Bay Area Trio Federation Preps New Album With Rick Rock

Bay Area trio, Federation, are ready to take their signature hyphy sound to the masses via their second album, titled It's Whateva, on Reprise/Warner Bros Records.

Led by producer Rick Rock, the trio -- consisting of Doonie Baby, Goldie, and Stresmatic -- are taking up where E-40's My Ghetto Report Card left off, exposing their energetic dancing, music, and car culture that got its start in Oakland several years ago.

The album's lead single, "Stunna Glasses At Night," is a remake of Corey Hart's 80's hit "Sunglasses At Night," which features E-40. It's Whateva also features guest appearances by a variety of artists including Snoop Dogg, Blink 182 drummer Travis Barker, and the two-time Grammy nominated gospel group Walter Hawkin's Love Center Choir.

The members of Federation linked up through their shared love for hip-hop music. Producer Rick Rock and Doonie Baby worked together as part of the group Cosmic Slop Shop in the early 90's in Alabama, while Stresmatic and Goldie became acquainted as children attending the same church in Fairfield, California.

After moving near Rick Rock in Fairfield, Doonie met Stres at a local record store where they would battle rap before becoming a group. Though the group struggled through hard times in the beginning, they've managed to stick by each other throughout.

"From four peple sharing one hamburger, we've been through it all with each other," says Doonie of the group's history.

"We're beyond brothers," adds Goldie.

The strong bond the group shares is the backbone of their music, according to the group.

It's Whateva is expected to drop this fall.

-article courtesy of BallerStatus.Net

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Fat Joe Goes On "Euro Trip" With Ron Artest

Posted at 7/22/2006 03:50:00 PM

In support of his upcoming debut album, My World, Sacramento Kings forward Ron Artest will be heading on a European tour with Fat Joe.

Artest, who made headlines in 2004 after sparking a brawl between NBA players and fans during a Pacers-Pistons game, has been performing at various venues across the U.S. during the summer, including opening for Young Jeezy on several dates in May and June.

The self proclaimed 'Tru Warrior' will serve as the opening act for Fat Joe during their eleven day trek, which launches next week in Portugal and wraps up in Norway in August.

Set to hit shelves on October 24th, My World features appearances from Mike Jones, Allure, Challace, Ruc, and Braska.

Following are the scheduled tour dates:

July 28: Lisbon, Portugal. Torre de Moncorvo Carvisaic Festival

July 29: Gollhofen, Germany, Diva Palace

July 30: Paris, France, Elysee Montmartre

July 31: Zurich, Switzerland, Volkshaus

August 1: Amsterdam, Netherlands, Paradiso

August 3: Munich, Germany, Crowns Club

August 4: Braunschweig, Germany, Jolly Joker

August 5: Chemnitz, Germany, Splash Festival

August 6: Lausanne, Switzerland, Cult Club

August 7: Copenhagen, Denmark, Vega

August 8: Oslo, Norway, Rockefeller Venue

-article courtesy of SOHH.Com

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Queensbridge Rappers Cormega And Lake Team For 'My Brothers Keeper'

Posted at 7/22/2006 03:41:00 PM

Queensbridge MC's Cormega and Lake have joined forces to record a full-length album titled My Brother's Keeper.

Set to be released via Fast Life Music, the disc contains 13 tracks with guest appearances from Fat Joe, Mr. Cheeks of the Lost Boyz, Greg Nice and R&B songstress Kira.

The album also boasts production from D.I.T.C.'s Buckwild, J. Waxx, Garfield, Ax Tha Bull, Ski, Jay Boy, HotDay, Now or Laterz, Get Large, and Cormega.

"It's a lot of different things me and Cormega went through together over the years," Lake explained. "We put that into music, and it came out great."

Lake, a former Nas associate, recently signed to Suge Knight's Death Row subsidiary, Death Row East.

The rapper has had success with his debut LP, 41st Side, which has sold over 100,000 copies with no radio or video support.

Formerly signed to Def Jam, Cormega has worked with Hip-Hop artists such as Nas, Ghostface Killah, Mobb Deep, AZ, and Foxy Brown.

In 2003, Cormega won the 2003 Source Award for Independent Album Of The Year, The True Meaning.

Although Cormega's long-unreleased major-label debut The Testament was shelved by Def Jam for 10 years, he eventually won back the right to release the record himself in 2005.

My Brother's Keeper is scheduled to hit stores on August 22.

