Jay will headline and curate Budweiser Made in America music festival over Labor Day weekend. By Rob Markman Jay-Z gives a press conference at the Philadelphia Museum of Art Photo: Bill McCay/ FilmMagic PHILADELPHIA — Jay-Z once bragged in song that he beat his assault charges “like Rocky.” Well, it’s been more than a decade since, and Hov — the multiplatinum mogul who remains atop music’s food chain — has done more than simply beat the charge. On Monday morning (May 14), rap’s most magnetic man drew a crowd of reporters and media types to the very steps that the fictional boxer Rocky has made famous. Standing triumphantly at the peak of the staircase of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Hov and Philly Mayor Michael Nutter announced yet another prolific Jay-venture: Budweiser Made in America , a two-day music festival in Philadelphia, this Labor Day weekend. “Everyone knows my love affair with Philly from the amazing, talented artists I’ve signed from here,” Jay said, prompting State Property MC Freeway to jump onstage beside him. Jay-Z will not only headline the festival, he will also curate the three-stage concert, which will feature close to 30 different acts. Still, for the God MC, there are a few things to consider before pulling off stunts such as these. “Whenever I enter into a project, I try to hit on some touch points. The first thing is: Is it great?” Jay asked rhetorically, addressing the crowd, which braved some clouds and drizzle. “The second one is: Is it gonna push the culture forward?” Forward progress is a safe bet: A press release for the upcoming event promises eclectic acts in multiple genres like rock, hip-hop, R&B, Latin and dance music, but the official roster won’t be announced until May 21. The third item Jay considers is the philanthropic opportunities, so once again, he is partnering with United Way. Together, they put on Jigga’s February Carnegie Hall concert in New York, and this time out, they aim to support local charities in both Philly and South New Jersey. The show will be held September 1 and September 2 on Benjamin Franklin Parkway in Philadelphia’s Fairmount Park. Tickets for Made in America will go on sale May 23 through Ticketmaster.com and LiveNation.com . Related Artists Jay-Z
Jay will headline and curate Budweiser Made in America music festival over Labor Day weekend. By Rob Markman Jay-Z gives a press conference at the Philadelphia Museum of Art Photo: Bill McCay/ FilmMagic PHILADELPHIA — Jay-Z once bragged in song that he beat his assault charges “like Rocky.” Well, it’s been more than a decade since, and Hov — the multiplatinum mogul who remains atop music’s food chain — has done more than simply beat the charge. On Monday morning (May 14), rap’s most magnetic man drew a crowd of reporters and media types to the very steps that the fictional boxer Rocky has made famous. Standing triumphantly at the peak of the staircase of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Hov and Philly Mayor Michael Nutter announced yet another prolific Jay-venture: Budweiser Made in America , a two-day music festival in Philadelphia, this Labor Day weekend. “Everyone knows my love affair with Philly from the amazing, talented artists I’ve signed from here,” Jay said, prompting State Property MC Freeway to jump onstage beside him. Jay-Z will not only headline the festival, he will also curate the three-stage concert, which will feature close to 30 different acts. Still, for the God MC, there are a few things to consider before pulling off stunts such as these. “Whenever I enter into a project, I try to hit on some touch points. The first thing is: Is it great?” Jay asked rhetorically, addressing the crowd, which braved some clouds and drizzle. “The second one is: Is it gonna push the culture forward?” Forward progress is a safe bet: A press release for the upcoming event promises eclectic acts in multiple genres like rock, hip-hop, R&B, Latin and dance music, but the official roster won’t be announced until May 21. The third item Jay considers is the philanthropic opportunities, so once again, he is partnering with United Way. Together, they put on Jigga’s February Carnegie Hall concert in New York, and this time out, they aim to support local charities in both Philly and South New Jersey. The show will be held September 1 and September 2 on Benjamin Franklin Parkway in Philadelphia’s Fairmount Park. Tickets for Made in America will go on sale May 23 through Ticketmaster.com and LiveNation.com . Related Artists Jay-Z
