Sunday HH Times (Hip Hop Culturally)

Lifestyle: Play Cloths

2012-01-08T23:52:00.002-05:00

Lifestyle: Cavi Life

2012-01-08T22:42:00.001-05:00

Interview: Lijadu Sisters

2012-01-08T07:32:00.000-05:00

One spring day in 2009, William Glasspiegel sat in the Harlem apartment of Taiwo and Kehinde Lijadu. It was the culmination of an intensive, several-week search since he'd heard the Nigerian twin sisters' long-forgotten 1976 debut album, "Danger," via a music blog.

"Drank a glass of Carl Rossi with them, surrounded by images and icons and living memories of their life," he says, recalling photos of Michael Jackson on the walls of their apartment amid a wealth of African religious items. "They talked to me about spending time with James Brown and [the late Afrobeat superstar] Fela in Lagos. But they talked to me most about their mother and the importance of family."

Then, spontaneously, they broke into song.

"When I heard them sing it was like hearing Ella Fitzgerald," he says.

With that began the reemergence of the Lijadu Sisters, ending decades of virtual seclusion and obscurity after their promising career was sidetracked first by music business treachery and then a devastating accident. "Danger" has just been reissued by New York's Knitting Factory Records, with the duo's three subsequent albums set for reissue in the course of 2012. Together they present an Afrobeat epiphany, a catalog of distinction and vision with a story to match.

It's not that they didn't want to be found. They were found many times, they say. Just not by the right person.

"He wasn't the first to call," Taiwo says. "Many people had called. We had seen them. We had spoken. But the feeling wasn't mutual. When William called and said he had heard our songs, we felt we could work with him."

Cousins of Fela Kuti, the sisters — now 63 — had been singing since childhood, encouraged by their mother.

"Our mother was one of a kind in a million," Taiwo says. "She listened to us sing and recognized it was our calling."

"She pointed us in the direction," says Kehinde. "She inspired us. Brought us records by the local artists from Nigeria and West Africa, and Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles. We took it from there and developed our own style."

After success in Lagos, they first traveled to Europe and North America in 1972 as part of former Cream drummer Ginger Baker's group Salt (Kehinde was in a relationship with Baker) and returned to the U.S. in 1988 with King Sunny Ade. Their four '70s albums had made them stars at home and they seemed poised for an international breakthrough. With proposals for U.S. deals on the table, they stayed in New York.

But the deals fell through and, feeling record companies had been "stealing" from them, they settled in New York to pursue ventures in herbal remedies related to their Yoruba religion. Then in 1996 Kehinde suffered a serious pelvic and spinal injury in a fall.

They used her long recovery time as an opportunity to strengthen their connections with the local African culture communities and their families (each has grown children and several grandchildren). Their song "Life's Gone Down Low," from "Danger," made it onto a 2005 Luaka Bop label compilation of African "psychedelic" rock, and from there was liberally sampled by rapper Nas for his 2006 hit of the same name (without the sisters' knowledge and much to their dismay).

Still, the sisters themselves remained unknowns, despite the late 2000s boom time for classic Nigerian rock, soul and funk, with the "Fela!" musical hitting Broadway and a seemingly endless stream of reissue anthologies coming out. Even Glasspiegel, a reporter and critic for National Public Radio and Afropop Worldwide who had also worked with various African artists as a manager and advisor, had never heard the Lijadu Sisters' music before this.

"At that moment everyone was talking about Fela, and all those '70s psychedelic African reissues were popular," he says. "Here was this album 'Danger' that was different from any of that but related. Their songs have a timeless quality."

Glasspiegel, who no longer works with the sisters, brought them to Knitting Factory, which was reissuing the Fela Kuti catalog and had signed his sons, Femi and Seun, for their separate projects. Label manager Tim Putnam tracked down copies of the albums in good enough shape to be restored to release quality, because the master tapes were long lost.

"There's a periphery of music that exists in the shadow of myth," Putnam says. "You kind of romanticize those artists, and I certainly do. But what stood out for me was this catalog of four albums that are incredible. Strange to me that I hadn't heard it. To me it sounds like music that could come out now."

The music supports his enthusiasm. "Danger" (just available now) brings a crisp rock edge to the West African pulse, produced imaginatively by family friend Biddy Wright, all set behind the sisters' alternately playful and forceful duets. The 1977 follow-up, "Mother Africa" (coming in late February), largely strips the sound to a compelling, minimalist mix of drums, both African and Western, with electric guitar and keyboard ornamentation. The next year's Wright-produced "Sunshine" (due in the spring) takes disco twists that today sound compelling without ever drifting into camp. And 1979's "Horizon Unlimited" (summer or fall) again emphasizes the drums behind vocals that had grown in confidence and power.

Songs alternate between English and local languages, much with the same steely eye on corruption and injustice that fueled Fela's music. "Life's Gone Down Low," for example, addresses global economic issues still relevant today. .

The time is right for a return, they believe.

"We are looking forward to forming our own band," Kehinde says. "Perhaps playing in town, Manhattan, until my full recovery. We can do small tours as our bodies permit. But first we want to test the waters."

Meanwhile, they sing every day (and do, briefly and beautifully, during the phone call) and have turned the experiences and observations of their time in the shadows into dozens of new songs.

"We were doing other things of interest that would support us," Taiwo says. "In the process of that, a lot of new songs got written and they are strong. They are exciting. And they give us hope."

LA Times
Fader Magazine

Interview: Karen Civil

2012-01-08T04:59:00.000-05:00

Karen Civil
Living Civil
Cherry On Top

Video: Stay Schemin (Rick Ross, Drake, French Montana)

2012-01-08T02:34:00.000-05:00

Mixtape: Rick Ross (Rich Forever)

2012-01-08T00:33:00.000-05:00

DOWNLOAD

Mixtape: Raekwon (Unexpected Victory)

2012-01-01T20:11:00.002-05:00

Download

Interview: Kevin Liles (Make It Happen)

2012-01-01T09:20:00.000-05:00

Al Lindstrom

Hip Hop Award Season: AL Lindstrom

2012-01-01T03:52:00.001-05:00

Jay Rodriguez
Joe La Puma
B.Dot
Neil Caesar
Jeff Sledge
Combat Jack
Left of Frame

Label of the Year: YMCMB

2012-01-01T01:43:00.001-05:00

This year finds rap music in its strongest space-artistically, at retail and on the road-since the economic and creative boom of the late '90s. Many MCs triumphed in 2011, but none more so than Lil Wayne.

Rostrum/Atlantic Records' Wiz Khalifa opened the door for rap's new generation of stars, and his labelmate Mac Miller kicked in another-without major-label distribution. Odd Future brought its DIY attitude to the fore. Two of hip-hop's most acclaimed and successful artists, Jay-Z and Kanye West, merged for Watch the Throne, their collaborative album for Def Jam Records (with 1.1 million units sold, according to Nielsen SoundScan) and a North American (so far) tour. Eminem also found a rhyme partner in old friend Royce Da 5'9. Their Interscope Records project, Bad Meets Evil's Hell: The Sequel (628,000), super-served Slim Shady's core fan base. Lupe Fiasco overcame a public rift with Atlantic and found the greatest success of his career with Lasers (481,000). But even with all this good news, Young Money/Cash Money Records is the hip-hop story of the year.

Weezy's ninth solo album, Tha Carter IV (Cash Money/Universal), sold 964, 000 copies in its first week and has moved 1.8 million total. It's the second-biggest first-week seller of the year, behind Lady Gaga's Born This Way (Streamline/KonLive/Interscope), which clocked a first-week total of 1.1 million, partially due to an Amazon MP3 discount. Coming remarkably close to matching Tha Carter III's (Cash Money/Universal) 1 million-plus launch in 2008, Wayne has become one of the few rappers who can fill arenas on a consistent basis.

And then there are the Young Money/Cash Money/Universal artists who compete with him on the charts. Released in November 2010, Nicki Minaj's platinum-plus Pink Friday debut maintains its presence-1.7 million sold-thanks to the durability of a multitude of sensational singles. Not since Lauryn Hill's monumental 1998 solo debut, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, has a female hip-hop artist infiltrated pop culture with such flair and ferocity.

Her fellow Young Money & Cash Money Billionaires (YMCMB) artist, Drake, moves a bit more mysteriously. After test-running the song "Marvin's Room" to Internet acclaim, Drake returned with sophomore album Take Care in November. The release is already set to be his most successful, moving 631,000 copies the first week. It has sold 894,000 total. Drake (honored in June with the Hal David Starlight Award at the 42nd annual Songwriters Hall of Fame induction) has proved there's no resisting his addictive melodies. Even a song originally slated as a bonus cut, "The Motto," a free-flowing collaboration with Lil Wayne, is rising as fans clamor for an official release of the titillating title track that features Rihanna.

