Wednesday's Daily Rap

14 January 2009

Rate this article

In today's Daily Rap we see and Indie takeover for Koch Records, Lil Wayne sign up for a Grammy performance, MC Hammer takes on YouTube and Jermaine Dupri breaks his Silence.

Indie Take-Over

When major labels are no longer giving artists the deals that they deem appropriate, today's rappers are taking the independent route and Koch Records, the fastest growing indie label in the US is proof that there is still money to be made in the music industry today.

The label which launched in 1987 recently signed five more labels to its roster which already includes D-Block Records and Terror Squad Records. Included in this recent influx of labels and artists is legendary Texas rapper Bun B as well as MJG and IMG/404 Network.

Wayne performing at Grammys

It can hardly come as any surprise that Lil Wayne is expected to take to the stage at the 51st Grammy Award Ceremony on February 8th this year in Los Angeles. The Cash Money Millionaire grabbed himself eight nominations this year for his and songs from Tha Carter III project.

Lil Wayne caused quite a stir last week in Hip-Hop circles by announcing that he had plans to record a rock album. Wayne recently performed alongside Kid Rock at the Country Music Awards in November of last year so his ability to experiment should really come as no surprise.

Along with Gym Class Heroes, Keyshia Cole and T Pain, Wayne is currently out on the road with his I am Music Tour which due to overwhelming sales added another 12 nights to the calendar last week.

MC Hammer takes on YouTube

One of the 80�s catchiest songs came from Oakland rapper/performer MC Hammer in Can�t Touch This.

Now over 20 years later, Hammer who has since hung up his mic for the pulpit has decided to add his own twist to the internet video hosting empire by introducing DanceJam.com. The site will allow viewers to add their own dance performances for others to view.

It is highly unlikely that the site will compete with the likes of YouTube, but Hammer seems to think anything is possible �There is no high-tech lingo or business strategy that you can talk that is above my head. I breathe this stuff" he explained to the Associated Press.

Jermaine Dupri breaks his Silence

Former President of Island Def Jam Urban, Jermaine Dupri has finally spoke out about his position coming to an end. The Atlanta based producer and executive said in a recent interview that he was the one who left the label and says that Island Def Jam have made out that he was fired to look better themselves.

The boyfriend of Janet Jackson also went on to explain that he and IDJ top boss LA Reid, once close friends, have not spoken in over three months. Leaving the label due to the way it was being run has left Dupri�s TAG Records imprint up in the air which was under the IDJ umbrella, but he said the reason for him leaving the label definitely didn�t have anything to do with the Janet Jackson project or the Jagged Edge album which had disappointing sales.

It was LA Reid who created the position for Dupri back in 2006 when he left Virgin, however the rapper is unclear if things between the long time friends can be rectified after this.

Melanie Cornish