Jay Z Reveals Plans for Tidal, a Streaming Music Service

On Monday, Jay Z, the rapper and entertainment mogul, announced his plans for Tidal, a subscription streaming service he recently bought for $56 million. Facing competition from Spotify, Google and other companies that will soon include Apple, Tidal will be fashioned as a home for high-fidelity audio and exclusive content.

​Image Credit: consequenceofsound.net 

But perhaps the most notable part of Jay Z’s strategy is that a majority of the company will be owned by artists. The move may bring financial benefits for those involved, but it is also powerfully symbolic in a business where musicians have seldom had direct control over how their work is consumed.

“This is a platform that’s owned by artists,” Jay Z said in an interview last week as he prepared for the news conference announcing the service. “We are treating these people that really care about the music with the utmost respect.”

The plan was unveiled on Monday at a brief but highly choreographed news conference in Manhattan, where Jay Z stood alongside more than a dozen musicians identified as Tidal’s owners. They included Rihanna, Kanye West, Madonna, Nicki Minaj, Jack White, Alicia Keys, the country singer Jason Aldean, the French dance duo Daft Punk (in signature robot costumes), members of Arcade Fire, and Beyoncé.

Early Monday, artists associated with Tidal began promoting the service on social media through the tag #TIDALforALL. That stirred excitement among fans, although some in the music business and the technology world remain skeptical about Tidal’s chances against players like Apple and Spotify.

The stars stood side-by-side and signed an unspecified “declaration.” Jay Z did not speak, but Ms. Keys read a statement expressing the musicians’ wish “to forever change the course of music history.” 

Several artists have already thrown their support behind TIDAL, changing their Twitter icons to light blue and tweeting the hashtag #TIDALForAll. Among them, Kanye West, Jack White’s Third Man Records, and Arcade Fire:

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There are two paid subscription options: $19.99 a month for high-fidelity audio, and $9.99 for standard quality audio. TIDAL can be streamed on the web, and downloaded for iOS and Android devices.

Christine O'Connor

@christineeeeO

All Star Weekend New York City Party Guide; Featuring Nicki Minaj, Meek Mill, Fabolous, Young Jeezy, The Lox & MANY More!

We are one week away from the NBA All Star Weekend 2015 in New York City. From Thursday to Sunday, the city is PACKED with tons of events featuring some of your FAVORITE celebrities. Here are some of the events we will be in attendance for:

Saturday February 14th, No Crowd Control & Vybe Nation Presents All Star Weekend "Old School Lunch" at Webster Hall, featuring The Lox, MC Lyte & Biz Markie. For tickets and more info, give Floyd a call at 646) 856-5294. 

Saturday night, February 14th, Yepwekan Promotions Presents "Welcome to Times Square" featuring Nicki Minaj and Meek Mill at the world famous Copacabana! For tickets and more info, visit www.welcome2timessquare.com or call Will, at (850) 778-6254.

Sunday February 15th, No Crowd Control & Vybe Nation Presents Fabolous, Troy Ave, Yo Gotti, Meek Mill & Young Jeezy at Webster Hall. For tickets and more info, give Floyd a call at 646) 856-5294. 

BET Announces 2014 Hip Hop Awards Nominees

Image Credit: BET Networks (BET.com)

Who's got next up in the cypher? It's time to hold it down for the real emcees! On September 4, BET revealed the list and nominees for their 2014 Hip Hop Awards. From the look of things, the Young Money brother and sister duo will be taking over the scene. Drake leads the pack with eight nominations while Nicki Minaj follows behind him with five. Jay Z , Pharrell, and Future  each racked up six nominations a piece. But what really caught my eye is the fierce competition between Drizzy, Future, Iggy Azalea, Wiz Khalifa and YG for the "People's Champ Award." With all those heavy-hitters in one category, I can only imagine who's going to come out on top.

You can check out who takes home the goldon October 14 at 8/7c  when the legendary Snoop Dogg returns to the big screen as the host of the event. 

