Akon: Gaga’s Career Is on the Decline

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Collaborations, Gossip, Hip-Hop & Rap, Pop, New Releases,

Akon claims his record label cut ties with Lady Gaga because her career is on the decline.

The "Senegalese" hitmaker, who initially signed Gaga to his Kon Live Distribution record label under Interscope in 2007, claims he "cashed out" on the Born This Way singer because he felt her career had hit a "peak."

In an interview with US DJ Sway on Sirius XM, he was asked if he was "still involved with the star," to which he responded, "Actually I cashed out. I got out while the gooding [sic] was hot. It's like a business, you build it to sell it. When I got it to the peak of where I felt it couldn't go nowhere, and there was nowhere left to go but down, I cashed out." He added, "In other words I sold my share and got out before it was too late."

During the earlier years Akon was involved in Gaga's first album The Fame and co-wrote her hit debut single "Just Dance."

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OutKast Set to Reunite at Coachella

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Collaborations, Concerts / Tours, Gossip, Reunions, Rumors, Hip-Hop & Rap,

OutKast is set to reunite at Coachella 2014.

Producer Rico Wade has confirmed Andre 3000 and Big Boi will be gracing the stage at this year's festival after a seven-year hiatus. Rico told music website Stereogum that he wants his cousin, rapper Future, to join the pair at their reunion in California in April.

"As we bide our time in the lobby, he [Rico] affably spills the beans about unreleased Andre 3000 solo songs from a decade ago and his hopes to score Future a cameo during OutKast's reunion sets at Coachella. Eventually he pulls out his iPhone and plays me a Future/Andre collaboration he produced called 'Benz Bitch' that's earmarked for Honest [Future's next LP]. It's yet another side of Future and one rarely heard: brainy, libidinous space-age funk mined from Stankonia's dankest caverns, an homage to his Dungeon Family roots," the article reads.

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Vanilla Ice Helped Eminem Become Successful

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Artist News, Gossip, Hip-Hop & Rap,

Vanilla Ice claims he helped Eminem become a successful rapper. The "Ice Ice Baby" star shot to fame with the hit single when he was just 16 years old and claims he "paved the way" for other white rappers such as the "Slim Shady" hitmaker.

"I definitely opened doors and made it acceptable to get into hip-hop. White rappers are few and far between and, during that era, I made it possible to move into that genre and be very successful," he said.

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M.I.A.: I’m a Rapper, Not a Pop Star

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Artist News, Gossip, Hip-Hop & Rap, Pop,

M.I.A. dismisses the idea she is a pop star.

The "Bring The Noize" musician insisted she prefers to be known as a rapper and thinks people pigeonholing her the way they do is a bit "weird."

"I dunno... it's weird. I'm not really a pop star. I don't think I'm popular enough to be a proper pop star. I prefer being called a rapper," she told V magazine. She admitted there was a time before her fourth album Matangi when she questioned her own ability to make a successful pop album. "After I made the last record I was no longer on XL, my old label, and I felt like I didn't know how to make a big pop record. I didn't know how to do the thing that everyone wanted me to do - which seemed like the only thing you could do on a major label," she explained.

The "Paper Planes" hitmaker has opened up about her style in the past, and she has compared herself to polarizing artists.

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Kanye West: My Image Causes Bias

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Gossip, Industry News, Hip-Hop & Rap,

Kanye West thinks that his relationship with Kim Kardashian biases people against his rapping.

The "Stronger" hitmaker - who is expecting his first child with the reality TV star - is unhappy MTV's Hip-Hop Brain Trust voted him the seventh Hottest MC in the Game and he feels his ranking would've been higher if it were based solely on his music skills.

"Yeah, number seven bothers me. To me, I feel like in order for them to put me as number seven, they had to bring up things they didn't like. They didn't like the Cruel Summer album, and I'm like, 'That's just [a] compilation.' I don't know, it's definitely not based on a body of work. It possibly could just be like overall rap-MC-swag. What happens is, with these types of things... They don't like 'Givenchy Kanye,' they don't like Kanye in a kilt, they don't like Kanye in a relationship."

However, the "All of the Lights" star doesn't believe he deserved top spot on the list, as he still thinks the world's best rapper is Lil Wayne.

