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"Ciroc Obama", better known to the world as Sean Combs, gets on the web & clowns Republican Presidential Candidate John McCain & his recent choice for a running mate for vice president Sarah Palin.  This clip sounds like Diddy aka Sean Combs may have once been a republican in much the same way that Charles Barkley was once a republican before leaving the party.  Check out what Mr. "Ciroc Obama" has to say....

We've heard this discussion over "50 eleven" times before in the barbershops & on the ball courts when the fellas get to talking about the state of the music industry & the lack of talented acts to come out as of late.  Personally we here at ATLSTATUS don't feel that there's a lack of talented artists these days, it's just that there really isn't many people out here really pushing them.

ATL's resident songwriter & hitmaker "The Dream",  puts on his R&B spin on Young Jeezy's popular single with a video....

Check out this video & you'll really see how deep things get with this current presidential election.  If you can remember Russia invaded Georgia recently, but Russian President Vladimir Putin says everything was orchestrated by U.S. agents supporting John McCain in the 2008 U.S. Presidential election.  Wow!  Deeper than Atlantis.....

Can't front.....the whole thing felt so inspiring it gave me goosebumps.  Especially with all those people there in support for turning things around in this country & for an even greater historical perspective.  Wished we could have been there in Denver, but we ultimately wish that Dr. King could have lived to see it.  Martin Luther King, Jr would be proud....

One of Atlanta's commercial rap radio stations, HOT 107.9 FM,  is releasing their morning show, the "A-Team", effective today.  Apparently they are to be replaced with comedian & syndicated morning radio show host Rickey Smiley.  More & more radio stations around the country are cutting their costs by bringing in syndicated programs.  It's due in large part to increased local radio competition, satellite radio, & less advertising revenue to keep these stations afloat.  Members of the "A-Team" Rashan Ali, Griff, Beyonce, Akini, & Emperor Searcy may be shuffling jobs within the station or may jump to other local stations altogether assuming they don't have any "non-compete" clauses in their contracts. 

Suge Knight's recent arrest in Las Vegas was caught by TV news cameras & was recently released...

Wow!! There really is a great deal of good music coming out in the month of September! Another album we're looking forward to will be a "classic" in more ways than one. Raphael Saadiq's new album "The Way I See It" is due for release on September 16th & is a sort of flash back to the past in terms of the lyrical & production flavor. As much as we hear people complain about the state of music today, it's refreshing to see Raphael Saadiq take this creative approach with his new album. There are quite a number of here today & gone tomorrow artists, but it's exciting to see someone like Raphael Saadiq show that he's a timeless artist in & of himself. Check out the album snippet below & remember it drops on September 16th. Supposedly there's also a song on the album that features a surprise Stevie Wonder solo on harmonica that should draw comparisons to the 1963 classic "Fingertips".  

According to TMZ, Marion "Suge" Knight was booked earlier this morning in Las Vegas. Check out what TMZ says...

Law enforcement tells us Suge allegedly attacked his girlfriend of three years early this morning. She claims he punched her in the back of the head while they were driving. She claims she tried getting out of the car, grabbed the steering wheel to cause an accident so someone would notice her peril.

The car struck the curb and stopped. She fled from the car and allegedly Suge chased her, caught her and that’s when the cops came.  Cops say they saw Suge kick the woman in the head and was wielding a knife in his hand.

Check out his new video from Common who is slated to also drop a new album in the coming months called "Invincible Summer".  This is a track featuring Pharell called "Announcement" which is directed by Lil X.  The clip is rather creative despite information from various sources that his label doesn't want it put out. 

The September rush is on with artists pushing their upcoming albums. Young Jeezy puts another promotional piece in the mix with his new video "Vacation" from his album dropping on Tuesday September 2nd. Right after most of y'all get back from (In a Jeezy voice) "Vacaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaation"!"

T.I. tapped Rihanna....not literally, but he gets her on a new song called "Livin Your Life" which is to be featured on his upcoming album "Paper Trail"

The song samples or interpolates an international club song that many people had parodied on youtube. Check out the video then listen to the T.I. track



Check it out!

ATLSTATUS DOWNLOAD:
Download "Livng Your Life by T.I. and Rihanna

Looking for all the ATLNIGHTSPOTS hosting the 2008 Ludaday Weekend? Check out itinerary below so you can get a jump on thangs! Have fun!

Thursday
The Kickoff Titled "The Preview" Will Be At A Private Location On Thursday August 28th. This Invitation Only Dinner Will Be Hosted By Chaka Zulu And Luda.

Friday
Ludacris, T-Pain And Friends Invite You To Have "One More Drink" At Esso On Friday.

Saturday
Saturday There Will Be An Outdoor Performance And Register To Vote Rally And Community Cookout Will Be At The Atlanta University Center With DTP, Compound Entertainment (Ne-Yo), Zone 4 (Polow), And More.
Saturday Night - Uptown Restaurant And Lounge With A Virgo Bash With Mario.

Sunday
Sunday There Will Be A Private Pool Party … Luda + Magic City Socialites + + Patron+ Red Bull = "Damn Why Wasn't I Invited",
Sunday Night There Will Be A Special Edition Of "The Chill Spot" Bowling At 300 Atlanta. Compound Entertainment, Zone 4 (Polow), Bryan Michael Cox's Crew, Floyd "Money" Mayweather And More,
Then Luda & Friends. Will Hold The Finale At Velvet Room.

