STR8NYC.COM » Jay-Z

STR8 TALK: BEYONCE’S BABY BUMP BOOST RECORD SALES

LexAve — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 04:06:13 +0000

You might recall a while back Beyonce’s “4″ album made a lackluster debut on the charts. Well thanks to her flaunting of her new baby bump, King Bey not only made Twitter history but her record sales got a major boost. According to Billboard.com,

Other obvious gainer thanks to the VMA show is Beyonce, who announced she was pregnant during her performance of “Love On Top.” Her “4″ album returns to the top 10 on the Billboard 200 with 39,000 (jumping 12-7; up 87%) and “Love” debuts at No. 10 on Digital Songs with 113,000 (up 803%). This marks the first time the “4″ album has posted a weekly sales increase since its arrival.

Luckily for Bey that baby bump boosted her back to the top on the charts. Now that The Carters are adding a new member to their empire, only more success and mayhem will follow. But is this surprising at all?! After they’re hip hop/pop royal couple. Either way congrats to the parents to be and Happy Belated Bday Bey!
Here are some flicks of the pair kicking it in Crotia with the crew.

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STR8 SNITCHIN’: CONGRATS TO JAY-Z x BEYONCE! BABY ON BOARD!

LexAve — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 01:54:46 +0000

After all the speculation and gossiping…the rumors are now finally true! The Carters are expecting their first born. Check out Beyonce Knowles showing off her baby bump on the black carpet of the MTV VMAs. Though the pair didn’t actually confirm the news, Beyonce was photographed embracing her bump and MTV News went to Twitter to confirm the baby bump.

Congrats to Jay-Z x Beyonce! This ought to slow the hardest working woman in show biz.
UPDATE!
Beyonce hit the VMA stage to perform RnB hit “Love on Top” and said to the crowd, “I want you to feel the love that’s growing inside me.” Soon after her performance, she dropped her mic, unbuttoned her glittered blazer, and unveiled her growing bumped and rubbed her belly, while Kanye West congratulated a beaming and papa to be Jay-Z in the audience. CLASSIC MOMENT!
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STR8 TALK: “WATCH THE THRONE” KING ON THE CHARTS BUT HIP HOP’S BLUEPRINT?!

LexAve — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 19:01:46 +0000

Words by LaVisionary
Edited by LexAve

It’s easy to sit and judge the craftsmanship of an artist, and thanks to Twitter just about anybody can stand on their soapbox and do so these days. On August 8th, 2011 at the stroke of midnight Kanye West and Jay-Z dropped an album with more hype than the ‘08 elections x Raven Symone’s weight loss combined. The amount of hype and anticipation prior to its release, made critics wonder- will it live up to the hype or fail? With 436,000 copies sold so far, “Watch the Throne” has out beat the hype, to say the least.

The joy of “Watch the Throne” is grounded hip hop but also crosses over other genres. Given the influence that Jay-Z and Ye’ possess respectively, they have branched out and given hardcore hip hop fans a glimpse at life beyond the invisible hip hop barbed wire. On the 16 track (deluxe version) album, the duo dabbles in classical, dubstep and samples from some artists and songs neither you nor I have likely heard of. The mystery is what makes this entire album worth it, you never know what to expect when the next track comes on. That especially goes for the three minutes of silence before the Illest Motherf**ker Alive song. Yeah, we couldn’t figure that one out either. Illuminati? Probably not.

To critique each and every song would be unfair and almost impossible, so let’s just comment on the album in its entirety. “Watch The Throne” has nestled itself upon a pedestal that mere mortals won’t be able to reach. If anything, this album should be classified as motivation (sans Kelly Rowland) to other rappers on the come up and already in the game. A Blueprint of sorts for all those College Dropouts that haven’t quite found their niche. Yup, this is the album that can school them all.
Best part of this album, is the production…hands down-second to none. The lyrics are on par as well. Ye’s production style is splashed all over the album, but Jay-Z’s popular 90s swag is interlaced throughout most of the tracks. Some may say Kanye out shines Jigga on this album, but if you think about it, at this point in Jay-Z’s career he has little to prove. He’s had his shine and built an empire. Now it’s time to sit back and enjoy the riches and galore. Ye’ recovered from a few celebrity scandals and still lives up to the bar he set for himself with My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. These two have created “grown folks” hip hop music; countless metaphors, double entendres and enough hidden punch lines to confuse any battle rapper.