Check out all the awards and nominees in its entirety below: 

Best Hip-Hop Video: Drake – “Worst Behavior,” Future f/ Pharrell, Pusha T & Casino – “Move That Doh,” Iggy Azalea f/ Charli XCX – “Fancy,” J. Cole f/ TLC – “Crooked Smile,” Nicki Minaj – “Pills N Potions” & Wiz Khalifa – “We Dem Boyz.”

Best Collabo, Duo or Group: Eminem f/ Rihanna – “The Monster,” Future f/ Pharrell, Pusha T & Casino – “Move That Doh,” Jay Z f/ Justin Timberlake – “Holy Grail,” ScHoolboy Q f/ BJ The Chicago Kid – “Studio” & YG f/ Jeezy & Rich Homie Quan – “My Hitta.”

Best Live Performer: Drake, Jay Z, Kanye West, Kendrick Lamar & T.I.

Lyricist of the Year: Drake, Eminem, J. Cole, Jay Z, Kendrick Lamar & Nicki Minaj.

Video Director of the Year: Benny Boom, Chris Robinson, Director X, Dre Films & Hype Williams

DJ of the Year: DJ Drama, DJ Envy, DJ Khaled, DJ Mustard & DJ Scream.

Producer of the Year: DJ Mustard, Drumma Boy, Hit-Boy, Mike WiLL Made It, Pharrell & Timbaland.

MVP of the Year: DJ Mustard, Drake, Future, Jay Z & Nicki Minaj.

Track of the Year: “Cut Her Off (Remix)” – Produced by Will-A-Fool (K Camp f/ Lil Boosie, YG & Too $hort), “Move That Doh” – Produced by Mike WiLL Made It (Future f/ Pharrell, Pusha T & Casino), “My Hitta” – Produced by DJ Mustard (YG f/ Jeezy & Rich Homie Quan), “Studio” – Produced by Swiff D (ScHoolboy Q f/ BJ The Chicago Kid) & “Worst Behavior” – Produced by DJ Dahi (Drake).

Album of the Year: Drake – Nothing Was the Same, Eminem – The Marshall Mathers LP 2, Future – Honest, Rick Ross – Mastermind, ScHoolboy Q – Oxymoron & Yo Gotti – I Am.

Who Blew Up Award: Iggy Azalea, Migos, Rich Homie Quan, ScHoolboy Q, YG & Young Thug.

Hustler of the Year: Dr. Dre, Drake, Jay Z, Rick Ross & T.I.

Made-You-Look Award (Best Hip-Hop Style): A$AP Rocky, Jay Z, Kanye West, Nicki Minaj & Young Thug.

Best Hip Hop Online Site: AllHipHop.com,Complex.com, HotNewHipHop.com,NecoleBitchie.com, RapRadar.com &WorldStarHipHop.com

Best Club Banger: Future f/ Pharrell, Pusha T & Casino – “Move That Doh” (Produced by Mike WiLL Made It), K Camp f/ Lil Boosie, YG & Too $hort – “Cut Her Off” (Remix) (Produced by Will-A-Fool), Migos – “Fight Night” (Produced by Stack Boy Twaun), Wiz Khalifa – “We Dem Boyz” (Produced by Detail), YG f/ Jeezy & Rich Homie Quan – “My Hitta” (Produced by DJ Mustard) &Young Thug – “Stoner” (Produced by Dun Deal).

Best Mixtape: Action Bronson – Blue Chips 2, Fabolous – The Soul Tape 3, Migos – No Label 2, Rich Homie Quan – I Promise I Will Never Stop Going In & Wiz Khalifa – 28 Grams.

