International-HipHop.com

Young Money star Drake is being sued by a woman claiming to be the famously lovelorn rapper’s ex-girlfriend. Ericka Lee, who is credited in the liner notes to Drake’s 2011 hit “Marvin’s Room” as a vocalist, is suing under the claim that she is entitled to more of the song’s royalties. She initially filed suit in July of last year, and Cash Money filed a counterclaim six weeks later. ??Drake allegedly agreed to work with Lee on ??Marvin??s Room?? and split the proceeds,says a source with The Hollywood Reporter. Lee says she was asked to record the songs hook?? as well as the opening monologue that would serve as the thematic framework for a song about Drakes yearning for an ex-girlfriend and how his fame interfered with his love life.

T-Pain is partnering with Guitar Center to host this year’s version of the popular “Your Next Record” contest. Guitar Center presents the contest annually, along with numerous corporate sponsors, and it offers aspiring artists the chance to submit their original music. Contest winners will get to record a three song EP and will also receive several tools to assist in recording. This year, T-Pain will serve as co-writer and co-producer of the winner’s single. ??Me and Young Fyre, were going to literally just take days and listen to all the music,” T-Pain told Complex. “Iâ??m just looking for something new, you know? Something I??ve never heard before.

Mariah Carey and Jermaine Dupri have a long-standing working relationship. The two have collaborated as far back as the mid-90s and their careers together reached their peak back in 2005, when JD spearheaded Carey’s comeback with the stellar album The Emancipation of Mimi. But that doesn’t mean Carey can’t playfully poke fun at her hitmaking friend. MC took some playful jabs at Dupri after he ‘kept her waiting’ in the sudio. “Where is JD? Because I know he had to go to Vegas and blah-blah-blah…must be nice,” Carey ‘complained’ jokingly, before chastising Dupri.”First of all, time out…here’s my issue–don’t talk over me.” she ‘snapped.’ “Why do you feel the need to be on Global 14 constantly? Technology in the room when we’re writing is not always 100% beneficial for productivity. Because it distracts people.”

Jennifer Lopez was coy about her 2011 divorce from former husband Mark Anthony during a recent appearance on David Letterman’s “The Late Show.” J. Lo’s numerous failed marriages and relationships are well-documented, but when the late night guru attempted to ‘go there,’ Lopez showed that she can dance around a subject better than most.
Letterman asked her if she would ever reconcile with Anthony, to which Lopez replied, “Try the same one over again? I don’t know what you mean.” When Letterman asked how many times she’d been married (as if he and everyone in America didn’t know), she again side-stepped playfully. “A couple … I believe in love,” Lopez replied. Letterman asked her if it was difficult working with her ex-hubby on “Q’Viva” and she slightly opened up. “It’s fun because we know each other so well, but it has its moments. The same things that didn’t really work … sometimes come up,” she said, ramming her fists together for emphasis. When Letterman asked her to be specific, she said, “Communication. You’re talking and you don’t agree on something and then you’re like, ‘Oh, be quiet,’ ” Lopez explained, laughing.

Don Cornelius, the founder and longtime host of the popular music and dance show “Soul Train,” was found dead in Los Angeles at the age of 75. He died of a gunshot wound at a house on Mullholland Drive, according to Los Angeles police. The gunshot appears to be a self-inflicted. The show also showcased legendary R&B and pop performers including Al Green, Ike & Tina Turner, Sly & the Family Stone, David Bowie, Whitney Houston, Duran Duran, Stevie Wonder, Run DMC, Elton John, Kid N Play and Janet Jackson. Cornelius closed every show with his infamous mantra of “Love, Peace and SOOOOOOUL” which became his trademark catchphrase. The theme song for “Soul Train,” composed by legendary songwriters Kenny Gamble & Leon Huff and performed Philadelphia International house band MFSB became a #1 hit on Billboard in 1974 under the name “TSOP: The Sound of Philadelphia.” “Soul Train” left an indelible mark on American pop culture and helped introduce Black music and culture to audiences that had little exposure to it on national television. Don Cornelius leaves behind a significant legacy as a television and entertainment pioneer. Before the emergence of “Yo@! MTV Raps,” before BET and before TVOne, “Soul Train” was America’s first and most committed window into African American creativity in music and dance.

