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B-Sides Report for 08/17/2015



Collaborator Confirms Jay Z Recorded Tupac Diss Track

(Radio.com) According to longtime Jay Z collaborator DJ Clark Kent, a long-rumored piece of hip-hop apocrypha actually exists: interviewed on the latest episode of the podcast 'A Waste Of Time With ItsTheReal," DJ Clark Kent confirms the fact that Jay Z recorded a Tupac diss track, and never released it.

"It never came out, out of respect for the fact that he died," Kent noted. "Jay did a record going at Pac, but right as it was about to come out, son died. We performed it, though, at the Apollo--the chip on Jay's shoulder is so crazy that he had to perform it."

In 2006 Jay made a similar claim to XXL, according to Billboard. He noted that there was no tape of the performance: "They usually tape the Apollo shows, but they just stopped taping for some reason," he explained. "We tried to find the tape. It's 2,000 people that know about it. I did two verses.

On the podcast Kent claimed that, 'It probably was one of the hardest diss records I've ever heard." Listen to the full interview here.

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B.o.B Releases Surprise New Album 'Psycadelik Thoughtz'

(Radio.com) Another surprise release has suddenly dropped upon the world in the form of a new project from rapper B.o.B., named Psycadelik Thoughtz. The 11-song collection is available for purchase from digital retailers now.

This release follows B.o.B.'s 2013 offering Underground Luxury, which debuted at 22 on the Billboard 200. His previous two albums both cracked the top 5 of the Billboard 200.

Rumors began swirling a couple days ago when B.o.B unveiled his album cover to his fourth studio LP that a sudden release may be coming. However, few expected it so soon. Read more here.

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Kenny Chesney Breaks Record At MetLife Stadium

(EBM) Country music star Kenny Chesney set a new record when he played at the MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ for the fourth time, topping his own number for the third time, and beating a record set by Willie Nelson in the 1970s. We were sent the following details:

Midway through Chesney's set, MetLife Stadium sent out a Tweet that said: "Congrats @kennychesney - Highest selling country artist OF ALL TIME in NJ! Thanks Kenny & the 58,642 fans here 2nite!"

Chesney's appearance at MetLife Stadium also makes him the only country act in a pretty potent dozen - selling 223,582 tickets over four appearances. It also makes him the only country act in the top dozen artists who've played there - nestled between Pink Floyd and the Who - since 1976, the East Tennessean has struck a chord with the hard-music loving fans to put him in the company of the Stones, U2, Elton John, Bon Jovi, the Grateful Dead and yes, Bruce Springsteen.

"The thing about East Rutherford," Chesney said, "they're all heart - and they bring it. That passion, the way they really throw themselves at life, really dig in and live it full tilt� that's how they love music, too. I've never walked out of MetLife not rocked to my core, and they just throw you against the wall with how they come to the shows. I could feel tonight was even more intense, but I had no idea they'd crushed the record again."

Just as important as the numbers are the people. Halfway through "I Go Back," his songs as memory-capturing No. 1s, Chesney leaned into the crowd to high-five a young woman with Downs Syndrome, who yelled to come up onstage with him. Reaching his hand out, he helped lift the brown-haired girl onto the stage - and gave her a hug. Without missing a beat, the young lady announced, "I just want to let you know� Kenny Chesney is my true love," to massive audience cheers. "He inspires me, and right now, I want to kiss him on the lips. Do you want to see it?"

Telling the crowd, "Okay, let me wipe the sweat off," he laughed and did as the young woman asked. But the girl had more on her mind than a kiss from her favorite singer. Asking him for the mic again, he let her speak: "His music got me through the toughest times. His music inspires me. The reason why I want to be on the stage was because my grandfather's dream was to see me up here, to sing with Kenny�" Pausing as the audience cheered, she looked at the 8-time Entertainer of the Year, then back at the crowd, "Do you want to see me sing more with Kenny Chesney? Because I've been doing it for 24 years..."

Chesney, who'd already confessed "it takes a lot to embarrass me" onstage, turned to the crowd, and announced, "This is the reason we write songs. Right there!" As the stage dropped to darkness, he took her hand, went to the main mic and hugged the young lady in the blue kurta top to his side as he sang his 27th No. 1, the wildly appropriate celebration of women, "Wild Child."

"That young woman had so much heart, so much spirit," Chesney said of his surprise guest. "She was just fearless and true and wanted to tell people what was on her mind. Talk about inspiring all of us about how to live our lives?"

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Hunter Hayes Reveals 21 Tour Plans

Hunter Hayes has announced the initial dates for his 21 Tour which he is launching in support of the single of the same name and streaming service helped select the dates for the trek by "identifying college markets with a high density of passionate Hunter Hayes fans," according to the announcement.

