DMC Says "Jay-Z and Lil Wayne Ain't Hot"

In case you don't know him, D.M.C is one third of the legendary rap group, Run-D.M.C, who where one of the hottest Hip Hop groups in the 80s. The group comprised of Run, D.M.C and the late Jam Master Jay. Okay, I needed to get that out there before I say...in a recent interview, D.M.C said Jay Z and Lil Wayne ain't hot...

“Lil Wayne and Jay-Z ain’t hot, it’s just they’re programmed so many times people are brainwashed. It was inevitable that Hip Hop became commercialized but along the way our power got taken away. Now you got the same 12 records on radio being played over and over again.We wanted to change the world, taking responsibility for our actions. Now everything that’s negative in stupid ass America is celebrated.” (allhiphop.com)

Protesters Outside Concert Venue Say Beyonce & Jay-Z are Demons and Members of The Illuminati

A couple of days ago, while Beyonce performed at The Verizon Center, two African American men stood at the entrance protesting, and holding up placards that read..."Jay-Z and Beyonce are possessed by demons- Enter at your own risk- Pray." I thought all this Illuminati talk had gone away. Anyway, below is what Rocky Twyman (one of the protesters) had to say about Jay-Z and Beyonce when interviewed by the Newspaper-

"We believe that this couple is virtually destroying our youth. If you go on the Internet, you’ll see stories about how they’re both part of the Illuminati and you can see Jay-Z’s use of the Satanic triangle symbol when he performs. Jay-Z even declared himself to be God by referring to himself as Jehovah, and we don’t think that this is the image that our young people need to be glorifying"

 They further said they hoped to get the attention of the parents of the youths through their protest-

"We think they will be convicted that there is something wrong here,that there is some type of demonic forces that are a part of the Jay-Z-Beyonce syndrome."


My problem with this whole Illuminati talk is that its black people that are always so into conspiracy theories. Once a black man is successful, he is seen as a member of some sort of secret society, or worshiping the devil; why are black people conditioned to think that a certain level of wealth must have come from signing a contract with the devil? I went to see my pop the other day, and he was listening to BBC news on his small radio. And this news came on about a certain community in Kenya where rich people are being killed off cos they are termed devil worshipers. Once the people of that community don't understand the level of success of anyone in the community, they kill them off. That is some backward thinking right there...some limiting thinking right there.


If these people say they don't like how Beyonce fans Idolize her like she is a goddess, that is another thing, but all that demon possessed story is all crap. Watch all the Youtube videos you want, you only get what you are looking for in the first place. But, when you open your mind and do a little more research, you would laugh at all the Illuminati talk. Okay, they said Jay-Z is throwing up the Triangle (Pyramid) sign, and that that shows he is demonic. Okay, what about MC Lyte throwing up the sign on her 1996 album cover (Bad As I Wanna Be), long before Jay-Z started throwing that sign up. Is it because she isn't as successful as Jay-Z that the spotlight is not on her? Check out the pic below-

They can say they don't like what Jay-Z and Beyonce rap/sing about, which they feel have a bad influence their kids, but If they want to go that route, then they have to attack the whole Hip Hop/R&B culture right now. What sells right now is music with people glorifying wealth, sex talk and a life of alcohol and drug abuse. Most successful musicians in the r&b/hip hop genre of music do that, so they should be protesting against all of them, and not picking out two people and saying they are demon possessed, because they are the most successful. People forget what these so called Illuminati people went through (all the hard times) before they perfected their craft with persistence, and got to the level of success they attained. They make it seem like they just called up the devil like, 'hey, devil, what's up? I wanna sign up' and the devil is like, 'okay, here is the paper' and they sign, and they wake up the next morning with all the wealth. These is my problem with all the Illmuniati and secret society conspiracy theories. And because, sorry to say, the black race is still the most backward race, they buy into that the most. And the smart artists use this as a publicity/marketing tool; they keep on using all the Illuminati signs in their pics, interviews and videos to keep the people talking about them.

