Wiz Khalifa and Mac Miller Announce Under the Influence of Music Tour

Magnetic rappers and live performers, Wiz Khalifa and Mac Miller team-up for the Under the Influence of Music Tour with special guests Kendrick Lamar, Schoolboy Q and Chevy Woods.  The Live Nation produced tour is scheduled to begin on July 26th in Cincinnati, at the Riverbend Music Center, with additional dates and opening acts to be announced soon. Tickets go on sale to the public on April 20th at 4:20pm local time at Ticketmaster.com and LiveNation.com.

“I’m really excited for this tour, for the fans and as a fan of music myself.  It’s gonna be trippy!” said Khalifa.   “I’m excited to go on a tour like this because it brings a group of individuals together to move across the country as a unit to showcase great music,” adds Miller.

Beginning on Thursday, April 19th, fans who visit www.facebook.com/livenation and RSVP to the presale will have early access to tickets.  Citi cardmembers will have access to presale tickets beginning Tuesday, April 17th at 10am local time through Citi’s Private Pass Program.  For complete presale details visit www.citiprivatepass.com.  Citi is the official credit card of the Under the Influence of Music Tour .

Both Wiz Khalifa and Mac Miller have tremendous live followings.  Wiz Khalifa has performed over 350 shows since the beginning of 2010 with major tours including “Deal or No Deal,” “Campus Consciousness” and last summer’s 45 date sell-out the “Rolling Papers Tour.”  He has also played at more than 50 universities and colleges over the past 14 months.  Major festival appearances include: Bonnaroo, Coachella, Bamboozle, Bumbershoot, Rock The Bells, Summer Camp, Soundset and more. 

Khalifa has released three albums which have resonated with fans and critics across the country including Show and Prove (2006), Deal or No Deal (2009) and Rolling Papers (2011).  Khalifa’s megahit single from Rolling Papers, “Black and Yellow,” has sold over 3.6 million copies, for a total of more than 7 million singles sold from Rolling Papers alone, which was his Atlantic Records debut.  Khalifa also released a movie soundtrack with Snoop Dogg, “Mac & Devin Go To High School,” which featured the hit single “Young, Wild, and Free,” selling more than 2.5 million copies.

Mac Miller has performed more than 200 shows in 2011 with major tours including “The Incredibly Dope Tour” and last fall’s 80-date sold out U.S. “Blue Slide Park Tour.”  Miller is currently out on the first leg of his “Macadelic” tour where fans and critics alike have praised his live performances.  Like Khalifa, Miller has a loyal collegiate following having performed at 70 universities and colleges since the beginning of 2011.  His festival appearances include: Hang Out Fest, Bonnaroo, Paid Dues, Bamboozle, Rock The Bells, Roots Picnic, Governor’s Ball, Soundset and more.

Miller’s release of “Blue Slide Park” (Rostrum, 11/8/11) was the first indie #1 album debut since 1995. 

His debut digital only EP, “On And On And Beyond,” released in 2011, has sold 90,000 copies.  He also has two gold singles to his credit including “Knock, Knock” and “Donald Trump” with little to no radio airplay.

Under the Influence of Music Tour
July 26  Cincinnati, OH  Riverbend Music Center
July 27  Chicago, IL  First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre
July 28  Indianapolis, IN  Klipsch Music Center
July 29  Toronto, ON  Molson Canadian Amphitheatre**
Aug. 1  Boston, MA  Comcast Center
Aug. 2  New York, NY  Nikon at Jones Beach Theater*
Aug. 3  Philadelphia, PA  Susquehanna Bank Center
Aug. 4  Pittsburgh, PA  First Niagara Pavilion
Aug. 5  Detroit, MI  DTE Energy Music Theatre
*Mac Miller is not confirmed for New York.
**School Boy Q is not confirmed for Toronto.

For additional information, please visit:  Ticketmaster.com, WizKhalifa.com and MacMillerOfficial.com.

 

Kanye West Changes Title of “Theraflu” to “Way Too Cold” Feat. DJ Khaled

Last week, Kanye West lit up the airwaves with a surprise Funkmaster Flex exclusive of his incendiary new track “Theraflu” through New York’s Hot 97. Within hours, the track and its vivid, revealing, personal lyrics had taken over the blogosphere, streets and clubs, inciting a firestorm in the press, both on and offline. Praised by fans and attacked by detractors, “Theraflu” ignited controversy the way only a new Kanye West track can.

Today, Kanye announces the creative decision to title the track ‘Way Too Cold’ feat. DJ Khaled.