These acts are all part of the fourth-generation rap dynasty that is Cash Money Records. Founded in 1992 by brothers Ronald "Slim" Williams and Bryan "Baby" Williams, the label is the driving force of the hip-hop culture business.

With charismatic candor, the label's senior VP of promotion, Mel Smith (@mrmelsmith), provides insight into hip-hop's hit-making machine.

Pink Friday came out at the end of 2010. You guys are still working it.
And a lot of people didn't see that the album was great conceptually because it was stocked with singles. But the thing about Nicki and Wayne, they're not always going to give you more of the same. Like, if you go to a Wayne concert, you're going to see Asians, white people, Spanish people, Russians. When you're reaching out to millions of different Americans, you can talk about anything and open up everything. That's what happened with Wayne, Drake and Nicki. Nicki's album . . . we dropped five singles. We'll drop four or five from Wayne. Four or five from Drake. That's how the albums are crafted. We're not just putting songs out there that have a big first week. We try to sell records that have longevity. Wayne is at 1.7 [million] right now. Nicki's at 1.7 [million]. These are numbers that people aren't doing-outside of Eminem and Adele.

Tha Carter IV-people were in shock about how well it did.
If anyone doesn't believe in the reach, come to a concert, watch Lil Wayne rock Madison Square Garden or the Staples Center, or go to the Pepsi Center in Denver-you'll see him rock way, way out. You can't do those numbers selling records unless those stadiums are packed. Do the math. Add up those sold-out arenas, those amphitheaters way out in Nebraska and Utah, add that to how many people follow him on Twitter [just short of 4.3 million on @liltunechi]. He has an intense fan base of people who love him. His whole Young Money movement-YMCMB now is a brand.

Your team has a stronghold on radio. Talk about that.
I've been blessed to be a part of the dynasty that was Bad Boy in the '90s. Also, with Uptown Records in the early '90s, with Mary J. Blige and Jodeci. The common thread with all of it: No. 1, the hit music, and No. 2, the movement. People are a part of the YMCMB movement. So when I go to a radio station to get a record played, there's excitement because we've given them so many hits. We keep the excitement going. Mixtapes between albums . . . and with the emergence of Twitter and Facebook, it's easy to tap into somebody's soul, almost, and get into what they want. It's amazing.

How has Cash Money benefited from social media?
We're very interactive with the fan base. You follow Nicki on Twitter, it's not "Nicki," it's actually Nicki. Not her assistant, not a friend. It's the same thing with Drake and Wayne. True story, about four years ago I went on the Young Money tour bus. Everybody had a Macbook. They were all on Twitter. At the time, Twitter wasn't as huge, but they were there early, doing interviews, tweeting people, talking about the Young Money experience.

Certain records may pop on urban radio, but you also have a lot of big crossover records.
When I first went to directors with [Minaj's] "Super Bass," some of them were like, "It's too pop." We're like, "Radio has changed. It's not what you think anymore." It's not about those walls we used to have, segregation... pop radio now is sort of hip-hop radio. The hip-hop nation has changed the barriers. The kids don't care. The kids want their music. If you don't play it at your pop station or your crossover station, they're going to go somewhere to get it.
So it isn't just a layup.

We continue to push the threshold. Racism is what it was. It's still here in this country... as years go by, it gets weeded out, because the people that championed it are dying off and the white kids are shaking hands with the black kids, they're dancing with the black kids in the club, the music is bringing it all together. And here's the jewel in it: "Super Bass" is over 4 million ringtones sold, because we're first through that door. Same thing with "How to Love"-almost 4 million ringtones. The day the album came out, we were at 140 million in audience. You can't get 140 million unless you got America listening.

So besides signing Busta Rhymes recently...
Huge. He's a superstar. Busta Rhymes is the most talented, underrated rapper there is. If you look at [February's] Chris Brown "Look at Me Now" record [on which Rhymes is featured along with Lil Wayne; it peaked at No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 and has sold 3 million copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan], he was the hottest verse on that. If he's the hottest dude on these remixes, how about he's just the dude on all your records? That's the whole idea.

DJ Khaled-the big, early 2011 acquisition. It paid off lovely with May's "I'm on One," which featured Rick Ross, Wayne and Drake. First Hot 100 top 10 for Khaled and Ross. No. 1 for 11 weeks on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.
I feel like we're the Lakers. Baby is Jerry Buss. I'm Phil Jackson. I've got the best point guard, I've got the best forward, I've got the best center. They're all hungry. You got a Tyga, Drake, Wayne, Nicki. Then you put in Khaled, who's hungry. This is a guy who plays off the bench and within the week, he's a starter. They're all rich, all successful-why do they work? Because they have to win. The whole team-and everybody thinks like this-we want to win and we're acting like we haven't won.

New Year

2012-01-01T00:20:00.001-05:00

HAPPY NEW YEARS

Mixtape: Swizz Beats, Fela

2011-12-25T21:05:00.000-05:00

DOWNLOAD

Interview: Joe

2011-12-25T21:03:00.000-05:00

Veteran R&B singer Joe released his ninth studio album, ‘The Good, The Bad, The Sexy,’ a few months ago as a follow-up to his 2009 project ‘Signature.’ Led by the Darkchild-produced single “Losing,” the album debuted in the top 10 on the Billboard 200 charts.

Aside from releasing a his highly anticipated album, the Grammy-nominated singer spoke with us exclusively about the growth of the R&B genre, as well as his own personal growth as an artist.

Career Growth... Well starting out, initially my first deal [that] I ever did was a publishing deal. I was a songwriter, producer, and this was back in '91. And that sort of propelled me into becoming an artist because everything I wrote and produced was me singing on the demos. So the interest was "Who is this guy singing?" and I pretty much said, "It's me. I'm the young kid on the record singing." From that day forward, the first deal I ever got was the publishing deal, and it was like all the doors opened up.

Studio Ambiance... Just the vibe. I just go with the vibe. There's no special thing; it's just if I feel the mood or in the need to write a record, I'll just go and do it. It's nothing like lighting candles. I used to go with that nostalgia before when I thought it was something cool, but it doesn't really add much to it. It's just kind of getting into a zone. I like to write on my own. I like to be in a room by myself. That's where I vibe at.

Man's Point of View... Just everything from beauty to class to smart to having that motherly thing about her, because I want a partner... Someone at the end of the day. You never know who you're going to get with. You may meet someone and end up spending the rest of your life with them, so you want to make sure that you can see the good qualities that you would like to have in a person.

So yeah, I like a good girl... genuine and real. I don't like hood chicks for the most part, because I don't like to battle. I don't like to go to war. I like things to be smooth. I'm not an argument type of person.. I hate arguments. I hate drama. So I like a girl that knows how to be smooth with, but at the same time, affirmative.

Feeling Lost... I never felt lost. I've always been so busy, man. I never have the chance to feel lost. There have been moments where I looked at this like maybe I should be doing something else, because at one point, the music industry changed way too much for me. It's like the love for music... I started looking at the fans that weren't really appreciating the music... the real music. So I didn't really know how to look at that; it was a little bit tricky. But at the end of the day, music prevailed, God prevails, and if you keep a level head and stay focused and stay with it, things work itself out in some strange way. Things work themselves out. I'm at the point now trying to build my own company and get things a little bit more stable and established in my future.

Creative Boundaries of R&B... There's nothing written in stone, and there's nothing set in stone for the most part. There are no rules to the game. I think that exercising their perspective and perception on how the music is to them... It's totally going away from what it used to be. It was all about soul music with R&B; all about live music with the band and whatnot. But it's making a little shift, and you can feel it. You can feel it making a small shift. I think that shift is coming because of the way Hip-Hop is now embracing R&B because they're singing more, it's more melodic, more musical. So that's part of that shift.

If we continue to just write great songs, which is what got me into this game. I think it's still the same thing that's keeping me concrete, because "All The Things" and "I Wanna Know" are songs that were done back in '95 and '96, and they still get played today. So it's about writing quality music that last a lifetime.

Read more:

Interview: Carl Thomas

2011-12-25T11:18:00.002-05:00

After taking a four-year hiatus, R&B singer/songwriter Carl Thomas is back and is ready to ‘conquer’ the music industry once again with his newest fourth studio album. During his break, Carl spent much of his time recording for the new project, as well as touring throughout the nation, performing singles like “I Wish” and “Emotional.” The soul man’s new LP, ‘Conquer,’ consists of eleven tracks, and is led by the first single “Don’t Kiss Me,” with veteran Hip-Hop artist Snoop Dogg on the remix version.

In an exclusive interview with Singersroom.com, Carl reveals the process behind working on the album, as well as his memories of the late Heavy D and also his thoughts on the Occupy Wall Street movement and the idea of “independent women.”

