On Friday, November 4, Red Bull andRick Ross made history in the cultural mecca of Atlanta, Georgia with the US debut of Red Bull Symphonic, an unprecedented collaboration of hip-hop and classical music featuring Maestro Jason Ikeem Rodgers and acclaimed all-Black symphony,Orchestra Noir. Held at the prestigious Atlanta Symphony Hall, the sold-out event delivered a once-in-a-lifetime celebration of music, community and Black excellence.
In this exclusive documentary—released today on Rick Ross’ YouTube channel—go behind the scenes and see how Red Bull Symphonic came together. Featuring never-before-seen rehearsal footage and exclusive interviews with Maestro Rodgers, members of Orchestra Noir, superstar violinistMapy, Sainted Trap Choir, and The Biggest Boss himself, The Making of Red Bull Symphonic pulls back the curtain to reveal the inspirational story that brought the event to life.
Janet Jackson is set to go on tour this summer. In a new announcement, the legend will capture her life in the forthcoming documentary, Family First.
The new documentary will be delivered by Lifetime and A&E, chronicling her efforts to bring the Jackson family band back together for the first time in 40 years. The effort will be done with her brother Randy.
Jackson said of the doc, “I am excited to continue to share my story, and welcome fans into my life and the ‘Together Again’ tour. Thank you for your never-ending support, and I hope you enjoy the next chapter.”
Randy Jackson added, “In this next chapter in the documentary, Janet and I are thrilled to welcome viewers on the road with us as we embark on the ‘Together Again’ tour, celebrating the milestone of 50 years of Janet’s career with fans across the country. We look forward to the continued partnership with Lifetime and A&E, and to sharing our family with viewers.”
Janet Jackson’s tour is her first in four years. This time she’s bringing Ludacris.
Janet just announced her 2023 Together Again North American Tour on social media, and fans wonder what she has up her sleeves.
“I’m going back on tour and yes we will be together again very, very soon,” Jackson said in an Instagram video on Monday. “I miss you guys so much and I can’t wait to see you. Our opening show is April 14 in Hollywood, Florida. I’m so excited.”
When the phrase ‘super producer’ is uttered, not many names come to mind. Names like: RZA, Dr. Dre, DJ Premier, Pete Rock, The Neptunes, Jermaine Dupri, and Kanye West are among the high ranks that have earned the title. Today however, we celebrate the birth of one who help to shape the scope of both Hip Hop and R&B in the late 90s and early 2000s. Timothy ZacheryMosley a.k.a. Timbaland was born on this day [March 10] 49 years ago.
Timbaland is responsible in large part for the success of artists like Missy Elliot, Aaliyah and Ginuwine. Timbaland helped shape a Hip Hop culture in his home state of Virginia and through his production and organization of local artists. He has even crossed over into pop, working with acts like Justin Timberlake and Nelly Furtado, to create a sound and culture that helped bridge the pop culture gap to allow for more and more trans-genre collaboration.
In honor of Timbaland’s born day, here’s a list of some of his hottest and most influential tracks that have left a permanent mark on Hip Hop and R&B music and culture.
Aaliyah – “One In A Million”
As the third main single of the popular album of the same name, “One in a Million” peaked at #1 on the US Hot Rap/R&B chart. It also claimed the#1 spot in R&B Airplay for six long weeks.
Ginuwine – “Pony”
“Pony” was actually Ginuwine’s debut single and peaked at #1 on the Hot R&B/Hip Hop chart and #6 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song kept it’s spot on the Hot R&B chart for two weeks.
Missy Elliot – “Supa Dupa Fly”
This was the first single from Missy Elliot’s debut album of the same name. This song hit at #4 on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip Hop charts and helped to earn Missy a spot on Elektra Records with her own sub-label Goldmind.
Justin Timberlake – “Sexy Back”
“Sexy Back” is the name of one of Justin Timberlake’s most successful and well known solo records. Hitting the #1 spot in a plethora of countries, this song has gone platinum a few times over in this country and across the globe.
Nelly Furtado – “Promiscuous”
“Promiscuous” is the international #1 hit single of Canadian singer/songwriter Nelly Furtado. Although it has peaked at #1 in a few countries around the globe it hit #3 in the United States. This was the second single from the album Loose.
A new memorial honoring the late The Notorious B.I.G. was unveiled on Thursday in Brooklyn.
