Soul Fixin'

History In The Making
In the aftermath of a historic election, a Jay-Z track titled ' We Made History' has hit the net thanks to Kanye West. The track is a subtle ode to Barack Obama's victory. On the Kanye produced track Jay spits " Where are you victory? I need you desperately/ Not just for the moment, to make history." "We Made History" is expected to be on Jay's upcoming project The Blueprint 3.

Soul Fixin'

Album Push Backs: Jay & Common
Common and Jay-Z now have something in common, each of their upcoming projects have been pushed back. Hip hop fans were expecting Common's eight studio album to drop during the summer, but it got pushed back for a November release. Now, the album, Universal Mind Control, is due to hit stores December 9, the same day 50 drops his album. Can we expect a battle between 50 and Common? If Common comes out victorious, does that mean people have finally come to their senses? Word on the street is that Jay-Z's last album for Def Jam, The Blueprint 3, won't be released until early '09. The album was scheduled to drop December 2, 2 days before Hov's 39th birthday. The rapper/husband/entrepreneur/music exec is obviously a very busy man, Jay has yet to release a video for his first single, “ Jockin Jay-Z (Dope Boy Fresh).” Whatever the case my be, I'm looking forward to getting my hands on the album and don't mind waiting a little longer for a classic Jay album.

Soul Fixin'

The Greatest Living Rapper

The greatest rapper alive was spotted in The City of Angels Wednesday night. Jay-Z was in town to perform at the opening of The Palladium. Well, sorta. The Palladium shut its' door for a year for renovations and is now owned by concert promoter Live Nation. Many in attendance compared Hov's performance to his 2004 farewell concert at Madison Square Garden. In other words, Jay did his thing. The BK MC ran through hit songs such as 'Say Hello,' '99 Problems' and 'Can I Get A...' without forgetting a single lyric. You won't catch Jay slipping. Los Angeles City Council President Eric Garcetti described Jay as "the Frank Sinatra of this generation." Frank Sinatra played at the venue during opening week back in 1940. Hova told the crowd of 4,000 the "last person to open this thing was Frank Sinatra, I consider myself 'brown eyes,' baby.” Take a look at video footage from the sold out concert. When you are done watching Jay make history, peep the clip below, Jay drops some election day knowledge for Michigan voters and encourages us all to make history by voting for Obama. On another note, what the hell was Jay thinking when he decided to wear those glasses?

Soul Fixin'

Jay-Z Baracks The Vote
Sean Carter will be making his presence felt in Motown and Miami this weekend. The rapper/husband to Beyonce/entrepreneur/music exec will be performing for FREE in the name of voter registration on behalf of his homeboy Barack Obama. Saturday's concert will take place at Detroit's Cobo Arena; Sunday's show is at Miami's Bayfront Park. Jay's Operation Registration tour is hitting Detroit and Miami because Michigan and Florida are key battleground states and both states have October 6 registration deadlines. Tickets are available at the Campaign for Change offices in Detroit and Miami.

If you haven't registered to vote, visit Rock the Vote and do so now!

Soul Fixin'

Joss Stone Sings for Team Obama
While Common, Talib Kweli, Nas, will.i.am, Big Boi and Mary J. Blige --to name a few, have all crafted songs expressing their support for Team Obama, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee has elected British soul singer Joss Stone to record a track that will serve as a campaign theme song. New Yorkers Alicia Keys and Jay-Z are also reported to be composing songs for Team Obama.

If you haven't registered to vote, visit Rock the Vote and do so now!

Soul Fixin'

Jay Set To Record The Blueprint 3
Last month, we told you the greatest living rapper was planning a new album. Jay-Z has finally confirmed rumors that he is working on The Blueprint 3, his 11th and final studio album via Def Jam. Last night Kanye's Glow In The Dark pulled into Madison Square Garden. Kanye invited Jay out to close the show by debuting the Kanye produced track, "Jockin' Jay-Z", off The Blueprint 3. Peep the video below. Kanye and producers Sean C and LV, who produced a few tracks on American Gangster, and others will work on the album. A release date has not been set.

Soul Fixin'

VIBE Celeberates 15 Years With JAY
Jay-Z, the pride and joy of hip hop, is on the cover of VIBE's Special 15th Anniversary Juice Issue. The rapper, who also happens to be co-owner of the New Jersey Nets, the 40/40 line of clubs and the skin care and beauty line Carol's Daughter and founder and chairman of Rocawear clothing, is working a new album with producer Timbaland.