Monday
The Finale… On Monday, A Celebrity Softball Game Where Luda Will Coach The Team Featuring The Michael Jordan At Oglethorp University.
Tickets Are Booked And Reservations Confirmed… Invited Guests Include Tracy McGrady, Lauren London, Meagan Good, T-Pain, Damien Wilkins, Ray Allen, Polow Da Don, Ne-Yo, Jermaine Dupree, Dallas Austin, Bryan Michael Cox, Gabrielle Union, Taraji Henson, Mario, Trey Songz, Ciara, Cee-Lo, Swizz Beats, Monica, A Few Very Legit Billionaire Guests And YOU! Keep Up With All The Updates On Hot 107.9, V-103

It's great & amazing the way the internet works.  You can attend an event & not worry to bring your camera & if there's more than three people in attendance with a camera phone or videocamera you can bet that it'll be up on the web in a few hours or less.  T.I. recently performed at his club over on Bankhead, Club Crucial, for the Hitmen Djs reunion.  He also brought along many of his Grand Hustle staff such as B.G, Alfamega & Young Dro with him.  After performing his single "What Up" addressing his haters he also brought out a guest from NY who has also been dealing with his own haters.  Brooklyn rapper "Maino" has been making noise with his new song "Hi Haters" which he also shot a video to the remix that also features T.I.  It's a good start for "Maino" considering the guy was locked up for 10 solid years before his recent success in the music industry. Shout out to Kaspa & the crew of the Hitmen Djs & their reunion... 

Check out this classic video of a young Rosie Perez when her career was just starting to pop off. The interesting tidbit of information in this old clip with Regis & Kathie Lee is that Rosie said Spike Lee was throwing a "Big Booty" contest & tried to holla at her. Rather ironic considering that Spike Lee is known for a lot of socially conscious films. Spike must of had plenty of these up & coming actresses on his casting couch back in the day hoping they'd "Do the Right Thing". I guess they don't call him "Spike" lee for nothing! Spike's a freeeeeak! LOL

Spike may turn you down for a quick picture as our boy Kaos from thekaoseffect was dissed by Spike Lee recently, but if you got a big ass & a cute face then you just may have a chance to get that picture.  Shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiied.....you may even land a part in the movie! LOL! 

Young Jeezy's album "The Recession" drops next Tuesday September 2nd & there appears to be some significant anticipation for it here in Atlanta. Here's one of the tracks featured on the album that people have been talking about since footage of Don Cannon & Young Jeezy working in the studio surfaced on the net.

Download "Circulate" by Young Jeezy

A Tribe Called Quest frontman, "Q-Tip", is gearing up to release his upcoming album "The Renaissance" & it appears the fans just can't wait. Check out this "UNOFFICIAL" video for Q-Tip's new single "Gettin Up". Despite it being an "unofficial" video it still comes out pretty good. Okayplayer?

We're positive we've seen this video before, but Kanye is re-releasing it with a few changes we believe.......A little something to go with your coffee & toast.  Good Morning!

By now many of you already know what happened with rap artist Yung Berg over the weekend.  In case you didn't, like to hear it? Well hear it go....

It's been a rough Monday & sometimes you have to deal with people who may act a certain way towards you.  Sometimes you just don't want to automatically assume that person or individuals at the job are racist if they happen to be of another color so you really have to sit down & think it all out.  Check my man Jay Smooth in this video on how to deal with people whose actions could be perceived as racist.  

Soul singer "Maxwell" is about to hit the road for the first time in six years. There was a point in time here in Atlanta when Maxwell had the ATL on lock with his soulful music. His shows here in the ATL brought out the ladies & good music with his band. From the reports, it appears that nothing has changed with the exception of Maxwell cutting his signature "blowed out" afro-like hairstyle. The North American tour is scheduled to begin in Boston on October 8th & making eventual stops in larger markets such as New York & Los Angeles. Maxwell makes his scheduled stop here in Atlanta on November 12th at the Atlanta Civic Center. Atlanta is a huge market for soul artists & fans so we're not surprised cities like ours & Philadelphia have stops scheduled on this tour. The whole tour is setting up the pending release of his upcoming album called "Black Summer's Night". This is the longest period of time since releasing any new material between projects. Maxwell's 1996 debut "Urban Hang Suite" set him up as a sex symbol in the soul music world & he followed that momentum with the subsequent release of "Embrya" in 1998 & "Now" in 2001. www.myspace.com/maxwell

It's not hard to see that T-Pain is one of the few artists today that has got the game ONSMASH. He dropped a new mixtape to called "Pree Ringz" that you can download from the link below! It's all in support for his upcoming album "Thr33 Ringz" which he explains as what best describes the music industry today.

"The Thr33 Ringz concept is 'cause the industry is just like a circus," he explained. "You got the strong men, tattooed dudes, bearded ladies, elephants, tigers, and all kinds of dumb crap."