Jay-Z Pours Out Heart On George Zimmerman/Trayvon Martin Case

George Zimmerman got acquainted of the murder case against him for the killing of Trayvon Martin last year. Some people believe this is an evidence of how strong racism still is in the U.S, others believe the trial was fair. What does Jay-Z think? Read Jay's emotional outburst below-




"I was really angry, I didn't sleep for two days. I was really angry about it. We all knew it was still a bit of racism in America but for it to be so blatant, if you just ask yourself the question, 'Didn't Travyon have a right to stand his ground?' He was being chased, he fought back. He may have won. That doesn't mean he's a criminal. He won. If you chase me and you try to attack me and I defend myself, how can I be in the wrong? How is that right? This guy went to get some Skittles and go back to watch the All-Star game. He had plans. 'I gonna get this Arizona, these Skittles, and go watch this game.' ... He had no intentions of robbing anyone's home -- it's a thing where it's like a reminder of, 'We still got a long way to go.' It's beautiful because this generation right now, they don't see color in that way. We're a bit removed from those racist feelings." ("The Truth With Elliott Wilson")




Hmm! I don't know what to say. More like I don't like getting into racial discussions like this. But one thing I picked from what he said above that is true is that- "It's beautiful because this generation right now, they don't see color in that way." That's what i would like to hold on to...the older generation will all pass away with time.

Jay-Z's 'Magna Carta Holy Grail' First Week Global Sales

Jay-Z sold 527,000 first week copies nationally of his Magna Carta Holy Grail album. But, globally, he sold 632,000 copies first week (which means he sold 105,000 copies in addition to his American sales). This is the highest Jay will sell outside the U.S his entire 12 album career. The buzz of this album and the Internet, and the million digital copies Samsung bought really helped out. Salute to Jay-Z for always re-inventing himself in the business side of things.




















Let me explain things a little more, so that I don't lose you guys. Jay-Z has never been a big seller outside the U.S. For example, his last album before Magna Carta, The Blueprint 3 sold 476,000 first week copies in the U.S, and 489,000 globally. This means that he sold a total of just 13,000 copies in other countries outside the U.S first week. His 2006 album, Kingdom Come holds the record for his highest selling first week sales of any Jay-Z album; it sold 680,000 copies first week in America, and 695,000 globally. This means he only sold 15,000 copies outside the U.S. Rappers like Eminem, Kanye West, 50 Cent and even Game have always been bigger sellers than Jay-Z in the international market, so I think this achievement is really good for Jay's career.

Do You Think Jay-Z Is Overrated

Do you think Jay-Z is overrated? Do I think Jay-Z is overrated? Well, before I answer that, I would like to get some things out the way first. Personally, I think Nas is the Best Rapper Ever, but i would be lying to myself if I said Jay-Z wasn't the G.O.A.T. (there is a difference between being the greatest, and being the best) Looking at all areas; commercial success, longevity, respect in the game, skill, flow, stage performance, album catalogue, I have to give Jay-Z that title of The Greatest Of All Time when it comes to Hip Hop history. But, I feel he is a bit overrated.

 

Sometimes, you notice that people just go with whatever he puts out just cos he is Jay-Z. I guess that is from the "Jay-Z" brand he built over the years. As he said- "I'm not a business man, I'm a business, man!" He has come a long way, and he is building a strong dynasty with his wife and everything, so all that adds as a plus for him. So, when people view him, they see him as someone that has attained a god status, and some of his music are judged based on that. People were calling his Magna Carta Holy Grail a classic when it dropped last week, till Jay-Z himself said it was maybe at number 4 on his list of albums.




I think he is a great rapper. The Blueprint 1, Reasonable Doubt, and The Black Album are all great albums. Even though I feel his latest album wasn't one of his greatest, i still bump it on my phone cos I think it is a good album. It is a good album, but definitely not a classic. I think there are more people feeling Jay-Z...there are more people on the Jay-Z bandwagon over his success in life and who he is married to, than for his actual skills on the mic. There have been a lot of times that I have had to interpret some Jay lines to some of his so called fans. Do I think Jay-Z is great? Yes, I not only think he is great, I think he is the G.O.A.T. Do i think he is overrated? Yes.

How Many Number 1 Albums Does Jay-Z Have

Technically speaking, presently in 2013, Jay-Z has 10 number 1 albums. He just got his 10th number 1 album with his 12th studio album,  Magna Carta Holy Grail, that dropped last week Tuesday. Jay-Z has a 12 album catalogue, and it's only his first two albums- Reasonable Doubt (1996) & In My Life Time, Vol. 1 (1997)- that didn't debut at number 1 on Billboard.







