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SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: rap music

rap music stories: 103 news summaries

1 - 20 of 103 Stories | 1 2 3 4 5 6 Next >>

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 New Site 
 Decodes 
 Rap Lyrics 

Rap Exegesis breaks down Jay-Z, Ghostface Killah, and more

Nov 5, 09 11:42 AM CST
(Newser) - Jay-Z and Alicia Keys’ song “Empire State of Mind” is everywhere, even at the World Series. But do you know what the lyrics mean? If not, Rap Exegesis can clue you in the way it educated Nick Antosca of the Huffington Post. Some of the explanations the site offers:... More »

MORE ABOUT:
entertainment • celebrity • rapper • rap music • Alicia Keys • Ghostface Killah • Lil Wayne • Notorious B.I.G. • Jay-Z • Jay-ZTV

WATCH IT


 Ledger-Directed 
 Rap Video 
 Debuts 

Actor worked with Australian singer, a childhood friend

Oct 30, 09 10:40 AM CDT
(Newser) - A music video, one of a few directed by Heath Ledger for little-known artists he liked, made its online debut yesterday. Australian rapper N'fa Forster-Jones, a childhood friend of the late actor's, posted the video along with a behind-the-scenes look at the project, the AP reports. "Every day I... More »

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entertainment • Australia • celebrity • Heath Ledger • music videos • rapper • rap music • Jay-ZTV • celebrity death • N'fa Forster-Jones

 Jay-Z Cleans Up 
 'Empire' for 
 World Series 

Rapper will keep his language PG while performing for Yanks

Oct 28, 09 12:05 PM CDT
(AP) - The lyrics to Jay-Z's "Empire State of Mind" are sometimes as raw as New York, but it looks like the rapper will clean things up when he performs his city anthem at the World Series. A source close to the rapper says Jay-Z won't utter curses or other raunchy... More »

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entertainment • music • celebrity • World Series • rapper • rap music • Jay-Z • Jay-ZTV • 2009 World Series

 Lil Wayne Pleads 
 to Gun Charge 

Rapper could serve a year over 2007 incident

Oct 22, 09 10:48 AM CDT
(AP) - Grammy-winning rapper Lil Wayne pleaded guilty to attempted weapons possession today and expects to receive a one-year jail sentence. He previously had pleaded not guilty to illegal gun possession charges that carried at least 3 1/2 years in prison upon conviction. Police said a gun was found on his tour... More »

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entertainment • plea bargain • rapper • rap music • Lil Wayne • firearms • criminal trial • gun charges • Lil Wayne jail • Lil Wayne pleads guilty • Lil Wayne going to jail

ANALYSIS

 Recession Finds 
 Place in Rap's 
 Latest Hits 

Jay-Z, Young Jeezy, Lil Wayne among those referencing sour economy

Oct 7, 09 9:38 PM CDT
(Newser) - The ugly economy is making more than a cameo in today’s hottest rap music, with Young Jeezy taking the cake by naming his latest album The Recession. Rap’s often been a barometer of such huge swings, Sara Libby writes, noting the impact last year of Barack Obama’s... More »

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entertainment • music industry • recession • rap music • Lil Wayne • Jay-Z • financial crisis • Jay-ZTV • Jay Sean • Young Jeezy • Lil Wayne jail • Lil Wayne pleads guilty • Lil Wayne going to jail

 Public Enemy Hooks Up 
 With 'Crowdfunding' Site 

Hip-hop innovators will raise $250K through Dutch site Sellaband

Oct 7, 09 4:50 PM CDT
(Newser) - Hip-hoppers Public Enemy, one of the first groups to release on mp3, is entering the brave new world of crowdfunding. The group has partnered with Dutch site SellABand to raise the $250,000 necessary to record a new album entirely through $25 donations from fans. The payout? Donors—or “... More »

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social networking • Netherlands • hip-hop • rap music • Sellaband • album • recording • fundraising • Public Enemy • Chuck D • Flavor Flav • crowdfunding