Sweet 16: Best Featured Verse: B.o.B – “Paranoid” (Ty Dolla $ign f/ B.o.B), B.o.B – “Up Down” (Do This All Day) (T-Pain f/ B.o.B), Drake – “Who Do You Love” (YG f/ Drake), Kendrick Lamar – “Control” (Big Sean f/ Kendrick Lamar & Jay Electronica) & Pharrell – “Move That Doh” (Future f/ Pharrell, Pusha T & Casino)

Impact Track: Common f/ Vince Staples – “Kingdom,” Lecrae – “Nuthin,” Lupe Fiasco – “Mission,” The Roots f/ Patty Cash – “Never” & Talib Kweli f/ Abby Dobson – “State of Grace”

People’s Champ Award: Drake – “Worst Behavior,” Future f/ Pharrell, Pusha T & Casino – “Move That Doh,” Iggy Azalea f/ Charli XCX – “Fancy,” Wiz Khalifa – “We Dem Boyz”  & YG f/ Lil Wayne, Nicki Minaj, Meek Mill & Rich Homie Quan – “My Hitta” (Remix)

— Brittany C. Jackson

Twitter: @xPlatinumChanel

T.I. Talks Possibility Of His Protégé Iggy Azalea Collaborating With Both Lil' Kim & Remy Ma

Image Credit: T.I.'s Instagram (troubleman31)

Uh oh, T.I. looks to be cooking up some trouble. The rapper recently sat down with Hot 97.1 FM's Ebro in the Morning (August 8) and when asked how his rising protégé Iggy Azalea is handling all the negativity that is being thrown at her recent success, he powered in to answer the questions head on. 

After rapper Nicki Minaj's shady 2014 BET Awards acceptance speech for the 'Best Female Rapper' award, there has been much speculation that the "Anaconda" rapper has some sort of animosity towards Iggy. Although Iggy has yet to address her opinion on any beef with Nicki Minaj head on, her mentor T.I. sure did enough of it on his own during his recent Hot 97 interview.

T.I. told Ebro in the Morning: 

"I got a call from Kim. She said it's time to find that record to get done."

Nicki Minaj's long-time rival Lil' Kim holds nothing back when she's coming for the YMCMB first lady who she recently accused of "swagger-jacking" her style in her latest single "Identify Theft." The Queen Bee is very blunt in telling her fans straight up who she is looking to put back into their place; so if there is any truth of a Iggy and Lil' Kim collaboration, they're about to go in for the kill.

T.I.'s not one to usually promote drama but he definitely seems intrigued on what is to come from this situation as he schools his mentee on how to protect herself within the industry. 

"Well, in the game of chess, you must think five moves ahead, protect your pieces and cover the board."

He also briefly touched on the possibility of Iggy collaborating with Remy Ma, who was recently released from prison and immediately jumped right back into the Hip Hop game, in the near future.

Yeah, she's a fan of the sport, I believe she's gonna be eager to show support...She with the nonsense. 

With official word coming from The King of the South his self, an all out female MC war may just happen sooner than we think. Do you think Nicki Minaj is ready to eat all the fire that is about to be thrown at her?

Watch T.I. speak on his protégé Iggy Azalea in his latest Hot 97 interview here. 

-Brittany C. Jackson

Twitter: @BChanelJackson

Lil' Kim Puts Her Spin On Bobby Schmurda’s ‘Hot N*gga’ Track

Photo Credit: Lil’ Kim’s Instagram (@lilkimthequeenbee)

After recently giving birth, rapper Lil’ Kim seems to be on the prowl! She’s returned from the creases of motherhood and now you can’t tell this little firecracker NOTHING, as she swoops back into the Hip Hop game.

The female MC was arguably the greatest thing to ever happen to her era of music from the mid 1990s, to the early 2000s. Similar to some of the greatest female Hip Hop artists of all times like Foxy Brown, Missy Elliot and Lauryn Hill, Lil’ Kim has always been known to stand her ground, whether or not it cost her her claim to fame.

With all the excitement going on in the industry today from Nicki Minaj’s latest musical releases, to Remy Ma’s prison release, we have yet to see what Lil’ Kim is really bringing to the table in this era of Hip Hop besides diss tracks, since she’s been on maternity leave.

The Queen Bee recently released two diss records targeting her rap rival, Nicki Minaj in less than a week of each other. First she remixed Beyoncè and Nicki Minaj’s “Flawless Remix” and days later, she shaded Nicki once again by accusing the YMCMB rapper of swagger-jacking her style in her new single “Identify Theft.”