Hiatus from Music... Well four years ago, I put out 'So Much Better,' and it was really the project that gave me back my fire and my love for doing R&B music and music period. It was really a blessing. It really paved the way for this album. I've been recording it for about a year, and I've recorded about 50 records or so for this project. The process was just refreshing, and I'm just glad to be back.

Men Displaying Emotion... First and foremost, you have to understand that your level of compassion is what separates you from the animals. Your ability to have compassion is what separates you apart from the apes and monkeys. Now there are some people who take pride in being savages. But one thing that that song pointed out for me is how many people are callous hearted and don't even know it. They have no idea. It's like "Oh you're emotional." You're either emotional or you're emotionless. Which side do you exist on? If you're emotionless, that means you're capable of anything because you don't feel anything. That means you're a liability. Anyone who rebels is a liability and is dangerous to themselves and those around them.

Understanding A Woman... No, not at all. [Laughs] Not at all. I would not say I have it figured out at all, but why would you want to figure it out? It's part of the mystery in the journey.

Album Creative Process... The motivation behind the entire 'Conquer' project is that I wanted the album to be the soundtrack to people's lives.. I also wanted to take an opportunity and try to set the cookie jar on the shelf a little higher, if you know what I mean. Because everybody can have a cookie right now, because the standards really aren't that high. So I just wanted to vocally put the cookie jar on the shelf a little higher. [Laughs]

Working with Snoop Dogg... In actuality, we're good friends. We wanted to do a record for a long time, but we didn't think that people would understand the contrast. But he's grown his artistry and grown into such diversity that it just kind of made room for itself. And I couldn't think of a better record than "Don't Kiss Me" to put Snoop Dogg on.

Science of Relationship... Of course, I'm taking the opportunity to address the man/woman relations from a different angle. In general, we're talking about everything from break-ups to marriage to dealing with infidelity and whatever it is. I'm really covering that man/woman base. There are some songs on there that get a little hot under the cover, if you know what I'm saying… Records like "Round 2."

Technology's Role in Music... It's just the next phase. I've always been an advocate for ushering in the new age, and I've kind of always shunned away from people who refused it because I always felt that computers and fiber optics were things that led the way for the future. So I definitely am all for it.

Bridging the Gap Between Old & New Fans... The beautiful thing about that is that I've never stopped performing. When I come to town, there's no question mark behind what is he doing now… you know what I'm doing now; I'm on tour, still doing my thing. I think that you give people what they've been asking for, and allow music to do what it does. I said in the beginning that I wanted the project to be the soundtrack to people's lives. I mean all kinds of people of all ages. That means I spoke to everybody on this album.

Heavy D Memories... Heavy D. He has an album that he just released called 'Love Opus.' He and I recorded a record for the album called "Still Missing You," coincidentally. He did a song for me on my album called "It Is What It Is." He was really just a special person, and we really made a lot of plans… We were planning for myself, Faith [Evans], and him to go out on a House of Blues tour this summer. We were planning on doing a video for the single that he and I did. It's just really sad and unfortunate that those things aren't going to happen. He was really an extremely happy person. He was an extremely bright individual; he was really smart. He loved to read. He loved to be around stimulating conversations. He loved to share his opinion about things. He loved to be a musical historian. He loved producing, he loved writing, he loved rapping, he loved his friends, his parents, his parents' food… His parents' food so much that he shared it with us. [Laughs] He was just a really wonderful person that I'm going to miss him a lot.

Occupy Wall St... There are a few answers I can give you about that. But I'll say this… there's a certain amount of civil unrest that has to happen in order for the people to really have an affect. Wall Street has become synonymous with the White House, unfortunately. Wall Street has become synonymous with Washington politics. A lot of citizens forget that it's their responsibility to question authority and keep authority in check. I mean I understand there's going to be a certain amount of resistance, because truth be told, although we're supposed to be speaking truth to power… To be honest with you, and pardon my French, but power don't wanna hear that sh*t. [Laughs] It's a sad thing when the structure of capitalism creates an excuse for why people can't eat, why people can't clothes themselves. And they'll blame it all on their ability to excel in the workforce. But it's just not set up that way.

Some of these old, rich establishments have to start circulating some of that old cash. Someone has to restructure things to give the people a bigger piece of the pie. Like the coal in the fire… The super rich and the wealthy of the world are fueled by the work force. Don't you think that those people, that we, the people that are responsible for those industries like WalMart [laughs]… that the people deserve a bigger share of the profits?

Voicing Political Concerns... I feel like I have an obligation to speak out, period. Not necessarily through my music, but to speak out period. It's really time for the good people of this world to start fighting back, because men and women who are wooed by selfish ambitions are controlling our collective faith. It's time for our leaders to have collective ambitions once again.

Design: Jordan Brand

2011-12-25T03:21:00.007-05:00

Vimeo

Mixtape: FABOLOUS (There is No Competition 3)

2011-12-25T01:56:00.001-05:00

DOWNLOAD

Video: This Christmas (Chris Brown)

2011-12-25T00:08:00.000-05:00

MERRY CHRISTMAS

Interview: Diddy

2011-12-18T01:05:00.001-05:00

Sean Combs, aka Diddy, likes to compare himself to Sinatra. He's done it in interviews for years, and in his new ad for Ciroc vodka (see below—it was filmed in Las Vegas to the tune of "Luck Be a Lady"), he uses the video form. But at heart, Diddy is a businessman, and given the variety of his ventures—he’s made millions off film, TV, music, clothing and fragrances—an entirely different public figure comes to mind when fishing for comparisons: Donald Trump. Adweek caught up with the hip-hop mogul to discuss just what his brand stands for and whether he thinks he’s anything like The Donald.

Your new vodka ad is set to the tune of Sinatra’s “Luck Be a Lady.” How did the idea for the spot come about?

Combs: The spot that put Ciroc on the map was the first partnership we did with the Sinatra estate four years ago. I did a huge out-of-the-box buy on CNN, and I knew there would be a lot of traffic because Obama was running for president. And sales went through the roof. It was one of the most impactful ad campaigns in the spirit’s history. Also, for years, people have called me the black Sinatra. So that’s where the whole collaboration came from.

The theme of this spot is the Rat Pack. What is it that interests you about the Rat Pack?
It's community. It’s the family. It’s the guilt by association. These guys had a taste and elegance, and I take pride in carrying on that tradition.

What do you think your brand stands for?
I think I stand for aspiration. [That] hard work pays off. People from all walks of life and all over the world look at me and know my humble beginnings and know that everything I’ve done has been through hard work. People respect me as a marketer and brand builder.

Like Donald Trump?
A little bit different. He came from money, he was in real estate, he slapped his name on everything. My style is to service my community through entertainment and products.

And you probably won’t be considering a run for president anytime soon?
I definitely won’t be running for president anytime soon. I do not think I would be able to pass the presidential scrutiny test.

You’ve acted and also produced television shows. Any plans for either in the near future?
I have huge plans for both. Twelve months ago, I basically relocated to L.A. I still live in New York, but I’m bi-coastal. I have some major announcements at the top of the year on things I’m producing—an announcement that’s bigger than anyone can realize on something I’m acquiring. And also, films that I’m starring in. I’m looking forward to 2012; it’s a huge transition for me out of music onto the big screen and continuing my legacy as a producer. You know, I’m one of the most successful African-American television executive producers in history. I’ve had six shows on the air at one time. I don’t say that in a braggadocio way. But you should definitely remember this conversation and look back at it and say, "I remember he told me he was going to make some huge announcements."

Can you give us a taste of what those announcements are going to be?
Today is about [the Ciroc ad]. The only other thing I can tell you that I am working on is I have been spending some time in Mexico learning about the art of tequila. I’m a huge tequila fan.

You’re involved in so many different things: vodka, film, TV. What’s the grand plan here?
My dream was that you would wake up in the morning, your alarm would go off, one of my records would be playing. You’d get in the shower and use my shampoo. Then you would get out and use the beauty products. You’d get dressed and put on Sean John [clothing], and then you would go to work. And after work, you would go and change into your evening wear to go out to a club or out on a date and you’d put on Sean John again, spray on another of my fragrances, stop by and have a drink of Ciroc. And then maybe take your young lady out to a movie that I was starring in.

So you want your brand to consume every point in a person’s day?
It’s "how can I follow them throughout the different steps of their day and make the day more entertaining?" But it’s not "how can I get money from them?" Then, if I market it in the right way, you know, it’s like building the right mousetrap.