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Ice-T Wants Due Respect For Rap

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Gossip, Hip-Hop & Rap,

Ice-T thinks rap needs to be given more respect "as an art form."

The veteran rapper has made a documentary, Something From Nothing: The Art of Rap, in which he debates rhyming with a number of key figures from the genre - including Nas, Chuck D, Kanye West, Dr. Dre, Eminem, Ice Cube, Snoop Dogg and Run-D.M.C - and said he made it to show young people the origins of the genre.

"I was looking at the state of hip-hop, which has gotten a little pop for me, and I just wanted to document where we came from. All I want is for the kids to see where it came from and have a degree of respect for it. I don't feel rap has been respected as an art form. Because people have seen rappers rap off the top of their heads, they don't think it is difficult," he explained.

Ice - who had a hugely successful solo career before switching to acting in the late 80s - also wanted to give exposure to some of the forefathers of the rap genre.

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Lil Wayne: Kobe Bryant is My Musical Inspiration

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Artist News, Hip-Hop & Rap,

Lil Wayne says Kobe Bryant has inspired a lot of his songs.

The "Lollipop" rapper - whose real name is Dwayne Carter - has paid tribute to the Los Angeles Lakers basketball player for the way he "fights through injury," which has led the 29-year-old star to pen a number of tracks about the legendary sportsman.

"He's inspired not only songs, but he's inspired me in life in general just the way he attacks things, the way he never backs down, the way he fights through injury," he said.

The rapper - who served eight months for attempted weapon possession in 2010 - counts Kobe as one of his main inspirations through life and he has been spurred on to succeed by looking at how well the Lakers star "excels through injury." He added to The Los Angeles Times, "Not only do he fight through injury, and not only do he play through injury, he excel through injury. I take those type of things and I just apply them to my everyday life. I believe he's the greatest player to touch a basketball."

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Tupac Skakur Closes Coachella Festival

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Concerts / Tours, Performances, Hip-Hop & Rap,

Tupac Shakur helped close the Coachella festival last Sunday - 16 years after his death.

The rapper - who was shot dead in a gang killing in 1996 - appeared on stage as a hologram to perform with Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre at the annual festival in California.

He gave a spooky rendition of "Hail Mary" before duetting with Snoop on "Ain't Nothin' Like A Gangsta Party," before leaving the festivalgoers with the line, "Coachella, I wanna say thank you for all the love over the years."

The Tupac hologram drew mixed reactions from fans, with one saying it was "wrong on so many levels."

Another person, however, wrote on Twitter, "This is dope," while someone else added, "I told y'all Tupac wasn't dead! (sic)"

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Lil Wayne Releasing Love Songs

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Artist News, Upcoming Releases, Hip-Hop & Rap,

Lil Wayne is releasing an album of love songs.

The "Lollipop" rapper may reveal his tender side on the record - to be titled Devol - which was written when he was in jail on Riker's Island, New York, in 2010.

"I was recording an album called Devol, spelled D-E-V-O-L, 'cause that's 'loved' spelled backwards. It's all material I did when I was locked up," he told MTV News.

However, Wayne warned the tracks are not likely to be traditional ballads, but his own take on the love theme: "What I mean by my version of love songs is meaning they're not saying, 'I love you.'"

Wayne - real name Dwayne Carter - served eight months for attempted weapon possession in 2010, and since his release has put out two albums, I Am Not a Human Being, and Tha Carter IV.

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Justin Bieber Hasn’t Made Rap Record

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Collaborations, Hip-Hop & Rap, Pop, New Releases,

Justin Bieber says there isn't a lot of rapping on his new album. The 18-year-old singer can be heard talking/rapping on his latest track "Boyfriend," but he insists his upcoming third LP Believe is still a traditional pop record.

"There's not a lot of rapping on the album. As people know, I'm a singer, and I don't want to get people confused with that, but it's something that I love to do, so you guys will definitely hear more of it," he told MTV News.

On "Boyfriend" the verses are performed in a rap style by Bieber and the lyrics include the lines "If I was your boyfriend, I'd never let you go/ I can take you places you ain't never been before/ Baby take a chance or you'll never ever know/ I got money in my hands that I'd really like to blow/ Swag swag swag, on you."

The music superstar has collaborated with several big names on the record, including Timbaland, Drake and Lil Wayne.

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