Watch Suge Knight Try to Sign Tupac to Death Row in 'All Eyez on Me' Clip: Exclusive

In light of Tupac Shakur's All Eyez on Me biopic dropping next week, our friends over at Billboard got its hands on an exclusive clip from the movie.

The 48-second teaser features Suge Knight visiting Shakur in jail after he was sentenced for sexually abusing a fan in 1995. In hopes of luring 'Pac over to Death Row Records, Knight lists all the things he can offer the embattled rapper.

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"Money ain't a thing. What you need is guidance," says Knight. "I'm not saying you can't have friends, but I'm the one who's gonna be there with you 24/7/365, so it should be me [as your manager]. Death Row ain't a label, it's a way of life," he continues.

Shakur's decision to sign with Death Row Records in 1995 was a pivotal move in his career. After leaving prison, he released his opus All Eyez on Me later that year, which not only signified his comeback, but bolstered the legitimacy of Death Row as a super label.

Watch the clip below:

Taylor Swift Returns Her Music Catalog to Streaming Services

Taylor Swift is returning her music catalog to streaming services, ending the digital music world’s highest-profile feud and affirming that streaming is now the dominant music format.

On Thursday evening, Ms. Swift’s management announced on Twitter that since her latest album, “1989,” has now sold 10 million copies around the world, she “wants to thank her fans by making her entire back catalog available to all streaming services tonight at midnight.”

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For Spotify in particular, Ms. Swift’s return has great symbolic significance. Shortly after she released “1989,” in October 2014, Ms. Swift removed her entire catalog from Spotify, saying later, “I’m not willing to contribute my life’s work to an experiment that I don’t feel fairly compensates the writers, producers, artists and creators of this music.”

It was the highest-profile protest at a moment when many artists were highly suspicious of streaming, and concerned that the new format would erode their sales of CDs and downloads.

The next year, Ms. Swift battled publicly with Apple over the introduction of Apple Music, Spotify’s streaming competitor. Her public criticism led the company to change its royalty policy overnight.

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But Ms. Swift’s return is a sign of the dominance of streaming, and of its maturation as an essential part of the music business, from the marketing of singles to the industry’s sales figures. In March, the Recording Industry Association of America, a trade group, reported that in 2016 streaming services generated $3.9 billion in sales in the United States, representing 51 percent of revenues.

Spotify, which operates both free and paid tiers, had for years staunchly refused requests from record labels and artists — including, apparently, Ms. Swift — to restrict music to its paid levels, which pay higher royalties. But this year, in a renegotiation with the Universal Music Group, the world’s largest music conglomerate, Spotify agreed to let labels put new music only on the paid tier for limited periods, in exchange for lower royalty rates.

Ms. Swift’s music is returning to all major streaming services, including Spotify, Amazon and Google Play, and will be on both free and paid levels of Spotify. (Her music is already on Apple Music, which has also financed a concert film for her and put her in commercials.)

This article was originally published by the New York Times

This article originally appeared in the New York Times

Contributing author BEN SISARIO

#ImpactOneBillionPeople  

Mary J. Blige Ordered to Pay $30,000 a Month in Temporary Spousal Support

Singer ordered to pay retroactive spousal support, estranged husband's lawyer fees

Mary J. Blige has been ordered to pay her estranged husband, Kendu Isaacs, $30,000 a month in temporary spousal support.

The couple decided to separate last year after 12 years of marriage.

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According to TMZ, a judge ordered the “Not Gon’ Cry” singer to pay the funds to Isaacs after he requested a whopping $129,319 a month from the star.

Though the court found Isaacs to be entitled to money that would accommodate the standard of living he was used to, it decided his requested amount was unreasonable.

Blige was ordered to pay retroactive spousal support dating to September, along with Isaacs’ attorney fees. That’s a total of $235,000.

In April, Blige claimed in court that Isaacs spent more than $420,000 during their marriage on “travel charges” that involved his girlfriend, it was revealed that Isaacs allegedly cheated on the 46-year-old with her much younger protégée.

To make matters worse, the Family Affair singer was dedicated to making Starshell, well, a star. Reportedly, the A-lister would bring the budding songstress to red carpets, events, and TV appearances in order to build the up-and-comer's profile.Nonetheless, Starshell was regularly spotted spending alone time with Kendu. 

TUPAC TRAILER

Blige also claimed that Isaacs drives a Mercedes that she pre-paid the lease on and that he refuses to turn over possession of her “Grammy and other achievement awards.”

The singer said she had long been the only bread-winner in the family and that she is burdened with more than $10,000,000 in debt.

While the couple does not have any children together, Blige has been a stepmother to Kendu’s children – Briana, Jordan and Nas – from a former relationship since they wed in 2003.

“I am not responsible for supporting [Martin’s] parents and his children from another relationship which he lists as ongoing monthly expenses,” Blige stated in the court documents.

Whether Isaacs is satisfied with the designated amount in spousal report remains unclear, but one thing’s for sure—he’s living a heck of a lot better than most of us.

This article was originally published by EBONY

This article originally appeared in EBONY

Contributing author #TEAMEBONY

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Master P To Host First-Ever ESSENCE Fest Celebrity Basketball Game

Pelicans assistant Robert Pack teams with Master P to form Team H.O.P.E. to mentor local youth. 

Team H.O.P.E. , an acronym for “Helping Our Players Excel.”  Set to take place on Thursday, June 29 at the Xavier University Convocation Center, the game will feature an all-star line up of entertainers, former pro athletes and other respected members of the New Orleans community. Keeping with the Team Hope NOLA mission, proceeds from the event will go towards a scholarship fund for New Orleans youth. Master P himself has long been a hometown public figure who has actively taken steps to provide opportunities for the youth in the NOLA community and he says his celebrity friends were glad to join the cause when he put out the call.

