By Tai Saint Louis


Jay-Z has officially announced his new partnership with StarGate, the multi-platinum Norwegian production duo responsible for hit singles by Ne-Yo, Rihanna, and Beyonce, Cher, Lionel Richie and others.

The global partnership establishes the StarRoc label, which has been rumored about for weeks, as well as a new publishing company, StarRoc Music Publishing.

It becomes the first partnership for Roc Nation, Jay-Z's official venture with concert and global distribution giant Live Nation.

"Stargate were like a secret weapon," said Jay-Z of his new business partners."We had great success with Rihanna and Ne-Yo. In only 2 years, they've generated 10 singles in the Top 10 on Billboard's Hot 100 chart and 3 of those singles hit the # 1 position. This has been a rewarding partnership and it was time to take the creative venture to the next level."

The New York-based StarRoc will focus on finding new talent and developing artist through strategically planned global partnerships that include music distribution, publishing, touring and merchandising.

With the help of Roc Nation and Artist Nation, the company will manage artists' diverse rights, expand their fan bases, and provide a direct connection through the marketing and global distribution methods.


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Nelly's not #1 anymore, but close, as Plies gets his gold and DJ Khaled goes Top 10, while B.G. shows up on charts.

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Sept 24 (Reuters) - Record labels, music publishers, songwriters and online music services have reached an agreement on how to compensate music creators for online distribution of their content, they said.

The agreement is designed to settle how the industry calculates royalty rates for limited downloads and music that is streamed online, including when it is provided by subscription and....

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Just recently, Jay-Z made headlines after he and his partners sold their popular 40/40 Club in Las Vegas [click to read], calling it "a great business decision."

This past weekend, Jay-Z stirred up publicity again after The New York Times reported that he has added a new business project to his long list of corporate ventures by launching a new music label with songwriting/production duo Stargate (Mikkel S. Eriksen and Tor Erik Hermansen). The Norwegian production team has produced hits such as Ne-Yo's "Closer," Beyonce's "Irreplaceble," and Rihanna's "Take a Bow," and will take part in a 50/50 partnership with Roc Nation, Jay-Z's entertainment start-up.

According to one spokesperson for Jay, The label, deemed StarRoc, will be located at the rapper's Roc the Mic studio in New York, and will produce its artists through a 360 deal. The deal will give StarRoc the ability to cover everything from record sales, touring, and other aspects of an artist's output. The contract is similar to the one that Jay signed with Live Nation earlier this year for a reported $150 million [click to read].

As former CEO of Rocawear and Roc-A-Fella, and present co-owner of the New Jersey Nets, Jay is no stranger to the business game. In addition to all of the business deals he is partaking in now, he is also expected to drop the Blueprint 3, his 11th and final album for Def Jam [click to read].

The Blueprint 3 will be out reportedly before the end of the year.

Reported by Salima Koroma.

Though 50 Cent’s first love may be music, deep down he is a businessman at heart.

Mirroring his Interscope-debut Get Rich Or Die Tryin’, 50 Cent will bring his much anticipated album Before I Self-Destruct to life with a film of the same name to follow, according to Rolling Stone.

Directed and produced by the G-Unit general himself, 50 aims to bring a different perception to the “urban life-style” that many films fail to connect to. “I showed characters under pressure in scenarios where they felt like there were no other options, even though there were,” 50 continued, “There are always options. People just usually start to see them while being incarcerated [rather than] seeing them in the first place.”

50 Cent will simultaneously release a soundtrack with the film, though none of the tracks from his album will be featured on it. “Interscope would automatically have the rights to it, when they had absolutely no ownership of the actual material,” 50 explained. Instead, he hired unsigned artists to record for the soundtrack that he reportedly wrote as well, an innovative move that will give it an organic feel similar to the film. Impressed by his own decision, 50 Cent let be known that he “kept the music up to standards.”


The album Before I Self-Destruct is tentatively scheduled for a December release, with the film and soundtrack coming soon afterward.



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To many fans of Notorious B.I.G., his biggest hit was his solo debut single "Juicy." The memorable verse was attached to a James Mtume-sample laced creation, with production credited to Diddy, as well as The Trackmasters' Poke.

After August saw the release of Ready to Die: The OG Edition, the debut album, released by DJ Semi, in the form of the album's demo, fans were able to hear alternative versions of the album that went platinum almost 14 years ago.

Included on the collection was a rare version of "Juicy," produced by none other than Hip Hop super-producer Pete Rock. The 20-year veteran's version, long mistakenly thought to be a remix, predated the Diddy version, which featured an alternate chorus and different melody. After a recent interview with Grandgood.com, Rock revealed that he may have been sample-jacked by Diddy for one of Hip Hop's biggest anthems.

"Biggie and Sean came to my house one day and ['Juicy'] was playing on my drum machine," revealed Pete Rock. "Biggie thought I was making it for C.L. [Smooth]. When I told him I was just making it for myself, he immediately wanted it. I said sure, but didn’t think much of it. Then, next thing I know, I heard it playing somewhere. I’m over it now though."

In the rest of the interview, Pete Rock explains more from that recording. He says that to him, the matter was settled when he was paid, for what was billed as a remix.

Asked further about his sentiments of the deal, Pete Rock, simply stated, "Really though, I just wish Biggie was still alive for me to work with him."

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