My Daily Joe

South Florida hip-hop artist John Paul persists to defy the odds with a new project titled “Now or Never.” Bothered by a troubled youth which saw Paul arrested over 20 times for drug dealing and other crimes, Paul also spent a prolonged period of time on many occasions in drug and alcohol treatment centers.

Lead by its two singles “Rap on Radio” and “Down Low”, Paul hooked up with the highly praised Florida producer Goldru$h for the “Now or Never” project. Goldru$h’s credits include Trick Daddy (including the single “Bet That”), DJ Khaled, Lil Wayne, Plies, Young Jeezy, Waka Flocka, Ace Hood, Pimp C and more.

The duo of John Paul and Goldru$h set out to complete a project with a true hip-hop sound, one with a cohesive sound and feel, a feat only accomplished when a duo wraps up a whole project together. Goldru$h can also be heard on two tracks, “City Life” and “Smoking my Marijuana.”

Already looking ahead to his next project, Paul is currently working with Lu Diaz, one half of the music production team the Diaz Brothers based out of Miami, Florida. The Diaz Brothers are well known for being largely credited for international star Pitbull’s rise to fame.

As Paul continues on his journey of a remarkable life turnaround, “Now or Never” can only mean one thing – John Paul’s time to be a megastar is soon approaching.

Smoove Gotti the buzzing rap artist from Cleveland, Ohio recently spoke out on LeBron James in a TigerHoods exclusive interview.  Here is what he said:

Arizona’s very own LEL Brothas are preparing their upcoming international tour dubbed, “The LEL Brothas Epidemic World Tour” with Billboard chart-topping artist MIMS. To date, the official LEL Nation tour itinerary has appearances in Southeast Asia starting on April 20th through May, proceeding to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Singapore, Cebu and Manila in the Philippines, ending in Japan.

While preparing for this highly-anticipated tour, DJ Clone (LEL Brothas) was traveling to a scheduled business meeting in the Capital city Riyadh in Saudi Arabia. Moments later, he was involved in a terrifying car crash on King Fahad Hwy (a major artery in the capital), and is rumored to have been traveling at speeds up to 150MPH in a Porsche Cheyenne Turbo. Luckily, his injuries were not life-threatening and he is recovering after recent successful surgery. He defied doctor’s orders to take a break and jumped right back into working with LEL Nation, continuing to prepare for his tour.

Anguish and challenge run thick and fast, at a martial-rock clip, in the first single from Bruce Springsteen’s forthcoming election-year address, Wrecking Ball (due March 6th). “I’ve been stumblin’ on good hearts turned to stone/The road of good intentions has turned dry as a bone,” he laments in the first verse, a precise, devastating assessment of a nation exhausted by economic straits and locked in an uncivil war of values stoked by selfish Washington gridlock. It gets worse: “Where are the hearts that run over with mercy?” Springsteen asks with deep ragged disbelief. “Where’s the work that will set my hands, my soul free?” There is a quick reference to a shame that now seems like a lifetime ago: the black and poor of New Orleans, abandoned to sweaty feral hell in the Superdome during Hurricane Katrina. But it is a still-dark stain on our honor, now acted out in campaign vitriol about lengthening welfare rolls and the “food stamp president.”

The broken promises actually come with contagious deja vú, a darkened twist on familiar pleasure.  Springsteen’s urgent growl is set in a streamlined pop of shadowy synth-like countermelody and throaty-jangle guitar, like the mid-Eighties lift of “Dancing in the Dark” hungover with disappointment. But stubborn faith takes over in the final choruses. “Wherever this flag’s flown/We take care of our own,” Springsteen sings, scraping off the irony, surrounded by street-church voices. It is, coming through the despair, classic Springsteen, the sound of a guy who believes democracy is not a game of percentages, 99, one or otherwise. It’s all for one – or it will be all for nothing.

2 Live Crew, the rap group famous for lewd party hits such as “Me So Horny,” has reunited and will be touring this summer.

Rapper and producer Luther Campbell announced the news on Saturday at the Sundance Film Festival, where he is promoting a short film called The Life and Freaky Times of Uncle Luke.

2 Live Crew’s 1989 album As Nasty as They Wanna Be gained notoriety as the target of a national anti-obscenity campaign, which culminated in the arrest of three of the group’s members in 1990. They were soon acquitted of the obscenity charges, partly on the strength of expert testimony from Henry Louis Gates, Jr.

The controversial album ended up selling more than 2 million copies, but the group’s popularity faded with subsequent albums, and members gradually went their separate ways.

“I just can’t wait to just start practicing. That’s going to be a blast,” Campbell, the 51-year old MC and recent Miami-Dade Mayoral candidate, told the Associated Press.

“We’re going to perform the songs and everybody’s going to be excited. Some of the older people of our generation will be able to tell their kids, ‘You’re staying home tonight, we’re going to see 2 Live Crew and shake our booty!’” Read more »