Weezy Explains Why He Pulled Nicki From Hot 97's Summer Gig

Lil Wayne says that he honored Nicki Minaj's feeling of being disrespected by pulling her from the show.

Shortly before Nicki Minaj was scheduled to take the stage at Hot 97's Summer Jam, Lil Wayne tweeted that he pulled her from the lineup. It was later revealed that radio personality Peter Rosenberg had made comments about her single "Starships" being "bullshit," and that she felt disrespected and decided not to perform.

Weezy broke his silence on the matter during an interview with MTV News, stating that he was honoring his associate's feelings by canceling her appearance.

"First of all, I approached the situation like this: that's a female, first and foremost," he said. "Nicki Minaj is a female. I don't know what anyone else believe, but I believe that females deserve the ultimate respect at all times no matter what, where, when or how. So as soon as she called me and said she felt disrespected, I just declined everything and pulled her from the show because first of all, no person that works with me - because no one works for me - no person that works with me will be disrespected in my presence as long as I'm on this planet."

He also said that he has no hard feelings towards Hot 97, but that he stands by his decision.

"And like I said, she's a female, first and foremost, so I expect the red carpet - in her manner, the pink carpet - to be laid out for her. But like I said, it's just an executive move, no bad feelings, no hard feelings. It's just like I said, in my opinion, she says she was disrespected. That's a woman. I feel like a woman is supposed to be respected at all times. Therefore, I feel like I made the right decision."

Chance for 25 wannabe stand-up comedians

As part of the launch of Soweto Theatre and Youth Month celebrations, 25 young people will be given an opportunity to kickstart careers in stand-up comedy.

Did you know: SA's top and experienced comedians earn R30 000 per show when doing corporate shows, R5 000 per performance for festivals and R2 000 per performance for club performances?

The Soweto Theatre together with Joburg Promusica Theatre is committed to youth development through the arts; as part of the launch of Soweto Theatre and Youth Month celebrations, 25 young people will be given an opportunity to kick start careers within the ever growing stand-up comedy Industry.

The South African Comedy Academy has helped launch the careers of some of the top comedy talents in the country. Comedians such as Trevor Noah, Eugene Khoza, Kedibone Mulaudzi and Tumi Morake amongst others, all started their careers using the Academy's comedy development initiatives.

As part of the Youth Month celebrations SACA will give 25 young people between the ages of 18-35 an opportunity to carve their paths in the comedy industry. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity as all costs are covered by Joburg Promusica Theatre and Soweto Theatre.

Note to all budding comedians and funny people, auditions are on June 4 at Soweto Theatre from 10am. 25 will be chosen, and put through their paces at various classes. The South African Comedy Academy Showcase will be on June 14 at 8pm where these successful comedians will be on show.

The classes will be run by the SA Comedy Academy founder and one of SA's top comedians and SA's top comedy developer Kedibone Mulaudzi. Prepare a funny 5-minute comedy set and come audition for your spot.

Venue: Soweto Theatre.
Address: cnr Bolani Road and Bolani Link Road, Jabulani, Soweto. Next to Jabulani Mall, just off Koma Road.
Contact Details: SA Comedy Academy - Facebook Follow us on Twitter @sacomedyacademy or @kedibonemulaudz
More info - 011 070 7089
Audition date: 4 June 10am
Class dates: 5 - 13 June
SACA Showcase: 14 June 8pm.

Pete Rock Responds To Lupe

Like we have stated in previous articles that there's a storm brewing in the hip-hop community, prepare some umbrellas because it’s going to rain hate. From Pusha T’s beef to Saigon and now Pete Rock and Lupe Fiasco. To fill everyone inn, Lu took a beat that Pete made and the legendary producer hated that.

Pete Rock reiterates that he should have been involved in the talks to remake "T.R.O.Y."

The saga continues for Lupe Fiasco and Pete Rock’s beef over the former remaking the latter’s beat from “T.R.O.Y.” for “Around My Way (Freedom Ain’t Free).”

During an interview with MTV News, the veteran producer responded to Lu’s latest rant on Shade 45’s “Sway in the Morning” where he said that the situation wasn’t remedied, despite the fact that they had publicly announced reconciliation.

