Nas and Damian “Jr. Gong” Marley are proud to announce the release of their highly-anticipated collaborative studio album, Distant Relatives (Universal Republic) on Tuesday, May 18, 2010. Featuring the signature instrumentation and musicianship of Damian “Jr. Gong” Marley with the hard-hitting beats and lyrics of Nas, the album title refers not only to the bond between the artists, but the connection to their African ancestry, which inspired the album both musically and lyrically.

Throughout the course of their musical careers, the duo has always admired each other’s style. Since first meeting in 1996 the two artists have shared a mutual respect and camaraderie that was most recently showcased on the track “Road to Zion,” from Damian’s critically acclaimed album, Welcome to Jamrock. After having such a positive experience working together, they have now joined forces again for Distant Relatives. In their latest collaboration, Nas and Damian trace hip-hop’s roots to Africa, where the genre originated as a vital form of cultural expression and was then transported by the slave trade to the Caribbean and the American colonies. It blossomed a half century ago in the dance halls of Kingston, Jamaica, and soon migrated to the park jams and recreational centers of New York City, where the culture became known as hip-hop. This evolution forms the basis of the Distant Relatives project which, in addition to the album, also includes a documentary film, performances and a series of public discussions, the first of which took place in conjunction with National Geographic Live in Washington, DC last December.

“Damian and Nas have made a groundbreaking album that combines the depth and vision of these two artists with a seminal musical and cultural thread of multiple generations,” stated Monte Lipman, President and CEO of Universal Republic Records. “We’re thrilled to play a role on what’s certain to be another pivotal album for both artists and one of the more unique collaborative efforts in recent years.”

The partnership between the two artists is sure to amaze with an album encompassing 14 tracks including the first singles “As We Enter” and “Strong Will Continue,” which the duo premiered on the SOS Haiti Telethon benefit last month. The album was produced by Damian “Jr. Gong” Marley and also features several guest appearances from Joss Stone and Lil Wayne, who appear on the track “Generation,” K’NAAN on “Africa Must Wake Up” and “Tribal War,” and Stephen Marley on “Leaders” and “In His Own Words.”

Nas and Damian “Jr. Gong” Marley plan to hit the road following the release of their album, including stops at Bonnaroo and the Heineken Opener Festival in Poland. Prelude to the tour begins at SXSW on March 17th and is followed by two performances in South Florida at ULTRA on March 27th and SUNFEST on May 2nd. Official tour dates will be announced with complete list of cities and venues on Monday, March 22nd.

‘Distant Relatives’ Relatives Tracklisting:
1. As We Enter
2. Tribal War (featuring K’NAAN)
3. Strong Will Continue
4. Leaders (featuring Stephen Marley)
5. Wisdom
6. Count Your Blessings
7. Dispear
8. The Promised Land (featuring Dennis Brown)
9. In His Own Words (featuring Stephen Marley)
10. Nah Mean
11. Friends
12. My Generation (featuring Lil Wayne and Joss Stone)
13. Africa Must Wake Up (featuring K’NAAN)

A hip-hop icon since the early 1990s, Nas emerged from the Queensbridge neighborhood of Long Island City, a hotbed of rap artists since the ’80s. The son of jazz trumpeter Olu Dara, Nas has since gone on to sell over 20 million albums worldwide over the span of his legendary career, and has acted as an ambassador for hip-hop culture throughout the globe. Nas first reached an international audience when his track “Halftime” was tapped by producer MC Serch as the opening cut on 1992’s Zebrahead movie soundtrack. The first full-length album by poet and rhyme-master Nas arrived in 1994, the RIAA platinum Illmatic. Since then he has released 8 solo albums and 3 compilation albums that have garnered 11 GRAMMY nominations and certified either double-platinum, platinum and gold.

The youngest son of Reggae legend Bob Marley, Damian “Jr. Gong” Marley garnered his own place in music history when he became the first ever Reggae artist to win a GRAMMY outside of the Reggae category, taking home an award for Best Urban/Alternative performance for his title single, “Welcome To Jamrock.” The acclaimed 2005 breakthrough disc Welcome To Jamrock, also won a GRAMMY for Best Reggae Album. Most recently, Marley has been touring non-stop shaking up stages all over the world.

