Source: Blake Towns / HotSpotAtl.com Clayton County native Derez De’Shon shows zero signs of slowing down this year after a crazy 2017. Last August, he dropped his highly anticipated debut mixtape “Pain” on all major platforms, flooding the streets of Atlanta. Following the release, he teamed up with My Mixtapes and dropped a project titled “Thank Da Streets” as a thank you and to show love to his fans. The tape has been credited with 1.8 million hits on the My Mixtapes app alone. Source: Blake Towns / HotSpotAtl.com The “P.I.L.” rapper consistently puts on for Dirt Gang in his introspective and melodically-based tracks and is known widely to be associated with other superstars such as Cash Money CEO and Rich Gang leader Birdman , Waka Flocka Flame , DJ Envy , super producer London On The Track and many more. De’Shon, being extremely close with Slim Dunkin before his passing in late 2011, almost gave up music at one point due to the loss of his best friend and to put more focus into family matters. However, the extroverted-introvert emcee never once lost sight of the end goal. He knew his friend and fellow music partner would want to see him chase after his dream. Steered in the right direction by manager June Jonez, Derez surrounds himself with like-minded people and is quickly driving his way to the top. De’Shon is a testimony to what the words “real,” “loyal,” and “humble” truly mean. It’s no question the “Hardaway” genius has earned his respect and is being shown endless amounts of love and support along his journey. Be sure to check out “Pain” on all platforms and the video to his latest song “Regret” directed by Major League Films. Blake Towns Source: Blake Towns / HotSpotAtl.com
Rapper is poised to sell 250,000 in first week of his debut’s release. By Rob Markman J. Cole Photo: Johnny Nunez/ WireImage In a week’s time, J. Cole jumped from hip-hop’s bench to the starting lineup when he released his debut Cole World: The Sideline Story , and now Billboard is reporting that the Roc Nation MC is poised to have the #1 record on the Billboard 200 albums chart next week. Early estimations have Cole pushing as many as 250,000 copies in his first week, and the Jay-Z prot
Yeezy performs a bombastic headlining set on Saturday in New Orleans. By Rebecca Thomas Kanye West performs at the 2011 Essence Fest on Saturday Photo: Erika Goldring/Getty Images NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana — Early on in Kanye West ‘s headlining set at the 2011 Essence Music Festival on Saturday Night, the Chicago MC stood on a raised platform suspended high above the cheering crowd. As he spit “Dark Fantasy,” the hook “Can we get much higher?” seemed a particularly apt way to describe not only his literal skyward stance at the New Orleans Superdome , but also what was to come that night. Yeezy was already knee-deep into career-defining classics like “Jesus Walks” “Can’t Tell Me Nothing” and “Diamonds are Forever,” when he told the elated NOLA fest he was “just getting started.” Rocking a white blazer, topped by a thick tangle of gold chains, and a pair of jeans and sneakers, the 34-year-old rapper bounded across the stage like a hyperactive teen, but there was no mistaking that West is a megastar, the “college dropout” who has more than made G.O.O.D. on his childhood dreams. As a small army of classical dancers — dressed in a variation of the phoenix costume worn by Selita Ebanks’ bird in West’s short film “Runaway” — flanked him, Kanye launched into a bombastic rendition of “Power”; “Devil in a New Dress” and “Hell of a Life” followed as ‘Ye tucked into singles and cuts from last year’s platinum-plus opus My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. Performing to a massive audience that came to its feet (and stayed there all night) to the strains of ‘Ye and Jay-Z’s “H.A.M.,” the Chi-town MC with a Nas flow touched on his recent scandals, explaining that he stopped granting press interviews after taking lashings from media and bloggers. But he wasn’t all rebellious rapper: He danced, sang along and laughed his way through an old-school medley of personally influential music, and the playlist jumped from Al Green to ’90s soul groups like Jodeci and Shai. And West also emphasized that he knew who had held him down when, as he laughed, he “had a little too much too drink” before storming the MTV VMA stage back in 2009. Yeezy repeatedly thanked the predominantly African-American crowd for standing by him before going on to a stirring, church-tinged rendition of “Gold Digger.” The songs felt big and anthemic; the stage and stands, for instance, were bathed in lights and lasers for “All of the Lights” and “Stronger,” respectively. As he bounced back and forth between hits from his discography, including his College Dropout debut and his introspective, Auto-Tuned 808s & Heartbreak, the weight of West’s musical success was apparent. If there is a handbook for how to headline an expansive show, West should write it. Concertgoers appeared awestruck at the sheer spectacle and scale of the show, mouths gaping when they weren’t shouting lyrics back at the energetic MC. For the finale “Act 3” (a title card projected onto oversize screens flashed the show’s three-part progression), a billowing white tent was spread across the stage. In cocoon-like fashion, the dancers re-emerged in black tutus; West clad in his signature red suit. As the rapper knocked out the mournful, tinkling opener of “Runaway” on his MPC machine, the ballerinas circled and Pusha T turned up for his verse. Still, as large and loud as the show felt, Yeezy’s closing was as subtle. After rapping a heartfelt “Hey Mama” on his knees, with a nod to his late mother, Donda West , the star and his band, dancers and DJ took a ballet-company-style bow and walked offstage as the stadium lights went up. Related Artists Kanye West
