Desmond Child Elected to ASCAP Board of Directors

Grammy-winning songwriter-producer Desmond Child.

Grammy-winning songwriter-producer Desmond Child has been elected to ASCAP's Board of Directors, announced ASCAP President and Chairman Paul Williams. Child will replace jazz composer George Duke, who recently passed away.

"In his phenomenal career, Desmond Child has produced some of the most successful and memorable songs of our time," commented Williams. "He is also a master collaborator and has gained profound insight into the challenges and opportunities facing ASCAP today. His role in launching the new Latin Songwriters Hall of Fame, where he serves as its Chairman/CEO, is just the latest example that Desmond is a great advocate for his fellow music creators. I can't think of a better songwriter to take over the legendary George Duke's term, and I look forward to working with him.”

In addition to his involvement with Latin Songwriters Hall of Fame (he was inducted in 2008 and currently serves on its Board), Child has co-written over 70 Top 40 songs, including Aerosmith's "Dude Looks Like a Lady," Bon Jovi's "Livin' On a Prayer," and Ricky Martin's "Livin' La Vida Loca." Recently, he has also worked with Katy Perry, Selena Gomez, and Kelly Clarkson.

Billboard Touring Conference & Awards

November 13-14, 2013

New York, NY

 

The Billboard Touring Conference features unique programming that informs, educates and provides a forum for promoters, agents, managers, venues, sponsors, marketers, production professionals, merchandisers, digital music executives, ticketing companies and all touring-related businesses about the industry's latest opportunities and current challenges. This year also marks the 10th anniversary of the conference. This year's event is officially SOLD OUT. We look forward to seeing all of our speakers and attendees next week!

Jadakiss "Bottle Service " Duane DaRock Feat. & Akapello

PROD BY DUANE "DAROCK" RAMOS
FOR PROMOTIONAL PURPOSES ONLY

Want to see more? www.itsmyurls.com/duanedarock

Hip hop producer and veteran Duane DaRock Ramos. Wrote Letter to Big off Notorious Soundtrack. Veteran producer for Redman, Jadakiss, Styles P, LL Cool J, Jay Z, The Game, KRS-One and many more.

New Signings: BMG Chrysalis Inks Rascal Flatts' Jay DeMarcus, Slash to Warner/Chappell, Primary Wave Nabs Melissa Etheridge

Here’s a look at the latest artist signings across the music industry, which include label, management, publishing and booking agency deals. Billboard.biz is interested in your company’s new signings.

RECORD LABELS

-- Arista Nashville signs the Swon Brothers. The Oklahoma-based brother duo of Zach and Colton Swon were finalists on season four of “The Voice.” The Swon Brothers are currently writing songs for their major-label debut, due in the spring of 2014. 

-- Singer/actor Alex Newell, who co-starred on Fox’s “Glee,” joins the artist roster of Atlantic Records. Newell, who is also slated to appear in the upcoming film “Geography Club,” is in the process of working on his debut album that will be released on Deep Well Records/Atlantic. 

-- New Orleans rapper Dee-1 has inked a deal with RCA Inspiration. Known so far for his mix tape "I Hope They Hear Me Vol 2,” Dee-1 will release a new studio album under the RCA Inspiration imprint next year. 

-- Roadrunner Records sings English five-piece Marmozets, which recently released the new single “Move, Shake, Hide.” The rock band will release its debut album in the spring of 2014.  

-- Actress and singer/songwriter Katey Sagal, currently known for her role on FX series “Sons of Anarchy,” signs to eOne Music. Sagal will release her first album in nine years, “Covered,” through Entertainment One Music on Nov. 12. The set features covers of songs by Steve Earle, Laura Nyro, Joni Mitchell, Ron Sexsmith, Tom Petty and Ryan Adams.

-- Mom+Pop adds Wild Cub to its artist roster, which also includes Andrew Bird, Sleigh Bells and Wavves. The five-piece band is touring this fall with the Dismemberment Plan and will release its debut album, “Youth,” via Mom+Pop on Dec. 10. 

-- Judith Hill, a contestant on season four of "The Voice," inks with Sony Music. Hill, who is currently touring arenas with Josh Groban, is finishing up her debut record, scheduled for release in early 2014.  
-- Nettwerk Music Group signs U.K.-based indie psych-rock duo Coves to its worldwide label and publishing rosters. The Coves released its debut EP, “Cast A Shadow” in 2012, and recently released the single “Beatings” from its forthcoming debut release.

