It's another sad day within the publishing and Hip Hop and RnB scene, one of the leading US Urban music magazines, Vibe Magazine, founded by Quincy Jones in 1993, shut its doors today after 16 years in the business.
The closure was announced today on Twitter, as is most gossip, before it was officially announced to the world, and both fellow journalists and bloggers both Stateside and over here in the UK expressed their sadness in the magazine's closure. Staff were not aware that the magazine would be shutting down until this afternoon. The only magazine's now left in the US that cater to Hip Hop and RnB music are The Source and XXL. Not too sure how long either of these magazines will still be on newsstands in this current economic climate.
With the final Vibe cover featuring The Dream and his fiance Christina Milian partially naked, that will NOT be available to buy the editor-in-chief, Danyel Smith, gave this announcement:
"On behalf the VIBE CONTENT staff (the best in this business), it is with great sadness, and with heads held high, that we leave the building today. We were assigning and editing a Michael Jackson tribute issue when we got the news. It’s a tragic week in overall, but as the doors of VIBE Media Group close, on the eve of the magazine’s sixteenth anniversary, it’s a sad day for music, for hip hop in particular, and for the millions of readers and users who have loved and who continue to love the VIBE brand. We thank you, we have served you with joy, pride and excellence, and we will miss you. " Danyel Smith the former Chief Content Officer VIBE Media Group & Editor in Chief, VIBE
With the closing of Vibe, journalists Stateside and especially over here in the UK are wondering what will happen to the exposure of 'Urban' artists and music. I for one will miss Vibe Magazine, I loved reading their latest issues especially on my flights from JFK back to London.
For those that do not know about Play Dot Clothing as they say 'GET TO KNOW'
I had the chance to sit down with one of labels founders Kwasi Boateng recently to find out how it all came together!
Who are the founders of Play Dot Clothing? Kwasi Boateng & Annan Johnathan.
When was the label established? December 2007
Describe your clothing in just three words? Fun, diverse & unique
What sets your label apart from others currently on the scene? The clours we tend to use are very vibrant and very eye catching. We also have a lengthy cap, t-shirt and jumper combination line and obviously our character logo.
What are your plans for the future? We are currently working on making our clothing a worldwide brand, similar to what New Era has done with their products. Coming from the UK we want to open more doors and reach out to influential figures who we can work alongside to take Play Dot to that next level. Until that time we will be extending new line which is called 'Skits' and just continuing to get the Play Dot name on as many lips as possible!
How can people contact you? Facebook- 'Play Dot Apparel' also 'www.myspace.com/playdotapparel'
Play Dot are definitely doing their thing, MAKE SURE YOU SUPPORT THE UK!!! Check out the links below more more info!
As we're all still trying to get over the initial shock of MJ's death, SocialWriters want to share with you all our favourite Micheal Jackson songs that we love:
Karlito Starr
I think as much as I don't really have a favourite MJ track, and the album 'Bad' changed my life musically, I;d have to say 'Rock With You' is a stand out song in my life because I cant really describe that good feeling that comes over me just hearing the horns and violin intro. Seeing a pre-surgery Mike honestly enjoying what he was doing at the time (in the video) was a beautiful thing to see! Also the fact that the song was released in 1979 before I was born just shows how good Micheal's music was because it never lost quality over the years so even kids born in years 2000+ can appreciate and love hos music too!
KCB
I've got loads of MJ songs that I love and just cant get enough of, but if I had to choose it would be 'Don't Stop Till You Get Enough'. When I hear this song in a club I have to dance, and I pull out some old school moves in 5 inch heels....I think it's the base in the beginning. There's just something about this song that makes me happy and want to dance every time I hear it. Also I love when Chris Tucker sings this song in 'Rush Hour', cracks me up every time I watch it!
RVB
'Bad' because the man moonwalking on skates in the video is SICK!!
REA
'Dirty Diana' Its rock type vibe is tenacious, its pulsating and J's vocals bring the track to life, you could almost paint the picture of this bad a** chick called Diana that's got all the guys going crazy for her. It also showcases Michael's versatility as an artist, shows that he can do the pop stuff, do it well, and switch it up and do rock as well.
Had to add in the video for 'Remember The Time' because the dance routine is serious.....If you can do the dance (like KCB can) you're BIG in the game!
Justin Timberlake was in London yesterday to launch his new clothing range William Rast, with a fashion show at the Selfridges' flagship store in Oxford Street.
The label consists of swedish designers Johan and Marcella Lindeberg, Justin's childhood best friend, Trace Ayala and of course Justin himself.
The brand has gained wide recognition since its debut at New York Fashion week last September and is held in very high regard by many fashion insiders.
Whilst fashion experts were mingling to the taste of Vitamin water and Ciroc vodka, Dizzee Rascal and singer/songwriter, V.V Brown were in the front row chatting away in good spirits.
The two came and left together, could this be the latest celebrity relationship on the horizon, if it is remember who told you first!
"Always knew that I could figure/How to get these label heads to offer them good figures" Drake - 'Ignant Shit'
And Drake was damn sure right about that! After the record label battle between Atlantic Records, Interscope and Universal, Drake has made his decision and decided to sign with Universal Motown, who seems to be offering him the most money.
The announcement which hasn't been made official yet, but was leaked on the net, sees the Canadian rapper/singer/actor under the same record company as his affiliates Lil' Wayne and Young Money.
At least the speculation has come to an end, but was it the right choice? We all know Atlantic Records has got the best marketing department, hence why Hov has allowed their marketing department to market the 'Blueprint 3'
I'm looking forward to hearing Drake's debut album, hopefully sometime this year would be nice!
