryl “Bleek’’ Milton on April 1, 2010. Lil’ Boosie was also charged with first-degree murder in the case of Boyd, which police believe was a murder-for-hire.

via-hiphopdx