HRS News

Finally Lupe Fiasco, whose debut seems to be living up to his last name, might catch a break. After some sinister force leaked his album not once but twice, some dark presence caused record sales authority, SoundScan, to count wrong and mess up Billboard’s weekly charts.

Billboard claims the top 6 albums on the Billboard 200 (including Justin Timberlake’s at No. 1) remain the same, but the majority of everything else might shift.

“Actually, this week’s Billboards numbers are off because of an error!!!” Fiasco said on a forum board, according to Soundslam. “Best Buy hadn’t turned in their sales… I must remind I was the number #1 seller at Best Buy this week. The numbers without Best Buy stand at 57,000…the new numbers will be out this Friday after they turn in… hahahahaha… GOD IS GREAT!!!!”

If this is the case, his set, Lupe Fiasco’s Food & Liquor, may very well end up No. 1 on the Top Rap Albums Chart and displace Chingy’s Hoodstar, but as of posting time the Billboard charts remain unchanged.

Quote source: Soundslam

Grammy-winning R&B/gospel sister act Mary Mary (Erica Campbell and Tina Campbell) is gearing up to deck the halls with A Mary Mary Christmas due October 10.

The set combines traditional Xmas fare with brand new Mary Mary joints, all formulated to heat up your eggnog. Check out the smooth original “Carol Of The Bells” and feel the cheer.

And for all y’all who can’t wait to get your holiday groove on, you can pre-order. Ho ho ho.

Tracklisting:

1. ‘Tis The Season
2. Only One
3. Merry Little Christmas (featuring Dontaé Winslow)
4. O Come All Ye Faithful
5. California Christmas
6. Still The Lamb
7. Call Him Jesus
8. The Real Thing
9. Hark The Herald Angels Sing
10. Carol Of The Bells
11. California Christmas Remix (featuring Damani)

AUDIO:

“Carol Of The Bells “Windows|Real|Quicktime

Mary Mary Myspace

It’s been three years since the “pitbull in a skirt” dropped an album, but just when folks were wondering “Where is the emcee?,” Eve is prepping for her upcoming Here I Am.

The Philly native’s fourth album is a joint effort between Dr. Dre’s Aftermath/Interscope imprint and Swizz Beatz’ Full Surface and features production from Dre as well as Pharrell Williams, Timbaland, Cool & Dre and Neo. There’s no release date set.

“It feels like a first album,” she told Billboard.com. “I haven’t been out in four years and I felt like I had to roll the dice. Why put out an album that sounds like [all the others]? I had to get out of the box — for myself.”

After a three-season run, Eve’s self-titled sitcom will not be returning as she found it impossible to focus on TV and making music at the same time.

Since their 2000 debut Let’s Get Free, dead prez has been synonymous with outspoken political views, while the Outlawz made a name for themselves as the rowdy collective started by the legendary Tupac Shakur.Since the two groups started collaborating, they dropped Can’t Sell Dope Forever back in July and now they’re coming together again with stic.man’s (dead prez) and Young Noble’s (Outlawz) upcoming release Soldier 2 Soldier.

The duo have a lot to say about the “system.”

“…America’s pimping this whole motherfucking planet,’ stic.man told us in an exclusive interview. “And guess what, everybody is living in the USA… because the US military is everybody’s police.”

Due October 3, Soldier 2 Soldier is just the second installment in what will be a long relationship between the two hip-hop groups.

“As far as working together this movement ain’t never going to stop,” Young Noble told HRS. For more, check our exclusive audio interview.

dead prez website – BossUp

Outlawz website – OneNationEntertainment

The past two weeks have seen an incredible influx of new stuff, some of it’s been great, a lot has been good, and some of it has been tired as all get out.

Of course, everybody’s buzzing about the latest from Miss Jackson (soon to be Mrs. Dupri). The fluffy 20 Y.O. has been getting pretty solid reviews and received a big boost from Ms. Thang’s Oprah appearance. Folks are saying the set will outperform Beyonce’s B’Day and they might just be right. Look out for her at No. 1 on next week’s charts.

Also new today is Ludacris‘ 5th album Release Therapy featuring the so-so “Money Maker” featuring the so-so Pharrell. We love Luda but the jury’s still out on this one.

Last week saw the debut of Da Hiphop Raskalz, a group of Harlem grade school kids, ages 5-10, who rap about math, dinosaurs and other kid friendly subjects. The kids are actually part of a music class led by musician Dave Soldier and should be the answer to the hundreds of parents emailing us looking for rap for the kiddies.

Lupe Fiasco‘s Food and Liquor has been leaked so much last week’s release is basically a non-event. Which is a shame because it really is a decent album. What’s more unfortunate is the unrelated senseless violence disrupting his UK flow. Other decent rap/hip-hop releases come from Fergie (that’s right I said it’s only decent), Nicolay, Pete Rock (actually this one’s brilliant) and Pigeon John. Decent R&B/soul sets include stuff from Lionel Ritchie, Vikter Duplaix, Mojoe while excellence come from the always amazing Aaron Neville who pours his New Orleans heart out on Bring It On Home: The Soul Classics.

As for the tired stuff… well there isn’t that much, but you might want to watch out for the new CD from Chingy (yawn) and our reviewer, Michelle Cavanaugh, didn’t have many nice words for Flow Season from Main Flow and 7L.

