Hell To the Chief.

So, who is Chief Keef? Well, the 16-year-old Chi-Town native made headlines after the release of his single “I Don’t Like”. Keef exploded after the release of “I Don’t Like” video went viral in March after reaching 6.5 million views on YouTube. If things couldn’t get any better for the youngster, his name grew even quicker after Kanye West co-signed and remixed his “I Don’t Like”, which was originally produced by a young  Chicago native producer named Young Chop, for a G.O.O.D. Music verison which featured Pusha T, Big Sean, and Jadakiss. With Chief Keef creating such a major buzz, there was a bidding war for the young superstar. The labels fighting over the young act consisted of Young Money/Cash Money, Bad Boy Ent., Grand Hustle Records, and even Def Jam were all in the running. In a interview with MTV’s RapFix and Cash Money CEO Birdman, who spoke on Chief Keef and stated, “He’s out the streets, I think he swagged up and I’m definitely talkin’ to his people and I’d like to see if we could get it to pop, see if I can get him to be down with the team.” In disappointing the Cash Money CEO, Keef made the Executives, Presidents, VP’s at Interscope Records, very happy. In recent news, Chief Keef stated that, he was calling Interscope his home for building his career and future in music. Keef stated his reasoning in signing with Interscope was because they saw eye-to-eye in what direction they wanted to take his career. He also felt that Interscope was a label that housed music of artists like Eminem and 50 cent, and that could be a great place for him to expand as an artist. 

The Spitter.

So, who is the spitter from Philly, with the unique sound and aggressive street delivery? Maybach Music’s very own Meek Mill, born Robert William; who first signed with T.I.’s Grand Hustle Record, in which their partnership didn’t last do to T.I.’s legal issues putting him away for almost a year in prison. Meek Mill felt like it was time for him to grow as a recording artist, and asked to be released from his contract with T.I. & Grand Hustle Records. Meek Mill wishes was generously granted and in February of 2011, Mill’s was able to join forces with Maybach Music’s C.E.O Rick Ross and became part of a team that consisted of artists like D.C’s very own Wale and Ohio native Stalley.   

The North Philly native has made a name for himself, since signing with MMG and has never looked back. In the summer of 2011, he released his first debut single, "Tupac Back" featuring Rick Ross, from the Maybach Music complication album Self-Made Vol. 1. There after, another record was followed with "I'ma Boss"also featuring Rick Ross, which was a major hit. "I'ma Boss" was such a hit that it was remixed with featured artists like T.I., Birdman, Lil' Wayne, DJ Khaled, Swizz Beatz and Rick Ross; the "I'ma Boss"remix even reached at the number 51 spot, on the Billboard Hot 100 list. If things couldn't get any better, the year that followed, MTV listed Meek Mill's as the  7th best hottest MC in hip-hop, on their annual "Hottest MC's in the Game" list. In the same summer Meek Mill released his second mixtapes of his series of Dreamchasers mixtapes.

 So what next for Meek Mill, and his future in hip-hop. Well, expect to hear more from Meek Mill on the Maybach Music's second complication entitled, Self-Made Vol. 2; which is set to be released sometime at the end of June. Meek Mill is also preparing to release his first debut album which is entitled, Dreams & Nightmare, which is set to be released sometime in the begin of the fall of 2012.     

Spanx That..

 Sara Blakely is a self-made billionaire, who took a savings of $5,000 and transformed it into a billion dollar company. She did it by starting her very own undergarment company called Spanx. This high level of success helped lead her to become the world’s youngest self-made female billionaire. Sara is a graduate from Florida State University, with a degree in Communications. What lead her to success was that one day she wished her pantyhose didn’t have leg selves, so she cut them off. In doing this, this changed her outlook in life, and that’s when her life changed in becoming an entrepreneur. Her plan in designing these Spanx’s pantyhose was to design a garment that hide the women’s panty line, but her design and creation did a little bit more that. Sara’s Spanx Company is believed to have helped and inspired women to feel more comfortable and happy with themselves.

While developing her company, her business plan was very different and unique. Being a Communications major from FSU, her degree wasn’t going to play a major role in leading her to success. So Sara read books on marketing, she designed her own logo, and saved $3,000 in legal fees needed to trademark the Spanx name. She also used books from Barnes & Noble and she learned how to do it herself. In 2000, she launched the company from her own home. She worked full time, taking all initial calls and marketing the Spanx product herself across North America.

