Adrian Miller is full of stories. Throughout our hourlong conversation in Rolling Stone’s midtown office, almost every name mentioned evokes a colorful anecdote of his experience with them. The ‘90s are reductively branded by rap’s so-called East Coast-West Coast beef; It would make casual followers think hip-hop was siloed into bi-coastal industries. But there were people around like the LA-based Miller, an industry veteran who was around for the early chapters of both Wu-Tang and Death Row Records as a radio host and A&r at Loud Records,...
- 4/25/2023
- by Andre Gee
- Rollingstone.com
Hosted by Grammy-nominated rapper Fat Joe, the BET Hip Hop Awards kicked off Tuesday night, and fans got a chance to see some of the biggest names in the genre perform their hottest hits. Amid the awards and acceptance speeches, Tuesday’s show saw some impressive performances from artists including Kodak Black, GloRilla, Bleu, French Montana, Pusha T and many more.
The I Am Hip Hop Award recipient, Trina — described as “the most consistent female rapper of all time” in 2012 by Xxl and honored by Billboard as one of their “31 Female Rappers Who Changed Hip-Hop” in 2014 — delivered an emotional acceptance speech that was one of the most inspiring moments of the night.
While one of the biggest special surprises of the evening came from the founder of Loud Records, Steve Rifkind, who made an appearance to introduce a star-studded number featuring Lil’ Flip, Dead Prez, Fat Joe, Mobb Deep with Lil’ Kim,...
The I Am Hip Hop Award recipient, Trina — described as “the most consistent female rapper of all time” in 2012 by Xxl and honored by Billboard as one of their “31 Female Rappers Who Changed Hip-Hop” in 2014 — delivered an emotional acceptance speech that was one of the most inspiring moments of the night.
While one of the biggest special surprises of the evening came from the founder of Loud Records, Steve Rifkind, who made an appearance to introduce a star-studded number featuring Lil’ Flip, Dead Prez, Fat Joe, Mobb Deep with Lil’ Kim,...
- 10/5/2022
- by Corey Atad
- ET Canada
Click here to read the full article.
Celebrity deejay and Pass the Mic guru DJ Cassidy posted up at Herb Alpert’s jazzy Vibrato Grill on Monday night in Los Angeles for a birthday bash that featured Cassidy passing the microphone in person to some R&b legends.
The impromptu session saw Thelma Houston sing “Don’t Leave Me This Way,” Shalamar’s Howard Hewett turn out “Night To Remember, Shanice deliver her classic “I Love Your Smile,” Meli’sa Morgan on “Fools Paradise” and Chante Moore with “Now That Love’s Taken Over.”
El Debarge then surprised Cassidy on the piano with a rendition Stevie Wonder’s “Happy Birthday” followed by a performance of the smash “Rhythm Of The Night” accompanied by a band led by musical director Adam Blackstone. Debarge closed the evening with Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell’s “Ain’t Nothing Like The Real Thing” after he...
Celebrity deejay and Pass the Mic guru DJ Cassidy posted up at Herb Alpert’s jazzy Vibrato Grill on Monday night in Los Angeles for a birthday bash that featured Cassidy passing the microphone in person to some R&b legends.
The impromptu session saw Thelma Houston sing “Don’t Leave Me This Way,” Shalamar’s Howard Hewett turn out “Night To Remember, Shanice deliver her classic “I Love Your Smile,” Meli’sa Morgan on “Fools Paradise” and Chante Moore with “Now That Love’s Taken Over.”
El Debarge then surprised Cassidy on the piano with a rendition Stevie Wonder’s “Happy Birthday” followed by a performance of the smash “Rhythm Of The Night” accompanied by a band led by musical director Adam Blackstone. Debarge closed the evening with Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell’s “Ain’t Nothing Like The Real Thing” after he...
- 6/29/2022
- by Chris Gardner
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
DJ Cassidy, the host with the most classic R&b and hip-hop stars in his contacts book, will return to BET Thanksgiving weekend with another in his series of “Pass the Mic” specials, this time devoted to the dance-based music of the late 1970s and ’80s.
“DJ Cassidy’s Pass the Mic: BET Soul Train Edition 2021” will immediately follow “The Soul Train Music Awards,” which airs on BET Nov. 28 at 8 p.m. Et. It’s the fourth in a series of after-party specials Cassidy has done for the network, the first having been after last year’s “Soul Train Awards,” with “Pass the Mics” subsequently following BET franchises like the Image and BET Awards. Steve Rifkind and Jesse Collins are the producers responsible for bringing Cassidy’s mic-passing series from the web to television.
Although the host is keeping some of his guests under his hat, the direction of the...
