So you might’ve heard Ghost is dropping a Soul/R&B album this year. While the rapper/singer role is probably more accepted now than it’s ever been (Drake, Kid Cudi, and countless auto-tuned ’singers’) those familiar with Pretty Toney’s soulful stylings might find a whole album of his singing pretty hard to take. Rest easy, Def Jam’s Lenny S. brings some damage control to the promotion campaign. Hit the jump for a cut supposedly of Ghost’s new album ‘The Wizard Of Poetry’ and further explanation from the man himself. Read the rest of this entry »

Wonder what the #1 major hip-hop label is cooking up for the Summer? I snuck into Def Jam’s secret safe, via telekinetic movement, to find out. Just for you. Here’s Def Jam’s Summer lineup for 2008.

• Karina – First Love – August 19th, 2008
  16 @ War is a solid single, but Def Jam’s latest songbird will have to drop an entire album’s worth of decent music to win me over.

• LL Cool J – Exit 13 – July 8th, 2008
  Uncle Todd is still bringing that fiyah!, even if his antics are getting a bit annoying.

• Nas – Nas – July 1st, 2008
  Nasir has already gathered significant momentum for this album, so anything short of a classic will probably dent his reputation.

• Ne-Yo – Year of the Gentleman – August 8th, 2008
  Another Ne-Yo album? Does anyone even remember the last one?

• Razah – Razah – July 8th, 2008
  Razah needs to give Rizoh a shout so we can do a collabo. We’ll have RZA produce it.

• Rihanna – Good Girl, Gone Bad [CD/DVD] Reloaded – June 17th, 2008
  I dug GGGB, but this is a blatant attempt to sell us the same thing twice. Boooo!

• Young Jeezy – The Recession – July 29th, 2008
  Yeeeeeaaah!

Which ones are you excited about?

Def Jam’s 3rd Quarter game plan includes a DTP reunion, a fresh disc from Babyface, a futuristic entry from the college dropout, and another LP from Beans, who is expected to move units on the strength of his street credibility and fashion sense. Without further ado, here’s the July – September lineup for the Black Oasis:

• Babyface, TBA,
  September 18
• Beanie Sigel, The Solution
  September 25
• Disturbing Tha Peace, Strength in Numbers
  August 28
• Kanye West – Graduation

August 21

• Small World, World Premiere
  September 18
• Sterlig Simms, Worth Your While
  TBA
• Warren G, Regulate…G Funk Era (2 CD Special Edition)
  July 17

Fox Boogie, where you at?