Whether it’s been through his pioneering lifestyle blog, his unabashed, frequently controversial twitter feed, or his wildly popular “G.O.O.D. Fridays” download series, Kanye West has always used the online space – perhaps as well as any artist of his era – to give fans access to his creative world. Now, in an effort to bring his fans the freshest, most undiluted version of his music, Kanye will offer “Way Too Cold” for sale through his website kanyewest.com. This direct digital offering marks a first for West. The track will also be made available to all digital retailers and services.

The release of “Way Too Cold” only heightened the thirst for “Mercy,” the first track off of the upcoming G.O.O.D. Music project. On Thursday evening, ClearChannel stations nationwide were given a first pass at “Mercy,” resulting in hundreds of plays nationwide before the track dropped exclusively on iTunes at 12:01 Friday morning…G.O.O.D. Friday.

“Mercy” – featuring G.O.O.D. Music labelmates Big Sean and Pusha T, along with an all-star assist from 2 Chainz, arguably the hottest new artist coming out of the South – is the first single from the hotly anticipated G.O.O.D. Music album, which will see its release this summer. The project will mark the second official release through G.O.O.D. Music’s new venture with Def Jam Recordings, to be followed this year by Big Sean’s sophomore effort, Kanye West’s next solo album, and future releases from Pusha T, Q-Tip and many more.

Stay tuned for further details on the G.O.O.D. Music album in coming weeks, as well as info on the label’s burgeoning roster of talent, helmed by one of music’s greatest forces, Kanye West.

Kevin Hart at the Chicago Premier of the film “Think Like A Man”

Actor and comedian Kevin Hart attended the fan filled theaters at Showplace Icon on Roosevelt in Chicago for the premier of the film “Think Like A Man.”  UnRated Urban Magazine as well as all Chicago media lined up the red carpet arrival for Hart. 

ABOUT “Think Like A Man”
Based on Steve Harvey’s best-selling book, Think Like a Man follows four interconnected and diverse men whose love lives are shaken up after the ladies they are pursuing buy Harvey’s book and start taking his advice to heart. When the band of brothers realize they have been betrayed by one of their own, they conspire using the book’s insider information to turn the tables and teach the women a lesson of their own. The movie is directed by Tim Story and written by Keith Merryman & David A. Newman.
The all-star cast includes: Kevin Hart (Laugh At My Pain), Taraji P. Henson ( TV’s Person Of Interest, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button), Michael Ealy (Takers), Meagan Good (Jumping The Broom), Terrence J (TV’s 106 & Park), Romany Malco (The 40 Year Old Virgin), Regina Hall (Scary Movie series), Gabrielle Union (Good Deeds) and Jerry Ferrara (TV’s Entourage).

Screen Gems’ THINK LIKE A MAN opens in theaters on Friday, April 20, 2012

In addition to doing the film premier, Kevin Hart, is on the road with his new tour “Let Me Explain.” The tour will take Hart to 90 cities in the U.S., and internationally to cities in Europe and Africa. Next on April 27, 2012, Hart can be seen in Universal’s Nick Stoller comedy Five Year Engagement by producer Judd Apatow.

Photo by Raymond Boyd

Grammy Award-Winning Artist Seal Announces Summer North American Tour

On the heels of sold out European and Australian tours, Multi-Grammy-winning singer and songwriter Sealannounced today that he will embark on a North American tour this summer. Seal will hit major cities across the US and Canada including LA, New York, Nashville and Montreal.  Fresh off of touring in Australia, Seal is bringing his talents back to North America to perform fan favorites and songs from his eighth studio album, Soul 2, which debuted in the Top 10 on the Billboard charts.

 

The tour kicks off on July 6th in Montreal, QC and tickets are available beginning Friday, April 6th at www.ticketmaster.com or visit www.seal.com for more information.

“I love my fans and I love the connection I have with them when I perform live,” said Seal. “I can’t wait to bring this show to North America.”

 

Soul 2 finds Seal joining forces once again with legendary producer Trevor Horn (Seal, Seal II, Human Being) who shares production duties on the album with Soul producer David Foster (Soul, Commitment). This time Seal brings his silky, inimitable voice to a lush collection of romantic soul classics primarily from the ’70s, including those by Marvin Gaye, Bill Withers, Al Green, and Teddy Pendergrass, among others.

Over the course of a remarkable career that spans more than two decades, Seal has won four Grammy Awards and sold more than 20 million albums worldwide, enjoying success across numerous genres of music. His emotional, romantic love songs, such as “Prayer For the Dying,” the Grammy Award-winning “Kiss From A Rose,” and “Don’t Cry” (all from 1994’s Seal II), and “Love’s Divine” (from 2003’s Seal IV), delighted fans and earned him critical acclaim.

