New York, NY (January 31, 2008) – With seemingly no other competition in the genre, Alicia Keys, Mary J. Blige and Chris Brown dominated the Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop charts again this week, posting finishing positions of 1, 2 and 3.  All three continue to close high on the Billboard 200 as well, even though Keys flip-flopped and relinquished her No. 1 spot to the “Juno” soundtrack again.

Despite a lukewarm reception from critics, fans have been eating up “As I Am,” helping Alicia move another 59,700 copies off store shelves this week.  Keys’ impressive 11-week total stands at 2,846,200; while it’s not the pace she was on during the holidays, given her staying power and success with radio, she’ll likely see triple platinum status in the coming weeks.  Stay tuned.

Down two spots to No. 4 overall, Blige pushed across another 45,200 copies of “Growing Pains,” her eighth studio album.  As of last week, if you include her compilation release, “Reflections – A Retrospective,” Blige has now gone platinum nine times in her career.  Her total after a month and a half on the charts is a comfortable 1,085,200.  And Brown, for his part, continues to surprise.  The radio is being extremely good to him right now: he’s got two Top 10 singles (“With You” at No. 3 and “Kiss, Kiss” ft. T-Pain at No. 10) and is seeing continuous rotation of hits like “Run It,” “Wall To Wall” and “No Air” (w/ Jordin Sparks) on Top 40 stations nationwide.  His sophomore offering “Exclusive” scanned another 31,600 units since the last session closed, good for a 12-week total of 1,182,600.

Keyshia Cole bullied her way back into the Top 10 again this week, up to No. 8.  Pushing across 31,100 copies of “Just Like You,” her total stands at 1,059,300 for 18 weeks.  Not far behind her, though, was the ubiquitous Fergie, holding steady at No. 17 this week with another 22,095 copies of “The Dutchess.”  Pundits consider her brand of pop either genius or torture, but in 71 weeks, there’s no denying the facts: she’s sold over 3.3 million records and shows no sign of slowing down.  Her most recent hit, “Clumsy,” remains in the Top 10 on the Billboard 100, and with every promoter in AZ trying to book her for their SuperBowl party, the exposure will only increase.

Continuing down the Billboard 200, we find R&B and hip hop going back to back.  At No. 28, Jaheim moved 18,000 copies of his latest, “Makings of A Man,” giving him a six-week total of 312,000.  Lupe Fiasco follows closely behind, at No. 29, with “Lupe Fiasco’s The Cool.”  Lu kicked and pushed another 17,900 units, good for 286,200 copies.  And dropping 26 spots (yes, you read that right) to No. 30, R&B crooner Raheem DeVaughn finished the week’s session by moving 17,100 copies of his sophomore LP “Love Behind the Melody.”  Despite an appearance from Outkast’s Big Boi and solid Internet buzz, DeVaughn sees his two-week total at only 62,200. 

In the “Not To Be Denied” category, Soulja Boy fell in line this week at No. 37, selling YOUUUUUUU another 15,900 copies of “Souljaboytellem.com.”  While his pace has significantly dropped off the past few weeks, teens are still going crazy for “Crank That,” as remixes/video parodies continue to pop up on YouTube and MySpace.  After 17 weeks, the young warrior sees his total sales at a robust 727,100 units.  Great in today’s market (exceptional factoring in his ringtone/single sales) and still very respectable compared to the glory days of CD sales.

A slew of talented singer/songwriters round out the Top 50: British songstress (and YES, she went to rehab) Amy Winehouse is in at No. 39, selling 15,500 copies of her Grammy Nominated “Back to Black.”  After 46 weeks, the Mark Ronson-assisted, old-school smasher has sold 1,495,900 copies.  Behind her and up one spot this week to No. 41 is J. Holiday, who moved 14,400+ copies of his debut, “Back of My ‘Lac” (good for a 17-week total of 467,600).  Interestingly enough, following Holiday is The-Dream, at No. 42.  Most know the The-Dream as the writer behind Holiday’s grown and sexy anthem, “Bed.”  Dream’s debut, “Love/Hate,” scanned 14,400- copies for a solid, seven-week total of 168,800.  Trailing The-Dream is Grammy-winner John Legend with his latest, “Live From Philadelphia.”  Plunging 37 spots from last week’s debut, Legend sold 13,500 copies for a two-week total of 46,400.  Quite ordinary, people.

And lest we forget about our favorite urban pop stars and headline makers, Rihanna jumped up 10 spots this session to No. 45 with 13,360 additional copies of “Good Girl Gone Bad,” finally giving her platinum status in Week 34.  Behind her (and that’s not a bad place to be at all, holy God) is The Windy City mouthpiece himself, rapper/producer Kanye West.  While Yizzle slid 11 spots to No. 50 this week, “Graduation” moved closer to the double platinum mark with 12,400 copies.  His 20-week total at 1,958,200, it’s likely West will see that magic number by the beginning of March, especially if his “Flashing Lights” with Dwele catches fire and the burn he’s getting around the SuperBowl on ESPN with “Champion” ignites new ears as it should.

Next week, expect to see the def return of hip hop’s Illest Na Na, Foxy Brown, along with the super-talented Jill Scott.  Though, not as a collabo.  Til then…

New York, NY (January 29, 2008) – KillaKat came to Loud.com seemingly out of no where.  Joining late in the competition, he secured a win in the 10th Round of Bracket C and turned that into a first place spot in the finals.  His style sounds like an odd mixture of De La Soul funk, Jay-Z swagger with a little of Slug’s “Ouch” thrown in.  With such an eclectic blend, and with everyone on the board left to wonder who this guy was, I was definitely looking forward to interviewing him.  We chopped it up for a good hour and I think we scraped away some of the mystery surrounding Loud.com’s most recent $25,000 winner.  Read on as Kat’s talks about being homeless, anger management and how hip hop truly saved his life.

Loud.com:  What’s poppin dude, it’s early morning over there, huh?

Yeah, it’s all good, though.  Takin a trip to the studio, later.  I’m in a rock band, too.  They help me out with my stage shows and I do vocals for them, it’s dope.  We’re recording a cover of “Cult of Personality,” I’m singin on it.  Apparently I’m the only one in the group that can do it, so…

Loud.com:  Yeah, that’s a good song.  So how did you come across Loud.com?

I came across it surfin the web.  It was more along the lines of MySpace and I stay deep into just surfin around, you know?  I recognized David Banner as one of the producers and I started listening to the producers, like, these are fantastic beats and I gotta get on.

Loud.com:  You’ve got a lot of pictures of you rockin stages on your profile, how long have you been performing?

I’m 26, and I been doin hip hop about 15 years… it was just like a playful thing, me and my dudes would get together and we sucked at first, but we saw some talent in each other and got better as the years went on.  We noticed that a lot of people liked our music, but it was kind of ahead of its time. 

So we decided to get out of the state to tour around, which went really well, cuz then we had requests coming back to bring us in again.  Did a lot of different festivals.  I decided to branch off myself for a little bit and it was poppin, man, everything was cool.  We were opening up for Bone Thugs, Tech-9, real dope acts.

We actually opened up once for Insane Clown Posse.  That was a real kind of solidifying moment for us, though, man.  They got booed off the stage, the crowd was throwing rocks and about to riot and shit, rushin the stage… they were pissed.  We got them calmed down, though, and were able to change the whole atmosphere.  At that point, I knew we had something.

Loud.com:  That’s crazy.  Now, your profile says you’re from Chicago?

Yes, born and raised.  Born on the west side, went over to the south side.  I love my city.

Loud.com:  What was growing up like for you?  A lot of emcees seem to have come up in an environment where not all was well and good… what was your experience like?

Hip hop saved my life, really.  I had anger management issues as a teenager, man.  I was one of those bad kids that started fights for no reason, the kid you didn’t want your kid around.  I would always be shuffling from school to school, I had a single parent, like, my mom had me when she was 15.  There wasn’t that many things to do for someone like me to do back then.  She had three different jobs; I was a latchkey kid and in my downtime was focused on bein a bad ass. 

Around my first years in high school, I was doin the whole gang thing, and from that, I did a lot of other regrettable things.  I’m a grown man now, and I ain’t glorifying those things, cuz honestly, I feel I’m still tryin to make up for it.  If it wasn’t for music, I’d probably still be doin it.   When you see your boy get shot in front of you and you can’t do anything about it, that messes with you.  It messes with you hard.  Either you end up like him or you change.  You’ll never leave the ghetto when it’s in you, that much I know.  But to get out, you gotta up your game, step your mental game up, or you’ll never go anywhere otherwise.  That’s something I had to learn.

Loud.com:  And unfortunately, I think that’s something that not a lot of people afford themselves the opportunity to do.  But lets step away from that.  Talk to me about your style a bit.  It’s kind of an interesting mix… you got punchlines, but you got swagger, too; and, to me it seems, a bit of almost light-hearted irony… how much or how little was the music of your youth an influence on that?

It’s everything.  I listened and still do listen to a lot of different shit.  Popular and less popular dudes.  From Rakim to Main Source.  I listened to a lot of cats and took bits and pieces, plus life experience.  When I get on the mic, it’s what I love to do and I’ma do it the way I do.  I don’t care if anyone else likes it, if anything, I got one fan and I’ma play til he’s tired of it… and that one fan is me!  So you know, I don’t really have a method, I read the track, if it calls for a punchline, if it’s got the swagger, I’ll do it.  I rap with a smile cuz I enjoy it, and I think you can tell just by listening.  I don’t foresee doing anything else.

Loud.com:  That $25,000 should help… did you expect that at all?

I had no idea, man.  What I do, the music, I just do it cuz it’s there to be done.  I had no idea about winning, it was a complete shock, I’m still in shock.  I’m tryin to cope with it right now.  I just won, like, ain’t this like what I always wanted to do?  I’m still putting the pieces together; it’s all comin in spurts.