"At that point, my emotions were working — I'm still thinking about Heavy D and Troy is a dear friend to me, and my emotions got the best of me, and I expressed myself on Twitter. It wasn’t my intention to hurt Lupe’s career or his producer’s career," he said, explaining that he agreed to let the beat be reused as long as he was involved with his project. “I thought from that point I would be involved with Lupe and being in the studio, tweaking the beat, but I never heard from the record label, and then I turn on the radio, and hear it on the radio.”

Sai Clears The Air

There’s a storm brewing in the rap world, first Pusha T makes headlines with shots fired at Drizzy then Saigon with his recent interview.

The Yardfather took time out from his tour to clarify comments about negative messages in Hip Hop.

Saigon says "It ain't about Rick Ross," as he explains last week's quotes. The rapper blames major labels and corporate radio. Saigon released the latest update in a developing story from last week. The veteran New York emcee was quoted by SOHH for comments criticizing the message of rappers including Rick Ross.

The quoted included, Saigon saying, "Rick Ross is rapping about selling kilos of cocaine and selling drugs. This is what he’s about, this whole lifestyle saying he’s so rich and he eats shrimp every night, and y'all support this shit? Y'all broke and poor and your family’s about to get kicked out."

After the story published, Saigon responded, claiming the comments were taken out of context. SOHH responded this weekend, releasing the audio of Saigon's interview.

While touring in Germany, Saigon has now responded by video, explaining his purpose in the states. The rapper began a seven-plus minute video admitting, "I'm getting a lot of backlash from being very outspoken."

Sai recalled his three-year-old daughter recently inquiring about a star rapper's name. "This is no disrespect to Nicki Minaj or whateva, but it's the fact that it's so sad that in America, through Hip Hop - something we created through our struggle as Black people, my three-year-old daughter is inquisitive about what a 'menage' is or what it means. Because mainstream America is making a lot of money off of sellin' sex."

In the vlog, Sai clarified his point about who is behind the messages in mainstream Rap music. "It ain't just Rick Ross, first of all. It ain't even Rick Ross; Rick Ross is an artist. It's Sony Records. It's Radio One. It's Clear Channel. These artists are pawns."

The rapper also responded to crirticism he's faced since the story broke. "The people goin' against me right now more than anybody are my own people," Saigon said, believed to be referring to Black people. "Everybody else knows I'm right."

Before previewing his new single from his forthcoming album, "Rap Vs. Real," Saigon acknowledged his outspoken nature to be his purpose. "This is why I was put on this earth, man. I'm Malcolm X, yes. I'm Martin Luther King, yes. I'm Tupac, yes. So shoot me, try to assassinate my character, call me an idiot, do what you want. That shit don't matter, 'cause it's just getting started."

Is it a publicity stunt?

Shots Fired

It's been a minute since we've been missing on the hip-hop stage - the game was stale and needed a reboot. Pusha T called us right back from doing motivational articles that helps elevate people's minds.

Like the legendary Nas raps "They Shooting", ah he made us look. Pusha T fired the first shot aiming his gun at Drake and Young Chop. Whether it's taking the high road, Drake didn't respond but Lil Wayne - went on Twitter and tweeted, Fuk pusha t and anybody that love em.

On the track "Exodus 23:1" Pusha is believed to be gunning for Drake and Young Chop. The question is… is it a publicity stunt?

Over a ghostly beat, the G.O.O.D. Music signee takes square aim at Drizzy with lines including, "Beef is when you hide behind them other niggas / But they ain't killers, they ain't pullin' them triggers, fuck niggas."

He made reference to Drake's recording contract, most likely referring to the fact that he's signed to Lil Wayne, who is signed to Birdman whose label is housed under Universal Music. "Contract all fucked / Explain up I guess that means you all fucked up / You signed to one nigga that signed to another nigga that's signed to three niggas / Now that's bad luck," he raps.

Young Chop, on the other hand, got a one-off couplet about his issue with Kanye West remaking his beat for the remix of Chief Keef's "I Don't Like." "You can keep your beats, nigga / We'd much rather share your bitch, nigga, bitch nigga," he spits.

Well Push certainly didn't bite his tongue and Wayne didn't beat around the bush either with his tweet that caused Kid Cudi to tweet "I love my nigga Pusha T, fuck anybody who feel different. We ain't ho's out here."

Will this be a G.O.O.D Music Vs YMCMB battle? Only time will tell.

Tips To Help You Recover from a Branding Mistake

Everybody makes branding mistakes. Business books are littered with stories of false starts and funny names that never made it beyond their initial incarnation. Ever heard of Computing Tabulating Recording Corporation, or GoldStar? How about Back Rub or Brad’s Drink? Not many have. You probably recognize them today as IBM, LG, Google and Pepsi-Cola, respectively.

