Sha Money XL Gears up for Producer Conference

On March 8 and 9, former G-Unit president Sha Money XL will present the second annual One Stop Shop producer conference in Phoenix, AZ. The Money Management Group founder, who is renowned for his ear for beats, attracted over 700 producers and music industry insiders to last year’s conference, which was widely hailed as a success. The conference serves as both a showcase for new production technology and an opportunity for aspiring beat makers to network with seasoned industry vets. In addition to a series of panels and workshops, the conference will also feature video game tournaments and the One Stop Shop Beat Battle. Among the informative discussions that attendees can take part in are the Microsoft Technology Panel, the Power Management Panel, the Tastemaker Panel and a New Producer Panel. A number of world-class producers are expected to be in attendance including DJ Toomp, Swizz Beats, DJ Premier, Hi-Tek, DJ Quik, 9th Wonder, No ID, Trackboyz, and Nottz. Swizz and DJ Toomp will be honored with the Lifetime Achievement and Producer of the Year awards respectively. “This is the conference for those that are serious about making real moves in the industry,” said legendary producer and mentor to Kanye West, No ID. “You gotta love it!” For more information, or to purchase tickets visit www.moneymanagementxl.com.

Ice Cube Teams with Microsoft for Online TV Network

Ice Cube and veteran West Coast producer DJ Pooh are teaming up with Microsoft to launch what they are describing as the world’s first real-time, online television network, UVNTV.com. The site will utilize Microsoft’s new Silverlight 1.0 technology, a browser and platform independent plugin that delivers multimedia content on the web in real time. UVNTV will provide full screen DVD quality resolution, Dolby surround sound and a channel guide with a video window. “We are thrilled to work with Ice Cube and DJ Pooh, both whom have proven track records and have been at the forefront in music, film and television,” said John Case, general manager of Microsoft’s Developer Division. “We see UNVTV as a leading example of the changing landscape of how consumers experience entertainment, and how the industry is seeking new interactive platforms to better reach their target audiences. By using Silverlight, UVNTV will have the capabilities needed to take the user experience to another level.” The site will also utilize social networking features such as profile pages and the ability to showcase their own talents on UViewTV, their user-generated content channel. Users will be encouraged to audition for productions, pitch show ideas and otherwise contribute to the network. Channels already lined up for the network include Snoop Dogg’s Snoopadelic TV, fashion designer Christian Audigier’s Live TV and Ice Cube’s own Hip Hop 24/7 TV.

Dr. Dre and Jimmy Iovine Unveil New High-End Headphones at CES

Dr. Dre and Interscope Chairman Jimmy Iovine teamed up with Monster Cable to unveil a new line of high-end headphones at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this past weekend. The headphones, called Beats by Dr. Dre, are said to use a new driver technology to provide “remarkably natural sound, incredible transient response and rich, deep bass.” The legendary producer and music executive have reportedly been developing the product for the past two years in an effort to allow listeners to experience the the full dynamic range, low bass punch and clarity intended by producers. “When I’m making a track I’m trying to capture the sound that makes me go ‘now THAT’s the shit! And I want that reaction from everybody who hears it,” said Dr. Dre. “I spend a lot of time in the studio listening to my music through headphones. With Beats, people are finally going to hear it the way they should: the way I do.” The Beats headphones come in a special carrying case with anti-microbial cleaning cloths, a special Monster headphone cable, a mini-stereo to 1/4-inch stereo cable adapter, as well as iSonitalk, a microphone/headphone adapter for
iPhones. “Dr. Dre is widely-known as the most critical ear in music today,” said Monster CEO Noel Lee. “This rare partnership with such an iconic artist is a testament to the both the need for high-performance headphones and the singular quality of ‘Beats.’” The Beats by Dr. Dre headphones will retail for $399.95.

Pharrell Teams with Louis Vuitton for New Jewelry Line

Pharrell Williams has teamed up with high-end design house Louis Vuitton and designer Camille Miceli for a new line of fine jewelry called Blason. According to Fashion Week Daily, the new line will be unveiled to the press on January 21 with a full launch following this spring. Miceli is a creative consultant and jewelry designer for Louis Vuitton and she handles public relations for designer Marc Jacobs. Blason is a French word that is synonymous with a coat-of-arms representing a dynasty and for centuries has conveyed aristocratic heritage from one generation to another. The Blason collection will feature various pieces inspired by the world of music and will include combinations of white and yellow gold with diamonds. The pieces will range in price from approximately $2,070 to $621,000. Pharrell and Miceli are expected to host a private party celebrating the launch at a private mansion on Avenue Foch in Paris. In 2005, the super-producer and Nigo of A Bathing Ape helped design and launch Louis Vuitton’s first line of Millionaire sunglasses.

Beanie Sigel and Freeway sound off on Def Jam to Whoo Kid

Beanie Sigel and Freeway both recently talked to Whoo Kid and discussed their feelings that Def Jam didn't push their albums and support them the way they should have. Both Beans and Free also add that they heard about Jay-Z's resignation second hand. Listen to the entire interviews here.


