Source - Boy Genius Report

Firstly, As Always With Urban Review, I Want To State That This Is In The Rumor Stage & Is Not Yet Confirmed. I Don't Want To Give Out Lies & Tell You It's The Truth.

As most Hip-Hop heads will know by now, the current Godfather of rappers; Jay Z has parted ways with the worlds largest Hip-Hop record label Def Jam. If you're like me, then you will have realised that Jay wouldn't just turn away from a million dollar career, unless he had something good lined up.

Now, speculation is mounting that the Jigga Man is to head a brand new record label created by the iPod giants Apple. No one can deny that if this goes down, it will make a powerhouse of business, with Apple's very own iTunes as the ultimate way to sell music.

If this is for real, I'm not so sure it will be a good thing for music, I mean WTF do Apple know about good music, or the record industry. Maybe they will purchase a well established company & re-brand it as their own? Whatever happens, I'm sure Jay will land on his feet.

"Roc Boys" Is Set To Be The Second Single From "American Gangter", The Highly Anticipated New Album From Living Legend; "Jay Z".

With some awesome production, guest vocals from "Cassie" & "Kanye West", plus the ridiculous flow of Jay himself, this one is set to be a smash, I was feeling this one from first listen. The album is available in stores now, I will try & put together a review real soon.

For now, check out the star-studded video below, which contains cameos from "Diddy", "Mariah", "Swizz Beatz" & "Nas". This man has some cool friends. Ha!

Here Is The Brand New Video From The 'Greatest Rapper Alive'; Mr "Jay Z".

As previously reported, this track is from his new album; "American Gangster", which has been made to accompany a movie of the same name, although it Will Not be the soundtrack CD. At first, I was skeptical of this track, it does not have that 'first play appeal' of some J tracks, but I now like it more & more with every listen.

The video really incorporates what I expect to be the theme of the album, Jay Z was one of the original Hip-Hop 'Gangsta' & this look serves him well. Both Jay & P are looking on-point, this is a very slick video that I am loving.

Check It Out & Give Me Your Opinions?

Here Is The Official Album Cover For "Jay Z's" New Record; "American Gangster"

I am really feeling this cover, I think it really portrays what I think will be the mood & theme of the album. If you don't already know, American Gangster will accompany the movie of the same name that is due for release later this year.

Here Is A Top Notch Remix Of "50's" "I Get Money", A Track I Previously Disliked Has Been Brought To Life By Two Kings Of The Game.

Both "Diddy" & "Jay Z" have jumped on this remix, which has been dubbed the "Forbes" remix, due to all 3 artists being numbers 1 - 3 on the Forbes Hip-Hop Rich List. I am really liking this mix & am glad it has been getting airplay, much better than the original.

LISTEN: "50 Cent ft. Diddy & Jay Z - I Get Money" (Remix)

The Self Proclaimed 'Greatest Rapper Alive', "Jay Z" Recently Announced That He Is Working On A New Album, Due For Release In November.

Entitled "American Gangster", the record will be released to coincide with the release of a new movie of the same name. Although the album won't be a soundtrack CD, Jay said that he felt compelled to make the album after seeing the film, because he thought that some elements mirrored his own life.

This is the first song to leak from the album, called "Blue Magic", the track is produced by & features long-term collaborator "Pharrell Williams". The song is OK, but nothing to special, sounds like an album track to me, although not confirmed yet, it does appear that this will in fact be the first single.

Definitely one to watch for the future, keep it locked to Urban Review for any updates.

LISTEN: "Jay Z ft. Pharrell Williams - Blue Magic"

As The Over Hyped, Over Worked, Over Planned Rivalry Of "50 Cent" & "Kanye West" Continues, Both Parties Were invited Into "BET's"; "106 & Park".

"MTV" also invited both artists to appear on "TRL" but Mr West declined, he has promised never to have dealings with them again after he received no awards at the recent "VMAs". [cough] Pathetic!

While in the studio, both Fiddy & Kanye performed a track from their respective albums, check out the video of Kanye with his 'Brother'; "Jay Z". I heard 'Ye describe this track as his "Best Material", I'm not quite convince to that extent but I like the song all the same, & the special guest appearance was a very cool addition.

Here's The Performance:

In other news, it appears that "Graduation" is outselling "Curtis" by over 100,000 copies, I don't believe for 1 second that Fiddy is going to quit music, I think the whole 'beef' situation is bull ishh.

Yeah, It's Been A Slow Day In The World Of Urbantainment, Just Thought I'd Show You Guys A Pic That I Thought Was Hilarious.

This shot was taken at the "Screamfest" concert tour, which reached NY yesterday (22nd), in a rare & unexpected colab appearance from "Jay Z", "Diddy", "Kanye" & "50". I'm sure the photo was just taken at the wrong time, still, fiddy looks awful lonely over there by himself. Ha.

Entrepreneur Rapper "Jay Z" Has Topped The "Forbes" Hip-Hop Rich List, Beating The Likes Of "Diddy" & "50 Cent". Check Out The Top #10 Below.

Yeah It's Another "Jay Z" Remix.

Here is a hot remix track from "E-V-E's" current single "Tambourine", Jay always seems to jump on random records but always makes a good job of them, & this is no exception.