For performance dates and more information please go to www.distantrelatives.com

Lil' Wayne

Lil’ Wayne has unveiled the video for “Drop The World,” which features veteran rapper Eminem. The video is directed by Chris Robinson, features both rappers engulfed in a street battle.

“Drop The World” is the latest single from Lil’ Wayne’s recently released rock-rap hybrid album, ‘Rebirth’.

The video’s release comes just hours before the rapper is due to be sentenced in New York for gun possession. In October 2009, the rapper plead guilty to criminal possession of a weapon. He admitted to illegally having a loaded .40-caliber semiautomatic gun on his tour bus in July 2007.

Lil' Wayne

Lil Wayne’s new album, Rebirth, finally has an official release date. According to Billboard.com, the disc long rumored to be Wayne’s “rock” album will drop on December 15.

The album will come on the heels of his just-released No Ceilings mixtape. No Ceilings is available for download now at www.weareyoungmoney.com.

The album is slated to include guest spots from Drake, members of Fall Out Boy and Lenny Kravitz. It’s unknown if Rebirth will be the last full-length album the rapper will release before he is scheduled to go to prison in New York for at least eight months after pleading guilty to a felony charge of attempted criminal possession of a weapon.

Lil' Wayne

Lil Wayne plead guilty to felony gun possession in a New York courtroom on Thursday (October 22) to charges stemming from a July 2007 arrest following his first headlining concert in New York.

Wayne had previously pleaded not guilty to the charges, which were filed after the NYPD found a .40 caliber handgun on Wayne’s tour bus in 2007, but after DNA found on the weapon that proved the gun was Weezy’s was deemed admissible by the court, Wayne opted instead to take the plea bargain.

The rapper will be sentenced to one year in prison as a part of his plea deal and must also give up his passport. Wayne quietly told the judge yes when asked if he understood the terms of the plea he was making.

The sentence is expected to be carried out in February 2010 and is expected to serve eight to 10 months, assuming good behavior. He must also appear in court in December for a parole update.

Wayne also faces trial for felony drug possession and weapons charges in Arizona as the result of another tour bus search in 2008. In that case, Wayne’s bus was reportedly holding 105 grams of marijuana, 29 grams of cocaine, 41 grams of ecstasy, drug paraphernalia and a handgun.

There is no word whether the guilty plea will effect the planned December 15th release of the rapper’s oft-delayed Rebirth.

Two icons of rock have joined forces to create a new rock bar and performance space in Las Vegas. Alice in Chains guitarist/vocalist Jerry Cantrell and Anthrax guitarist Scott Ian plan to launch the venue, Dead Man’s Hand, in November.

The bar will feature none of the trendy décor, snobby attitude and outlandish prices so prevalent in Vegas. Instead, Dead Man’s Hand will favor grit over glitz, providing customers great music, cool atmosphere and affordable drinks all year long.

“We want this to be a place that we would want to hang out in,” Ian says. “There’s a huge segment of the music audience that likes to go out but doesn’t want to go to places that only play Lil Wayne and Lady Gaga and charge $750 for a bottle of vodka. We want to be the opposite of that.”

“I always wanted to have a cool joint with some friends that would be a great place to go at night,” adds Cantrell, “It’s close to Los Angeles, and a lot of cool bands and people hit Vegas. We wanted to make a fun place for everybody to hang.”

Cantrell came up with the name Dead Man’s Hand, and as soon as he mentioned it to Ian, the guitarist was sold. The two logos for the club — a skeleton’s hand holding the dead man’s poker hand atop a flaming Ace of Spades, and a skull-embossed Ace of Spades atop the dead man’s hand — were designed by award-winning artist Shepard Fairey from Obey. “Scott and I are both into poker, and the dead man’s hand — two aces and two eights — was the hand Wild Bill Hickok was supposedly holding when he was shot,” Cantrell says. “And we both really like the show ‘Deadwood,’ so it seemed like a cool name.”

