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Exclusive: Eminem's Limited Edition "The Way I Am" Jordans

2008-10-19T21:07:00Z

Eminem partners with Nike to release new Jordans inspired by his new book

To commemorate Eminem's new book "The Way I Am," the rap star has teamed up with Nike's Jordan Brand for a collaboration on a limited edition jordan shoe. The shoes will be called "The Way I Am" Air Jordan 2, and feature handwritten lyrics from Eminem's songs on the shoe's ankle collar and toe trim. The package will also include a limited edition "The Way I Am" T-shirt.

There will be only 313 pairs, the area code for Eminem's hometown, Detroit, MI, and only be available for purchase at the official Jordan Brand “Flight Club”: www.airjordanflightclub.com. To receive an invitation code text "Flight Club" to 23623. The retail price of "The Way I Am: Air Jordan 2" has yet to be determined.

Proceeds from the shoe will go towards Eminem’s The Marshall Mathers Foundation, an organization primarily dedicated to helping disadvantaged youth in the state of Michigan.

This is the second time Eminem and Jordan Brand have collaborated. The first Eminem Jordan was the Air Jordan 4 “Blueberry” but that was only available as a promotional item and for contest winners of his Encore album. Eminem's representative Paul Rosenberg said, "The Jordan 2 is Marshall's favorite Air Jordan sneaker, so he was super excited to get to be able to do another collaboration with his favorite sneaker brand."

Eminem's "The Way I Am" book is available from Penguin/Dutton at Amazon.com and local bookstores.

DOWNLOAD: Eminem - I'm Having a Relapse

Eminem is "Having a Relapse," Releases New Book, Song & Details About New Album

Eminem Voted "Best Rapper Alive," New Book & Album Details

Eminem Confirms He's Working On His New Album

Eminem's Mom Puts Him on Blast in Tell-All Due in November

Eminem Goes Hard Kaur In Bollywood

VIDEO: Lil Wayne Begs Eminem, His Favorite A Millie Freestyle, How He Got Mr. Carter from Jay Z & More

NEW MUSIC DOWNLOAD: Kanye Releases "Heartless" & Caught Kissing Rihanna?

2008-10-19T06:46:00Z

Kanye West releases second single "Heartless" along with pics of "clothesless" women

Kanye West has released his new single via his blog, KanyeUniversecity.com.

Not sure exactly why but he included a bunch of very nice pictures of "clothesless" women.

(click here to see the pictures - NSFW).

DOWNLOAD: Kanye West - Heartless

VIDEO: Kanye explains new album @ listening party

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Kanye and Rihanna caught cuddling and kissing?

According to star magazine the two superstars were recently spotted together working on more than just a collaboration. Here's their report:

The Barbadian beauty was spotted cuddling Kanye West backstage at a T.I. concert at the Key Club in Hollywood on Oct. 3.

"Rihanna and Kanye hung out together after they performed their songs," says an insider. "Rihanna was sitting on Kanye's lap, singing along to the music. Before long, the two were full-on kissing each other."

Adds the source, "People were shocked. After a while, Rihanna must have realized people were watching, because she had her security escort her back to the dressing room."

Eminem is "Having a Relapse," Releases New Book, Song & Details About New Album

2008-10-18T17:21:00Z

Eminem releases new book, new track & details of new album

Eminem, who was recently named the "Greatest Rapper Alive" by Vibe magazine readers, is back with a new book, a new track and details about his new album. The multi-platinum, Grammy award winning rapper set the record straight in an interview with DJ Kay Slay and Angela Yee, on his satellite radio station station Shade 45.

Em announced that the official title of the album will be "Relapse." “There’s a lot of fake albums and a lot of bulls--t album titles floating around out there,” Eminem said. “I just want to tell everybody the real album title is Relapse.” He says 50 Cent's "Before I Self Destruct" will drop first, followed up by his "Relapse", then Dr.Dre's "Detox". Before I Self Destruct will drop on December 9th, but there's still no release date set for Relapse or Detox. Em also stated that Dre produced most of his new album because he wanted to concentrate on the lyrics, and other than 50 Cent he still has no other collaborations or guest features on the album, but the album is not complete yet. The Detroit rapper unveiled a new track called "I'm Having a Relapse," during the interview.

Eminem's new book, "The Way I Am," hit stores this week.

DOWNLOAD: Eminem - I'm Having a Relapse

AUDIO: Eminem & 50 on Shade 45 announcing "Relapse" pt1

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AUDIO: Eminem & 50 on Shade 45 announcing "Relapse" pt2

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Eminem Voted "Best Rapper Alive," New Book & Album Details

Eminem Confirms He's Working On His New Album

Eminem's Mom Puts Him on Blast in Tell-All Due in November

Eminem Goes Hard Kaur In Bollywood

VIDEO: Jay Z's PSA for Obama

2008-10-18T13:58:00Z

Jay Z urges fans to vote for Obama

In a new public service announcement, Jay Z urges fans to vote. He explains voters' rights and concludes by saying "Obama for President, that's just my opinion."