This would also explain this most recent obsession with wearing top hats in videos & live performances. "I got the most number 1's..... "I'm not just saying that. It's really on the charts. I got 11 number ones [in one year]. In the history of time, The Beatles got 13. So if I woulda got two more in that year I woulda beat The Beatles. That's why I'm the ringleader."

Download T-Pain's new mixtape "Pree Ringz"

01. Intro (Feat. DJ Khaled)
02. What U Need
03. Cocky (Feat. DJ Khaled)
04. Somebody Tell Em
05. I Know (Feat. Young Cash)
06. Like I Outta
07. Don't Stop The Party (Feat. Young Cash)
08. Freakin' (Feat. Tay Dizm & Gorilla Zoe)
09. This Dat Shit
10. Got To Go
11. Reborn
12. Ain't No Love (Feat. Young Cash)
13. Up & Down
14. I'm Madd (Feat. Tay Dizm)
15. Superman (Feat. DJ Khaled)
16. Dig That
17. Young Cash - I'm A Freak (Feat. T-Pain)
18. Nappy Boy Or Die (Feat. Young Cash)
19. Let's Go
20. We Got Love
21. Tha Truth (Outro)

DOWNLOAD: T-PAIN - PREE RINGZ MIXTAPE
http://sharebee.com/7d5baba8

Apparently there was supposed to be some type of "Jodeci Renunion Tour" that was to kick off in Sydney, Austraila. Sounds janky if you ask me.  As a person who travels to other countries fairly often, I've noticed that it's not uncommon for some artists that are no longer popular here in the United States to take gigs overseas to make a quick buck. Nowadays you could say a quick "Euro" because the dollar ain't worth much these days.  The people of Austraila got jerked over the weekend when the so-called "Jodeci Reunion Tour" only produced a possible crackhead & a drunk onstage. Devante Swing & Mr. Dalvin were no where in sight.  K-Ci & JoJo were the only members that appeared on stage for the performance & at one point during the show JoJo passes out drunk on stage while K-Ci keeps singing like Tyrone Biggums.  The video is rather sad & funny all at once. Crack is wack!

Def Jam artists "Karina" & "LL CooL J" performed a free show for listeners of V-103 on Friday Night. With rapper, actor, & movie star "LL CooL J" as the obvious headliner, it all went down at Center Stage on West Peachtree Street to a enthusiasticly large & mostly female audience. Newcomer "Karina" was rather impressive debuting as a young up & coming singer on Def Jam records at only 17 years of age. The girl can sing in seven different languages & also plays the piano. Of course she didn't sing in all seven of those languages last night, but she still did her thing nonetheless. Overwhelmingly the person everyone wanted to see was clearly Mr. James Todd Smith. LL ran through a number of songs in his lengthy catalog to the screams of the various girls & women in attendance at the event. We could have sworn that we even saw grandmothers in there wanting to lick LL's lips. We also noticed WSB news reporter Jaquitta Williams at times try to even hold her own composure during the show, but she also fell victim to the excitement & energy in the place as the muscular hip hop veteran performed. Most of the brothaz like us who grew up on LL miss the more lyrical side of James Todd Smith as his music in this later part of his career has been more geared to the ladies. It's not exactly cool to be driving up the block blasting LL's new single "Baby" featuring The Dream without getting a number of stares from people thinking you're "Fugazi". It's a good song, but not something most dudes would ride to. LL released a great mixtape he dropped earlier this year with DJ KaySlay that made successful attempts to draw back in some of his male listeners. We asked LL if he was going to continue to drop more mixtapes for his male fans that want less "lovey dovey" fair, but more raw or edgier material. LL stated because of the mixtape he had some ideas to further take advantage of it's success.

"You know man I thought of that because of the response on the mixtape. I was thinking of incorporating a number of the mixtape songs into some of my shows" said LL COOL J. LL did indeed perform a new song that night which sounded similar to 50 Cent's "I Get Money", called "You Better Watch me."  Much later in the evening long after we had left the venue, we were in the car listening to DJ Premier's satellite radio show on Sirius satellite channel 40 when the same song debuted on the air. It was definitely a song we felt comfortable with while driving down the street banging out the car stereo system. Regardless, LL is definitely a legend even if he cannot get many of his male fans back on board and no one can take that legendary status away from him.


Download "Baby" by LL Cool J featuring Dream

Check out LL performing his new single "You Better Watch me" off of his upcoming album entitled "Exit 13"

Barack Obama choses Joe Biden as his Democratic running mate for V.P.

John Legend links up with Andre 3000 for his new single called "Green Light".  This joint is a little more uptempo than most of John Legend's past work & sounds very hot.  This joint could get the "Green Light" to be a global hit.   Peep the video

Download "GreenLIght" by John Legend featuring Andre 3000

According to the AJC, an Atlanta woman has taken out a restraining order on Shaquille Oneal.  Alexis Miller, 23, alleges that O'neal 36, threatened to ruin her rap career when she ended an intimate relationship with him just last month.  Miller is an independent artist going by the name "Maryjane" & has a 19 month-old son.  The terms of the restraining order instruct Shaq to not contact or come within 200 yards of the singer who lives in Fulton County. 