Born to Die singer hits back at critics, saying, “I thought I looked beautiful and sang fine.” By John Mitchell Lana Del Rey on “Saturday Night Live” Photo: NBC Lana Del Rey was raked over the Internet coals following her January 14 performance on “Saturday Night Live.” Her takes on “Video Games” and “Blue Jeans” were greeted with near-universal vitriol from critics, music bloggers and even NBC News anchor Brian Williams, who in a now-infamous email to Gawker Media founder Nick Denton called her performance “one of the worst outings in ‘SNL’ history.” But the emerging pop star, whose debut album for Interscope, Born to Die, hit stores Tuesday (January 31), thinks she did a perfectly fine job on the legendary sketch show, telling Rolling Stone, “I actually felt good about it. I thought I looked beautiful and sang fine … I know some people didn’t like it, but that’s just the way I perform, and my fans know that.” Del Rey did admit to being nervous, though in a more general sense, saying live performance has never been her strong suit because she is “not a natural performer or exhibitionist” and that when she was younger she “hated the focus; it made me feel strange.” As the backlash intensified, Daniel Radcliffe, who hosted the January 14 show, came to Del Rey’s defense, telling reporters at the British Academy of Film and Television Arts nominations, “It was unfortunate that people seemed to turn on her so quickly. I also think people are making it about things other than the performance … if you read what people are saying about her online, it’s all about her past and her family and stuff that’s nobody else’s business. I don’t think [the performance] warranted anywhere near that reaction.” Del Rey echoed those same sentiments during her brief sit-down with Rolling Stone, chalking the intensity of the criticism up to people’s general disdain for her public persona. “There’s backlash about everything I do. It’s nothing new,” she told the music mag. “When I walk outside, people have something to say about it. It wouldn’t have mattered if I was absolutely excellent. People don’t have anything nice to say about this project.” Regardless of the criticism, Del Rey is moving forward. Whether she’s a particularly strong live performer or not, her Born to Die album is enjoying a mostly positive reception from music critics … those able to set aside their feelings about her as a public figure and focus on the music itself anyway. Slate ‘s Jonah Weiner commented that he liked the album more after a few listens: “The more time I spend in its company, the more I feel as though I’m approaching it on something like its own terms.” MTV News’ own James Montgomery appreciated Born to Die even more, writing that Del Rey’s set is “positively brimming with atmospherics — soaring, sonorous strings, echoing electronic boom-bap, morose, maudlin guitar crescendos — all of which imbue it with a truly epic (if not unnecessarily dramatic) scope.” The verdict on Del Rey’s musical future — and the impact the “SNL” fiasco and the endless think pieces that popped up in its aftermath — will likely come more sharply into focus this time next week when her first week sales figures are released. What did you think of Lana Del Rey’s “SNL” performance? Leave your comments below. Related Videos MTV News Extended Play: Lana Del Rey Related Artists Lana Del Rey
‘With the music, it’s a whole new avenue we done opened up for kids and for people to look up to,’ Khalifa tells MTV News. By Rob Markman Wiz Khalifa Photo: MTV News Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania’s hip-hop roots run deep. Wu-Tang Clan ‘s RZA once called the Steel City home, and mid-1990s Death Row Records MC/producer Sam Sneed held the city down as did Dr. Dre’s production affiliate Mel-Man. Still, when Wiz Khalifa put the ‘Burgh on his back with his 2010 hometown ode “Black & Yellow,” the city had officially arrived as a hip-hop hot spot. “Everybody’s hardworking and it’s not like a big music scene out there, so when you got somethin’, you just go with it,” emerging Pittsburgh MC Chevy Woods said in a December interview. “Everybody sees the light that shines on [Khalifa] and Mac [Miller] and now it’s trickling down to everybody else.” After Wiz blew the doors off, Mac Miller came next. Though both rappers