VIDEO: Jay Z's PSA for Obama

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Game's Sister Shot in Driveby

2008-10-17T19:31:00Z

Game's sister ok after being victim of driveby in Compton

Game's sister is doing well after being shot earlier this week. Shemani Taylor, also known by her rap moniker B-Fly, was the victim of a driveby shooting in front of her house in Compton last Tuesday (10/14). Fortunately, the 18 year old was not seriously injured and was released from the hospital the same day.

No official statement has been released from The Game or his sister, B-Fly, but she posted this message on her MySpace page:

my prayer: Lord please pray upon the soul of my shooter...for he needs to be blessed upon...i am happy i have another day to live....among these devils...but shelter me from evil...shelter me from harm....continue to bless me with a voice to bless others....and a heart to forgive.....i pray i have another day to pray for u...Amen

VIDEO: B-Fly - Lollipop

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Fat Joe Says, "You Won't Be Able to Compare Him to Any Rapper" About Lil Wayne

2008-10-14T10:42:13Z

Fat Joe says you won't be able to compare Lil Wayne to any other rapper after the next album

In a recent interview with MTV, Fat Joe says that after having a personal listening session with Lil Wayne he is convinced that after the New Orleans next album there will be no comparisons to any other rapper. He says, "he's been compared to Jay Z and you can hear some of the influences but after this next album, I'm not saying he's the best rapper but you can't compare him to no rapper."

VIDEO: Fat Joe on MTV discussing Lil Wayne's next album

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NEW MUSIC VIDEO: Beyonce - Single Ladies (Put a Ring On It)

2008-10-13T19:57:00Z

Beyonce's "Single Ladies (Put a Ring On it)" video

The second video in Beyonce's dual single release for her new album "I Am..."

VIDEO: Beyonce - Single Ladies (Put a Ring On It)

Urban411.com

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Beyonce is Back! Releases 2 New Singles & Finally Speaks About Marriage to Essence

Beyonce Honored for Charity Work + She Storms Through Bermuda

50 Cent Disses Jay Z, Says Beyonce Made Him & He's Not Worth That Much

VIDEO: Beyonce On Set of New Video, New Album & Movies on The Way

Hip Hop Weekly Celebrates It's 50th Issue

2008-10-13T17:24:00Z

Hip Hop Weekly celebrates it's 50th issue, Mays & Benzino do it again

Hip Hop Weekly, The First Celebrity Weekly-Format Magazine For The Lucrative Multi-Cultural Market Is A Big Success With Readers and Advertisers. The Creators of The Source—David Mays and Ray “Benzino” Scott—Renew Their Long-Time Leadership Position As The Most Successful Media/Content Developers Over The Last Two Decades For The Millions of Consumers of Hip Hop Culture

Hip Hop Weekly, the first and only celebrity newsweekly format magazine for the large and highly influential multicultural consumer market, will celebrate a major milestone with a special edition of the magazine hitting newsstands October 14th. The publication of its 50th issue marks the successful return of the creators of The Source, David Mays and Ray “Benzino” Scott, who have once again proven to have the “golden touch” when it comes to shaping media content for the diverse consumers of the hip hop culture.

“Hip Hop Weekly fills a tremendous void in the marketplace! It’s fast like the youth market and it gives the kind of special honest insight that the audience desperately needs,” said Russell Simmons, Godfather of the hip hop movement. In 2007, Hip Hop Weekly was recognized by the prestigious MIN Awards as one of the “Top 15 Magazine Launches” of the year, out of more than 700 startups. Hip Hop Weekly delivers over 800,000 readers per issue and is among the ten best-selling magazines at the 7-11 chain nationally. The magazine serves a burgeoning market of ethnically diverse consumers with over $500 billion in spending power.

“Hip Hop Weekly is a huge success because its unique and innovative format has brought excitement and relevant content back into print media for our generation,” said David Mays, publisher and co-founder of Hip Hop Weekly. “Our newsstand sales have doubled in the last 12 months, which is the only true sign of a magazine’s vitality in today’s market. We are one of the fastest-growing national magazines on the newsstands, while other print titles are experiencing double-digit sales declines. Hip Hop Weekly has established a reputation for breaking exclusive celebrity news first, and we are capturing a loyal and rapidly growing audience of trendsetting young people. No other magazine is engaging these readers in the way that we are.”

In addition to a loyal readership base, Hip Hop Weekly has attracted a bevy of key advertisers such as Colgate, Pepsi, Burger King, Procter & Gamble, Crown Holders, Akademiks, Ciroc Vodka, Def Jam, Pelle Pelle, and Sean John. The magazine is the first national consumer magazine to offer its clients “branded editorial” sponsorships.

