Jeezy & Drake Still Top 5 -x- Lupe’s Lasers Goes Gold -x- Church Calls Beyonce’s Baby “Satan” -x- Bieber Back in Studio -x- Rihanna Beats Gaga -x- MTV Music News
YOUNG JEEZY, DRAKE REMAIN IN TOP 5 ON BILLBOARD CHART
Drake continues to enjoy his reign on the Billboard 200 chart as his sophomore album, Take Care, has remained at the number two spot for the second consecutive week. The disc reportedly moved an additional 42-thousand copies, bringing its total sales to over 1.2-million copies. Elsewhere, Young Jeezy’s latest album, TM103: Hustlerz Ambition, has slipped to number four and raked in over 334-thousand units since being released in December.
LUPE FIASCO’S LASERS GOES GOLD
Lupe Fiasco announced on his website that his latest album, Lasers, has officially reached gold status. The rapper’s effort has amassed sales over 500-thousand copies. As previously reported, Lasers was one of the few rap albums to debut at number one on the Billboard 200 chart in 2011.
SWIZZ BEATZ WORKING ON NEW MIXTAPE
Aside from raising his son with Alicia Keys, Swizz Beatz is still working on his highly anticipated third album, Haute Living. Since the LP currently has no release date, the hitmaker wrote on Twitter that fans will get new music in the form of a mixtape. The free project will surface soon and we’ll keep you posted with more updates.
AND…
ALICIA KEYS UP FOR DIRECTOR’S GUILD AWARDS
According to SingersRoom.com, Alicia Keys has received a nomination for the upcoming Directors Guild of America Awards. The singer recently made her directorial debut with a movie called Lili, which was created for Lifetime’s short film series on breast cancer. Keys is up for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Movies for Television and Mini-Series category. The ceremony takes place on January 28th in Los Angeles.
BEYONCE’S BABY CALLED “SATAN” BY CHURCH VANDAL
People seem to have mixed opinions about Jay-Z and Beyonce’s new baby, Blue Ivy Carter. According to TMZ, an unidentified vandal recently defaced a sign for the North Carolina Baptist church and made it read: “Beyonce had her baby. Satan is on Earth.” The pastor, who claims the church was unaware of the incident, told TMZ that he received numerous complaints and removed the sign immediately.
Do you think news like this will upset Beyonce?
AND…
SOLANGE DEFENDS BEYONCE ON TWITTER
Solange recently lashed out at critics of the birth of Beyoncé and Jay-Z’s daughter, Blue Ivy Carter. The singer shared on her Twitter page, “It has really gotten out of hand. I’ve been doing my best at keeping my mouth shut….but the ignorance is really sad and upsetting.” While she feels hard to not react to false allegations, Solo said of her niece, “The most beautiful girl in the world. In love. So THIS is what Aunty-hood feels like.” Photos of the couple’s bundle of joy have yet to be released, we’ll keep you posted.
YELAWOLF SHOOTS VIDEO WITH KID ROCK
Yelawolf has released the video for “Let’s Roll,” which includes an appearance from Kid Rock. While you can peep the visual via the rap rookie’s fansite, be sure to pick up his Shady Records debut Radioactive, available in stores now.
JENNIFER HUDSON DENIES RUMORS OF PRECIOUS ROLE
We previously reported that Jennifer Hudson turned down the lead role in Precious due to the excessive weight gain she would have to put on. However, according to TMZ, the singer claimed that putting on extra pounds was not the reason she declined the offer. She explained, “I turned it down because I felt it was just too graphic for me at that time.” Interestingly enough, Hudson told Dateline that she passed because she “would have had to be the big girl again.” If you remember, Hudson agreed to put on weight to for her character in Dreamgirls and in the upcoming film, Winnie.
Do you feel Jennifer should have to explain why she turned down the role?
MARY J BLIGE RE-RELEASES “MR. WRONG” VIDEO
Rap-Up.com reports Mary J Blige has just issued a slightly altered visual to her latest single, “Mr Wrong.” This time, the video includes an appearance from Drake, who raps his guest verses at the beginning of the clip. The Rico Love and Jim Jonsin-produced song is lifted from Blige’s latest album, My Life II, which is out now.
RIHANNA BEATS LAGA GAGA FOR MOST VIEWS ON YOUTUBE
According to RihannaDaily.com, Rihanna has just beat out Lady Gaga for the most views on YouTube. The “We Found Love” singer, who already has more Facebook likes that Gaga, has a whopping two-million more views. In related news, Robin’s latest album, Talk That Talk, currently sits at the number six position on the Billboard 200 chart and has sold over 541-thousand to date.
Ri Ri currently stands at over two-billion views!
JUSTIN BIEBER IN THE STUDIO!
Justin Bieber entered the studio this week to begin working on his new album, Believe. His manager, Scooter Braun, took to Twitter to write that the album “is going to be ridiculous!” The 17-year-old singer recently told V magazine that he wants the album to recall Justin Timberlake’s FutureSex/LoveSounds record sonically, but he noted that his lyrics would be a little more PG than the topics Timberlake covered on the effort. Bieber did take a break from recording this week to hit up the Consumer Electronics Show, which is currently under way in Las Vegas.
ARETHA, MARY, FANTASIA & MORE TO HEADLINE ESSENCE FEST
Finally! Essence has just sent a press release for the lineup for the 2012 Essence Music Festival in New Orleans. This year, the show will include main stage performances from Mary J Blige, who headlined last year, Aretha Franklin, Fantasia, Charlie Wilson, Ledisi and Keyshia Cole. The three-day festival will also feature sets from Bridget Kelly, Stephanie Mills, SWV, Dru Hill, Vivian Green, Goapele, The Stylistics, Raheem Devaughn and more. Be sure to visit EseenceMusicFestival.com to learn more.