Complete September R&B/Soul release list

Complete September Rap/Hip-hop release list

After re-opening the case last month, the city of Los Angeles City Council reinstated a $50,000 reward for any information leading to the arrest and conviction of the killer(s) of Notorious B.I.G.

The still-unsolved murder happened almost 10 years ago when the Brooklyn rap icon was gunned down in the streets of Hollywood following a party at the Petersen Automotive Museum on March 9, 1997.

The saga continues…

Murdered D12 rapper, Proof, has gotten some justice as the man accused of shooting him, 28 year-old Mario Etheridge, was convicted Wednesday of two weapons charges after a three-day trial. Authorities say he shot Proof to defend his cousin, Keith Bender, who was shot and killed by Proof moments before. Since Etheridge has no priors, it’s possible he may not be handed jail time at his sentencing, scheduled for October 17.
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In the wake of telling Oprah she regretted apologizing for her “wardrobe malfunction,” Janet Jackson made her upcoming 20 Y.O album available for fans to listen to. You can log in at BET to hear the set.
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Usher, whose been helping the Great White Way rake in serious green, recently had his run in the hit Broadway musical Chicago extended. Originally booked for six weeks, he will be kept on until October 14. After opening night, the theater sold five times more than the usual ($200,000 total) while last week, it pulled in $728,907 for the show which normally garners $40,000 per day.
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Whitney Houston’s soon-to-be ex-husband, Bobby Brown, is reportedly taking the news of the divorce badly.

“I’m really saddened by the whole situation.” he told People Magazine.

Houston filed for a legal separation on September 8 after 14 rocky years of marriage.
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37-year-old Jennifer Lopez is reportedly turning to In Vitro Fertilization in order to have babies with her husband, singer Marc Anthony. she recently denied a rumor started by fellow pop singer Jesse McCartney who said she was already pregnant.
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Ashanti has finally made peace with Genard Parker, a producer who helped the 25-year-old vocalist record demos at his home studio when she was just 16. Parker sued the singer for millions, saying he’d helped her start her career, but now has decided to voluntarily dismiss the charges. There’s been no disclosure as to whether he was paid off.
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G-Unit’s Lloyd Banks is making the rounds in promotion of his upcoming Rotten Apple. The set features production by Eminem and is due out October 10.
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Hip-Hop icon Kurtis Blow has teamed up with Holy Hip-Hop Music to form Music Ministry Recordings. Back in July, Blow announced his new TV series Hip-Hop America and many learned the rap pioneer has been a Pastor for a while.
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“Don’t get it twisted, God has always existed,” Blow said. “In terms of these young people out here who love God but do not like to go to church, only Hip-Hop can bring them back to the church.

Quote Sources: People Magazine, Allhiphop.com

If you’re in New York City on September 26, make your way over to Harlem’s Rucker Park (155 St 8th Ave). There you’ll be able to throw down at the official album release party for Webstar’s upcoming Webstar Presents… Caught In The Web.

Far from the average album release event, the shindig will take the form of a bonafide block party offering free food, rides, games, and of course music.

There will be live performances of the album’s tracks including the smash hit “Chicken Noodle Soup” with Webstar and Young B, as well as a “Chicken Noodle Soup” dance contest, so bring your dancing shoes.

Diddy, Remy Ma, Dipset and Jae Millz are just some of the celebrities scheduled to attend what should be a good time. Check the official flyer here for more information.

Michael Jackson is reportedly planning on making his home in an Irish castle and opening a leprechaun theme park.

According to the gossip column over at MSNBC, the beleaguered singer who’s spent the past year living in Bahrain, has become enamored with the notion of settling down in Ireland, and is preparing to purchase a castle.

He also, allegedly, wants to share leprechaun magic with the world.

“Michael is deadly serious about this idea,” a source told Ireland’s Daily Mirror. “He loves the whole idea of leprechauns and the magic and myths of Ireland. It would cost around 500 million Euros [about $635 million] to do. He’s always wanted to open his own theme park and he thinks Ireland is the perfect place and it will all be built around the leprechaun theme.”

Thanks to Jeannette Walls for this gem.

Quote: MSNBC

Ciara is readying her highly anticipated sophomore album, Ciara: The Evolution, and the set promises to show how the young lady’s evolved over the past couple years. Although a lot of folks identify her as that “crunk-n-b” singer, the Grammy nominated performer swears she’s expanded beyond that.

“When ‘Goodies’ came out, people labeled me the ‘Princess of Crunk N B,’ but that was just one song, one sound,” she said. “My first album had a much bigger variety than that, and I’m taking that even further with Ciara: The Evolution. For this album, I took my inspiration from many different influences and the sound really reflects that.”

Production help comes from heavyweights such as Rodney Jerkins, Pharrell Williams, will.i.am, and longtime collaborator Lil Jon, as well as others.
And while her 3-times platinum 2004 debut, Goodies, introduced us to a teen, her sophomore set shows a grown up Ciara writing or co-writing every song on the album as well as co-producing the majority of the tracks.

The only thing that hasn’t changed about the Atlanta native is her love for dance tracks.

“The world loves to dance, so I wanted to give them music to dance to, but at the same time, the message is so much stronger. This time around, I’m taking people into my world and letting them see more of who I truly am.”

Look for the set’s first single “Promise,” due October 16. The album’s due to hit shelves December 5.