MTV's MAKING THE BAND DAY 26 SIGNS ON WITH SAVING OUR DAUGHTERS SPEAKING SERIES AGAINST DOMESTIC VIOLENCE & TEEN ABUSE

Atlanta, GA -The members of Day 26 has joined the popular "Saving Our Daughters" speaking series presented by It’s Cool To Be Smart. On Monday March 30th, Day 26 spoke to 11th and 12th graders at McNair high school on issues that affect young women (i.e. domestic violence, teen abuse, & women empowerment).

The group came out and warned over 300 teen girls about the dangers of domestic violence and how to stay away from it. "They really took their time to explain just how special young women are and I know that the ladies took every word in,” stated Tequilla Whitfield Artist Program Director/Mentor for It’s Cool To Be Smart/Saving Our Daughters.

The guys were able to deliver a powerful message to the girls in a way that made sense. Each member was able to add their own insight. Q surprised the teens by removing himself from the panel amongst his group members to sit in the audience with them, causing the gymnasium to fill with screams and excitement. After regaining control, the guys were able to participate in a Q&A session. Some of the questions that were answered included:

• What advice would you give a teen going thru an abusive relationship?
• If you are in a relationship and your significant other hits you, what should you do?
• Do you know someone that is in or has ever been in an abusive relationship? What did you say to them?

At the end of the discussion, Will left the girls with a final message, "don't stay in an abusive relationship, get out and run to find help!"

Beginning in April, It's Cool to be Smart, the "Saving Our Daughters" speaking series, and Day 26 will collaborate to help champion positive messages to teenagers in select high schools across the country.

Still partying!! Just kickin it wit my boy matt from the ARCTIC MONKEYs! I'm the the newest member of the GROUP! I'm signing him to badboy!

“I’ve been working, grinding … in the studio and getting things together," Richard said. "I can’t say how because it will be revealed on the season finale of 'Making The Band,' but I will say I am definitely moving forward.”

... Immediately impressed with the Outkast protégé after he first saw her on YouTube, but he knew she was a bonafide star after seeing her perform live. "She's very talented. I would definitely like to work with her in the future," he said.

We felt a little out of place at first, but once the music kicked in, we were loving every beat. As two of the youngest people in the room, it was interesting to look around at the others in attendance. Between the older professionals and the fresher faces in the biz, we’d say we found our place as the cute interns who discovered we definitely have room for R&B in our hearts.

CURRENT OBSESSION: Twitter. My mother turned me on to it. I had no idea what it was, but it’s so fun. You just update your status constantly. I enjoy reading P. Diddy’s. He has the funniest updates. Like: “Women are God’s gift to earth. What are you doing?” I love it.

"Ending the Rockefeller Drug Laws is a great victory for the hip-hop community," Russell Simmons said in a statement issued by his rep Jody Miller. "We worked hard, turned up the volume on this issue and rejuvenated and broadened the coalition, but it was hip-hop artists like Diddy, Jay-Z and 50 Cent that gave this movement for change the power to wake people up and to get the politicians to do the right thing."

The concert featuring rapper Yung Joc that was supposed to take place after the South Georgia Wildcats home opener Saturday has been postponed.

Yung Joc is connected with part-owner Edwin Mulitalo and is still expected to perform the concert, only at a later date during the season. Fans will be able to get a ticket for the concert by purchasing a ticket to that night’s game. After the contest, a stage will be wheeled out on to the floor where he will perform.

The Brooklyn Music Festival will be held at the Aviator Sports and Recreation's Floyd Bennett Field in Brooklyn, NY, on Sunday, June 21st. Featured acts include Mavado, Beenie Man, Serani, Elephant Man, Bounty Killer, Capleton, Tarrus Riley, Big Daddy Kane, Frankie Paul, Ding Dong, Brown Rice Family, Patch, Berbice, Natural Black, New Kingston Band, Benny Bwoy, Leon and the Peoples, and Kendra Granville. More acts to be announced.

He had become a professional makeup artist by the age of 18, after graduating from Frederick High School. He has since done makeup for several celebrities, including Naomi Campbell and Sean "Diddy" Combs.

