Solange Knowles Dropped From Geffen Records

I pray to God that this is nothing more than a nasty rumor but, from what I'm hearing, Solange Knowles has been dropped from Geffen Records. The thing I don't understand is why?

Sure, her album, Sol-angel and the Hadley St. Dreams, was not as profitable as one would have hoped; but it was damn near better than Beyoncé's I Am...Sasha Fierce. The only difference is, Beyoncé is more of an established artist and the marketing push behind her project was far greater than the one Geffen was willing to give for Solange.

Is it fair? Yes and no, I suppose, but it all depends on how you look at things. Because of the current recession we're in, a lot of people have cut back on spending and the music industry has been hit hard because of that. No longer are major labels shelling out big bucks to invest in an artist's career. Instead, the primary focus has shifted from quality to quantity and the more ringtones an artist can sell seems to be the gold standard nowadays.

It's a sad reality when you think about it and I feel bad for an artist like Solange. Sol-angel and the Hadley St. Dreams was an incredibly dope album and, regardless of how many numbers it did at SoundScan, to put a price on quality music goes against why we fell in love with music in the first place.

Not only does it allow us to express ourselves in ways unimaginable, but just the notion of vibing out to music, in general, is enough to have anybody so far gone. Wouldn't you agree?

Yet and still, I'm sure Solange will find a new recording home like most artists do after being dropped and, hopefully, this time she can align herself with a better A&R. She deserves way better than this and for proof of that, I suggest you check out Sol-Angel and the Hadley St. Dreams for yourself. Trust me, you won't be disappointed.

¤ Click here to listen to Sol-Angel and the Hadley St. Dreams ¤

KING Magazine Folds Due To Failing Ad Market

KING magazine has been a semi-monthly favorite of mine for years and it's sad to see that a failing ad market will, ultimately, be its demise.

It's really unfair, in a sense, especially when considering that other magazines like Oprah and Martha Stewart seem to do so well; yet anything Hip-Hop related seems to have a shorter shelf life (pun intended).

My thing is, out of all the magazines that could've folded, KING is of the elite and the last thing I expected was to see them fold. If anything, The Source deserved to close its doors, simply because of the fact that they have no credibility whatsoever anymore and the same could be said for XXL.

At least KING magazine was dope enough to be diverse and feature models and editorials and, fittingly, they found the perfect balance between the two. Sure, I can understand the constant criticism of their "exploitation" of black women; but, if that's the case, why are magazines such as Maxim, Playboy, Penthouse, & Hustler still prevalent? My point exactly.

R.I.P. King Magazine 2003-2009

No "Swagga Like Us" For Paper Trail?

As it stands, T.I.'s Paper Trail is less than two weeks away and word on the street is that it will NOT feature the song "Swagga Like Us".

In case you haven't head, the song features Kanye West, Jay-Z, and Lil' Wayne (Click here to listen) and is the absolute truth! Believe me when I say this, to have 4 artists of this calibur on one song is legendary; but as to why the song will not be featured on Paper Trail is beyond me.

A few conspiracy theories have been tossed around, but the most popular pertains to T.I. A lot of people think that since T.I. bodied everybody on the song, that an outcry has led to its removal but, really, does that make any sense? No, not even in the least bit so to each his own. I'm just upset that no clear, difinitive reason has been stated as to why; but maybe things will be cleared up here in the next few weeks. At least, one can only hope.

G-Unit Projected To Sell More Than 700k Units Of Their New Album Terminate On Sight

According to MediaTakeOut.com, the new G-Unit album (that was released yesterday!) is projected to sell well over what label execs had expected. How much more you ask? Over 700,000! Now, while I don't believe any of this bullshit to begin with, let me be the first to say that their is no way in hell this album comes close to those kind of numbers. That is, unless 50 (or the label) buys almost half of that number and I wouldn't be surprised if a bulk of that was the case. I guess it's a wait and see for now, but I'm expecting the album to fall between 200,00-320,000; and that's just being nice.

Jay-Z Stepping Out On Beyoncé

It seems [to me] that all these Jay-Z and Beyoncé rumors are concentrated, because they never seem to go away. If anything, more and more seem to pop up and for some reason, that Missy Elliott song "Gossip Folks" is starting to come to mind as I write this, but never mind that.

Anyway, I'm sure a lot of you have heard by now but the latest rumor is saying that Jay was seen having a romantic dinner with UK singer Alesha Dixon at the Zuma restaurant in London, England. Now, the way I look at things, I take everything at face value and this doesn't appear to be anything salacious at all. If anything, I would say it's nothing more than two people having dinner and that's it, but gossip hounds are running with this thing and making it bigger than it really is.

Am I surprised? Quite honestly no, but I kind of expected another Jay & Beyoncé rumor to pop up here sooner or later and what do you know? I was right. It just goes to show that the media can over analyze things sometimes and should be a little more reserved when it comes to things of this nature; but, this is the media we're talking about. Since when have they ever been wrong?

