Jadakiss Has No Beef With Jay-Z

Rapper Jadakiss wants no parts of the simmering feud between Lil Wayne and Jay-Z. Although Kiss appears on Weezy's "It's Good" track--the same song where Lil Wayne fires verbal shots at Jay; Jadakiss is staying neutral.

"Yall hating ass c**ksuckers better chill..they only sent me a track wit NO verses and I recorded that verse 3 months ago! #leavemeoutofit," Jada tweeted. "When I DISS n***as or have a problem Wit ANY RAPPER I SAY THere NAMES without hesitation and YALL know this already!"

The song was leaked yesterday (August 24) and is said to be a track from Wayne's upcoming album, Tha Carter IV.

Game On His Problem With Jay-Z:

Rapper Game is one of hip hop's biggest drama queens...er...kings. The Compton emcee has been taking shots at everyone from Amber Rose to Lil B lately, but it was his dig at Jay-Z on the track "Uncle Otis" that got a lot of folks talking. Game finally opened up--sort of--and explained why he has a problem with Jay.

“I met Jay-Z a long time ago in the 40/40 Club and he seemed like a cool dude and I asked him something—‘How do you stay relevant?’—and I ain’t really like his answer. So ever since then I just kinda take shots here and shot there,” Game said in an interview with radio personality Big Boy.

When he was pressed for more information, Game backed off. “I’ll tell you off air, anybody else who wants to know, just follow me on Twitter and ask me.” But he later wrote down his reason for beefing with Jay-Z and had someone else read it on the air. His note allegedly read: “Most of you new rappers won’t last long anyway, maybe you should think of another lane.”

Jay-Z & Beyonce Music's Top Couple

Rapper Jay-Z and pop/R&B superstar Beyonce have been named music's highest-paid couple by Forbes. They are the second overall highest-paid celebrity couple, behind NFL superstar Tom Brady and supermodel Gisele Bundchen.

According to Forbes, Jay and Bey made close to $72 million over the past year. Beyonce earned $35 million from business deals like her Dereon clothing line and endorsements for L’Oreal, General Mills and others. Jay-Z's $37 million came from his 10-year $150 million deal with Live Nation and investments in the New Jersey Nets, 40/40 Club franchise and ad agency Translation.

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie (No. 3, $50 million), David and Victoria Beckham (No. 4, $45 million) and Twilight’s Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart (No. 5, $40 million) rounded out the top five.

Amil Misses Jay-Z?

Amil--remember her?--still hasn't gotten over the fact that she blew her chance at a hip hop career way back in the late 90s. The former Roc-A-Fella artist was groomed to be the First Lady of the Roc, but her only album, A.M.I.L. (All Money Is Legal) flopped, and Jay-Z reportedly dropped her from the label due to her poor work ethic and--alleged--weight gain.

But Amil still has love for Jay--even though he's been a little too busy to return her calls lately.

"I haven't spoken to Jay in years but I really wish I could talk to him because that would just really bring closure to me. But he knows I love him," she says. "People think there was bad blood between us, but there never was any bad blood. Things happen and I wasn't ready for where my career was going at that time. It was really overwhelming."

Jay-Z Making J. Cole Wait?

J. Cole says that his debut album Cole Word: The Sideline Story is pretty much done. He's been saying that for weeks now. But there is one, small hiccup hindering the album's completion:

A verse from Roc Nation head honcho Jay-Z.

Now its unclear if Jay will even make an appearance on the album, with Cole giving a not-too-hopeful answer in a recent interview.

"Your guess is as good as mine if we're gonna get a Jay-Z verse," Cole responded when asked about Jay's no-show.

Not a good sign for the kid that's supposed to be Roc Nation's golden boy.

"Watch the Throne" Tour Adds Dates

Kanye West and Jay-Z's upcoming "Watch the Throne" tour has garnered such a huge reaction from the public that more dates have been announced to the tour's itinerary. The tour has been significantly altered, with some venues enjoying two nights of shows from hip hop's dynamic duo.

