Dr Kemi Olunloyo is a U.S Trained International Journalist, Clinical Pharmacist, Public Relations Specialist, Gun Violence Activist and Social Media Personality featured NTA, MTV, VH1, BET, Toronto Sun, Global TV, Macleans, National Post, Toronto Star, Flow 935FM, KISS 921 FM, Z103FM, 680 News, AM640, Newstalk1010, CBC, CNN, FOX News, CTV, CP24, Radio Nigeria, BBC, RT, TVC Nigeria, Galaxy Nigeria, Sahara Reporters and lots of Global Media
I didn't think so either as I was a judge in those 40th JUNO awards he hosted and I am not mentioning what category either. Why didn't he win any JUNOS this year out of his record 6 nominations? No Grammys or much else either. Maybe it's the American style Producer/Rappers producing every damn track.
Aside from the fact that the L.A Times DISSED Canada and I quote "First off, he’s from Canada, just like Justin Bieber, and the country is hardly known for producing great MCs."
Well, America.....Drake decided Canadian this time around! So "Take Care."
On “Take Care,” he skipped tapping names like Timbaland, Kanye West and Swizz Beatz — they all contributed tracks to his first disc — and opted to solely rely on his in-house crew of Noah “40” Shebib, Tone Mason and Boi-1da.
“To be 100% honest … I wasn’t necessarily happy with ‘Thank Me Later.’ People loved it [but] I just knew what I was capable of with a little more time,” he said. “I’m very confident in ‘Take Care.’ I definitely made the exact album that I wanted. Will it appear that way to the world? I’m not sure, because its definitely different. It’s not 15 ‘I’m On Ones.’ It’s not ‘She Will.’ I’m very happy with this album. More so than I’ve ever been with a project.” Read the rest here..
OK so it's about to start at 5.30pm and the weather is shitty! Rain and long lines but no media for Drake's album signing. The PR people for HMV signings told me that he will not be doing any media interviews TODAY before, during or after the album signing at the HMV record store in Toronto. When he leaves, he’s heading to NYC to do Hot 97 tommorrow and other stations.
Do you think Drizzy is giving the US media more media time than the Canadian or should we say Toronto media? Many bloggers called me as I am the "Journalist" one in this city. Wonder if Rudy Blair at 680 News got some private time?
As you know Drizzy went around to Toronto radio stations last week. I figure the bloggers and magazines are not gonna get much time since Complex was here with him and he has to personally meet those 500 fans who got the wrist bands this morning. YES! Meet and greet 500 ppl and you know Drake's fave thing is pics and hugs with the fans....and JUSTIN BIEBER. I can't forget this classic one at the movie premiere for Beibs. Won't be surprised if Beibs is in there. If anyone sees Kenny, just holla.
So for all bloggers and media sad today, all he cares about is the $$ and the city he's from. We're media. LOL! Drake heads to Virginia tommorow after Hot 97 then to finish off his tour. So in December he will be back home for Xmas and we'll get our listening party. I need to call Lola and Lisa and all the entertainment socialites here to find out. Isn't this why we love our city? I got someone in there so I will post some pics tommorrow. Drizzy looks guilty enough in this flyer.
Bravo! pays tribute to one of Canada’s most celebrated artists with PAUL QUARRINGTON: LIFE IN MUSIC, premiering Saturday, May 29 at 7 p.m. ET, exclusively on Bravo!. Scheduled to air on the official release date of his upcoming memoir and one week before his first solo CD hits shelves, PAUL QUARRINGTON: LIFE IN MUSIC is a documentary about the artist whose sudden diagnosis of his terminal illness led him to embrace both life and art.
As a result, Quarrington completes the documentary, rewrites his soon-to-be published memoir, and writes and records songs for his first solo album, along with another music CD with his band, Porkbelly Futures. Quarrington’s Cigar Box Banjo: Notes on Music and Life, published by Greystone Books, will be in all bookstores across Canada on May 29 while Paul Quarrington: The Songs is set to be released June 8 by Cordova Bay Entertainment.
In addition to intimate moments with Quarrington himself, the documentary features interviews with Quarrington’s family, friends, and members of the arts community. The list includes writer Roddy Doyle, musician and writer Dave Bidini, author Wayson Choy, musicians Dan Hill and Joel Hall as well as Paul’s life-long friend and fellow musician Martin Worthy. The documentary also includes dynamic performances from Porkbelly Futures, and a touching performance by Paul’s brothers Joel and Tony Quarrington. PAUL QUARRINGTON: LIFE IN MUSIC also airs Sunday, May 30 at 6 p.m. ET, exclusively on Bravo! Paul passed away Jan 2010.