Interview: ?uestlove

2011-12-11T09:24:00.000-05:00

The Roots' drummer Questlove recently supplied both beats and wings at Bon Appétit's new kitchen/party space to celebrate the launch of his locally sourced buttermilk fried chicken catering startup, Quest Loves Food. On hand to party were the likes of chef Tom Colicchio, The Daily Show's Wyatt Cenac, Solange Knowles, Ryan Phillippe, and former porn star Sasha Grey. Oh, and Adweek, naturally. A taste:

Adweek: You're a consummate freelancer. DJing, work on Broadway, now soul food?
We stopped being a full-time 365-a-year traveling road show and what we once perceived as a retirement gig [as house band on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon] has really quadrupled into more work and more opportunities. This was like The Accidental Tourist. I did a few DJ gigs out on the West Coast, and these really great, awesome food trucks would be outside selling weird specialty things. This one guy was selling his "world famous" roasted corn. So at 3 in the morning, I'm watching these people kill all this Mexican corn. And I was like, "Man, I want a food truck." I imagined having a "Soul on a Roll" Mister Softee truck that served good soul food.

So, naturally, fried chicken.
It's sort of like "be careful what you ask for." In a perfect world, I would like to have a line of 15 really funky food trucks that go to all the festivals, the Bonnaroos, the Coachellas. This is becoming bigger than that.

Food trucks are very in right now.
Food trucks are the new black. And I'm trying to prove that fried chicken is the new cupcakes.

Has being the house band on Late Night helped The Roots, or has it held you back?
We're doing the most realized music of our career. How I Got Over is our second highest rated album on Metacritic. Undun [due out Dec. 6] will surely eclipse that. What Fallon has allowed us to do is really concentrate on the craft of production and music. When we're touring, it's soundchecks, a night here, night there; it's really not a steady rhythm. A lot of jam bands and bands that are known as road warriors really haven't released a lot of commercially viable material because their strength is in their live show. But coming to Fallon--us being disciplined and there every day from 10 till 3 rehearsing, rehearsing, rehearsing--has made us better musicians, better craftsmen.

Do you feel like you ever have to be defensive about the Fallon gig?
At first, yeah. I feel like we wanted to lower everyone's expectations, and once How I Got Over came out [in 2010], people were like, "Oh, my God, they didn't fall off." If anything, I was worried about Undun.

Like a second sophomore effort?
I definitely feel like How I Got Over was our first record, and now Undun is our second album.

You did do Wake Up! with John Legend last year, though, which included a cover of Bill Withers' rare gem "I Can't Write Left Handed." You guys just killed it.
Thanks! The night we premiered it in L.A., both Bill and Sergio Mendes came with each other. We're on stage, and all of a sudden I look at the front row. I'm like, "Oh shhhhhhh! He's sitting right there!" That's my dream: to work with him.

He hasn't worked in years though.
It's so selfish to hold that gift in. Him and D'Angelo. He's so needed, and his daughter tells me that he didn't take into account that it was a major snowstorm at his very last concert that caused people not to come. It was Chicago, 17 feet of snow. Black people aren't coming out in the snow. So, that's my dream. That's why I'm working with Booker T. and Al Green. And Rick Rubin is threatening to kick my ass on that.

Adweek

2011-12-05T13:29:00.001-05:00

WASHINGTON — Michael Eric Dyson parses Jay-Z's lyrics as if analyzing fine literature. The rapper's riffs on luxury cars and tailored clothes and boasts of being the "Mike Jordan of recording" may make for catchy rhymes, but to Dyson, they also reflect incisive social commentary.

Dyson, a professor, author, radio host and television personality, has offered at Georgetown University this semester a popular – if unusual – class dedicated to Jay-Z and his career. The course, "Sociology of Hip Hop: Jay-Z," may seem an unlikely offering at a Jesuit, majority-white school that counts former President Bill Clinton among its alumni. But Dyson insists that his class confronts topics present in any sociology course: racial and gender identity, sexuality, capitalism and economic inequality.
"It just happens to have an interesting object of engagement in Jay-Z – and what better way to meet people where they are?" Dyson said. "It's like Jesus talking to the woman at the well. You ask for a drink of water, then you get into some theological discussions."

Classes centered on pop culture superstars like Bruce Springsteen have sprouted on college campuses in recent years; Dyson himself says he's previously taught classes on Tupac Shakur and Marvin Gaye at the University of Pennsylvania. He says Jay-Z, whose real name is Shawn Carter, is a worthy subject because of his diversity of business interests – a clothing entrepreneur, he's also a part owner of the NBA's New Jersey Nets (soon to move to his native New York borough of Brooklyn) – as well as his immense cross-cultural appeal and "lyrical prowess" in articulating contemporary black culture and his place in it.

"I think he's an icon of American excellence," Dyson said.

Though hardly as rigorous as organic chemistry, the course does have midterm and final examinations and required readings, including from Jay-Z's book, "Decoded." The 75-minute classes – the final one is Wednesday – focus more on African-American culture and business than on the particulars of the rapper's biography, which include millions in record sales, Grammy Awards, a marriage to Beyonce with a baby on the way and tours with Kanye West and Eminem.
One recent lecture centered on how popular black artists reflect their culture and race to the public at large, with Dyson name-dropping LL Cool J, Diahann Carroll and Bill Cosby. The professor and one student went back and forth on whether the rapper's lyrical depictions of his extravagant lifestyle – "Used to rock a throwback, balling on the corner/Now I rock a Teller suit, looking like an owner" is one of many examples – amounted to bragging and rubbing his taste for fine living in the faces of his listeners.

The student took the position that Jay-Z appears overly boastful, but Dyson countered that the rapper, who grew up in a Brooklyn housing project but has since become a multimillionaire, has never lost his ability to relate to the struggles of everyday people and has continued giving voice to their concerns. Though Jay-Z raps about Saint-Tropez and expensive cigars, he also talks about being nurtured by Brooklyn. And in one song, "99 Problems," he attacks racial profiling with a stark depiction of a racially motivated traffic stop: "Son, do you know why I'm stopping you for?" the officer asks. Jay-Z replies: "`Cause I'm young and I'm black and my hat's real low."

The chairman of Georgetown's sociology department, Timothy Wickham-Crowley, says he supports Dyson's course for trying to show how Jay-Z's music fits into American society, and Steve Stoute, an author and marketing executive who has done business with Jay-Z and has spoken to the class, said the course has practical value for students interested in business.
But others have concerns.

Kevin Powell, who writes about hip-hop and has run unsuccessfully for Congress in Brooklyn, said any discussion of Jay-Z should account for what Powell says are the rapper's derogatory lyrics toward women and his expressions of excessive materialism. Kris Marsh, an assistant sociology professor at the University of Maryland who specializes in the black middle class, said that while she appreciated Jay-Z's cultural significance, she was wary of structuring an entire course around him and using his narrative alone to reflect black America. Though hip-hop artists can focus a lens on urban life, she said, "sometimes these artists use poetic license" and blend fact and fiction to an audience that is often suburban and white.

"We're not sure if it's fiction or real life. It can be almost indistinguishable sometimes in hip-hop," she said.
In an opinion piece published in the student newspaper, The Hoya, junior Stephen Wu dismissed as "poppycock" Dyson's belief that Jay-Z could be compared to Homer or Shakespeare.
"It speaks volumes that we engage in the beat of Carter's pseudo-music while we scrounge to find serious academic offerings on Beethoven and Liszt. We dissect the lyrics of "Big Pimpin'," but we don't read Spenser or Sophocles closely," Wu wrote.
Danielle Bailey, a senior international business and marketing major who is taking the class, said she was a Jay-Z fan before enrolling but now has greater appreciation for his business acumen.
"I know a lot of people are upset, but I think the point of college is to think outside the box. I rarely have classes that allow me to look at things differently," she said, adding, "It's not always about Mozart and Homer."

Dyson makes no apologies, saying the course is a conduit for studying the "major themes of American life" and that hip-hop artists at their best deserve to be classified alongside literary luminaries.
Jay-Z was on tour and not available for an interview, his representative said. But Dyson, who considers himself a friend of the rapper, says Jay-Z has told him he appreciates the course. And Bailey said she heard Jay-Z give a "shout-out" to the class at a recent concert of his she attended.

"You're doing the class there," Dyson says Jay-Z told him. "I'm doing kind of the master class while I'm in concert."

