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RZA Gets Green Light On Directorial Debut, Studies Tarrantino

In a recent interview with the Los Angeles Times, Wu-Tang Clan Abbott the RZA shed some new light on his directorial debut, the Kung-Fu flick, The Man With The Iron Fist. The movie, written and to be directed by Robert Diggs and produced by Eli Roth (Hostel), which sees the musical mastermind utilize his vast creativity for the silver screen has secured financially backing, but it is unclear as to when production will actually commence.

The Staten Island native has garnered strong support for his entrance into the world of directing having studied under Quentin Tarrantino. The duo, which shares a mutual respect for martial art movies and cinematography, established a strong working relationship after RZA was asked by the prolific director to craft the scores for his Kill Bill movies.

As a self-professed disciple of Tarrantino, RZA spent countless hours on set watching the director of such cult classics as Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction and last years box office smash, Inglourious Basterds at work and ensured he too paid close attention to details which according to those close to him will only enhance The Man With the Iron Fist.

Eager to impress his ‘teacher’ with the script, RZA was given some welcomed advice after securing Tarrantino’s blessing. He said “You are ready, just don't start too much up here,'" RZA explained in the interview. "That meant, don't let my budget exceed $10 million. Don't start like that, yo! You start like that; expectation is going to be so high, you may never come again. That's great advice."

It is unclear if RZA, who has appeared in movies such as American Gangster the upcoming Due Date, directed by The Hangover’s Todd Phillips, will be taking a leading role in The Man With the Iron Fist.

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Hip Hop Album Sales: The Week Ending 1/3/2010

Alicia Keys and Mary J Blige traded places. Released a week earlier,  Element Of Freedom, Keys' album took the #3 spot (behind Lady Gaga and Susan Boyle). The J Records release still appears three weeks away from platinum, with the holiday sales drop-off taken into effect. Blige's Stronger (With Every Tear), a Geffen project went to #4. The two have been leaders (along with Rihanna and Robin Thicke), of an R&B/Pop takeover on the charts since October.

The Black Eyed Peas climbed seven spots with The E.N.D., placing them back in the coveted Top 10. The Los Angeles-based quartet continues to fluctuate on the charts unlike typical urban releases. The group has now been announced to be included in CBS' People's Choice Awards, likely surging more promotion in coming weeks.

Lil Wayne gave rebirth to the compilation. We Are Young Money slid just three spots to #12. The project remains Universal Motown's top Rap priority leading up to Rebirth. The Rap industry will see whether Drake or Nicki is the first to release a solo album in 2010.



The repackaging of Eminem's Relapse (as Relapse: Refill) with a handful of new songs, continues to prove as excellence in Interscope Records' business plan. This brought the release to #13, and will try to usher the Dr. Dre-produced effort to hard-to-earn 2,000,000 mark.

* Please note: figures below approximated to nearest thousandeth.

Top 200 Album Sales (Top 5 Hip Hop/R&B)

Rank	Artist	Album	This Week	Est. Total
3	Alicia Keys	Element of Freedom	80,000	779,000
4	Mary J Blige	Stronger (With Every Tear)	62,000	394,000
8	Black Eyed Peas	The E.N.D.	47,000	1,787,000
12	Young Money	We Are Young Money	43,000	186,000
13	Eminem	Relapse	41,000	1,735,000

Jay-Z's Blueprint 3 climbed over the 1.5 million mark. In classic Blueprint marketing form, the Brooklyn emcee has two singles rotating in radio: the Mr. Hudson-assisted cover of Alphaville's "Forever Young" and the Swizz Beatz-helmed "On To The Next." As these singles penetrate new Alt and Pop markets, Jay-Z may easily be able to achieve two million units sold on this project as well.

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HiPNOTT Records Partner Mixtape Release With HipHopDX

HiPNOTT Records, founded by blogger/music enthusiast Kevin Nottingham, will be releasing the first of its two-part mixtape series HiPNOTT Records 2010 Takeover on January 11.