 

He has also seen great success in the dance/pop music world beginning with his roots in Britain’s house music/rave scene with his debut 1991 album and returning to those roots with 2007’s dancefloor-friendly System. In September 2010, Seal released his seventh studio album Commitment, which peaked at No. 11 on the U.K. chart giving Seal his fifth Top 20 album in his native Britain.

 

TOUR DATES

July 6                     Montreal, QC                                     Montreal Jazz Festival/PdA

July 7                     Orillia, ON                                            Casino Rama

July 10                   Vienna, VA                                         Wolf Trap

July 11                   Mashantucket, CT                           MGM Grand at Foxwoods

July 13                   Cohasset, MA                                    South Shore Music Circus

July 14                   Hyannis, MA                                      Cape Cod Melody Tent

July 17                   New York, NY                                    Beacon Theatre

July 18                   New York, NY                                    Beacon Theatre

July 21                   Cleveland Heights, OH                   Cain Park

July 22                   Highland Park, IL                               Ravinia Festival

July 27                   Memphis, TN                                     Live at The Garden

July 28                   Atlanta, GA                                         Chastain Park Amphitheater

July 29                   Nashville, TN                                      Tennessee Performing Arts Center

July 31                   St. Louis, MO                                     The Fabulous Fox Theatre

Aug 1                     Tulsa, OK                                             Brady Theater

Aug 3                     Tucson, AZ                                          Anselmo Valencia Amphitheater

Aug 4                     Las Vegas, NV                                    The Pearl

Aug 6                     San Diego, CA                                    Humphreys

Aug 7                     Los Angeles, CA                                Nokia Theatre at L.A. LIVE

Aug 9                     Santa Ynez, CA                                  The Chumash Casino Resort

Aug 11                  Santa Rosa, CA                                  Wells Fargo Center

Something from Nothing: The Art of Rap hits theaters June 15th

Ice-T takes us on an intimate journey into the heart and soul of hip-hop with the legends of rap music. This performance documentary goes beyond the stardom and the bling to explore what goes on inside the minds, and erupts from the lips, of the grandmasters of rap. Recognized as the godfather of Gangsta rap, Ice-T is granted unparalleled access to the personal lives of the masters of this artform that he credits for saving his life. Interspersed with the performers’ insightful, touching, and often funny revelations are classic raps, freestyle rhymes, and never before heard a cappellas straight from the mouths of the creators. What emerges is a better understanding of, and a tribute to, an original American art form that brought poetry to a new generation.

For more info, visit theartofrap.com, www.facebook.com/ArtofRap and www.twitter.com/artofrap

The VH1 Save The Music Foundation’s Songwriters Music Series Returns with Robin Thicke in Chicago

On Thursday, April 26th, the VH1 Save The Music Foundation will launch the 2012 Songwriters Music Series in Chicago, IL with an acoustic performance by Award-winning, soul singer-songwriter Robin Thicke . This marks the first stop in the series, sponsored by Swiss watch company RAYMOND WEIL and William Hill Estate Wines, which will then travel to New York City in June and close out at the breathtaking William Hill Estate in Napa Valley this September. Last year’s Songwriters Music Series featured performances by Glee star Matthew Morrison in New York, ACM Award-winning sibling trio The Band Perry in Nashville, Tennessee and Grammy® Award winning musician Colbie Caillat as well as Billboard Magazine “2011 Artist To Watch” Andy Grammer in Los Angeles.

Songwriters Music Series benefits the VH1 Save The Music Foundation in their mission to provide children with access to a complete education that includes music.  These intimate evenings serve as a platform for energized, informed and socially conscious individuals to network amidst great music, a sponsored bar and food.  Each event will also feature today’s emerging musicians and most celebrated artists/bands performing hit songs in support of the cause. In total, the 2011 Songwriters Music Series raised over $358,000, which was enough to restore 11 music education programs nationwide.  This year, the Foundation hopes to raise even more so that a greater number of students are provided the tools they need to create, innovate and become the next great leaders in an increasingly competitive world.

“The VH1 Save The Music Foundation does so much work to ensure that future generations will have the instruction and instruments to help them pursue their dreams,” said Robin Thicke. “I’m just honored to be able to help the cause and put on a show for the amazing city of Chicago.”