Georgetown

Interview: Common

2011-12-04T04:27:00.000-05:00

I wanted to start off by talking to you about your Chicago roots. Tell me about the racial makeup of your hometown.
In the South Side area of Chicago that I grew up in, it was predominantly black. I was raised around black people, which provided me with a good sense of self, and [allowed me to] know my culture and where I come from to a great extent. Not far from my neighborhood was an area of Latinos. Most of the other nationalities were far away downtown. That’s the way we viewed it. Most of the white people stayed in downtown Chicago or in other areas.
Did you have any white friends growing up?
I didn’t have any white friends while I was growing up.
Can you remember any personal experiences with racism from when you were younger?
With it being so segregated, Chicago definitely had racial tension. It had stemmed from the ’60s, and probably before that. There was a time that I was with my mother and my godbrother, and we were going into a grocery store, and this little white kid was spelling B-L-A-C-K over and over when he saw us. He was kind of saying it in a derogatory way. His mother caught him, but didn’t really stop him. I couldn’t believe it. Like, “Man, why is he downing me for being black?” It felt bad, and I was hurt, but at the same token, I was like, “Man, forget him.”
You were still in high school when you started performing, opening up shows with your first rap group for N.W.A and Big Daddy Kane. That must’ve been thrilling. What were the crowds like for rap shows back then? Were they all-black?
For sure. When I opened up for Big Daddy Kane and N.W.A, there were all-black audiences. The shows weren’t far from where I lived, on the South Side at The Regal Theater. The hood was there to see those shows.
When you got signed to your first deal, did you have a hard time dealing with the white employees and executives at your record label?
Nah, because by the time I came into the industry, the business [of hip-hop] was starting to become lucrative. It was definitely growing, and most of the corporate people working there that were not black had been dealing with black artists, so they knew [how to interact with me]. But don’t get me wrong, I definitely felt the dynamic of, “You work for me.” They really felt, in many ways, more intelligent. You had to prove your intelligence.
Did they have a stereotype about you as a rapper? Like, maybe you didn’t understand certain things?
They had a stereotype about young black men, because of the language we used, the style that we spoke with, and the way we carried ourselves. Until you proved it to them, they didn’t know if intelligence was within that.
Your first album was dope, but didn’t sell many units. But the success of Resurrection certainly gave you more national exposure. Did you notice your fan base start to look different after the popularity of that album?
Yes. I definitely noticed that at my shows it was becoming multi-cultural. I started seeing different nationalities [in the crowd], like white and Latino. It wasn’t funny to me, but it made me smile. I kind of would chuckle at it.
What do you think the appeal was?
I think the truth in hip-hop. There’s something about hip-hop that is really heartfelt and true. There’s people sharing their experiences that don’t filter and don’t try to be politically correct because that’s not the environment we come from. With hip-hop, it’s like you’re having conversations with your friends, with your people. So you don’t change the way you think and talk. And I think other nationalities are able to respect that truth. Truth is the universal language. You could be speaking in another language, but if it’s true, it still resonates with people.
What would you say was your first major “tanning” moment in your career?
I would say it was after the Resurrection album [was released]. I went on tour with The Beatnuts, Organized Konfusion, and The Artifacts, and at our shows there were blacks, Latinos, whites, and Asians. And I would go back and tell my friends [at home] that there would be a lot of white people and Latino people. It felt overwhelming, but in a good way though. At a certain point, you realized that the music was what we were all embracing. It basically broke down some walls.
That’s a crazy tour line-up.
Yeah, that was a fun tour. It was really my first tour.
You tried out some new sounds on Electric Circus. That album has some gems on it, but it was criticized for not being accessible. Did people back home in Chicago or in the black community think it was a bit weird that you were fusing rock and electronica with your music?
In certain parts of the black community, but I wouldn’t say the whole black community. I would even say it was more of the hip-hop community, because it wasn’t only black people. [Laughs.] They were like, “We think this is too far left.”
They were used to a more traditional, boom-bap sound from you.
Yeah. I have people come to me now that music has opened up a little more and say, “Man, Electric Circus had some shit on it.” It definitely felt like [more of a backlash from the hip-hop community in general] than anything else. I remember having white journalists saying, “Man, you really changed it up on us.”
Did the change in your appearance and the way you started dressing around that time play a part in that?
My appearance definitely played a part. My friends were like, “Why are you dressing like that?” And they reflected some of the black community. The way I was dressing and presenting myself was really what made my community be like, “I don’t know about this, man.” The music just put icing on the cake. It left a bad taste in their mouth.
Did you notice other races gravitating towards you more after you switched up your style?
I don’t think any of it made any other nationalities warmer towards me. I look at acts like Wu-Tang Clan and Mobb Deep, and there were white and Asian people that loved them, and the way they presented themselves was street. I don’t think those nationalities were so keen on saying, “Well, you’re dressing a little more eccentric so we feel you’re more accessible.”

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By Daniel Isenberg

The Economy of Mixtapes (Billboard)

2011-11-20T14:55:00.000-05:00

On Feb. 13, 2009, the mixtape paradigm shifted.

Aligned with Lil Wayne, the then-unsigned Drake, who'd spent the few years before releasing buzzy mixtapes (rapping over hits), unleashed his almost entirely original mixtape "So Far Gone." He did so on his website, October's Very Own, which quickly went into bandwidth overdrive. Reportedly, to date, there have been millions of downloads.

Drake -- whose platinum debut, "Thank Me Later" (Young Money/Cash Money/Universal Republic), bowed atop the Billboard 200 the following year (July 3, 2010) -- had redefined the mixtape model for the digital era. (He released three free songs through October's Very Own as recently as last week, with second album "Take Care" due Oct. 24.) Far from its adolescent iteration, the mixtape-a compilation of music generally distributed outside of label purview-had evolved from a mere display of DJ skills to a promotional tool packed with exclusive freestyles to an actual album-before-the-album, one that could spawn chart-topping singles like "Best I Ever Had," without labels at the helm.

In hip-hop today, free, original mixtapes have become standard. They're offered on websites like DatPiff.com and LiveMixtapes.com, which have erased CD-peddling bootleggers from city street corners. DJs -- like Doo Wop and DJ Clue -- who once shouted over tracks on popular tapes like '95 Live and Springtime Stickup, have been almost entirely weeded from the equation. And where MCs once hijacked beats from others to serve as the sonic quilt for their release, mixtapes have become a creative survival of the fittest. Rappers who dropped freestyle mixtapes can no longer show-and-prove through lyrics alone-original beat selection, artwork and overall artistry determine worthiness.

The original mixtape approach has also crossed genre lines. Artists in the R&B realm have likewise adopted the format, most recently The Weekndand The-Dream with "Thursday" and "1977," presented as a "free album." Pop singers have even dabbled in mixtape releases. JoJo, whose label disputes have been made public over the past few years, dropped her debut mixtape "Can't Take That Away From Me" in September 2010, while dance diva La Roux teamed with Major Lazer for May 2010's "Lazerproof," a collection of artist-approved original remixes.

"The game favors people that can produce quality music and then turn right around and produce more quality music-which is not a given," Atlantic Records VP of A&R Zvi Edelman says. His signee, Wiz Khalifa, leveraged free, original mixtapes like 2010's "Kush & OJ" and 2011's "Cabin Fever" into the building of a dedicated fan base that helped, along with an intensive touring strategy, make his Atlantic/Rostrum Records debut, "Rolling Papers," one of the few hip-hop debuts to sell more than 500,000 copies (it's now at 570,000, according to Nielsen SoundScan) in 2011.

A batch of newcomers -- such as J. Cole, Big Sean, Dom Kennedy, Mac Miller and Smoke DZA -- has adapted to the consumer demand for free, original rap music. The philosophy is often described this way: As a reward for artists remaining loyal to them (by giving away original music), fans return the favor by buying concert tickets, merchandise and "real" albums from record labels. The result is a give-and-take relationship that keeps rappers in control of their brand and marketing, and iTunes playlists full of free albums disguised as "mixtapes." The payoff is an active fan base, which labels and management hope stimulates retail purchases.

"Active consumers will support [you] and go out and buy your album, buy your concert tickets and your merch. The passive consumer will download it for free, talk about it and that's it," says Al Branch, GM of Hip-Hop Since 1978, which manages Drake, Nicki Minaj and others. "The active consumer is very reactionary, and you can get that consumer to respond quite quickly."

What exactly distinguishes an album from a mixtape? "These days, mixtapes are really albums," Rostrum Records founder/president Benjy Grinberg says. "The difference, is that you don't make any direct money off of it. But the benefits of building the reputation of the artists are pretty amazing."

From many artists' standpoint, the freedom of creating an original mixtape is limitless. Big K.R.I.T., who was scheduled to release studio debut "Live From the Underground" (Def Jam) on Sept. 27 (it's now due early 2012), built his career with free mixtapes including "K.R.I.T. Wuz Here" (2010), "Return of 4eva" and "Last King 2 (God's Machine)," the latter two released this year. All of the self-produced tapes employ samples and audioclips from films-two major hoops to jump through, as far as clearances, with a retail release.

"When you're talking about an album, some samples you can't clear. And it causes you to get more creative," the Meridian, Miss.-born K.R.I.T. (real name: Justin Scott) says, noting also the pleasures of working within the system "Drawing deep in myself and coming up with content and subject matter-and as far as writing lyrics, really taking out more time to piece together a story, making hooks more melodic. It's a growing experience."

