We’ve all heard the stories of record labels and the ups and downs being contracted with one may cause.  Here and now BET network is taking us all behind the scenes of some of the greats.  Tonight, May 17th at 8:00 ET and 9:00 ET make sure to tune into the first part of the eight-episode-docs-series.  Uptown Records is the first up in the spotlight to dig into all the dirt, good and bad with a Part I and Part II episode of the journey.  Some of Hip Hop’s most iconic labels will be featured  in the eight-week series for one-hour long like, Grand Hustle, Loud Records, Slip-N-Slide, Terror Squad, Ruff Ryders, Disturbing Tha Peace (DTP), and Murder Inc.  

Founder, Andre Harrell will be among the industry insiders like, Sean “Diddy” Combs, Jay-Z, Mary J. Blige, Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds, and Guy’s Teddy Riley and Damion Hall giving they’re unique takes on Uptown’s success, legacy, and so much more.  We can expect to see some never-before-seen footage in an up close, first-person narrative kinda way.  The series is executive produced by A. Smith & Co. Productions and DTP co-founders Chris “Ludacris” Bridges, Bridges’ manager Chaka Zulu, and Jeff Dixon.

“The dreams and visions; the successes and failures … we want young aspiring entrepreneurs to have a blueprint as to what really goes on in this business and understand how much work it takes,” says DTP’s Dixon of the inspiration behind the series. “We [as African-Americans] also want to document our own history, especially in this industry. This is like our natural resource. No one can tell these stories like us.”

According to Billboard, these are some of the other power players that will be “playing” in each episode of Inside the Label:

Uptown Records: Andre Harrell, Diddy, Jay Z, Mary J. Blige, Babyface, Teddy Riley, Damion Hall, Brett Ratner, Laurieann Gibson, Robin Thicke, Sanaa Lathan, Doug E. Fresh, Al B. Sure, Eddie F, Kim Porter, Father MC, Jeff Redd and Monifah.

Grand Hustle: T.I., Jason Geter, Young Dro, Kevin Liles, Lil Duval, Killer Mike, DJ Toomp and B.O.B.

Loud Records: Steve Rifkind, RZA, Xzibit and E-Swift.

Slip-N-Slide Records: Ted Lucas, Rick Ross, Trick Daddy, Trina and DJ Khaled.

Terror Squad: Fat Joe, DJ Khaled, Noreaga, Cool & Dre and Jesse Terrero.

Ruff Ryders: Joaquin Dean, Darren Dean, Chivon Dean, Swizz Beatz, Eve, The Lox, Irv Gotti, Drag On, DJ Clue, DJ Kool Herc, Lyor Cohen and Jimmy Iovine.

Disturbing Tha Peace: Ludacris, Chaka Zulu, Jeff Dixon, Chingy, Bobby Valentino, Shareefa, Lil Scrappy, Bangladesh, Lil Fate, I-20 and Poon Daddy.

Murder Inc.: Irv Gotti, Ashanti, Ja Rule, Jay-Z, Charlie Baltimore, Kevin Liles and Lyor Cohen.

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Festival season has officially started and we can’t help but countdown the days until Summer Jam is here! Hot 97 recently announced the line-up for the stadium and festival stage line-up BUT now they have added a few more to the stadium line-up. AND y’all are going to be hella excited about it!

The radio station announced early this morning that Future, Travis Scott and Terror Squad have been added to the stadium line-up. As you guys recall, the following artists were already on the bill:

–Young Thug

–Bryson Tiller

–A$AP Rocky & A$AP Ferg

–Tinashe

–Kid Ink

–DJ Khaled & Friends

–G.O.O.D Music: Pusha T & Big Sean

This announcement has just made Summer Jam ten times better. The show is set take place at MetLife Stadium on Sunday, June 5th. If you haven’t bought your tickets already, you should do so ASAP. The tickets can be purchased on Ticketmaster.

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The post Hot 97 Adds Travis Scott, Future & More to Summer Jam Line-Up appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

Fat Joe has been quiet for a while but now that spring is around the corner, the Terror Squad general is back. He lets us know he’s “Ballin” on his latest collabo with Teyana Taylor and Wiz Khalifa. Teyana shows off her talents on the hook as she lets it be know that “Cash rules everything around me.” Wiz leaves his swag all over the track with his verse and even gives a shout out to his girl Amber Rose. The track is produced by Illa the Producer and Infared and it definitely packs a punch. Give it a listen below.

The post New Music: Fat Joe feat. Wiz Khalifa & Teyana Taylor – “Ballin” appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

This summer, FilmBuff will be releasing two hip-hop documentaries to video-on-demand platforms: Big Pun: The Legacy and Mr. Immortality: The Life and Times of Twista. Both films were directed by Vlad Yudin and produced by Edwin Mejia; co-founders of emerging independent production house Vladar Company.

Big Pun: The Legacy was developed as a tribute to late Bronx rapper and Terror Squad member Big Pun. The film features interviews with numerous artists including Snoop Dog, DMX and Method Man, as well as exclusive performance footage of and interviews with Big Pun.

Similarly, Mr. Immortality: The Life and Times of Twista develops the story of Chicago rapper Twista by incorporating commentary from various individuals in the industry, including Ne-Yo and Big Boi.

FilmBuff will release both films to iTunes, Amazon and XBox on July 5th.

The post Big Pun and Twista Documentaries to be Released this July appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.