-article courtesy of AllHipHop.Com

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Rapper Big Tuck Begins Dallas Hip Hop Movement

Posted at 7/22/2006 03:37:00 PM

It took the likes of UGK, Scarface and later MCs such as Paul Wall, Slim Thug, Mike Jones and Chamillionaire to fully put Houston on the hip hop map. Now, Big Tuck hopes to lead the movement for Dallas.

On Thursday evening (July 20), select DJs and members of the media were invited to Universal headquarters in New York City to hear Tuck’s album, Tha Absolute Truth. At that time, Tuck also broke down the differences between hip hop in Houston and Dallas.

“Houston hip hop is more syrupy and slowed down,” Tuck exclusively told Vibe.com. “Dallas has a bulkier attitude and at the same time we get it crunk too.”

Tuck’s lead single, “I Know U Want That,” features Chamillionaire performing a hook very similar to the one he did on, “Ridin,’” his own smash single.

Despite Tuck representing Dallas, the MC’s H-Town peers have shown support for what he’s trying to accomplish. In addition to Cham, Tuck’s set features H-Town MCs like Paul Wall and Slim Thug.

“Some Houston artists have shown love,” says Tuck. “Dallas has a crazy fan base and we’re a couple of months away from being a real force in hip hop. Whether you’re in the hood in Texas, New York City or even Alabama, you can feel me because I'm real.”

Big Tuck’s album, Tha Absolute Truth, is scheduled for a Sept. 12 release.

-article courtesy of Vibe.Com

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New Orleans Police Chief Questions Judge’s Actions in C-Murder Case

Posted at 7/22/2006 03:34:00 PM

According to a report from New Orleans’ Times-Picayune, Gretna Police Chief Arthur Lawson is “mystified” by Judge Martha Sassone’s repeated interventions on behalf of Corey “C-Murder” Miller in the dispute over alleged violations of the terms of his house arrest. On June 5, when a Gretna police officer was driving Miller to the Jefferson Parish Correctional Center, Judge Sassone phoned the officer and ordered him to return the defendant to his home. Although Sassone was within her authority, Lawson found it to be a surprising action by a judge, and a first in the six years that his department has run the home incarceration program.

Lawson also disputed a statement the Judge made last week in court when she claimed that the additional workload placed on his officers in monitoring Miller had become a “burden” to the department. “We certainly don’t feel that it was a burden. It certainly wasn’t the sentiment of our officers, the office or the program,” Lawson told the Times-Picayune. The Chief also expressed concern that Miller did not meet the standard criteria for the home incarceration program in the first place. He cited as examples the violent nature of his crime, and violations he incurred while in prison, such as possession of an illegal cell phone and an assault on an officer. Judge Sassone, who is unable to comment on cases in her court, released Miller from house arrest last week and imposed a 10 p.m. curfew instead.

-article courtesy of XXLMag.Com

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Friday, July 21, 2006   MUSIC |  VIDEOS |  INTERVIEWS  | NEW ARTIST  | HOME

Sticky Fingaz Grabs Chance To Make Rap Movie With Mekhi Phifer, Michael Rapaport

Posted at 7/21/2006 08:07:00 PM

The term "movie musical" usually brings to mind elaborate song-and-dance classics like "The Sound of Music" and "My Fair Lady" or "Chicago." Sticky Fingaz is hoping to change that.

The Onyx MC has written, produced and directed "A Day in the Life," a movie that consists entirely of rap dialogue. "I do music and I do movies," he explained at last month's BET Awards. "So I just merged the two together, like gumbo."

The multitasking Sticky (born Kirk Jones) will also play a major role in the film. "I'm starring in it alongside Michael Rapaport, Omar Epps, Mekhi Phifer, Bokeem Woodbine, Fredro Starr, Clarence Williams III, Robert De Niro's daughter Drena — it's crazy," he said.

While this big-screen project is ambitious, it's not the rapper's acting debut. Sticky Fingaz has appeared in numerous action-oriented films and TV shows, including "House of the Dead II," "Doing Hard Time," "The Shield" and "CSI."

Sticky actually just returned to TV as the star of "Blade," which was picked up by Spike TV following the success of the movie trilogy. Writer/director/producer David Goyer is producing the series; the two-hour pilot aired on June 28. The show tracks the trials and tribulations of the same half-vampire/half-human vigilante of the big-screen "Blade" flicks. And while training was necessary for the intense fighting sequences, Sticky Fingaz says he was more than ready for the challenge.

"I was born prepared," he said. "You know, I always did boxing and stuff, but I did more training, kickboxing. It was interesting."

