First Direct Arena, the venue for Mobo Awards - Krept & Konan nominated for four prizes

The Mobo Awards (Music of Black Origin) will be held at First Direct Arena in Leeds and the duo of Krept & Konan have been nominated for four prizes at this year's awards, including best hip-hop act. The duo hail from south London and have released their debut album, The Long Way Home, in July. It has dominated this year's shortlist.
This has been reported in news.sky.com dated 30 September 2015.

JME has also secured four nominations – for best album, best song, best male act and best grime act.
Of course, both acts face stiff competition from Mark Ronson, who has enjoyed global success for Uptown Funk, his collaboration with Bruno Mars. He has got nomination in two categories, for best male act and best song.
Meanwhile, Rita Ora has received a nod for best music video. The new X Factor judge was shortlisted for Body On Me, which featured Chris Brown.
Jess Glynne is in the running for best female act – while Not Letting Go, her song with Tinie Tempah, has been named in the best song category.
Drake, Kendrick Lamar and Dr. Dre are among the notable competitors for the best international album gong.
(Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org)

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Forbes names P Diddy as highest paid hip-hop star

Hip-hop rapper P Diddy, whose real name is Sean Combs, has been named highest paid hip-hop star by Forbes – Diddy has overtaken Jay Z and Drake to the top spot thanks to his investments outside the world of music.
This has been reported in news.sky.com dated 23 September 2015.

Sean ‘P Diddy’ Combs has topped Forbes' list of the world's highest paid hip hop stars after he pocketed $60m between June 2014 and June 2015. He is a 45-year-old from Harlem and he beat Jay Z, Drake and Kanye West to get to the top spot. This is because of his investments outside the world of music.
His investments included his TV network Revolt, clothing line Sean John and Ciroc Vodka.
He seldom performs these days but is remembered for his albums including 2001 record The Saga Continues and 2010's Last Train To Paris. He is currently working on new music.
Of course, P Diddy’s annual earnings do not come close to the $620m that had been made by Dr Dre last year following the sale of Beats to Apple – it was the highest ever annual pay cheque for a musician.
Incidentally, Forbes has calculated its Cash Kings list by making use of pre-tax income figures from factors such as record sales, touring, streaming and endorsements.
(Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org)

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Debutante Jess Glynne tops the UK album chart with her I Cry When I Laugh

Debutante Jess Glynne has topped the UK album chart with her I Cry When I Laugh. She has called it an "insane dream". She already has five number one singles to her name, including Rather Be with Clean Bandit and her Tinie Tempah collaboration Not Letting Go.
This has been reported in bbc.com dated 28 August 2015.

Glynne's number one album sold just under 60,000 copies – it was the second biggest opening of the year for a debut artist, behind James Bay's Chaos and the Calm, which sold 64,000.
Fight Song singer Rachel Platten said she was "excited and proud" to top the UK singles chart. Till now, Fight Song has reached the top 10 in the US, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Belgium.
Last week's number one album, The Very Best of Cilla Black, went down to number two, while Bon Jovi's 13th studio album Burning Bridges entered the chart at three. Britain's Got Talent duo Bars & Melody's debut album 143 entered the chart at number four and Dr Dre's Compton is at number five.
(Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org)


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This movie is Universal's sixth film to open over $50m in 2015 and broke the August record for an R-rated opening. This has been reported in news.sky.com dated 17 August 2015.

Obviously, Universal are surprised. As Universal's president of domestic distribution Nick Carpou has put it - they were "elated" with the results. The story struck a chord with audiences. It was a story that is resonating right now. The film is all about the formation and rise of the influential, but controversial rap group. NWA members Dr Dre and Ice Cube served as producers on the film in which Ice Cube's real son O'Shea Jackson Jr playing his father.
On the occasion, Dre also released the companion piece Compton – it was his first new album in 16 years.
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