The rap duo that brought you the 2002 trunk-thump anthem "Grindin"' has been doing a bit of that themselves since then, toiling in record label delays until finally getting around to their third album "Til the Casket Drops."
So, is The Clipse back in full swing? Yes, and no.
There are a couple of radio-ready songs here worth putting on repeat. "I'm Good," the first official single off the album, is smooth around the edges with the help of Pharrell. It's breezier than most fare from The Clipse, and has a memorable hook that will keep the request lines buzzing into the new year. Read the rest...
These guys owe me a fresh new interview since this 2004 picture.
Bad news for R&B fans expecting to stock their stockings with Usher's new album just in time for the holidays. According to his label, Usher's "Raymond Vs. Raymond" has been shifted to an undetermined release date.
Previously due for release mid-December, "Raymond Vs. Raymond" is led by Usher's Billboard R&B/Hip Hop Songs top ten charting single "Papers".
Issuing a statement earlier this week, a representative for the Grammy Award winner told Reuters "This is a solid album that we believe in. We want to give it a proper launch."
"Raymond Vs. Raymond" follows Usher's 2008 effort "Here I Stand," which spawned the hit singles "Love In This Club" and "Trading Places".
Rap superstar 50 CENT has been forced to delay the release of his upcoming album BEFORE I SELF DESTRUCT - because superproducer DR. DRE is too busy with EMINEM's record to finish the IN DA CLUB star's tracks. Eminem has been locked away in the studio with Dre for months, perfecting songs for the Stan hitmaker's long-awaited Relapse disc. The CD is now in its final stages and is due to hit stores later this year (09) - five years after Eminem's last release, Encore.
And until the project is wrapped, 50 Cent has been made to wait to get some studio time in with Dre. But the rapper insists he's not annoyed - because he understands how important Eminem's work with his mentor, Dre, is. He says, "
Right now I'm on the train and the Em choo choo car goes first. See what happens is I think that people forget that I'm actually Eminem's artist because I've had so much success on my own and I moved away from it. "But if you can look back, the very first interview I did...we were on the set of In Da Club, it was myself, Eminem and Dr. Dre... I said my goal was to fit in with Eminem and Dr. Dre. ...So because Dre is mixing Em's album, Em will be (have to be) completely, entirely (finished) before we get a chance to finish up the pieces me and Dr did together."
50 Cent isn't the only artist having to postpone recording on his album as Dre works with Eminem - the Aftermath Records boss himself has also put his forthcoming project on ice.
So, who cares? Poor Dre lost a kid, tosses his own album aside and what more does Fiddy want?
Two-time Grammy award winner and 16-time Grammy nominee INDIA.ARIE returns with her 4th career album, Testimony: Vol. 2, Love & Politics, marking the return of her signature brand of "acoustic soul." Testimony: Vol. 2 was produced by India.Arie, Novel (produced India.Aries's "Purify Me" for Tyler Perry soundtrack), Dru Castro, and more. This album is the follow up to Arie's 2006 album, Testimony: Vol. 1, Life and Relationship, which debuted at #1 on Billboard Top 200 in 06.
When Wal-Mart sold 784,000 copies of AC/DC's "Black Ice" during the album's first week in stores, many label executives believed that more superstars would release albums exclusively through big-box retailers.
And when Best Buy experienced disappointing sales of Guns N' Roses' "Chinese Democracy," some of those same executives thought, well, maybe not.
"Chinese Democracy" (Interscope), the rock act's first album of all-new material in 17 years, sold 261,000 units in its first week of availability, according to Nielsen SoundScan. That included sales at Best Buy, exclusive digital retailer iTunes and other stores selling import versions of the album.
While first-week sales forecasts for "Chinese Democracy" ranged from 300,000 to AC/DC's first-week tally of nearly 800,000, most major-label sales prognosticators thought the album might sell between 400,000 and 500,000 units.
So how did one of the most hotly anticipated releases of recent years fall so short of expectations? Some executives suggested that the initial projections for "Chinese Democracy" were out of whack with reality, considering that Wal-Mart has 4,200 stores selling music while Best Buy only has about 950 stores. Read the rest.....
BEYONCE KNOWLES credits jazz legend ETTA JAMES with giving her the guts to record her new album - because playing the troubled icon for a film made her "fearless". Knowles stars as the iconic singer - who battled numerous drug addictions throughout her life - in new movie Cadillac Records. And she admits the icon's imprint unhinged a new side of her for her new double disc I Am...Sasha Fierce. Double? Girl has been working!
