The Urban Daily » NAS

FACT OF THE DAY: Nas Was Born In Brooklyn

Jerry Barrow, Senior Editor — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 18:08:14 +0000

When you think about MCs from Queens,NY one of the first names that comes to mind is Nasir Jones. His style and lyrics were cultivated in the famous Queens Bridge Housing projects and for years he as served as a proud ambassador of the Q-Boro. Nas even returned to his old stomping grounds to record is latest video, “Nasty.” However, Nas wasn’t actually born in Queens.

Take A Tour Of Nas’ Birthplace

The prolific Virgo was born in Brooklyn Jewish Hospital on September 14, 1973. According to his father, Olu Dara, a young Nas cut his musical chops on the streets of BK.

“I thought that he would become a great trumpeter because he was playing to audiences in the streets of Brooklyn when he was three or four,” he told The Source magazine in an August 2004 cover story. “He used to draw a lot of crowds [on Eastern Parkway]. It was fascinating to me. But his lip was becoming distorted so I made him quit. I remember him being very disappointed when I told him to stop playing.”

Needless to say Nas has done ok without the trumpet. But maybe it’s something he’ll pass it down to his son, Knight.

More Black History Month content…

FACT OF THE DAY: Common Was A Bookworm At FAMU

Pop Culture Moment #1: Chappelle’s Show Premieres

Way Black When Honors: Leon Huff On Making The “Soul Train” Theme Song

Nas Gets “Nasty” At Winter X Games [VIDEO]

The Urban Daily — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 14:00:43 +0000

On Friday night Nas presented awards at the Winter X Games in Aspen and then performed a few songs for the extreme sports patrons. No concert promoters were harmed in the creation of this video. (spotted @TheSource.com)

Black Cowboys In Colorado

Nas Says “The Internet Is Satan”

Nas Celebrates ‘20 Years In Hip-Hop’ With Common And Mos Def [VIDEO]

Nas: “I’ll Pay To Bring Abducted Concert Promoter Home Safely!”

Jonathan Hailey — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 22:04:38 +0000

Nas is seriously worried about the concert promoter abducted in Angola’s well being. The Queensbridge rapper has said he will cut a nice sized check to bring the promoter back to the United States safely.

TMZ first broke the story of concert promoter, Patrick Allocco, claiming to have been abducted by a local Angolan “concert impressario” because he was enraged after Nas failed to appear at a much hyped New Year’s Eve show. Nas did agree to perform, but backed out of the deal when travel plans couldn’t be ironed out in a timely manner. Allocco was eventually freed from his captives with the assistance of the U.S. Embassy. Allocco hasn’t returned to the States, he’s holed up in an Angolan hotel until monies can be paid to the “concert impressario.” The bill is said to be 315 thousand dollars.

Is Nas responsible for the man’s abduction? Would you pay a $315,000 ransom for someone you barely knew?

Nas Promo Video For Illmatic

Nas Owes $6.5 Million In Taxes

Judge Reduces Nas’ Spousal & Child Support Payments

Maya Angelou Featured On Common’s “The Dreamer, The Believer”

The Urban Daily — Sun, 13 Nov 2011 23:33:07 +0000

Common’s longtime collaborator NO ID posted the tracklist to his next album The Dreamer, The Believer, in stores December 20th.

More than Common…Extraordinary!

The album is Common’s ninth and features appearances from Nas, John Legend and Maya Angelou. (spotted @TheSmokingSection.net)

Tracklisting

1. The Dreamer Feat. Maya Angelou
2. Ghetto Dreams Feat. Nas
3. Blue Sky
4. So Sweet
5. Gold
6. Lovin’ I Lost
7. Raw (How You Like It)
8. Cloth
9. Celebrate
10. Windows
11. The Believer Feat. John Legend
12. Pops Belief

Also check out DJ Soul’s “The Best Of Common” mixtape stream below:
DJ Soul x Okayplayer – Time Travelin (Best Of Common) by DJ SOUL NYC

Nas Ft. Rick Ross “It’s A Tower Heist” [VIDEO]

Shamika Sanders — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 17:48:53 +0000

Nas debuted the video for “It’s A Tower Heist” featuring Rick Ross last night on BET. Nas’ bid to the Tower Heist movie soundtrack is an action-packed montage featuring clips of Gabourey Sidibe and tag-team Eddie Murphy, Ben Stiller. Rick Ross makes an appearance, counting money in the booth while reciting his verse.