The Jay-Z albums that made their debut at number 1 position on Billboard include- Vol. 2...Hard Knock Life (1998), Vol. 3...Life and Times of S.Carter (1999), The Dynasty: Roc La Familia (2000), The Blueprint (2001), The Blueprint2: The Gift & The Curse (2002), The Black Album (2003), Kingdom Come (2006), American Gangster (2007), The Blueprint 3 (2009), and Magna Carta Holy Grail (2013). Some people like to count his collaborative efforts, like Unfinished Business (2004) with R.Kelly, Collision Course (2004) with Linkin Park, and Watch the Throne (2011) with Kanye West. These albums also are number one albums, but they are not solo albums. Jay-Z has 10 solo number 1 albums.

LL Cool J Sends Indirect Shots Jay-Z's Way

Jay-Z officially dropped his 12th album, Magna Carta Holy Grail last week Tuesday (July 9th), but Samsung Mobile let some fans get it a couple of days before that. Jay sold a million digital copies to Samsung, who bought it with the intention of giving it out to Jay-Z fans who used some specific Samsung Mobile phones (Samsung Galaxy S3, S4, an Note 2). So, automatically, Jay went platinum before his album even dropped. Some rappers weren't too happy with this move, and LL Cool J is one of them. Check out LL's indirect message to Jay-Z during his recent interview with Revolt TV-








"I think that for me as an artist, I still want to be able to touch the people individually. It still matters to me that people individually went out and bought my record. Although I do think a million records sold is a million records sold, there’s no question about that. You can’t argue with math. It is what it is and that’s truth. For me, I like to touch the people directly. I like to know that a million people went out and bought my album. Not that I sold a million records to a company. That’s different…But that being said, I think it’s definitely the right move for the RIAA. I agree with that move. It’s not anything different. I mean, if Wal-Mart buys a million records, they bought it. I mean the difference is…If I go sell five million records to Bill Gates or if I sell 10 million records to Bill Gates, I guess I’m diamond. I may not touch 10 million people, but I’m diamond. Numbers are numbers, but I think that in the numbers is truth. But in terms of touching the people it’s a little different.”






This is no surprise...Jay-Z and LL Cool J have always had tension; from back in the 90s, to when Jay was made the President of Def Jam Records in 2005. LL believed he was the best man for the job as he helped build the label (he was the first rapper signed to the label in 1984). Anyway, I get what LL is trying to say, but Jay has always been consistent with album sales, so it shouldn't be a big deal, cos Jay would still sell a million copies regardless. Jay-Z has never been the type to sell incredible astronomical numbers with his albums, with he has always been consistent with that 1.5-3 million copies bracket...all through his career.

Jay-Z Finally Addresses Robert De Niro Beef

You know Jay-Z is into a whole lot of things now; mingling with actors, business moguls, sportsmen and not just rappers anymore. So, it shouldn't be shocking to read that Jay-Z has beef with legendary actor, Robert De Niro. Apparently De Niro needed Jay to do a soundtrack for the Tribecca Film Festival last year, and he kept trying to get Jay on the line, but with no response. Days and weeks went by, but Jay-Z still didn't reply Bobby De Niro's calls. And then they met at a social gathering, and Jay tried to play the situation down, but De Niro went off on Jay-Z and not even Beyonce walking over to the table could calm him down. Word out was that De Niro told Jay..."if somebody calls you six times, you call them back. It doesn't matter who you are, that is just rude."
`

During the interview he had on the The Breakfast Club yesterday (with DJ Envy, Charlemagne tha God, and Angela Yee), he touched on the issue-




"I treat people based on who they are. Who they 'really' are. Not the name, not 'Robert De Niro.' But who you are as a person. And it doesn't matter. It doesn't matter who you are. Everyone has to be respectful, everyone has to be a human being. No one's above [that]. We're all human beings and we all have to be respectful to one another."






Hmm! Is Jay-Z saying he treated Robert De Niro based on who he really is. Is he saying De Niro is an asshole in real life?