2010 Takeover, co-sponsored by HipHopDX.com, features work from Nottingham’s artists as well as guest appearances from the independent scenes more prominent names. Murs, Illyas (of Tanya Morgan), Guilty Simpson and Kyle Lucas are all included on the project.

Describing the mixtape as reminiscent of a special era that influenced many of today’s acts, Nottingham explained to DX, “The Golden Era of Hip Hop was a time when Hip Hop felt good and people made Hip Hop music because they felt good about it... and it was reflected in its sound. A lot of people lump the Golden Era sound into 90’s boom bap, where in actuality, that was just one sound of many. Yeah, you had Gang Starr and A Tribe Called Quest, but you also had acts such as Naughty By Nature and Digital Underground who brought a fun, feel good vibe to Hip Hop. I would never compare any of my artists to these classic acts, but I will say that they each have the potential to reach their level of stardom."

Putting together the mixtape series over the course of three months, Nottingham added, “I came up with the idea with my HiPNOTT COO, Kareem Fort, who thought it would be a good idea to hit 2010 running with new music. We realized that when we announced the signing of Cymarshall Law and K. Sparks recently a lot of people were still unaware about the label. Hopefully after this year, people will see that we're serious about placing a footprint in Hip Hop.”

With part two of the series dropping in February, as well as projects from Cymarshall Law and K. Sparks and G.C. ready for release in the coming months, Kevin stated, “We have some great music lined up for the whole year at HiPNOTT Records with our current roster and we have a few deals in the works to sign on new acts. Just looking over our release schedule yesterday, I think we have enough music to put out one album per month for the whole year. And it's all quality music! Just as the mixtape name suggests... 2010 is the takeover!”

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Legendary Producer Willie Mitchell Dies

Recording artist and producer Willie Mitchell died on Tuesday (Jan 5) at the age of 81.

Perhaps best known for his work with Al Green, Ann Peebles and Syl Johnson, the Hi Records artist suffered cardiac arrest on Dec 19, according to the New York Times.

Mitchell's influence spanned generations; not only did he contribute numerous hits in the 1960s as an artist, but he also helped talent ranging from Green and Peebles to present-day acts like John Mayer and Anthony Hamilton. He also owned the aforementioned Hi Records label in the 1970s.

He recently wrote string and horn arrangements for Rod Stewart's upcoming R&B covers album, as well as producing an album for Solomon Burke. He received a Trustees Award from the Grammy Foundation in 2008.

Mitchell is survived by two daughters and a son. HipHopDX extends our condolences to Mr. Mitchell's friends and family.


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Slaughterhouse Heading Out on European Tour

Crooked I, Royce Da 5'9", Joe Budden and Joell Ortiz will be heading out to Europe as the crew has announced their European tour. This is in support of their Slaughterhouse album.

"The stage will be brought down like it always is," Joe Budden announced in a statement. "This is what we live for, see you there."

For the dates and locations of the tour, check below.



Wednesday, January 20 Amsterdam, Holland Melkweg
Friday, January 22 Hengelo, Holland, Metropool
Saturday, January 23 Stockholm, Sweden Gota Kollare
Sunday, January 24 Warsaw, Poland, The Fresh
Wednesday, January 27 Copenhagen, Denmark, Loppen
Thursday, January 28 Bergins Norway, Verftet
Friday, January 29 Trondheim, Norway, Kjopmannagata
Saturday, January 30, Oslo, Norway, Bla
Sunday, January 31 Helsinski, Finland Virgin Oil Co.
Tuesday, February 2 Prague, Czech Republic Lucerna Music
Wednesday, February 3 Budapest, Hungary A38
Thursday, February 4 Vienna, Austria, Planet
Friday, February 5 Zürich, Switzerland Dynamo
Saturday, February 6 Biel, Switzerland Coupole


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