BOOKING AGENCIES

-- The Agency Group adds Alive Like Me (for the U.S./Europe/U.K.), Herb Alpert (North America), Pup (worldwide, excluding North and South America), Ghost Beach (worldwide, excluding North America), Jon B (worldwide), Sons of the East (North America), Vic Mensa (worldwide), Public Service Broadcasting (North America), We Hunt Buffalo (North America), Vanessa Paradis (North America), Benjamin Clementine (North America), Stromaé (North America), -M- (North America) and Johnny Hallyday (worldwide).

-- The Windish Agency signs Floating Points, Fort Romeau, Mapei, Owl Eyes, Visionaire, Moonchild, option4, the Range, MAKO, Afrikan Boy, Cassandra Wilson, Dave Rodigan, Douglas Dare, Happa, Imanos, Jackson and his Computerband, Jerome Holloway, Krystal, Klear, Meklit, Nozinja (Shangaan Electro), Outfit, Rival Consoles, Streets of Laredo, Tone of Arc, Wave Racer, Wildflowers, Yuna, and Great Good Fine OK.

-- Skyline Music Agency inks Zach Deputy, BIG Something and Max Creek. Los Angeles-based Chris Cate serves as the responsible agent for all three acts.

ARTIST MANGEMENT

-- Rock artist Melissa Etheridge signs with the talent management division at Primary Wave Music, which also represents CeeLo Green, Natalie Imbruglia, Flyleaf and Eric Benet, among others. Etheridge is prepping to release a new box set of unreleased tracks and new studio album in late 2014.
-- Blueprint Group and Seventy Two Music partner to co-manage rapper Future. Blueprint Group, whose roster includes Lil Wayne, Nicki Minaj, T.I. and Hit-Boy, will co-manage Future with the act’s longtime manager Orlando McGhee. The partnership covers all areas worldwide, including touring, digital, branding and film /television.

PUBLISHING

-- Jay DeMarcus, one-third of Rascal Flatts, signs a worldwide publishing agreement with BMG Chrysalis’ Nashville office. In related news, BMG Chrysalis and Still Working Music announce the joint signing of songwriter and producer Terry McBride, who has written for artists like George Strait, Easton Corbin, Joe Nichols, Casey James and Alan Jackson. 

-- Producer/songwriter Mark Feist signs a worldwide publishing deal with Razor & Tie Music Publishing. Feist has written and produced for such artist as Destiny’s Child, Beyonce, Celine Dion, Hot Chelle Rae, Tyga, Mya, John Legend, Candice Glover, the Spice Girls, OutKast, George Clinton, Brian McKnight, Natalie Cole and others. He own full-service studio and production facility in Los Angeles.
-- Warner/Chappell Music inks a worldwide publishing agreement with guitarist Slash. As part of the deal, Warner/Chappell will administer all of Slash’s future material, along with most of his catalog dating back to 1985, including his work with Slash’s Snakepit and Velvet Revolver. The company will also administer all of his solo material.

-- ole signs a deal with songwriter and Columbia Nashville recording artist Tyler Farr, who released his debut album, Redneck Crazy,” on Sept. 30. He has also Farr also co-written the songs “Hey Y’all” (for Colt Ford) and “She’s Just Like That” (Joe Nichols).

-- Producer and singer-songwriter Aquile signs a co-publishing deal with Fieldhouse. He was a contestant on season three of “The Voice.”

Home Depot Apologizes for Racist Tweet Sent From Its Twitter Account

Home Depot is apologizing for a racist tweet and blaming the agency that sent it from the company account.

The home improvement retailer pulled the tweet and apologized on Twitter on Thursday, saying, "We have zero tolerance for anything so stupid and offensive. Deeply sorry. We terminated agency and individual who posted it." 

In a statement provided to ABCNews.com, Stephen Holmes, director of corporate communications, said, "We have zero tolerance for anything so stupid and offensive. The outside agency that created the Tweet and The Home Depot associate who posted it have been terminated. We're also closely reviewing our social media procedures to determine how this could have happened, and how to ensure it never happens again.

 

Customers responded to the apology on various social media sites. 

"Deflecting blame and now all is hunky dory? Hmm," one Facebook user wrote. "So even though you hired the firm responsible for the shockingly racist tweet, you bear/accept no responsibility? Here's to hoping your company uses your one 'do over' wisely." 