In addition to the cut-throat disses she threw down on these tracks, Lil’ Kim hinted that she would soon have something in store that would leave everyone on the edge of their seats!

From the looks of it, Lil’ Kim seems to be cooking up some bars in the kitchen. She’s looking to take her flow back to her hardcore/uncut “Junior M.A.F.I.A” days; and her latest release just might do it.

Kim has been very consistent with her music releases this past week, and she just decided to add one more to her portfolio—a remix to Bobby Schmurda’s “Hot N*gga.” The “Crush On You” rapper chose to give her shady bars a break for this particular song and instead gives a couple of shoutouts; most notably to Philly rapper Meek Mill who was recently jailed back in July for a probation violation.

Listen to Kim’s flow as she gives you a "taste of a storm," that is soon to come on her new track “Hot N*gga Remix” here.

By: Alexis J. Robinson

Twitter: Theywant_BOOSIE 

Edited By: Brittany C. Jackson (@BChanelJackson)

Lil' Kim Calls Out Nicki Minaj For Lack Of Originality In Her New Diss Track 'Identity Theft'

Image Credit: Lil' Kim's Twitter (@lilkim)

The Queen Bee strikes again! Lil' Kim is fresh off maternity leave and coming for the kill. Just a few days after remixing the remix of Beyoncé's "Flawless" featuring her fellow rap rival Nicki Minaj, Lil Kim held no mercy as she called Nicki out once again in her new single "Identity Theft."

Lil Kim tweeted out the diss track on August 6 along with single art and photos that seem to expose Nicki Minaj imitating the same fashion and hair styles that the rapper originally sported. In "Identity Theft," the Queen Bee accuses the first lady of YMCMB of swagger jacking her style in the Hip Hop game all while letting her know she's coming to reclaim her fame.

The rapper shows her hatred towards Miss Minaj throughout the entire track but the end of the first verse seemed to bite the most.

These swagger jackers give the game a bad look./Pop sh-t on Twitter and apologize on Facebook/And now they wanna send me requests/Telling me that I'm simply the best./I won't stop till I see my enemies rest./They probably get locked up for identity theft/ I ain't got time for bum b-tches/ The gun hidden, I come with it/ Anything you tryna do, I done did it/ I'll let you live for a while but I'm done with the crown/ The queen's back, b-tches, come get it.

Lil Kim's beef towards Nicki Minaj now seems to be at an all time high. Releasing two diss tracks towards the same person in literally the same week is not turning out to be such a good look for Kim but it's definitely getting her tons of publicity. We'll just have to wait to see if Nicki will give Kim's recent antics the time of day by releasing a diss track of her own in the coming days.

Listen to Lil' Kim's "Identity Theft" here.

-Brittany C. Jackson

Twitter: @BChanelJackson

Lil Kim DISSES Nicki Minaj on a BRAND NEW "Flawless" Remix!

So literally about a DAY after Beyoncé dropped her new remix to "Flawless" featuring Nicki Minaj, Lil Kim has dropped her own verse, and didn't have many nice things to say. It appears as if she was taking shots at SOMEONE, and by the subliminals she threw, it sure as hell sounds like she's talking about NICKI!

Take a look at the link below, to listen to Kim's verse on the new remix! Who do YOU think Kimmie is dissin?

http://youtu.be/b1OIiohdI0Y

by:: Dana Pelotta

Editor In Cheif/ Blog Owner

Beyoncé Gives Her Take On The Elevatorgate Fight Between Solange & Jay Z On The "Flawless (Remix)"

Image Credit: Beyoncé's Official Website (beyonce.com)

Surprise, surprise! Beyoncé fans literally woke up and got flawless — the "Flawless (Remix)" that is. Queen Bey must have a fascination with releasing exciting, new projects in the middle of the night because a little after 1:00 am on August 3 is when she posted the remix to this pretty girl anthem featuring raptress Nicki Minaj on to her website. Mrs. Carter's alter ego Sasha Fierce totally made an appearance to set fire to this track as Bey turned her original sweet and seductive sound into a bars of a blunt,high-heel walking boss. Beyoncé was so confident on this track that even she addressed the elevatorgate scandal  — when a video surveillance camera recording of Beyoncè's sister Solange attacking her husband Jay Z at the Standard Hotel the night of the Met Gala leaked online and was published by TMZ.

