Tuesday, September 15, 2015

Hip Hop News: JGivens "Fly Exam" Release Date, Cover Art & Tracklist

JGivens is planning to release Fly Exam September 25. This will be the follow-up to 2013's El v. Envy and is the Las Vegas rapper's debut studio album.
The project, according to the iTunes pre-order, is slated to have 13 tracks and include features from fellow Humble Beast artists Propaganda, Odd Thomas, Braille and Jackie Hill Perry. JGivens' cousin, John Givez, is listed as appearing on two cuts.
Humble Beast recently slimmed down its roster and now has four signed acts.
Fly Exam cover art and tracklist are below:
jgivens fly exam
  1. Ignorantro
  2. Butterfly Stance
  3. Fahrenheit 99 f. Liz Vice
  4. So Fly f. Beleaf
  5. 10 2 Get In f. Odd Thomas
  6. Attack of the Clones f. John Givez and Jackie Hill Perry
  7. Fly Exam
  8. Lost In Space f. Marz Ferrer
  9. Hummingbird Stance
  10. Super Lowkey
  11. Take Off With Me f. John Givez
  12. March 10th and a Third f. Braille
  13. They Said There'd Be Jetpacks f. Propaganda

Entertainment News: Rocky Spinoff Creed Gets Hard-Hitting New Trailer

Rocky Balboa is returning to cinema screens this fall for a seventh time. Almost 40 years after the first Rocky film made Sylvester Stallone a superstar, the actor will reprise his most famous role in the spinoff Creed.

The film focuses on the son of Rocky's rival and friend Apollo Creed, and his own rise to boxing fame. Check out the brand new trailer:



Creed is directed by Ryan Coogler, who won much acclaim for his hard-hitting 2013 drama Fruitvale Station. Rising star Michael B. Jordan plays Creed's son Adonis. Jordan was seen this year in theFantastic Four, as well as starring in Fruitvale Station.


In June, USA Today revealed that it was Coogler who approached Stallone about the film. Stallone had previously decided that 2006's Rocky Balboa would be the boxer's final cinematic bout, but Coogler's concept of pairing an aging Rocky with a young upstart won Stallone's involvement.

"Rocky had achieved far beyond his dreams," Stallone said. "He's sitting in his mental rocking chair, waiting for his time to come. The last thing he expected was this young man to come in and turn his world upside down."

Creed opens on November 25, and also stars Tessa Thompson, Phylicia Rashad, and Anthony Bellew.

Entertainment News: Sequel to Upcoming Deadpool Movie is Under Discussion

The big screen adaptation of Marvel's Deadpool comics may not arrive until next year, but the sequel is already under discussion. In an interview with the Collider, writer/producer Simon Kinberg explained that a second Deadpool movie was very much under consideration.

"We certainly are talking about the sequel," he said. "We were talking about the sequel while we were making the movie, because when you make a film like this that's from a serialized source material, you hope that it's the first of many."

"We're all feeling really proud of it, so hopefully before it comes out we will be well into the process of figuring out a sequel," Kinberg added.

Deadpool is one of the Marvel properties owned by Fox, and it sits within their X-Men movie universe. The comic book, about a violent, wise-cracking antihero with superhuman healing powers, is known for its dark, irreverent tone, and Kinberg confirms that this is very much the approach that has been taken for the film version.

"I have seen a rough cut of Deadpool and it's fantastic. It delivers on the promise of the trailer. We really committed and leaned into it being R-rated. It's just darker and edgier and weirder in the best way--like Deadpool should be--than any other movie in the genre."

Deadpool stars Ryan Reynolds Morena Baccarin, Ed Skrein, and T. J. Miller, and arrives in theaters in 2016.

Elsewhere, in an interview with MTV News, Kinberg addressed the critical and commercial failure of this summer's superhero flop Fantastic Four, a film he also produced.

"I was obviously disappointed," he admits. "I was most disappointed that fans didn't like it. I care more about them than I do anyone else. But I haven't done a full deep dive on it. Do I think it was unfairly treated? I don't know.

"I do believe there is a great Fantastic Four movie that we've made with that cast. So I'm gonna figure out what that is. I'd like that to happen."