Click Here To Listen To Beanie Sigel Interview
www.zshare.net/audio/62230097f61c58


Click Here To Listen To Freeway Interview
www.zshare.net/audio/6223847517d7bd/

Wyclef Announces the “Carnival House Tour”

Wyclef Jean will embark on the nationwide “Carnival House Tour” later this month in support of his latest album Carnival Vol. II: Memoirs of an Immigrant. Clef will launch the tour on January 14 in Providence, R.I. before hitting 23 more venues across the country. His Columbia Records labelmate Lyfe Jennings will be joining the former Fugees front man on the outing and unnamed surprise guests have been promised at various stops along the way. Carnival II debuted at No. 28 on the Billboard Top 200 chart following it’s December 4 release, and has moved 120,709 units to date according to Nielsen Soundscan.

Complete list of Carnival House Tour dates

Mon - Jan 14 Providence, RI Lupo’s Heartbreak Hotel
Wed - Jan 16 New York, NY Nokia Theatre Times Square
Thu - Jan 17 Baltimore, MD Rams Head Live
Fri - Jan 18 Washington, DC Love Nightclub
Sun - Jan 19 Atlantic City, NJ House of Blues
Sun - Jan 20 Norfolk, VA The Norva
Tue - Jan 22 Cleveland, OH House of Blues
Wed - Jan 23 Chicago, IL House of Blues
Thu - Jan 24 Barbados
Fri - Jan 25 Atlanta, GA Tabernacle
Sun - Jan 27 Dallas, TX House of Blues
Tue - Jan 29 Denver, CO Gothic Theatre
Wed - Jan 30 Aspen, CO Belly Up
Fri - Feb 1 Phoenix, AZ Scottsdale
Mon - Feb 4 San Diego, CA House of Blues
Wed - Feb 6 Anaheim, CA House of Blues
Thu - Feb 7 Anaheim, CA House of Blues
Fri - Feb 8 Los Angeles, CA House of Blues
Tue - Feb 12 Seattle, WA Showbox
Wed - Feb 13 Burnaby, BC Canada The Firefighters Club
Wed - Feb 13 Vancouver, CAN Commodore Ballroom
Fri - Feb 15 San Francisco, CA University of San Francisco
Mon - Feb 25 Montreal, QC Club Soda
Tue - Feb 26 Kitchener, OH Club Elements

Flo-Rida Sets Digital Download Sales Record

Flo-Rida, a native of the same Carol City neighborhood that produced Rick Ross, has set a new record for digital sales with his smash single “Low” featuring T-Pain. According to Billboard.com, “Low” sold 470,000 copies, smashing the previous single week record of 294,000 set by Black Eyed Peas front woman Fergie with her single “Fergalicious.” Understandably, the track also managed to land atop the Billboard Hot 100 Singles chart for the second week in a row, once again beating out powerhouse Alicia Keys’ “No One.” The Florida rapper’s achievement caps a week of staggering sales for digital music in which all but five songs on the Hot 100 chart posted triple digit increases. Notably, “Low” was also the No. 1 most downloaded song on the iTunes music store for a month straight. Flo-Rida’s debut album, Mail On Sunday is due out this February through Poe Boy/Atlantic Records.

Judge Postpones Evidence Suppression Hearing in T.I. Case

A judge on Thursday (January 3) postponed a suppression hearing in T.I.’s federal weapons trial for another six weeks. According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, U.S. Magistrate Alan Baverman rescheduled the hearing, which was supposed to take place today, until February 19. On November 20, attorneys for the rapper filed motions seeking to suppress evidence seized during his October 13 arrest because of a lack of proper warrants or probable cause. They also contended that statements the rapper made to officers during his arrest were obtained illegally. Should Tip’s legal team succeed in getting this significant evidence tossed, the government’s case will be severely impeded.

Baby & Cash Money Records Sued for Copyright Infringement

Bryan “Baby” Williams, co-founder of Cash Money Records, is being sued by a number of music publishing firms for allegedly infringing on their copyrighted material. According to the New Orleans Times-Picayune, the suit was filed on October 29 in U.S. District Court in New Orleans on behalf of WB Music Corp., Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp., Cotillion Music Inc., Noontime Tunes and W.B.M. Music Corp. The complaint claims that albums from Baby, Lil Wayne, the Big Tymers and other Cash Money artists contained copyrighted material that was used without licensing agreements; and that Cash Money failed to pay royalties to the companies named. The suit does not list any of the actual song titles. The suit states that Cash Money made a single payment of $400,000, but failed to perform “appropriate accounting” to the companies in order for them to determine how much more money they were owed. Lawyers for the plaintiffs attempted to serve Baby with a copy of the lawsuit at the Cash Money offices in New Orleans on December 3, but the company no longer operates out of that location. The suit seeks an unspecified amount of damages, plus interest and attorney fees.