There will now be two shows in Atlanta, GA, and a second show in Toronto as well.

There were several other dates added, which are included below:

10-28 - Atlanta, GA - Phillips Arena
11-14 - Ft. Lauderdale, FL - BankAtlantic Center
11-15 - Miami, FL - American Airlines Arena
11-19 - Atlantic City, NJ - Boardwalk Hall
11-22 - Montreal, QC - Bell Centre
11-24 - Toronto, ON - Air Canada Centre
11-27 - Pittsburgh, PA - Consol Energy Center
11-29 - Kansas City, MO - Sprint Center
12-03 - New Orleans, LA - New Orleans Arena
12-16 - Tacoma, WA - Tacoma Dome
12-17 - Vancouver, BC - Rogers Arena

Dave Chappelle On Nicki Minaj, Jay-Z, & Kanye West

Reclusive comedian Dave Chappelle gave his thoughts on bootylicious femcee Nicki Minaj during a recent radio interview. Chappelle has become less vocal than in his mid-2000s heyday, and this was his first interview in almost five years. The funnyman was also asked about Jay-Z and Kanye West's Watch the Throne album.

"I just downloaded it yesterday," Chappelle said when asked for his opinion on Watch the Throne. "I haven't listened to the whole record. Real talk. Actually, I did see Kanye at Coachella [music festival]. Which was great...He ripped it, it was a good show."

Dave was to the point when he was asked about Minaj. "Nicki Minaj? Yeah, she's a good looking girl," Chappelle said. "You keep asking me about all these girls. Nicki Minaj is a good looking girl."

The Throne To Debut At Number One

We all watched and tomorrow morning, The Throne will sit on top of the Billboard Charts. According to HHD, Watch The Throne moved an estimated 426,661 copies. This marks Kanye West’s fifth number one album and Jay-Z’s 12th. Sweet baby Jesus!

LIV On Sun Jay-Z Breaking Records & Meek Mill Put On For His City Video

MEEK MILL CELEBRATES "DREAMCHASERS" 100,000 PLUS DOWNLOADS AND PERFORMS LIVE @ LIV DURING JAY-Z "WATCH THE THRONE" PARTY!! CAMEOS BY JAY-Z, DJ CLUE AND MORE. DIR X JON J FOR DRE FILMS / MAYBACH FILMS. DREAMCHASERS MIXTAPE OUT NOW!!

Mercedes May Have Donated "Otis" Car

Mercedes Benz most likely donated the now-infamous "Otis" Maybach that Jay-Z and Kanye West used in their recent video for the hit single. According to a report in the Wall Street Journal, the car company could have directly supplied the Maybach for the shoot.

Neither Jay-Z or Kanye West have spoken publicly about where the car came from. It is now being auctioned for charity.

“It isn’t clear how deeply Mercedes was involved in the video’s production, but company spokesmen suggested the video’s producers worked with officials in the company’s German headquarters,” reported Jonathan Welsh via Wall Street Journal’s Speakeasy blog. “West and Jay-Z could not be reached for comment.”

Jay-Z Compares Beyonce to MJ

Jay-Z may ruffle some feathers with his recent praise of his wife, superstar Beyonce. Jay compared Bey to the late King of Pop, Michael Jackson, in saying that he sees a lot of what made MJ great in his wife's work ethic and dedication.

"What I've learned from her is similar to what I learned from Mike [Jackson] - and I know that's blasphemy to compare the two because Mike was such an innovator - but I think she's like the second coming," Jay explained. "You know, the hard work and dedication that she puts into her shows. It just makes you want to work harder at your own craft. She's like a machine."

Introducing the King of Hip-Hop

Now more than three decades old as a recorded medium, hip-hop is deeply embedded in popular culture – to the point where its stars seem not only larger than life but also, as Rick Ross once put it, "deeper than rap." But even as they sell out arenas and top the pop charts, rappers still court the respect and esteem of their hip-hop peers. The title King of Hip-Hop still means something.