Multi-platinum superstar Robin Thicke will kick off the 2012 Songwriters Music Series with a special performance for a select group of ticketholders. Robin’s fifth studio album,  Love After War  was released on December 6th, 2011. The Associated Press calls Love After War a “must buy,” Billboard says “Thicke has consistently shown himself to be one of R&B’s most devoted ladies’ men” and Entertainment Weekly calls the album “ever-seductive.” The album is Thicke at his most raw and honest condition yet. It is an album born out of a desire to be the uncompromising, idealistic artist he was as a boy, married with the weight of being a man with responsibilities and the scars of the past.   Love After War  and songs you’ll discover within it, like “An Angel on Each Arm,” “I’m An Animal,” “Never Give Up,” “Cloud 9,” “Pretty Lil’ Heart” and “Tears On My Tuxedo” need no explanation: they speak for themselves. The album follows Robin’s past hits A Beautiful World, The Evolution of Robin Thicke, Something Else and Sex Therapy .

“We are thrilled to have Robin Thicke perform at the launch of this year’s Songwriters Music Series,” said Paul Cothran, Vice President & Executive Director of the VH1 Save The Music Foundation. “Last year’s events provided an exciting opportunity for music enthusiasts to share in and spread the word about the power of music.  Having an incredible performer and entertainer like Robin Thicke help us launch the 2012 Series is a great start to what will be another great year.”

The Chicago event will take place at an, as yet, undisclosed location from 6:30 PM-10:00 PM and will include opening performances by local sponsors Sing4’s YouTube Contest Winner and Houlihan’s Restaurants employee musicians contest winners. This year, beginning with the first installment, the Foundation will also present an exclusive social media initiative, “Songwriters Moments In Time with RAYMOND WEIL,” which will give audiences everywhere a behind the scenes look at each Songwriters event, with special talent interviews and more. Additional local sponsors include: New Amsterdam Gin, Tequila and Vodka as well as PSAV Chicago.

Tickets for the evening are $100 and can be purchased at www.vh1savethemusic.org/songwriters. For guests who would like to further show their support or are unable to attend any of the events the Foundation is offering additional opportunities to get involved:

Crash & Burn Apparel, a rock-n-roll inspired clothing line based in Los Angeles has teamed up with the Songwriters Music Series to create a limited edition Songwriters T-shirt to benefit the VH1 Save The Music Foundation. The Songwriters T-shirts will be available for purchase at www.shopcrashandburn.com/songwriters beginning April 1, 2012.

On April 10th, the first phase of the 2012 Songwriters Music Series auction will launch online at www.charitybuzz.com/auctions/Songwriters, featuring items like 2 tickets to VH1 Storytellers, 2 tickets to the 2012 Do Something Awards and tickets to the Rock of Ages movie premiere and after party.

Proceeds from event sponsorship, ticket sales, the auction and a portion of t-shirts proceeds will benefit the VH1 Save The Music Foundation in its mission to keep music alive in American public schools.

For more information or to see how you can get involved, please visit www.vh1savethemusic.org or join the VH1 Save The Music community on Facebook at www.facebook.com/vh1savethemusic and on Twitter at @vh1savethemusic.

Shaq’s All-Star Comedy Jam Presents Gary Owen “True Story”

Comedian, actor and all-around funny man Gary Owen (Think Like a Man, TV’s “House of Payne”) is one of the most hilarious and versatile talents in stand-up comedy today! Now Owen brings his unique brand of no-holds-barred, untamed humor to television with his all-new one-hour comedy special performed in front of a sold-out audience in Las Vegas. In this side-splitting performance, Owen takes his audience on a wild ride as he reflects on his life growing up in a trailer park, overcoming social and racial adversity, and the hysterical situations he finds himself in as a father and one half of an inter-racial marriage. This show will have you laughing non-stop and will undoubtedly solidify why GARY OWEN is one of America’s funniest and most loved comedians!

Gary Owen has been entertaining America for over a decade with his side-splitting comedy performing in all of the major comedy rooms across America.  More recently Owen headlined in the ever popular, Mike Epps Presents: Live from the Club Nokia which is currently airing on Showtime. This hilarious stand-up showcase was filmed live at a sold-out Club Nokia in Los Angeles. Funny man Owen and was able to deliver top rated laughs and gut busting humor.  Owen can also been seen in the scene stealing role of “Bearcat” in MGM’s Movie COLLEGE.

Owen joined the cast of Tyler Perry’s extremely successful HOUSE OF PAYNE. Perry met Owen on the Tom Joyner Morning Show (on which Owen is a regular) and immediately knowing he wanted to work with him, Perry wrote Owen into the show as the new barber, Zach. Additionally, Owen has been seen in such films as LITTLE MAN with the Wayans Brothers, REBOUND, and DADDY DAY CARE with Eddie Murphy.

