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The Seed: Jhene Aiko, The Bullitts, ScHoolboy Q
March 24, 2013 4:00 PM EDT Despite the huge releases by the likes of Beyoncé, Rihanna, Kendrick Lamar, and Robin Thicke earlier this week, rising artists made a splash on the 'net with their own. Jhené Aiko celebrated her 25th birthday with the release of the soulful, ...
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NBA Players' Favorite Music: Iman Shumpert, J.J. Redick, Corey Brewer
December 25, 2012 11:05 AM EST From A$AP to Milo Greene, check out what three basketball stars and their team mates are listening to lately. Christmas is always one of the most special days on the NBA calendar: with five marquee match-ups taking place on Tuesday (Dec. 25), basket ...
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Backbeat: Afropunk Festival Roars Back With Erykah Badu, Mos Def, TV On The Radio
August 27, 2012 2:03 PM EDT TV On the Radio closes out the eighth Afro-punk Festival. (Photo: Harley Oliver Brown) Around this time last year, Matthew Morgan , managing director of Afropunk LLC , thought the Afropunk Festival he dreamed up eight years ago was over for good. ...
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Report: G.O.O.D. Music's 'Cruel Summer' Pushed Back
August 16, 2012 12:30 PM EDT Is mid-September still considered summer? Welp, for G.O.O.D. Music it is. The label's compilation album, "Cruel Summer," has reportedly been pushed back. Amazon has the album slated for September 18. Malik Yusef, longtime friend and c ...
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Exclusive: ?uestlove Announces Okayplayer Records Relaunch & New Danny! & Young Guru Albums
August 14, 2012 12:05 PM EDT Today ?uestlove of The Roots announced the formal re-launch of his label Okayplayer Records after an 8-year hiatus. The digital-only label's first releases are by Atlanta-based rapper and producer Danny! and recording engineer Young Guru Danny! ...
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Exclusive: ?uestlove Announces Okayplayer Records Re-Launch, New Albums By Danny!, Young Guru
August 14, 2012 8:17 AM EDT Today ?uestlove of The Roots announced the formal re-launch of his label Okayplayer Records after an 8-year hiatus. The digital-only label's first releases are by Atlanta-based rapper and producer Danny! and recording engineer Young Guru Dann ...
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Mara Hruby Video Premiere: 'Alright'
July 16, 2012 3:25 PM EDT If you have yet to listen to the soulful sounds of Mara Hruby, we recommend you do so as soon as possible. The gifted songstress from Oakland, Calif., delivered a passionate EP, "From Her Eyes," last year, which is laced with covers she re ...
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Roots Picnic 2012: 10 Things Seen & Heard Saturday
June 03, 2012 1:00 PM EDT Now in its fifth year, the Roots Picnic is fast becoming a staple of Philadelphia's rich musical culture. This year marked the first time the festival was expanded to two days (Sat. Jun. 2-Sun. Jun. 3), with acts like De La Soul , Diplo , and K ...
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Chart Juice: B.o.B Earns R&B/Hip-Hop Albums No. 1
May 10, 2012 2:30 PM EDT B.o.B debuts his sophomore album, "Strange Clouds," at the No. 1 spot on the R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart with 76,000 sold, according to Nielsen SoundScan. The No. 1 launch mirrors the debut of his first album, "B.o.B Presents: The Ad ...
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Jay-Z Returning to South by Southwest
March 07, 2012 10:55 AM EST J ay-Z will be performing at South by Southwest for the second year in a row. The MC has teamed up with American Express for the "Amex Sync Show," which will air live from SXSW at Austin City Limits on March 12 at 7 p.m. CST -- the show wi ...
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Jay-Z to Perform at South by Southwest, Show to Be Livestreamed on YouTube
March 06, 2012 10:51 PM EST Jay-Z will be performing at South by Southwest for the second year in a row. The MC has teamed up with American Express for the "Amex Sync Show," which will air live from SXSW at Austin City Limits on March 12 at 7 p.m. CST -- the show w ...
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Ice-T to Perform With Chuck D., Grandmaster Caz at Sundance
January 13, 2012 5:26 PM EST Ice-T, Chuck D and Grandmaster Caz are scheduled to perform at the Sundance Institute's annual Celebration of Music in Film on Jan. 21 in Park City, Utah. Their performances are to celebrate Ice-T's documentary "Something From Nothi ...
