Young Dro Plots First Major Tour

October 13th, 2006 | By Administrator

Atlanta rapper Young Dro will soon be shoulder-leaning around the country, as he plots his first major tour in support of his Atlantic Records debut Best Thang Smokin’.

The colorful rapper is set to hit the road this fall for a major U.S. tour with labelmate T.I.

The arena trek will kick off Oct. 27 in Hampton, Va., and will stop in various major markets, including Chicago, Detroit, Memphis, and St. Louis, with additional dates to be added later.

Fueled by the success of his first single “Shoulder Lean,” Young Dro has notched over 1.5 million ringtone sales, and his latest single, “Rubberband Banks,” sits atop national playlists as the No. 1 most added track last week.

Best Thang Smokin’ topped Billboard’s Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart and landed at No. 3 on Billboard’s Top 200 albums chart, moving over 104,000 units in its first week of release.

Dro and T.I. recently performed “Shoulder Lean” and “Rubberband Banks” on Showtime at the Apollo for the show that will later this fall.

T.I. Nominated For Eight BET Hip-Hop Awards

October 13th, 2006 | By Administrator

Jermaine Dupri, Ludacris, Katt Williams and Young Jeezy appeared at the Metropolitan Atlanta Chamber of Commerce yesterday (Oct. 12) to announce the nominations for the first-ever BET Hip-Hop Awards show.

Atlanta rapper T.I. led all nominees with eight nods, including Video of the Year, Hip-Hop Track of the Year, Hip-Hop MVP of the Year, Lyricist of the Year, Best Live Performance, Best Collaboration, Hip-Hop CD of the Year and Hip-Hop Hustler of the Year categories.

Busta Rhymes received six nominations, Chamillionaire received five, Yung Joc and Lupe Fiasco were nominated in four categories, Kanye West, Lil’ Wayne and Young Jeezy were nominated three times each, while Common, Rick Ross, Nelly and Cham each were nominated twice.

Hosted by comedian Katt Williams, the BET Hip-Hop Awards show will join the network’s already successful ceremonies, the BET Awards and the BET Comedy Awards.

Williams, known for his role as “Money Mike” in the hit movie Friday After Next, also has a hit HBO stand-up comedy special The Pimp Chronicles, Part 1.

Williams says he was the logical choice to host the awards.

“Well, you know, I’m a great believer that enthusiasm is always the most important ingredient,” Williams said. “So you want to have somebody hosting a Hip-Hop show that actually loves Hip-Hop and has for as long as they can remember. So in that respect, there’s not a lot of weight on my shoulders. It’s really a joy, because I’m going to be excited every second that I’m onstage. And the audience needs to see that sort of thing, not ‘I’m qualified to be here and that’s why I’m here.’ But really, I’m so excited to be doing this.”

The BET Awards has also establish special recognition for contributions in the areas of beat production, lyricism, dance, and film/visual art, as well as a new international category, Best UK Hip-Hop Artist.

UK Hip-Hop acts Dizzee Rascal, Sway, Plan B, Kano and Blak Twang were each nominated in the Best UK Hip-Hop Artist category.

“We are extremely excited to be producing our first BET Hip-Hop Awards and look forward to a show that reflects the genre with the respect, acknowledgment and show production value it’s due,” said Stephen Hill, Executive Vice President of Entertainment, Music Programming and Talent for BET Networks. “This show is very much about where Hip-Hop culture is right now, but we will honor the original 4 elements of Hip-Hop and show their connection to today’s beats, rhymes and life.”

The inaugural BET Hip-Hop Awards will be taped at Atlanta’s Fox Theatre on Nov. 12.

The show will premiere on Nov. 15 at 9 p.m. on BET.

The following is a complete list of the 2006 BET Hip-Hop AWARDS nominees and categories:
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