Young King on Twitter

Young King on Myspace

Showing posts with label Alicia Keys. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Alicia Keys. Show all posts

Saturday, July 31, 2010

Alicia Keys and Swizz Beatz Tie the Knot



T.I. and Tiny weren’t the only ones getting hitched this weekend. Another one of music’s high-profile couples, Alicia Keys and Swizz Beatz, was married in an intimate ceremony in Italy.

Miss Info was first to reveal the couple’s union, which took place aboard a 260-foot yacht on the Mediterranean Sea, near Sardinia’s exclusive Costa Smeralda enclave. The celebration was attended by close family and friends.

Before breaking out the champagne across the Atlantic, the couple legally wed in the Tri-State region. During those nuptials, Keys reportedly wore a Vera Wang gown, Swizz was outfitted in Tom Ford, and both rocked footwear personally designed by their friend Christian Louboutin.

Prior to walking down the aisle, Swizz celebrated with two bachelor parties, one in New York and one at Sardinia’s opulent Billionaire Club on Friday (July 30).

Keys is pregnant with the couple’s first child, due later this year. This is the first marriage for the Grammy-winning singer and second for Swizz, who was previously married to R&B singer Mashonda.

Thursday, July 8, 2010

Swizz Beatz On Studio Sessions With Alicia Keys, "It's Just Musical Genius"


Producer Swizz Beatz recently opened up about his musical connection with fiancee/singer Alicia Keys and their chemistry inside the recording studio.

Beatz said they work closely when putting together music for their albums.

"When we in the studio, we work on a lot of things that ain't planned," Beatz revealed in an interview. W"e was just in the studio vibing on some stuff for her album, vibing on some stuff for my album. We might use it, we might not use it. Anytime we in the studio, it's just musical genius, minds connecting on another level, which is always cool. I got a joint [that] she played on for my album with John Legend called 'I'm a Star.' It's stupid. John Legend killed the joint. The album is gonna be stupid. I got so many titles. I think I'm gonna let Twitter pick the title [of the album] for me. I'm having fun with the fans, getting them involved."

Beatz and Keys recently caught attention after blessing their unborn child last month in South Africa.

"We were doing an event for Bobbi Bear under a special tree where a lot of kids who have been abused come to get special healing to have positive energy in their lives," Swizz said. "It turned into this ceremony that I didn't know about. I felt like I was on Punk'd or something! But, yes we had a special blessing [for our child]."

A pregnant Keys gave music fans a scare last weekend after falling during an Essence Music Festival performance.

Alicia Keys may sing about "Fallin'," but this time she really did it. The pregnant songstress fell backwards while performing "Love Is Blind" at the ESSENCE Music Festival on Saturday (July 3). But Ms. Keys kept it moving, getting right back up and playing the piano. A concertgoer can be heard asking, "Did she mean to do that?" Now that's when you know you're a true pro!

Reports of Beatz and Keys' engagement made headlines in late May.

Alicia Keys is in a motherhood state of mind: She's pregnant with her first child. The Grammy Award-winning R&B singer has been dating producer Swizz Beatz, who has written hits for Beyonce (bee-AHN'-say), Jay-Z and others. They're engaged to be married at a private ceremony later this year. Representatives for the couple confirmed the news Thursday night.

Check out footage of the soon-to-be married couple down below:

Friday, June 18, 2010

Alicia Keys Breaks Silence On Swizz Beatz & Their South Africa Trip


Grammy-winning singer Alicia Keys has broken her silence on her recent trip to South Africa with fiancee Swizz Beatz.

In the blog post, Keys talked about Beatz going out and helping a small area in Johannesburg called Soweto.

"Swizz couldn't get Ezimbuzini, the slum we visited in Soweto, out of his mind. He immediately got up early [one] morning and bought clothes for the ENTIRE village!!! Wooooowwww! He had promised he would go back and when he came back, everyone was SO excited to see him! "SWIZZYYYY!!!!" They yelled!!! And with the help of the beautiful residents, along with the people he brought with him to deliver the gifts, everything was perfectly organized and everyone got something new to wear! The whole village was ecstatic and grateful that he showed them so much love and his presence proved to them that our support wasn't just temporary."

Keys is currently traveling throughout South Africa to help bring awareness to the HIV/AIDS pandemic.

In order to check up on all that we do, see what other ways we can help and things that are needed Keep A Child Alive along with myself has made its pilgrimage back to Africa, as South Africa host the World Cup 2010, to visit the sites and people we serve. This is the work we ENSURE is done. This journey is imperative to continue to move forward. We also brought along 5 winners from the text "Alive" contest we ran where 5 people accompany me on this journey to see, learn, witness and participate in the HIV/AIDS pandemic and the surrounding issues. Their lives will forever be changed as mine was.

Reports of Beatz and Keys' engagement made headlines in late May.

Alicia Keys is in a motherhood state of mind: She's pregnant with her first child. The Grammy Award-winning R&B singer has been dating producer Swizz Beatz, who has written hits for Beyonce (bee-AHN'-say), Jay-Z and others. They're engaged to be married at a private ceremony later this year. Representatives for the couple confirmed the news Thursday night.

After the news broke out, SOHH spoke with Beatz's longtime friend/collaborator Sean Garrett to get his reaction.

"Swizz is a great dude man," Garrett told SOHH. "I'm just so happy for him too for his new baby on the way and Alicia, I'm just happy my man found love. Honestly. He has a lot of love in his heart and he's a good dude. He deserves the best. I just saw him a couple days ago and like friends do, that's my man and you know, I'm about to send him a box of cigars. I'm just happy for him, you know, at the end of the day we've all been very blessed in this game and been able to make some incredible money and have both been able to enjoy some extreme success...Of course I congratulated him on the new little baby on the way and a good relationship. You always gotta be happy to see any of your friends in love. This is really deeper than money."

Check out some past footage of Swizz Beatz and Alicia Keys down below:

Friday, May 28, 2010

Alicia Keys Pregnant W/ First Child, Set To Marry Swizz Beatz



R&B singer Alicia Keys is officially off the market after announcing being pregnant with her first child from soon-to-be husband/producer Swizz Beatz.

According to new reports, the hip-hop couple will officially wed later this year.

Alicia Keys is in a motherhood state of mind: She's pregnant with her first child. The Grammy Award-winning R&B singer has been dating producer Swizz Beatz, who has written hits for Beyonce (bee-AHN'-say), Jay-Z and others. They're engaged to be married at a private ceremony later this year. Representatives for the couple confirmed the news Thursday night.

Beatz's ex-wife, Mashonda, recently filed a lawsuit against the producer in New York.

In papers filed in Manhattan Supreme Court, Mashonda Dean says the man who officially became her ex-husband two weeks ago already owes her $334,000 in missed payments. "I so much wanted both of us to get on with our lives and maintain our respect for one another, but he now shows that his priorities and sense of responsibility are screwed up," R&B singer Dean said. Dean's lawyer, Bernard Clair, called the nonpayment "particularly troubling" because of reports that Beatz bought a seven-carat engagement ring for Alicia Keys earlier this year and that they're moving into a $14.5 million duplex penthouse on Crosby Street.

However, Beatz has defended himself and refuted his ex-wife's claims.

He said he'd agreed to pay Dean more than the judge required and much more than his lawyer recommended -- he even had to sign court papers acknowledging that he was going against his attorney's advice. "I gave over what the judge was recommending to give. I gave her $700,000 up front, because I thought $200,000 wasn't enough for what she wanted to do. I still get spit in my face for it," he said. He suggested that the subsequent payments had been ready to go when he discovered "she'd been selling all my stuff out of my house."

Beatz recently spoke on his divorce from Mashonda.

"I don't got a wife no more," Swizz told radio personality DJ Enuff. "I'm 99 percent done, 99 percent. You lucky, you lucky I'm telling you. I'm lucky in a lot of ways, also, with my divorce but it's like the hardest thing I've ever been through. By far. You know what I'm saying? But it was a learning experience. The thing that upset me the most was the approach from the other side, it didn't have to be like that because it's false. It's like false things and having the wrong people around. Pumping yourself thinking you're gonna get a TV show off of so-called exposing. It's like clown things and it's, like, I'm always quiet with this sh*t. I can't answer, I can't even feed into because it's that much foolery to me...The reason why I got my divorce is for real sh*t. I didn't get busted cheating, it wasn't none of that. I had to, I got put into a situation where she was making me pick the relationship with my older son over my marriage."

Check out some recent Alicia Keys & Swizz Beatz footage below:

Thursday, May 27, 2010

Drake's "Thank Me Later" Songs Leak, Rapper Addresses Affair W/ Rihanna [Audio]


Songs from Drake's upcoming Thank Me Later debut have begun leaking on the Internet with the unofficial release of "Fireworks" and his Jay-Z collaboration, "Light It Up."

On "Fireworks," Drake is heard speaking on various personal matters.

