Shyne wants off of Def Jam

In an interesting turn of events, Shyne is apparently trying to leave the label that he signed to only 8 months ago and is already considering going to Cash Money Records:

“I’m definitely trying to get with Cash Money but the Def Jam thing is a question mark right now,” Shyne told SOHH. “I’ve been fixing to get up out of there for a while now because [Island Def Jam CEO] L.A. Reid don’t care about hip-hop. The people up there, they don’t know what they’re doing. When you don’t have a strong leader, where you gonna go? … They don’t care about hip-hop music. You give them a hip-hop record with an R&B singer, you “might” have a chance. They don’t care. You got The Roots, Ghostface, Nas, probably the best hip-hop roster you could imagine and they do nothing. L.A. Reid doesn’t want nothing to do with rappers — it’s nothing personal, I don’t have nothing personal with dude but he makes it known he doesn’t care about hip-hop. So I’m really interested in seeing who’s gonna replace him. Because I know he’s been replaced — so I wanna find out who’s gonna take his spot before I decide what I’m gonna do with Def Jam…The music that we make is responsible for pop, R&B, everything that’s jumping right now…”

He also told SOHH that he’s keeping all the music:

“They gotta care about [what we've done] the way Jimmy Iovine cares about that, the way Lyor Cohen cares about that,” Shyne added. “I’m definitely not gonna scrap everything I recorded. I put in so much, I’ve come so far. From the first record I did when I got out to the new records I’ve done while going to all these different countries, I ain’t scrapping nothing. I paid for that. I’m not signed to Def Jam anyway, I just need to find another distributor. I might just have Cash Money do everything. Who knows? That’s the beauty about being in the business for yourself. You can decide where you want to go and what you want to do.”

VIA:NAHRIGHT

Kanye West’s New Album Comes Out On 11/22

According to Rap-Up, Kanye’s dropping his (still-untitled) fifth studio album on November 22nd, which is the Monday before Black Friday. But what does this say about him and Jay’s Watch The Throne album, that was rumored to be dropping on 11/23? Other albums dropping that week: Nicki Minaj’s Pink Friday and Lloyd Banks’ HFM2.

Rap-Up also says the 40-minute long “Runaway” video that ‘Ye shot in Prague will star supermodel Selita Ebanks.

Mos Def Signed to G.O.O.D Music?

Mos Def, and Charlie Wilson, seem to be the latest additions to the Kanye’s G.O.O.D Music roster, along with Pusha T and CyHi Da Prynce who were picked up not too long ago either. Mos is featured alongside the rest of “Monsters Inc.” (pictured above) in the lastest issue of XXL.

Just as Kanye returned to his roots to scoop up Common, he recently recruited his buddy Brooklyn rapper/singer/actor Mos Def into the GOOD Music fold. Long regarded as a formidable talent by underground devotees and mainstream fans alike, Mos appeared on “Two Words” (from Kanye’s 2005 The College Dropout) and “Drunk and Hot Girls” (from KW’s 2007 Graduation). Since his 1999 solo debut, Black on Both Sides, Mos has increasingly been pushed — whether by generational choices or self-exile — to the fringes of indie, alternative hip hop. Maybe it will take Kanye to reign him in.

VIA:NAHRIGHT

Pharrell Williams x Moncler Launch @ colette Paris

As many of you will already know, after Thom Browne, Visvim and Sacaï, Moncler collaborated with rapper/producer/designer Pharrell Williams. Their collaborative collection – which includes the “pacifist bulletproof vest”, Forest print pieces inspired by Keita Sugiura’s work, and quilted jackets made of recycled plastic bottles – launched last night at colette in Paris. Pharrell was in-store greeting fans and showing off his work. The gear is now available online at colette.

VIA:HIGHSNOBIETY

Lauryn Hill to Headline Rock The Bells 2010

URB just revealed that Lauryn Hill will be headlining the 2010 Rock The Bells tour. Not only is she headlining but she’s also going to be performing The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill in it’s entirety. Provided she can keep her shit together and she still has it in the voice department, I wouldn’t mind seeing that. But yeah, this has as much chance of being a  really amazing experience as it does flaming out in a spectacular clusterfuck.

VIA:NAHRIGHT

Gucci Mane's Welcome Home Dinner

Gucci Mane, who was released from jail around 2am yesterday, wasted no time getting back in the mix of things with his friends and fam.  He had a "Welcome Home" dinner hosted in his honor at Atlanta's Georgian Terrace last night.Shawty Lo, Monica, Kand Burruss, Wacka Flacka, and many others all came out to support. 

The Roots in Rolling Stone Magazine

The Roots’ How I Got Over is scheduled to drop on June 8th

Dr. Dre’s “Under Pressure” is Dropping on Friday

The Detox single featuring Jay-Z is supposed to drop on Friday, that’s of course if Dre doesn’t decide to pull a Dr. Dre. It is indeed an upbeat club record and Ester Dean wrote the hook. No word on if it was produced by Scott Storch yet, though he did recently reveal that he had been reunited with the good doctor.