"My best compliment was when Diddy said, 'You're on my team now' É I'm not, like, a fanatic, but I admire him so much."

Some might say they’ve got it all. Club bangers and ballads. Screaming fans. The unmatched expertise of their mentor, P.Diddy. This time, however, they’ve also got the opportunity to show how they’ve grown personally and artistically since last year’s release of their chart-topping debut, the biggest #1 entry for any male group in Soundscan history. As Making the Band’s superstar group Day26 prepare to release their new album Forever in a Day, one thing is clear: It’s a brand new day.

Their story is already well-known to their fans, millions of whom tune in every Thursday night to watch it unfold on MTV’s Making the Band. When he put out the call for vocalists in January of 2007, P.Diddy was looking for talented newcomers with superstar potential and a tireless work ethic. What he got when Robert, Will, Brian, Qwanell (Que), and Mike were finally selected in the blockbuster finale on August 26, 2007—the date that inspired the group’s name—was more than he, or the fans, could have ever anticipated.

As the guys struggled with realizing their dreams amidst breakups, hookups and fights that shook the home they shared with MTB’s Danity Kane and Donnie, their fans have gained unprecedented access to the highs and lows of fame. “It’s definitely a blessing and a curse at the same time,” laughs Brian. “The fans actually get to see who Day26 is as individuals and how we mesh together.” It’s a process that has only strengthened them as a group, and helped evolve the sound on Forever and a Day.

“It’s such a blessing how we can grow and get tighter as a group.” Says Que. “Even though we might argue, we learn from it. It makes us tighter. We’re more of a family now.” With the added sense of group solidarity ushering in their sophomore effort, Day26 has also evolved through the recording process. “We’ve been a lot more hands-on with the process of this album,” says Mike.

“Forever in a Day was a collective effort,” adds Will, “The first album was mostly us proving we could sing, and I like to think of the second album as us making great music in general.” Collaborating with producers including Blaze, Bryan-Michael Cox and Jazze Pha, the guys have worked their personal experiences into the songwriting. “Perfectly Blind” was written by Qwanell in response to familial and financial pressures he dealt with very publicly on the show. Robert wrote “Truth is a Lie” about his experience of coming into the limelight under the watchful gaze of MTV cameras. “It’s about how I just want to be who I am, and how we try to keep it honest with our fans.”

Even with the thoughtful lyrics and serious issues they explore on Forever in a Day, Day26 wants to make one thing clear: “We attack the club on this one!” laughs Robert. While maintaining an emphasis on moving vocals, Day26 has expanded the sound with undeniable club bangers. Their first single, “Imma Put It on Her” featuring P.Diddy and Young Joc, perfectly illustrates the group’s new emphasis on dancefloor domination. Jermaine Dupri and T-Pain also lend their talents to the album.

As their story, and sound, continues to evolve, Day26 is still at heart a group of five guys with a dream. As Brian says, “We’re from five different cities, we have five different ways, and it’s definitely tested us.” At the end of the day, however, “we’re like brothers.”

Qwanell
KNOWN AS “the baby of the group.”
INFLUENCES Brandy
FAVORITE TRACK “Perfectly Blind”

Brian
KNOWN AS “the one with the temper.”
INFLUENCES K-Ci Hailey, Sisquo, Marvin Gaye, Michael Jackson
FAVORITE TRACK “‘Your Heels’, because it’s so high energy. It’s really different for Day26.”

Will
KNOWN AS “I’m one of the oldest, so I bring knowledge and know-how.”
INFLUENCES The Temptations, Jagged Edge, Stevie Wonder, 112, Brandy
FAVORITE TRACK “‘Imma Put It On Her’— It’s just an upbeat club track. It shows where we’re going with the sound.”

Mike
KNOWN AS “the mediator”
INFLUENCES Stevie Wonder, Boys II Men, Jodeci, Ginuwine
FAVORITE TRACK “Bipolar” and “Perfectly Blind”

Robert
KNOWN AS “the rebel”
INFLUENCES The Clark Sisters, Usher, Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder
FAVORITE TRACK “Truth is a Lie”

AllHipHop.com: Recently you were on a radio station saying how you can now appreciate getting "Diddy Bopped" by Puffy back in the day. Explain that.

