J. Cole: Making The Struggle Seem Beautiful | SoulCulture TV

Having first met him at Roc Nation’s HQ in New York last September, SoulCulture TV caught up with one of Hip Hop’s brightest new stars, J. Cole, on his recent trip to London.

Hours before tearing down the stage at London’s Wireless Festival with his debut performance in the UK’s Capital, Jermaine “J.” Cole spent almost an hour strolling around the park with us to share his thoughts on why his audience relate to him, embodying the ‘beautiful struggle’ and identifying with people chasing their dreams.

“I feel like I represent the everyday person but I don’t do it in a corny, boring way…” he says. “When my fans listen to me, they feel like I’m their best friend or their cousin… My music is so personal that they feel that connection -they feel like they know me – which they should because I put a lot of myself into my music.”

“Somebody said, ‘Man, you make the struggle seem beautiful’ – I like that. That’s something I always wanna talk about, even when I got millions and billions and trillions… I always wanna embody that in some way, shape or form. The struggle. I never wanna forget about that – and I don’t think I will… That’s just where I’ve always been.”

He explains, “I’ve just got a big heart, period. I feel like anybody’s struggle is something that I can feel for – whether it’s the homeless… When I first got to New York I was a sucker giving my money out left and right…”

Cole identifies most with people that are “chasing dreams and chasing something greater than what’s expected of them – but they gotta struggle to do it.”

For example; “Somebody that’s going to college but they have to finance their own school, or you got a baby and you’re trying to do college at the same time, or you got a man that’s locked down – I don’t know, it’s a lot of things – and a lot of these things are talked about on the album as well…”

J. Cole’s debut album is scheduled for release on October 26th via Roc Nation and Columbia Records.

More pics from the day…. Read more

Melanie Fiona x Tinchy Stryder talk New Albums & Collaborations | SoulCulture TV

Grammy nominated Canadian songstress Melanie Fiona and chart-topping UK emcee Tinchy Stryder talk about recording their respective new albums, The MF Life and Third Strike, and forthcoming collaborations – including their own, titled “Let It Rain.”

Tinchy recently became part of the Roc Nation ‘family’ [who manage Melanie Fiona] in their recent joint venture label deal, TakeOver Roc Nation.

Musically, Melanie caught Tinchy’s ear with “Give It To Me Right” and the two came together in London this summer to record “Let It Rain,” which Ms Fiona describes as a ‘powerful, positive’ track.

“Let It Rain” will feature on Tinchy Stryder’s new album, Third Strike.

Speaking further on his new album, Tinchy reveals, Read more

SoulCulture TV: Jay Electronica Live in London (Video)

SoulCulture TV were in the house to capture a portion of Jay Electronica‘s show at Cargo in London on Tuesday. The New Orleans emcee took to the stage a his sold-out show emblazoned with an unmissable message – reinforced after the 12 minute mark with a rowdy “F*ck Solar” crowd call and response.

Filmed by Samit Tailor for www.soulculture.tv. Photography by Neil Raja.

Kevin Liles on his Def Jam days, Trey Songz and Mentoring Young America | SoulCulture TV

“I wanna build a entertainment company – not because I need to build it but because I have a lot of people that I wanna make rich. I have a lot of people that I wanna change their lives and I want to give them an opportunity that was given to me by Russell [Simmons] and Lyor [Cohen] – and build something special. So I have to go back in to do it…

“I’m gonna go back in for young America because I think it’s needed, I think it’s missing and the mentorship needs to be there.”

In Paris for the media launch of his new Def Jam Rapstar game, former Executive Vice President of Warner Music Group Kevin Liles talks to SoulCulture TV about the ventures he’s currently pursuing and reflects on his Def Jam days.

“I don’t now how not to be everything to everybody,” Read more

Melanie Fiona & Tinchy Stryder Talk Jay-Z, Roc Nation, Steve Rifkind & The Industry | SoulCulture.TV

In part two of our exclusive conversation piece with Melanie Fiona and Tinchy Stryder, the UK emcee explains how his recently confirmed TakeOver Roc Nation joint venture came about and his plans to sign UK talent to the label [Stryder will continue to release his own music through Island], whilst Melanie clarifies the Roc’s input in her career as co-management alongside SRC (label) and her production company, Title 9 Productions.

The pair also explore the importance of having people you can trust in the industry sticking behind you on your team, and Melanie specifically discusses SRC Records CEO  Steve Rifkind‘s impact on her career.

As Melanie works on her sophomore LP The MF Life and Tinchy approaches Read more

Melanie Fiona x Tinchy Stryder Discuss Their Top UK & US Emcees | SoulCulture.TV

Currently working on her follow up to debut album The Bridge, Melanie Fiona was in London town last week and in her bid to find out more about our growing Hip Hop scene, she asked chart-topping UK rapper Tinchy Stryder for a guide to his Top 5 UK emcees.

In no particular order, Read more

Snoop Dogg Performs “Vapors” + Freestyles At Paris Afterparty | Video + Photos

Hours after putting on a show at the Olympia Theatre in Paris at the end of June, Snoop Dogg took to the city’s Palais de Tokyo to lead the fun at his official Adidas after party…

Spending several funk-infused hours dancing, smoking, DJing [alongside DJ Naughty J], adlibbing and sporadically rapping, the playful Hip Hop legend was constantly surrounded by a solid plume of blunt smoke and a continuous flow of women, tirelessly hand-picked and paraded over to the Doggfather’s cordoned-off zone by security throughout the night.

What a job, eh?

At one point he performed “Vapors” from his 1996 number one album, Tha Doggfather, with an added freestyle:

Read more

Kevin Liles Says Trey Songz’ BET Tribute Was Prince Approved | SoulCulture TV

SoulCulture TV caught up with former Executive Vice President of Warner Music Group Kevin Liles in Paris last week.

In the first snippet of our interview, the former President of Def Jam – and Trey Songz’ current manager – talks about how Trey Songz‘ mini tribute to Prince at the BET Awards came about, in which “Yo Side Of The Bed” morphed into “Purple Rain” in the artist’s honour.

“The song was inspired by Prince,” he reveals, “so it’s funny that on the actual show were doing a tribute to Prince but Trey, because he was already performing, wasn’t a part of the tribute – but we put him right before the tribute.”

Read more

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