Apple made it official today. After weeks of speculation, Apple has purchased Beats from Dr. Dre and Jimmy Iovine for a whopping $3 billion dollars.
In Beats, Apple is getting a music-streaming service, high-end headphones and music-industry connections. Beats’ co-founders, rap star Dr. Dre and music mogul Jimmy Iovine, will join Apple.
Apple will continue to use the Beats brand, a rare move for a company that has almost always focused on its Apple brand.
Source: WSJ
Rap Up
Diddy continues his reign as Big Homie on the Forbes list. Once again, Sean “Diddy” Combs sits atop The Forbes Five list of Hip-Hop’s Wealthiest Artists.
Diddy holds the position for the fourth year in a row with $700 million. That’s an increase of $120 million over his net worth last year. His growth has come from the addition of his Revolt TV.
Andre “Dr. Dre” Young, who moves up one spot from last year with $550 million thanks to his stake in Beats By Dr. Dre, which is valued around $2 billion.
Sean “Jay Z” Carter holds down third place with an estimated $520 million. His fortune includes the $204 million Rocawear sale in 2007, a $150 million deal with Live Nation in 2008, and Roc Nation, which is worth nine figures thanks to the addition of Roc Nation Sports.
Bryan “Birdman” Williams reigns at No. 4 due in part to his Cash Money roster including Lil Wayne, Drake, and Nicki Minaj, plus his YMCMB clothing line and GT Vodka deals. The Cash Money Records founder’s net worth would be over $300 million if he didn’t share his fortune with brother Slim.
Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson continues to get money. The G-Unit mogul rakes in $140 million, still reaping the rewards from the $100 million sale of vitaminwater in 2007. In addition to his SMS Audio and SK Energy companies, he signed an independent deal earlier this year and will release his new album Animal Ambition in June.
The Forbes Five list was determined using past earnings, current holdings, and financial documents, and talking to industry players and even some of the artists themselves.
The Forbes Five 2014
1. Diddy – $700 million
2. Dr. Dre – $550 million
3. Jay Z – $520 million
4. Birdman – $160 million
5. 50 Cent – $140 million
Source: Rap Up
Dr. Dre is still looking for lost monies from his time with Death Row records. The label that saved him from one bad deal with Eazy E’s Ruthless records apparently had him locked into an equally bad one and now Dre wants his money back.
Dre filed a lawsuit against Death Row Records, suing them for $3 million in unpaid royalties from sales of his work. The numbers break down from $676,444.44 for unpaid mechanical royalties; $1,200,386.57 in unpaid artist-producer royalties; and $1,179,913 in digital sales that he hasn’t collected on.
In the documents, Dre also brought up inconsistencies in payments he received from the label, which would increase his album sales revenue from 18 percent to 20.
WIDEawake has been in charge of Death Row since Suge Knight filed for bankruptcy in 2006, and the new owners have sold some of Dre’s songs online, leading to some of the rapper’s current lawsuit claims.
Source: IFWT
20 years ago today, Dr. Dre and Death Row Records brought us a certified classic album in “The Chronic” The album was Dr. Dre’s first venture into music since his departure from N.W.A. and his first solo artist. The album came out on Death Row records and it gave a lane for acts like Snoop Doggy Dogg, Kurupt, Daz, Lady of Rage, Warren G, D.O.C and more to get some shine and show that there’s plenty of talent on the West Coast. The album also introduced the world to G-Funk era and changed the way hip-hop sounded for years after it’s release.
Since today’s the 20th birthday of the album, I thought I’d pull out a video of one of my favorite tracks off the disc. Check out “Let Me Ride” below
Dr. Dre is an honorary Trojan after donating $70 million to the SoCal campus for his Jimmy Iovine and Andre Young Academy for Arts. Along with keeping track of his new department on campus come other responsibilities with being an honorary Trojan, like speaking at graduation and football games. Before the school’s big game on Saturday (Nov. 16) against the No. 5 ranked Stanford Cardinals, Dr. Dre made a surprise visit to the team and gave the Trojans a pep talk.
Watch Dre’s pep talk below
Source: Vibe
Eminem showed the world the artwork for his soon to be released 7th studio album, “The Marshall Mathers LP 2.”
The picture is from the house that Eminem and Mr. Porter used to live at on Novara Street in Detroit. The album is executive produced by Dr. Dre and Rick Rubin and set to hit stores in November.
His first single is a throwback to the Beastie Boys. Check out the video for “Bezerk” below
Kendrick catches up with Hypetrak in Hong Kong and speaks on touring with Dr. Dre, his first visit to Asia, the meaning of TDE and more.
If you’re not watching the MTV VMA awards, then you might’ve missed some big news. Eminem will be dropping a new album in the 4th quarter. “The Marshall Mathers LP 2” will hit stores Novermber 5th. Executive produced by Dr. Dre and Rick Rubin, the album will be Em’s will be is 7th studio album.
His single, “Bezerk” is set to hit the radio and the net August 27th. Check out the commercial for his new album below
Lebron James bumped into a good friend of his while out in China. Legendary producer, Dr. Dre was in the country and apparently at the same club. James of course handed someone his phone and said, “I need to Instagram this.”
In The Mixx: DJs Doing Work 