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A Great Day In Atlanta: T.I., Jeezy, Ludacris, Others Gather For Historic Shoot- courtesy of MTV.com

ATLANTA — On Friday, what seemed to be impossible was done. More than 50 members of Atlanta's music community came out to stand together, unified. Literally.

Call it "A Great Day in Atlanta." T.I., Ludacris, Bobby Valentino, members of Disturbing Tha Peace, the Ying Yang Twins, T-Mo and Kujo Goodie, TLC's T-Boz, the ladies of Crime Mob, Organized Noize, Killer Mike, Field Mob, Mr. Collipark, Jermaine Dupri, influential music exec Kawan "KP" Prather, DJ Crew the Aphilliates, Bone Crusher, Boys N Da Hood, Young Jeezy and others gathered to recreate the famous 1958 "A Great Day in Harlem" photo by Art Kane.

For the original, Kane assembled close to 60 members of the jazz community in New York's Harlem neighborhood — including Count Basie, Thelonious Monk, Dizzy Gillespie and Henry "Red" Allen — to pose together. The ATL gathering will be part of the upcoming MTV special "My Block: Atlanta."

"I can't believe they actually got all these people together in one spot," Ludacris said with a smile.

"This is something real big for the city," boasted Young Jeezy, who was standing next to T.I.

"It's a positive thing," legendary producer Rico Wade of Organized Noize said. "It's a blessing that MTV's showing Atlanta love. And it's a blessing that we got the people, we got the talent. It's so many cats that's been holding it down — T-Boz is out here, who I've known since '93 — and then you have guys like T.I. and Jeezy out here, a lot of cats that's keeping it going, too."

"The A-Town sticks together," Boyz N Da Hood member Jody Breeze testified. "It's an honor to be a part of all this. It's another step for us. It's another big move for the A to bring us closer together."

"It's beautiful," agreed Jermaine Dupri, who was holding his bulldog Slash on a Louis Vuitton leash. "I think it's way overdue [for this kind of shoot], but I think it's great that we as a city did everything we could possibly do to get to this point. I look around and I say you can't look at this picture, you gonna have to listen to this picture today."

Throughout the day, you could see the various participants reacquainting themselves with one another, pulling each other aside to crack jokes. Even JD's dog Slash got in the mix. He played with Crime Mob's Diamond, while Bone Crusher and his family ate in the greenroom.

Young Jeezy was the last to arrive and was greeted by T.I. and Killer Mike.

You can see plenty of behind-the-scenes footage and the actual "A Great Day in Atlanta" photo — which was taken by Amanda Marsalis — December 11 at 4:30 p.m. ET on MTV2.

— Shaheem Reid, with additional reporting by Bridget Bland

Read full story online:
http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1514232/20051121/t_i_.jhtml?headlines=true

 

50 Cent Wonders How Terrence Howard Gets Home- courtesy of MTV.com

Now that fans have had the chance to see the film "Get Rich or Die Tryin'," everyone will undoubtedly be critiquing 50 Cent's acting skills. Since 50 has already weighed in on his own performance (see "50 Says He's No 'Super Actor' — And Tells Em He's Not A Sucker"), he's turning his analytical eye on his co-star Terrence Howard. Howard has seemingly been everywhere this year, and 50 feels that he's broken out even further in "Get Rich."

"Terrence is incredible," 50 said. "This is his time. You see his consistency. Sometimes you don't have to have a knockout to win. It's been a combination for Terrence Howard ... 'Crash,' 'Four Brothers,' 'Hustle & Flow.' I feel his performance in this film is going to take him to an even higher spot."

In the movie, Howard plays a character very left-of-center, to say the least. In real life, 50 says that Howard's method acting has made him raise an eyebrow.

"I get to watch him become more comfortable being different people," Fif said. "He's a little crazy. These [actors] are crazy. I think Terrence can do anything. But to consistently be someone else, how do you get home? How do you get back to you? Let's say it takes 30 days to get back. If you become someone else for three months, don't you think that sometimes portions of that character come back? If you get frustrated or angry you might go back to that angry character. My experience with Hollywood women proves it."

For this and all of the latest news updates, visit

http://www.mtv.com/movies/news/articles/1514045/11182005/story.jhtml

 

Game Working On The Dr.'s Advocate With ... You Guessed It ... - courtesy of MTV.com

CULVER CITY, California — The Game's feud with 50 Cent hasn't tarnished the Compton rapper's relationship with Dr. Dre, and he's making that clear with the title of his next album.

"It's called The Dr.'s Advocate," the Game revealed at Saturday's Vibe Awards (see "Mariah Wins Big, Mary J. Gets Emotional At Peaceful Vibe Awards"). "It means Dr. Dre's the man; what he says goes. He's got the formula, and we gonna make it happen."

The Game's already been in the studio with Dre and said his beef with 50, who is also signed under Aftermath, hasn't been an issue.

"Dr. Dre makes good music," the Game explained. "Eminem, 50 Cent, myself, we all sell records, we're all protégés of Dr. Dre. So me and 50's beef stays outside and we don't bring it in the house."

Asked if he and 50 would ever be able to put aside their differences, much like Jay-Z and Nas did recently (see "Jay-Z And Nas Put Beef To Sleep In Onstage Show Of Unity"), the Game, who had "G-Unot" shaved into his hair, said he's focused on the new record and "already looked past them."

Along with Dre, The Dr.'s Advocate will feature production from Kanye West, Just Blaze, Timbaland, Scott Storch and Cool & Dre.