Heineken held their Red Star Soul Series here in Atlanta Wednesday night featuring performances by writer turned singer Bryan Michael Cox, British Soul sensation Estelle, & Lyfe Jennings. Look who we ran into last night after the show was over. It was none other than the former model turned Diddy baby momma the beautiful Kim Porter. Diddy's baby momma was looking good as she boarded into her big black truck. Damn this woman had two kids not too long ago & still looks good. Now that's a MILF. If Sean Combs don't want ya, we'll take ya baby! We don't have Sean Combs dollars, but we'll do ya right (Wink)

Former ATL resident Da Brat just got sentenced to 3 years in state prison for hitting an employee of Jermaine Dupri's Studio 72 with a rum bottle.  Da Brat, whose real name is Shawntae Harris, was also sentenced to seven years probation & 200 hours of community service.  The incident happened at a Halloween party at Jermaine Dupri's Studio 72 on October 31st of 2007.  As she was being led out of the courtroom she said "I Love Y'all as her relatives responded back "We Love you, too".

For all the ladies trying to make their way in the world without doing all the "favors", check out this new video by ATL's own "Ne-Yo" called "Misss Independent" from his upcoming album "Year of the Gentleman". Fellas there's some eye candy in this video. Peep the ATL resident's game...the video & the song is hot. 

It seems like Karrine Steffans has opened the floodgates for women to release these tell all books about their time with various male celebrities.  It's one thing coming from self admitted groupies & hangers-on, but to come from women who wish to be respected in their professions it's a definite black eye especially for women of color struggling to be taken seriously.  Former Editor-in-Chief, Kim Osorio, has written a new "tell all" book alleging she had sexual flings with 50 Cent & Nas among other statements found in her memoirs. Osorio's statements may give other women a black eye in the game, but 50 Cent brazenly says her black eye comes from his "balls" smacking her. (Ouch!)

"I messed with Kim a while ago, she licked on my balls before the deal...when they weren't worth much. She licked my balls once & now she's a star. I got some advise for all aspiring women journalists, it may not make the best sellers list, but lick my balls and you are on the road to the riches!"

After his Buckhead restaurant closed recently leaving former employees without pay for a number of weeks, it's rumored that Jermaine Dupri maybe out of his executive gig at Island Def Jam. According to a number of street & many online sources there's word that the little man is falling on more hard times. It's been a rough year so far for Jermaine Dupri from his recent beef with many deejays such as Greg Street, his club Studio 72 not really taking off as a consistently popular nightspot, his Cafe Dupri restaurant payroll issues & subsequent closing and now it's rumored that he's to be relieved from his post at Island records in the very near future.  In April, Jermaine Dupri had teamed with Tag deodorant spray to help jumpstart their new record label Tag Records that was to be distributed through Island Def Jam.  

We tried to avoid posting the back & forth online videos of the so-called "$100,000 dollar Madden challenge" that Bow Wow issued to The Game before feelings get hurt, but damn this recent video of The Game going at Bow Wow was just too funny.  Yeah it's ignorant as hell, but what makes it even funnier is that The Game's bus driver also gets in on the act! LMAO! 

ATL residents Young Jeezy & Nas both dropped a new joint that's to appear on Jeezy's upcoming album "The Recession". Check out this joint below called "My President Is Black". Fitting we'd put this joint up now considering that in a few hours Barack Obama is scheduled to announce his VP choice.

Download "My President Is Black"

Last night in Atlanta there were two big shows going down that drew large turnouts in terms of the number of people & the demographics of those attending. Samsung & AT&T sponsored Nelly's performance at the Tabernacle Tuesday night & it was packed as hell. People were elbow to elbow like sardines to see Nelly perform from his catalog of hit records. He was also assisted with surprise performances from perceived friends in the music business such as Jermaine Dupri & ATL's own Goodie M.O.B. who reunited on the stage for the first time in years. One thing that was clearly evident is that you could see Nelly's demographic range was rather wide in terms of his fanbase. There were women there in there 20s, 30s, & even 40s attending the show. Some of these women were single & some came with dates with us assuming they could have been married or in a relationship. There were surprisingly a lot of guys there that appeared to be big fans of Nelly as well. Not sure if they fit the gay or bi-sexual demographic but many of them were snapping pictures of Nelly as if it was Sanaa Lathan naked on the stage. To a corporate sponsor or advertiser that's a plus because the gay community tends to have more disposable income & spending power. (Pausing to search "Nelly" in Dictionary)



Several blocks north of the Tabernacle there was also a free show sponsored by Scion, the car company who's parent company is Toyota. They've been running a number of Scion sponsored free performances in Atlanta for a few years now bringing in artists like Slick Rick, Wu-Tang, Brand Nubian, Nice & Smooth & many other hip hop artists both old & new. Last night's show featured southern lyricist Bun B as the headliner which brought a number of fans in a particular demographic that would lean more southern in terms of regional tastes but range in age anywhere from 21-40 & mostly male. It's new territory for the sponsors in some respects, but even more so from the fans who will come to expect every show to be free & more of the same. Sort of like a Pandora's box worth of free music & concerts that someone has to pay for. These corporate sponsored events could also prove to be very tricky for the artists in a number of ways because the artist's actions could ruffle the feathers of the corporate big wigs who write the checks.