WATCH IT

 'Jewmaican' Amy Tries to Rap 

Troubled singer tries her hand at a new hobby—and she has a faith healer, too

Sep 29, 09 11:46 AM CDT
(Newser) - TMZ has stumbled upon a video of Amy Winehouse rapping with former backup singer Zalon. Many of the lyrics—with the exception of the notable line where she calls herself “Jewmaican”—are unintelligible, but listen for yourself at left. In other Winehouse news, she’s flying a faith... More »

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entertainment • celebrity • Amy Winehouse • rapper • rap music

 'Obama 
 Effect' 
 Cleaning 
 Up Rap 

Common says hip-hop turning more positive

Sep 24, 09 12:34 PM CDT
(Newser) - Thanks to President Obama, today’s rap focuses less on drugs, bling, and violence, and the “conscious rapper” is on the rise—at least according to Common. “I don't find as much gangsta talk,” the rapper/actor tells CNN. “You see the whole chain-shining-and-rim era is gone.... More »

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hip-hop • rapper • rap music • bling • Jay-ZTV • Common

Horrorcore Rap Killings Shock Sleepy Va. Town

Questions abound about music's role in family's slaughter

Sep 24, 09 8:29 AM CDT
(Newser) - Farmville is a sleepy Virginia town of 7,000, hardly the kind of place you’d expect a Californian “horrorcore” rapper to brutally bludgeon four people to death, Yet that's exactly what 20-year-old Richard Alden Samuel McCroskey III, aka “Syko Sam,” is suspected of doing. “I... More »

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California • MySpace • crime • murder • Virginia • small towns • rap music • MySpace Music • horrorcore • Richard Alden Samuel McCroskey

 British R&B 
 Star Climbs 
 US Charts 

Jay Sean finds a home on Lil Wayne's Cash Money label

Sep 23, 09 2:12 PM CDT
(Newser) - “It doesn't matter if we're from a little place called Hounslow,” Jay Sean tells the BBC. “If you have some good music, you can make it anywhere.” That’s how the British R&B singer found himself collaborating with Lil Wayne, and climbing to No. 2... More »

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entertainment • music • rapper • rap music • Billboard charts • Lil Wayne • R&B • Jay-ZTV • Jay Sean

What Jay-Z and Glenn Beck Have in Common

Rap and right-wing talk radio are more similar than you might think

Sep 20, 09 2:00 PM CDT
(Newser) - After listening to hours of Michael Savage, Rush Limbaugh, and Mark Levin on the radio while driving the Nebraska countryside, a peculiar thought occurred to David Segal: conservative talk-show hosts are surprisingly similar to gangsta rappers, he writes for the New York Times. Consider the parallels:
  • Huge egos.
... More »

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Rush Limbaugh • conservative • hip-hop • Glenn Beck • rap music • Michael Savage • right wingers • talk-show host • Jay-Z

Rapper Who Posted Murder Lyrics Busted in 4 Killings

'I hate everybody,' says aspiring horrorcore singer 'Syko Sam'


Sep 20, 09 12:25 PM CDT
(Newser) - An aspiring California "horrorcore" rapper who posted songs about killing on his MySpace page is being held as a suspect in the murder of four people, reports the Richmond Times-Dispatch. Richard Samuel Alden McCroskey III, 20, was arrested as he awaited a flight back home from Virginia, where the... More »

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California • MySpace • crime • murder • Virginia • rap music • MySpace Music • horrorcore

 'Midwest Diva' 
 Aims to Be 
 Next Britney 

'I think I can take this all the way to Hollywood,' says Web sensation Leslie Hall

Sep 18, 09 11:34 AM CDT
(Newser) - She’s a size 16, loves plastic-jewel-encrusted sweaters, lives with her parents, and marries gay couples in her spare time—but Leslie Hall, a white rapper from Iowa, sees herself as a peer of  “Britney, Rihanna, Beyoncé, we’re all doing the same thing,” she tells CNN. Hall... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Britney Spears • Iowa • gay marriage • HBO • rapper • Beyonce • rap music • Rihanna • Jay-ZTV • Leslie Hall

