From the latest issue XXL Magazine

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Its still gonna take some getting used to saying “Lebron James of The Miami Heat”, but yeah….Lebron James of the Miami Heat appears on the latesy issue of GQ magazine (the September issue). And he talks a little bit about Charles Barkley, his sense of style, his kids and much more. Read a few of the quotes below…

On Dan Gilbert:
“I don’t think he ever cared about LeBron. My mother always told me: ‘You will see the light of people when they hit adversity. You’ll get a good sense of their character.’ Me and my family have seen the character of that man.”

On Charles Barkley:
Charles was probably trying to be funny. It wasn’t funny to me.

On If He’d Return To Cleveland:
If there was an opportunity for me to return and those fans welcome me back, that’d be a great story.… Maybe the ones burning my jersey were never LeBron fans anyway.”

Lebron on Staying Humble:
That’s what keeps me humble, because I know my background, know what my mother went through. I never get too high on my stardom or what I can do. My mom always says, and my friends say, ‘You’re just a very low-maintenance guy.’”

Issue on newstands now and/or very soon depending on your area. Via Necole Bitchie

The homie Rob catches up with Miami’s Kat Stacks in the latest issue of XXL Magazine with Shyne on the cover. Hate her or love her, people are fascinated by her. Click on the photo above to enlarge and Click here to read the article where she pretty much lets it all loose.

Lebron James longtime girlfriend and mother of his two sons, Savannah Brinson, speaks with Harpers Bazaar and does a photoshoot out in New York. Click the video above for all the highlights.

Here’s an interview Miami.com did with Artist Related’s Jessica Who?. She gives a little insight into what she does, how she does it and where she’s going. I was gonna only post an excerpt from the interview, but realized it was short, so here it is right here:

This DJ darling discusses taking over the decks in a male-dominated industry.
By Rayme Samuels – 8/2/2010

Florida native DJ Jessica Who owns a commanding style and prides herself on sculpting high energy, happy, and fun parties whenever she is on deck. We recently caught up with the DJ darling to discuss her rise to the top.

It’s been mentioned that you have a musical family. Where did your passion for spinning come from?
It actually came from the fact that I was really bad at playing guitar. I wanted to be a rock star (or an astronaut) when I was a kid, and I got a pretty badass guitar for my 13th birthday. But it turns out that playing guitar takes a lot of patience, and longer fingers. I never thought about deejaying as a career. It just never dawned on me as an option since I wasn’t exposed to it at all, but when I had my first ‘DJ moment’ at 17, I thought ‘Oh my God, this is what I’m supposed to be doing!”

How has the city of Miami influenced your style?
Just before graduating from high school, I started going out in Fort Lauderdale and Miami, to whatever indie-dance-party at a crappy-local-bar was going on at the moment. I met a lot of people, and became friends with some of the DJs. Miami is amazing. With a good crowd here, you can do anything. I realized that when I started traveling and I would go to places that aren’t as diverse as Miami . . . you can’t really play anything they don’t know. Just pop and rock and commercial hip-hop. Here, you can get away with being more creative in the clubs . . . I can throw in soul and funk, or samba or salsa, or whatever new indie track I like. It’s all about reading your crowd, and I’ve become really accustomed to Miami crowds.

How do you feel being a woman in this male dominated field? Do you find that you can use it to your advantage? What makes your style stand out from the competition?
I feel good being a woman! (laughs) I suppose I kind of ignore it most times. I don’t like to focus on the fact that I’m a woman. I won’t do any events that book me just because of that…or that insist I dress a certain way, or wear a bikini. If I choose to, all good. But if that’s the only reason you want me, get someone else. There are plenty other female ‘DJs’ with that shtick . . . and way bigger boobs.

I’m used to catching a lot of flack going into a place, and I don’t blame people. Like I said, a lot of female DJ’s focus more on their appearance than their skills, and that gives the good ones a bad rap. But if I do my job well I usually surprise people, and I like it that way. If I continue to succeed, or gain a huge opportunity, I want to know that it’s because I work hard and am great at my job, not because I’m a girl. It would mean a lot more, so I don’t ever want to abuse it.

