Crib Notes

LAST NIGHT'S DJ HERO PREVIEW AT 595 NORTH: Jermaine Dupri channels Ray Charles.

Nobody comes to the BET Hip Hop Awards for the BET Hip Hop Awards. Unless you’re a big rap star or a card-carrying member of the bloggerati — which pretty much includes everybody these days — you probably don’t stand a chance at getting into the actual event.

So here’s a select roundup of some of the parties, after parties and after after parties taking place over the weekend. Get in where you fit in.

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In a recent interview with Rap-Up.com, Ludacris confirmed that a recently leaked track (listen above) is indeed one of the songs he has ghostwritten for Dr. Dre’s long-delayed album, Detox.

“It was supposed to be for Detox, but I don’t know since it got leaked. I don’t know if it’s gonna get used.”

The song, “O.G.’s Theme,” showcases a husky-voiced Luda rapping under the guise of Dr. Dre: “The first nigga wit a attitude/with 30 mil sold where the fuck the gratitude?/Huh, I see all these little B.G.s/mean-muggin’ on the screen trying to be me.”

It isn’t the first rumored Detox track to leak featuring an Atlanta rapper providing the legendary producer with reference vocals. Earlier this year, a song titled “Shit Popped Off” hit the ’net with T.I. rapping over an unmistakable Dr. Dre instrumental. That track ended up in Dr. Dre’s recent Dr. Pepper commercial spot, minus T.I.’s rap. Atlanta rapper Killer Mike has also reportedly submitted work for Detox.

Perhaps, after all these years, the announced release dates for Dr. Dre’s comeback album are real. From the sound of things, he may be depending on a handful of Georgia boys to help him return with a vengeance.

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On a sad day, this vintage video of ATL television personality Too Clean talking to the Hot Boys should cheer everyone up. I recently saw the DVD from which it’s taken, Clean’s Down South Exclusive, Vol 1, and it is amazing.

Filmed in various Atlanta clubs and released in 2002, it features interviews culled from the late ’90s with people like Ludacris, Pastor Troy, YoungBloodZ, Nelly, Big Boi, Trina, 8Ball & MJG and many more. Highlights include a wild, rambunctious Mystikal, a delightful and relaxed Jermaine Dupri, and, of course, the above interview with a very young Wayne and a rather fey-looking Juvenile. (The concert footage is blurry, but does a good job capturing the energy of crunk shows.)

Through it all Too Clean himself emerges as the most charismatic of the bunch. He lobs nothing but softballs, but in the process gets nearly all of his subjects to reveal something interesting about themselves. (With the exception of C-Murder, who looks nervous and paranoid.) It mostly helps that everyone looks to be about five or six drinks in.

It’s available for purchase or on Netflix. Well worth it.

What’s Clean up to nowadays? Was there ever a Down South Exclusive, Vol 2? I’d love to know.

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The 30^th annual Georgia Music Hall of Fame Awards (a.k.a. The Georgy Awards) take place on Sat., Sept. 20 at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta.

This year, The Georgia Music Hall of Fame will induct Southern rock band, Widespread Panic, Ludacris, Hamp Swain, Fred & Dinah Gretsch, Keith Sweat and the late gospel singer/songwriter, Dottie Rambo. The ceremony begins at 6:30 p.m. in the Thomas B. Murphy Ballroom.

Gov. Sonny Perdue host an opening reception and dinner followed by the awards show and performances from Widespread Panic, Ludacris and Keith Sweat and a few unannounced guests as well.

Tickets are on sale now, ranging from $75 for an individual ticket to $750 or $1000 for tables of ten. Tickets and Sponsorship packages are available by calling 770-491-9494 x. 15.

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I rolled up to Lenny’s Bar at 7:30 p.m. yesterday, excited for what promised to be a great show. The bar was closed.

“Shit,” I murmured and turned to my boyfriend/chauffeur. “Are you sure it was Lenny’s?”

“I thought so,” he replied. So had I.

As luck or fate (or their combined power, fuck) would have it, neither of us had our cell phones. We decided, since we had no idea what to do or where to go, to head to Java Monkey for some beer and poetry.

At Java Monkey, standing behind some friends while the bard on stage shouted rhythmically about No Child Left Behind, it dawned on me. Eddie’s Attic. I knew it was one of those two-syllable-apostrophe-S-name thingies.

BF and I walked the minute-and-a-half to Eddie’s Attic, climbed inside and grabbed some barstools. It was 8:30, one hour after the show had started, and Claire & Bain’s Maple Yum-Yum — the entire reason for the journey — had not started their set yet.

Claire & Bain’s Maple Yum-Yum disbanded six years ago (”back when gas was 96 cents a gallon,” Bain says) and returned to Eddie’s Attic last night for an onstage reunion. They hinted that it would not be the last.

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Cellphones have upgraded.

Thanks to Atlanta native and Grammy Award winner Ludacris, cellphones can now be used as personal, on-the-go recording studios.

Ludacris’ multi-genre music website WeMix announced last week that it has teamed up with network exchange providers VoodooVox to launch MyVox Voice API, the newest — and cheapest — way to “drop a flow.”

Now, any WeMix.com member can use their cellphone as a microphone to lay down vocals, tracks and beats and instantly broadcast their original content worldwide.

What’s it mean? Musician hopefuls will no longer need over-priced recording equipment and expensive producers to record their own music. As long as you have a cell phone — which is most everyone between the ages of 10 and 75 — you can cut your own original track.

“A&R, marketers, the radio game, million-dollar videos, predictable producers: this system makes it really tough for new blood or new ideas to rise to the top,” said WeMix founder Chris “Ludacris” Bridges. “Using WeMix allows new artists to get their voice heard.”