Hip Hop Weekly’s star-studded 50th issue will launch a cover redesign and feature exclusive celebrity interviews, photos, style packages and juicy celebrity news, with multiple-in-book spreads profiling VIP events attended by the hottest stars in Hip Hop and Hollywood. The 50th issue of Hip Hop Weekly magazine will be on newsstands nationwide on October 14, 2008.

For a copy of Hip Hop Weekly’s 2008 Media Kit and Advertising Rate Card Contact Julian Hill at 347-535-3707 or click here.

Pick up the Special 50th - Collector's Edition - Issue on newstands now!

Magazines Covers This Month

2008-10-13T15:12:00Z

This Month's Magazine Covers

Hip Hop Marketing: Common's Deal With Microsoft & the History of Hip Hop Ads

2008-10-13T13:33:00Z

Common talks to Ad Age about his deal with Microsoft & the history of ads & Hip Hop

There was a time when a rapper's endorsement deals were seen as a form of selling out. In fact that was one of the criticisms of MC Hammer, many felt that through his endorsement deals he was a "sell out." Much as change since those early days. Now every rapper is actively pursuing all the endorsement and sponsorship deals possible. Hip Hop artists today flaunt their many endorsement deals and, it seems, that a rapper without a long list of deals on his resume is considered a failure. In an interview with Ad Age magazine, Common talks about his own deal with Microsoft and what he feels was the pivotal campaign that changed the perception of endorsement deals and Hip Hop.

Excerpt of Ad Age's article on Common:

The Chicago native took a moment away from the tour bus to speak with Ad Age about how hip-hop musicians and marketers have come together, and why he's fine with integrating an MP3 player into his new Hype Williams-directed music video.

M&V: I saw the video for "Universal Mind Control," and I almost missed the Zune that appeared in the first five seconds.

Common: The video, or any visual, is very important to me, and for me to be open to showing a product in my video means a lot, because it's a representation of me. With anything I associate myself with, I think, "Is it gonna help or bring me down?" The Zune is something that I've been confident about associating myself with, because I think it's got a fly presentation to it. It is truly about music lovers, for me.

M&V: What persuaded you to work with Microsoft?

Common: Their tradition. ... I know that Microsoft has been around for 20 years, they established themselves in the mid-'80s, and since then they've progressed. Microsoft is classy, it's a timeless brand, and it means something to the world, internationally, and I felt like that's the direction of what I want Common to be, to be honest. I want to be timeless, I want to be international, and those are the things I feel like I'm working toward now. I was able to team up with them for some of those reasons. Like I said, I liked creatively where they wanted to go. Actually Microsoft and I are about to do a line of T-shirts coming out in November. I'm designing them.

M&V: Do you feel like Microsoft has similar goals to you?

Common: Yeah, definitely. Because I listen to what they want, and they want to touch down with the community and they want to touch the world. And they also obviously want to hit certain audiences that are hip and cool. So yeah, we've got certainly have similar goals. And Bill Gates is a philanthropist and does good things in the world. There's nothing wrong with making money, but you definitely want to be able to give back, and I see the head of their company giving back, so from that point right there, the head is giving back to the people, so that automatically can tie him in with me and make him alright with me and make the company alright with me.

M&V: You've been rapping now for a couple decades. How do you think the hip-hip community's attitude toward brand partnerships has changed since you started?

Common: Before, it used to be, "Oh man, you don't mess with corporations." I mean, you know corporations; they just represented the evils of America at a certain point. They represented capitalism and the exploitation of a lot of people. And hip-hop is so rooted in culture that it's based on a love for art, and art and corporations didn't seem like they mixed, but I think the Sprite commercials [from the mid-'90s] are what started turning it around for a lot of people. They'd go out and get Grand Puba, CL Smooth, Afrika Bambaataa. I remember I knew one of the guys who used to write those commercials, and he was a pure hip-hop dude.

I think more hip-hop artists became open with more people in corporations when the corporations really started to understand the music and respected the artists. So corporations could go out and get [KRS-One], and not just get the popular person, the person of the day.

M&V: As in people who have deeper connections with fans.

Common: A deep connection and a true following.

M&V: So whose attitudes have changed more: rappers or corporations?

Common: I think the rappers' attitudes changed because the corporations, some of them really had a respect for true artists and they knew what they were talking about and they presented things that made sense for the artist. And also artists realized that we have to make a living too, and if it's something that's gonna go well with what I do, then why not do it, 'cause these corporations are making money off it. If I mention something in a rap, they're making money off it anyway, so why shouldn't I get a piece of it?

Video: Common's - Universal Mind Control

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