Before his scheduled performance at the Loft, Bun B was spotted arriving at the Samsung show to the delight of true fans who recognized him there, but it may not fly over well with Scion once word gets out about it. This is the internet age with camera phones & text messages so once people saw "Bun B" at the Samsung show a lot of people who got word that Bun B was at the Tabernacle went & abandoned their trek to The Loft & headed to the Tabernacle thinking he was going to perform there instead. I received several messages about it as well from a few people who didn't quite make up their mind as to which event to attend. To the average fan they may be thinking ".....why should I go see Bun B when I can go see Nelly, Goodie MOB, Bun B & everyone else at the Tabernacle?" Despite the potential for disaster in that respect, the Bun B show at the Loft managed to turn out a decent crowd. If the corporate sponsor was a large radio entity like Radio One & the artist showed up at another rival station's event on the same day around the same time it could have been rather costly for the artist politically in terms of future radio airplay & exposure through interviews.



Another local example of corporations buying into a built in audience for more lifestyle marketing success involves the popular "Art, Beats, & Lyrics" event that started in Atlanta a few years ago. The event now has expanded to many other cities throughout the U.S. & the admission is free, while Jack Daniels also plugs their product throughout the event.
www.jackdaniels.com/abl

Shifting from alcohol to caffeine, Starbucks even gives away free music in their stores every Tuesday in their featured artist of the week program. I've walked in to find cards at the register offering a free download of various artists such as new soul artist "Ledisi" among others. As our country drifts more into a recession many people simply do not have the additional cash to spend for concerts & even music.

The point is that I've noticed that many people, at least here in Atlanta, have become so accustomed to getting into the concerts free that I've heard people scoff at paying to see an artist for anything more than $20. Most brothaz & sistahs would rather spend that $20 on some drinks at the bar or for gas on the way home. It's rather ironic because we've witnessed people pay $100 to get into a club with the wrong dress code, but refuse to pay more than $20 to see a good concert. Maybe impressing some females by paying to skip the line is more important to that person's ego. (Shrugs shoulders). We wouldn't be surprised to see in 5 years that more than 80% of all of the big concerts that come to town are sponsored by larger corporations depending on the particular demographics they are trying to reach to sell their products.

Things Done Changed

Hip Hop icon DJ Red Alert will be celebrating 25 years on radio! The NY native & now ATL resident has been putting it down for hip hop for an even longer period of time & is still as humble as ever despite his legendary status in the music industry & hip hop culture. There have been countless times where we've met artists & so-called celebrity deejays with heads larger than Mount Rushmore when they've only been in the game for 14 minutes & 15 seconds. Most of us here at ATLSTATUS just aren't "Hollywood" & we really are just working people. DJ Red Alert has thrived on that same work ethic while avoiding the "Hollywood" label through his humbleness & talent. There are some artists & deejays that we just don't go out of our way to greet, but it's that everyday warm personality over the years that continuously commands our respect & appreciation for DJ Red Alert. There are too many countless stories we could repeat about the greatness of DJ Red Alert, but we'll continue to salute him as we approach October as it marks his significant benchmark in entertainment. You can catch DJ Red Alert on Sirius Satellite radio Channel 43 "Backspin" & locally in Atlanta on Grown Folks radio 102.5 FM on Sunday nights from 7pm-10pm. Uncle Red we salute you!

After gaining notoriety from appearing as "Flava's Choice" on the debut season of the "Flavor Of Love" show, Nicole Deannae Alexander, better known as "Hoopz" has been relatively quiet in the entertainment world as of late. It seemed not that long ago that the Detroit native was getting paid to host many parties around the country & was a fixture at various events following the show's conclusion.

ATL resident Professor Griff of Public Enemy recently expressed his support for the former Dekalb County Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney for President. The former Dekalb County Congresswoman is the Green Party's nominee for U.S. President. On a sad note, Professor Griff recently lost his home to a fire prior to this video being recorded. Check out the video below to hear what he has to say about his choices & his concerns regarding the upcoming election.

Most of the time record promoters can sometimes be like
DJ Khaled when pushing a record to various deejays around
the country. With so many albums due to be released in the
coming month, one of the most important markets to break a
record is definitely in Atlanta. Many of us deejays have been there
when speaking to an over the top record promoter who sounds
like he's trying to sell you a used car, but this video of DJ Khaled
pushing his record to a local Atlanta deejay is just hilarious.
It sounds like DJ Khaled could sell water to a whale & ice to
an eskimo. DJ Khaled has a new album called "We Global" that's
about to drop in September so he needs those multiple club & "BDS"
spins on the local radio stations. Sounds like somebody is about
to get a check, so as DJ Khaled says in the clip......
"Let's....Get... Moneeeeeeeeeey!" LMFAO!!

Download "Go Hard" by DJ Khaled Feat. Kanye West and T-Pain

Dirty South Legend & one half of the group UGK (rip Pimp C), Bun B arrives in Atlanta Tuesday August 19th for a free show at The Loft on W. Peachtree Street.  Just RSVP to get on the list.  We got you covered ATLSTATUS

Like we told yall in an earlier post, british songstress Estelle is performing Wednesday night at Club Opera.  Check out her new video "Pretty Please" off of her debut album "Shine" featuring a few special guest appearances in the video.  Although ATL's own Cee-Lo is on the song "Pretty Please" he doesn't appear in the video.  Hopefully he'll make a surprise appearance at her Atlanta performance on Wednesday at Opera.  Check out the clip below!

