1. New Jersey is Ice-T’s birthplace.

Despite repping L.A. to the death, Ice-T first appeared on the planet in Newark, New Jersey. He wasn’t a resident of Jersey for long so that is the main reason he doesn’t mention it much. In an interview he elucidated, “I was born in Newark, New Jersey, but I went to school in L.A. So ain’t no sense in claiming New Jersey. I didn’t run the streets there.”

2. Ice-T served  in the Army.

By the time Marrow thought about joining the Army, he had a daughter to take care of. His stealing of car stereos and selling marijuana didn’t put a dent in the bills he had piling up. Marrow decided to enlist once he heard of the financial rewards that came along with enlisting. Ice served in the 25th Infantry and was honorably discharged. He reflected on that period saying, “I did four years in the military. And when I came out of the military, I got right into trouble.”

3. He hates the movies Breakin and Breakin 2: Electric Boogaloo.

Ice-T told Aimee Mann to eat a hot bowl of dicks when she expressed her distaste for his acting abilities on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. As angry as he got at her for slamming him, he was harsher on his earlier acting roles. Ice has stated in numerous interviews how bad he  thinks those Breakin movies were. He said the films were wack and his acting was worse. We’ll say his acting in Breakin was better than whatever he’d like to say he was doing in Leprechaun in the Hood.

4. Ice-T shares a Grammy with Quincy Jones and Ray Charles.

In 1991, Quincy Jones brought together an elite group of artists for an track called, “Back On The Block.” Among the artists featured on the song are greats like Big Daddy Kane, Kool Moe Dee, Ray Charles, and Melle Mel. Jones’ vision for the project was to bridge the gap between soul, funk, and rap. While any other musician would treat their Grammy like a prized possession, Ice showed that wasn’t the case for him. When he allowed into his home for MTV Cribs, we saw the Grammy broken sitting on the kitchen counter. How’s that for anti-establishment?

5. The last five albums Ice-T has dropped have been on his own label, Rhyme Syndicate/Coroner Records.

We all remember the controversy surrounding Ice when he released “Cop Killer.” After coming under fire from his label, Warner Brothers Records, and the American public, Ice started his own label. Rhyme Syndicate which later became Coroner Records was behind the delivery of albums such as O.G. Original Gangster. Pimpin’ might not be easy, but he has made handling business look that way.

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WBW: Samples of History: Hip-Hop Mines Afrobeat

In celebration of his upcoming birthday (March 14th), we decided to dish out the Top Ten Quincy Jones samples in hip hop songs.

10. Jodeci – Get On Up

When Jodeci released their third single from ‘The Show, The After Party, The Hotel’, many didn’t catch the portion of Quincy’s 1981 track, “Velas,” a single off of the landmark album, ‘The Dude.’ Dalvin Degrate used the harmonica solo and other minor quirks of Jones’ jazz groove to make “Get On Up” sound richer. Anchored by a funky bassline and knocking drums, “Get On Up” helped Jodeci go platinum in a mere two months in 1995.

Get On Up

Velas

9. Jurassic 5 – Improvise

Jurassic 5 broke on the scene in 1997 as the group bringing back true school hip hop. As the second single from their debut EP, “Improvise” mixed samples from Albino Gorilla and our man, Q. Quincy’s theme song for the 1972 comic caper film, The Hot Rock, was jacked. The group’s understated use of this old theme song proved they were trying to move into the future without losing sight of the past.

Improvise:

Hot Rock Theme:

8. The Roots – Clones

The album, ‘Illadelph Halflife,’ was a departure for the crew from Philly. They went for a darker sounding record than ‘Illadelph’s’ predecessors. “Clones” served as The Roots’ first appearance in the top five of the hip hop charts back in ’96. Ahmir “?uestlove” Thompson transformed a sexy jazz number evoking the feeling of July in New York City into an ill rap tune about not conforming to society’s images and remaining your true self.

Clones

Summer In The City

7. 2Pac ft. K-ci & JoJo – How Do U Want It

2Pac has always had the talent of smoothly injecting serious statements into fun party songs. On his number one single, “How Do U Want It,” Pac lays the smack down on C. Deloris Tucker, while trying to get into shortie’s cut off jean shorts. Producer, Johnny J, flipped Quincy’s 1974 bedroom jam, “Body Heat,” into a salacious tune for wannabe macks approaching women in the club. Listen to these two records and you’ll see why women would rather be with an old school mack than these new age “pimps.”