Eddie Murphy: “Tower Heist” Was Originally A Black “Ocean’s Eleven” [EXCLUSIVE]

Tower Heist stars Eddie Murphy and Ben Stiller who find themselves victim of a Ponzi scheme which leaves them seeking revenge against their ex-employer.

Eddie Murphy Is Hosting The Oscars!

FIRST LOOK: Eddie Murphy And Gabourey Sidibe In “Tower Heist” Trailer [VIDEO]

Nas Says “The Internet Is Satan”

The Urban Daily — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 23:20:05 +0000

In the latest issue of XXL magazine Nas celebrates his twenty years in music. For the November 2011 cover story he is interviewed by Odd Future’s Tyler The Creator and they get into lengthy dialogue about everything from liking cheese to winning a VMA. After Tyler admits that the Internet “drives him crazy” Nas replies that the “Internet is Satan”, he doesn’t know what Tumblr is and that he doesn’t look at his Twitter page.

No I never look at it. I have a team that operates that sh*t for me. They’ll send me questions, and I answer them. That’s it. I was a prank caller when I was a young kid…I look at the Internet as prank callers. You don’t know who they are. They’re having fun. Actually, I’m not mad at that…You could do some good with the Internet, of course. But it’s, like, a man with horns. Not even a man–a dark force with horns–behind the whole sh*t”

Dark force? Has Nas listened to Tyler’s debut album? Ha! Read the full interview in the November 2011 issue of XXL Magazine.

Nas Celebrates ‘20 Years In Hip-Hop’ With Common And Mos Def [VIDEO]

Nas Ft. Rick Ross “Tower Heist” [HOT NEW MUSIC]

Nas “Nasty” [MUSIC VIDEO]

Nas Celebrates ‘20 Years In Hip-Hop’ With Common And Mos Def [VIDEO]

The Urban Daily — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 15:08:49 +0000

Last week Nas celebrated his new cover of XXL magazine with a show at NYC’s Webster Hall. Common, Nas, Mos Def and others joined him on stage to run through 20 years worth of his hip-hop hits. ( See more video at Missinfo.tv)

Tyler The Creator Interviews Nas For XXL Magazine

Nas Ft. Rick Ross “Tower Heist” [HOT NEW MUSIC]

Nas “Nasty” [MUSIC VIDEO]

Nas Ft. Rick Ross “Tower Heist” [HOT NEW MUSIC]

Shamika Sanders — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 17:13:13 +0000

Nas teamed up with Ross to bring us a single from the soundtrack to the crime comedy Tower Heist co-starring Ben Stiller and Eddie Murphy.

Maybach Music is out to annihilate the competition! With a roster including Wale, Meek Mill and “Boss” Rick Ross taking over the game shouldn’t be too hard.Ross’ album God Forgives.I Don’t which has already shown us a promising array of music with the first two singles will be in stores soon.

This Salaam Remi production featuring ‘”The Biggest Boss” goes ultra hard!

Rick Ross Ft. Nicki Minaj “You The Boss” [NEW MUSIC]

Rick Ross “I Love My B*****s” [NEW MUSIC]

Spotted @Rap-Up.com

Tyler The Creator Interviews Nas For XXL Magazine

jazzyf — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 18:26:24 +0000

The legend meets the future. Odd Future’s Tyler The Creator Interviews Nas for XXL Magazine.

Nas covers XXL Magazine November 2011 issue designed by Mr. Cartoon. The Queensbridge MC is gearing up to release his 10th studio album. In this issue he reflects on his 20 year caree gives Tyler some advice. The issue hits newsstands October 25.

Check out the excerpt @ HipHopWired and cover below.

Recent Posts:

Nas “Nasty” [MUSIC VIDEO]

Common & Nas To Record An Album Together [VIDEO]

Tyler, The Creator Of Odd Future Debuts “Analog” On BBC [VIDEO]

Nas “Nasty” [MUSIC VIDEO]

jazzyf — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 19:51:08 +0000

Finally!

Hip hop fans has been waiting for Nas’s return and a few months back he blessed us with “Nasty” the first single off his Life Is Good album.

Check out the video below.

