It's no secret that J. Cole holds Nas in the utmost respect. Peter Rosenberg claims that when Cole's hero heard the track "Work Out," he reached out to Cole to express his disappointment in the song, by saying that he expected better from the new emcee. Supposedly, a song from Born Sinner will tackle the topic of how J. Cole felt to disappoint Nas. It looks like things might get personal on Cole's album. We'll have to wait and see. Born Sinner will arrive on June 18.
There’s no way to deny the fact that 2013 has been Chance The Rapper‘s year. With the critically-acclaimed Acid Rap ‘tape and his upcoming tour with Mac Miller, Chano has solidified status as the next-”big thing” in Hip Hop. To commemorate the all the success achieved so far, the young emcee has put up on his site a bunch of cool new merchandise for fans to buy and support. Besides cool “Acid” washed and “Juice” t-shirts, there are also stickers, posters and a dope lighter. Check out some pics of the merchandise here and go cop it here.
Rising songstress, Lili K, has already given fans and listeners more than a handful of great records even though her first EP came out just two years ago. Nonetheless, her recent work with local Hip Hop artists has shown us a quick preview on her growth as an artist and Lili’s forthcoming project should be her best yet. Today, the Chicago Reader announced the official name for the EP, called My Favorite Things, via their Gossip Wolf feature and also stated that it has a tentative release date for July.
During my high school days, Walkmans were still the go-to portable music devices amongst my peers. Just around the time Apple released its first iPods, and before the entire music industry was revolutionized with the focus towards digital releases, CDs were the norm, with Sony being the biggest name in the game with its huge selection of CD, tape, and portable radio players. Of course, a lot has changed over the past decade, with most high school kids probably unfamiliar with the “Walkman” brand. Even outside of music devices, Sony’s reputation as the top dog in consumer electronics has dropped a bit with other companies like Samsung and Microsoft rising up to take a chunk out of Sony’s hold on the electronics industry.
Nowadays, Sony’s largest earnings come from its various entertainment divisions, including Sony Pictures Entertainment (film and TV) and Sony Music Entertainment (self-explanatory). Last week, Daniel Loeb, chief executive of the hedge fund The Third Point that owns the largest stake in Sony at 6.5%, suggested that Sony sell a portion of its Entertainment holdings in order to amass larger profits from the divisions. Loeb’s proposed idea would involve Sony selling a 15-20% stake in its Entertainment divisions to existing shareholders, allowing Sony to focus on its electronics division, which includes the aforementioned Walkman line of products. The proposal, Loeb predicts, would result in a 60% boost in share value.
Of course, Sony is reluctant to sell off portions of its most profitable divisions, especially considering Sony Pictures’ stance as one of the top TV/film production/distribution studios with franchises like Ghostbusters and Spider-Man, as well as various franchises under Sony Pictures-owned Columbia Pictures (Skyfall, Men in Black, etc). Sony Music, meanwhile, is Bruce Springsteen’s label, whereas Sony/ATV Music Publishing holds the rights to The Beatles’ and Michael Jackson’s catalog along with the Jackson estate.
A board meeting has been scheduled to discuss Loeb’s proposal which will determine Sony’s official decision on the matter. For now, this is an interesting development that could shape the future of Sony and its various divisions.
[via Bloomberg, via The Verge, via New York Times]
The string of summer hip-hop releases continues to lengthen, as now No Malice looks to get in on the action. The Clipse rhymer here drops off the trailer coinciding with his Hear Ye Him solo project, which is now scheduled to arrive on July 2. Will you be copping the anticipated work? Let us know by commenting underneath, after viewing the trailer above.
It looks like Beyoncé is not pregnant after all. Jay-Z took matters into his own hands to quash the baby rumors by responding to a congratulatory e-mail from the program director Ebro Darden of New York’s Hot 97. According to Darden, Jay-Z wrote:
“It’s not true. The news is worse than blogs.”
Reports emerged last Friday intending to use the pregnancy rumor to explain Bey's recent ailments on tour, including a show she canceled last Tuesday in Belgium because of dehydration and exhaustion. In addition, multiple sources at the Met Gala told the New York Post that the pop icon was expecting.
I know we have some gamers reading Ruby Hornet, right? I’m super excited for the upcoming PlayStation 4, especially after Sony officially announced the console at a press conference back in February. However, questions arose when the console itself wasn’t publicly revealed. It appears that Sony’s ready to show off the new console on June 10th ahead of this year’s E3 (Electronic Entertainment Expo). In the teaser video below, Sony hints at what the console looks like, alerting fans to keep watch for the press conference. More information on the PlayStation 4 can be found here.
With the next Xbox (rumored to be called Xbox Infinity) set to make its debut at E3 as well, 2013 is shaping up to be a huge year for the next generation of video games.
In an attempt to appeal to younger generations, Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer confirmed the purchase of blogging service Tumblr for a startling $1.1 billion. Tumblr, a site known for its assortment of GIF-heavy blog posts, is popular amongst younger crowds. Mayer wrote a Tumblr post herself, promising “not to screw it up.” A good sign of Yahoo’s promise is retaining Tumblr founder David Karp in the same role as CEO. Karp also assured no major changes would be made, stating, “Our team isn’t changing. Our roadmap isn’t changing. Tumblr gets better faster with more resources to draw from.”
However, what does the acquisition mean for both Yahoo visitors and Tumblr loyalists? Tumblr might see an increase in advertisements as a way for Yahoo to monetize the site. However, a huge problem potential advertisers face is the large number of Tumblr accounts sharing pornographic material. Yahoo might claim to act as transparent as possible, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they begin to come down on the more adult-driven blogs. On the plus side, popular Tumblr blogs could be displayed on Yahoo’s front page.
Only time will tell exactly how the acquisition will affect either party, but one thing’s for sure: Yahoo’s ready to jump back into the fray alongside Google. Who knows? Maybe we’ll hear the classic “Yahooooo!” yodel from yesteryear once again.
[via CNN Money]
Of course to coincide with the theme behind the project's title, here we get a look at the devilish cover for J. Cole's forthcoming sophomore album, Born Sinner. The artwork notes a somewhat evil-looking figurine with a crown hovering over its head. After rumors of another delay, now word is that the Roc Nation artist may release the work a week earlier than its June 25 projected date. Nothing has been confirmed, but per usual, check back with us to find out. What do you guys think of the Born Sinner artwork?
As previously reported, The Simpsons episode "The Saga of Carl," which aired last night, featured "Icelandic, ambient moods to our goofy cartoon show." Accordingly, the episode, which centers around Homer fleeing to the homecountry of his friend Carl Carlson, offered music and a cameo appearance by Icelandic outfit Sigur Rós (11:15) as well a surprise feature by Björk (17:20). You can watch it here.
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