If you didn’t have an opportunity to see Jay-Z perform live this year, you may have to wait to 2010.

XXLmag.com reports that Jay-Z has canceled the remainder of his 2009 tour to focus on 2010.

“Although many fans are disappointed with the unforeseen cancellation of Jigga’s remaining shows, he happily announced a 2010 tour for The Blueprint 3, set to kick off in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida in February. Jay is scheduled to perform in 17 cities across the country and conclude his tour in Detroit on March 14.”

Well, at least Jay-Z fans can use the money they saved for concert tickets to pay bills or buy Christmas presents.

Jay-Z and Beyonce want to have kids, according to Mr. Carter.

From Bossip.com

Jay-Z has finally admitted that he and Beyonce are trying to procreate and are working hard at it.

After displaying some rare PDA at the MTV Europe Awards, Jay and Beyonce are finally letting the world in on their relationship. Apparently, Jay more so than Beyonce. Recently, Jay-Z slipped up during an interview and said that making kids are on the high priority list for the couple.

The radio personality who interviewed Beanie Sigel hours after he released his controversial “diss” record aimed at Jay-Z has been fired.

Charlamagne tha God, the morning show host of 100.3FM The Beat in Philadelphia has been relieved of his duties, according to an announcement Charlemagne made on his Twitter on Monday.

“Don’t believe the hype. This is not a publicity stunt. They fired me this(Monday) morning,” Charlamagne tweeted.

Many Hip-Hop insiders believe the firing was a direct result of Charlamagne giving Beanie Sigel an audience to discuss his Jay-Z diss record “Average Cats.”

Charlamagne said the firing is just “the nature of the business.“

One of Jay-Z’s former Roc-A-Fella artists lets loose on his feelings about the demise of a musical dynasty.

Beanie Sigel (Dwight Grant) released “Average Cats” early Friday morning (Oct 30) in which he accuses Jay-Z of calling the police on him during the premier concert of Blueprint 3.

He also accuses Jay-Z of keeping him tied to the label when Sigel had an opportunity to go elsewhere.

AllHipHop.com

According to Sigel, Jay offered him a financial incentive to remain on the struggling label’s roster. “I told you I ain’t want your money,” he said addressing Jay-Z directly.

“But you was in a position to let me get my own money, and you couldn’t do that,” Sigel claimed.

Whatever issues remain between the two artists, who have always appeared to be very close, Sigel has made it clear that they can be resolved.

The diss record was released hours after Jay-Z and Alicia Keys performed at Yankee Stadium.

Jay-Z has yet to respond.

It looks like “America’s Pastime” will share the same stage with America’s favorite rapper.

Jay’z and Alicia Keys will perform their hit single “Empire State of Mind” at Yankee Stadium in New York this Wednesday to kick off the 2009 World Series.

The song has been adopted by the New York Yankees who will play defending World Series champions, the Philadelphia Phillies in the best four out of seven series.

“Thank the good Lord for making me a Yankee,” Jay-Z said in an interview Monday.

I wonder if Will Smith will perform when the series goes to Philadelphia??????

By Jabari, BlackWeb20.c0m

With the release of Jay-Z’s much anticipated 11th album “The Blueprint 3″ just weeks away, the music mogul has partnered with Rhapsody to promote his upcoming project. Starting today, fans will be able to log on to Rhapsody.com and stream the entire album for free. Taking the leak a step further, Rhapsody will allow fans to purchase the entire album digitally on September 8th (three days prior to the national release) with two exclusive bonus tracks included.

“It’s great to get the support of  major music industry players for The Blueprint 3,” said Jay-Z. “Rhapsody brought an amazing creative vision to the table, and it was exciting collaborating with them.”

Jay is no stranger to his albums being leaked before their release. “The Blueprint 3″ actually leaked illegally the day before Rhapsody released it to the web. In an interview Jay stated, “I may be the most bootlegged artist in history. My pager is actually ringing right now, so people are probably calling me and telling me they pretty much like it.”

Rhapsody will also be releasing two 30-second advertisements featuing Jay-Z as a part of their “Fans Get It” marketing campaign. A full 60- second version will premiere on September 13th.

Link to Rhapsody video

BlackWeb20.com covers website and application launches; culturally relevant Internet industry news; and mainstream Internet industry news from an African-American perspective.  They also analyze emerging web trends and how they apply to web properties that target African-Americans or African-American culture.