First Week Sales Projections Of Jay-Z's 'Magna Carta Holy Grail' Album

Mehn! It is all about Jay-Z right now. The hype is serious. I have had friends that I know don't listen to Rap music ask me for the Magna Carta album. I'm not saying the album didn't match the hype, it is a good album, but the hype for it is crazy right now. It already sold a million digital copies (thanks to Samsung Mobile for the purchase, Jay already got his Platinum Plaque from R.I.A.A), but the buzz for the physical copies (which hits stores yesterday) is also crazy. Hits Daily Double just projected, based on first day sales that Jay-Z's Magna Carta Holy Grail album is on its way to selling between 475-525k first week. Whoa! Add that to the million copies already sold, and you have 1.5 million copies sold in 1 week. Congrats to Jay-Z.

Read more below-

YOUR NEW RELEASES: Well, there's Jay-Z and everyone else this week. Magna Carta Holy Grail's chart-topping first week should best the bows of his previous three releases, Watch The Throne (436k), Blueprint 3 (476k) and American Gangster (425k). Looks like Samsung's marketing campaign is paying off for everyone. Here are this week's key debuts: Jay-Z (Roc Nation) 475-525k Ciara (Epic) 55-65k Skylar Gray (KidinaKorner/Interscope) 15-18k Donell Jones (eOne) 10-12k As of this writing Magna Carta remains the #1 album on the iTunes chart in its "explicit" form, while the "clean" version occupies the #5 spot. Lead single "Holy Grail" featuring Justin Timberlake is #2 on the singles chart, while "Tom Ford" (an early fave among hip-hop heads) has bounced to #13. (7/10p) (HITS Daily Double)

Album Review- Jay-Z (Magna Carta Holy Grail)

On this album, Jay-Z does what he knows how to do best- brag about his wealth, speak a little about his crack-cocaine hustling days, and about the fact that he bagged the most beautiful female musician on the scene. If you are a Jay-Z fan, you will definitely love this album, cos Jay has grown, and his businesses have changed, so he has more to talk about. If you are just a hip hop lover, and not necessarily a Jay fan, you might not like Jay's lazy flows on some songs off the album, but the production is on-point, and Jay rides the beat well on majority of the songs, so you would still like the album. At least, It is a better put together album than 85% of the Hip Hop albums that has dropped in the last 2 years or so.







The album starts off with Justin Timberlake singing on Holy Grail, the first track on the album. Timberlake's singing goes a little into the second minute before Jay-Z's voice can be heard. I think this is a cool way to get all demographics and people with different taste in music to be interested in the album. After this track, Jay comes with Picasso Baby, the hardest song on the album; A hard hitting Timbaland beat, with a switch of beat mid-way through the track. This is vintage Jay-Z, and he is at his best here; especially on the second half of the song. I think the second half of the song will give any appreciator of hiphop music the chills. Tom Ford is just a fun song, and is perfect for a track 3. After that comes a classic collaboration between Jay and Rick Ross- FuckWithMeYouKnowIGotIt. With this song (FuckWithMeYouKnowIGotIt), you know the chemistry with these two has grwon over the years, to a very comfortable place. It's great to hear Jay on a southern beat with Rick Ross, and see him deliver so well.





This album is no Blue Print 3. BP3 had Jay-Z doing rapid-fire verses, with a mix of hunger and passion. BP3 had a lot of songs that you hear once and know- this is a potential single. Magna Carta has fewer songs like that, and it is a laid-back Jay; but is still a really cool album. The songs to watch out for are FuckWithmeYouKnowIGotIt, Nickles & Dimes, Picasso Baby, Crown, and Part 2 (On the Run). On Nickles & Dimes, he drops deep an emotional lines like-

Between beauty and beast, I walk the line
Johnny Cash, I'm a real G
I cut my self today to see if I still bleed
Success is so sublime
Gotta do that time to time so I don't lose my mind
Something 'bout the struggle so divine
This sort of love is hard to define

People shouldn't confuse the La Familia song as a full fledge diss track towards lil Wayne; it is just Jay having fun on a southern sounding Timberland beat. He just threw a couple of shots Wayne's way to check him...that's all. Unfortunately, the song with Nas, Pharrell, Timbaland, Justin Timberlake,  and Beyonce was a disappointment. I guess there were too many cooks in the kitchen. The Pharrell beat is not something you would want to hear Nas on. And Beyonce and Justin Timberlake are hardly on the song. Good album overall, but not a classic like BP1, and not as good as BP3. Jay gets motivational on must of the songs, and even kicks some knowledge on "Heaven." I'd give Magna Carta Holy Grail a 4 out of 5 in ratings.

