EXCLUSIVE Interview with Hot97's Own, Drewski & Cipha Sounds!

I'm BACK with yet ANOTHER EXCULSIVE interview! This past Monday, I had the honor of interviewing a longtime GREAT friend of mine, Drewski. If you don't know who he is, he plays a very important role at Hot97. You will learn more about him & his involvement during the first part of this interview. In addition to this interview, Cipha Sounds, who is a LEGEND in my eyes, unexpectedly made a guest appearance! Watch the interview below as Drewski talks about how he first broke into the music business, how he started at Hot97, "The MVMT," "Banned From Radio," his recent appearance on BET's 106 & Park, and more.

By:: Dana P.(Blog Owner/Editor in Chief)

Carmelo Anthony:: "Should I Stay Or Should I Go?"

Free agent Carmelo Anthony is HOT on the market right now! He went from saying this past season, that he would take less money to stay with the Knicks, to possibly negotiating a new deal with another team. 

Via ESPN.com:

"Anthony met with Jackson, Fisher and Mills in Los Angeles last Friday to discuss his pending free agency. Anthony has said throughout the season that he plans to opt out of the final year of his contract and test free agency this summer.

Jackson has said publicly, though, that he'd like Anthony to opt in to the final year of his deal with the Knicks and become a free agent next summer.

A source close to Anthony said late last week that Anthony hadn't changed his mind on free agency and still plans to opt out and become a free agent this summer.

Anthony, according to sources, has until June 23 to inform the Knicks if he plans to opt out of his contract.

The All Star forward politely declined to discuss his future on Wednesday night. He said he is spending the majority of his offseason in Los Angeles.

The Chicago Bulls, Houston Rockets, and Dallas Mavericks are all teams Anthony would consider in free agency, sources told ESPN.com's Marc Stein. Free agency begins July 1. Miami Heat officials have also started to explore their options in trying to create enough financial flexibility to land Anthony in free agency, ESPN.com reported last week.

Anthony can sign a maximum contract for $129 million over five years with the Knicks. If he signs with another team, Anthony can sign a maximum contract of $96 million over four years."

J.R. Smith tweeted just a few days ago, that he would no longer speak to Melo, if he decided to sign with the Miami Heat!

On Wednesday, Anthony spoke to reporters at an event in LA. He spoke about the "great meeting" he had with Knicks president Phil Jackson, GM Steve Mills, and head coach Derek Fisher over the weekend. He also stated he "liked what Phil Jackson was doing," referring to the signing of Fisher, as the Knicks new head coach. 

Melo has until June 23rd, to decide if he's going to stay with the Knicks, or play for another NBA team.  

By:: Dana P. (Blog Owner/Editor in Chief)

Mike Goodson, let go by the New York Jets.

The New York Jets have released running back, Mike Goodson, after he failed to report to the first day of mini camp, early on Wednesday.

Via NYDailyNews.com: "The Jets may be finished with Goodson, but his own issues will linger. Goodson was arrested 13 months ago after police said he was the passenger in a stopped vehicle in a middle lane along Interstate 80 West in Denville, N.J. while intoxicated. Police said they found a loaded handgun with a hollow-point bullet in the glove compartment."

New York Jets head coach Rex Ryan expressed his concerns for Goodson, as he "hasn't heard from him in months." Apparently, his releases was expected. Goodson has been seen out and about partying throughout last years season, after injuring his knee. Others have speculated he might need help for a substance abuse problem. No word yet on if any other NFL teams are interested in signing him, just yet. Goodson signed a 3 year deal in March 2013 with the New York Jets, worth 6.9 million dollars. 

By:: Dana P. (Blog Owner/Editor in Chief)

RIP to the Angie Martinez Show. Angie resigns from Hot 97!

(Angie Martinez, Miss Info, and myself at Beacon Theatre NYC, for the the Tribecca Film Festival with Nas, "Time Is Illmatic.")

It's a sad day for hip hop lovers in the NJ/NYC tri state area. Earlier today, Hot97 was posting on social media to tune in for a "big announcement." Angie Martinez, "the voice of New York," announced that she is resigning from Hot97. Minutes later, Ang posted THIS Instagram, Twitter & Facebook. 

No word on who her replacement will be. However, there are rumors stating that Angie will be going to New Yorks OTHER hip hop radio station, Power 105. After Angie posted her resignation on Twitter, the OFFICIAL Power 105 Twitter account, replied to her tweet with a smiley face! 

Listening to The Angie Martinez Show earlier today, I could definitely hear how emotional everyone was, especially DJ Enuff, who was crying PRETTY badly. Ang has been part of the Hot97 family for over 20 years! 

It should be interesting to see how this plays out. I really can't see Angie working at Power 105. Since she starred on VH1 reality show "This Is Hot97," I'm sure she (amongst others that were on the show) have received some TV offers. 

RIP to The Angie Martinez Show. That radio station will not be the same, and as far as a replacement for her show, there simply can be NO replacement. 

By:: Dana P. (Blog Owner/Editor in Cheif)

Hip Hop IS Dead! Summer Jam recap:: Nas, 50 Cent, Drake, Nicki Minaj, & more.

I was going to attend Hot97 Summer Jam this year, as I've went the past 3 years & haven't really been disappointed. I ALMOST had tickets last minute, but unfortuneately, I got stuck home live streaming the concert. I sure am glad I didn't waste my hard earned money on this concert....

