Radio Ro Blog

Ice Cube took to his blog to announce his upcoming album: I AM THE WEST…is the name of my new record. After completing about 65% of my music, this is the perfect title. This shit is cocky, no apologies, West Coast gangsta shit. I can’t help it. That’s what I do. June seems too tight for a release, but July is very doable. We’ll see how things go. Now that I have my title, I can work on the concept of my photoshoot and artwork. I want to provide early merch before the drop date. For 7 or 8 years now the West Coast has been trying to do music that appeals to the South and Mid-West. The words, “too West Coast” would be heard throughout the industry whenever our music was played. Even by our own dj’s. Left coast MC’s were now trying to change their sound to cater to all the followers. We lost our way. Thank God for b-boys like Snoop, The Game & WC for keeping the West alive, but we were all guilty of over reaching. No more. At least not from me. I do it how I feel it; not how I think it should be done. Radio fucked us up. I hate the politics at radio. I don’t know who to pay to get my shit played. Having a hot song is not enough. Ridiculous. I AM THE WEST. It’s coming…. Keep It Gangsta Ice Cube

“Whatever his personal life is — and I think this goes for me and him — his personal life is his personal life. I do music, I sing songs, like, I’m an entertainer, I’m a performer, but people make mistakes. So my hat is off to him — I support him, I hope he gets back on the field and does his thing, cause he is the best at it.” Source

According to Bossip, Alicia and Swizz Beatz are getting married this year! Our sources tell Bossip that Alicia Keys and Swizz Beatz plan to wed this summer in Miami. The ceremony will be held on a private yacht and witnessed by an uber exclusive guest list of close friends and family. Security at this jawn is gonna be INSANE.

Despite all of the heartache, drama and insults Mike Tyson has faced after retiring from his career in Boxing, no one can deny his LEGENDARY history as a BEAST! Mike will be rightfully honored by the International Boxing Hall of Fame in Upstate New York later this year. In 1986, a 20-year-old Mike Tyson became the youngest man in history to ever win the WBC, WBA, and IBF world heavyweight titles. Is iron Mike the best to ever put on a pair of gloves?

Nicki Minaj covered Fader to speak on signing boobs, Wayne’s sentence, and being bipolar: “Anybody that knows me knows that I have a very, very bipolar personality, so one minute I’m excited and the next minute I’m crying and the next minute I’m cussing and yelling and the next minute I’m singing Enya. And the point is, my rap style now reflects my true personality.” On signing boobs: I don’t want people to think I’m up there trying to be cute. I’m trying to entertain, and entertaining is more than exuding sex appeal,” she added, “I wish I could fricking remember the first boob that I signed. I don’t know why I did it, but now I can’t go anywhere and not do it. People come up to me wherever I am, girls, sexy girls, like, ‘Can you sign my boob?’ I mean, niggas in the club look at me like I’m a pimp. They like, What? Cause they be fly chicks. I don’t know, but I do know it’s a great thing.” She also spoke on Wayne going to jail: “It’s sad, because he doesn’t deserve to go to jail,” she continued, “he’s such a strong person, and it’s weird — he’s sitting there doing videos. I found myself e-mailing him about something I wanted him to do for me. When I thought about it, I was like, ‘It’s so selfish,’ ’cause it’s, like, what is the mind frame of somebody that’s supposed to go to jail for months and never served that amount of time in jail?”

According to Star magazine, Mariah Carey’s “excessive drinking is spiraling out of control,” and husband Nick Cannon “has told her she should think about rehab.” The supermarket tabloid has an unnamed source who says, “Mariah drinks champagne all day long,” and it’s becoming “more than [Cannon] can handle.” Among the reasons Carey is allegedly hitting the bottle, claims the Star, is that “she’s terrified about being a has-been and stressed about having to prove herself with each album.” Of course, a lot of this article stems from Carey having gotten accidentally intoxicated at the Palm Springs International Film Festival, where she acknowledged she had a few too many glasses of champagne before her acceptance speech. And while that incident is verifiable, the other assertions are not. In fact, a rep for Carey told Gossip Cop that the tabloid’s claims about all-day boozing and Cannon’s hope to haul her off to rehab are “categorically false!”