Dead Man’s Hand will feature a long, semicircle-shaped bar that seats 30, a stage, and a raised back area featuring booths directly across from the stage. Total capacity is about 200. The bar will showcase DJs and live music, with a top-notch PA, state-of-the art lighting system and a backline donated by Ian and Cantrell’s respective gear companies.

“We’d like to have a couple of house bands, maybe once or twice a month,” Cantrell says. “And we’ll have some cool bands come in and play. “We’re planning to leave a bunch of gear on the stage so it’s functional for anybody that wants to just get up and go for it.”

“We’re also putting together the Dead Man’s Band, which will be Jerry and I and probably some other sub-partners who are also in well-known bands,” adds Ian. “Obviously, we won’t play once a week or anything because of our schedules, but when we’re all around we’ll get up and jam out a bunch of covers.”

The sub-partners for Dead Man’s Hand will be announced in the weeks ahead. The third equal partner in Dead Man’s Hand is Michael Politz, owner of Food and Beverage magazine. “Jerry and I have talked for years about having a bar, and Michael really helped make it possible,” Ian says. “He’s very tied into the Vegas scene and was very excited about pitching this idea around. It just feels like all the planets finally aligned.”

The bar will offer several signature drinks, including the Dead Man’s Hand (whisky and spicy ginger ale) and, of course the Black Tooth Grin (Crown Royal with a splash of Coca-Cola), the late-guitar legend Dimebag Darrell’s beverage of choice.

“We want to tie that into a drink special,” Ian says. “So, every night at midnight or something, we’ll crank ‘Ace of Spades’ by Motorhead and everyone HAS to do a shot.”

The venue’s first event will be a November 7th party for Bluff Magazine. The party coincides with the World Series of Poker final table on November 9th.

Dead Man’s Hand will be located at 3525 W. Russell Road Las Vegas NV (I-15 exit Russell Road, one block west) right next to the Vegas Alliance strip club Crazy Horse III in a complex called The Playground. For more info: 702-673-1700 or email info@deadmanshand.com

While out promoting his new ‘Beats by Dr. Dre/HP notebook’ project, the legendary Dr. Dre reached out to Jay-Z to record guest vocals on his long-awaited new album ‘Detox’.

‘Detox’, which was originally slated to drop in 2004, already has a cast of rap’s biggest names attached . Stars such as T.I., Lil’ Wayne and Nas are reportedly appearing on the project.

Dr. Dre told MTV News said this of a possible appearance by Jay-Z:

“Well, actually, Jay-Z’s just been in the studio doing some writing,” Dr Dre said. “Hopefully I’ll get him to perform on the record. Jay, come holler.”

Dr. Dre confirmed earlier this month that ‘Detox’ won’t be released until at least 2010.

When asked what was causing the holdup of the album during a recent interview, Dr. Dre cited, “motivation, other things getting in the way.”

Madonna’s highly anticipated video for “Celebration” has finally arrived! Head over to iTunes to download the Jonas Akerlund directed video for free which features the Queen of Pop’s daughter Lourdes and Brazilian model Jesus Luz. “Celebration” is the title track from Madonna’s forthcoming greatest hits album due out on September 29th.

Click here to download the video for “Celebration” on iTunes >

The album will come out as both a double-disc offering and as a single CD. The first disc will include 18 classic tracks, such as “Music,” “Vogue,” “Like a Virgin,” “Express Yourself,” “Holiday” and “Like a Prayer.” The disc concludes with “Revolver,” which is Madonna’s collaboration with Lil’ Wayne. A demo of the track, sans Wayne, surfaced on YouTube back in May. Disc two contains 18 songs that include “La Isla Bonita,” “Take a Bow,” “Who’s That Girl,” “Cherish” and “Lucky Star.”

‘Celebration’ will also be available as a 47-video two-DVD, which includes some of Madonna’s more recent video releases.

