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EXCLUSIVE: Soulja Boy Tell ‘Em/Drake/Lil Wayne/Trey Songz – Successful

August 7, 2009 in 97 bht, drake, exclusive, lil wayne, new music, ralphie aversa, soulja boy, successful, trey songz, twitter with 0 Comments

Soulja Boy Tell ‘Em told “The Ralphie Radio Show” first about his planned collaboration with “America’s Most Wanted” tour-mate Drake. It may have spurred when the Toronto emcee called Soulja, “the smartest artist of our generation, period,” on The RRS. Soulja Boy went as far as to upload the audio clip to his YouTube channel, and then paid the love forward when I chatted with him two weeks ago.

“Drake is a real dude. Most rappers, they don’t like to give the other rappers props,” Soulja Boy said. “He showed me my respect. Drake is a good artist.”

So with all of the props exchanged both in person and through The RRS – it only made sense that Soulja would afford me the first shot to play a Soulja/Drake track, right? Correct, and I did, but it isn’t how it seems.

Early Wednesday morning, Soulja Boy Tell ‘Em “at replied” me on Twitter – he basically sent an update that his 1.2 million followers could read, with my username in it, asking me to direct message him my e-mail address. Soon, Soulja hit my inbox with a new mp3.

“Successful” is a track that originally appeared on Drake’s mixtape, So Far Gone. “Best I Ever Had” spawned from this same compilation. “Successful” featured Trey Songz and Lil Wayne. Soulja left Weezy on the end and Trey on the hook, but rapped a couple verses of his own over the instrumental. From what I gathered, he just finished the song on his studio bus, and sent it to me.

Soulja’s version showcases a side of the Chicago-born artist that his fans are beginning to see more of – style with substance, more emphasis on lyrics, less emphasis on catchiness.

Of course, with four different artists on the single, I had to put the remix on it. Almost immediately after Soulja Boy sent me the song, I went to work – editing Soulja’s first verse with Drake’s second, Weezy’s final, and Trey on the hook – all while editing the track for content/language.

The result? A Ralphie Radio Show exclusive, which can be heard below:

EXCLUSIVE: MTV News’ Sway Calloway on America’s Most Wanted Tour

August 3, 2009 in 97 bht, america's most wanted music festival, drake, lil wayne, montage mountain, mtv, ralphie aversa, soulja boy, sway calloway, toyota pavilion, vimeo, young jeezy with 1 Comment

Don’t necessarily call it a homecoming to hip-hop, but for MTV News reporter Sway Calloway, it sure felt good to cover the America’s Most Wanted Music Festival’s first date in Scranton, PA.

“I’ve been on the road doing a lot of stuff with MTV,” explained Calloway – mentioning the Michael Jackson memorial as well as numerous political events. “I really wanted to come back to the core of how I got in this game, and that’s through rap, hip-hop music.”

Producers and MTV News beat reporter Shaheem Reid joined Calloway to cover the event. The team from MTV arrived on Sunday and caught Lil Wayne’s dress rehearsal. By all accounts, it seemed as if the crowd at Toyota Pavilion at Montage Mountain would be in for a special show. But the event impressed Calloway on other levels as well.

“Especially in this time of economic crisis, people said you can’t put together a tour,” said Sway. “Young Money Records, Lil Wayne, stuck their neck out there and they got truly America’s most wanted.”

The lineup is something to marvel at – the front of the bill includes Jeremih (top 10 hit in “Birthday Sex”) and Pleasure P, formerly of Pretty Ricky. Soulja Boy Tell ‘Em takes the stage next, followed by Young Jeezy and Wayne – who brings his entire Young Mula crew for the ride. At least for now, that will be sans Drake, who reinjured an already torn ACL on Friday in Camden, NJ. The R&B singer returned to his home of Toronto, where he will undergo surgery this week.

But with a tour this deep, almost any hit to the card is sustainable, especially when you have one of your opening acts tossing out thousands of dollars to the crowd.

“I’ve seen that gimmick over the years a thousand times,” Sway noted of Soulja’s parting act. While performing “Turn My Swag On,” the 19 year-old reached in to his pocket and began tossing out Ben Franklin’s to the crowd as if he was shooting free throws in a gym. “Soulja Boy is the first person I’ve personally witnessed to throw out real, $100 bills, continuously for at least six minutes.”

The MTV reporter estimated that Soulja gave “at least $5,000” to the fans.

“I talked to people who walked away with a couple hundred dollars,” he said. “(Soulja Boy) paid them, to come see him.”

Certainly no one needed any more incentive to show up. Over 12,000 people entered Montage Mountain for the event – a solid figure in an area that has generally struggled to support hip-hop and rhythmic shows. Again, just another testament to the lineup put forth by Wayne. The “maturity” of the acts also impressed Calloway. While we spoke, Young Jeezy performed behind us, backed by a 9-piece band.

“Music is a universal communicator,” said Sway. “You see people right now, partying together, to one beat… and it’s a great venue.”

EXCLUSIVE: Soulja Boy Tell ‘Em To Collab W/ Drake, Tweak Live Set

July 30, 2009 in 97 bht, america's most wanted music festival, drake, exclusive, lil wayne, montage mountain, new music, ralphie aversa, scranton, soulja boy, sway calloway, toyota pavilion, twitter, vimeo with 0 Comments

It shouldn’t come as a surprise that the most tech-savvy artist of our generation is using all of his gadgets while on tour this summer to continue creating, producing, and finishing projects.