How Do U Want It

Body Heat

6. LL Cool J ft. Boyz II Men – Hey Lover

Jones’ personal recordings haven’t been the only tracks sampled from his vast catalouge. His collaborations with Michael Jackson have been sampled a fair share of times. One of the most memorable is Uncle L’s ode to crushes. The Trackmasters lifted and looped the introduction of Quincy and MJ’s romantic, “The Lady In My Life,” to continue on with LL’s rap Lothario persona. Boyz II Men add smoothed out vocals to every around the way girl’s favorite summer love song.

Hey Lover

Lady In My Life

5. Juelz Santana – Mic Check

Juelz Santana has never lacked confidence. When he dropped his second album, he crowned himself as what the game was missing. Back with avengance, Santana needed an anthem to match the aggression he was coming with. Neo Da Matrix added Quincy’s theme from the “Roots” mini-series so fans and other rappers knew how hard Juelz was coming. He might have sold the least, but he managed to be most feared by most emcees. See what a Quincy Jones sample and a little aggression will do for you?

Mic Check

Roots Mural Theme

4. Kanye West ft. T-Pain – Good Life

Chicago’s native son is no stranger to sampling. The Louie Vuitton Don borrowed a few portions of Jones’ work on the Thriller jam, “P.Y.T.” If you listen closely, you can hear Michael Jackson in the background cooing,”Aww, baby.” The fact Kanye made it on this list is laugh worthy, considering the founder of Vibe Magazine dissed Mr. West by saying he was “just a rapper.” Quincy, tell us what’s good. Why ‘Ye only got a problem when you in the hood?

Good Life

P.Y.T.

3. Ludacris – #1 Spot

Ludacris is consistently one of the most underrated emcees in the game. His 2004 album, The Red Light district, featured some of his most animated rhymes to date.  The DJ Green Lantern produced “#1 Spot” is a prime example. Based on the dudes’ “Soul Bossa Nova,” made famous by the Austin Powers movies, Ludacris sent warning shots to any foe standing in his way with a smile. Sidebar: the Bill O’Reilly diss was too official.

Number One Spot:

Soul Bossa Nova:

2. Mobb Deep – Shook Ones Part II

Mobb Deep’s infamously dark delivery and hardcore street tales have made them one of the most critically acclaimed rap groups hip hop has seen. On the classic, The Infamous, Havoc sampled a frightening fragment of a cool Quincy record, “Kitty With The Bent Frame,” to give “Shook Ones Part II” the element of danger it needed to match the duo’s storytelling. Prodigy and Havoc let all the killers and hundred dollar billers know theyweren’t Wu-Tang, but they weren’t “nothin’ to  f*ck wit” either.

Shook Ones Part II:

Kitty With The Bent Frame:

1. The Pharcyde – Passin Me By

Released in 1993, “Passin Me By” found the four member crew recounting stories of school boy crushes that end in heartbreak. Producer, J-Swift sampled “Summer In The City” for this classic. “Passin Me By” will forever resonate because there will always be some guy sprung over a female. By the way, our number eight selection shares the sample. Can you hear them in both records? what’s the difference between the uses of the two songs?

Passin Me By:

Summer In The City:

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“It’s just another piece of technology. If you know music the machine works for you,” he says of the vocoder/auto-tune effect. “If you don’t know music you work for the machine.”

Watch more below.

Watch part 2 of the interview where he talks about casting The Color Purple, why he caste Oprah and Tina Turner dissing him BY CLICKING HERE.

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Luda’s loving ode to the master producer is an update of Jones’  1962 jazz instrumental “Soul Bossa Nova,” and was also used as the theme music for the Austin Powers film franchise.

Luda sampled “Soul Bossa Nova” in his 2005 single “Number One Spot” and is joined on this version by his Disturbing Tha Peace cohorts Ray Currence and Naturally 7.

We forgot that this tribute was coming out, and figured that it died a quick death after the icy reception to Akon’s version of The Brothers Johnson’s Quincy Jones produced track “Strawberry Letter 23″ earlier this summer.

Oh well.

RELATED: Robin, Usher & Tevin Revisit Quincy’s “Secret Garden”

RELATED: VIDEO: Quincy Jones & Akon “Strawberry Letter 23″

With the increasing number of films aimed towards black audiences in the early 1970s, filmmakers realized that they couldn’t turn to Henry Mancini to provide the musical backdrops for these movies.