Ebony "Wondagurl" Oshunrinde Talks About Producing On Jay-Z's Magna Carta Holy Grail

16 year old Nigerian-Canadian, Ebony "Wondagurl" Oshunrinde probably never thought she would be producing for Jay-Z this early in her career. In a recent interview with CBC, she spoke about how her inspiration for music production came from watching a video of Jay-Z and Timbaland working in the studio...she was just 9 at the time. How the Universe works; it is not a coincidence that she ended up producing for Jay-Z.

Read up how her beat ended up on Jay-Z's Magna Carta Holy Grail-

“I was at home one day and I was looking for reggae samples for a while and I finally found this one that was like crazy, it was Sizzla's ‘Solid as a Rock. I took it and I cut it up and I put it in the software FL Studio and I started building around it, just adding 808s and the more I built, I knew what I wanted.”




She had Pusha T in mind while making the beat, and sent it to her friend (Travi$ Scott- Producer/Rapper) to help get it to Pusha T. But things took an unexpected turn. Travi$ Scott had been working with Jay-Z on Magna Carta Holy Grail at the time, and played the beat for Jay. Jay-Z liked it, and it ended up being the 8th track ("Crown") on Jay's latest album. 

Read on...
A few days after, [DJ Travi$ Scott] messaged me and said I’m about to change your life. He called me actually and then said you’re on Jay-Z’s album and like congratulations […] I felt like crying.


Wondagurl adds some of inspirational words-
You can do anything that you want. Not even in music, in anything that is male dominated, you can do it. Just try.





Seriously, you really can do anything...you can do, be, or have anything you want. It's just that half the people don't know exactly what they want. They let society dictate their lives, so their wants and desires keep changing. This girl's story is not magic; she had a goal since she was 9, and she stuck with it. And 7 years later, at 16, she achieved it. It is nothing but up for her from here on. This is really an inspirational story.

Damon Dash Comments On Jay-Z's New Album

Dame Dash and Jay-Z were business partners/friends for a very long time; they founded Roc-A-Fela Records (with silent parnter, Kareem "Biggs" Burke) in 1995, and ended their long lasting working relationship on a not too good note, after jay retired in 2003. Dame bad-mouthed Jay a lot in interviews back in the day, but i guess time has melted the hatred away now...read what Dame said about Jay-Z's new album, Magna Carta Holy Grail a couple of hours ago.




"In the barber shop listening to jays new album....I can't front... I still like hearing him pop shit cause I know he's telling the truth...proud to be be a part of that..#bittersweet," Dash wrote on Instagram July 5. (Dame Dash's Instagram)





Yea, it sure was a bittersweet experience with him and Jay-Z. They made good money together, but after a while, as Jay said on his Lost One song..."Too much flossing...too much sam rothstein." Translation- Dame Dash was spending too much, and doing too little work. So, Jay-Z had to caught ties with him. It is cool Dame has gotten over all that now.

Jay-Z's Subliminal Diss At Nas On Magna Carta Holy Grail

Although Jay-Z and Nas squashed their beef in 2005, there is still that little tention between the two, that make them throw subliminal shots at each other once a while (like on Jay-Z's Success track off his American Gnagster album, where they both dissed each other). I was taking a stroll yesterday when a friend of mine sent me an IM asking who I felt Jay-Z was dissing on Versus; an interlude off his newly released Magna Carta Holy Grail album. I had the album on my phone, so i quickly listened to ithe track. But had to tell him i would get back to him, cos I wasn't too sure who Jay was going at. It sounded like he was going at Lil Wayne, but i didn't believe Jay-Z would dedicate two songs off his album to go at Wayne.

