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.”

Usher’s “You Make Me Wanna” introduced his sophomore album My Way as the first single. His intense delivery and an arrangement led by an acoustic guitar was one of the classiest invitations to cheating in a relationship. The potential to break a heart was a risk listeners felt empathic towards because of Usher’s phenomenal performance. Jermaine Dupri co-wrote “You Make Me Wanna…” with Usher and Manuel Seal. He also produced the song with Seal and this time is the start of Dupri’s hit-making relationship with Usher. The Billie Woodruff-directed video captured Usher’s future icon status by cloning his image into five versions which sent the message that his artistry had the strength of more than one person. Usher achieved gold status with the single and it was an international Top Ten song. Billboard named him Pop Singer of the Year, he earned Best R&B/Soul Single, Male at the Soul Train Awards and a Grammy nomination for Best Male R&B Performance. “You Make Me Wanna…” was a landmark R&B song for 1997 that showed Usher’s growing importance to the genre and his status as the most relevant musical descendant of Michael Jackson. 

Usher released his eighth studio album Hard II Love in 2016. In 2021, he started a residency at The Colosseum in Las Vegas that is one of the most talked-about, and attended musical events of the year with plans to continue in 2022. 

 

Jermaine Dupri’s “Welcome To Atlanta” featuring Ludacris is from his second solo album Instructions. The song is also a hidden track on Ludacris’s Word Of Mouf sophomore release. The enthusiasm for their hometown was matched by the video that had appearances from famous residents like Evander Holyfield, Cee-Lo Green, Monica, Usher Bow Wow, Da Brat, T.I. and more. Dupri reminded everyone of his central role in Atlanta’s music scene and how the sounds he was creating had a national impact. He was also sharing his ability to be one of a few producers who could actually rap on his own songs without it being cringeworthy. The pride in making Atlanta such an important place for music was infectious and it inspired a coast to coast remix with artists based in New York, St. Louis and Long Beach adding their energies to the boasting. Diddy, Nelly and Snoop Dogg were among the rappers that expanded the song’s locational bragging. “Welcome To Atlanta” became a timeless anthem for the city and another one of Dupri’s successful feats as a songwriter and producer. He was inducted into the Songwriters Hall Of Fame in 2018. Dupri currently champions veganism as a creative advisor for The Beet lifestyle platform. 

Is Steve Stoute right that if Drake goes independent the music industry will die?

Will the United States Postal service approve a stamp with Florence Ballard of The Supremes on it? 

Who else will be on Jermaine Dupri’s “We Are The World”-inspired song along with Miguel, Ne-Yo, Kelly Rowland and Gary Clark Jr. ?