Tay Dizm 'Point Em Out' Mixtape

Nappy Boy artist Tay Dizm unleashes a dose of new music by offering his Point Em Out mixtape to y'all. A perfect mix of music to get your Summertime party moving. Take a listen.

Download, stream the mixtape here:
Tay Dizm - Point Em Out

DJ Nasty Hot 97 Summer Jam 2010 NYC Video Recap

Related:
Hot 97 Summer Jam 2010 Internet Round Up

T-Pain: Russian Roulette - Road to Revolver Episode 3 & 4

T-Pain rEVOLVEr on Nappy Boy/Konvict/Jive/Zomba coming soon!

Previous:
T-Pain: Russian Roulette - Road to Revolver Episode 1 & 2 + Latest Single 'Kiss Her'

T-Pain: Freaknik - The Musical Soundtrack + The Official Music Video

Freaknik: The Musical Soundtrack tracklist:

1. T-Pain - "Freaknik is Back"
2. T-Pain ft. One Chance - "Save You"
3. T-Pain ft. Snoop Dogg, Mack Maine - "Ghetto Commandments"
4. T-Pain ft. Young Cash - "We Da Mob"
5. T-Pain ft. Rick Ross, Young Cash - "Beat Build"

Download it here:
iTunes - Freaknik: The Musical Soundtrack

Detail - 'Tattoo Foreva' Ft. T-Pain, Lil Wayne & Travis McCoy

Super Producer / Songwriter Detail (Ray J "Sexy Can I"; Akon "I'm So Paid") releases his first single as an artist titled "Tattoo Foreva" from his debut album to be released on KrazyBox / Universal Republic. The track features T-Wayne and Travis McCoy from Gym Class Heroes. This is the first official feature from supergroup T-Wayne, which is comprised of T-Pain and Lil Wayne. Video to drop soon.

Detail Ft. T-Pain, Lil Wayne & Travis McCoy
Download: "Tattoo Foreva"

T-Pain: Russian Roulette - Road to Revolver Episode 1 & 2 + Latest Single 'Kiss Her'

Download T-Pain's latest single 'Kiss Her' produced by Clinton Sparks & DJ Snake here:
Kiss Her

Freaknik - T-Pain feat. Snoop Dogg & Mack Maine - 'Ghetto Commandments'

One of the most requested songs from Freaknik: The Musical; “Ghetto Commendments” by T-Pain featuring Snoop Dogg & Mack Maine is on sale now on iTunes as well as T-Pain’s new single “Reverse Cowgirl”.



Now available at iTunes:

Freaknik - T-Pain feat. Snoop Dogg & Mack Maine - Ghetto Commandments

T-Pain -Reverse Cowgirl

T-Pain - 'Reverse Cowgirl' (video)

T-Pain rEVOLVEr on Nappy Boy/Jive/Zomba/Konvict coming soon!

T-Pain - 'Reverse Cowgirl' Behind The Scenes Video Shoot

Photos:
Derrick G blog

Freaknik: The Musical Cartoon Creators Nick Weidenfeld & Carl Jones Interview

via Ozone Magazine

Last night Freaknik: The Musical debuted on Adult Swim with T-Pain voicing the part of Freaknik. A ghost with skin made out of dollar signs who wears an outrageous gold chain with a charm that is a likeness of himself. Surprisingly, this probably isn’t the most outrageous element of the cartoon.

The show will revolve around a four-man rap group that goes by the name Sweet Tea Mobsters. They hail from fictional Sweet Tea, Florida and are on a mission to get to the Freaknik celebration in Atlanta so that they can participate in the Battle of Trillest (think Battle of the Bands for rappers) where the grand prize winner will receive a lifetime supply of money, clothes and hoes.

By now, you’ve probably already formed an opinion about Freaknik: A Musical. Which is fine, that’s what the show creators want you to do, on top of have a good time watching it. Ozone caught up with the shows co-creators, co-writers and co-executive producers of the show Nick Weidenfeld (Head of Development at Adult Swim) and Carl Jones (co-executive producer of The Boondocks) to have them explain the cartoon’s origins and intentions.