The diss at Wayne on his La Familia song was really obvious, cos even though he didn't mention Wayne's name, it was a direct reply to Wayne's diss to him on I'm Good off Tha Carter 4. So, when I got home, I listened to the song over and over, and I concluded he couldn't have been going at anyone else but Nas. Check out the lines from the interlude below-

Hey sucka nigga

Where ever you are

I thought about ya fool

While I was driving my car

I wonder if you fools

Realize how far

You are

You’re no where in my rare view

Your last shit ain’t better

Than my first shit

Your best shit

Ain’t better than my worst shit

The truth in my verses

Versus

Your metaphors

About what your networth is

The first couple of lines might just be general disses to all the rappers in the industry, just like every braggadocios rapper does. But, the album comparison line is a subliminal diss at Nas. People would say Wayne, but who else would Jay-Z feel he needs to validate himself when it comes to catalogues. He said it himself- "Competition for me...competition is Nas, Eminem." Jay is probably light years ahead of Nas when it comes to level of success, but there is no one that gets compared to Jay like Nas in the industry. When Nas's last album dropped, a lot of people on twitter and the blogs always found a way to bring Jay-Z into the whole matter...comparing their albums. And when CNN put out that article last year proclaiming Nas as The Greatest Lyricist Of All Time, I'm pretty damn sure Jay felt a certain way about that. I remember like 2 years ago, when Jay was asked about Ether during a certain interview, and he said he feels Takeover (his diss to Nas on his Blueprint album) is 100 times better than Ether. This is a sign that, although they are cool now, there is still that spirit of competition beneath the surface.

On the Versus interlude (off his Jay's latest album), where Jay-Z said- "the truth in my verses, versus/your metaphors about what your networth is"- is also a subliminal diss at Nas. The fact that Nas is a story teller, and fabricates a lot of the stories in his verses has always been one of Jay's bigest weapon's against him. Jay used it on Takeover (There's only so long fake thugs can pretend Nigga; you ain't live it you witnessed it from your folks pad/You scribbled in your notepad and created your life)...he used it on Super Ugly (Kick yo little lies, I kick my real facts...When does ya lies end? When does the truth begin? When does reality set it?). 

And lastly, about the last line- "Your metaphors about what your networth is"- that's a shot at Nas's line on the intro of Life Is Good, where Nas raps about his networth ("I remember early mornings, syrup sandwiches, sugar water, yeah... Walkin up the dark stairwells, elevators was out of order, yeah.. Worth two hundred million now, +Bicentennial Nigga"). It's quiet hard for even I, a die-hard Nas fan to believe that Nas is worth $200 million, after all the news about him not being able to pay his taxes. I guess that's why Jay laughs at the end of the Versus interlude. In closing, I strongly believe that Jay was subliminally dissing Nas on the Versus interlude, off Magna Carta Holy Grail album.

Raekwon Speaks on Working With Jay-Z on Magna Carta Holy Grail

New York rappers from back in the 90s always worked with each other, so it surprising to know that Raekwon and Jay-Z are just collaborating for the first time in Hip Hop history. Raekwon is going to be a guest artist on one of the tracks off Jay's 12th album, Magna Carta Holy Grail, which drops officially on July 9th.


In a recent interview on Montreality, Rae spoke about the collabo with Jay-Z...

“Definitely his peoples had reached out to me and said that he wanted to connect with me on a track. My thing was it’s about time. We both never had an opportunity to really do that before, so I knew in my heart it was time to make that kind of move happen…He embraced me. He gave me nothing but love. We laughed. We talked. We talked about real shit. We talked about parenthood. We talked about life.”



Hmm! I just remembered something. Wasn't Raekwon shitting on Jay-Z back in 2006 when Jay came out of retirement with Kingdom Come? I remember Rae saying, at one of his shows that Kingdom Come was a weak album. Well, time changes yesterday. I guess things have changed since then. But I know Jay always has a way of using the power of love to defeat his enemies. I still stand on the opinion that love is the most potent weapon in war. Just read the above comment from Raekwon and see how he is bigging-up Jay. Just like how Fat Joe and Jay had a cold war for as long as I can remember, and then Jay showed up at his J.O.S.E 2 album release party (back in 2009) without being invited, and the next day, Joe was on twitter shouting out Jay. 

Is Jay-Z Cheating With New Album Sales

Jay-Z's new album, Magna Carta Holy Grail is set to drop on July 9th, but some specific set of people would get the album on their phones by July 4th...actually, a million people with some specific Samsung Galaxy Mobile phones will get it on their phones on July 4th. Jay made a power-move with Samsung Mobile, and sold 1 million copies of his album to them before it even got fully completed. It's actually a really cool business move, but dose it show actual consumer preference? Samsung bought the million copies to give away to people with some new models of their Galaxy Smartphone collections- Samsung Galaxy S3, S4, and Note 2.