are signed to Rostrum Records, a local label, they came up separately. Khalifa has his Taylor Gang crew, while Miller has the Most Dope collective. “With the music, it’s a whole new avenue we done opened up for kids and for people to look up to,” Khalifa said of how he helped shine a spotlight on the ‘Burgh, paving the way for future MCs. “It’s a reality now out there, so it’s really important for us to just embrace ’em and motivate ’em and push ’em forward.” As a kid, Wiz moved around a bit but began to call the ‘Burgh home at an early age — particularly the rough-and-tumble Hazelwood section. “You really won’t get it if you’re not from there,” Wiz said of his hometown. “Just growing up in Pittsburgh and knowing different neighborhoods, having family there and just loving it, it’s like no other place.” As far as Pennsylvania goes, Philadelphia has churned out the most rap talent. From Schoolly D to Will Smith to Beanie Sigel’s State Property and now Maybach Music’s Meek Mill, Philly has had no shortage of rap representation. While they sit within the same state lines, Pittsburgh and Illadelph couldn’t be more different. “We always had love for Philly. It was harder for Philly to embrace us because we’re a little bit slower to them or to more East Coast towns,” Wiz said. “Philly is more East Coast than Pittsburgh. It’s closer to New Jersey and New York, so the vibe is way more fast-paced. Pittsburgh, it’s just laid-back … Midwest almost on some country stuff.” Stick with MTV News all week as Mac Miller takes us back to the ‘Burgh and spotlights the city’s vibrant hip-hop scene. Then tune in to “RapFix Live” on Wednesday at 4 p.m. on MTV.com for exclusive behind-the-scenes footage from Mac’s hometown shows. Related Videos Back To The ‘Burgh With Mac Miller And Wiz Khalifa Related Artists Wiz Khalifa
‘At one point in time, we were a family,’ Freeway tells ‘RapFix Live’ of Jay-Z/Damon Dash era. By Rob Markman, with reporting by Sway Calloway Freeway and Sway Photo: MTV News Roc-A-Fella Records was once one of the most storied labels and rap crews in the business. Under the guidance of Jay-Z, Damon Dash and Kareem “Burke” Biggs, artists like Kanye West , Beanie Sigel , Cam’ron, Memphis Bleek and Freeway were able to carve out careers for themselves that would carry on even after the label disbanded. On Wednesday’s “RapFix Live” with host Sway, Free discussed the last days of the Roc, the separation that existed between the record label’s subdivisions and how he was able to bounce back. “At one point in time we were a family. The whole thing about Roc-A-Fella that they pride themselves on is the family structure,” Freeway said of the label that was composed of a number of sub-crews like the Diplomats, State Property and Bleek’s Get Low clique. Free then went on to describe how the once-united crews came to be divided. By 2005, the Jay-Z/Dame Dash feud was dominating headlines, but for Free, the reality didn’t set in until after he dropped his 2007 sophomore album. “It definitely was a point in time when I was like, ‘Oh sh–, what am I gonna do?’ ” the bearded MC recalled, saying that it was former Roc-A-Fella A&R Lenny Santiago who broke the news to him and State Property. “I think it was the time when it was really over and everybody got dropped, after [’07’s] Free at Last, probably like a couple of months after that, that’s when we realized. Lenny S. came to Philly to talk to us. “He was like, ‘Look, man, it’s gonna be some changes again; everything ain’t how it was,’ basically, ‘It’s over.’ ” Without a hint of bitterness in his voice, the street-hardened MC described his mind-set. “What I did is go back to what I normally do,” he told Sway. According to Philly Freezer, when he first appeared on Jay-Z’s “1-900-Hustler” in 2000, he wasn’t actually signed to Roc-A-Fella: His deal came after a series of radio freestyles and battles in which Free proved himself. So when his deal with the legendary label dissolved, he went back to what he knew, grinding on the underground level. Free’s 2010 Stimulus Package, produced with Jake One, helped cement his status as a formidable MC and should nicely set up his Diamond in the Rough LP coming later this year. To let Freeway tell it, the transition from being under the Roc umbrella was relatively easy. “When the whole breakup came, I just went back to what I know,” he said. “It was actually better for me because I already had a name established from the Roc-A-Fella brand.” Related Videos Freeway On ‘RapFix Live’ Related Artists Freeway
