T-Pain Leads BET Awards Field With Five Nominations

T-Pain’s status as urban music’s most frequent collaborator helped him nab a leading five BET Award nominations.

Kanye West and Keyshia Cole received three nominations, while Mary J. Blige, Alicia Keys and newcomer Flo Rida received a pair each. The BET Awards will be presented June 24 in Los Angeles.

While T-Pain has his own hits, including the chart-topper “Buy U a Drank,” the singer and his electronically manipulated voice are often found on other people’s songs. He received nominations for best collaboration for his work with Chris Brown (”Kiss Kiss”), West (”Good Life”) and Flo Rida (”Low”), while he was also nominated twice in the video of the year category.

“T-Pain is everywhere,” BET Executive Vice President Stephen Hill told the Associated Press. “He’s got five nominations, none of them for his own work.”

“He’s had a great year; he’s introduced a new element,” Hill said, referring to T-Pain’s vocoder-assisted vocals that have been replicated by other artists such as Snoop Dogg.

While the nominees include many hitmakers, Hill said the awards also celebrate those who aren’t yet in the mainstream, such as R&B singers Estelle and Raheeem DeVaughn, who each received a nomination.

“Our voting panel picked not just the hits but folks who are really talented who are just now getting a shot,” he said.

Al Green will be honored with a lifetime achievement award. Quincy Jones will receive an award for his humanitarian work.

“Besides being the best black awards show that we have, also being one of the best awards show period, their ratings are through the roof,” said Nelly, who is set to perform at the live awards show. “They’re tuning in — black, white, Japanese, Chinese — you got it, they’re tuning in, which says a lot.”

Nelly and Usher were among those expected to announce the nominations on BET’s “106 & Park” later Thursday. Usher is also set to perform on the live June broadcast, as well as Lil Wayne, Blige and Mariah Carey.

Lil Wayne & Bow Wow To Star In Sports Film ‘Patriots’

Lil Wayne will star in the Weinstein Co.’s sports film “Patriots” alongside Forest Whitaker and Bow Wow. The rapper will play a character named Lamont, a student from a New Orleans high school who is skeptical of the school’s new basketball team.

“Wayne went from a supporting role to a major role in the movie because he read so well,” Universal’s vice president of marketing Katina Bynum tells Billboard.com. “We’re all very excited and looking forward to it, especially since they reached out to him for this positive role as opposed to a stereotypical one.”

“Patriots” is based on a true story about a high school basketball team whose players attend five different high schools until Hurricane
Katrina leads them to come together and reach the state championships.

The flick, directed by Tim Story, began filming in New Orleans this week. It is slated to be in theaters November 2008.

Lil Wayne’s latest single “Lollipop” currently sits in the No. 2 spot on The Billboard Hot 100.

Worldhouse @ Morehouse Webcast

Click here for the live webcast. (Start time is 10 a.m. EST) Forty years to the day after the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. (Morehouse class of 1948), Morehouse College will serve as the international epicenter for a global webcast, “World House: Connecting the Global Community,” that will bring together students, scholars, ambassadors and activists to revitalize King’s vision of the “World House.” The webcast will include discussion and performances from Morehouse College; Beijing, China; Johannesburg, South Africa; Nairobi, Kenya; Baroda, India and the University of Florida.

And it will all take place on the Internet.

Beginning on Friday, April 4, 2008, and continuing every Friday in April, World House: Connecting the Global Community will connect over an internationally-distributed, real-time network to bring together a diverse community that literally spans the globe

Originating from the Bank of America Auditorium, Executive Conference Center, this historical event is presented by The Morehouse College Martin Luther King Jr. Collection; the Division of Humanities and Social Sciences at Morehouse; and the Digital Worlds Institute at the University of Florida.

Each Friday will focus on one of the four challenges King makes in his 1967 book, Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or Community? The World House concept is inspired by the chapter titled “World House,” where King called for the world to transcend race, class, nation and religion to embrace the world house vision; to eradicate the triple evils of racism, poverty and militarism; to curb excessive materialism and shift from a “thing”-oriented society to a “people”-oriented society; and to resist social injustice and resolve conflicts through love embodied in the spirit of non-violence.