According to CBS News, New York City mayor Eric Adams helped in the reveal of the new mosaic memorial, located at Saint James Place and Fulton Street. The intersection is also known as Christopher Wallace Way, where the late rapper grew up.
The new mosaic is based on an iconic image of the rapper, and the face has a mirror, reflecting the rapper’s former home.
Earlier today (March 9), remembering his late friend, Diddy hit Instagram to salute the legend and show love.
“There will NEVER be another. The GREATEST RAPPER OF ALL TIME. Today we celebrate and honor you king. Love and miss you!! @TheNotoriousBIG”
On this day in 1997, Brooklyn native and Hip Hop legend Christopher Wallace, a.k.a. The Notorious B.I.G. or Biggie Smalls, was shot and killed in a drive-by shooting in LA. 26 years ago
Wallace left Puff Daddy’s Vibe Magazine party in a GMC SuburbanS.U.V.V that stopped at a red light at Wilshire Boulevard and South Fairfax. While stopped a Chevrolet ImpalaS.S.S pulled up beside him and his entourage. According to witnesses, a black male dressed in a blue suit and bow tie rolled down his window and shot Biggie four times and he was pronounced dead at 1:15 a.m. at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.
After years of investigations and conspiracy theories as to who killed Biggie and why, no one has been brought to justice to answer for Wallace’s death. Former LAPD Detective Russell Poole fought vigorously, even sometimes against his own peers, to get to the bottom of his untimely death. Poole died from a heart attack on August 19, 2015, while discussing the Tupac Shakur and Wallace cases at the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.
The legacy B.I.G.. left behind is officially embedded in Hip Hop culture two decades later and will continue to influence the community as his family and friends share his story.
Today (March 9) is the anniversary of the death of The Notorious B.I.G. Remembering his late friend, Diddy hit Instagram to salute the legend and show love.
“There will NEVER be another. The GREATEST RAPPER OF ALL TIME. Today we celebrate and honor you king. Love and miss you!! @TheNotoriousBIG”
On this day in 1997, Brooklyn native and Hip Hop legend Christopher Wallace, a.k.a. The Notorious B.I.G. or Biggie Smalls, was shot and killed in a drive-by shooting in LA. 26 years ago
Wallace left Puff Daddy’s Vibe Magazine party in a GMC SuburbanS.U.V.V that stopped at a red light at Wilshire Boulevard and South Fairfax. While stopped a Chevrolet ImpalaS.S.S pulled up beside him and his entourage. According to witnesses, a black male dressed in a blue suit and bow tie rolled down his window and shot Biggie four times and he was pronounced dead at 1:15 a.m. at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.
After years of investigations and conspiracy theories as to who killed Biggie and why, no one has been brought to justice to answer for Wallace’s death. Former LAPD Detective Russell Poole fought vigorously, even sometimes against his own peers, to get to the bottom of his untimely death. Poole died from a heart attack on August 19, 2015, while discussing the Tupac Shakur and Wallace cases at the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.
The legacy B.I.G.. left behind is officially embedded in Hip Hop culture two decades later and will continue to influence the community as his family and friends share his story.
Yung Miami is letting the world no she is no longer with her Papi Diddy. The Miami rapper is insisting she’s single and denying she was ever coupled up at all.
The City Girls rapper sat down to chat with Billboard following their performance at Rolling Loud California on Saturday. When asked if they’d been on a double date with JT and her man rapper Lil Uzi Vert Miami made her relationship status quite clear.
“I’m single, baby,” Miami said. “What man you saw me with? I’m single. S-I-N-G-L-E, baby!”
She made this announcement the same weekend she shared she never wants to get married while responding to an inquiry from a fan on Instagram Live.
The next day, she doubled down on her statement by tweeting that she wouldn’t be sharing her next boyfriend.
They were first seen holding hands at Quality Control CEO Pierre “Pee” Thomas’ birthday party, but it wasn’t until last June that they made their romance official.
A few months later, Miami confirmed it was an open relationship. “We are dating. We single, but we’re dating,” she said. “People don’t know what dating means. He’s single, I’m single, but we’re dating. That’s what I mean when I say we go together. When we’re together, we’re together. We’re having the time of our lives, but we’re still single.”