What are your long-term aspirations? What can we expect in the future from Jessica Who?
I just want to keep doing what I’m doing for now. I’m having a blast, and I really just started. Six and a half years is nothing in this profession. I want to keep learning and getting better, and travel, and then make some music eventually. And when I can’t do it anymore, I’ll move on to my fallback plan and become an astronaut.

NOTE: Catch DJ Jessica Who at Dirty Hairy Wednesdays at LIV (4441 Collins Avenue, Miami Beach; (305) 674-4680) and at Poplife presents Saturdays at Grand Central (697 N Miami Avenue, Miami; (305) 377-2277). Visit her website at www.artistrelated.com/djjessicawho.

Allright, we posted the mp3s of his performances two days ago. And now here’s the interview audio of Bruno Mars’ visit to Y-100 last week. Listen below…

Bruno Mars Interview on Y-100

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Kesha stops by Y-100 for another Y-100 Underground installment yesterday before she headed to the American Airlines Arena for her performance with Rihanna. She takes questions from audience members and talks about hopeful collaborations (Rihanna), how she DOES NOT have beef with Flo-Rida and talks how she scored a 1500 on her SAT’s. Listen to the interview below courtesy of Y100…

Kesha interview on Y-100 Underground

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Download: Click Here

Even though there’s no album release in sight for Dirty Money, Diddy hit up Vibe for their annual JUICE issue cover with the “new” Bad Boy and  Ricky Rozay was on the cover alongside Diddy. Followed by Cassie, Janelle Monae and others. Issue is hitting stores soon.

Shouts to Esther Park for the dope story on Cool & Dre for the Miami New Times. Its a nice glimpse into what and where they came from…and…what they’re getting to get into in the near future. They also discuss their humble beginnings:

“We rolling with Fat Joe for life,” says Dre, recalling when he first gave Fat Joe a 60-track CD of productions, from which one made the final cut. “Back then, we were in New York, selling our own produced mixtapes out of our trunk, when we got the call from Joe. It was huge that he put us down like that, and we owe him a lot.”

Read the rest of the story by clicking here

Pitbull and Enrique Iglesias both stay after Lopez Tonight, to do a little Q&A question session.

Via PlanetPit.com

DJ Khaled held down and took over Vibe.com as a guest editor. You be the judge….read and give him a grade for job performance. Click the links below…

– Editor’s Note by Khaled: An attempt at a formal “Editor’s Note”. Good for a first try…the staff helped him out a bit and added a couple words to make his words pop. [Click here to read]

– Jacked Phone: DJ Khaled lets Vibe.com download a couple photos off his phone right quick. Photos of Khaled at all the right places and at all the right times. *Pause* Meaning at award shows, concerts and video shoots. [Click here to view the photos]

– Studio Stories: An insight into what has gone down during his many adventures. [Click here to read]

– Hip-Hop’s 11 Most Improved Rappers: Here Khaled breaks down eleven of his most improved rappers. Drake’s GOTTA be on that list. [Click here to read]

– Ending off the day as Editor with an exclusive interview: Khaled breaks down a couple things, including the whole Ross and Big Meech situation, The Minaj and Lil Kim beef and much more. [Click here to read]

Here are a couple Miami New Times articles I wrote that you should read up on and catch up on.

– Mixtape Of The Week: First up you have a mixtape review I did for fairly recently formed hip-hop group Geek Squad (pictured above). Coming out of Miami, these high school friends teamed up to release their first mixtape AlterNative Thinking. [Click Here To Read The Mixtape Review]

– Interview: I also interviewed 99 Jamz’s DJ Entice to find out what he’s been up to and working on – including his charity:water efforts, his upcoming cell phone case design and more. [Click Here To Read The Interview]

– 305 Live Column: The week’s 305 Live covers Rick Ross’ early sales predictions, Uncle Al’s Peace In The Hood Festival and even Khaled’s ambitions to work with Alicia Keys, Eminem and Beyonce for his new album. [Click Here To Read]

– Song Spotlight: And then earlier in the week, I wrote a little article on Wrekonize’s single from his upcoming solo album. [Click Here To Read]