King may well have regarded the “World House” as his most important single writing, but unlike the “I Have a Dream” speech or “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” this work is virtually unknown.

But it has a home at Morehouse College.

This important work is part of The Morehouse College Martin Luther King Jr. Collection, a 10,000-piece collection of King’s works and personal writings. The collection came to Morehouse after a group of Atlanta business and political leaders, led by Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin, raised $32 million for its purchase. The deal allowed the collection to come home to Morehouse and Atlanta, the epicenter of the civil rights movement and King’s birthplace.

Walter E. Fluker, interim director of The Morehouse College Martin Luther King Jr. Collection and executive director of the Leadership Center at Morehouse College, will host a segment on April 4 from Beijing.

“I think this is an innovative and distinctive strategy that has brought together the entire community at Morehouse,” Fluker said. “We cannot ignore the last prophetic ascendance of Martin Luther King Jr. when he told us we inherited a larger house – a world house – where we can’t live apart.”

T.I., Ciara, Flo Rida, Jim Jones To Participate In ‘Turn Up The Vote’ Summit This Weekend

With the Pennsylvania primary less than a week away, T.I. and a full cast of his peers — including Ciara, Flo Rida and Jim Jones — are heading to Philadelphia this weekend to remind the youth to go to the polls. The Hip-Hop Summit Action Network, in association with the Hip-Hop Research and Education Fund and PowerPAC, will have their Turn Up the Vote National Hip-Hop Summit at Temple University on Sunday. It’s dedicated to encouraging voting among young people.

“I am pleased to have the opportunity to travel to Philadelphia to participate in the Hip-Hop Summit,” T.I. said in a released statement Wednesday (April 16) that alluded to his recent legal troubles. “We are going to encourage young people to go out to vote. I personally know the value of having the right to vote and it taken away from you, but I will add my voice to help inspire others to take seriously this right and responsibility.”

Russell Simmons, a founder of the Hip-Hop Summit Action Network, will also participate in the event on Sunday. “T.I.’s commitment to serve and to give back to the community is a shining example of the best of hip-hop,” he said in a statement. “The Hip-Hop Summit Action Network and the Hip-Hop Research and Education Fund continue to provide opportunities for artists and others to empower youth.”

Late last month, T.I. agreed to serve 1,500 hours of community service as part of a plea agreement in his trial on firearm charges. Tip’s arrangement calls for him to give positive messages to kids, and this weekend’s event is just one of many stops for him. Besides voting, Tip, Simmons and company will also aim to spread awareness about poverty, health care, education, the war in Iraq and alcohol and drug prevention.

Webbie and his partner Lil’ Boosie, DJ Green Lantern, the LOX’s Styles P, newcomer singer O’Neal McKnight and southern MC Gorilla Zoe are also said to be participating in the event.

Outkast’s Big Boi Does Ballet — But ‘No Tutus’

Big Boi may have taken to calling himself Sir Luscious Left Foot, but the Outkast rapper isn’t usually one to cut up a rug.

Yet he somehow managed to snag both a role and creative-director position in a ballet production titled “Big.” The show — which opens Friday (April 11) at Atlanta’s Fox Theater — centers around a child named Little Big.

The Grammy-winning rapper will perform “with some jeans on, believe that,” he told MTV News earlier this week. “No tutus.”

Costume issues aside, Big Boi said he was game when Atlanta Ballet’s artistic director John McFall first approached him with the idea.

“I couldn’t believe it,” he said. “I was like, ‘Huh, y’all wanna do that?’ [Then] I said, ‘OK, let’s crank it up.’ ”

So, for the past year, the rapper recruited bandmembers, developed a story line and worked with choreographer Lauri Stallings to put the project together. For the show, he selected about 10 Outkast songs, plus songs by Sleepy Brown and former protégé Janelle Monáe, who also join the dancers onstage.

“It’s about Little Big and the innocence of a child and just different things happening during the scenes, or whatever, that could affect the directions he goes and the mind state he has.”

“I just think it’s about having fun,” 12-year-old Kameron Davis, who plays Little Big, chimed in.

