BOOSIE BADAZZ ANNOUNCES FIRST SHOW EVER IN NYC

FOLLOWING THE RELEASE OF “TOUCH DOWN 2 CAUSE HELL”;

LEGENDARY RAPPER HERALDS FIRST FULL-LENGTH RELEASE IN FOUR YEARS

WITH NEW TRACKS, “HANDS UP” AND “RETALITATION”;

“TOUCH DOWN 2 CAUSE HELL” OFFICIALLY DROPS MAY 26TH

Trill Entertainment and Atlantic Records recording artist Boosie BadAzz has announced his first show ever in NYC on May 26th at Webster hall. Tickets will be available for purchase tomorrow at http://bit.ly/BoosieNYC. The show will celebrate the delivery of his long awaited new album “TOUCH DOWN 2 CAUSE HELL,” which is available for pre-order here http://smarturl.it/TD2CH.

“TOUCH DOWN 2 CAUSE HELL” is preceded by the new tracks, “Hands Up” https://youtu.be/8FzEY7pvU-s and “Retaliation” https://youtu.be/K86fdjt8fns. The massively anticipated album – which also includes the street single, “On That Level (Feat. Webbie)” – is further heralded by Boosie’s “TOUCH DOWN 2 CAUSE HELL” documentary trailer, now streaming at https://youtu.be/4kBTEi2PD_0. Episodes 1 and 2 have already been released and can be viewed via his official YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPVfeAUR89G53sbucOsv6lg.

Boosie BadAzz – until recently known worldwide as Lil’ Boosie – is among the most celebrated rappers of his generation. The Baton Rouge native first lit up the hip hop underground at just 17 and soon teamed with the renowned label Trill Entertainment to unleash a series of undisputed classics, including 2003’s “GHETTO STORIES” and 2004’s “GANGSTA MUSIK” (both with longtime collaborator Webbie), and 2009’s top 10 breakthrough, “SUPERBAD: THE RETURN OF BOOSIE BADAZZ.” His fifth and most recent solo album, 2010’s “INCARCERATED,” was recorded and released while serving a 96-month prison sentence at Angola Louisiana State Penitentiary. The album earned widespread acclaim, with SPIN hailing it as “an enormously heartfelt album that makes his legal plight even more of a feel-bad story.”

Released in March 2014 after serving a reduced sentence of 52 months, Boosie made his first public statements at the #BOOSIESPEAKS press conference, streamed live from New Orleans to his global fan following. The event proved one of the largest urban streams in Atlantic Records history with 40K people logged on and 177K overall viewers.

Since then, Boosie has been among this year’s most active and in demand rappers, with appearances on such tracks as 2 Chainz “Wuda Cuda Shuda (Feat. Lil Boosie),” Dorrough Music’s “Beat Up The Block (Feat. Lil Boosie),” DJ Mustard’s “Face Down (Feat. Lil Wayne, Big Sean, YG & Lil Boosie),” Jeezy’s “Beez Like (Feat. Lil Boosie),” and T.I.’s “Jet Fuel (Feat. Boosie Badazz).”

For more information, please log on to http://www.officialboosie.com/, twitter.com/lilboosie_ (@lilboosie_), www.trillent.com, and www.atlanticrecords.com.

BOOSIE BADAZZ

“TOUCH DOWN 2 CAUSE HELL”

(Trill Entertainment/Atlantic)

Release Date: May 26th

Seems like Snoop Dogg has a message for cats coming up in the Hip Hop game… Be original… The Golden Era in Hip Hop was so great because of the varying styles that were on display… You had choices… Now… Well I will let Snoop elaborate…

“I love Future.. Migos… I love all them. Drake” Snoop stated. “They my n—-s, but I don’t know who is who when the record is over.

“When I came out as a rapper,” he continued, “everyone had their own style. If you sounded like someone else, that word was called biting. You biting my style, you biting my s—.”

Snoop Dogg continued by discussing his tribute to Slick Rick and Doug E. Fresh… “I paid n—-s who I grew up loving. I’m gonna redo your song, get you paid all over again, and let everybody know it’s your shit, and put a twist on it for the new kids who don’t even know it exist,” he said of the song. “That’s a different way of showing love as opposed to everyone rapping the same style.”