Jadakiss: A lot of people think it’s a lot of bitterness with the whole Bad Boy situation. We [The LOX] were young kids that were anxious to get in the game. In return we signed some contracts that weren't beneficial to us but we can’t have a gripe with Puff Daddy for the rest of our lives because it was business. It was our responsibility to know that we signed a wrong contract. He probably respects us even more for even finding out [we had a bad contract]. That’s how the Ciroc endorsement deal is in place. You learn as you grow.

The chart's highest debut comes from rapper Gorilla Zoe, who enters with his sophomore set, "Don't Feed Da Animals" (Block/Bad Boy South), at No. 8 with 31,000. The artist's first effort, 2007's "Welcome to the Zoo," debuted and peaked at No. 18 with a 35,000 entrance. Over on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, "Animals" starts at No. 2, giving the rapper his second top 10 on that list.

Word on the street, and in hotel elevators and the corner Starbucks, spread fast at the South by Southwest Music and Media Conference here last week. It usually went something like this: "Oh my God, have you seen Janelle Monáe yet? You. Have. To."

#5: WHAT HAS TO BE IN YOUR FRIDGE AT ALL TIMES?

Gorilla Zoe says: Bologna, cheese, mayonnaise, and bread. I also keep a bottle of Ciroc Vodka in the freezer. I used to take culinary arts at Job Corps so I’m a certified chef. I could cook chicken alfredo.

"Notorious" earned $21 million in its first weekend at the box office. Fox Searchlight will release the DVD on April 21. In addition to an unrated version of the film, special features include commentary from Big's managers, mother Voletta Wallace and the filmmakers. There are also extras on Big's lyrics, the "Biggie Boot Camp" that the actors in the movie had to go through to prepare for their parts and extended concert-scene footage.

DX: Are there any artists out right now you're checking for?
Gorilla Zoe: Just Wayne and Gucci right now. I can't wait for Gucci to get out. And I'm actually working with Wayne on his new album, it's crazy.

10. Favorite clothing designer? Sean John, but I’m not biased. He has some dope s***.

... Diddy solicited questions from his Twitter followers, requesting that people “hit me with some hard questions. Hit me with something you really wanna know.” When a user asked if he still talks to former Bad Boy artist Mase, Puff stated that he hadn’t spoken to Mase in a while but that they’re still on good terms and that the Harlem rapper-turned-pastor sometimes texts him.

DAY26 TO SPEND “FOREVER IN A DAY”;
MAKING THE BAND 4 SUPERSTARS FOLLOW #1 DEBUT
WITH MUCH-ANTICIPATED NEW ALBUM;
COLLECTION PRECEDED BY FIRST SINGLE,
“IMMA PUT IT ON HER (FEAT. YUNG JOC & DIDDY)”;
“26 DAYS OF DAY26” PROMO TOUR BEGINS THIS MONTH;
“FOREVER IN A DAY” DROPS EVERYWHERE APRIL 14TH

Bad Boy recording group Day26 has announced the release of their hugely anticipated second album. “FOREVER IN A DAY” – which follows the Making The Band 4 stars’ self-titled Billboard 200-topping 2008 debut – arrives in stores and all online retailers on April 14th.

“FOREVER IN A DAY” will be heralded by the first single, “Imma Put It On Her (Feat. Yung Joc and Diddy).” The track will be available at all DSPs on March 31st . What’s more, the album track “Stadium Music” – which served as the theme song during the first three episodes of Diddy and MTV’s blockbuster reality series, Making The Band 4: Season 3, Part 2 – is on sale now at digital retailers everywhere. “Imma Put It On Her” takes over theme song duties on the ratings juggernaut beginning with Episode 4, airing March 5th. Videos for both songs are currently in production and will debut in the coming weeks.