Heralded as one of this year’s most highly anticipated albums, Soldier of Love secured itself as the # 1 album worldwide today with over 501,000 copies sold, taking its rightful place among the collection of iconic Sade albums. The album is currently # 1 in ten additional countries including Canada, Switzerland, France, Italy, Dubai, Poland, Greece, Japan, Portugal and Spain. Entertainment Weekly featured Soldier of Love in their “Must List” and gave the album an “A”, Rolling Stone wrote, “it’s unimpeachably excellent,” and The Boston Globe calls it, “a rich and rewarding album.” But the accolades don’t stop there. Associated Press raved, “like a long-ago lover not quite forgotten, Sade has returned to steal our hearts with more beautiful, uncategorizable music,” Billboard was quoted as saying, “it’s been 10 years since Sade released an album, but be forewarned – the giant has awoken,” while People Magazine reminds us that “Sade remains the voice of comfort to the wounded heart.” Source

“Oprah is the smartest person on TV and will not let John use her or her show to ask for forgiveness,” the TV insider said. “If John really wants to apologize for his racist and sexist comments, he should find somewhere else. The only way Oprah would ever book him is if John were interested in having a much deeper conversation about race, women and fame.” Mayer has apologized for using the N-word and making his other controversial comments both on his Twitter page (@johncmayer) as well as one of his recent concerts in Nashville where he “choked up” while saying his “I’m sorrys” (cry me a river!) before declaring “It’s just not worth being clever…I just can’t. I quit the sound-bite game. I quit the media game. I’m out. I’m done. I just want to play my guitar to whoever is around.” Source

“We Are the World: 25 for Haiti,” the all-star remake of the classic 1985 charity single, premiered on Friday night during the Winter Olympics opening ceremony. The song features dozens of today’s biggest musical artists, ranging from Kanye West and Pink to Barbra Streisand and Tony Bennett, and unlike the original, it also features a large number of rappers. However, the genre’s biggest star said that to him, musically speaking, nothing could ever come close to the original. “I have a interesting take on that,” Jay-Z said Saturday at the annual “2 Kings” dinner, which was sponsored by Sprite and Bing and took place during NBA All-Star weekend. “I know everybody is gonna take this wrong: ‘We Are the World,’ I love it, and I understand the point and think it’s great. But I think ‘We Are the World’ is like [Michael Jackson's] ‘Thriller’ to me. I don’t ever wanna see it touched. I’m a fan of music. I know the plight and everything that’s going on in Haiti. I applaud the efforts: [Millions have been raised] through text [donations] to Haiti. So I appreciate the efforts and everything, but ‘We are the World’ is [musically] untouchable like ‘Thriller’ is untouchable. Some things are just untouchable. It was a valiant effort, but for me, it’s gonna be untouchable.”Jay said he felt that a new song should have been written instead of re-creating the 1985 classic. “I would have loved that idea better,” he said. “As everyone knows, I have tremendous respect for Quincy Jones. Of course, I think he’s genius, as everyone else does. [But] I think it’s time for us to make a new [song]. I tried to do that with ‘Stranded,’ the song Jay, Rihanna and U2’s Bono and the Edge premiered at the ‘Hope for Haiti Now’ telethon]. I didn’t try to make ‘We Are the World,’ but I tried to make our take on how we felt.” Source

Nas kept his mouth shut for as long as he could. Check out the lyrics to his new song Strong Will Continue. “How in the hell am I supposed to stay comfy/ When I pay child support, alimony monthly….” Nasir Jones has been doing his best not to speak on his very public divorce from Kelis but obviously frustrated, it looks like Nas has finally snapped. As previously reported the reported first track from Nas and Damian Marley’s Distant Relatives album hit the net titled “Strong Will Continue.” The song had a positive message from Nas and Marley speaking on having the strength to endure tough times. Now however a new version of the song is available with an unreleased verse from Young Escobar. Just before the song ends you can hear an additional verse from Nas where he speaks on Kelis and the trouble she put him through. In one line, Nasty Nas comes back with a vengeance as he addresses the reported $51,000 he has to pay her a month in alimony and in another he speaks on cheating, questioning if she cheated on him like many of the married women he knows. “So I’ve stuck with some married women so fine, cheating while their husband rushing on the 40-yard line/ Wonder if this is what my ex did the whole time….” Source

