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Spice “The Queen of Dancehall” Becomes First Jamaican Female Artist To Debut #1 In Canada, #2 In US & United Kingdom On iTunes

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Screenshot 2024 08 12 at 5.41.53 PM

Grammy® Award-Nominated, chart-topping, global superstar Spice, is lighting up the Summer with the arrival of her highly anticipated third studio album, ‘Mirror 25’ which released on Friday, August 9, 2024 via Spice Official Entertainment with distribution through Empire. The chart-topping album made history within minutes after its release, debuting at #1 in Canada, #2 in the United States and United Kingdom on the All Genres Top Albums iTunes chart, and #1 at the Reggae Top Albums iTunes chart simultaneously, making Spice the first Jamaican female artist to land the highest chart entry on the all-genres chart!

‘Mirror 25,’ the 25-song project quickly dominated the charts, landing in second place behind Rapper, Kanye West’s ‘Vultures 2’ album which held the number one spot. The milestone album, Executive Produced by Spice, solidified its global dominance worldwide, charting as the #1 Apple Music Top Album in several countries such as Canada, Israel, Jamaica, Italy, UK, Cayman Islands, Antigua Bermuda, Trinidad, and Saudi Arabia among others. It is also the #1 album in Jamaica on Apple–both explicit and clean versions of the album are at #1 and #3 in the US on the iTunes Reggae Chart.

In addition, Spice’s Gospel song, ‘You are Worthy,’ the second track featured on the celebratory album, quickly soared up the charts, debuting at #1 for Gospel on the Apple Music Top Songs in Jamaica, also charting in 11 countries on Apple Music. 

Even Nicki Minaj, “the Queen of Rap” co-signed Spice’s independent project, acknowledging the Platinum-Gold selling Grammy nominated artist’s ‘musical evolution.’ ‘Mirror 25’ is an iconic 25 track album showcasing Spice’s legendary sound infused with a unique kaleidoscope of rhythmic tracks intertwined with a melting pot of genres; further reinforcing the powerhouse performer’s signature influence in the genre of Reggae/Dancehall and beyond; cementing her presence as one Jamaica’s most versatile and creative artists of today’s time. Across 25 tracks, ‘Mirror 25’ is a unique body of work serving as Spice’s raw, open diary of her past trials and tribulations– with each track revealing a vulnerable part of her life. The album title, ‘Mirror 25’ symbolizes reflection and self-discovery, marking a new era for Spice to artistically showcase her growing pains and lessons learned as an artist and as a woman. 

“I’m so grateful for the unwavering support,” says Spice, the Queen of Dancehall in response to the worldwide success of the album. “I knew that the album was a masterpiece, but I’m excited to see the positive responses because I was very meticulous in creating ‘Mirror 25.’ I knew my fan base is very diverse, so I wanted to make sure that there was something on it for everyone. Learning that this is the first time a Female Jamaican artist has entered the USA All Genres Chart at #2 I’m grateful to open up another international door for women in Dancehall. I’m humbled and grateful for this milestone.”

The post Spice “The Queen of Dancehall” Becomes First Jamaican Female Artist To Debut #1 In Canada, #2 In US & United Kingdom On iTunes first appeared on The Source.

The post Spice “The Queen of Dancehall” Becomes First Jamaican Female Artist To Debut #1 In Canada, #2 In US & United Kingdom On iTunes appeared first on The Source.

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Apple Music Quietly Rebrands Its “Best-Sounding” Music To ‘Apple Digital Masters’

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Apple Music Changes "Mastered For iTunes" To 'Apple Digital Masters’

Source: S3studio / Getty

First launched in 2012, Apple’s “Mastered For iTunes” initiative allowed engineers to preserve the highest quality possible when encoding tracks for digital distribution on Apple Music. Wednesday (August 7) Apple announced the quiet rebranding of Mastered For iTunes to Apple Digital Masters.

