Rumors have been swirling that Bow Wow and longtime collaborator Jermaine Dupri are beefing and for that reason JD won’t be producing on the rapper’s joint project with Omarion – ‘Face Off’. SOHH.com sat down with both Bow Wow and JD to find out whether there is any truth to the specualtion. Click here to check out the video.
I feel what Bow Wow is saying about wanting to grow, but I think his judgement is wrong. There’s ‘growth’ and there’s knowing what works for you; name any Bow Wow hit and you’ll find it’s JD that produced it. This isn’t the first time Bow Wow’s tried to go it alone, most seem to forget that he dropped an album in his mid-teens called ‘Unleashed’ (which they should..it was garbage). Without JD’s presence, the album lacked any hits and ultimately flopped. Time will tell if ‘Face Off” suffers the same fate.

Your thoughts?
Lil’ Wayne, T-Pain, Cee-Lo (of Gnarls Barkley), Common and Nelly Furtado have been added to the list of performers at this year’s MTV VMA’s. They will join previously-announced performers Kanye West, Chris Brown, Fall Out Boy. Rihanna, Foo Fighters and Amy Winehouse (TBD). The 2007 VMA’s will broadcast live from Las Vegas on September 9th.
The VMA’s have been slacking for years now and the BET Awards has become ‘the’ award show to watch. What happened to the ‘shock’ factor? I remember being in awe of Michael Jackson’s surprise performance with Justin and co at the 2001 show, as well as Beyonce tearing the house down at the 2003 ceremony. Since then it’s been kinda ‘blah’. I will be watching this year, though, and not because of any of the above performers. Like many, I’ll be looking out for the rumored comeback (or train wreck) performance of Britney Spears…that ought to be great television either way.

Will you be tuning into the VMA’s?
R&B star LeToya appeared at the 2nd International Hip Hop Summit on Financial Empowerment in Toronto, Canada this past week. As usual, she was looking great; but I’m hoping she switches up her image (even if just a little) soon. She’s starting to look real ‘samey’. Still, why fix what’s not broken? Check out more pics below:

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What do you think of the pics?
Our American visitors will probably be well clued up on the whole Michael Vick situation as it’s been pretty big news over here. For those not yet in the know, Vick – an NFL player – has been charged with financing and organising the illegal sport of dogfighting. Click here to read more on the story.
After his two co-defendants plead guilty, the Atlanta Falcons quarterback has decided to follow-suit and enter a guilty plea also. Vick now faces up to 18 months in prison. Check out his lawyer’s statement:

“Mr. Vick has agreed to enter a plea of guilty to those charges and to accept full responsibility for his actions and the mistakes he has made,” Martin said in a statement. “Michael wishes to apologize again to everyone who has been hurt by this matter.” {Source}

I’m undecided as to where I stand on the case; on the one hand, I’m not an animal person at all and believe there are more serious crimes i.e. rape, drugs etc that need to be addressed first, yet ‘if you do the crime, you do the time’…

Your thoughts?

I’ve been hearing a lot of good things about Capitol recording artist J. Holiday for the longest time, but I hadn’t managed to check out his songs/video. Since being out here in LA, there’s been no escaping his debut single ‘Bed’. Apart from being slightly on the repetitive side, I’m liking the song. So it was great to see the Washington DC native being able to carry his own with the song, when he performed it live on BET’s 106 & Park this week – where it occupies the top spot on the show’s countdown. J’s album ‘Back of My Lac’ hits stores October 2nd.

What do you think of the performance?

Following the massive success of ‘The Breakthrough’, Mary J. Blige has been hard at work on her next album. This new track ‘Grown Woman Complex’ was initially featured on an episode of HBO’s ‘Entourage’ earlier this month- which Mary guest starred in. A long snippet of the track has now surfaced and I must say that I’m liking this. Both the production and Mary’s flow on the song are on point; making me anticipate her new material all the more. {Thanks Kevipod for the heads up}

Hit or Miss?

 

 

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Kanye West recently appeared on The Friday Night Project – a comedy show back home in the UK (yes, I’m still here in LA – loving it I must add). He addressed his forthcoming chart battle with 50 Cent on September 11th. It’s so funny watching the different approaches both he and 50 are taking; 50 is talking like he’s still ‘the sh*t’, yet Kanye is using sarcastic modesty to basically say what most are hoping for – that he’ll win. I think it’ll be a close call…

What do you think of Kanye’s comments?

Rapper Eve features in the latest issue of HX Magazine. The ‘Pitbull In A Skirt speaks on a number of issues including the gay rumors that have followed her and going ‘Hollywood’. Check out an extract from the interview below:

How do you feel about criticism from the hip-hop community that you’ve gone Hollywood?
I want somebody to give me an actual definition of “Hollywood.” Hollywood always has this negative connotation attached to it. Yeah, I went and did a show in Hollywood [UPN’s Eve], so if that means me going Hollywood—yeah. As far as the negative connotations, I would hope they are not saying it in that way, and if they are, everyone’s entitled to their opinion. I don’t think I have.

Do you get approached a lot by women?
Yeah, I used to more when I first came out. I’ve had people tell me straight up and down that I was gay—I still get it from people. I get more accusations than I actually do get hit on now.

Did it make you uncomfortable?
Gay women are way more aggressive than men—I will definitely say that. [Laughs] But it doesn’t bother me. I’ve never been disrespected in any way. If I’m like, “Yo, I get it, but I don’t swing that way,” then it’s all love.

Why doesn’t the hip-hop community want gay support?
Trust me, I’ve heard of and know of some instances of people in the industry who are gay or who have participated in certain situations. It’s a male-dominated industry, and for some reason they just don’t want to talk about it. I don’t understand why—I guess it’s a macho thing. It’s ridiculous to me. Me, I love it. The more support for me, the better!

Interesting…

Your thoughts?

With the release date of Mario’s serially delayed album ‘Go!’ now set for October 9th, ‘Crying Out For Me’ has been confirmed as the CD’s next single. The song is going for ads on Urban radio at the top of next week. Some of you may have already heard the Polow Da Don produced track, as it’s been floating around for a sometime now. I’ve had the song in constant rotation for months and have been rooting for it to be released as a single – so this is definitely welcome news. ‘How Do I Breathe’ – the album’s lead single – pretty much tanked (peaking at #46 on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart); however if pushed right, ‘Crying Out For Me’ has the potential to be a smash for Mario. Check out the final (mastered) mix of the song below…

Hit or Miss?

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While 50 Cent continues to run his mouth all over the place, his ‘September 11th’ rival Kanye West is doing the press rounds legitimately; this time being the main featuring in XXL magazine’s October issue. Cool cover…

What do you think of the cover?
Having been on hiatus since 2005, St. Louis native Nelly is back on the musical scene. Set for release later this year, the rapper’s new album ‘Brace Knuckles’ boasts production from the likes of Jermaine Dupri and Pharrell Williams. This great new mid-tempo track ‘Wadsyaname’ is slated to be the album’s first single. The track is typical Nelly, hence it’s real radio friendly. However at the same time the beat knocks -I’m really loving the production on this one. Listen out for elements of K-Ci and Jo Jo’s ‘All My Life’, which the song samples.

Hit or Miss?

 

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This is apparently the official cover for Keyshia Cole’s sophomore effort ‘Just Like You’ (due September 25th). I’m liking this; Keyshia looks great. I’m really anticipating her this album as the first was solid.

What do you think of the cover?

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