RAP’S “GREATEST STORYTELLER” INDUCTED INTO BRONX WALK OF FAME
Hip-Hop Icon Collects Honor Alongside #MeToo Founder Tawana Burke and Actress Maggie Siff, As His
The Great Adventures of Slick Rick
Approaches 30th Anniversary Milestone
NEW YORK – MAY 15, 2018 – On Sunday May 20th, Slick Rick will be added to the illustrious Bronx Walk of Fame, the highest honor bestowed on a resident or former resident of the Bronx, Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz has announced. With the 30th anniversary of his debut classic The Great Adventures of Slick Rick looming, the Grammy-nominated rapper was inducted during a ceremony kicking off the 47th annual Bronx Week, running through May 20 this year. Rounding out the list of newest Walk of Fame inductees are #MeToo founder Tarana Burke and actress Maggie Siff, who portrays Wendy Rhoades in the Showtime series Billions. The Bronx natives will share the distinction of being permanently recognized on street signs along Grand Concourse.
“We’re proud to welcome back the sons and daughters of The Bronx to celebrate their accomplishments and induct them to the Bronx Walk of Fame,” said Diaz. Olga Luz Tirado, executive director of The Bronx Tourism Council added, “It’s exciting to celebrate our Bronx heroes and sheroes during this celebration of the best of the borough.”
Released November 1, 1988, The Great Adventures of Slick Rick has remained one of hip-hop’s most enduring and influential albums of all time. At the time of its release, during rap’s “golden era,” the recording earned a rare five-mic score from The Source magazine. It remained at the top of Billboard’s Top R&B/Hip Hop Albums chart for ten weeks, producing the hit singles "Mona Lisa", “Children’s Story,” “The Ruler’s Back,” “Hey Young World” and “Teenage Love.”
Three more acclaimed albums followed on the iconic Def Jam Records, and Rick collaborated with dozens of fellow artists within and outside of his genre. He even made an appearance in his fair share of movies and videos. In 2018, Rick remained the most sampled hip-hop artist of all times. His compositions have been chopped, interpolated and incorporated well over 650 times. The rapper’s passions have also led to him devoting much time to mentoring youth and raising awareness of issues affecting underserved communities.
Bronx Hall of Fame inductees consist of singers, actors, writers, athletes, filmmakers, entrepreneurs, and notable public figures, including Stanley Kubrick, Tony Orlando, Diahann Carroll, Red Buttons, and U.S. military general and former Secretary of State Colin Powell.
Nas (and business partner Peter Bittenbender (Mass Appeal) photo courtesy We Work[/caption]
Mass Appeal, the Black culture-focused media and entertainment company, and Universal Music Group (UMG), the world leader in music-based entertainment, today announced the companies have entered into a multi-year global agreement.
The deal encompasses the exclusive distribution of physical and digital formats for recorded music and short-form video content and provides Mass Appeal with the ability to strategically leverage UMG’s marketing and promotion teams across more than 60 territories for select artists and projects.
UMG will also distribute Mass Appeal’s extensive catalog of releases from artists who include DJ Shadow, J Dilla and Run the Jewels, as well as all forward-looking projects including the highly-anticipated 11thsolo record from Nas. Mass Appeal will spearhead Nas’ new album release in collaboration with Def Jam Recordings.
In announcing the partnership, Nas said, “I’ve been blessed to work with two of the best brands in music. Columbia Records was how I got my start and Def Jam was where I continued that journey. In my next chapter, I am proud to say that I am signing myself to myself. I look forward to releasing many projects in the very near future with Mass Appeal’s new global partnership with UMG.”
Following a year where UMG successfully led Mass Appeal’s $6 million Series A funding round, the distribution agreement with UMG will grant the company and its eponymous label the resources to expand its global reach and offerings.
Peter Bittenbender, CEO of Mass Appeal, said, “In the 15 months since joining forces with UMG, we have seen the Mass Appeal brand expand rapidly, experiencing our most successful year to date. Much like fans across the world we are hyped that Nas is finally dropping his new album and couldn’t be more proud that it’s our first release through this new partnership.”
Michele Anthony, Executive Vice President at UMG, said, “Mass Appeal is a thriving multimedia platform that speaks to an audience that is increasingly influencing culture. I couldn’t be more thrilled to expand our relationship. UMG will now provide Mass Appeal’s label with our expertise and resources to maximize the global opportunities for their exceptional roster of artists.”
Mass Appeal has solidified itself as the go-to platform for entertainment and music storytelling, through its model that spans film, TV, digital media, music and commercial content. Most recently, Mass Appeal developed and produced Rapture on Netflix, an eight–part series that takes an ambitious, raw and compelling look at hip-hop and its influence on culture in 2018. Each episode explores the persona of a different modern-day rap star, including Nas, Dave East, T.I., Rapsody, Logic, G-Eazy, A Boogie wit da Hoodie, 2 Chainz and Just Blaze. On the branded content front, Mass Appeal createdSoundCloud’s first advertising campaign, which put a spotlight on emerging artists who started their career journeys on SoundCloud. As the go-to agency for multi-cultural content, Mass Appeal helped launch Google’sfirst-ever hip hop music Doodle, an interactive turntable to celebrate pivotal moments in hip-hop music and culture.
About Mass Appeal
Mass Appeal is a media and entertainment company on a mission to represent and progress Black culture on a global scale. Since 1996, the brand has been documenting youth-born movements worldwide. Today, Mass Appeal is the dominant voice in Black culture. The company continues to elevate the conversation through premium, integrated offerings in film & television, digital media, music and creative services.
Image used by Kanye West for Pusha T's new album[/caption]
I'm not so sure about this one. Kanye using the altered (water damage in strategic areas) gruesome bathroom pic of the late Whitney Houston's bathroom as the cover for Pusha T's new Album. The image was taken by someone who Houston trusted but they obviously betrayed her and they are now making money, $85,000 to license the image, from the betrayal. While I tried to be optimistic about some of Kanye's previous antics I can't help but think Whitney would have been mortified that this image was being used to promote someone's music. The images originally appeared in the National Enquirer when Hoston was still living and the person who took them pic made money from the images then as well.
