According to The Hollywood Reporter, the streaming giant paid $25 million for the untitled project, which was initially announced back in 2016. During a 2017 interview with the publication, Peter Berg, who worked with Rihanna on the 2012 sci-fi action film Battleship, shed some light on the documentary noting that he has thousands of hours of footage to work with.

“We’ve got about a thousand hours of footage,” Peter Berg said. “That was a fun change of pace … to go travel with Rihanna around Europe, and Rihanna is surrounded by girls. We were in Nice [France]. She was going to do a concert on Bastille Day. And that truck driver who killed all those people plowed through them right in front of our hotel. So even in me trying to do something light, I had a very, very front-row seat to something that horrific.”

The documentary is said to provide an “unfiltered look” into the “Needed Me” singer’s life, exploring her business and humanitarian efforts, as well as her evolution into a pop culture icon. During an interview with Deadline, the director revealed that the documentary wouldn’t be a “music film”, but more of a “character study.”

Peter Berg’s Film 45 company, who is producing the project, provided the following description for the Rihanna documentary, revealing that every aspect of Rihanna’s life at the time of filming will be included—including her private life, which until now has been kept relatively low key by the star.

Peter Berg’s bold and innovative Rihanna is an unfiltered look into Rihanna’s life, providing a glimpse into the evolution of one of the world’s most well-known pop artists. With unparalleled access into the singer’s life and over 1200 hours of footage, the doc takes us on a journey through private insights into Rihanna’s personality and humor, philosophies on work, family and love that are both moving and inspirational.

Although the long-awaited film has found a streaming home, it is still unclear when the documentary will actually be released. As of press time, the release date was still listed as “TBD”.

We will keep you updated as this story develops.

The post Amazon Purchases Untitled Rihanna Documentary For $25 Million appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

The post Premier: Jace Abstract & Robin Da Landlord Travel Back In Time On ‘Rockstalgia’ (EP) appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

Reks over a Superior beat? Count us in. Count yourself in for that matter.

The German producer/DJ had a hell of a run this year, with the release of his instrumental Scenes LP. If you’re not familiar with Superior, we heavily suggest you checking out his soundscapes and wrapping your head around this collaboration afterwards (via Below System Records). Peace and love.

The post New Music: Superior – “Superiority” Feat. Reks appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

Long-Island wordsmith, and United States Army Veteran Typ-Ill embodies the word honesty. And dignity for that matter. Why do we set it off with honesty and dignity? Because they seem to be rather distorted, lost characteristics in today’s rap scene.

Around this time last year we had the pleasure of seeing Typ-Ill alongside a few other performances here in Philadelphia. Without question he had the most captivating set, to the point that we almost forgot who the other opening acts where. The amount of confidence and the level of humility he showed, and continues to show, on face to face basis alone is admirable. So, if you get the chance to see him bless the stage, please do so.

Aesthetically speaking, Veterans Day (produced by Statik Selektah in its entirety) is for anyone who enjoys pure hip-hop, and will appease to any boom-bap junkies. Their chemistry goes beyond your typical e-mail to e-mail orchestrated records and is very much undeniable. Though his prior work is notable, this may easily be his most developed. Static plays a huge role in this development.

Perhaps a lot of listeners are not Veterans and cannot relate to serving in the Army – in combat at that. But after listening to this bumper to bumper you will feel like you were right there with Typ, whether directly or indirectly. In fact, if you are left without some form of goosebumps you may be inhumane. That’s how heartfelt and honest this record is. Enjoy the stream and purchase it if you are diggin’ it! Peace and love:

Additional purchase links below:

CD (Fat Beats)

Amazon

Google Play

The post New Music: Typ-Ill & Statik Selektah’s “Veterans Day” (LP Stream) appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

Rumors have been circulating that Roc Nation’s J.Cole will be releasing a new album before the year ends. Last night, an album popped up for pre-order on Amazon, and the artist credited was J. Cole. Reportedly, the album is titled 2014 Forest Hills Drive and is set to drop on December 9th.

Hints of the album also landed on iTunes as well but was quickly taken down. Cole’s camp hasn’t spoken out about it yet, but fans speculate that the album’s title has to do with a recent purchase of his. The rapper took ownership of his childhood home at 2014 Forest Hills Drive recently.

Hopefully all of this speculation leads to a J. Cole compilation dropping on December 9th. If it doesn’t fans will keep doing what they’ve been doing–waiting.

The post Is J. Cole Releasing A New Album Soon? Amazon Stirs Up Album Speculation appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

It’s that time again: new gadgets and tech devices to add on your Holiday wish-list.

First up: online retailer Amazon has revealed the Echo, a connected speaker that is always on and thanks to our voice, the speaker can provide us with information, music, news, weather, and more. Very similar to Siri, the cylindrical speaker even hears your voice while it’s playing music. This device features Bluetooth connectivity, as well as accessibility through an app for Android and Fire OS (or web browser for iOS users).

The Amazon Echo will be available for a retail price of $199 or $99 if you are a Prime member for a limited time, and it can only be ordered through an invite from the company. Just in time for the holidays.

The post Take A Peep At Amazon’s Latest Release In Technology: A Voice-Controlled Speaker appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

JJ DOOM is back and black. Seriously, the album cover is now black this time for some reason. Key to the Kuffs, the collaborative effort between DOOM and Jneiro Jarel came out a year ago, but the duo has decided to repackage it and include remixes and collaborations that either didn’t initially make the cut or that were recorded after the release. Based on the tracks that have been released so far, it’s probably worth a listen. According to the album’s Amazon page, there will also be songs featuring Clams Casino and Beck. Listen to the new tracks below and tell us which one is your favorite. “Pause Tape” gets our vote.

Also, check out our interview of DOOM.

The post JJ DOOM Releases 3 New Tracks appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.