While Jay-Z rapped about his aspirations to eventually make "A Billi" in his freestyle over the popular "A Milli" track, 50 Cent seems to be winning the earnings race this year.

According to Forbes's "Hip Hop Cash Kings" list for 2008, 50 Cent surpassed Jay-Z this year grossing over $150 Million in the last 12 months. Fiddy's earnings come in large part from his ventures in his G-Unit clothing & records brands, video games, & his most talked about deal with Glaceu's VitaminWater which was brought by Coca-Cola for a reported 4.1 Billion dollars. It's reported that Fiddy also has a big deal on the table with the black South African billionaire Patrice Motsepe who's made his fortune in mining minerals such as gold & platinum.

Jay-Z didn't do too shabby this year finishing second in overall earnings for the past year with $82 million dollars. Jay-Z most notable business move made last year was his 10 year deal worth $150 Million with concert promoter Live Nation.

Sean Combs aka "Diddy" produced $35 Million in revenue last year due to the success in the premium vodka Ciroc & his Sean John clothing lines.

Even the producers slash rappers pulled a great payday over the course of last year as Kanye West grossed a reported $30 million dollars while Timbaland raked in $22 Million.

Completing the top 10 on Forbes' "Hip Hop Cash Kings 2008" are Pharrell Williams ($20 million), Swizz Beatz ($17 million), Snoop Dogg ($16 million), Dr. Dre ($15 million), and Ludacris ($14 million).

As the legendary Isaac Hayes is set to be laid to rest later today in the Memphis suburb of Cordova Tennessee, thousands turned out for the funeral of Bernie Mac on the southside of Chicago last Saturday.

Our Chicago family reports that traffic was snarled for miles with people on the way to the House of Hope Church on the southside. Many celebrities, family & fans showed an outpouring of support & love for the funny man's "homegoing" celebration in his beloved community of Chicago. Although Bernie was dealing with managing his busy entertainment career & health issues which he eventually succumbed to, he also took an active part in helping his community.

Mayor Richard Daley of Chicago says Bernie recently asked how he could help reduce crime in the city & added that he never forgot his roots. "He never lost his soul in Chicago" said the Chicago Mayor.

Among the many celebrities that paid their respects, Bernie's co-star in the upcoming movie "Soul Man" Samuel Jackson also offered his memories of the Chicago native.

"He never turned down that kid for an autograph." (He) was always that kid from Chicago who wanted to make everybody laugh." said Samuel Jackson

Later today we collectively mourn the loss of Isaac Hayes who is scheduled to be laid to rest later today at 11am at Hope Presbyterian Church in Cordova, a suburb of Memphis.

September is going to be a very competitive month for many artists in the Hip Hop & R&B music genres. There are plenty of artists releasing their albums in & around this month so everyone needs to bring the heat & be on their "A" game. Check out the video below of DJ Don Cannon working on a track with Young Jeezy called "Circulate". The song (so far) sounds VERY similar to a joint produced by J Dilla for British soul artist Steve Spacek which was released three years ago. The original sample actually comes from Philly soul man Billy Paul & his song "Let The Dollar Circulate". You can check out the JDilla produced version from Steve Spacek called "Dollar" after the video for reference. Not sure how the splits (money paid for the samples between artists) will work with a sample that samples a sample from a sample, but the song may very well turn out hot.






Listen To Steve Spacek "Dollar"

Did you sleep on Estelle's album that was released earlier this year? Damn you're lame. Despite the argument that there are not alot of good female artists out there we seem to find many of them that the general public keeps overlooking. Make sure you don't overlook Estelle when she comes to Atlanta on Aug 20th with the Heineken Red Star Soul Tour up at Club Opera.

Monica releases this hot new single that record label reps thought wasnt good enough. They were wrong....this joint is tight!!!!!

Record Label A&R's 0........Monica 1

Download Monica's new single "I'm Still Standing"

West Coast lyricist The Game flew into the ATL last night to host a party at Pure Atlanta. The place got packed around 1am & may have had been elbow to elbow if not for the rules regarding hats. We witnessed alot of brothers that came to the club wearing hats, but were turned away if they didn't agree to pay an additional $20 to wear their hat in the club. This may have alienated many of his male fans in the ATL, but it didn't stop many of the beautiful women from showing up. The Game must have some hardcore fans in the Atlanta because people were forking over $40 to get in the club & it wasn't for Game to even perform. Hopefully those same people that showed up will also support his new album "L.A.X" when it drops on August 26th. A CD or download via itunes costs anywhere from $9.99 to $15 so it shouldn't be a problem for the people spotted paying more than that to just to watch him drink in V.I.P. all night.

A few artists who were spotted showing up to the party for The Game included Cee-Lo of Gnarles Barkley & Goodie M.O.B., Buckey of Flavor of Love Show, Memphis rapper Kinfolk Kia Shine (who was drunk as hell) , & DJ Don Cannon.

Check out some footage of the event as some of our staff positioned outside caught Cee-Lo & his homie UZI arriving to the party in a brand new Dodge Challenger.

