Next Level: Roc Nation’s J. Cole puts NC on the hip-hop map

J. Cole is the first artist signed to Jay-Z's Roc Nation label.

By Kia O. Moore (kia@mingleberry.com)

Fayetteville native Jermaine Cole (J. Cole) posses the talent to make the hip-hop world recognize N.C. as the miniature N.Y.C. of the South. With the demeanor and lyrical dexterity of the great Regional Era (’93-’00) MC’s, this fresh faced rap rookie is gunning for the summa cum laude¹ title in hip-hop’s New School Class of rappers.

This magna cum laude² St. John’s University alum was the first artist signed to Jay-Z’s Roc Nation label. He was handpicked by Mr. S. Carter himself, and was featured on the Blueprint 3 album. Jay-Z allowed him to lay a verse down on the track “A star is born.” It is not uncommon for Jay-Z to feature unknown artists and producers on his tracks. In an Associated Press article Jay-Z said that he loves the energy that raw talent brings to his albums. He also loves to give newcomers the opportunity to crossover into the mainstream.

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2009 Queen City Awards Winners

Hip Hop

Hip Hop Artist of the Year (Male): Cutty Boy

Hip Hop Artist of the Year (Female): Shelly B

Hip Hop Group of the Year: Tripple Threat

R&B

R&B Artist of the Year (Male): Joe Barrino

R&B Artist of the Year (Female): Neesha

R&B Band: Intertwyne

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2009 Queen City Awards

by Kia O. Moore (kia@mingleberry.com)

The 3^rd Annual Queen City Awards, held at club Skandolos (E. Independence Blvd.) on Dec. 12, was a semi-organized event that showered accolades on Charlotte’s entertainment community. This year’s award organizers, TalkofNC.com and CarolinaArtist.net, expanded award categories beyond the urban market. The genres of rock and country had a strong presence this year. Few were in attendance to actually accept awards in all 26 categories, which made the event more local talent showcase than award ceremony.

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SNOOP DOGG Launches Custom Voice Phrases For TomTom GPS

Snoop Dogg has teamed with UK based company VoiceSkins.com to launch the rapper’s GPS voice for users of the TomTom GPS navigation system. Snoop will bring his Hip-Hop verbage to the TomTom GPS system with “Snoop Speak” phrases that help users navigate their surroundings.

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CHRIS BROWN To Appear On 20/20

Written by DJ Cisco

Wednesday, December 02, 2009 - BlackVibes.com

According to the ABC network Chris Brown will appear on 20/20 for an interview on December 11. Robin Roberts, anchor of ABC’s Good Morning America, conducted the interview which is being described an in-depth interview. Brown will discuss his fight with singer Rihanna last February. Brown’s first interview after the assault was on Larry King Live. He previously expressed his discomfort due to Rihanna’s interview with ABC’s Diane Sawyer, who interviewed the singer earlier in November.

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BEYONCE, TAYLOR SWIFT Lead Grammy Nominations

Wednesday, December 02, 2009 - Reuters

LOS ANGELES - R&B singer Beyonce led the field of Grammy contenders with 10 nominations, followed by teen country sensation Taylor Swift with eight, organizers of the music industry’s top awards said on Wednesday.

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KATT WILLIAMS Explains Arrest, Shooting Movie In Georgia

Katt Williams allegedly carried a crowbar when he entered an Atlanta-area home and made off with $3,555 in jewelry and collectable coins, according to police who spoke to the Associated Press about the comedian’s arrest on Sunday.

However, a lawyer for the self-proclaimed pimp says his client is completely innocent of burglary and criminal trespassing charges stemming from accusations that he broke into someone’s home.

The 38-year-old remained at the Coweta County jail Monday after a judge set bond at more than $41,000 during a court hearing.

According to Katt’s lawyer William Briggs, Williams was in Georgia shooting a movie and staying at the property of the movie’s producer, Barry Hankerson. Briggs told TMZ that Williams was involved in a dispute with one of Hankerson’s employees who lives in the guesthouse, and the employee called the cops and reported a faux burglary.

Briggs adds Katt had “full permission” to be on the property and has been staying there for the last three weeks.

In a recording of a 911 call obtained by TMZ, , the caller says Williams wouldn’t let him leave and “threatened to beat me up.” The caller also said he wasn’t sure if Williams had a weapon.

• Williams was admitted to a psych ward in South Carolina last November and was arrested on gun charges in New York before performing hours later at Carnegie Hall. Prosecutors later dropped the charges after encountering problems proving their case. The comedian also skipped his scheduled hosting duties at the 2008 BET Hip-Hop Awards and an appearance on “Late Night With Conan O’Brien.”

Tone-X leaves Power 98 for BET

Photo by Moye

By Kia O. Moore (kia@mingleberry.com)

Anthony Besler, 41, better known as Tone-X, said goodbye to Power 98 on Friday, Oct. 16. He is moving on to the land of television to work for BET’s The Mo’Nique Show.