Loud.com:  Is rap your 9-5?

Nah, not officially.  I work for the general public, so I always got material.  I work in retail.  If I got an angry track, it’s usually cuz I carry a notepad to my lunch break and people have pissed me off.

Loud.com:  Now, some people have been grumbling on the site that at the time of this writing, you only have 131 friends and haven’t been a part of the site that long… what do you think made the judges pick you?

I’m only guessing, but I have a lot of traffic cuz I spend a lot of time on MySpace, so I have links up on my Loud page.  There’s a lot of traffic over there, and I have thousands of friends on MySpace. 

But lets be honest: just because you’re popular doesn’t mean you’re a dope emcee.  Personally, I’m about the music, like, I play so many different instruments it’s not funny.  And I stand behind my shit for no other reason than this is what I do.  I’m really thinking it was probably a music choice.  I make sure every track I put out is good.  I’ll be quick to hit the delete button if it’s wack.

Loud.com:  When we spoke initially to set this interview up, we got to talking a bit and you mentioned you were a gym rat.  How important is that in your day?

In one of my lines in one of my songs on the Loud page, it says like, “and that explains why ya asthmatic ass can’t keep up.”  The point being, if you run out of breath on stage, it’s fucking embarrassing.  Keeping up and keeping healthy is necessary for me.  Gotta get your weight down to get it up.  You gotta get around and move across the stage.  Standing still might work for niggas like Hov and 50, but they got they cash.  My whole concentration, I love doin music, but shows are a lot better.  I love getting out there and giving the people something.  I want to give them top notch shit, to rock with ‘em.  That’s what I do, I gotta move man.  You can’t be slouchin around onstage, that shit is wack.

Loud.com:  Word up.  Gotta stay busy.  I noticed you lace a lot of punchlines in your verses… do you battle?

I don’t like to battle cuz it goes back to the anger management thing.  I tried once but it didn’t turn out too well for the other guy.  When some cats go to battle, one of the cats in my crew, that’s all he sees, to kill the other dude.  He’s real confrontational.  I’m not like that because of those issues I had, like, I’m tryin to lay low in the cut, get in the cipher, spit something that’s gonna turn heads and break… but cats be like, my mom this, and I’m like what?  I know too many martial arts for that.  I have eight years of MMA training, about 3 years in combat swordplay, mixed with some Hawaiian kenpo, Italian longsword and dagger training, you know what I mean?  There’s some other stuff you pick up here and there, but I can’t be in battles without wanting to literally hurt people. 

Loud.com:  Aha, classic.  MMA is a great sport, as pure competition it doesn’t get much better.  War St. Pierre.  But yo, you mention your family… who supports you day in, day out, like, is family a real important force in your life?

Yeah, man, they keep my grounded.  They keep me broken.  Whereas before, they did the whole, ‘you better get a job, music won’t last,’ yada yada thing.  They never heard my music up until that point. I had to actually win them over to my side.  I did a couple tracks, one for Mother’s Day, one for Father’s Day, and they were like “Wow, you do this?”  And I was like, “Yeah, I made the beat, I did all this, I do this.”  They listened to the radio when they were younger but they don’t listen anymore.  So when they heard my music, they were into it.  And since then, they started backing me.  My friends keep me grounded as well.  Different forces keep me focused in different ways.

Loud.com:  You’ve been making music for 15 years, but has there ever been a time when you considered giving up on rap?  I feel like every emcee encounters that at some point…

Yeah, actually.  About two years ago.  It was the worst year of my life.  I had lost my job, my apartment, my car and I was pretty much homeless.  I didn’t know what to do and where to go.  I had nothing, like, I was literally livin off the blood on my arm, donating back to get money to eat and get money for the bus.  The only thing I could think of was rhymes.  And just when I was getting ready to give it up, a show popped up. 

I knew it was something that I couldn’t let go of, because after the job interviews, I’d hit the library to read or whatever, but in the end, I’d just be writing rhymes.  I wanted to stop because I didn’t think I could get money from shows, but out of no where it seemed I started getting paid for it.  It was a trying time, but music pulls through.  Living couch to couch was no fun, and people will only put up with you for so long, you bounce around from person to person’s floor.  So I was just blessed to find a way out of that situation.

Loud.com:  Definitely.  I get the impression you’re a student of hip hop… what’s your biggest complaint about it right now?  And on the flipside, what are you most proud of?

I’m proud about how far we’ve come.  You know, from the house parties to the main stage and worldwide exposure, I love that whole journey.  It’s something we created from the struggle and hustle, and now it’s reached almost every corner of this planet.  There’s hip hop in Africa, man!  For it to essentially originate there and then have it come back with a new set of drums is crazy to me. 

But to the first part of your question, what I don’t like is how we’ve lost our focus.  It’s part of the success, I think.  We’ve got too many artists that say what they say, like, ‘this is fucked up,’ but yet they don’t offer solutions.  I see songs about the ghetto, but if you the richest motherfucker in the hood, why ain’t you fixin it?  You in the hood, yeah?  How come your hood is still ass out then, nigga?  It’s this carbon copy bullshit every day and it’s fuckin annoying.  There’s a grip of people out there workin a 9-5, and they don’t know what it’s like to drive a Phantom.  What about us?  What about the rest of us?  What about the working class people?  Rappers say all this stuff people want to hear, and yeah, everyone gotta hustle and grind, but damn if it’s not getting played.  Tell your life story, but do something different, be bold.  Please.

Loud.com:  I agree.  There aren’t many mainstream figures that are “civic-minded” enough about hip hop.  What are your thoughts on the upcoming election?

I’m avid about politics, but at the same time, I don’t like it at all.  I want someone to get in office that will do something.  Like, you grew up in the hood, you hear about the hustle, when you get what you want, you get what you want. 

I’ve seen a lot of things and I have no views on it that I want to share right now.  It would upset a lot of people.  So we’ll keep it at that.  I will say one thing, though: I’m on that PE shit, and I ain’t heard one person talk about equality.  There’s an equality problem in America, and it’s huge.  But no one has fixed it or even really addressed it this campaign.  So I’ll keep my opinions to myself.

Loud.com:  Fair enough.  But what about changing hip hop?  Who or what do you think is the biggest obstacle for bringing kids out of the violent and crime-first mentalities that pervade the ghetto and the music.  How does America fix that?

It starts with the kids seeing something different.  If you sit there and expose a kid to one sort of thing, and that’s all they see, that’s all they’ll ever know.  You remember that period in time where everything was “Boyz ‘N The Hood,” all that, they lived the life they know cuz that’s all they’re exposed to?  You turn on BET, you get this hood rich mentality, and that’s all kids see and that’s all they know.  It’s what they begin to take seriously.

You gotta expose them to new things.  It’s not all like that.  I want to see a rapper bold enough in normal gear to do what they do and smile for once.  I’m sick of him smiling only when he got a chick and a big wad leanin on the Phantom.  I maybe seen Common do that, like when you see him doin his video on the street, stopping his video to shake hands, it’s like, “Whoa, that’s something new.”  When kids see that, then they start to get curious and ask questions.  What we’re doing now is stagnating our youth.  They don’t see anything else and that’s messed up.  It’s up to us to advance them.

Loud.com:  There’s a lot of truth to that statement.  But even so, I have to ask what you plan to do with the $25,000?

Invest it in what got me there in the first place.  Gotta reinvest in what made you the money.  Gotta spend it to make it.  I’ll wait til I get a little more to think I made it somewhere. 

Loud.com:  Will you do anything for the family?

I think the fact I got it from doing something I love was probably enough for them.  It’s never come easy for us.  But whatever we needed, we got.  I want to hook up my moms with this, my boys up with that… so, yeah, I mean, of course do a little something.  But for the most part, I’m going to reinvest it.  It’s a solid amount, but you can’t really be moved by it.  You gotta plan a purpose for it and make it do what it do.  I’ll use it to make better music.  Shit, I could spend it on a DJ Premier beat, use it for a feature, nigga, who knows!!

Loud.com:  What can we expect to hear in 2008 from KillaKat?  If you put out an album under SRC, what would it sound like?

See, that’s more like a win or lose question.  I don’t usually think about where I could be, it’s more where I am.  But IF I won… just expect hip hop to the fullest.  I’m about that real, true hip hop.  I feel the essence of hip hop is inside me, and if I can make you think and make it stick in your brain, I will.  You’re gonna hear a lot more “Wake Up.”  Dudes will be likin my shit.  You can tell by my tracks, I’m gonna say things no one wants to say or attempt to say, and bring subject matter where no one else will bring it.  It’s gonna be entertaining. 

Now… if I don’t win… I’m still gonna do the same damn thing!  I’ma come out with tracks and do shows, come out with tracks from my group.  The rock band I’m in is called Super Mercado, and we just signed a deal to get our music out to TV, so we got some things poppin off.

On the hip hop tip, we been packin the house, got some good underground activity.  Shout out to my group Nu Focus… the battle cat I told you about, Krayz Kasper, he’s the premier battle cat in Chicago.  Our other guy is Night; he’s kind of the poet of the group.  I go by KillaKat, but my original name was Kataklyxmic.  Look for a Nu Focus album, soon, too.  It should be done around April, but we’re gonna be thorough, lace it with some catchy hooks, nice beats, all that.  It’s gonna be real official for everyone.

Loud.com:  Aiight, we’ll have to look for it.  I appreciate the time; I know cell minutes aren’t cheap.  Anything else you’d like to add before I let you go, the floor is yours…

There’s something goin on in Chicago, there’s a resurgence of hip hop here.  And our city is notorious for not supporting it’s own.  So I think the most important thing I can say is, wherever this is being read, I’m a firm believer that if you like the music, you should support it.  If you don’t, fine, don’t.  But support the artists, the real artists out there, trying to do something.  Push it as far as it can go.  Run with it.  And listen.  Just listen.