Former President Bill Clinton was taken to a New York hospital on Thursday night to undergo a procedure to clear the blocked artery to his heart. Reports say that the 63 year old former President had suffered chest pains earlier in the day before being admitted to the hospital. Doctors at New York-Presbyterian Hospital have reportedly placed two stents in one of Clinton’s coronary arteries. This is the first time after 5 years since his quadruple bypass surgery that Clinton has been admitted. His advisor said that Clinton was in “good spirits” after the medical procedure. Clinton’s doctor ruled out any sign of a heart attack, and added that the new blockage was not a result of his diet. Source

Tyrese Gibson took a break from his tweets about troubled relationships and cheating. Instead, he left a 10 minute voice message going in detail about reasons why men cheat & the women who stand clueless and end up being left in the dark. “Why do I feel that men cheat? And again, this is my opinion. I’m speaking for a lot of men. Not all men… I’ll never forget this one bass guitar player. We’re chopping it up and we’re talking about women. “Such and such.. I got back from overseas and it was crazy…” And I was like “Man. I know you got plenty of women loving you!” He said, “No… I just got my wife.” It was shocking for Tyrese to see a married black man still loving his wife after 15 years of being together. He goes on about this man representing a more “rare breed” of a man. “Sex is so heavily advertised. It’s so heavily exposed. Cheating, breaking up with marriages and all of this stuff — It seems like it’s not a big deal because it’s so easy to get married and get divorced. Something about love from back in the day, the foundation of love from back in the day, made people really live up to the vows from thick and thin til death do them apart.” On exposing similarities between men: “When we were kids. A lot of us were programmed through conversations with all of our homies throughout most of our childhood, thru college. It’s not about WOMEN. It’s about the AMOUNT OF WOMEN YOU COULD HAVE SEX WITH. That’s where you get PROPS! That’s where you get LOVE! How many women you could run through? See Women, you get scrutinized, you get attacked and you get chastised for having sex with a bunch of guys. You get called HOES, TRAMPS, HOOD RATS… So even if you want to be a freak and wild out, you pretty much can’t because society just bashes you so heavy, it makes you feel like you can’t do what you really feel like doing. If you’re at school as a woman, and you have sex with five or six different guys at the same school, the word is going to get out and you’re going to get looked at as a hoe and everyone is going to be talking about you. But if you’re a man and you have sex with five or six girls on the campus, you get looked at as a legend. All of your guys will be asking about the chicks you hit.” On having biracial children for lighter skin and “good hair”: “If a man slips up and gets a girl pregnant, you somehow, in your own little way, feel like you need to have sex with a girl that has lighter skin, or of a different ethnicity so that my child can come out and have good hair. As crazy as that sounds… It happens! It happens! Real talk…” Dealing with heartache is a serious issue in relationships: “At the end of the day. We’re grown. And when you’re grown, you do what you feel like doing, when you feel like doing it and whoever you feel like doing it with.” “Just don’t be in the dark. Don’t be clueless ladies. Don’t be oblivious. And that way, you can potentially avoid a heartache. Life has its challenges. All you can do is keep praying that God sends you a man that represents the same spirit and integrity and all of the different things that you represent. Everything else, besides cheating, is just all the challenges that come with any relationships. Arguments are things that happen…”