Billboard has said they wont count the Million copies bought by Samsung as actual sales, but RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) have said they have re-reviewed their rules to make it official that Jay's one million copy sales to Samsung counts and earns him a platinum plaque. Hmm! Talk about having friends in high places. Read the official statement from RIAA below-

"By now, many of us in the music business, as well as Jay-Z fans, know that Samsung has purchased one million "Magna Carta Holy Grail" digital albums to be given away to the phone maker's customers. It is a novel and creative marketing move and it has rightly stimulated a healthy conversation about the sale's meaning and implications for the modern music business. For us, the move prompted a re-examination of our historic Gold & Platinum (G&P) Program award rules. As we dug through the records of audits, re-reviewed rules and consulted with our auditing firm of more than thirty years, Gelfand, Rennert & Feldman, we discovered one rule disparity that no longer makes sense. We think it's time for the RIAA - and Gelfand, Rennert & Feldman - to align our digital song and album certification requirements. That's why today we are officially updating this rule in our G&P Program requirements. Going forward, sales of albums in digital format will become eligible on the release date, while sales of albums in physical format will still become eligible for certification 30 days after the release date. Not only do we believe it's sensible and logical to align digital album rules with those we have maintained for digital singles since the program's inception, we also consider today's move in line with our larger efforts to modernize the G&P Program to reflect the new music marketplace. In May we announced the integration of on-demand streams to the program to more broadly recognize online demand for songs." (RIAA)

Nice! Jay just made $5 million out the gate with this album, and earned himself another platinum plaque before his album hit stores. That is definitely a power move. He sold the album $5 a piece to Samsung. All his albums have platinum plaques, and his last one, Blueprint 3, which was released in 2009, has sold over 1.9 million copies to date. If left alone to sell organically, the album would still have gone platinum. 

Check out the tracklist of the 14 track album below- 

'Picasso Baby'
'Heaven'
'Versus'
'Tom Ford'
'Beach Is Better'
'F**kWithMeYouKnowIGotIt' (Feat. Rick Ross)
'Oceans' (Feat. Frank Ocean)
'F.U.T.W.
'Part II (On The Run)' (Feat. Beyonce)
'BBC'
'La Familia'
'Jay-Z Blue'
'Nickles & Dimes'
'Holy Grail' (feat. Justin Timberlake)
'Open Letter'

Jay-Z Disses Lil Wayne On New Album

Jay-Z has been releasing lyrics from the songs on his upcoming album, Magna Carter Holy Grail for the last couple of days. The album is going to be his 12th studio album, and it is set to drop on July 4th (America's Independence day). He recently let fans unto the lyrics for La Familia, one of the songs on the album, and it had this lines- “Wanna kidnap wifey / Good luck with that bruh / You must gonna hide your whole family / What you think we wearing black for / Ready for that war / Ready for that war ready / You ain't ready, yo, you radio,"





For those that don't understand this subliminal lines, or where they are coming from, I would do a lil recap. During an interview, sometime in 2010, Baby (Cash Money Records C.E.O) said that he made more money than Jay-Z and if Jay wanted to prove otherwise, he could come with his accountants and they could open the books and see what's up. And then, a couple of months later, Jay dropped some lines on his song (H.A.M) with Kanye West addressing that- "I'm like, 'Really, half-a-billi?' / Nigga, really, you got baby money / Keep it real with niggas, niggas ain't got my lady money,"




The "baby money" reference was a diss at Baby (Birdman) that he doesn't have the kind of money his lady (Beyonce) has. And then, Lil Wayne quickly fired back on a track (I'm Good) off is Carter 4 album- "I got your baby money / Kidnap your bitch, get that how much you love your lady money."



Since Jay always likes to sneak diss on albums, he had to wait 3 years to go at Wayne on this latest song. Some are saying it is too stale. What do you think?

Tracklist Of Jay-Z's "Magna Carta Holy Grail"Album

Last week, Jay-Z let the world know he would be dropping his 12th album, Magna Carta Holy Grail on America's independence day, July 4th. It was a huge surprise for his fans, cos there were no word about an album before last week. Now, we have a little more info on the album. On the corner of Carlton Avenue in Brooklyn, Jay-Z fans were handed binders containing the tracklist to Magna Carta Holy Grail. The guest appearances were left out tho.

Check out the Magna Carta Holy Grail album tracklist below-

1. Picasso Baby
2. Heaven
3. Versus
4. Tom Ford
5. Beach Is Better
6. FuckWithMeYouKnowIGotIt
7. Oceans
8. F.U.T.W.
9. Part II (On The Run)
10. BBC
11. La Familia
12. Jay-Z Blue
13. Nickles & Dimes

Pictures From Jay-Z's 40/40 Club 10 Year Anniversary

Damn! Time flies. I can't believe it has been 10 years. A couple of days ago, Jay-Z celebrated the 10th year anniversary of his 40/40 Club in New York. I vividly remember when Jay opened this club; right around the time he told the world he was retiring, after The Black Album (his 8th album). Fast-forward 10 years, Jay has dropped 3 more albums since then, and is now celebrating the 10 year-anniversary of his Club.




Check out pics from the occasion below. They appear in the order I have listed them- T.I and his wife, Tiny; Tiny, T.I, Jay-Z, and Beyonce; Jay-Z and Beyonce; T.I and Jay-Z; Fabolous and his girlfriend; Maxwell and Angie Martinez.

Jay-Z's Next Album Already Platinum

Yup! That's right. Some weeks back, the internet was buzzing about a 20 million dollar deal Jay-Z was supposedly inking with Samsung Mobile. People knew there was a deal in the works, but no one knew the full details of the deal. But, word is out. Jay-Z is about to drop his 12th album, Magna Carta Holy Grail on July 4th, but he is not doing it the conventional way. Samsung has already bought the first million copies of the album, and they will give it out free to the first one million people that download the album App on google plus (Android market), through some selected Samsung smartphone models.




This is a crazy marketing strategy. It's a win-win for the two parties involved. Jay-Z will get to sell a million copies of his album without even trying, and Samsung will get more people to buy their Samsung Galaxy S3, Galaxy S4 and Galaxy Note 2 phones. This will be the only phones that would be able to download the album for free; this is a genius marketing strategy. As jay once said- "I am not a business man, I'm a business, man." This is a testament to how big the 'Jay-Z' brand has grown through the years. He is a business genius for sure.

I guess the new way to promote albums is to do less and less promotion, and drop the album quickly with no delays. Justin Timberlake dropped his latest album (The 20/20 Experience) barely two months from when the first single off the album hit radio, and it sold a million copies first week. Kanye's Yeezus album is dropping tomorrow, and has no radio singles, nor videos, and yet is predicted to sell half a million copies first week. Now, Jay-Z is about to drop his 12th album, and is already assured Platinum status.





Read more on Jay's move below-

The connection: Samsung has purchased 1 million copies of Jay-Z's coming album, entitled "Magna Carta Holy Grail," slated for release July 4, and plans to give them to Samsung Galaxy smartphone users for free - 72 hours ahead of the release. The users are to receive the music through an app they'll receive later this month. (Recipients won't be able to share it until the official release date.) Samsung paid $5 apiece for the albums, according to a person familiar with the matter. It wasn't immediately clear if Nielsen SoundScan will count Samsung's purchases in its sales tallies. (Wall Street Journal)








Below is a 3 minute Samsung commercial, which shows Jay-Z in the studio with Pharrell, Rick Rubin, Timbaland, and Swizz Beatz...some of the best music producers in the game. The commercial aired during last night's NBA Finals Game 5 (Miami Heats vs. San Antonio Spurs). Jay has been known to complete albums in weeks, and with these producers around him, he can do no wrong with the album's production. Magna Carta Holy Grail  will surely be a banger.

Jay-Z, Justin Timberlake, Nas & Timbaland in the Studio

It appears a super collabo is in the works; below is a pic of Jay-Z, Justin Timberlake, Nas and Timberland in the studio. The pic was actually taken yesterday, cos there are other pics online of Jay-Z and Justin Timberlake at Pharrell's 10 year anniversary for his 'Billionaire Boys Club' apparel, and Jay and Justin were wearing the same clothes they have on in this pic. My guess is that they all met at the event, and talked about making music together, and Timberland quickly got them to a studio. That's just my guess. We don't know anything for sure yet, but it would be great to get music from this four.