BMG To Launch Hip Hop Imprint & other

Prince Becomes Author At 50

Prince has released over 30 albums, starred in hit movies and won almost as many awards as he has had names.

Now the Purple One, who became a half-century old last Saturday, has become an author as well, when he released a book about his groundbreaking 21-night residency at London's O2 Arena last year, according to Jet magazine.

He's putting out a book of never-before-seen photos from the shows taken by world-famous photographer Randee St Nicholas, plus some poems and a CD called Indigo Nights, with music from the after show sessions.

The Raspberry Beret star launched the book, called 21 Nights, at a private party at his palatial home in the hills above Los Angeles for guests including Eddie Murphy, Babyface and Diddy.

"When Prince is in the room, there are no other celebrities," the author Karrine Steffans, who was a party guest, told the magazine. "He's magnetic and electrifying. The crowd became entranced."

You can read more in the latest issue of Jet hits newstands today.

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Young Jeezy Says He Brought Usher, Kanye To Atlanta Birthday Bash For 'Extra Umph'

Yeah, Jeezy stood beside John McCain on Saturday Night Live, but the Snowman says he's definitely not supporting the candidate's run for president. Jeezy is for Barack Obama and talks about it on his new LP, The Recession.

The album has a song called "My President's Black," and Jeezy feels so great about it that he's already made and passed out thousands of T-shirts throughout Atlanta.

"My president's black/ My Lambo's blue," he said, reciting lines from the record Saturday night at Atlanta's Phillips Arena. "I made that song. It's on The Recession. I motivate the thugs. I'm really proud of Barack Obama. It's crazy 'cause for the first time, we got hope. A lot of times you be out here and do what you do. You see the presidents come in and go out. They really don't help the people, they help themselves and their partners."

Jeezy describes his album, due in August, as full of anthems. Over the weekend, he released his latest mixtape, The Prime Minister, and launched his social-networking Web site, USDA2Day.com. The Snowman was one of the stars of radio station Hot 107.9's annual monster concert, the Birthday Bash. He brought out a myriad of surprises, stealing the show.

"I gave you a show," he said backstage. "[At the] Birthday Bash two years ago, I brought out Jay-Z. Shout-outs to Hov. It's about topping it. Making people step their game up. Relationships is everything. When you really know people, you tell them, 'Come through, we got Birthday Bash. Be there,' and they there? To me, that means everything. This year I called out Dream, Kanye, Usher, Blood Raw. ... I'm from Atlanta, so they pretty much see you every day. They know you gonna come out, but when you bring those special people out, it just gives it that extra umph. Me, personally, I take pride in Birthday Bash. Birthday Bash 13 was mine, by the way."

(Check out pictures of T.I., Young Jeezy and more onstage at the Birthday Bash.)

Kanye and Usher specifically went out of their way to make it to Atlanta for the show. Usher flew in from a promo tour in Japan, while Kanye came to town, performed and flew right back out to make his concert at the Bonnaroo festival in Manchester, Tennessee

"Shout out to Kanye, he flew all the way in," Jeezy said. "I had to throw him a private jet courtesy of Young."

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Tranzident

Artist: Tranzident

   Genre(s):
Trance: Psychedelic

Discography:

The Origin

Year: 2007
Tracks: 12

Ecast BarPulse Showcases Usher and 3 Doors Down Plus Emerging Hit-Makers Duffy and American Idol's David Cook

Listeners Throughout the U.S. Give a Monthly Snapshot of Hot Music in Bars
and Nightclubs

NEW YORK, June 16 -- R&B artists take the top slots on
Ecast BarPulse for the month of May with Usher, Rihanna and rising British
star Duffy finishing one, two and three out of the ten most played tunes in
May.

Not to be outdone, the Rock genre represented with three other top ten
spots going to Coldplay, 3 Doors Down and Death Cab for Cutie. All three
artists have been involved in promoting their new albums through social and
electronic media. Usher also pre-released his latest to the public before
it was available in stores.

Ecast BarPulse ranks plays of new music on the Ecast broadband media
network, located in over 10,000 bars and nightclubs across the country. Adding
more than 1,000 songs each week, Ecast keeps its finger on the pulse of U.S.
nightlife and then issues a monthly ranking of the most popular new song
plays, nationwide.

May 2008 Ecast BarPulse
Courtesy: Ecast, Inc.