Lil Wayne’s sentencing has been delayed until March 2 due to dental surgery, his attorney announced in a Manhattan courtroom Tuesday (February 9). The rapper was scheduled to be formally sentenced by a judge and begin serving his one-year term stemming from a 2007 arrest that resulted in a guilty plea in October for attempted weapons possession. The Cash Money MC arrived shortly after 2 p.m. with his label heads Birdman and Slim. He quietly entered the courtroom as photographers snapped pictures from the hallway. Wayne wore a navy coat and black-framed glasses, and he sat still while his lawyer Stacey Richman spoke. She informed the judge that she sent a notification to the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office that the rapper is suffering from a cracked tooth and would need to postpone his sentence. The judge agreed and ruled to reschedule for March 2. The postponement wasn’t guaranteed. The rapper has typically arrived to his previous court appearances with a small crew that included a bodyguard and his road manager, in addition to Baby and Slim. On Tuesday, however, he was accompanied by that group as well as Lil Twist, Mack Maine and several others from the Cash Money/ Young Money camps. The proceedings were swift and austere as the prosecution agreed that the rapper would receive better care with his own dentist versus treatment at the Rikers Island facilities. The rapper is set to undergo surgery February 12 in Miami, according to Richman. He will need a week to 10 days to recover. His defense offered prosecutors February 25 as a date for Wayne to turn himself him in after surgery, but Judge Charles H. Solomon instead selected March 2. The judge then warned Wayne that he must return to Miami on Tuesday. Solomon insisted if he leaves tomorrow, there would be a chance his surgery would be delayed due to hazardous weather conditions leaving New York, where a snowstorm is expected. “I don’t want this to get pushed back anymore,” Solomon said. “This is the last adjournment.” While not entirely unexpected, the delay has surprised many, considering that Wayne has been hard at work in recent weeks recording music and videos to be released during his time in jail, and even said goodbye to fans in a live streaming video early Tuesday morning. Source

Raymond Vs. Raymond was supposed to be released on Sunday but it’s been pushed back til March 30. Jive records refused to put his album out until he signs with a new management company. His mother and former manager Jonetta Patton, are not seeing eye to eye once again. They had another fall out in November of 2009. “She walked away from the project because Usher had his girlfriend [and former Def Jam executive] Grace Miguel was all in the mix,” says the source. “She felt as though if she didn’t end things when she did, it would permanently affect their personal relationship,” continues the source. Usher had apparently declared that he would manage himself, with the help of Miguel, but the label felt that “there was chaos in the camp.” Jive has released three singles in an attempt to launch the CD “Raymond vs. Raymond.” The first single, “Papers,” which was released last September, only reached No. 31 on the Billboard Hot 100, so the label began working two more new singles, “Hey Daddy (Daddy’s Home)” and “More.” But there may be hope for the singer yet: It appears Usher is close to signing an agreement with AEG Live CEO Randy Phillips, manager for Lionel Richie, Toni Braxton and the late Michael Jackson. Source

There are numerous rumors spreading around the net about “a bet” that Kim and Reggie placed revolving around a RUSHED MARRIAGE and a SUPER BOWL WIN… “A radio interviewer asked what I dreamed for in 2010,” she explains. “And I was hesitant and thinking about it and they said what about a ring…I said yes, a Super Bowl ring for Reggie. Then they said that if he gets a Super Bowl ring, I get an engagement ring, and I said ‘ok deal!’ LOL.” All it takes is one LOL moment and we’ve got a rumor. Kim reiterates that this was all for laughs: “This is not true. I never made any kind of bet…This was taken way out of context.”

In honor of Black History Month, the NBC cafeteria served fried chicken, collard greens, and jalapeno cornbread for lunch. The picture below was snapped by Questlove, the drummer for the Roots–Jimmy Fallon’s house band. He was also the musician that pointed out via Twitter that Conan spent half a million dollars on a walk-out song for Tom Hanks during his last episode. Someone tweeting under the name @nbcu (which, as of now, only has 8 followers) is claiming to and be NBC’s VP of Communications, Kevin Goldman. The first and only tweet says: “The sign in the NBCU cafeteria has been removed. We apologize for anyone who was offended by it.”‘ Source

Superstar siblings Brandy and Ray J Norwood are famous for their incredible vocal talent on the stage and screen. But they wouldn’t be anywhere without the support and guidance of their parents – entertainment manager and mom, Sonja and talented musical father, Willie Norwood. In this new VH1 series, viewers will get a first hand glimpse into the lives of the Norwood family unit and their family business – Rn’B Productions. Run by Sonja, Rn’B Productions features an impressive roster of musical artists including Brandy, Ray J and their father Willie, who also serves as the company’s vocal coach. But with Sonja ready to take a step down, Brandy and Ray J will have to fill her shoes quickly all the while taking the family business to the next level. Will they have what it takes to continue to stay in the limelight while growing an entertainment empire? Watch as the Norwood’s join forces and reach new levels of success in “Brandy and Ray J: A Family Business” premieres on VH1 Sunday, April 11 at 9:00 PM. Source