She added: “He see other people outside of me and I see people outside of him. I’m young. I’m dating. I’m, you know, having fun. I’m doing me. He’s doing the same thing. I can’t speak for exactly what he doing or who he seeing, but we single and we dating.” We guess something must have changed.
Actress/Comedian Mo’Nique just revealed that she ‘grew out of’ her open marriage arrangement with husband/manager Sidney Hicks: ‘I didn’t want to sacrifice that just for a lay’
The Precious star, 55, shared that though she and Hicks used to have an open marriage, she has since rethought their arrangement, in a wide-ranging interview with The Hollywood Reporter.
‘Life began to happen. I began to see a strength I had never seen before. He loved me at my worst. I didn’t want to sacrifice that just for a lay. So I grew out of that,’ she admitted.
The Oscar winner has previously been candid about the couple’s open marriage in various interviews.
‘We have an agreement that we’ll always be honest, and if sex happens with another person, that’s not a deal breaker for us, that’s not something where we’ll have to say, “Oh God, we’ve got to go to divorce court because you cheated on me.” Because we don’t cheat’. In 2016 she shared that people ‘didn’t understand’ the arrangement on a podcast with Essence. ‘They thought it was about swinging and orgies, and then there were individuals who are vehement about God, and they were bringing God into their opinions. People lost their minds, and the criticism has never let up.’
At the time she also added that the agreement was her idea.
‘Sidney had this one thing he had to teach me, and that was reciprocity. He said, “If you can have that, it’s only fair that I can have that, too.”‘
‘I wanted to continue to see the gentlemen that I was seeing, and I felt comfortable telling my best friend [Hicks]. I’m grateful he taught me I had to play fair.’ ‘I began to see a strength I had never seen before. He loved me at my worst. I didn’t want to sacrifice that just for a lay. So I grew out of that,’ she admitted
The couple have been married since 2006, and share 17-year-old twin sons Jonathan and David Hicks. Thoughts?
On this date in 1972, Anthony “AZ” Cruz was born in Brooklyn, New York. Cruz, who became known as AZ as a shortened way to say Asiatic, his righteous attribute from the 5% Nation.
AZ was first heard on Nas’ iconic Illmatic LP on the L.E.S. produced “Life’s A Bitch”. AZ’s verse was so transformative, it landed him a deal with EMI Records in 1994. His first LP, Doe Or Die, earned the street savvy East New Yorker a gold plaque, lead by the infectious single “Sugar Hill” featuring Miss Jones. AZ was also a major part of the legendary collective The Firm, which included Nas, Nature, Foxy Brown and was produced exclusively by Dr. Dre.
Just a couple of years following the commemoration of Doe Or Die 2, which was issued on the 25th anniversary of the original Doe Or Die, AZ says that there is still a possibility of a joint album with him and Nas.
Master P’s son Mercy Miller and the Notre Dame Sherman Oaks squad celebrated a big playoff win against Bronny James and his Sierra Canyon teammates on Tuesday(March 7).
All eyes have been on Sierra Canyon’s number 1 draft pick Bronny James., who is of course the son of NBA living legend LeBron James, who respectfully put up ten points for SC. It was totally unexpected that Mastr P’s son, Mercy Miller, would be the star of the game, putting 18 points in the bucket for Sherman Oaks, while his teammate, Caleb Foster, topped the game with 28.
Mercy and the Sherman Oaks team will have to play winner of the the Granada-Livermore and Salesian-Richmond game at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento for Friday’s state championship game.
Jim Jones and Hitmaka are ready to give you an album. The two have announced the release, Back in my Prime, for this Friday. The album is fully produced by Hitmaka, and Jones wants his fans to know “we got hits.”
The cover for the album is shot outside Prime 112 restaurant in Miami.
Jim Jones and producer Hitmaka dropped a lavish visual for “Seen The Money.” Capo raps about his luxurious lifestyle over Hitmaka’s production led by the Alicia Keys “You Don’t Know My Name” sample. Jim can be seen popping bottles on a yacht in Miami Beach and stacking his bread like a Jenga tower.
Jones reflects on his current lifestyle and how his past lifestyle helped elevate his superstar lifestyle with the cadence: “We jumping out of Ferraris and private jets without a suitcase, ‘cause we shop when we land, we got no top on the lamb, hood n***a, all white airs with no socks in the sand. I used to play with the keys, but the locks didn’t jam. We was in, mama’s kitchen playing with the pots and the pans…”
