Neo-soul singer and Slum Village collaborator Dwele will release Sketches of a Man, his third studio album June 24 via Koch Records. “Sketches of a Man is ultimately what I am and where I am in 2008,” the singer and songwriter told HipHopDX about his latest effort. “It is inspired by life and love, and it is about finding out how I fit into these different musical genres, or how I would fit into these new cultures. Like, if I spoke French, how would it sound? I think that’s what inspiration is.” Hip Hop fans unfamiliar with the name are more than likely familiar with Dwele’s voice. In addition to lacing the hook for Slum Village’s “Closer,” he also appeared on Kanye West’s latest single, “Flashing Lights” and Common’s “The People.” Sketches of a Man will feature production from Dwele and Nottz.
BET has announced a partnership with Xbox LIVE in which the network will provide a broad selection of BET shows for download including “College Hill 4,” “American Gangster,” “Comic View,” and the new mixed martial arts meets Hip Hop “Iron Ring,” with the premiere episode of that show being offered for free for one week. Xbox LIVE currently offers programming from more than 40 studios and networks and Microsoft officials are happy to add the Viacom owned network ‘s programming for its consumers. “By adding this popular programming from the BET library, our list of consumer favorites on Xbox LIVE continues to thrive,” said Ross Honey, Senior Director, Media and Entertainment Group at Microsoft. “Xbox LIVE offers more than twice the on-demand high definition content than the leading cable provider and the addition of BET helps us provide our diverse community of users more of the premium entertainment content they want.” New shows will be available for download every month.
After a highly publicized engagement, Grammy winner Kanye West and fashion designer Alexis Phifer have parted ways. “It’s always sad when things like this end, and we remain friends,”Phifer told People. “I wish him the best in his future and all of his endeavors. He’s one of the most talented people I’ve ever met.” An unnamed friend of West’s told the media outlet that the pair had been having problems and that West was very focused on his current tour with NERD and Lupe Fiasco. “They’d been having problems,” the source said. “Kanye is really focused on his show; he’s putting everything into the show right now. Alexis is a nice girl, but Kanye has been going through a rough time. They hit a rough patch and for now they’ve split.”West has not commented on the break up.