Why Lebron look like a short rejected step-child in the back…

Miami based Hip-Hop Weekly is proud to announce the first ever Flawless Beauties 3-D swimsuit calendar set for release July 20, 2010, and dated August 2010 through July of 2011. The calendar features 12 of the most beautiful and exotic ladies from every ethnicity drawn from every corner of the world dressed in custom made bikinis and bathing suits by FB Legacy. The package comes with a custom pair of 3-D glasses which enhance the experience of the calendar. The calendar’s stunning cover girl is Cuban-Lebanese model, Sagia Castaneda. The calendar is paired with Hip Hop Weekly’s 1st Annual Swimsuit & Summer Style Issue, which features two separate covers, one with hip hop star Kanye West’s former love interest Amber Rose and a second one with popular video model Tahiry. The Tahiry cover features Hip Hop Weekly’s signature “peek-a-boo” cover, allowing the reader to open a door attached to the front cover of the magazine. Shot by Sito Barreo for Benhur Photography and Eduardo Valdes for OTB Photography against the shimmering skies and white sand beaches of America’s playground, Miami Beach, Hip Hop Weekly’s calendar and special magazine edition showcase the most sexy, luscious ladies who have generated record clicks on the internet, and are so exquisite that top artists like Drake, John Legend, Flo-Rida, and T.I. have sought them out to appear in their videos.

“After three and a half years of building a successful brand we are proud to branch out and present a calendar that showcases some of the most beautiful women in the world,” stated Hip Hop Weekly’s Chief Brand Officer Ray “Benzino” Scott and Publisher David Mays. “We’re excited about this groundbreaking publishing package, and that we are able to bringing our readers innovative content and cutting-edge technology in the form of the first ever 3-D swimsuit calendar, and the branded ‘peek-a-boo’ magazine cover. Moving forward, we will continue to bring our audience the best there is to offer in every area of entertainment.”

The Flawless Beauties calendar was produced in conjunction with American sportswear brand FB Legacy (fblegacy.com), which will launch in Fall 2010. It was also sponsored by Sobieski Vodka (truthinvodka.com), one of the world’s best selling and fastest growing vodka brands.

Photo By DavidRosario.com

I recently got a chance to interview DJ Obscene for the Miami New Times, as well as take some photos of him (pictured above). We talked about his return to the mixtape side of things (with the Ice berg tape that dropped earlier this week), as well as an overall perspective of who he is and what he’s been up to. He’s also one of Y100’s new mixshow DJs and has landed a new mixshow that airs every Friday and Saturday from 10Pm to Midnight on Y100, which is 100.7FM on your fm dial.

CLICK HERE TO READ THE INTERVIEW WITH DJ OBSCENE

‘I grew up in Miami speaking Spanglish,’ he says of first bilingual album with Usher, Akon, Wisin y Yandel and more.

For his club-ready single “I Like It,” Enrique Iglesias teamed up with the “Jersey Shore” crew and Pitbull. But the singer didn’t stop at reality-TV stars or Miami rappers when it came to his new LP, Euphoria, out Tuesday (July 6). The singer recruited more A-list talent, landing names like Akon, Usher and Pussycat Doll Nicole Scherzinger for his first-ever bilingual album.

Iglesias’ pop disc also features popular Latin-music artists like Juan Luis Guerra and Wisin y Yandel. And while he tells MTV News he was excited to hit the studio with these artists, he admitted he was really thrilled to finally be creating an album — six years in the making — that would appeal to both English- and Spanish-language listeners.

“This is the album I always wanted to make,” Iglesias told MTV News, adding that he had to beg his label, Universal Republic, to allow him to produce the project this way.

“I grew up in Miami speaking Spanglish,” he continued. “I’m so excited about this album. You see so much Hispanic influence everywhere. I wanted to combine both of them.” Singing in both languages — “it would push me more,” he said.

Euphoria not only fulfilled Iglesias’ longtime wish of recording in his two native languages, but it also afforded him the chance to work with a number of his dream collaborators.

“Usher and I had been talking for quite some time. We always wanted to work together. Usher’s a great guy, extremely talented,” he explained. Of Scherzinger, he said, “We spoke some time ago about working together, and that was fun. The Akon thing was spontaneous. He was like, ‘Can I jump on ["One Day at a Time"]?’ ”

The bottom line about Euphoria is it’s an album to please all of Iglesias’ fans. “The album’s cool. It’s very eclectic. Every single song is completely different,” he said.