Needless to say, these two gentlemen have crafted an album that will be recognized as a classic for years to come. “Watch the Throne” folks, and pay close attention to these kings! Oh yeah, not to mention “Watch The Throne” was the first hip hop album to release before it even leaked…if that doesn’t major, don’t know what does!
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STR8 VIDEOS: JAY-Z x KANYE WEST- “OTIS” (FULL)

LexAve — Fri, 12 Aug 2011 19:26:10 +0000

After much anticipation, Watch The Throne’s “Otis” is here…in full swag indeed. Check out Jay-Z and Kanye posing as “besties” in their new Spike Jonze directed music vid. Don’t expect to see anything of grand scheme, except of course Hov and ‘Ye straight saw & burn a brand new Maybach and turn it into a tricked-out “Thunderdome” cruiser. Followed by the duo doing doughnuts in a parking lot with a gaggle of models packed in the back. Just a lil’ glimpse into their mogulin’ carefree life.

Get More: JAY Z and Kanye West, Music, More Music Videos

Love seeing these two bro-loving hard…but is that the real deal off screen? Hmm…
ON DECK or OFF DECK?!
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STR8 VIDEOS: JAY-Z x KANYE WEST- “OTIS” (TRAILER)

LexAve — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 02:25:28 +0000

The official “Otis” video drops tomorrow via MTV, MTV2, BET, at 8:56pm. But here’s a real short (SHORT!) teaser to the Jay-Z x Kanye joint “Otis” off their “Watch The Throne.” Peep the King Bey cameo jamming to the joint.

Stay tuned we’ll post the full clip manana…keep it locked!
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STR8 TRACKS: NE-YO- “OTIS” (FREESTYLE)

LexAve — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 05:33:56 +0000

With a slew of singers switching things up a bit (Chris Brown, Trey Songz, Ryan Leslie) and testing their rapping skills, Ne-Yo is the latest to catch the bug. But don’t get it twisted, Ne-Yo says with his chest on this “Otis” freestyle. The latest joint off his upcoming “101″ mixtape hosted by Kevin Hart.

DOWNLOAD->> NE-YO- “OTIS” (FREESTYLE)
ON DECK or OFF DECK?!
“I got a lot of money, no denying that/ But it ain’t in my gentleman nature to brag/ So just for a second I’ma take the fedora off and put on an NY fitted cap…”
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S/O Steve O

STR8 COVERS: JAY-Z x KANYE WEST “WATCH THE THRONE”

LexAve — Mon, 04 Jul 2011 13:32:05 +0000

After much speculation and anticipation, fans can now officially patiently wait for Hip Hop’s moguls Jay-Z x Kanye West collabo album Watch The Throne to drop August 2nd. For all you eager heads, be sure to pre-order it HERE. Jay-Z and Kanye enlisted Givenchy Creative Director Riccardo Tisci to design the gold metallic cover excluding both the artists’ names and album title. Word is there will be two versions to the ep,

The deluxe CD is being sold for $16.99, while the standard CD goes for $13.99. The album is also available in MP3 versions; with the deluxe copy going for $14.99 and the standard digital album priced at $11.99. Shipping costs and taxes are not included.

The artwork was officially unveiled on WatchtheThrone.com on Sunday night along with a pre-order link.

“Watch The Throne” drops August 2nd! Pre-order HERE.
While we wait for the epic tracks to leak, what your thoughts on the album cover?
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STR8 MOGULIN’: JAY-Z ON DECODED…”RAP IS POETRY”

LexAve — Tue, 14 Jun 2011 22:01:25 +0000

When Jay-Z released his book “Decoded”, most people wondered “why?” Check out this never before seen footage of Hov talking about the meaning behind the book and rap being looked as poetry.
“Some of the things Biggie wrote,” says Jay-Z, “if you take those lyrics and pull them away from music and put them up on the wall, someone will say, ‘This is genius…this is genius work.’”

If you haven’t done so yet, be sure to cop Decoded …makes for a great gift and coffee table read.
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Via Roc4Life

STR8 TRACKS: YOUNG CHRIS ft. BOYZ II MEN- “HEY LOVER”

LexAve — Wed, 18 May 2011 04:52:46 +0000

Young Chris lends his raunchy lyrics to remake the 1995 LL Cool J classic “Hey Lover” for his mixtapeL.I.F.E (Ladies In Free Everywhere), available May 24. . Forget courting a chick with loving metaphorical lyrics…nowadays dudes tell chicks “When you give head, baby touch don’t squeeze, baby take it easy and you can swallow my seeds“….WOW! I think I’m love! *sarcasm* Just press play…

ON DECK or OFF DECK?!
For all the youngin’s, here’s the original “Hey Lover” joint. Can’t believe this joint came out in 1995!

STR8 LIVE! KANYE BRINGS OUT JAY-Z @MOMA PARTY

LexAve — Wed, 11 May 2011 19:05:58 +0000

Last night was monumental at the Museum of Modern Art. Kanye held a benefit concert at the MoMa’s Annual Party in the Garden yesterday evening in NYC where he brought out mogul/hip hop king Jay-Z.
$100k bought you a ticket to see Kanye + Jay-Z…but was it worth it?! I dunno, but here’s the video…

Spotted @HERfection