This “bonus season” of MTV’s Making The Band 4 has just gotten underway, with new episodes airing Thursdays at 9:00 PM ET/PT (check local listings). The current series follows Day26 as they write and record “FOREVER IN A DAY.” The season finale airs on April 16th.

Day26 – Brian Andrews, Mike McCluney, Qwanell Mosley (a.k.a. “Que”), Robert Curry, and Willie Taylor – will celebrate the album’s release with a national promotional tour, set to kick off in late-March. The schedule – dubbed “26 Days of Day26” – will visit each of the group members’ hometowns, as well as major markets including New York, Los Angeles, Atlanta, and Chicago, among others.

Last year saw “DAY26” enter the record books as the biggest-selling debut album from a male R&B group in the 17-year history of SoundScan. The album – which includes the hit singles, “Got Me Going” and “Since You Been Gone” – exploded into the #1 spot on the SoundScan/Billboard 200 in its first week of release, while also topping Billboard’s “Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums” chart.

Executive Produced by Bad Boy CEO Sean “Diddy” Combs and Bad Boy Entertainment president Harve Pierre, “DAY26” was recorded in just three short weeks. The five gifted performers were chosen by Diddy and MTV viewers around the world on 2007’s record-shattering Making The Band 4 “Season One” finale.

Day26 followed the album’s out-of-the-box success with a featured role on “P. Diddy Presents The Making The Band 4 Tour,” a major North American concert tour which was the centerpiece of Making the Band 4: Season 3 and saw the quintet sharing arena stages coast-to-coast with their MTB4 co-stars Danity Kane and Donnie Klang.

For up-to-the-minute information, please visit www.day26online.com, www.myspace.com/day26, and www.badboyonline.com.

GORILLA ZOE REVEALS EAGERLY AWAITED SECOND ALBUM:
“DON’T FEED DA ANIMALS” DROPS MARCH 17TH;
INCLUDES “LOST” & “WHAT IT IS (FEAT. RICK ROSS & KOLLOSUS)”;
ATL-BASED RAPPER TO STAR IN FEATURE FILM;
DAY-OF-RELEASE PERFORMANCE SET FOR BET’S 106 & PARK

Block Entertainment/Bad Boy South recording artist Gorilla Zoe has announced the release of his sophomore album. “DON’T FEED DA ANIMALS” – which includes the lead single, “Lost” – arrives in stores and at all digital retailers on March 17th.

Produced by Drumma Boy, “Lost” is currently exploding at radio. The track is a top 20 favorite at Urban outlets nationwide and top 25 at Rhythmic after impacting as the #1 Most Added song at both Urban and Rhythmic.

In addition, the single’s companion video clip is currently receiving major play on BET, where it has been a top 10 triumph on the 106 & Park countdown while also scoring “Heavy” rotation on The Deal. Zoe will celebrate the arrival of “DON’T FEED DA ANIMALS” with an exclusive appearance and performance on 106 & Park, slated for Tuesday, March 17th (check local listings). Furthermore, “Lost” is now in “Sizzlin” rotation at MTV Jams as well as having been recently added to MTV2’s Sucker Free.

“DON’T FEED DA ANIMALS” will be heralded by a feature-length film of the same name, the first release from Block Entertainment CEO Russell “Big Block” Spencer’s newly launched Block Films. Don’t Feed Da Animals stars Gorilla Zoe in an action-packed street narrative directly inspired by the album. The film – produced in conjunction with Raw Report Films – features five music videos to accompany such new tracks as “I Am The A,” “Break It Down,” “Talk Back (Feat. Roxy Reynolds),” “100, 50, 20 &10,” and “Dope Boys.” Don’t Feed Da Animals will be distributed in select markets nationwide in the spring – for further details, please see www.block-ent.com.

“DON’T FEED DA ANIMALS” is without question one of 2009’s most hotly awaited new hip-hop releases. The album – which follows last year’s smash debut, “WELCOME TO THE ZOO” – includes a number of instant classics filled with Zoe’s signature flow and banging beats. Among the highlights is the second single, “What It Is (Feat. Rick Ross and Kollosus),” which is available now as an iTunes Store exclusive. A video for “What It Is” was recently shot in Atlanta with Rick Ross and will be serviced to all video outlets this month.

