Iggy Azalea Signs Deal With Island Records

Posted on April 23, 2013 by 0c4g78x

By Sowmya Krishnamurthy

Iggy Azalea has inked a new record deal with Island Records, part of the Island Def Jam family.

“I am elated to be a part of the Island Def Jam family!” the “Work” rapper shared. “…Island Records was attuned to the type of artist I am…I couldn’t have asked for a more understanding and aspirational group of people to work with.”

Last year, Iggy signed with Interscope Records and T.I.’s Grand Hustle label. Interscope honcho Jimmy Iovine dubbed the Australian model and former XXL Freshman as the “next Tupac” while T.I. was slated to executive produce her debut, then titled The New Classic. “Tip reached out just to meet me, to say hello, and I found a position for him, conveniently, where he could be used,” Azalea explained then. “And he was down with it; that’s the truth.”

Iggy assured fans that she was still a part of the Grand Hustle family on Twitter today, despite the new signing. “No. That doesn’t mean I’m not in hustle gang. Save it. Still in it. Still on the hustle gang album. Friendship doesn’t require contracts.”

Iggy’s official single “Work” is out now and The New Classic is slated for release sometime this year.

Logic Signs Def Jam Deal After Landing On XXL Freshman Cover

Posted on April 15, 2013 by 0c4g78x

Some fans were surprised to see 22-year-old Logic on XXL’s 2013 Freshman class cover, but those who were unfamiliar and took the time to research found that the Maryland rapper already has a huge following, and he can spit.

Logic’s biggest hits thus far include the YouTube staples “The Spotlight” and “All I Do,” but there’s likely plenty more in store now that he’s officially inked a deal with Def Jam Records and has No I.D. signed on to executive produce his upcoming debut album.

“I’m excited to take this next step in my career,” Logic said in a statement after inking his deal. “It’s incredible for Def Jam and Visionary Music Group to work together and the opportunity to collaborate with a living legend like NO I.D. is priceless. I’m very humbled to be apart of the most iconic hip hop label of all time.”

In the meantime, look out for his new mixtape Young Sinatra: Welcome to Forever which is scheduled to drop on May 7 and will be followed by the “VMG Welcome to Forever Tour” with C Dot Castro and Skizzy Mars. See dates below.

VMG WELCOME TO FOREVER TOUR

May   14        Atlanta, GA                 Terminal West
16        Dallas, TX                   House of Blues
17        San Antonio, TX       White Rabbit
18        Austin, TX                   Stubb’s Jr.
19        Houston, TX               House of Blues
21        New York, NY          Best Buy Theater (XXL Freshman)
23        Boulder, CO                Fox Theatre
24        Fort Collins, CO          Aggie Theatre
25        Colorado Spgs., CO   The Black Sheep
26        Albuquerque, NM        Sunshine
28        Tucson, AZ                  Rock
29        Scottsdale, AZ            Martini Ranch
30        San Diego, CA             House of Blues
31        Los Angeles, CA         House of Blues

Ju 1   San Francisco, CA      The Fillmore
3          Santa Barbara, CA     Velvet Jones
4          Sacramento, CA         Ace of Spades
6          Portland, OR               Peter’s Room
7          Vancouver, B.C.         Fortune Sound Club
8          Seattle, WA                 The Crocodile
10        Salt Lake City, UT      The Complex
11        Denver, CO                The Summit Music Hall
12        Lawrence, KS             Granada Theater
14        Minneapolis, MN         Varsity
15        Milwaukee, WI            The Rave II (Downstairs)
16        Detroit, MI                   Shelter
18        Cleveland, OH            HOB Cambridge Room
19        Chicago, IL                  House of Blues
21        Boston, MA                 Paradise
22        New York, NY            Irving Plaza
23        Silver Spring, MD       Fillmore
24        Philadelphia, PA          Theatre of Living Arts (TLA)
26        Toronto, Ont.               Mod Club

XXL’s Freshman Class Hitting The Road For Tour

Posted on April 5, 2013 by 0c4g78x

By Maurice Bobb

This year’s XXL Freshman class is one of the magazine’s most celebrated covers in years, so it only make sense—dollars and cents, that is—that the publication take the rising hip-hop stars out on tour and capitalize on the buzz.

“The goal we try to make with Freshman is to show that we support new talent [and] to give opportunities to people who will kind of take a long time for them to come around and get that opportunity or be on the cover,” XXL Editor-in-Chief Vanessa Satten told MTV News last month.

Monster Energy is teaming up with XXL and Idol Roc Entertainment for the groundbreaking “Monster Energy Outbreak Tour Presents XXL Freshmen Live 2013.” The tour will showcase TDE affiliates Ab-Soul and Schoolboy Q, Mr. “All Gold Everything” Trinidad James, Action Bronson, Joey Bada$$, Kirko Bangz, Logic, Travis Scott, Angel Haze and Dizzy Wright, who earned his place as the 10th Freshman during an online pole held on XXL’s website.

