J. Cole may have lost the Best New Artist however he will always be a winner in the eyes of his label boss Jay-Z. Mr. Carter and his Roc Nation family sent Cole a pop-up card of the Hollywood Bowl that read, “You already won! Living your dreams!” and a $2000 bottle of Louis XIII de Rémy Martin cognac.
Category Archives: Uncategorized
Beyonce and Jay-Z Trademark Blue Ivy Carter’s Name
Blue Ivy Carter is telling her parents to trademark her name so she knows it’s real, and the new parents will go to any extent to ensure that their baby girl, and her name, remains safe.
Jay-Z and Beyonce are in the works to trademark Blue Ivy Carter’s name. According to reports, the paperwork is already in process.
The couple filed a petition at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on January 26th, just weeks after becoming mom and dad to their first child.
According to the Washington Post, the patenting office had already thwarted a number of attempts to use the baby’s name commercially:
Joseph Mbeh, the fashion design entrepreneur behind Fourfront Clothing attempted to trademark the name Blue Ivy Carter Nyc on January 11, 2012, four days after Beyonce gave birth. And on January 20, 2012, someone attempted to trademark a fragrance range with the name Blue Ivy Carter Glory IV.
The filing, submitted by Beyonce’s company BGK Trademark Holdings, is currently pending, but is expected to be approved.
Who would have ever thought that the combination of two such simple words would wreak trade-marking havoc?
Blue Ivy is definitely the hottest baby on the block, and she can’t even crawl yet.
More Artists Join Dr. Cornel West, Jesse Jackson In Fight Against Grammys Over Eliminated Categories
Educators/activists/rapper Dr. Cornel West and the Rev. Jesse Jackson are leading a group of artists and executives who are demanding cultural diversity from the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS).
NARAS is the organization that produces the annual Grammy Awards, which honors the top performing music artists, producers and engineers, in a variety of categories.
But The Grammys has been under fire for sweeping changes the organization has made to the categories.
Dr. West and Rev. Jesse Jackson are working with artists/organizations like Carlos Santana, Bonnie Raitt, Grammywatch.org and now, Presente.org, in the battle to restore diversity to The Grammys.
Presente.org, which is the largest online Latino advocacy organization in the U.S., has joined in the growing criticism of The Grammys.
The artists and activists are upset that NARAS eliminated a number of categories, comprised mostly of ethnic music.
Categories like Gospel, R&B, Traditional and Contemporary Jazz, Latin Jazz, Traditional and Contemporary Blues, Cajun/Zydeco, Polka, Mexican Norteña, Native American and Hawaiian music have been eliminated.
To make matters worse, the activists say the changes were done without the knowledge of the organizations 21,000 members.
“Neal Portnow and the big bosses at the Grammys have committed a deplorable act of greed and racial discrimination by deleting music categories that are so central to the lives of so many,” Presente.org Executive Director, Arturo Carmona, said. “Portnow and the Grammys have nothing to celebrate and deserve an lifetime achievement award for putting profit over people. We are honored and highly motivated to join the fight to re-institute the deleted categories on behalf of the millions who love Latin jazz, Gospel, R&B and other musical genres.”
Over the past year, the Grammys have come under fire for their alleged lack of diversity in honoring all forms of music.
Ne-Yo Leaves Def Jam to Become Motown’s Senior VP of A&R
R&B’s Ne-Yo is soon to try his hand behind the desk at Motown Records. It was announced yesterday (January 25) by Barry Weiss, Chairman & CEO of Universal Republic and Island Def Jam Motown, and Ethiopia Habtemariam, Senior Vice President of Motown Records, that Ne-Yo will become Senior Vice President of A&R for the historic label.
Ne-Yo is bringing his label imprint, Compound Entertainment, over to Motown, along with three Grammy Awards and a highly anticipated fifth studio album, which will likely release in the summer as his label debut.
While at Motown, Ne-Yo will serve as a producer and mentor to label artists, along with being responsible for seeking out and signing new talent to the label.
“I’m a combination of excited, honored and terrified all at once!” said Ne-Yo in a statement. “Excited about a new beginning here at Motown, honored that I’ve been given such a prestigious title and trusted with such responsibility, TERRIFIED because I know that playing this role, in the fashion of one of my idols and career role models, Mr. Smokey Robinson. These are big shoes to fill…..but trust, I can handle it.”
Ne-Yo has been busy as of late, recently hitting the big screen as a co-star in the movie Red Tails and on national TV on NBC’s upcoming season of The Voice, as a mentor for Cee-Lo Green’s team.
“Ne-Yo is an enormously talented artist, songwriter, and producer,” said Weiss. “In fact, he’s one of the greatest songwriters of our times. His track record of success at Def Jam will always be a benchmark. But this move to Motown will provide new and inspiring challenges for Ne-Yo, as both an artist and a key member of the new senior management team that is taking form at the label in 2012,” he added.
Ne-Yo’s most recent album from 2010, Libra Scale, followed up the RIAA-certified platinum album, Year Of The Gentleman, released in 2008. The album was his third consecutive to enter the Soundscan chart at #1.
Year Of The Gentleman had several RIAA platinum hit singles, including “Closer,” “Miss Independent,” and “Mad,” and received five Grammy nominations in 2009. His track “Miss Independent” won Best R&B Song (songwriters’ award) and Best Male R&B Vocal
Chris Brown, Snoop Dogg, & Jermaine Dupri Salute Bow Wow on ’106 & Park’
“106 & Park” dedicated Monday’s show to Mr. “106 & Park” himself, Bow Wow. Some of his peers and friends in the industry including Chris Brown, Snoop Dogg, and Jermaine Dupri took a trip down memory lane with the Cash Money rapper during the episode.