In the meantime, the rapper insists he hasn't forgotten about his musical roots. He has reunited with Onyx and is working on their new album, Black Rock, due in early 2007. Onyx also have plans to release "10 Years of Videos, History and Violence," a DVD of 17 of their videos — including "Shut 'Em Down," "Throw Ya Gunz" and "Slam" — and bonus features like additional performances, a karaoke function and behind-the-scenes footage shot between 1992 and 1998.

-article courtesy of MTV.Com

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Timbaland working with Jay-Z on comeback album.

Posted at 7/21/2006 07:50:00 PM

Hip-hop mogul Timbaland has confirmed Jay-Z, who had announced his retirement from music, is working on a new album. Timbaland and the legendary rapper are currently recording Jay-Z's comeback album. Timbaland says, "Hip-hop is too easy for me. I've got to do something that's challenging. The only thing I got coming out is Jay-Z."

-Source (ContactMusic.Com)

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EDDIE MURPHY TO MARRY EX SPICE GIRL: Mel B and actor/comedian schedule September hook up.

Posted at 7/21/2006 08:47:00 AM

It looks like Eddie Murphy and Melanie Brown, AKA: "Scary Spice" and Mel B, are feeling each other so much that they are going to go all the way.

Reports say the actor/comedian, 45, and the former Spice Girls singer, 31, have scheduled their nuptials for this September.

The so-called "dream wedding" is scheduled to be held at the historic Roosevelt Hotel in Hollywood.

If you're keeping score, Murphy, who was recently divorced this past May from Nicole Mitchell Murphy, after 12 years of marriage, has five kids. This will be the second wedding both for both he and Mel B. Brown was married to dancer Jimmy Gulzar. They were wedded in 1998 but divorced 3 years later.

Britain's Daily Star reports that Murphy and Mel met at a party in Beverly Hills in June and have been inseparable since.

"Mel just wants her and Eddie's close family to be there for the simple blessing," a source adds. "But they will be inviting their friends to a lavish wedding breakfast reception at the venue afterwards."

-article courtesy of EurWeb.Com

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Tupac Resurrected, Overheard On Cell Phone

Posted at 7/21/2006 08:44:00 AM

Tupac ringtones will soon be available to mobile phone users across the U.S.

Koch Records recently licensed the entire Death Row Records catalogue, which includes music from Tupac, Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre to Hudson Entertainment.

Hudson, which specializes in hip-hop ringtones and mobile content, expects to have master ringtones and ringback tones from the aforementioned catalogue accessible to nationwide carriers this August.

-article courtesy of SOHH.Com

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MC Hammer's Music Catalog Sold For $2.7 Million

Posted at 7/21/2006 08:22:00 AM

Nashville, TN startup EverGreen Copyright has acquired the music catalog of MC Hammer from the trustee of the rapper's bankruptcy estate for $2.7 million.

Evergreen, which was launched six-months ago by industry veterans Joel A. Katz, David K. Schulhof, and Richard Perna, now controls over 40,000 copyrights.

"We made tremendous progress in only six months," said David K. Schulhof, co-CEO of Evergreen. "The MC Hammer catalog brings some of the best selling and most popular rap songs of all time to Evergreen's catalog."

Songs in MC Hammer's catalog include "Turn This Mutha Out," from the rapper's breakout double platinum release Let's Get It Started, as well as "Too Legit To Quit," "Pray" and one of rap's biggest selling singles, "U Can't Touch This," which helped the rapper's 1990 release Please Hammer Don't Hurt 'Em to sales in excess of 10 million copies.

"We anticipate that many songs in the MC Hammer catalog will emerge as a perfect fit for licensing in movies, television shows, and corporate advertising," Schulhof added.

MC Hammer filed for bankruptcy protection in 1996, with debts in excess of $14 million, despite raking in over $33 million in 1991.

Some of the rapper's assets included a luxurious mansion valued between $12 and $20 million dollars, 17 race cars, a Boeing 727, a Kentucky Derby race horse and a monthly payroll of over $500,000.

Evergreen also acquired producer/publisher Jerry Crutchfield's Crutchfield/Glitterfish catalog, which includes hits from Tim McGraw, Martina McBride, George Straight and others.

The company also owns the catalogs of Rykomusic/Warlock Music and the music catalog of hit R&B producer Teddy Riley.

In related news, MC Hammer, who owns the rights to his new material, recently released an album on iTunes titled Look3X. The album is expected in retail stores soon.

-article courtesy of Vibe.Com

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Thursday, July 20, 2006