As Kanye West stays semi-strong at No. 7 on the Billboard Top 200, Soulja Boy and J. Holiday enter the charts and the 4 and 5 spots, with Keyshia Cole falling four spots from her debut at No 2 last week. I wonder if Soulja Boy is going to supaman a ho this weekend in celebration? Check out the top ten after the jump.
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In Touch magazine is officially five years old, and, although you probably don’t care at all, quite a few people (your favorite blog editor included) chose to attend their big celebration last night at NYC’s Tenjune. And I’m sure Kanye West’s special performance had nothing to do with it.
As I hinted in this morning’s Rewound, Janet Jackson was there with Jermaine Dupri, and, pardon me if I engage in a bit of exaggeration, she saved everyone in the packed club from a fiery death! Okay. Actually, she spotted a girl whose hair was on fire and put it out. So she saved the woman in question from some serious burns, which is commendable.
Check out some red carpet pics from the event after the jump, although a few people, such as Swizz Beatz, Evan Ross, Miss USA Rachel Smith, and LL Cool J aren’t pictured. The latter stood emotionless, his eyes concealed by mirrored sunglasses, during Kanye’s entire (amazing) performance. Could LL be taking out his on K.W.?
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Kanye West, who has proclaimed himself to be anti-bling in the past, is launching a jewelry line with Takashi Murakami, the artist who designed Graduation’s cover art.
West last week unveiled a prototype piece from his upcoming jewelry line, which currently has no release date, at fashion designer Givenchy’s show in New York.
He said, “They’ll be more accessible, they won’t be all diamonds.”
But the ones with diamonds won’t be of the conflict/blood variety. Right, Kanye?
[SP]
• Kwame Brown fulfills his destiny as a young black athlete and gets himself arrested. [WSB]
• Two reasons out of many I’m glad I did not see the Fox Reality Awards. []
• In the market for jewelry that will look gorgeous on but is good for your karma, too? Fifteen percent of beanPye’s sales go to SaveDarfur.org. [Clutch]
• Even then, he had a flair for the flamboyant. [CL]
• How will Meagan Good play the hot girl on campus in every movie if she’s pregnant? [C&D]
When Kanye West writes a blog post about a TMZ blog post about his new blog, you know that this whole blog thing has gotten out of hand. Still, I’m pleased to note that Kanye finds this sparkly YouTube gem as funny as I do.
The new season of Saturday Night Live premiered last night, and, perhaps in an effort to cover up the show’s issues with cast diversity, producers made it a “black night” of sorts, with Kanye West as the musical guest and wannabe comedian LeBron James as a host.
See Kanye West’s refreshing willingness to make fun of the more obnoxious aspects of his personality in the above clip. And just think, if Maya Rudolph hadn’t decided to sign for another season, they would have had a Terrence with no Rocsi! Blasphemous!
After the jump, check out a Kanye performance and the obligatory Michael Vick skit.
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If there was any question that the huge opening week both Kanye and 50 Cent had was based almost entirely around their hyped battle, the fact that sales dropped by 76 percent for Kanye and 79 percent for 50 in the second week should answer it once and for all — although I’m sure Kanye would want me to mention that he still sold more records than his foe.
Their rapid decline was good news for Reba McEntire, who took the number one spot and probably pissed Kenny Chesney off big time.
Squeezing in at the bottom of the top 10 were Chamillionaire and Twista, who maybe should have made a bigger deal out of going head-to-head on their album debuts this week in order to get higher numbers. Check out the top 10 after the jump.
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It’s been a bit of a video-heavy day, as it is, so I had to choose between posting this video of Kanye West drunk off his ass at Wendy Williams and the above video of the Game leaving court (in a button-down shirt, this time!). Both show popular rap stars pretty much acting like complete idiots, but I decided to spare Kanye West the direct embarrassment, because, well, he can blame it on alcohol. Also he gets credit not facing numerous criminal charges and for being the “number one human being in music.”
So, the Game it is. Be warned — you might lose a few brain cells. Or find Jesus.
[TMZ]
As 50 Cent nurses his incredibly bruised ego, canceling shows all over Europe and grumbling to anyone who will listen about how Interscope dropped the ball, I can think of one thing that will make him feel better. There’s this new-ish song called “Stronger,” and I’ve heard it has helped some people through hard times. It’s by this rapper named Kanye West? Oh, you’ve heard of him? Of course…
Kanye West’s “Graduation” (Def Jam) easily leads the star-studded class of Sept. 11 releases, posting The Billboard 200’s largest sales total in more than two years. Nielsen SoundScan will show West’s album moved 957,000 during its first six days when the tracking service refreshes its charts tomorrow morning (Sept. 19).
Also pumping album volume are 50 Cent’s “Curtis” (G-Unit/Interscope), which will lock down the No. 2 slot with 691,000 sold. Kenny Chesney’s “Just Who I Am: Poets & Pirates” (BNA/Sony BMG Nashville) will bow at No. 3 with 387,000 copies.
Damn Kenny Chesney! It was a great week for hip hop, but not so much for country. Pick a better week next time, KC.
I’m full of advice this morning.
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