Ozone: Start off by telling us where this idea originated from.

Nick: We actually started off working on another cartoon that was more about race and politics and a Return of Freaknik episode was just going to be one of them. It was about a character that embodied spring break and the personification of the best party in the world. Who better than T-Pain to be the voice of the party? As I started to work on that idea, we went away from politics and went to fun. I started working more with Pain and he got more involved in the show. From there I started working with Carl Jones from The Boondocks and decided to create a show around the Freaknik character.

I loved the idea of A Charlie Brown Christmas special and thought it would be funny to have a spring break special. So it’s a road trip about a group of rappers growing up in a town called Sweet Tea, Florida called the Sweet Tea Mobsters. Rick Ross, Cee-Lo, DJ Pooh and T-Pain’s artist Young Cash are the voices. They are a group of struggling rappers that want to get put on. They are hustling hard and they are holding a Battle of the Bands that’s called the Battle of the Trillest and the winner gets a lifetime supply of money, clothes and hoes. They are desperately trying to get from Florida to Atlanta. Along the way they run out of gas and wind up at a white frat party. Then they end up in the trap where they meet Trap Jesus who is played by Lil Wayne. The story is about their struggles to get there and the people they meet who both help and distract them. Tha Bizness produced the music so its real funny and it has some bangers.

Carl: To clear up confusion, a rumor leaked out saying that Lil Wayne is playing Jesus, that’s not true. The character he is playing is like Jesus. We actually went through several name changes. He’s not the Jesus from the Bible, but he represents a Christ-like figure because he has a flock of dudes that always following him, but he runs a trap house. In their journey the Sweet Tea Mobsters wind up on the wrong side of the tracks in a bad neighborhood and Trap Jesus give them…useful tools for their journey.

Ozone: What went into selecting the artists that are doing the voice work on the cartoon?

Nick: When I met T-Pain he was the biggest fan of Adult Swim. Its on his rider that he has to have Cartoon Network. Big Boi had to be apart of it, George Clinton and Bootsy had to be apart of this. Rick Ross has good relationship with Pain and he has great voice for cartoons. Cee-Lo and Lil Jon, we wanted to get as many dudes from Atlanta as possible. We wanted people who made it authentic and with a sense of humor.

Ozone: With some of the potentially offensive elements you’ve named in the cartoon, it would take person with a special sense of humor to take part in this.

Nick: We picked people who wanted people to have fun. There are people who had real fun at Freaknik either performing or participating. A lot of people don’t like it, but a lot of people liked it. It wasn’t the worst thing in the world, we’re just trying to say, have a good time.

Carl: The media really put a spin on Freaknik. Anytime when you bring a lot of people together, there’s always an opportunity for things to go wrong. But for the most part people came to have a good time. Even economically, it was beneficial to the community. It was a good experience for the city of Atlanta but I think the racism that still exists in the South is what got it shut down.

Ozone: Are you expecting any backlash from the show, even though you say your intentions are to simply have a good time? You have to know some of the elder statesmen ’s men in our community may have something to say about this. Freaknik was a very racially polarizing event in Atlanta.

Nick: Its going to be a show that is not for the elder statesmen. Its supposed to be funny and fun. If you look up the story about Freaknik: The Musical in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution you’ll see that the headline is a joke saying that Freaknik is back. If you read through the comments, it generates into basically the most terrible, racism with people attacking each other. It quickly snowballs into that. This cartoon is here to celebrate having fun. Obviously bad things happen when you get a ton of people together. The same things can be said about Woodstock and the Puerto Rican day parade. The core of it is supposed to be fun. Matter of fact, the bad guys in the show are the elder statesmen, the Boule. This has been talked about before, there was said to be a group of Black professionals or the Black upper class. We don’t get too deep into that, but we do have a jokey version of it to show that its true that there is a group of people that don’t want kids to have fun and make sure that Freaknik doesn’t exist. The real Freaknik made a lot of money for Black Atlanta, but they might not have supported the business that the government wanted them to. We don’t disregard the other things that revolved around Freaknik. We know people want to watch just to hate on it. Its dealt with on the show.