Renaming your business is only one element in a successful re-branding effort. For a full relaunch, you’ll need to change your brand identity across multiple online platforms, as well as possibly flip your brand’s personality and tweak your own startup story.

Unless you’re planning to stick with your branding mistake, here are four ways to use social media to re-brand your business:

Pick a versatile name. A new name can offer a fresh start, but make sure it’s unique, or you’ll end up with a headache instead. You’ll want to both avoid running afoul of any trademarks and secure your new brand name across a variety of social-media platforms.

Say if your company’s name is Johannesburg Cooking and Catering, think about how that’ll look and work online. Social media sites usually cap usernames at 15 characters, so you might want to use some abbreviation of the name instead — for instance, “JCooking&C.”

Redefine your voice. If you’ve figured out who the new you is and where you want to be, further that message by revising or creating brand new social-media profiles. Then, carry that message across your company’s social-media channels. Set communication guidelines to help employees express those messages. By engaging potential clients and partners across these platforms, you can let people know more about your new brand, mission, culture and core values.

Solidify the change. The best way to get people used to a new brand is to get out in front of them. Be sure to tell existing customers and clients that you’ve changed to avoid confusing anyone. Then, start familiarizing them with the new you. Depending on your goals, you might consider offering current customers a discount or special deal to keep them coming back. You might also include a Q&A on your site to explain the new you and give future customers more background about your past. It’s important to have a consistent voice and repeat messages to be heard above all of the “noise” in social media.

Assess your results. Make sure that you’re tracking your re-branding efforts over social media and that your employees are gathering data from customers to find out how they found your business. Keep in mind that re-branding takes time. So wait at least two to three months before deciding whether something is working.

Tips To Help Ensure Your Business Succeeds

The darkest days of the Great Recession are over, so we they say, deep economic changes have occurred and business will never be the same.

Entrepreneurs -- whether they're an unemployed person striking out on their own or a seasoned veteran trying to get the mojo back again -- must do things differently in order to survive. Everyone must change, especially small-business owners. Luckily, what have not changed are the business fundamentals, those management traits that successful entrepreneurs almost all possess: tenacity, commitment and vision, and basic business skills.

New strategies are required, however, strategies designed to work in a changing business climate.

Here are seven tips that will help to ensure your business is a success:

1. Have a written plan. Without a plan, it is merely a dream. It doesn't have to be a book, but you need a few pages outlining specific objectives, strategies, financing, a sales and marketing plan, and a determination of the cash you need to get things done. Writing it all down is a crucial first step.

2. Don't marry your plan. Every great military general in history has known that even the best-laid plan sometimes has to be thrown in the fire when the bullets start flying. Adjust, confront and conquer.

3. Keep your ego in check and listen to others. Advisors are crucial because you need people to bounce ideas off, inspect what you're doing, and push you to greater accomplishments, holding you accountable for what you are committing to do. Always be good to your word and follow through on commitments, even when difficult and challenging. This isn't about you; it's about the business. Don't take things personally and stay out of emotion. Do not let your ego take control.

4. Keep track of everything, and manage by the numbers. Create written systems for everything, because you will reap benefits from them later on. This is how you train your employees and retain consistency. Know your numbers and check them daily and make all decisions based on what they tell you. One of the most important calculations is cash flow pro forma. Determine how much cash you need to do the business and do not start without the required cash on hand.

5. Delegate to employees and avoid micromanaging them. A manager's job is to delegate and then inspect progress. So don't be a control freak. Keep business organization flat. If you delegate effectively, you will get more and better then you expect. Have an actual written training and orientation plan so your employees know what is required of them. Use an incentive-based rewards system and maintain a no-problem attitude about issues that crop up.

6. Use the Internet. It is incredibly powerful and very cost efficient, but it takes time and some skill. It is about creating a community, using social media networking such as Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and blogging to build rapport with your market. You need to get on the train and do it, because your competitors are.

7. Reinvent your business. It is net profit, not gross revenue, that you want to focus on. Separate yourself from your history and create a new competitive advantage, be it a focused niche or super service, but not by discounting.

Above all, have fun. Being an entrepreneur is your choice, so make it work. It can be done. You can survive, emerge and succeed in this downsized economy, if you follow the right path.