New York, NY (January 28, 2008) – Hailing from Boston, MA, Jaden has been on the grind for awhile.  Performing since 2001 on various stages with various crews, he’s mixed it up with some of the best.  He joined Loud.com by chance and recently took home a spot in the finals and $15,000.  We caught up with Jaden (that’s JasonIndian, people) not too long ago and the 19-year-old budding businessman and emcee dropped science about the scene in Boston, what makes his style stand out and why there’s no competition outside of himself in the upcoming $100,000 finals.

Loud.com: What’s good, man, how you feelin?

Chillin. It’s an easy day.

Loud.com: I hear you, Sunday’s are like that.  Real quick, before we get into this, what’s the story behind your name, Jason Indian?  Is that a stage name?

Nah, nah.  My stage name is Jaden.  Originally before Loud.com, before everything, I was going to use my real name, Jason, but there was a singer around here that used that name, so I decided to make my stage name Jaden.  Indian is my nickname, it comes from my hair cuz it’s wavy and shit.  I used JasonIndian on the site as a login name not thinking that it would show up on my profile, cuz I’ve been putting my music on a lot of different sites, but I guess whatever you login as is on Loud is what the community sees.  Niggas know me as Indian, but that’s about it.  As far as Jaden, it’s a pointless name, just a name.  But the ladies like it so I stick with it.

Loud.com:  Ahh, aiight bet.  Now, in listening to your tracks, your style reminds me of someone, and I’ll get to that later.  But for those that don’t know, what’s your motivation to rap?  And why did you choose Loud.com?

My motivation for rap comes from many things, man.  I got a deep love of the music, for one, like, I feel I was blessed to do it.  Money is another; I’m tryin to change the way I’m livin right now.  There are a lot of different reasons.  In terms of Loud.com, it was like July, and I was on Allhiphop.com and I’d seen a banner, so I figured I’d join.  It talked about a record deal, there was no reason I shouldn’t do it.  You can’t miss opportunities like that.

Loud.com:  Agreed.   Earlier you said you spent a good deal of time online in hip hop forums?

Yeah, different sites here and there.  The community aspect is always a funny thing itself, though.  I don’t really know these people on Loud.com, like, I respect what they do, but I don’t know them.  It’s just business to me, I don’t really have people I’m cool with on the site.  I’ve never even met them.  There’s cats who are nice that I feel could have won a round.  But everything happens for a reason.  There’s a lot of people doin this whole ghost voting thing, voting your shit down, my points were jumpin up and down from like a 4.88 and down to a 3.4 so if they see you as a threat, they vote you down.  But as you can see, it all worked out in the end.

Loud.com:  Yup.  Describe your style for those that might not fully get it…

First off, in terms of Loud.com, I used no prior punchlines.  Everything I came up with on Loud, I came up with when creating that song.  I usually infuse other punches but this time I didn’t.  In terms of my style, I got a commercial appeal and also a hardcore appeal, and I feel like I balance them equally.  Basically I do it so I could sell records, but at the same time people can’t deny my ability.  I’m not tryin to come off the head like I’m nicer than everyone.

Personally, I don’t like to get involved in the whole credibility situation.  Everything you hear in the music is not a lie.  In terms of Loud, certain things that were comin out of my mouth, I wasn’t editing myself.  I’m really more of a positive rapper.  I don’t preach and I’ve done shit, but I don’t really like to get into details.

Loud.com:  Word.  What are your thoughts on the Boston hip hop scene then?  Why haven’t there been too many mainstream emcees from there?

With Boston, there are a lot of haters out here.  Honestly, I really can’t fault them.  A lot of the music I hear from this city isn’t that great.  That said, though, there ARE some talented cats here.  Some of the niggas on Loud.com are from up here, and they are pretty serious.  But the stuff I hear on the radio up here is not up to par to be honest with you.  And people don’t support each other from Boston.  So if they feel like you can come out before them, they hate.

Loud.com:  What was your best hip hop moment and why?

So far the best is Loud.  I know it’s only one round and some money, but to make it this far is a serious situation.

Loud.com:  What about your worst hip hop moment?  Something that maybe humbled you and forced you to refocus?

I did a showcase for record labels a while back and I didn’t have myself on point.  Musically, I wasn’t where I am at now, or where I should have been.  In the ciphers, I was always nice, had a good flow.  But I gave a horrible performance, and people were not feelin it.  My movement on the stage and delivery were terrible.  But I’ve put a lot of work into fixing that and feel I’m a let better now.  I was given a gift, and I’m at a point where I understand that, I want to succeed.  I’ve just had to learn that it really doesn’t come easy.

Loud.com:  Who’s the hottest rapper out right now and why?

The dopest rapper right now is Lil Wayne.  Cuz that nigga man, he just knows what to do with the words.  I was sleepin on him for a while cuz he was doin some weird shit.   But right now, I don’t think there’s anyone on his level.  Of course you got cats like Nas and a few others, but people comin out right now, no one can fuck with Wayne.

Loud.com:  It’s interesting you say him, because that’s the kind of vibe I picked up when I heard your tracks.  You pretty much answered my next question right there.  But I guess, being that you’re a part of this new generation, 19 years old, trying to push your career forward… where do you think your OWN style and overall position will be in 10 years?

Musically?  I don’t know; that’s a good question.  I honestly hope that I would have evolved into something that the public can still relate to, that the public can still respect.  Hopefully I would have come up with another style that everyone can feel and still be relevant.

Loud.com:  Word.  You said it was only one round and some money, but man…  You did win $15,000… that had to be something special, what did that call feel like?

Yeah, (laughs) I mean, I definitely did.  I was at work and shit.  I actually didn’t get a chance to answer immediately, but I saw the 212 number, and when I found out I won, I was happy, but I also felt like I’d win the 25k.  I’m going to use it as a positive experience, though, cuz I felt like I should have won first place.  It’s motivation for me.

Loud.com:  What are you going to do with the money?

I’m going to try and promote myself as an artist.  I’m part of a record label, Diamond Entertainment, and we got other people that rap but they ain’t full fledged artists.  We got producers.  I’ll use this money to try and support them as much as I can.

Loud.com:  Good shit.  What are your plans, then, if you win the recording contract and $100k?  What can the world expect to hear?

Very good quality music.  To be honest, I did not extend my full talent on Loud.  Not because I was takin it for granted, but you only get 1 minute to shine and you can’t really capitalize on it.  I want to show the world I’m talented musically, that I handle my biz musically, and it’s not a joke, that this is for real.  They’ll understand when they hear it.

I have an album available on my MySpace people can check out, or you can go to CD Baby, it’s called “The Beginning of The End.”  But to let everyone know, I just started recording a few new songs, actually, and I’m going to take off a few that are currently on that CD, cuz they’re older and I ain’t really feelin them.  When the new tracks are done, I will re-release it basically with those newer joints.  The beats are crazy.

Loud.com:  Which of the other 8 finalists are you looking out for in the finals?  There’s some tough competition…

Honestly, I don’t feel like I need to watch out for anyone.  In terms of the whole package I feel like I have it.  Drop is a nice artist; his lyrics are dope.  Can’t take nothin away.  Lunatic is nice lyrically, a lot of people were hatin initially, but that nigga is nice.  I heard the Crow and Walt, but it was so far back, I can’t really remember.  The people who I feel like are talented I named.

Loud.com:  What are your overall impressions of the contest to this point?

When it first started, I felt like I should have won the top prize.  “Getting It,” I thought that shit was crazy.  But it’s a good thing I didn’t.  I think the judges were good putting the rating on there.  There are a lot of people that are fake; there are a lot of people that don’t have talent.  But a lot of people do.  For some people, I don’t believe this dream is realistic for them, and this ability God gave me is something that IS realistic… I think some people need to figure some other things out.

Loud.com:  If baseball can take a look at itself internally and question the use of performance enhancing drugs, should hip hop?  Aren’t the drugs and violence and everything that’s espoused in raps counter-productive?

To be quite honest, the way I see the whole negativity thing is that it’s a mirror of society.  But, yes, you need to take responsibility for what you say.  Little kids might not have father figures, and they see us niggas and people look up to that.  When you say crazy shit in music, that shit changes the way people in society act.  But I don’t think these rappers will change.  They should just give up.  I think I’m a positive rapper, you may have got me fucked up cuz of what’s on my page, but I have a lot of positive songs you’ll be hearing in the near future.

Loud.com:  Word, well, we definitely appreciate the few minutes.  If there’s anything you’d like to add, feel free, the floor is yours.

In terms of the community, I want to address the people voting down on people, either out of fear or whatever.  I want to win, but I won’t kill someone’s chances for my own.  There is a higher being, so if you are messed up, it’s gonna come back to get you.  There’s nothing worse than a hater.  Why you hating?  There are people who are nice, they get 5’s.  If you cool with me and you wack, you getting a 1.  There’s karma out there.  Jaden, I’m next.  Peace.

New York, NY (January 25, 2008) – I’m sure most of you have read the letter from Steve by now and are aware Loud.com has named it’s three winners in the last bracket of competition before the Finals.  Lex Butter, who many of you know already because of his Rock The Bells “Rock With Wu” contest win, secured a spot in those Finals by taking third place and a cool $10,000.  You can read his original interview that we did back in November here, but we wanted to get an update from him and see how things have progressed since “Rock With Wu” and what he plans to do with this new opportunity.  Jeah…

Loud.com:  What’s good, Lex?  Been a minute…

Yeah man, I’m just livin life right now, everything is perfect.

Loud.com:  Yes’r, I think $10,000 might do that.  Besides the money, you just secured a spot in the final nine and are one step closer to the grand prize… how does that feel?

It’s great, to tell you the truth, everything with the Loud.com thing is building up, I just appreciate it, to even be considered for the finals is a blessing.  I can’t be more appreciative.