She says,
"The music I made before and after the movie were very different. I was a lot more bold and fearless after I played Etta James, because of course some of the character stays with you. Some of the music I would have been afraid to make, I wasn't. I got more guts, more confidence as a human being. "I think that's why I love doing movies so much, because it's not just an art form. It changes my life and my music and the way I look at things... after playing her and singing her songs, I thought, it's time for me to challenge myself and do whatever I'm inspired to do."
EMINEM has reportedly suspended the release of his new album RELAPSE until as late as next spring (09). The Stan hitmaker announced last month (15Oct08) that he was considering releasing his sixth LP before the end of the year (08). The project will mark the first record the rapper has put out since his greatest hits compilation in 2005, when the 35-year-old laid down his mic to concentrate on producing.
Eminem has insisted he can't wait to "get back out there" as he promotes his best-selling autobiography The Way I Am, which hit shelves in October (08). But a source tells the New York Post the record could now be put back until next year (09), adding: "There was never a release date set."
Another source says, "Eminem has been through a lot. He is being a perfectionist and is completely obsessive-compulsive about this album. There's a 50-50 chance it will be done by the end of this year - but most likely it'll be the first quarter of next year... It's great." A spokesperson for the rapper has declined to comment.
Rapper JADAKISS has been forced to change the name of his upcoming album KISS MY ASS after the title received negative feedback from retailers. The Lox star has now bowed to industry pressure and the LP will now be called The Last Kiss. He says, "I had to change the name of my album. Kiss My Ass wasn't testing well at retail. Not even with the exclamations or none of that. So we had to switch it to The Last Kiss." But the MC insists the title isn't hinting at his retirement - it's just the end of an era. He adds,
"Some people asked me is it my last album. Nah, it's just ... the first album was Kiss The Game Goodbye, the second one was The Kiss of Death, so this one was The Last Kiss. It's the closing of a trilogy. "It's the last time I'm going to name one of my albums, it's the last time 'Kiss' is going to be in the album titles. This is why this is The Last Kiss."
I won't bow to pressure from ---of all people retailers? Sumit and I spoke to him shortly before this change of name thing!
Singer PRINCE has defended his controversial decision to hand out his latest album for free - because he "sold" three million copies overnight. The Purple Rain hitmaker sparked an industry debate last year (07) when he released his Planet Earth record as a giveaway with British newspaper The Mail on Sunday.
But he has hit back at critics of the move - insisting it was a good business deal. Prince tells USA Today newspaper, "We weren't trying to upstage the record company or disrupt anything. I just wanted to get new music out. "I asked Sony, 'Were you planning to sell three million copies in London?' I don't think so. I sold three million copies overnight and got paid. That's a good, clear business deal."
Yeah Right, but the insiders tell me the record company bought 60% of those copies. BTW, is this the same Prince suing some housewife cos the baby was dancing to his music on YouTube?
Meanwhile the Purple Rain hitmaker admits he has matured with age and no longer wants to write songs with lusty lyrics - in case he offends his fans. He tells USA Today newspaper, "My fans have kids. I have to be sensitive to their consciousness.
I've grown, too. I did the Dirty Mind tour and pushed that envelope off the table. What I didn't do, Madonna finished. I don't want to go back. You have to get out of your own way." And the staunch Jehovah's Witness also insists reading the Bible convinced him to tone down his act, adding: "That's another way faith has changed me."
Bobby Tinsley announced today that his new album, entitled 'What About Bob,' will drop on Saturday, September 27th. The R&B artist has pre-released the title track on MySpace and has already received over 1,800,000 hits. In addition to MySpace, fans have tuned into BET to see the 'What About Bob' music video (already in heavy rotation).
From the melodic song 'Anything' to the soon to be club anthem 'Go,' this record is ready to tantalize the ears of its listeners. This is Bobby's second album and is being released on the Jean Rah Fya Record Label. When asked about the album, Bobby had this to say:
'A lot of artists pick the songs they put on their projects based on their hit potential, but with me it comes down to sharing my heart and passion with other people; and What About Bob is really just my life, poured out line by line over the last few years. I couldn't be more excited that it's out.'
Hey, this are the numbers I got from Cyrus Langhorne's article on SOHH.Com. Kardinal Offishall's new album released exactly a week ago sold only 12,000 copies? They do say he moved up the charts into the Top 40 despite those sales figures. My thing is that I wanna know from Soundscan what the Canada figures are? That cross country American tour with Akon was so successful I thought!
Is America still cold to Canadian artists or is it just the name of the album? "Not 4 Sale"which has the one big hit "Dangerous" which everyone loves......or is it just gonna be a one hit wonder? Only time will tell. I scheduled an interview with Kardi the day after the album came out but it was abruptly canceled an hour later due to scheduling difficulties. If you have not picked a copy of the album up, do it today. The whole album is super!