The production is now set for a six-show run, but Big said if things go well, it may hit the road as a tour. If it does, he’ll have to juggle “Big” with his long-awaited solo album, Sir Luscious Left Foot, due in July. The slick lyricist will debut a new song from the album, “Sir Luscious Left Foot Saves the Day,” during his ballet performance.

It’s just another notch in the nattily clad rapper’s belt. Although Outkast has a reputation for being left-of-center, Big said his pairing with the ballet was actually an easy fit in his eyes. He was more surprised that the ballet would go with it.

“It was a natural thing [for me],” he said. “I’ve seen it before. As a kid you go and see ‘The Nutcracker.’ But for them to take a risk and get some music that’s gonna beat their back out and do some hard-core funk music and let the ballet audience meet the hip-hop audience — I thought it’d be a good collaboration.”

Jermaine Dupri ”Tagged” Prez Of New Hp-Hop Label

In an unprecedented venture, Island Def Jam Music Group, in conjunction with Procter & Gamble’s TAG brand, announced today the birth of a new hip-hop label, TAG Records. The partnership is the first of its kind, as TAG artists will be supported with a multi-million dollar marketing effort, which includes television, print, radio, digital and event marketing.

At the helm of the New York-based company is Dupri - who has produced hits for Mariah Carey, Usher, Bow Wow and Da Brat - setting the creative vision for the label and playing an integral role in identifying and developing new acts.

“Today, we make history in the music industry with TAG Records,” said JD in a statement to the press. “This label is going to provide new artists with a chance of a lifetime. New artists will receive ten times the typical marketing support - a first in the industry. I’m hand selecting and molding these artists to make history in hip-hop.”

The launch of TAG Records is part of the TAG brand’s initiative to cultivate relationships with the urban community by providing opportunities for aspiring hip-hop aritsts.

“This partnership marks an industry first,” explained Jeff Straughn, VP of strategic marketing for IDJ. “This is a breakthrough model and a non-traditional approach that blends our most valuable assets: the artist and their music, with the power of brand marketing.”

The TAG and IDJ venture was forged and managed by New York-based ACME Brand Content Company, TAG’s branded entertainment agency.

The first artist will be officially announced in May. Along with an album release, the TAG Brand will showcase TAG’s flagship artist and Jermaine Dupri across various TAG advertisements and marketing initiatives throughout the year.

“We’re very excited about our partnership with IDJ,” said Alex Keith, general manager of P&G Deodorants. “We’re confident the partnership will make a positive impact and bring opportunities to undiscovered urban creativity and vision.”

Jermaine Dupri was just named president of urban music for Island Records, last year. As of press time, there was no word on how this new deal would affect JD’s current position.

Kanye West Launching Travel Website

You know Kayne West the hip-hop artist. Now meet Kayne West the online travel resource.

The Grammy-award-winning performer is extending his brand with a travel website this week, KanyeTravel.com, that aims to offer quality low airfares, hotels and rental cars without service or membership fees. The site is hyperlinked to Mr. West’s fan site, kanyeuniversecity.com, and future phases call for travel packages with tickets to his concerts and concert merchandise.

Ready for takeoff
Miki Woodard, president of the rapper’s company, West Brands, told Advertising Age the process has already taken nearly a year. “We did a lot of due diligence with online travel partners” before linking up with Travelocity, Ms. Woodard said. Mr. West wanted an outfit that would be in it for the long haul, which could involve writing new software, she said.

The next phase, expected within weeks, will be cross-promotional deals with marketing partners. She said negotiations are being conducted by Scotty Abrams, president of the celebrity brand-development firm Maniac Creative, Nashville and Los Angeles. Ms. Woodard declined to name the companies West Brands is in discussions with.

But Mr. Abrams’ father, Neil Abrams, president of a travel-industry consulting outfit bearing his name and also hired by Mr. West, said the marketing partners would include an automaker and wireless company.

He said other celebrities have tried travel programs, but failed because they didn’t have the resources or expertise.

Lost in the tropics
“Margaritaville” singer Jimmy Buffett kicked off such a deal in the mid-1990s with Miami Beach’s Travel By Design, offering “Parrot Head” packages to warm-weather beach destinations. A spokeswoman at the travel company said they ended about eight years ago, but had no other information.

