Rap Grammy Nominees

31. Best Rap Solo Performance

For a solo Rap performance. Singles or Tracks only.

Over

Drake

Track from: Thank Me Later

[Cash Money/Young Money/Universal Motown]

Not Afraid

Eminem

Track from: Recovery

[Aftermath/Shady Records/Interscope]

How Low

Ludacris

Track from: Battle Of The Sexes

[DTP/Def Jam Recordings]

I'm Back

T.I.

[Grand Hustle/Atlantic]

Power

Kanye Wes

[Def Jam Recordings/Roc-A-Fella]

For duo, group or collaborative performances of Rap only. Singles or Tracks only.

Shutterbugg

Big Boi, Bosko, Cutty & Mouche

Track from: Sir Lucious Left Foot...The Son Of Chico Dusty

[Def Jam Recordings]

Fancy

Drake, T.I. & Swizz Beatz

Track from: Thank Me Later

[Cash Money/Young Money/Universal Motown]

On To The Next One

Jay-Z & Swizz Beatz

Track from: The Blueprint 3

[Roc Nation]

My Chick Bad

Ludacris & Nicki Minaj

Track from: Battle Of The Sexes

[DTP/ Def Jam Recordings]

Lose My Mind

Young Jeezy & Plies

[Def Jam Recordings]

BACK TO TOP

33. Best Rap/Sung Collaboration

For a Rap/Sung collaborative performance by artists who do not normally perform together. Singles or Tracks only.

Nothin' On You

B.o.B & Bruno Mars

Track from: The Adventures Of Bobby Ray

[Rebel Rock/Grand Hustle/Atlantic]

Deuces

Chris Brown, Tyga & Kevin McCall

[Jive Records]

Love The Way You Lie

Eminem & Rihanna

Track from: Recovery

[Aftermath/Shady Records/Interscope]

Empire State Of Mind

Jay-Z & Alicia Keys

Track from: The Blueprint 3

[Roc Nation]

Wake Up Everybody

John Legend, The Roots, Melanie Fiona & Common

[G.O.O.D. Music/Columbia Records/Home School Records]

34. Best Rap Song

A Songwriter(s) Award. For Song Eligibility Guidelines see Category #3. (Artist names appear in parentheses.) Singles or Tracks only.

Empire State Of Mind

Shawn Carter, Angela Hunte, Alicia Keys, Jane't "Jnay" Sewell-Ulepic & Alexander Shuckburgh, songwriters (Burt Keyes & Sylvia Robinson, songwriters)

(Jay-Z & Alicia Keys)

Track from: The Blueprint 3

[Roc Nation; Publishers: Carter Boys Music/Al Shuckburgh/Global Talent Publishing/Foray Music/Masani Elshabazz Music/EMI April Music/J Sewell Publishing/Lellow Productions/Twenty Nine Black Music/Gambi Music]

Love The Way You Lie

Alexander Grant, Skylar Grey & Marshall Mathers, songwriters (Eminem & Rihanna)

Track from: Recovery

[Aftermath/Shady Records/Interscope; Publishers: Songs of Universal/Shroom Shady Music/Universal Music Publishing/Universal Music-Z Songs/Hotel Bravo Music/M. Shop Publishing]

Not Afraid

M. Burnett, J. Evans, Marshall Mathers, Luis Resto & M. Samuels, songwriters

(Eminem)

Track from: Recovery

[AftermathShady Records/Interscope; Publishers: Songs of Universal/Shroom Shady Music/Resto World Music/1damentional Publishing/Sony ATV Tunes/1daniable Publishing]

Nothin' On You

Philip Lawrence, Ari Levine, Bruno Mars & Bobby Simmons Jr., songwriters (B.o.B

& Bruno Mars)

Track from: The Adventures Of Bobby Ray

[Rebel Rock/Grand Hustle/Atlantic; Publishers: Ham Squad Music/Songs of Universal/Shady Music Publishing/Mars Force Music/Northside Independent Music/Bug House/Roc Cor Publishing/Music Famamanem/Toy Plane Music/Art For Arts Sake Music/Bughouse]

On To The Next One

Shawn Carter, J. Chaton & K. Dean, songwriters (G. Auge & X. De Rosnay,

songwriters) (Jay-Z & Swizz Beatz)

Track from: The Blueprint 3

[Roc Nation; Publishers: Carter Boys Music/Swizz Beatz/Universal Tunes/Irish Town Songs/Blue Mountain Music/Universal Music-MGB Songs]

35. Best Rap Album

For albums containing 51% or more playing time of VOCAL tracks.

