Lots of new music and news today from the rap and hip-hop world, from Lil Kim, Flo Rida, Rick Ross, Ciara, Fabolous and, of course, Jay-Z…
First, where would you expect Jay-Z to perform the same song over and over again, other than “N*ggas in Paris” with Kanye West? At a modern art museum, of course!
Hov was on hand at the Pace Gallery in New York’s MoMA to tip his hat at performance artist Marina Abramovi?: he performed “Picasso Baby” for six hours in the white box space, a move inspired by the Abramovi? presentation “The Artist Is Present.” Judd Apatow, Wale, Laurie Simmons and other cultural figures were present.
Check out this Vine of Jay-Z interacting with Abramovi?:
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Jay-Z is out promoting his new album “Magna Carta Holy Grail,” which went out to the public (and not just Samsung users) on Tuesday.
Flo Rida has some new music of his own. The rapper teamed with Future on fresh track “Tell Me When U Ready,” which, itself, is ready for the club.
In the Gil Green-directed clip for the new song, the two are seen hitting hot-spots in Las Vegas. So, warning: glitz ahead.
Flo Rida is also planning another single release soon, with Pitbull on “Can’t Believe It.” So you know what that means? Another Flo Rida album is gearing up, though a title and release date has yet to be announced.
Future may show up in the video, but his girlfriend and collaborator Ciara has turned her head toward a different rapper for her newest track. Rick Ross and Ciara can be heard on “Boy Outta Here,” which is a bonus track off of her self-titled album, released this week.
The song was produced by Underdogs… why do you think it didn’t make the 10-track album cut? You can check out HitFix’s review of “Ciara” here.
Ciara isn’t the only lady on the scene today. Lil Kim is re-re-re-launching a comeback, and “Looks Like Money” may be the start of a payoff.
“Looks Like Money” was supposed to originally come out in 2011 — deep in the midst of a time she and Nicki Minaj were swiping at each other — so it looks like the time is right now. On Lil Kim’s birthday.
“Here’s just a LITTLE gift from ME to U on MY birthday that U guys have been waiting for,” she said on Twitter, pointing to fans at her website, which has the mid-tempo song posted for free download. Kim has been working on new material since 2010. Her last album was out in 2005.
Ariana Grande already had one big hip-hop name (Mac Miller) on her hot single “The Way,” so maybe she figured it wouldn’t hurt to add another. “The Way (Remix)” scored a cameo from Fabolous this week. Give it a spin:
Grande’s album is out in August or September, the release date and title to be revealed on Monday (July 15).