In that spirit, just as we did in June with the Queen of Pop, we've crunched a pile of data to try to determine who is the current King of Hip-Hop.

We're not looking for the all-time greatest, although many of our contenders would vie for that crown. Some of them have only been recording a couple of years; others have been in the game since the 1990s. But that's what makes hip-hop exciting – it's plausible for someone who was watching cartoons when Jay-Z dropped his debut album to emerge as a contender for the title.

As with our Queen of Pop tally, in naming the King of Hip-Hop we focused on the very recent past: from 2009 through the first seven months of 2011. We ranked 20 solo rappers (no groups – sorry, Beasties) who have dropped an album during that time. We looked at album sales, rankings on the R&B/hip-hop and rap charts, YouTube views, social media, concert grosses, industry awards and critics' ratings. In alphabetical order, our contenders are: Big Boi, B.o.B, Diddy, Drake, Eminem, Fabolous, Lupe Fiasco, Gucci Mane, Jay-Z, Kid Cudi, Lil Wayne, Ludacris, Nicki Minaj, Pitbull, Rick Ross, Snoop Dogg, T.I., Waka Flocka Flame, Kanye West and Wiz Khalifa.

All of our contenders are men except for Minaj, who reappears from our Queen of Pop survey. We like to think of "King" as a gender-neutral term, and the fact is that Minaj has earned the right to compete in this arena. It would feel strange to leave her out – as a rapper, she's had a world-beating couple of years, with a chart-topping album, block-rocking singles and a slew of killer guest appearances. Frankly, she deserves to be called a hip-hop king just for her giant-killing appearance on West's hit "Monster," in which she crushed West and fellow guests Rick Ross and Jay-Z with one blow.

Fans of the rappers, and the acts themselves, take these sorts of rankings pretty seriously. (We learned that firsthand in the comments section of Queens of Pop.) We stand by our data, but of course we know that no King of Hip-Hop index can capture swagger or flow – if it could, the all-time title might go to Q-Tip or Rakim. As you'll see, it turned out to be a fairly exciting contest. Our top overall contenders were pretty evenly matched, with five different rappers leading at least one tally each.

Let's start with the tally that comes with the biggest bragging rights: album sales.

9 pages of FACTS By ---> Rolling Stone

Jay-Z & Kanye West's "Watch The Throne" Breaks iTunes Sales Record

Hov and 'Ye's collaborative album becomes the highest selling digital album in history for first-week sales.

Jay-Z and Kanye West's collaborative album Watch the Throne, which was released exclusively to iTunes last Monday (August 8th), has broken a record for the online store.

According to reports, the LP has become the highest selling album in the store's history for first-week sales, moving about 308,472 copies to break Coldplay's previous record with 2008's Viva La Vida, which sold 155,000 copies.

Upon its release last week, Watch the Throne rocketed to number one in 23 countries worldwide. Final first-week sales, inclusive of digital and physical units, will be reported on Wednesday.

Source

Pictures Source

Jay-Z Spends $250K On Bottles At 'Watch The Throne' Party, Sets Club LIV Record (Video)

VIBE's own Datwon Thomas was partying it up last night at Club Liv in Miami, where bossman Jay-Z was throwing an epic Watch The Throne release party. Hov went all out, setting a new club record for the biggest bar tab. It was reported, Jigga shelled out a whopping $250K on Ace of Spade champagne.

"After several rounds of regular bottles of Ace of Spade, Jay-z ordered the 15 liter #BOSS $100K," tweeted promotor Purple with an accompanying TwitPic of the giant bottle in its golden carrier.

Previously, Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban held the record with a $110K bar tab.

Check out the video that Datwon brought home:

Kanye West Joins Prince Onstage

Rap superstar Kanye West joined musical legend Prince onstage during the Purple One's concert at Way Out West 2011 in Sweden. Prince was performing his classic 1987 tune "If I Was Your Girlfriend" when West came onstage.