Some established acts lean on mixtapes as marketing tools for pending retail albums. Lil Wayne is an example. He dropped freebie "Sorry 4 the Wait" through WeezyThanxYou.com six weeks before "Tha Carter IV" as an apology for the latter's delay. Wale, whose second set "Ambition" (Maybach Music Group/Warner Music Group) is scheduled for release Nov. 1, offered his most recent mixtape, "11-1-11," through Hulkshare.com, a file-sharing site that immediately buckled under the weight of posting the link to his million-plus Twitter followers. The tactic of crashing servers by releasing tapes on low-capacity sites-a growing trend among artists like J. Cole and the Weeknd-appears to only ramp up demand.

"It's like a never-ending commercial," Wale says. He estimates that 1.2 million people downloaded 11-1-11 in the first three days-a feat flaunted in label press releases, and retweeted all over. But he's realistic about the residual effects. "I'm definitely not going to get 1.2 million album sales in the first week. That's just the reality of it," he says. "I just hope that the majority of the people who love the mixtape go out and support 'Ambition.'"

Even on smaller scales, the model can shine. New Orleans' Curren$yreleased his third studio album, "Pilot Talk" (Roc-a-Fella/DD172/Def Jam) in 2010, avoiding the sample clearance issues of his mixtapes by employing live instrumentation and production from Ski Beatz. The now Warner Bros. Records signee utilized online mediums like Ustream and Twitter to build a relationship with fans and deliver free mixtapes such as 2008's "Fast Times at Ridgemont Fly" and 2009's "How High with Wiz Khalifa," helping the non-mixtape "Pilot Talk" sell 52,000 copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

McKenzie Eddy, a singer/songwriter and president of BluRoc Records who handled A&R for Curren$y's album and its sequel ("Pilot Talk II"), says, "Free records and selling records-it's all about having something to drive the building of your brand. Giving away albums is equally as important as selling them."

Some major labels have begun to embrace the format by repackaging the giveaways as retail EPs. Universal and Young Money/Cash Money pared down "So Far Gone" to a seven-track EP with two new cuts. It was released in September 2009 and has sold 608,000 units, according to SoundScan. Last year, Def Jam monetized its first mixtape with Fabolous'"There Is No Competition 2: The Grieving Music EP," an adaptation of its free companion.

Def Jam senior VP of A&R Sha Money XL, says that major labels' adjusted attitude toward mixtapes isn't only rooted in compensatory motives, but also in the emphasizing of talent-to build careers with longevity. "We're doing this because rappers want their artistic abilities to be displayed," he says. As president of G-Unit Records, Sha helped 50 Cent craft his career through steal-your-hit-style mixtapes in the early '00s. And Sha signed Big K.R.I.T. to Def Jam. "You can rap over someone else's beats, but it's not as impactful as giving them a song you created."

The mixtape revolution began as a presentation of turntable skills by such DJs as Lovebug Starski, DJ Hollywood, Brucie B and Kid Capri. By the mid-'90s, it became the battle of the strongest Rolodex, with turntablists like DJ Clue and Funkmaster Flex netting exclusives for their own street and retail releases.

But around the turn of the millennium, artists had begun to assimilate the mixtape model. Instead of offering new tracks and freestyles for DJ-administered mixtapes, prolific groups like G-Unit and Dipset strategized on how they could use the model as a full-length promotional vehicle for studio albums. DJs were elbowed into secondary roles, and became known more for facilitating underground distribution to bootleggers and corner stores.

Flex, a DJ at WQHT (Hot 97) New York and host of MTV's Funk Flex Full Throttle who released four gold-certified retail mixtapes between 1995 and 2000, put his career as a mixtape DJ on ice when he noticed the shift. "The artist started to want better control," says Flex, who has refocused his non-Hot 97 energies on his InFlexWeTrust.com. "Some DJs were only as big as the exclusives they got."

Mixtape culture reached critical mass in January 2007 when DJ Drama, one of the few DJs to persevere with his Gangsta Grillz brand, was arrested along with DJ Don Cannon and 17 others in a police raid on their Aphilliates Music Group headquarters in Atlanta-a part of the RIAA's quest to put an end to mixtape profiteering. "A lot of us, including myself, had to find other avenues," DJ Drama says. "After that raid, it got a little scary and nerve-racking." He has since abandoned mixtapes as a revenue stream, instead releasing them for free in a tastemaker role.

Indeed, for artists who have constructed careers on a mixtape foundation, signing with a major may not always be the end-goal. Acts like Odd Future and Tech N9ne have sidestepped major labels, releasing albums on their own imprints and distributing through companies like RED or Fontana. "You don't have to put out a commercial album to build your fan base," Grinberg says. "You could have an artist who's on a major and an artist who doesn't have a label or a manager-they can both get a mixtape out there and compete. It really levels the playing field."

Interview: Raekwon the Chef (Wu Tang Clan) [GQ]

2011-11-20T12:27:00.000-05:00

In 1993, Wu-Tang Clan entered the rap galaxy from the strange planet of Staten Island, and proceeded to revolutionize the genre with their blend of filthy, merciless, and apocalyptic rhymes. The crew had its hams (Method Man, Ol' Dirty Bastard) and its cagey mastermind (RZA), but nearly two decades later, none has proved as steadfast and technically skilled as Corey Woods AKA Raekwon the Chef. With each syllable carefully selected, each bar exhaustively sharpened, his flow falls in seamless lockstep with the beat—rapping's platonic ideal. Here, Raekwon, 41, talks about Wu-Tang's beginnings, and his continuing collaborations with soul mate and fellow Clan vet Ghostface Killah.

Question: From the very start, Wu-Tang always had critical support. How important has that been for the group?
Raekwon: We grew up on the critics paying attention to us and saying, Yo, ya'll got it. We peep the spark somewhere. When I sit here and see that the eight brothers from the neighborhood that I grew up with still have success, it had to be magical. I doubt if you get another Wu-Tang Clan. That might be harder than getting the new Jackson Five. Certain groups you only get one time, and we just happened to be that group.

Question: Even with the success that Wu-Tang has had, have you had any low points as an artist?

Raekwon: In the early 2000s I was going through a lot. I didn't have my head screwed on right. Where I was at as a man, I was still growing up. We had success quick, we didn't have an opportunity to look at a lot of things that really we had to look at. My world was caving in for a minute, and it took a lot of people to come at me, like, Yo, we gon' get you right, but you gotta get you right. All I did was take my time, figure out where I made a lot of mistakes and try not to make them no more.

Question: Unlike a lot of MCs, you're better known for albums than singles—have you ever been talked into chasing a hit?

Raekwon: Yeah, and that was around of the time of my slump. I'm not an artist that makes singles, I'm an artist that makes albums, and it's a totally different thing. People judge you whether your record is hot on the TV, and I happen to not be in that situation. These A&Rs is so backward sometimes, they think they know everything: Yo, do this, you need a radio record. My thing was always—When you say that, that's when you fucking me up. When we came into the game it was all about what the people felt. They made the decisions. [During the slump] I had to really sit back and think of all the mechanics of how can Rae get better. And I'm always gonna stick my head out to what the masses want.
Question: You and Ghostface have one of the best collaborative relationships in hip-hop. What was it like working together in the early days?

Raekwon: A lot of times, we would be the first cats at the studio. Me and him were like the kids that sat in the front of the class. I might come in and he already hogging the mic, and I'm like, Yo, that's where it need to be at! And I just touch it because I'm there to touch it. Me and Ghost sat around and wrote multiple songs together. We did [the song] "The Watch" together, the children's one where he's talking about Wilma and Woody Woodpecker ["The Forest"]. We sat around and wrote many joints together. When I first came into Wu-Tang, I was just a team player: Nah, say this word, or, He just said that word, so we gon' say another word. We was always heavily in tune with the darts.
Question: Do you think that you and Ghost have influenced each other's styles over the years?

Raekwon: Definitely. Ghost tells me every few years, Yo, you showed me this style ... I'm like, man, we the same style. At the end of the day, he's one of my favorite rappers, I'm one of his favorite rappers, and we just do it. We identify with each other's worlds when it comes to rhyming. This's something that niggas peep. It's like, Yo, it's time to take the dog outside. You know what I mean? We got this all day. Easy.

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Interview: Drake [Billboard]

2011-11-20T02:39:00.000-05:00

On Oct. 24, Drake turned 25. He celebrated with a weekend in Las Vegas punctuated by a pair of parties -- a very public and packed blowout at TAO at the Venetian on Oct. 22, and a more intimate event the following night at the Boom Box, a private room at the Cosmopolitan's Marquee nightclub.