Source: MTV News

Since recording the internationally successful hip-hop/dance single “Right Round,” Flo Rida seems to have found the sound he’d like to follow on his next go-round. The rapper can now be included in an ever-expanding list of superstars turning to dance-music super-producer David Guetta in search of a song to set the club on fire.

We recently caught up with the new partners in crime on the Los Angeles video set for their collaboration, “Club Can’t Handle Me.” The song not only appears on the MC’s upcoming album, The Only One, but it’s also slated to be the lead single for Disney’s “Step Up” threequel, “Step Up 3-D.”

And working with Guetta means Flo’s not in bad company: Rihanna, Akon, Kelly Rowland and the Black Eyed Peas are but a few of the folks who’ve partnered with Guetta during the French DJ’s two-year ascension on the U.S. pop-music scene. With each song, Guetta’s knack for getting folks to jump to their feet seems to grow stronger.

“David Guetta has been a guy who I look up to,” Flo told MTV News. “He’s definitely been big around the world and has always been there to let me know that my music is hot, and vice versa. So I definitely appreciate doing this big record with him.”

“I was always playing a bootleg with ‘Love Is Gone’ [Guetta's original collabo with Kelly Rowland] and ‘Low,’ from him,” Guetta recalled. “One day, his record company called me and asked me if I would produce records for him. I was like, ‘Yeah! Of course! Because I knew it was working in every club I was playing already.”

The video’s backdrop is exactly what one might imagine from the title: an opulent, extravagant club party befitting a rap boss and world-renowned club DJ.

“This video right here is just, if you’ve ever dreamed about having the biggest party of your life, ‘Club Can’t Handle Me’ definitely represents that,” Flo said. “Lotta energy. Lot of diamonds, ice sculptures. Just showing that boss vibe. So I mean really, the club can’t handle me.”

But it was Guetta who probably summed it up best saying, “We are definitely both club people — it’s like our office!” he laughed.

Flo Rida’s forthcoming The Only One features production by Dr. Luke (“Right Round”) and guest verses from Jay Rock and Lil Wayne.

Source: MTV News

Trina in the latest issue of The Source in a pin-up style photoshoot shot at the Brito Gallery on Lincoln Road. Shot by photographer Ana Ochoa.

This issue is in stores now….go and buy it to see and read the rest off the article – as well Rick Ross’, who is on the cover.

Support PRINT media!!!!!

These photos are crazy dope. Shot by Armen Djerrahian for the July/August issue of XXL Magazine.

Small-res for preview purposes. Go out and buy the new issue which is set to hit stands nationwide on July 6th.

Support PRINT media!!!!!

Story by Stacey Russell for NBC Miami // Photos by Derick G

For DJ Affect, aka Ari Kalimi, success on the decks started with someone else’s missed opportunity.

“As a freshman in high school, I would beg the owner of club Cream to let me play. One day a DJ didn’t show up and I had to call my parents to bring my records,” he said last night spinning Club B.E.D’s Monday night party. “I played that night and I started playing there every Friday after that.”

Kalimi has made a pretty big name for himself in his more than 10 years in the business. After getting his start at the age of 15, the Miami resident has moved onto to DJ for everyone from Rihanna to the New Orleans Saints Super Bowl after party. Yet, his biggest break came when a hip-hop legend walked through his doors.

NLPG

Atlanta’s Birthday Bash is known for churning out dope onstage collaborations, and this year’s event was no exception. Ludacris brought a bevy of hitmaking talent to the stage, but the ATL star was most hyped about hitting the concert with a pioneer in the Southern hip-hop game.

“It was a lot of surprises, but I definitely say from Ciara to Diamond to Trina to Playaz Circle, Scrappy, we brought out [Uncle] Luke,” Ludacris told MTV News on Saturday. “You talk about a legend in this game.”

Luda said the performance was his way of showing respect to the Miami bass king, who looked out for the Atlanta rapper early in his career. “That man put me on, so I had to put him back on. When we did that ‘Don’t stop, get it, get it, doo doo brown’ [from Luke's song 'I Wanna Rock'], the crowd went crazy. So shout-out to 2 Live Crew for paving the way for everybody in the South.”