Another Facebook user wrote: "Very respectful way for you to respond to that offensive tweet. I will continue shopping at the Home Depot. Thank you for firing whoever posted that!"

Blockbuster to Stop Movie Rentals Saturday

While Dish Network plans to shutter the 300 Blockbuster company stores it still operates by January, most of those outlets have already started winding down.

Blockbuster has sent out tweets over the last several days alerting customers it will stop renting movies on Nov. 9, with most stores starting to liquidate inventory on Nov. 14.

Lady Gaga Teams With Vevo, Clear Channel For Live-Streamed 'Artpop' Events (Exclusive)

Lady Gaga and Vevo will live-stream a concert from artRave, an interactive exhibit in New York City, this Sunday, Nov. 10, at 11:30 p.m. ET. Gaga will perform songs from brand new album “Artpop,” which will be released on iTunes at midnight. The event will be available on Vevo.com, as well as Vevo’s free apps on iOS, Xbox and Apple TV. Rebroadcasts of the performance will run for 48 hours following the show.
 
In addition to the Vevo concert, Clear Channel will broadcast a half-hour “Album Release Party with Lady Gaga” special hosted by Ryan Seacrest on more than 150 Clear Channel Contemporary Hit Radio (CHR), Rhythmic CHR, and Hot AC stations around the country on November 11 at 9 p.m. ET. The Album Release Party will be recorded and televised for The CW Network, and will Tuesday, November 19 from 8 to 9 p.m. ET/PT.

Also at Sunday’s artRave, Jeff Koons will unveil his sculpture of Gaga that was specially created for the “Artpop” album cover, with additional works of art created by Gaga in collaboration with Marina Abramovic, Inez & Vinoodh, Robert Wilson and her own TechHaus.

“Artpop,” Gaga’s fourth album, is due Monday November 11 with a companion digital app for Apple iOS and Google Android. The project was preceded by three singles: “Applause,” Gaga’s 12th top Hot 100 hit which currently sits at No. 10 on this week’s chart, “Do What U Want,” which debuted last week at No. 13 and this week sits at No. 58 and “Venus,” which enters at No. 32. Since 2008, Gaga has amassed five Grammy Awards (from 15 nominations), 24 million albums, and 125 million singles worldwide.

Tom Cruise Admits Scientology Played Role in Katie Holmes Divorce

The actress said one of the reasons she left him was to protect their daughter from the religion, according to a new deposition.

The admission came in a Sept. 9 oral deposition filed recently as part of Cruise's ongoing defamation suit against Bauer Media over its In Touch cover story, "Abandoned by Daddy." 

In the deposition, Cruise admits that Holmes said one of the reasons she left him was to protect their daughter, Suri, from Scientology.

Cruise first lashes out when lawyers for Bauer ask him if he believes it's false that Holmes divorced him "in part to protect Suri from Scientology."

“Listen, I find that question offensive,” he said. “I find it -- those statements offensive. And like with any relationship, there are many different levels to it. You know, I -- I find it very offensive. There is no need to protect my daughter from my religion."

But the attorney pushes further, asking, "And Ms. Holmes has never indicated in any way that was one of the reasons she left you? … To protect Suri from Scientology?"

"Did she say that? That was one of the assertions, yes," he says, before noting that neither Suri nor Holmes are practicing Scientology now.

Cruised also slams the In Touch cover story that prompted his suit.

"I mean, come on, that is absolutely disgusting," Cruise said. "That is absolutely disgusting. And I have to tell you, with everything -- listen, I am a public person, I absolutely understand. For me there is -- I tolerate a tremendous amount and I'm very privileged to be able to have the life that I have, and I believe that. But there is a line that -- that I draw for myself -- and that’s it."

In another set of papers from the deposition, it's revealed that Cruise once didn't see Suri for 100 days.
The Hollywood Reporter has reached out to reps for Cruise, Holmes and the Church of Scientology for comment.

Box Office: 'Thor: The Dark World' Opens to $7.1 Million Thursday Night

The sequel has already earned more than $150 million overseas, where it began rolling out last weekend.

 Thor: The Dark World grossed a strong $7.1 million as it opened in North America Thursday night.