Ludacris & Chris Brown collaborate in the studio for Chris Lova Lova's upcoming album Theatre Of The Mind due in October

Things are definitely changing in the world so much so that as a relatively normal hetero person you wonder if you're now the odd one these days. Check out this new song "I Used To Love Her" from an artist called Shire first spotted at Blogxilla. Initially I thought she would be talking about how she used to love R&B music in a similar way to Common's "I Used To Love Her" talked about his love of Hip Hop. We were most definitely wrong about that once we got through the first minute or so of the video.

Alot of women in these clubs sometimes aren't their real age & have fake id's. Brothaz better be careful because we're in a recession & you could be the victim of a setup in more ways than one.

Check out this story!

Serena Williams recently posed for Men's Health Magazine & will probably have brothaz grabbing their hearts like Fred G. Sanford once they see these pictures.

"I have large boobs and a sizable a**, so I guess the title comes with the territory. But I just play tennis. I always try to look my best, even though it's hard to look your best when you're sweating, grunting, and making faces. I never look my best when playing."

Something tells us that she must have forgot how she looked rocking that black cat suit in a tennis match. Anyway....Common is most definitely winning. Check out the pics as Serena Williams is our "MILK & Cookies" pic of the week.

Philly native & ATL resident Musiq Soulchild must have left his "Soul" back in Philly with this new song & video called "Radio". This song sounds like a complete 180 degree turn from the quality work he's done in the past. It's rather sad to see a talented artist like himself basically dumb down the lyrics, water down the instrumentation & try to not so creatively BEG for more commercial radio play. If his new album sounds anything like this song he may as well change his name to Musiq "No" Soulchild.

Attention Ladies! Here's a way to please your man(s), get in shape, & possibly take on a new career. Check out the video below! It's no wonder why many there are so many strip clubs in Atlanta, but we're not complainin' though.....Anybody got change for a hunnid!

Get those skills up ladies & you too will be droppin it like its hot like these skilled instructors below.......

With a new album on the way, The Game flys in from the West Coast tonight to kick it with his fans in the ATL

Check out a few videos from songs on his upcoming album "L.A.X." due on 8/26/08


The Game feat. Travis Barker "Dope Boyz"

Atliens T.I. & Fonzworth Bentley freestyle in the booth on Rap City

Our homegirl DJ Princess Cut first put us up on this artist from Philly a while back, but it took a minute for us to realize that Santi White is the artist known as "Santogold". Many of us sonically adventurous black people are familiar with the artist Res (pronounced Reese) who released a great album fusing rock, soul, funk, & other genres called "How I Do" back in 2001. Res has performed here in Atlanta many times to sold out shows usually put on by promoter J.Carter through Sol-Fusion. We were familiar with Santi White who wrote alot of the songs that Res performed, but now she has ventured out as an artist herself as "Santogold." No wonder it took us a minute to figure it out, but it shouldn't take you long to realize she has some great material. Maybe more people in the community here in Atlanta need to catch up, because the world is already up on Santogold.

The Philly native & now Brooklyn resident's debut album dropped this past April 2008 featuring the lead single "L.E.S. Artistes". This particular track is the joint that initially got our attention about Santogold & featured an equally interesting video as well. Since DJ Princess Cut & Jayforce put us up on this artist it's only right a few of us later went out & purchased the album as well. Check out Santogold's myspace & the video's below!  
www.myspace.com/santogold

With A Tribe Called Quest currently on the Rock The Bells Tour & no
new group album due to be released ever again (according to Q-Tip).
Check out this behind the scenes footage of Q-Tip working on his new
album called "The Renaissance". Check out one of our previous posts
for the new single "Gettin' Up" which will be featured on Q-Tip's
upcoming album.

The Ozone Awards concluded in Houston last weekend & almost went
without any major incidents until reporters' questions about Rick
Ross's past seemed to have gotten up under his skin. According to eye
witness reports, Rick Ross was stopped by DJ Vlad who proceeded
to ask him more questions about allegations that he was once a
correctional officer in florida. DJ Vlad, who is well known in the
industry for his mixtapes & dvd's seemed to be the last person
Rick Ross & his entourage wanted asking him those same
questions over & over again.

During the interview, a member of Ross' entourage assaulted
Vlad & the physical beatdown got ugly fast. Allegedly DJ Vlad was
badly beaten & bloodied during the altercation which were told
included other members of Ross's entourage. There were many
bystanders and witnesses to the alleged assault, as well as video
of the incident that we're working to view ourselves.
ATLStatus will keep you posted as more information from
our team that attended the Ozone awards becomes
available.

Check out this dope interview with ATL's own DJ Toomp &
his feelings on T.I. & Ludacris doing a song together on
one of his tracks.

Jay-Z drops a new banger produced by Kanye West called "Jockin Jay-Z" (Dope Boy Fresh) produced by Kanye West.