A T-Pain/Lil' Wayne Album Is A Good Thing, Right?

If the BET awards was any indication, then I'm a little reserved when it it comes to this newly formed super group of Lil' Wayne and T-Pain. As much as I like both individually, I kind of think that the auto-tune effect they've both fallen in love with will wear out its welcome over an entire album. Then again, it could be kind of hot; but let's face it, these best of both world type collaborations have been hit-or-miss in the past and this sounds like a recipe for disaster.

Don't get me wrong, in no way am I discrediting the "bankability" of both artists because [financially] an album from the two will have an audience; but, in all likelihood, it would pale in comparison to what the two have done individually. I'll admit, the two have great chemistry together as exhibited on Wayne's current single "Got Money"; but as is common with things of this nature, the marketplace for both Wayne and T-Pain will dry up here shortly. As consistent as the two have been, an over saturation will manifest eventually and people will get sick of hearing the two; so, from that standpoint, a collaborative effort will then seem like overkill.

Regardless, interest on my part remains [relatively] high (in spite of my reservations) to see if they can pull it off, but I doubt this will even see the light of day. There's too many legalities and red tape blocking this thing, in my opinion, and I doubt Universal Records and Jive Records will come to terms to make this thing happen. At most, we'll probably get a lot of leaked material featuring the two and you know what? That would [actually] be sufficient enough.

A Swizz Beatz/Alicia Keys Love Affair

I'm sure most of you have heard by now that Swizz Beatz and his wife Mashonda decided to separate but rumors have filtered in over the last month that involve both Swizz and...Alicia Keys? Believe it or not, these allegations alledge that the two were having something on the side and may have been the primary cause for Swizz and Mashonda's sudden divorce. I'll admit, their divorce did come as a surprise but this is even more shocking to hear that Alicia could've been involved in this little love triangle.

For what it's worth, however, I hope it's not true but Swizz hasn't really been "clear" when it comes to addressing the situation. His answers are a little too ambiguous for my tastes and leaves the door open for this to be a possibility, but who am I to speculate? All I know is, Swizz has a family to take care of [regardless] and, in my eyes, he lost but that's just my opinion. As much as I love Alicia, I don't think I love her enough to cheat on my wife but I'm my OWN man. Swizz is his own also but...who am I to judge?

8Ball and MJG To Ink Deal With T.I.'s Grand Hustle Imprint

I don't think anything is official yet but...rumor has it 8Ball and MJG are close to signing with T.I.'s Grand Hustle imprint. As most of you know, Ball and G were last signed to Bad Boy but after releasing two albums to moderate success/fanfare, the group grew impatient.

Now, set to sign with T.I., I think this is a real good look for them and will prove to be a lucrative business movie. Besides, outside of T.I. and Young Dro, Grand Hustle doesn't really have many marketable faces and Ball and G will only add value to this whole "movement" of theirs. Whether or not it will result in commercial success remains to be seen but, T.I. sure is making a lot of moves before his bid in prison. Just a few weeks ago, news broke of T.I. signing a 3 picture deal with Screen Gems so I'm quite sure his family will be financially set while he's away doing time.

All that aside, I'm not the biggest Ball and G fan but I hope they can deliver on Grand Hustle because they truly are "living legends". They deserve a lot more recognition then what is given to 'em and, in my opinion, Diddy didn't really know how to manage an act of their stature. Tip, on the other hand, comes from that same upbringing and can open more doors than Diddy; but, only time will tell how things will unfold. Now, all I can do is hope for the same thing for M.O.P.

Lil' Flip Sending Shots At Lil' Wayne?

I don't know if this is a blatant attempt at relevance or not but, Lil' Flip (of all people) has a new mixtape song out that's clearly sending shots towards Lil' Wayne. For what reason, I'm not sure but this just seems strange to me. Flip hasn't had a hit since "Game Over" back in 2003-2004 so, I truly believe that this all part of a much bigger plan to ride Wayne's coattails.

Just think about it. Wayne's highly anticipated album, Tha Carter III, drops next Tuesday so for Flip to be so meticulous with this kind of thing makes you wonder what ulterior motives he may have. None of that went well with what he had going with T.I. a few years back so, my best advice is for Flip to leave Wayne alone. Besides, a lot of people bait Wayne and he never bites back but Flip is nowhere near the level of Wayne. Wayne would murder dude, real talk so allow sleeping dogs to lie Flip or be prepared to get chewed up and spit on. This isn't what you want. Instead, focus on doing you; and while you're at it, spend a little more time putting together a QUALITY album because that last record of yours, I Need Mine, was garbage and you know it.

A Shay ‘Buckeey’ Johnson Sex Tape?

Well, another Flavor of Love season comes to an end and another sex tape scandal begins. The latest? Well, apparently a new sex tape has surfaced and it features none other than...Shay ‘Buckeey’ Johnson.