Beyoncé sings:

"We escalate, up in this b-tch like elevators/ Of course sometimes sh-t go down/ When it’s a billion dollars on an elevator/ Of course sometimes sh-t go down/ When it’s a billion dollars on an elevator."

Teaming up with an out-of-the-box artist like Nicki Minaj gave Beyoncé a chance to get out of her comfort zone and let the critics know that she's has problems just like you but the difference is she's high up on the salary totem pole. This lethal record comes at a good time since various reports have surfaced of The Carters allegedly being on the verge of a divorce. As of now, both Solange and Beyoncè have individually addressed the incident outside of the press release that their management teams released after the story broke. The only person left for us to hear from is Jay Z. I'm curious to hear his side of the story in a track just as hard as Bey's "Flawless (Remix)" release.

Check out Beyoncè on the "Flawless(Remix)" ft. Nicki Minaj here.

-Brittany C. Jackson

Twitter: @BChanelJackson

Nicki Minaj Rumored To Have Pushed Back The Release of Her New Single ‘Anaconda’ For A Remix Collabo With Beyoncé

Image Credit: Nicki Minaj’s Instagram (nickiminaj)

Bow down bishes because the queens of mainstream are about to make it do what it do! Recently, Nicki Minaj has been under fire for the controversial, cheeky artwork for her new single “Anaconda” which was originally set to be released on July 28. According to HipHopWired, the YMCMB songstress may have a very good reason behind delaying her highly anticipated track until August 4.

Miss Minaj broke the news to her Barbz on July 27 via Instagram alongside new artwork for the single – minus her booty cheeks.

On July 30, HipHopWired reported that a music industry insider told them Nicki put a hinder on “Anaconda” for the hype that is about to break around the release of an alleged Beyoncé single that the rapper will be featured on.

If these rumors prove to be true, the shock factor around this alleged track will definitely hit the roof. Having both these talented females featured on the same track is the step in the right direction in terms of girl power in the music industry. And you already know Queen Bey’s angelic vocals and Nicki Minaj’s hard-hitting rhymes will put an exotic spin on whatever beat they chose to tear up in the end. The anticipation is high but now all we can do is wait for whatever flawless road these two phenomenal ladies decide to take.

-Brittany C. Jackson

Twitter: @BChanelJackson

Nicki Minaj Drops A Fierce Freestyle On The Mike-Will-Made-It Produced Track 'No Flex Zone'

Image Credit: Nicki Minaj's Official Website (mypinkfriday.com)

No shade, no shade but Nicki Minaj is completely running this rap game. The raptress and keeper of many different personalities has did it on 'em once again with the release of her unofficial remix to the Mike-Will-Made-It produced track "No Flex Zone." Miss Minaj dominates her verse on the track as she remixes the hit single but sort-of outshines the track's original artist Rae Sremmurd's even though his vocals still remain on the beat.

With hard-hitting references to being as relevant as Maybach Music Group head hocho Rick Ross and having a home next to Hollywood A-list actor Brad Pitt, Nicki ensures critics that she is of icon status and has been 'running this game for five years' and if you didn't know then do your 'f--king research.'
With lyrics like "They could never reach young Nick magnitude even if they had the longitude, latitude. Listen up hoe this my territory. You are my son like a episode of Maury," the first lady of Young Money knows she's untouchable in the rap game but she seems to never take that for granted. As she prepares for the release of her next studio album The Pink Print, she's developed a clever technique to release project after project in order to keep her fan base and critics constantly engaged but better yet entertained.

Listen to Nicki's jaw-dropping "No Flex Zone" freestyle here

-Brittany C. Jackson 

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