Ludacris To Release Theater of the Mind

Working on his sixth album, Theater of the Mind, set to be released on November 24, Ludacris has released the first single, MVP. Based on a collaboration with DJ Premier, who has worked with Jermaine Dupre and helped craft the Gang Starr sound, MVP is one of many collaborative tracks on the album, which also features Jay-Z and Nas, among other guest artists.

Ludacris has called the album a “classic” and a “movement”, and plans a future tour with fellow Atlanta artists TI and Young Jeezy in the near future to promote the new sound. He took some time out to discuss some of the most influential beats on his sound:

Will I Am Releases Obama Song

Artist Will.i.am released “It’s a New Day” to celebrate Barack Obama’s election victory last week on the Oprah Winfrey Show. The single is a follow up to the artists “Yes We Can” which helped catapult Obama’s internet presence and drew an whole set of new voters to the campaign.The next video due out from William is “We Are the Ones” which will feature Jessica Alba among other celebrities in continued support of his message for political change.

Kanye West Arrest

Kayne West arrested at Los Angeles Airport:

Rapper Kanye West smashed a photographer’s camera, and was charged, along with manager Don Crowley, with a vandalism felony. Held on bail, the artist faces charges of destroying the $5,000 camera from the X17 photographer, which a TMZ reporter captured on video.  West then tried to damage the video evidence, but was restrained before he could attack a second reporter. On their way to Hawaii, the pair now faces a fourth-degree felony count. Check out the film footage of Kanye’s arrest:

Large Hadron Physics Rap

A CERN researcher has marked the pending launch of the Large Hadron Collider in Geneva with a tribute physics rap video entitled “Large Hadron Rap”. With almost a million views on YouTube, the video of scientists dropping beats (and slant rhymes) while explaining particle physics with lines like:
“When matter meets its normal twin, they both annihilate / Matter turns into energy and then dissipates.” The Collider is the largest ever built, and is looking for new particles, namely the Higgs Boson “God Particle”, the only particle in the standard physics model yet to be observed. Physicists hope that by observing the boson, they can finally understand how a photo without mass (and the resulting electromagnetism) differs from the W, Z bosons (and the resulting weak force.)

Akon Trial

Akon will be in court starting in December on charges of second-degree harassment and endangering the welfare of a mior stemming from an incident at a New York concert. The fan claimed that Akon threw him off the stage at a 2007 concert, causing another fan to suffer a concussion. Rather than seeking a plea deal, Akon requested his lawyer seek a jury trial so he could attempt to clear his record.

Hailing from Senegal, Akon hit the scene in 2004 with his hit Locked Up and earned a Grammy for his second album Konvicted featuring the single Smack That. In addition to his solo career, Akon is a producer who has worked on hundreds of albums through his Konvict Muzik label.

Top Music Videos

We went through our video archive and selected some of the classic videos that have come to define the genre. Hit us up with your favorites, and leave them in the comments so we can consider adding them to the list:

Triumph
WuTang Clan

The classic Wu-Tang video is visually impressive with bees swaming a city as ODB stands atop a skyscraper as the Clan aims to save him. Triumph pioneered the use of special effects in hip-hop videos. Most impressive is Inspectah Deck scaling the skyscraper as his beats play in the background.

Planet Rock
Afrika Bamaattaa

A classic early video, Planet Rock was one of the first rap videos on the scene. Afrika samples a wide variety of tracks and shows his mixing genius.

California Love
Tupac

2Pac came onto the scene in California after moving from the East coast, and this song celebrates the rhythms that came to define West Coast hip-hop. The vocal effects, from Dre and Roger Troutman, showcase 2Pac’s sound.

Rapper’s Delight
Sugarhill Gang

The first true rap hit, Rapper’s Delight came out in 1979 and is still a modern classic.

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Hit us up in the comments with your favorite video, and we’ll consider adding it to the list.

Rap Radio Stations

We have checked out out the top hip-hop radio stations, and compiled a list of some of the best rap radio. Each of these rap music stations provides original urban programming:

BBC Urban Radio
London, UK
BBC Urban radio has a diverse set of DJs who spin original tracks and features in-station performances and interviews from a variety of artists. Recent in-house performances include Ray-J, an in-depth interview with Lil Wayne and live broadcasting from the Leeds Carnival performances. Check out some of the most original rap radio programming at the BBC from DJs such as Trevor Nelson,Ras Kwame and Zane Lowe.

Hot 97.7
San Francisco, CA
KFFG 97.7 spins a diverse array of urban sounds from rap to reggae, blues and soul. With original programming from DJs like Big Rick Stuart and quality original shows, Hot 97 is California’s top rap station.
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Have a favorite rap radio station? Hit us up in the comments, and we’ll review your suggestions to build out the list.

LL Cool J Exit 13

After paving the way for an emerging hip-hop scene in the late 80s, LL Cool J has had a wide-ranging career. 23 years after releasing his debut album Radio in 1985 featuring the single Rock the Bells, Exit 13 shows the range of his musical expression.

Exit 13 is both more introspective than his previous work, but also features the intensity that shaped his early career. The album features a wide range of collaborating artists ranging from Wyclef Jean to Richi Sambora and DJ Scratch. Heartbeat features a lyrical conversation with 50 Cent, while the early release hit single Baby features The Dream. The core beats that came to define LL over his recording career of over 10 platinum records are fully featured on the album. Exit 13 plays almost like an anthology, showing his street character in the rhythmic New York Gangas to an upbeat intensity in Bump This featuring Lloyd Banks and Young Hot Rod to a more reflective sensitivity in Cry with Lil Mo and Girl If I with Trey Songz.  Fans who have followed LL over his career will appreciate this latest album, along with hip-hop fans in general.

LL has had a diverse career as a recording artist, published author in many genres (he has written the bestselling Platinum Workout, along with a children’s book and an autobiography) accomplished actor with over 30 feature films to his credit and NAACP award recipient. If this album is any indication, we can expect a wide range of future releases that show the range of LL’s voice. As his 13th album, this marks his final Def Jam album - let’s hope the title isn’t a hint of a forthcoming exit from his recording career.

Charles Hamilton Tour

Emerging artist Charles Hamilton is launching an online multi-month tour beginning this month. Hamilton will perform eight exclusive sets for leading music sites, introducing new songs from his upcoming album collaboration with DJ Skee.

Hailing from Cleveland, Hamilton is known for his creative mixing and sampling, drawing influences from groups as diverse as Incubus and Modest Most. Currently, Hamilton records in Harlem and recently released his debut album Pink Lavalamp.

The Game LAX

The Game recently released LAX, his 3rd album and is planning a break to take some time off from the scene. After multiple Grammy nods, Taylor became one of the focal points in West Coast hip hop. Since working closely with Dr. Dre on his debut album The Documentary, the Compton-born rapper has been forging an independent path.

After earning a basketball scholarship at Washington State, Taylor was expelled and took to street life. Taylor got noticed by Russell Simmons who heard his mix tape, which led to his introduction to Dre who signed him to a record to work with 50 cent.

Taylor also has a side acting career with voice-over roles in Grand Theft Auto and an acting debut in independent release Waist Deep. The Game announced plans to work on future projects with Young Buck, but, for now, he’s taking some time off from the hip-hop scene.

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