Producer Kanye: New Jay-Z Album 'Anti-Auto-Tune'

Class takes sociological view of rapper's work

(NEWSER) - He’s already a hip-hop superstar, a big-shot exec, and married to Beyonce; now, Jay-Z is also the subject of elite academic discourse. Georgetown students are flocking to a sociology course on hip-hop and Jay-Z’s rise, taught by author and radio host Michael Eric Dyson. “Sociology of Hip-Hop—Urban Theodicy of Jay-Z,” as the class is called, seeks “the intellectual, theological, philosophical predicate for Jay-Z’s argument.” More»

He says US foreign policy helps foster terror

(NEWSER) - Conservatives slammed President Obama for hosting Chicago rapper Common at the White House. Now Obama is taking criticism from a different Chicago rapper. "To me, the biggest terrorist is Obama, and the United States of America,” Lupe Fiasco told CBS in an interview noted by the Huffington Post . “I'm trying to fight the terrorism that's actually causing the other forms of terrorism.” He said “the root cause of terrorism” includes “the foreign policies that we have in place in different countries that inspire people to become terrorists.” More»

Eminem enjoys a comeback, too

(NEWSER) - Kanye West's comeback must be complete: Rolling Stone awarded him the top slot in its list of 2010's 30 best albums. The top 10:

1. Kanye West, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy: "Music as sprawlingly messy as his life," these songs are "hip-hop epics ... full of the kind of grandiose gestures that only the foolish attempt and only the wildly talented pull off."
2. The Black Keys, Brothers: "Their best record yet: vivid tunes stripped bare and rubbed raw ... it's rock minimalism pushed to the max."
3. Elton John and Leon Russell, The Union: "Two rock giants ... rekindle a friendship and make music that ranks with their best."
4. Arcade Fire, The Suburbs: "An album of vast, orchestral rock that locates the battle for the human soul amid big houses and manicured lawns."

Rapper slams claims he was trying to look good ahead of court date

(NEWSER) - After T.I. talked a man threatening suicide out of jumping from a downtown Atlanta building, some are calling the move a publicity stunt—but that couldn’t be further from the truth, the rapper tells CNN . The video he made, which police played to the man and is credited with helping to save the man’s life, was not an effort to improve his image ahead of a hearing today that could send the musician back to jail, he says, calling such claims “preposterous.” More»

Keith Elam of Gang Starr was also celebrated solo artist

(NEWSER) - Keith Elam, who performed as Guru with the high-profile hip-hop duo Gang Starr, died yesterday. He was 43 and had been battling cancer. Although Guru was from Boston and partner DJ Premier from Houston, Gang Starr played a high-profile role on the New York underground rap scene of the '90s. Guru recorded with Gang Starr from its founding in 1987 into the 2000s even as he established a solo career with his Jazzmatazz series of albums, MTV reports. More»