Recent Posts:

Nas “Your Mouth Got You In It” [NEW MUSIC]

Nas To Release Memoir “It Ain’t Hard To Tell”

Jay-Z, Carmelo & Ne-Yo Join Nas For His 38th Birthday [PHOTOS]

Common & Nas To Record An Album Together [VIDEO]

Darnella Dunham, Senior Producer — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 13:29:21 +0000

Common and Nas collaborated for “Ghetto Dreams,” and now they’re going to be partnering for a joint album. Common revealed the good news to Hard Knock TV and talked about his forthcoming solo project Believe in this interview.

Was Common A Black Power Pimp?

SOURCE

Diddy’s Most Ignorant Moments

jazzyf — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 21:39:44 +0000

Diddy is known to do some off the wall ignorant things just because he’s Diddy. The hip hop mogul is clearly aware of the power that comes along with being rich and famous. He has been seen in public and on tape several times conducting himself in a distasteful manner.

I think we all might have a love hate relationship with Diddy. The hip hop community respects him because of his great contributions to hip hop. Yet there are those moments when you will catch Diddy acting a damn fool and you say to yourself, “What The Hell Is Wrong With Diddy?” After this weeks incident with T.I. which Diddy apologized for. TUD decided to compile a list of Diddy’s most ignorant moments.

Check out the list below.

Diddy and T.I. hosted a party after the BET hip hop awards at Compound night club in Atlanta over the weekend. Mr. Take That decides to wild out on Kenny Burns for drinking Grey Goose instead of Ciroc. I believe Kenny is sponsored by the brand so why wouldn’t he drink Grey Goose over Ciroc. T.I. decided to check Diddy to defuse the situation.

Diddy is known for trying to belittle his employees. During Making The Band 4 he decided to talk down to Laurieann Gibson who is currently the best choreographer in the game at the moment. The problem occurred when Laurieann decided to challenge the guys with learning the dance moves in one day. The boys could not keep up with Laurieann and looked a fool in front of Diddy. Diddy didn’t like Laurieann taking initiative and the two got into a heated argument. Diddy decided to let her know, “I’m psycho for real.”

Remember when Diddy changed his name to SWAG for a week? Yeah this is another ignorant moment for Diddy. Not only did he change his name for a week but he created a Twitter account and promotional video. In the video Ray J and a few of Diddy’s friends co-signs his name change yelling out “SWAG” over and over again. Check out the video below.

Nas’s manager Steve Stoute promised Diddy the clip where he impersonates Jesus on the cross would not appear in the “Hate Me Now” music video. Diddy decided not to include the clip because of his religion. When the video premiered, the clip of Diddy was included. Diddy was pretty upset with Steve Stoute and it was later reported that Steve Stoute was attacked by Diddy with a bottle of Champagne. Now wouldn’t you say that was pretty ignorant and not something a religious man would do. Lets not forget about the clip in the video where he spits Champagne in camera.

Diddy is beyond confident that Ciroc is the best vodka in the world. He stated, “If you’re not drinking Ciroc then you’re drinking pee-pee.” Well his competitors was not too happy with that. Georgi decided they were not going to take the jab sitting on the toilet. Instead they sent Diddy a toilet full of Ciroc. Georgi delivered an actual toilet full of Ciroc to the bad boy office.

Diddy appears to be drunk in the clip below going in on Jessica Simpson and Lindsay Lohan for using Proactiv. Saying he was using the product for seven years and now everyone think its official because Jessica Simpson said so. You know Diddy wants to be the first person to put everyone on to something new. In the video below, Diddy channels everyone’s one drunk uncle at the family reunion and talks smack while rocking a Du-Rag.

Diddy decided to take the world into his bathroom and explain how it feels when he releases his urine. He seems to love to video blog as much as he love to say “take that.” This is just one of many video blogs Diddy has produced over the years. Check out the footage where Diddy uses the bathroom while he explains how good it feels and let out a sigh of relief.

Nas “Your Mouth Got You In It” [NEW MUSIC]

The Urban Daily — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 16:47:21 +0000

Nas is talking greasy in “Your Mouth Got You In It,” but who is he talking to? And is Nas’ slick talk enough to make you like this track?

Nas To Release Memoir “It Ain’t Hard To Tell”

Nas’ 17 Year-Old Daughter Is Hot In The Pants: Tweets About Sex Life

Jay-Z, Carmelo & Ne-Yo Join Nas For His 38th Birthday [PHOTOS]

Shamika Sanders — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 14:06:45 +0000

Jay-Z, Carmelo Anthony, Zoe Saldana, Neyo and Common all joined Nas for his 38th birthday at Catch in NYC.

Is This Jay-Z’s “Paris” Playlist?

