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The Ting Tings are set to begin production on their sophomore album and they will be getting some very influential help. The British indie band has just signed on to Jay-Z’s Roc Nation record label, in which the famed rapper will make their follow up to ‘We Started Nothing’ something to talk about. A source said “Jay is hoping to lend his production skills to some of the new material. The Staccato rhythmic style of The Ting Tings sits well with what he does best, so that was the attraction. Jay can make them one of the biggest British bands in America.” The members of the group, Katie White and Jules de Martino, are said to be thrilled but are homesick. It will be all worth it I’m sure.

Jay-Z won 4 times
Winners List 2009 BET Hip Hop Awards:
Verizon People’s Champ Award – Fabulous Ft. The Dream – Throw it in the Bag
Best Hip Hop Collabo – T.I. FT Rihanna – Live Your Life
Lyricist of the Year – Jay-Z
Producer of the Year – Kanye West
CD of the Year – T.I. – Paper Trail
Best Hip Hop Video – T.I. FT Rihanna – Live Your Life
DJ of the Year – DJ AM
Made-You-Look Award – Kanye West
Best Live Performer – Jay-Z
Video Director – Hype Williams
Track of the Year – Young Money – Every Girl
Rookie of the Year – Drake
MVP of the Year – Jay-Z
Hustler of the Year – Jay-Z
Best Hip Hop Blog Site – All Hip Hop.com

We all know the music and media that our favorite celebrities are into but do you know about the books that influenced them? Jay-Z has provided O Magazine with the six books that “absolutely made a difference” in his life. The rapper lists his favorites as ‘The Seat of the Soul’ by Gary Zukav, ‘The Celestine Prophecy’ by James Redfield, ‘The Odyssey’ by Homer, ‘Outliers’ by Malcolm Gladwell, ‘Purple Cow’ by Seth Godin and ‘Nigger’ by Dick Gregory. I’m kind of surprised by some of his picks. Those are deep stuff man. I didn’t even know that he’s into that type of stuff.

The Jay-Z and Coldplay tour hit up Wembley Stadium in London last weekend and the rapper ambushed his good friend Chris Martin with a hug while the band’s lead singer was playing the piano. A concertgoer said “It was a strange moment. Everyone went wild when Jay-Z joined the boys on stage but seeing him grab Chris away from the piano and onto the floor was a bit weird to say the least.” The two then rolled around on the stage floor for some time before Jay-Z let Chris continue on with the show. I wonder if anyone was able to get a video of this.

Kanye West Leads 2009 BET Hip-Hop Awards Nominations With Nine

List of Nominees:

Best Hip-Hop Collaboration

“Pop Champagne,” Jim Jones & Ron Browz featuring Juelz Santana
“Mrs. Officer,” Lil Wayne featuring Bobby Valentino
“Magnificent,” Rick Ross featuring John Legend
“Live Your Life,” T.I. featuring Rihanna
“Put On,” Young Jeezy featuring Kanye West

Best Live Performer
Busta Rhymes
Jay-Z
Lil Wayne
T.I.
Kanye West

Lyricist of the Year
Drake
Eminem
Jay-Z
Lil Wayne
Kanye West

Video Director of the Year
Gil Green
Anthony Mandler
Mr. Boomtown
Chris Robinson
Hype Williams

Producer of the Year
Ron Browz
Cool & Dre
Tha Bizness
T-Pain
Kanye West

Track of the Year
“Day “N” Nite,” Kid Cudi
“D.O.A. (Death of Auto Tune),” Jay-Z
“Every Girl – Young Money,” Lil Wayne, Drake, Jae Mills, Gudda Gudda & Mack Maine
“Live Your Life,” T.I. featuring Rihanna
“Turn My Swag On,” Soulja Boy Tell’em

CD of the Year
“Relapse,” Eminem
“The Renaissance,” Q-Tip
“Paper Trail,” T.I.
“808s & Heartbreak,” Kanye West
“The Recession,” Young Jeezy

Rookie of the Year
B.O.B.
Dorrough
Drake
Kid Cudi
Wale

Best Hip-Hop Video
“Ice Cream Paint Job,” Dorrough – Ice Cream Paint Job
“We Made You,” Eminem – We Made You
“D.O.A. (Death of Auto Tune),” Jay-Z
“Day “N” Nite,” Kid Cudi
“Live Your Life,” T.I. featuring Rihanna

MVP of the Year
Drake
Jay-Z
Lil Wayne
T.I.
Kanye West

DJ of the Year
DJ AM
DJ Drama
DJ Khaled
DJ Tony Neal
DJ Greg Street

Hustler of the Year
Diddy
Drake
Jay-Z
Lil Wayne
Kanye West

Made-You-Look Award (Best Hip-Hop Style)
Jay-Z
Kid Cudi
Lil Wayne
Soulja Boy Tell’em
Kanye West

Best Hip-Hop Blog Site
All Hip Hop
Nah Right
SOHH
This Is 50
World Star Hip Hop

People’s Champ (Viewers Choice)
“Ice Cream Paint Job,” Dorrough
“Throw It In The Bag,” Fabolous featuring The-Dream
“Day ‘N’ Nite,” Kid Cudi
“Turn My Swag On,” Soulja Boy Tell’em
“Amazing,” Kanye West featuring Young Jeezy

Rapper Jay-Z has said he needs to continue to reinvent himself and his sound to remain popular in the hip-hop world.

The husband of singer Beyonce is worried he might be too old for the business as most artists in his genre are under 30.

He told Scotsman.com: “Hip-hop saved my life. When someone does something for you, it’s only right you repay that tenfold, and that was what hip-hop did for me. How could I not protect that or leave it in a good place for the next generation?