The Marvel Studios and Disney 3D tentpole -- returning Chris Hemsworth in the title role -- has already earned more than $150 million overseas, where it began rolling out last weekend. The movie's international total through Thursday is $152.8 million. It opens Friday in a raft of other markets, including China.
Thor 2 could crack $90 million in its domestic debut, and don't be surprised if the movie's gross is well north of $300 million by Sunday. As a way of comparison, the first Thor took in a total of $449.3 million globally after opening to $65.7 million domestically in May 2011.
The sequel more than doubled the $3.2 million earned by Thor in midnight grosses. It's not an apples-to-apples comparison, since the first film opened at midnight whereas Thor 2 rolled out at 8 p.m.
PHOTOS: 'Thor: The Dark World' Premiere Lights Up Hollywood
The record opening for early November is currently held by Skyfall, which debuted to $88 million on the same weekend a year ago. The Twilight Saga: New Moon is the record-holder for best November opening with $142.8 million. (The franchise installment opened on Nov. 20, 2009).

Most films are staying out of Thor 2's way, although both 12 Years a Slave and About Time will make major expansions this weekend, hoping to provide counterprogramming.

Thor 2, like Iron Man 3, is expected to benefit from 2012 global blockbuster The Avengers, the crown jewel of Marvel's superhero film empire. The Avengers, which features Hemsworth as Thor and Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man, among other Marvel characters, earned $1.5 billion worldwide to become the No. 3 film of all time behind Avatar and Titanic.

Iron Man 3 debuted to $174.4 million in May and boasts the top opening of 2013 so far. That film took in $15.6 million in Thursday night runs.

Thor 2 is sparking interest among all quadrants of the moviegoing audience. Interest is high among younger females for a superhero film, likely due to Hemsworth and Natalie Portman, who likewise returns for the follow-up alongside Tom Hiddleston, Anthony Hopkins and Idris Elba. Thor 2 is also tracking well among Hispanics.

Thor 2 takes place one year after the events of The Avengers, as Thor reunites with Jane Foster (Portman) and tries to save his planet from a mysterious enemy. Thor also forms an uneasy alliance with his adoptive brother, Loki (Hiddleston).

Jay Z Being Sued Over 'Run This Town' Sample

Jay Z has been hit with allegations of illegally sampling on his hit "Run This Town." 

According to the NY Daily News, Hov's monster track, which features Rihanna and Kanye West, samples Eddie Bo's "Hook & Sling" and record label TufAmerica alleges the superstar sampled it without permission.
TufAmerica claims it bought the exclusive rights to “Hook & Sling” in 1996 and now seeks monetary proceeds from Jay's track and damages. The label also wants to make sure further distribution of "Run This Town" is halted because of the illegal sample. The complaint reportedly names Jay Z, Roc-A-Fella Records, LLC, Atlantic Recording Corp. and other companies as defendants.

Apparently, this is the third suit TufAmerica has against Roc-A-Fella in Manhattan federal court. Per the NYDailyNews, the first two lawsuits were settled out of court.

"Run This Town" is from Jay's hit album The Blueprint 3 in 2009.

Tags Jay-Z

Twitter Stocks Slide On Second Day

Twitter's stock slid more than 7 percent on its second trading day Friday, after the popular short messaging service saw a huge first-day pop in what turned out to be a smooth public debut.

Such volatile trading is common for freshly public stocks as investors make decisions with limited insight into how well companies will do in the long run. Although there are a few outliers, most analysts believe the appropriate price range for Twitter's stock is in the $30s and low $40s. The mean target price analysts have set for the stock, according to FactSet, is $40, with targets ranging from $29 to $54.

Business Matters: Twitter Shares Soar, But Is It All Hype — Or the Next Friendster?

Wedbush analyst Michael Pachter arrived at his $37 price target by assuming Twitter will double its 230 million monthly users to 460 million over the next five years while increasing the number of times users look at Twitter every day. Pachter estimates Twitter will deliver $3.5 billion in EBITDA - earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization - by 2018.

"Twitter is likely in the early innings of its growth," Pachter wrote in a note to investors. "We believe that the majority of the world's 2.4 billion Internet users have great potential to find something or someone on Twitter that they are interested in."
San Francisco-based Twitter's stock fell $3.25, or 7 percent, to $41.65 in trading on Friday despite an uptick in the broader market.

The shares are still up 60 percent from the $26 IPO price Twitter and the IPO's underwriting bankers set Wednesday night. Twitter made $1.8 billion in the offering. On Thursday, the company's stock jumped 73 percent in its first day of trading, creating hordes of new millionaires -and even a few billionaires.