They rightfully turned to black musicians to score their films and add an extra touch of soul.  In many cases, the soundtracks have outlasted the films.

The list of acts that composed film scores for these blaxploitation movies reads like a who’s who of classic 70′s soul:  Isaac Hayes, Curtis Mayfield, Bobby Womack, James Brown, and Marvin Gaye, just to name a few.

We’ve put together a gallery featuring some of the most essential soundtracks from the great black film renaissance of the 1970s.

Which ones are your favorites???

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Quincy Jones’ tribute album continues to sully the memories we have of classic Q productions.

The latest casualty:  Quincy’s 1990 classic quiet-storm posse cut “The Secret Garden” which originally featured Al B Sure!, El DeBarge, James Ingram and Barry White gets a Jermaine Dupri produced stripper pole remix featuring Robin Thicke, Usher, and…. Tevin Friggin Campbell????

A version of this leaked awhile back with just Usher on it.   It wasn’t any better.

Listen to the REAL version below.

RELATED: VIDEO: Quincy Jones & Akon “Strawberry Letter 23″

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I still maintain that this remake should have never happened, especially under Quincy’s watch.

Now we’ve got a visual to go with it, and it hurts even more seeing the two of them together acting like this collaboration was something that needed to happen.

RELATED: Quincy Jones Readies Tribute Album… To Himself

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When news broke that Akon would be covering Shuggie Otis’ classic tune “Strawberry Letter 23″ (later popularized by The Brothers Johnson), for an upcoming Quincy Jones tribute album, I called for Quincy and Akon’s head on a stick.

After listening to the finished product, I still want their heads on a stick.

The only thing that’s wrong with this modernized version of the song is the person singing it.  Akon’s soulless, autotuned voice has absolutely no business singing a song like this.

It’s been turned into a slick robotic pop song that the kids may like for a few months, but they’ll never really understand the brilliance of the song itself because of the way it’s presented.

I weep for the future.

Here’s Shuggie Otis’ original version of “Strawberry Letter 23″ from 1972.

Here’s The Brothers’ Johnson’s 1977 version, produced by Quincy Jones.

RELATED: Quincy Jones Readies Tribute Album… To Himself

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After ruining “We Are The World” for millions of people last month, legendary producer Quincy Jones is set to ruin even more of his classic productions with his upcoming Soul Bossa Nostra tribute album.

Jones has called on a who’s who of today’s stars to cover some of his classic works, and the list of artists and the songs they are attached to make me want to vomit.

Here’s a few of the biggest offenders:

Akon “Strawberry Letter 23″ (made famous by The Brothers Johnson)
Usher, Robin Thicke, LL Cool J, Trey Songz, Tyrese, Tevin Campbell “Secret Garden” (originally performed by El DeBarge, James Ingram, Al B. Sure!, and Barry White)
Ludacris “Soul Bossa Nova” (aka the Austin Powers theme, and sample source for Luda’s “Number One Spot”)
T-Pain & Robin Thicke “P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)” (originally performed by Michael Jackson)

Now I must say that it’s not all doom and gloom, as Quincy did find some people worthy of the songs they are covering:

Mary J. Blige & Q-Tip “Betcha Wouldn’t Hurt Me” (originally performed by Patti Austin)
BeBe Winans “Everything Must Change” (originally performed by Bernard Ighner)
John Legend “Tomorrow (A Better You, A Better Me)” (originally performed by Tevin Campbell)
Jennifer Hudson “You Put A Move On My Heart” (performed by Tamia on Jones’ Q’s Jook Joint album)

But then again, you’ve got Snoop Dogg doing his own interpretation of The Brothers Johnson’s disco/funk classic “Get The Funk Out Ma Face.”

I quit.

Akon’s sacrilegious cover of “Strawberry Letter 23″ will be out on March 24th.

The album, Q: Soul Bossa Nostra, will be out in May or June.

RELATED: Rappers, Singers Start ‘We Are The World’ Remake

RELATED: Quincy Jones, “We’ve Spent Years Making Dumb Sexy”

“We are the world…was good the first time/but this remake/was a big mistake…but well intentioned..”