I love this track, as well as the original, it's a shame that it has not blown up in the way I thought it would, but it is still getting airplay & there is still time yet. I can't wait to hear Eve's new album "Here I Am", with work from "Swizzy" it's going to be hot.

Check Out The Jay Remix & Let Me Know What You Make Of It?

LISTEN: "Eve ft. Jay Z - Tambourine" (Remix)

Thought I Would Bring You Guys Another 'FlashBack'.

This time it comes from one of the most influential artists of our generation, "Jay-Z", the track was also produced from the most influential producer ever, Mr Mosley himself, "Timbaland".

I think that this is one of the hottest beats to ever be created, it's distinctive sound is instantly recognisable & will be a classic Timbo beat forever. A real pick up track that never fails to make you wanna move.

LISTEN: "Jay-Z - Dirt Off Ya Shoulder"

I Know, Yet Another Riri Post.

Rihanna is the current 'girl of the moment', as well as riding high in the US she is also number #1 in both the UK "Singles Chart" & "Album Chart". Everywhere you go you constantly hear people singing 'ella, ella, ella' to themselves lol, let's just hope that 'girl of the moment' doesn't turn into 'flavour of the month'.

In other Riri related news, if rumours are to be believed, "Rihanna", "Beyonce" & "Jay Z" are to perform a collaboration track in the near future. This looks like an obvious attempt to stop the 'feud' rumours between Riri & Beyonce, but will also undoubtedly produce one 'Mutha' of a track that is guaranteed to be number #1.

I hope that Rihanna's domination continues for sometime to come, It's great for such a young girl (19) to be doing so well, & of course she looks so good, always.

Entertainment & Culture Magazine "Vanity Fair" Has Revealed It's Plans For July's Issue, It Will Be An "Africa Awareness Campaign.

Fronting this campaign & appearing on 21 different covers will be 21 different political & celebrity figures engaged in helping Africa or African people. These will include; George Bush, Bill & Melinda Gates, Oprah Winfrey, Jay Z & Alicia Keys.

I think this is a brilliant idea, in a growing climate of negativity in the world, an entertainment magazine is doing it's part to make a bit of a difference. Plus we get this fantastic shot of "Jay Z" & "Alicia Keys" (Below), I haven't seen Alicia on the music scene for some time, but she is looking absolutely stunning, can't wait to hear some new material.

You can check out the rest of the covers HERE.

Last Night, "MTV" Held Their Annual Movie Awards & MTV Just Wouldn't Be MTV Without Some Music Thrown In The Mix.

Among others, "Rihanna" performed her World Wide smash "Umbrella", after seeing her perform in the UK, i wasn't expecting a huge amount of improvement in quality but I was most definately wrong.

Riri seems to have come on leaps & bounds in her live performances, her stage presence, confidence & most importantly her vocals. Don't get me wrong, she's no "Mariah choreography in her " but it's great to feel an energy to her voice, rather than the almost lifeless renditions we are used to. Rihanna'sperformance was on-point as usual, & with the addition of "Jay Z" spiting his lyrics at the start, this was a stand out performance.

Rihanna's third album, which was released in the UK today is set to head straight for the number one spot, it is a strong offering, & with her obvious vocal improvement, plus her bounding confidence & charisma, it may soon be time for "Beyonce" to step aside as the Queen of R&B.

Rip - thisisrihanna.com

Here Is The Brand Spanking New Video From Rihanna.

I have been loving this song since I first heard it, a real addictive track, especially with the addition of Jay Z, a sure number #1.

This is the world premier of "Umbrella" which was shown on thisisrihanna.com at 3pm (Uk) today, hence the covergirl thing.

According To Rumors, The Beautiful Beyonce Is Heading To DefJam. MTV report that the R&B diva may soon be signed to her Jay Z's mainly rap orientated label.

She is currently signed to international label, Sony BMG, where she is signed to contract for 2 more albums. It seems to be working for her so far, considering she is one of the best selling female artists in the world at this time.

In my opinion this may not be such a good thing for either party, although it may give B a new 'flavour' so to speak, but it could do damage her current fantastic career, simply because Sony is fantastic at what they do, their promotion works a mile a minute for Beyonce, & they pretty much bend over backward for her.

It may also do damage to DefJam itself, Jay Z is so respected for what he does, having his other half on his label may lose him a bit of cred.

Only Time Will Tell.

Here Is The Official Remix Of Timbaland's Current UK Number One, "Give It To Me".

Randomly, as usual with Tim, it features rap guru Jay Z as well as old favourite Justin Timberlake. Although this is a remix, it sounds nothing like the original, but I really like this all the same.

Give it a listen.

"Timbaland ft. Justin Timberlake & Jay Z - Give It To Me (Remix)"

A Very Welcome Return From Rihanna.

It's not as if she has really been anywhere but Rihanna is back with her third album in two years. The album, named "Good Girl Gone Bad" is available in June.

In the mean time, here is the first single from it, "Umbrella" features Jay Z & is a bit of a change from the usual Ri-Ri sound.

I'm really Feeling this track, Rihanna's unstoppable run doesn't seem to have any end in sight. The promotion & resource offered by Def-Jam has really done her good.

Rihanna ft. Jay Z - Umbrella