Loud.com:  What were you thinking about when you got the call?

When I got the call, it was an affirmation, man.  I was like yeah!  Dude called me up, first thing he said, he’s like we got a problem with you, and I was like excuse me?  And then he was like, nah I’m just messin around, we picked you as our 3rd place winner, and all that.  It was funny, you know.  But personally, it was like reaching that point, where now, I officially got a chance… like, I can see the finish line, I can see the goal.  I’m about to get real focused.

Loud.com:  How do you plan to invest the $10,000?  Can you wrap your head around that kind of money, like, has it hit you yet?

It’s so thin like, you kind of in a way, you gun for the most you can get, at a point in time, you know, it’s like, lets go for this $25k, but I mean 10g’s… nigga, that’s gonna do a lot of good, I got a lot of things to take care of with my family, help some things get off the ground.  I can put this money to good use.  It’s a blessing.  My family, I get to do a couple extra things I’ve been wantin to do, it’s hard takin care of the day-to-day things and invest in yourself at the same time.  So it’s given me a window of opportunity.  All this work that you put in, it’s good to finally make shit pop.

Loud.com:  So, what kind of things have you been getting into since we last spoke?

I got a bunch of things; it’s crazy, man.  I got my last album, the “Duckin Straights” album, it’s been pickin up steam, it’s gonna be entered into the Justo Mixtape of the Year Awards, they hit me up, told me to submit it and see what’s going on.  The deadline for nominations is coming up, they’re pooling the people, to review it and all that, but I’m happy they reached out to me and to even be considered.  I ain’t got nowhere to go but hard, fell me?

And you know, my next album, of course, I’m still workin on that, lacin it.  Leaning towards the “Spic Bastard” title, or maybe “Culture Shock,” I haven’t decided.  But that’s definitely on deck.  I’m gonna get it correct with the Loud.com bread in the mix, so that’s a shout to everyone lookin out for me on the site, movin, buildin with each passing day.  I got my official showcase situation set up, that’s definitely set to go, it’s going to give exposure to all sorts of genres, basically I’m getting my whole squad together for that.  I’m bumpin into so many heads out here, man, I’m tryin to do something for the community.  I can’t front, I ain’t Jay-Z, but whatever I can pop off for my peoples I will.  There’s going to be a panel of judges to award a grand prize, but the site is still in production… the venue for the show has been locked and confirmed, so watch for that.  The prize right now is lookin official, there’s gonna be some TV and online exposure.  I’m messin with Manchu, Nylock and Gold And Platinum Inc., so, shout out to them definitely. 

And you know, can’t forget my fellow emcees, I been getting in on some tracks, I got mixtape plug-ins all over the place, the love I’m getting, it’s been crazy.  From day one, I won’t ever take my blessings for granted, all that, it’s much appreciated.  Everyone out there keeping it 100% for the sake of hip hop I want to get that across.  I got Lex Corp Music Group, building with my squad, Jon Jon, SOS, Jay Semi, Cams, Home Team, U.S., Open Eye, that’s the unit.  So yeah man, it’s definitely official with Lex Butter in 2008.

Loud.com:  That’s dope shit, that’s what the site is all about.  So, I have to ask… now that the Final 9 are set, who are you looking out for, who do you expect to come with some heat?

Honestly, they haven’t made it known to me what the Finals are gonna be like, based upon what I see now, I gotta be honest… I give respect to everybody that’s doin their thing… but I gotta go with Lex Butter on this one. 

I dunno man, I feel like I’m ready, I’m primed, float like a butterfly, sting like a bee, son, I’m ready to do this.  If they lookin for something that’s not cut from the same cloth and that could give you a classic artist, I’m tryin to bring something special, that’s me.  Aside from myself, though… yeah, there are some heavy hitters out there.  A lot of strong competition in the Finals and that’s one of the things that makes me appreciate it even more.  It’s not like I’m up there with garbage or it’s political, cuz sometimes it could look like it’s set up for someone to win… but as long as it’s based on merit and honesty and the craft and the wordplay and the content and the package… you can’t doubt LB. 

See, I gotta appreciate the fact I’m in this class right now with emcees that’s top notch… this Top Nine is some official people, and right now, it’s up to me, it’s up to all of us.  In the end, if Loud.com sees my vision, it’s all love and lets get it poppin!!  If they go somewhere else, I hope it’s someone that appreciates that honor, appreciates hip hop and doesn’t let this whole situation get to bloating their head.  It would be a shame to hear whoever wins totally disappear, too, like bricks out, hard body, that’s not what I’d in it for.  I wanna become a fixture in hip hop and rep for hip hop and not be a fly-by-night artist that sounds like everyone else, you know?  I want to bring elevation for the game and I’m poised to take this to the next level.  If they give me that chance they wont ‘be disappointed. 

But yeah, much love to the other eight and good luck.  These are the finals.  That’s what it is, ya heard?

Dear Loud Members,

As we bring in the New Year, I would like to thank you for being an important part of the Loud.com community.  Below is a quick update on the exciting progress we’ve made since our launch in April ‘07. 

Thanks to all of you, we have proudly amassed a community of over 70,000 members and have become the largest hip hop social network on the Internet in a mere 8 months.  We’re confident in saying 2008 will officially be the year of the Loud.com takeover - let’s make this happen together!

We have successfully executed all three rounds of the competition, leaving nine finalists to compete in the grand finale for $100k and a record deal.  For those not aware, the most recent winners were: Lex Butter in Third Place ($10,000), Jason Indian aka Jaden in Second Place ($15,000) and Killa Kat in First Place ($25,000).  In the next couple of days, all our finalists will receive instructions on how the rest of the competition will be judged, and that’s where all of you come in.  Stay tuned for how you can participate leading up to the Grand Finale. 

In the past 8 months, we’ve also executed some cool promotions for the community.  For instance, this summer we did a Rock the Bells “Rock With Wu” campaign wherein the RZA himself gave away beats for contestants to rhyme over. The winner, the aforementioned Lex Butter, chosen by RZA, opened for Wu-Tang at their Hawaii show on the Rock the Bells tour. Loud.com will be bringing its members plenty more great promotions in 2008.

There will also be more exclusive content for Loud.com members coming soon.  In 2007, we brought you the EXCLUSIVE Wu-Tang mixtape, “The Heart Gently Weeps” world premiere, Wu-Tang’s album “8 Diagrams,” and new David Banner tracks.  We intend on bringing you more exclusives regularly.

We’re constantly thinking of better ways to promote the site and the artists who participate on it. Look for the New Year to bring marketing initiatives that will further help develop YOU as an artist.  And please, send us your suggestions on how we can continue to make Loud.com the best hip hop community on the web!  We want you to use Loud.com as a tool to fulfill your dreams.

Some things to look forward to in 2008:

•    A Loud.com video player to feature producers and other news about promotions and contests.

•    The Loud.com Tastemaker Blog will feature blogs from big name producers, hip hop idols and other industry tastemakers. The aim is to educate the community from the expertise of the bloggers.

•    New beats will now be added five at a time. We will be sending out a press release to everyone on the site for each new batch of beats.

•    We continue to close new deals with some of the biggest producing names in Hip Hop including Havoc from Mobb Deep and Dante Ross.

I hope you are as excited as I am about the future of Hip Hop and Loud.com. We will embrace it together as one community.

Sincerely,

Steve

New York, NY (January 24, 2008) – The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) recently published their 2008 Digital Music Report.  The IFPI represents the recording industry worldwide (about 1400 members) in 75 countries and has its international Secretariat based in London.  They’re mission is to promote the value of recorded music, safeguard the rights of record producers and expand the commercial uses of recorded music.

This particular report is important because it offers insight on the significant changes that took place last year and gives light and meaning to the many that are to be put in place in 2008.  One of the highlights of the report is that it places more of the blame on Internet music piracy and illegal file-sharing on ISPs.  They actually are seeking help from governments worldwide to assist in their efforts.  Here’s an excerpt from the IFPI Article on their official site:

…”The IFPI Digital Music Report 2008 points to French President Sarkozy’s November 2007 plan for ISP cooperation in fighting piracy as a groundbreaking example internationally. Momentum is also gathering in the UK, Sweden and Belgium. The report calls for legislative action by the European Union and other governments where existing discussions between the music industry and record companies fail to progress.

Introducing the Report, IFPI Chairman and CEO John Kennedy says: “A turning tide of opinion is one thing – a concrete program of action is another. There is only one acceptable moment for ISPs to start taking responsibility for protecting content – and that moment is now. After years of prevarication in the discussion, the French government’s decision to seize the day is deeply refreshing. It shows an urgency of approach that is badly needed in every market where music is today being massively devalued by piracy.”

The report outlines the prospects and challenges for digital music as record companies move from a single format world to one of hundreds of formats and digital products. It shows experimentation with new revenue streams, including advertising-supported models and partnership with social networks. It also outlines the work record companies are doing in artist development and marketing of talent in the digital environment.”

To download the report, go here.  For additional reading and commentary on the topic, check out this article.

New York, NY (January 24, 2008) – While most everyone is familiar with the social networking opportunities afforded by places like MySpace and Facebook, fewer are acquainted with social media sites like Digg and Reddit.  Using these sites has become a tool of necessity for marketers, as they are constantly seeking out new and savvy ways to make their product have an impact.

Somewhere in-between social media and social networks, though, are blogs, a medium that marketers (and artists) are using more and more as informational outposts.  The concept of using a blog to advertise isn’t anything new, persay, but as the tactic becomes commonplace, marketers are having to learn to speak that particular blogger’s language in order to get the results they want.  It’s changed the demands placed upon marketers in these instances because they’re now forced to envelope themselves into the world of the product they’re pushing.