For some perspective, here's a look at how other prominent technology stocks did in the week following their IPO - and how they're faring now:

- Facebook Inc., the world's largest social network, first day of trading on May 18, 2012
Pricing: $38 per share

U.K. Extends Recording Copyright Term from 50 to 70 Years, Adds Artist-Friendly Rules

The amendments to European copyright laws first voted on by the European Union parliament in 2009 and ratified in 2011 have, another two years later, been implemented in the U.K. as of today, November 1st. 

The new rules append another 20 years to the copyright term of sound recordings, meaning that records will not be eligible to enter the public domain until 70 years after the work's first publication. The rule changes were the result of a concerted lobbying effort from the international and European recording industry, members of which sought to harmonize European copyright law with that of the United States, which has a copyright term of 95 years.

U.K. Announces First Phase Launch of the Copyright Hub Following Years of Investigation

While the changes will have appreciable benefits to older artists -- especially the three additional rules, explained below, which take effect for the last 20 years of copyright term which the EU put into the law specifically for the benefit of artists -- major labels will, of course, see the lion's share of benefit. (Worth nothing: The change does not effect the copyright term for compositions.)

"The new rules bring lasting benefits for our world class recording artists," said U.K. Intellectual Property Minister Lord Younger in a statement. "Artists who performed on sound recordings will benefit from this extension of copyright protection from 50 to 70 years. The changes should help ensure that musicians are rewarded for their creativity and hard work throughout their careers."

The three, "final twenty" rules mentioned previously are:

• The ‘Session Fund’ -- Where 20% of revenues from sales will go to performers such as session musicians
• The ‘Clean Slate’ provision -- Where royalty advances paid to performers by producers may not be deducted from those performers' payments
• The ‘Use It or Lose It’ clause -- This allows performers and musicians to reclaim their performance rights if they aren't being "commercially exploited."

The last above is may be the weakest, since it would seem to require performance rightsholders take relatively minimal action to demonstrate that they continue to commercially exploit a recording.
The rule changes will prevent now-classic recordings from the mid-'60s -- an especially fertile period for British music -- from entering the public domain in the European Union -- well, except for one.

Behind The Data: YouTube Music Awards – Did They Make The Right Nominations?

The moment is fast approaching, when video-streaming platform YouTube will go the way of television networks and music associations alike, and launch their very own awards show.

YouTube Music Awards Director Spike Jonze On This Sunday's Inaugural Show:
'Even If It's Messy, It'll Be Live'

Sunday night's live-streamed YouTube Music Awards will take place at New York’s pier 36, and the list of celebrities guesting the stage include everyone from Katy Perry to Tyler the Creator to Arcade Fire. Nominees for the inaugural set of awards were announced last week-- only six categories in total -- ranging from Artist of the Year to Phenomenon of the Year. While the modest approach indicates that they are rolling out an event that should be taken seriously, critics have argued that YouTube failed to capitalize on the wide variety of content that lives on the site, despite the fact that Epic Rap Battles Of History is honored more than once.

Online Growth for Macklemore & Ryan Lewis across Facebook, Twitter and WikipediaCLICK HERE TO ENLARGE

(CHART COURTESY OF NEXT BIG SOUND)

Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, who led the pack in nominations with a nod in four out of six categories, clearly had a good year. The Seattle-based rapper and producer team took the music industry by storm in 2012, with the release of “The Heist,” and have seen their online fan base grow exponentially. The pair now count a total of more than 3.2 million Facebook page likes, and more than 2.8 million of these added since Oct. 1 2012  to Oct. 1 2013.  In that time, their Twitter following increased by close to 1.7 million, and they saw nearly 15 million Wikipedia page views -- a staggering increase of 247,000%.

As for overall YouTube video views, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis do not top the list in comparison to fellow Artist of the Year nominees, but do see the highest percentage increase at a bump of more than 5,000% percent compared to the year before. The top spot unsurprisingly goes to PSY, who counts close to 2.5 billion views in that time period. Runner-up Justin Bieber saw north of 1 billon. Taylor Swift, Rihanna, and Katy Perry all have a significantly lower number of views, given that their official channels are all hosted by partner channel Vevo, but are still considered to be in the running. 