The TAO party was marked by Drake's generosity -- at one point, he reportedly told the crowd, "I'm celebrating my birthday and I want you all to celebrate with me!" and then proceeded to buy the whole bar shots. The party at the Boom Box was marked by the guest list -- an affair billed as Fete des Lumieres and attended by the likes of Cash Money Records CEO Bryan " Baby" Williams, Cash Money/Young Money's franchise superstar artist (and Young Money Entertainment founder) D'Wayne " Lil Wayne" Carter, Geffen Records chairman and Hip Hop Since 1978 co-founder Gee Roberson, Young Money Entertainment president Mack Maine, Bryant Management founder (and Drake/Lil Wayne manager) Cortez "Tez" Bryant, William Morris Endeavor VP of sports marketing (and Drake's Hollywood agent) Jill Smoller and Rap-a-Lot founder James Prince's son, Jas Prince (credited with bringing Drake to Lil Wayne's attention).

Also in attendance were a team of players closely tied to the scene building in Drake's hometown of Toronto, including hitmaking producers Tyler "T-Minus" Williams (Lil Wayne's "She Will" and DJ Khaled's "I'm on One," both featuring Drake) and Matthew "Boi-1da" Samuels ( Eminem's Grammy Award-winning No. 1 single "Not Afraid," Drake's "Best I Ever Had" and "Over"), M3 founder Mr. Morgan and Drake's childhood friend and October's Very Own brand manager Oliver el-Khatib. Another of Drake's childhood friends, producer/engineer Noah "40" Shebib, seemed to be the only one from Drake's inner circle who wasn't in Vegas. 40 was back home in Toronto mastering Drake's sophomore album, "Take Care."

This wasn't part of the plan.

When Drake announced the release date for "Take Care" on June 9, it looked to be another stroke of marketing genius. The childhood actor turned superstar rapper had literally built a brand -- October's Very Own (also known as OVO and OVOXO) -- around his birthday. Of course, his highly anticipated second album would arrive on Oct. 24. A brand couldn't ask for a better story line.

But as Drake's birthday approached, the plan hit a snag. There were still samples to clear, masters to finish, producers to call. On Oct. 8, Drake took to his blog ( octobersveryown.blogspot.com) to announce that the album wouldn't arrive until Nov. 15. "This music means too much to me to get attached to dates," he wrote in the post. The next week, Drake made his first appearance on "Saturday Night Live." He performed "Take Care's" top 20 hit, "Headlines," and was joined by Nicki Minaj for a performance of the album's second single, "Make Me Proud," which he had debuted just days earlier on DJ Funkmaster Flex's show on WQHT (Hot 97) New York.

"Make Me Proud" rocketed up the charts in the weeks after the "SNL" appearance, notching the year's second-greatest gain on Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart (94-44 on Nov. 5), lagging only behind the leap "Headlines" made on the Aug. 20 chart (98-38). The performance of "Make Me Proud" and "Headlines" is in keeping with Drake's command of the charts predating even the release of his Young Money/Cash Money/Universal debut, "Thank Me Later," last year; predating even the Young Money/Cash Money/Universal deal itself.

Since he first topped the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart with the self-released single "Best I Ever Had" on June 27, 2009 (the song appeared on his breakout mixtape "So Far Gone," which was released Feb. 13, 2009; he finalized his deal with Young Money on June 29), Drake has claimed the chart's peak position with five other tracks and reached the top 10 20 times -- making him the most successful artist on that chart during the past two years. In his short career, he's already appeared on the Billboard Hot 100 with 30 different songs and cracked the top 10 seven times, the best performance by any rapper in the chart's history besides Lil Wayne, who's tallied 49 songs on the chart and eight top 10s.

He's a performer at retail as well. In addition to his cumulative single sales -- 14.3 million downloads of songs where he was the lead artist, according to Nielsen SoundScan -- "Thank Me Later" debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, selling 447,000 first-week copies (July 2, 2010), the third-highest such sales tally for the year. Even the repackaged retail release of his free mixtape worked. Drake's "So Far Gone" EP debuted at No. 6 on the Billboard 200 with 73,000 sold (Oct. 3, 2009). The EP closed 2009 as the fifth-best-selling rap release. It has sold 617,000 total, while "Thank Me Later" has notched 1.5 million, according to SoundScan.

And his live presence is growing. In addition to two successful solo runs (2009's Away From Home tour and last year's Light Dreams & Nightmares, which sold out 14 of the 19 shows reporting to Billboard Boxscore, grossing $3.4 million from 80,000-plus attendees), Drake has launched a successful annual concert event as well. Set to enter its third year next summer, the OVO Festival is a one-day show held in August at Toronto's Molson Amphitheater (capacity 16,000) that has drawn such guests as Eminem, Jay-Z, Lil Wayne and Stevie Wonder and has sold out both years.

Yet: Oct. 24 didn't turn out to be quite the day it could've been. Instead of celebrating both his birthday and the night his sophomore album was released, Drake had to settle for the satisfaction of simply turning 25 surrounded by some of the most powerful people in a generation of American urban music, a crowd that has accepted him, the Canadian, and that claims him as its own.

Billboard spoke to Drake on Oct. 7, less than 24 hours before he publicly announced the delay of "Take Care." He was excited about the "SNL" appearance and hoped to have the opportunity to shoot a digital short. The face of national campaigns for Kodak, Sprite, BlackBerry and 2K Sports, he has nearly 4 million Twitter followers, 20 million-plus likes on Facebook. Superstar.

Tanning of America (Jay Z interview with Steve Stoute)

2011-11-13T02:38:00.001-05:00

The Tanning Effect - Jay-Z (Part Two)

Pop Up Shop (Beats by Dre)

2011-11-13T01:55:00.002-05:00

The store is located at 67 Greene Street (SoHo) and is directly across the street from the Apple store that replaced the one on Prince which is being expanded. The store is nice and shiny with Beats Headphones all over and Partnered with the Beats by Dr. Dre headphones are HTC Flyer tablets that supply the music for customers while they demo select headphones. Just touch the tablet and you are right brought to a playlist of songs hand selected by the Beats by Dr. Dre team.

a celebrity wall of fame of customized Beats headphones. Serena Williams, Kobe Bryant, Yankees, Spike Lee and others are just a few of the lucky celebs that grace the wall.

There is also a sound room were you can listen to the Beatbox. The room is completely soundproofed and makes the Beatbox sound so much more impressive than your living room can. The acoustics of the room are outstanding and take the Beatbox to a whole new level.

Jay Z Interview: (GQ)

2011-11-06T06:05:00.001-05:00

They're waiting for him at the gallery. They're lined up in the foyer, as if for inspection. Ealan Wingate, who runs the place, nutty-professorial in a bow tie and blazer, stands with some gallery staffers, young women in heels and complicated blouses, their demeanor poised and professional, their eyes flashing OMG, OMG as the gallery doors open to let in the hard fall wind off the Hudson and also Shawn Corey Carter, better known from the Marcy Houses to Marrakech as Jay-Z. He's wearing Timberlands, just-this-side-of-baggy jeans, a plain dark blue hoodie, and a look of regal amusement. Like, For me? He shakes everybody's hand, introduces himself as "Jay."

Jay is among the first rappers to name-drop his contemporary-art holdings in the same you-ain't-up-on-this tone that other MCs employ when discussing their watches. He shouts out art-world superdealer Larry Gagosian in his verse on "That's My Bitch," from Watch the Throne, the collaborative album he and Kanye West released a few months ago. So we're at one of Larry's places, the warehouse-sized Gagosian Gallery on West 24th Street.

Wingate leads us into the main room, which currently houses Junction/Cycle, two mammoth sculptures by he-man minimalist Richard Serra (who happens to live around the corner from Jay in Tribeca). Curving walls of rust-brown steel cut the gallery into canyons. Wingate says we're supposed to walk through them and think about memory, so we do; it's kind of like an existential corn maze. Jay is clearly impressed by the sheer scale Serra's working on, but he doesn't linger. It's not until Wingate takes us into a side room and shows us a big Cy Twombly triptych that I see him actually stopped short by what he's looking at.

The Twombly is all scrawl and half-erasure, violent like a bus window keyed by an army of scratch-taggers, if scratch-taggers bombed public transit with the names of Greek heroes like AGAMEMNON and AJAX and ODYSSEUS and JASON. Also—and once Wingate points this out to us, it's hard to see anything else—there are a lot of exuberantly crude drawings of vaginas and balloon-animalish dicks.

Jay digs this one. It reminds him more than a little of the Basquiats he collects, the ones he's referring to on the Throne track "Illest Motherfucker Alive" when he rhymes House like a museum with see 'em when I'm peein' with Usually, you have this much taste, you European. (Classic Jay: culturedness as swag, class snobbery brushed off like so much shoulder dirt, and a relatability-enhancing reference to taking a piss just like a regular dude, all in the space of three lines.)

He stands ten feet back from the Twombly, and for a long minute nobody says anything and the wind rattles the gallery's windows and he briefly ceases to be the focus of everybody's attention.

"You hear that silence right there?" he finally says, laughing. "That's art workin'."