With a positive attitude, Sara never gave up on becoming something and making something of herself. Her original plan was to attend law school to become and attorney. After taking the LSAT twice, and failing it horribly, she felt as if becoming an attorney wasn’t her calling. But when looking at the bigger picture, she was able to do more with her abilities and skills. In 2006, she started and launched the Sara Blakely Foundation to help women with education and entrepreneurial skill training. 

A Solid Future.

There seems to be no way around Future. So who is the Decatur native importing a different sound and style to hip-hop. Future seems to have a very bright future as a rap musician. With great encouragement from his cousin and the legendary Dungeon Family producer Rico Wade, who consistently encouraged him to continue to sharpen and better his skills as an artist. Rico’s advice has assisted Future in blossoming into a star. Throughout 2010 and 2011, Future released a series of mixtapes introducing himself to the world as a designed and creative lyricist. On the journey of his introduction to the world, Future released two of the hottest singles from his series of mixtapes this past summer. Future first released “Tony Montana”, and quickly followed it with “Ain’t No Way Around It”. Throughout his campaign, Future also collaborated on a mixtape entitled, “Free Bricks”, with Atlanta native and the Brick Squad C.E.O Gucci Mane. He was also able to join forces with another Decatur native featuring on Y.C’s “Racks” single.

In 2011, Future was able to land a deal with Epic Label Group. In the days that followed, Future released another mixtape entitled, “Streetz Calling”. The mixtape received wonderful reviews from all angles and directions. In January of 2012, Future released his final mixtape before the release of his debut album entitled, “Astronaut Status”. Future will be set to release his first studio debut album, in April of 2012. The album will be entitled, “Pluto”; which will feature tracks like “Tony Montana (Remix)” featuring Drake and “Magic” featuring T.I. The album will also feature collaborative work with artist like Snoop Dogg, R.Kelly, and Trae Tha Truth. So lets see what the future holds.

Next To Blow: A$AP... Recognize That Name.

So, who is A$AP Rocky? Born Rakim Mayers, the 23-year-old Harlem native is working on bringing a new sound, energy, and image to hip-hop. Rumor has it that he was named after the famous 80’s hip-hop star Rakim, who was one half of the Eric B. & Rakim duo. Growing up A$AP Rocky didn’t have it so easy; at the age of 12 year old his father was sent to jail in connections with distributing drugs. In the years that followed, Rocky's older brother was found murdered near his apartment. After losing his brother, this inspired him to take rap very seriously. Since the tender age of 8, hip-hop has always been apart of Rocky. 

In the fall of 2011, A$AP Rocky’s “Peso” leaked onto the Internet and within weeks it received airplay on the highly profiled New York radio station Hot 97. He quickly released a second single entitled “Purple Swag”. The music videos for "Peso" and "Purple Swag" helped generated a bigger buzz and resulted in A$AP Rocky signed a $3 million record deal with RCA and Sony. In October of 2011, ASAP Rocky released a mixtape entitled, “Love.Live.A$AP”; the mixtape received positive reviews from critics, fans, and listeners. Rocky will be set to release his first studio album entitled, “Long.Live.A$AP”, which is set to be released in the summer of 2012. A$AP Rocky isn’t just an artist, but also a businessman. According to sources, the deal with RCA/Sony wasn’t just to push Rocky as an artist, but to also push his own group A$AP Mob. A$AP Mob is also set to release a studio collaboration album entitled, “TRILLUMINVTI”; which is set to be release in May of 2012.

So, what’s next for Rocky? Well, A$AP Rocky just rapped up his tour with Young Money/Cash Money’s very own Drake, for Drake’s “Club Paradise Tour”. The tour also featured Compton’s own Kendrick Lamar, so you can bet that with free time; Rocky will be working on all his feature projects.  