Using YouTube detections to rank the top played tracks on the site this year, only a few of the nominees from the Video of the Year category actually make the top ten, namely Macklemore & Ryan Lewis’ “Thrift Shop feat. Wanz,” Miley Cyrus’ “We Can’t Stop,” and PSY’s “Gentleman.” According to this list, Ylvis’ “The Fox” and AWOLNATION’s “Sail,” who were not nominated might also have merited a nod.

(CHART COURTESY NEXT BIG SOUND)

The candidates for Response of The Year are a list of well-known YouTube celebrities, who have made a name for themselves through the platform. Most, if not all of the nominees, have subscriber counts in the millions, higher numbers in fact than most of the artists nominated for Artist of the Year. At close to 3.5 million in total, Violinist Lindsey Stirling has six-fold the number of subscribers that Katy Perry can boast (see chart above).

As for artists who might have been snubbed, Ariana Grande, Drake and Imagine Dragons all have tracks with a high number of detections, but are nowhere to be found on the list.

The choices for the Most Innovative category are far less mainstream, from Bat For Lashes to Toro Y Moi. The artists behind these videos have fan bases on Facebook between 50,000 and 300,000 page likes, versus the millions that artists in previous categories can boast. Only one of these videos, Atoms For Peace’s “Ingenue,” has seen view counts in the millions on YouTube. The criteria behind the nominations are slightly different in this instance, and reflect a more subjective aesthetic evaluation. 

Despite the small number of awards to be handed out Sunday night, and the potential for much more creative categories such as best goat video or top shake setting, YouTube has put together a night that will have a little bit for everyone.

Adele Recorded A 'Filthy' Rap, Said She'd Sue If Anyone Ever Heard It

Best known for her soul-driven pop songs, Adele isn't afraid to rap, apparently.

U.K. rapper Tinie Tempah, whose 2010 debut Disc-Overy landed him a Mercury Music Prize nomination, is back this week with his long-awaited sophomore LP, Demonstration. He stopped by Alan Carr: Chatty Man, the UK's answer to late night, to discuss the project but revealed a surprise collaboration with the somewhat-reclusive Adele that dates back to 2011. 

"She was with me and Labrinth in the studio when he recorded 'Earthquake'," said Tempah of Adele, recalling his previous collaboration with his fellow UK emcee. "Nobody really knows this. She recorded a rap and she told us that if we ever played it to anyone she would sue us. So when you talk to her next, ask her about the rap. It is really filthy as well."

This isn't the first time Adele's name has been mentioned when it comes to hip-hop. Last month, Wiz Khalifa revealed that he and the British chanteuse had put in work on his O.N.I.F.C. follow-up. She also worked with famed hip-hop producer Rick Rubin on 21.

Adele has kept a relatively low profile since welcoming her son Angelo a year ago. Her last album was 2011's 7-time Grammy-winner 21, and she also scooped up an Oscar this past February for Best Original Song for "Skyfall." She is rumored to be in the studio working on 21's follow-up. No word if she will rap on that ... yet.

Tempah's new album Demonstration is out on Nov. 4.

Artist Of The Year At Inaugural YouTube Music Awards

Eminem Wins Artist Of The Year At Inaugural YouTube Music Awards

Eminem has won a variety of awards over his career, including a bevy of MTV video music awards and even an Oscar. Now he has another to add to his collection.

Slim Shady has won artist of the year at the inaugural YouTube Music Awards, which is currently being held in New York.The award came only minutes before he performed a live rendition of his fiery single “Rap God,” which is off his newest album, The Marshal Mathers LP 2. Em took over YouTube’s Twitter account last week to answer questions in promotion of his performance and the award show.

Elsewhere, Macklemore and Ryan Lewis won the show’s breakthrough award, which represents the biggest growth in YouTube video views over the past year.

Nicki Minaj On Kendrick Lamar’s “Control” Verse: “I’m The Queen Of New York, I’m The King Of New York”

Though some people consider Nicki Minaj one of the dopest lyricist in the game, she was noticeably missing from Kendrick Lamar’s list of hot artist in his now infamous verse on Big Sean’s track “Control.” Nicki recently chopped it up with The Breakfast Club following her performance at Power 105.1′s Powerhouse 2013 and revealed her feelings on not being included in the list of rappers K. Dot name checked. “I’m probably in the top five he did mention so go and do your research. Straight up and down,” she said. “I also feel like maybe he is one of the respectful gentleman that probably wanted to feel like I didn’t want to say a females name. Or maybe he don’t think the kid is ill but the kid know the kid is ill,” she added speaking in third person. 