Carl: When you do something black or urban, we are judged differently. You’ll have Steven Speilberg do a movie with violence and negativity and nothing is said. But we are held to be responsible on a whole ‘nother level. We’re not trying to change the world with a cartoon. We’re just trying to be honest. You got people that are going to be mad. I feel like there is an honesty in what we saying, that’s why it strikes people in a negative way. People shouldn’t get mad at us for putting things on TV, get mad that they exist in our society. We’re giving an honest interpretation of what Freaknik was. If we we’re showing people something that we don’t do, it wouldn’t be a problem, but because we’re putting light on something we actually did, it is. This is a part of who we are, this is a part of our culture. Everybody went to Freanknik to have a good time, it’s about the freedom of expression.

Freaknik: The Cartoon Movie With T-Pain, Lil Wayne Is Coming To A TV Near You

'Freaknik: The Musical' premieres Sunday, March 7 on Cartoon Network (Adult Swim). Check your local listings for air times.

via Los Angeles Times

T-Pain said making the move to animation was easy because he had already been collaborating with the network, including appearing in a live-action version of the hit show “Aqua Teen Hunger Force.” Using Freaknik as the backdrop for the special was one of the ideas brought to him by producers, and it happened to be the most risqué.

"Back in the '90s, Freaknik was Atlanta's version of the ultimate block party. It was Mardi Gras meets spring break, at your crazy cousin's bachelor party, and anything could happen," T-Pain said. "It was just the biggest party of all time. The black version of what people see on MTV."

The Grammy Award-winning rapper and producer voices the ghost of Freaknik’s past, and the little guy even sports a diamond-encrusted chain, pimp cup and oversized shades much like the rapper. The character's hauntings are strictly of the party variety. T-Pain said anywhere the ghost goes, the revelry starts, and “strippers start coming and flying out the air."

Read the full article here:
L.A. Times - T-Pain's animated 'Freaknik': 'Strippers start coming and flying out the air'

One Chance Ft. T-Pain -'All The Way Turnt Up' Remix

I guess with this video it's official, One Chance is on T-Pain's Nappy Boy.

T-Pain's Christmas Party @ Nappy Boy Mansion (Video & Photo Tour)

Plenty of hilarity ensues at T-Pain's Christmas Party at the Nappy Boy Compound on Wednesday December 23.

PHOTOS:
Ozone Magazine

Cali Christmas 2009 Concert Widget w/Interviews & Performances

Related:
50 Cent & Chamillionaire @ Cali Christmas: More Video Footage Posted Online

Cali Christmas w/50 Cent, Chamillionaire, T-Pain And More Concert Recap

50 Cent & Chamillionaire @ Cali Christmas: More Video Footage Posted Online

Related:
Cali Christmas w/50 Cent, Chamillionaire, T-Pain And More Concert Recap

Cali Christmas w/50 Cent, Chamillionaire, T-Pain And More Concert Recap

As reported by August Brown at the Los Angeles Times

Everyone at Cali Christmas (Power 106), from the once world-crushing rapper 50 Cent on down to the welcome young crooner Jeremih, had a streak of self-deprecation to their acts.

Maybe it came from the humbling fact that their genres, which once prided themselves on distinctions between being gangsta and being a gentleman, are now indistinguishable -- and nobody can sound too thuggish over today's dominant Euro-trance beats and thin sales figures. Still, the shift humanized the boys' boasts regarding their earning and bedroom prowess in convincing ways.

Brooklyn rapper Fabolous has long operated at the fringes of pop while maintaining credibility as a dense, lyrical MC. His most recent album, "Loso's Way," sported the unfortunate Carrie Bradshaw-worthy shopping anthem "Throw It in the Bag." But during his set Wednesday, he made some welcome detours through his earlier, much flintier material.