"I've been calling this the year to be brave, because we've really been pushing ourselves to try new things, whether it's how we release new music or how we go on tour," said Hayes. "Our fans are everything to us, and it's so incredible we have a way to reward our biggest fans to create even more cool opportunities together."

Appropriately enough the 21 Tour will include dates in 21 cities across the U.S. and the initial dates include stops in North Carolina, Ohio, New York, Indiana, Kentucky and Oklahoma. See the dates here.

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Rammstein Release Live Rammlied Video

(Classic Rock) Rammstein have released footage of them performing their track Rammlied to tease their upcoming In Amerika DVD. Rammstein In Amerika is issued on September 25 via Island/UMe on 2DVD and 2Blu-ray and features the band's 2010 show at New York City's Madison Square Garden.

The package also includes a feature-length documentary directed by Hannes Rossacher and a 20-minute film on the making of Rammstein's sixth album Liebe Ist Fur Alle Da.

The band say: "The venue's more than 18,000 seats were snatched up for the special appearance within less than 30 minutes of going on sale, heralding Rammstein's return with a frenzied fanfare on par with the German band's elaborate stage presentation."

Earlier this year, Rammstein frontman Till Lindemann released Skills In Pills, the debut album by his side project Lindemann, a collaboration with Swedish producer Peter Tagtgren. Watch the video here.

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'Straight Outta Compton' Almost Didn't Get Made Says Ice Cube

(Radio.com) Straight Outta Compton is a film that almost didn't get made. When asked if he felt any relief that the film was finally finished, Ice Cube explained to KROQ's Kevin & Bean that it was touch and go for a long time.

"There were many nights where we were saying, 'Do we really need to do this? Do we really need to put ourselves through this?' Because, it was just lookin' bleak."

"Me and Gary, the director, we had our DEFCON 4 button too. So, we thought if ever they ever try to inject any kind of Hollywood mess into this movie that we'd blow it up ourselves. We knew that this movie was always hanging on a string."

Speaking about truth in filmmaking, Cube jokes, "When you're doing a fictional movie, you can just cut out stuff and throw stuff in and it really don't matter to nobody. But when you're doing a movie about real people, you cut something out, you gonna get a phone call."

Cube also touched on why the ground-breaking group eventually broke up. He explained that it was more than just a money issue. 'It was an issue of trust with the management." Cube explains that it was the negotiating process with the label and management that created in-fighting and ultimately 'fractured" the relationships. Read more here.

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50 Cent Reveals New Track '9 Shots' From 'Street King Immortal' Album

(Radio.com) 50 Cent performed a new song last week at a Capitol Records rooftop party in New York City. Prior to the song's start, the rapper explained that he was inspired to write "9 Shots" after being exposed to a lot of new music during his recent EFFEN Vodka promotional tour.

The track is from 50's forthcoming Street King Immortal (SKI) album dropping November 13, and serves as a metaphor for the number bullets the rapper took in a 2000 shooting. He took several bullets to the head and legs, shattering his right femur. The shooter, 50 told allhiphop, is in jail for life.

The track will also reportedly serve as soundtrack music for an upcoming Season 2 finale of the Starz Network show, POWER, where 50 Cent plays the recurring role of Kanan.

Now available on iTunes, "9 Shots" is the second song fans have heard from the album behind "Get Low," which hit back in May. Watch 50 perform the NSFW track here.

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Ice Cube Has More Unreleased Music Recorded with Dr. Dre

(Radio.com) Along with co-producing the biopic about their lives, Straight Outta Compton, Ice Cube and Dr. Dre have also seen this chapter in their lives result in their first musical collaboration since 2000, the track "Issues" on Dre's new album Compton: A Soundtrack.

In a new interview with Entertainment Weekly, Ice Cube indicates that this might not be the last we have heard from collaborations between the pair, most famously noted for working together as 2/5's of N.W.A. When asked if he'd record with Dre again, Ice Cube plays coy, saying "I'll ask him and we'll see how it turns out. Depends on if the song is how it should be. If it ever come out or not."

The interviewer prods him to clarify, asking if they have in fact recorded more music, to which Cube responds "One or two things that he still said he's working on. That he's messing with. So we'll see." Read more here.

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Skrillex and Diplo's Charlie Rose Interview Goes Online

(Radio.com) Skrillex and Diplo sat down with Charlie Rose last week for a 30 minute interview. Unlike many interviews with the two dance music producers, this one didn't move at hyper speed. Rather, Rose took his time and allowed room for the Jack Ü duo to answer his questions thoughtfully.

Rose made inquiries into how they got their start, and what made them stars. They said that due to social media, they established massive audiences by going directly to them, with little or no need for a record label.