Perhaps that should always be the case, but when marketers are handling multiple projects, the time they spend has to be allocated appropriately in order for things to get done by report day (I could tell you all day about that).  Clients don’t know or want to hear that, but it’s the truth.  Tamar Weinberg, author of Techipedia, gives some shining examples how the approach can work, though.  The idea is ultimately that it’s only through calculated development that marketers and artists will see success.  She muses:

…”If you get your product name out among many blogs, eventually, the word gets out. This shouldn’t come as a surprise.  In any marketing campaign, the more you see the product, the more likely you are to be influenced by it, even if you don’t want to be.  The takeaway: if you talk about something enough, people will listen (even if they don’t want to).  Repeated exposure builds recognition.”

Indeed, it’s not a surprise, but the proof is really in the pudding when you look at how music spreads virally.  Soulja Boy is a perfect example of that.  But more to the point of what we’re talking about here (that is, blogs) is Travis Barker.  Former drummer for the pop/punk trio Blink-182, Barker now stays busy with his new bands +44 and Expensive Taste (with Paul Wall), along with numerous side projects, occasionally hip hop-related.  While his remix of Rihanna’s “Umbrella” got the ball rolling, it was his rock-remix of Soulja Boy’s “Crank That” that really put him in tune with the hip hop audience.  Within days of the video circulating on the hip hop blogs, views skyrocketed.  At last count (an hour ago), I had the video at over 9.6 million plays on YouTube. 

Now, you’re probably saying, wait, Barker had fame before all that happened and he couldn’t have been the first to be blown up by the power of the blogosphere.  And you’re right.  He had tons of old Blink fans checking for him, and there’s a million indie bands that have been blog darlings for years.  But with that one 4-minute jam session, he was able to thrust himself back into the spotlight in a good way (people weren’t talking about his domestic troubles anymore).  The real upside, though, was that it opened up a whole new audience for people that might not have known who he was initially.  Building off that idea, Barker recently did a rock-remix of Flo Rida’s chart-topper “Low,” as seen here on Real Talk NY.  That video has been out for about 12 days and already has garnered over 770,000 views on YouTube.  With news of Flo Rida signing a co-publishing deal with Sony/ATV, he’s sure to see even more visibility as some deeper Google searches for Flo Rida will certainly pop up with Barker’s name.

As much as Barker is a musician, he’s now in a position to turn himself into a brand.  He’s got multiple lanes available, stays busy in music and movies with various projects and has an overall punk-rock/cool-guy image that larger sponsors are sure to pick up down the road.  To that end, Barker’s already had some experience: he has a pending lawsuit with Rockstar Energy Drinks (they used his image without consent).  So it’s clear he’s in demand.  And while the marketing of “his image” was surely not done on accident, he technically didn’t have to do much.  He posted a video that showcased his talent and got it over to one or two friendly blogs. 

Pfft… after that… it wasn’t anything more than a trickle down effect, and he got to piss excellence on everyone else tryin to catch up.  So… the question is: Why not you?

New York, NY (January 24, 2008) – This one came down the pipe from several news sources this morning.  Yahoo! Music and Last.FM have thrown their hats into the digital music service ring.  PC World reports:

…”Though an official announcement has yet to be made, USA Today reports that Yahoo! is in discussions with record labels to begin an ad-supported music service.  Details are still pending as to the specifics of Yahoo’s service, such as whether downloads will be free or paid, or if it will be a subscription service.  Yahoo! hopes to launch the service sometime later this year.”

Amazon.com launched their service last year, establishing them as the first real threat against iTunes (uh, if by threat you mean taking a few nickels away from iTunes’ market share).  Having recently inked deals with EMI, Sony BMG, UMG and Warner Music Group, though, and coupled with the fact that the majors all harbor some lingering ill-will towards iTunes, it’s clear Amazon has at least a bit of momentum for itself.  But then again, consider Yahoo! Music is already pretty massive and influential by itself.  All of these factors could potentially translate into music price wars this year, and that would certainly be a good look for the consumer.

It’s still really strange to see/hear/watch these big labels stumble into the digital world.  As days pass and more plans/partnerships are announced, it’s definitely becoming clear how far behind the industry actually is; because outside of the glitzy promotion and marketing, most of their proposed revenue models seem pretty bland.  I’ll be waiting for the label that makes a decision with some “Holy SHIT” factor attached to it, though… my money is on EMI.

New York, NY (January 23, 2008) – Target, the first choice of today’s 20-somethings when it comes to good shit at a reasonable price, is taking it’s first baby step into the world of digital music.  In association with SonyBMG, Target quietly launched John Legend’s latest, “Live From Philadelphia.”

From PaidContent.org:

…”This new promo also ties into Target’s deal with SonyBMG, where the music label is debuting DRM-free MP3 music cards. The site also says the store is powered by digital music provider HipDigital. Not sure if Target will add other such promotions from here on and make this into a full-fledged music service, or will just restrict itself to SonyBMG digital music for now. My guess: mainly digital promotions. Full fledged music services from rivals aren’t thriving, and Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) has the download market to itself.”

The retail chain has larger appeal among the “hip” crowd for a number of reasons, including, but not limited to, its overall appearance, quality of service, products and reasonable price.  It’s also a great place to meet hot chicks.  Write that down.

New York, NY (January 22, 2008) – We base a lot of what we do in our life on faith – relationships, the value of a dollar, technology.  For some, it’s faith in a higher power.  But for most of us, the best example of how we live our lives is the faith we have in ourselves.  It’s odd to think about it that way, but self-esteem allows us to make choices, to help us understand that the quality of life we might obtain really depends upon our decisions to mix with certain external forces, like money, like God and so forth.  You can argue where it comes from until you’re blue in the face, but in the end, your own free will enables choice. 

That fact makes us a community surrounded, guided, perhaps even confined, by the limits of our faith in the external.  It exposes both the selfishness in people and also why we’re so emotionally bound by a need for community at the same time. 

Two important examples of how we divide up our faith are politics and personal satisfaction.  How, you ask?  It’s called intrinsic value.  Economics classifies intrinsic value as the following:

“The actual value of a company or an asset based on an underlying perception of its true value including all aspects of the business, in terms of both tangible and intangible factors.” 

For our purposes, in politics, there are certain issues that affect us on an emotional level, issues like equality, abortion and war.  How much the issue gets under your skin and translates into action might not capture what non-economists think of as intrinsic value the same as say, a baseball card from your grandpa or an old ring, but the emotion is born from the same kind of economic force – “an underlying perception of it’s true value.”

Personal satisfaction, or music in this case, identifies more with the concept of intrinsic value that we ARE familiar with: a free will, faith-based belief that something is worth something, despite what the market (anyone else) says.  While it’s just as much an emotion as our views on equality, abortion and war, we characterize music as a tangible intangible, something we can recall and attach a memory or specific moment to.  This sort of intrinsic value doesn’t have a price tag associated with it, partly because we have faith that our music won’t be exploited.  Yet in today’s day and age, that’s exactly what has happened.  More and more, hip hop has lost its identity in a sea of thongs, paper rain and rims. 

And it’s not fucking right.

Our culture of hip hop now is not the same one that was beginning to develop an identity in the late 60’s and early 70’s.  It’s not the same one that found a home in the fun-loving 80’s or the blackness of PE, soul of Pete Rock and gangster of Tupac in the 90’s or Eminem’s angst that went deeper than his skin color on into the aughts (’00s).  Truth be told, it shouldn’t be the same.  It’s supposed to change, to evolve.  But the surge of great music from those artists and artists like them came to life because there was passion.  A value associated with the music that went beyond bitches, cash and glory.  It’s that element of authenticity that our greatest artists have and the rest aspire to achieve.  Passion is a dying trait among today’s artists, and to go further, maybe even in those listening.  But it also begs the question: if you’re not born with passion, does that mean you have to fake it? 

According to today’s market, yes, you do.  And we’ve allowed that to be OK.

You can arrive at a million reasons why the mentality of our artists and community is fucked up, but that does nothing to provide a solution.  And that’s what we need: a solution.  No more talk, but action.  In the name of entertainment, Hollywood, TV, comedians, porn stars and baseball has all faked it.  Yet we still consume it.  Most of us understand that dinosaurs are extinct, Las Vegas CSI isn’t THAT busy, life isn’t THAT funny, she doesn’t like it THAT much and Barry Bonds is a bloated cheat.  But with music, it’s different.  Music is supposed to be an outlet to connect, something that comes from inside the rawness of ourselves.  It gives us a platform to funnel a wide range of emotions into one concrete form and spit it back out a thousand different ways.  Music was there in the beginning and has developed over time, taking on the power to elevate, to heal and even to change.

I’m not naïve enough to believe that all music has to be like that.  But our music, hip hop music, is supposed to be a medium where we reflect the times, not create a one-dimensional, delusional version.  Our music is supposed to be a blotter where the ones who fake it aren’t remembered.  And yet in our music, we more-and-more have a cinematic blend of fantasy with only hints of reality.  It’s numbed our senses and given rise to stagnant, complacent and formulaic expression.  The worst part is, we’re fed today’s music and content by the pop machine and made to believe it is ALL FACT! 

And THAT is where I have a problem with today’s hip hop.  Not with the wack dance songs or lame beats or shitty lyrics.  When you spin something as fact that is not, you lose the distinction of impression derived from authenticity.  It’s one thing to call a kettle black… but it’s another to act like it’s the only shade out there.

Fortunately, there are still movements supporting true-school hip hop.  One such voice, a dude by the name of Lavoisier, recently went to a middle school to talk with the very ears consuming today’s music: kids.  Whether you think he’s dope or not is beside the point (personally, I’d probably bump his music).  This video was originally posted at Real Talk NY, and in it, Lavoisier poses a series of questions to the students around a central theme: is it OK for rappers to be fake?  The majority of the kids said NO!  But yet they still consume it!  So now… if our kid’s generation… has been taught that it’s OK to be fake and that rap is just entertainment… our culture has some VERY dangerous questions about authenticity and future implications that need answers immediately.  Kids put FAITH in their elders, their role models, their politicians and their parents to do right by them, but by continuing to push a phony agenda across the airwaves, we are contributing to the delinquency of our own children.