The Adventures Of Bobby Ray

B.o.B

[Rebel Rock/Grand Hustle/Atlantic]

Thank Me Later

Drake

[Cash Money/Young Money/Universal Motown]

Recovery

Eminem

[Aftermath/Shady Records/Interscope]

The Blueprint 3

Jay-Z

[Roc Nation]

How I Got Over

The Roots

[Def Jam Recordings]

Jay-Z's 'Decoded' Debuts on 'New York Times' Best Sellers List

Jay-Z is no stranger to sitting high on the charts when it comes to his music career, which makes the Brooklyn rapper's No. 3 debut on 'The New York Times' Best Sellers list an expected achievement.

The Roc Nation head honcho's memoir 'Decoded' landed on the Hardcover Nonfiction edition of the newspaper's Best Sellers list for the week of December 5. Coming in at the top of the list are George W. Bush's 'Decision Points' and Lauren Hillenbrand's 'Unbroken.'

Hov's book has been received warmly by fans and critics alike. Perhaps 'Decoded's success has much to do with 'The Blueprint 3' creator's partnership with Microsoft search engine Bing before the book's release. Together, Bing and the rapper previewed excerpts from the memoir through a viral marketing campaign with clues that pointed Jay-Z fans toward unique locations – from Brooklyn to London – where select pages from the book could be found.

'Decoded,' which highlights the stories behind Jay-Z's songs, including 'Blue Magic,' even scored a spot on Oprah's highly anticipated "Favorite Things" show and is currently in the top 10 sellers on Amazon.com.
Via: Georgette Cline | TheBoombox.com

Video: Jay-Z & Rihanna On David Letterman

Forbes List The 2010 Hip-Hop Cash Kings (Jay-Z Remains King Of Kings)

Jay-Z pulled in $63 million over the past 12 months, earning him his second straight hip-hop cash crown. His income level places him in the 35% tax bracket, which means he’ll pay Uncle Sam about $22 million this year–a sum greater than the total earnings of any other rap star besides second-ranked Diddy.

1. Jay-Z – $63 Million (Crazy thing is Beyonce makes even more with 87 million)
2. Diddy – $30 Million (Take that, thake that)
3. Akon – $21 Million (Lady Gaga money must be looking nicccceee)
4. Lil Wayne – $20 Million (Don’t let Carter 3 producers see this)
5. Dr. Dre – $17 Million (Beats By Dre money?)
6. Ludacris – $16 Million (Theater of the Mind and Battles of the Sexes did their thing)
7. Snoop Dogg – $15 Million (how in the hell?)
8. Timbaland – $14 Million
9. Pharrell – $13 Million
10. Kanye West – $12 Million
11. Drake – $9 Million
11. T.I. – $ 9 Million
12. Swizz Beatz – $9 Million
14. Eminem – $8 Million (Recovery money will be counted next year)
14.50 Cent – $8 Million
14. Young Jeezy – $8 Million
17. Common – $7 Million
18. Soulja Boy – $7 Million
18. T-Pain – $7 Million
20. Lil Jon – $5 Million
20. Gucci Mane – $5 Million (Burrrrrrrr)
20. Rick Ross – $5 Million
via Forbes

Jay Z and Jeezy Tour Dates

Feb 22 Houston, TX Toyota Center

Feb 23 Dallas, TX American Airlines Center

Feb 25 New Orleans, LA New Orleans Arena

Feb 27 Atlanta, GA Philips Arena

Feb 28 Greensboro, NC Greensboro Coliseum Complex

Mar 03 Washington, DC Verizon Center

Mar 07 Norfolk, VA Scope Arena

Mar 11 Boston, MA TD Garden

Mar 16 Pittsburgh, PA Mellon Arena

Mar 19 St. Louis, MO Scottrade Center

Mar 20 Indianapolis, IN Conseco Fieldhouse

Mar 22 Denver, CO Pepsi Center

Mar 24 San Jose, CA HP Pavilion

Mar 26 Los Angeles, CA Staples Center

The Video Is HERE Jay-Z feat. Alicia Keys – Empire State Of Mind

Drake Rising To The Top, While Hov Gets Knocked Off

After spending two strong weeks as the number one album on the charts, the album that has received what seems like a promotional Juggernaugt has finally been beaten out by another. This week Jay Z's critically acclaimed Blueprint III was knocked from the number one spot of Billboards top 200 and now Pearl Jam sits comfortably at number one.