Nas wore a maroon tuxedo jacket with black bow tie and was photo’d discussing his Audemars Piguet watch with Eugene Remm!

Nas To Release Memoir “It Ain’t Hard To Tell”

Nas’ 17 Year-Old Daughter Is Hot In The Pants: Tweets About Sex Life

Check out the photos below:

Nas To Release Memoir “It Ain’t Hard To Tell”

Shamika Sanders — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 21:53:49 +0000

Harper Collins announced today that they will be publishing Nas’ memoir It Ain’t Too Hard to Tell next year. The memoir which was co-written by journalist Touré will chronicle “his storied Hip Hop career.”

Nas’ 17 Year-Old Daughter Is Hot In The Pants: Tweets About Sex Life

Wiz Khalifa, Game & Nas Salute Snoop Dogg [VIDEO]

Spotted @Rap-Up.com

Nas’ 17 Year-Old Daughter Is Hot In The Pants: Tweets About Sex Life

Shamika Sanders — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 19:59:04 +0000

17 year-old Destiny Jones, daughter of Nasir Jones, definately doesn’t mind sharing her personal business on Twitter. “I Wanna dedicate “Quickie” By Miguel Too Da N***a I was Wit LastNight. HE KNOW HE IS.lmfao.” said Destiny, followed by “#whyimsingle Because I like Thug n**gas, But they dont treat me right smh lol.”

Then in normal teen fashion, she complained about her mother ad called her “annoyin.”

Does Nas know shes “doing it?”

Wiz Khalifa, Game & Nas Salute Snoop Dogg [VIDEO]

Nas & Lauryn Hill Perform “If I Ruled The World” At Rock The Bells [VIDEO]

Wiz Khalifa, Game & Nas Salute Snoop Dogg [VIDEO]

Shamika Sanders — Sat, 27 Aug 2011 15:11:21 +0000

Last night at the 11th Annual BMI Urban Awards at the Pantages Theater, Wiz Khalifa, Snoop Dogg and The Game covered some of Snoop Dogg’s classic songs in a tribute to the West Coat icon including “Nothing But A G’ Thang,” “Murder Was The Case That They Gave Me,” “The Next Episode.”

The Game Spazzes On His Girlfriend After She Tries To Break Up Fight [VIDEO]

Nas & Lauryn Hill Perform “If I Ruled The World” At Rock The Bells [VIDEO]

Spotted @Rap-Up.com

Kane Beatz Defends Lil Wayne, Working With Nas And Plies

Jerry Barrow, Senior Editor — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 22:31:35 +0000

At a mere 23 years old Orlando-born Daniel Johson, aka Kane Beatz , has already helped make hip-hop history. While he is proud of music he’s produced for Trey Songz (“Bottom’s Up”) and Trick Daddy (“Tuck Your Ice”) his hit for Nicki Minaj, “Super Bass ” just helped her set a Billboard record. After ten weeks on the charts, the single bumped Missy Elliot’s “Work It” to become the most successful solo single by a female emcee in almost a ten years.

“That feels crazy,” he told TheUrbandaily.com of his achievement. “Working with Nicki, she is one of the only female artists in a while that has that kind of potential so it feels incredible.”

Beatz is part of a new wave of young producers (Boi-1da, Lex Luger, et al) taking the industry by storm working right from their computer desktops. “Super Bass” was one of four instrumentals he knocked out on Fruity Loops while visiting family in Orlando.

“I use a lot of 808 elements in the music,” he answers when asked what makes his bass so Kryptonian . “I was trying to mix R&B and Pop at the time. There’s no real trick to the bass.”

In addition to Billboard accolades the song has been covered by American Idol contestant Anoop Desai. While Kane hasn’t heard the cover, he feels it’s a testament to the song’s universal appeal. “I’ve had big records but ‘Super Bass’ connects people from so many different genres. I just take it in and enjoy it.”

As any musician will tell you in 2011, success doesn’t come without its challenges. Kane Beatz was also the producer behind Young Money’s hit, “Bedrock,” and the song has recently become the focus of a lawsuit. [read here].

“I talked to [my management] about it but nothing has come to them in the mail,” he says. “They don’t even know what that is. I think they had the same name or something. But people don’t understand what it is. Wayne didn’t even write that song. The song is based off an old school pick up line, so I’m not sure what the situation is there.”

