B13 Peer Review

Stevie J is reported to be pulling out all the stops in a dire attempt to fake it till he makes it. That’s because insiders say the Love & Hip Hop Atlanta cast member is planning to land and operate a dope house – so he can secure the funds to front during the second season of video production. But forming a baller facade may be secondary on Stevie J’s list of priorities – as HSK has exclusively learning the producer on hiatus is struggling just to pay his rent. We’re told because Stevie J and Joseline Hernandez have officially split, he no longer serves as the aspiring recording artist’s manager - and the 30% he still receives solely from her  club bookings  just isn’t cutting it -With such bookings said to be beginning to become scarce gigs for Joseline, Stevie and Mimi Faust. We’re told that’s left the trio with no choice but to drop their appearance fees from their original asking price of $25K to just a thousand dollars per gig. Here’s the drop: “Ste...

Dre protégé navigates urban jungle with ace storytelling, retro grooves   Hometown : Compton, California Backstory:  Lamar, a member of the Black Hippy crew (with fellow L.A. luminaries Schoolboy Q and Ab-Soul), caught the attention of Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre with his 2011 debut; Dre helped produce good kid. Formative Moment : At nine, Lamar got to watch Tupac Shakur and Dr. Dre shoot the video for "California Love." Hot Clip:  Watch exclusive footage of the rising rapper listening to his album cut "Bitch, Don't Kill My Vibe" alongside two of hip-hop's biggest luminaries: Dr. Dre and André 3000. Listen to 'good kid, m.AA.d city' Do visit our group of indie artists on facebook @  https://www.facebook.com/groups/MoviesnMusic/

By   Chris Willman November 1, 2012 11:10 AM ET Steven Tyler and Carrie Underwood Ethan Miller/Getty Images Bon Jovi already went Nashville a while ago, but is the world ready for a country-fied Aerosmith? That's what they'll be getting with a Steven Tyler/Carrie Underwood that appears on the group's new album,  Music From Another Dimension! , due in stores Nov. 6. Steven Tyler tells Yahoo! Music that he's certain the song will be a radio smash. But as much benefit as there might be to including a country power ballad featuring one of America's most wholesomely leggy stars, how does that square with this comeback CD being touted as a return to seminal 1970s hard-rock form? After all, Tammy Wynette wasn't making any guest appearances on  Rocks,  was she? [Related: Watch Carrie Underwood Music Videos on Y! Music] Apparently, there was a minority faction within the band that wondered that very thing. Tyler told us how the duet sponta...

Young Buck was sentenced to three years in prison on federal weapon charges. It seems every other day a rapper we know is going to jail lately, and you can add Young Buck  to that list.   Unlike Beanie Sigel , Buck was not up on tax evasion, (from  MSNBC ) he was sentenced to two 18 month sentences for federal weapon charges.   The judge ordered him to serve the two sentences concurrently, so Young Buck will be in prison for three years.   Hopefully Buck can get the sentence reduced.  Check out his "I'm Ready Now" video below.  [Update: News video added detailing Young Buck's sentencing] NASHVILLE, Tenn. -  Nashville rapper Young Buck wants a federal court to toss out his prison sentence. The rapper, whose real name is David Brown, is currently in a Mississippi prison after pleading guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm. However, he claims the 18-month prison term handed to him is a "complete...

Omari Hardwick  is who some would call a cunning linguist. At the end of 2011 Hardwick lent his seasoned spoken word talents to his friend  Eric Roberson’s  revealing lament, “Love’s Withdrawal” from his album  Mr. Nice Guy . The song was a raw and vulnerable look into a man’s longing for a woman that transcends the flesh. Confessional couplets like, “ The lines on my palms say I’m too young to be this strung/But if I don’t taste you soon, I’m done! ” touch upon a pain that men only whisper, but it was something Omari felt needed to be shared. “When we created that template of what a man goes through emotionally when he is separated from a woman, the lovers withdrawal, we created it to be of obvious entertainment,” Omari tells TheUrbanDaily.com.  “But we definitely wanted to speak to brothers who were afraid to express what they felt. “ “Love’s Withdrawal” was born during a 5 a.m. conversation at Eric Roberson’s New Jersey basement as the two men...

Having the opportunity to co-star beside a suave British intelligence agent such as James Bond, requires a lot of skill and technique. According to 36-year-old actress Naomie Harris, prepping for her starring role in,  Skyfall , proved to be more strenuous than she originally expected. While promoting the  franchise's 23rd installment of Bond , Harris took time out to speak with the Huffington Post about her new role as 007's sidekick, in addition to her thoughts on Idris Elba possibly becoming the first black James Bond. How would you describe your character, Eve, as the latest Bond Girl? She's very independent, very playful. And what's really exciting for me about the role is that you see her going toe to toe with Bond. She's out in the field as a field agent, sees herself just as capable as him firing sniper rifles, Walther MPKs, and just having a blast at the beginning of the movie. Things go a bit wrong and she begins to question whether or not she...

HIPHOPDX EDITOR'S RATING: 1 2 3 4 5 AVERAGE USER RATING: 4.18 17  people have voted. 5  is the most popular ranking. 9  people gave it a perfect five. Cast your vote » "Napalm" finds X fluctuating between trying to recapture the sound he perfected when he was cavorting with Aftermath, and exploring elder statesmanship. Revisionist history hasn’t been kind to  Xzibit . Lost in jokes about MTV’s “Pimp My Ride” and internet memes is the fact that for about seven years, Mr. X to the Z had a run in Hip Hop that most emcees could only dream of. After putting in work in the mid-90s with  Tha Alkaholiks  and the  Likwit Crew , X released an acclaimed sophomore in  40 Days & 40 Nightz , and a relationship with  Dr. Dre  and the Aftermath machine soon followed. Xzibit may have never reached the heights of an  Eminem  or a  Snoop Dogg , but to lump X into the same category as a Hittman, a B...