Mr. Abrams said Mr. West “has a passionate fan base in the hundreds of thousands worldwide, so this is a great marketing platform.”

Mr. West’s travel site is “a great marketing opportunity” that coincides with his upcoming U.S. tour starting April 16 in Seattle, said Ms. Woodard. “So much of travel is so connecting to touring.”

Super Tuesday Youth Voter Turnout Triples, Quadruples In Some States

The stakes are high for 2008’s presidential election, and the outcome of November’s vote could very well shape America’s future for decades to come — something that hasn’t been lost on the nation’s youth, who proved the naysayers wrong on Super Tuesday, bucking the last decade’s voting trends by enthusiastically flooding the polls to have their voices heard.

“The entire world watched as one of the most electrifying moments in U.S. election history unfolded on Tuesday,” proclaimed Heather Smith, the executive director of Rock the Vote. “Young people are tired of being characterized as apathetic and uninterested in politics.”

According to the results of CNN’s exit polls and tabulations from the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement, young voters turned out in record numbers in more than 20 states. In practically every state holding a primary or caucus Tuesday, youth turnout increased astronomically, doubling, tripling and even quadrupling the turnout in the 2000 and 2004 electoral seasons.

“Young Americans have been turning out to vote at remarkable rates in these primaries,” CIRCLE Director Peter Levine said. “This reflects their deep concern about the critical issues at stake and the impact of this election on our country’s future. Since 2000, young people have been volunteering at high rates and are becoming more interested in news and public affairs. Now, they are ready to consider voting as a way of addressing major problems.”

CBS News reports that Illinois Senator Barack Obama owes much of his victories Tuesday to America’s young voters. Nationwide, Obama netted 59 percent of voters under 30 years old, while New York Senator Hillary Clinton was supported by 38 percent. Young men supported Obama by a margin of 64 to 33 percent over Clinton, and young women supported Obama by 53 to 45 percent.

While state-by-state voting demographics are still being sorted out, young voters in Tennessee quadrupled their turnout from 35,000 in 2000’s primary to nearly 140,000 in Tuesday’s primary. In Nashville, one of MTV News’ Street Team ‘08 citizen journalists, Dustin Ogdin, visited the campus of Tennessee State University, where he met Gloria, a student who said she was planning to vote in a few hours but still couldn’t decide between Clinton — the eventual Democratic victor in that state — and Obama. “It is a big issue with black women, whether we want to [vote for] a woman or an African-American,” Gloria said. “I would love to see a joint ticket.”

Clinton took 44 percent of the under-30 vote in Tennessee, while Obama claimed 53 percent. Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee captured 38 percent of the youth vote and won the state, while Arizona Senator John McCain claimed 25 percent. (See all of Ogdin’s Super Tuesday videos and blogs here.)

In Georgia, where Obama and Huckabee took home wins, young voters tripled their turnout this year, with more than 280,000 individuals casting a ballot Tuesday, compared to approximately 92,000 ballots cast in 2000. Obama secured 75 percent of the youth vote, over Clinton’s 23 percent, while Huckabee’s 43 percent overpowered former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney’s 24 percent. (Check out the reports from Georgia Street Team member Shelby Highsmith.)

When it came to California, where Clinton and McCain prevailed, more than 850,000 voters under 30 cast ballots, far surpassing 2000 and 2004 levels. Polls showed that 51 percent of Democratic voters ages 18-29 voted for Clinton, compared to 47 percent for Obama. (Carl Brown, the California Street Team journalist, talked to voters of all kind in his state.)

Youth turnout was the difference between a win and a loss in several states on Tuesday. In Missouri, where youth voter turnout tripled, Obama won by just 10,000 votes; 75,000 young people threw their support behind his candidacy. In the same state, 45,000 young people pulled the lever for Huckabee, far surpassing his 23,000 vote margin of victory. (Street Team member Steven Smith found Missourians who were too young to vote but still had opinions on the election.)