Excuse My French

French Montana is one of the hottest hip-hop artists coming out of the Bronx and is seen as one of the best out. French Montana who was recently in a bidding war over several label like Kanye West's G.O.O.D Music and Rick Ross's Maybach Music. The South Bronx rapper was once seen representing numerous labels at one point; which made the viewer and listener unaware of where he called his artistry a home. It first started with Akon's Konvict Music, and Gucci Mane's Brick Squad. In recent news, Montana made it very clear where he was calling it home. Montana has signed with the label that has helped manufactured talents like 112, Faith Evans, Total, and one of the hip-hop's greatest of all time The Notorious B.I.G. French Montana has joined what Sean "P. Diddy" Combs calls the "The New Bad Boy". The new resurgence of Bad Boy consists of a list of new and reformed faces like Red Café, MGK (Machine Gun Kelly), Day26, Cassie, and Los. One of the significant out comes with the signing of French Montana was the fact of Montana did not sharing his publishing rights with Bad Boy. Rumor has it that Montana is believed to be the first artist to ever sign with Bad Boy and walk away with his publishing. French Montana is currently meeting expectation so far as a signed artist. He has one of the hottest records out entitled "Shot Caller". Which was followed with a remix featuring P. Diddy and Rick Ross.

History of NaStradamus.

Most won't believe it's Stillmatic', but Nasir "Nas" Jones has recently signed a book deal, agreeing to publish his history and memoirs this year. The memoir is to be entitled, "It Ain't Hard to Tell"; which was also a track title on his first album, Illmatic. It will also be in collaboration with music journalist Touré, who will co-write the book. The book will tell Nas's whole story, not just about the hit records and champagne bottles. It will cover certain periods throughout his life and his career as a hip-hop artist. Nas will now join numerous artists who have taken their biographies as rap musicians and translate it into a published book like Jay-Z, Chuck D, and Grandmaster Flash. According to sources, the biography will cover Nas's feud with former rap enemy Jay-Z and TV talk show host Bill O'Reily. It will also uncover his mother's battle with cancer. The book will also shine light on his four-year marriage with Kelis, and his relationship with ex-girlfriend Carmen Bryan, who is also the mother of his first child. Carmen Bryan also wrote a tell-all book back in 2006, and in the book she gives some insight on the good and bad with her relationship with Nas. Hopefully Nas's book can help clarify the truth about her tell-all publishing. The book is set to be released by Simon & Schuster imprint Atria Books in the Autumn of 2012.

What's going on: Patenting Issues...

In the eyes of numerous people and software engineers, who believe that the patent system is stunting the growth of technology development. Some visualize patent laws, especially, those patents created to protect software development. Some may say that, it’s just another way for development company’s to make money through lawsuits. In an article podcast entitled, “The Tuesday Podcast: The Patent War”, which through out both the short article and podcast they mention that tech companies are only fighting over big dollars. They’re putting large amounts of money toward purchasing patents, and they’re not doing it to bring more creativity and innovation. They’re doing it to protect themselves from potential lawsuits. In San Francisco’s Silicon Valley, there’s a legal battle between numerous companies and patents seem to be the weapon of choice. 

When focusing attention on patents, its always been thought of as a protection for some type of software, innovation, and or tech development. Patenting now seems to be going as far as protecting the human body. It’s not just the human body that being patented, things like living organisms and plants are some of the things being secured under the patent laws of intellectual property. It’s as if the human body has become a new monopoly. In an article podcast entitled, “Deadly Monopolies? Patenting The Human Body,” medical ethicist and author Harriet Washington discusses that it not that the human body is actually being patent. When focusing on the laws of the government, patenting the human body would fall under the affects of the Anti-Slavery Statutes. Washington does state that an individual can patent his or her cells and tissues. Once those cells and tissues are patented they are sold or licensed to corporations, and those corporations exploits’ those patents.

On a more balanced subject when focusing on the scope of patents, it’s trusted that some of the more popular brand-name prescription drugs will be coming off the patent security, and will be going generic. Lipitor, which brought in close to $11 billions in sales this past year, will be one of prescriptions drugs to fall off the patent cliff. Other drugs that will soon follow are Plavix, which is a prescription drug for heart disease. Seroquel is a prescription medication made to treat depression, and Nexium is a prescription drug for digestive problem. The reason behind this situation is that patients often times pay more money for the name brand medication, even when their insurance is covering their expenses. A majority of most patients have no choice; unlike Lipitor not many drugs yet have generic competition. So what is there to do…