The-Dream Covers Honey Magazine

For the full interview click here.

So this is not your final studio album?
This is as of right now. Regardless of what I said and what you might hear on my album that’s coming out, this is my last. I don’t feel the love right now.

What if you feel an outpouring of appreciation and love from this album? Would it be a lot harder to walk away at this point?

Of course it would. I used to be able to move the masses. It’s not about rolling out the bed and doing it for two people, I can’t lie. If two people are like, “This is great” and 800 thousand people say “I’m about to download that shit for free. That nigga not hot, whatever.” Well, cool — that’s what’s up. Let me go ahead and get this money then.

Let’s talk about your relationship. So you are married to one of the most beautiful women in entertainment right now. This is also your second marriage. How is it? The second time around do you feel like you’re learning from your past? More prepared for this one?
Still learning. I’m definitely way more mature in this relationship. I’m probably just mature overall because my grandfather raised me. I probably should be more nonchalant. I’m in a place where everything is serious no matter what it is and she with me like, “This guy’s crazy.” Of course I make sense at the end of the day because I’ll explain [myself]. As far as money — you got to be careful how you’re spending. Are you thinking about 10 years from now? It’s certain things that become meaningful in a relationship that’s not that real when you’re just boyfriend and girlfriend. The things I think about are a little bit different and those are things she’s learning from me and what I have to do is be more patient.

Eminem Recovery Production Credits

Spotted at RapRadar.

1. Cold Wind Blows (prod. by Just Blaze)
2. Talkin’ 2 Myself (feat. Kobe) (prod. by DJ Khalil)
3. On Fire (prod. by Mr. Porter)
4. Won’t Back Down (feat. Pink) (prod. by DJ Khalil)
5. W.T.P. (prod. by Supa Dups)
6. Going Through Changes (prod. by Emile)
7. Not Afraid (prod. by Boi-1da)
8. Seduction (prod. by Boi-1da)
9. No Love (feat. Lil’ Wayne) (prod. by Just Blaze)
10. Space Bound (prod. by Jim Jonsin)
11. Cinderella Man (prod. by Script Shepherd)
12. 25 To Life (prod. by DJ Khalil)
13. So Bad (prod. by Dr. Dre & Nick Brongers)
14. Almost Famous (prod. by DJ Khalil)
15. Love The Way You Lie (feat. Rihanna) (prod. by Alex da Kid)
16. You’re Not Over (prod. by Just Blaze)
17. Untitled (prod. by Havoc)

Jay-Z Covers Rolling Stone Magazine

Rolling Stone:

In the latest issue of Rolling Stone, contributing editor Mark Binelli goes one-on-one with the New York legend, watching Jay-Z try on a new suit in his sprawling Manhattan office and tagging along to the Four Seasons, where the rapper goofs by mispronouncing actor Kelsey Grammer’s name at a watch auction (after calling the Frasier star “Chelsea,” he asks Binelli how to spell “faux pas”). It seems the man who made his name rhyming about hustling and hos in Brooklyn’s Marcy Projects is actually more comfortable around an unlikely new crowd: indie rockers. “I love the energy coming out indie rock right now,” he says, name-checking Grizzly Bear. “It has this rebellion thing that hip-hop is missing now, the thing that made hip-hop hip-hop.”

While Jay is notoriously private about his life with wife Beyoncé, Binelli gets the rapper to let down his guard, and Jay reveals his superstar better half vetoed a piece of artwork he’d bought for their 8,000-square-foot Tribeca penthouse. The black-and-white Laurie Simmons photograph in question depicted “a noirishly lit pistol with a pair of women’s legs emerging from the handle… Beyoncé sent it back and had it replaced with a similar Simmons piece, only depicting a perfume bottle instead of a gun.” Binelli also encourages Jay to open up about his biggest challenges as president of Def Jam (the most frustrating meeting? “Honestly? All of them”) and his one and only experience in therapy, when as Binelli writes, “The psychiatrist gave him tea that made him sleepy and asked him questions like, ‘Who are your best friends?’ “

Also, find out why Jay isn’t trying to lure pal LeBron James to the Nets and why he thinks many rappers have failed to age gracefully in our new issue, on sale at newsstands now.

The-Dream Covers The FADER

Busta Rhymes Added To Supreme Team

Not surprised…. kinda saw it coming. Spotted RR.

Erykah Badu Covers Vibe Magazine (June/July 2010)

Posted the Nicki one yesterday… here’s the other magazine.