“I got the studio bus actually on the road, the whole tour,” explained Soulja Boy Tell ‘Em. “So I’m recording my third album, I was tellin’ ya about, The DeAndre Way, it drops in November. I’m recording my album while we’re on tour. So ya’ll can look out for the Soulja Boy/Drake collaboration.”

I sat down with Soulja during Lil Wayne’s set on the opening night of the America’s Most Wanted Music Festival. The summer long tour features Weezy and his Young Money crew, Young Jeezy, Soulja Boy and S.O.D.M.G., Drake, and Jeremih. Pleasure P, formerly of Pretty Ricky, also made it on to the bill.

Drake, who just signed a deal with Universal Records that affords him a $2 million advance, called Soulja, “the smartest artist of our generation, period,” on The Ralphie Radio Show in June. It seems the respect is mutual.

“Drake is a real dude. Most rappers, they don’t like to give the other rappers props,” Soulja Boy said. “He showed me my respect. Drake is a good artist.”

At least when it comes to artistry, it seems most of the rappers on the bill are taking cues from the headliner. Even after the first show, Soulja Boy already found himself inspired and pushed by Weezy.

“I just got through watching Wayne’s show. I’m about to go back to the drawing board,” revealed Soulja. “I feel like, my next show, I just gotta go back and critique everything a little bit, but we straight though.”

However, I’m sure one part of the performance that will not change is the end. The crowd inside Toyota Pavilion at Montage Mountain exploded when Soulja dropped “Turn My Swag On.” The first few rows of the venue near came to a boil soon after – when the 19 year-old began tossing out $100 bills in to the crowd. MTV News reporter Sway Calloway estimated that Soulja gave back atleast $5,000 to the crowd. But for the Chicago-born rapper, the money itself wasn’t much of a driving factor behind the move.

“I flash back in my head to when I was 15, 14 years -old, just wanted to become a rap star,” he said. “For me to make it, and to become a millionaire, and for my dreams to come true, all that just be flashing through my head.”

DAILY DOWNLOADS: New from Mr. Hudson ft. KanYe West, L.M.F.A.O., Drake

June 25, 2009 in 97 bht, best i ever had, dailydownload, drake, kanye west, L.M.F.A.O., Mr. Hudson, ralphie aversa, supernova, Yes with 0 Comments

06.24.09 : Mr. Hudson f. KanYe West – Supernova
06.23.09 : L.M.F.A.O. – Yes
06.22.09 : Drake – Best I Ever Had

EXCLUSIVE: Drake Denies Rihanna Relationship, Calls Soulja Boy, "Smartest Artist of Our Generation"

June 23, 2009 in 97 bht, drake, exclusive, lil wayne, ralphie aversa, rihanna, soulja boy, toyota pavilion with 0 Comments

America is offering quite the introduction in to the music industry for Canadian recording artist Aubrey “Drake” Graham. The singer/actor already experienced first hand the influence of an A-list affiliation – regardless of the endorsement’s capacity.

Drake performed in support of Lil Wayne earlier in the year, and is set to trek out with Weezy again on this summer’s “America’s Most Wanted Music Festival.” The tour kicks off in Scranton on July 27 – so Drake called in to The Ralphie Radio Show, promoting the concert while speaking on a wide-array of topics, including his ties to the “Umbrella” singer.

“The most important thing in that situation is that, she’s actually a dope person,” said Drake of RiRi. “Whatever it did for me, I guess was just an additional blessing on top of the fact that she’s actually a great individual.”

Rumors have swirled about a romance between the two for well over a month. Paparazzi have caught both Drake and Rihanna out on the town, even kissing at times. Certainly it thrust the Toronto-born artist in to American pop culture. Now Drake can’t even hit an airport without being recognized.

“Some guy that was like working at Customs was like, ‘Yo, I know you, you’re Rihanna’s boyfriend.’ Which I’m not by the way, for the record,” Drake clarified.

Drake gave honest, almost inapprehensive answers when it came to his ties to the Bajan beauty – until I asked if he still keeps in touch with her.

Rihanna & Drake (CelebrityRadar)
Part 1: Toronto, Lil Wayne, Gaining Cred in the States

Part 2: Soulja Boy Tell ‘Em, Rihanna

Info about the show here.
“(A few seconds of silence) Yeah, I see her from time to time,” Drake answered, his tone clearly down a notch.

But Drake didn’t hesitate to offer up props to his tour mates – a bill that generated a solid amount of buzz here in Northeastern PA with the likes of Wayne, Young Jeezy, and Jeremih. Specifically, Drake big-upped Soulja Boy Tell ‘Em, anointing the rapper, “the smartest artist of our generation, period.”

“Whether it’s him, whether it’s his team around him, whoever has the thoughts to do the things he does, is genius.”

The two hip-hop artists met recently for the first time while playing the new Ultimate Fighting Championship game on XBOX 360. Drake took a light-hearted jab at the “Swag On” rapper, insisting that Soulja Boy, “can’t see” him when it comes to that game.

Hopefully Drake knows what he just got himself in to with that comment. After all, he’ll see a lot of Soulja this summer: the two will perform 21 dates throughout the U.S. and Canada.