VIA:NAHRIGHT

Drake’s Album Release Date

Drake finally has a release date for Thank Me Later.  It’s scheduled to drop may 25th.  Let’s see if this date actually sticks this time.  He’ll also be in the midst of a college tour around that time.

Erykah Badu Claps Back At Her “Window Seat” Haters

Well we all knew Erykah’s “Window Seat” vid would cause ruckus as soon as we saw it.  And I personally loved the vid.  Mainly because I love anything Ms. Badu does–she has her own way of expression.  But plenty of people took issue with her nudity in the vid and the fact she did it on an open set in public and didn’t see the point of why.  Well she broke it down (and the concept of GroupThink) on twitter for those who were coming hard at her:

Diggy Simmons Signs To Atlantic Records

Diggy Simmons became official after signing a record deal with Atlantic Records. His mixtape, The First Flight, as well as his freestyle over Nas’ “Made You Look” had earned him label attention and more than a few fans. The just-turned 15 year old celebrated the signing with his parents, brothers, and sister, Angela, who took the above photo.

Lil Wayne: Finally Going To Jail

After two failed attempts, Lil Wayne was sentenced today for an attempted gun possession charge stemming from 2007’s tour bus incident. He will begin to serve his sentence immediately for at least eight months on Rikers Island, so that means we’re in the clear until January 2011

BAY iSH: Akon Signs Ya Boy to His Kon Live Record Label

Just the other day I was wondering what happened to this guy. DJ sourMILK of the LA Leakers and his partner Mike G have been managing Ya Boy for a little over a year now and they confirm that he is indeed alive and has just signed with Akon’s Kon Live record label. He is the first West Coast artist signed to Akon’s roster which already includes acts such as Lady Gaga, T-Pain, Colby O’Donis, Kardinal Offishall, Rock City, French Montana, and more.

ViA:NAHRIGHT

Birdman’s 4 New Tattoos

SMH

Lauryn Hill Is Still Performing!

So she’s not in hiding. Lauryn Hill busted out a performance in New Zealand yesterday at the Raggamuffin film festival. Her former Fugees bandmate Wyclef Jean was slated to be there as well, but opted to stay in the US to support the Haiti relief efforts.

ViA:THEYBF

Drake Covers Complex

And the much hyped Drake is covering the Feb/March issue of Complex mag.  In his cover story, Drizzy addresses the “Best I Ever Had” video hate and how it may have slowed his momentum, the injury, and how Cudi may have felt slighted because Kanye was directing his video at a time when Cudi was coming out. He also addresses the competition of young rappers.  
ViA:THEYBF

Mo’Nique’s A Winner

Congrats are in order for Mo’Nique.  She won the Supporting Actress (Precious) award at the 15th annual Critics’ Choice Movie Awards Friday night. She also won Best Performance by an Actress In A Supporting Role in a Motion Picture at lastnight's Golden Globes Awards. She gave an emotional acceptance speech, in her long gold strapless gown, and thanked her hubby, director Lee Daniels, Gabby Sidibe, and told everyone who has even been sexually abused that now is the time to speak up 

The Golden Globes are well known to be the precursor to the Oscars. So it’s a good sign for Mo’Nique’s Oscar run. 

ViA:THEYBF

Gabby Sidibe & Mo’Nique Grab Golden Globe Nods!

Serious CONGRATS are in order. Mo’Nique and Gabourey Sidibe have both been nominated for a Golden Globe! The nods were announced yesterday and it is so well deserved. Gabby has been nominated for Best Actress for Precious (this is her first movie EVER) and Mo’Nique for Best Supporting Actress. The film itself has been nominated for a Best Picture award in the Drama category. Loves it. Awards season kicks off next month!

ViA:THEYBF

Gucci Mane Sentenced 12 Months For Probation Violation

Gucci Mane was sentenced to 12 months [6 months with good behavior] in prison on Thursday (November 12) for probation violation and taken away to prison in handcuffs, according to a rep from his label.

The sentence is a blow to Gucci’s career. The ATL rapper has a album coming out — The State Vs. Radrick Davis — on December 8 and is arguably at the height of his career; in terms of his sentence, he may be out of prison in six months. Last September, Gucci went to jail and served until March; he was sentenced to a year in prison for failing to fulfill his court-ordered 600 hours of community service, which had been mandated in 2005.

ViA: MTV & Miss Info

Chris Brown's "Graffiti" Album Gets Pushed Up

Looks like all this publicity is faring well for Chris Brown. His album Graffiti is now set to be released on December 8th. His label says the debut single “I Can Transform Ya” is Top 10 on Billboard’s R&B/Hip Hop urban mainstream and rhythm radio airplay charts, and the video is # 1 on the iTunes music videos chart this week. The release comes on the heels of his upcoming “Fan Appreciation Tour” which begins November 14 in Houston, Texas.