Unlike some other producers, this may be the only time you hear Kane mention Lil Wayne and legal action in the same sentence. While a list of musicians, including Bangladesh, Playn-N-Skillz and Jim Jonsin are taking Lil Wayne to court for unpaid royalties, Beatz insists that his money is never funny when working with Weezy.

“Me personally I’m managed by G. Roberson so Cash Money has always kept the business 100 with me,” he says. “One thing I know about Wayne is that everybody who works with him still ends up working with him so they must be doing something right.”

After a busy and lucrative 2010 and 2011, Beatz has completed three songs with Nas for his up-coming album and is scouting talent for his label The Building.

“Right now I’ve got JR Get Money, he’s on Lupe Fiasco’s ‘The Show Goes On,’ we gotta new single with Plies and at the same time looking for new outlets. I’m looking for a female artist to invest in.”

Nas & Lauryn Hill Perform “If I Ruled The World” At Rock The Bells [VIDEO]

jazzyf — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 17:28:04 +0000

Nas and Lauryn Hill performed “If I Ruled The World” in San Bernadino, California at Rock The Bells. Over the weekend God’s son and Ms. Hill took us back to 96 when hip hop was real. I can’t help to go back to that moment when this song first dropped. Only a classic can do that.

Check out the footage below.

The GAME: “R.E.D. Is Short For Redemption” [FREQUENCY TV]

Frequency News — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 21:49:09 +0000

In an intimate interview with FREQUENCY TV, Interscope emcee Game says the past 12 months have been life changing, due to his reflections on HIP HOP today. Game went on to relate with a quote by Nas saying “I don’t have the hunger to be the best anymore.” Explaining that hip hop isn’t what it used to be, Game said it forced him not to care about the chains, cars and materialistic things, “It makes me want to buy a Prius.”

Game also spoke about not liking Pharrell in the past but states that he is the main person in hip hop who has helped him through the last year.

Frequency TV will feature behind the scenes, up close and personal interviews with some of your favorite artists. Keep it locked here for the next installment of Frequency TV.

The GAME – Frequency TV Interview Part 1

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R.E.D. Album IN STORES NOW!

BUY THE R.E.D. ALBUM

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Check out Behind the Scenes PHOTOS from GAME’S interview!

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WWW.COMPTONGAME.COM

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WWW.TWITTER.COM/THEGAME

New Music and Music News.

www.frequencynews.com

Nas Returns To Queens For “Nasty” Video Shoot [PHOTOS]

jlbarrow — Sun, 14 Aug 2011 13:50:43 +0000

Nasty Nasir Jones has made Atlanta his second home for the past few years, but yesterday the QB vet shot the video for his first single ‘Nasty’ in his hometown of Queens. TheLifefiles was on the scene to capture some nice flicks. (spotted at Hiphopnmore)

“Ghetto Dreams” VS “Otis” Has Only One Clear Winner

Common ft. Nas “Ghetto Dreams” [MUSIC VIDEO]

Nas Brings Will Smith On Stage At Show In Philly [VIDEO]

“Ghetto Dreams” VS “Otis” Has Only One Clear Winner

The Urban Daily — Fri, 12 Aug 2011 19:32:39 +0000

It’s been an interesting week for hip-hop fans over 30 from Chicago and NYC. First Common and Nas drop the video for the “Ghetto Dreams”[watch here] and then Kanye and Jay-Z follow-up with the stuntastic clip to “Otis”[watch here]. All things being equal both songs are dope with videos that excel with their simplicity. However, there is one area I will give the edge to Common and Nas: the choice of women.

While Yay and Jay pack four women of “indeterminate racial makeup” (as one of my peers put it) in the back of their stripped-down Maybach, their collective presence doesn’t compare to the one Bria Myles who is the focus of Common and Nas, “Ghetto Dreams.” In this case less is TOTALLY more. But you take a look at the shots from the videos and tell me if you agree or not.

Jay-Z & Kanye’s “Otis” Vehicle Will Be Up For Auction

Jay-Z & Kanye West (The Throne) “Otis” [MUSIC VIDEO]

Common ft. Nas “Ghetto Dreams” [MUSIC VIDEO]

Common ft. Nas “Ghetto Dreams” [MUSIC VIDEO]

jazzyf — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 19:21:37 +0000

No you are not back in 1994. Common released the music video to “Ghetto Dreams” featuring Nas. I am so glad Common is back to creating real hip hop and not that robotic music he put out on his last album. The Dreamer, The Believer drops this fall on Warner Bros. Records.