Kanye led the crowd in a call-and-response and had the entire audience waving their hands.

Kanye has been promoting Watch the Throne, his collaborative album with Jay-Z, which hit stores last week.

Jay-Z Explains Album Title

Jay-Z gave an in-depth explanation of the Watch the Throne album title. According to Jay, the title is meant to inspire fans to protect hip hop music and culture. He wants fans to preserve the music.

"It's just protecting the music and the culture, like, it's people that's in the forefront of the music," Jay told radio host Lorenzo Thomas. "It's like, 'Watch the throne,' protect it. You just watch how popular music shift and how hip-hop has basically replaced rock n roll as the youth music. The same thing could happen to hip-hop. It could be replaced by other forms of music. So it's just like making sure we're putting that effort in making the best product, so we can contend with all these other music."

"With all dance music that's dominating the charts right now, indie music that's dominating the festivals and still holding off rock n roll," he continued. "Just to hold our place and make sure -- the hip-hop culture is still the most dominant form of music around the world."

"Otis" Maybach To Be Auctioned

Rappers Kanye West and Jay-Z are putting the vehicle from their “Otis” video up for auction. The specially-made Maybach will be donated with benefits going to the victims of the East African drought. Over 2 million people have recently fled their homes in Somalia due to the worst constant drought the region has seen in decades.

Over 12.4 million people have been affected by the East Africa drought and famine.

"What is happening in the Horn of Africa is the most severe humanitarian emergency in the world today, and the worst that East Africa has seen in several decades," U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said in a statement. Clinton also revealed that the U.S. was donating an additional $17 million to the nations around the Horn of Africa.

Birdman On "Watch the Throne:"

Birdman shared his thoughts on Jay-Z and Kanye West's Watch the Throne album. The Cash Money founder says that the album reflects an older perspective in hip hop, and he still believes that hip hop is a younger man's game.

He also alluded to Lil Wayne and Drake doing something similar.

"It's older versus younger," Baby said in an interview. "I listened to a few songs [off Watch The Throne] and it feels like an older feel to me. I think with Drake and Wayne, they young. They young cats. You got 23 and 28. Then you got Jay-Z and them, who are older and really on their way out the game. Then you got Wayne and Drake and them, who are still youthful [...] So, it's two different types of music all the way across the board. But what they're doing is great -- I think it's great for the game, great for the business, great for retail as a whole. I just think when Wayne and Drake get together is going to be something real special also because we more youthful."

Otis Redding Resurgence Continues

Kanye West and Jay-Z sampling and name-dropping Otis Redding in their latest hit "Otis" has contributed to a young generation of music fans becoming more interested in the late soul singer. Now Musiq Soulchild, Timothy Bloom, violinist Ken Ford and legendary Stax Records guitarist Steve Cropper are taking part in an event highlighting the career of the Macon, GA legend.

"An Evening of RESPECT" takes place in the singer's hometown on September 4th

“The Big 'O' Youth Educational Dream Foundation was founded to fulfill Otis’ dream to enrich the lives of young people by enabling them to continue their education through the many programs that we support,” stated Otis' widow Zelma Redding. “This is our fourth ‘An Evening of Respect’ and we are excited about celebrating Otis’ 70th birthday in the city he loved, Macon. We are honored to share this very special ‘An Evening of Respect’ with Stax Records, Atlantic Records and Steve Cropper.”

"Otis" famously features a chopped-up sample of Redding's iconic hit "Try A Little Tenderness."

88 Keys Talks "Watch the Throne"

Rapper/producer 88 Keys recently shared his experiences working with Jay-Z and Kanye West on the Watch the Throne album. Keys produced the opening track, "No Church In the Wild."

"Everybody in the room just started going crazy," he said of playing some of his instrumentals.

Keys says the day after playing his music for the rappers, he met singer Frank Ocean. "He actually had a talking intro part that he put on there. I thought it was pretty dope, it was pretty comical. But I guess it didn't make the final cut."