In this Sunday, June 2, 2013 photo, An Egyptian man dances, as "Mahraganat", Arabic for "festivals," singers, Fifty and Sadat, not pictured, perform at a wedding in Madinet el-Salam on the outskirts of Cairo, Egypt. (AP Photo/Nariman El-Mofty) by Nariman El-Mofty CAIRO (AP) — "We tell the stories of our people, words that come up from our alleys, listen to me to understand" — from the Mahraganat song, "El-Rab El-Masri" (Egyptian Rap) by Sadat, Fifty and Haha. A new musical sound emerged from the underground in Egypt since the country's 2011 revolution, a rapid-fire electronic beat, mixed with hypnotic rhythms drawn from religious festivals and fired up with auto-tuned vocals. Besides getting club crowds dancing all night long, it has given a rebellious voice to long marginalized youth, telling stories of everyday life in beaten-down neighborhoods of Cairo.
This 1999 file photo provided by HBO, shows James Gandolfini as mob boss Tony Soprano, in an episode from the first season of the HBO cable television mob series, "The Sopranos." HBO and the managers for Gandolfini say the actor died Wednesday, June 19, 2013, in Italy. He was 51. (AP Photo/HBO, Anthony Neste, File) by Lynn ElebrAP Television Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) — James Gandolfini, whose portrayal of a brutal, emotionally delicate mob boss in HBO's "The Sopranos" helped create one of TV's greatest drama series and turned the mobster stereotype on its head, died Wednesday in Italy. He was 51. Gandolfini died while on holiday in Rome, the cable channel and Gandolfini's managers Mark Armstrong and Nancy Sanders said in a joint statement. No cause of death was given.
Jay-Z at "The Great Gatsby" world premiere at Avery Fisher Hall in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, file ) by Mesfin FekaduAP Music WriterNEW YORK (AP) — He really is more than a businessman. Jay-Z's partnership with Samsung for his new album, "Magna Carta Holy Grail," is another sign of how musicians are finding new ways to push, sell and promote their music, and how the multiplatinum performer — who famously rapped "I'm not a businessman, I'm a business, man" — continues to leverage his enduring popularity into a successful brand.
Kim Kardashian poses for photographers at the red carpet during the 40th anniversary of Cosmopolitan magazine in Spanish in Mexico City. Kardashian reportedly gave birth to a baby girl in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Marco Ugarte, File) by John Rogers LOS ANGELES (AP) — It looks to be a baby girl for Kim Kardashian and her rapper boyfriend Kanye West. Or does it? The couple was keeping silent Sunday in the wake of multiple reports that Kardashian has given birth over the weekend, about a month premature. But Kardashian's sister Khloe appears to have let a rather cryptic cat out of the bag on Twitter.
In this June 15, 1981 photo, Smokey Robinson, left, is joined by Berry Gordy at the Greek Theater in Los Angeles. Motown record label founder Berry Gordy has been named on June 3, the 2013 recipient of the Marian Anderson Award, which honors artists whose leadership benefits humanity. Gordy is scheduled to accept the award at a Nov. 19, black-tie gala at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/File) NEW YORK (AP) — The Berry Gordy memoir which inspired the Broadway hit "Motown: The Musical" is being reissued as an e-book.
Miles and Jimi. Jimi and Miles. Fans of the late trumpet and guitar masters have long known that Miles Davis and Jimi Hendrix had been making plans to record together in the year before Hendrix's sudden death in 1970. But less attention has been paid to the bass player they were trying to recruit.
In this April 27, 2005 photo, Michael Jackson arrives at the Santa Barbara County courthouse in Santa Maria, Calif. Jackson's longtime makeup artist...
SENTENCED—Lauren Hill walks from federal court in Newark, N.J. last month. (AP Photo/Mel Evans, file) by David Porter NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — Grammy-winning singer Lauryn Hill stood in federal court Monday and compared her experience in the music business to the slavery her ancestors endured before a judge sentenced her to three months in prison for failing to pay about $1 million in taxes over the past decade.
HEAVY D--In this Oct. 1, 2011 photo, rapper Heavy D, also known as Dwight Arrington Myers, performs during the BET Hip Hop Awards in Atlanta. The culture that in the 1990s lost its brightest stars to gun violence has in recent years seen a series of notable rappers die of drug- and health-related causes. Since 2011, hip-pop pioneer Heavy D, singer and rap chorus specialist Nate Dogg and New York rapper Tim Dog all died of ailments in their 40s. (AP Photo/David Goldman, file) by Ryan McPherson LOS ANGELES (AP) — Hip-hop may need a checkup.