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Twenty-nine years ago, Ray Charles performed “Georgia On My Mind” at the Georgia General Assembly after Georgia declared it the official state song.

Random fact: The songwriter, Stuart Gorell, wrote it to musician Hoagy Carmichael’s sister, who coincidentally happened to be named Georgia.

Years later, Atlanta rapper Ludacris used a sample of Ray Charles’ version of the song in the hook for his own song, “Georgia.”

Since you can trace both anthems back to Carmichael’s sister, does that mean she was the ultimate Georgia peach?

Thank Secretary of State Karen C. Handel for the historical tidbit.

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I’ve seen scores of release dates for new music this fall, and I’ve noticed that there are few local superstars on the list. Last year seemed full of chart-topping acts, from Ludacris and Young Jeezy to Ciara. But this year may be relatively quiet. Sure, the Black Lips and Shawty Lo are cool, but they aren’t exactly top 10 material (except on critics’ lists, maybe). Keyshia Cole, who recently moved here, gets love but doesn’t really count.

No, I’m talking about the A-list superstars that run A-Town. Namely, what’s up with Usher?

Despite a few teasing comments to MTV, Usher has yet to announce a release date for his first album since 2004’s Confessions. The New York Times just leaked the news that he’ll appear on the season premiere of “Ellen” (alongside Hillary Clinton, no less), which indicates that he’s about to kick the promotional campaign into high gear. The episode broadcasts Monday, Sept. 3. But will it be for a Christmastime bonanza, or an early 2008 comeback?

Here are a few other local stars that may or may not drop albums before the year is out:

1. Big Boi: For much of the year, Big Boi talked about issuing his solo debut in 2007. But Rolling Stone just announced that it won’t come out until February 2008 at the earliest. But he gets a pass for popping up on UGK’s “International Players Anthem,” one of the best singles of the year.

2. Ludacris: Luda is still telling people to wait for his next album, Theater of the Mind. But, in my opinion, that will probably depend on whether he can come up with a few hit singles to launch the album properly, and whether he can finish those songs in the next month or so. If not, he’ll probably wait until next year.

3. Lil Jon: Crunk Rock has been in the works for nearly three years now. Last month, Lil Jon told Billboard that he has finished tracks with Kid Rock, Lil Wayne, Remy Ma, the Game, Gucci Mane, Fabo from D4L, P.O.D., Ciara, Ice Cube and R. Kelly. Lots of stars, sure, but when will the damn thing finally come out? He says it will arrive before the end of the year but, again, no release date.

4. Bow Wow: The artist formerly known as Lil Bow Wow hasn’t moved major units in a minute. But with his devoted teen base and history of radio hits, he’s still a threat to do so. He’s teaming up with another teen idol, Omarion, for the collaborative album Face Off. It drops via Jive Records Dec. 4.

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Although I couldn’t find anybody to go to the show with me last week, I know there are plenty of Ludacris fans out there because they almost filled Center Stage for his free Samsung/AT&T-sponsored show last Tuesday.

Here’s a shot of Luda (far left) and Lil’ Fate working the crowd:

Don’t look for me in the shot, though. I was way at the top in the very last row. The view was actually much better up there — three seats down from me a couple was grinding on each other the whole time. It was almost better than going to the strip club and spying other people’s lap dances for free. Almost.

Oh, and Ludacris’ show wasn’t too shabby, either. He had his Disturbing Tha Peace crew in tow. By the way, Ludacris drops the DTP compilation today, Aug. 28. Here’s the cover:

Notice anything?

Lotta damn rappers, right? Now, besides Ludacris (front row, center), Chingy (next to Luda on the left), Bobby Valentino (to his right) and Shawnna (directly behind him), I’d be willing to bet most people have no idea who those other cats are. Every rapper has a crew — Ludacris has one of the biggest — but like most crews, most of the members of DTP have had a hard time distinguishing themselves. Putting all their faces on the cover is an attempt at doing so.

It’s also kinda ironic that the name of the album is Strength in Numbers since the success of rap releases has everything to do with the numbers posted in first-week sales. Unfortunately, the lead single, “Duffle Bag Boy,” shines the light on guest MC Lil’ Wayne more than the two DTP members on the track, who go by the group name Playaz Circle. But it could still pay off for them. Surely, you can’t go wrong by putting Lil’ Wayne, the “best rapper alive,” on your track, right?

Well.

As long as no one is confused about whose track it really is. And in this case, that’s almost as confusing as the faces on album cover.

Much luck Luda and crew.

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Ludacris, coming to an area code near you

One of the great things about living in a city with so many music stars is that they seem to be everywhere when it’s time to promote a new project. Case in point: Ludacris. With his new Disturbing tha Peace album Strength in Numbers set to drop Aug. 28, you can find Luda at the following locations over the next few weeks:

Aug. 12: Ludacris and V-103’s Greg Street will host the Disturbing tha Peace Official Family Reunion at Taboo 2 Bistro & Bar in Roswell. Free valet parking for all unescorted ladies!

Aug. 16: Ludacris and the DTP family will host the grand opening of a New Era caps store at 117 Luckie St. This event is invite-only, but you’re welcome to stand outside, gawk at celebrities and hold up traffic.

Aug. 21: Ludacris performs for free at EarthLink Live. The concert is part of Samsung/AT&T’s “Summer Krush” series, and will feature lots of promotional gewgaws and overtures to (hopefully) convince you to buy a Samsung phone. You can RSVP for a free ticket at www.samsungsummerkrush.com.

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