His mentor J.D., who made on on-air appearance, recounted the first time he saw Bow rapping on stage when he was known as Lil Gangsta, and Snoop shared why he gave him his name. “He was named Lil Bow Wow because his spirit was just like mine,” explained Snoop in a videotaped message. “He was like the equivalent of me. I didn’t have no kids at the time, so to me, he embellished everything that I imagined my son would be.”
Chris Brown recalled meeting his BFF on the “Scream” tour six years ago. “[He’s] one of the only people I can consider my friend in the industry… He’s a real person,” said Chris. “He deals with day-to-day problems just like me. Me and him have more of an understanding of life from being normal and in the spotlight. We can indentify with having to deal with those types of pressures. I think we gon’ be boys for a long time.”
The man of the hour got plenty of camera time and spoke about his upcoming album Underrated, which features Wiz Khalifa, Chris Brown, Lil Wayne, Jadakiss, Musiq Soulchild, and Boyz II Men. “I just feel like I’ve accomplished a lot in my career, but still people might overlook it or if they forgot, then I think it’s time for me to remind them of who really was the first person since Kriss Kross to rejuvenize this whole thing.”
And Another One!!! Jim Jones’ Mother Gets Her Own Reality Show
Season two of Love & Hip Hop is ending but that won’t take Mama Jones away from the spotlight! It has been confirmed that Nancy Jones, mother of rapper Jim Jones, will be starring in a spinoff reality show “Mama’s House.” This should be interesting! More after the jump…
Mama Jones has already begun filming! Tonight, she is set to make an appearance with her camera crew at Jersey Girls, a strip club in Elizabeth, NJ.
Rapper Layzie Bone Sued for Hitting Woman in the Face with Microphone
A female fan of the rapper Layzie Bone, from the group Bone Thugs-n-Harmony, says she was injured and permanently scarred when Layzie Bone whipped her in the face with a microphone during a concert.
According to the woman, she was standing in the crowd at a Missouri concert when Layzie began swinging his microphone. She says he then lost control of the microphone, hitting her in the head and causing bruises, contusions, and some permanent scarring.
The woman is suing for over $25,000.
President Obama Stops SOPA Piracy Bill
President Obama has taken a stance against SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act), a bill that would allow the justice department to force Internet providers and search engines to block all sites accused of copyright infringement.
For now, it appears that President Obama has stalled the controversial legislation. Read the details according to Forbes.com:
“The growing anti-SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act) support that has swept through the gaming and Internet community found a very big ally today. With websites like Reddit and Wikipedia and gaming organizations like Major League Gaming prepared for a blackout on January 18th – the same day that the House Judiciary Committee hearing on HR 3261was scheduled in Washington, D.C. – President Barack Obama has stepped in and said he would not support the bill.
SOPA has been delayed, for now. The House has agreed to revisit the issue next month, but they now know the White House will veto any bill that’s not more narrowly focused.
Much to the chagrin of Hollywood, the Entertainment Software Association (which has been a backer of the bill from early on), and Internet domain company GoDaddy.com (which lost many accounts as a result of its support for the bill); SOPA has been shelved. The Motion Picture Association of America, one of the bill’s largest sponsors, is expected to regroup.”
Paula Patton & Robin Thicke Owes Close To $500K In Back Taxes
Actress Paula Patton has a mission that’s apparently impossible: paying taxes. Patton, who stars alongside Tom Cruise in box-office hit “Mission Impossible — Ghost Protocol” and her singer husband Robin Thicke owe more than $492,000 to the IRS, according to public records.
The IRS filed a $492,583 tax lien against Paula Patton and Robin Thicke on Dec. 28 with the Los Angeles County Recorder of Deeds.
Beyoncé and Baby Make Covert Exit From Hospital
And just like that, she was gone. After giving birth over the weekend at a New York hospital, Beyoncé and her newborn made a quick exit in the middle of the night without a single photographer snapping a photo of them.
The 30-year-old singer quietly checked out of Lenox Hill Hospital after delivering her daughter Blue Ivy Carter on Saturday night.
According to the New York Daily News, a procession of vehicles with blacked-out windows carrying the famous couple and their child departed from the hospital’s side gate in the early hours of Tuesday morning.
The operation was performed smoothly and swiftly so that no paparazzi could capture a photo of the family.
Two black SUVs left the hospital’s loading dock at 1:30 a.m. Soon after, a van parked on a nearby corner backed into the same loading dock before the gate closed, reopening minutes later. The vehicle drove out and headed north on Park Ave.
One of the two SUVs blocked traffic so the van would not be stopped. The second SUV pulled in behind the van to prevent anyone from following the Carters as they returned home with their baby.
“Immediately, security personnel began leaving the hospital,” said one witness, describing the exit as “very precise, very military-like.”
Beyoncé checked into the hospital on Friday night using the alias Ingrid Jackson. Blue Ivy was reportedly born in an executive suite on the sixth floor, near the neonatal intensive-care unit.
The hospital shot down rumors that Beyoncé and Jay-Z paid to close off the entire maternity wing. “The suggestion that the couple paid $1.3 million to rent an entire maternity floor is simply not true,” said Lenox Hill Hospital Executive Director Frank Danza.
Dre Black So Fresh 