HipHopMusiq.com

As long as this list is Hottest MC’s of 2008 and not best I really have no problem with it. You could have put Soulja Boy on there as well as a host of others and i wouldn’t have a problem. Hottest definitely doesn’t mean best. So here it goes, Mtv’s hottest in 2008.

1. Kanye West
2. Jay Z
3. Lil Wayne
4. Rick Ross
5. 50 Cent
6. Snoop Dogg
7. Lupe Fiasco
8. Young Jeezy
9. Andre 3000
10. TI.

There it is Mtv’s hottest for 2008.

Posted under 50 Cent, Andre 3000, Jay Z, Kanye West, Lil Wayne, Lupe Fiasco, Mtv, Rick Ross, Snoop Dogg, TI, Young Jeezy

There’s a war going on outside for the soul of the music industry. Itunes is the number one seller of music right now and the record industry is trying to counter act that. This week they hooked up a deal with myspace to give some of their music away for free and to make their money on advertising, merchandising, and other related venues. They also have to watch their flank because company, Live Nation is coming from the left to try to drink their milkshake. They are banking on the work the industry has done in making big name artist and signing them to huge deals to get a piece of their hustle. Who’s going to win this war, no one knows. but it should be an interesting fight.

Posted under Jay Z, Live Nation, Madonna, U2

Following in the footsteps of Madonna and U2 major superstar Jay Z signs music promoter Live Nation for 150 million dollars. The deal has an array of stipulations to it that pretty much play out to Live Nation backing a ton of Jay Z’s business ventures, as well as getting a percentage of touring and merchandise revenue.

There has been speculation wether this was a good deal or not for Live Nation as well as Jay Z’s part. We would have to conclude that not only was it a good deal but it’s the smartest deal out right now. This is where more music deals are going eventually end up because the old model is hanging on by life support. The only problem that we see right now is that this model is great for older established artist. There has to be a way for newer artist to be able to reap the rewards of their music as well as not being jerked around by the industry games that have been around for so long. This is just the beginning of this new world economy, not the end.

For more information about this deal go to this link from the New York Times, Jay Z Live Nation Deal.

Posted under Jay Z, Live Nation

Jay Z is a making sure that all of his bases are covered with the music industry in the slumps right now. He along with Steve Stoute are creating a new advertising agency  named  Translation Advertising. The purpose for this venture is to bring Clients that are trying to reach the Hip Hop community closer to their targets. For more on this story check out the New York Times link.

Posted under Jay Z, Steve Stoute

On a bunch of different Hip Hop and Black blog sites yesterday the Forbes list of the top ten Celebrity Black  Earners made a bunch of waves and commotion. There was a lot of different reactions to the story yesterday, most of it positive. But of course there will be a few haters that will show their true colors on a post like this. There were two comments that really stuck with me though. One was that there was no way that these people could make that much money, and another was the negative reaction towards Oprah saying in a magazine article that she feels funny when her relatives ask her for money.

To address the first statement,  yes people do actually make that much money in one year. And yes Black people do make that much money. Unfortunately the only Black people that receive shine for their monetary achievements are in sports and entertainment. We might not have a bunch of billionaires on the list (two form last count) but we do have a good amount of none celebrity millionaires running around. In all different fields as well. We have millionaire inventors, scientist, financial gurus, computer programmers and the list goes on. If you are really interested in taking control of your own financial life and maybe even making the bank that you see Jay Z and Puffy make, then grab a couple of financial books, a couple of business books, a subscription to Black Enterprise, Forbes, and Fortune and then get to work. If you want to make money like that you have to understand not just your business but business in general and how the monetary system works. Watch CNBC in the morning for at least an half hour. Even if you are not going into the finance game realize that watching a network like CNBC will help you understand the business trends that are going on around you. That is always a big help. You will not understand the lingo at first but it will catch on. I am not rich but what I have learned in the past couple of years has really help me understand the monetary system in America and how true economics really works.

Now as far as the Oprah thing I really don’t have too much to say about that.  Nobody knows the true story about that women and her family but them and  god. They may have their side and she apparently has hers. If I was treated bad constantly by family and then I came into money I would not give them any money either.

For the Record here is the list and a link to the list with more of a description of each celebrity.

1. Oprah Winfrey - 260 Million Last Year
2. Tiger Woods - 100 Million Laast Year
3. Jay Z - 83 Million Last Year
4.  50 Cent - 33 Milllion Last Year
5. Kobe Bryant - 33 Million Last Year
6. Shaq - 32 Million Last Year
7. Michael Jordan - 31 Million Last year
8. Will Smith - 31 Million Last Year
9. Beyonce - 27 Million Last Year
10. Lebron James - 27 Million Last Year

Forbes List 

Posted under Jay Z, Puffy, make money

Its being reported that jay Z will leaves his post at Def Jam starting at the beginning of the year.  According to his statement and going with what he has been stating all year is that he feels that the direction of the distribution of music these days is a flawed system and one that he is not in a hurry to be part of. It is yet to be seen what he will do after he steps but we are sure that his hands will be full with his new Real Estate venture as well as other side projects that have been reported.

Posted under Def Jam, Jay Z

Rolling Stone has placed Jay Z feel funky song “Roc Boys” at the top of the class this year. With its infectious samples and feel good boasting its hard for anybody not to get moving to this song. Jay Z protege singer Rihanna was voted #3 with her song “Umbrella“. Other Hip Hop songs on the list include…

• Lil Wayne - Dough is what I got #6
• UGK feat Outkast - International Players Anthem #10
• Kanye West - Stronger #11
• 50 Cent - I get money #14
• Soulja Boy - Crank That #21
• Common - The People #29
• Rich Boy - Throw Some D’s on this #37
• Wu Tang Clan - Heart Gently Weeps #50
• Lil Mama - Lip Gloss #56
• TI - Big Shit Poppin #66
• Eve - Tambourine #68
• Young Jeezy - Go Getta #76
• Swizz Beats - Its me Bitches(Remix) #85

For a full list of all the songs on the list go here.

Posted under 50 Cent, Bun B, Common, Eve, Jay Z, Kanye West, Lil Mama, Lil Wayne, Pimp C, Rich Boy, Rolling Stone, Soulj Boy, Swizz Beats, TI, UGK, Wu tang clan, Young Jeezy