This past Tuesday, May 14, was a good day. I got a chance to kick it with rap veteran and former Ruff Ryder Eve (through the phone) on the official album release day for her first project in 11 years, the much-anticipated Lip Lock. For Eve, it was an activity-laden day filled with seemingly endless phone interviews and appearances, but when I spoke to her, she was absolutely right in the pocket and in her element. During our conversation, not only did Eve share the inspiration for her long-awaited return to music, but also her thoughts on living large in London, sisterhood (or the lack thereof) among female hip-hop artists, collaborating with the likes of fellow female MC Missy Elliott and Snoop Lion, and what she’d say to her former paramour Stevie J if she were to bump into him on the street.

(Check out Eve’s Style Evolution: Then Vs. Now!)

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An old-new Aaliyah song hit the ‘net making fans miss the fallen singer even more. “Quit Hatin’” is the airy R&B  drum heavy ballad produced by Knotch and Dre Sinatra. It’s the classic tale of a woman’s friends warning her against a new lover. And Aaliyah’s response is for them to quit hatin’. It’s been almost 12 years since the unfortunate tragedy so the vocals are at least  a decade old. Plus, she’s singing about 20″ rims. People have either graduated to 24′s or no rims at all. The production however is much newer than the vocals giving the record a new millennium feel.  Read more…

It’s beginning to feel a lot like yesteryear, and by yesteryear we mean the golden days of the 90s. Who other than Missy Elliott and Timbaland on a track can bring on a rush of nostalgia? Sure it’s not the first time the two have jumped on a track together recently (Missy’s “9th Inning” in September) but the continuation of the duo making music together means there’s only more to come. And this makes us happy.

Despite its namesake, “The Party Anthem” is a pretty chill mid-tempo track featuring Lil Wayne, T-Pain and Missy. Where has T-Pain been? The song gets exciting when Missy comes in with her fast semi-animated flow. “Saying I’m too old to rap, I’ll be rapping til I wear dentures,” she raps. “I’m back on the mic with Timb,” she reminds. After Drake’s announcement of co-producing Aaliyah’s posthumous album without any involvement from Missy and Timb, fans felt slighted. Aaliyah made great music with the pair. (Have we forgiven Drake for this yet?) It’s just good hearing the two friends and collaborators recording together again. All we need is the 2013 version of “Up Jumps Da’ Boogie.”

Timbaland f. Lil Wayne, Missy Elliott & T-Pain “The Party Anthem” [Hip Hop DX]

[Photo: Getty Images]

It’s true, Missy Elliott “ain’t quite finished yet.” Last night, she and her other-half, Timbaland, swung by Hot 97 to talk comeback and to debut the first two tracks off of her upcoming album, tentatively titled Block Party. The first we’ve heard from these two in years, and out of the gate they come charging with “9th Inning” and “Triple Threat,” boasting about their “real rap, real bars” and just about everything else, too.

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The word on Aaliyah‘s posthumous album keeps changing. Drake‘s producing it — he’s got her face tatted on his back and everything, so you know it’s real. But shouldn’t Timbaland and Missy or someone who was there the first time have a say in it? But, oh wait, Drake’s got a new song and it features unheard Aaliyah vocals. No, not a Drake song, it’s a new Aaliyah song. The family won’t let that happen. Or maybe they will?

On Wednesday night, a man claiming to be Barry Hankerson, Aaliyah’s uncle and the CEO of Blackground records, tweeted a picture of what could be the album’s cover with a message that said: “Aaliyah 16 unreleased tracks 2013 stay tuned.” And then he kept tweeting it, to the attention of a slew of influential musicians and publications like Perez Hilton and Nicki Minaj and Complex, and with Drake and Noah ’40′ Shebib mentioned as producers. And so with the support of Aaliyah’s family (or, at least some of them, or someone claiming to be them) and Drake and 40 on board as producers, this album actually seems to be happening. Read more…

Over the last few weeks, Executive Vice President of A&R at Atlantic Records Mike Caren has been making noise about a new Director position open in his department. While news of the Urban/Rhythmic-focused gig spread through re-tweets and industry word-of-mouth, it appears a different role in Atlantic’s A&R department was also up for grabs: Senior Vice President.

Late last night, Atlanta DJ Greg Street of V103 announced over the air that Jeezy was joining forces with Atlantic Records; not added to their artist roster, the Snow Man would instead be considered an addition to their staff, lending his expertise to Mike Caren’s A&R group by landing the role of Senior VP.

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