Hip Hop News: A$AP Rocky Announces Concept Album With Danger Mouse

A$AP Rocky announced that he is working on an album with Danger Mouse.
The Harlem, New York rapper said the project is a "concept album" on Pharrell's OTHERtone Beats 1 radio show.
"Danger Mouse is ill," A$AP Rocky says of the producer, per NME. "People don't appreciate that kind of shit. There's no lyrics out there. What's important about this, he told me, 'Yo dude, you bring out a side in me that I need.' And I feel he brings out a side in me. We got records. I can't wait to let you hear them."
Danger Mouse is one-half of Gnarles Barkley with CeeLo Green and is also a member of Broken Bells.
Pharrell was excited with the idea and asked to be included.
"I got you," A$AP Rocky says.
A$AP Rocky and Pharrell also discussed the importance of being themselves.

Gaming News: GTA 5's Next Big Update Out Now on PS4 and Xbox One, Here's What's New

Grand Theft Auto V continues to grow, as Rockstar Games has released the open-world action game's latest update, which introduces the Rockstar Editor on consoles and brings Freemode Events to Grand Theft Auto Online. As announced previously, the Rockstar Editor and Freemode Events are only available for thePlayStation 4Xbox One, and PC versions--Rockstar is shifting away from last-generation consoles.

Freemode Events represent an "entirely new way to play," according to Rockstar. There are no loading screens or lobbies; these events will simply trigger in the game world when players encounter them.



There are more than 10 Freemode Events available now in GTA Online, one of which is called "Hunt the Beast." In this event, one player is given super-strength (and extra hair), while the rest of the players are tasked with bringing this person down.

Another event is called "Hot Property" and sees players attempting to hold on to a valuable briefcase for as long as possible.
Yet another event, "Penned In," sees a massive dome appear in the Los Santos skyline. Players must travel to this dome, get inside it, and then try to stay within its domain as it shrinks while simultaneously trying to push other players out. Anyone left outside of the dome for more than 7 seconds will explode; the last man or woman standing wins.

A full rundown of of Freemode Events available now can be seen here. Players who complete any five of the new challenges between September 15 and September 20 will earn a $50,000 GTA$ bonus as well as an "exclusive" Vapid in-game t-shirt.

The new GTA Online update also introduces two new adversary modes (Cross the Line and Hunting Pack) and makes a long list of fixes and tweaks to general gameplay. The full patch notes are available here.

Finally, the Rockstar Editor available on consoles now for the first time (it was already available on PC), has been updated with more features such as ambient sound effect tracks and the ability to take Snapmatic photos in the editor. What's more, there are now more trophies to unlock related to the editor.

For a closer look at the content available in GTA V's new update, take a look at the images in the gallery below.

Hip Hop News: Jay Rock “90059” First-Week Sales Projections

Jay Rock’s 90059 album is expected to sell between 14,000 and 17,000 albums its first week in stores, according to Hits Daily Double
The TDE project is expected to be the best-selling Rap album debut this week.
The 11-cut collection features Kendrick Lamarand SZA on “Easy Bake” and Busta Rhymes on "Fly on the Wall.”
Today, Travi$ Scott's Rodeo album debuted at the #3 spot on the chart with 69,878 units sold, while Scarface's Deeply Rooted landed at the #11 spot on the chart with 23,626 albums sold in its first week. 

Gaming News: $25 Just Cause 3 DLC Pass Revealed

A downloadable content expansion pass for upcoming open-world action game Just Cause 3 has been announced. A listing on the game's Steam pagereveals the "Air, Land, and Sea Expansion Pass."
This $25 offering includes three DLC packs (presumably themed around air, land, and sea), along with "exclusive" Flame Wingsuit and Parachute Skins. The three expansions will add new missions, weapons, gadgets, vehicles, and enemies, though none were named outright.
Specific release dates for Just Cause 3's Air, Land, and Sea expansions were not announced, but people who buy the pass will get to play one week before everyone else. The skins, meanwhile, will be available on day for pass-holders.
Right now, the Air, Land, and Sea Expansion Pass has been revealed only for PC. We have followed up with Avalanche Studios to determine if this offering will also be made available for the PlayStation 4 andXbox One editions.
The Just Cause 3 release date is locked in for December 1 across PC and console. As part of the Tokyo Game Show, Avalanche released a new trailer for Just Cause 3, which you can watch here.