With an offer from 50 Cent on the table, Beans tells ‘Rap Fix Live’ his old pal and onetime boss said, ‘I can’t let you go.’ By Rob Markman, with reporting by Sway Calloway Beanie Sigel on “RapFix Live” Photo: MTV News Beanie Sigel put his entire career in retrospect on Wednesday’s (July 6) “RapFix Live.” Once an intergal part of Jay-Z and Dame Dash’s Roc-A-Fella Records, Beanie Sigel — like most of the label’s roster — was suddenly on the outside looking in once the label split. Not only was Beans left in limbo, but the Philadelphia MC was in the midst of legal troubles at the time. Upon his release from prison in 2005 , Sigel secured a deal with 50 Cent’s G-Unit Records. And according to Beans, all he needed was a release from his Def Jam contract from Jay-Z, who happened to be the label president at that time. “When I first got out of jail, I had a meeting, a situation that was already lined up and set up where I could’ve had [a deal] over there,” Sigel said of an agreement 50 Cent put on the table for him. “He wanted to give me a label, a whole label deal … and a whole lot of money too.” Feeling what he described as a sense of loyalty, Sigel went to meet first with Jay, who hadn’t communicated with the rapper during the year he was locked up. “Coming where I came out from, that situation with Roc-A-Fella, I was like, ‘Let me go holla at my man and see what he got for me before I jump over there.’ ” Sigel said he was hoping that Jay would release him from his Def Jam contract in a move that would free the State Property rapper up to do business with 50. Sigel admitted, however, that while he told Jay he had a pending offer, he didn’t reveal to Jay that it was from G-Unit. “I told him I had to roll. ‘If you can’t make that situation happen for me, I gotta leave. I gotta go,’ ” he recalled telling Jay. “I asked him to just let me go — from Def Jam, not from Roc-A-Fella — because he was the president of Def Jam. ‘I want to leave Def Jam, I’m out. You’re the president, you can push that button. Let me get my release papers.’ ” But Hov didn’t fulfill his old running mate’s request. “I went to Jay like, ‘Let me get this [record deal] situation,’ and he was like, ‘I can’t let you go.’ He was like, ‘No.’ He was like, ‘Nah, let me see what I could do.’ That ‘see what I could do’ turned into another two years.” In the end, Sigel never signed with G-Unit, and by 2009, Beans was launching dis rhymes at Jay after hearing what he interpreted as a subliminal attack against him on Jay’s The Blueprint III album. Despite all that has gone down, Beans reiterated to on “RapFix Live” that he was appreciative of the opportunities Jay-Z and Dame Dash had given him while signed to Roc-A-Fella. What do you think of Beanie’s past conflicts with Jay? Tell us in the comments. Related Videos ‘RapFix Live’ With Beanie Sigel Related Artists Beanie Sigel Jay-Z 50 Cent
Still-untitled imprint will be under the Cash Money umbrella. By Rob Markman Mack Maine Photo: Alexander Tamargo/ Getty Images Birdman ‘s Cash Money and Lil Wayne ‘s Young Money labels haven’t been shy about signing new talent and releasing music. After dropping debut albums from both Drake and Nicki Minaj in 2010, YMCMB have artists Tyga, Lil Twist, Cory Gunz, Mack Maine, Jae Millz, Gudda Gudda and R&B alternative singer Shanell all waiting to drop LPs. Add already-established acts such as Birdman, Bow Wow and Lil Wayne to the mix, and it’s easy to see how some artists on the roster can get lost in the shuffle. Well, Young Money president Mack Maine has a plan to ensure fans see a steady flow of Cash Money-helmed releases. “You know how Roc-A-Fella had State Property; I’m actually in the process of starting a new label … a sub-label, basically,” Mack said of the still-untitled imprint that he will head under the Cash Money umbrella. Wayne is scheduled to drop Tha Carter IV on June 21, and there are plans for Birdman’s fifth solo album, Bigger Than Life , to follow in July. And, that isn’t all: According to the YM prez, Tyga will be dropping Careless World this year, Lil Twist will be putting out his first effort, Don’t Get it Twisted , and Drake is readying his sophomore LP, Take Care . “[Drake] let me hear 10 songs the other night — 10 bangers he’s working,” Mack said. “Drake’s coming in September, just know that.” Not to be left out, Mack himself also will be releasing an album this summer. With at least six projects already on the proposed schedule, the New Orleans rapper/executive said adding a third label to the YMCM structure will help facilitate the flow of releases. “I want to make sure I put a few people out through that vessel instead of putting everybody out under the same label, which is hard,” he said. “But we’re all one big family.” Which Young Money Cash Money project are you most excited for? Tell us in the comments below! Related Artists Mack Maine Lil Wayne Birdman