Read the Rest

Style Setter: Thomas Jefferson (Rolls Royce Motor Cars)

2011-10-30T18:12:00.003-04:00

He is: The go-to for car fanatics who have already reserved a parking space in their garage for a custom-designed Rolls-Royce. Since 2007, Jefferson has been the face of the UK-based Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Bespoke team, the group responsible for creating hand-built commissioned masterpieces as unique as the clients who order them.

A day in the life: Jefferson's primary role is to drive sales for the custom-built business and represent Bespoke to the media and ultra-high net worth individuals. “In the past two years, I have traveled and worked closely with dealers and clients throughout the United States, Middle East, China, Japan, Singapore, and India. My office day will typically consist of meetings with designers, engineers, and manufacturing colleagues to discuss client-commissioned Bespoke projects."

Year of the Dragon: This year, Jefferson created a new concept for the Bespoke team -- the Year of the Dragon Collection. This Phantom Extended Wheelbase Limited-Edition model celebrates the Chinese Year of the Dragon, which starts January 23, 2012 and represents the ultimate symbol of power, prosperity, and good fortune.

REFLECTIONS: Hometown: Southfield, Mich. * Age: 46 * First job: Marketing Research Analyst, BMW of North America. * Advice he would have given himself 10 years ago: Be more entrepreneurial. Take more risks. * Words to live by: Lee Iacocca once said, 'Never complain. Never explain.' I try to live that way.
DIVERSIONS: Just finished reading: The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho and Jonathan Livingston Seagull by Richard Bach. Both books depict the simple truths of following your dreams and taking the path less traveled. * Reading next: I just started reading The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle. The central theme of the book illustrates man’s obsession with the past and the future and how it prevents us from giving our full attention to the present moment: Enjoying life now! * Recently discovered: Mews of Mayfair in London. (It’s) my new favorite lounge/restaurant chill-out spot.

PLAYING FAVORITES: Hotel: The Commune by the Great Wall, an hour outside of Beijing, China. It's a very stylish, minimalist resort featuring luxury villas situated at the foot of The Great Wall. One morning, my girlfriend and I walked 45 minutes together along a trail that lead to the Great Wall. An ancient Chinese proverb states, 'You are not a great man until you have been to the Great Wall.' * Getaway: I am an avid snowboarder, and Switzerland is my favorite getaway. I can’t think of a better way to spend a snowy winter day than snowboarding in the Swiss mountains. * Car: I have spent my entire working career in the automotive industry and have driven most cars worth driving. It is difficult to name my all-time favorite car, so I will have to list five of them. My ultimate five car dream garage would be: Rolls-Royce Phantom Extended Wheelbase (Bespoke of course!), Range Rover Vogue, Bugatti Veyron Super Sport, Lamborghini Miura SV, and the new BMW M5.

Rolls Royce Bespoke

Rolls Video

In Pictures: Angela Simmons

2011-10-30T14:59:00.000-04:00

Vibe

Style Setter: Dwayne Wade

2011-10-30T00:14:00.000-04:00

D Wade Twitter

PSA: Lil Wayne

2011-10-09T12:32:00.000-04:00

Lil Wayne

Derrick G

Interview: Daymond John

2011-10-09T05:03:00.000-04:00

In 1992, as a teenager in Hollis, Queens, John sold home-sewn, tie-top hats and dreamed of starting an apparel brand. So he drew up a logo, expanded into T-shirts and called his brand Fubu (“For Us, By Us”)—his response to what he saw as outsider corporations selling clothes to black kids they otherwise wanted nothing to do with. When 27 banks turned him down for financing, John and his mother mortgaged their house for $100,000 in startup capital. And though he did not possess a marketing degree, John made a shrewd and fateful move: He gave some Fubu gear to rapper LL Cool J (who’d grown up in Hollis, too) and asked him to wear it. L did—in concert, no less. Practically overnight, Fubu was the word on the street. After Samsung stepped forward as an investor in 1995, Fubu went global. To date, the brand has done $6 billion in sales.

The Fubu brand has receded a bit from the spotlight in recent years, but John, 42, is back out in front. Now an investor and consultant, John is a venture capital “shark” on the ABC reality show Shark Tank, which began its second season on March 25. The show represents a turning of the tables for John, who’s now in the position to offer startup entrepreneurs the kind of financing that the banks refused to give him 20 years ago.

Adweek staff writer Robert Klara took the ear-popping elevator ride to John’s office to talk about the clothing business, building brands and how marketing has changed since the early ’90s.

Adweek: Fubu really took off around 1994. That was 17 years ago. For a brand creator starting out today, is life easier or harder than it was for you?

Daymond John: That’s the first time I’ve been asked that question. In my area of expertise, if it was just clothing, it would be much harder.

Why?

Well, when Fubu came around, it had a new angle. It was a new age—like a black renaissance in our time. Now, it’s been done already. TV back then had six or seven channels. Now there are 500. Marketing is so segmented [today] that it’s hard to make a broad stroke.

These days, you consult to brands, and you put a high premium on a brand getting a celebrity endorser. Why’s that such a big thing for you?

I’m a firm believer in utilizing celebrities because they tap into people on an emotional basis. One of the artists I work with is Pitbull [rapper Armando Christian Pérez]. Now, someone might listen to a Pitbull song 50 times a day, and you’re talking about millions of people doing that. That’s way more effective than spending $1 million on a banner someplace.

Some brands might think twice before hitching their wagon to a hip-hop artist.
The biggest fear brands have is: “Is this artist going to go shoot somebody? What happens to my brand then?” But we live in a real world, and with social media, you can’t hide things anymore. You just have to deal with that, and there are good ways to deal with it, too. Because if you really look at it, consumers resonate more when people have real issues in their lives—à la Charlie Sheen. So the best thing in the world is for a star to have some kind of reality check.

It’s interesting that you say that. Most brands run screaming from a celebrity when the celebrity self-destructs—and plenty of them have.

I don’t see it like that. You know why? I’m sitting in this room because a person like LL Cool J wore my product. When you get behind a celebrity, he’ll get behind you. And he did the biggest advertising coup in history when he put Fubu in Gap commercials.

You’re talking about the infamous 1997 Gap ad in which LL Cool J insisted on wearing a Fubu baseball cap?

He insisted on the hat, and then he said, “For us, by us, on the low.”

When he slipped that in, did the Gap people know what it meant?

The Gap didn’t know what happened—and they aired the commercial.

I want to shift gears to Shark Tank. The show is probably the first time that Americans really get to see the hard realities of what it’s like for a brand to get a venture partner.

[Laughs] Yeah.

Now, you were fortunate to get one at the right time yourself—Samsung, right?

Yes.

Is it even possible to build a successful brand without someone else’s financial help?

I’ve seen it done, but it’s very challenging. And it’s not necessarily the financial help; it’s the strategic help.

So about this show—you’re really using your own money and investing in these brands?
Absolutely.

Can you give me an example of a brand you’ve invested in and that’s doing well?

OK, so, Treasure Chest Pets [personal organizers concealed inside a stuffed animal] is one that I did last year. Are they doing well? Not necessarily. But it takes about three years to really get it going.

If Shark Tank had existed back in 1992, and you showed up with some Fubu hats and T-shirts, how would you have done as a contestant?

Well, put it like this. I got turned down by 27 banks—and bankers are nice compared to the sharks. So I would have failed horribly. I probably wouldn’t have made it past the casting agency.

You did a promotional interview for ABC in which you said that the show was “a great way to find out why a business actually fails.” Is there an overriding reason why startup brands fail?

Not enough education—about financials, about the business, about the product, about the numbers. If you don’t educate yourself, you’ll never get out of the starting block because you’ll spend all your money making foolish decisions.

Do people look at Fubu and think that because you did it, putting out an apparel brand is an easy thing to do?

I get those e-mails about 10 or 20 times a week.

What do they want?

They think they have a brand and they say to me, I’m into it 10 to 20 thousand dollars, and Grandma wears the shirts all the time, and this is the next billion-dollar brand.

Any chance any of them are right?

One of them may be right.

How do you evaluate that? Can you?

Twenty years into the game, I haven’t seen that person ever come back and say, “I made it.” Or I never see those brands they’ve
mentioned ever again.

In your book, The Brand Within, you chart the successful course of several brands that are now household names. Is there one thing they all have in common?

Most brands started from a strong base and kept a strong belief. Somebody asked me the other day about Mark Zuckerberg. They said, you know, he’s a jerk and he’s this and that. But Facebook may not be where it’s at if he didn’t stand his ground and say to half the people, “Screw you.”

I presume you don’t miss being a kid on a corner selling hats. But do you ever wish you were the startup guy with the next big idea?

I do, when you see the twinkle in that person’s eye like you used to have. Sometimes, I say to myself: “Wow, I’m an idiot. All these people with these great inventions, and I’m making shirts.”

Adweek