Despite the slight slip in sale's Hov's 11th album is still doing better numbers in its third week, then some established artist have done in their debut. He fell to number two selling a total of 134,100 copies bringing the total sales of the album up to 908,100 over all not counting worldwide sales.

The album seems to be thriving off of such popular singles as "Empire State Of Mind" Feat Alicia Keyes, and "On To The Next One" Feat Swizz Beatz. With the numbers showing the potential for another very strong week; Hov should be platinum in no time.

But while Hov is adding on to his legend, Rap newcomer Drake is building his own, His EP which contains songs that almost everyone already has, is sitting in the top ten right now, beating out Kid Cudi's first studio album after two weeks on the charts totalling 36,000 units this week, and 109,700 overall.

Despite Cudi's strong debut his album has been knocked out of the top ten despite positive reviews on his album.This week the man that made "Man On The Moon" saw his album drop down thirteen spots selling only 28,300 units this week bringing his total to 132,600.

Raekwon has also continued to see success with his long awaited album and is now also beyond the 100k mark selling 101,200 records overall.

by Lyricalthought of Defsounds.com

Jay-Z on David Letterman

Jay Z - Venus vs. Mars (Verse)

Jay Z - Venus vs. Mars (Verse)
Click Here

Jay-Z - Reminder Prod by Timbaland

Click Here

Jay-Z - I Run This Town (feat Kanye West & Rihanna)

Click Here

Jay-Z To Game:"Tell Groupie To Get Over It," Talks Chris Brown + Freestyle

Hip Hop power player Jay-Z may not be keeping as quiet in regards to The Game as we assumed from previous interviews.

In a recent interview, Tim Westwood iterated the sentiments of many who think Jay sparked the one-sided beef by mentioning The Game's name during a live freestyle perceived to be the intro to Blue Print 3.

"I said I'm not talking about you [Game]. Is that a diss?--" Jay retorted.

"Oh you hurt my feelings, oh my god," Jay said mocking Game.

"Tell groupie-tell groupie to get over it!"

Jay also shed some light on the first official single to Blue Print 3 featuring Kanye West and Rihanna called "Run This Town."

Addressing the Chris Brown BET Awards black-ball rumors, Jay says they are simply ridiculous.

"That's the silliest rumor I've ever heard. I was sitting back and just watching all the suckers comment on it. Cause you don't comment on rumors. It's just so silly.

Let me categorically deny that. If I have a problem with Chris Brown, I have a problem with Chris Brown. I didn't say ANYTHING--I haven't said anything live or behind the scenes.

I don't agree with what he did and that's it. That's the end of it. As far as not letting him perform on BET, thats ridiculous, that's a sucka move--I wouldn't do it. And people commenting on it is a sucka move."

You can listen to a clip of the interview: Click Here

by Jokesta of defsounds.com

Jay-Z unveils latest "Blueprint" for success

So Jay-Z took his time, and let his hair grow out -- as he usually does when he's in the studio -- and came back with collaborations with producers Kanye West, No I.D. and Timbaland, as well as musician contributions from MGMT, Drake, Mr. Hudson, Rihanna and Kid Cudi. (As of now, there are no collaborations with Beyonce, although he doesn't rule out the possibility.)

The album's first single, "D.O.A. ("Death of Auto-Tune)," entered the Billboard Hot 100 at No. 24. On it he rhymes "I know we're facing a recession, but the music y'all making gonna make it the great depression ... this ain't politically correct/This might offend my political connects/This is the death of Auto-Tune, moment of silence" over a sample from Janko Nilovic's "In the Space."

"In hip-hop our job is, once a trend becomes a gimmick, to get rid of it. We've done that since the beginning of time. This isn't some newfangled thing," Jay-Z says about the track, which criticizes the overuse of the pitch-correction technology. "When people were wearing the black medallions Ice Cube came along and said, 'Get it outta here!' When Hammer was selling 50,000 records, Q-Tip came and said, 'Get it outta here!' Then Biggie Smalls came and said, 'Your life is played out like Kwame in the f---ing polka dots. Get the polka dots outta here!' It's just a part of hip-hop."