From an opposite vantage point, T-Pain's lush robot quaver has become maybe the defining sound of pop radio in the latter years of this decade. His secret is that he's actually a fantastic singer and arranger; every single comes stacked with inventive harmonies and a playful way with melody. He's a much smarter songwriter than titles like "I'm N Luv (Wit a Stripper)" might lead one to believe, but he also refuses to take himself seriously.



50 Cent has had a tougher time of that in recent months. After Kanye West skunked him on the 2007 sales charts, 50 has struggled mightily to return to his "Get Rich or Die Trying"-era dominance. But one forgets that the 50 Cent who wrote "How to Rob" -- an older track that remains his most exciting song -- was a sneering underdog, not the guy who celebrates an actual "Curtis Jackson Day" in his über-rich enclave of Bridgeport, Conn.

50 does better when people don't see him coming. New singles like "Psycho" have a touch of his old menace; at Cali Christmas, he hit the high points of his conflicted new album "Before I Self Destruct," like the glitched-up ragtime-piano burner "So Disrespectful."

More fan shot footage below.





Read the full review here:
L.A. Times - Live: Power 106 Cali Christmas at Gibson Amphitheatre

PHOTOS:
Getty Images
Orange County Register

(video footage courtesy of gtony87)

Los Angeles Times 2009's Top Hip Hop Songs About Booze

“Crack a Bottle” – Eminem featuring Dr. Dre and 50 Cent

“So crack a bottle / Let your body waddle / Don’t act like a snobby model / You just hit the Lotto,” Em sing-raps on the chorus of this party track. The operative thinking here conflates sobriety with snootiness and getting wasted with winning a lottery jackpot.



“Blame It” – Jamie Foxx featuring T-Pain

“Blame it on the Goose, got ya feelin’ loose / Blame it on the 'trón, catch me in a zone / Blame it on the a-a-a-a-a-alcohol,” Foxx sings with no small amount of added Auto-tune attitude in this boudoir jam that was all but inescapable on Top 40 radio earlier this year. Yes, he is talking about Grey Goose and Patrón. But later in the song, he lays bare his reasoning: by continuing to fill a potential love interest’s cup, she’s more likely to lose her inhibitions – “Fill another cup up / Feelin’ on your butt what?”



“Crazy Night” – R. Kelly featuring R. City

“This Hennessy got me,” R. Kelly croons on the lead cut from his latest album, “Untitled.” Then he gets to the chorus: “If you’re drinkin’ what I’m drinkin’, put your hands up in the sky / If you’re thinkin’ what I’m thinkin’, you’ll say, 'What a crazy night!' ” But R’s consumption hardly stops there. In the song, he also brags of a “thousand dollar” bar tab, concluding, “I need another shot of that Bacardi” -- recklessly ignoring the inevitability of a hangover such booze mixing will provoke.



“Shots” – LMFAO featuring Lil Jon

Jägerbombs, lemon drops, Jello shots and kamikazes as well as premium liquors such as Ciroc Vodka and the rappers’ de facto favorite (judging by its ubiquity in hip-hop songs since 2006) Patrón tequila all get a shout-out on this Crunk-inflected club-banger. Even if the song’s “we came to party” ethos is hardly groundbreaking, its hook remains unforgettable: Lil Jon hoarsely screaming the word “shots!” 16 times in a row.



“Maldito Alcohol” – Pitbull

Reggaeton was no stranger to hip-hop’s reigning dipsomania. Exhibit A: Boriquan rapper Pitbull spitting lyrics (in Spanish) such as “I don’t want water / I want a drink”. . . “Damn alcohol, sweet torment / Give me a drink on the rocks.”



“One More Drink” – Ludacris

An unapologetic ode to putting on one’s “beer goggles,” “One More Drink’s” narrative drama revolves around the ramifications of Luda having that proverbial one too many. Drunk driving and bedding ugly women ensues: “Surrendered to the woman / And her bringin’ me home / Because she looked better / Every shot of Patrón.”