According to Billboard… Bill O’Reilly is blaming the decline of religion in America on hip-hop… I guess you gotta blame something… Truth be told there are tons of reasons religion has taken a back seat in the U.S… And I believe the thought of the American dream has more to do with it than anything else… Wealth!!! You know the thing that is the root of all evil… Money… What does that make Money Mayweather? The Devil?…

Back to Bill… “There is no question that people of faith are being marginalized by a secular media and pernicious entertainment,” O’Reilly stated… “The rap industry, for example, often glorifies depraved behavior. That sinks into the minds of some young people — the group that is most likely to reject religion.”

According to Billboard the Washington Post points out that black Americans are actually the least likely group to reject religion these days. And considering that black Americans are statistically more likely to listen to hip-hop than white Americans, the whole “hip-hop is killing religion” argument almost immediately falls apart.

Insane Clown Posse comes in at #2 with “Marvelous Missing Link (Lost)”

In ESSENCE’s groundbreaking February 2015 ‘Black Lives Matter’ issue, ESSENCE editors and a myriad of esteemed contributors focused attention on the daring modern-day civil rights movement unfolding across the nation and set the agenda for ‘What We Must Do Now’ with a bold dialogue in the pages of the magazine. Today, Essence is announcing a slate of empowerment programming and a ‘Peace, Prayer & Purpose Rally’ to bring that conversation to life during the daytime Empowerment Experience at the 2015 ESSENCE Festival, July 2-5 in New Orleans.

“Communities across the country are rallying for justice, as Black Americans face systemic inequalities and troubling disparities with respect to police brutality, employment, education, earning power, health and upward socio-economic mobility,” said Essence President Michelle Ebanks. “In an effort to shed light on the issues, address the pain, explore solutions and advance the movement in these critical times, Essence is unveiling a series of powerful keynotes and in-depth conversations that will culminate in the ‘Peace, Prayer & Purpose Rally’.”

The ESSENCE Empowerment Experience programming will extend the conversation on race relations; addressing where we are now and where we go from here with a wide range of the nation’s foremost leaders, activists and influencers—including Deepak Chopra, Rev. Al Sharpton, Steve Harvey, Iyanla Vanzant, Donna Brazile and many more.

In addition, prominent mayors, including Karen Freeman-Wilson (Gary, IN) and Mitch Landrieu (New Orleans, LA), will join a Mayor’s Panel for a deep-dive conversation on the critical issues and best-practices in communities around the country; Sybrina Fulton, mother of Trayvon Martin, will deliver a keynote address entitled Moms on a Mission: Mothers Turning Tragedy Into Triumphant Change; and leading experts, including Senator Karen Carter Peterson, Dr. Steve Perry, Nicole Paultre Bell and more will weigh in on the educational, policy and social issues impacting our communities for a discussion on Where Do We Go From Here: Black Lives Matter. The Empowerment Experience Sunday Prayer Vigil and All-Star Gospel Tribute round out the weekend programs with poignant moments of reflection, rededication and inspiration.

For more information about schedules, ticket sales, accommodations and the latest news about the ESSENCE Festival, visit ESSENCE Festival www.essencefestival.com, join the Festival community: follow us on Twitter @essencefest #EssenceFest and become a fan of 2015 ESSENCE Festival on Facebook.

The 2015 ESSENCE Festival™ is executive produced by ESSENCE Festivals LLC, a division of ESSENCE Communications Inc. (ECI), and produced by Solomon Group. GeChar is the executive producer of the 2015 ESSENCE Empowerment Experience and Empower U.

Sponsors of the 2015 ESSENCE Festival include presenting sponsor Coca-Cola and major sponsors Ford, McDonald’s, My Black Is Beautiful, Samsung Galaxy, State Farm, Verizon, Walmart and official media partner MSNBC. Superlounge sponsors include Coca-Cola, Ford, Verizon and Walmart. The All-Star Gospel Tribute is sponsored by Walmart.

