Multi-platinum G.O.O.D. Music/Def Jam Recordings artist Big Sean captures the first #1 album of his career as DARK SKY PARADISE (released February 24th) enters Soundscan in the top spot on first week sales of over 172,000 copies.

Critics have hailed DARK SKY PARADISE as Sean’s best album to date. “By many lengths his best album,” said Pitchfork. The New York Times agreed “…on his third and best album, he is more human than ever before.” Billboard raved “with sterling wordplay and a consistent melancholy vibe, the Detroit native took all the tension, the highs and lows, and laid it out on wax, compiling the strongest project of his career.”

“It’s a great day for all of us at Def Jam and G.O.O.D. Music to be able to share in Big Sean’s first #1 album achievement,” said Steve Bartels, CEO, Def Jam Recordings. “Hard work, great artistry and an incredible all-around team effort melded together to bring ‘Dark Sky Paradise’ to the top. Congratulations to the team on all their effort and a special thank you to Big Sean for delivering a great body of work.”

Kanye West forecasted the achievement with a tweet from London to his 10+ million followers as news travelled overseas: “So proud of my family Big Sean for his first number 1 album!!!! #Goodmusic!!!!”

DARK SKY PARADISE achieved maximum thrust in the week leading up to the album release, as Big Sean held an unprecedented four of the Top 10 songs on the iTunes Hip-Hop/Rap chart: “One Man Can Change The World” (featuring Kanye West and John Legend) and “Win Some, Lose Some”at #1 and #2 respectively, which joined the RIAA platinum certified “I Don’t F**k With You” featuring E-40 (#1 Rap, #1 R&B, Top 10 pop, with over 2.2 million Spotify streams), and “Blessings (Extended)” featuring Drake and Kanye West.

Big Sean celebrated his new album’s arrival with a performance on ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live! and a panel discussion appearance on Comedy Central’s The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore. Last week, Sean and his team chartered a private jet for a whirlwind 24-hour run through New York, Atlanta, his hometown Detroit, and Los Angeles, bringing MTV News and Complex along for the ride:

http://www.mtv.com/news/2088423/big-sean-dark-sky-paradise-private-jet/

http://www.complex.com/music/2015/02/big-sean-dark-sky-paradise-above-the-clouds-documentary

The highly-anticipated video for “Blessings” made its premiere with VEVO: http://vevo.ly/D1VA1C

Later this month, Sean will begin touring in support of DARK SKY PARADISE:

3/22: Tampa, FL/ Firestone

4/3: Providence, RI / Lupos Heartbreak Hotel

4/19: Columbus OH/ Newport Music Hall

4/22: Sayerville, NJ/ Starland

4/30: Richmond, VA: The National

5/6: Clifton Park, NY/ Upstate Concert Hall

5/15: Salt Lake City, UT

5/16: Las Vegas, NV Rock in Rio

5/21: Kansas City, MO

5/23: Milwaukee, WI/ The Eagle Ballroom

Forest Hills Drive Tour with J. Cole:

7/12 – Seattle, WA – White River Amphitheatre

7/14 – San Francisco, CA – Shoreline Amphitheatre

7/17 – San Diego, CA – Sleep Train Amphitheatre

7/19 – Los Angeles, CA – Staples Center

7/21 – Albuquerque, NM – Isleta Amphitheater

7/24 – St. Louis, MO – Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre

7/26 – Indianapolis, IN – Klipsch Music Center

7/28 – Chicago, IL – First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre

7/30 – Pittsburgh, PA – First Niagara Pavilion

7/31 – Camden, NJ – Susquehanna Bank Center

8/3 – Holmdel, NJ – PNC Bank Arts Center

8/4 – New York, NY – Madison Square Garden

8/6 – Boston, MA – Xfinity Center

8/7 – Montreal, QC – Bell Centre

8/8 – Hartford, CT – XFINITY Theatre

8/9 – Washington DC – Jiffy Lube Live

8/11 – Cincinnati, OH – Riverbend Music Center

8/12 – Charlotte, NC – PNC Music Pavilion

8/13 – Virginia Beach, VA – Farm Bureau Live at Virginia Beach

8/15 – Atlanta, GA – Aaron’s Amphitheatre at Lakewood

8/16 – Tampa, FL – MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheatre

8/18 – West Palm Beach, FL – Coral Sky Amphitheatre

8/21 -Houston, TX – Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion

8/22 – Austin, TX – Austin360 Amphitheater

8/23 – Dallas, TX – Gexa Energy Pavilion

8/25 – Denver, CO – Red Rocks Amphitheatre

8/29 – Fayetteville, NC – Crown Complex

www.uknowbigsean.com

http://smarturl.it/BigSeanApp

@The Basement

79 Poplar Street
Atlanta GA, 30303

Maybach Music Group/Atlantic Records artist Wale eagerly announces details of his highly anticipated new album, “THE ALBUM ABOUT NOTHING,” which arrives everywhere on March 31st. The album’s new single, “The Matrimony (feat. Usher) – which Entertainment Weekly called “a pretty spectacular hip-hop ballad” – premiered earlier this week via a blockbuster partnership with iHeart Media, where the song was played on all iHeart media urban mainstream stations and their websites, every hour on the hour. “The Matrimony (feat. Usher)” is now available at all DSPs (http://smarturl.it/WMatrimony) & streaming at http://youtu.be/A0PUGSh0GUU. The album also includes the recent hit single, “The Body (feat. Jeremih),” which peaked at #2 on Mediabase’s Urban chart. That song’s companion video clip is fast approaching 3 million individual page views at http://youtu.be/zQMMI8itli8.

Adding to all this, “THE ALBUM ABOUT NOTHING” is now available for pre-order via Wale’s official web store by visiting: http://smarturl.it/TAANBundle. Fans who purchase this special pre-order bundle will receive a one-of-a-kind Wale snapback as well as a copy of “THE ALBUM ABOUT NOTHING,” which will be paired with exclusive artwork, designed by Sue Tsai that is only available online upon purchasing this pre-order bundle. Wale himself will soon unveil two additional album covers, which will be available at physical retailers, when the album is released on March 31st.

“THE ALBUM ABOUT NOTHING” sees Wale continuing his famed “ABOUT NOTHING” mixtape trilogy with his most eclectic, entertaining, and extraordinary album to date. As its title suggests, the album sees the GRAMMY®-nominated rapper continuing to express the inspiration of his favorite TV show, Seinfeld – a relationship that has since blossomed into a real life friendship between Wale and Jerry Seinfeld himself. The legendary comedian is prominently featured on “THE ALBUM ABOUT NOTHING,” contributing skits and segments which fuel Wale’s one-of-a-kind raps. The two superstars recently sat down at New York City’s Remedy Diner for an exclusive cover feature in the December 2014/January 2015 issue of Complex (www.complex.com/covers/wale-seinfeld-interview-2014-cover-story)

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Wale is of course one of the most idiosyncratic talents in hip-hop history. The Washington, DC-based rapper began unleashing his distinctive mixtapes in 2005, ultimately releasing his debut album, “ATTENTION DEFECIT,” in 2009. He signed with Maybach Music Group in 2011 and soon unveiled his breakthrough second album, “AMBITION.” Highlighted by such singles as the RIAA gold certified “Lotus Flower Bomb (Feat. Miguel),” the album debuted at #1 on both Billboard’s “Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums” and “Top Rap Albums” charts while also entering at #2 on the overall Billboard “Top 200 Albums” chart. High profile appearances on a variety of MMG releases followed, including label founder Rick Ross’ RIAA gold certified, GRAMMY®-nominated “GOD FORGIVE, I DON’T,” as well as all three volumes of the massively popular “MMG PRESENTS: SELF MADE” series.

The rapper’s third studio album, “THE GIFTED,” was released in June 2013 and proved a milestone, exploding to the #1 spot on the Billboard “Top 200 Albums” chart after its first week of release. What’s more, the album’s lead single, “Bad (Feat. Tiara Thomas),” achieved RIAA platinum certification for sales in excess of 1 million after ascending to the upper reaches of Billboard’s “Hot 100” – Wale’s highest charting hit single thus far.

For more information on Wale, visit www.walemusic.com, www.facebook.com/waleofficial, https://twitter.com/Wale, www.youtube.com/user/walemusic, & http://instagram.com/wale.

March 23rd 2015 is the official release date for Kendrick Lamar’s second album…

On Friday afternoon (Mar. 6), the rapper posted an iTunes link to Twitter that is a placeholder link for a new album, with a $14.99 pre-order button. As of now, the link leads to a “Digital Booklet – TBD” item, with no artwork and “[Untitled]” where the album title would be.