In this credit crunch climate we're living in, this post may just come in handy for some extra cash......
The Royal Mint, who are the people who design our British coins, have accidentally released a batch of 20p coins that don't have the date featured on both sides of the coin. Between 50,000 and 200,000 of the coins were minted with a new 'tails' design on one side and the older 'heads' image on the other.
The Royal mint are offering £50, yes £50 which is £49.80 more than what you can buy with 20p (lol), to the first 10,000 people who register their rare 20p coins.
Nick Hart of the London Mint Office dealership said: "We believe this extremely rare error will certainly get the public looking at the coins in their pockets again and noticing the excellent new designs launched by the Royal Mint last year on our coinage."
People, get to looking in your pockets, purses, bags, sofa.....you could make a lot of money. I'm sure I had one of these coins the other day, but I spent it...oh well
In what was rumoured to be a show in tribute of the great Michael Jackson, the BET Awards 2009 was boring.....very boring.....they should've let Chris Brown perform his MJ tribute, but they axed him lastmin.com.......
The night started off with a mediocre performance by New Edition, singing a medley of Jackson 5 hits, such as 'I Want You Back' and 'ABC'. Hosted by funny man Jamie Foxx, who opened the show donning a red leather jacket and sequined glove, Micheal Jackson style.
The host then moonwalked across the stage and had the crowd laughing throughout the show.
Keri Hilson channeled her inner Micheal Jackson by dressing up in clothing that resembled MJ's 'Bad' outfit in her performances of 'Turning Me Off' and 'Knock You Down'. She even tried to add a few MJ dance moves to her performance, which really didn't work. Ne-Yo gave a powerful rendition of Jackson's 'Lady In My Life', which was one of the best tributes to MJ given at the show.
Jamie Foxx, then gave his performance of his club hit, 'Blame It', featuring T-Pain and guest appearances from Snoop Dogg (who didn't rap, but 'Drop It Like It's Hot was mixed into 'Blame It'), and Travis Barker on the drums, who gave a great performance.
Queen Bey gave a sweet performance of 'Ave Maria' and 'Angel', but it was a shame that she didn't give a rendition of an MJ song - she would've given it the justice it deserved! Ciara sang MJ's 'Heal The World' donning some MJ clobber; she looked real good, but sounded bad "real bad, real bad Micheal Jackson".
Ne-Yo, once again, returned to the stage - oh did I forget to mention he was donning his bald head ALL night, no hats in any performance! - with a medley of his favourite stars, such as Keith Sweat, Guy and Bel BivDevoe, which was a great performance.
Jay Z had everybody bopping away, and even had his wife Beyonce singing along to his new single, 'Death Of Autotune' - Great performance!
Ladies favourite Maxwell sang his new single, 'Pretty Wings' and hot newcomer, Drake, alongside with Lil' Wayne, Baby and Young Money, gave one of the most driest performances ever, particularly because Drake sat through the whole of his performance due to injuring his Achilles Heel.
Janet Jackson made an emotionalappearance towards the end of the show, on the behalf of the Jackson family, which made everybody shed a tear, just to thank everybody for their support. Her emotions were a stark contrast to her fathers', Joe Jackson, who was also at the awards show, smiling, laughing and plugging his new record label, even though his son only died 3 days ago......
The finale of the show was performed by Ne-Yo (again) and Jamie Foxx with a duet of the Jackson 5 hit, 'I'll be There'.
The awards show was dire, and I know that BET only had 3 days to turn the whole show around with the news of Micheal Jackson's death, but they did okay, but could've done better.
Here's a list of all the winners on the night:
Best Male R&B Artist - Ne-Yo Best Female R&B Artist - Beyonce Best Group - Day 26 Best Gospel Artist - Mary Mary Best Female Hip Hop Artist - M.I.A. Best Male Hip Hop Artist - Lil Wayne Best New Artist - Keri Hilson Best Collaboration Jamie Foxx f/ T-Pain - Blame It Viewer's Choice T.I. f/ Rihanna - Live Your Life Video Director of the Year - Benny Boom Video of the Year Beyonce - Single Ladies Best Actress - Taraji P. Henson Best Actor - Will Smith Best Female Athlete - Serena Williams Best Male Athlete - LeBron James Centric Award - Jazmine Sullivan
Here's some performance, some of which I haven't mentioned
Yes, it's true! Michael Jackson, aka the King of Pop, has died at the age of 50!!
Michael collapsed in his LA home after not being able to breathe properly, where paramedics had to perform CPR on him. He suffered a cardiac arrest where he slipped into a coma and died today, June 25th 2009. He was pronouced dead at 21:26PM GMT time.
TMZ.com was the first to report the moonwalker's death, but it wasn't confirmed by the Press Association till about an hour after.
Michael's 'This Is It!' Tour was meant to begin July 13th, which is in 2 weeks time, and he sadly didn't even get to do a least one last show in the 02. There was loads of speculation that he wasn't going to be able to do the shows due to his health, and this speculation has been confirmed by his death.
One of the most successful stars in the world, this outstanding, talented black man inspired and paved the way for a huge amount of musicians. We all grew up watching and listening to Michael, and it's going to be sad to know that he'll no longer be around.
There will NEVER be another Michael Jackson!! Nobody will EVER be able to take his place, he's made his place in history and his legacy will be remembered FOREVER!!!
Social Writer's condolences and prayers go out to the Jackson family! We still can't believe he's gone!!