“The reason you turn off the hip hop as you mature is because there’s not enough of what you’re going through in your life currently. There’s not a lot of people who have come of age in rap because it’s only 30. As more people come of age, hopefully the topics get broader and then the audience will stay around longer.”

The rapper, real name Shaun Carter, added: “But it’s so much viewed as a young person’s sport right now at this present moment that it’s very difficult. You want to get on the radio, and you’ve got to make a jingle that’s catchy, that sounds like everything else that’s on the radio. Not me, the other guy.”

Jay, who’s new album Blueprint 3 has recently hit the stores, is going to try and reinvent himself to retain his popularity.

The 38-year-old said: “Hip-hop is about the gift of discovery. It’s who has the newest sneakers, who has the new pants.

“So if I go to school with Jay-Z on my iPod, they go, ‘OK, we all know him.’ You have to come to school with some new band that no-one else has heard of. As an artist you’re fighting against everything that’s new. So not only are you swimming upstream, you have someone pulling on your leg: the new guy, the weight of the new guy.”

He continued to say: “It’s like a crowded hallway full of people and you have to walk against it. Some don’t make it to the end of the hall. You’re always in the way. You have to be built for competition.”

In the October issue of O Magazine, Jay-Z discussed selling crack as a 13-year old in his run down Brooklyn neighborhood, his so-called divine intervention and his marriage to Beyonce. The rapper spoke on dealing drugs, saying “You become addicted to the feeling, the uncertainty and adrenaline and danger of that lifestyle.” Apparently, he was saved from that kind of life due to being shot at while dealing on the streets, in what he’s calling as his divine intervention. Jay-Z also talked about his youth and moving up, saying “You become addicted to the feeling, the uncertainty and adrenaline and danger of that lifestyle.”

The release date of Jay-Z’s ‘The Blueprint 3’ got bumped up and I didn’t even know until after the album dropped! The rapper’s album, featuring collaborations with Rihanna, Kanye West and Alicia Keys just to name a few, dropped yesterday. The album was originally scheduled to hit stores on September 11th, marking the eight year anniversary of the release of 2001’s ‘The Blueprint’. I have a feeling that the release date switch had to do with the entire album leaking out onto the internet recently. They could at least try to fool everyone else who hasn’t heard about the leak.
Check My Friends Blog:

According to the London Paper, Beyonce recently had a bit of a scare during the after-party for the London stop of her ‘I Am…’ tour when a fan managed to infiltrate security and get backstage. A witness said “A man barged through the backstage door just as Beyonce was walking past. He cried out her name with his arms outstretched before security bundled him back out again. He said he wanted [just] to see Jay-Z to give him a demo tape.” The crazy things people do when they want to get famous. Oh well, the guy just got his few minutes of fame with this one.

Rihanna performed her smash hit single ‘Umbrella’ with Jay-Z at the 3rd Annual THISDAY Fashion and Musical Festival in Abuja, Nigeria on Friday. This year’s festival, which is tagged ‘Africa Rising: To Celebrate the Best and Brightest of Emerging New Africa’, was designed o revolutionize global perspectives on African issues. The organizers of the event are intent of Africa receiving investments instead of aid as well as a new mindset which they believe can be achieved through a celebration of the continent’s potentials. And who better to catch attention than who can arguably be the most recognizable artist of this era?

Beyonce was spotted as she flew out of Heathrow airport in London on Thursday. She was on her way to see her hubby Jay-Z play a gig in Cork, Ireland. The 26-year old curvaceous singer is currently working on her third album. Super producer Rodney ‘Darkchild’ Jerkins recently spoke with Rap-Up TV about the release saying that Beyonce’s album is tentatively scheduled for a November release. He also says that he’s working with her on some mid-tempo songs but the album will also have up-tempo cuts. It’s a new direction for Beyonce as he says “It’s gonna be big, big pop songs.”

Mariah Carey has recently released a remix of her new single ‘Bye Bye’ featuring the iconic rapper Jay-Z. When I first heard the song when she performed it on American Idol, I thought of how incredibly cheesy and overall sucky the song was. But after hearing the remix with Hova on it – man! I can’t believe I actually like it now. Just the remix though, not the original. Maybe it’s because that Jay-Z’s rap cuts out the really cheesy verses of the song and Mariah was mostly just back up on the first half of the song. The less I hear of her, the more I like the song.

“The strip came alive again that night, and Facebook Nation got its Bon Jovi,” wrote Artist Direct on Tokio Hotel’s SOLD OUT show at the Roxy on Los Angeles’ famous Sunset Strip (2/15). It does feel like the Facebook generation has found its Bon Jovi and media outlets are starting to take notice. TMZ.com, famous for dishing on Britney Spears and the rest of Hollywood’s happenings, found time to mention a Jay-Z and Nicole Scherzinger spotting at Tokio Hotel’s Roxy gig.

After rocking New York City last night Gawker.com posted that “It’s Official Tokio Hotel Day” on the site with multiple postings about the German superstars and their on-camera interview with The NY Post.

R Kelly did it again. He might deny it, his label might deny it, but we all know it’s true. R Kelly can’t stand a double tour with a person that threatens to become to tour star. He must be the only one to get all the attention, otherwise…he continues touring alone.
It’s not the first time when a double concert tour needs to be ended. Some years ago, R Kelly parted the tour he was taking with Jay Z.
The Double Up tour he is on had as a performer along his side a young rap singer, called Ne-Yo. It seems that the 24 year old was getting too much attention, and Kelley probably got offended.