No Limit Larry and the Morning Maddhouse played a barrage of hilarious Tone-X radio moments to send off this member of the Maddhouse brethren. As the cast laughed and reminisced, listeners called in expressing how much they would miss their “Uncle Tone.” As the listeners spoke to Besler, many had a tremble in their voice as they said goodbye.

When the morning show wrapped, arms began to wrap around Besler’s neck as his co-works said teary eyed farewells. He hugged and shook hands with over a dozen people before exiting the recording rooming he had worked in for so long. He then walked to the waiting area to greet two fans who decided to come to the studio since they could not get through the Power 98 phone lines. He laughed and joked with them for a moment.  Then he thanked them for taking time to come to the studio while waving goodbye as they entered the elevator. He then walked over to me, extended his hand, smiled and said, “You must be the writer.” He lifted my computer bag from the floor and led me to a spot he felt would be nice and quiet: the control room.

Entering Tone-X’s New World

A desk lines a wall with a plexiglass window that looks into the radio station recording room. A programming board and rack of audio equipment sits at one end of the desk and a microphone sits at the other. He rolls a worn stool out from under the desk. The seat upholstering is busting at the seams as the yellow foam padding protrudes out of the corners. It may have been at the station as long as Besler. Power 98 listeners have heard his bass accented voice hum through their stereo speakers from 5:50 a.m. to 10 a.m. for over a decade.

Besler sits atop the stool. As the tape recorder starts, Besler’s right knee begins to rhythmically bob up and down. It is like his body is unconsciously keeping time as he squeezes one last interview into his schedule. Besler has only had a few days to wrap up his long lasting radio career, pack him and his family’s belongings and make arrangements for their big move to Atlanta, Ga. He has been hired as a network writer for The Mo’Nique Show, BET’s Atlanta based late night talk show. “I had a six day turnaround to leave something that I had been doing for 11 years and get prepared,” he explains.

Leaving behind the day-in and day-out lighthearted conversations with his radio family on the Morning Maddhouse is a little unnerving. To him, the only way he will make it in this unfamiliar land of television entertainment is to trust in God and  trust in himself. “I’m trying to really step out on faith and trying to believe in myself enough to walk away from something I have been doing for 11 years,” he says. 41-year-old Besler recognizes that he has been prepared for this new phase in his career for a while. “God’s time is different than ours. I would have needed and liked more time [than six days] to get myself together, but in God’s time…you are already together,” he says.

Pastor Charles E. Jacobs Jr. of Next Level Ministries knows that Besler is ready for this next phase in his life. Pastor Jacobs enters the control room, interrupting the interview, but he needs to say a few words to Besler before he leaves for Georgia. As Pastor Jacobs talks to Besler in a low steady voice, Besler’s leg stops shaking (which has been moving since the begining of the interview).

Pastor Jacobs tells Besler that he possesses strength and the ability to encourage others. Pastor Jacobs tells Besler that success is awaiting him in Georgia. Besler reveals to Pastor Jacobs that he cannot believe the wonderful text messages people are sending him. “It’s crazy, people tell you have been a blessing to them and you don’t even realize it,” Besler says.

Laughing his way to Success

Besler realized he was on a path to success in 1995. He won a comedy competition sponsored by Zima Clear Malt Liquor held at the Comedy Zone, then located on E. Independence Blvd. His first attempted at organized stand-up comedy landed him a new job and a chance to perform with established comedians. He was hired to host Comedy Zone’s “Freaky Tuesdays.” For two years he traveled back and forth from his hometown of Wilmington, N.C. to host the show.

In 1997 those weekly trips from Wilmington to Charlotte ended. In July 1997, Power 98 hired him. He joined the BJ Murphy and the Breakfast Brothers Morning Show cast. From then on the Queen City knew the voice of Anthony Besler as Tone-X. The Power 98 morning show line-up changed over the years but Besler was kept on the roster. He continued to contribute his message-laced comedy to No Limit Larry and the Morning Maddhouse. In April 2008 he began Tone X and Friends, which became a nightlife hot spot. Charlotte residents flocked to the comedy show to hear comics that kept them clutching their belly.

As of October 16, 2009, the radio chapter of  Besler’s career has ended. His mind is now focused on The Mo’Nique Show. “Making moves in your life is just like space and time,” he says. He points to an object lying on the table. “You see that notebook you got sitting on the desk. It is occupying a space. Nothing else can go there until you move that notebook. Even when you move the notebook you got to put it somewhere else.” He continues, “The only thing that makes sense is to put it somewhere where there is some space—so my career is like that notebook. I got to move from Power 98 to another space in order to go into the next phase [of my career].”

Mainstream Stardom with The Mo’Nique Show

Besler says that he always knew this mainstream recognition was right around the corner, but he never knew when right around the corner was. He says his new tagline will read, “I’m one of the funniest comedians you should have known sooner.” Comedienne Mo’Nique has known just how funny Besler was for quite awhile. They have known each for 18 years.