Check out the video below.

Nas Brings Will Smith On Stage At Show In Philly [VIDEO]

Common Signs With Warner Brothers Records

Single Ladies Not So Single, April Is Cheating On Her Husband With The Mayor

Nas Brings Will Smith On Stage At Show In Philly [VIDEO]

jazzyf — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 16:21:45 +0000

Nas and Damien Marley performed at Philadelphia’s Electric Factory on Tuesday. If Nas and Damien Marley wasn’t enough star power for the crowd, I know things got bit more crazy when Will Smith stepped out on stage. Check out the clip below to see Nas and Will Smith go HAM on stage.

Nas Remembers Amy Winehouse On 106 & Park [VIDEO]

Shamika Sanders — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 14:30:46 +0000

Nas stopped by 106 & Park to promote his new single “Nasty” and also had this to say about his fallen friend Amy Winehouse. “She was a genuine person. She was like real.” “She was struggling with a lot of things in her life, but she was a real artist. She was like a little sister to me. We had the same birthday so she just had this big, big spirit for this little body. I wish she was here today. God bless her soul.” Nas also spoke about Dr. Dre’s Detox album!

Watch below:

Amy Winehouse & 9 Other Artists Who Have Struggled With Addiction

Nas On Death Of Winehouse: “Why You Couldn’t Chill??”

Nas ft. Keyshia Cole “More Than I Can Say” [NEW MUSIC]

jazzyf — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 16:05:22 +0000

Here is some unreleased music from Nas titled, “More Than I Can Say” featuring Keyshia Cole. Rumor is, the six year old collaboration was to appear on Diddy’s album Press Play but did not make the final cut. Nas is currently working on his next album “Life Is Good” so stay tuned. Check out the audio below.

Nas On Death Of Winehouse: “Why You Couldn’t Chill??”

Jerry Barrow, Senior Editor — Sat, 23 Jul 2011 19:39:42 +0000

Today many of Amy Winehouse’s peers are mourning the loss of another musical talent. The singer was found dead in her London apartment by local officials. Several of her supporters and collaborators tweeted their condolences and frustration over her death.

“R.I.P Sis. Why u couldn’t chill??? ,” wrote Nas, who was spotted hanging out with Winehouse recently, “Why the f*ck u leave? Love U Sis!”

Collaborator Salaam Remi kept his thoughts simple. “R.I.P my baby sis Cherry Winehouse. Love ya Always.”

Mark Ronson, who won a Grammy for his work with Winehouse, wrote: “She was my musical soulmate & like a sister to me. This is one of the saddest days of my life.”

?uestlove, who was planning to form a super group with Winehouse, tweeted what appeared to be a text message he received from Amy after she performed with her god daughter.

“…I saw my goddaughter onstage tonight in Camden. So proud there ain’t no words. Really like to cal you if I could.” He dated the message at 7:22pm on July 21, 2011.

Pharoahe Monch, who performed a remix to “Rehab”, wrote that he was looking forward to new music from her.

“R.I.P. Amy Winehouse. I was just thinking the other day how I was really missing her music and wanting a new project. :(”

MCs Jean Grea and Roxanne Shante were surprisingly personal in their comments about the impact Winehouse’s music had on their lives.

“Amy made me feel not alone,” Grae shared. ” She saved my life on several occasions. I can’t say anymore right now.

Shante added, “Amy’s Album got me thru 1 of the worst times of my life I told her that & her reply was I wish it would get me thru mine =(”

GET MORE CELEBRITY REACTIONS FROM NICKI MINAJ, BIG BOI AND MORE AT VIBE.COM

Amy Winehouse Found Dead In London Flat

Q-Tip Remembers Making “One Love” For Nas

The Urban Daily — Fri, 15 Jul 2011 22:13:55 +0000

In the next installment of Vibe’s “Full Clip” series MC/producer Q-tip discusses his entire catalog of hip-hop hits for A Tribe Called Quest, Jungle Brothers, Nas, Biggie and more. The Queens, NY native has been making headlines for his dispute with actor/director Michael Rappaport over his group’s documentary Beats, Rhymes & Life. With a focus on the group’s internal strife Tip told the mag that he hopes the next hip-hop documentary “focuses on the culture.”