"As producers," said Diplo, "Our job is inside the computers, inside the speakers� to make the loudest and craziest� the next, the biggest� something you haven't heard before. Our goal is to always be progressive, to make something brand new and fresh."

"Also, to bring people together," Skrillex added. "In the beginning, no one considered us musicians," Skrillex noted. "I think now we've just gained a lot more respect and rapport from musicians, from a lot of different artists." He also said that the media has finally begun to give them credit as musicians.

On "Where Are You Now," Jack Ü's collaborated with Justin Bieber, and Rose wanted to know what makes the young singer tick. Although neither of them could crystallize it, Skrillex had nothing but compliments for Bieber, expressing how impressed he is with how he's pulled his life together as well as his musical abilities. "No matter what anybody says, he's one of the most talented people that I've ever been in the studio with."

Diplo said that the reason he makes music is to please himself. "I want music to give me goosebumps when I listen to the record I made," he says, pointing to the Justin Bieber collaboration as an example. "When we finished the record we were like, 'Whoa, this is really special.'"

The duo also revealed that they'd recently jammed with Win Butler of Arcade Fire and will turn the edited loops into music, following the addition of Butler's vocals.

Watch the full interview here.

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The Band Perry Talk New Song 'Live Forever'

(Radio.com) On Friday morning, the Band Perry performed their new single, "Live Forever," for the first time on Good Morning America. It is the first single from their next album, which they've yet to announce.

Shortly after GMA, they stopped by Radio.com's studios to discuss the song; it's the first track we've heard from their upcoming album, which hasn't yet been announced.

"Well, 'Live Forever' is one of the 'kingpin' songs on the new album," Kimberly Perry said. "The whole spirit of the song feels like everything we were experiencing as we were making this album. It was a song that we wrote with RedOne, and a buddy of ours named Jenna Andrews. RedOne is known for all of the Lady Gaga songs, he did Nicki Minaj's 'Starship,' he's great at big, anthemic melody. He brought in that opening line at the chorus, and we were like, 'Oh, this is a song that we have to write today.' It was such a blast."

Reid Perry added, "I felt like we had the core of the album already. But we were still looking for that first single. And when we recorded it and listened to the playback the three of us were like, 'We have it!' We actually called our label up, they're in Nashville, and said, 'You have to get on a plane and fly to L.A. right now.'"

Kim interjects: "And they're like, 'How about next week?' And we said, 'No. Right now.'"

"So they actually jumped on the plane," Reid said. "They flew out and listened to it, and about two months later, it became our first single." Read more here.

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Classic Ozzy Osbourne Interview Gets Animated

(Radio.com) On Radio.com's latest Minimation, they comb through the CBS Radio archives and animate interviews with legendary artists, they revisit an interview from 1992, where Ozzy Osbourne discusses his last tour. Or what he was thought would be his last tour. He also discusses religion. This was animated for Radio.com by Chris Partellow.

In 1992, Ozzy Osbourne was getting ready to retire; he would soon kick off his "No More Tours" tour, a reference to his 1991 album No More Tears. As he thought about what he would do next, he worried that he was too typecast into a certain role due to his heavy metal image, and some of his antics over the years (biting the heads off of doves, peeing on the Alamo, etc., etc.).

Another thing he was known for: upsetting Cardinal John O'Connor, who denounced Osbourne's music. But in this interview, he notes that he believes in God, he simply doesn't go to church (can you imagine the ruckus that would occur if he did?). He also noted that religious leaders probably wished that they were able to pull the crowds that Ozzy and his peers did.

As for Ozzy's retirement? Well, we know how that went. By 1995, he'd returned with Ozzmosis, and in the years since has toured and recorded prolifically, both on his own and with Black Sabbath. Watch the video here.

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Singled Out: El Tryptophan's Ida

Today songwriter and producer El Tryptophan tells us about his first single "Ida" from his forthcoming debut album "Guilt Vacation", which will be released this fall. Here is the story:

One summer I was staying with friends in Austin, TX. We were discussing "repetition compulsion", a theory of the psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud--how people hope to resolve traumas by unconsciously reliving them in each new relationship.

I was bent out of shape about a girl, and I was sure I was repeating the same old obsessive habits. My friend handed me the novel "Ida" by Gertrude Stein. It's about a girl who drifts through life, marrying and remarrying, told in an oddly flat, unemotional tone. I walked into my bedroom and this same came out--like a warning to myself, or a good joke.

For me, Ida is about the difficulty discerning between fantasy and reality, and the seductive emotions that may merely reflect projections of our desires.

Hearing is believing. Now that you know the story behind the song, listen for yourself and learn more about the album right here!

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