Vibe:

“I look at some other videos. i’m not naming names, because I don’t want that to be mentioned. There is the thing with sexuality. I’m naked for 13 seconds, and these people are naked the whole time and gyrating and saying come “lick on my lollipop,” and “suck on my cinnamon roll,” and, you know, suggesting sex. People are uncomfortable with sexuality that’s not for male consumption. could be ‘cause I did it in public too. Do you think people would have been complaining if I had on high-heel shoes?”

“I am a big fan and a supporter of [Jay Electronica's] evolution and growth as an artist. I write all his rhymes. I’m joking. [laughs.] I’m always amazed and impressed with the things he comes up with. He definitely does what a partner is supposed to do, that is, evolve you.”

“I was 27 when I had seven. I was already a vegetarian. I had been for 10 years. I had started making choices that would shape me for the rest of my life. I never thought to measure by each child. My children are six years apart. It wasn’t planned, just how the relationships rolled out. I’ve had three unorthodox marriages of sorts. I’ve had the benefit of having substantial amount of time with people, mind-building time.”

Eminem Covers RESPECT. Magazine

Photo: Chris Buck

Nicki Minaj Covers Vibe Magazine (June & July 2010 Issue)

If you didn’t the making of this cover, there was a snap shot last week of it from what I remember.
Here it is though, June – July Issue. Check what Nicki had to say below.

“People don’t get when you’re off, or you’re having a bad day,” she says, obliquely referring to the photograph that bounced around the blogs of her hand- in-hand with Diddy, looking especially miserable. The speculation was inevitable: Had she been crying? Was she just tired? Are they doing it?

“When I grew up I saw females doing certain things, and I thought I had to do that exactly,” she says. “The female rappers of my day spoke about sex a lot . . . and I thought that to have the success they got, I would have to represent the same thing. When in fact I didn’t have to represent the same thing.”

“I’m not abandoning the funny voices. I just did a crazy tribute to ODB’s ‘Shimmy Shimmy Ya,’” she says, perfectly impersonating the late Wu-Clansman. “But it’s coming up more with the album. I had a teacher in elementary who would stand on her table and whisper. We’d all turn around like, ‘What is this lunatic doing?’ But she would achieve what she wanted. She wanted us to stop talking and listen. I feel like I need to mellow it down so people can hear what I have to say.”

Drake Responds To His Fans About “Thank Me Later” Leak

Oh well…. just go and support it on JUNE 15TH.

Diddy – XXL Interview

Here’s Diddy’s interview from the latest XXL magazine. Spotted at 2db.

After all, Sean Combs is the most successful entrepreneur to emerge from hip-hop. He surpassed Russell Simmons back in the 1990s, when the Def Jam co-founder backed away from the music industry. Even his contemporaries, booming businessmen such as Jay-Z and 50 Cent, either lag behind or travel down a road Diddy paved. His label, Bad Boy Records, set the precedent for Roc-A-Fella’s and G-Unit’s partnerships with Def Jam (1997) and Interscope (2003), respectively, when the boutique label signed a deal with Arista/BMG back in 1993.

He was a 360 artist before the term even existed—his business was founded on hip-hop but not limited to it. “Diddy is someone who taught young artists how to turn hip-hop into an industry,” says Jimmy Iovine, chairman of Interscope Geffen A&M, where Diddy is now signed as a solo artist, and Bad Boy is signed as a label. Under the terms of the deal, any new artist signed to Bad Boy will be distributed through Interscope, while currently signed artists (and the Bad Boy catalog) will go through Atlantic Records, where Diddy signed a deal in 2005. Besides being an entertainer, he’s a businessman. His vast empire includes Bad Boy Worldwide Entertainment Group, Sean John Clothing, Inc., Blue Flame marketing, which has counted Pepsi and Hewlett Packard as clients, and Justin Combs Publishing, which houses the songwriting credits of artists like The L.O.X. and 112. The latest, non-musical business deal, however, is with the Diageo liquor company. In 2007, Diddy entered an equal-share venture with Diageo to spearhead Cîroc vodka’s brand management. It’s been a fruitful partnership. In the second half of 2007, Diageo shipped 60,000 cases of Cîroc worldwide. That number jumped to 400,000 cases for 2008–2009.

All told, Puffy’s unconfirmed net worth is reportedly more than $350 million. It’s quite a résumé. And he knows it. “I am the champion of hip-hop,” he says. “Hands down, undisputed, I’m the undisputed heavyweight champion of hip-hop.”