(props to Yardie)

RELATED:AUDIO: We Are The World (Hip-Hop Remix) feat DJ Khaled, T-Pain, Dr. Dre, Drake, Kid Cudi, Rick Ross, Young Jeezy, Akon, Eminem, DMX & Christopher Walken

RELATED: Jay-Z Says We Are The World Should Have Been Left Alone

RELATED: Common Says Leave “We Are The World” Alone And Make A New Song

RELATED: Rappers Get Major Shine On ‘We Are The World 25 For Haiti’

LYRICS

There comes a time (eh)
When we heed a certain call (eh)
and the world must come together as one

There were people singing
some famous but most not
a big swing that didn’t work at all

We Are The World
Was good the first time
But this remake
It was a big mistake
But well intentioned

It just seemed chaotic
And so disorganized
Most people wouldn’t take off their sunglasses. Hey!

This hurts again
Though good intentioned
Though hey, come on
I think I saw Vince Vaughn
And that’s Jeff Bridges

The host of the solos
Was cheaply autotuned
And the whole thing seemed to frighten Justin Bieber

Their strength was more
These people meant well
But tell me who
Is this weird dude
Right in the front row

There was someone’s baby
And a man who’s now in jail. Woah whoa whoa WHOA!
A guy who everyone hates
And Wyclef’s great yell!

Oooh and standing in the back
The icing on the cake
Next to Vince Vaughn
Could that be Farnsworth Bentley?

Yes we confirm
It’s Farnsworth Bentley
He was the fella
Who held the umbrella for P. Diddy

We were there I tell you
‘Twas like a glimpse of hell
If everyone in hell smelled like weed

We Are The World
Was good the first time
But this retake
Was like that bad remake
They did of Psycho

Which oh my God
That had Vince Vaughn too
It all make sense
It all makes sense
It all makes sense now

We Are The World
Was good the first time ….

The long awaited remake of the 1985 charity song “We Are The World” premiered tonight, February 12th, during the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics.

Download to donate at World25.org.

RELATED: Common Says Leave “We Are The World” Alone And Make A New Song

RELATED: Rappers Get Major Shine On ‘We Are The World 25 For Haiti’

Quincy Jones and Lionel Richie are putting together a re-recording of the 1985 charity single, “We Are The World.” Plans for the 25th anniversary re-recording were already underway when earthquakes devastated Haiti on January 12th.

Richie and Jones are planning the massive recording session, already slated to include Usher, Natalie Cole, and John Legend, on February 1st, the day after the Grammy Awards.

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It’s a safe bet that the memory of Michael Jackson, the song’s co-author, will be invoked in the remake.

Proceeds from the original recording went to benefit relief in Africa.  This time around, proceeds will be going to provide relief in Haiti.

GIVE HAITI QUAKE RELIEF!

SOURCE

Super producer Quincy Jones and his son QD3 have teamed with singer/rapper/actor Tyrese Gibson to launch the 5 Million Kids National Education Campaign.

The trio have partnered with Operation HOPE, a Los Angeles based non-profit that provides economic and educational tools for youth advancement.

The goal of the new campaign is to teach 5 million children, parents and teachers how to get rich legally through financial literacy.

The 5 Million Kids initiative will also seek to reengage youth in school activities by finding 25,000 volunteers for classrooms nation wide. Jones and company will also attempt to secure $50 million dollars in Earned Income Tax Credits for parents, teachers and adults.

“It takes 20 years to change a culture,” Quincy Jones told AllHipHop.com in a statement. “We’ve spent the last 20 years making dumb sexy.”

Story Continued At Allhiphop.com

VIA RR:

Look out Q, word on the curb is that a company called InterMedia Partners is close to purchasing the trademark of VIBE. InterMedia currently owns the Soul Train catalogue and UPTOWN magazine. If the sale goes through it’s rumored that Len Burnett (pictured above), a former VP of VIBE, would be placed in charge and the brand would indeed relaunch as a website. We’ll see about that. Ha!

VIA EUR:

Actress Rashida Jones, 33, is reportedly pushing her famous father Quincy Jones to hurry up and unveil his plans for a stage musical so that she can use it to make her Broadway debut.

Q revealed last month he’s close to launching his work The Genesis and Evolution of Jazz and Blues as a theatre production and 3-D Pixar film – 33 years after conceiving the project.

The star of NBC’s “Parks and Recreation” is said to be eyeing a role in the play – but would happily look for another part on Broadway if her father’s production falls through.