“Monster Energy has had a long-standing relationship with music, and in particular, a rich history of getting involved with young artists early on and showing their support which is the very essence of the Outbreak Tour,” said Outbreak Tour producer, Steve Glazer. “XXL does an incredible job at curating the Freshmen talent and just like last year we’ve once again married these two culturally influential brands to bring forth a one of a kind tour that truly unveils the new class of hip hop stars.”

The tour will start in Philadelphia, PA (May 1) with Big K.R.I.T. and Action Bronson, then hit Los Angeles, CA (May 18) with Bronson, Ab-Soul and Schoolboy Q performing for their home base and move on to New York City (May 21) with all of the Freshman class hitting the stage. More dates will be announced soon, but Chief Keef, who got the honorary nod as the 11th Freshman, is not scheduled to perform on the tour at this time. His inclusion on the much-debated cover drew ire from the annual cover’s most vehement detractors, but Satten and her team felt that it was “wrong for him to not be part of that group.”

“We locked Chief Keef down as one of the first Freshmen, and that was back in October,” Satten said about the Finally Rich MC. “There was no album, there was no jail bid, there was no legal drama. So that happened after we locked him down.”

XXL’s 2013 Freshmen cover arrives on stands nationally April 23rd.

Who Is Dizzy Wright? Get Introduced To The Vegas Rapper

Posted on April 5, 2013 by 0c4g78x

Every rapper is fueled by his or her personal ambitions, but becoming a success story also means putting your city on the map, and Dizzy Wright — who recently landed on XXL‘s Freshman cover — is doing just that for Las Vegas. The 22-year-old has been rapping for almost a decade already, and after releasing his Free SmokeOut Conversations mixtape, debut album Smokeout Conversations and The First Agreement EP last year, he also clinched a 30-city headlining tour by landing a coveted spot on the XXL list as the “People’s Champ.” Read the full story at MTV News.

XXL’s 2013 Freshman Class: Ab-Soul, Joey BadA$$, Chief Keef, Action Bronson

Posted on March 27, 2013 by 0c4g78x

By Maurice Bobb

Timing is everything. Ahead of their appearance on “RapFix Live” today on MTV Jams and MTV.com at 4 p.m. ET, Trinidad James and Schoolboy Q, who are both making noise in the game in their own ways—James for “All Gold Everything” and Q for his upcoming album, Oxymoron—made XXL magazine’s highly-debated Freshman Class cover.

The magazine’s May/June 2013 issue, which is highlighted with the cover line “2013’s Freshman Class Best Ever?,” will hit newsstands shortly and will feature some of rap’s most celebrated neophytes: Joey Bada$$, Ab-Soul, Action Bronson, Kirko Bangz, Travi$ Scott, Angel Haze, Dizzy Wright, Logic and Chief Keef, who is listed as the “11th Freshman.”

Every year, the magazine’s freshmen class is celebrated, shunned and discussed at length, but as much as the choices draw ire from artists, pundits and fans, it’s still one of the most anticipated media events of the year in hip-hop. Past alums include B.o.B, J. Cole, Kendrick Lamar and MGK, who all graced previous Freshman covers before their major-label debuts.

While fans have likely heard of most of the MCs on the list, they may not be as familiar with the Maryland-bred spitter Logic, who took to Twitter this morning after the cover reveal to celebrate his big break with this tweet: “From the basement with my team, to magazine covers.” See what other hip-hop heads had to say below.

@CurrenSy_Spitta Some respectable selections made on the ##Q##13 XXL freshman cover….

@SkinnySaan best list since the 2010 list

@jmaack Really? Chief keef and Trinidad are on the XXL freshman list?

@Autopilot_Jet Stalley def deserved XXL freshman

@Josh_Is_4U2NV So the XXL Freshmen are out and its tight. Except for missing Casey Veggies, Domo Genesis, Earl Sweatshirt, Childish Gambino & Chris Webby

@NegroGotWings FINALLY ACTION BRONSON GETS THE HYPE HE DESERVES

@soooo_amazing Action Bronson & Angel Haze on the xxl freshman cover? word!

@guccisilly026 dont mind this xxl freshman class thank god ab souls on the list

@four1111s i ironically f— with trinidad james and chief keef but cmon son what are they doing on that xxl freshman list?

@_TeeLittle If I was Schoolboy Q or Ab-Soul I wouldn##Q##t even wanna be on the XXL freshman list, they aren##Q##t freshmen.

@jas0nzula Action Bronson is on 2013 XXL Freshman Cover. Whaddddddddduuupppppp!!!

@ASAP_Judy Congrats to Joey bada$$, Ab-Soul, and Schoolboy Q for making it on the XXL Freshman cover!

