Jay-Z Is Still King Of The Charts

Written By: Victoria H. (Urban Editor)

In its second week, Jay-Z’s “The Blueprint 3” is still number one on Billboard’s Top 200 Albums list. Jay sold 476,000 in the first week and another 298,000 in its second. Jay has been touring and appearing on various TV shows to promote the album.

In other rap album news, Kid Cudi’s debut “Man On The Moon: The End Of Day” is at number four with 104,000 albums sold. The album already has two top 50 hits (“Day ‘N’ Night” and “Make Her Say”.) and Drake’s EP “So Far Gone” is at number six with 73,000 albums sold.

Why Was Lil Mama On Stage With Jay-Z & Alicia Keys?

Written By: Victoria H. (Urban Editor)

There was a lot to talk about after watching the MTV VMA’s on Sunday…like what was Kanye thinking when he jumped on stage and dissed Taylor Swift and who was on stage when Jay-Z & Alicia Keys were performing “Empire State Of Mind” on the MTV VMA’s? Well, mystery solved…it’s rapper Lil Mama.

In a moment of excitement, Lil Mama jumped on stage and started to act like she was part of the performance. For the record, Lil Mama was not scheduled or asked to perform with Jay & Alicia and she is not on any tracks by Jay or Alicia.

Lil Mama said she “did not mean any disrespect towards Jay-Z or Alicia Keys. I admire them and look up to them as role models. ‘Empire State of Mind’ had my emotions running high. In that moment I came up onstage to celebrate my two icons singing about NY.”

All this stage jumping, maybe MTV should think about better security…

Hip-Hop Week On Fuse TV

Written By: Victoria H. (Urban Editor)

This week is Hip-Hop week on Fuse TV as the channel airs movies, interviews and documentaries about some of the most popular and influential rappers of all time. Check your local listing to confirm the dates and start times.

50 Cent: Refuse 2 Die– Filmmaker Mike Corbera interviews friends and colleagues of the successful rapper.

The 50 Cent Chronicles– Music videos show the artist’s rise to stardom from humble beginnings.

Tupac Shakur: Before I Wake– Hip-hop pioneer Tupac Shakur during the final year of his life.

Juice– Four Harlem buddies hold up a store, and one of them (Tupac Shakur) gets hooked on the thrill of the gun.

The Jay-Z Chronicles– The history of Jay-Z.

Jay-Z: Conversations In Hip-Hop– Jay-Z discusses several topics including his album “The Blueprint 3.”

Jay-Z Live From Madison Square Garden: Answer the Call– The rapper performs a charity event.

Beef: The MC Battle– High profile disputes among artists; featuring 50 Cent, Jay-Z, Nas, DMX, Snoop Dogg, Tupac, Dr. Dre and Ice Cube.

Jay-Z To Play At New York’s Blender Theater Tonight!

Written By: Victoria H. (Urban Editor)

Jay-Z will perform an intimate, free show tonight (Wednesday, September 9th) at New York’s Blender Theater. For more information on how to get tickets, email hiphoptix@myspacemusic.com.

Jay-Z’s The Blueprint 3 Releases Today! Plus, Tour Dates

Written By: Victoria H. (Urban Editor)

Jay-Z has moved the release date for The Blueprint 3 from Friday, September 11th (which is the 8th anniversary of the first Blueprint album) to today (Tuesday, September 8th).

Jay-Z will also tour in support of The Blueprint 3. Below are the confirmed tour dates, but more may be added in the coming weeks.

Sept. 8 – Chicago, IL @ House of Blues
Sept. 11 – New York, NY @ Madison Square Garden- This concert will be shown on Fuse TV (check your local listings for times)
Oct. 9 – University Park, PA @ Bryce Jordan Center
Oct. 10 – Highland Heights, KY @ The Bank of Kentucky Center
Oct. 13 – Edmonton, AB @ Rexall Place
Oct. 14 – Calgary, AB @ Pengrowth Saddledome
Oct. 15 – Kelowna, BC @ Prospera Place
Oct. 16 – Vancouver, BC @ General Motors Place
Oct. 17 – Seattle, WA @ Key Arena
Oct. 24 – Providence, RI @ Dunkin Donuts Center
Oct. 25 – Amherst, MA @ Mullins Center
Oct. 27 – Baltimore, MD @ 1st Mariner Arena
Oct. 28 – Columbus, OH @ Value City Arena Ohio State
Oct. 29 – London, ON @ John Labatt Centre
Oct. 30 – Montreal, QUE @ Centre Bell Centre
Oct. 31 – Toronto, ON @ Air Canada Centre
Nov. 1 – Ottawa, ON @ Scotiabank Place
Nov. 12 – Champaign, IL @ University of Illinois, Assembly Hall
Nov. 19 – Albuquerque, NM @ Tingley Coliseum
Nov. 20 – El Paso, TX @ Don Haskins Center
Nov. 22 – Austin, TX @ Frank Erwin Center Arena

Tracks From The Blueprint 3 Leaked Online

Written By: Victoria H. (Urban Editor)

Some tracks from The Blueprint 3 have leaked online. The album is scheduled to be released on September 11th.

When told of the news, Jay-Z said “I may be the most bootlegged artist in history, it’s a preview. I’m excited for people to hear the album. I’m very proud of the work I’ve done, so enjoy it. My pager is actually ringing right now, so people are probably calling me and telling me they pretty much like it. I can tell by the way my pager rings if a song is good or not. It’s really going crazy right now.”

Jay has a busy schedule ahead as he will perform at Madison Square Garden on September 11th to benefit the NY Police and Fire Widows’ and Children’s Benefit Fund. On September 13th Jay will appear on the MTV VMA’s and on September 14th, Jay will perform with Kanye West and Rihanna on the debut episode of The Jay Leno Show.

Memphis Bleek To Release A New Album

Written By: Victoria H. (Urban Editor)

Rapper, Memphis Bleek is slated to release his fifth album, “The Process E2” on November 24th. The album will be executive produced by Memphis’ mentor Jay-Z. Rick Ross, Pharrell, Just Blaze and No I.D. are producing some of the tracks and Jay-Z will make a guest appearance in addition to being executive producer.

Memphis Bleek was one of the first artists signed to Roc-A-Fella records and was featured on the following Jay-Z albums, “Reasonable Doubt”, “In My Lifetime Vol. 1″, “Hard Knock Life” and “The Dynasty: Roc La Familia”.

The album will be released on Mass Appeal Entertainment and Memphis’ own Get Low Records. Memphis said of the album, “”The Process’ has been exactly that — a process. Taking what I’ve learned from a teacher and creating my own school, it’s time for me to handle my own business as a man and Mass Appeal supports the vision. I’m excited to take the next steps in my career independently.”

Jay-Z To Play Madison Square Garden

Written By: Victoria H. (Urban Editor)

Jay-Z will play Madison Garden Square on September 11th to celebrate the release of The Blueprint 3. The show will benefit the New York Police And Fire Widows’ & Children’s Benefit Fund (a charity set up in 1985 to support the families of police officers and firefighters who have died in the line of duty).

The Blueprint 3 Track List

Written By: Victoria H. (Urban Editor)

Jay-Z announced the track list to his upcoming album, “The Blueprint 3,” through his website (www.jay-z.com). The album will be released on September 11th through Jay’s own RocNation with distribution through Atlantic Records.

“Blueprint 3” Tracklist:

1. What We Talking About (featuring Luke Steele of Empire Of The Sun)
2. Thank You
3. D.O.A. (Death Of Auto-Tune)
4. Run This Town (featuring Rihanna and Kanye West)
5. Empire State Of Mind (featuring Alicia Keys)
6. Real As It Gets (featuring Young Jeezy)
7. On To The Next One featuring (Swizz Beatz)
8. Off That (featuring Drake)
9. A Star Is Born (featuring J. Cole)
10. Venus Vs. Mars
11. Already Home (featuring Kid Cudi)
12. Hate (featuring Kanye West)
13. Reminder
14. So Ambitious (featuring Pharrell)
15. Young Forever (featuring Mr. Hudson)

Jay-Z & Beyonce’s Bodyguard Attacks Photographers

Written By: Victoria H. (Urban Editor)

Croatian police will not press charges against Jay-Z and Beyonce’s bodyguard after investigating a report filed by photographers.

The bodyguard was trying to shield the couple (who were vacationing in Dubrovnik, Croatia) from the photographers, but the photographers said that bodyguard got physical with them. Footage of the altercation shows the bodyguard (named only as Julius) wrestling with the photographers outside a restaurant, while Jay-Z can be heard saying “let’s go, let’s go, don’t worry about it” and “stop, stop, stop”.

The footage later shows Jay-Z, Beyonce and others boarding a boat. The photographers threw an object at the bodyguard and the bodyguard threw the object into the sea.

The photographers claimed that the bodyguard made threats, physically attacked them and damaged their equipment.