In Massachusetts, youth turnout doubled from 2000, with 231,000-plus hitting the polls this year. Clinton and Romney claimed victory in the Bay State, pulling in 49 and 52 percent of the youth vote, respectively; 48 percent of young voters supported Obama, while 36 percent voted for McCain. (See what Street Team member Kyle de Beausset found out about Massachusetts voters.)

More than 187,000 voters under 30 participated in New Jersey’s primary, and while 59 percent of them voted for Obama, Clinton still grabbed a win in the Garden State. McCain, the Republican winner, garnered 46 percent of the youth vote, with Romney pulling 19 percent. Just next door in New York, where Clinton and McCain were the night’s big winners, the youth voter turnout went relatively unchanged compared to 2000’s results. And though he didn’t win, New York’s youngest voters loved Obama, giving him 56 percent of their votes over Clinton’s 43 percent. McCain also captured 43 percent of the youth vote, while Romney claimed 21 percent. (Check out what New Jersey Street Teamer Sia Nyorkor and New York’s Sara Benincasa reported Tuesday.)

Young people proved to be particularly crucial to Obama’s victory in Connecticut, where youth voter turnout nearly doubled from 2000’s primary — and Street Teamer Megan Budnick had trouble finding students who weren’t apathetic or ill-informed about the election. Obama won voters younger than 30 by 19 points, receiving the support of 58 percent of this age group, compared to 39 percent who supported Clinton. McCain, who beat out the rest of the Republican pack in the Constitution State, took 51 percent of the youth vote, compared to Texas Congressman Ron Paul’s 18 percent.

Meanwhile, 66,300 youth voters hit the polls in Utah — Obama and Romney country — with 70 percent supporting Barack’s run and 88 percent getting behind Mitt. Oklahoma saw its number of voters under 30 triple, but exit polls didn’t show for whom they voted. (Last but not least, here are the reports from Utah Street Team member Charles Geraci and Oklahoma’s Jill Penuel.)

Jay-Z To Headline Massive Music Fest In England

Rap mogul and former Def Jam president Jay-Z will headline England’s Glastonbury Festival this June, a three-day event that is expected to draw 175,000 people.

According to BBC Somerset, event organizer Michael Eavis wanted to “break with tradition this time and put on something totally different” for the festival, which has previously featured headliners like Radiohead, Coldplay, Muse and Oasis.

“He will appeal to the young people and under-25s for sure, so that’s a big pull for them,” Eavis said.

The only other act announced thus far is Neil Diamond.

In related news, Jigga’s previously unreleased track “Ain’t I” leaked Wednesday night (Jan. 30). [Listen to song here]

On the track, Jay-Z says: “I took a pay cut to become an exec so the next mothaf*cka can earn his paycheck/ And even though these n*ggas talk greasy bout me/Ask these n*gga how they gon eat without me.”

Missy Goes 3-D For New Videos

Missy Elliott is going 3-D.

Walt Disney Studios has created a stereoscopic 3-D music video combining two of her songs featured in the studio’s upcoming “Step Up 2 the Streets,” which opens Feb. 14. MTV will premiere the video in 3-D on Monday (Feb. 4) during “TRL.” Glasses for home viewing will be distributed via various promotions.

The video combines Elliott’s songs “Ching-a-ling” and “Shake Your Pom Pom” and was directed by Dave Meyers, who helmed music videos for Elliott including “Work It,” “Loose Control,” and “Get Ur Freak On.” Pace and Fotokem worked on the 3-D; they companies worked on production and post, respectively, for Disney’s “Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus Best of Both Worlds Concert Tour,” which opens Friday in 3-D digital.

In addition to the MTV premiere, the music video also will be shown in 3-D during a special screening of “Step Up 2 the Streeets” on Feb. 5 in New York, with Elliott scheduled to attend. Additional 3-D presentations may be scheduled, and the video also will be shown in 2-D.

“It was a perfect fit,” said Glen Lajeski, Disney’s executive vp music, creative and marketing. “Missy always wanted to do a 3-D music video, and Disney has done a lot of movies in 3-D,” he said, adding that he expects to see more of this type of project. Atlantic’s “Step Up 2 the Streets” soundtrack is due Feb. 5. The Elliott songs will also appear on her own new album, likely due in May.

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