Oddly enough, the song was inspired by West, who used Auto-Tune on his most recent album, "808s and Heartbreak." "He actually sparked the idea," Jay-Z says. "When he heard the beat he said, 'Man, this is just so hard! This has to be against everything. No Auto-Tune. None of that type of stuff!'" He adds that he and West recorded one track with Auto-Tune for the album that didn't get used.

NEXT GENERATION

Despite his reputation as one of the masters of the music industry -- or maybe because of it -- Jay-Z still finds himself a target for rappers looking for beefs. One longtime naysayer is the Game, who recently attempted to call out Jay-Z during a show overseas.

"I hear it all the time -- 'Yo, he should let the young guys, the new generation of guys come in.' But you don't become the front-runner in music because someone lets you. You have to claim your shoes," Jay-Z says. "If you grow up listening to hip-hop, you love hip-hop and that's the end of it. But if you're a 30-year-old rapper still trying to make music like you're 15, then you're making it narrow. At my age, I can't relate to a 15-year-old. I deal with mature and relevant topics for my age group -- it has to all be based on true emotions. The more diversity and the more mature we make hip-hop, the bigger the net you cast."

Jay-Z criticizes some new artists for passing the buck and blaming others for their lack of popularity, but he acknowledges that more successful rappers need to serve as mentors to help develop the genre.

"Kanye is really the father to the next generation -- he's from the school of Q-Tip, and now Drake and Kid Cudi are from the school of 'Ye," he says. "And, when you look at Kanye, you have to look at Lil Wayne. I think they're like Kobe Bryant and LeBron James."

As the new album's release date approaches, Jay-Z will put out another single that he hopes to introduce in a nontraditional way. He first generated buzz for "D.O.A." by performing it live for the first time at WQHT New York's 2009 Summer Jam concert, and last year he debuted the promo single "Jockin' Jay-Z" at West's New York concert. But neither "Jockin' Jay-Z" nor "Brooklyn Go Hard," another promo single released last year, are on "The Blueprint 3."

Any strategizing about singles is just one more part of the promotional power of Jay-Z Inc., which constantly hums in the background. Jay-Z also has a deal with Iconix, the company that purchased his Rocawear fashion line, and a partnership with Scion, which bought the clothing line Artful Dodger in 2007. "We bought that for $15 million, and we'll continue to build that company. It hasn't been active in the last year because of what's going on with the recession, but, when everything bounces back, we'll focus on it. We're also looking to buy other companies together as well," he says.

Then there's Roc Nation and its various departments, which are practically a full-service business for musicians, from the label to management and publishing. The company also has a deal with Pollux, through which Roc Nation will soon release Rihanna and Kanye West fragrances.

Jay-Z is perfectly aware that this kind of branding -- done for years in the hip-hop world and only now gaining recognition in the overall music business -- is key to his success. "All these things are just part of the culture -- it's part of living your life," he says. "It's not really separate, and if it all has some type of synergy and is all in one place, it has a cohesiveness that it wouldn't normally have if the guy from Arden was doing your fragrance deal and then this guy was doing your movie deal. They're not really conversing with each other. If the conversation is happening all in one place, then there's a more organic and natural thing."

When Jay-Z speaks like this, it's easy to imagine him as a full-time mogul, especially since he threatened to retire from hip-hop in 2003. But don't expect him to leave the stage any time soon. "One day you'll wake up and say, 'Man, it's been five years since this guy has put out an album,'" he says. "Then you'll realize that I'm gone."

For now, though, he's just getting started.

(Editing by SheriLinden at Reuters)

Jay-Z Confirms Roc Nation Deal With Sony

Rap mogul Jay-Z has officially signed a distribution deal with Sony for his brand spankin' new label, Roc Nation.

"Sony is Roc Nation. That's where Roc Nation's going through," Jay-Z told Billboard. The rapper's new album The Blueprint 3 (slated for a Semptember 11th release), however, is a one-album distribution deal through Atlantic Records.

