CEO Peter Edge and COO Tom Corson told The Hollywood Reporter in an interview that they were shutting down Jive and Arista immediately, and focusing on the RCA brand. Well as they cleverly put it, "the artists are the brand."

Which is a good way of saying they're going to downsize and they have no clue how to continue to thrive in the business so they'd much rather keep the heavy hitters and get rid of the excess.

“The concept is that there is value in branding RCA and not having it confused or diluted by other labels,” Corson said.

Jive, which was the home to Britney Spears, Justin Timberlake and A Tribe Called Quest was run by Barry Weiss for years, who is now over at Def Jam. Arista gave birth to Usher, Whitney Houston and the Bad Boy label at one point. Even the J Records roster is falling under RCA.

There was no full list of who is staying and who's going, but they were a bunch of employee cuts and of course some acts were let go. American Idol season 9 winner Lee DeWyze was one of those artists that got the axe.
Edge said,  "The big initiative here is to spend more money on artist development, making more records and making better records and less on all of the other stuff."

Do you believe?

Tinie Tempah Is Giving Away An iTunes Gift Card & More... Register Now!!!

CEO Peter Edge and COO Tom Corson told The Hollywood Reporter in an interview that they were shutting down Jive and Arista immediately, and focusing on the RCA brand. Well as they cleverly put it, "the artists are the brand."

Which is a good way of saying they're going to downsize and they have no clue how to continue to thrive in the business so they'd much rather keep the heavy hitters and get rid of the excess.

“The concept is that there is value in branding RCA and not having it confused or diluted by other labels,” Corson said.

Jive, which was the home to Britney Spears, Justin Timberlake and A Tribe Called Quest was run by Barry Weiss for years, who is now over at Def Jam. Arista gave birth to Usher, Whitney Houston and the Bad Boy label at one point. Even the J Records roster is falling under RCA.

There was no full list of who is staying and who's going, but they were a bunch of employee cuts and of course some acts were let go. American Idol season 9 winner Lee DeWyze was one of those artists that got the axe.
Edge said,  "The big initiative here is to spend more money on artist development, making more records and making better records and less on all of the other stuff."

Do you believe?

Tinie Tempah Is Giving Away An iTunes Gift Card & More... Register Now!!!

It only took eleven years but apparently rumored drug abuse and run-ins with the law have kept D'Angelo away from the studio long enough. The follow up to his last disc, Voodoo is reportedly on the way according to Roots' drummer, Questlove.

Questlove was tweeting from a session with the soul singer who is working on James River, expected later this year or early 2012 on J Records.

Are you eager to hear D'Angelo after an eleven-year break?

The exclusive deal, which was inked with Polo Grounds Music/RCA Music Group and a production deal with Battery/Jive Records, allows Yung Joc to not only be an artist but also to sign emerging acts to his new label Swagg Team Entertainment.

“Joc is a triple threat. As an artist, executive and personality, he is now entering a higher phase of his career and I'm happy to play a part in it,” affirms Bryan Leach, President, Polo Grounds Music.  “I feel with Pitbull, Yo Gotti and now Yung Joc, Polo Grounds has an amazing front line of smart, talented, hungry artists that will continue to show why it's still all about making hit records and outworking everyone else.”

Yung Joc, who is credited for discovering the GS Boyz (“Stanky Leg), stated that he will actively seek break out talent to sign to his label.

"It is my pleasure and honor to announce my affiliation and new partnership with Polo Grounds Music/RCA Music Group and Battery/Jive Records,” states Yung Joc. “Now I can actually work and not wonder if I'm going to be held back from building my own brand as well as the Swagg Team brand. I'm very excited to work with this team.”

To celebrate the new deal, Joc states that he is currently working on his new album tentatively titled Mr. Robinson's Neighborhood, slated for a late 2010 release.

"As far as working with Beanie, It's a motivational song called “Tell That I Won't Run Away.” It's for all my strong Black people and Beanie Man putting that Jamaican fire on there and it's a mixture of both our styles and it represents the struggle."

Hurricane Chris has held down radio this year with his monstrous single “Halle Berry.” But as many of his fans have been wondering, when's the album coming. Signed to Polo Grounds/ J Records, the Louisiana fire spitter broke down the hold up and the upcoming 2010 release of his sophomore album, Unleashed. Speaking with Hip-Hop Wired, he stated,

“We got a lot of business that be going on behind the scenes [that's being worked out]. You get in music, most of the time you think it's just going to be all about music, but there's a lot of business behind it. I'm going through a whole lot with them record labels just trying to make them speed that process up because I got like 10,000 hits that I'm ready to drop. I had to jump “Halle Berry” of on my own and then they got behind it. You basically gotta promote yourself now.”

In the meantime, Chris is still fine-tuning his upcoming release and revealed a little of what to expect.

“So I got a mixtape I'm about to drop right now. I'm gonna heat the streets all the way up so we just waiting on the label to get ready. The name of my album is Unleashed. We steady switching the date so you know, we pushing it back. I got another video that's going to come out right now…I got a single out with Mario and Plies called “Headboard.” It's on and it's picking up heavy…we out promoting it right now. I got a lot on the album too. When the album comes you gonna get a different side of me, probably something you ain't got from me before. You getting all my versatility in this album. I got features from Beanie Man, it's just on a whole other level. So when we release Unleashed, you gonna know what time it is.”

Hurricane also will showcase more of his enlightening songs which many have overlooked as they wrongfully place him in a ringtone rap category. Try stepping to him cocky and over confident and you'll probably be the one taking the L. Adding a little detail about his upcoming music and his new mixtape dropping right before Christmas, he added,

“The mixtape is coming two weeks. It's called Hurricane The Great…Louis-Animal 2. Only one song from the mixtape, “Beat It Out The Frame,” will probably be on the album. It's a club banger… As far as working with Beanie, It's a motivational song called “Tell That I Won't Run Away.” It's for all my strong Black people and Beanie Man putting that Jamaican fire on there and it's a mixture of both our styles and it represents the struggle."

Unleashed will also include production Funk Dog (A Bay Bay), Shawty Red, Bangladesh, KLC, and The Incredibles.