Bringing the point home that she is an artist to be reckoned with, she emphatically added, “I’m the queen of New York, I’m the king of New York. Let me tell you why. Platinum albums, plural. Number one in five motherf#cking countries. Don’t play with me. You better respect my motherf#cking gangster, b#tch.”

PRODUCER/ARTIST "CENTRIC" IS BACK WITH HIS BRAND NEW SINGLE TITLED "IGNORANT" FEATURING HIP-HOP VETERAN SADAT X & FREEATLASTMUSIC's JEANIUS.

PRODUCER/ARTIST "CENTRIC" IS BACK WITH HIS BRAND NEW SINGLE TITLED "IGNORANT" FEATURING HIP-HOP VETERAN SADAT X & FREEATLASTMUSIC's JEANIUS. THIS IS THE FIRST SINGLE OFF CENTRIC'S DEBUT ALBUM TITLED "WHY NOT?" SET TO BE RELEASED 1/15/14.

        

--

Centric - Record Producer/Engineer/Mcee/Model/Actor/1/2 Of "Grand Opus"
Music Publisher For SkyBound Entertainment
Client for MG CA-PR & Management

FreeAtLastMusic LLC (ASCAP)

GENERAL:FreeAtLastMusic@gmail.com
SUBMISSIONS:FreeAtLastSubmissions@gmail.com
Centric@FreeAtLastMusic.com
http://www.freeatlastmusic.com/
PR & Management - Sue McGaughey (mgagencyca@gmail.com)
FACEBOOK:https://www.Facebook.com/ChrisLourayACTOR

FACEBOOK:https://www.facebook.com/pages/Centric-FreeAtLastMusic/111525035528202 

Twitter:http://www.twitter.com/centric510
Soundcloud:http://www.soundcloud.com/FreeAtLastMusic

CENTRIC - WHY NOT? (COMING AUG 2013)

Roethlisberger throws for 4 TDs, 400 yards, but Patriots beat Steelers 55-31

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. - Ben Roethlisberger threw for 400 yards and four touchdowns while leading the Pittsburgh Steelers offence to 31 points against the New England Patriots.

Plenty of scoring on most days.

Not against the Patriots on Sunday.

"They're a good offence. But we need to score more points," Roethlisberger said after New England broke a third-quarter tie and pulled away to beat the Steelers 55-31. "To me, it's about winning and losing. We lost. Offensively, we have to be better."

Roethlisberger turned the ball over on two of Pittsburgh's first three possessions, and the Steelers fell behind 14-0 early in the second quarter. It was 24-10 when Roethlisberger hit Jerricho Cotchery for a pair of touchdowns to tie it.

But Pittsburgh got one first down in its next two possessions, punting twice. And, after another touchdown catch by Cotchery, Roethlisberger threw his second interception of the game.

Meanwhile, Tom Brady led New England to four straight touchdowns and the Patriots (7-2) pulled away.
The 55 points were the most scored in an NFL game this season and the most ever scored against the Steelers (2-6).

"I don't care if it's the most points we have ever given up or not," Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said. "It ain't any more sickening or less sickening based on those results."

Brady threw for season highs of 432 yards and four touchdowns, and Rob Gronkowski had a career-high nine receptions for New England. Asked about Brady's performance, Steelers safety Troy Polamalu said, "It was a winning performance.

"He did everything great quarterbacks do," Polamalu said in a sombre Steelers locker room.

Brady had 252 yards passing in the first half, and 119 of those came on seven catches by Gronkowski. The star tight end, in his third game since missing the first six with back and forearm problems, caught his first touchdown of the season to give the Patriots a 14-0 lead with 4:30 gone in the second quarter.

New England piled up 610 yards, third most in team history and the most ever allowed by the Steelers.
"We are going to go through this with a fine-toothed comb," Tomlin said. "And those people who are lacking effort won't be playing. It's just that simple."

Until Sunday, Brady had been having a mediocre season. He threw for just 116 yards a week earlier in a 27-17 win over the Miami Dolphins, struggling to communicate with his rookie receivers and with Gronkowski recovering from a series of off-season operations. Brady also was uncharacteristically inaccurate on his throws.

But he was sharp all day, completing 23 of 33 passes against a defence that let receivers run free for several long receptions, including a 57-yarder to Danny Amendola that set up Stephen Gostkowski's 20-yard field goal that made it 17-3.