The album is quickly shaping up as a hip-hop blockbuster. “Lost” has proven a breakout hit, with download sales of 200,000 driving the track onto Billboard’s “Hot 100.” Furthermore, “What It Is” has already received over 10,000 downloads in just one week, giving Zoe two “DON’T FEED DA ANIMALS” tracks with sales in excess of 10,000 for the week leading up to the album’s release.

Zoe – who recently joined Lil’ Wayne as a special guest on his hugely successful “I Am Music” arena tour – has already begun receiving major press attention, with high-profile features and reviews appearing in such publications as Hip Hop Weekly, XXL, and The Source.

Named one of XXL’s 2007 “Leaders of the New School,” Zoe firmly established himself as a truly original hip-hop voice via the top 10 rap smash, “Hood Figga,” not to mention his featured role on Block Entertainment/Bad Boy South labelmate Yung Joc’s hits, “Coffee Shop” and “Bottle Poppin’.” As if that weren’t enough, he joined forces with superstar rap combo Boyz N Da Hood for their 2007 release, “BACK UP N DA CHEVY.”

Since then, Zoe has lent his distinctive style to a variety of hip-hop hits, including Lil’ Wayne’s “Lollipop (Remix),” as well as tracks by Cheri Dennis, Shawty Lo, and Rick Ross.

For further news, please visit www.myspace.com/gorillazoe and www.block-ent.com.

"It was a dark time for them and I was there as more of a support," the music mogul said during an interview on the Ellen DeGeneres Show that aired Tuesday. "I'm not immersed in [their situation]. I'm not going to pass judgment on it. I'm going to be there as a friend."

DH!: Another thing I liked was that you put out the single, then you put out the album. Who's behind what single gets chosen, you know who has input on that?

Brian: Usually it's the label that makes those decisions. This time around, we had a bit more of a hand in the single selection. We record songs all the time and if we've felt like we found a single, we present it to Diddy. He had our backs. Everyone comes together and brainstorms and comes up with the best choice. It's definitely more of a group decision amongst everyone this time around.

"One of things that I'm most excited about doing is always creating art in front of an audience," she says. "That being said, I don't choreograph anything I do - I'm just pretty much giving my all.

"I play a lot with fire before I go onto the stage. One thing that I don't do is use the restroom."

"You get that constant feeling of my-body-is-on fire-I have-to-go-to-the-bathroom type of performance - it's an A-typical art form."

DJ Booth: A lot of my coworkers begged me to ask you who you are ghostwriting for these days.

Royce: I’m writing for Diddy right now, that’s pretty much it. I’m so involved with my project, the Slaughterhouse project, that I don’t have much free time to do side stuff. And I don’t even consider Diddy’s project side stuff, I consider that something that’s gotta get done. I’m officially a go-to guy for him; whenever he calls me, I stop what I’m doing, even if I’ve gotta work ‘em at the same time and just get ‘em done.

DJ Booth: When he sends you a check, does he include Sean John clothing and some cologne?

Royce: Yeah, he sends me everything – he sends me some Sean John clothing, Sean John cologne. He sent me a million-dollar check yesterday that I just got. I’ll probably buy you something for Christmas—what do you want?

"Playing with certain things man, you can die. That ain't nothing to play with but that's what [50 Cent and Rick Ross] are doing. I let them do what they do. I'm just looking at it like both of ya'll get your money up."

"We are sisters," PCD's Ashley Roberts said. "And there's moments where no matter who you are, you're going through personal things, as well as things in your career, and so sometimes your head's not in the right place or you're emotional about something, and we have times where we're going through stuff, as every human being does, but we try to not take it personally and to communicate. And about Danity Kane, it's a sad thing that they did fall apart. We had been on tour with them, with Christina [Aguilera in 2007, on her Back to Basics tour], and we got to know each one of them, and we wish them each their own success. I know Dawn [Richard] and Aundrea [Fimbres] are getting together, and so power to them."