Rank Track Artist Album Label
1 Love In This Club Usher Here I Stand LaFace
(ft. Young Jeezy) Records
2 Take A Bow Rihanna Take A Bow (single) Def Jam
3 Mercy Duffy Rockferry Mercury
Records
4 Love In This Club Usher Here I Stand LaFace
Part II Records
5 It's Not My Time 3 Doors Down 3 Doors Down Republic /
Universal
6 Violet Hill Coldplay Violet Hill (single) Capitol
7 The Time Of My Life David Cook The Time Of My RCA
Life (single) Records
Label
8 Moving Mountains Usher Here I Stand LaFace
Records
9 I Will Possess Your Death Cab Narrow Stairs Atlantic
Heart (Album Version) for Cutie Records
10 Game's Pain The Game Game's Pain (single) Geffen

"This month largely reflects the top songs in America today but with a
couple of surprises such as Duffy at #3 and Death Cab," said Lisa Tiver,
senior vice president business affairs, Ecast. "Death Cab for Cutie has
been an Indie favorite, but their ninth place finish in May puts them
squarely in the mainstream. Our monthly rankings reveal what's going on
with a very targeted and desirable audience. The jukebox provides a
terrific way for the labels and artists to build word of mouth while
getting return on their investment -- each time a fan chooses a song, it
gets exposure to many listeners not just one."

About Ecast

Ecast operates the largest broadband touchscreen media network in the
United States, providing digital music to over 10,000 bars and nightclubs
across the country. The unique touchscreen music service allows locations
to put the power of choice where it should be: with the consumer. Utilizing
the speed and scalability of broadband, Ecast delivers music, advertising
and other forms of entertainment to the young-adults most responsible for
affecting purchasing decisions and consumer trends. Ecast is changing the
way people listen to music in public places and revolutionizing out-of-home
advertising. Ecast's investment partners include Crosslink Capital, DCM, El
Dorado Ventures, Focus Ventures and Mobius Venture Capital. For more
information, please visit http://www.ecastnetwork.com.

BarPulse is a trademark of Ecast, Inc. All other trade names are the
property of their respective owners.

This release is available on the KCSA Strategic Communications site at
http://www.kcsa.com.

CONTACT INFO:
Rob Manfredo/Charlotte Maumus
KCSA Strategic Communications
(212) 896-1213 / (212) 896-1269
rmanfredo@kcsa.com / cmaumus@kcsa.com

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McKenzie brother cartoons give new life to an old hack

GET LOST, EH?: I suppose that as a Canadian I should be used to this feeling, but there�s something both triumphant and sad in the news that Bob and Doug McKenzie are heading to the small screen in cartoon form with Fox their likely home in the U.S., according to a Canadian Press story.

Talking to CP from Los Angeles, where he was working on scripts for the show, Dave Thomas said that the show was initially green-lit by Global here in Canada and that Fox asked to see the script and pilot when they saw how eager the Canadian network was to get the show in production.

�We submit the pilot in early August,� Thomas said, �and we'll hear after that. But I think they'll go for it - I think they like this show. Just to get them this close is good, and means we can probably get
someone else interested if they're not.�

According to Thomas, the show takes the iconic characters created for SCTV with Rick Moranis and puts them in a new, apparently updated setting. �They are in a world that they weren't in before, and they have some friends who are a little raunchier than they are,� he said.

While Thomas is clearly the instigator of the cartoon iteration of the McKenzies, Moranis is far less enthusiastic, as he �doesn't enjoy doing any showbiz stuff anymore ... I can't even guarantee his involvement long term in this, but whatever ... if I have to drag a sound-alike in for his voice, I'll do that. I don't think anyone would care because it's a new product.�

I�m not sure I�d agree with that last bit, Dave, but we�ll see, won�t we? Thomas is abundantly aware of the irony that a skit created as a joke to placate the grumblings of Canada�s culture bureaucrats who were concerned about Canadian content on the show has turned into a nest egg of sorts, as well as an ongoing role for the comedians.

�I thought it was a bit of a nightmare back then, when I thought of myself as a young artist, but now that I think of myself as an old hack, I'm glad I have Bob and Doug," Thomas said. I don�t know why, but my heart sags a little whenever I read that last line.

CH-CH-CH-CHANGES: The observant will probably have noticed the new name that this column ran under as of yesterday, accompanied by the �kindler, gentler� photo. I hope I can weather the change from idiot to intelligent with dignity. Metro has also launched a blog, where yours truly will try and fit in all the stuff that can�t possibly make it into a daily column. The web address is metronews.typepad.com/intellivision/ -- at least for the moment, though I�m told that things might change. I�ll keep you posted in case they do � happy reading.

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