Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
This Week's Sales In Hip Hop
Regaining hip-hop's position at No. 1 on Billboard's Top 200 charts this week is T.I.'s Paper Trail, which has officially been certified gold selling over 568,300 copies after only seven days in stores.
According to the Nielsen Soundscan, Tip may indeed be the "King of the South" as his latest effort marks the third consecutive time he's received the No. 1 debut and the second time since 2006's King that he's gone gold within a week's time span. The Grammy-winning rapper's long-awaited sixth album offers fans a steady mix of mega superstars including Jay-Z, Lil' Wayne, Justin Timberlake, Rihanna and more, along with production by DJ Toomp, Swizz Beatz and Kanye West who created the star-studded hit "Swagger Like Us."
Surprising fans and critics alike is Academy Award winning singer Jennifer Hudson with her self-titled debut landing at No. 2 selling over 217,200 copies. The former "American Idol" star has gardened a solid fan base of music and movie lovers as she has been in major films like Dream Girls and Sex and the City. Showing off her vocal skills on the hit "Spotlight," the Chi-town native brought along a few mainstream influences including Ludacris and T-Pain plus mega producers Ne-Yo, StarGate, Timbaland, Robin Thicke, and others to launch a stellar release.
Making his highly anticipated return to the charts is Robin Thicke who opened up at No. 3 with Something Else moving over 136,900 copies in its first week on shelves. The blue-eyed soul singer follows-up his platinum-selling The Evolution of Robin Thicke.
Also making a solid debut is West Coast's Murs with his first major label release Murs for President landing at No. 43 pushing over 12,200 records in his first week in stores. The album features production by 9th Wonder, will.i.am and Nottz along with cameos from fellow West Coast rapper Snoop Dogg and Tyler Woods.
Other notable debuts making it within Billboard's 200 is Grand Hustle's Big Kuntry King with My Turn To Eat securing No. 95 with over 6,000 albums sold, Dem Franchize Boyz' Our World Our Way grabbing No. 115 and Heltah Skeltah's D.I.R.T. at 119 both selling just over 5,200 copies.
According to the Nielsen Soundscan, Tip may indeed be the "King of the South" as his latest effort marks the third consecutive time he's received the No. 1 debut and the second time since 2006's King that he's gone gold within a week's time span. The Grammy-winning rapper's long-awaited sixth album offers fans a steady mix of mega superstars including Jay-Z, Lil' Wayne, Justin Timberlake, Rihanna and more, along with production by DJ Toomp, Swizz Beatz and Kanye West who created the star-studded hit "Swagger Like Us."
Surprising fans and critics alike is Academy Award winning singer Jennifer Hudson with her self-titled debut landing at No. 2 selling over 217,200 copies. The former "American Idol" star has gardened a solid fan base of music and movie lovers as she has been in major films like Dream Girls and Sex and the City. Showing off her vocal skills on the hit "Spotlight," the Chi-town native brought along a few mainstream influences including Ludacris and T-Pain plus mega producers Ne-Yo, StarGate, Timbaland, Robin Thicke, and others to launch a stellar release.
Making his highly anticipated return to the charts is Robin Thicke who opened up at No. 3 with Something Else moving over 136,900 copies in its first week on shelves. The blue-eyed soul singer follows-up his platinum-selling The Evolution of Robin Thicke.
Also making a solid debut is West Coast's Murs with his first major label release Murs for President landing at No. 43 pushing over 12,200 records in his first week in stores. The album features production by 9th Wonder, will.i.am and Nottz along with cameos from fellow West Coast rapper Snoop Dogg and Tyler Woods.
Other notable debuts making it within Billboard's 200 is Grand Hustle's Big Kuntry King with My Turn To Eat securing No. 95 with over 6,000 albums sold, Dem Franchize Boyz' Our World Our Way grabbing No. 115 and Heltah Skeltah's D.I.R.T. at 119 both selling just over 5,200 copies.
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Hip-Hop Preserved At Cornell University
Hip-Hop pioneer Afrika Bambaataa will help preserve the genre's origins by joining in festivities and celebrating the "Born in the Bronx: The Legacy and Evolution of Hip Hop" collection at Cornell University later this month.
The free two-day conference will showcase documents from the early days of hip-hop including recordings, photographs, posters and more. Famous for being one of the first hip-hop deejays to help mold the art form in the South Bronx during the 70's, Bambaataa will also be speaking on the culture's importance.
"By paying tribute to those who laid the foundation, we tell our own history," he said in a statement. "Preserving hip-hop's early years will help future generations understand the places they come from."
Joined by a number of hip-hop historians and pioneers including Grandmaster Caz, Grand Wizard Theodore, Pop Master Fable, Tony Tone, Disco Wiz and Kool Lady Blue, the event will also look to further enhance outsiders' views of the genre's realm.
"We want the community at large to celebrate hip-hop's contributions to American culture," Cornell curator of Rare Books and Manuscripts Katherine Reagan said in a statement. "Through a better understanding of its origins, which are the focus of this unique collection."
Donated by hip-hop collector Johan Kugelberg, the "Born in the Bronx" collection illustrates the birth of the culture from its' early 70's uprising with a 2,000 piece showing.
The event begins Friday, October 31st and runs through Saturday, November 1st at Cornell University.
NBA 2K9 Hits Stores Today
The Live vs. 2K debate is getting heated this year—EA’s NBA Live 09 and 2K’s NBA 2K9 hit stores this week, and both look pretty tough. For true b-ball gamers, the 2K series has been on top for a minute, but EA is stepping it up this year (minus its choice of Mr. Eva Longoria as 09’s cover athlete). So, which one deserves your $60?
Well, EA starting pitching us months ago on 09’s Dynamic DNA and NBA 365 online features, which updates gameplay as the actual NBA season progresses. We thought that was pretty innovative, until we learned that 2K9’s Living Rosters basically do the same thing. What it comes down to, as always, is gameplay.
Here, 2K9 still wins. We showed you a bit of the first 2K9 trailer, but the newest clip seals the deal. It shows amazingly fluid and lifelike in-game animations, including an entire section devoted to Allen Iverson getting fouled. Awesome.
Oh yeah, and we’ve played 2K9. It’s as good as it looks. See the trailer below…
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