And that is not fucking right, either.

I’m left to wonder at the end of all this: If hip hop is the most powerful, influential tool we have to reach out and connect with our kids today… what exactly are we doing?

New York, NY (January 22, 2008) – With the digital space increasingly becoming a playground for advertisers, new information is available that suggests users are actually being driven away from certain content by streaming ads shown before, during or after Internet videos.  As if they needed a study to confirm ads are a fucking nuisance.  But I digress. 

Streaming ads were initially shown to be an effective way to reach consumers, but as Internet video and the people watching from their PC’s get more sophisticated, they have clearly become a hindrance to viewing.  More from the full article at PaidContent.org (fear not, it’s free):

…”In-stream ads are a turn-off: Again, most people aren’t fans of commercials of any sort. But even the most irascible would be unlikely to turn off their TV show because of ad irritation. When it comes to streaming ads, half (50.7 percent) of the respondents said they stop watching an online video once they see an in-stream advertisement. Two-out-of-five (43.2 percent) do stay on to watch the rest of the online video. While only a small percentage - 15.3 percent - said they immediately leave the site once they encounter an in-stream ad, about half (49.7 percent) said the such ads’ presence alone makes them less likely to view other online videos.

Younger viewers: more tolerant, less recall: If you are going to aim a streaming ad at someone, viewers 18-24 are somewhat more tolerant of the practice. Over one-half (57.6 percent) will watch an online video ad and not become too annoyed to finish viewing. However, the report says younger viewers also have fairly low recall rates.”

It will be interesting to see how advertisers handle this new development.  Personally, I’m not bothered by the pop-up ads you see rolling along the bottom of a web video, mainly because it doesn’t get in your way of watching the video from jumpstreet.  The article goes on to suggest that is actually one of the alternatives that seem able to keep viewers on a given site to continue browsing.  Advertisers will surely be tested in the coming years as they search for a solution.  Aha good luck, chuck.

New York, NY (January 21, 2008) – HBO has always been known for its innovation when approaching original programming, whether it’s sports, documentaries, reality or scripted series.  The innovation continues as they get set extend their reach to the web.

Yahoo! News reported today that HBO will make its movies and original programming available to subscribers for download and playback for set amounts of time at no additional charge.  Starting Tuesday, Jan. 22 in Wisconsin, HBO on Broadband will offer a wider selection of programming than their current on-demand service, in hopes of satisfying the demands of their subscribers.  Here’s more from the author, Gina Keating:

…”HBO has positioned its site as a way to keep subscribers who watch more content online, just as it gave more flexibility to time-shifting viewers with the creation in 2000 of HBO on Demand.

Cusson said the roll-out of HBO on Demand reduced the cancellation rate among certain subscribers. "They found more satisfaction with their service so they kept it longer," he said. "As more viewing occurs on the broadband platform we want to make sure we provide that option to the HBO subscription."

Targeted at younger subscribers and travelers who watch TV shows and movies on laptops, HBO on Broadband will offer 600 titles each month, with 400 of those available at any time, as well as a live stream of the main HBO channel.”

A good move, but as we talked about in an earlier post, Hollywood is still at a crossroads about how it’s going to best monetize it’s video service.  iTunes has already thrown its hat into the game, and Netflix seems to have a bead on what the public wants.  However, as technology continues to change and people adapt, they’re going to have to adjust and hope people don’t turn to illegal means of getting what they want in the meantime.

New York, NY (January 21, 2008) – Adage featured an interesting piece today about the recognition podcasts are finally seeing as viable revenue models in the digital space.

As more and more content migrates (or reluctantly diffuses) from TV and radio to the web, consumers are finding some of their favorite programs available to them for keeps.  If you’re unfamiliar, a podcast, according to Wikipedia, is “a collection of digital media files distributed over the Internet, often using syndication feeds, for playback on portable media players and personal computers.”  I’ve linked a few on this blog in the past, but basically it’s usually an audio file posted somewhere as part of a continuous, dynamic and changing content feed, originating from a specific site.  For more on how to use them, visit Entrepreneurs-Journey.com.

Here’s an excerpt from the Adage article by Andrew Hampp:

…”But a more Long Tail business has started to form within the more fragmented sectors of iTunes, which loosened its policy on ads in podcasts in 2005. Chris Spencer, CEO of Wizzard Media, a podcasting network with more than 35 video and audio podcasts in its stable, values the podcast-specific ad market at about $100 million. The figure comes closer to $300 million after streaming video is included in the mix, though he said it’s difficult to gauge the specifics. "It is growing faster than anyone — especially the big TV networks — believed would happen," he said.

Or the big radio groups, for that matter. Only a handful of major radio owners have let their talent participate in podcasting, with Dennis Miller and Sean Hannity among the few nationally syndicated personalities available on iTunes. As the TV networks have seen with video on demand and streaming video, they risk decreasing the size of a live audience that can be sold to an advertiser at a higher premium for the sake of making content available to consumers whenever they want it.”

People are often on the go and don’t always have time to check sites, so podcasts coming in off any RSS feed you’re subscribed to and piped to your phone or to your computer, ready for your mp3 player, are a pretty cool thing.  Chances are you’d need a smart phone to really make that work for you when mobile, but even so, it’s a good idea.  And with more people now tuning in, its clear advertisers are poised to get in on the act.

Here’s a few random links having to do with hip-hop and podcasts:

In Over Your Head: A Growing List of Hip-hop Podcasts on The Web

Digital Podcast: Browse Hip-hop

Mixtape Show Podcast

Prefix Magazine Podcast Page

New York, NY (January 18, 2008) – With the holiday season officially wrapped up, sales dipped slightly during this week’s session, but Alicia Keys still moved enough to regain the No. 1 spot on the Billboard 200.  She had to fend off a game Mary J. Blige and a late charge from the “Juno” soundtrack, though.

Keys’ third studio album, “As I Am,” moved a modest but respectable 70,300 units, yet down considerably from the 110,000+ she did last week.  Her lead single “No One” held steady at No. 2, and her second single, “Like You’ll Never See Me Again,” moved up nine spots to No. 16 on the Billboard 100.  Mary J. Blige’s catchy “Just Fine,” fell three spots to No. 37, but her album “Growing Pains” continues to chart well, coming in this week at No. 4 with 63,900 copies.  She’s close to going platinum for the ninth time in her career, with sales of her latest bubbling at 988,400.  Expect her to reach the one million mark by next week.

Moving down the charts, Chris Brown continues to do well with his sophomore release, ”Exclusive.”  He moved another 29,800 copies, good for a 10-week total of 1,121,800.  His monster smash “Kiss, Kiss” is still percolating at No. 4.  The real surprise this week, though, was Fergie and her re-emergence into the Top 10.  Powered by forces not of this earth, the recently engaged pop starlet moved another 27,600 units.  “The Dutchess” has been a fixture on the chart for an incredible 69 weeks, and her total is an astounding 3,331,100.  And while not on that kind of pace, Keyshia Cole and her album “Just Like You” continue to perform well, too, moving another 27,000 units to increase her total to platinum status: 1,002,600.  Not bad.

There are a lot of big names in this next group, but nothing remarkable about their movement on the charts…  We start with Lupe Fiasco, who saw “The Cool” nudged down to No. 23 with 20,500 units.  R&B sanger Jaheim fell three spots to No. 27 with an even 20,000 of “Makings of A Man.”  Kanye West actually bumped up two spots to No. 31 this week, moving another 17,900 of “Graduation,” and Big Brother Jay-Z slid four spots to No. 33 after scanning 17,300 copies of “American Gangster.”  Hov still has yet to go platinum, sitting on a 10-week total of 928,300 units.  And Cash Money’s CEO Birdman is still grinding away, coming in at No. 39 with “5 * Stunna,” which sold 14,700 this week.  While it’s nothing like the numbers his label used to do, Bird’s five-week total stands at a respectable 208,100 units sold.

Soulja Boy, after weeks of continuous cranking, saw his “souljaboytellem.com” free-fall thirteen positions to No. 40, pushing a meager 14,200 copies.  Mainly based off of his hit single, SB has moved 697,000 copies in 15 weeks.  On the flipside, perennial all-star producer Timbaland apologized his “Shock Value” up three spots this week to No. 42.  He scanned 13,900 this week, giving him a solid 41-week total of 1,034,500 copies.  British junkie/singer Amy Winehouse followed suit five spots behind him at No. 46.  “Back to Black,” Winehouse’s critically acclaimed, Grammy-nominated debut, moved 13,300 this week, giving her a total of 1,466,200 copies after 44 weeks.  In a notable gain, Def Jam’s The-Dream moved up eight spots on the charts, settling into No. 47 this week.  After penning hits like “Umbrella” for Rihanna and “Bed” for J. Holiday, his own offering “Love/Hate” scanned 12,700 this week.  After five weeks, The-Dream sits on a total of 141,300 copies, but maybe he should have saved some of those tracks for himself?

Strangely enough, rounding out the Top 50 was actually none other than J. Holiday himself, up two spots to No. 48 with “Back of My ‘Lac.”  Stunning the R&B world this year with the aforementioned “Bed” and blamed for pregnancies across America, Holiday moved 12,500 units this week, good for a 15-week total haul of 440,100.

We’ll be keeping an eye out for Raheem DeVaughn next week, sure to take a quality position on the Hip-Hop and R&B Charts.  Until then, smoke ‘em if you got ‘em.

For more hip hop news, visit Yo! Raps Magazine.