For a decade, Lil Wayne has been hip-hop’s great unstoppable force, a 24-hour-a-day recording machine without an off button. But on February 9th, Lil Wayne will have to stop — for 12 months, when he reports to prison to serve a sentence for gun possession stemming from a 2007 arrest in New York City. Rolling Stone stays up all night with Weezy as he prepares to get locked down in our new issue, which is on sale at newsstands today. “I don’t like to stop,” Wayne tells RS‘ Chris Norris. “I believe you stop when you die.” So in the weeks before he reports to Rikers Island, Wayne is keeping busy — recording tracks bound for Tha Carter IV (the album Cash Money staffers call “C4″ because it’ll be the bomb), shooting videos with his Young Money protégés, spending time with his growing family, and deliberately not asking anyone for advice about life on the inside. “This is Lil Wayne going to jail. Nobody I can talk to can tell me what that’s like,” he says. “I just say I’m looking forward to it.” While Weezy’s away, his label is relocating to New York to be near him, and his manager Cortez Bryant is exploring ways to keep Wayne in his fans’ minds for the duration — from jailhouse Twitter accounts to endorsements. “I’ll have an iPod, and I”ll make sure they keep sending me beats,” Lil Wayne says. Tha Carter IV — which Norris is told features tougher, faster beats — is scheduled to arrive shortly after he gets out.

Los Angeles — The energy was electric Monday night (February 1) at Henson Studios as more than 80 of music’s biggest stars gathered for a charity remake of “We Are the World” in support of Haitian earthquake relief. “I feel like a kid in a candy store,” Wyclef Jean said, speaking to the press about the idea of remaking such an iconic song, which is getting production help from RedOne and Will.I.Am. “What’s bigger than a contribution is that you lend your voice,” the Haitian native said earlier in the day to his peers while trying to inspire them during the session, which began around 3 p.m. and was expected to last well into the night. Among the voices in the 81-member choir were Pink, Lil Wayne, Kanye West, Nick Jonas, LL Cool J, Robin Thicke, Celine Dion, Akon, Rob Thomas, Wyclef, Jeff Bridges, Vince Vaughn, Barbra Streisand, Jordin Sparks, Good Charlotte’s Madden brothers, Tony Bennett, Josh Groban, Snoop Dogg, Justin Bieber, Jennifer Hudson, Keri Hilson, Jamie Foxx, Tyrese, Katharine McPhee, Sean Garrett, Will.I.Am, Carlos Santana, Melanie Fiona, Enrique Iglesias, Toni Braxton, Jason Mraz, Miley Cyrus, Busta Rhymes, Nicole Scherzinger, Nicole Richie, Usher, Julianne Hough, Raphael Saadiq, Zac Brown, India.Arie, “American Idol” judge Randy Jackson, Musiq Soulchild, Heart’s Ann and Nancy Wilson, Fonzworth Bentley, Kid Cudi, Iyaz, Bizzy Bone, Nipsey Hussle, the Beach Boys’ Brian Wilson and Al Jardine, Trey Songz, Faith Evans, Mya and Gladys Knight. (At press time, the full list of participants was not yet available.) Kanye, wearing a red jacket with sparkling gold crisscross accents, stood center in the front row, between Wyclef and Hudson. Among the soloists whose sessions were screened for journalists at press time were Bieber, Dion and Groban. Weezy also came out and humbly noted that he recorded the solo originally sung by Bob Dylan. The inspirational lyrics were laid down over a track that had a more modern Southern hip-hop bounce to it. The recording session took place almost 25 years to the day since the original song for African famine relief was recorded. “The experience was out of this world,” said Bieber, who sang Lionel Richie’s original opening line. The video for the song, which is being shot in 3-D, will debut February 12. Source

The 52nd Grammy Awards belonged to Beyoncé as the singer smashed the record for most trophies by a female artist in a single night. The 28-year-old picked up a record six prizes Sunday, owning a ceremony in which a group of young artists helped put a fresh face on the greying Grammys. “Wow, thank you so much,” Beyoncé said as she took the stage to claim her award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. “I’m sorry, I’m nervous. I’d love to thank my family for all their support, including my husband, I love you. And I’d like to thank all of my fans for all of their support over the years, goodnight, thank you.” Source