The Camel plans to rock the mic the night before the gala event:

Jay-Z has unveiled plans to stage a special one-off gig in Washington, D.C. on Jan. 19, the night before President-elect Barack Obama’s historic inauguration.

“In Concert on the Eve of Change” will feature the rap superstar and his live band at the intimate 1,847-capacity Warner Theater. Jigga had been a fixture on the campaign trail, joining with Mary J. Blige and Diddy to help get out the vote in support of Obama. The incoming commander in chief is not expected at the show.

Meanwhile, the Washington Post reports that another big-time Obama backer, Bruce Springsteen, is going to jam Jan. 19 on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. The concert will be free and open to the public.

But that’s not all…

Jessica Alba has just been tapped as the host of nonpartisan, nonprofit youth voter group Declare Yourself’s inauguration kick-off event on Jan. 18 that will feature a performance by Maroon 5 and DJ-ing by Lindsay Lohan gal-pal Samantha Ronson. Surprise guests are also promised. Tickets are going for $250.

According to Fox News, the Jonas Brothers and Miley Cyrus have been invited to play an official inaugural ball for kids Jan. 19 at the Verizon Center. While Stevie Wonder and Barbra Streisand are said to be in talks to play other official inauguration galas.

Unofficial parties going on in D.C. in and around inauguration time include one being thrown by Dionne Warwick featuring George Clinton and Chaka Khan at the Marriott Wardman; a Jan. 18 concert headlining Alicia Keys; a free show being put on by Aretha Franklin at the Kennedy Center; and a glitzy ball organized by the Creative Coalition being attended by dozens of celebrities and featuring musical performances by Sam Moore, Sting and Elvis Costello.

As for the official swearing-in ceremony itself, Queen of Soul Franklin and go-to guardians of high culture Itzhak Perlman and Yo Yo Ma are on the bill.

I just hope that he gets a damn haircut and loses those shades before the show.

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More ganking going on in the music industry:

A couple of men from Jersey have sued Mary J. Blige, Jay-Z and others, claiming that they have made millions after stealing a song from the pair.

Jermaine Jumpp and Michael C. Adams claimed in a federal lawsuit that they handed a audio disk to the “office” of megaproducer Rodney “Darkchild” Jerkins with the song “On My Grind.”

Then, four years later, Mary J. recorded a song titled “Enough Cryin’” which was ironically produced by Darkchild , and it sounded awfully familiar.

Jay-Z’s involvement in the suit is unclear. The defendants couldn’t immediately be reached for comment.

Damon Dash, the has been music mogul, is going at his former partner Jay-Z again. In this video, Dame claims that he isn’t going to “Protect” Jay anymore. This guy is simply hilarious. He and Jim Jones should have their own comedy hour.

The internet has fast become the new way that the world finds out most of it’s information. Newspapers are steadily becoming dinosaurs with subscriptions falling to an all time low in the last few years. Many newspapers are in danger of closing down if they don’t revamp and either go online or market their websites better. People tend to get their news from blogs and as we all know, most blogs don’t adhere to the standards of journalists. For this reason, publicist Jonathan Hay was able to create the story that his artist Rihanna, was having an affair with Jay-Z to push her single “Pon De Replay”. The rumor made Rihanna a superstar. He also admits that Rihanna nor Jay-Z knew of his plans. Hay is releasing a book titled “Publicity Stunt - The Art Of Noise” which details how he created the rumor. Here are some excerpts from the book:

Jonathan Hay part one: Along with one of my partners, I then began to fabricate stories of Rihanna and Jay-Z, leaking false rumors to tabloids, working internet message boards, etc. We started to get an insane amount of media coverage very fast. There are so many things we did that people don’t even know about, not even Rihanna herself. She was completely unknown and I was paid by Vada Nobles to generate publicity. The mega Island Def Jam deal rumor, we fluffed and fabricated. Rihanna and Vada had no idea what I was doing behind the scenes, but my whole agenda was to get media for the song.

Jonathan Hay part two: I mean leaking out sensational stories and spreading them around in the news - to tabloids such as the ‘National Enquirer,’ music and gossip sites and whatnot. Like when the rumor surfaced that Jay-Z had a new love life and was cheating on Beyonce…that was just to get attention. Rihanna had nothing to do with any of that, nor did she know what we were doing. I was just trying to break the single and stay employed by Vada Nobles. Even Vada didn’t know half the stuff I was doing. I kept my strategy a secret at the time because, honestly, everyone would have been against it, the tactics that I used. But I was only thinking about the end result - and look what happened…gossip sells.