“I’m So Gone (Patrón)” – Chamillionaire featuring Bobby Valentino

Chamilly and Bobby Valentino go for the obvious couplet here, rhyming “I’m poppin’ bottles of Patrón” with “all night long.” For the rapper, it’s clear that alcohol provides a palliative for his worldly concerns. “I’mma wash my problems away,” Chamillionaire raps. “Tonight I need a drank.” R&B Lothario Valentino, meanwhile, announces that he doesn’t usually drink but admits he’s “gone” -- read: wasted -- from drinking a mixture of tequila and rose wine.



“Wasted” – Gucci Mane

“Party, party, party, let’s all get wasted,” the rapper exhorts on this hit single. “Shake it for me baby girl, do it butt naked / I’m so wasted, she so wasted / Tell the bartender send me 20 more cases.” The discrete charms of this hit single don’t end with the incontrovertible logic of its chorus, however. Mane also presumes the intoxication of certain notorious pop divas, mentioning that the booze has got him “geeking like Whitney and Britney.”



“Patrón Tequila” – the Paradiso Girls featuring Lil Jon

We can all agree that Crunkmeister Lil Jon was the man behind this year’s most unabashedly pro-booze music. On this paean to rap’s preferred tipple, though, the Paradiso Girls make vocal a silken threat: “By the end of the night, I’mma have you drunk and throwin’ up.”

(source)

Akon: Sydney, Australia Concert Goes On Without A Hitch

Akon with T-Pain as the show opener in Sydney, Australia at the Acer Arena on Tuesday, October 27, the day after the Melbourne concert melee (see story here.)

Photos:
Getty Images
Rex Features

Akon: Australian Concert Melee Leaves 18 Injured

via the Sydney Morning Herald as reported by Mex Cooper

Akon was performing when fighting broke out in the audience and outside the venue (Melbourne Australia's HiSense Arena.)

He told the audience it had taken him two years to play in Australia and he was not going to let anyone "f--- up" the gig.

The police spokeswoman said six people had reported being assaulted and she believed up to 18 had been injured.

Angry crowd members, who paid $125 to see Akon and fellow rapper T-Pain, have said they feared for their safety as security staff became outnumbered by the battling fans.

Read more of the story here:
Sydney Morning Herald

Devyne Stephens: Music Industry Artist Manager Video Profile and Interview

In this day and age, stars are not necessarily born. The ones who have the talent, drive, crafty viral campaigns, songwriting abilities, exude "Star Quality", a little luck and of course making good music, have a chance to make it as an artist in the music business. Devyne Stephens is one person who recognizes all these qualities and understands how each artist he works with fits in today's music market place. As CEO of Upfront Megatainment management company and Vice President of Konvict Music, Devyne Stephens currently works with the likes of Akon, T-Pain and Lady Gaga and earlier in his career at LaFace Records helped guide the careers of Usher and TLC.



Also a recent BallerStatus interview with Devyne Stephens:

BallerStatus.com: I know that you have been a big part of Akon's career. Tell me a little bit about your relationship with him?

Devyne Stephens: Me and Akon started out as friends and I would advise him on his career before we even got into the business. Before I actually signed him to my production company, I took him through the whole regimen of artist development. His development took a little bit longer because he had a very unique and diverse sound. It took a minute for people to gravitate to his style of writing and his sound. We became partners after the success and here we are.

BallerStatus.com: What is that you look for to develop an artist into a megastar like Akon or T-Pain? What does that process look like?

Devyne Stephens: Actually it's not just developing the art, but developing the human being. [We teach] them about life and different things, not just style and imaging and A&R and how to make records, but the overall makeover. Just really look for their drive and passion.

Read more of the interview here:
BallerStatus.com - Devyne Stephens

Learn more about Upfront Megatainment here:
Upfront Megatainment

(video courtesy of rollingoutTELEVISION)