HRS News

MTV announced today that Gnarls Barkley has been nominated for three Video Music Awards for their transatlantic history-making smash “Crazy.”

Nominated for Best Group Video, Best Direction and Best Editing, the innovative video gives a psychedelic twist to Rorschach Tests (those dumb-ass ink blot tests that are supposed to prove you’re insane/sane). “Crazy” was No.1 in the UK for 9 weeks in a row, and was the first song to attain this position strictly through download sales.

Gnarls (Cee-Lo and Dangermouse) will also be performing at Lollapalooza on August 5th, one of a number of North American gigs that will hit Boston, Philly, Atlantic City and more.

Scheduled to air live at 8 p.m. ET on Aug. 31, the 2006 MTV VMAs will take place at New York City’s Radio City Music Hall and include performances by Beyonce, Justin Timberlake, T.I., Ludacris and more.

www.myspace.com/gnarlsbarkley
www.gnarlsbarkley.com

90′s giants A Tribe Called Quest are hitting the road together for the first time in 8 years in support of, strangely enough a video game. Starting in September, the 2nd annual 2K Sports Bounce Tour will see the iconic trio support the NBA 2K7 game which Phife appears in as a character. All shows are already sold out and will include videogame tournaments and all kinds of fun stuff.

Currently on tour is another “new oldschool” group, The Pharcyde, famous for their quirky, backpacker tracks like “Passin’ Me By.” Appearing with them on some dates will be The Roots, Common and Talib Kweli.

Other acts on tour include Luke and Q, opening for Hollywood bigshot/hip-hop icon LL Cool J, Mary J. Blige, still going strong with opening act LeToya and of course do not forget the mammoth fourth annual Rock The Bells fest scheduled to knock you upside the head August 5 and 6. Don’t miss it!

More on ATCQ reunion

More on Rock The Bells 

Hiphoprnbsoul complete tour/festival list 

ThePharcyde.com

Prince is slated for a divorce… rather his wife of five years, Manuela, has filed for a divorce…

“His wife filed for divorce. This isn’t something that he wanted,” said Prince’s lawyer, Patrick Cousins. “There isn’t anything else. He didn’t counter sue. He is just trying to get it resolved.”

Hmmm… wonder if this had anything to do with Prince’s move to Los Angeles and subsequent bizarro behavior.

Read more…

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And in a bizarre twist, James Brown’s son-in-law is wanted for rape and writing bad checks. According to Atlanta’s WSFB-TV, just days after being named as a UN Goodwill ambassador, Darren Anthony Lumar was accused of rape by two former employees who said he added insult to injury by issuing rubber checks as a hush money. Russell Simmons, as well as Lumar were named ambassadors on Tuesday. A warrant was issued when Lumar was a no-show in court, but I get images of The Godfather of Soul coming after his ass with a baseball bat.

Fresh from touting his new low-carb fitness book, LL Cool J has just become an official Hollywood bigwig with a seven-figure production deal with CBS.

The deal’s structure, unusual in Tinseltown, gives the veteran rapper carte blanche to work under any production studio he wants. The deal also stipulates that Uncle L, along with Alchemy Entertainment’s Jason Barrett, will serve as producer on any project the hard-bodied Queens native works on.

The deal comes a a result of a fierce bidding war between at least two networks, according to subscription-based Variety.com.

Interest in LL, whose real name is Todd Smith, peaked when he turned in a critically-acclaimed guest-starring role last season on “House.” Since then, offers have been flooding LL, who put them on hold to promote his latest album Todd Smith.

The 38 year-old rapper is said to be focusing on dramas. He was last seen on TV in the long running sitcom “In The House,” which ended in 1999.

Thanks to Omar for the video link and pics from the video shoot. Enjoy…

Video: Justin Timberlake feat. Timbaland – “SexyBack

Video shoots stills

Just when you were wondering what happened to Sunshine Anderson, the “Heard It All Before” vocalist recently struck a deal with Matthew Knowles and his Music World Entertainment company (which he recently purchased back from financially unstable Sanctuary) and is set to drop Sunshine at Midnight, on her imprint, Shining Star Incorporated.

The sophomore set, expected in January 2007, is produced in part by Dr. Dre and Raphael Saadiq and features lead single “Something I Wanna Give You.”

“It’s been a long time so we just want everyone to focus on Sunshine again,” the singer told Billboard.com. “My vocals are raw and honest and pure, with a lot of emotion. So vocally not much has changed, but I’ve grown as a businesswoman. I’m more involved in this project and I was a little more inspired this time.”

Sunshine Anderson Official Site

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Hi-Tek is also gearing up to drop his self-produced sophomore set in October. It will be the first since his signing with Babygrande and will count as the second solo album from the producer/rapper best known for Reflection Eternal, his classic collaboration with Talib Kweli. Joining him this time will be Kweli along with Busta Rhymes, Snoop Dogg, Nas, Common, Raekwon, Slim Thug, Q-Tip and more.

babygrande.com

It’s confirmed that Bronx heavy Fat Joe has left Atlantic Records and will fly the indie route. Released via his own Terror Squad label, his seventh solo album, Me Myself & I will drop in October. Guests include Lil Wayne and The Game.

And speaking of The Game, it’s still a rumor, however strong, that the Compton emcee has fled the Aftermath coup and plans to join forces with Geffen. This unannounced notion persists even in light of Game announcing to MTV to be the “heir to the Aftermath dynasty.” However the Geffen symbol clearly displayed on the bottom right hand corner of the Game’s site seems to prove the rumor right.

Will Smith recently made a pilgramage back home to Philadelphia to participate in a march for peace.

The Charlie Mack Party 4 Peace march was organized in response to the city’s high murder rate. There were 380 killings in 2005 with projections for 2006 expected to exceed that number.

“We’re going to take this walk, hopefully draw a little attention to the problem and get some solutions,” the Fresh Prince told the press. His wife Jada Pinkett-Smith joined him.
“We need a new reality,” she said. “The idea that we’re supposed to sit back and wait for somebody to do something for us, that’s not going to happen.”
According to the ABC news, last week’s violence level in the city prompted the Philadelphia Daily News to call the National Guard to patrol the streets.

According to New York Daily News, when Jamie Foxx’s Unpredictable hit the top of the R&B chart, he became one of only four performers to have an Oscar and a No. 1 album. Now with the release of his latest movie, Miami Vice, the actor/singer is turning up the heat once again… especially, according to our reviewer, with a steamy shower scene showing up his bare posterior.

And speaking of butt naked, rumors of Foxx allegedly dating newly single Carmen Electra should keep Hollywood tongues a-wagging until the release of Foxx’s next movie, the highly anticipated adaptation of the classic Broadway musical Dreamgirls.

MV has inspired excitement and straight up nostalgia in fans, but even though the 38 Oscar-winner’s role isn’t as meaty as Farrell’s, Foxx told NYDN it’s all good.

“I look at it like this: it’s true to the television show, and the show was about Crockett,” says Foxx. “I was always [comfortable] with that. I just wanted to be in it, you know? I don’t care about how many lines I have or how many [scenes] I’m in.”

Review

Movie trailer Windows|Quicktime

Starting today (July 25), iTunes is offering Beyonce’s upcoming album available for purchase before the set is officially released.
As previously reported, B’Day, set for worldwide release September 4 (and U.S. release on September 5), boasts guests T.I., Ne-Yo and, of course, Beyonce’s boyfriend Jay-Z.

Read more…

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