Nevertheless, Tip seemed to have genuine fun reminiscing about the methods and occasional madness behind his music. In one portion he describes making “One Love” for a teenaged Nasir Jones:

“I specifically produced ‘One Love’ for Nas. I knew he was special even before Illmatic. He was the MC who could capture the picture of everything he was rhyming about. His approach was incredible…he had the perfect cadence. You related to Nas because you felt he was from around the way. And people forget that Nas was a prodigy…he was younger than all of us at that time. So I told him, ‘Yo, I’m going to give you some spooky sounding shit for your album.’ And Nas was like, ‘Yeah, I need that to capture the feel of what I’m saying. I need that crazy, mysterious shit.’ So that was the vibe of ‘One Love.’ I knew that it was going to be a classic track. I just knew it. It’s one of those special songs that when you work on it you know what it’s going to be.”

READ THE FULL CLIP AT VIBE MAGAZINE

Consequence On Kanye West Beef: “I Wasn’t Trying To Air Anybody Out” [EXLCUSIVE VIDEO]

Q-Tip & Phife Talk Sophomore Jinx In Clip From New Documentary [VIDEO]

Common Ft. Nas – “Ghetto Dreams” [NEW MUSIC]

Regina Michelle — Thu, 07 Jul 2011 15:53:17 +0000

Common ditches the electro-robotic sound on his last album, Universal Mind Control, and returns to the raw street vibe of his earlier works. This sick beat is produced by none-other than No I.D., who also produced many songs one of my favorite Common albums, One Day It’ll All Make Sense. His upcoming album produced by No I.D., The Dreamer, The Believer, will be released later this year. But until then, check out the new single, “Ghetto Dreams” featuring Nas. I’m so excited that my two favorite rappers teamed up on this 90′s throwback! What do you think of the new music?

Nicki Minaj Dedicates “We Miss You” To Fallen Loved One [NEW MUSIC]

Listen To Cory Gunz “Son Of Gun” Mixtape Here

Black Thought Eager To Perform With Nas At Roots Picnic

Regina Michelle — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 17:31:24 +0000

The Roots will kick off Philadelphia’s annual celebration of Black Music Month with their fourth-annual Roots Picnic on June 4th. The event will take place at Festival Pier at Penn’s Landing in the band’s hometown of Philadelphia, PA. Black Thought, lead MC of The Roots spoke to TheUrbandaily.com about one of the Summers best shows. “The Roots Picnic every year is unique,” he says of the eclectic mix of performers. “[This year] we have the return of Esperanza Spalding, [who is] returning in her Grammy New Artist of the Year glory.”

On the other end of the spectrum Black Thought also anticipates that fellow Pennsylvanian Wiz Khalifa, who is sure to give an energetic performance of his Rolling Papers debut. Other musicians and bands, such as Sweden’s Little Dragon and Man Man of Philly, will entertain the festival’s audience. However, there will also be plenty for the hip-hop purist.

“There’s always an element of The Roots Picnic that’s tailored to our [musical] tastes as The Roots,” says Thought. “And for me, that part of the festival is going to be doing the set with Nas. I look forward to that.”

His Grammy award-winning band will back Nas during his performance at the picnic. Even though the band and Nas have previously collaborated on unreleased material, Black Thought hopes that The Roots will record with Nas again soon.

The Roots have been busy as the house band for “Late Night With Jimmy Fallon” but are already working on their next album. The group members are tossing around creative concepts and a core idea for the upcoming project, which will be their tenth studio album. Their manager Rich Nichols allowed TheUrbandaily to preview some “roughs” on his iPod and from the sound of things, the time working on the show continues to pay off for the group. Their first Fallon-era project, 2010′s How I Got Over, is considered by many to be their best work.

“The band is actually physically together for ‘x’ amount of hours a day, five days a week, and it affords us the ability to collaborate on whatever we might come up with,” Black Thought explains. ” And the means with which to record it immediately and be able to catalog it and refer back to it at a later date.”

While looking ahead, Black Thought takes time to look back in honor of Black Music Month. He reflects on the recently deceased Gil Scott-Heron, who The Roots have toured with in Europe on various occasions.

“Gil Scott and The Last Poets and what they brought to the table represents radical, youthful expression of the 60s and 70s. In many ways, it kind of reflects what’s going on right now. But it’s very different—there’s an innocence in what they were doing back then that I feel has been lost now.”

Tariq’s words underline why we need to celebrate our artists while they are still with us, so any fan of The Roots should make their way to Festival Pier tomorrow afternoon to take in some of the best acts that Black Music has to offer.

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