Rappers rarely turn their backs on a reporter’s microphone…especially when there are albums to promote. At Monday night’s Billboard Music Awards in Las Vegas, T.I., Nas and Young Jeezy were happy to chat with the press backstage about their respective projects.
T.I. – who won five Billboard Awards, including rap album of the year for King – says he has already recorded more than 32 songs for his upcoming album T.I. vs. T.I.P., due this summer on Grand Hustle/Atlantic. Explaining the title, T.I. said: "It's basically a battle within myself. There's nobody out there doing what I do as well as I do it, so I see myself as worthy competition for myself."
T.I. will also invade cineplexes next year with a role alongside Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe in American Gangster, due for release on Nov. 2, 2007.
Nas, who introduced a performance from the night’s big winner Mary J. Blige, explained the title of his upcoming Def Jam album Hip Hop Is Dead. "I say it to cause fear in everyone," he said. "But it's mainly here to inspire. It's about control. Rap music shouldn't have the rules that have been put on it. It's getting exploited and it's not getting the respect or protection that it needs. So many people don't know anything about it, and the majority of them are the artists and the DJs. There are great artists who are friends of mine. No dis to them. They know what time it is. But all the real ones know what I mean by the title. I'm just here to shake up the building."
Meanwhile, Young Jeezy told reporters that plans are in the works for a Def Jam tour that will see him on the road with the label’s head honcho Jay-Z, Nas, Ludacris and Rick Ross. "You have fans in some markets that you really can't get to unless you're on those big tours," Jeezy said.
As for his new album The Inspiration, due Dec. 12, Jeezy said he doesn’t mind that a few of the tracks have already slipped onto the Internet. "I knew it was going to get leaked, so I flooded the streets with mixtapes,” he said. “That way, people have something to ride to and they'll wait until the album comes out."
T.I. – who won five Billboard Awards, including rap album of the year for King – says he has already recorded more than 32 songs for his upcoming album T.I. vs. T.I.P., due this summer on Grand Hustle/Atlantic. Explaining the title, T.I. said: "It's basically a battle within myself. There's nobody out there doing what I do as well as I do it, so I see myself as worthy competition for myself."
T.I. will also invade cineplexes next year with a role alongside Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe in American Gangster, due for release on Nov. 2, 2007.
Nas, who introduced a performance from the night’s big winner Mary J. Blige, explained the title of his upcoming Def Jam album Hip Hop Is Dead. "I say it to cause fear in everyone," he said. "But it's mainly here to inspire. It's about control. Rap music shouldn't have the rules that have been put on it. It's getting exploited and it's not getting the respect or protection that it needs. So many people don't know anything about it, and the majority of them are the artists and the DJs. There are great artists who are friends of mine. No dis to them. They know what time it is. But all the real ones know what I mean by the title. I'm just here to shake up the building."
Meanwhile, Young Jeezy told reporters that plans are in the works for a Def Jam tour that will see him on the road with the label’s head honcho Jay-Z, Nas, Ludacris and Rick Ross. "You have fans in some markets that you really can't get to unless you're on those big tours," Jeezy said.
As for his new album The Inspiration, due Dec. 12, Jeezy said he doesn’t mind that a few of the tracks have already slipped onto the Internet. "I knew it was going to get leaked, so I flooded the streets with mixtapes,” he said. “That way, people have something to ride to and they'll wait until the album comes out."
