Washington DC – Kanye West knocks Mitt Romney in the first song off Cruel Summer, the highly anticipated G.O.O.D. Music compilation album due in stores on Tuesday.

“I’m just trying to protect my stacks / Mitt Romney don’t pay no tax,” West raps on “To The World*,” a song which also features R. Kelly. The lyric is an obvious reference to Romney’s low tax rate and refusal to release a substantive number of tax returns, on the basis of political attacks. In a recent interview, Ann Romney, the wife of GOP candidate Mitt Romney, spoke about the tax returns stating that they will not release more in fear that it will be used as “ammunition” by the opposing party.

Nicki Minaj also mentioned Romney in a song. On her and Lil Wayne’s cover of “Mercy,” Minaj raps that she was voting for the GOP hopeful (“I’m a Republican voting for Mitt Romney / You lazy b—-es is f—ing up the economy”). Suspicions that Minaj was being sarcastic were confirmed by none other than Barack Obama, who was asked about the song in an interview and said that Minaj was playing a character. The rapper confirmed Obama’s theories in a series of ecstatic tweets.

The entirety of Cruel Summer had leaked by Thursday. A number of the songs (“New God Flow,” “Clique,” “Cold,” “Don’t Like” and “Mercy”) had already been released. It’s interesting that R. Kelly was featured, as he and Jay-Z had a very public fallout when the R&B singer walked off stage in the middle of a Best of Both Worlds Tour show at Madison Square Garden. Jay, a regular collaborator and mentor of sorts to West, also appears on the album.

Cruel Summer tracklist:
1. “To The World” feat. Kanye West & R. Kelly*
2. “Clique” feat. Kanye West, Jay-Z, & Big Sean
3. “Mercy” feat. Kanye West, Big Sean, Pusha T & 2 Chainz
4. “New God Flow” feat. Kanye West, Pusha T & Ghostface Killah
5. “The Morning” feat. Raekwon, Pusha T, Common, 2 Chainz, CyHi Da Prynce, Kid Cudi & D’Banj
6. “Cold” feat. DJ Khaled
7. “Higher” feat. The-Dream, Pusha T & Ma$e
8. “Sin City” feat. John Legend, Travi$ Scott, Teyana Taylor, CyHi Da Prynce & Malik Yusef
9. “The One” feat. Kanye West, Big Sean, 2 Chainz & Marsha Ambrosius
10. “Creepers” feat. Kid Cudi
11. “Bliss” feat. John Legend & Teyana Taylor
12. Don’t Like. Feat. Kanye West, Chief Keef, Pusha T, Big Sean & Jadakiss

Kanye West also leads BET Hip-Hop Awards 2012 Nominees with 17 nominations. 2 Chainz follows with 13 nominations and Drake is right behind with 11 for the October 9 awards show.

(source: Huffington Post)

Note: This article does not promote nor does it endorse any presidential candidate.

Oslo, Norway — A lawyer representing Snoop Dogg says the American rapper has been banned from entering Norway for two years after trying to enter the country with a small amount of marijuana last month.

Holger Hagesaeter, the rapper’s legal representative in Norway, told The Associated Press on Saturday that his client “can live with the decision” and has no immediate plans to appeal it.

Snoop Dogg, whose name is Calvin Broadus, was on his way to a music festival in southern Norway in June when sniffer dogs detected eight grams of marijuana in his luggage. He was also carrying more cash than is legally allowed and was fined 52,000 kroner ($8,600) after admitting to the two offenses, the lawyer said.

(Source: Associated Press)

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Los Angeles, California – Fans and critics alike have been enthralled by music sensation Brooke Valentine since her dynamic and explosive single, “Girlfight.” The song featuring ATL rap stars Lil Jon and Big Boi was taken from her debut full-length project, Chain Letter (Virgin Records), and helped propel album sales to 2.5 million copies worldwide while remaining steady on the top of Billboard charts.

Now the feisty vocalist and Houston native is back after a brief hiatus with her sophomore effort, Forever (Subliminal Entertainment), an album layered with hypnotic and harmonic overdubs. Forever is a composite of dazzling club anthems, powerful R&B joints, emotive ballads and mid-tempo tracks – a comprehensive expression of Brooke Valentine’s life experiences. The title track and first single was released in spring and highlighted a “family is forever” theme, featuring the vocalist’s 2 year old son, London. Valentine says the writing of “Forever” was extremely organic, almost accidental but was taken to the studio and later mixed by DJ Quik who was responsible for engineering 11 other songs off the new album.

The second single “Don’t Wanna Be in Love,” written and produced by Deja the Great is a sensual mid-tempo ballad layered with harmonies over a backdrop of driving strings; underscored further by the usage of Isaac Hayes’ ominous classic, “Walk On By.”

“As you know I tend to be extremely random, rare and or weird however I have no plans of changing that so lets just get the party started shall we?”

And get the party started she does. Stand-out tracks on the album include, “In the Air,” an ultra dance-driven tune laced with a spiritual theme. On the darker melody, “Down for the Count” Valentine sings about losing her step, following in love and allowing herself to surrender. For fans desiring a full-on R&B effort, the beat thumper “Gotcha” contains that and a whole lot of swag. “Selfish Lover” exemplifies the singer’s vocal range, showing off her chops while expressing anger at a self-centered man. The Toni Braxton inspired “In My Bed” proves to be a melodic masterpiece showcasing Valentine’s vulnerable and passionate side, centered around letting someone back in your bed who you know you shouldn’t. “I Love You” is dedicated to Valentine’s cousin who was tragically murdered in March 2008 – inspiration for this song also manifested from Hurricane Rita which hit Houston and devastated her family’s communities. “Insanity” is one of the more eclectic songs, with a classical music flavor and theatrical underpinnings – it’s a serious track where Valentine sheds light on domestic abuse she experienced in her youth.

After listening to Forever fans will be greeted with a refreshing, realistic and expressive musical palate – Brooke Valentine has managed to thread a spiritual and emotional symmetry into her sound, while still keeping it bangin’ for the club goers. Her music is an organic experience- a hybrid collection of up-tempo jams and fluid slow grooves that artistically join her sleek voice with intoxicating melodies. With such audible pleasantries and a ravishing sensual appeal, Brooke Valentine is sure to expand her fan base to include a broader more discriminating audience of tastemakers and music lovers around the world.

 

Washington DC – Big Sean and Meek Mill are interviewed before the BET Awards 2012 and are asked about the recent release of a Chris Brown freestyle titled “I Don’t Like” where Chris “disses” Drake referring to his eye brows and the club fight that happened a couple weeks ago. Watch the video above for their reaction to the Drake diss.