“DJ Cassidy’s Pass the Mic: BET Soul Train Edition 2021” will immediately follow “The Soul Train Music Awards,” which airs on BET Nov. 28 at 8 p.m. Et. It’s the fourth in a series of after-party specials Cassidy has done for the network, the first having been after last year’s “Soul Train Awards,” with “Pass the Mics” subsequently following BET franchises like the Image and BET Awards. Steve Rifkind and Jesse Collins are the producers responsible for bringing Cassidy’s mic-passing series from the web to television.
Although the host is keeping some of his guests under his hat, the direction of the...
- 11/15/2021
- by Chris Willman
- Variety Film + TV
Rapper/actor Dmx will be remembered at an April 24 memorial service at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center, his manager said today.
Dmx died on April 9 of a heart attack that followed a drug overdose. He lingered for more than a week in a vegetative state before finally passing.
Details on how many people will be able to attend the ceremony and ticketing are still being determined, according to manager Steve Rifkind. A day after the public event, Dmx’s family and friends will attend a private funeral service at a church in the NYC area.
Capacity at the arena, which is home to the NBA’s Brooklyn Nets and New York Liberty of the WNBA, wil be limited by pandemic restrictions.
One of the last big Dmx shows happened at the Barclays Center in June 2019.
Dmx died on April 9 of a heart attack that followed a drug overdose. He lingered for more than a week in a vegetative state before finally passing.
Details on how many people will be able to attend the ceremony and ticketing are still being determined, according to manager Steve Rifkind. A day after the public event, Dmx’s family and friends will attend a private funeral service at a church in the NYC area.
Capacity at the arena, which is home to the NBA’s Brooklyn Nets and New York Liberty of the WNBA, wil be limited by pandemic restrictions.
One of the last big Dmx shows happened at the Barclays Center in June 2019.
- 4/17/2021
- by Bruce Haring
- Deadline Film + TV
Dmx has died at the age of 50. On Friday, his family confirmed the rapper's death in a statement to People. "We are deeply saddened to announce today that our loved one, Dmx, birth name of Earl Simmons, passed away at 50-years-old at White Plains Hospital with his family by his side after being placed on life support for the past few days," the statement read. "Earl was a warrior who fought till the very end. He loved his family with all of his heart and we cherish the times we spent with him. Earl's music inspired countless fans across the world and his iconic legacy will live on forever. We appreciate all of the love and support during this incredibly difficult time. Please respect our privacy as we grieve the loss of our brother, father, uncle and the man the world knew as Dmx. We will share information about his...
- 4/9/2021
- by Monica Sisavat
- Popsugar.com
DJ Cassidy, whose popular “Pass the Mic” all-star video jams were most recently part of the Biden/Harris inaugural programs, has made a deal with BET to produce six “Mic” specials during 2021, all of them set to follow the network’s annual awards shows or other major programming.
The first of the six, dubbed “DJ Cassidy’s Pass The Mic: The BET After Party,” is now in production and set to air immediately following the NAACP Image Awards on March 27.
“I’ll continue to be celebrating my musical heroes of the ‘70s, ‘80s and ‘90s through their iconic records of all eras and genres,” Cassidy tells Variety. “I grew up watching BET, and I was exposed to many if not all of my musical heroes through watching their music videos on ‘Video Soul,’ ‘Rap City’ or their many other shows. So to partner with the network to bring ‘Pass the...
The first of the six, dubbed “DJ Cassidy’s Pass The Mic: The BET After Party,” is now in production and set to air immediately following the NAACP Image Awards on March 27.
“I’ll continue to be celebrating my musical heroes of the ‘70s, ‘80s and ‘90s through their iconic records of all eras and genres,” Cassidy tells Variety. “I grew up watching BET, and I was exposed to many if not all of my musical heroes through watching their music videos on ‘Video Soul,’ ‘Rap City’ or their many other shows. So to partner with the network to bring ‘Pass the...
- 3/18/2021
- by Chris Willman
- Variety Film + TV
DJ Cassidy’s popular “Pass the Mic” webcast series is going to TV on Thanksgiving weekend… and going totally ’80s. BET’s Nov. 29 broadcast of “The Soul Train Awards” will be immediately followed by a second prime-time special that will bring Cassidy’s all-star medleys, usually seen via Twitch and YouTube, to a network for the first time. And while the star DJ isn’t revealing any names yet, he is telling Variety that this edition of his mic-pass will bring together the leading lights of R&b from a decade that happens to be his favorite
Or maybe something more like just a half-decade, to get specific about it. “When I think about ‘Soul Train’ and the long legacy that spans decades,” he says, “I am immediately drawn into thinking about the 1980s. particularly the first half of the decade. The sounds of the R&b records that came...