Christopher “Play” Martin of Duo Kid-N-Play Injured in Car Accident

Christopher “Play” Martin, one half of late ’80s/early ’90s duo Kid-N-Play, was injured in Durham, NC on Saturday (December 29) when his SUV was struck by a suspect fleeing the police. According to The News Observer, the accident happened as suspect Raul Riva Aldamo drove his Ford Taurus down Holloway St. in Durham. Aldamo and two accomplices had reportedly broken into a nearby home and were holding the family inside at bay when police arrived. As he tried to flee the scene, Aldamo nearly ran over an officer, and was subsequently shot. He drove about half a mile down Holloway St. before slamming into Play’s SUV at the intersection of Morgan and Mangum streets. The rapper’s SUV reportedly flipped over before striking a Honda Accord. Play and his passenger, Michelle Gonzales, were ejected from the vehicle. Aldamo died at the scene. His two accomplices were later apprehended and have been charged with burglary, robbery with a dangerous weapon and kidnapping. Martin and Gonzales were treated at a local hospital and had been released as of Wednesday (January 2). Kid-N-Play were a hugely popular act beginning in the late ’80s, culminating with a trio of successful House Party films. Play now lives in Durham and recently completed a documentary on gang life in the area.

Talib Kweli, Jean Grae to Appear on MTV’s Made

Talib Kweli and his Blacksmith Records artist Jean Grae are set to appear on an upcoming episode of MTV’s popular series Made. The show, now in its eight season, chronicles the journeys of young people as they undergo complete “life makeovers” by achieving a far-fetched goal or overcoming fears. The subject of each episode is usually paired up with an expert coach from whatever field they aspire to succeed in. On Made: Rapper, Kweli and Grae will help turn Colin, a history loving trombone player, into a rapper in time for his Junior/Senior dance. The episode will kick off a marathon of six new installments of Made beginning on January 12 at 11:00 a.m.

Lil Wayne’s The Leak EP Sells 2,401 Copies In First Week

With virtually no promotion and MP3-only digital distribution, Lil Wayne’s The Leak EP quietly sold 2,401 copies in its first week since being released on Christmas Day (December 25). While The Leak was originally intended to collect many of the outtakes from Tha Carter III’s studio sessions, along with four new songs, Wayne’s label, Universal, confirmed that the project would no longer be coming out in December. Still, on the final release date of 2007, a 5 song EP appeared on digital music retailers like Rhapsody and Amazon with no warning or explanation from Universal or Cash Money. The EP’s first week sales were not high enough to appear on the Billboard chart.

In other chart news, Lupe Fiasco’s The Cool is still the Billboard 200’s highest selling hip-hop album after moving an additional 54,398 copies last week to come in at #14 (one spot up from his #15 debut), bringing his two week total to 198,477.

Suge Knight’s Lawyer Claims Fraud In $130 Mil Suit

According to a report from the Los Angeles Times, a lawyer for Death Row CEO Suge Knight has filed a legal motion that alleges fraud in the $130 million judgement against the music mogul from 2005.

Suge’s attorney Dermot Givens, who also represented Knight in the original case, is seeking to have the $130 million judgment set aside because of new evidence of fraud perpetrated by the plaintiff, singer Lydia Harris, and her imprisoned husband, Michael Harris. The original suit, filed in 2002 by Lydia Harris, claimed that she co-founded Death Row Records with Suge and that he had cheated her out of millions of dollars over the years. While the suit did not make it to trial, a judge ordered Suge to pay $130 million because his attorneys violated various court rules and failed to make certain information available to the prosecution.

At the time of the original suit, Lydia Harris was married to Michael Harris, who is currently serving a 28-year sentence for selling crack and attempted murder. Back in 1996, Michael Harris threatened to sue Death Row and Interscope, claiming he had financed the label while behind bars. As a result, he signed an out-of-court settlement for $300,000, which released both companies from future claims.

The new motion, which is expected to be the focus of a hearing in a Los Angeles court today, alleges that Lydia Harris hid from the court the fact that she had filed for bankruptcy five years earlier, at which point she never claimed any ownership of Death Row. It also claims that, in reference to the Harris’ recent divorce proceedings, both Lydia and Michael testified that Michael was the true party of interest in her suit against Suge. “I was the one making all major client decisions on behalf of the marital estate, even though Lydia was technically named the plaintiff in the matter,” Michael Harris said. “Lydia simply accepted whatever decision [her lawyer] and I made jointly.”

Investigators Rule Out Foul Play In Pimp C’s Death

The LA coroner’s office should be able to determine the cause of Pimp C’s sudden death at a Hollywood hotel earlier this month within the next two weeks. According to Port Arthur’s KBTV Channel 4, investigators have ruled out foul play in the mysterious death of the 33 year-old veteran MC. Pimp’s body was discovered in his room at the Mondrian Hotel on Sunset Blvd. on December 4 after family members became worried when they hadn’t heard from him and notified the hotel’s staff. The next day, Capt. Ed Winter of the L.A. Coroner’s office told website TMZ.com that the rapper was found lying on his bed, fully clothed. Initial reports indicated that Pimp may have died from natural causes and no drugs or drug paraphernalia were found in the room.

Happy New Year 2008 !!!!