Will there be any Hip Hop 50 celebrations to recognize Florida artists now that Uncle Luke has complained about it?

Why did Paramount change its decision to sell BET? 

Why hasn’t Atlanta done anything to celebrate Hip Hop 50 especially considering the contributions of Jermaine Dupri, Dallas Austin, Outkast and many others? 

Did Paramount reverse course on selling BET after receiving substantial offers from Tyler Perry, Byron Allen and Sean Combs for any other reason than “a sale wouldn’t result in any meaningful deleveraging of its balance sheet.”

ONE Musicfest, the southeast urban music and arts festival, will honor producers Jermaine Dupri and Dallas Austin at its 10th-year event September 7-8, 2019. The festival takes place at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, Georgia. Dupri and Austin are early pioneers of Atlanta’s music scene having produced hit records for TLC, Usher Mariah Carey and many more. The ceremony will be the inaugural OMF Honors a new platform to honor innovative cultural creators. 

Dupri and Austin will be honored Sunday, September 8th at 7 PM on the main stage. Jason Carter, founder of ONE Musicfest, explains the decision to highlight this year’s honorees: 

“As we celebrate 10 years of bringing the culture together on one stage, it was a no-brainer to honor two monumental figures who have been musical disruptors for decades JD and Dallas represent the excellence, originality and authenticity that make urban culture so powerful.”

ONE Musicfest returns for its 10th year Saturday, September 7th and Sunday, September 8th with a lineup that includes Rae Sremmurd, Gucci Mane, Rick Ross, DMX, Wu-Tang Clan, Three 6 Mafia, Teyana Taylor, Raphael Saadiq, Usher, KP The Great featuring Pharrell Williams, Florida All-Stars featuring Uncle Luke, Trina, Trick Daddy and T-Pain. Tickets can be purchased at OneMusicfest.com.

[youtube id=”EPHUZenprKc”]Madonna’s “Secret” started out as a demo with Shep Pettibone but ended up being a collaboration with producer Dallas Austin. The haunting track was about a mystery taking place in a relationship and the importance of finding one’s own happiness. Musically, “Secret” was different from her past work that was heavily based in dance music. Austin had an acoustic guitar lead Madonna into a more soulful sound with her voice at the center of an arrangement that subtly built its intensity. Madonna wanted to change her music and with her interest in R&B, she reached out to Babyface who connected her with Austin. She wanted her Bedtime Stories album to be completely different from her Erotica album that caused a lot of backlash because of the sexual content.

“Secret” was the first single from Bedtime Stories and it opened up a new image and style for her that was positively received by fans and critics. Madonna promoted the song on the internet which at the time was rare because the medium was not widely used yet. The video was filmed at the Lenox Lounge in Harlem and Madonna played the role of a jazz singer. Critics interpreted the video as an exercise in rebirth and possibly birth itself because the singer was pregnant at the time. Bedtime Stories was one of Madonna’s best moments in the ’90s. “Secret” gave her the stylistic makeover she wanted and added another dimension to her legend. Madonna released her 14th studio album, Madame X in 2019.