Sevyn Streeter opened up the main show following the "festival stage" pre show. I really like her, & maybe it's because she's never really performed in front of that many people in the NYC area, but I found her performance to be slightly boring. 

Things got even worse as Rosenberg got on stage & hyped up Action Bronson, who was a complete mess. Not sure what kinda drugs he was on, or how much he had to drink, but his ego appeared to be bigger then his gut. He was all over the place, between slurring, looking & sounding like shit, rocking a pair of sandles to later on, take them off and hop off stage to perform in the crowd. This guy literally wouldn't stop his performance, until he was told to stop. It seems as if he was trying to take over the show, and it appears as if he thought he was some kind of "big star." Absolutely horrific. 

I'm really not sure who exactly was next, either Troy Ave or Wiz Khalifa. Not really much of a fan of either 2, but Troy started out with what appeared to be, taking shots at Trinidad James, via a video of the jumbotron before he performed. Troy Ave did bring out T.I. as a surprise guest. Wiz Khalifa topped off his set with a surprise appearance from none other then the legendary SNOOP DOGG! Snoop surprised the crowd & performed "The Next Episode," followed by "Young, Wild and Free" with Wiz. 

The Roots followed up after Khalifa's set, if I'm not mistaken. First, they brought out none other then one of my personal favorite hip hop groups EVER, The Lox! The show in my opinion was majority pretty bad, until they came out & performed some of their classic joints. M.O.P. and Black Sheep were amongst The Roots other surprise guests. The crowd, however, didn't really seem to be interested much. But I'll get back to THAT part later.....

Trey Songs was up next, & as usual, drove the girls crazy. He ended his set with his surprise guest, Ty Dolla Sign & performed "Paranoid" together, following Trey shouting out his incarcerated friend, Chris Brown, & performed Brown's new hit song, "Loyal." 

HIP HOP IS DEAD!

Nas came out next, and again, the crowd wasn't in it at all. He performed mostly songs from Illmatic. No energy what so ever. To make matters even worse, Nas brought out Meek Mill, followed by French Montana to completely take over his set. The crowd LOVED every minute of it & seemed to have livened up quite a bit. Very, very sad day for hip hop. Complete smack in the face & a HUGE amount of disrespect to Nas. I'm not sure who's idea this was, but Nas seemed to have no problems with it, as he was really into Meeks "lyrics," by singing along. Maybe it was all the Hennessey Nasir drank throughout the night, but never could I see this man,(who is the TRUE DEFINITION of REAL HIP HOP) actually respect and allow these guys ON STAGE WITH HIM. This literally hurt me. It was very sad to watch, however it made me very happy once again, that I didn't spend money to be there & actually witness this in person. 

After Meek & French finished their set, Nas brought out 50 Cent. 50 performed a couple classics as well as some new joints from his new album that dropped yesterday, Animal Ambition. He reunited G-Unit ON STAGE, bringing out Tony Yayo, Lloyd Banks and even Young Buck. He later on brought out Fabolous & performed their new remix to Fabs hit song, Cuffin Season. As this was happening, a little rowdiness appeared to be going on. It turns out there was some sort of a fight, which later was reported that Slowbucks, of SBOE, was robbed of his chain. A member of 50's security reportedly snuffed Slow, ripped off his chain, and 50 WORE IT the rest of the night! It seems as if 50 was trying to prolong his set, as he mentioned on the mic that Ebro (Hot97's executive producer) was "yelling at" him, only for 50 to reply saying that HE'S the boss when he's here! Whole lotta drama. 

Video footage of what went down can be seen here: http://youtu.be/lXwZy1VH4DM

Nicki Minaj was next, and I thought the LAST part of the concert. She put on a great performance, as she promised the crowd. She brought out Soulja Boy to perform their new single "Yass Bitch," then later brought out another surprise guest, as I would've bet my life that he was going to show up, none other then Drake. She got on the mic & said, "Drake, I don't fuck wit you no more!" He then came out to perform "Worst Behavior," as the crowd livened up a lot more! Nicki & Drake went on to perform their song featuring Lil Wayne,"Believe Me." Weezy came out for his verse, wearing a stupid face cover up, which he took off after a couple of seconds. Drake & Weezy also performed "Trophies." Their set ended with Nicki, Lil Wayne and Drake ALL sweating each other. Nicki Minaj even stated that "Lil Wayne is the best rapper alive!" LOL!!

This is where the show should've ended....

DJ Mustard followed Young Money's set & brought out a few guests. YG, Ty Dolla Sign & surprise guest, none other then YOUNG JEEZY performed their hit, "My Ni**a." 

At this point, I began to lose a little bit of interest, as I feel the show ran way too long, & was a bit all over the place. The show could've been put together a little bit better. Also, the sound system seemed to be an issue throughout the night, which pissed off a couple of the performers. 

You can find some YouTube videos from the concert, here; http://www.complex.com/music/2014/06/summer-jam-2014-performances 

Summer Jam has always been one of my favorite concerts to attend. You don't really seem to get much from other concerts put on by other radio stations. I think Hot97 has the MOST respect from a lot of artists, & others involved in the hip hop industry, and this is why Summer Jam is always a SPECIAL SHOW to me! It's always hard to top each year. This year was GOOD but it didn't beat last years SJ, that's for sure. 

By:: Dana P. (Blog Owner/Editor in Chief