"I reached out to some of my colleagues and friends and told them what we are doing to help raise money for the children in New Orleans and the response has been overwhelming,” said Percy “Master P” Miller. “It is extremely important to be able to help the young people from my hometown – these children are challenged with so much. This is just my way of giving back and we can have some family fun doing it."

TUPAC TRAILER

In addition to Master P, celebrity players who will take part in the game include Trey Songz,Romeo Miller, Anthony Mackie, Terrence J,Juvenille and more. Click HERE to see the full lineup of celebrity players and be sure to visit www.essence.com/festival/dayofserviceto get your tickets today!

This article was originally published by Essence.

This article originally appeared in Essence.

Contributing author Rachaell Davis.

#ImpactOneBillionPeople #TeamHopeNola #EssenceFestival2017 #EssenceFest        

Universal Music Group Names Tuhin Roy VP of New Digital Business

Universal Music Group announced Thursday that digital entrepreneur Tuhin Roy has been appointed to the newly created position of Vice President of New Digital Business.

According to a release, Roy will identify and work closely with start-ups in the early-stage digital media sector to develop strategic new digital business partnerships. He will be based at UMG’s global headquarters in Santa Monica and report to Michael Nash, Executive Vice President of Digital Strategy.

In making the announcement, Nash said, “Tuhin brings an entrepreneurial orientation and an incredible wealth of experience to this role. I’m confident his deep knowledge of the start-up environment and investment community dynamics will magnify UMG’s efforts to cultivate the digital ecosystem, promote innovation and establish new revenue streams.”

“Universal Music’s amazing track record of empowering entrepreneurs and embracing digital innovation, from early-stage start-ups to industry-leading companies, has enabled the music industry’s return to growth,” Roy said. “I’m thrilled to join Michael Nash’s incredible team and I’m looking forward to advancing UMG’s mission of working with entrepreneurs to develop exciting new digital services for music fans and artists around the world.”

In 2003, Roy founded the Digital Rights Agency, a digital music and TV content aggregation company that he merged with the Orchard.  In addition, Roy has served as an adviser to SXSW On, 8tracks and MediaLink. He recently co-founded Fanzy, a digital platform that enabled 25,000 brands and top music artists to reward fans on social media platforms.

Earlier, Roy served as General Counsel of Echo Networks, a digital music company acquired in early 2003 by a consortium of music retailers, where he was responsible for music industry relations. Roy previously practiced corporate and intellectual property law at Perkins Coie LLP in Menlo Park, California, where he represented technology companies in licensing and corporate finance matters. Before practicing law, Roy worked as a songwriter and producer.

This article was originally published by Variety.

This article originally appeared in Variety.

Contributing author

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Jerry Seinfeld Explains Awkward Kesha Moment: ‘I Don’t Hug a Total Stranger’

In what’s now internet history, Kesha approached the comedian on the red carpet at the David Lynch Foundation’s National Night of Laughter and Song, co-sponsored by Variety, on Monday and asked for a hug, only to be denied — three times. A video of the awkward moment almost immediately went viral.“I’m 63, I don’t know every pop star,” Seinfeld told “Extra” on Thursday. “I don’t know everyone.”

He confirmed that he’s not a huge fan of hugs, at least not when it’s with a “total stranger.” “I was right in the middle of an interview, it was a little off,” he added.

“When you get to be my age and you’ve done a couple things, you have your own reality,” he said. “In my reality… I don’t hug a total stranger. I have to meet someone, say hello. I gotta start somewhere. Hug isn’t first moment of a human, two humans. I never did that.”

“I got a borderline harassment case here!” he joked.

It doesn’t seem like there’s any hard feelings, however. “She was very nice about it, we laughed about it,” he said.

But did the pop star ever get her hug? “No!” Seinfeld clarified. Lesson learned.

Oprah Just Explained Why OWN Won’t Be Picking Up ‘Underground’

WGN America’s recent cancellation of the hit antebellum-set drama Underground was a blow to both television and to TV lovers who are enthralled and fascinated by the history of slavery and race in this country. 

Though there is still hope that the series will get picked up by either Netflix or Hulu, many fans were confused as to why both BET and Oprah Winfrey’s OWN decided to pass on the acclaimed series.

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Recently, at a press event for Queen Sugar in Los Angelesshe said,

“I can’t afford Underground. It cost twice as much to make as Queen Sugar. As a matter of fact, my dear friend John Legend called me personally and asked me about it, but we’d already been talking about how we could make it work – it’s like $5 million an episode, so we can’t afford it. It’s not cheap; I think because it’s a period piece.”

Sitting in a very intimate setting with a small group of journalists, Winfrey added thoughtfully, “We really tried to make it work, I wanted to make it work because I think it’s a good show. I wanted to be able to save that show, but it did not make good business sense for me.”

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Sometimes it seems that things truly do boil down to rating and numbers. Winfrey expressed that though Underground has a loyal following, the ratings just did not make sense for OWN since it’s only about six years old and is still finding its footing.

Now that The Get Down and Sense8 are over on Netflix, here’s hoping the streaming platform swoops in and saves the day. We’re sure the series executive producer John Legend has one last move up his sleeve.

This article was originally published by Ebony Magazine

This article originally appeared in www.Ebony.com

Contributing author ARAMIDE TINUBU

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