New York, NY (January 17, 2008) – Ever been traveling around, busy with something else and had a sick punchline but no paper to write it down?  Ever kicked a freestyle iller than Supernat but no one was around to hear?  Ever had a fresh idea for a melody while stuck in traffic and no vocal recorder to jog your memory later?  Ever needed to leave an important message about your company to… yourself?

Well, as TechCrunch reported the other day, worry no more.  Drop.io, an otherwise unremarkably simple storage site for files on-line, unfurled a nifty addition to the site on Monday.  You can phone in a message and the site will convert it into an mp3 for later use.  More from Michael Arrington about Drop.io and their cool new toy:

…”(On Drop.io), users can upload files via a Flash tool or by simply emailing files to a designated address. Files an also be uploaded via a widget.  The page itself can be open or password protected. The pages can be anonymous, and each one, called a “drop,” has 100 MB of free storage (you can upgrade to 1 GB for $10/year). There are also RSS feeds and email alerts for drops, although they do not contain enclosures. You have to link through to get to the actual file.

…Voice (is the new feature). Every drop page has a phone number and extension associated with it. Call the number, dial the extension and record an unlimited length voice message (subject only to the overall 100 MB file size limitation). The file will appear momentarily as a MP3 file on the drop page.”

Now, if you’re not at your desk, you might have to be able to get on the web via your cell to see your Drop page’s phone number and proper extension.  That is the only foreseeable obstacle in this whole thing, and I’m not exactly clear on that part.  But the fact the technology is there is cool enough.  It will be dope as fuck once they get a conference feature set up; that will make interviews a lot easier and more fluid.  Shout out to Drop.io, on their grizzly.

New York, NY (January 17, 2008) – Twan Cassidy has been around the industry for a long time.  Breaking in with the Boot Camp Clik in the early 90’s and sharpening his executive teeth at Priority Records and Duck Down, he’s collaborated with some of the very best in New York.  He got serious shine on Funkmaster Flex’s Vol. 2, but lost several years of his life to a stint in prison. 

Fortunately, he came out of his bid with a revised game plan and renewed sense of direction.  His new strategy has taken shape in the form of Live B.I.G. Music Group, a partnership struck with Bristal, formerly of Junior Mafia and Bad Boy Entertainment.  Bristal has a long history in the game too, and is currently working on his album (set to feature T.I., David Banner, Styles P and R&B crooner Joe). 

Collectively, they seem to have the pedigree for the big time, but what exactly are they about?  Loud.com sat down with Twan, aka Twanie Ranks, and talked about the initiatives he’s taken on as President of Live B.I.G.  With a vast network in place and a passion not often found in hip hop today, he waxed prolific on everything from bringing hip hop to Jamaica, coming up during hip hop’s Golden Era and why it’s important to give back to today’s kids.   Take notes…

Loud.com:  So it seems both of ya’ll have been in the game for a minute, and in the industry for at least 10, 15 years.  What’s the most important thing you’ve learned?

I been down since like, ’93, man.  Back when Buckshot came out, like, I was still payin my dues, you know?  It’s crazy, Smif-N-Wessun was telling me things like I was on my own shit; it was a crazy time, for real.  I was actually on staff at Priority back then, doin street team, things like that, before I came to be an artist.  We were distributing Duck Down at the time.  Even then, I felt like I could own my label with everything that I was learning.  It was all subconscious, but I learned how to talk to people, to be respectful from the top to bottom, how to talk on the phone, how to carry myself.  I learned how to do music and put songs together, not just rap.  Lotta niggas can’t say that.  And I learned how to make sure the fans understand me and feel me.

Loud.com:  Your bio mentions you collaborated with Bristal previously… how did Good Money officially come together and morph from just trading 16’s to a full-fledged group effort in Live B.I.G. Music Group?

Smif-N-Wessun actually OK’d me and Bris to come together after they heard a song we did.  I was doin a community concert about two years ago, and he was tryin to get a record deal.  At that time, Junior Mafia had fallen apart, so Bris was alone, you know?  I was chillin with Smif-N-Wessun one day, talkin to them about how I wanted to branch out.  They suggested that I reach out to Bris and we’d all support each other.  So, him and I did a song, took it back to Smif-N-Wessun with the intentions of building our own company, put everything together and it went from there.  Everyone we dealt with liked it, we ran into some more people that was feelin us, a lot of different producers and rappers, so it’s been a beautiful thing.

Loud.com:  What does Live B.I.G. mean?  Why the acronym?

Bristal is really the one who kind of developed that, kind of like, live big, think big, get big, you know?  Biggie was a dude that was always stackin money, would always be fly, always tryin to tell niggas how to stay on top of their game, that sort of thing.  It meant a lot to Bris, so that’s sort of the origin.  Biggie opened the doors for a lot of people, he opened the door for the fly image, started wearin the Versace and whatnot.  It stands for Business Important Gentlemen.

Loud.com:  Aiight, bet.  Now, every emcee has dreams of showing the world why they’re the best… it’s something inside that forces them to speak and want to be heard.  But not everyone is afforded the opportunity to reach a level like a Jay-Z or a Nas.  In your mind, what separates guys like that from the rest?  What do you think has been your own personal obstacle up until this point?

I’m still tryin to get all my fans together, still tryin to get people to listen to my music and still tryin to get people to say Twan is that nigga.  At this point, the only thing that separates me and Jay-Z is they got major paper.  It’s not like his ideas or his whatever prevents us from being in the same place, but they got the money already and can do bigger and better things off the bat.  But that gives me inspiration, that’s why I work so hard.

Loud.com:  How do you see overcoming that?

I’m in tune with God now.  I believe there’s a Man upstairs that loves you and gets you thru the day.  And as long as you working hard, you get what you deserve.  You will be rewarded.  Other than my people and my fans, that’s where it all comes from, the drive to get there.  I took it so far in 2007, I feel really good about this year already. 

I’m doin a project in Jamaica this year, man, with Be Loud Music; it’s called “Bomb Squad Live.”  It’s bein presented by Live B.I.G. and Be Loud, and we’re tryin to do a best of both worlds thing.  We got artists from New York and Jamaica, both established and up and coming cats.  Beenie Man is workin with us, Capleton, Collie Buddz is involved.  If you didn’t know, Beenie is like the Jay-Z of reggae, man.  So that’s major for us.  We got tracks from Murdoc, T-Blue, and a kid from London that lives in Jamaica, Young Bizzle.  Me and him got a song with Joe Larroca; Joe is an Italian kid from our label, real dope.  Collie is on that one, too.

Loud.com: What’s that whole experience been like?

It’s a beautiful thing.  We doin a couple songs in New York right now, then goin down to Jamaica in June.  They promoting me and Bristal’s single down there, it’s called “Worldwide.”  When we get there, they’re gonna be looking for us.  As much as they love reggae, they’re on that hip hop shit, too, they love it down there.  We’re gonna do a big giveaway, it’s gonna be crazy. 

Loud.com:  That’s dope.  You’d think NY would have realized how big hip hop is down there. 

We’re the first to do an entire New York to Jamaica album.  The industry will be lookin for us, man.

Loud.com:  Word up.  Now, I wanted to ask you… your bio says that you got mixed up in some things and spent a significant amount of time in prison.  What was the most difficult thing about being incarcerated?

Yeah, I mean, there are some bad things and some good things that come out of going to prison.  The bad thing is it takes you away from what you’re doing, away from your family.  It completely takes away from your privacy, you’re communication… you got people telling you when and how to do everything.  Getting up for count, they call you by your number, it’s like you don’t exist.  That was a difficult thing.  Goin down for your packages, telling me I can’t get food.  But it’s discipline, you know?  You’re paying you’re dues back.  You’re giving back for what you did wrong.  I wrote a lot, found myself, you know… it actually put me on top of my game musically, physically, mentally.  It was unexpected, but I grew.  So you could say I won, but I definitely lost.

Loud.com:  Was there a moment when you decided things weren’t working for you?

Not one in particular.  There were times where I’d sit down in my cell, like I can’t mess with this anymore, and I gotta find a different type of way of livin, like how I make my financials come together.  So I prayed, like, God, let me grow.  I wanted to be ready to come home.  Cuz my family was still there my whole five years, like, Boot Camp held it down for me, Smif-N-Wessun communicated everyday, sendin money, sendin whatever they could.  From the Flex, Boot Camp and OGC album I was still gettin money, so…

Loud.com:  When you got out, whoo did you surround yourself with to keep you successful?  What do you look for in people now that are going to support you as you move forward?

I kept myself around people that were always getting money and seeing the vision I see.  I always have.  You can’t help but stay focused that way.  As far as the qualities I see in them, I realized they have to be there for me, cuz I’m a good person.  If we can’t get along, and if it ain’t gonna work out, we gotta split up.  I try to keep it with no hard feelings, you understand?  Everybody with respect, everybody on good terms.

Loud.com:  Yeah, definitely.  I want to switch gears again and talk a bit about your label.  Was there a process that you followed to set everything up?  How did you go about getting Live B.I.G. off the ground?

What happened with Live B.I.G. was I had a record label already, Effiliated Records, my wife was workin on it with me.  The first place I started was getting my paper work together and then my network.  Second, I made sure I was goin to all the record labels that personally gave me inspiration and worked to get all the call sheets for the DJ’s, radio stations and other labels so I’d be in touch with the right person.  After that, it’s basically just stayin on the phone, letting people know what I’m doin, how I’m doin it, who I’m with, my background.  And that’s all it takes. 

Forming a record label is all about connections and stayin on the phone, doin your promotion and marketing.  If you ain’t doin that, you ain’t goin nowhere.  If you do that, you’ll blow eventually.  I got something that a lot of people don’t have:  leverage.  I got established cred in this hip hop shit, and I got connections.  It’s short money right now, so I’m gettin favors and all that… but I’m still growing.  Right now, it’s ‘ohh, that’s Twanie Ranks from Boot Camp Clik;’ but what they also gotta know is that it’s ‘Twan with Bristal from Bad Boy, together they Good Money, what we gone do with them,’ follow me?