@_CabinFever_ this is the best XXL freshman list yet but I still have to call it whack cuz @iamKingLos aint on there, like how?!

@iMadeSmartCool The XXL Freshman Class this year is so lame. XXL got sick of picking wrong so now they pick guys that have already made it. #XXLJuniorClass

@FuckinAldinnn 2013 XXL Freshman Class List just sucks. it gets worse every year.

@JYungStar My Boy @DizzyWright on the XXL Freshman Class 2013 Congrats bro ! Keep puttin Vegas ON ! #SinCity

[News] Gucci Mane Thanks Mariah Carey, Talks "Trap God 2," Riff Raff & "Spring Breakers"

Posted on January 21, 2013 by VENOM

Gucci Mane thanks Nick Cannon Mariah Carey before talking about “Trap God 2″ “Spring Breakers.”

As 2013 continues to reveal new projects, Gucci Mane has announced that this will be a big year for his movement. In a recent interview with XXL, Gucci discussed a few reasons for this. He shared that he is currently working on Trap God 2: Spring Break Edition, a mixtape he will release when his film debut in Spring Breakers is released.

Gucci also explained how Maria Carey is responsible for his start in films.

“I gotta give all the credit to Mariah Carey,” he shared. “I thank her for that. Also I want to give a shout out to Nick Cannon and Mariah and their family. I thank her for introducing me to Brett Ratner, who did Rush Hour 3. I met him through her at our video for the song we did together, ‘Obsessed.’ Later she put me in touch with Brett Ratner and Harmony Korine who’s the director. They told me they were interested in putting me in a film but she was the connect to that.”

In the film, James Franco plays the role of someone who resembles Riff Raff, according to Riff himself. However, Gucci disagrees.

“That’s totally false,” he said. “I think Riff Raff’s just trying to gain some attention. And I think maybe [Franco] may favor a little bit his appearance, but it don’t have anything to do with the artist named Riff Raff. I know that for a fact…Truthfully he lying.”

Spring Breakers is scheduled to be released in March.

RELATED: Gucci Mane – Trap God 2

[News] Polo Grounds Music Founder Bryan Leach Speaks On A$AP Rocky Album Leak

Posted on January 14, 2013 by VENOM

The founder of Polo Grounds Music calls the leak of A$AP Rocky’s debut LP “a gift and a curse.”

Fans were both shocked and excited when news broke that A$AP Rocky’s anticipated debut LongLiveA$AP leaked a nearly month before its January 15 release. Now, in a recent interview with XXL, the man who signed Rocky to Polo Grounds Music/RCA Records speaks on the unexpected leak.

Bryan Leach, founder of Polo Grounds Music, said that he was worried about the effect that the leak would have on the LP‘s overall sales. Still, Leach believes that the overwhelmingly positive response to the project has been a silver lining and that listeners will still decide to support it financially.

“From a business standpoint, we tried to control [the leak] as much as we could, and also pay attention to the signs. From a personal standpoint, it was a gift and a curse. I was disappointed that it leaked so early, and I was concerned about whether that would affect us,” he said. “I think the word of mouth was great. I think people appreciated the body of work. I’m glad that what leaked was not super rough demos and shit like that. A lot of the comments have been, ‘I downloaded it; I’m still buying it.’ Again, that speaks to Rocky’s core. They don’t want no bootleg shit. They want the real deal. It’s like, ‘Yeah, I download shit for free. But I also buy what I like.’”

He added, “I still have faith. That’s not just shit-taking. I think this is a new world. This is the new way that shit works. Even if it never leaked I would have had to cross my fingers on January 15. Maybe I’ll cross two fingers instead of one.”

Make sure to check out DX’s own review of A$AP Rocky’s LongLiveA$AP.

Azealia Banks’ Beefs: A Timeline

Posted on January 4, 2013 by VENOM

Azealia Banks is a firecracker, and that’s putting it lightly. After breaking out with the hit “212″ in 2011, the Harlem MC has been steadily releasing great music as she preps for her upcoming debut, Broke With Expensive Taste,, but the rapper/singer can’t seem to keep the peace. Her current war of words is with fellow female MC Angel Haze — and neither one of them is backing down.

Last summer, Banks told MTV News that even though she’s aware of the way people might view her, she has no intention of changing. “Rap dudes, keep talking sh– and I’ma keep popping sh–” she said matter-of-factly. “I’m just reactive and I say what I have to say and I keep it moving. … It’s not going to change.” With that said, take a look at back her mini-feuds from the past 12 months.

Azealia Banks vs. Kreayshawn

Azealia’s first public spat began almost exactly a year ago today (January 4), when she lambasted Kreayshawn for tweeting a link to her single “212″ which took followers to a pornographic site. Kreayshawn said it was a simple mistake, noting that she was actually “supporting a fellow female,” but it took a few months for the pair to resolve their beef.

In August, Kreayshawn told MTV News that the Harlem native had eventually reached out to her (away from the social media site) to apologize. Since then, they’ve caught a few of each other’s shows since and even mused about collaborating.

Azealia vs. Iggy Azalea vs. T.I.

Unless Azealia steps up to say otherwise, it seems like this dispute began because she didn’t like the fact that Iggy Azalea was featured on XXL‘s 2012 Freshman cover, which Banks did not appear on. But the New Yorker also took offense to Iggy’s verse on the track “Drugs,” because of the Australian’s reference to slavery; they went on to trade some foul words on Twitter.

But when Iggy’s Grand Hustle boss, T.I., questioned Banks’ decision to lash out, well, she lashed out at him too. Tip wasn’t having any of it, though, sending this message: “Get your man to address me, if you got a man, get him to address me and he and I can speak on it.”

Azealia Banks vs. Lil’ Kim

Less than a month after her Grand Hustle beef, Azealia went on the attack against Lil’ Kim over a botched collaboration. The Harlem rapper claimed she ghostwrote a verse for Kim in an effort to push the track forward, but eventually got shut out, and that didn’t sit well with her. Banks accused Kim of having other people write her raps before the Queen Bee‘s assistant eventually responded with a statement saying, “My client and Azealia have never spoke[n] to one another or met at all.”

Azealia Banks vs. Jim Jones

Not even a fellow Harlemite could escape without offending Azealia this year. She got into it with Jim Jones over the origins of “vamping,” which she claimed as her own, while the Diplomats boss tried to point out that he’s been pushing the “Vampire Life” mentality for some time now. Heated words on Twitter weren’t enough to quell this one. Banks decided to take a few shots at Jimmy on the dis track “Succubi.”

Azealia Banks vs. Nicki Minaj

Back in July, Banks turned down a spot on Nicki’s tour in order to record new music. She expressed disappointment at the failed opportunity, but somehow it seemed to turn to negativity. A short time later, Nicki wrote a cryptic hash tag, “#ManTheseBitchesDelirious,” to which Banks responded, “Did you mean… “delusional?” While she aimed that response directly at Minaj, Azealia later added (without the @ symbol that lands messages directly in a user’s mentions): “Use good grammar when insulting others” and “I don’t believe “Rap game” hierarchy ……… Sorry.” That didn’t get too far though.

Azealia Banks vs. Angel Haze

Can’t all of the talented femcees just get along? Banks’ current feud is with up-and-comer Angel Haze, who released her soul-baring Classick mixtape in October. A Twitter war between the two began this week when Angel apparently took offense to a Banks tweet (“Seriously, if you were not born and raised in NY…. DON’T CLAIM NY. YOU ARE NOT A NEW YORKER”), and things only continued to spiral from there.

Angel Haze put things on wax, releasing the dis track “On the Edge,” which was followed by Banks’ retort on “No Problems,” and yet another response from Haze on “Shut the F— Up.”

What do you think of Azealia’s latest Twitter back-and-forth with Angel Haze? Tell us in the comments.

Kid Ink Inks Deal With RCA Records

Posted on January 4, 2013 by VENOM

Los Angeles rapper Kid Ink moved a little bit closer to achieving his dreams now that the rap rookie has signed a major-label deal with RCA Records.

Ink revealed the news Thursday night on Twitter when he sent out the message: “RCA x Alumni” right before he premiered his new single “Bad Ass” featuring Meek Mill and Wale on Power 106 in his native L.A.

Kid Ink drew a ton of attention when he was featured on the XXL magazine’s annual Freshman cover alongside French Montana, MGK and Macklemore at the top of 2012. In June he released his independent LP Up Away on Tha Alumni Music Group to much fanfare. Without a major-label push, the album impressively debuted at #2 on Billboard‘s rap albums chart after pushing 20,000 units in its first week. The project’s lead and melodic single “Time of Your Life” has racked up over 12 million YouTube views since its release.

“We achieved so much last year independently but we just felt it was time to team up with a major in 2013 to take it to the next level and RCA is as excited as we are about the vision and possibilities,” Ink said in a press release issued to Rap Radar.

Last year the rap rookie made his “RapFix Live” debut alongside TDE’s Ab-Soul and veteran MC N.O.R.E. and spit a spirited freestyle while former “Yo! MTV Raps” hosts Ed Love and Doctor Dre looked on.

“I’m ecstatic to have someone as multi-talented as Kid Ink, along with the backing of Tha Alumni team with us at RCA Records, said J. Grand, RCA‘s SVP of AR and Marketing in the release. “We see him not just as an emerging domestic star but as someone whose music and entrepreneurship is already developing a global presence.”

What do you think of Kid Ink’s major-label singing? Let us know in the comments!

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