You access is granted below courtesy of ATLStatus.com

Download "Jockin Jay Z aka Dope Boy Fresh

Many of you in the "true skool" hip hop scene around Atlanta maybe familiar with former ATL resident "Cognito" who was apart of the legendary ATL based hip hop group "Massinfluence". Last we heard Cognito was out in Los Angeles doing big things. It seems the cat is officially out of the bag as Cognitio has changed his company from "Non-Stop Music Works" to "Non-Stop Movie Works". It looks like their first project is a movie or documentary about Talib Kweli. Check out he trailer below! Congrats Cognitio...we see you doing ya thing in LA.

props to OkayPlayer

We regret to inform yall that we have lost a legend
in the music industry. Isaac Hayes was found unconscious in his Memphis home and was later pronounced dead.
Isaac Hayes
R.I.P. Aug 20, 1942-Aug 10, 2008.

ATLstatus is sad to report that Emmy and Golden Globe nominated actor and comedian Bernie Mac passed away this morning from complications due to Pnuemonia. Bernie Mac suffered from sarcoidosis, an autoimmune inflammatory lung disease that causes inflammation in the lungs. Mac is Survived by his wife Rhonda thier Daughter Je'Niece, a son in law, and a granddaughter, Jasmine.

R.I.P. Oct. 5, 1957 - Aug. 9, 2008

Arguably the most popular solo rappers to come of Atlanta in recent memory, T.I. & Ludacris have joined forces & recorded a new song for Ludacris's upcoming album "Theatre Of The Mind". Check it out below! My oh my how things have changed....

Download "Wish You Would" by Ludacris and T.I.

The Atlanta stop of Pepsi's DJ Division campaign took place Wednesday night featuring an evening full of talented deejays, celebrity performers, celebrity spectators, & a packed house of fans at Sugarhill. Doors opened a little behind schedule Wednesday night, yet upon entrance we were treated to a tight ass deejay set by DJ Rastaroot who rocked for about 2 hours. One of the most popular deejays in Atlanta, Rastaroot is also the deejay for Phife Dawg of A Tribe Called Quest & co-hosts the "Classic Example Show" with Jayforce on XM 65 The Rhyme on Satellite Radio. Big up to Jayforce who was also seen backstage as well as many other deejays & celebs watching such as Jermaine Dupri who was visible from the balcony area. NYC to ATL transplant Diamond D was also in the place as well as popular female deejay Princess Cut & producer DJ Montay from the Big Oomp camp. Showcasing his skills by scratching, beat juggling, & perfecting seamless blends of quality hip hop music, DJ Rastaroot also utilized the new serato function of mixing videos during his set. If you missed him at this event, you can catch him spinning at MJQ friday night mixing videos & the music for the party.

Following DJ Rastaroot's set, the Aphilliates took to the stage running various tunes popular on your favorite local commercial radio stations before DJ Drama came on stage to get the performances started. Serving mainly as the host of the show & leaving the DJ'ing duties to his comrades this evening, he introduced the packed house to a relatively new female artist on interscope records (yeah we forgot her name) who performed with male & female dancers on the tight stage. Drama later introduced different artists on his Aphillites music group label such as Willie The Kid & LA the Darkman who performed a number of songs fans maybe familiar with from his Gangsta Grillz mixtapes. They had a lot of dudes on stage with them that didn't really do much but provide support we guess.

Philly native & ATL transplant Asher Roth later took to the stage with his band beginning with his mixtape remake of Jay-Z's "Roc Boyz" & flipping it with "Roth Boys". The new signee to Steve Rifkinds's SRC label rocked with his band for about another 30 minutes more before Big Oomp Camp's DJ Unk took to the stage with his crew & performing various dances made popular by his hit singles "2 Step" & "Walk It Out".

Not long after DJ Unk's set, Bobby Valentino took to the stage with some R&B flavor running through his verses from his collabo with Lil Wayne "Mrs. Officer". After his brief set, Bobby let the crowd know about his new album he's about to drop & his new label situation with EMI before exiting stage right.

Sitting in a dark corner of the stage smoking a huge cigar, Ne-Yo swaggered to the front of the stage to the loud screams of the females in the audience. Moments later the instrumental to the "A Milli" beat drops & Ne-Yo rocks his R&B freestyle to arguably the most popular beat this year. Making the performance even better, Fabolous later walked out on the stage joining Ne-Yo for a brief run of their popular hit from Fab's album "Make Me Better".



With a horde of "snow bunnies" with them backstage, the 3 6 Mafia later that evening followed to the stage running through their catalog of hits & occasionally stopping between songs to clown & interact with the audience onstage. One chocolate female in the crowd even exposed her "tig ol bitties" to DJ Paul & Juicy J to the delight of many a male & photographers zooming in & snapping shots of her "breast-test-ess." The word is Gucci Mane was scheduled to perform either before or after the 3 6 Mafia set, but not at any point did we see the ATL rapper in the building.

DJ Kid Capri was to close out the night very strong but there were many technical difficulties that interfered with Kid Capri's set. Trying to work through the issues like a true professional you could see & understand Kid Capri's frustration as he repeatedly had to stop several times as the music dropped out completely. Despite all of this the Atlanta crowd was still with Kid Capri & supported with various shots from the crowd such as "Take Your Time Kid!" & other screams from females in the crowd.

Despite the many technical difficulties & various delays, the night went very well as the Pepsi DJ Division moves on for Miami on August 7th.

Check out the exclusive pics courtesy of ATLStatus.com