ABOUT ESSENCE COMMUNICATIONS INC.:
ESSENCE Communications Inc. (ECI) is the number one media company dedicated to African-American women, with a multi-platform presence in publishing, live events and online. The company’s flagship publication, ESSENCE magazine, is the preeminent lifestyle magazine for African-American women; generating brand extensions such as the ESSENCE Festival, ESSENCE Black Women in Hollywood and Black Women in Music, Window on Our Women and Smart Beauty consumer insights series, the ESSENCE Book Club, ESSENCE.com, and ventures in digital media (mobile, television and VOD). For 45 years, ESSENCE, which has a brand reach of 13.4 million, has been the leading source of cutting-edge information and specific solutions relating to every area of African-American women’s lives. Additional information about ECI and ESSENCE is available at www.essence.com.

SOURCE ESSENCE magazine

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LEONA LEWIS JOINS ISLAND RECORDS UK AND DEF JAM RECORDINGS U.S.

NEW TRACK AND VIDEO, “FIRE UNDER MY FEET,” DEBUTS WORLDWIDE ON VEVO

SPECIAL SHOWCASE AT THE HOSPITAL CLUB IN LONDON PREVIEWS SONGS FROM FORTHCOMING ALBUM I AM TO RAVE REVIEWS

Multi-platinum, award-winning, world-class British singer Leona Lewis becomes the newest artist to join the Def Jam Recordings roster in the U.S. – via Island Records in the UK. Island released her new track and video, “Fire Under My Feet.” http://www.vevo.com/watch/leona-lewis/Fire-Under-My-Feet/GBUV71500226

“Fire Under My Feet,” co-written by Leona and Toby Gad is the first advance single from I AM, Leona’s eagerly anticipated fifth album, set for a fall release worldwide. The album was produced by hit­maker Toby Gad (credits: John Legend, One Direction, Fergie, Alicia Keys). Leona recently released an exclusive trailer for her Facebook and Twitter followers: http://po.st/FIRETeaserFB

At a special late-April showcase at the Hospital Club in London, Leona previewed five songs from I AM to ecstatic reviews. In addition to “Fire Under My Feet,” she sang “I Got You,” “Ladders,” “Thank You,” and the album title track, “I Am.” “At last, Leona Lewis is who she wants to be – and it is truly wonderful to behold,” raved the Daily Express. “’Ladders’ and ‘I Am’ are instant crowd-pleasers with thumping basslines and euphoric choruses, which see Lewis grabbing a tambourine and pounding out a hook on the piano.” Echoed MTV.com, “The singer has made her highly anticipated comeback and we can’t wait for more.”

“This is clearly going to be Leona’s statement album,” declared The Independent. “From what we’ve heard so far it’s full of passion, heartache and struggle, but it’s lined with hope and a general sense that this is the happiest she has ever been with what she is performing. Every man and his dog knows that Leona has an incredibly strong vocal, but now she finally has an equally strong voice to go with it.”

Leona Lewis exploded onto the scene in 2007, when she won the UK’s prestigious Ivor Novello Award, and her RIAA platinum debut album Spirit (10x-platinum in the UK) hit #1 on charts around the world, including the U.S., UK, Canada, Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand. The album, which sold over 8 million copies worldwide, was buoyed by a quintet of hit singles, including the RIAA quadruple-platinum “Bleeding Love” (#1 in over 35 countries, with 7 weeks at #1 on the UK chart), followed by “Better In Time,” “Footprints in the Sand,” “Forgive Me,” and “Run.” This set a new record for a British female artist with the highest number of singles reaching Top 5.

In the U.S., “Bleeding Love” was #1 for 4 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100, the biggest-selling single of 2008, which earned Leona the Billboard Music Award for Top New Artist of the Year. She received three Grammy Award® nominations, and went on to record “I See You (theme from Avatar)” at producer-director James Cameron’s personal request.

Spirit made UK history as the top-selling debut album by a female artist; and Leona became the first UK solo artist to hit #1-bullet on the Hot 100 in the U.S. (with “Bleeding Love”) since 1982, and the first UK solo artist to hit #1 with a debut album. Her double-platinum Echo followed in 2009 (featuring “Happy”), then Glassheart in 2012 (with “Trouble” featuring Childish Gambino), and Christmas, With Love in 2013.

In addition to the Ivor Novello Award and the MTV VMA for Best UK Video (for “Bleeding Love”), Leona has won two MOBO Awards in the UK, and more than 20 music awards in countries around the world.

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