Jay-Z explains impact of hip-hop, 'fight' over 'all-rap' tour, Jay-Z, a hip-hop icon, husband of Beyonce and one of the most successful music producers today, says promoters were reluctant to support his first "all-rap" tour more than 10 years ago.

The 41-year-old Grammy-winning rapper made his comments in a recent interview that is part of the AOL HuffPost Media Group's new video series, "Tanning Effect." Its host, Steve Stoute, is promoting his first book, The Tanning Of America: How the Culture of Hip-Hop Rewrote the Rules of the New Economy," which was released in September.

Jay-Z was born Shawn Carter in Brooklyn in New York City. He began his music career in the mid-1990s and in 1996 dropped his first album, "Reasonable Doubt," which also featured late rapper The Notorious B.I.G.

Two years later, Jay-Z released what would become his breakout single, "Hard Knock Life (Ghetto Anthem)." In 1999, he and fellow hip hop artists DMX, Method Man and Redman embarked on the "Hard Knock Life Tour," which was also the subject of a 2000 documentary called "Back Stage."

"The first time we were doing an all-rap lineup ... I remember the first time we were trying to take this out - it was like, 'You need an R&B act on the bill,'" Jay-Z said. "They were really telling us that for insurance purposes and for the look of the thing. I was like, 'No.'"

"DMX had had two No. 1 albums out that year. I had an album that year that sold 5 million copies. I'm like, 'I think we can tour at least in America,'" he added. "But it was always that sort of fight. And then when we got to those concerts, it was like, 80-20, it was like white people in the audience. Just dominated it. And this is this all-rap concert."

Hip-hop music is among the most popular genres today and tops the mainstream pop charts around the world. Jay-Z said the genre "has always been a global thing" and compared it to jazz.

"In the early days of jazz, Quincy Jones and them, they were touring overseas before they (were) even allowed to play clubs in the South," he told Stoute. "So hip-hop was just young, youth music that didn't have those boundaries outside of America."

Despite its popularity, hip hop is also among the most criticized of music genres.

Some say many rap songs glorify violence and drug use and that young people may be too influenced by feuds between U.S. rappers that have lead to deaths, such as the killings of The Notorious B.I.G. and Tupac Shakur. Others say such criticism is unfounded and that rap music provides escapism, much like movies or video games. Jay-Z said hip-hop is "about expression."

"Hip-hop had a voice," he told Stoute. 'Jazz hit great notes and things like that but hip-hop spoke directly to people, spoke to their heart, into how they were feeling."

Jay-Z, who was once a gang member who sold drugs on the street, has spoken out about his own history with violence. He also wrote about shooting his older brother Eric, a crack cocaine addict, in his song "You Must Love Me."

Jay-Z and fellow hip-hop artist Kanye West are currently on a U.S. tour to promote their joint album, "Watch The Throne," which topped music charts in more than 20 countries. The record hit stores in August.

Check out Jay-Z's video interview with Steve Stoute below.

Lady Gaga asked to wear lettuce dress in India, Lady Gaga Lettuce Dress: Lady Gaga met the press today in New Delhi to talk about her concert on Sunday after the Formula One race. It's her first show in India.

The pop diva wore an asymmetrical gown by Indian-American designer Naeem Khan topped off with a bouffant hairstyle in the colors of the Indian flag, reports AFP.

"For me, my experience of music and my relationship with music is as experimental as possible," she said, promising Indian fans a spectacle which would be "unique for India."

Lady Gaga Lettuce Dress, But she did not say whether she would go green, as requested. In a letter to the singer's publicist, PETA India said it hoped she would honor India's reverence for animals by turning vegetarian for the duration of her visit. The group hopes she will pose for photos in a lettuce gown to promote the importance of not eating meat. After all, she posed in a meat dress.

"If she agrees, we'll make her a dress entirely of lettuce and held together by pins and threads. It will be a full length gown, and we'll make sure it looks sexy," said Sachin Bangera of PETA India. The dress would be constructed leaf by leaf on the singer's body, taking some five to six hours.

"Someone will be on hand to spray the lettuce with water so that it doesn't wilt." said Bangera. Gaga has yet to respond.

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Source: usatoday

Larry King: I got back $700000 after Bernie Madoff scam, Larry King was among those who were victimized in Bernie Madoff's Ponzi scheme, but the veteran journalist said that he got his money back from the incident.

King told "Extra" that he and his wife invested $4 million, but took out $3.3 million, leaving $700,000 with Madoff and were fortunate enough to get it back from the Madoff estate and from the government.

"We got $200,000 back from the Madoff estate, and we got $500,000 back from the government for taxes we paid on stock we never had," King told "Extra." "We got it back, but a lot of people sure didn't."

King said that at one point, his wife Shawn wanted to invest everything they had with Madoff but King decided to stay with his investment people.

Madoff didn't make investments, but used money he received from new investors to pay previous ones. The Wall Street Scammer's wife Ruth recently revealed on CBS' "60 Minutes" that she and Bernard tried to kill themselves after he confessed.