"Fireworks," the song that kicks off Drake's forthcoming album, Thank Me Later, leaked online Wednesday (May 26). On it, the rapper touches on his rumored alliance with Rihanna, amid verses about Lil Wayne and his rocky relationship with his father. "I could tell it wasn't love, / I just thought you'd f---ed with me/ Who could have predicted/ Lucky Strike would have you stuck with me," Drake raps in the second verse, referring to the Manhattan bowling alley where the two reportedly made out. "D*mn, I kept my wits about me, luckily/ What happened between us that night it always seems to trouble me/ Now all of a sudden, these gossip rags want to cover me/ And you making it seem like it happened that way because of me. "But I was curious," he continues. "And I'll never forget it, baby/ What an experience/ You could have been the one, but it wasn't serious/ There was smoke in the air before/ That was me clearing it, that felt good."

The second leaked track is Drake's Jay-Z "Light It Up" collaboration.

There are about three weeks left until the official release of Thank Me Later, so it come to no surprise that about half of the album has already leaked through the cracks and found its way onto the Internet to receive praise or scrutiny. Two standouts many can expect and have been highly anticipating come from the duo that created "Empire State Of Mind" with Alicia Keys handling the intro and Jay-Z schooling the Young Money rapper Drake.

Recently, Drake talked about accepting the pressure surrounding his highly-anticpated debut.

"I know I have a lot of growing up to do, but I guess, unfortunately, people won't judge me as if this is my first album or my first year in the game," Drake said in an interview with Billboard Magazine. "This is a crucial moment for me. It actually feels like my last album, not my first. I'll be working hard to make sure you remember it. I'll be in your city, performing all the songs, and hopefully looking at you in your eyes and let you know it's real out here, man. I'm ready."

Grammy-winning rapper T.I. recently gave his predictions of Drake's first-week sales.

"I'm confident in my man," T.I. said about Drake's first-week. "I think if 500 [thousand] was the over, under, I would take the over. Given his potential and his presence, I would. I think that's safe, that's a safe bet. He hasn't put out a dud yet. He hasn't put out a dud, not even as a feature, so I think that warrants about a half [a million]."

Drake's Thank Me Later is scheduled to drop Tuesday, June 15th.

Listen to Drake & Jay-Z's "Light It Up" down below:

Friday, May 14, 2010

Drake In L.A.

Drake Brings Out Nicki Minaj and Young Money Live in L.A.



Drake Confirms Alicia Keys Collaboration on ‘Fireworks’



Drake Performs with Soulja Boy & Nipsey Hussle Live in L.A.





Monday, April 12, 2010

Alicia Keys Eyes ‘Freedom’ Re-Release


After closing out the North American leg of her “Freedom” tour over the weekend, Alicia Keys is already planning her next moves, which may include a re-release of her latest album.

“We have been having conversations and talks about that,” Keys exclusively told Rap-Up.com when asked if a re-release of her fourth effort The Element of Freedom was in the future. “That’s still a conversation at this point, but it’s looking like it will happen.”

The Grammy winner said she would like to “add some incredible new songs and collaborations onto the re-release,” one of those potentially being a remix to her new single “Un-thinkable (I’m Ready).” Just last week, Keys revealed to Rap-Up.com that she was delaying her “Put It in a Love Song” video with BeyoncĂ© to release the Drake-assisted single. She is also set to film a video for the record this week in Los Angeles with director Jake Nava.

The Element of Freedom debuted at No. 2 when it was released in December and has since gone platinum in the United States.

Raekwon Talks "Wu-Massacre" LP, Explains Alicia Keys' Contribution


Wu-Tang Clan's Raekwon recently discussed his Wu-Massacre album compilation coming together and said Alicia Keys showed her support for the project by remixing the "Our Dreams" lead single.

According to Rae, the album was primarily Ghostface Killah and Def Jam's idea.

"The Wu-Massacre was something that Ghostface and Def Jam put together and asked from my assistance," Rae told radio host Jenny Boom Boom. "I just came through for them...This is something that Def Jam came up with with Ghostface and they wanted me and Method Man to be a part of it so Ghost called and got the whole movement on that Wu-Massacre album...In my eyes, I wanted to do it independently but this is what Ghost wanted to do -- ['Our Dreams'] was a commercial record that we knew would definitely keep us on the radio at least in the daytime and all of that. But it wasn't really nothing that we felt was top of the line -- we already knew that was gonna be a commercial spin-off for us...Yeah, shout-out Alicia Keys, that's like our sister. She always comes through for us -- she did that on her own, she just showed love out of her own kindness."
Earlier this year, Method Man said Def Jam was responsible for rushing the project out to retail outlets.