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A Day In The Life of B.o.B
November 30, 2011 4:00 PM EST "I don't remember everything from last night… I just woke up with a scarf around my neck," B.o.B tells his camp and Billboard.com's The Juice Tuesday (Nov. 29) as we follow the rapper for our Day in the Life series. "A fur s ...
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B.o.B Releases 'E.P.I.C.' Mixtape
November 29, 2011 11:19 AM EST In anticipation of his sophomore album, "Strange Clouds," B.o.B has released a new 15-track mixtape. "E.P.I.C.," which stands for "Every Play Is Crucial," hit the web on Monday (Nov. 28). The tape features guest appeara ...
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CMJ 2011: 15 Things That Will Rock
October 18, 2011 1:40 PM EDT Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to… find the next great buzz band? Indie enthusiasts have ascended upon New York City this week for the annual CMJ Music Marathon, which kicks off today (Oct. 18) and runs through Saturday. ...
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Billboard Bits: Wilson Phillips Gets Reality Show, Mos Def Retiring Name
September 06, 2011 6:25 PM EDT Billboard Bits serves up the best bite-sized nuggets of music news and gossip. Wilson Phillips Gets Reality Show Wilson Phillips is riding their "Bridesmaids" cameo back to relevancy: the TV Guide network announced "The Wilson Phillip ...
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Black Keys' Blakroc Project Returns with Wiz Khalifa, Jay Electronica
September 02, 2011 4:20 PM EDT The Black Keys will once again fuse indie rock and hip-hop by breaking out their Blakroc project for album number two. The Akron, Ohio duo unveiled a coming attraction for the album on Tuesday (Aug. 30), which shows footage of rappers Wiz Khalifa , ...
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Photos: Rock The Bells Invades San Francisco
August 29, 2011 5:30 PM EDT Long-running hip-hop festival Rock The Bells rocked San Francisco's Shoreline Ampitheatre on Saturday (Aug. 27), with a diverse cast of artists providing a mix of old-school charm and new-school hunger. Upstarts like Big K.R.I.T. and Freddie Gi ...
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Rock the Bells Teams With Live Nation for House of Blues Tour
July 25, 2011 7:15 AM EDT In summer of 2010, concert ticket sales were so sluggish that several big-name acts, such as Christina Aguilera, Rihanna, Lilith Fair, and the American Idol Live summer outing, were forced to cancel dates, downsize, or in the most dramatic of exam ...
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Mos Def Joins 'Dexter' Cast
May 11, 2011 3:28 PM EDT M os Def has finalized a deal for a multi-episode arc on the sixth season of "Dexter," according to sources. The actor and hip-hop artist will play a hardened ex-con who claims to have found religion yet seems to continually find himself s ...
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Dennis Coffey Taps Mayer Hawthorne, Paolo Nutini for Solo Album
April 30, 2011 8:36 AM EDT D ennis Coffey , the man who brought wah-wah to Motown (on the Temptations ' "Cloud Nine") and has a Hall of Fame-caliber sessions resume, brings his own music to the fore again this week with the help of some famous friends. Paolo Nu ...
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Odd Future May Sign Deal with Sony's RED Distribution
April 26, 2011 12:15 PM EDT It's one of the most wanted bands by hip-hop aficionados and label execs. Record labels have kept a close eye on Odd Future since the 11-member rap collective began posting full-lengths on its Tumblr early last year. Odd Future: The Billboard C ...
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Kanye West Closes Out SXSW with Jay-Z, John Legend & More
March 20, 2011 8:02 PM EDT K anye West has been something of a SXSW mainstay the last few years, popping up for surprise appearances at his proteges' shows or hosting an impossible-to-get-into set in the middle of the afternoon. But this year's West-side performance ...
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SXSW: 10 Things Seen and Overheard Saturday
March 20, 2011 4:00 PM EDT And that's a wrap! SXSW 2011 ended with some surprise appearances (Diddy, Bon Iver), scary performances (DFA 1979, Trash Talk) and everything in between. Check out 10 things Billboard.com saw and overheard on the last day of the festival: SXSW ...
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Kanye West, Mos Def Freestyle at New York Jazz Club
February 28, 2011 4:49 PM EST Jazz pianist Robert Glasper and his Robert Glasper Experiment played a show at New York City's Blue Note jazz club on Saturday (Feb. 26) and a couple of surprise guest popped up: Kanye West and Mos Def showed up and freestyled for the room. Kan ...
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The Squeeze: Q&A with Charlie Wilson
February 17, 2011 1:38 PM EST Charlie Wilson is on his way to Iraq today (Feb. 18) to perform for the troops for the third year in a row. But the former The Gap Band member, who is mostly known to this generation for his collaborations with the likes of Snoop Dogg and Kanye West ...
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Grammys 2011: 15 Things You Didn't See on TV
February 14, 2011 1:50 AM EST Not all of the excitement at the 2011 Grammy Awards happened on the stage. Here's 15 memorable moments that you didn't see on TV. 1. Arcade Fire was in quite the celebratory mood over its Album of the Year win for "The Suburbs." ...
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M.I.A. Producer Blaqstarr Goes 'Divine' on New EP
January 25, 2011 4:30 PM EST After garnering notoriety through production work for M.I.A. , Baltimore DJ, producer and hip-hop artist Blaqstarr will be branching out on his own this week, for the first time since 2008. Today (Jan. 25) marks the release of his six-song set, &quo ...
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Talib Kweli Rejects 'Selling Out' on 'Gutter Rainbows' Album
January 25, 2011 1:47 PM EST T alib Kweli admits that he doesn't drink a lot of soda, and that he knows "very, very little" about professional football. But when the Brooklyn rapper was approached to star in a TV spot for Pepsi Max's NFL playoffs campaign, K ...
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Billboard Bits: Christina's Love Triangle at Home, John Mellencamp and Meg Ryan Dating?
January 05, 2011 5:10 PM EST Billboard Bits serves up the best bite-sized nuggets of music news and gossip. Christina Aguilera No Longer Living With Both Ex-Husband, New Boyfriend Life just got a whole less awkward for Christina Aguilera. Recent reports claim that until yesterd ...
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Downtown's Michael Howe Takes Senior A&R Post At Capitol-Virgin
December 06, 2010 12:00 AM EST Dan McCarroll, the recently installed President of Capitol & Virgin, announced a key hiring in the company's talent team on Monday. Michael Howe will join the EMI-owned label as Vice President A&R, based out of its west coast headquarters ...
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A Tribe Called Quest Documentary Trailer Hits The Net
December 01, 2010 4:21 PM EST The trailer to the much-talked about A Tribe Called Quest documentary, "Beats Rhymes & Fights," hit the net this morning (Dec. 1) and it seems the legendary hip-hop group is not only showcasing the love they have for one another and th ...
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Kanye West's 'G.O.O.D. Music Fridays' Inspires Other Artists
November 30, 2010 12:36 PM EST Before he had even come up with a street date for his next album, Kanye West tweeted in August that he was going to give away a brand-new song, free of charge, every week until Christmas. West worked hard to keep his pledge, and his "G.O.O.D. M ...
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Kanye West Brings 'Fantasy,' Famous Friends to NYC Show
November 24, 2010 11:05 AM EST One day after his "Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy" hit stores, Kanye West gave fans, music execs like Lyor Cohen, Kevin Liles, Sylvia Rhone and L.A. Reid, and celebrities including Mos Def , 88 Keys, ?uestlove, Diddy , Selita Ebanks and co ...
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Eclectic Austin City Limits Fest Anchored By Burke Tributes, Eagles
October 11, 2010 12:47 PM EDT The Strokes , Muse , the Eagles and Phish were the big names at the 2010 Austin City Limits Music Festival this weekend (Oct. 8-10), but it was a more modest act that seemed to have divine inspiration. Austin City Limits Photos Muse, the Strokes, Ea ...
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Billboard Bits: 'Glee' Takes On R.E.M., Nicki Minaj Offers Support to Gay Fans
October 01, 2010 7:10 PM EDT Billboard Bits serves up the best bite-sized nuggets of music news and gossip. 'Glee' To Take On R.E.M. Next Week A week after taking on the songs of Britney Spears, "Glee" will feature a performance of R.E.M. 's 1991 hit &q ...
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Review: Joaquin Phoenix's 'I'm Still Here' Still Shocks, Despite Years of Hype
September 10, 2010 3:00 PM EDT Common adage suggests that when one door closes, another one opens. For actor turned hip-hop musician Joaquin Phoenix, however, it's more like he willingly closed one door only to have another slammed in his face. The aptly-titled documentary & ...
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Kanye West Promises New Track Every Week Until Christmas
August 23, 2010 12:15 PM EDT Although his fifth album is slated to drop Nov. 16, Kanye West is tirelessly working to give his fans some weekly fun through the holidays. The rapper announced on Twitter yesterday (Aug. 22) that he plans to release a new song "every weekend u ...
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Kanye West, Justin Bieber Talk Collaboration on Twitter
August 16, 2010 11:59 AM EDT K anye West is the latest artist to fall victim to Bieber fever. West chatted with teen pop star Justin Bieber on Twitter over the weekend about a potential collaboration between them and Wu Tang Clan rapper Raekwon . On Sunday (Aug. 15), West tweet ...
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Lady Gaga Earns Record 13 MTV VMA Nominations, Eminem Nabs Eight
August 03, 2010 12:15 PM EDT L ady Gaga has earned a record-breaking 13 MTV VMA nominations, the network announced today (Aug. 3). The pop star's "Bad Romance" video is up for Video of the Year, Best Pop Video, Best Female Video and Best Dance Video, among other ...
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Glastonbury Festival Gears Up For Gorillaz
June 24, 2010 12:06 PM EDT Nearly 180,000 fans will descend on a farm in southwest England from Thursday for four days of music, and, if the rain falls, mud, for which the annual Glastonbury music festival is justly famous. British band Gorillaz , fronted by Damon Albarn, wil ...
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Music Fans Brave Storm For Gulf Aid Concert
May 17, 2010 7:51 AM EDT Music fans braved a torrential rainstorm in New Orleans for a benefit concert raising money for fishermen affected by the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. Lenny Kravitz , John Legend , Ani DiFranco , Allen Toussaint and the Preservation Hall Jazz Band , wi ...
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Music Fans Brave Storm For Gulf Aid Concert
May 17, 2010 12:00 AM EDT Music fans braved a torrential rainstorm in New Orleans for a benefit concert raising money for fishermen affected by the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. Lenny Kravitz, John Legend, Ani DiFranco, Allen Toussaint and the Preservation Hall Jazz Band , wit ...
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Lenny Kravitz, Ani DiFranco Added to Gulf Aid, Cypress Hill Boycotts Arizona
May 12, 2010 11:42 AM EDT In today's Daily Noise, brought to you by Fuse and Billboard.com, Lenny Kravitz and Ani DiFranco have been added to Gulf Aid, a May 16 concert to help families and the wetlands affected by the BP oil spill. Other scheduled performers include Mo ...
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Lenny Kravitz Among Headliners at Gulf Aid Benefit
May 10, 2010 5:14 PM EDT L enny Kravitz , Ani DiFranco and Mos Def are among the headliners for a benefit concert to support relief efforts for those affected by a massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Kravitz, who lives part-time in New Orleans, was the first to sign up ...
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Videos of the Week: Green Day Rocks 'Girls,' Erykah Badu Talks 'Window Seat,' Mos Def Goes Gabba
April 02, 2010 4:40 PM EDT In this week's top 10 videos that had everyone buzzing, Green Day rocks out in the desert, Erykah Badu continues to address the media storm around her "Window Seat" video ( watch 10 more naked videos here ), Mos Def dresses up for Yo ...
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Snoop Dogg, Estelle, Alex Chilton Tribute Bring SXSW to a Close
March 21, 2010 5:00 PM EDT South by Southwest drew to a close on a rare rainy, frigid Saturday (March 20) in Austin, Tx. The late Alex Chilton was memorialized by colleagues, friends and admirers on Saturday at South By Southewest -- with words and, most importantly, with mus ...
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Black Keys Becoming 'Brothers' This May
March 02, 2010 3:18 PM EST The members of Akron, Ohio-based rock duo the Black Keys may not be blood related, but the title of their upcoming album reflects their deep bond. Due May 18 on Nonesuch, "Brothers" is the Black Keys' sixth studio record and was large ...
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Grammy 2010 Winners List
January 31, 2010 8:30 PM EST Check out the winners for the major categories at the 52nd Annual Grammy Awards, as they are announced. RECORD OF THE YEAR WINNER: "Use Somebody" - Kings Of Leon "Halo" - Beyoncé I Gotta Feeling - The Black Eyed Peas "Poker ...