‘Cris also felt good about rocking his hometown’s annual blowout concert for another year. “This is, like, my sixth or seventh Birthday Bash,” Luda marveled. “I’m blessed right now. It feels damn good, 10 years in the game. We talking about a decade strong.”

Luda also talked about the making of his new video for “Sex Room,” which, like Uncle Luke’s notoriously sexed-up videos, shows a lot of love for the female form.

“We had a lot of beautiful women on set. It felt damn good to do that,” Ludacris said. “Actually, when I was on that set, I thought to myself, ‘I got a damn good job.’ ”

Source: MTV

Recent forays into celebrities’ formative years on MTV’s “When I Was 17″ have included everything from bad-hair horror stories to sports dreams to online-auction obsessions. We delve into Pitbull’s past on this week’s episode, in which the rapper reveals the beginnings of his music career and sends a special shout-out to a high school drama teacher for believing in his potential.

“Music to me is something I did as a hobby,” the 29-year-old admits on the show. “I did it in school, freestylin’ against cats. … My drama teacher [saw] me one day battlin’ someone. She thought it was a fight, because there were 200, 300 kids all around, trying to watch what’s going on.”

“I was blown away by him,” said Hope, Pit’s drama teacher. “You couldn’t take your eyes off him.”

Pitbull, whose real name is Armando Christian Perez, remembers that moment fondly and with appreciation: “When she saw it, she was the first person who really believed in me.”

Pit once told MTV News his rise to fame has been an experiment and an education. He counts his struggles and his successes as a blessing. “If you continue to work hard, let that be the fuel to your fire.”

Along with past hits like “I Know You Want Me (Calle Ocho)” and “Go Girl,” you can catch Pitbull rollin’ with Enrique Iglesias and the “Jersey Shore” cast in Iglesias’ new single and video for “I Like It.”

“When I Was 17″ — this week featuring Pitbull, Vanessa Minnillo and Chris Paul — airs Saturday at 11 a.m. on MTV.

Nicki Minaj in the latest issue of VIBE magazine, scanned courtesy of BlackJackSkanz. View below…

Preview of the next issue of Black Men.

Click on photo to enlarge

Photo from the upcoming June/July issue of The Source

Trina tells MTV:

“That’s crazy. I really don’t get it. I don’t see where all this is coming from. We’re all ladies. Can’t we just make music and get our paper and keep it moving?! We all respect Kim. She opened the doors for us females. It’s all good — everybody’s eating, what’s the issue? This makes us all look bad. There’s barely any female artists as is — we don’t need this!

(NBC Miami) – Ex-Playboy playmate and Miami resident DJ Tamara Sky said living in the infamous Mansion was a “dream come true” and dished on life behind the gates with the original blonde bombshell reality starlets of the “Girls Next Door.”

The brunette beauty, whose resume includes working with Paul Van Dyke and spinning at parties for Pamela Anderson and Donald Trump, spent two weeks living behind the gates and said her steamy magazine spread was the first one Hugh Hefner’s former live-in girlfriend Holly Madison had ever worked on.

“After me, she was brought on full time to work direct all the shoots,” the former pin-up beauty said of Hugh Hefner’s platinum blonde former live-in girlfriend. “The girlfriends and I became close after the shoot.”

Sky said she and Hef’s girlfriends would eat dinner at 4 p.m. daily and her favorite part about living in the mansion was the food — particularly ordering pancakes late-night.

“Anything, honestly, anything you want they have it,” she said. “It was a dream come true.”

But with her jet-setting ways — the Asian leg of her tour is coming up later this year and she is flying to Atlanta to DJ Passion Pit’s official after party — she only has time to focus on her blossoming spinning career these days.

“I don’t know if I’ll ever get used to living out of a suitcase,” said the Puerto Rican bombshell before heading to Atlanta to DJ the official Passion Pit after party there. “Honestly, sometimes I’m walking around like a zombie. But, I definitely love what I do.”

“I don’t want to be Playboy playmate Tamara Sky,” she said with a smile. ”I’m just DJ Tamara Sky who happened to do Playboy.”

Original Source: NBC Miami