By Sherri L. Smith, BlackWeb20.com

Hip hop is big business. Everyone’s getting fat off of the proverbial teat that is hip hop. Despite all this money floating around, the genre is still underserved when it comes to equipment. Beatmakers have been forced to make lemonade out of lemons, having to adapt hardware and software to their needs. Thankfully, this will no longer be a problem thanks to the Beat Kangz.

The Beat Kangz is a three man production team that has earned countless awards for their stellar work producing tracks for countless independent and big name artists including The Roots and KRS-One. They also create beats for ad and media agencies. But aside from being music geniuses, the Kangz are huge techies.

In 2005, they created the  Zoom SB-246 Streetboxx™, a rhythm machine that has been the company’s biggest seller. Refusing to rest on their laurels, the Kangz, comprised of president Aja “A.J.A” Emmanuel and vice-presidents Luke “Boom Bap” Jackson and Reavis “Rev” Mitchell, are releasing their latest and greatest gear that has the potential to change both the music and music equipment industries in a big way.

Set to launch in October, The Beat Kangz have developed the BEAT THANG, a portable beat machine designed specifically for hip hop and electronic music. Weighing in at a mere five pounds, the 11 x 8 x 4 inch device weighs about as much as your average laptop and can fit in a suitcase, a book bag, or “a big ole purse” according to Rev. Taking two years from drawing board to production, the BEAT THANG is a culmination of three disparate musical viewpoints combined with a dedication to creating a product that will best serve the music community, which is a huge deal to the partners.

Boom states, “We’re going to do one thing that the industry doesn’t do because when we’re talking about for us, by us, we’re not just talking about black people. We’re talking about musicians. We’re talking about creative people no matter what color shape or size they come in.”

The BEAT THANG is also eco-friendly, powered with rechargable batteries that give the device approximately six hours of beatmaking fury. The hardware is crammed with over 3000 sounds and 200 beats, kits and loops, perfect for the budding producer to create that next big sound that the industry is constantly questing for. You need strings, congas, and bass? Look no further, the Kangz have you covered. Aja declares, “You can score a film with it. You can make hip hop with it. You can make any genre.” Retailing at $999, the BEAT THANG is a beatmaker’s dream come true.

There’s also BEAT THANG Virtual, a standalone software that operates independently of the hardware. Available now at a wallet-friendly $149, Virtual can do everything the hardware can do.  The low price point was done with the younger audience in mind. Aja explains, “So the 16-year-old just starting out could afford it. It’s quality enough for the most serious of pros, but we designed where it would be affordable and easy to use so even ten years olds could get on it and make beats.”

The software is stored on a 2GB USB key that allows for easy sharing between collaborators. Simply drag and drop the files you want onto a friend’s comp and they can add their unique touches to the track which is directly related to how the Beat Kangz operate.

With a backgrounds in funk, classical music and Computer Science, each member of the triumperant has their own approach to making music, but at the end of the day, they “come together like the Voltron Force” and make noteworthy music and business decisions.

But still the Kangz have more to share with the musicians of the world. To supplement the filet mignon they’re serving up, the Kangz are offering up some caviar in the form of an iTunes app that is set to debut in the app store at an undisclosed date. The app acts as a player for your Beat Thangz tracks, allowing users to separate a track into it’s individual parts, which users can then mute and increase volume as they please. The biggest draw of the app has to be the 20 royalty-free tracks mixed and produced by Grammy-winning producer Commissioner Gordon Williams who’s worked with Jay-Z, Lauryn Hill, Kanye West, and Amy Winehouse to name a few. Perfect for a cyphers, writing session, or making beats the app will only set you back $3. If an artist makes a hit of the app, the Kangz just want one thing — give them a shout out when you get that award.

BlackWeb20.com covers website and application launches; culturally relevant Internet industry news; and mainstream Internet industry news from an African-American perspective.  They also analyze emerging web trends and how they apply to web properties that target African-Americans or African-American culture.

By Sherri L. Smith, BlackWeb20.c0m

Okay, Rock music has gotten it’s props from the video game community with runaway hits, Guitar Hero and Rock Band. Now it’s Hip-Hop’s turn. Activision is on deck to release DJ Hero, a music based game where players can live out their DJ fantasies and cold rock tha party.