"That's pretty much just for this specific album. Roc Nation - we're experts in marketing and making records. But we do distribution deals," he says. "On this one, we're working directly with the Atlantic staff, which is Julie [Greenwald], Lyor [Cohen], Kevin [Liles] and Kyse [Mike Kyser]. For the rest of the Roc Nation artists, we did a distribution deal with Sony."

Jay-Z originally offered to have the Roc Nation imprint to be distributed through his longtime label, Def Jam, over four years ago but was quickly denied.

"You have to figure, this is like four years ago, and to them it was just like, 'Are you crazy? No! Make a song!'" he said. "To me it was like, I've sold companies for huge amounts of money. I'm an entrepreneur -- that's what I've been all my life. I can't just sit here and make records and not do anything else. Why wouldn't you want to do this with me? I felt under-utilized."

by ThePremier from defsounds.com

JAY-Z FIRST SINGLE WILL FEATURE DRAKE?!

More details not only on Jay-Z’s upcoming “Blueprint 3″ album but the first single featuring new comer Drake have hit the net. DJ Skee, who correctly leaked the information about Jigga’s first “Street” single “D.O.A. (Death Of Autotune)” , recently talked about the new collaboration between HOV and the Canadian rapper titled “Off That.” “I don’t want to really ruin the surprise,” DJ Skee said of the first official single from Jigga’s upcoming album. “I mean it’s Jay, he’s killing it.” Although he didn’t give much detail on the song itself, he did confirm that Drake is on the song. Skee went on to get everyone that much more hyped to hear it. “Jay sounds pretty incredible, man.”

Posted by DrewReports.com Staff at Wednesday, June 17, 2009

The Industry Responds To Jay-Z's Death Of Autotune

New York rappers Jay-Z and Nas now have one more thing in common. Both artists have caused an uproar in the industry with respective releases.

In 2006, Nas set the industry abuzz after declaring Hip Hop was dead. Three years later, his Brooklyn counterpart, has done the same with his latest release, Death Of Autotune.

The track, released late last week, takes aim at current industry trends--specifically auto tune. You can listen to it here.

After releasing the track, Jay called into Funkmaster Flex and Mister Cee at Hot 97's studios to explain that he's taking aim at artists who use Auto-Tune as a crutch.

He also compared the vocal enhancement usage by rappers to wearing throwback sports jerseys back in the day: Everybody started to wear them and they got played out.

"I think I said something important," he said, adding that he spoke out "only on the aspect of moving [the conversation] forward," and elaborated about who he was not going at.

"The guys who did it, did it great," he explained. "T-Pain, he does great melodies. If you listen to Kanye, great melodies. If you listen to [West's] 'Say You Will' or 'Heartless,' great melodies. [Lil Wayne and T-Pain's] 'Lollipop' was a fantastic melody. Everybody can't do it. Let them guys do it.

They got their little niche, let's move on. That's just my opinion. I don't know if everybody feels the same way."

This past Saturday, T-Pain joined Jay-Z at Summer Jam, showing his support for the track.

Hov's clarification didn't seem to please everyone however. Harlem, New York's DJ Webstar, who had a hit using Auto-Tune with his song "Dancing on Me," Tweeted about "D.O.A." and his thoughts on Jay.

"Who heard old ass Jay Z hating?"

The Harlem youngster who's also responsible for "Chicken Noodle Soup," is planning to release a diss record.

"I gotta go hard or go home! Releasing new song tomorrow stay tuned people! Nas Ether will be nothing compared to this JZ diss."

Ron Browz, who has also used auto-tune on a bevy of tracks, kept it a bit more political saying:

"Everyone's entitled to their own opinion. I make fun records that everyone sings along to and that's what I'm going to continue to do."

"I'm contributing to Hip Hop--when people thought Hip Hop was all quiet, I came with the record and brought fun back to the club. I don't think its a crutch, Hip Hop at the end of the day is fun. I took auto-tune to have some fun with it. When Snoop did it he was having fun with it, when Pain uses it, when 50 played around with it, Weezy, they were having fun with it.

That's like saying sampling is out, you can't sample anymore. No, sample is a part of Hip Hop--whatever you use to make dope records is a part of Hip Hop. At the end of the day, a hot record is a hot record and wack record is a wack record wether it uses auto tune or not."

Jim Jones also took aim at Jay on Twitter. "An old sucka, LOL," Jones Tweeted. "We back, and if he kilt Auto-Tune then we must be Easter, the resurrection, LOL."