Billboard reports that Apple is taking all its “Mastered For iTunes” collection and bringing it under the Apple Digital Masters initiative. The goal of the program was to give listeners studio-quality sound files that are close to the original master recordings, aka “lossless audio.” The tracks were then placed in a “Mastered for iTunes” section in the now dying iTunes platform, so the rebranding is right on time.

While Apple is just now officially announcing the change, users partaking in the iOS 13, aka Catalina beta noticed the name change about a month ago. They even shared a photo of it on Reddit for good measure.

Apple is not the only service that offers high-quality music. Tidal when it launched in back 2015 offered its subscribers a “HiFi” subscription tier for $19.99 month that allowed users to enjoy lossless music. It was later upgraded to even higher-quality files utilizing  Bob Stuart‘s Master Quality Authenticated (MQA) technology. Spotify also experimented with a hi-fi tier subscription service back in 2017.

No word if Apple plans on making a separate subscription plan were subscribers can enjoy all of its Apple Digital Masters collection. Don’t be surprised if, in fact, the company does go that route.

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Photo:  S3studio / Getty

Source: HipHopWired.com

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18 & Gone: Apple Getting Rid of iTunes, To Replace It With Separate Apps

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Apple Doing Away With iTunes In Favor of Separate Apps

Source: Thomas Trutschel / Getty

After 18 long years of existence, Apple is finally getting rid of iTunes. Bloomberg reports the company is phasing out the tool that Mac users have utilized to help manage their music, watch movies, and TV shows.

The decision to trash iTunes is on par with Apple’s new vision for its future when it comes to its gadgets. Now there will be separate apps for users to listen to music, watch movies and TV and listen to podcasts. You will still be able to manage your Apple gadget through the music app. The announcement of the move came on the heels of Apple’s upcoming WWDC where the company is expected to confirm the decision and announce how it plans to move going forward.

Per Bloomberg:

iTunes has been the way Apple users listen to music, watch movies and TV shows, hear podcasts, and manage their devices for almost two decades. This year, Apple is finally ready to move into a new era. The company is launching a trio of new apps for the Mac – Music, TV, and Podcasts – to replace iTunes. That matches Apple’s media app strategy on iPhones and iPads. Without iTunes, customers can manage their Apple gadgets through the Music app. 

Well if you were looking to blow the dust off your iTunes to help manage your new iPod Touch, then you won’t receive this news too well. 18 years is a long time for an app, so the app is rare air when it comes to outlasting the competition.

iTunes had a hell of a run though, never forget.

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Photo: Thomas Trutschel / Getty

Source: HipHopWired.com

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De La Soul Are In A Bitter Negotiation About Their Streaming Rights & Stakes Is High