In 2009, Madoff, 73, pleaded guilty for fraud and began serving a 150-year prison sentence for running the estimated $20 billion dollar scam, which marks the biggest investment fraud in U.S. history.

King told "Extra" on Thursday that he thought that Ruth had appeared on "60 Minutes" to help her daughter-in-law sell a book on her husband, Mark Madoff, who hung himself with a dog leash last year on the anniversary of his father's arrest.

Kevin Bacon and his actress-wife Kyra Sedgewick were among the scores of customers who were swindled. Though he wouldn't specify the amount of money he invested, Bacon said that he had lost "years and years" of work from the scandal.

In December, Larry King's CNN talk show "Larry King Live" broadcast its final program after 25 years on the air. His time slot was filled by British host Piers Morgan's new talk series in January.

King, 77, said in June 2010 he planned to end his run as the host of "Larry King Live" in order to spend more time with his family but said he would still host specials for CNN.

At the time of his last show, King ranked third in his time slot behind Fox News Channel's Sean Hannity and MSNBC's Rachel Maddow, the Associated Press said, adding that "Larry King Live" drew about 700,000 viewers in 2010, down from an average of 1.64 nightly viewers in 1998, the show's peak year.

King has interviewed major celebrities and international leaders, such as U.S. President Barak Obama, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, singer Barbra Streisand and real estate mogul and reality star Donald Trump, who appeared on the finale.

Watch a clip from Larry King's "Extra" interview below.

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Source: OTRC

$1 Million Coin Reveals in Australia, $1 Million Coin, Perth Mint Unveils the world largest coin ever, A $1 million coin was unveiled by the Perth Mint Thursday, but it won't fit in your pocket with the rest of your loose change.

The1.1 ton gold coin sports a kangaroo on one side and Queen Elizabeth II graces the other. It's actually worth more than $55 million in U.S. dollars. The 31-inch wide, 5-inch deep is 99.99 percent pure gold, making it, as the Perth Mint said in a statement printed in the Christian Science Monitor, "the biggest, heaviest, inherently most valuable gold bullion coin in the world."

Valuable as it may be, though, it's officially legal tender that obviously won't be in practical use. Officials from the mint said it would be an attraction Australians and tourists could enjoy while visiting the mint, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.

"It's a pinnacle of ingenuity and innovation," said Ed Harbuz, the Perth Mint chief executive, to the Sydney Morning News. "To cast and handcraft a coin of this size and weight was an incredible challenge - one which few other mints would even consider,"

The coin is also part of a friendly rivalry with another British commonwealth miles away. Until now, the Royal Canadian Mint had the world's largest gold coins weight 100 kilograms each, just one-tenth of the size of Australia's new piece of change.


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Source: thirdage

Siri meets Siri

Hope Solo’s life is about to get much more complicated, Hope Solo’s life is about to get much more complicated, Hope Solo: USA Women's Soccer Star Will Be Fine Despite Terminated Franchise, Hope Solo's MagicJack soccer team terminated, Hope Solo turns in ‘worst dance’ of ‘DWTS’ season, Hope Solo: 'I think we'll last another week' on 'Dancing With The Stars'.

The weekly grind of “Dancing with the Stars” already is taking its toll on Hope Solo, but things are about to get more intense for the former Huskies goalkeeper.

Solo was among 30 soccer players called up Thursday by U.S. women’s head coach Pia Sundhage for a Nov. 17 friendly against Sweden.

The team is slated for two weeks of training ahead of the match at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Ariz.

Assuming she gets through the next round on “Dancing with the Stars” – and that’s a big assumption – that means two weeks of training with the team by day and rehearsing with Maksim Chmerkovskiy by night.

It won’t be the first time Solo has juggled her dancing duties with her day job.

Before Week 2 of “Dancing with the Stars,” Chmerkovskiy traveled with Solo to Portland to rehearse as she prepared for a friendly against Canada.

“To go from soccer training in the morning to rehearsals in the afternoon, it’s very, very difficult,” Solo said at the time.

On the show immediately following that friendly, Solo and Chmerkovskiy scored 19 points for their jive, performed to Avril Lavigne’s “Girlfriend.” It was their lowest score of the season.

That might not bode well for Solo. She is among the bottom tier of dancers remaining on the show, along with Nancy Grace and David Arquette.

In recent weeks, Solo has appeared close to her breaking point, growing frustrated with the judges and letting her competitive nature get the best of her.

“I keep trying and trying and nothing is good enough,” she said of the judges’ scrutiny during Week 5.

“I don’t think I can do this anymore.”

During Week 6, she and Chmerkovskiy turned in what one judge called their “worst dance of the whole season.”

On the flip side, the turn on the soccer pitch might boost her public image, which could translate to more votes on “Dancing with the Stars.”

Meanwhile, as Solo’s obligations to two teams mount, one obligation vanished Thursday when Women’s Professional Soccer decided to terminate her franchise. The owner of the Boca Raton, Fla.-based magicJack had been accused by the league of violations ranging from “unprofessional and disparaging treatment of his players to failure to pay his bills.”

Solo and Abby Wambach, the two biggest stars of the World Cup for the United States, were on the magicJack roster.

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Source: seattlepi