What it is with Flavor of Love girls and sex tapes is beyond me but this is two in less than a year. If you remember, New York was presumed to have been in one earlier this year, so news of Buckeey being in one is not that all surprising. She has this real outward sexual personality that she gives off, in my opinion, but seeing her in a sex tape is a little much. It's definitely not something I wanted to see but I'm afraid this will only extend her little "15 minutes of fame". Oh well, what little bit she has left will pass in due time and, unfortunately, that just won't come soon enough.

Bow Wow Fades To Black

Next to this ridiculous vocoder craze, what is it with rappers wanting to retire all of sudden? Just off top, Lupe Fiasco and The Game come to mind with recent claims of bowing out but now you can add Bow Wow to that list. No where else could these three be mentioned in the same sentence so I guess Bow Wow's career can be somewhat validated now.

Nevertheless, I don't really consider this to be news, per say, but I just felt like I had to comment on it. A lot of rappers throw out the idea of retiring but it doesn't really mean anything for real. As for Bow, he says he wants to focus more on acting and be the next "Will Smith" and if that's what he wants, then by all means, he should pursue that. I'm not gonna say that's a bad look but thinking about it, I saw Johnson Family Vacation, Like Mike, and Roll Bounce and only one of those was fairly decent. Guess which one? I wish Bow the best but for all you fans, even though he intends to hang up the mic, his "last" album H.I.M.(History in the Making) is set to drop sometime in the next year. So, at least you have from now until then to prepare yourself for what a lot of teenage girls will probably consider the end of the world. My response to that? "Cry me a river, build a bridge, and get over it"

I Think I Love My Wife

You know that saying, "once a cheater, always a cheater"? Well, allegedly, Kobe Bryant is at it again and this time, it involves a Laker girl. Ironically, her name is Vanessa also so, if this rumor is true, then I'm not sure what Kobe was thinking. You would think he would've learned his lesson last time and for something like this to be brought to the forefront, after repairing his image and everything, it's really not a good look for the "so-called" MVP. His team is three wins away from the NBA Finals (which I doubt they'll get--the Spurs ran out of gas the other night. They'll rebound and win this series in 7) so a distraction of this magnitude require quite a bit of damage control. But, like I said, all this is "allegedly" so Kobe fans shouldn't have much to worry about. Then again, I came across a tad bit of info that I found interesting and that entails that on the website that features the Laker girls, this Vanessa girl has been removed. Hmmm? Kind of makes you wonder, huh?

Rumor: A Foxy Brown Reality Show in the Works?

I'm not sure how much truth there is to this but, rumor has it that VH1 is interested in doing a reality show about Foxy Brown following her release from prison. Other than the mere fact that VH1 is interested, nothing else is being speculated as far as possible air dates, or what have you, but it's quite possible that it could coincide with the release of her upcoming album, Brooklyn Don Diva.

Scheduled to drop sometime later next month, Brooklyn Don Diva will be Foxy's first outing without the backing of long time label Def Jam and her first with Koch Records. Featuring rumored production from the likes of Swiss Beatz and Kanye West, Foxy seems poised to stake claim once again as the illest female M.C. but it seems like all of her competition is either being locked up or too preoccupied with unnecessary plastic surgery. Me personally, I'll never understand it but a Foxy reality show may be pretty decent. Lil' Kim's wasn't bad but what do you expect? VH1 just doesn't care anymore about substance and would rather go all in for ratings. As long as people watch, the more bullshit they'll spit out. Hopefully that won't be the case but until this is confirmed as factual, I wouldn't hold my breath.

Rumor: Tiffany "New York" Pollard, Sex Superstar?

I’m not sure if there’s any truth to this rumor or not but, as it goes, there’s supposedly a sex tape floating around the net that features Ms. New York. Now, I’ve never watched I Love New York or any of those other “love” shows because I absolutely refuse to but I couldn’t help but ignore this. Truth or not, New York is an interesting individual and I find her strong personality to be what people are drawn to but why is that more rumors are prevalent from people on these particular shows? I just don’t understand it but, by all means, it makes for some pretty juicy gossip.

Anyway, the girl in the tape is supposedly New York but, as always, it’s hard to tell with things of this nature. I highly doubt it is though which wouldn’t surprise me but celebrities and sex tape rumors seem to be the new “thing” now. I heard a while back that Ciara had one, as well as Vivica Fox, so go figure? Like I said, none of this is 100% accurate so take it or leave it for what it is but who knows, it may actually be her. If so, I’m sure she’ll deny it until the very end but all it takes is the right production company to come through and flash a couple of dollars and we’ll have, Tiffany “New York” Pollard Sex Superstar a’ la Kim Kardashian. Hey, at least her self-proclaimed nickname of being the H.B.I.C could work as a double meaning now, LOL.