She tells the New York Daily News, “I would definitely do it. I was thinking about doing Broadway anyway, but doing his show would just sweeten the deal.”

Sounds like a lot of noise coming from the Jones family. Peep some other noisemakers below:

Here’s some photos of Quincy Jones out in Europe with his Czech model girlfriend at the time of Michael Jackson’s Memorial. Why wasn’t Q at the memorial??? He obviously had some more important prior, ahem, engagements on his agenda. Check out the photos of him and his girl and some memorial photos below:

Quincy On Michael: “He Obviously Didn’t Want To Be Black!”

Check out photos from the memorial:

Click here for more memorial coverage!

The day after the tragic death of Michael Jackson, Heavy D stopped by the Morning After w/ Angela Yee and talked about what it was like to work with the icon.

“One of the hardest things I ever had to do was tell Michael Jackson ‘that’s kinda wack’…” – Heavy D

Quincy recently spoke on his former musical partner and close friend, Michael Jackson, to Style.com. He had some pretty interesting things to say. Check out part 1 below:

Q: Did you believe him about the disease?
A: I don’t believe in any of that bullshit, no. No. Never. I’ve been around junkies and stuff all my life. I’ve heard every excuse. It’s like smokers—”I only smoke when I drink” and all that stuff. But it’s bullshit. You’re justifying something that’s destructive to your existence. It’s crazy. I mean, I came up with Ray Charles, man. You know, nobody gonna pull no wool over my eyes. He did heroin 20 years! Come on. And black coffee and gin for 40 years. But when he called me to come over to see him when he was in the hospital on his way out, man, he had emphysema, hepatitis C, cirrhosis of the liver, and five malignant tumors. Please, man! I’ve been around this all my life. So it’s hard for somebody to pull the wool over my eyes. But when somebody’s hell-bent on it, you can’t stop ‘em.

Q: But it must’ve been so disturbing to see Michael’s face turn into what it turned into.
A: It’s ridiculous, man! Chemical peels and all of it. And I don’t understand it. But he obviously didn’t want to be black.

Q: Is that what it was?
A: Well, what do you think? You see his kids?

Q: Did you ever discuss it? Did you ever ask, “Michael, don’t you want to be a black man?”
A: No, no, no, please. That’s not the way you do it.

Q: But he was beautiful before?
A: Man, he was the most gorgeous guy.

Q: But he seemed to have some deep-seated issue with how he looked?
A: Well, that comes about a certain way. I’m not sure how it happens. I’m just a musician and a record producer. I’m not a psychiatrist. I don’t understand all that stuff. We all got problems. But there’s a great book out called Too Soon Old, Too Late Smart. Did you see that? That book says the statute of limitations has expired on all childhood traumas. Get your stuff together and get on with your life, man. Stop whinin’ about what’s wrong, because everybody’s had a rough time, in one way or another.

Q: I’ve heard you say that you wanted Michael to sing “She’s Out of My Life,” the great pop ballad from Off the Wall, in part because you felt like he had to deal with reality.
A: I just wanted to hear him deal with a romantic relationship with a human being rather than a rat. I’m saying that facetiously, but it’s true. I saw him at the Oscars very emotional about “Ben.” I wanted to hear him get in touch with a real human relationship. “She’s Out of My Life” was written by Tommy Bahler from a very bad ending to a marriage. So it was very real. I was saving it for Sinatra. But I gave it to Michael. And Michael cried during every take, and I left the tears in.

Q: It’s interesting you mention this, because I was just watching a clip on YouTube where you’re sitting on a couch with Michael and he’s petting a snake the whole time.
A: Oh, I remember that. Yeah, that was Muscles.

Q: Muscles?
A: Muscles. That’s a big boa constrictor he had. Muscles used to wrap around my leg in a record session and crawl across the console. I was never comfortable with that. It was a choice between that and Bubbles—you know, the chimp.

Q: Did you ever meet Bubbles?
A: Are you kidding me? He bit a hole in my daughter’s hand! Rashida’s hand. Rashida Jones—did you see I Love You, Man? That’s my daughter. She was a little girl. And Bubbles bit her hand. Michael used to bring Muscles and Bubbles by the house all the time, you know.

Q: What did you think of that? Wasn’t that a little weird?
A: I don’t know, man. Everybody does his own thing. I’ve met every freak in the business. Everybody has their idiosyncrasies. I try not to judge it, you know. I know all women are junkies for little dogs and bags and purses. Ha ha ha ha!