Owen was always the class clown growing up in Cincinnati, Ohio. After high school, he got serious and enlisted in the Navy. He was chosen for the prestigious Presidential Honor Guard. However, spinning rifles and carrying flags for George Bush and Bill Clinton turned out to be the wrong job for a funny guy. “I was always smiling,” he remembers, “I got yelled at for smiling all the time.”

After leaving his ceremonial position, Owen became a military police officer at the Naval Installations on Coronado Island in San Diego, but he says he was too much of a pushover to be a cop. Owen only made two arrests in three years, but during that time he embarked on his true calling: stand-up comedy. One night while hanging with his service buddies, Owen worked up the nerve to go at a nightclub. After only a year of doing stand-up, he was named “Funniest Serviceman in America.”

Owen continued doing stand-up in San Diego, and had a huge African American fan base. He went onto win the “Funniest Black Comedian in San Diego” contest. That led to his first big gig at the Comedy Store in Hollywood.

Then in July of 1997 he auditioned for BET’s COMICVIEW. Two appearances on the multi-cultural comedy showcase won him his own one-hour “Grandstand” show. At the end of the season he was selected from the year’s four “Grandstanders” to be the host. Not only is Owen the only white man to have ever hosted COMICVIEW, but he is the only white on-air personality the network has ever had.

Owen has produced two stand-up DVDs: BREAKIN’ OUT THE PARK and URBAN LEGEND. His 2 DVDs and CD can be purchased on his website www.garyowen.com.

Movie Trailer – BAD ASS (hits theaters April 13, 2012)

Decorated Vietnam hero Frank Vega returns home only to get shunned by society leaving him without a job or his high school sweetheart. It’s not until forty years later when an incident on a commuter bus (where he protects an elderly black man from a pair of skin heads) makes him a local hero where he’s suddenly celebrated once again. But his good fortune suddenly turns for the worse when his best friend Klondike is murdered and the police aren’t doing anything about it.

Bad Ass is directed by Craig Moss and stars Danny Trejo, Charles S. Dutton and Ron Perlman. Bad Ass hits theaters on April 13, 2012. Check out more info at www.heisbadass.com

Sade to Release Live DVD/CD ‘Bring Me Home – Live 2011’ on May 22nd

Hailed as “the best concert of the year” by the Baltimore Sun, Sade will release their live DVD/CD and Blu-ray for, “Bring Me Home – Live 2011” on May 22nd. In 2011, after a 10 year hiatus, Sade returned to the U.S. for a 54-date tour in support of the platinum selling album Soldier Of Love (Epic Records), which became one of last year’s top 10 grossing tours. The tour, directed by the renowned Sophie Muller, will now be available on DVD/CD, featuring 22 of Sade’s biggest hits performed live on the visually stunning stage which was nominated by Pollstar for “Most Creative Stage Production” and “2011 Major Tour of the Year Award.” Sade also grants fans a rare, all access look behind-the-scenes with a 20-minute documentary film shot by Sophie Muller, as well as a technical documentary by Stuart Matthewman, and outtakes from the crew.

Live DVD tracklisting:

1. Soldier Of Love 12. All About Our Love
2. Your Love Is King 13. Paradise
3. Skin 14. Nothing Can Come Between Us
4. Kiss Of Life 15. Morning Bird
5. Love Is Found 16. King Of Sorrow
6. In Another Time 17. The Sweetest Taboo
7. Smooth Operator 18. The Moon And The Sky
8. Jezebel 19. Pearls
9. Bring Me Home 20. No Ordinary Love
10. Is It A Crime 21. By Your Side
11. Love Is Stronger Than Pride 22. Cherish the Day

Live CD tracklisting:

1.  Soldier of Love
 8. Paradise/Nothing Can Come Between Us
2.  Skin 9. Morning Bird

3.  Kiss of Life
 10. The Moon and the Sky

4.  Love is Found
 11. No Ordinary Love

5.  In Another Time
 12. By Your Side

6.  Jezebel
 13. Cherish the Day
7.  All About Our Love  

Throughout their twenty-eight year career, Sade have enjoyed phenomenal success both internationally and stateside. Since the release of their debut album, Diamond Life in 1984, the band have seen all six of their studio albums land in the Top 10 on Billboard’s Top 200 Album Chart, selling more than 55 million albums worldwide to date. They’ve been nominated for American Music Awards, MTV Video Music Awards won a Brit Award for Best Album for Diamond Life, and four Grammy Awards – first in 1986 for Best New Artist, then in 1994 for Best R&B Performance By A Duo Or Group for “No Ordinary Love”, Best Pop Vocal Album with Lovers Rock in 2002, and again for Best R&B Performance By A Duo Or Group in 2010 for “Soldier of Love”.