Switching gears, you’ve been publicly unsupportive of Notorious. If Biggie were alive, do you think he would’ve been pleased with the film?
I’m a very spiritual person and he’s come to me many of times in my dreams. But, I don’t think he’s happy at all, at all! Because Ms. Wallace doesn’t know Biggie at all and she barley knows Christopher, if you know what I mean. At all! And I was around. Even before he blew up so crazy, so I know how he felt about his mom. And Biggie was so much more than what they put him out to be in that movie. And to be honest with you, I know for a fact he’s not happy. He’s not satisfied at all. At all. And regardless of the fact, everybody who is involved in this movie, he has love for. Everybody. But at the end of the day, he knows who’s who and what’s what. Believe that. And let me tell you something, the way he’s feeling is going to come out. Like, trust me. Everything is going to come out later. You’re going to see who he really loved and the ones that’s standing up for him the right way is the ones representing him the right way.

Wed 3/18
NPR @ Stubb's 8p

Thurs 3/19
Afro-Punk @ Austin Music Hall 11p

Fri 3/20
MTVU (Private)

Sat 3/21
Rolling Stone @ Peckerheads 2:30p
Chop Shop @ Brush Square Park 6:30p
GoTV @ Vice 12a

''This record I wrote two nights ago. It's [going to be] one of the biggest I ever wrote. Diddy sang the record gracefully. He really pulled it off, and he really surprised me. Because it's Puff, nobody expects it. [But] he's got the goods''

Louis Vuitton Malletier and Bad Boy Records, a joint venture between Bad Boy Entertainment and Warner Music Group, today announced the signing of an amicable settlement agreement regarding claims brought by Louis Vuitton against the recording group Danity Kane for the unauthorized use of Louis Vuitton's intellectual property.

As part of the settlement, Bad Boy Records agrees to remove from Danity Kane's self-titled debut-album, as well as from two related videos, visual references to Louis Vuitton trademarks. Going forward Bad Boy will make available amended versions of the album and videos without the Louis Vuitton content and shall not use Louis Vuitton intellectual property in the future without authorization. The financial terms of the settlement were not disclosed.

Nathalie Moulle-Berteaux, Intellectual Property Director of Louis Vuitton said, "We appreciate Warner Music Group’s and Bad Boy’s commitment to educate their artists about the importance of respecting our world renowned Toile Monogram and Multicolore marks, and their cooperation in protecting Louis Vuitton’s intellectual property. This worldwide agreement, combined with our previously announced agreement with Sony BMG in 2008, demonstrates our successful efforts throughout the music industry to defend our brand and intellectual property from unauthorized use, and to protect the best interest of our customers."

Eighth grade language arts teacher Sharon Callahan never missed her students more than when she sat in the contestant's chair on the syndicated television game show, "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire."

For $32,000, she had to answer the question: "Hip hop impresario Sean 'Diddy' Coombs is the father of twin girls named D'Lila Star and what?"

A. Jessie James, B. Dannie Oakley, C. Sanity Jayne or D. Dot Holliday.

24: I hear you got a new reality show coming out called Swap Vision, what’s up with that?

E.ness: Shouts out to Vinalation X my man Knob the show got picked up by a few cable access televisions, its going to be in 44 million homes in the next 3 weeks next month the latest. Swamp Vision Tv is simply a reality show about me behind the scenes working on the album my trials and tribulations trying get the label to get behind me and support the budget and put out the money that it takes to be over the top back where I belong.

With his support, Gorilla Zoe will speak to selected high school classrooms on March 16th at McNair High in DeKalb County in Atlanta; and will also sponsor 10 books for 10 single parent families with daughters in need of healing attending at the school.

Brown and Rihanna are staying at the home of Sean "Diddy" Combs on Star Island, according to reports from People, Us Weekly and TMZ.com. USA TODAY was unable to confirm the reports. Rihanna's publicist said the singer's announcement last week indicating that she would not comment on the incident at the request of authorities was her only statement. Brown's camp did not respond to queries, and Diddy's publicist would not comment.