Check out part two of the interview here!

VIA YBF:

Quincy Jones just caught wind of the collapse of the magazine he started-VIBE. And he’s not at all pleased with how things are going down. He said in a statement to EbonyJet.com yesterday that he plans to get his iconic magazine back and keep it alive:

“They just messed my magazine all up, but I’m gonna get it back. You better believe it, I’m'a take it online because print and all that stuff is over.”

He has a point about print being dead. But content is still King. Can VIBE pull it off even if they come back with a strictly online presence and Quincy Jones buys it back? Their latest editions haven’t been what they used to be. But time will tell…

Here’s the memo sent out by the VIBE Music Group CEO Steve Aaron:

“It is with a heavy heart that I share some tough news, VMG is closing down effective today, June 30 due to lack of additional financial investments.

“Unfortunately, over the last several months, a confluence of events has obviously posed VMG to exceedingly serious challenges.

“The collapse of the capital markets has impacted us greatly. Over the past several months, we have actively pursued investment resources while working intensively with our bank to find a solution. But the deal market right now remains very poor and at the end of the day, the lack of investment resources to restructure the huge debt on our small company has made this outcome become a reality.

“The print advertising collapse hit VIBE hard, especially as key ad categories like automotive and fashion, which represented the bulk of our top 10 advertisers, have stopped advertising or gone out of business. It’s also unfortunate that in a recession many companies reduce the multi-cultural campaigns. These facts, coupled with the continuing decline of the music industry not to mention the newsstand wholesaler consolidation in early 2009 all negatively impacted our business in a significant way.

“The relentless economic situation has depressed our growth initiatives on the digital front. To be clear, VMG has made significant improvement in this part of our business, but not at the accelerated pace required to offset the devastating effects of the most severe recession in our lifetime and the accompanying print losses.”

What do you think about all this? Do you still buy magazines? Or do you check out everything online?

VIA PEOPLE:

Quincy Jones – the prodigious producer behind some of Michael Jackson’s biggest hits – grew emotional at a London event on Saturday hosted by Will.i.am as club night turned into a tribute to the late singer.

“He got very upset when Michael’s music came on – at one point his head was in his hands,” a rep for Club W in Wandsworth tells PEOPLE. The club had booked the Black Eyed Peas singer to deejay and perform with his band – which was minus Fergie.

The legendary Jones, 76, arrived at Club W after midnight, just as Will.i.am was playing Jackson’s 1982 smash “Thriller.” “It was a total coincidence,” says the rep, “but [Jones] loved the fact that people were going crazy on the dancefloor. Quincy seemed genuinely touched.”

Jones made a beeline to the deejay booth and greeted Will, who showed him the decks, and the pair “played around on the laptop for a few minutes” before the obvious topic of conversation came up.

Jones told Will “that he hadn’t come to terms with it at all and that he really couldn’t bring himself to talk about Michael yet because it was too painful,” says the club source.

Right after, Will.i.am told the crowd he would play a medley of Michael Jackson music. “The crowds were screaming and dancing, a few looked emotional but Quincy looked so sad, sitting in the VIP area,” says the observer. “When ‘Wanna Be Startin’ Something’ played, his eyes welled up, he had his head in his hands.”

Jones then requested some time to himself to collect his thoughts, and was led to a vacant dressing room.

VIA HDD & XXL:

The Roc Nation line-up is looking great:

Several sightings of Columbia/Epic Label Group Chairman Rob Stringer and Jay-Z’s Roc Nation partner Jay Brown, on both coasts have led insiders to speculate about the possibility of the company landing at Sony Music.

Jay-Z, who inked a much-publicized $150 million, 360-deal with Live Nation in April, 2008, recently bought back his completed album from UMG for a reported $5 million, raising the question whether that album will now be part of the Sony pact.

Another reason Sony is favored to nab Nation is Epic President Amanda Ghost, a recent appointment of Stringer’s, is managed by Roc Nation and Brown, who has been an EVP A&R for Def Jam under Jay-Z and also spent some time with Sylvia Rhone at Elektra after getting his start working for Quincy Jones.

Expect this deal to go down soon, say those close to the negotiations, and look for the production/management team’s output to be released by both Columbia and Epic, filling the void in Urban/Pop that has existed at the company since the ironic departures of first Mariah Carey and then, ex-hubby/label boss Tommy Motolla.