Or maybe something more like just a half-decade, to get specific about it. “When I think about ‘Soul Train’ and the long legacy that spans decades,” he says, “I am immediately drawn into thinking about the 1980s. particularly the first half of the decade. The sounds of the R&b records that came...
- 11/20/2020
- by Chris Willman
- Variety Film + TV
Just minutes before premiering “Wu-Tang Clan: Of Mics and Men” at New York’s Beacon Theatre Thursday night during the Tribeca Film Festival, director Sacha Jenkins stepped up to the podium and gave a “freestyle” for his speech, emphasizing that the Wu-Tang Clan story is an American success story.
“I wanted to make a film to help people understand who these folks are and how they are a reflection of, and a reaction to, the environment that they come from,” Jenkins said, adding why he decided to name the four-part docuseries “Of Mics and Men”: “We all know the American classic, ‘Of Mice and Men,’ and oftentimes as black artists, we are put in a black box and they want us to talk about our art during Black History Month.
“But we are Americans and this is American art, and America is not going to change until America starts treating us like Americans,...
“I wanted to make a film to help people understand who these folks are and how they are a reflection of, and a reaction to, the environment that they come from,” Jenkins said, adding why he decided to name the four-part docuseries “Of Mics and Men”: “We all know the American classic, ‘Of Mice and Men,’ and oftentimes as black artists, we are put in a black box and they want us to talk about our art during Black History Month.
“But we are Americans and this is American art, and America is not going to change until America starts treating us like Americans,...
- 4/26/2019
- by Eric Diep
- Variety Film + TV
Variety is en route to experience Kanye West’s last-minute album listening party in the Rocky Mountains with live updates as we reach peak Kanye.
West had the idea last Friday to fly a planeload of media, radio, DJs, and other influencers to Wyoming to hear his new album — yes, the Friday before Memorial Day weekend.
Def Jam staffers leaped into action and spent much of the weekend mobilizing and organizing people from both coasts as well as Europe, Australia, and Asia to fly out; originally, the idea was to fly out 300 people to West’s country retreat, but that number was quickly cut in half.
On Tuesday, West’s publicist called a few potential travelers to see if they were interested, but official emailed invites didn’t arrive until Wednesday morning — just 24 hours before wheels up.
Visions of the Rihanna “777” boondoggle of 2012 — in which a planeload of journalists spent...
West had the idea last Friday to fly a planeload of media, radio, DJs, and other influencers to Wyoming to hear his new album — yes, the Friday before Memorial Day weekend.
Def Jam staffers leaped into action and spent much of the weekend mobilizing and organizing people from both coasts as well as Europe, Australia, and Asia to fly out; originally, the idea was to fly out 300 people to West’s country retreat, but that number was quickly cut in half.
On Tuesday, West’s publicist called a few potential travelers to see if they were interested, but official emailed invites didn’t arrive until Wednesday morning — just 24 hours before wheels up.
Visions of the Rihanna “777” boondoggle of 2012 — in which a planeload of journalists spent...
- 5/31/2018
- by Jem Aswad
- Variety Film + TV
Justin Bieber Pretended to be just another guy who tried his hand at ping pong, but it turns out he's world class, much to the dismay of Action Bronson. Bieber was at SPiN in NYC ... a ping pong social club owned by Susan Sarandon. Bieber and Action were there for a charity NBA All-Star weekend event hosted by Tammy Brook, Rob Stone, Steve Rifkind and Fader Magazine ... DJ Khaled supplied the music. Action challenged Bieber,...
- 2/14/2015
- by TMZ Staff
- TMZ
AwesomenessTV already runs a multi-channel YouTube network, a DreamWorks-branded YouTube channel, and a TV show on Nickelodeon. Now, it can add a record label to its assets. AwesomenessTV has teamed up with Universal Music, Loud Records founder (Steve Rifkind, and music mogul Russell Simmons to form Awesomeness Music, which will distribute records from the network's musical partners. Awesomeness Music currently works with two of the network's partners: sisterly a cappella group Cimorelli and teenage singer Niykee Heaton. Both of those artists are slated to release albums in the upcoming month, and Awesomeness Music also hopes to add new faces to its roster. The AwesomenessTV network contains no shortage of musical creators; its partners include Austin Mahone, Taryn Southern, and The Vamps. Awesomeness Music deepens an existing relationship between AwesomenessTV, Universal, Rifkind, and Simmons. Last year, they all teamed up to launch All Def Music, a YouTube network based off Simmons' All Def Digital.
- 7/21/2014
- by Sam Gutelle
- Tubefilter.com
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