Jonathan Hay part three: I feel awful but, yes, I leaked some of those stories. Looking back, I am ashamed of that; there was zero integrity in that Beyonce & Rihanna maneuver. But this is entertainment and I wanted to obtain publicity - so I came up with some crazy stories and it worked. Rihanna is one of the biggest stars in the world now, and look at how she stormed into the business! Not to take anything from her - she is a great artist - but every artist needs a launching pad and there is nothing better than a good scandal to get the public’s attention.

Hopefully you readers will learn from this story that you can’t believe many of the stories that you read on gossip blogs. Bloggers take stories from other blogs, emails and tipsters who sometimes probably don’t even know any of the people they give tips on. Most of the stories are unsubstantiated and in some cases can cause harm.

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New music from Jigga. This one’s called BK Anthem and it seems to be dedicated to The Notorious B.I.G. Check it out and tell us if you feel it or not.

Another leak from Jay’s upcoming album “The Blueprint 3″. The track was produced by Kanye West as most of the album reportedly is. Santogold is featured on the song. Whayt do you think ?

With all of the begging Beyonce was doing to be included she would have been embarrassed if she wasn’t invited:

The January 20 inauguration of Barack Obama is going to be a star studded one. Not only are some of the biggest names in Hollywood going to attend, stars like Beyonce and Jay Z will be performing for the crowd.

Other artists to perform at the gala event include British singing sensation Leona Lewis, Diddy and Mary J Blige, according to the UK Sun.

Also expected at the Inauguration is Anne Hathaway, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Connie Britton, Richard Schiff, Ellen Burstyn, Giancarlo Esposito, Gloria Reuben, Lynn Whitfield, Tamara Tunie and Tom Fontana.

Check out a single from Jay’s upcoming “Blueprint 3″ album which is due February 2009. The song uses the same sample from “Can’t Knock The Hustle”, but it’s still nice. What do you think ???

This is one of the dopest songs that I’ve heard in a longtime. The title alone had me interested. Then when I heard the track it took me back circa 1993 when Midnight Marauders was banging in my Ford Probe (LOL). This is what Hip Hop is missing. I’m from the South and I’m happy about the dominance that the South has had and I DON’T AGREE THAT THE SOUTH KILLED HIP HOP. Hip Hop is very much alive. Heads and New Yorkers just don’t like the fact that it’s not about them anymore. Anyway, this track is hot and Luda chose the perfect supporting cast. What do you think ?

Who are the top earning couples in Hollywood? Forbes.com just released their list of Hollywood’s 20 Top-Earning Couples, and there’s a few familiar faces in the urban realm who made the cut.

Atop the list is hip-hop royalty. Thanks to a huge year and huge business deals, Jay-Z and his new bride Beyonce landed at no. 1 on the magazine’s list, after collectively raking in $162 million from June 1 of 2007 to June of 2008.

The couple’s empire includes Jay’s the highly publicized deal with Live Nation where the company would take a stake in everything from his music to his merchandising. It was worth a reported $150, in which he banked an estimated $82 million from, according to Forbes. Beyonce on the other hand sold $50 million in concert tickets and endorsement deals.

Following Jay and B, is Hollywood power couple, Will and Jada Pinkett Smith. Together, the couple hauled in nearly $85 million over the past year, putting them at no. 2 on Forbes’ list. Will earned $80 thanks to movie blockbusters such as “I Am Legend,” “The Pursuit of Happyness,” and “Hancock,” while Jada pulled in $5 million for several different jobs including roles as an actress (The Women), producer (The Human Contract), and businesswoman (a stake in beauty line Carol’s Daughter).

NBA star Tony Parker and actress Eva Longoria came in on the list at no. 9, earning a combined $22.5 million last year. He made $10.5 million last year playing for the San Antonio Spurs, and from endorsement deals with VitaminWater, FedEx, Nike, Electronic Arts and Kelloggs. Eva, on the other hand, raked in $9 million from her role on “Desperate Housewives,” and her own endorsement deals with L’Oréal, Bebe and Samsung.

At no. 15, earning over $15 million is singer Seal and supermodel Heidi Klum; at no. 18 is actor Josh Duhamel and rapper Fergie, who raked in $13 million; and rounding out the list is Marc Anthony and Jennifer Lopez, who earned a reported $11 million last year.

“Naturally, powerful people tend to gravitate toward other powerful people,” clinical psychologist and celebrity researcher Jim Houran told Forbes. And it looks like he’s right.

The list also includes Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, David Beckham and Victoria Beckham, and country music power couple Tim McGraw and Faith Hill, among others.

To check out the mag’s full list of Top-Earning Couples, check it out at Fobres.com.