Entertainment News: Live-Action Akira Movie May Become Trilogy, Christopher Nolan Involved

A live-action Hollywood version of the classic anime film Akira has been in the works for many years, but to date the movie has never moved past the development stage. Now Den of Geek has reported that the project may be happening once more, withInterstellar director Christopher Nolan involved.
The US rights to an adaptation of Katsuhiro Otomo's 1989 film--itself based on his groundbreaking manga series--are owned by Warner Bros, and Den of Geek's sources have revealed that the studio is now planning a trilogy of Akira movies.
Nolan has reportedly met with a director who was previously attached to the project. Whether Nolan is being looked at to direct any of the three films, or just produce, is not known. But with three Batman movies and production duties on Man of Steel behind him, he is no stranger to comic book adaptations. Last week it was confirmed that his next film as director would see a July 2017 release.
This is the latest in a long line of attempts to bring Otomo's epic cyberpunk story to the big screen. In 2013, Variety reported that French director Jaume Collet-Serra was being primed to direct an adaptation, while a year earlier the film reached pre-production stage before the Vancouver productions offices were shut down by the studio.
The manga of Akira ran between 1982 and 1990, and is widely credited for popularising Japanese comic books internationally. Equally, the success of Otomo's animated version did much to introduce Western viewers to anime, and is now considered one of the finest sci-fi films ever made.

Technology News: Some Verizon users having Moto X Pure Edition activation issues, fix coming by Sep 18

Moto X Style Hands On-62
When Motorola first announced the Moto X Pure Edition (aka X Style) for the US market, we were both excited and intrigued at the idea of one SKU that would work with all US carriers. At the same time, we couldn’t help but feel a bit skeptical as well, especially with regards to CDMA based carriers like Verizon. After all, both the Nexus (2013) LTE and Nexus 6 had activation issues on Verizon, and so it was hard to believe that Big Red would make life easy for Motorola customers.
Now that the Moto X Pure Edition has arrived, it turns out we all had good reason to be a little wary. While popping in a nano-SIM card from an existing Verizon plan works flawlessly, those attempting to active a new plan/SIM with their Moto X Pure Edition are having trouble activating the phone to Verizon’s network. The good news is that this a temporary issue. In a statement issued to Droid Life, Verizon says the “Moto X Pure Edition is certified and supported for activation on Verizon’s network. We are working with Motorola to resolve the activation issue by Friday Sept. 18.”
More than likely Verizon has yet to enter the necessary IMEIs into its database, but we can’t help but feel this issue could have been easily avoided. Then again, maybe Verizon just doesn’t care, but they should. For those with brand new phones sitting on their desks, having to wait a few days to activate to Verizon is a big annoyance, and one that could drive at least a few of these users to a new carrier.
Any of our readers running into issues getting the Moto X Pure Edition to play nicely with Verizon? Let us know about it in the comments below.

Gaming News: This Week's Xbox One and Xbox 360 Deals With Gold Revealed

Microsoft has announced this week's lineup of Xbox One and Xbox 360 deals, with offers available for titles like Grand Theft Auto VThe Elder Scrolls OnlineTrials Fusion, and Darksiders II, among others.
The full lineup of deals, divided by platform, is available below. All offers are good through September 21. Deals marked with an asterisk are good for all Xbox Live members.



Are you picking anything up this week? Let us know in the comments below. You can click through the links below to queue up your download right now through the Xbox Store online.

Xbox One:

Forza Horizon 2: Storm Island -- $10
Grand Theft Auto V -- $48
Grand Theft Auto V + Great White Shark Cash Card -- $56
The Elder Scrolls Online: Tamriel Unlimited -- $40.19
The Elder Scrolls Online: Tamriel Unlimited Imperial Edition -- $53.59
The Elder Scrolls Online: Tamriel Unlimited Premium Edition -- $80.39
Trials Fusion: The Awesome Max Edition -- $24
Warframe: 75 Platinum* -- $3.50
Warframe: 170 Platinum* -- $7
Warframe: 370 Platinum* -- $14
Warframe: 1000 Platinum + Rare Mod* -- $35
Warframe: 2100 Platinum + Dual Rare Mods*-- $70
Warframe: 3210 Platinum + Triple Rare Mods* -- $105
Jet Car Stunts* -- $2.50
Unmechanical Extended* -- $5

Xbox 360

Forza Horizon VIP Membership and Cars Pack -- $3
Grand Theft Auto V -- $25.19
Grand Theft Auto IV -- $5
Grand Theft Auto San Andreas -- $3.74
Darksiders* -- $4
Darksiders II* -- $8
Darksiders II Argul's Tomb* -- $2.09
Darksiders II Death Rides Pack* -- $2.09
Darksiders II Season Pass* -- $5.09