this is the final cover that will NOT make it to news stands. (Update: it will be on newstands only, subscribers get screwed)
From Editor-In-Chief Danyel Smith:
On behalf the VIBE CONTENT staff (the best in this business), it is with great sadness, and with heads held high, that we leave the building today. We were assigning and editing a Michael Jackson tribute issue when we got the news. It’s a tragic week in overall, but as the doors of VIBE Media Group close, on the eve of the magazine’s sixteenth anniversary, it’s a sad day for music, for hip hop in particular, and for the millions of readers and users who have loved and who continue to love the VIBE brand. We thank you, we have served you with joy, pride and excellence, and we will miss you.
Danyel Smith
the former Chief Content Officer VIBE Media Group
& Editor in Chief, VIBE
As previously reported, Jay-Z has inked a distribution deal with Sony for his Roc Nation label, the Brooklyn-born rapper confirmed to Billboard last week.
“Sony is Roc Nation. That’s where Roc Nation’s going through,” Jay-Z told Billboard.com on Friday (June 29).
As for the deal he recently signed with Atlantic, he clarifies that it is a one-off situation for his upcoming album, “Blueprint 3,” slated for a September 11th release.
“That’s pretty much just for this specific album. Roc Nation — we’re experts in marketing and making records. But we do distribution deals,” he says. “On this one, we’re working directly with the Atlantic staff, which is Julie [Greenwald], Lyor [Cohen], Kevin [Liles] and Kyse [Mike Kyser]. For the rest of the Roc Nation artists, we did a distribution deal with Sony.”
Jay-Z also told Billboard he originally approached Def Jam with the same distribution deal idea four years ago, but was shut down. “You have to figure, this is like four years ago, and to them it was just like, ‘Are you crazy? No! Make a song!’” he said. “To me it was like, I’ve sold companies for huge amounts of money. I’m an entrepreneur — that’s what I’ve been all my life. I can’t just sit here and make records and not do anything else. Why wouldn’t you want to do this with me? I felt under-utilized.”
When his Def Jam contract was nearing expiration and he had one last album to release with the label (in this case, “Blueprint 3″), Jay-Z opted to buy himself out of the contract for a reportedly $5 million price tag.
Mixtapes are a movement. For some, giving away music could mean much more than trying to sell their tunes – but Drake played the game right. He started giving away his mixtape So Far Gone earlier this year, and the word of mouth spread with fans, his peers and record-company executives: a recent New York concert found [Warner Music exec] Lyor Cohen in the crowd, standing among screaming fans, along with Kanye West and Talib Kweli.
Well, the wait is over: After weeks of speculation, Drake has chosen to go with the home team and sign with Lil Wayne’s Young Money Records, according to a source close to the situation. The deal breaks down as a joint venture between Young Money and Cash Money, with Universal Republic distributing. Drake’s management was adamant that he should be viewed as an independent artist, although Universal will distribute the project.
“Today is a definitely a comfortable day for me, having my team now that’s been in place for a couple of years. It’s just a great day,” Drake told MTV News recently in New York. “It’s something new, but it feels familiar.”
Drizzy is excited about having a corporate push to help with the momentum he’s gained independently.
“Independent is a funny term,” he told MTV News on the set of his video for “Best I Ever Had.” “I can go independent, but you need distribution, period. You need somebody to distribute your record and you need that army that a label has to really push the record.”
So Far Gone became this year’s most talked-about mixtape because, in effect, Drake combines the best of both worlds by being a strong singer and rapper. His singing talent is prominent on the tracks “HoustonAtlantaVegas,” “Little Bit” and “A Night Off”; his rapping on songs like “Uptown” and “Ignorant Sh–” is as sharp as a broken bottle in a barroom brawl. He rhymes are just as strong: “The game needs change and I’m the muthaf—-n’ cashier” (from “Successful”); “Account’s in the minus, yet I’m rolling round the f—ing city like your highness” (”Say What’s Real”).
His popularity has gotten so strong that Drake performed – along with Weezy and the Young Money crew – in a prime slot at the BET Awards on Sunday night.
Drake’s official debut LP, Thank Me Later, is currently in production and due later this year, with Kanye West, Lil Wayne and Jay-Z listed as possible collaborators. This summer, look for Drake on tour with Lil Wayne, Young Jeezy and Soulja Boy Tell’em as part of the Young Money Presents: America’s Most Wanted Music Festival.
anyone else disappointed?? please Drake, do us a favor and only have one Lil Wayne feature on the album (because i know he has to be on there)
I think BET put together a great MJ tribute given they only had 2 whole days to prepare…and of course its impressive they got New Edition WITH Bobby Brown to do the Jackson 5 tribute…shouts to yardie for all the clips:
Jay Z – DOA: “I might sent this to Drake & Weezy”
Drake / Lil Wayne / Birdman Medley:
New Edition – Jackson 5 Tribute
Keri Hilson – Turnin Me On / Knock You Down (she kilt it)
Jamie Foxx f/ T-Pain, Snoop, Travis Barker – Blame It
Soulja Boy – Turn My Swag On (haha, he actually hopped out a bed)
Beyonce – Aye Maria
Jamie Foxx f/ Neyo & Fabolous – She Got Her Own Remix: