News Snippets

Outkast set to release new album and also a movie:

Three years since the release of 5-time Grammy Award-winner OutKast's landmark #1double-CD Speakerboxxx/The Love Below, Antwan 'Big Boi' Patton and Andre'3000' Benjamin return this August with their first appearance together in a motion picture, and the most eagerly anticipated new album of their career, IdleWild , set for a August 22nd release on LaFace/Zomba Music Group.
The first single from the album titled "Mighty O" , finds Dre and Big Boi rhyming together on a track for the first time in six years, since OutKast's triple- platinum CD of 2000, Stankonia. "Mighty O" was co-written by Dre and Big Boi and produced by Organized Noize.
Three days after the release of the IdleWild album, Universal Pictures and HBO Films will open wide with Idlewild, a Mosaic Media Group and Forensic Films Production starring Antwan Patton and Andre Benjamin in their first movie together.
Set amidst the backdrop of a 1930s rural Georgia speakeasy known as The Church, the film follows its two lead characters, lifelong friends Percival (Dre), the club's piano player, and Rooster (Big Boi), the club's lead performer and manager, through intersecting stories of love and ambition, in a story fueled by non-stop action, music and showstopping dance numbers.
Idlewild was written and directed by award-winner Bryan Barber (making his feature film debut as a director), a prolific video director over the past four years and close collaborator with OutKast on "Hey Ya," "The WayYou Move," "The Whole World," and other clips.

Snoop Dogg back with a new project:

Snoop Dogg has lined up a plethora of acts to appear on his next studio album Blue Carpet Treatment.
The rapper has drafted in the help of Stevie Wonder, Pharell , Timbaland and Warren G amongst many others.
“I have so much good material, it's about (figuring out) what I'm going to use on my record."
Quizzed as to how he’s changed over the past ten years, he added: "Musically, now I'm more coming from the heart. Back then, when I started, I was more coming from the mind.
“Now it's a little bit more in-depth, there's a little bit more going on with myself as far as the role I play now, the wisdom that I have, the direction that I take and the direction that I give. You can hear that in the music I'm making."

Diddy on Hollywood Walk Of Fame:

Bad Boy Entertainment CEO Sean "Diddy" Combs will be honored with a star on the legendary Hollywood Walk of Fame it was announced today (June 24) by organizers. Combs was one of 200 nominations entered for the prestigious award and was among the 23 finalists selected to be honored with a terrazzo and brass star on Hollywood Boulevard in 2007.

Jay-Z Boycotts Cristal Champagne at 40/40 Club:

In response to comments made by Frederic Rouzaud, the managing director of Louis Roderer Cristal, Jay-Z and his upscale sports lounge, The 40/40 Club, have announced that they will no longer be serving Cristal Champagne and Jay-Z will further help lead the boycott against Cristal Champagne in the world of hip-hop.Despite loyal patronage by Jay-Z, his clientele, and the entire hip-hop community, Rouzaud said in a special edition of The Economist magazine that the company observes its association with the rap world with "curiosity and serenity." Even though Jay and other rappers continually support the brand by including Cristal in their lyrics, as Jay did in his number 1 hit "Hard Knock Life," Rouzaud has labeled the name-checks as "unwelcome attention.""It has come to my attention that the managing director of Cristal, Frederic Rouzaud views the 'hip-hop' culture as "unwelcome attention." I view his comments as racist and will no longer support any of his products through any of my various brands including The 40/40 Club nor in my personal life," said Jay-Z.