She informed Besler that she had a TV show in the works and wanted him to be a part of it. Besler didn’t think it would turn into a real job. “In the entertainment world people say thing like that all the time in passing,” he explains.  When Mo’Nique had the BET deal ready, she offered Besler a job as a scriptwriter. “I didn’t know how to feel, but I thought it was the best thing in the world [that happened to me],” he says.

With television he feels his educational/entertaining comedy will reach more people at once. “The beautiful thing about television is you never know how many people are watching you and where they are watching you. With The Mo’nique Show you’re talkin’ ’bout the Caribbean, Japan, Africa. It’s worldwide,” he says. For him, being a behind-the-scene guy is just as satisfying as being the person out front. “It feels good when you are sitting and watching the show and you recognize a line you came up with or a concept that your writing team put together,” he says.

The Mo’Nique Show is not limiting Besler to scriptwriting. He is on-air talent too. From time to time Besler will do skits, play characters, and act as a man-on-the-street liaison. Recently he represented The Mo’Nique Show as the red carpet consultant for the 2009 BET Hip Hop Awards. Besler says a chance to be on the red carpet made work feel like play. “You are out there interacting with all the kats you listen to on the radio!” He chatted with Snoop, Ice Cube, Sheree from Real Housewives of Atlanta and the list goes on. That experience made Besler understand the flashback stories so many successful people recount. “Last year I was asking Power 98, ‘Can I go to the BET Hip Hop Awards with No Limit?’ They were like, ‘We can’t pay for it, but you can go.’ And now I’m working the red carpet for The Mo’Nique Show,” he recalls.

Besler knows that the move to BET is the next level in his career, but he feels that it is NOT the final level. “It’s [BET] a beautiful thing and it’s big. But it is not as big as it can get,” he says. Besler explains, “If you are trying to find Tone-X, your neck is gonna get tired because you’re gonna have to look up. When I say up, I’m not talking where the planes are at. I mean where the space shuttle is…where the satellites are at… You wanna visit me? Go to the space station.”

MTV Names The Hottest MC’s of 2009

Whether you agree or not, MTV has named the hottest MC’s of 2009!

*Drum rollllll*

#10 – Raekwon

#9 – 50 Cent

#8 – Fabolous

#7 – Young Jeezy

#6 – Gucci Mane (Really???)

#5 – Rick Ross

#4 – Kanye West

#3 – Drake

#2 – Lil Wanye

And #1….Jay-Z!

Who needs to be removed, dropped a few spots, or given more props? Let us know…

JAY-Z Stays At Top Of Billboard Album Chart; Will Appear On OPRAH, Thurs. 9/24

Jay Z

Wednesday, September 23, 2009 - Atlantic

New York, NY - JAY-Z’s “The Blueprint 3” debuted at the top of the Billboard album charts last week selling over 475,000 copies. With that grand entry on to the charts, JAY-Z surpassed Elvis Presley as the solo act with the most # 1 albums in the history of Billboard. Now “The Blueprint 3” reigns supreme for a second consecutive week with sales of 297,911 copies.

The album’s success has been propelled by unprecedented fan support, hit singles, “D.O.A. (Death Of Autotune) and “Run This Town” with Rihanna and Kanye West, and “Empire State of Mind” with Alicia Keys which is the #1 selling digital single in the country this week selling 205k copies. JAY-Z has also made high profile appearances on HBO’s “Real Time With Bill Maher,” and “Late Show With David Letterman,” a BET three part special, “Food For Thought,” and performances on the MTV Video Music Awards and “The Jay Leno Show.”

Continuing momentum that hasn’t been seen in years, at long last, JAY-Z will make his highly anticipated debut appearance on “The Oprah Winfrey Show.” The show, airing, Thursday, September 24th builds upon their initial conversation in Brooklyn, New York’s Marcy Projects.

“The Blueprint 3” excitement began in June when the album was originally scheduled for release on Friday, September 11th. Overwhelming demand dictated the album be made available 6 days earlier. “The Blueprint 3” went on sale Saturday, September 5th exclusively on line at Rhapsody and Tuesday, September 8th in retail stores.

“The Blueprint 3” is the last chapter of the “Blueprint” series. Its release date paid homage to the date of the original “Blueprint,” Tuesday, September 11, 2001. Recognizing the events of that date, JAY-Z staged the historic “ANSWER THE CALL” charity concert at New York’s legendary Madison Square Garden. 100% of the proceeds from ticket sales and concert merchandise benefited the “New York Police and Fire Widows’ and Children’s Benefit Fund. Airing in HD and commercial-free on the music television network FUSE, the wildly successful sold-out concert featured artists Beyonce, Mary J. Blige, Rihanna, Kanye West, John Mayer, Pharrell Williams, Swizz Beatz, Kid Cudi and Memphis Bleek, and ranked among the highest-rated television programs in Fuse history.

JAY-Z is currently performing with Coldplay in the UK before returning to the U.S. for his stateside tour beginning October 9th.