Madonna’s Celebration CD track listing, according to Warner Bros.:

CD 1:
01) Hung Up
02) Music
03) Vogue
04) 4 Minutes
05) Holiday
06) Everybody
07) Like A Virgin
08) Into The Groove
09) Like A Prayer
10) Ray Of Light
11) Sorry
12) Express Yourself
13) Open Your Heart
14) Borderline
15) Secret
16) Erotica
17) Justify My Love
18) Revolver

CD 2:
01) Dress You Up
02) Material Girl
03) La Isla Bonita
04) Papa Don’t Preach
05) Lucky Star
06) Burning Up
07) Crazy For You
08) Who’s That Girl
09) Frozen
10) Miles Away
11) Take A Bow
12) Live To Tell
13) Beautiful Stranger
14) Hollywood
15) Die Another Day
16) Dont Tell Me
17) Cherish
18) Celebration

Madonna Celebration DVD track listing:

01) Burning Up
02) Lucky Star
03) Borderline
04) Like A Virgin
05) Material Girl
06) Crazy For You
07) Into The Groove
08) Live To Tell
09) Papa Dont Preach
10) True Blue
11) Open Your Heart
12) La Isla Bonita
13) Whos That Girl
14) Like A Prayer
15) Express Yourself
16) Cherish
17) Vogue
18) Justify My Love
19) Erotica
20) Deeper and Deeper
21) Rain
22) Ill Remember
23) Secret
24) Take A Bow
25) Bedtime Story
26) Human Nature
27) I Want You
28) Youll See
29) Frozen
30) Ray Of Light
31) The Power Of Good-Bye
32) Beautiful Stranger
33) American Pie
34) Music
35) Dont Tell Me
36) What It Feels Like For A Girl
37) Die Another Day
38) Hollywood
39) Love Profusion
40) Hung Up
41) Sorry
42) Get Together
43) Jump
44) 4 Minutes
45) Give It 2 Me
46) Miles Away
47) Celebration

Cookin’ Soul Presents “Tribute to the King of Pop” Michael Jackson Mixtape

Producers/DJs Cookin’ Soul have brought their flavor from Spain to the U.S., working with people such as Max B, the Game, Soulja Boy, Kool G. Rap and the homie Lil’ Cease. Big Size, Milton and Zock make their mixtapes feel like the old ’90s blend tapes and they come up with concept releases such as mixing some of 50 Cent’s greatest verses with music from ’90s hits like Mary J. Blige’s “Real Love.” Their breakthrough was the OJAYSIS project, which mixed Hov’s vocals with Oasis’ music. Now they’re back with a tape dedicated to Michael Jackson — Tribute to the King throws rap verses over MJ’s classics.

This project features 14 tracks with mash ups, remixes & instrumentals featuring some of the best rappers to ever grab the mic: Notorious Big, 2Pac, 50 Cent, Jay Z, Nas, Lil Wayne.

Tracklist:

01 – Intro
02 – Beat it feat. Kid Cudi
03 – Remember the time feat. 50 Cent
04 – Bad feat. Ludacris
05 – Skit
06 – I Want You Back feat. Lil Wayne
07 – Don’t stop ‘Til You Get Enough feat. Jay-Z
08 – Black or White feat. Eminem
09 – Thriller feat. Notorious B.I.G
10 – Rock with you feat. Notorious B.I.G
11 – Smooth Criminal feat. 2Pac
12 – You Rock My World feat. Nas
13 – outro
14 – I can´t help it (Cookin Soul Band Remix)

DOWNLOAD IT HERE >

VH1 is reviving its former signature series “Behind the Music” by ordering 10 new episodes of the series which originally debuted in 1997.

Lil Wayne’s crossover to the world of rock is well under way. His first video off of the upcoming rock-rap crossover album, Rebirth, premiere last night on Jimmy Kimmel Live!

The video for “Prom Queen” is best described as a revenge fantasy of sorts, starring with Lil Wayne as a high school student being rejected by a popular girl and then follows him as he conquers the world and makes all the haters sorry.

Check out the video below:

The CD will feature guest appearances by Jonathan Davis of Korn, Fall Out Boy, Avril Lavigne and others. According to his manager, Lil Wayne has recorded around 30 songs for Rebirth. The release date for the album is tentatively scheduled for May 19th, 2009.