Loud.com:  For sure.  No one can hear the talent until they hear the voice on the phone.  That said, what is the most important thing people can learn from being around real hip hop?

Myself, I learned that it ain’t all about speaking on craziness.  Hip hop is a vehicle that you can speak through positively, to feed the community and give them what they need to know.  So it can help them get what they want, and feel more content.  For me, that’s what it is.

Loud.com:  That actually brings me to my next question.  What is your school tour all about?

One day I was in the crib, and you know, I got three kids, I watch the news everyday.  I love kids and love people that want to learn and do new things.  So instead of doin in-stores and all that runnin in and out, I got to thinking why don’t we just bring our music and message right to the kids?  They are the ones that make us who we are; they’re takin out time to listen to our music. 

My wife is a data analyst, so we got some lists together, mocked up some proposals and figured out what we were gonna do.  Then I started callin schools.  I’m older, but the kids still young like me, you know?  We don’t want money for what we do and the principal’s felt that.  They knew we weren’t millionaires, but were working to be on our way.  We kept what we were doing straight from the heart, and they liked the way we spoke.  They liked that we were educated on the topics we spoke about.

Man, when I go in there, I do it big.  I get food catered, like, we givin away t-shirts, all that.  My uncle actually has a scholarship program and we award money, the whole thing.  In this game, you gotta do it big and do it professional.  Kids are the number one consumers of hip hop so we’re givin back to them.  Every school we did, they wanted us to come back for prom and graduation to perform.  Like, we just put a motivational speaker on our record label, so he be goin in.  I have an application that I send to schools, and they ask for him.  He’s an older guy, too!

I feel like I took it to another level with this program.  I respect what people do and other people’s decisions, and I respect what God has given me to work with.   I’ma take the marketing plan and bring it over the mountain.  As long as you give, you will receive.  We givin kids Internships for the program, teachin them about A&R, basically opening up the industry to them.  We do video shoots, they can come on location; I’m trying to create a generation of kids that knows the ins-and-outs of business before they get IN the business.

Loud.com:  What do you call it?

The title and our message are simple: The Hip-Hop Educational Music Program.  It’s designed to motivate and inspire HS kids.  It ain’t all about rims and chains, man.

Loud.com:  That’s dope, I like it.  So, OK, I want to transition back to music.  What’s the next move for Good Money?  Who are you working with and when can we expect an album?

Well, I just need to clarify, me and Bristal, we are a group, but we aren’t at the same time.  We came together as a group to show who we are, and let people get a feelin of what we’re doin… but we’re solo artists for Live B.I.G.  More or less, Good Money just helps us to bust the door down. 

Other than that, Good Money is all about Live B.I.G.  We come in with our heart, we come in with peace, and I think all of that coincides with money cuz money is power and we got power.  Worldwide, it’s like we are it.  We been everywhere, we affiliated with everyone, we can go anywhere and they show us love.  I got connects everywhere.  That’s the whole thing.  Right now, we got the single out, it’s called “Worldwide.”  It’s dedicated to BIG.  He took it everywhere from Brooklyn.

Loud.com:  What can fans expect from this record?

It’s just gonna be crazy.  “Get Money, Never Rest,” March 11th is when we come out.  The Jamaican project I was telling you about earlier, “Bomb Squad Live,” that drops August 26th straight outta the island.  It’s beautiful cuz it’s overseas, man, they honestly more loyal than New York.  They show crazy love and truly appreciate the music, so you gotta feel that.

Live B.I.G. is going to release the “Four Corners” album sometime this year I think.  It will feature me, Bristal and our artists Joe Larroca and Sinima.  Sinima is more a producer right now, but he spits, too.  We sittin on it for the moment, cuz of the “Bomb Squad” project.  We got so much heat, man.  We feel like we gonna be the biggest and best indie company that come out this year.  We carryin it well with the support from our industry family, and God of course first.  You gotta live right and show the love, you gotta respect people.  That’s why I get respect.  I’m a humble, man.  I’m a Muslim, I pray 5 times a day, I have to be, you understand?

Loud.com:  What’s been your best hip hop moment recently?

Bein in the studio recording this “Get Money, Never Rest” album… doin these schools, hip hop can control the world.  Doin this Jamaican project.  Just bein a part of Boot Camp, bein a part of that era.  We still somebody overseas and in NY, that’s crazy to feel that, you know?  We just older, got kids, some of us own businesses.  But we all still speak everyday.  Everything I been doin is my best hip hop moment.  It just feels good.

Loud.com:  Aiight, man, well I appreciate you spending the time, I dig the school program idea, it’s long overdue.  Anything you’d like to add?  The floor is yours.

Yeah, actually… Boot Camp raised me in the game, they the ones that showed me how to handle myself.  I’ma always be from them.  I was one of the dudes along with Black Scavenger that did most of the reggae from them.  Louisville Sluggah from OGC, he brought me to Duck Down.  It was a good look from Flex, shout out to him, he got me on Vol. 2.  My homie Ruck (Sean Price) from Heltah Skeltah put me on.  He was like, I heard you do that reggae shit, so I went in there and ripped it.  Dru Ha at Duck Down told Buckshot about me and after that, it was a wrap, did all their reggae shit.  Did the “Collector’s Edition” album, did a Boot Camp album, “For The People.”  I was on the Heltah Skeltah album, I was part of Priority and Duck Down on a behind the scenes tip, you know what I’m sayin.  I ain’t got millions but today I got my own company and to do what I do feels good.  Keep it peace with everyone. 

New York, NY (January 16, 2008) – The Writers Guild of America is taking to task certain musicians that also have membership cards for the Screen Actors Guild, AdAge.com reported on Tuesday.

Some of the more notable names with SAG membership are multi-platinum stars Justin Timberlake and 50 Cent, as well as Queen Latifah.  While there is no direct correlation between the musicians and the WGA, the logic here is that, as SAG members, they should be supportive of the strike. 

WGA member Marc Norman, who penned “Shakespeare In Love” and sits on the WGA negotiating committee, says that for musicians attending the Grammy’s, they are essentially  “adding to the bottom-line of a TV network.”  No word yet from officials on whether the Grammy’s will go the way of the Golden Globes and be scrapped altogether.

I can see the WGA’s point of contention, but lets be honest: these people were musicians first.  If they are directly part of the WGA, then yes, they should stay home.  But crossing a picket line that is only drawn for theses artists by circumstance and not instance?  I’m not sure that’s being responsible to the reason they achieved fame in the first place – music.  It’s definitely a unique situation, a rock-and-a-hard-place scenario, but I think the importance of the Grammy’s to these stars’ ego will probably prevail.

New York, NY (January 15, 2008) – And one more for today, here’s a link to the Facebook CEO’s interview with “60 Minutes” anchor Lesley Stahl.

I’m not sure why people get on Zuckerberg so much… yeah, I mean, he’s made some early mistakes, but if you want to make an omelet, you’ve got to break a few eggs.  He’s heading up the most powerful Internet tool we’ve seen since Google, a tool that has the power to change the way we go about our lives.  That’s a lot of pressure for a 23-year-old kid.  Shit, I’d flip out when I got a D in college, thinking Pop dukes was gonna pull my tuition and dump it into his pocket.  Imagine the whole world giving you a D?  Fuck that.  There’s HEAPS more scrutiny on him than was ever on the Google guys.  Media coverage when Google launched wasn’t what it was now.  A prime example is the first Desert Storm versus the recent incarnation bringing the front lines to us while we eat dinner.  So all you armchair analysts, shut the fuck up.

Considering the missteps he’s made, FB has delivered a genius social networking platform, and I’m sure his team will eventually roll out a successful revenue model beyond just ads with a tweaked version of Beacon.  Give the kid some time.  What half these people forget is that if Facebook flops, it’s not the end of the world.  No one dies because Mark Zuckerberg doesn’t show up to work on Monday.  If he fucks up, someone else will slide right in, it’s the American way!  It might not be right, but we’ve all made a living picking up someone else’s slack.  That’s capitalism, baby! 

The only logical reason that I can find for these critics to be losing sleep over Facebook is because somewhere, deep down in the furthest reaches of their muckraking hearts, said journalists have actually reserved a bit of hope that he succeeds.  And they’re scared.  Haha or maybe they’re all just a bunch of cynical assholes with nothing better to do than find flaws in people’s life work.  Oh… wait… we’re talking about the modern media here… that’s what they do. 

What was I thinking?

New York, NY (January 15, 2008) – In late November, Amazon.com and Pepsi announced a new joint-promotion that would launch during this year’s Superbowl.  The New York Times reported yesterday, though, that the deal was more than just a good idea and seemingly a show of solidarity in the face of iTunes.

Backed by three of the big four record labels (Universal Music Group is sitting this one out, due to a pricing disagreement), Amazon hopes to repeat the success iTunes had when they partnered with Pepsi four years ago.  As label heads clash with Steve Jobs over price control and myriad other items, Amazon is poised to seize the opportunity.  They’ve already struck deals with the Big Four to sell songs DRM-free as mp3’s, and may potentially be privy to exclusive deals while iTunes can only sit and watch.

I’m a fan of Apple, but I see this as only doing good for the consumer.  Amazon and Pepsi plan to giveaway close to a billion songs by the time the promotion runs it’s course, and while the model is not revolutionary, it’s purpose in this case is.  We’re not even through the first month of 2008, and already we’ve seen major upheaval in the world of music.  It’s a great thing people are finally acting to rectify a shitty situation, even when the common denominator is money.  When the labels are losing money, their clout to support our favorite artists diminishes.  Right now, the fans and artists are winning, and because of the aforementioned fact, they will continue to win. 

The power of choice will force the labels to finally get it right this time.