"So far, with the promotion of this album, I ain't have nothing to do with it," Meth explained in an interview. "We've all been busy working -- well, Rae's been doing Cuban Linx [Part II], Ghost been promoting Wizard of Poetry, I had done like three f*cking movies last year so yeah, I mean, I'm glad someone in the building is taking it upon themselves to get the ball rolling so it's a good deal right there because in the era we're in right now, you gotta do all that sh*t yourself. I'm happy that Chris Bachalo did it, he's official. I mean, his run on X-Men was one of the best...He's professional with it, I would love for Chris to do my next comic book..."

Rae recently spoke on maintaining the Wu's brand image through the release of their new album.

"I'd say probably four or five months ago," Rae said about the album's recording process. "We just wanted to make another album that really represents our brand, which is the W. When you think of Wu-Tang, we've been in the business for damn near almost, what, 17 years? We just want to make sure that people still know that we didn't go nowhere -- musically, passionately about hip-hop. When you get records like this, it helps keep the W flag up high. You know what I mean? Like the American flag. We gotta take care of that flag. It was something that was going to happen sooner or later. Us three, we always work good together throughout the years. On a lot of records, me, Ghost, and Meth was always next to each other. If you look at [the Wu-Tang Clan] as being the Lakers, we are the MVPs of the team."

The album debuted on the sales charts last week.

Method Man, Ghostface Killah and Raekwon's Wu-Massacre debuted on the charts this week landing at No. 12. After one week, the threesome's first-ever collaboration project pushed 38,100 records.

Monday, April 5, 2010

Alicia Keys On "Unthinkable" Visual, "No, [Drake] Won't Be In The Video"



Grammy-winning singer Alicia Keys has has revealed that Drake will not appear in the music video for their duet, "Unthinkable."

Keys also addressed Drake's recent success and revealed her aim to collaborate with him again in the future.

The "Un-thinkable" clip will be shot in Los Angeles in mid-April with director Jake Nava (Beyonce, Britney Spears), but don't count on an appearance from Drake. "No, he won't be in the video," she added. "That's too obvious." Keys couldn't be happier for Drizzy's success and revealed plans for more collaborations with the Young Money rapper. "He's a great guy. I'm really happy for him," she shared. "I'm really proud of all the things he's been able to achieve, and we're most likely going to do some kind of remix for the song that'll be really good. There'll be more of me and Drake."

Drake previously talked about how his "Unthinkable" collaboration came together.

"Alicia Keys, they reached out and she said she really wanted me to do something on her project but she wanted me to do me, not do an Alicia Keys record," Drake explained in an interview. "And man, she gave me one of the best studio experiences in my life, like when I got there, instead of being like 'All right, here's the beat, get to work,' [she said] play me your favorite songs and let's battle. Let's battle. You play me your favorite record, we'll go one-for-one. You play me a record and I'll play you a record. And everybody was in the studio and -- it was turning into this heated party, we were all just loving music, you know? It almost like transitioned from great music to making a song, no one even noticed it but she started playing keys and I just started writing melodies and we came up with a song that I think could really be a big record for her song. I wrote most of the record and she produced it...It was probably one of the best moments of my career."

Last January, Drake talked about his ability to write R&B and hip-hop songs.

"With R&B, I know my sound. I know I make records to f*ck to," he explained in an interview. "The way Jay and Wayne write rap, I write R&B. I don't write lyrics down on paper. The other day, I was in the studio with Alicia Keys, and I wrote two songs just speaking to her. I wish I could write that way for rap. With my rap songs, there's so much of me I have to give that I don't know if I could ever just flow. The thing is, I'm a great rapper. There's two elements to rap: having the thoughts, and then being a great rapper. I can really rap the sh*t that I write. My tone, my inflection. When I listen to myself on records, I don't feel like I don't belong there. When I listen to 'Forever,' with three of my heroes, I fit right in."

The rapper is currently on his Away From Home Tour, which began today.

"It's a musical experience, it's about a mood," he says. "Women can come out and feel sexy. It's gonna be good. I picked the show that I would be at, you know? I don't know how people are gonna receive it. I hope that they come to my tour with an open mind, because it's not me and Pleasure P and Trey Songz. It's not what people would necessarily expect. It's not the tour that's based around hip-hop or R&B music. To me it's based around refreshing sounds."
Check out Drake talking about his Alicia Keys collaboration down below: