Ken Walker’s Urban Assault - Monday 14th September 2009

Ken Walker’s Urban Assault - Monday 14th September 2009

1. Lost & Found
GURU
(7 Grand Records)

2. Moments In Love
JAGGED EDGE
(So So Def)

3. Driving Me Crazy
MONDAY JUSTICE
(Keyboard Records)

4. Work
BEYOND BELIEF
(Make Noise)

5. Broken Safety
RAEKWON feat JADAKISS
(Icewater Records)

6. Get To Know You Better
OMAR WILSON feat ANGIE STONE
(Phoenix Entertainment)

7. Shake N Bake
SHAUN BLESS feat MISSY ELLIOTT
(Soul Diggaz)

8. Make It Hot
JEAN WITTY feat SENSEI
(NFluential Holdings)

9. Pursuit Of Happiness
KID CUDI feat MGMT & RATATAT
(Universal Motown)

10. Getcha Hands Up
B TAYLOR
(Bungalo Records)

#1 Lost & Found – Guru
You can always count on Guru to keep classic hip hop alive and his new single Lost & Found is bang on the money. Slick beats laced with his unmistakable delivery and a guitar lick borrowed from the Animals classic House Of The Rising Sun all adds up to one hell of a track. The new album 8.0 is equally as impressive and once again his partner in crime Solar has delivered another 5 star effort. They call it “the next evolution of intelligent hip hop” and it’s a tag that it richly deserves.

Get ready for Crunk Rock.
After being delayed for three years, Lil’ Jon’s latest album, Crunk Rock has finally set a release date. Jon told Rolling Stone that after the end of production in the next four weeks, the rap/rock hybrid will come out on November 24th. Apart from the album’s near-near completion, Crunk Rock will also feature The Game, Ice Cube, Akon, R. Kelly and Florida punk rock group Whole Wheat Bread.
The Game and Ice Cube will appear on a track called “Killas,” which will be a rewrite to Eazy E’s “2 Hard Mutha’s.” “[The track] is incredible,” Jon told the magazine. “I think Dr. Dre would be proud of me when he listens to it because it’s just on another level...I kind of took Crunk Rock to another level. It’s not just dealing with crunk music and rock--it’s basically a lifestyle. Living to the fullest, getting crazy, getting crunk and just partying. I’m still trying to make everybody have fun and make ‘em dance again. Because, in rap, people stopped partying. You go to a Hip Hop party and people just stand around to look hard and cool. I want people to wild out and sweat and mosh pit again."

Lil’ Jon also expressed his interest in adding Gucci Man and rock group Kings of Leon to the feature list.

Will & Jigga – the musical investors.
Jay-Z and Will Smith are among the investors in a Broadway musical about Nigerian singer/activist Fela Kuti.
The rappers are investing in Bill T. Jones’ $11 million USD musical “Fela,” which will begin showing in November.

The critically-acclaimed play originated off-Broadway last September. Playing the lead role of Fela Kuti is actor Sahr Ngaujah, who has received accolades for his performances.

Production of the play was halted over financial concerns, but the investment by Jay-Z, Will Smith and others are now making it a reality.

Jones, a Tony Award-winner, choreographs and directs “Fela,” and incorporates the late musician’s style of Afro-Beat music.

Kuti died in 1997 due to complications from AIDS. A recent mixtape in his honor was released by K’Naan and J. Period.

"Fela" will debut on October 19 at the Eugene O’Neill theater in NYC, and will run until April 4, 2010.

Lil Wayne’s top of the tree.
After selling 3.2 million copies of The Carter III, winning a Grammy for his music, and earning a contender’s spot for the title of “the greatest rapper alive,” it’s safe to say that Lil Wayne is having quite the successful stretch. Now, Weezy has made another mark in music history, pulling in the largest grosses for a rap tour. With 78 tour dates from December ‘08 through September ‘09, the I Am Music and America’s Most Wanted tours raked in USD $42 million in North America alone. The second highest rap tour was 2008’s Jay-Z/Mary J. Blige jaunt, which grossed USD $34 million in 28 shows, followed by Kanye West’s Glow In The Dark tour which pulled in USD $30.8 million in 49 concerts. Although Hip Hip tours rarely gross as much as pop acts, Billboard Magazine predicts that Wayne will most likely make it onto their year-end top 25 grossing list.

The rise (and fall) of Drake.
Rapper Drake has had a meteorical rise to fame in the past 12 months and his short but extremely successful career has been put on hold for now after he fell off stage during a performance with Lil Wayne tearing his ACL & MCL ligaments and he’s now gone under the scalpel for knee surgery. His management has stated that he will be M.I.A for about the next six months.