R.E.D. Album will drop after Dre finishes Detox, Game tells Mixtape Daily. By Alvin Blanco, with reporting by Matt Elias The Game Photo: MTV News Compton rapper the Game is still all-red everything, up to his crimson Mohawk. On his latest single, the Cool & Dre-produced “Red Nation,” another rapper with a penchant for the same color, Lil Wayne, performs the chorus. We spoke to the Game on the set of the “Red Nation” video, and he recalled how he got Wayne to appear on the record. “I called Wayne and I was like, ‘Yo I need you to kill this hook,’ ” the Game told Mixtape Daily. “He was like, ‘No problem,’ and he did his thing for me.” The Game usually prefers to record all of his collaborations with guest artists while they’re in the same studio rather than sending music files back and forth via the Internet, but he made an exception for Weezy. “Wayne been on this I Am Still Music tour, man, doing his thing,” the Game explained. “The only exception. That’s like my brother. We from the same side of the rag. So you know what it is, man, we representing. Me and Wayne, we been in the studio vibe before; it just wasn’t on this song.” Weezy previously appeared on the Game’s 2008 album, LAX, performing chorus duties on the introspective “My Life.” The Game’s forthcoming The R.E.D. Album does not yet have a release date. According to the rapper, Dr. Dre’s Detox album is holding up the process. “[The] release date [is] probably late July or early August, man. I’ll let [producer] Jimmy Iovine put that red paint on the calendar and give us a specific date,” the Game said. “All I know is that the album is almost finished. Dre is finishing up Detox and then he going to help me finish up mine. I’m like 90, 95 percent done. Just waiting on Dre to finish his project and then come on over and lend his ear and probably mix a couple of songs, especially the ones that he did, and we’re going to see it in stores.” Dr. Dre famously said, “Look out for detox” on the song “Higher” from the Game’s 2005 debut, The Documentary. Hopefully we don’t have to wait too long for The R.E.D. Album or Detox. For other artists featured in Mixtape Daily, check out Mixtape Daily Headlines . Related Artists The Game Dr. Dre Lil Wayne
Producer Noah ’40’ Shebib praises his friend Drake in unaired documentary scene: ‘All those songs are real.’ By MTV News staff Drake Photo: MTV News Right off the bat, Drake dives into his own subconscious on Thank Me Later, opening his debut with “Fireworks,” a candid narrative that touches on his relationship with mentor Lil Wayne, a failed fling with Rihanna , and his estrangement from his father. In an exclusive outtake from “Drake: Better Than Good Enough,” which aired Wednesday on MTV, the MC’s producer and close friend Noah “40” Shebib talks about his musical partner’s penchant for drawing from his personal life, as the pair are seen working on the introspective Alicia Keys collaboration. The producer expresses pleasant surprise at how quickly the public has shown an affinity for Drake’s confessional tomes, comparing their connection to his own, someone who’s been along for the ride since before the mega-success unleashed by So Far Gone. “It’s funny, you know, people are so receptive to Drake’s music, and I always find that encouraging because they don’t know him,” 40 says. “And I really know him, so to me, it’s 10 times more special. That’s him. All those songs are real. And it sounds so clich
Documentary airs Wednesday at 10 p.m. on MTV. By Mawuse Ziegbe Drake in “Better Than Good Enough” Photo: MTV He’s won over critics with his introspective style, he caused a riot when he tried to play a free show and fans camped out overnight last week for his hotly-anticipated debut, Thank Me Later . There’s no question that Drake is one of the most high-profile artists in the game right now, but he’s opening up to his fans even more in the upcoming documentary Drake: Better Than Good Enough which airs on MTV Wednesday at 10 p.m. ET/PT. “I shot a documentary — it was the two months leading up to my album. It was like the most important time of my life — ever,” Drake told MTV’s “Sucker Free” about the doc, which goes behind the scenes as he finishes and prepares to drop his highly-anticipated debut. Drizzy said he wanted to give his audience deeper insight about himself in the documentary. “I documented [the months before Thank Me Later dropped] for you to see, so we can get to know each other a little better,” Drake said. The documentary gives fans little-known tidbits about Drizzy and takes viewers along as he straps in for on his meteoric rise. The cameras follow Drake from the kick-off of his “Away From Home” tour and captures the moments as he and his crew wrap up Thank Me Later . Along the way, he opens up about everything from his mother’s failing health to his training sessions with his vocal coach. “I just want people to walk away … just feeling a little bit more confident about Drake,” Drizzy says in the documentary . “In no way do I want people to be like, ‘He’s the best. He’s the man.’ ‘Cause I really do have a desire to grow and get better. I do want people to walk away and be like, ‘OK. OK.’ ” Don’t miss the “Drake: Better Than Good Enough” documentary , airing Wednesday, June 23, at 10 p.m. ET/PT on MTV! Related Videos Preview: Drake’s MTV Special ‘Better Than Good Enough’ Related Photos Drake Takes Manhattan! Drake’s Style: From A To Drizzy