DJ Hero features over 100 tracks that spans over a genre of styles including Hip-Hop, R&B, Motown, and Electronica. Aside from the different music styles, DJs in training will get to jam to the some of Hip-Hop’s biggest names including 50 Cent, N.E.R.D., and Beastie Boys. You’ll even get your hands on a Marvin Gaye track. And to keep the star-studded event official, legendary producer and turntablist, DJ Jazzy Jeff will be featured as a playable character. There are several different modes of play, so when you finish kicking the games ass, you can go head to head with friends and see who really has the juice.

In order to give players an authentic DJing experience, Activision has commissioned a turntable-style controller. Comprised of an turntable and crossfader, players will get to mix and scratch their way into DJ superstardom. And if you’re like me and have to have the most exclusive equipment no matter what, you can pick up the Renegade Edition. The Renegade package includes a special turntable with a special hardshell case that converts into a stand. The best part of this package might be the two-disc CD Jay-Z and Eminem tracks with prevously unreleased songs. And to make sure that Guitar Hero fanatics will add DJ Hero to their gaming addiction, players can hook up their guitar peripherals to the game. Not sure how this will work, but I imagine a rehash of Run DMC & Aerosmith’s “Walk This Way” to the nth level.

Set to drop October 27, Gamestop, Best Buy, and Amazon are already taking pre-orders.  So get your $120 primed and ready for the regular edition and $199 for all you exclusive Renagade-heads. Happy DJing!

BlackWeb20.com covers website and application launches; culturally relevant Internet industry news; and mainstream Internet industry news from an African-American perspective.  They also analyze emerging web trends and how they apply to web properties that target African-Americans or African-American culture.

Just when you thought the game changers were all exhausted, Jay-Z returns with partner Klickable.tv to blaze a new trail in interactive video capabilities. You might remember when you read here first, that Jay-Z and LiveNation, the concert, ticketing and promotion firm, formed a multi-tiered partnership. Now Jay-Z collides with the wide world of web video, along with partner, Klickable.tv introducing a ground-breaking method of interacting with and further monetizing web video.

A quick visit to Roc4Life.com Jigga’s online base for all things Roc-a, won’t immediately lead you to the candy, but I’ve got your direct link here to the D.O.A. video tricked out with a lot of Klickable action. This experiment seems to indicate that a more in depth strategy is on the horizon for the Roc4Life site.

Your first reaction to the product might be, yes I’ve seen videos with advertising overlays that allow me to click through to a landing page like I would be able to on any other rich media or display unit, that’s nothing new. That’s not what this capability delivers. Imagine VH1’s Pop-up Videos meets interactivity and the web. Klickable’s technology is touted as being very simple. After a quick and easy membership registration on the site, it allows a user to take a video they’ve produced, designate interactive regions associated with the video, and then publish.

Klickable.tv is a bootstrapped startup in New York who’s CEO and founder was recently interviewed on chubbybrain.com. In the interview, Roger Wu expands on the simplicity of the solution and the key differentiators which I think really make this a remarkable new offering. In fact, I took the liberty of summarizing for your from Roger’s interview, the top 3 most beneficial points that distinguish Klickable from other similar product offerings. They are in order of importance:

1. The technology is truly really simple and does not impact the original video in anyway; meaning you don’t have to re-edit your video to use Klickable.
2. The decision to interact with the video is purely up to the user. Nothing is forced on them like a typical ad. Mousing over the video or a publisher’s call out that the video is interactive (a la Jay-Z) are the only hints a user will get. Therefore, it is all about the user’s choice and can be a non-invasive experience.
3. You can designate any area of the video to integrate an interaction.

The bonus benefit and the most important from a monetization standpoint is that the interactions can actually be ads. They could be ads that can be sold at a premium because the creative publisher can make them highly contextual and they are all user-initiated.

So as you join Jay-Z  in celebrating the Death of Auto-Tune, and learn more facts than you would have ever imagined about the actual video, including cameo appearances, product placements and other key facts, take the Klickable solution along for a ride from a user perspective then ask yourself where has this tool been all of your video publishing life?

BlackWeb20.com covers website and application launches; culturally relevant Internet industry news; and mainstream Internet industry news from an African-American perspective.  They also analyze emerging web trends and how they apply to web properties that target African-Americans or African-American culture.