Crimestoppers tip and alleged confessions lead to arrests in Staten Island, New York. By Gil Kaufman DJ Megatron Photo: Scott Wintrow/ Getty Images Two men have been arrested for the murder of DJ Megatron . The New York radio personality, hip-hop promoter and television host was shot and killed near his home in Staten Island on March 27. According to NY1 , Richard Cromwell, 20, and William Williams, 21, were charged on Wednesday with second-degree murder, criminal possession of a weapon, stolen property and robbery. Megatron was laid to rest on Tuesday, nine days after he was shot once in the chest while walking to a store near his home. NBC New York reported that detectives believe the murder may have been a result of a robbery gone bad. It is unknown if the suspects were acquaintances of Megatron. A Crimestoppers tip led to the arrest of Williams, who then reportedly confessed to the murder and robbery. A witness allegedly identified Cromwell as one of the men who shot Megatron, and police sources said Cromwell made statements to the Staten Island district attorney confessing to the murder. Both suspects have prior arrest records. Born Corey McGriff, Megatron, 32, first made his name in Staten Island hip-hop circles as a promoter of local artists, something he continued during his stint as a DJ on famed New York radio station Hot 97, where he had risen from an intern to an on-air sidekick of popular personality Fatman Scoop. He had also worked at stations in Boston and Philadelphia. In recent months, Megatron had started to gain national exposure thanks to his appearances on BET’s “106 & Park,” where he’d hype up the in-studio audience during commercial breaks and conduct frank — and hilarious — man-on-the-street interviews. “He will truly be missed,” BET said in a statement extending condolences to his family. In recent weeks, he had become engaged to Shyleen Robinson, with whom he had a 10-month-old son. Megatron had also appeared in movies, including 2005’s “State Property 2,” starring Roc-a-Fella Records co-founder Damon Dash and rappers Beanie Sigel and N.O.R.E.
Radio and TV personality was killed early Sunday morning at age 32. By James Montgomery DJ Megatron Photo: Scott Wintrow/ Getty Images DJ Megatron, the radio personality, hip-hop promoter and television host, was shot and killed early Sunday morning near his home in Staten Island, according to The New York Times. He was 32. Born Corey McGriff, Megatron first made his name in Staten Island hip-hop circles as a promoter of local artists, something he continued during his stint as a DJ on famed New York radio station Hot 97, where he had risen from an intern to an on-air sidekick of popular personality Fatman Scoop. He had also worked at stations in Boston and Philadelphia. In recent months, Megatron had started to gain national exposure thanks to his appearances on BET’s “106 & Park,” where he’d hype up the in-studio audience during commercial breaks and conduct frank — and hilarious — man-on-the-street interviews. “He will truly be missed,” BET said in a statement extending condolences to his family. In recent weeks, he had become engaged to Shyleen Robinson, with whom he had a 10-month-old-son. Megatron had also appeared in movies, including 2005’s “State Property 2,” starring Roc-A-Fella Records co-founder Damon Dash and rappers Beanie Sigel and N.O.R.E. According to his manager , Megatron was shot and killed while heading to a store near his home in Staten Island at around 2 a.m. on Sunday. No arrests have been made in the shooting. As news of his death began to spread, some of Megatron’s contemporaries took to Twitter to express their sadness. In one tweet , Nicki Minaj wrote “Rest In Peace DJ Megatron. My thoughts are with your family and friends at Hot 97.”
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