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It has been 30 years since De La Soul released its debut album, 3 Feet High And Rising. That 1989 Prince Paul-produced work has since achieved platinum certification as well as monstrous critical acclaim for its clever rhymes and innovative sampling techniques. In addition to more than a million shelves, that Tommy Boy Records release now sits in the Library Of Congress music archives. For the next 13 years, De La stayed with the label they were with at the start of their careers. They released five additional studio albums, along with various live works and compilations. This discography included celebrated works such as 1991’s gold-certified De La Soul Is Dead, and 1996’s Stakes Is High. Other moments include Buhloone-Mindstate, Art Official Intelligence: Mosaic Thump, and follow-up AOI: Bionix. De La Soul Have Hope Their Classics Will Finally Be Available Online While those six titles and companion compilations decorate the vinyl, cassette, and CD shelves of many, they have never been available on digital retailers or streaming platforms. In 2016, The New York Times‘ Finn Cohen examined the situation, speaking to De La, Tommy Boy founder Tom Silverman, and Warner Bros. executives, responsible for legacy content. While De La members Posdnuos, Dave, and Maseo admitted some optimism, lots of red tape seemingly stood in the way. Those hurdles were reportedly due to copyright holders and sampling, especially on the earlier half of the catalog. The label system has been a complicated space for De La Soul throughout the last 30 years. After addressing frustrations with the imprint in songs and skits, the relationship ended after Bionix. In early 2002, Tommy Boy’s recorded music and publishing catalog were sold to Warner Bros. Records for more than $10 million. The label remained in business, but its Hip-Hop acts moved to the major, who had been distributing Tommy Boy since the late 1980s. In the transaction, De La Soul understood that they were headed to the Warner-backed Elektra imprint, a longtime home to fellow Native Tongues member Busta Rhymes. Thanking Tommy Boy for their service, Posdnuos told AllHipHop that the group was excited to have a new machine behind it in a changing marketplace. However, history shows that nothing came from the brief move. Pete Rock Gives A Fantastic Update On The De La Soul Project He & DJ Premier Are Producing Although Elektra soon dissolved in a merger, De La Soul next released an album in 2004 with The Grind Date. That LP arrived through Sanctuary Urban/BMG Music, and was the first of several indie releases for the Long Island, New York veterans. That release featured Beyoncé and Solange’s father, Mathew Knowles, as top exec. It and 2016’s Grammy-nominated and the Anonymous Nobody… are available to stream and purchase online. That is not the case for a 2009 Nike-commissioned mixtape and a 2006 Art Official Intelligence compilation. In 2015, De La avoided the label rigmarole entirely and allowed fans to fund its ninth album in advance. Asking for $110,000 to make and the Anonymous Nobody…, the group received more than four times the ask in just hours. In the process Plug 1, Plug 2, and Plug 3 rewarded donors with memorabilia, fan experiences, and physical copies of the 2016 Grammy-nominated LP. In August of 2017, Billboard reported that Silverman re-acquired his catalog from Warner, including the De La Soul assets. A year and a half later, Tommy Boy Music is reportedly planning to bring those first six De La albums to the Internet marketplace. However, for De La Soul, who broke the news, this development is not a happy occasion.

Royce 5’9″ Explains Choosing To Sign With Tommy Boy Instead Of Dr. Dre (Video) Today (February 26), De La Soul notified its fans that the music will be made available soon. However, on the group’s social media accounts, the trio expressed disappointment with the accounting surrounding their digital catalog. “Your purchases will go 90% Tommy Boy, 10% De La,” the group posted, approximating the splits. In a caption, the group added, “Don’t feed the vultures, support and respect the culture.” The three men encouraged fans to support its two most recent releases, which presumably provide more lucrative revenue to the group. They also hash-tagged the copy of the post #thephantom2milliondollardebt. That is presumed to be a reference to the elements of the catalog not yet recouping, or becoming profitable per the initial agreement. Two posts on Monday (February 25) confirmed that the trio was in recent contact with Tommy Boy, and disappointed with the discussion. They urged fans to contact their former label with “RespectTheCulture,” “RespectTheArt,” and “RespectTheArtist” on social media. In 2014, De La Soul hosted a one-day free music giveaway from its website, making its catalog available for free download. They have regularly treated fans to free music and surprise singles.

DJ Premier Says He & Pete Rock May Be Exclusively Producing De La Soul’s Next Album (Video) Elsewhere in today’s public note, they confirmed that an album in the works for five years, produced by DJ Premier and Pete Rock, will be arriving later this year. Since announced in 2014, that project was said to be titled Premium Soul On The Rocks. No release date has been given by De La Soul or Tommy Boy surrounding the first six albums coming to the Internet. The Beatnuts Confirm Onetime “Secret Group” Including Q-Tip, Posdnuos & Juju (Audio) In recent years, the New York City-based label has released albums by Ghostface Killah, Brand Nubian’s Sadat X, and BROOKZILL. The last of the three is a group that includes De La mentor and producer, Prince Paul. Besides De La Soul, Tommy Boy’s Hip-Hop catalog includes seminal works by Afrika Bambaataa & The Soulsonic Force, Queen Latifah, Naughty By Nature, Coolio, Digital Underground, House Of Pain, and Capone-N-Noreaga, among others.

Source: AmbrosiaForHeads.com

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