Bio: “Bumpy Johnson”

Coney Island producer and rapper Zakariyya “Bumpy Johnson” Amin isn’t about the fame, the money, the women. He doesn’t give a shit about fitting his music into some neat “genre” or even about sales. He’s making music because he can’t imagine doing anything else. And as a result, Bumpy Johnson is forging some of the rawest, most honest hip-hop out there. Not surprisingly, a growing number of up-and-coming artists are seeking out his superb production talents, as well. Life in the hard, concrete reality of Brooklyn laid out some harsh tests for Bumpy. Yet, these life experiences taught him lessons more powerful than anything he would learn in school. Driven to succeed—and eager to soak in everything he could about music—he began to explore. By his teens, he was immersed in hip-hop, and began putting his life experiences down as lyrics, and beats. “Running around with my crew doing all types of wild things but at the same time trying to stay straight on a decent path…all of these experiences are expressed through my music,” Bumpy states today. Within a few years, hip-hop consumed him, and there was no looking back. Bumpy started a group with his cousin James “Soprano” Rice. Here, he discovered a second passion: producing. Watching his producer make beats from scratch—no samples—Bumpy learned how to craft beats from the ground up. Later, he and another cousin, Hakeem “Haz” Dolphin, started their own label, “Real Records,” along with Jerome “Maoz” Morris. Here, he developed his skills, challenging himself every day. Once his label was up and running, Bumpy began circulating several projects on the streets: his debut, Know How 2 Hustle, first mixtape, Definition of a Hustler, and latest mixtape, Commander Status. At the same time, his production business picked up, as he became a highly sought-after producer, providing beats, vocal recordings, mixing, editing, and mastering services to hip-hop, R&B, and pop artists. From the first intro, you can feel what that the buzz on Bumpy is well-deserved. His music is completely modern, yet honors the spirit of the hip-hop pioneers. Imagine a little piece of B.I.G. and Jay, add some of the wordplay of Twista, and a dash of Nas’ energy—fueled by a visionary, hardcore sound. Unlike a lot of his prepackaged peers, Bumpy actually has a voice, and this voice is on full display on each of his tracks. Bumpy’s production work features this same respect for originality, musicianship, and craft: “garbage in, garbage out, I like to warn my production clients,” he adds. In other words, he seems to gravitate towards production clients that are into creating real, genuine music. In the near future, Bumpy will be aggressively promoting his latest album, Commander Status, and continue to record and produce other artists in his studio. About the only downside will be if Bumpy’s production business continues rolling, that it might take some time away from crafting his own new songs.

Flavor Flav is denying reports that he got into a fight with his daughter. The Public Enemy hypeman says that the facts of the story have been misconstrued and that his daughter did not hit him, nor did a family member call the cops on them.
The incident occured in Las Vegas over the weekend.
“The whole thing was a big misunderstanding that shouldn’t have happened. No one in my family called the cops on my daughter and she did not beat me up.” Glad to hear that no bodily harm befell the 52-year-old. Stay safe Flava!

Rapper Flavor Flav was involved in an altercation with his 19-year old daughter this weekend in Las Vegas. The Public Enemy hypeman and Dazayna Drayton were both arrested after a brawl reportedly erupted at Flav’s home. They were taken into custody early Sunday morning following the incident. According to TMZ, Dazayna was in a fight with another, as-of-yet-unnamed family member and Flav attempted to break up the fight, which resulted in his daughter striking him. It is unclear whether the punch was intentional. Both have since been released from custody.

Brothers Theron “Da Spokesman” and Timothy “Don’t Talk Much,” formerly known as Rock City have officially changed their name to Planet VI. The duo have also parted ways with Akon’s Konvict Music imprint. The brothers explained the drastic changes in a recent interview with AllHipHop. ??We are working on everyones album from Justin Beiber to T.I. to B.o.B. We are on the writing scene in Atlanta, Da Spokesman says. ??We dropped on December 30th we are at about 30,000 downloads in less than thirty days, so we are proud of that.” alot of our old fans might have known us as Rock City, we were songwriters on Rhiannas ??Man Down?? and Justin Beiber?? ??Run Away Love, and bunch of stuff like that and we were artists trying to find our place and everyone wanted us to write songs like that for ourselves, Da Spokesman explained. ??We wrote songs for Rhianna because thats what she represents, but that does not mean we represent what she represents. So with this project we felt it was time for a change, we did no??t put our picture on it and we just put it out, we just put it out and wanted to people who heard it for the first time, to hear it and just nothing else. I would say the transition of going through music business politics and us being non political people, we just did? not fit in and now that we are able to go create our own world, our own vibe, our own language, our own slang, and our own sh*t. This is the sh*t we been preaching since we came into the business.

As the news that Bad Boy rapper Machine Gun Kelly had been arrested in Florida over the weekend, it appears that a very important man in MGK’s life and career was the last to hear about the bust. Bad Boy head Sean “Diddy” Combs went off in a series of panicky tweets directed at his young star that seemed to imply that Diddy had no idea what was going on with Kelly. “Did anyone hear what happened to @machinegunkelly tonight???!!! Did he get arrested?????!!!!!! Wt,” Diddy tweeted. “@machinegunkelly where the f*ck are you at? Are you ok? Do you need Bail or a lawyer?????!! Everyone hit him to see if he’s ok!” “@machinegunkelly WtF!!!!!! Call me at miami crib now!!!!!” Diddy’s tirade continued. “Everyone hit him and tell him to call me NOW!!!!! Pls thanks!!!!”