As for the Roc Nation Roster:

According to Weisman, Wale is still signed to Mark Ronson’s imprint Allido on Interscope Records but now, along with his company Elitaste,Inc., he will also be co-managed by Roc Nation.

“[It] just sort of happened organically,” Weisman said of the new partnership. “Wale went on tour with Jay-Z last summer and got to know the Roc Nation people – [he] went on tour with Mark Ronson, who was opening for Jay-Z in the U.K. Got to know [Jay] and it just seemed like a good move for him to do that.”

Jay has several names attached to his Roc Nation imprint, a reported $150 million deal he brokered with Live Nation last year. He has signed up-and-coming North Carolina MC J. Cole, and is in talks with former Roc-A-Fella rapper Young Chris. HitsDailyDouble.com reports that Roc Nation has already signed up a sizable roster of emerging producers and songwriters as well.

Music legend Quincy Jones is trading in tour stops for a campaign trail, as he celebrates his 76th birthday today.

The famed composer, artist, and activist has launched a petition campaign to create an Ambassadorship or Secretary position strictly for arts and culture – perhaps even a cabinet level post.

And though Jones has been promoting the idea for the past ten years, he hopes to gain a lot of momentum this year with the invigorated American spirit and President Obama.

When chatting with reporters recently about the Playboy Jazz Festival and the history of jazz music, Jones explained why some sort of Ministry of the Arts is a necessity.

Rumor has it that Gawker has the inside scoop on what’s going on with Quincy Jones’ magazine VIBE. Check it out below:

“A tipster tells us the atmosphere is tense at the Vibe offices—”they may not have enough money to print the March issue” because of a lack of ads.

Executives from the Wicks Group (Private Equity Owners) came to the office on Friday and met with CEO Steve Aaron and Publisher Edgar Hernandez. Things around the office are very tense.

The tipster says that more meetings are scheduled for this afternoon. And they say that the only ads Vibe has booked for the March issue are “Army, Carson Soft Sheen & Jamster”—not even a fifth of the usual number of ads.”

An update from the magazine’s PR firm boldly states the following:

“Any reports that VIBE is having problems printing the upcoming March issue are untrue. In fact, VIBE is releasing its annual “Style” issue featuring Grammy nominated singer Keyshia Cole with two different covers which will hit newsstands everywhere on February 17th. We will also be issuing a press release within the next two weeks with news about VIBE’s continued growth and expansion which includes new staff hires and promotions.”

What do you think? Are the days of buying magazines over in favor of online sites (like The Urban Daily)…? Speak on it in the comments section.

Jamie Foxx’s new album Intuition may not be cracking Beyonce’s hold on the charts, but his latest single “Blame It” featuring T-Pain is destroying dance floors nationwide. Hype Williams and Foxx linked up to put together the video, calling in favors from Quincy Jones to Ashley Banks!

Check out the gallery below:

Quincy Jones will deliver the keynote address at the 2009 South By Southwest Music Conference on March 19.

Jones is expected to discuss the power of music to influence and create positive change in the world and the responsibility of the artist to use their craft to unite people to better mankind.

His current projects include the recently released book “The Complete Quincy Jones: My Journey and Passions,” a feature film documentary on Brazil’s annual Carnival Festival that will benefit the victims of Hurricane Katrina and Brazil’s impoverished Favelas; a mini-series on Louis Armstrong, a duets album with Tony Bennett and Stevie Wonder; and a tribute album of his recordings featuring artists such as Usher, John Legend and Amy Winehouse. He continues to work on plans for a chain of nightclub-restaurants.

SXSW Music Convention runs March 18-22 in Austin, Texas.

SOURCE: Variety.com

In this Office spin-off, Logan is a nurse whose boyfriend has a strange injury. It’s just that that injury leads Jones’ character into the world populated by Poehler and Aziz Ansari.

Although rumors about Jones’ participation in the show have been flying for months, the Net had not confirmed her casting until now. Also for Jones, it marks a reunion with The Office exec producers Greg Daniels and Mike Schur, who are also behind the new Poehler skein.

Producers have yet to set a shoot date for the first episode, but Jones said that she is expected to report to work sometime in early 2009, but no definite date has been lined up yet. Word is that the show may be pushed to the Fall.