 How 50 Cent Built His Empire 

Rapper made it to $150 million thanks to business tactics, not musical talent

Sep 17, 09 11:44 AM CDT
(Newser) - Believe it or not, it might do you good to take some business advice from shot-nine-times rapper 50 Cent. After all, it was business savvy more than rap music that helped build his $150 million empire. Business Insider takes a look at how he did it:
  • His endorsement
... More »

MORE ABOUT:
business • 50 Cent • Reebok • Pontiac • rapper • rap music • endorsement • fashion label • Coca-Cola • Jay-ZTV

music review

 Kid Cudi's Debut 
 'Ridiculously 
 Intriguing' 

Rap's up-and-coming name follows in the footsteps of Kanye West, Andre 3000

Sep 15, 09 1:42 PM CDT
(Newser) - The premise of Kanye West protégé Kid Cudi’s Man on the Moon: The End of the Day is that he’s “not on the same planet as other rappers. The truth is that he’s not in the same genre,” writes Julian Benbow for the... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Kanye West • hip-hop • rapper • album release • rap music • music review • Jay-Z • Jay-ZTV • Kid Cudi

Once-Homeless Rapper Wins Prestigious UK Prize

Speech Debelle is first woman to win Mercury in 7 years

Sep 8, 09 8:00 PM CDT
(Newser) - Years of living in hostels and on the streets of London proved, at long last, a winning combination for rapper Speech Debelle, who today was awarded Britain’s prestigious Mercury music prize, the Guardian reports. Speech Therapy, the debut album by the 26-year-old (real name Corynne Elliot), represents a “... More »

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entertainment • London • homeless • hip-hop • rap music • Jay-ZTV • Mercury Prize • Speech Debelle • Speech Therapy • Corynne Elliot

(Newser) - Jay-Z's new Blueprint 3 seems to have critics divided. Some see flashes of brilliance showing the rap veteran at his best, while others see a mediocre effort that relies too much on celebrity.
  • Jay-Z sounds "hungrier than he has in years on about half the tracks, while sharing
... More »

MORE ABOUT:
music • hip-hop • rapper • rap music • music review • Jay-Z • Jay-ZTV • Blueprint 3

 Jay-Z at Work on
 'Experimental' Album 

Says it will be his most eclectic

Sep 4, 09 7:14 AM CDT
(Newser) - Jay-Z's new album, Blueprint 3, doesn't drop until next week, but he's already looking ahead to the next one. The rapper, also known as Shawn Carter, tells MTV he's working on his most eclectic album yet. "It's not gonna be a No. 1 album," he says. "That's... More »

MORE ABOUT:
entertainment • album release • rap music • Jay-Z • Shawn Carter • Jay-ZTV

interview

 Jay-Z to Oprah: 
 Drug Dealing 
 Was 'Natural' 

Says his generation 'disarmed' the N-word

Sep 3, 09 7:59 AM CDT
(Newser) - Becoming a teen drug dealer was “natural” for Jay-Z, and it didn’t scare him a bit, given his environment in the projects, he tells Oprah in her O Magazine. “At some point, you become addicted to the feeling. The uncertainty and adrenaline and danger of that lifestyle,... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Oprah Winfrey • hip-hop • rapper • Beyonce • rap music • interview • Jay-Z • O, the Oprah Magazine • Jay-ZTV

 Portman Loves 
 'Dirty Rap' 

The word 'dick' just makes Natalie giggle

Aug 28, 09 10:35 AM CDT
(Newser) - Among the confessions Natalie Portman makes to interviewer—and co-star—Jake Gyllenhaal in Interview: She was scared of Smurfs, is obsessed with Carvel ice cream cake, and loves “really, really obscene hip-hop,” she says. “I love it so much. It makes me laugh and then it... More »

MORE ABOUT:
entertainment • celebrity • rapper • rap music • Jake Gyllenhaal • Natalie Portman • interview • celebrity interview

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