Brady threw scoring passes of 34 yards to Amendola, and 17 and 81 yards to Aaron Dobson, while Stevan Ridley rushed for 115 yards and two touchdowns.

The Patriots led 24-10 at halftime before the Steelers tied it on their first two series of the third quarter on Roethlisberger's touchdown passes to Cotchery of 20 and 8 yards.

He added a 6-yarder to Cotchery midway through the fourth quarter that made it 41-31. But two plays after the kickoff, Brady launched a pass down the left sideline that Dobson caught at the Steelers 40 and carried into the end zone.

LeGarrette Blount got the final touchdown on a 5-yard run with 2:41 left.

Three Patriots had more than 100 yards receiving, Gronkowski with 143, Dobson with 130 and Amendola with 122.

New England scored on its last four possessions of the first half and led 24-10 at intermission before the Steelers tied it.

Roethlisberger turned the ball over twice on his first two series when he fumbled, then threw an interception to Devin McCourty that led to Brady's scoring pass to Amendola.

After Gronkowski's touchdown, Pittsburgh's Shaun Suisham and Gostkowski traded field goals before Roethlisberger hit Antonio Brown for a 27-yard touchdown. It was the 200th touchdown pass of Roethlisberger's career, second in Steelers history to Terry Bradshaw with 212.

The Patriots got the ball back with 1:50 left in the half and went 77 yards on nine plays and a 1-yard scoring run by Ridley. On the previous play, Shamarko Thomas was called for interfering with Gronkowski in the end zone.

After Cotchery tied it at 24, the Patriots took the lead for good on Gostkowski's 32-yard field goal.

Usain Bolt: Torrid sex and 1,000 McNuggets

From his new memoir, “Faster Than Lightning” (Harper), out next week, four things you didn’t know about Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt, the fastest man alive:

In Beijing, he ate 1,000 McNuggets.

During the Beijing Olympics, Bolt, then 22, thought that Chinese food was “odd.” So he hit the nearest McDonald’s in search of his favorite food: chicken McNuggets.

“At first I ate a box of 20 for lunch, then another for dinner. The next day I had two boxes for breakfast, one for lunch and then another couple in the evening. I even grabbed some fries and an apple pie to go with it,” he writes.

He estimates that during the 10 days he spent in Beijing, he downed 100 nuggets every 24 hours. That equals 1,000 chunks of chicken. “Man, I should have gotten a gold medal for all that chowing down,” he writes.

His signature move wasn’t even his own idea.

“Bolting” is the runner’s go-to celebration, where he pulls his arm back like an archer and aims an imaginary bow at the heavens — but it wasn’t his idea.

He first struck this pose when he set the world record in the 100 meters during the Beijing 2008 games. And though it looked off-the-cuff, it was actually planned in advance with a dancer friend from Jamaica.
“I’d made a deal that if I won the 100, I would bust some crazy dance move. It was called ‘Di World,’ ” he writes.

Though the move has been criticized for being unsportsmanlike, it hasn’t stopped the speedster from busting the move every time he wins a race.

He had a “don’t ask don’t tell” policy with his first girlfriend.

Bolt was spoken for when he arrived in Beijing, already dating his first serious girlfriend, Jamaican runner Mizicann Evans, for five years.

But after becoming an overnight sensation, he found that the “ladies threw themselves” at him, he writes.
“I was able to get any lady I wanted . . . I could walk into a party and take my pick,” he writes. “I would go into a club and think, ‘Hmm, a’ight, which one? You . . . ? You . . . ? Oh, you! Let’s do this.’ ”
So, how did the couple last?

“We had one rule: If I was doing my thing with someone else and Mizzi didn’t know, then she was cool. But if she found out that something had happened between me and another girl, then that person had to go,” writes Bolt.

The couple has since split.

A baton nearly got him disqualified.

After three first-place finishes at the 2012 London Olympics — one for the 4×100 relay — he decided that gold medals were not enough.

He wanted the baton. But the race official looked at him like he was crazy.

“ ‘You can’t have that. We’ll need it,” the official told Bolt.

”Why? The Olympics is over!” Bolt fired back.

The two sparred over the baton in Bolt’s clutches until the official went “wild” and threatened him.

“You’re going to be disqualified if you don’t give me back the baton!” the official said.

Just as Bolt was about to hand over the prized rod, another official came over and insisted that Bolt keep it.