HRS News

The latest from the under-rated Talib Kweli bows this week at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 as well as the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums and Top Rap Albums charts.

Featuring a ton of big name guests such as Kanye West, UGK, Musiq, Roy Ayers, Jean Grae, Raheem DeVaughn, Pete Rock and KRS-One, this set is being called a “comeback” for the conscious Brooklyn emcee.

Check out the latest video from the set. “Hot Thing” is smoking.

Hip-hop/R&B Charts – Top Singles and Albums For The Week Of Sep. 8, 2007

VIDEO: Talib Kweli – “Hot Thing”

Keyshia Cole is one of the acts scheduled to perform “The Star Spangled Banner” at the kickoff of the 2007 NFL season.

The “NFL opening Kickoff 2007 Presented By Sprint” will take place on Thursday, September 6, and will see the R&B powerhouse joined by the Voices Of Unity Youth Choir from Ft. Wayne, Indiana. The event will also feature a performance by rock legend and Indiana native, John Mellencamp, all in honor of Super Bowl champion Indianapolis Colts and the city of Indianapolis.

You can see the show from 8 – 8:30 PM ET on NBC and the NFL Network before the season opener between the Indianapolis Colts and the New Orleans Saints (NBC, Westwood One Radio Sports, 8:30 PM ET). Additionally, the live pregame broadcast will also be available for the first time, via NFL Mobile on Sprint’s wireless service.

In related news, Cole’s sophomore set, Just Like You, is due for release on September 25th.

http://www.keyshiacole.com

http://www.myspace.com/keyshiacole

Acclaimed newbie Emily King has dropped her highly-anticipated debut East Side Story which features lead single, “Walk In My Shoes.”

Check out the bonus version of the track, featuring Lupe Fiasco, below, as well as an interview with the New York native.

According to her press release:

Emily’s eclectic range of heroes and influences can be heard, from the Beatles and Nas to Sarah Vaughan and Radiohead, from Michael Jackson to Neil Young and Lauryn Hill. “Every record that I’ve ever heard has been an influence on me,” she says, “there are so many things in this world to talk about.”

King is fresh off a tour with the newly revamped (and we hear disappointing) Floetry.

AUDIO: “Walk In My Shoes” (Remix featuring Lupe Fiasco)

N.O.R.E. will drop his next album, Noreality, today (August 28th). The set features guest appearances from Kanye West, Three 6 Mafia, Swizz Beatz, Jadakiss, Styles P., Kurupt, Capone and more.

Check out the video for the lead single “Set It Off” feat. Swizz Beatz & J. Ru$$
with cameos by Fat Joe & DJ Khaled.

VIDEO: N.O.R.E. “Set It Off”

www.norealitymusic.com
www.crackspace.com/nore

Featuring 32 new tracks, UGK’s chart-topping double-album, Underground Kingz, boasts collabos with T.I., Rick Ross, Slim Thug, Charlie Wilson, Raheem DeVaughn, Three 6 Mafia, and many more.

Other rap releases this month include posthumous 2Pac album Evolution: Duets & Remixes, a solid remix set that follows-up Koch’s Nu-Mixx Klazzics. Look for new stuff from Public Enemy, Ali & Gipp, King Britt, Boot Camp Clik and more.

Rap/Hip-hop releases for August

Keep an eye open for the upcoming release from Hi-Tek called Hi-Teknology 3: Underground. Featuring promising independent acts, the November release is the follow-up to 2006’s Hi-Teknology 2: The Chip. In addition to unknowns, the set will also put the spotlight on some soon-to-be-announced well-known talents.

www.hi-teknology.com
www.hiphopcrack.com/hi-tek

Cnn offers an article exporing the presidential candidates power, or lack of it, with the hip-hop generation.

Barack Obama might not be leading the Democratic presidential field in national polls, but the freshman senator has managed to capture the imagination of the hip-hop community, comprised mostly of rap artists, music industry professionals, activists and young fans of all races.

Despite Obama’s sometimes critical opinion of rap music, the candidate’s name is being dropped on iPods, car stereos and music Web sites across the country.

Take one of the summer’s biggest songs: In his new single “The People,” Common uses the lyric: “My raps ignite the people like Obama,” while the song’s music video flashes on an “Obama ’08″ bumper sticker.

Read the entire article

Thanks to reader Casey Stagolis for this live clip of CB and TP doing their thing onstage.

“Kiss, Kiss”

After being forced from their homes by a brutal, decade-long civil war, six Sierra Leonean musicians found an unlikely form of healing to deal with losing everything — they formed a band. The band’s sound — a mixture of home-grown West African beats, roots-reggae and Western-influenced R&B combined with heartfelt lyrics which condemn war and encourage social change — gave hope to their countrymen and has been praised around the world, leading to the band’s first U.S. tour this summer.

Sierra Leone’s Refugee All Stars chronicles the courageous band over three years, from Guinean refugee camps back to their war-ravaged homeland, as they spread a message of peace and tolerance. Serving as a unique tribute to the power of music and the celebration of the human spirit, this award-winning film from directors Zach Niles and Banker White, will be available on DVD for the first time August 14.

Streaming Video – see the Trailer:
http://www.newvideo.com/ess/slra/slra.wmv (Windows Media)
http://www.newvideo.com/ess/slra/slra.mov (Quicktime)

In honor of the new Omillio Sparks’ album, The Payback, due for an Aug. 28 release, 1200Squad.com, Remixmag.com, Geminidj.com and YakPak.com are sponsoring a contest to remix his party single “DJ Turn It Up.”

The winning entry gets the following:

– Remix blast on the 1200Squad.com
– Remix featured on a future Cornerstone Mixtape
– Remix featured on Omillio Sparks MySpace page
– Gemini PS-626 mixer
– Yak Pak DJ Bag (fit for vinyl and Serato)
– V.I.P. pass to any upcoming Remix Hotel
– 10 runners up will win a free subscription to Remix magazine

View prizes

All MP3s must be submitted by Sept. 3, 2007 to: omilliosparksremix@gmail.com.

For more info visit www.myspace.com/sparksmusic1 or www.omilliosparks.com

AUDIO: Omillio Sparks – DJ Turn It Up

You can download the acapella here.