"Same soup, different kitchen," the Game said. "We gonna get it done, sell a million records the first week."

Also aiding in that cause are such unlikely collaborators as Good Charlotte's Benji and Joel Madden (see "Game Recording LP, Growing Afro, Moving Next Door To Hilary").

"It's just gangsta-rap punk rock," the Game said of their track. "It's been done before on a bigger scale with Run-DMC and that thing they did back in the day with 'Walk This Way,' so it's just mixing the music genres, having fun. And those are my neighbors. I always jump over the back fence and walk in the studio and they always making good music back there."

"I'm feeling like a star now," he added about living on the Maddens' street. "But it's cool 'cause I make the street a little bit more gangsta."

Other guests on The Dr.'s Advocate will be culled from the Game's label, Black Wall Street.

"I got an artist named Technice out of Long Beach, the home of Snoop Dogg," the Game said. "He's crazy, man, he got Snoop's blessing and he got the type of buzz that I had in California when I was first coming up, so look for Technice soon."

The Dr.'s Advocate is due in early April, according to the Game.

Read full story online:
http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1513870/20051116/game_the.jhtml?headlines=true

 

Hip-Hop Labels Spearheading Thanksgiving Drives courtesy of allhiphop.com

As the Thanksgiving holiday approaches, powerhouse record labels Rap-A-Lot, Swisha House and Cash Money Records are spearheading Thanksgiving relief efforts in Houston, Texas and Baton Rouge Louisiana.

In Houston, Rap-A-Lot Records CEO J. Prince teams up with Swisha House Records and Houston’s celebrated Club Visions to Feed the Houston’s homeless.

Hosted by Bun-B, Mike Jones & Slim Thug, the Thanksgiving “Feed the Homeless” Drive is geared to feed the homeless and displaced evacuees of Hurricane Katrina on Thanksgiving Day.

In Baton Rouge, Cash Money Records founders Ronald 'Slim' Williams and Bryan 'Birdman' Williams, will host their annual Turkey Giveaway to more than 2000 evacuees of Hurricane Katrina.

The label will provide survivors and displaced residents of the crisis with a sit-down Thanksgiving dinner with all the holiday trimmings.

"So many of our friends and family were devastated by this terrible tragedy, we wanted to do something a little more elaborate this year to address the needs of the people who have lost so much and might not have the resources to remember the holiday," Slim told AllHipHop.com in a statement. "We want to show our love and support for these courageous survivors who never, ever give up."

Williams' own home and offices were destroyed by Katrina, as his were brother's and other members of the Cash Money family.

Both record labels have led relief efforts in their cities on behalf of the victims of Hurricane’s Katrina and Rita.

In Houston, the Rap-A-Lot/Swisha House Thanksgiving “Feed the Homeless” Drive will take place on November 24 at Club Visions from 1:00pm-4:00pm.

For additional information on the event, contact Club Visions at 713-227-1172 or the Prince Boxing Complex at 713-227-0535.

Cash Money’s Turkey Giveaway and dinner will be held on Tuesday, November 22nd at Southern University in Baton Rouge, LA, from 4:00 pm to 8:00 pm, with the event being co-sponsored by SU.

Read full story online:
http://www.allhiphop.com/hiphopnews/?ID=5082

Veteran Rapper DMC Leaves Adidas, Endorsing French Brand Le Cog Sportif - courtesy of allhiphop.com

Veteran rapper Darryl “DMC” McDaniels, formerly of pioneering rap group Run-DMC, has ended his 20-year affiliation with Adidas.

The rapper has joined on to promote the Upscale French-owned brand, Le Coq Sportif.

DMC said he came across the brand on his quest to find a comfortable sneaker, after many years with Adidas, whom he once endorsed in a now legendary 1986 pact with the German sportswear giant.

DMC was introduced to the Le Coq Sportif brand earlier this year after a trip to the company’s New York show room with a business associate.

“When summer came, I had to put my Adidas back on because literally, no other sneaker looked right on me," DMC told AllHipHop.com. "For some reason, those shell-toes were mine. Not for Run, not [Jam Master] Jay’s. For me. I couldn’t wear nothing else.”

DMC is also helping Le Coq Sportif in a design capacity, helping to choose color schemes of the sneakers.

In January, the Sausheim, France based Le Coq Sportif announced it would make a push into the United States apparel market via a collaboration with Itochu International, the company that owns the Le Coq Sportif license in the United States.

Hip-Hop fashionistas will recall the Le Coq Sportif brand was popular in hip-hop circles in the mid-1980’s.

DMC said he was not simply signing a shoe deal and had rebuffed offers until he found a shoe that also reflected his personal style.

“I put those shoes on [Le Coq Sportif] and it was a wrap,” DMC said. “I finally found the sneaker I was looking for. Finally I could get out of my shell-toes.”

Run-DMC helped revolutionize hip-hop marketing when they recorded the hit song “My Adidas” featured on their landmark 1986 album, Raising Hell.

“Adidas was part of a great past, but with my new album and documentary show coming out this fall on VH1, I found a sneaker brand to represent a great future," DMC continued.

DMC is preparing to release his debut solo album Checks Thugs and Rock 'n Roll on his own label Rags 2 Riches Records and will also be featured in an upcoming Le Coq Sportif ad campaign.

The rapper is also the subject of a new VH1 franchise called “VH1 Rock Docs,” which reveals untold stories in the world of rock and hip-hop music.

Read full story online:
http://www.allhiphop.com/hiphopnews/?ID=5078

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