The rapid resurrection of Vibe magazine continues: on Monday the new owners of the revived hip-hop and R&B magazine said that they had chosen Jermaine Hall as the editor in chief of Vibe and its Web site, vibe.com. Mr. Hall has previously served as the editor in chief of King magazine, a monthly title geared towards African-American men which ceased publication earlier this year. He was also music editor at the rap music magazine The Source and the webmaster at Vibe. (more…)

Jay-Z is expected to announce on Monday that he will give a benefit concert at Madison Square Garden on Sept. 11 for the New York Police and Fire Widows’ and Children’s Benefit Fund, a charity created in 1985 to support the families of police officers and firefighters who have died in the line of duty. The concert, which comes on the day his new album, “The Blueprint 3,” will be released, will also be broadcast by Fuse, the cable music channel. Ticket information has not been announced.

Source: NY Times

Twenty-five years after the first queen of hip-hop was stiffed on her royalty checks, Dr. Roxanne Shante boasts an Ivy League Ph.D. – financed by a forgotten clause in her first record deal. (more…)

Here’s Asher’s latest video for She Don’t Want A Man featuring the lovely Keri Hilson! (more…)

EMI Music Publishing announced on Thursday that it has signed an agreement with veteran music executive Antonio “L.A.” Reid to form a joint venture that will search out new songwriters. The L.A. Reid Music Publishing Company will see Reid — who has previously served as chairman of Island Def Jam, CEO of Arista and co-founder of LaFace Records — tasked with discovering and signing new and established songwriters to publishing deals.

Source: DigitalMediaWire