I took this picture in February 2004. Karma is a big girl now. You can even hear her on daddy Luda's last album. When Ludacris' manager wanted to create buzz for his client's upcoming CD, he went directly to YouTube.com. But instead of releasing a flashy video for Ludacris' song "Let's Stay Together,"Chaka Zulu just uploaded the track directly, with only a photo of the rapper as accompaniment.
"You actually get to visualize the music," said Zulu, who is also co-founder of Ludacris' Disturbing tha Peace label. "Even if it's not a real video, music is emotion. Music has a concept and theme."
Though YouTube is known as the Internet's greatest video warehouse, it's becoming known as the place to find new music, no video needed.
Put in the name of your favourite artist and there's chance that besides an assortment of their videos, you'll find a song with perhaps just a picture or a montage of photos to accompany it - and it still gets thousands of views.
If anyone wants to hear Akon's remake of Michael Jackson's "Wanna Be Starting Something," it's there. Someone yearning for the new Guns N' Roses track "Shackler's Revenge" or T.I.'s new release "Live Your Life" featuring Rihanna, all it takes is a quick search of their name and song title. No problem.
While some of the songs are posted directly by an artist's camp, others are uploaded by fans eager to share and discuss new music by their favourite act.
DJ Sickamore, who was director of A&R at Atlantic Records for two years and now has his own entertainment management company, says YouTube is a simpler way to listen to music on the Internet.
"Other file hosting sites have too many steps," said DJ Sickamore. "If I like a song, I can hear it instantly without any problems. You definitely have to take advantage of this tool."
Zulu first noticed the power of YouTube sans video two years ago, when he posted Ludacris' song "War with God" with just the rapper's picture as a visual on the site. Soon after, Zulu's BlackBerry was bombarded with text messages.
"It had the Internet going crazy," recalled Zulu. "I was getting ton of messages about how they loved it. I didn't know that many people heard it.
"It's a viable marketing tool for us now," he added. Read more at the source....
Meanwhile, I got to listen in to a press conference on Def Jam's line with my sister blog The Hip-Hop Chronicle U.K where Luda spoke to a ton of DJ's and bloggers about his two new movies and album due out November 11th 2008. Below is Sumit's question. Go to his blog after to read the whole story.
"Below is a download link for Wiz's brand new mixtape (and a BANGER "Like A Star" attached) STAR POWER! Full version (26 SONGS!!!) with artwork (front cover, insert, and poster). It leaked quite a bit last night. So here it is for your blog/sites/zines. Enjoy and hit me back with feedback, requests, etc."
I wish these kinda days will never come. These artists work too hard! Thanks to Arthur at Rostrum records anyhow..........Wiz is really talented. We need him in Canada now!
I like artists who are working hard and not complaining. One Canadian artist had the guts to slam me by voicemail saying I don't do enough for Canada and I am obligated to. More of that to come as I will clarify myself...... Artists! You need to promote your music daily!! That's Dame Grease on the right and Meeno on the left and they are from the effing States plus working!!
There is a new Dame Grease mix tape soon to hit the streets in October. "GOON MUSIK" 1.5 THE DOOM SHIP. Presented by Big Mike and Dame Grease. One of the tracks on it is MAX B FT MEENO - AIN'T NO FRONTIN' ON MEEZ.
Scored 3 major films Never die Alone, Cradle to the Grave and Exit Wounds
Produced 'Big Spender" -Jayz& Freeway , 4 cuts on Hell Rell's Album (For The Hell Of It), Beanie Siegel (The Solution), Clipse Re-Up mixtape called We Got It For Cheap Vol. 3, all track are official bangers on the street and airwaves
Spearheaded the career of established artist such as DMX, EVE, SWIZZ BEATS, THE LOX.
In the studio producing a slew of mixtapes for upcoming "next to watch" artist - Max B., Donny Goines, Curious George
In 2009 plans to launch Vacant Lot Distributions for indie artist - to have a platform to sell their releases.
New Hip Hop website (Hiphopbrain.com) to launch in the winter.
"Goon Musik" in stores now off of baby grande records
It sure is for sale so get out there and buy one. No burning, free downloads or borrowing. Get yours and support this hard working rapper! Jason Harrow better known by his stage name Kardinal Offishall , is a Canadian hip-hop artist and producer. He is often credited as Canada's "hip-hop ambassador", and is well known for his reggae and dancehall-influenced style of hip-hop.
Is Kardi having an album release party? Last I heard he was still in L.A for last nite's Leno. Well, y'all know where to send the invitation to. Enjoy the parties...... and congratulations!
Pic Credits via Los Angeles Times website.