Soul Fixin'

The Hardest Working Man In The Game
Jay-Z is at it again. The rapper/husband/entrepreneur/music exec plans on releasing a follow up to the classic American Gangster. Super producer Timbaland paid a visit to the MTV News office and confirmed that him and Jay plan on making an album together. Production on the LP has yet to start but Timbaland insist the album "is gonna be phenomenal. You know why? We don't care. We're doing great music just to do it. We doing it for our fans who love us to say we ain't quit. I'm doing it 'cause that's my homeboy."

Video Soul

This week Video Soul will feature some of my favorite hip hop videos. Take a look at Jay-Z's "Song Cry."

Soul Fixin'

Hip Hop Community Supports Obama

Detroit mayor Kwame Kilpatrick has been dubbed the "Hip Hop Mayor." Could Obama be the "Hip Hop Prez"? Many in the hip hop community are throwing their support behind Barack Obama. MC's such as Jay-Z, Common, Talib Kweli, Mos Def and 50 Cent have publicly endorsed Obama's historic run for the White House. On the eve of Obama's historic win of the democratic nomination, Diddy said "today is one of the greatest and proudest moments of my life. Not just as a black man, but as an American. Senator Obama becoming the Democratic nominee for president is history in the making and proof that we do live in the greatest country in the world." Queens born MC Nas has dropped the song "Black President," the track describes Nas' hopes for Obama should he win the election and the trials and tribulations he faces along the way. In a recent MTV interview, the outspoken and thought provoking legend had a few choices words about a possible Obama presidency,"there's never been a president to address the slaughter of young black people by this country's police," Nas fumed. "When your government's police are killing one section of people, that's genocide. There's never been a president to even acknowledge it. You don't acknowledge that? That's a big thing President Obama has to recognize when he gets in office. "I'm five presidents in ... and I ain't seen nothing happen to stop the police murders on young, black people," he added. "Why would I believe in the system? With that being said, I think Barack can cure that disease and help cure the country. Not just in that area with us blacks, but also with all Americans. Women are getting treated like dogs. You know how hard it is for a woman to prove she was raped? The system is warped. They throw young guys - who's starving - in jail just trying to survive on the streets. Throw them in jail forever. Young kids, 18 years old, executed in Texas. Yet, child predators get to come home and do it again. I think it's so much our president can do. [Obama] seems like a human being. I say that because a lot of presidents don't seem like human beings. They seem like straight-up businessmen who care about nothing but the business. Nah, you gotta care about the people."

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Soul Fixin'

King Jay & Queen Mary
Mary and Jay have recorded a new joint "You're Welcome" produced by Swizz Beatz. Rumors are now swirling that Jay and Mary are working on a collabo album. Being a fan of both Mary and Jay I would love to see a Mary & Jay collabo album. "Can't Knock The Hustle" is a classic.They collaborated on the song "Turn Off The Lights", which was hard as hell!! The chemistry between the two at Jay's Madison Square Garden concert was great, Mary sang the hook on "Song Cry." How does Jay do it all? Recording artist, club owner, part-owner of the New Jersey Nets, and fledgling hotelier...YES, Jay plans on opening a hotel in Manhattan. Rumor has it he plans on starting his own label and making an album with NAS.He is also going on tour with Mary and creating an advertising agency with Steve Stoute, Translation Advertising, an agency that will help marketers reach "urban" (BLACK) consumers. At times I am disappointed with hip-hop but it has opened so many doors for African Americans. Who would have ever thought a kid from Marcy Projects would become one of the great business men of our time.Thanks Hip-Hop. Take a listen to Jay & Mary's latest collabo.

Soul Fixin'

Can't Knock The Hustle
Mary J. and Jay-Z are at it again. For those of you who may remember, Mary joined Jay-Z for his debut album, Reasonable Doubt on the classic track "Can't Knock The Hustle." Mary and Jay have also collaborated on Jay's Unplugged album and Mary's Love & Life album. Now, the two music veterans will join forces on a nationwide tour dubbed "Heart of The City" tour.
Heart of The City Tour Dates
March 22 - Miami, FL American Airlines Arena
March 26 - Baltimore, MD 1st Mariner Arena
March 27 - Uniondale, NY Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum
March 28 - East Rutherford, NJ Izod Center
March 30 - Philadelphia, PA Wachovia Center
April 2 - Toronto, ON Air Canada Centre
April 3 - Boston, MA TD Banknorth Garden
April 5 - Greensboro, NC Greensboro Coliseum
April 6 - Washington, DC Verizon Center
April 16 - Los Angeles, CA Hollywood Bowl